Ms. Amused

Earlier this year, I decided to make it a mission to fill in some big gaps in my pop culture knowledge and finally watch old classics so that I’d know what people were talking about or referring to!

Last week I watched Singin’ In The Rain and in love! Now I see why Gene Kelly was thought of so much. And wow does George Clooney look a lot like him.

The girl was adorable and I was tickled later to realize that was Debbie Reynolds in her first acting gig!

Donald O’Connor isn’t a name that was familiar to me but IMO he stole the show repeatedly!

I’ve always loved musicals and why did I wait so long to get into the best musical era of them all?

I’ve got Anchors Aweigh waiting for me now but first…

Last night I watched “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”, which filled in a lot of gaps for me. I noticed that it’s based on a story by Truman Capote. Ahh so that’s what he wrote. Ironically I’m at the tail end of reading To Kill A Mockingbird by his best friend, Harper Lee!

I don’t recall if I’ve watched Audrey Hepburn in a movie before but wow I can see why she was so popular.

Now I understand why people want to be Holly Golightly. But even before Paul’s big speech at the end, I was wondering whatever for because she’s not “free” at all! She’s so busy running away or towards things that she doesn’t ever seem to just be.

And perhaps I’m jaded but I found myself being annoyed because this is how love is being portrayed but they’re leaving out all the hard parts

Here’s the shocker for me about BaT… Paul Varjak. At first I thought, wow he looks like my neighbor Dan, kind of. But then it was starting to bug me that he looked like someone else. Earlier during the credits, I’d noticed a name that was familiar but I couldn’t place. But it all came together when I realized that Paul was none other than Hannibal of the A-Team!! One of my favorite shows to watch in the 80s!

So very weird to see him as a young man playing a lovelorn suitor. Not at all like the confident, always has it together, man with a plan Hannibal!

This has definitely been fun for me, to take this trip down vintage lane past when I was born. Netflix emailed me an hour ago to tell me that I’ll have My Fair Lady tomorrow. I’ve seen bits and pieces of this and probably in school as a girl but I don’t think I’ve ever really seen the movie.

There’s also Casablanca. And I haven’t even begun to crack open a dvd set I’ve owned for 8 years: Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals containing many classics including the uberclassic: Sound of Music. All of which I’ve never seen.

I also need to watch the three Mae West movies I also bought back then. And after watching Debbie last week, I want to see Annie Get Your Gun which I know I bought but I think I got rid of last year

Plus my friend Jen, recommended a bunch more!

Almost forgot, while watching Breakfast… I was struck by how much some of the people in the bit players or even just background looked like people from today. For example, the drunk lady crying in the mirror at herself: Alison Janney. The black man in the library the first time they go there, you see him at the edge of the screen as he watches Holly & Paul walk away from him and I had to convince myself that Tim Meadows was not an immortal vampire who remains eternally young.

Looks like Morgan will be ok

Freeman’s injuries included a broken arm, a broken elbow and “minor shoulder damage,” but the actor “was in good spirits when I spoke with him a short time ago” at the hospital trauma center in Memphis, his publicist, Donna Lee, told Reuters in a statement on Monday. - Source

He will have surgery but seems to fair to say that he’ll make a full recovery. It’s not like he’s an action star a la Christian Bale so we’ll be seeing him again on the screen!

James Doohan (of “Beam me up Scott” fame)’s son writes about the repeated failed attempts to give his dad the funeral he wanted. In Space.

And also in very worrisome news, Morgan Freeman was seriously injured in a car accident! NOOOO!!!!

As cleolinda on LJ put it… NOOOO NOT PRESIDENT GOD!!

When older actors pass away, like George Carlin, it hurts and it’s hard but it’s less devastating (for me at least) than when people like Heath die because none of us live forever and they were getting to the end of their life anyways. George had bad heart health for some time anyways.

But Morgan Freeman… he may be old but he’s also very in demand and prolific in great roles which puts him on the screen several times a year it seems. He’s in so many movies that I love that it’d be brutal to lose him though nature dictates we will one day.

Just NOT YET!!!! please not yet… not for another 20 years at least.

There’s talk about a Batman curse since Heath died earlier this year. Supposedly it was talked about on set… but why? Were there injuries and other mishaps leading up to Heath’s death and now Morgan’s accident?

