LES OSCARS

I feel like I'm losing time trying to sum up the last few months of my movie-watching experience. In guilt from not writing about past films viewed, I've failed to write about Dine LA Restaurant Week (amaaaaaazing!), a weekend trip to The Fertile Lowlands (super, thanks for asking!) and everything in between...and a few things before...and even a little bit after.

So fuck it.

I'm done trying to make up for "last time." Let's start today and move forward.

Yes, in December, I met James McAvoy and Joe Wright after seeing ATONEMENT (wonderful!), and yes, I ate at some great restaurants during DineLA (among them eat.on sunset, Luna Park off Mid-Wilshire and Cobras & Matadors). Yes, I also KILLED my weekend in TFL by getting on the VIP list at Body English, a hot, hot little number I like to call Hot Hot Central. (ASIDE: did you know Las Vegas--which I usually refer to as "The Fertile Lowlands"--actually means "The Meadows" in Spanish? Where are those Meadows? Shouldn't it mean "The Deserts" or "The Wastelands"? Doesn't that just make more sense? Or maybe "Syphilis Strip?" Or is that a bit much?) But I can't write about all that. Because I have to move ON. To today. Oscars weekend.

Strangely, this is the first of any year I can immediately recall that I'd actually seen all the movies nominated for Best Picture. And it was no surprise to me that NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN just won. I voted for it, even though I was originally feeling more joy for ATONEMENT (Mr. McAvoy promised me love touches if I swayed the Academy's vote in favor of his movie--can you blame me?). But for the record, here are my thoughts on the five nominated films:

ATONEMENT
plot: "I'll never let go, Robbie."
thought: "Brutally beautiful in its complexity." (deep, huh?)
in five: 4.5/5 (Yeah, it's long. But it's WORTH it. WHY wasn't Joe Wright nominated for best director, I'll never know--oh, except I do. The Academy is xenophobic. Except that Marion Cotillard just won meilleure actrice--and in her speech she thanked love and life, might I add. Guess I just ate my own words.)

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
plot: "Killing you softly, without reason."
thought: "Cohens, you're the new amazing."
in five: 4/5

MICHAEL CLAYTON
plot: "Business politics are still politics."
long thought: "It's better if you just sleep through the middle."
in five: 3/5

JUNO
plot: "Funny girl has a baby."
thought: "Pretentious writing, over-hyped actress, but otherwise okay."
in five: 2/5 the first time I saw it; 3.5/5 after viewing numero dos. It didn't fully win me over...but it kind of did. Definitely shouldn't have been nominated for best picture--imo--but I guess they were thinking of it as a LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE potential winner. But it's not that movie. So stop it, Academy. Just stop it.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD
plot: "I abandoned my booooooooy!!!!"
thought: "Why won't this movie end?"
in five: 2/5 (I hated it. Sorry. I know it just won for cinematography, but I don't agree. Atonement got the diss. What gives?)

So there's my thoughts on tonight's favorites. Who I thought would win won. Who I wanted to win won. In fact, at my Oscars Party tonight, we had a ballot, and I got the highest score with 15. Count it! Basically, I'm as intelligent as every Academy member. So induct me, already.* I love the Oscars.

*15 isn't THAT good. I even missed best actress, sad. Everyone else was just worse, that's all.

Sweet November (the re-cap)

It's been a long ride, getting from unsettled to quasi-settled over the past few months, and hence, my writing (blogging? ugh, I hate that non-word) has gone to the wayside. I feel that I apologise in every new entry. Hopefully, though, this will be the last apology for a long while, since I have committed myself, at long last, to the winter wrap-up. November, a month long forgotten from the annals of 2007 movie-viewing, is now remembered.

The month started quick, as I was caught up in the rush of job interviews. Sadly, I was poor and confused in my new playspace of quasi-adulthood, but happily I found the time to visit a fine art museum--we'll call it "WorkMuseum," since it's across the street from my work--that showed an advance screening of the Cohen Brothers' latest wonder, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
Plot: A killer Texas can't catch.
Thought: Javier Bardem, you so creepy!
4.5 out of 5 - that's right.
Best line (delivered by Javier Bardem as Anton): "You've been putting it up your whole life; you just didn't know it." STELLAR!

After a movie as serious as NO COUNTRY, I obviously needed a break. What better way to break it than by seeing something frivolous at home...such as ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING? Do you remember this film? There's big hair...florescent tights...there's a sing-a-long in the middle....
Plot: Uh...the title kind of says it all.
Thought: Goofy, unrealistic, and so eighties.
3/5

Apparently, I liked the time trip so much to the 1980s, I had to keep on traveling back. All the way back to LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and Peter O'Toole as a sexpot of a slightly gay general.
Plot: Golden man conquers Middle East.
[Plot 2: And it takes FOUR HOURS. (this movie is way long)]
Thought: Oscar for Peter O'Toole? Oscar? Oscar?
4/5
Best line (delivered by Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence): "All right! I'm extraordinary! What of it?" Man, do I know the feeling!

