Young Adult (2011).

replayability: 6
dialogue: 6
music: 6
ambience: 7
characters: 8
TOTAL: 33

I only have 10% battery so I'm going to blog until the computer dies. LIVIN' ON THE EDGE! I need a drink. Why am I not drinking yet during a blog/movie marathon? That's crazy. Hold on...

I knew when I first saw the DVD menu sequence that this movie was for me. The colorful cassette, the dirty stereo buttons, the grungy fingernails. I'm all over it. Charlize Theron is an amazing actress. I respect her a lot. This movie really makes me feel better about not being a typically pretty girl, getting to see Charlize tear off latex pasties, put hairpieces and fake lashes and tons of foundation on her face is encouraging to someone that doesn't do much beauty maintenance at all and looks ok. If I spent as much time getting ready as this chick, I might be fuckin' smokin', too! It could happen...

Like Jenna Marbles, the YouTube star? Out of makeup, she looks sort of nerdy and sweet, but then you get her in the wing-tipped liquid liner, the lashes and the foundation, and she's breathtaking. Beauty is an effort, as we've seen with drag queens. I recently saw a picture of a friend of mine in pasties. I was not only inspired by her ballsiness posting that on the internet, but it was also encouraging to see that her breasts were less-than-perfect and not as large as normally advertised. You can have cleavage no matter how small your breasts are. How cool is that? I used to be against artifice in physical appearance and I'm still not really ok with plastic surgery, but really, if whatever you're doing makes you feel sexy (fake hair, water bra, three pairs of false eyelashes), then do it! I'm flirting with the idea of extreme cleavage, myself. And I'm warming up to false eyelashes and heels. So off topic and I'm at 4% now, too.

It's sort of redundant posting about these movies because I'm only analyzing the ones that are on my top 20 list. Every sentence begins with "I love how..."

Ok, switched to the iPad so you don't have to worry about my battery percentage anymore, 'cause I know you were just biting your nails about it. Several people commented in reviews on this movie that Patton Oswalt basically plays himself, bla bla bla. And perhaps he is, but Patton Oswalt is awesome. It's ok to be a character actor. You don't have to be super versatile. Being super versatile is also a great trait in an actor, but being Patton Oswalt works for him. Babies ARE boring. Thanks for saying that, Charlize. I'm sure babies aren't boring to breeders, and I know and love a lot of breeders AND babies. I love my niece and my nephew and my Bella, but that's probably all the baby-love I've got in me.

Another woman in a life-crisis story. I love self-destruction, she says as she sucks down another swig of cranberry-vodka. I don't ever really remember caring in high school whether or not I was popular, but I still get sick satisfaction out of seeing stories wherein the popular girls and boys are total fuckups as adults. Only in fiction, though. I would honestly feel empathy for almost any of the popular kids from my own high school I saw heading down a dark, sad road. I'd still have a small smirk hidden in my empathy, but just a small one, really.

That's hearbreaking to realize that the song you thought was "your song" with someone is their song with someone else too, or that they associate it with that other person exclusively and not with you. But this is how music is...what I considered a love song at 18 I consider a love song now, for the most part. "Apart" breaks your heart just as much during the third big breakup of your life as it did the first.

I can't even imagine what it must have been like for the popular kids back in school. Was it like being famous? Is real life difficult after being the famous of popularity? I mean, how do you turn out without all that pain and angst in your formative years? I dated a former athletic popular kid once and he was kind of like Charlize in this movie. An addict, uncertain, weird, still thinking of himself as this invincible creature. I wonder if many former-popular people suffer from a distorted sense of reality.

There's NO WAY her freakin' car works after all this time! And there's also no way her room is still the same. I mean, does this really happen, ever? That people's childhood bedrooms are kept as a time capsule? For some reason, this movie makes me want to be stylish and pretend to be ok even when I'm not. Perhaps I'll have a breakdown like Kristen or Charlize. This is my mental health year, goddamnit, and I deserve to ruin a civilized garden party too!

Posted with Blogsy

Bridesmaids (2011).

replayability: 7
characters: 8
music: 6
dialogue: 6
ambience: 6
TOTAL: 33

Last movie on my list of favorites...well, unless I count "Young Adult". Why not, right? Ok, not the last movie, but I want to finish this project tonight, so apparently I'm watching two movies. Gather up your cranberry-vodka cocktails, ladies, and let's DO THIS.

