Have you seen this? Lego 007

 My brother sent this a while back. It. Is. Awesome.


I could watch the entire movie like that. 

Found it!

The opening credits to Dragon Tattoo. Yay!

Yup, pretty cool. And there's all the imagery in there for the Millennium trilogy- not just this first film.
Enjoy?

Opening Credits

So we went to see the remake of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the opening credits looked like they could be really great, but being in the second row, my view was a little distorted.
Then later we went to see the Adventures of Tintin, and I also liked those opening credits.
But of course, I can't find either one on youtube... maybe after they're out on DVD.

Here's one of my absolute favorites though: Seven (also directed by GwDT's David Fincher, so no wonder I enjoyed the opening, duh!):

And also: The Terminator! Ohhhh goosebumps...
http://youtu.be/K6auDCAGJgE

Movies, movies, and more movies

I am movied out. Of course, this is only a temporary condition. Could be cured in 5 minutes if I choose, but I think I'll choose bed instead.

5 movies today and 5 last Saturday.

Haven't decided what my favorite was, but here are my brief notes:
Inception - great visuals, JG-L is great, and parts took place in a letterpress workshop in Paris- hell-o!
Toy Story 3 - not-recommended when PMSing - tissues. So good!
The Fighter - Boxing, hell-o!
The Kids are All Right - California douchebaggery + Annette Benning doing a fab. job.
Winter's Bone - haven't seen Pete of "Benny's World of Blood" (From Dusk Til Dawn) in a while. Good movie, but not happy.
The King's Speech - fab. (Didn't recognize Jennifer Ehle though! Lizzy and Darcy in the same movie and I didn't even appreciate it!) Also, I now have Beethoven stuck in my head.
Black Swan - am i the only person who really liked that? Everyone I know was really disturbed by it.
True Grit - Good, but in a regular movie way, not a Coen Brothers' way. HS - great newcomer.
The Social Network - facebook sucks (necessary evil these days though). Well done, but most of the characters were jerks. Best line of the movie: "I'm 6'5", 225lbs, and there's two of me."
127 Hours - wicked cool. Love desert scenery like that. Also, ouch.

Looking forward to the Oscars Sunday night. Hopefully it's better than last year's telecast, which bored me to drink. (Okay, i would have had my bubbly no matter what. But still, it was boring.)

The Oscars

I did AMC's Best Picture Showcase the past 2 Saturdays, so I've seen all the Best Picture Nominees. Favorites were The Blind Side, Up and The Hurt Locker.

T was kind enough to get the digital antennae and converter thingy for the old TV so that I could watch the Oscars last night. And watch it I did. As T was using the internet I couldn't have fun with twitter, so here are my thoughts, delayed:

• On the red carpet, Kathy Ireland was painful. The way she was speaking I felt she should be on an infomercial or something. So annoying.
• Carey Mulligan's earrings were FABULOUS. I want. Really really want.
  
• Sarah Jessica Parker looked *awful.* The tan, the yellow, the skeletal look, and that ridiculous bun. Wish the red carpet guy would have let Broderick speak b/c he's probably far more interesting. And looks better.
• Streep and Mirren looked awesome, but they usually do, don't they?
  
• Bored with Anna Kendrick's hair style. I think she's done it that way a few other times this awards season. Meh.
• "Intern George's" hair could have looked better.
• Twilight is not a horror movie. Why was it in the montage?
  
• Did I miss Farrah Fawcett or did they just not mention her in the year's passings.
• Really glad Sandra Bullock won. She's come a long way from Speed, hasn't she? And her performance in The Blind Side was excellent.
• Queen Latifa looked fabulous. She usually does tho. Cameron Diaz looked lovely, too.
  
• Tom Ford = nice. Haven't seen his movie yet but I will.
  
• Liked seeing the guys from The Hurt Locker at the end- they looked so excited and thrilled on stage.
• And yay for Kathryn Bigelow! It really was a badass movie.
  

Ack! It's been forever...

