Bye Bye Brooke...

Tonight on American Idol we said goodbye to Brooke White.

I've actually always liked her alot, even though everyone called her too emotional and sensitive.
Well, isn't that sometimes a good thing?

She was too chatty when the judges were critiquing her, but I think that was just nervous energy.

Her standout performances were several weeks ago, when she performed a re-arranged, slow-groovin' 'Love is a Battlefield' on 80's week and a near-flawless version of 'Let it be' at the piano on Lennon/McCartney week 1.

She brought a real folksy-art sound to the show, one that I don't think we've seen up to this point from anyone else. A self-proclaimed major fan of Carly Simon, Carole King and James Taylor, that is exactly the kind of vibe I got from her.

I must admit I am anxious to see what she does after this, and if she manages to get a contract with a label. I wouldn't doubt it.

I, for one, would most likely purchase a cd of hers. I like her voice, and she seemed like a really decent person, even if she'd never seen an R-rated movie... I didn't know anyone over the age of 15 even fit into that category.

See ya, Brooke.
Good luck.

We're down to 4.

Cloverfield

Review of "Cloverfield" is up on my other blog.
Check it out http://www.fascinationwithfear.blogspot.com/

Words of wisdom

Now that's funny - I don't care who ya are!
(thanks for the email, Nickie!)

Into the great wide open...

Into the Wild is a wonderful adaptation of the book (of the same name) by Jon Krakauer.
It tells the story of a disillusioned college graduate - Christopher McCandless - who up and "quits his life", in search of what he calls ultimate freedom.
He has his own ideas about the way he wants his life to be and is dead-set on acheiving these goals. For those who do not know - this is a true story. Read the book, it's great as well.

He tells his parents he is thinking of going to Harvard Law School, but instead he send off a big check (his entire savings minus a few hundred) to a charity, gets in his old Datsun, and drives across the country on a mission to find himself. His main objective is to make it to Alaska.
For an unknown reason he is entirely fixated on this one ambition. He seeks to challenge himself to walk 'into the wild' and live with nature, and will not rest until the task is complete.

He changes his name to Alexander Supertramp, literally burns the remaining money he has on him, and begins a meandering journey around the country - meeting random people and adding a spark to their lives as well. As for his family - he never even calls to tell them he is alright. He does not feel they deserve even that much, and is bitter for various reasons which are tossed around in the narrative by his sister.

The casting in this picture is top-notch - from Vince Vaughn to Catherine Keener to Hal Holbrook (in an Oscar nominated turn). They all seek to help "Alex" in their own ways, and they all succeed in learning some life lessons that he has to teach. Holbrook, in particular, makes your heart ache for a happy ending.

There is alot of sadness intertwined here with the crystal clear elation that Alex has, finding new things to amaze and astonish him on a daily basis. His mere joy at seeing a wild animal for the first time in its natural habitat clashes with his walk through the slums and soup kitchens of LA.
He picks up odd jobs here and there - fast food, grain harvesting, selling books with a band of hippies - just enough to get by. He kayaks through the western rapids, hitches rides on trains, and basically hikes into wild Alaska at the wrong time of year, with little to no provisions or shelter. Not once did I see him consult a map. He finds an abandoned bus and sets up camp there, eating berries to survive after a failed moose poaching experience.

He's a smart man - book smart. But not the right books.

A bit of "How to survive in the wild" would have been better than a whole lot of "Dr Zhivago".

Anyway, I digress a bit. This movie is incredibly worthy of the praise it has received. It is a visual smorgasbord of stunning beauty. The acting is first rate. Emile Hirsch is - for lack of a better word - fantastic in this part and should have been taken seriously into consideration at Academy Award time. I have heard he lost over 40 pounds over the course of filming. To say more would give everything away who don't know the story.

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam fame provides the perfect music to tell the tale.

Sean Penn wrote the adapted screenplay and directed as well. He did tend to romanticize Christopher's thought process - making it seem reasonable to do what he did - which was basically, abandon his family, give all his money away, and hike - unprepared - into one of the most vast, unforgiving and at times brutal habitats in the world.

All in all, a must-see.