I happen to, for some reason, own this movie on BluRay and my mom has a BluRay player, so I'm watching this in highdef even though it's not Planet Earth, so why, but that's another rant entirely that can actually be summed up by saying that I don't really see the point in BluRay unless it's nature. Normally I don't want to see pores, but individual blades of grass? Yes, please.

Maybe pores are ok now that I'm watching this, because it makes the actors look like real people. It's not as scary as seeing the local newscasters' pores. I mean, just skip Gary Bandy in highdef, God love him. This looks amazing, actually. Oh no, I can feel myself getting spoiled by this crispness just like I did with the "Retina" display on my iPhone. Damn pixel density!

It's so nice to see a real reaction from a BFF when the other gets engaged, instead of just squealing and jumping and immediate planning and scheming and more squealing. I love that she's driving a super-old Toyota too. It reminds me of my first car, a 1984 Honda Civic named Shirley. Melissa McCarthy is so spectacular. She really is. I can't imagine this world of fancy engagement parties and country clubs. I would feel just as out of place as Kristen Wiig. The joke with the dueling speeches at the engagement party runs a little long, though. This may not make the list, because I just don't know it well enough. I was blown away by this movie when I first saw it because it's a film about female friendships and weirdness and awkward humor. I was worried it would be a "Hangover" for girls, but it's so much better than that. The love interest is charming and their interactions are believable. The crux of the movie is the believable interactions between all the characters, besides that they're all super funny in a way that people usually aren't. I love that almost an entire Fiona Apple song is played while Wiig makes herself one perfect cupcake. OMG, I want a cupcake...even a sad cupcake.

Such a great touch that everyone really looks terrifyingly awful as they're sick at the dress place. It's so gross. And hilarious, though I usually don't do poop humor. They don't go to the reallyreally gross visual place, like a "hangover"-type movie would. It's more about their faces and how they feel as they're getting sick, which I find classy. A classy poop joke. I'm into that.

I still find it so weird that weddings are such a big deal. I tried not to make a big deal out of mine, but I still think I made too big a deal out of it. If I could do it over, I'd have less people there and think about it way less and make sure there was video footage of the reception, because Lord knows I don't remember a THING.

How perfect is Melissa McCarthy's speech to Kristen on the couch? So perfect. Inspirational, really. I would recommend this movie to anyone going through a hard time. Pick-me-up kinda movie.

I don't understand why Maya has to leave her apartment. They kind of dropped the ball on the fiance front. He's not there really, ever, and they don't already live together...what's that about? Don't freakin' marry someone you don't already live with, ok? That's crazy talk. I'm docking a point for that. I don't really dread any point in this movie except for the part when Kristen is mean to Love Interest Guy the morning-after. I usually have trigger-moments during movies that I have to skip or leave the room during, but "Bridesmaids" has a really great collection of wonderful moments. Very great movie overall.

There ain't nothin' wrong with a movie that ends with Wilson Philips' "Hold On". Nothin'.

Juno (2007).

replayability: 8.5

music: 6
dialogue: 9
atmosphere: 8.5
characters: 8.5
TOTAL: 40.5

Let me just start by saying that I don't normally enjoy the music of Kimya Dawson or The Moldy Peaches. If it weren't for the opening shots of Ellen Page and "the most magnificent living room set" she's ever seen, I would have been immediately turned off when that music started...but because of this movie, I no longer hate it with the fire of a thousand suns. I can tolerate it and even have a few of the Kimya songs from the soundtrack in my music collection.

I know a lot of people complain about the dialogue-heaviness in this movie, particularly the opening scenes with Rainn Wilson, but this is exactly the reason I love Diablo Cody. Dialogue-Heavy are practically the magic words when it comes to me and the movies I love. But not like Quentin Tarantino-dialogueheavy, but, well like this movie. I know kids don't talk like this, but it's definitely for me. "Young Adult" may need to be on my list too. It's so new that I didn't count it, but perhaps I should. I'm thisclose to being done with this project and I'm adding new movies.