...since I've posted, and I really don't know why. Oh wait, yeah i do! T got sick with a cold on Halloween (and we were both off from work the following week) and just when he was getting better, I got it. I didn't start feeling 100% until last Thursday so Friday and my weekend were spent making up for the week before- cleaning, walk/jogging, shopping, etc.

But while on my break I finished Dita:

I also went through the huge stack of magazines that had been piling up.

And a watched a TON of movies. To name a few: Brideshead Revisited, The Eyes of Laura Mars, Wives & Daughters, Fallen Angel, Pure, The Other Boleyn Girl, Incendiary, Sweet Bird of Youth, and Harper. Not all were good. Some were really bad!

More later...

Oh, Rock On

I just see that Somebody Up There Likes Me shipped today. Boxing + Mr Newman, i'm sure i'll enjoy it!

Only the Most Awesome Movie Ever!

Last night was ALIENS at the Paramount. Hell yes!

And how was it? you might ask? Freakin' awesome.

Good crowd too. Mostly 20s and 30s, laughter at all the right parts, even some applause (like when Ripley comes out to face the queen in the power lifter thing), and the girl in front of us had never seen Aliens before (shocking). Her boyfriend told me "I think I've been waiting my whole life to see it at the theater."

"Did IQs drop sharply while I was away?"

"You started this; show me everything. I can handle myself."
(I still heart Hicks/Michael Biehn, after more than 20 years! This was the first time I'd seen a movie of his at the theater.)

"Get away from her, you bitch!"

Sadly I couldn't find some larger pictures of others to share (and I'd like to b/c there are so many quotes to throw out there), but you know how badass the movie is. Funny, even though it takes place in space, on a different planet, with aliens and an "artificial human," I don't consider this movie science fiction, but pure action.

So the movie is 23 years old. I was 5 when it was released and 6 or 7 (Mom? You'd know.) when I first saw it. And it is STILL awesome and still holds up today. Even the effects, when obviously a model floating in front of a screen (like some original Star Wars effects) and I see it as charming; the craft as opposed to oooh computers. But yes, still as awesome a movie as it ever was. (Unlike Terminator 2, incredibly dated. The Terminator is still cool, and I'd love to see that one at the theater too!)

I may throw on the dvd, even though it's the shitty special edition with added scenes that cheapen it tremendously. It will have to do!

Bye : )

p.s. Even though T and I have seen the movie SEVERAL times (for me several is an extremely low estimate) we still jumped at certain scenes! ha!

Cooking & Dancing

For dinner last night, I baked salmon, with lemon slices and dried dill, and served with whole wheat pasta and spinach pesto. Yum!


Last week I stupidly forgot to take pictures of the new things I tried. I made pea ravioli (minus the mint), which ended up like vegetarian pot stickers instead of ravioli, and was delicious! Would totally make them again. With the leftover wrappers, on Sunday, I stir fried some shrimp, ginger, garlic and green onions, pulsed them in the food processor and used that with some shredded cabbage. Fried them in some oil (too much probably) and served with steamed broccoli for dinner. Also yum. Needs a bit of tweaking, but overall, pretty good.
Need more wrappers.

I've been really good and getting up early (by 6) to exercise, 4 days a week. Do the Self Challenge twice a week, and last week I played on the wii fit the other 2 days. Today I tried Egyptian Belly Dancing, available instantly on netflix. (The quality is pretty foul, but not the worst I've seen.) It was a lot of fun! I would totally sign up for a class. The Egyptian walking (alternating hips up and down while keeping upper body still and walking around with little steps) is *very* hard- especially at full speed.
Here's the best part of From Russia with Love, with a different region's dance. Her hips are amazing!

Oh hell yes!

Saw yesterday that The Paramount Theatre is showing Aliens for it's Summer Film Series. I totally bought our tickets already. 3 months in advance!


