Julie & Julia (one down, four to go)

I thought Julie & Julia was pretty fabulous. Being a vegetarian, the dishes weren't exactly as mouth-watering as they may have been for other viewers, but I could still appreciate how pretty all the food looked. But what really caught my eye, of course, were the people and the places. Queens in 2002 is hardly ancient history or very different from today so far as I can tell, but I always enjoy seeing cramped apartment lifestyles, not gonna lie. Of course, the scenery that stole the show was definitely Julia Child's story, mostly the Parisian parts. Although, the tidbit of suburban Massachusetts life toward the end was also a kind of sweet nostalgia.

But the real show-stealer was Meryl Streep, no surprises there. As I said over dinner last night, putting it down now, Oscar nom (and perhaps another win) for Meryl right there. No doubt in my mind. Of course, it would also be wonderful to see the rest of the fabulous cast recognized (when Jane Lynch appeared as Julia's sister Dorothy, it was WONDERFUL, I was very excited to see her; I'd only realized she was in the film when the opening credits were rolling and boy oh boy she and Meryl Streep looked like they were having SO much fun inhabiting their larger than life personas (both personality and size wise, of course)). Julie Powell was easy to roll your eyes at and label as a bitch, but I've always thought Amy Adams is a wonderful actress and despite being frustrated with Julie at times, I certainly thought she was relate-able on many levels. I mean, in an age such as this, whoever has a blog or even a facebook or anything where they can post their thoughts and feelings want validation for them? Isn't it beyond thrilling when someone recognizes your thoughts are worthy to read? And it is so very easy to let that inflate your ego, to take over your life, and I can sympathize with Julie for falling into that trap. It's not as if it takes a particularly vain person to have it happen to, Julie isn't by nature a narcissistic person, but she, like the rest of us, just wanted appreciation and when she got it, she became addicted to it like a drug, and anytime she didn't have anything to show off or if she got negative feedback, it crushed her.

Anyway, I apologize for rambling on far too much about this and surely repeating myself, but I think those who call Julie Powell as a character a bitch are not understanding why she acted as poorly as she did at times. Granted, I myself am a self-centered bitch, so maybe I simply want to show how it's not Julie's fault so I can accept my own nature. xD

Regardless, Amy Adams and Meryl Streep did a fabulous job, and Jane Lynch, and Stanley Tucci, and simply everyone was just so much fun to watch in the movie. I deeply enjoyed myself.

On another note, I am a preview freak. The more trailers that come with a movie, the better, even if they're movies I have no intention of seeing (this is not counting horror trailers, because horror trailers scare the living bejeezus out of me and are usually way way way frightening). And I was BEYOND thrilled to see a preview for The Lovely Bones during Julie & Julia. I hadn't seen a preview for it yet, but I'd read the novel several years ago, the summer before my freshman year of high school, and stayed up until 9am to finish reading it. The preview did NOT disappoint me in the least. I forget many of the finer points of the novel, but it all looked so good, I had to bite my tongue very hard to keep from crying just from the trailer. I am very, very excited for the movie. Hurrah Peter Jackson!

As for his production credit in District 9, I still haven't gotten to see it yet, but I am set on seeing it this Tuesday. And today, in a bit less than three hours, I will see Tarantino's glorious Inglorious Basterds. I am very excited for that. Beyond that, I plan to see Taking Woodstock (having been filmed in my area, most people I know are planning to point out their friends' cameos as extras) this Friday when it comes out (I leave Saturday midday to return to school), and the other movie I am determined to see before I return to school is The Hurt Locker. I also have The Class on DVD from Netflix to watch... and I have a lot of packing still to do having just gotten home from Venezuela.

So I better end this entry now and prepare myself for massive movie exposure! I love it!

PS: Saw the Mad Men season 3 premiere finally. Although it felt a bit slow (but that might just be because it's been a while since Mad Men's been on), I attribute that to SO much catching up. I was slightly sad to see so little Peggy, but it's fab seeing her with her own secretary. The Brits seem a bit off, Pete's as entrancingly yuppie/obnoxious/self-centered as ever, Betty's all preggers, Sally should totally be a lesbian, and Salvatore Romano remains one of my favourite characters on the show. HIGH FIVE Bryan Batt, because you are beyond fabulous and so wonderful to watch as one of the show's many fascinating characters. And a less pronounced high five to Joan for being BAMF.

Moar Movies To See

Okay, so that's a lie. There are other movies I want to see, I just don't have any bets on them being excellent, breathtaking, or maybe I just don't know that much about them. Either way, here are more movies I desire to see as they come out:


Taking Woodstock - I've heard it's not very great, but considering it was filmed in this area, I guess you can say I have an attachment to it. Plus, it just seems like it'd be a generally fun movie. Plus, I want to see if I can recognize any of the extras (they recruited at my school). It'll make me feel way hip and connected.

Bruno - It comes out tomorrow! It's going to be hilariously inappropriate and I will laugh. I like laughing. I still remember my documentary professor last semester, telling us that he was massively psyched for Bruno. After the stunt at the MTV movie awards (which were actually pretty entertaining save the fact that the actual awards were shit)... oh man. Being a lover of bizarre fashion (to an extent, I would never wear Bruno's clothes), I am excited. And inappropriate laughter. I love it all.

(500) Days of Summer - Joseph Gordon-Levitt is awesome and will do many a great thing. I rewatched 10 Things I Hate About You last night and considering that Brick is perhaps my favourite movie, I am feeling the JGL love right now. And Zooey Deschanel is also very cool. This movie sounds really sweet without intentionally being that way. And the dance number reminds me of Enchanted... in a good way.

The Hurt Locker - Not going to lie, I knew little about this until critics started raving about it. I don't watch much television, but I was watching recently and one commercial essentially commanded me to go see it. So, I suppose I will.

Julie & Julia - I missed all the Meryl Streep Is Amazing film history (I'll have to explore her filmography more extensively in the future), but I am in love with Amy Adams, and that the pair are together is awesome. I finally saw a preview at Public Enemies and it looked really adorable. And yummy. This is why I love Chocolat but can rarely rewatch it. It makes me crave chocolate so much.

Harry Potter 6 - Okay, I loved the Harry Potter books, not going to say they're the best things ever but they're good stories, but I've never been a big fan of the movies. They all feel lost between trying to be a Faithful Adaptation and Finding A New Voice. But I'll give 'em this - the previews always look AMAZING even if I've never been deeply in love with any of the movies.

The Ugly Truth - Another rom com sucks me in! But I can't help it, Gerard Butler's just too amazing for me to avoid. Also, Katherine Heigl is genuinely funny. I actually enjoyed 27 Dresses... to an extent. (Most) rom coms are only so good. I don't know that this movie will actually live up to be hilarious, but it could be, so I will probably give it a shot.

Funny People - This could either suck or be awesome. I am really hoping for the latter. I'd like to see Adam Sandler in a good movie again (You Don't Mess With the Zohan!? Bedtime Stories!?). Plus, I'd like to think that I trust Judd Apatow. We'll see.

Inglorious Basterds - Hilariously enough, as I was skimming old Entertainment Weekly magazines, I came across a note in a 2004 issue that made reference to Quentin Tarantino's long rumored "Inglorious Bastards project." Funny seeing it come to fruition five years later. I have no delusions this will be anything but what it's expected to be. But that doesn't mean it won't be enjoyable.


And there will be more as we get into the I Want An Oscar! season (aka: fall). But, for now, I'll settle for some not-top-notch quality movies. Who knows? They might even surprise me.