The Long Delayed Annual Movie Post

To sum up my feelings about the 2011 movie season, I'll go with pretty good but not really great. I felt overall it was pretty ho hum. To utilize a sports metaphor...there weren't too many that hit it out of the ballpark, but there was a lot of good, solid small ball. I usually go with a top 10 list, but there just weren't enough deserving of that. In honor of the Oscars weird nominating rules, I'm going to populate this with a weird number between 5 and 10. Remember, this list consists of movies that I feel are the best of the year. And by best, I mean my favorite. Because honestly, I've only got three best picture nominees on my list.

I'm thinking we do a countdown, so let's go.


7) The Descendants. I almost left this movie off of my list, but ended up throwing it in. I didn't love the movie; I liked the movie. But I loved the performances. The performances are why this movie made my top 7 list. George was great. The girl who played his daughter was great. Judy Greer stole the show in all of the 5 minutes she was on screen. And they brought back Matthew Lillard? C'mon?! The story was compelling, but I can't figure out if I like Alexander Payne. I loved Election, but didn't like Sideways or About Schmidt. And there was something that I just didn't connect with in this movie, but I can't put my finger on it. I'm gonna put the blame on Payne and his style of storytelling.


6) Moneyball. I love movies. I love baseball. A movie about baseball?! You don't have to do much selling there. I was late to the game watching this one for some reason. I really didn't expect it to have as much baseball as it did because everyone kept saying it's not really that much about baseball. Are you kidding me? It was all about baseball. They just made it interesting and told a great story, so people cared and could look past the baseball if it wasn't their cup of tea. Brad was good, but he usually is. He's not my favorite and I don't find him dreamy, but he's a solid actor and you can usually bank on a pretty good performance from him. Good, not great. I've yet to see greatness in him.


5) The Help. I was excited when I found out they were making this move, but a little scared that it would turn out too saccharin. Thankfully it didn't. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer were phenomenal, and they both deserve Oscar gold. This movie also introduced me to Jessica Chastain who was in about every movie that came out this year. And that's ok by me. She was great as the outsider who couldn't fit in. I have a feeling she'll get her some Oscar gold, too, before her career's over, but not for this role. The spotlight belongs to Ms. Davis and Ms. Spencer.


4) Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Why this movie wasn't on more year end best lists is baffling. It was the best action movie I've seen in a long time. I'm a sucker for a good action movie, and I love the Mission: Impossible franchise. Save for #2, let's just forget about that one. I'll admit that I was a bit partial to this one because a good chunk of it took place in Dubai at the Burj Khalifa and came out the same time I got back from Dubai where I stayed overnight at said Burj Khalifa. But that connection aside, I still would have loved the movie. Tom Cruise may be a nut, but he's still a stud. Breaking out of prison, infiltrating the Kremlin, scaling the side of the tallest building in the world, a car chase through a dust storm, fighting til near death in a weird circular parking structure. There's nothing he can't do. If I'm ever in peril, I hope they send Ethan Hunt to save me.


3) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I'm surprised this film didn't get nominated. Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to it. I'm not gaga about the books like some people, and I've seen the first two of the Swedish films which are alright. The trailer is what got me intrigued about the movie. It had the single greatest movie trailer I've ever seen. "The feel bad movie of the year." Brilliant. I love David Fincher's films, so the trailer got me hooked. I thought this version far exceeded the Swedish version and really captured the tone of the book and the title character. She's this fragile, yet incredibly tough and resourceful girl who's had an incredibly difficult life. The subject matter is intense, and I hated a couple of the scenes but I knew they were going to be there because they were lifted straight from the book. It was just beautifully shot, and I can't wait for the next one. Hopefully Fincher sticks around for part 2.


2) Take Shelter. My two favorite movies are probably two you've never even heard of, but don't let that stop you from seeing them. Although, I'll warn you. These aren't for the masses. If you like your stories neatly tied up by the time the credits roll, you'll want to avoid them. Take Shelter was my second favorite movie of the year. It was written and directed by fellow Arkansan, Jeff Nichols. It's also the second Jessica Chastain movie on my list (there was almost a third, but I left The Debt off at the last minute). The story is about a husband and father who starts having apocalyptic visions. The movie sucks you into his paranoia about whether these visions are real or whether he's succumbing to the mental illness that plagues his mother. Great story, great performances, great filmmaking. I can't wait until his next movie comes out, which he just so happened to film entirely on location in Arkansas and stars a couple of people you may have heard of...just Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey.