I almost never watched this movie, because I knew it was about a teenage girl that decided to keep her unwanted child. I'm pro-"nipitinthebud"-girl all the way, baby. This movie is just too cute, though. And hey, it's called pro-CHOICE for a reason. Juno chose to have the kid and I can respect that because at least she knew she was "ill-equipped".

This movie was my introduction to The Kinks, I'm ashamed to say...and I still really only like "Well Respected Man". And Buddy Holly's "Dearest" is an excellent song, as well. I think I'm obsessed with all these teen movies because I need to constantly remind myself to be as alive as I felt as a teenager. I think most adults could use this advice. What's wrong with a little mismatched clothes, some inappropriate commentary in polite conversation, and just generally living in the emotionally underdeveloped moment? I'm into that, for sure. It's easy to forget to question how you feel and what you want at any given moment. I know I'm always writing this sentiment, but again, it's easy to lose track of LIFE. Full and vibrant life!

You know what's "gender neutral"? Everything. Including people, essentially--if we'd get out of our own ways and let everyone be however they are, but it would be so impossible to raise a child without gender "norms" invading them from all angles of society. I just immediately like someone when they question these norms. Not that this movie does that, so I'm off topic...

I hate the parts where you're nervous husband-dude is going to molest Juno. It's such a weird plot development. I guess there had to be a catalyst for him leaving his unfulfilling life, but it makes me so uncomfortable even still. Sonic Youth does suck. There, I said it. Except for "Bee Bee's Song" and that Carpenters cover from this soundtrack.

I love the father/daughter talk in this and every other movie wherein there's a touching, yet humorous father/daughter lecture, like in "Pretty In Pink" and shit. Sage dad advice. Good stuff.

I love how Cody freaks you out in the last 20 minutes of the movie, making you think she's going to keep the baby after all, but then she doesn't, 'cause she's smart. I also love how Juno's BFF appears to be a popular cheerleader, but it's never brought up as an issue that she's so close with weirdo Juno.
Michael Cera used to be so cute and sweet. Wonder if he still is.

"I know people are supposed to fall in love before they reproduce, but I guess normalcy just isn't our style." Cute.

Posted with Blogsy

Milktoast Music Review.

Adventures in Psychohistory: Part 1 Episode 1: The Galactic Fast One // Richard Pickman, Durkadub, Hail Zeon!, For the Galaxy aka Milktoast Music

If you like your industrial music full of cult movie clips a la Thrill Kill Kult and early Skinny Puppy, look no further than this 2013 release. It's frightening, embodies a minimalist/chaos melody dichotomy, and even includes clips from "Barbarella"!! This release feels very '90s, but in a good way. It's like my zine for your mind: you might emerge feeling confused and disoriented, but take an ibuprofen and jump right back in the entropy, baby!

Standout Track: Revelation on Terminus

I've received an advance copy (thanks so much, Milktoast kids!), so while you wait for the January 28th release date to roll around, check out their other music here: http://milktoastmusic.com

MixtressRae's Guide to Fitness for Free(ish).

Ever since I turned 30 in October I've been stepping up my game on the fitness front. Though I am totally in theoretical support of the Joplin Family Y, I do NOT work out in front of others. For me, working out is a solitary activity and it distracts me to think that someone could see me. When I run, I run in a weird secret spot close to my house that hardly anyone frequents. Needless to say, I've been avoiding purchasing a gym membership (I will have to give in this summer, because I know I won't run if it's over 75 degrees outside) for this very reason. One of my goals for 2013 is to pay off my credit cards, which adds a little more fuel to my anti-gym fire, because I can't afford the Y! So, if you're in the same boat as me (wanting to work out alone, work out on a budget, or just have an excuse to begin fitnessing with what you have on-hand right NOW) here's a guide that could cost you nothing, provided you have a few basics already lying around the house. If not, the most you'll have to spend with this guide should be under $50, or around the cost of just one month of a gym membership.

This guide is all about flipping off the idea that you have to have fancy stuff and spend beaucoup bucks to get in shape. You don't. Be inventive. There's no wrong way to shake it, move more, and streeeeetch. The following is simply what I have done and the things I tell myself to get it done day after day.

If you've got sneakers and sweatpants, you're ready to run. The only thing stopping you is YOU. If you're a smartphone user, download a free app called C25K that will take you from a not-running person gradually into a goddess that runs like a gazelle (see right).