Aliens is one of my favorite movies, and has been since I was little. (It's also one of the most quotable.) Unfortunately, the dvd version I have is the horrible extended/director's cut/special edition p.o.c. with terrible added scenes that really cheapen the whole movie. As the Paramount is doing a double feature, they're also showing Alien 3. Would much rather it be Alien and then Aliens b/c Alien 3 was no good. (Begged my mom to take me to see it when it came out, even though I was aware that Hicks was killed off.)

Now if only I can see The Terminator in the theater... Heh, that would be a double feature not to miss- Aliens and The Terminator. Heaven! I think I know what I'm doing this weekend.

Austin Wind Symphony does Star Trek

So I said that I saw Star Trek on Friday. It was a fundraiser at the IMAX for the Austin Planetarium and was pretty cool. There was a costume contest (darth vadar was a contestant), a comedy group (which might have been very funny but I've no idea- sound was bad) and the Austin Wind Symphony which was awesome. I only recognized 2, maybe 3, pieces but it was great- the musicians played very well (many in costume as well) and the conductor was a joy to watch. Here's their opening.

Coolest Thing Ever

Saturday I went out in search of decorating inspiration and armed with giftcards. First stop was Flashback on South First (mission: hat pin for pin up girl hat purchased from Miss Maulie) where I found a little hat pin (red and white heart), a new purse (mother's day present from the cats? sure!) that is so 1960s structured bag (i'll take a picture later) and this awesome chip set (aka the Coolest Thing Ever):
The real purpose of my excursion was to stop by Anthropologie, which I so cannot afford. But their scents and textures provide inspiration, which is needed. Our bedroom, while empty and relaxing, needs more.

Got some work done in the study as well. Painted the wheely-cart glossy white (was tiffany blue) and started painting the chair (free chair from side of the road. Looked like crap and I never did finish sanding it).
Mother's day was tea and oat scones in the backyard. Gave mom some coasters made from tile and cocktail napkins with tea pots and tea cups.

Made some for myself, too

Also finished the chair! Seat is a napkin from world market.
Saw Star Trek on Friday. Better than I thought it would be. Finished watching Frost/Nixon (very good) and watched The Reader yesterday (sad but also very good). Watched Team America Thursday (not good).

Also, because I'm soooo not inspired to workout after work, I got up early this morning and did my Self Challenge (month 1) workout, which is tough (once again I crapped out on the push-ups) but only takes 25 minutes. Had a healthy breakfast too (2 slices of whole wheat bread spread with 1T natural p.b. and 2t strawberry preserves). Now we'll see if I can avoid the candy dish at work today...

Where the Wild Things Are

The Oscars

I watched the Oscars last night, as well as the red carpet show and some of barbara walters' interviews (why the jonas brothers? I don't get it.) Was curious to see how Wolverine would do.
Overall? Meh. The crystal curtain was great, but to much song-and-dance, having little to do with the actual films. The whole Beyonce/high school musical people song? What? Okay, so maybe the sparkling wine had something to do with it, but you'd think I'd enjoy it more that way. Also, before the show, the composer said they'd be taking familiar themes and performing them in a different style. I only recognized 2 done like that. Swear that the rest of them were normal awards-show style. Was hoping for more.
Never got around to seeing any of the best picture nominees this year (no $!), but was very happy when Winslet won her oscar (love her!).
Still disappointed that The Dark Knight wasn't nominated for best picture. I mean really!

007 - Can't wait!

So excited about this month's Bond Night- seeing Quantum of Solace at the drafthouse opening night. (I really hope it won't disappoint.)

Last week I had a dream that i had double crossed Bond (played by D.Craig) and was now being hunted by him and another agent. I shot the other agent and spent the rest of my dream being hunted by Bond, belly-crawling around on the ground, in my evening dress of course, gun in hand, trying to hide and shoot him before he could shoot me.

Told my brother about it and this is what he had to say:
"and that's the last bond i'd want hunting me. i could care less if any of the other bonds were hunting me, it's like being hunted by a squirrel. who gives a shit? but getting hunted by daniel craig's james bond is like being hunted by the predator from both predator movies, mark whalberg in shooter and arnold schwarzenegger in the first terminator movie, all rolled into one."

Quite accurate, no?

