2010 - Movie Recap

Hello all!  Let me start off by saying Merry Christmas!  I hope everyone had a great Christmas.  Mine was a wonderful time spent with my family back in Oklahoma.  It consisted of lots of food, lots of presents, lots of family time, and one very difficult 1,000 piece puzzle that my grandmother, aunt, and myself worked in a span of 3 days.  Too addicting, I will not get sucked into an activity like that again!  I also want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  Hopefully everyone has big plans tonight.  I myself am going to see an 80's cover band with a group of friends; it should be a great time.  


However, I have definitely had some New Year's Eve's that consisted of only junk food and movies (with a little Carson Daly beginning at about 11:30 pm).  If you fall in this category, let me assist you with my top movies of the year you could watch tonight.  Now if you know me, you know that I am a big movie junkie.... I always try to see all of the movies nominated for Best Picture each year.  Seeing as the Oscar's are still a couple of months away I still have some time to get caught up.  Until then, I will give you my opinion on the top movies of 2010.  Ready, set, and go!  (These are in no particular order, likely because if they were Toy Story would possibly be at the top of the list....and that is slightly embarrassing).


#1 - Inception

I really don't know where to begin in describing this movie.  Actually, I do....  I saw this movie on opening day with a friend at the mall.  The 7pm was sold out so we had to go to the late movie, which started at 9pm.  Well, we decided to get dinner and drinks during the two hour wait that we had.  Big mistake.  We walk into the movie right on time and the only seats left were on the second row.  Second row, action movie, after 2 mojitos....all I have to say is whoah!  There was a lot going on.  Needless to say, thankfully after the previews I was pretty adjusted to our seating arrangement and my buzz was wearing off so I was good to go for all of the craziness that is Inception.  Now, let's discuss why Inception was awesome, because let's face it there are no other words to describe this movie:
1.  Leonardo DiCaprio.  (No further explanation is necessary.  I have loved this guy since before Titanic when he had a recurring role on Growing Pains.  I think he is a phenomenal actor and have loved seeing him in all of the different roles he has played).
2.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  (Again, no further explanation is necessary.  I have loved him since his days on 3rd Rock.  He was also amazing in the 1999 movie 10 Things I Hate About You, and how could you not love him in 500 Days of Summer?  It was great to see him in Inception because it was a different kind of role for him.  Normally he is kind of the cute nerdy guy, but did he not look so buff and hot in this movie??  I gladly welcome his grown up look).
3.  Ellen Page.  Love her....Juno was an amazing film and I am happy to see this great actress again.
4.  The Story.  I LOVED the story going on in Inception.  While it was a highly action filled movie about people that get into your dreams, the ultimate story was about Leonardo's character (Cobb) dealing with his wife's death and trying to get back home to see his children.  Centered around all of that of course is the big heist where Cobb and his team are getting into the subconscious  of a businessman and his empire.  Leo's emotion was very raw, Marion Cotilliard played his dead wife perfectly, and as an audience member you felt strong compassion towards his character and the confusion he was going through as he kept seeing his dead wife within all of the dream sequences.  
5.  The Special Effects.  I know I am an easy one to please here, but I think even the most high tech people would admit that the special effects were so good in this movie.  From the explosion scene in Paris, to the dream where Cobb goes through his whole life, to all of the things that happen when the van is flipped upside down, Christopher Nolan got everything down perfectly.  
6.  The Ending.  Now most people will say that the ending was frustrating, but I LOVED it.  In the theater when the top continues to spin and it goes to black everyone gasped and I could tell most were annoyed.  However, I like that it leaves it open to the viewer to decide if it is a Dream or Reality.  Now I have thought about it over and over, and I came to the conclusion that there is evidence to support both him being in a Dream and in Reality at the end.  I personally think he is in Reality as he is not wearing his wedding ring.  I believe the wedding ring is his true totem, while the spinning top is his wife's.  Therefore the fact that it doesn't stop spinning is irrelevant.  However, no one knows who is right....which makes the movie that much more awesome.  I suggest you pick a stance and be prepared to defend it in conversations with friends!


#2 - The Social Network

I think what made the Social Network so great was the fact that the movie was incredibly intriguing and relatable.  Most of my friends and I remember life before Facebook (gasp!).  Yes I know it is hard to conceive of a time before 2004 when Facebook first came out and you had to find out about who people were through friends or real social interaction.  I was a sophomore in college when FB came out and I am not going to lie,  I was a quick a FB junkie.  I do see it as a great way to keep up with college and high school friends, share pictures, see people's interests, (and of course look up people you meet out and about.  I mean you do need to verify that the guy you met at that party isn't really a murderer or rapist, right?).  Anyway, I digress.....back to the movie.


I liked the way the movie was set up.  It went back and forth from present day to the 2003 - 2004 time period when Mark Zuckerberg was at Harvard and asked to help with the social networking project that later would become Facebook.  It was great to see the process it took to get the site up and running.


