Last night, after riding a pony at work (more on that later), J and I broke out the old Netflix instant queue and decided to check out A River Runs Through It. I’d never seen this old-ish (1992) classic set in the 1920s, but I loved it. The story line was well told, the relationship between the characters was touching, young Brad Pitt was captivating as always, but the scenery is what truly caught my attention. The story takes place in Montana, and as far as I know, that’s where they filmed as well. I was blown away by the the sheer greatness and splendor of the landscape – sky-scraping forests, ferocious rivers, rich meadows and towering mountains. What was once perhaps the last place on Earth I’d want to visit is now close to the top of my list. Is this one of those secret awesome places in America that people put on as being awful and boring but in reality, is gorgeous, peaceful and amazing? Hm.
Watching this film also made me realize that this genre of American dramas are probably one of my favorites of all-time. This weekend being Independence Day and all, I thought it might be a fun time to think about some of my favorite films that embrace America’s extremely diverse culture and history (the good and the bad) and spin it into a beautiful two-hour trip back in time. Tell me your favorites, too, please! We don’t have cable (by choice), so movies are kind of our thing.
Some of my favies, in no particular order:
Cold Mountain
Fried Green Tomatoes
Legends of the Fall
Shawshank Redemption
The Last of the Mohicans
Forrest Gump
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
The Cider House Rules
The Notebook
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (ok, not the best movie but an awesome book!)
Catch Me If You Can
The Bridges of Madison County
To Kill a Mockingbird
Changeling
Gangs of New York
Clearly this list is lacking. I didn’t include any films I haven’t seen myself, despite them being guaranteed awesome (i.e., Gone With The Wind, Rudy and Dances With Wolves, one of my Dad’s favorites). What are your favorite American films?!
Being busy isn’t too bad, but when it causes me to miss things like the new theatrical trailer for Sex and the City 2, we’ve got a problem. I was already super-duper excited about seeing this movie (my excitement for SATC2 comes in just behind getting a husband and going on a honeymoon in Paris), but NOW I’m even MORE fired up, because Aiden is in it! We love Aiden!!
Man, I love this series. I hope they never stop making movies.
By the way, took Julian to get a little bit of oral surgery this morning (been playing nurse and making soup for him all day) and his dentist totally looked like a more-attractive and taller Mr. Big. I think he’s married, but if you’re interested in having a Mr. Big lookalike as a dentist, I can give you his info.
I still haven’t decided whether I’m going to shell out the dough and brave the crowds to see Alice in Wonderland this weekend, but something tells me the answer is “NO.” I do want to see it, but I’m more the type to wait and see how the reviews look – especially when it costs $60 to see the thing in 3D. Luckily, this vintage footage of the original Alice in Wonderland film from 1903 popped up on YouTube recently, and it’s almost as cool as the trailers for Tim Burton’s version.
Can you believe this was made only eight years after they started making movies? Also – can you believe the Alice in Wonderland story is over a century and a half old? It was written in 1866. Amazing.
P.S. This is my favorite still-shot of the movie so far. I wouldn’t mess with this mouse.
I’m not a film buff, a designer, or even a photographer, but when I heard Julian geeking out over this piece made entirely out of CG animation, I decided to watch over his shoulder – and I was completely amazed by what I saw. Over and over I kept saying, “There is no way that is animated. Babe, look at it – it’s real. That is a real camera.”
But I was wrong. See for yourself (and watch fullscreen if you can) – The Third & The Seventh by Alex Roman is FULL-CG. I cannot believe something like this is even possible!! Forget Avatar, this man deserves some kind of award.
This movie More 4 Me looks incredible, and has an extremely important message about consumption, material possessions and values. A documentary filmmaker hit the streets (and fields) around the world to ask people in all nations what the one thing they can’t live without. The answers varied from designer shoes to the simple luxury of water.
It is astonishing how blinded we can be in our Western bubble full of convenience and extravagance. It really makes you think – perhaps a better question is… what CAN I live without?
