Tag Archives: movies

2012 Resolutions In Review

Oh right, last year’s resolutions.

1. Running faster in at least two half marathons plus the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.
Done. I PR’d in the Illinois half in April, taking 6:40 off my Detroit time. I missed a PR in the Monster Dash by 4 seconds. I also took 4:59 off my Cherry Blossom time.

2. Learn more about [my] DSLR.
Done. I took a DSLR workshop in May and feel like I have a somewhat better grasp on how my camera works – and then I broke my arm and couldn’t hold it properly for a few weeks, and then it started taking spirit photographs and spent 3 months in the shop. Whoops.

3. See [no] fewer than 12 movies in the theater.
Done. I saw: The Adventures of Tintin, My Week With Marilyn, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Artist, The Skin I Live In, Joy Division with Le voyage dans le lune, Shame, The Cabin in the Woods, Your Sister’s Sister, The Hunger Games, Shut Up and Play the Hits, Moonrise Kingdom, Skyfall (x3), and Django Unchained.

4. Write at least one [letter] per week.
Done. I wrote 169 letters and postcards in 2012.

5. Find a job in Chicago.
Done! I’ve been at my job nine months, and while it isn’t my dream job, that has less to do with the job and more to do with my dreams.

6. [Bake] one pie per month.
I baked zero pies in 2012.

7. Master at least one new cocktail at home per month.
I mastered two cocktails: the manhattan, and the French gimlet.

8. More travel.
I didn’t leave the country despite my best attempts to walk to Mexico. I did leave the state more than a few times, though.
January: Carlsbad/San Diego, CA plus lots of back and forth to Chicago
February: back and forth to Chicago
March: Champaign for LEEP weekend, DC for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler
April: southern Illinois with the GSLIS ladies, Champaign for the Illinois I-Challenge
May: Overnight to Indiana
June: weekend in A2, Anaheim/Imperial Beach, CA
July: nowhere because I had a goddamned broken arm
August: weekend in A2
September: nowhere
October: two weekends in Champaign, Charlottesville, VA for a conference
November: DC, Champaign
December: San Francisco, CA, weekend in A2

9. Read at least two books per month.
Nope. I read 17 books, quit one book club, and started another.

10. Learn to do alterations.
Nope. Maybe this year.

11. More feats of strength! More push-ups. More miles on Orange. And maybe, just maybe, a pull-up.
Done, sort of. Angie and Soy and I started the 100 pushups training program, and I was happy as long as I stayed ahead of the husbands. We had a push-up competition on our girls’ weekend (I won). And then I broke my arm. My strength is coming back, but a pull-up is still a long ways off.

I did, however, put a lot of dang miles on Orange, though I didn’t hit my arbitrary and late-established goal of 1,000 miles.

12. More time connecting with the important people in my life.
Done, though this looks dramatically different than it did last year.

Keep Saying Yes

St. Patrick’s Day was epic this year, but not in the ways that it tends to be epic, at least in a college town. My housemates had invited people over for brunch, but many of them didn’t come, and so we found ourselves with a number of bottles of champagne, a gallon of orange juice, and a whole lot of leftover bacon and waffles on a 75 degree day in the middle of March. I sat on the porch and wrote letters. Chris took a conference call. Rachel played video games. The two of them spun poi while I sat on the sidewalk and took photos. We drank all of the champagne, texted Kat to come home, ended up in a cuddle pile on the couch with the dog and the cat. The next day, Chris emailed me to say:

Seriously, you’re amazing. I’m glad you’re in our lives, regardless of how short the waltz. Keep saying yes, yes, yes to drunken nights and beautiful people.

I’ve taken that to heart in the months since, and have been saying an emphatic yes as often as possible. This has included:

Yes to a movie on an impossibly hot day. And so I saw The Cabin in the Woods, which I would’ve never seen otherwise but really enjoyed – and had the occasion to go to the gorgeous Logan Theater for the first time in very good company. The same thing would happen later in the summer with Your Sister’s Sister (at the State with Shana and Javan) and The Hunger Games (at the Logan with Carrie).
Yes to seeing the jellyfish at the Shedd with Karina and her adorable cousin, who later listed ‘meeting Elizabeth’ among her favorite parts of her weekend in Chicago.
Yes to fancy lady sleepovers where we lounge around in vintage slips with martinis and ridiculous movies. These weekends at the Uptown Beach House were some of the highlights of the summer.
Yes to biking around the city to meet friends for cocktails – and hopefully much more of this to come now that Orange and I are back together.
Yes to going to shows. I don’t care who it is. And so I saw Café Tacvba with Karina and had a great time even though I speak basically no Spanish and even though someone dropped a beer on my head. And I saw Cameron McGill with Carl for the first time in ages, and experienced an intense – and intensely wonderful – flashback to 2005. And I went to Lollapalooza as Karen’s +1 and we wandered the grounds and saw some music but mostly just enjoyed the free drinks and the beautiful day.
Yes to borrowing books and long bike rides and neighborhood walks and free ice cream from sympathetic vendors.
Yes to nights out when my bad mood made me inclined to stay in (thanks, Annette).
Yes to being Carl’s +1 for Leah’s wedding, which gave me the excuse to buy an exceptionally incredible dress.
Yes to last minute dinners in, to bánh mì sandwiches, to drinking my dinner around a table with random and exceptional people.
Yes to future travel: potentially Hawaii and Italy in the next year, as well as solo trip(s) to be determined. And to day trips on lazy rivers, and to visits with good friends.