I also enjoyed the performance by Jesse Eisenberg.  Now I had never heard of this guy before.  But he did a good job playing Mark Zuckerberg.  Not that anyone really knows anything about Mark.  But most of us know that he is allegedly not that social and kind of an outcast.  Oh the irony.  Anyway, Jesse delivered his lines very quick and precise.  He came off as a jerk really, but at the same time you kind of understood why he thought the things he did.  Bravo to the casting director here.


Finally, let's give it up for Justin Timberlake.  I LOVE him.  And I actually think he is talented.  I mean besides singing, he acts, is athletic, has a clothing line, I mean the guy succeeds in everything he does.  And I really think he is a pretty good actor, and he is always hilarious on SNL.  Anyway, I thought he did an amazing job as the Napster guy.  I am not totally sure how fabricated his part in the story was, but I enjoyed seeing JT regardless.


Overall the movie left you with lots of questions about what was true and what was not, but I also left wondering more and more about Mark Zuckerberg and what he would think about the movie.  I am sure he isn't pleased with his portrayal, but regardless the movie was entertaining.  The ending was brilliant as well:  the fact that he asked his ex-girlfriend to be friends and at the end is awaiting her response was genius.  Overall, job well-done.


#3 - The Town

While not quite as good as the Departed, the Town is definitely my favorite mob movie since.  I must give a disclaimer here.  While I am a young 20s something girl and I love a good cheesy chick flick, I have a thing for mob action movies.  I love them.  They are fast paced, keep my attention, and normally have pretty good acting, and a surprise at the end. Now on to the movie....bravo to Ben Affleck.  I mean we all know that Ben Affleck is talented (for all Gigli's out there, we all know that he started with the genius screenplay for Good Will Hunting).  I for one have an affection for both of the Affleck boys, and I now think they are both fine directors.  I loved Casey Affleck's directing of Gone Baby Gone, and now I can add Ben to the list for The Town.  


Best things about this movie:  definitely the acting.  From Ben Affleck, to Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner, the acting was superb.  Although Ben and Jeremy's characters were bad guys, you still wanted to like them.  Ben's character was a good guy at heart while Jeremy's had a reason to be the way he was, and they both portrayed their characters flawlessly.  In the end Jeremy's character was just looking out for "the family" and Ben's was just looking for a way out of bank robbing, period.  And Jon Hamm....if you have read my Emmy blog you know I love Jon Hamm as Don Draper.  Well, I also like him as the lead FBI detetive that is in charge of the mob case in this story.  His frustration with knowing that these guys were responsible for the bank robberies but lacking the evidence needed to convict really made him relatable.


Other notable things about the movie were the awesome car chasing scenes and the whole scene that was filmed at Fenway Park.  How can you not fall in love with Fenway?  I mean I have never been to Boston and and am not a Red Sox fan, yet I was incredibly intrigued with their planned robbery of the cash at Fenway after a weekend game.  That whole concept was really good.  


I also really enjoyed the ending.  Yes lots of people died, and yes Ben's character and the girl don't end up together....but the fact that he hides the money where she will find it and knows that she will do good things with it prove that his character was sincere at heart.  Again, here I was having sympathy for the "bad" guy.  Well played Ben, well played.


#4 - Toy Story 3

OMG... I loved this movie so much.  I have only one thing to say here.....the people at Pixar are pure geniuses....this movie was appealing to everyone.  Little kids liked it because they are young and it is a story geared towards kids with fantastic animation.  Parents like it because it was a good wholesome movie to take the family to.  The age group though that probably helped make this movie one of the biggest movies of the year....I would say that it would have to be people in the 18-30 year old category.  Since I fall right in the middle of this category and watched the movie not in the presence of children I can honestly say that I think our age group was the key for this movie's success.  Let me explain why.


Most of the people my age were in grade school in 1995 when the original movie came out. We fell in love with Woody and Buzz and thought the movie was great.  And yes, we did go see the second one a few years later too, and while I thought it was ok, I didn't really relate to it anymore.  However, over 15 years later here I am at 25 crying during Toy Story 3.  It was so relatable to people our age because Andy has grown up and has to go through his toys.  We all remember doing that and having to get rid of toys that we loved just because we were simply too old to be holding on to them.  It left me feeling nostalgic and remembering some of my favorite toys and how sad I was to give them up when the time came.


And since the story consisted of the toys accidentally being thrown away and them ending up at the day care it was very interesting.  Our old characters were all still there, but then there were tons of new characters, conflicts, and issues arising due to toys that want to rule the day care.  Nothing in Toy Story 3 seemed repetitive of the first two movies.  It was very new and refreshing.


One of my favorite new characters were Barbie and Ken.  So cute!  I for one loved Barbie, so it was fun to see the way they did those two characters.  Very innovative.