The Seclusion of Self

Lars and the Real Girl is a charming, offbeat film made especially enjoyable by the astounding performance of "Lars" himself- Ryan Gosling. I believe he won an Independent Spirit Award this year for this role, and it was well deserved. An Oscar nom would have been nice, I think. He is one of the most promising and talented actors out there right now.

It tells the story of a man (Lars) who is not quite altogether there. He seems to get by in his daily life - working at some kind of office job, going to church, living in a garage on the family property - but something just ain't jellin'. He is a painfully shy loner, not even wanting to spend an evening with his brother and sister-in-law (who own the house because the parents are dead)... he keeps finding ways to avoid personal attachments, removing himself from social situations and shunning attention.

One day, his co-worker shows him ads on the internet for life size dolls - sex dolls in all actuality. Lars next shows up at his brother's door, saying he has a visitor.
Bianca.

She is a lovely, long dark-haired, well built, sexy lady whom he says he has met over the internet. She is apparently a missionary of some kind, had nursing training, is from Brazil (but has Danish blood in her as well!), and is sadly, in a wheelchair.
She is also.... a sex doll. An anatomically correct sex doll.
His brother and sister-in-law are dumbfounded, shocked and saddened. The look on their faces when Lars is telling them about his new girlfriend is priceless.

It's obvious Lars has a problem. What to do?

Go to the family doctor/psychologist in town (played brilliantly by Patricia Clarkson) and ask her advice. She tells them Lars is clearly going through some kind of delusion and the best thing to do is to go along with it until the delusion's significance shows itself. More than likely he has 'created' Bianca to fill a gap or serve a purpose in his life.

These could not be truer words, and the journey to the truth is both poignant and funny as hell at the same time. The whole town gets behind the ruse, inviting Bianca to parties and to volunteer at the hospital and be on the school board, among other things.
It is a very affecting movie that I would recommend highly - and if you watch it and don't "get it" - I think you may need some therapy yourself.

I can totally get behind this movie and say watch it if you get the chance. The acting by all is top-notch and the story is notably creative and original.

And as for the "sex" in sex doll... not gonna happen. Bianca is very religious and virtuous. Sorry.

Vote for David....COOK!

Can I just say something?
Ok, I know the little Archuleta

dude can sing -
but I'm sick of him now.

Sick of his way too humble

constant thank you's, his licking

his lips when he sings (aarrrghhh!),

and sick of him leaving us all in

ballad hell every week.

All the little girls are screaming

and cheering for him and it makes me

quite nauseated. He's not even that

good looking you little teeny-boppers!

Add to that the fact that he looks

totally ridiculous in leather pants (!)

and I guess I'm just saying:

Please don't let him win.
How would you market this dude?

One Josh Groban in the world is

enough!

So vote for DAVID COOK !!

He's album-ready, totally true to

himself, brave with song choices and

arrangements, and so it would seem,

a genuinely nice guy just waiting for

his big shot.
So lets end this thing on an (original)

high note.

Thank you and goodnight ;)

Just like big brother

Had to put up this photo of Nicanor.

Who's Nicanor you ask?

He's Barbaro's full brother, that's who.

And that makes him important to me.





















*Photo credit: Louise Reinagel of The Blood Horse*

Isn't he a beauty?


He really looks like Barbaro!
See? This is Barbaro in 2006..

wow!

Johnny does it yet again....

Check out my Sweeney Todd blurb on http://www.fascinationwithfear.blogspot.com/ !

From the ashes

Things We Lost In The Fire is a character study in grief and sadness, addiction and salvation.



When Audrey's (Halle Berry) husband Brian (David Duchovny) gets shot and killed in a random domestic argument he was trying to break up, she is understandably crushed. At the funeral, she sees his childhood best friend Jerry- superbly played by Benicio Del Toro- and reconnects on an emotional level she wasn't expecting.

You see, for years she has despised Jerry- a former lawyer no less- because he is a junkie. She always feared Brian's visits to see him, thinking someday he wouldn't come home from the crack-infested neighborhood he lived in. When that happens but through no doing of Jerry's, Audrey finds herself strangely dependent on Jerry to get through her despair. And Jerry, having lost the only person who still thought of him as a friend, is having an equally difficult time getting used to the fact that he isn't going to be there for him anymore. Being near Audrey gives him a sense of hope.