Some people are even including Bale’s recent appearance in the tabloids as part of the curse. But I discount that because that’s just opportunistic parasitic family members trying to make a buck by hook or by crook. And oh yea, I don’t believe Bale “assaulted” anyone. Yelled, sure. But beat? No way. I looked up old interviews and noticed that he rarely talked about his mom and that it was mostly all about his dad. Bad relationship much?

Since I’ve already rambled to Nepal and back… might as well finish off by saying:

I SAW DARK KNIGHT ON FRIDAY AT MIDNIGHT AND LOVED IT!

Not a perfect film but I actually prefer that. Too perfect movies make my head explode. I am even more sorry that Heath is dead because it is a CRIME that there’s no way to finish the Joker story.

Well someone, I think A, actually brought it up “What if they got Depp to finish it?” and that made me stop and think. I’d been thinking that no one would tolerate anyone stepping in for Heath to finish the story but how about an actor that people are lauding for having done just that on a different film? I dare say even Colin Farrell would work but not Jude Law.

The Joker was the ONE character in Dark Knight that I didn’t “see the actor” in. And that was only because between the heavy feature obliterating makeup and the voice modulation, even a focused attempt to see Heath under the makeup rarely worked.

Put Depp through makeup/costume tests and I’m sure they can get him to look very much like Heath’s Joker. Depp is also talented enough that I believe he could “find” Heath’s Joker’s mannerism & style and carry them on.

So yea… maybe there’s hope after all to continue the Joker.

Gonna force myself to save the tangent rant about one of the reasons why people say that Angelina Jolie should not be cast as Catwoman but instead point out what I’ve determined to be the current truth about casting for the next Batman movie.

There is NO casting other than the obvious already played ones, the surviving characters from Dark Knight (I listed them but realized it’d be a spoiler).

Apparently a number of actors signed multi picture deals, ie Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart both reportedly signed 2 picture deals. But just because the contracts exists, doesn’t mean they have to be used in the 2nd picture of the deal.

It was reading that Christopher Nolan isn’t even attached for a 3rd Batman picture that made me realize that at this stage, absolutely nothing is set in stone. The next movie might not even be made. Common sense dictates that the buckets of cash and records breaking run of Dark Knight is enjoying will drive the studio to make another movie at some point. But that’s about the only thing you can count on.

Fare Thee Well James Doohan, George Carlin, & Heath Ledger and GET BETTER SOON Morgan Freeman!!

And someone stick Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Michael Caine in a padded bomb shelter til 2009! Oh and Christopher Nolan too!

Wow what a delightful little movie!

Stars Frances McDormand as a governess in London who is very down on her luck and gets fired from the last job that would have her, in 30s/40s wartime.

On the streets with nary a pence nor any worldly possessions, she manages to manuever herself into a position as a social secretary to a starlet in the making, played by Amy Adams (of last year’s Enchanted).

I’d just gotten done watching Nanny McPhee when I put this in. I love Nanny McPhee and especially Emma Thompson’s acting in it so it was an interesting segue into Frances McDormand playing a woman who finds herself acting as a “nanny” to a “mess” of a girl whose morals are in the toliet but is so endearing that “Miss Pettigrew” finds herself staying on to see what happens next.

It’s a very charming, fun movie that I highly recommend. It’s one of those “you’ve never heard of it because it wasn’t mass marketed as a blockbuster romcom.

And it turns out, it’s originally a book written by a Winnifred Watson who was a wife and mother and wrote the story in her head while washing dishes. And the book talks about a girl who jumps in and out of her suitor’s beds and apparently handles cocaine as if it were a piece of candy. Not a book you’d expect from a housewife in the 40s.

But she was a wily one and managed to get it published by writing another book that was more like her “love in the country” tamer ones she’d written before as part of a 2fer deal with the publisher. And it took off proving her right and the publisher who thought it too risque, wrong.

What gets me laughing and shaking my head with admiration for Winny, is the producer in the extra telling the story of the long path of getting it actually made into a movie. “We’re just about to sign the contracts and the lawyers are doing their due diligence, call up from CA and say You don’t own the rights to this movie”. Turns out Winny had sold the rights to a studio way back in the day, and again in 1954, to Universal. Who owns Focus Films through which they were contracting to make this film now. So in essence, wily winny sold the movie rights 3 times to the same studio!