I've never run in my life (well, not since I joined middle school track trying to impress a girl, but that was short-lived and my results were disappointing--both on the running and girl-getting front) until October and I used this app to begin and now I run two or three times a week. Another fun (and free) app that tracks your runs is Endomondo. For us non gym-cardholders, keep an eye on the weather and plan your runs accordingly. There are usually at least two days per week in our area that are upwards of 40 degrees--as long as it's above freezing, you should feel fine with gloves, a hat, and a hoodie. I read online that you should dress as if it's 20 degrees warmer than it really is for an outside run. Listen to something that moves you while you're running. If it's the nature around you, tune in with your very capable ears. Make your own playlist, use mine below, or listen to podcasts. Don't neglect this important aspect of the running workout. If thinking alone won't do it for you, plan your sounds accordingly. Finally, it is important to do it right. Check out this short, cheesy video on running posture and technique (I was doing it all wrong at first): http://video.about.com/running/Proper-Running-Form.htm

If you're not into the idea of running or it's just too crappy outside to run today, you'll need a few DVDs to get you through a more fitness-driven life. Again, you don't have to spend no damn money, honey, so go to your local library and find the workout DVDs (if your library uses the Dewey Decimal system, you're probably looking for nonfiction 613.7). If you live near me, our Joplin Public Library has a subject checkout limit of three, so grab a few that look interesting. Once you've sampled enough fitness DVDs to know what you like, either keep checking them out for free or drop a few bucks online for the used copies of your favorites.

My third favorite method of workout includes a game console, so if you don't have one, skip this step. If you do have a gaming console from within the last 5 years or so (xbox, wii, playstation3), check out some fitness games from Family Video or Vintage Stock for a few bucks a rental or just use those fitness games you already have and haven't used since the Wii came out in 2006. For a free option of game rental, ask around and see if any of your friends have fitness games they'd be willing to let you borrow.

One thing to remember about fitness is that you have to stay interested and like what you're doing, so try out as many DVDs/workouts/games as you can. My rule is that as long as I've done 30 minutes of workout-like activity per day, I'm good. That can be SOOO many different things. It totally counts if you go out dancing and actually work up a good sweat on the dancefloor. Werrrrrrk! Other ideas include taking your dog(s) for a walk every day, going for hikes with the kids, or cleaning the damn house. Don't be afraid to move that body, baby!


The only 5 items you need to workout, according to MixtressRae:

*yoga mat: $20 on Amazon.
*any old pair of sneakers you've got lying around
*any old pair of sweats/yoga pants/pajama pants that are intact enough for outdoor use: $5 or less at DAV or Salvation Army
*a sports bra (if ya got things that bounce too much for your comfort): $15 on Amazon
*a few workout DVDs: free to checkout with your Joplin Public Library card (Adult NonFiction section: 613.7), then drop 20 bucks at Amazon for 2 or 3 of your favorites used

MixtressRae's top5 workouts:

*Running outside: free
*Rodney Yee Yoga for Beginners Upper Body: Joplin Public Library VHS or Amazon for $3.50 used.
*Bellydance Basic Moves with Veena & Neena: Joplin Public Library VHS or Amazon for $2 used.
*Just Dance video game (for Wii, Xbox, and Playstation): Amazon for $20 used.
*Dancing: free or $3 cover charge at Plamor

MixtressRae's running mix:



warmup: Run//Air
Believe//Franka Potente
Bad Girls//M.I.A.
Oh Well (Black Light Odyssey remix)//Depeche Mode
Slow (Chemical Brothers remix)//Kylie Minogue
Self Control//Scissor Sisters
cooldown: Waking Will//Bel Canto

Despondency.

It's time I come out of the closet.

I suffer from depression. I've never been "diagnosed" with anything; I've always been a pretty accurate self-diagnoser. I believe some of it is linked to PTSD, but I've had symptoms my whole life and so have at least three of my female family members. What I mostly deal with is episodic depression, but it is cyclical and usually corresponds to the down-swing of my menstrual cycle (the one or two weeks after ovulation and preceding menstruation). I don't take drugs for this depression (again, self-diagnosis would suggest otherwise as I do imbibe caffeine, alcohol, etc of my own accord to indirectly treat my lows), but there are many things I do to distract myself during what can sometimes be up to two weeks out of my month.