Here are some of the things I’m almost certain I could live without:
1. Another new cellphone.
2. Approximately 30 different colors of nail polish.
3. New high thread-count sheets, when I can barely control my linen closet.
4. Lunch that costs me more each day than most people make in a week.
5. A box of Christmas cookies when I have 5lbs of excess Halloween candy at home.
6. Another pair of boots because six can’t possibly be enough.
7. A pantry full of food that goes stale, and thus, in the garbage.
8. Yet another handbag, despite it being “freaking adorable.”
9. More new books when there is a perfectly good library up the street.
10. A $12 glass of wine because I’m “celebrating.”
Some things I can’t live without, and am thankful for:
1. God’s love and guidance.
2. My loving, caring family.
3. A supportive network of friends.
4. Julian.
5. Eyes that see, ears that hear, hands that can make and legs that can get me from place to place.
6. A job that allows me to have a roof over my head, basic sustenance (food and water), health care when I need it, and the ability to create, inspire, educate and impact.
As far as I know, this film is still seeking a distribution company. I really hope they find one, because I’d love to see this full-length! Movie website is here: more4memovie.com
Are you baby crazy? I’m not, or at least I didn’t think I was, until recently when my coworkers began having babies and bringing them into work. I used to be afraid of holding babies – not anymore! If I see one, I wanna hold it. I wanna feed it. I wanna dress it. I wanna rock it to sleep. I don’t want a baby just yet or anything, but something in me has definitely clicked into place and all of the sudden I have a much larger appreciation for little teensy babes and all the cuteness that comes with them. Which is why I’m super excited about this trailer for the upcoming movie Babies that follows the first lives of four babies in four very different locales – Tokyo, Namibia, San Francisco and Mongolia. Even if you’re not into tots, it still looks like it’ll be an educational look at cultural differences (and human similarities) in the early stages of life.
Sunday night, my boyfriend and I (along with my coworker Chris and his beautiful wife Kelly) attended a free screening of No Impact Man at Environmentaland in LA. It was, in a word, inspiring. I first heard about No Impact Man about a year ago, maybe more. In a nutshell, NIM is Colin Beavan’s year-long attempt to live with no environmental impact.
Dragging his wife and daughter along for the ride, Colin documented his experiences via film, writing and blogging each step of the way, no electricity, no elevators, no cars, no garbage, even no toilet paper. Watching them as they graduated from struggling to thriving while living without television and buying all their own food at a farmers market (even visiting the local farm on which their food was grown), I quickly understood just why someone would want to give up all these simple, convenient comforts. Aside from killing our planet, which is more than alarming, it makes me a little ill to think of all the things we’ve come to depend on. Surely this over-consumptive behavior isn’t the way we were intended to live – is it? What happened to good old fashioned one-on-one entertainment with the people we love and planet we live on?
Before I get into a big rant here, I’ll get to the point. You should all watch this movie, which opens nationwide on Sept 11. I believe it has something to teach everyone (and for the record, his wife is abs. hilarious.) The Q&A with Colin after the film gave the very small audience a more intimate look into why Colin embarked on this daunting adventure (much of which has carried over in his day-to-day), and what he has learned from it. His book just hit bookstores yesterday and I plan on buying it.
Here are some other things I plan on doing:
-First of all, I want to sell my car. Whether or not I’ll be able to is yet to be determined. I have a brand new car that I just bought last summer, and I’m no dummy – I know turning around and selling would create a big fat void in my bank account. Plus, I live in LA. I only work 2 miles from home, so biking wouldn’t be bad, but there is the occasional need for a car. Perhaps selling and buying something cheaper is the solution? We’ll see. Onto smaller goals.
-No more plastic bags! Simple, and absolutely necessary. I’m not about to add to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch anymore than I already have… I’m buying a few more reusable grocery bags and gosh darnit I’m gonna use ‘em.
-While we’re on plastic, no more plastic bottles. I felt kind of silly sitting with a plastic Smart Water bottle at the movie premiere, but what other choice did we have when they were serving free wine (organic in cornstarch cup from a cardboard box, btw) and had no AC (they really meant it when they said “NO impact.”) I have a Camelbak that works perfectly fine, there is no need to litter up the planet with even more plastic bottles.
