weekend update.

Hello, lovelies! Sorry for the absence this week – just getting back into the swing of our crazy life. This was the first full work-week I’ve had in, like, a month. Plus, Jane was back to dance class, I had rehearsal for a show I’m helping out with (Li’l Abner), PLUS dinner plans with friends last night – so, all in all, not a BAD week, just a busy one.

With that, it’s on to the weekend:

Friday: Tonight, Greg and I are going to see the hilarious hit comedy, Zero Dark Thirty. But seriously, I’m actually nervous to see this movie. I know there are torture scenes and a have a feeling Katheryn Bigelow didn’t just gloss over them, you know? BUT, Greg wants to see it, and I dragged him to Les Miserables (only the BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR) a couple of weeks ago, so off we go. All of this means that I will, quite shockingly, have seen THREE of the Best Picture Oscar nominees (including Lincoln). That’s a lot of highbrow movie watching for me.

Saturday: Welp, tomorrow I have some thrilling plans to scrub the house during the day. I know, I know – you are jealous. Saturday night we are going out to dinner with the in-laws for my FIL’s birthday. During the winter, it’s hyper-important for me to have at least one outing planned per day on the weekends. I go absolutely stir-fucking-crazy otherwise. My SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is in high-gear right now, and I must keep busy to push through. I know, I know, it’s a little bit lighter later now – but having it not-completely-dark at 5 p.m. isn’t enough for me. I fantasize about the days where it’s light out until 9. With great, great longing. GREAT LONGING.

Sunday: We are going to watch some of this “football” that people get so excited about at a friend’s house Sunday afternoon. I will probably not so much be “watching” this “football,” but I’m happy to hang with friends nevertheless.

And you?

five things I'm loving today

In no particular order, here are five things that I am loving today:

The fact that tonight I have nowhere I have to be. It’s the first evening in my own house in what feels like a very long time! Elementary, you’re on my list. I also need to start reading my book club book. And maybe put up some Christmas decorations. And probably clean up a bit. And and and.

 

I am going to the movies tomorrow with some of my friends! We’re going to see Lincoln, which frankly I could have just rented in a couple of months and been happy, but I JUST WANT TO GO TO THE MOVIES. I swear, the only thing I’ve seen in the theater this year is Brave, and that ain’t right. And I am BEYOND excited to see this in the theater at least three or four times. Trying to figure out a way to get out on Christmas night, but I really don’t see that happening. (ETA: I just got sucked into watching the trailer a couple of more times when linking to the site. CHILLS.)
 

It is December in Connecticut and it’s been in the 50s for the past two days. I don’t even care that it’s raining today. Love.
 

Christmas is three weeks from today and I am more prepared than I have ever been this far out. I still have a decent amount of shopping to do but it’s mostly gift cards at this point. Now if only someone would do my wrapping for me….Santa, where are you??
 

I have 11 days off coming up at the end of the month and I. Cannot. Wait. Already making all sorts of plans. Haven’t had a week off since July!
 

What do you love today?

august break: day 7

We took Jane to see her first ever movie in the movie theater - Brave - yesterday. She made sure to wear her Merida costume. You can see that she had a terrible time and wasn't excited at all.

mea culpa, Oscars edition

Dear Twitter followers,

I am so sorry about my endless nattering on about the Oscars last night. I literally can’t help myself. Apparently I felt the need to share my every thought about what, in my opinion, was a wretched ceremony last night.

Lo, it was so bad. And yet. I kept watching, the full, 3+ hours, mostly because my Twitter feed was so endlessly entertaining. (Not my personal contributions, I mean. Everyone else’s.) Social media has so much become the icing on the cake for big pop culture events, hasn’t it? Especially if you follow very funny, clever people, as I do (I am talking about you. And you, especially.) I mean, did you see that Angelina Jolie’s LEG had its own Twitter account by the end of the night? Amazing.

So, you know, apologies. But, of course, I can’t say it won’t happen again. The Tonys are up in June.

With love,

A Tweet-Happy Pop Culture Mega-Junkie

garden state

At this very moment, I am listening to Jane yelling at Jimmy because he's not sharing. So there's that. This will be a quick one.

As always, very happy it's Friday after another silly and ridiculous week. We are New Jersey-bound this weekend to go see our friends and their one-year-old. When we used to go visit Dimitry (Greg's old college roommate) we would head to NYC and go see shows and go to bars and out to dinner at amazing places and roll in in the wee hours competely hammered.