And they are just that, distractions. Depression is not plinky-plunky music after taking a pill while the possible side-effects wash quickly over the screen ("in some extreme cases, using Happy Fun Ball can result in coma or death"). It's not like genital warts. It's like life. It's like anything in life. If you work out, you get to force yourself to do it for all eternity. If you want to eat right, you have to make good eating choices day after day. Slugging through the world when you're fucking sad can feel like that scene in "Melancholia" when Kirsten is dragging around all that murky crap behind her like a couture dress.

I've had a day like this today and I share it with you not because I want sympathy (in fact, don't feel sorry for me, it only makes me sadder) but because I know others feel it too and I believe it is ok to live with sadness. I function as well as I can day after day and this is unaided by pharmaceuticals (I don't even take birth control--I am the all-natural hippie y'all think I am in some ways) and some days this means a day of mad creativity and some days this means breathing in and out for the entire day.

I used to spend a lot of time wondering why and feeling bad about seemingly meaningless despair, but I've learned to be a little more forgiving. What's wrong with me? Brain chemistry. Hormones. Maybe I should eat better and exercise more (I should ALWAYS eat better and exercise more). There's always something that can be done, but sometimes it's difficult to do it. I've heard bipolar people say before that they'd rather ride out the depression in order to still take advantage of that mania at the other end, and though I don't consider myself bipolar, I do understand the sentiment. I'd rather be me enjoying the benefits of my creativity and warrior-like attitude two weeks out of the month and deal with feeling the opposite the other half of the time than to be levelly apathetic. I suppose, because I don't know any different.

I do know that I am a healthy human being and I do the best I can and I will continue to try to do the best I can, even when that means canceling plans and hiding in my bedroom watching a Bones marathon on Hulu (this blog is actually cutting into that, so I'll keep this short). I know a lot of people deal with a hopelessness I couldn't begin to comprehend. I still got dressed today, fed myself and my animals, and even went out in the sun a bit before it went down. I still consider myself a SURVIVOR in that "Run the World"-music-video way. This is the first time I'm admitting my depression publicly. So there it fucking is.

The Big Lebowski (1998).

ambience: 6
replayability: 7
characters: 7
dialogue: 7
music: 7

TOTAL: 34

I'm not sure I'll have a lot to say about this movie other than, "Huh hu, huh hu, I love that line." or "I still say that all the time"... I haven't seen this movie in a long while, but it used to be the first film I watched in a new apartment while I was unpacking my stuff to get cozy in the new space (along with "Mallrats" and "Breakfast Club") and I imagine I will do so again...

I get it..."The Dude" is like the "Tumbling Tumbleweed". A thing out of place in the "City of Angels". There's a new book out about "The Dude" cowritten by Jeff Bridges and a Zen Master. The premise is something about how the character of "His Dudeness" relates to a concept in Buddhism...maybe the Bodhisattva of laziness? I don't know; I haven't read it yet. Again, I like a movie that has space built within it...a movie wherein not much happens plot-wise. Something simple and airy; that's my bag.

How will I keep myself from transcribing all the quotes from this movie that have become part of the pop culture language amongst myself and my peers. "You're entering a World of Pain, man!" "You're out of your element, Donny." "You're not wrong, Walter. You're just an asshole." "This aggression will not stand, man."

Michael wants to be Jesus for Halloween this year. That outfit might be hard to find. I wonder if bowling polyester outfits can be found in any color. bowlingoutfits.com?

This has been an ennui day...I tend to call this state I'm in "hopeless bleak despair" though it's not really that bad...I'm being dramatic. Anyway, I'm going to score this thing and just enjoy the rest. Happy Monday, all.

Napoleon Dynamite (2004).