So you see that? There's November. I saw THREE MOVIES. That's it. And it took me three months to write about them. Sad, just sad. But I'm still saving December for another night. Sorry, it's past my bedtime.

Happy New Year! (not quite November re-cap)

The university I attended was near a city I hated: San Francisco. Well, the first time I visited this city, which I like to call TownCity, I loved it. Looooooved it. It was new and pretty and gay and odd, and I didn't have to drive through it. The second through umpteenth time I visited TownCity, I kind of more or less hated it. I saw it as less a city than an overgrown town (hence the evident moniker). A town that was filthy and awkward and unplanned and...so freshman year. I'd moved on to DoPA, the smaller, closer, less-obvious equivalent. DoPA became my playground, and many fine nights of small fun were spent there. TC became a place I visited only under heavy coercion and when I was in too good of spirits to hate it so much. What can I say? Against cities, I hold a grudge.

But it's been 5.5 years since my first visit, and having now spent time there with a cool superpower called "early 20s enthusiasm," and a host of friends who play the same game--and again without a car--I fell in love for the first time. I say "the first time," because the first-first time, five years ago, was really just infatuation. But now, it's love. I misjudged TownCity.

Friday night we partied at a place called Fluid in the Mission where the DJ was sub-par, the crowd included hookers, the Grey Goose was definitely Smirnoff, but it was for some reason still TONS of fun. Maybe because entry was free for ladies.

Saturday, we went crazy at Gravity in the Marina (there are clubs in the Marina?!?!--yeah!). This place was GREAT. I don't remember much, but I remember that.

For food: there was a lot of eating out. Friday afternoon, I tried Cafe Museo at the TC-MoMA. The ahi tuna was overcooked, but the bed of Brussels sprouts it rode in on was actually quite delicious. Props to the oatmeal cookies, too--though my dining parter most definitely gave his dessert (otherwise known as "upside-down pineapple polenta") a thumbs sideways-to-down. Friday night, a flurry of friends from freshman year ate out in DoPA, unfortunately at the sub-par "Mexican" chain, Celia's. We cleared out our side of the restaurant with our raucous laughter, and though they served me Van de Kamps shrimp with my order (I think I saw the cardboard box in the dumpster out back...), fun times still flowed in spades.

Saturday, I had plum cinnamon tea and pumpkin bread deliciously speckled with cream cheese (sounds weird, but it was DIVINE) at a small coffee joint called Chestnut Street Coffee (I think) in the Marina. I also snacked on a slightly healthier food option: a concoction of oatmeal, honey, raisins and gooooodness I think they called "granola cake" (I said slightly). Dinner was another positive venture: A16, also on Chestnut Street, is an Italian wine bar featuring the best Italian pizza I've had in a while. Beats FireCity's new hotspot MOZZA by six points, no lie. Though I had intended to try some California wines while traveling up and through TownCity, I instead went for a round Italian red whose name I'll never remember that was pretty good. A bit pricey per glass, but otwise....Our meal started out with Buffalo mozzarella smothered in extra virgin and paired with crostini toasts, then we nibbled on a hummus made of fava beans. Fava beans? Doesn't that make you think of Anthony Hopkins? But no mind, next was the pizza. MMMM. All of it, and we had a threesome. This pizza was sexy. For dessert, we picked another combo of three. Persimmon pudding with spice garnish...chocolate olive oil torte bakes with sea salt...chocolate gelato. I don't like chocolate, but that torte almost made me reconsider. The pudding? Beyond amazing.

After our crazy mash-up of a Saturday night, we needed good eats for Sunday, too. Started with brunch at Squat & Gobble, an odd name for a place so charming. I had the challa bread French toast; came out a little burnt, but it was okay. I don't want to judge, because my friend's omelettes looked sooooo good. One recovery-bruncher in my party tried an omelette with yogurt and sprouts or fennel or something...and it was tasty-tasty. I definitely want to go back here. For dinner we ended up at Steps of Rome in North Beach. Cheap Italian eats, but you get what you pay for. The highlight was the...well, nothing. A16 ruined me for all following Italian experiences in TC. Thanks a lot!