Ugh, what a month...

Well, my hard drive crashed at the beginning of the month. No, I hadn't backed things up yet. The back-up external hard drive was to be October's purchase. So I lost EVERYTHING*. Very traumatic weekend. As my warranty had expired, we tried some DIY w/ a new hard drive, but that possibly screwed up the machine- a piece moved during the switcheroo. Long story short, I have a new computer and the old one is being worked on. Going to sell it once it's all fixed up and use that $ to help pay for this one.

*Thank goodness I had posted all my travel pictures on the travel blog! Can you imagine how upset i'd be if i lost those???

One of the stray cats was adopted earlier, but then another showed up. And now I hear from a neighbor that there are 2 kittens? Oy! (Can't wait to see them though!)

I'm in a wedding next Saturday and my dress (simple brown sateeny-cotton halter) is still tight. Planning on wearing it all day this Sunday to stretch it out; cross your fingers that it works. May also have to wear my (air-restricting yet awesome) laced up waist cincher under it. Comfort or beauty, I know which I'll pick!
I also still need shoes. Can't afford the ones I originally wanted now.

The two people who had initially expressed interest in my slightly-dinged up yet still really good Corolla can't buy it after all. I'm going to clean it up and take it to Carmax this weekend, just to see what they can offer me. If they don't hit at least the minimum of what I need (there is a magic number, I just want to pay it off and pay for the scooter, nothing more) then I'l have to Craigslist it. Not looking forward to the hassle. (If anyone needs a 2005 silver corolla with a few cosmetic flaws for a really good price, contact me!)

Never Say Never Again was not "a good one." Why do people always say the old Bond movies were "good one[s]"? Was it that they saw them when they first came out? Saw them as kids on Saturday afternoons? I still say that Dr. No is the only one I'd buy so far; Goldfinger was the next best, then From Russia w/ Love (but probably b/c the belly dancing in the beginning was so cool).

My raincoat came in and is a) too big and b) too bright pink. Was hoping for a more fucshia-ish fucshia.

On a happier note, it only cost me $3.43 to fill up the scooter this week. And I got a new helmet, white with pink stripes.

So that's what's going on here, and why I haven't posted in a while.

Quote

"If you're good at something, never do it for free."

Cats Who Like Apples, Style Influences, Etc.

When I tell people that Emma likes apples, I don't think they realize how much she likes apples. But only certain ones; she's quite picky.

 

Watched The Talented Mr. Ripley again last night. Not only is it a really good movie, but it's also a beautiful movie. The clothes, the hair, the manners of Marge and Meredith, and of course, Italy. Makes me want to buy more skirts, time travel back, and move to Italy. 

Happy Kitchen Flowers & 007

How can you not smile when looking at these daisies?

Tried a basic tomato sauce last night (diced the onion with my NEW chef's knife), and I think it turned out pretty good. Guess I'm making pasta tonight.

Had Bond Night w. T and my brother last Friday (Moonraker). It was so bad. And not even lame dialogue that causes us to take another shot of tequila, but just so bad. Hopefully (?) For Your Eyes Only will at least have moments where one of us fills up the shot glasses. 

And I've read a few 007 books/stories. I told T that about 2% of what happened in Moonraker happened in the book, and night before last I read FYEO. There's no WAY that the story was actually turned into a full movie. It's like they'll take the title and one tiny element and call it the film version. 

But by the time we make it through them all, we will be able to say "yes, I've seen all the Bond movies" whereas before we had only seen some Brosnons and Casino Royale, the only one I own. The only other one worth owning (so far?) is Dr. No.

Sense & Sensibility

It's really not fair that there's so much buzz about the new Sense & Sensibility (hell, it's even available at Target today) when KLRU hasn't aired it yet. I have to wait until *this* Sunday. 

It'd better be this Sunday. Yahoo's tv listings say more fundraising programs are airing, yet when I emailed KLRU to find out wtf, it's just wrong to interrupt The Complete Jane Austen, I was told that they'd be marathoning it this Sunday.