I think you know within the first 5 seconds whether or not this movie is for you. The opening credits are phenomenal. They really manage to get you geared up for the elementary-school-in-the-'80s-miasma of the movie. Somehow the infinite coolness of Jack White can't even undercut the current of nerd-setting you're about to be immersed within for the next 90 minutes. I'm always reluctant to start one of my favorite movies, like the time between viewings somehow negates my positive feelings for the film, even though it never works out like I fear it will. Already, I'm seriously on board and worrying that my tornado-damaged (it looks REALLY gnarly and this is the first time I've attempted to watch it since that awful day) copy of "Napoleon Dynamite" won't make it the full running time and I'll have to drive to Family Video to rent it or *gasp* spend the $9.99 on Amazon to purchase the digital version. I really don't want to do that when I know it will be $5 at Vintage Stock tomorrow, but I probably won't be able to resist the siren-call of the dance scene at the end for another 16 hours, so everyone hold your breath and hope that my spit-and-rubbing-on-pants-disc-cleaning trick worked like it's supposed to...

What's so brilliant about this movie is the space built into it. The (is it Idaho?) landscape is lush but realistic, the sound design is sparse but feels like the zen of youth, and who films the inside of buses anymore? since "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" anyway? Fucking fantastic!

"What are you going to do today, Napoleon?"
"Whatever I feel like I want to do....gawd!"

I used to begin mixes with this sound bite. Now I think it's my notification sound when I have a calendar alert on my phone...gives me that little moment of rebellion before I decide to do what the iPhone tells me to do.

I love that Napoleon is all clandestine about throwing the action figure out the bus window, as if anyone would care that he's doing something so ridiculous. Tetherball is stupid, everyone knows that. Awkward humor is pretty much the only humor I get and regularly enjoy. This movie was made for me. So priceless that he puts his tater tots in the pocket of his pants.

Once, in high school, I was really nervous to go out with a cute boy. He asked me to watch a Pokemon movie with him at the cheap theatre and we were both super awkward and decided to meet there. When we got there we found that the movie wasn't showing anymore and instead of deciding to watch something else or do something else, we both just got in our cars and left without hanging out at all. So weird. That's what the moment where Napoleon slams his locker-door shut and runs away after giving Deb her craft-stuff back reminds me of...so funny and so sad.

I also relate to the fact that Napoleon always takes the phone into the other room even though he's having the most mundane conversation ever. I do that too. I feel like I can't talk on the phone if I can't go into a separate room and shut the door.

Napoleon looks pretty hot in his suit. I'd totally clumsily slow-dance with him. I know the kids in this movie are obviously teenagers, but the ambience reminds me of my elementary school, probably because the era the movie seems to be set would be about the time I was in 5th grade; plus this was THE most unpopular time of my life. I'm really having a flashback here, apparently. I might as well go with it: so, in the last entry about "Moulin Rouge" I described my penchant for opera-singing-show-and-tell. I also farted frequently in class, asked out, and subsequently got turned down by, four different boys (in the having-a-friend-do-it-for-me or via "Do you like me, Yes or No" note way, of course), and sucked at all sports forever--even tetherball. I had two or three friends, at most, and girls were mean to me of course, but hey, such is life. If you don't go through stupid humiliation and embarrassment in school, when will you create the character to become cool later in life?

I'm going to have to start drinking things like Napoleon drinks his Gatorade. He does it like he's a super-athlete, like a dance warrior. Love it.

Napoleon dancing for Pedro's "skit" is one of my favorite moments in a movie ever. EVER. I get all giddy when I see it...it's coming up!! I think the important thing to remember in life, the thing maybe this movie didn't mean to convey, but does for me, is that it's better to do what you love awkwardly than to fit in quietly. Be a Napoleon and not a Summer. Still an awesome movie.

ambience: 6
characters: 7
replayability: 8
dialogue: 7
music: 8

TOTAL: 36

Moulin Rouge (2001).

I used to be OBSESSED with this movie. It came out the year I graduated (I think in June, so RIGHT after) high school. I saw it in the theatre almost as many times as I saw "The Matrix". I don't have a head for statistics, so I can't recall how many times, but I'd say at least 5 and that's a BIG deal for me to pay for a freakin' movie 5 times! I have avoided it for years, thinking that maybe this is one of those movies that should be left in the past. Today, I break the silence and we shall see if I am still in love with this movie. I did listen to "Bolero", the song played during the ending credits in the car on the way to Springfield the other night and it still transports me back to the second or third time I saw this movie in the theatre wherein my brother Sagan and I danced up by the screen theatrically. It was one of the most gleefully-free moments of my life (I have had a lot of wonderful moments like this--I can't understate the value of a friend who can abandon social mores long enough to prance off to have a moment with me, dancing, skipping, laughing. If you have been one of those friends to me, I will never forget you.).

