What I Did Over New Years Weekend

Happy New Year Everyone!

Did all of you have nice holidays with your family and/or friends? I sure hope each was just what you hoped they would be and that 2010 brings all of our readers nothing but the best.

I can happily report that I brought the new year in with, well, not flair, but at least with some fun. I had the chance to see four movies in two days and while I cannot rave about all four of them, I can say that two of them lived up to my expectations and actually surpassed my anticipations.

On New Years Day, I saw the much-hyped James Cameron film Avatar, starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver (among others). This movie is everything for which the critics have raved and more. It’s not only colorful and vibrant; it’s action-packed and moving. It’s also a movie ahead of its time with the technology used to make that future world come to live. If you have not done so already, go see Avatar. It’s totally worth the ticket price and you can see it in 3-D if you so choose.

That same day, directly after seeing Avatar, I saw the musical movie Nine, which is based on the Broadway play of the same name. The film version stars Daniel Day-Lewis as a highly successful (but lecherous) Italian movie-maker and the women in his life: his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his film star muse (Nicole Kidman), his confidant and costume maker (Dame Judi Dench), his mother (Sophia Loren), an American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson) and the whore from his childhood (the Black Eye Peas’ Fergie).

While the play has been a big hit on the Great White Way, the film version, sadly was…lacking. The pacing was slow and the male lead should have been played by someone else (anyone else, honestly); but the costuming and the musical numbers were terrific. If the movie had focused more on the women and the music, I would have enjoyed it more. Ah, to be a film critic right now…

The very next day, I set out to see The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock in what many critics are saying is her best performance to date and a role for which she is getting Oscar buzz. I can say this much…the critics are exactly right and if she doesn’t get nominated for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy, the Mississippi well-to-do woman who took in a poor, young black man, helping him become an All-American football player and first round NFL draft pick, then there is definitely something wrong in the world of the Academy. This is an extremely entertaining and moving film that everyone should see – even if you don’t like sports (like me). It is definitely going to be one of my favorite films from 2009.

To cap off the two day movie-fest (so to speak), I saw the romantic-comedy (and I use that term VERY lightly) Did You Hear About the Morgans?, starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. This movie should have been lightweight and fun; but it sadly wasn’t. There were too many groan-worthy moments, very little chemistry between the leads and even for this born and bred hick (yes, I grew up in the hicks), I couldn’t even enjoy the small town where most of the film was set – except for some of the picturesque value it had. The film could have been better with a different leading lady and a better written script. Better luck next time, Hugh.

There are many more movies that I hope to see throughout this month; and I can only hope they end up being as entertaining as Avatar and The Blind Side; both movies which I highly recommend our readers see as soon as possible.

Also, this week I have an event that I am really looking forward to attending:  the Paley Center for Media’s salute to the 100th episode of the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother. Even though I’m not a comedy-TV show watcher, for any show to reach its 100th episode is a milestone to say the least and to have Neil Patrick Harris and Alyson Hannigan as just two of the talented cast members, well… its NPH and Alyson!! What more needs to be said? And, the episode is going to be a musical 100th episode so it’s assuredly going to be over-the-top and very funny. And, what’s even better is the cast is expected to be there and the audience will get to watch the milestone episode in advance of the general viewing public. Fun times for sure.

PS: You can expect a terrific write-up of the HIMYM event by our very own Tiffany shortly after the event is held on January 7.

Oh, one more thing: please don’t forget that the two-hour season premiere of the 3rd season of Chuck will air on NBC on Sunday, January 10 at 9 PM. It’s Chuck 2.0 now (with the new Intersect in his brain) and anything is possible. Don’t miss out!!

Movie Screening(s) Here I Come

This past Saturday I had the chance to see the indie hit and potential Oscar contender movie An Education with some friends. This movie is a coming-of-age story set in 1960’s England centered around Jenny Miller (Carey Mulligan, Pride and Prejudice), a very bright 16-year-old girl attending secondary school, trying to get admittance to Oxford University.