1) Martha Marcy May Marlene. This was hands down my favorite movie of the year. You may have heard of it only because it was the first major role for Elizabeth Olson, younger sister of Mary Kate and Ashley, and that fact got it a lot of press. Smart move on the director's part casting her and bonus, she's amazing! The movie centers on a young girl who escapes from a cult and is trying to assimilate into her estranged sister's life. The film jumps back and forth between her time with the cult and her time with her sister. The movie develops the viewer's sense of paranoia along with the title character's as she becomes increasingly convinced that she can never escape the cult. Fair warning, this movie contains a couple of intense scenes that I wish they wouldn't have included, but I can understand why they did. Elizabeth Olson and Sarah Paulson gave two of the best performances of the year, and I'm kind of disappointed they didn't get more major awards season love. Although I think Elizabeth Olson did get an Independent Spirit Award nomination, which is much deserved. I realize that if you don't like to feel the character's paranoia, then you probably won't like either of my top two. But if you like a good psychological drama, then you should check them both out.

And there you have it. My 7 favorite movies of the years. What were yours?

What happened?

I remember one year ago vowing to start blogging again. Then I made all of 4 posts during the month of January. But it's time for my annual Top Movies of the Year list. I still have about 4 or 5 to see before I make my picks. But rest assured, it's coming...hopefully.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

This week, I went to the zoo! That was my LA activity for the week. I've lived here for 8 1/2 years and have never gone. What's worse is I've never lived that far away. In fact, I've lived exactly 5.4 miles away for the last couple of years. It's practically a hop, skip, and a jump away. So I finally made the trek out to Griffith Park and visited the zoo.

I haven't been to many zoos in my lifetime, so I was excited. I did manage to go to the San Diego Zoo, but my zoo inexperience left me befuddled with how fancy that one is supposed to be. I liked it. I had fun. But I wasn't in awe as I had nothing to really compare it to. I think I went to the St. Louis Zoo and maybe Tulsa or Little Rock when I was super duper young, but I barely remember it. Maybe I need to go back to fully appreciate it.

But back to the LA Zoo. It was super fun! I was like a little kid frolicking around oohing and awing over all the animals. I watched the elephants give themselves a dirt bath. I watched a baby orangutan showing off for his mommy and daddy. I watched some tigers lounging. I watched a bear playing with a piece of wood. I saw some kangaroos hopping around. Turns out they were actually wallabies. Learned that wallabies look a lot like kangaroos. I tried to take a picture of one that had a baby in its pouch, but you can't really tell. Needless to say, it was cute.

All in all, it was fantastic, and I'll definitely be headed back soon. Now I wonder what my next LA adventure will be?

Movies I Liked: 2010 Edition

Since Oscar nominations are out tomorrow, I thought it was time for my annual list of favorite movies of the year. Overall, it was a terrible year for movies, but thankfully there were a handful of great ones that salvaged it. So without further ado, here we go.

Honorable Mentions: In no particular order, Scott Pilgrim v. the World, The King's Speech, Get Low, Toy Story 3, and Despicable Me (which I actually enjoyed more than Toy Story 3) would round out my top 10.

5) The Social Network. This was a great mainstream film. I look for it to take home the Oscar, although I don't necessarily think it's the best movie of the year. I love all things Aaron Sorkin, and he delivered a flawless screenplay. His ability to consistently write amazing dialogue is unparalleled. The screenplay was executed to perfection by all involved. However, I didn't really think a thing about it after I walked out of the theater. I think the love for this film is amped up because of the current social media craze. Twenty years from now when we're far removed from today's facebook obsession, I think this film becomes a forgotten footnote in the history book letting the reader know that they should check out The Social Network for more information.

4) True Grit. I loved this movie for two reasons: 1) Fort Smith in the movies! and 2) The dialogue. I've never read the book, but my understanding is Portis wrote the novel in the eloquent, almost Biblical language used in the film. Bottom line, I loved it. I'm not a big Coen Bros fan, but they do such a good job with Americana. They capture the spirit of a region and don't mock it, which can't be said for many people who set stories in Arkansas or Minnesota or Mississippi among others. I was blown away by Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross. The girl deserves an Oscar and I'm hoping she snags it.

2b) Inception. I couldn't decide how to order the next two movies, so I've decided they tie for #2. Inception was the only summer movie I was looking forward to. I love Christopher Nolan and will watch anything he makes. He's the most gifted storyteller we have today. He does it all. He writes. He directs. He takes too long between projects! But I'm ok with waiting because it's always worth it. I don't think I need to say why I like Inception. Everybody saw it. It made you think. I love that Nolan makes smart films and assumes the audience can keep up. Inception delivered, now on to Batman 3.