Life has intervened, and now our little group has two young additions, with another on the way (that would be Jackie who is pregnant, not me). So our trip will be much more....suburban. And you know what? I'm really, really looking forward to it. We always have fun with them, no matter what we are doing.

I have scheduled rehearsal early on Sunday night so I can make it back home to watch most of the Oscars. I looooooove me some Academy Awards. My boyfriend Mark Ruffalo is nominated for his role in The Kids are All Right, and while he won't win, he will still be there, all dappered up. Plus, my friend Dwayne's boyfriend James Franco is hosting, so that will be....interesting to watch. I have graciously once again featured the picture of me and my boyfriend MR for your pleasure. Oh, my friend Jen is there too. But see how he is gripping my shoulder? True love.

What are you up to this weekend?

The Kids are All Right

Since yesterday's post was an extremely lengthy review of the new Harry Potter flick, I thought I'd just say that I spent some quality time with my Hollywood boyfriend, Mark Ruffalo, this afternoon when I watched The Kids are All Right.

My review: awesomesauce.

Please enjoy this picture of my and my boyfriend (ignore the other person). (Yes, I know I've posted this picture on this blog at least two other times but too bad. Look at how he's gripping my shoulder! Clearly in love with me.)

guest post!

And now, the much-anticipated review of the new Harry Potter movie by my friend, colleague, number-one commenter, and all-around insane person, Dwayne:

First, to those coming here today expecting to get your daily dose of Amanda, I apologize. While I would never presume I could replace her quality musings, I do suspect you will enjoy the following for two reasons: 1) it’s about Harry Potter, and 2) it’s by me.

If you have had the misfortune to stumble upon my recent blog comments, you will know that I am a Harry Potter fan (also that I am well prepared for the impending zombie apocalypse, that i am hypocritical when it comes to the length of blog posts vs blog comments, and that I very concerned with Jane’s upbringing). I saw the new movie last night, and Amanda allowed me (begged is a more appropriate verb) to write a review.

As I am sure is almost universally the case, it is the books that captured my heart; the movies are just the illegitimate children of my love affair with Harry. (It’s probably appropriate at this point to explain that I often use the term “Harry” to refer to the entire world of Harry Potter, not just the character.)

While book 5 (that’s Order of the Phoenix for all you muggles) is my favorite, book 7 (Deathly Hallows) is a very, very close second. There is so much stuff that happens in this book that it’s kind of ridiculous. We learn about the life and times of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. We hear the story of the three Peverell brothers through The Tales of Beedle the Bard. We spend some (painful) time inside Malfoy Manor. We lose Ron, but get him back. We lose others, but don’t get them back. We ride a half-blind dragon. Magic is Might. The Silver Doe. Battle of Hogwarts. King's Cross. SO MUCH HAPPENS, and I love every word of it. Every. Single. Word. Which is all really to say, I am biased toward loving this movie. And I do love it. A lot.

The best (read: easiest) way I can come up with to review this movie is to do it à la James Joyce’s Ulysses; that is to say, a stream-of-consciousness rambling of my thoughts as they occurred to me while watching the movie. So, if you really want to know my review, you might have to decipher a bit, but it is well worth it:

I am religious about watching the trailers; it’s part of the whole experience of watching a movie. OMG, The Green Lantern is going to suck. For reals suck.

Brilliant way to start the movie…it sets up the prevailing motifs perfectly.

Malfoy Manor reminds me of a M.C. Escher print…also, ugh, I hate snakes.

Wait, what the hell is happening?! There’s too much going on…brooms…thestrals…and an owl…I can’t keep up…this is not at all like a Jason Bourne action scene.

The wedding scene…I had such high expectations…wait, that’s not a lynx…it’s supposed to be a lynx, right?

Again, another action scene disappoints.

I hate that bitch Dolores Umbridge. Expecto Patronum! Oh shit, that’s not what I thought a splinching would look like.

The constant hum of the radio is a brilliant touch…you can see the tension building in Ron…he’s starting to look a bit crazy…like Frodo Baggins did toward the end of his journey to Mount Doom in LOTR.

Dancing? Now? Really? Fine. It’s random, but sweet.

Eff, I really hate snakes, and old people, and snakes dressed up as old people.

Wow…superfluous nudity…not sure if this is a win or fail, but the girls in the audience are literally screaming with delight.

Xenophilius’s house is designed perfectly…wait…animation…what is happening?! This may have been the best part of the movie so far…such a brilliant way to tell that story.

Holy shit, this movie moves so fast…we barely have time to digest what just happened before moving on to something else.

