Tag: Perks of Being a Wallflower

Film Friday Footnotes

So far this fall I have seen some great movies, in the theatre and at home!  Here’s a quick roundup:

Trouble with the Curve (with Kristine for her birthday) –  Grumpy old Clint Eastwood, successful and driven Amy Adams, the lovable friend John Goodman and the cuter-than-cute Justin Timberlake.  There’s just something about baseball movies and this one was lots of fun.  Poor Clint has failing eyes, which are pretty important to his job as a baseball scout (for the Braves I think).  Loyal friendships, strained father-daughter relationship, flirty flirty romance, baseball uniforms.  Good stuff.

Cover of "Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Co...
Cover via Amazon

Pitch Perfect (with Troy in NYC!) – The perfect movie to kick off Broadway Birthday week in NYC!  It was hilarious (“I set fires to feel joy.”) and energetic and simply A-ca-wonderful!  I wanted to see it again in the theatre but with so many other good movies to see, I will wait to purchase it!  It was produced by Elizabeth Banks and her husband and she has such a fun role in the movie.  Just great stuff.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (alone before working overnight on a free movie day) – I read this book in the 90s when it came out and it was good.  The movie is very good, as well.  A lonely freshman is “mentored” by a couple of seniors and feels relief in friendships.  The movie is funny and fun but also delicately handles mental illness.

Argo (Friday night with the grownups) – Suspenseful; so suspenseful and tense.  I was squirming in my seat but loved it.  Ben Affleck is getting cuter by the minute and not shirtless for long enough, John Goodman is still a lovable goof of a friend, and Alan Arkin appears (as always) that he’s up for anything.  Well done, Ben!

And at home via Netflix or Direct TV on Demand:

Bernie – Jack Black plays the lovable funeral director that his hometown does not want to convict of murder, even though he did it.  No one blames him because the woman who dies was really a hateful person (Shirley McLaine).  It was “meh” and interestingly enough based on a real person.

Blue Like Jazz – Based on the book of the same name by Donald Miller, a story (semi-autobiographical) of a young man who becomes disillusioned with church and goes off to a small liberal college in the NW as a rebellious gesture.  He tries to figure out himself and what he believes.  It was fine.  I didn’t finish the book probably for the same reason that the movie didn’t have zing.

Sleepwalk with Me – You can still see this in “select theatres” throughout the United States, just not a “theatre near me.”  But I was excited to learn that it was available On-Demand to rent!  Yay!  So I watched it tonight and it was so good.  I heard of the movie because I listen to This American Life and The Moth Story Hour and I think that Mike Birbiglia is very entertaining and funny to listen to.  He wrote this movie (semi-autobiographical) about the start of a stand-up comedy career and the stall of a long-term relationship and the dangerous sleep disorder woven into the mix. Quirky and smart, it was definitely the best thing I’ve seen at home in a while.  It would have been fun to see it on the big screen, but it is one of those films that probably won’t make it to our screens.

Movies to look forward to this fall/holiday season:

Scottish actor Gerard Butler at the press conf...
Scottish actor Gerard Butler at the press conference for the film Coriolanus. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
  • Cloud Atlas – Hear it’s the fastest 3 hour movie ever made!
  • Chasing Mavericks – maybe.  Gerard Butler, you know.
  • Anna Karenina – I read the books so I know what happens (ha) and can’t wait for this new adaptation
  • Life of Pi – I read this book – twice – and loved it. Hope the movie is amazing, too!
  • Hyde Park on Hudson – maybe. May be a renter.
  • Playing for Keeps – Gerard Butler. That’s all.
  • This is 40. – Judd Apatow movie with Paul Rudd.  Nice.
  • The Impossible – maybe. About the tsunami. Looks hard to watch.
  • Les Miserables – looks amazing!

 

Related articles

Again with the Movies

I guess my movie-going and movie-watching has slowed a little since early summer, but I have seen some great movies.  I think I saw the best one this weekend in the theater – “The Intouchables.”  This is a French gem which is based on true events about an affluent quadriplegic, Philippe, who hires Driss — a young Parisian petty criminal — to be his caregiver.  They are an unconventional pair – the classical-music-loving cerebral man in the mansion and the pot-smoking man from the streets – and they both are changed by the bond that they form.

I loved this part of the movie, where Philippe knows he will be bored by his “surprise” birthday party, but Driss brings joy to the evening.

I think I’ve gotta get me some Earth, Wind and Fire!

I also loved the scene where they went to the opera.  Just classic.  See it, if you can!!

Other movies seen at my local theatre include “Hope Springs,” “The Campaign,” and “Step Up: The Revolution.”

“Hope Springs” was not what we were anticipating – very much NOT a romantic comedy.  Serious stuff, relationships!

“The Campaign” had some pretty funny moments, but was not great.  Fun night out with the kids next door.

“Step Up: The Revolution” was my first Step Up experience!  It was one of those movies that I smiled all the way through – sometimes because of delight but mostly because it was just so cheesy.

Eagle vs Shark
Eagle vs Shark (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On DVD I really liked “Peter’s Friends” – a British “Big Chill” – and “Stardust” – a mishmash of “Princess Bride” and “The Witches of Eastwick.”  🙂  I also enjoyed Jemaine in “Eagle vs. Shark,” a quirky New Zealand movie.  And it was fun to see “The Importance of Being Earnest” after reading it and listening to the audiobook!  Oscar Wilde is so witty!

I’ve been following bloggers who are at the Toronto Film Festival and started creating a list of movies to watch out for.  Top of the list for me are ‘Sleepwalk With Me” and “Safety Not Guaranteed.”  Also, “Argo,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “Pitch Perfect,” and “Anna Karenina.”  There are others I want to see but this is a good start!

Next on my “agenda” are some musical events!  First, Jeremy Messersmith’s Supper Club tour in Rochester Monday night (!) with Marissa.  Can’t wait! It will be unlike anything I’ve ever done before.  Then Glen Hansard at First Ave on Sept 29 and some great musical events in NYC!  Woot woot!

So much to look forward to…

What are you looking forward to this fall?

Related articles

40 Things (7)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Image via Wikipedia

Following along with Boof’s 40 Day Challenge leading up to her 40th birthday, her next question is:

7) A favourite YA book

I had to go to goodreads to find a list of “best YA books” to see if I had read any – and of course I have read quite a few!  The Harry Potter series would rank up there as favorites, but also “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and Louise Rennison’s books about Georgia (“Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging” et al).  When I was a YA, I read and re-read “A Wrinkle in Time” and as a grown adult with a YA of my own, I tried to read it and found it slightly disturbing.  So interesting how your brain changes…

#7 on my list of things to do before 40 was to “experiment with recipes.”  Wow.  How vague is that?  Since my daughter went to college in ’06 and the flood of ’07, I have cooked less and less.  When I do I like to try something new.  I set it as a goal in 2011 to cook weekly and have mostly failed at that as well.

What I am learning from reviewing my list of 40 things is that I need to be better at setting measurable and specific goals!  Although, it still was fun to create a list of the way I wanted things to be.

Off to read!