NOTE: Spoilers ahead.

Jenny soon finds herself in a whirlwind romance with the much older David (Peter Sarsgaard, Orphan) whose lifestyle is very different from anything she has ever been exposed to and he is able to take her to fancy restaurants, grown-up parties, dog races and even a weekend trip to Paris. Jenny quickly becomes hooked on this man, quits school and forgets all about Oxford.

The fairytale comes to an abrupt end, however, when she discovers he is married, has children and has had many other dalliances with impressionable young girls such as her. She goes from being a bright eyed school girl to sophisticated young lady and back again; and nearly ruins her life before it can fully start.

Thankfully, she ends the relationship with David, finds assistance in a caring teacher (Olivia Williams, Dollhouse) and is able to take her A-levels [i.e. college admittance test], which she missed because of quitting school and is accepted to “read English” at Oxford.

The movie also stars Rosamund Pike (Pride and Prejudice and Surrogates), Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia!), Academy Award winner Emma Thompson and Alfred Molina. An Education won the Audience Choice Award and the Cinematography Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, was directed by Lone Scherfig from the script (and based on the autobiographical memoir) of British journalist Lynn Barber and screenplay by Nick Hornby.

My friends and I really enjoyed the movie, finding it quite touching, romantic and heartbreaking. The costuming was exceptional and the scenery was pitch-perfect going from the grandeur of Paris to the muted undertones of Jenny’s England home. It is a movie worth seeing, as Carey Mulligan will assuredly be nominated for an Oscar for her performance or at the very least she SHOULD be.

You can learn more about An Education at: http://www.sonyclassics.com/aneducation/.

While at the Arclight Theatre in Sherman Oaks, my friends and I ran into two different movie screening recruiters and I ended up getting admittance tickets for the advanced screenings of the musical Nine and the romantic drama Remember Me.

Last night I was supposed to see Nine, which is the film version of the Broadway production that is based on Mario Fratti’s adaptation of Federico Fellini’s autobiographical film 8½. Nine is focused on the world famous film director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis), who confronts an epic mid-life crisis with both creative and personal problems.

The nine signifies the many women in his life, including his wife played by Academy Award winner Marion Cottillard, his mistress played by Penelope Cruz, his film star muse played by Nicole Kidman, his confidant and costume designer played by Dame Judi Dench, an American journalist played by Kate Hudson, the “whore” from his youth played by pop singer Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson (of the Black Eyed Peas) and his mother played by the legendary Sophia Loren.

I had every intention of talking briefly, without being too spoilerish, about the movie; but as you can probably surmise from my “was supposed to see” stated above, the screening was unexpectedly canceled. I received the call during lunch hour yesterday and while I understand it’s still a bit disappointing.

But, thankfully (or rather hopefully) on Thursday, I will attend the screening of Remember Me, a romantic drama starring Robert Pattinson (the Twilight franchise) as Tyler, a rebellious young man in New York City who has a strained relationship with his father (Pierce Brosnan) ever since tragedy separated the family. Tyler doesn’t think anyone can possibly understand what he has been going through until he meets Ally (played by Emilie de Ravin) through an unusual twist of fate. Love was the last thing on his mind, but as her spirit unexpectedly heals and inspires him, he begins to fall for her. Through their love, he begins to find happiness and meaning in his life. But soon, hidden secrets are revealed, and the circumstances that brought them together slowly threaten to tear them apart. The movie also co-stars Academy Award winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation) and Academy Award nominee Lena Olin (Chocolat).

I can only hope that unlike the Nine movie screening, Thursday’s screening actually happens. Either way I’m not out any money, but it would have been great to see either or both of these movies ahead of time. These kinds of screenings allow you to state your opinion, typically via a survey that is handed out to all attendees and SOMETIMES the powers that be actually (well, sort of) listen.

Nine is expected to open on December 18 in New York and Los Angeles and then open to the rest of the country on Christmas Day. Remember Me is expected to be released to theatres on March 12, 2010.