-Use less electricity. I have a big apartment, and it takes a bit of light to brighten this place up. But I love candles, and have windows on three sides of my apt, so why waste electricity? It’s more romantic, anyway. Unplugging appliances will be necessary as well.
-Less, if any, TV. I’m a busy girl as it is, so I don’t watch a ton of TV. I have my favorite shows, though, so I am currently “borrowing” slash housing my friend Serena’s flat screen while she’s rendezvousing in NY for who knows how long. My old tube-style TV is just sitting here in the corner. I think I might sell the old fashioned TV, use Serena’s for now, and then ween myself off of it after she takes it. I don’t really need cable these days anyway – hello, Hulu! At most I might get another display and hook it up to the good old laptop for movie and TV watching. Shows are better on DVD anyway.
-This is the most fun one… BIKING!!! I can’t wait to buy a bicycle and ride it EVERYWHERE. I’m a little nervous about “urban cycling,” especially in a city where everyone takes cycling very seriously. I don’t need a fancy pants bike, I just want to pedal, man! To the grocery store, to work, to the bank, to yoga, to my friend’s house, to wherever my day takes me. I can’t WAIT to drive less and bike more.
I am also going to limit myself to five vices. This is a pretty big thing, so I haven’t quite decided what my five will be (but I can assure you coffee and french fries are two one of them). Not sure how this fit into my impact equation but it did, so I’m leaving it for now.
At one point Colin was pointing out the advantages to living in urban environments – community, for one. On that note, I have to say one of the things that I love about living in a big city like this (despite the terrible air quality and overall yuck factor) is the opportunity to go to events like this. Even if they did refuse to turn on the air conditioning. I’ve lived without AC in my apartment for 2.5 years now, and I’m doing just fine!
I came close to spontaneous combustion when I saw the trailer for The September Issue in theatres this weekend. I’m not sure how I missed the buzz about this online (what kind of a blogger am I?) but I’m making up for it now. The full-length documentary chronicles American VOGUE Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour as she puts together the Sept 2007 issue, which is the thickest, most looked-forward-to issue of the year. As the trailer says, in the world of fashion, the year begins with September.
As snaky as Anna is (they wrote The Devil Wears Prada about her, for crying out loud), she has current and future fashion trends in the palm of her hands. If you have any love for fashion, you can’t help but have respect for her (even with that highly outdated hairstyle). When it comes to fashion, she is IT. Aside from that, she’s completely neurotic, which makes for great entertainment. Bring it on!!
The film debuted at Sundance but they held the NYC premiere last night. Here’s the trailer.
Of all the places I’ve been and cities I’ve spent time in, New York has got to be my favorite. Perhaps it’s because I’m a 20-something who craves energy and creativity, but something about being in New York makes me feel so ALIVE! I lived there for a couple of months back in 2005, but due to the timing, I left very prematurely. Moving to a strange new city (even when you’ve visited umpteen thousand times) in the midst of a quarter-life crisis is either a really good idea, or a really bad idea. In my case, a bad idea, and I have a plethora of drunken memories to prove it. But given the opportunity, under the right circumstances, I’d move back in a heartbeat. Every time I visit the city it just melts my heart like nothing else – even with the smelly summer sidewalk trash and LES cockroaches.
The new film New York, I Love You seems to be more of a collection of love stories about human beings, but I can’t help but think that each character’s love for the city makes it just a little bit more special. Check out the neverending cast and crew list on this film. The trailer is pretty cute, made even cuter by the use of French band Phoenix, who released what is one of my favorite albums of 2009 so far.
It will be in theaters this fall… just in time for me to begin hating LA for its lack of seasons, just as I do every year.
well hello
Wonderful, you found my blog! I'm Sarah, a writer, activist, believer, artist, lover of pretty things and cats. I'm also a newlywed (aww). To learn more about me, just click here. I hope my blog brings you a little bit (or a lotta bit) of happiness today.