They become friends, in a 'I'll-help-you-through-your-grief-and-you-help-me-with-this-addiction'-kind of way. He moves into the garage adjacent to the house, becomes friends with the neighbor, forms an attachment to Audrey's children - who reciprocate the affection - and at one point, is innocently holding Audrey to help her sleep at night.

But what would a movie about heroin addiction be without a relapse? Well you won't find out because there is a banner one here. Del Toro is one fine actor. Absolutely believeable in his backslide into heroin dependence, he shows many sides of a human being struggling with the fight of his life. Fortunately he has the (desperately beautiful) Berry to help him through.

There's nothing too new in this movie, that's true... but I really thought it was a well-acted drama. The delicate connection that Audrey and Jerry have formed is tested time and again, with varying results. And just when you thought it was going to turn south and become a 'guy sleeps with dead best friend's wife' movie, it deviates in a different direction and stays more true to life.

I don't suppose this is for everyone, but the hubby & I both would have to rate it pretty high on the list of well-acted movies. As it is not a 'feel-good' type of film, don't be expecting everything to come out smelling like roses... but maybe you might get a whiff of lillies.

The title, while not explaining Brian's death like you thought it would, does make sense near the end of the film.
I have to say I liked this alot.

Press repeat...

Another blogger asks:
What are 5 movies that if they happen to be on when you turn on your tv, you would watch - even if it's halfway over and/or you've seen them a hundred times?

my five?

1) Twister - I have some sort of odd fascination with extreme weather, hence I have seen this movie again and again. I can (and do) recite the lines on demand.
"I gotta go Julia, we've got cows!"

2) Jaws - In keeping with the whole 'danger' theme, I am enamoured with this movie like no other. It can be during the opening credits or during Quint's tragic end, I'll finish it out.
"Farewell and Adieu to you fair Spanish ladies...."

3) The Lord of the Rings - Any of the three films in the trilogy will do nicely. Just yesterday I started watching The Two Towers - the middle of the three - and decided to pop in the dvd to get rid of the commercials. I just can't NOT watch it.
"Keep it secret. Keep it safe"

4) Sideways - Because this is my favorite movie, that should be enough of a reason. But who can resist the sad-sack performance of Paul Giamatti playing off the smart-ass perverty Thomas Haden Church.. is there a better buddy movie??
"Did you drink and dial, Miles?"

5) Shaun of the Dead - This is the funniest freakin' movie, I swear. If you haven't seen it, you should run out and buy it or at the very least put it in your Netflix queue. Can't.....stop......laughing...............
"You've got red on you..."

The Irreverence of Truth

Atonement


This brilliant film was up for Best Picture this year. I have seen 2 other nominees (No Country for Old Men and Michael Clayton) and have the other two (There Will Be Blood and Juno) at the top of my Netflix list, but unless the latter duo show me something outstanding, I believe that Atonement was robbed of its Oscar.

From the exceptional best selling novel by Ian McEwan comes this story of lies, lust, life and love set in England at the outset of WWII.

Young Briony (wonderful newcomer Saoirse Ronan) is a fledgling storyteller.
She is busy putting together a play for her and her cousins to put on for her brother, who is returning home after a long abscense and bringing a friend (a chocolate factory tycoon) for dinner.

Meanwhile, older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) is trying her best not to show any emotion towards Robbie (James McAvoy), the lower-class son of one of their servants. It is obvious they have feelings towards each other but are fighting them, greatly without success. The flirtacious glances and playful banter between the two underlies the passion yearning to get out. It will have its chance.

Briony, with her own childish crush on Robbie, witnesses a few separate incidents that occur between he and Cecilia, and misinterprets them with grave, irreversible results, setting in motion a series of events that condemn the relationships of all involved. Once this is done, there is no going back.

Making amends just doesn't appear to be possible, and Briony sets out to attempt some semblance of restitution. When the war eventually starts, she becomes a nurse, thinking that helping others will somehow absolve her of the lies she has unfortunately been living with. She busies herself in secret, still typing away her stories, one of which turns out to be the story she is indeed telling in real time.

Cecilia, also a nurse but far removed (physically as well as emotionally) from her family, is waiting Robbie's return from the war-front. Briony's mistakes have cost her her happiness and there is no forgiveness to be given. Cecilia has always believed in and attested to Robbie's reputation. They are rabidly in love and miserably separated by war.