WTF…another action scene fail...Dear Director Yates, please don’t ruin The Battle of Hogwarts. Please? Thanks.

And we’re back at Malfoy Manor… it’s going to be a hard, hard scene to get through. Effing love Bellatrix Lestrange…Helena Bonham Carter is crazy and it’s perfect.

Shit…I forgot about this part…it is definitely overdramatized, but it must work because numerous girls are openly sobbing now…loud…and disgustingly.

I hate grave robbers.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 wands made of holly with a core of phoenix feather.

PS: I should admit that I have never read Ulysses, in spite of trying numerous times. I have, however, read a lot about Ulysses and intend to read it one day. It's on my bucket list.

PPS: Since I am in the mood to confess things, I should also admit that I have never read the first two books or even seen the first two movies. I know. Bombshell.

[Editor's note: I have no idea what this entire post means. It makes literally no sense to me. But thanks for taking over for me for a day Dwayne!]

we’re off to see the wizard

So, it seems like there is a very important movie coming out this weekend. Well, midnight tonight, to be more specific. And I’m not talking about Russell Crowe’s new movie that I won’t ever see, The Next Three Days. (What is this, anyway? Aren’t we over Russell Crowe at this point?)

Yes, it appears that the new Harry Potter movie is set to hit the big screen tonight, and from what I understand, it is going to be a very dark, terrifying, sad dramatic movie. No wonder all the kids love it! But I will not be one of the people in the multiplex for this one. I haven’t seen any of the Harry Potter movies, and I’ve only read one of the books. I think it was the fourth one – Harry “Half-Blood” Potter and the Sorcerer’s Chamber of Phoenixes, I believe it was, and it was an assignment at the newspaper where I worked at the time. But I read it. All 7,000 pages of it. It wasn’t my thing. I don’t like fantasy, I don’t like wizards, or magic, or dragons, or sorcery or death eaters or snapes or whatever the hell is in these books and movies.

So what I am about to say might shock you: I love the whole Cult of Harry Potter. I love when a new book comes out, mostly. I adore looking at pictures of the crowds lining up at the bookstores, and the kids (and adults) dressed up at their favorite characters, and everyone plopped down immediately after they make the transaction so they can start reading right away. Love love love it all.

I am a HUGE reader. I was an English major, for God’s sake! Being a book nerd is required. I absolutely love reading and think it's so important and when something like Harry Potter or (gag) Twilight*comes around that turns young people AWAY FROM THEIR VIDEO GAMES AND COMPUTERS and on to reading and books, I think it’s awesome. Reading books can very easily get lost in the shuffle of the overwhelming choices we have to entertain ourselves, especially with so many of them technology-based. (And I will never succumb to the Kindle or any e-reader, never ever ever. It’s not the same as reading an actual book. There’s no “new book” smell!)

And I’m happy to report that my faithful commenter Dwayne will be guest-posting on this blog tomorrow or Saturday to write a (very, very thorough, I imagine) review of the movie! Because “completely and totally and beyond-all-reason obsessed with Harry Potter” doesn’t even scratch the surface of his feelings for the books and the movies. I'm super-psyched! Get your reading glasses out, people! It's gonna be a long one!

*I am NOT equating the Harry Potter series to Twilight. Because while I might entertain the idea of reading Harry Potter, I will never crack open one of those Twilight books. I am not on Team Edward or Team Jacob - I am on Team PLEASE MAKE TWILIGHT STOP.

it's a small (tragically sad) world

This will not come as a shock to anyone who knows me, but I HATE HATE HATE most animated movies. Ever since Pinocchio scared the life out of me (the only time I went to the movies with my father that I can remember – and legend has it that I was screaming so loud the whole theater was looking at me), and Dumbo tore at my soul (OMG sadness) and Bambi….well, let’s be real, I’ve never seen Bambi, and I never will….I have avoided animated movies like the plague.

Why, you ask? Well, they are ALWAYS sad. Think of your favorite animated film. Oh, I bet you will try to tell me it wasn’t sad. But, if pushed to remember, I bet you will think of something that would make a sap like me cry. I have a friend who is enraged that I have never seen Finding Nemo. I mean, he’s really mad at me about this. Is it sad, I asked? No, no, it isn’t he said. But sure enough, something tragic happens to Nemo’s mother (always with the mother) at the beginning. I actually got teary reading a REVIEW of Toy Story 3 earlier this year. And, basically, I don’t like to cry at movies. I don’t like to be a miserable puddle of sadness. So I have avoided this genre altogether.

