The Trip

Come, come, Mr Bond, you get as much pleasure from killing as I do.

This movie, and in particular this scene, is fucking hilarious. If you haven't seen it, you should.

tall clothes for women, and movies, movies, movies!

so i'm always on the lookout for tall clothing because... well, i'm tall. and as much as i'd like to fit into clothing from The Gap, Target, Anthropologie... it ain't gonna happen. i also happen to be plus-sized which makes my hunting that much trickier.

i just found this t-shirt which makes me giggle.

because oh. mah. gawd. do i get stared at a lot. and it's really irritating sometimes.

i'm searching out new sites for tall women's clothes and will report back here, stat.

i recently saw "Drive" with Ryan Gosling and thought it was pretty good.

the style was amazing, it was well-directed and made me laugh quite a bit given (SPOILER ALERT) how bloody it was! i didn't love the characters or the plot a ton, but it was worth watching. very miami vice, as my husband said. he knows a lot a lot a lot about film. more than me. and i know a fair amount. but i know more about acting. i tend to love movies that provide juicy roles for actors and actresses rather than clever directing tricks. he's kind of the opposite. i also love really clever, well-written films that have social commentary or philosophical ideologies that are well executed. "Dr Strangelove" may be the most clever comedy of all-time, in my opinion (have you seen any of "The Good Wife"?).

anyway. it's a beautiful fall day here in new york shitty and i'm babbling once again.

i also saw "The Debt" with Helen Mirren etc. it was good, not great.


i also saw "Contagion" and it was awful. just don't. i thought it would be, and it was.

i would LOVE to see "Love Crime" with Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier. i like both those actresses, love crime stories and it looks interesting and cool.

i would also very much like to see "Mozart's Sister". again, interesting and i love movies with 'strong female leads' as Netflix, soon-to-be Qwickster, keeps telling me.
whomever came up with the name 'Qwickster' should be shot. for many, many reasons.

ok! off to harlem to have homemade Indian food tonight. bet you're jealous.

Need a laugh? Or twenty?

I forgot to mention that I saw this on cable recently and it had me rolling. It's not everyone's type of humor, I realize. You have to love the British sense of super dry word-play (love it), but if you're into that kind of thing, you will love "In The Loop". ROLLING.

It's filthy and ridiculous and so so so funny.

"We have a saying in Britain, 'Difficult, difficult...lemon difficult.'"

"Hanna" - cool, cool, cool... what?

I was SO excited to see the thriller "Hanna" about the daughter who is trained to be an assassin by her father played by Eric Bana (hot). SO. Excited. I love love love thrillers and yearn for way more shows and films with strong female leads and this one has TWO! TWO!

It was ok. I can't believe some of the plot holes. With a little more character development and some rewriting of the plot line to get closer to what would actually happen in that very unusual circumstance, this movie could have kicked as much ass as Saoirse Ronan does as Hanna. (She was great.)

Cate. Blanchett's. Teeth. If you've seen it, you know what I mean. She, as usual, was awesome. A great villain. And gorgeous. And super talented. Way to look good in a pencil skirt, Ms. Blanchett.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching it but I wanted it to be great soooo badly... and it just wasn't. But it was a fine thriller!

Next up: "Bridesmaids"!

Say hello to "Farewell"

It's time to call in sick to work and go to your nearest movie theatre that would be playing a foreign film to see "Farewell". It's a riveting spy thriller about a real life Russian KGB agent who decided to leak crucial information in 1981 to the French (and therefore got passed on to President Reagan).

I wasn't sure what to expect after reading a few reviews, and only as the movie ended did I begin to realize how great the movie is. The story is expertly told, the cinematography is great, acting, directing... all really good. It got compared to "The Lives of Others" which I can see... I loved that movie as well.

It's rare that I am deeply impressed by movies in the theatres. It's even more rare that that movie is American. This it is not... and you should definitely see it as soon as you can. It's probably the best movie I've seen since "Let the Right One In" (Swedish vampire movie) that Hollywood is now remaking (groan).


It renewed my faith in storytelling. According to some reviews, the screenplay is more romantic than the real life version, but I have no problem with that. I often prefer artistic versions of things anyway unless the truth is locked into the reality of a situation. I'm blathering.

GO SEE IT!

Crazy Town

is where I'm residing today.

Don't want to get into it, but suffice to say, today I've been horribly grumpy.

And my friend and I just watched "Up" by Pixar - and it's wonderful! Reminded me what's important.

If you need (or if you don't!), I recommend it.

To do

Why is moving down my to-do list so bloody difficult? It never gets easier, I get a little better at tricking myself into doing shit, but I still hate it as much.

I bribe myself with food, movies, lounge-time, booze, time with friends, shopping. Any vice and I will dangle it in front of my face until I get done what I promised I would.

I'm cooking quinoa right now. To be healthy. And adding some coconut water and mushrooms to it. How exciting.
Oh, no I'm not, all my coconut juice expired in 2007. I added some mushrooms and light shredded Mexican cheese. Not too shabby, actually. More tasty than I remember.

Now I just have to finish sewing 3 towels to sell online, vacuum the house, make the bed, do the few dishes that are in the sink, take a shower and get ready to see my husband.

It's not even that much, and yet, it seems like a lot.

So I thought I'd complain to you! And maybe this will motivate me.

Re-watched "Let the Right One In" last night and still loved it, but it didn't "have the same impact on me as the first viewing" as Jon said. Still a fantastic movie. And now I own it!

Recommend "The Lives of Others" if you haven't seen that one either. Both exceptional.

Also saw "Splinter", a horror film the Village Voice said was decent, and it was barely ok. Not believable and not particularly interesting.

Happy tasking!

Agony

I saw "The International" last night which was ok... didn't really have too much of a point but had some good moments in it. And I liked the style of it. It has Clive Owen (#2 celebrity boyfriend of mine), Naomi Watts and a few other famous peeps.

In the beginning there is a scene in a Museum where two people meet covertly in front of a painting and one character says:

"Does this canvas appeal to you?" (It's of a dead Jesus being held)
The other characters replies, "I like a look of agony."

And I waited to see if, in fact, the next would be what I thought...

He continues, "Because I know it's true."

And apparently, that was the password for these two characters to begin talking business. My heart leapt with joy, because that is the beginning of one of my favorite poems by Emily Dickinson. And thus, I will post it here for you all to enjoy.

241 I like a look of Agony, Because I know it's true— Men do not sham Convulsion, Nor simulate, a Throe— The Eyes glaze once—and that is Death— Impossible to feign The Beads upon the Forehead By homely Anguish strung. Emily Dickinson

A new interest in a recent film and a not-so-new crush.

I have a crush on Mathieu Almaric.





















I'm sure you can see why.



















He's a great actor...











And haunting and French and not a little cold.


Which is a recipe for lust in my department. I'm currently watching "Heartbeat Detector" and so far, enjoying it immensely. I'll get back to you on that.

In the mean time - sweet dreams.