So since the 20th: I've enjoyed another holiday party, I've traveled north to the chilly Bay and back again, I've celebrated the new year and made my resolutions. I've seen old friends, made new ones, called the folks, road-tripped, flown and been barred from airports (did I mention that?). I've decided to finally start thinking about furniture for my room and apartment, and I've found out that FireCity's first Restaurant Week (the week where 4-star restaurants offer 2-star prices!) takes place the last week of this month. And I am SO excited. I haven't updated my movies (STILL), but I will, I will. I will.

Whew, time flies when you leave your day-planner at home.

the 20th

I forgot to mention in that last post that I hope this still remains primarily my personal movie-memory blog. I'm a foodie, so I bet I'll write about food now, too--especially since, besides movies, the Food Budget is the only crevasse into which I pour my small amounts of disposable income--but I'm here to write for me and the movies I see. And I didn't think there would be, but there were some very memorable moments from the month of November. Ask me about when I met James McAvoy.

At any rate, this day is a new turning point: the day on which I rediscovered my blog. And actually, I just looked at the clock, and it's after midnight, so apparently it's the 21st, but I'm calling it the 20th, because December 20th is the most important day of the year. It's my parent's anniversary! Three cheers to 27 years.

November updates are forthcoming, but mark my words as was ordered back in September: they will come.

ashamed comma Taste should be

I am ashamed. There's nothing to blame but lack of time, diligence, forethought and wherewithal for the absence of my recent "blogging." A Good Friend of Mine from the Past alerted me to my failing entry-rate when she told me, "I used to look at your blog to check out movies and see what you thought." And I cringed. Used to.

Can I at least do a once-a-month summary of my movie-guided travels? I should! I see a lot of good stuff out there! And now that I've landed well in this new city, I also want to say what I think about this city and what's inside it when I can. For instance, I ate dinner tonight at a restaurant called TASTE.

TASTE was awful. TASTE left a bad taste in my mouth. It's on Melrose, it's trendy, and I'd been looking forward to dining there. Not because I'd "heard good things," but quite genuinely, I'd checked out the menu in advance and started salivating a little bit. That's a good sign. We started with the calamari--fantastic. Peppery, salted, nice sauce. But then we had the appetizer mushroom mac-and-cheese, which was too small to share, and then I opted for the starter crab cakes as my meal. That's when it went alllll downhill.

I judge restaurants on two things these days: their wine selection and their crab cakes. Honest. TASTE lost in both categories. Can I first say they didn't have ONE French wine by the glass? I know we're in California, but Sonoma Valley Chardonnay still pales to a bubbly Chablis. I know nothing about wine, and I still say this, so it must be true. I hate Chardonnay. I settled for a Marlborough Savignon, which was fruity and not bad (though I would have still preferred something French), so I decided things were looking upwards of mediocre at least. But then the crab cakes arrived.

On a scale of 1-10, they were...a 2. Only because the side salad with which they were served was quite tasty. What was that dressing? I was too busy frowning at my must-have-been-WalMart-freezer-section-bought crab cakes to take the time to ask the waiter. Not only were they served just under room temperature, but they were only crispy on top (strange feat) and...did I mention they were cold? And they gave me a dabble of aioli sauce that did little if anything to flavor their bland slightly burnt exterior. Damn you, Taste! You were foul indeed. Don't go to this restaurant.

On a scale of 1-5: 2.5 for decor, 3 if we include service, but back to 2.5 if you remember the crab cakes.

And if you're planning for guests here, please note that TASTE charges a $20 fee for every person who doesn't show up in your party--zing!

THE LANDING

And here we are about a month later, few movies added, but lots has changed. I said I wouldn't get preachy, but I must share the news: I've wandered again, and now I'm in a new city. The city has fire in the sky, and the movie theatres are expensive. But movies will be seen! Mark my words.

In the last month, I enjoyed viewing EASTERN PROMISES, starring the delicious Viggo MORTENSON. In five words or less?
Plot: "Russian mafia works in London."
Thought: "Naked never looked so violent."
It was good. It was...Cronenberg-y, but it was good. 3/5

I also finally saw my dear Quentin's first film RESERVOIR DOGS. Bought it for five bucks from...a discount store that I don't support. And it is fabulous.
Plot: "Irreverent deeds backdropped by catchy music." (is that six words? that's six)
Thought: "Enter, the new pulp genious."
4/5

After watching this film, all I could think was how great it would be to make a spoof of it, perhaps as a short film, or perhaps in a big kind of way with references from a bunch of Q-movies. I wanted to see Havey Keitel scream, "Bitch, we're gonna have a knife fight," while diving towards Rosario Dawson holding a suitcase filled with golden light. And apparently, it's already been done before: MY BIG FAT INDIE MOVIE. Haven't heard of it? You wouldn't have; it's artistic.
Plot: "The SCARY MOVIE of indie."
Thought: "Here's looking at you, Plot Devices."
2.5/5