And again, I loved the ending with this movie too.  It was sweet that Andy gave his toys to a little girl who would appreciate them, love them, and play with them.  And the fact that he gave her Woody even though he didn't want to was so sweet.  Let's just say by the end of the movie I was ok with the fact that I stayed in on a Friday night and watched it alone.  I also came to the realization that I wouldn't lie and say I watched it while baby-sitting or hanging out with my friends that have kids.  I rented it alone and I am proud of it!  Fantastic movie.


#5 - Ok, I have to admit that I couldn't come up with a number five.  I am assuming that if I was a Harry Potter fan that I would put it here, but since I am not I can't do that.  However, I can concur that Casey loved it and said that it was good, as did most movie critics, so that will be the placeholder for now.  


I also want to disclaim the fact that there are several movies I haven't seen yet that were largely critically acclaimed, including Black Swan, Blue Valentine, The Fighter, and 127 Hours.  I have heard from friends that all of these are good, so their lack of being on my top movie list is only due to the fact that I haven't made the time to see them (I know you are extremely worried...haha!).  Hopefully I will get to see them and by Oscar time can give you my opinion.


If you have taken the time to read of all my random thoughts, I want to wish you a Happy New Year!  And check the blog this weekend, my parents are all moved into their house and we did some craft projects.  If you want to know how to easily recover chairs, you are in for a treat!  Until then, Ciao for now!

Oh baby, it's Christmas time again!

Ok, unfortunately this post is going to be short.  I promise to catch you up on some really good year-end movie reviews (including the Town, the Social Network, and hopefully some other good Oscar contenders), as well as some other good things that have happened to me over the past month, but if I don't go to bed soon I won't be able to make it up for the run that I promised myself I would go on in the morning!


Man, I know that the Christmas time is a busy time of year for everyone, but this year is an extra special busy time for me and the people around me.  My parents have sold and bought a house and are supposed to move within the next week; my dad's high school football team that he coaches is in the state semi-finals on Saturday!!  whoo-hoo, nothing like high school football in December!  As my dad has said, "You really know you are playing a good season if you have to practice on Thanksgiving" ; I also have to travel for work next week, do all of my Christmas shopping, and somehow try to make it to 4 or 5 Christmas parties and still go to the gym somewhat regularly over the next three weeks.  Luckily I have taken 2 weeks off of work, but that doesn't start until December 21.  So until then when I have time to sit and actually write, I wanted to show you how Casey and I decorated for Christmas!  Enjoy, and feel free to share your Christmas decorations as well!

 Here is our tree.  Check out the cute bow.  My sweet sister Amy got a bow-maker (yes, I didn't know those existed either!).  It is the coolest thing ever; it has different templates and you pick your bow style and it then shows you how to fold your ribbon to make your bow.  Absolutely genius!  And I actually wrapped the presents under the tree myself....normally I just go for sacks, but this year I thought I would actually use boxes and wrapping paper; it turned out great besides the fact that I chose wrapping paper with glitter.  There is glitter all over the apartment and it has been at least a week....

Here is our wreath.  I made it in the same way that I made my Fall wreath.  Again all you do is pick out a few different swags, beads, greenery, and ribbon and put it all on a blank wreath.  Don't forget a command hook for the door either!

 Here are our stockings from Crate and Barrel.  I couldn't get the right stocking to stay straight for anything.  Now if only we actually used the fireplace...we don't have gas logs and we are both to lazy to go get real firewood and clean up ash.  We need to get a boy to come over and do it.

 These are some Christmas plates my mom bought me back in college.  I love them, so I always set them out during the holidays.

  Finally, our centerpiece for our coffee table.  I just got this mix of potpourri from Pier 1, it's a combination of greenery, pine cones, christmas ornaments, and some glittery branches.  Very festive!

And three more quick things to mention:  My friend Sarah and all of the girls in her family just returned from NYC!  I was so jealous, I am trying to get my mom to go next year.  Anyway they snapped this cute picture of the Rockefeller Chrirstmas tree.  They also saw Brad Pitt at their hotel bar!  Let's just say that I was soooo incredibly jealous.  I would have been jealous even if he still looked like a grizzly bear and wasn't clean shaven.  Thankfully though our fabulous Brad has turned back into a normal person as of late.  Sarah said he was really cute in person.  How I wish I could have snuck into her suitcase!

And here is a quick pic of my parents new house.  They are hoping to move within the next week or so.  It all depends on the football game this weekend, only in Texas does life revolve this much around football!!

 Finally, a little Boomer Sooner action!  My beloved Sooners just won the last Big 12 Championship there will ever be!  And I got to go to the game, and sit in a suite....it was fabulous.  I got to go with people from work and we had a great time.  I snapped a few pics of the jumbo screen at Cowboys stadium from our suite.

 Below are all of the players and Bob (oh how I love Bob!) after the victory!  Such a great night to be a Sooner!!!

I hope everyone has a great couple of weeks!  Make sure to spread some Christmas cheer to those around you:  do something nice for a stranger, smile at the lady in line with you at the mall, put an extra dollar in the offering plate, anything you can do to remember to treat people with kindness!  Until next time, Ciao for now!