You must go watch the movie and be sure to watch the extra “Miss Pettigrew’s Long Trip To Hollywood” to see Winny’s son talking about her and the photos of her in her 90s with a wicked grin on her face and brandishing a cigarette with no apologies or regrets.

I only regret that there’s not more movie to watch. But there’s the book… I shall be reading that!

If you need yet another reason to watch this movie, how about this? Are you one of those frustrated by the fact that Hollywood seems to have very few good stories about women older than 22? It’s easy to see why Frances McDormand attached herself to the story before there was a screenplay!

Also of note besides the lovely Frances and Amy are Lee Pace whose face kept bothering me cause I knew it but had no idea what the name was. IMDB revealed that he’s the star of Pushing Daisies ahhh. He makes a very nice turn in this movie. But more and more I keep seeing this other bloke in the films and despite his older age, I find myself crushing on him: Ciarán Hinds. I keep thinking that it’s Chris Cooper because they have the same kind of “older gentleman/authorative figure” persona. Clearly there’s another Sam Jackson/Lawrence Fishburne interchangeable actor pair now but Ciarán brings a little extra something that makes me sit up and take notice!

Ah I see he’s in Margot at the Wedding which I’ve been meaning to watch. Guess what I’m doing now?

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I’ve been enjoying older movies lately. Finally saw Singin’ In The Rain for the first time ever. This movie reminded me of the old style of story telling in the movies from the 40s. Originally, if it’d been made in the 40s when Winny first sold the rights, it would have been a musical like a lot of the other movies were. This one isn’t though Amy has at least one singing number but that’s what her character does, sings in a club.

The point and I do have one sometimes, is that if you like or love those older movies, it’s yet another reason to watch this one.

Corbin Bernsen’s got some mighty goodlooking genes….

He’s one of the families on the final episode of Celebrity Family Feud and holy crap are his sons good looking. I think mostly still jailbait age but the one that looks like Matthew McConhaugey with extra facial hair plays football in college…

Dayymmmn.

“Dwarf comedy stunt shocks airport staff”

I expected it to be about Jackass. Because how many times did they shove Weeman into bags and other assorted containers? Hot dog carts… giant traffic cones… you name it.

The best thing about the Golden Girls for me was always Sophia Petrillo and her mouth.

I’m now bitten with the yen to acquire GG on dvd and have a Sophia marathon/wake. 7 seasons are all on dvd now.

Thank you Estelle! Gone but never forgotten.

Picture it, Sicily 1916. A beautiful young lady walking along the beach….

Two half-watched movies I finished watching this weekend.

I can see why Juno got the Oscar nod. This movie is worth watching for the fun dialogue alone. Cody & Ellen made a great team in crafting and acting the character of Juno. And another rarity, I really liked ALL of the supporting characters (and the cast that acted them). They were all quirky and not without their flaws but were easily real people and believable.

Mad Money is just a fun flick. It’s directed by Callie Khouri who brought us Thelma And Louise. MM isn’t quite like T & L but it’s female centric and fun. Sometimes predictable and outlandish still works to make an enjoyable movie I think my favorite part was Katie grooving 23/7

Bummed about missing out on a chance to finish a 3rd “half-watched”, Disturbia. Need to get my hands on it somehow! I left off where David Morse was in the kitchen with Shia and Carrie-Anne and Shia’s freaking.  I love what I’ve seen so far but had player issues. Shia’s one of the best “kid actors” I’ve seen since Elijah Wood.

Wow… what a mess of a movie.

Trying to watch Southland Tales was like reading Neal Stephenson’s Diamond Age for the first time. Confusing as HELL but it started to make sense by the end and upon a re-read or two became one of my favorite books.

However, I don’t know that I have the patience to do the same with this movie. I ended up falling asleep halfway through.

Maybe I’ll give it another go later on… maybe I won’t.

He never gets “too big for his britches”. I love that he’s still a goof ball and very easy to talk to.

Reading this interview with him makes me really want to go see Journey to the Center of the Earth now. Before I was just interested because I like Brendan’s work. The talk about the footballs and treadmill sold me.

This is a great summer… Brendan times 2! and DARK KNIGHT!!!

Just to remind you of the eye candy…