But now I have a kid. A kid who seems to like such movies. We started off slow, with Cinderella. She became completely and totally obsessed with it (to the point that she calls any heels I own “glass slippers” and declares herself a “pincense” on a daily basis) and then somehow we lost the DVD at the boat. To make up for it, Greg bought her The Princess and the Frog, the most recent Disney animated film. (Of course we called it “Cinderella and the Frog” to distract her from the fact that we lost her original movie.)

Now, when Jane is watching these movies, I sit with her, but I’ll either be reading or messing around online, so I’m not really paying attention. I like to protect myself from the sadness as much as possible. But the other day, upon the 10 millionth viewing of Cinderella and the Frog, I noticed that on the screen was [SPOLIER ALERT – but if you know animated movies you know what’s coming] a very sickly looking firefly. I asked Greg what was wrong with him. See, Greg would know, because being a boy with no siblings, he never really got to see any of the Disney movies (which is why he was shocked that the Prince in Cinderella immediately got to marry her after he found that the glass slipper fit her – and I told him that movies like these are why many women believe in fairy tale romances. If it happened to Cinderella, it can happen to us. Except most of the time it doesn’t. Don’t get me started..) ANYWAY, he thinks these movies are just great and loves the music in The Princess and the Frog so much so that I might buy him the soundtrack. And it’s true – it really is good New Orleans-style music. I cannot fault him for this.
God, am I getting sidetracked. So I asked Greg what was wrong with the firefly, and apparently he (the firefly, not Greg) got run over by “Shadow Man” (or something like that) and was on his way to firefly heaven. But it wasn’t even firefly heaven – see, apparently the firefly was in love with a star in the sky throughout the movie, so when he died (after a big long tortuous death scene) you see that he is reunited with the star in the sky.

WELL. I lost it. I barely knew any characters in the movie, I didn’t even know there WAS a firefly up until this point, and I was bawling, tears and tears and more tears. It was just SO SAD. And then I started railing on (again) about why do these movies have to be this way, and Greg said that Jane didn’t even understand it so it wasn’t a big deal, and then I said she WOULD understand it someday, and then WHAT WILL WE TELL HER and on and on and I am not even making any of this up.

I really don’t know how I’m going to make it through her childhood without her realizing I’m completely nuts.

one minute review

Just a quick note to say we ended up going to the movies yesterday afternoon - it was awesome, because I truly cannot remember the last time I was at a movie in the middle of a work day - and we saw The Social Network. I'm a total Facebook junkie and to see the scandal behind the creation (well - Aaron Sorkin's version of the scandal, anyway) was very cool. Of course, I had forgotten it was a Sorkin-scripted movie until the first scene, when the words were coming so fast out of the characters' mouths that my brain had to work to keep up (kind of how you have to get used to Shakespeare's language when you first start reading one of his plays, and then after a while, it all seems normal. Not that I am comparing Sorkin to Shakespeare, because, good English major that I am, I would never do that.)

Anyway, rant over. Go see it. And write a way more detailed review than this.

PS The movies! In the middle of the day! With popcorn! How decadant!

mothers (day) and babies (the movie)

After my massive blogging bonanza last week, I obviously had to take a blog break. That was simply exhausting, posting those YouTube videos and everything. Anyway, I’m back. Did you have a nice Mother’s Day? Mine was pretty good. Overall it was a really busy weekend – we had friends over on Friday night, Saturday we did chores and took the whole fan-damily to West Hartford Center for a walk – yes, including the dogs – and then I had book club on Saturday night.

Of course we made a scene on our family walk. Whenever Junior comes out with us, it’s like a circus. It's like walking around with Lady Gaga or something. He's a celebrity. Everyone wants to see him, pet him, ask how much he eats...of course, he was in heaven. Plus Jane wanted to “walk” the dogs, so it was basically Greg holding the double-leash, Jane holding the end of the leash, and me doing nothing but walking behind them. Awesome!

On Saturday we also went to lunch at Rainforest Café. Holy shit, that place is loud. I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, but inside the décor is rainforest-style, and the animals (birds, gorillas, elephants, etc) all come to “life” every 15 minutes, and then every 30 minutes there is a big “storm” – I am shocked it didn’t scar Jane for life, because it sure did me. I think I’ll avoid that place for the rest of my life a couple more years.

On Sunday we went to my mom’s for brunch and Jane chose that day to basically reject me and be in a terrible mood. She was all like, “Happy Mother’s Day, beeeyotch.” So that was fun. Nothing like having a 2.5-year-old throw a massive fit every five minutes to help you celebrate your motherhood.