Anyway, at the start of this movie I have no idea if what whisked me away to a happy place in this movie was merely the visuals (elephant houses, red hair, and corsets, oh my!), the music, or maybe just the overall Bohemian spirit of the thing. My aunt Diana says the plot of this movie directly mirrors the plot of the opera "La Traviata" and she was the star of this opera when I was in 1st grade, so she should know. I also had an immediate obsession with that opera when I first saw it in 1988. I even had an "opera" party and invited my entire 1st grade class after a very unskilled show-and-tell performance from "La Traviata": as you can imagine, no one got me then and only two people showed up to the party (friends for life, Sarah Rosenberg and Nicole Anderson!). This movie usually gets me all emotional...I'll stop stalling and start the damn thing...

Ok, within the first five minutes I know I will still fall in love with this movie. If only Nicole Kidman were a drag queen. Whew! I still get chills and tears in my eyes when Ewan first opens his mouth to sing "The hills are alive with the sound of music." Why don't they let him sing more in movies? Yum. So perfect that Kylie Minogue is the green faery. Welled up again at the presentation of Satine. I don't even normally care for Nicole Kidman, but I find her divine in this movie (except for all the squealing and flittering about...oh god, I forgot about all that weirdness).

I still want that elephant. Nicole's wig is so good. Jim Broadbent is just spectacular in this. I love how creepy he is doing "Like a Virgin".

Wow, ok, so I've written two measly paragraphs since I started watching the movie. I must be really sucked in...I'm at the "Roxanne" part. The music is so well-placed in this movie: in fact, all the editing, the timing of this film is just stupendous. It yanks at every emotional string within me exactly when it's supposed to. Baz is playing me like an instrument, making me cry every time he says, "Cry, bitch!" Using Queen and Nirvana against me in a cruel emotional game!

"Play the game, play the game, play the game....!!"

"Hindi Sad Diamonds" is, as far as I can remember, my first exposure to Indian-inspired music and it was my favorite in the movie. I used to play it over and over, along with "Bolero" (a song I've made up my own ballets to, dozens of times). The movie is nearing the end and I need room to sob, so I shall total and end this blog...

ambience: 8
characters: 7.6
music: 8
dialogue: 6
replayability: 6

TOTAL: 35.6

Best in Show (2000).

Just got done watching "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" for the first time since it came out in 2001 and man, I didn't get it the first viewing, but today...wow! That is just a phenomenal movie about self-acceptance and looking for validation in the wrong places and wow, it really effected me.

"Best in Show" is my palette-cleanser after the heaviness of "Hedwig...". Something just beautifully hilarious. I will laugh until I cry watching this movie. Christopher Guest is hit or miss with me. I wasn't totally in on "A Mighty Wind" or "Waiting for Guffman", but "Best in Show" kills me. I suppose I relate, because I spend most of my time with animals. I talk for my animals, I wonder what they're thinking, and I'm just as crazy as these wacka-do's, and this movie just SLAYS me. I love all the characters.

I love mockumentaries and this one is the ultimate for me, because I can completely believe that these people are for real. I'm barely 15 minutes into the movie and I've already laughed to the point of tears twice. The mundanity of life amuses me to no end. I love awkward comedy more than any other kind of comedy.

"If you get tired, pull over. If you get hungry, eat somethin'." I think of that line every time I go on a road trip.

I love how the vibe from each couple is so different, and yet they're all versions of extreme human familiarity. I feel awkward and uncomfortable when I see the Terrier parents. I want to hang out with the Shih-Tzu parents. I'm laughing the entire time the Weimeraner parents are onscreen and its like watching bad reality TV when Rhapsody in White's parents are talking.

I love it when the Shih-Tzu boys are talking to the Terrier couple at the party the night before the show. The boys completely throw water on the awkwardness of the Terrier couple, I think because both couples have a promiscuous half but the contrast lies in the fact that the Shih-Tzu counterpart is comfortable with his partner's former life while the Terrier-parent-other-half is very insecure about his wife's past. If only more time had been spent with these four.

atmosphere: 8
characters: 9
music: 5 (really, not applicable--so I give it middle-score)
dialogue: 8
replayability: 9

total: 39