Robbie, an unfortunate victim of deceit and false accusations, is observed in the living hell that was Dunkirk. He dreams of reuniting with Cecilia, and their letters back and forth ache with the longing that they just have to be together again.

To tell more would be a sin, as reading the book or seeing the film are experiences you need to go into not knowing the whole heart of the story. There is so much sadness you'll almost wonder why on earth you started watching it.... but you just can't take your eyes off this tour de force of melodrama and depth of emotion.

The ending, like the book, has reason to provoke and maybe anger even the most jaded of individuals - leaving you wanting so much more. And yet, it seems perfect.
Perfectly unreasonable.
Almost makes me permanently bent out of shape.
Any movie that can evoke that much emotion in me is a keeper.

The only thing left I can say is: watch it and decide for yourself.

To my BFF

My best friend in the 'wide world' is having a birthday
on April 7th!!
So I have to tell Juli to live it up and have a great day!
Love ya!

To my Sweetie

Had to wish my favorite person in the whole world (my hubby!!) Happy Birthday!
You make my world go round! Sometimes I get dizzy, but that's the fun part of the ride.
Love you.

Wretched, wretched movie!

Ten things I would rather do than EVER watch this movie again:



1) Leap over the fence and into the lion enclosure at the zoo, you know - just for fun!

2) Be force-fed brussel sprouts alternating with celery sticks for 10 days straight.

3) Be stuck in an elevator for 12 hours with Jerry Springer, Britney Spears, Howard Stern and Sandra "super-simple" Lee.

4) Glue my eyes open with Super Glue.

5) Go on a liquid diet of nothing but CAT-scan contrast for a week or so.

6) Watch a 24 hour marathon of something like "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels" or pretty much anything on the Game Show Network.

7) Crouch down in a patch of poison ivy to relieve myself.

8) Go swimming in the shark-abundant Great Barrier Reef with loads of shiny jewelery, a bright brand-new surf board, oh... wait! I can't swim...

9) Take a month long tour of a malaria-infested shanty town somewhere in Africa.
Hey, maybe Angelina will go with me!

10) Volunteer at a over-capacity, wall to wall, ridiculoulsy jam-packed day care center for any length of time whatsoever.

*Believe me when I say this movie is crud. A stain on the resume of everyone involved. Complete and utter rubbish.

I can't even waste time writing a synopsis about it because well, I can't get the hour & a half back that it took to watch this dreck, so why waste your time having you read about it. Suffice it to say, I thought it would start getting good at some point.... My misconception is your blessing in disguise.

Can you tell I hated it?

A bit of pop culture.

I guess I do feel a bit bad for Sarah Jessica Parker. Recently she was at the top of a list that Maxim magazine compiled of the Ugliest Women. I mean, how rude is that? I'm sure she's a lovely person (at least on the inside, despite rumors to the contrary) and I think Maxim is full of crap for having that list in the first place.
A list of beautiful women is one thing, but why single women out as ugly?
However.



SJP is not overly attractive, to be sure. I've always kinda wondered why people find her so sexy. I actually always thought she'd be perfect in a remake of The Wizard of Oz. I'll let you guess which character.



Sorry, Sarah. Don't worry, I'm not beautiful either! We all can't look like Halle Berry!

Maxim compared her to a horse - in particular a few of my favorite horses - Barbaro and Secretariat. What up? I take serious offense to them comparing her to a couple of the most strikingly handsome equines of the last 50 years.


Barbaro


Secretariat

I'm not likin' that correlation at all. You know how I feel about my horses!

But honestly....
I think Maxim would have been better off picking someone else. I don't think SJP is the ugliest just cause she has a long face and 'witchy' look.
I think Britney Spears (who was a bit further down on the list) looks MUCH worse than SJP.



I mean, at least SJP always looks put together, is respected, a decent actress, and to my knowledge hasn't done any of the following: run anyone's feet over, hung out barefoot at a gas station, cried on the curb, shaved her head, hit paparazzi with an umbrella, drove a car with her kids on her lap, forgotten her underwear, had a drunken marriage in Vegas, or barricaded herself and her child in her house illegally.

And if we're simply going on looks - I submit this for your consideration:


Seriously! Just what the hell was Antonio Banderas thinking?????