Last night I finally got to see the movie Babies! I went with Lisa and I really liked it a lot. You really have to be interested in just sort of being a fly on the wall, watching these four babies from around the globe go through their first year - there is no narration or explanation of anything - no subtitles, nothing. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed seeing how, really, it doesn't matter whether you are raised in a little hut in Africa or in a big-city like Tokyo - babies are generally the same. (I wasn't a huge fan of the hippy-dippy San Francisco parents. I can't even really put my finger on why. I just liked them least out of all of the parents.) Anyway, Lora at Fever interviewed the director of the movie, and they came to the conclusion that what babies and children and parents need most is love given and time spent. It doesn't really matter what else you give them - what they need and want above all is love and time. And it's true true true, despite the fact that it sometimes seems so hard to accomplish. (Not the love part. The time part.) Anyway, check her post out.

chick flicks

I want to see these two movies SO BAD. (OK, I know I already posted the Babies trailer at some point, but too bad. It's delicious. It makes me teary every time! And I LOVE the song in the background. What is that? Must Google.) Happy weekend!

happy happy, joy joy

The trailer for Sex and the City 2 came out over the holidays, and I somehow missed it until today - CAN'T WAIT! (they won't let you embed, so you have to click on the link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKQ5yRFkBnE

I was happy to hear that this sequel is a lot more fun than the first one - which I loved, although it was pretty dark, especially considering it was, well, Sex and the City the Movie. Just sayin'.

like mother, like daughter

At around 6 p.m. every night, you can count on Jane to get a bit cranky. I have found one trick that ALWAYS makes her happy. I log on to the Sex and the City movie site, load up the trailer, and play it a whole bunch of times. Maybe it's a little unorthodox, and I'm sure I'm frying her tender little brain cells in front of the computer, but it puts a smile on her face EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Me too! Can't wait for May 30!

hello, lovah

I have had, how you say, a shitty week. Just not good.

Until I saw the trailer for this.

Check it out (it's on the site, scroll down).

Fabulous.

(And if you think I'm superficial and stupid and whatever, just keep it to yourself. I get four hours of sleep at night. Sorry my idea of culture isn't curling up with Tolstoy.)

well, I have my plans for May 30, 2008

The "Sex and the City" movie started shooting this week in NYC, with a release slated for May 30, 2008. I've already told you how excited I am about the movie; now, who wants to babysit that night? 'Cause Greg's a fan too, and Jane's just a little too young.

I have not been this excited about a movie since RENT

Wahoo! E! Online has confirmed that Sex and the City, THE MOVIE, will start filming this fall! When my beloved series ended a couple of years ago, it seemed that this was never going to happen - that Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker hated each other, and Kim wanted more money, and all this stuff that may or may not be true (the ladies will not confirm it) - but who cares - because now they are going to make it and I am sooooooo haaaaaaaaaaappy. I heart this show so much - even the sanitized TBS repeats -and the idea of its return in movie form is just plain awesome.

three movies

I caught up on my movie rentals this weekend, and saw and recommend these three:

Notes on a Scandal - Yeah, it's pretty messed up to watch Cate Blanchett have a love affair with a 15-year-old, but Judi Dench rocks it in this movie. It's pretty much depressing but still good.

The Queen - Interesting to see what all of the fuss was about with Helen Mirren taking on the role of the Queen of England during the time of Princess Diana's death. Although I was obviously aware of when she died, I wasn't really invested in it, so it was interesting to see it from this perspective.

Stranger Than Fiction - Definitely a good idea for Will Ferrell to do a movie like this, where he plays a more serious, "normal" character. There are some sad parts, but I really liked this movie a lot. Also, I heart Emma Thompson.

my Hollywood boyfriend does it again

Last night we went to see Zodiac, starring my Hollywood boyfriend, Mark Ruffalo (and some other people, like Jake Gyllen-whatever and Robert Downey Jr). It was really really good. Although the movie was well over two hours, I never got bored. It was based on the real life story of the Zodiac killer, who was a serial killer in California in the late 60s-early 70s. They never completely solved the mystery of who it was, so it's not like the movie has a nicely wrapped-up ending. But still, it was really interesting. And although Mark Ruffalo had terrible sideburns and an even worse wardrobe, he was still great. And the other people were good too. Go see it!

can you spell this?

I just finished watching the movie Akeelah and the Bee. Super cute. I loved it.