While roadtripping across the US (en route to my new city), I stopped in a place we'll call "The Fertile Lowlands," to visit an old friend. She successfully found me the movie I was waiting for all summer long: KNOCKED UP. And it did not dissappoint.
Plot: "First comes baby, then love."
Thought: "There's no stopping Judd Apatow."
4.5/5

Besides these films, I sadly spent much of the month at a computer studying for an exam I took two days go. Yes, I kind of killed it. Like you had to ask. Now that I'm in my new Fire City, I'm done studying, and I'm starting to look for work. Once I find work, I'll be funded and able to watch many a movie. And since I recently won a 52" HDTV (jealous?) many of these movies just might be watched chez moi. Woop! Such is the life of a girl who lives off contest winnings. Let the adventure begin.

THE HIATUS

It's so sad, I've been gone so long, I've considered not coming back. You see, it's time I explain my hiatus. As my long-winded soujourn in France dwindled to a close and I began hopping from apartment to apartment like bees to flowers, I just didn't have the TIME to keep up with all the movies I was seeing. But movies, I did see.

I never intended for this blog to be one of those online "this is my life" journals, but my life entered a sort of upheavel at the end of July (leaving one apartment to house-sit in another, to vacation in another, to finally, eventually leave Paris), and I got more caught up in that than the meat of this blog, so I just quit writing. The blog was started for me to document the movies I'd seen, and my life was turning into a movie. So the question became : to write or not to write ?

Well, here I am. And I will write, still, about movies. My life is a little steadier now--I'm back in the US and planning my Westward journey to the land of milk & money, so I again have the time to write. Limited, but it's something I want to do. Movies make my world go round (is that cheesy ?), so I have the express desire to remember which movies I've seen, when and why. It's my ego. Blame my ego.

During my last two weeks living down the street from the Louvre (or "up" the street if you consider walking away from the Seine heading up--which you should, because that's north) and attending the #1 movie theatre in France, UGC Cine Cite Les Halles, I saw seven films.

1. HOT FUZZ - British cops against the neighborhoood. - 4/5 stars
2. HEAD ON (rental, German, otherwise known as GEGEN DIE WAND) - Love is a car wreck. - 4/5 stars
3. A VERY BRITISH GANGSTER - This gay, British thug's life. - 3/5 stars
4. YOU KILL ME - Sir Kingsley is Sir Awkward. - 2.5/5 stars
5. TRANSFORMERS - Mmm, I heart Shea LeBoeuf. - 3.5/5 stars
6. SIMPSONS - Like the show, but longer. - 3.5/5 stars
7. RAISON D'ETAT (otherwise knows as THE GOOD SHEPHERD) - Made sense the second time. - 3.5/5 stars

During the month of August while living two streets over from the Bastille (one of Paris' most historical and most night-party-friendly hotspots), I saw four films, most at UGC Bercy Village, a beautiful, new theatre off the lovely line 14 metro.

1. MISE A PRIX (otherwise known as SMOKIN ACES) - Good until the feel-good ending. - 2.5/5 stars
2. LES FANTOMES DE GOYA (otherwise known as GOYA'S GHOSTS) - Art shouldn't be this boring. - 2/5 stars
3. CARAMEL - Sticky and sweet, like life. - 4/5 stars
4. RATATOUILLE - Mmm, that rat made me hungry. - 4/5 stars

I saw one last film at the end of August, again at UGC Les Halles, because I was living in the Marais, the gay/Jewish district of Paris...meaning it's the cleanest, safest and has the best food. Excellent. The movie of choice :

1. 3 AMIS (look, a French film !) - Where are my French friends ? - 3.5/5 stars

And finally, since returning to the good ol' US of A (I've been here two weeks), I've seen three films, all in the Dallas area.

1. HAIRSPRAY - Song and dance on sugar high. - 3.5/5 stars
2. SUPERBAD - Wedding Crashers meets American Pie - 3/5stars (I really wanted to like it more...but it just was too over-hyped for me)
3. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM - Hey, Bourne, ya done yet ? - 4/5 stars

I'm still wanting to catch KNOCKED UP and ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. Anyone know where I can find 'em ? Anyone ? Anyone ?

Now that I'm back in the States, the movie-watching is sure to slow down. I mean, in Paris, it was "gratuit" (that means "free"), and here...well, I have no job. Maybe I'll turn to Netflix, Greencine or Blockbuster.com. Who knows ? But I still love a good movie. So I'll be back.