2a) Winter's Bone. Did you see this movie? I hope you did. I know it made it to Fort Smith because I told my parents about it and they saw it. This film was Southern gothic/noir at its best. What I was most struck by was the authenticity. It was shot entirely on location in the Ozark mountains of Missouri. The cinematography is breathtaking, and the filmmaker perfectly captured the poverty of the area. Like the Coen Bros, the filmmaker did not make any judgements on the area. She simply told a compelling story and captured a slice of rural America not often seen in films. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

1) Black Swan. I never want to see this movie ever again. Now I realize that's not something you would say about your top movie of the year, so let me explain. I don't like Darren Aronofsky films, so I didn't expect to like this. In fact, I didn't even want to see it. But what I discovered was a mesmerizing psychological thriller. If ever there is a case for film as art, Black Swan should be one of the prime examples. Everything about the film, from the writing to the acting to the camera shots to the editing to the music, took you along for a ride into the maddening descent of Natalie Portman's character as she came to literally inhabit her role. It's not for the faint of heart and if you don't appreciate film as art, then you probably didn't enjoy the film and I can understand that. For me, however, it was beautiful and haunting and disturbing...but I never want to see it again.

Well folks, that about sums it up for me. Wonder what 2011 has in store?

Let's go see some comedy!

My first foray into doing "LA" things involved going to a comedy show. I liked it so much I went to another one this week. Comedy wasn't really on my list of things to do. I've never really been a big stand-up fan. Let me clarify, I'm not a fan of blue stand-up and that seems to dominate. But what I've discovered is there are actually comedians out there who are "clean" and super funny. You just have to look for them.

Thanks to a brief plug by Judd Apatow in the LA Times back in November ("Comics on Comics"), I discovered the comedy of Maria Bamford. If you look closely, you may recognize her as the crazy Target lady from the black Friday ads. Even if you were annoyed by that particular ad campaign, I encourage you to give her a shot because that's the least funny thing I've seen her do (although I personally find the Target lady hysterical).

Through the magic of the Internet and Twitter, I learned that local comedians put on shows practically every night of the week. And they're super cheap! I guess it's a chance for them to perfect their jokes and/or delivery before actually performing for a paid audience. I went to a show in the back of a comic book store last week for the low, low price of $8. And this week, I went to one that was completely free. Granted, for such a low price, you have to take the good with the bad. But I was really only there to see Maria Bamford, so it was well worth it for me.

I'm posting some of her bits below. The first is her performing on Craig Ferguson and the following two are my favorite jokes she does. Fair warning, there is a curse word in the second clip. If you like funny things, I encourage you to check her out. If not, just sit tight and maybe my next post will be something that interests you more.

Hello Blogosphere!

I'm back. Although I think I've said that before, but maybe this time it'll stick. I hope the world is treating you well, dear readers. Wait, I wonder if I have any readers left? Oh well, regardless, here goes...

Since it's the new year, I thought I'd start with new years' resolutions. I only have two this year and for the first time in forever neither of them involve working out. I somehow managed to jump on that boat in the fall and am still chug, chug, chugging along. My resolutions involve doing things that make me happy. I had a realization in December that I was letting life happen to me rather than living my life. So my goal is to flip that on its head in 2011.

My first and primary resolution is to do fun LA things. There are so many things to do around the city that you can't do anywhere else, and I've failed to take advantage of it. I've got a long list of things to do, and I've already started. I found a hole-in-the-wall comedy show that I went to last night which was super-awesome. I'm going to try out restaurants, museums, improv shows, and even take a workout class with Richard Simmons! After the great start with the comedy show, I'm even looking more forward to doing stuff. Sometimes I forget that I like to do things because my couch is so comfy. But I can have the best of both worlds and I intend to.

My second resolution is to blog more. I like to write. It's about the only creative thing I do. And the easiest way to write consistently? Blog! It's so easy. Why did I let it slip away? I'm going to make myself be more consistent with this here blog. I don't know how often I'll write, but whenever I feel like sharing I'm going to do it.

So here's to the new year! Happy 2011!

Farewell 20's

Things that happened during the last decade of my life:

- Graduated from college
- Moved to California
- Interned at Miramax & Comedy Central
- Got my MBA
- Graduated from law school
- Passed the bar
- Worked at Michael's and Target while looking for my first legal job
- Got my first real job
- Got fired from my first real job
- Suffered through 6 long months of unemployment
- Went to Germany & Paris for the first time
- Found my second real job
- Suffered through my second real job in the face of a depressing economy
- Went to Germany & Paris for the second time
- Became an aunt for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th time
- Said goodbye to 3 of my 4 grandparents
- Totaled my beloved Civic
- Became a Mac user greatly opposed to the PC
- Learned to navigate as a single gal in the big city

Not quite the list I expected, but a good one none the less. If you would've told me at 20 that getting married and at least pondering the idea of kids wasn't going to be on that list, I would've laughed in your face. Funny how God has different things in mind.

Bring on the 30's!!