So many amazing experiences in the last six months thanks to taking that advice. Chris Tom, I hope I’m making you proud.

2012 At the Movies

After seeing only two movies in the theater last year, I resolved to see at least one movie per month in 2012. We’re halfway through the year, and I’ve seen ten, the majority of which were at gloriously restored or gloriously run down theaters like the Michigan or the Logan (pictured above and below). What have you seen?

The Adventures of Tintin – I grew up reading the Tintin books, so I had high hopes and low expectations for the movie. The motion-capture was good enough that I forgot at times that I was watching an animated film.
My Week With Marilyn – Jen and Phillipa and I saw this at a charmingly run-down theater in Encinitas. People were on the fence about Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe, but I thought she was luminous.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – Convoluted and slow-moving, but I’ve watched enough British TV that this didn’t really bother me. I loved the suiting. Also: does it ever get less awkward to watch movies with sex scenes on the big screen with your parents?
The Artist – Lovely, but it took a long time for me to get hooked, which is kind of a problem at a silent film. Honestly, I’m not sure why it won Best Picture.
The Skin I Live In – It’s been several years since I saw an Almodóvar film. I forgot how fucked up they frequently are.
Joy Division – Dharma and I went to a screening of this documentary at the Michigan even though you can actually watch the full movie on Hulu. I loved the way they talked about how Joy Division’s music captured the sonic experience of life in Manchester. The documentary was paired with a remarkable new hand-colored restoration of Le voyage dans le lune which features a new score by the band Air.
Shame – In case you were wondering, a movie about sex addiction isn’t the most uplifting thing to watch when you’re going through a break up and are already very emotionally fragile.
The Cabin in the Woods – I don’t like scary movies, so I definitely wouldn’t have seen this one if it hadn’t been the only appealing option on a day when Michael and Tim and I needed a break from the unrelenting heat. I’m sure I didn’t get half of the references, but I really enjoyed it.
Your Sister’s Sister – I identified with a lot of this movie, particularly the scene when Mark Duplass’s character smashes the shit out of his bike. Problematic, but worth seeing.
The Hunger Games – I haven’t read the books (even though basically every other librarian in the world has), so I had no expectations and was consequently surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie and continued to think about it after. Carrie and I rode our bikes to and from the Logan Theatre for the movie. It was a perfect evening.

Mo-mo-more?

We’re in Rockford for the holiday, having moved the majority of our material possessions to Chicago three days ago. The last two days have been full of cookies and presents and traditions and relaxed family time. Max has been running around playing with trains and pointing at various delicious things and saying “mo-mo-more”, his voice lilting upward as he points at the object of his desire.

I mention this because as I look forward to 2012, what I want most is mo-mo-more. More time with friends and family. More travel. More flowers, more movies, and more amazing food. More miles. More love, more patience, and more connection in my relationships and with the world. So this post is me reaching my hands in the air and asking the universe for what I want in the next year:

This year was about running further. 2012 will be about running faster in at least two half marathons plus the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.
I want to take better photos of more than just food, though better food photos would also be progress. I want to take a class, read a book, participate in an online workshop – in general learn more about the fancy DSLR we bought almost three years ago. And then apply that knowledge for good, not for evil.
I’m reasonably certain that the only movie I saw in the theater this year was the final Harry Potter installment. With two movie theaters within a mile of our new place, we should have no excuse – other than lousy offerings – to see fewer than 12 movies in the theater.
I want to write more letters – at least one per week. Do you want to be my pen pal?
I need to find a job in Chicago, as it will make many of these mores possible. More time with my family as they’ll be 75 minutes away instead of 5-7 hours. More time with many many Chicago friends (though less time with A2 friends). A new and exciting city life for the two of us. I’ve loved my MPub job, but I need to be in Chicago.
I wanted to bake 24 unique loaves this year. We made significant changes in our diet over the summer, and I haven’t really baked since then. I think, however, that one pie per month is a reasonable goal.
Bourbon and I got back together in 2012, but I need to have more in my cocktail repetoire than the trusty Manhattan. There will be many opportunities to drink fancy cocktails in our new ‘hood, but I want to master at least one new cocktail at home per month.
We took a fun road trip vacation over the summer, and I took solo trips to Philly, DC, and New York for work, races, and fun. I would like more of the same this year, beginning with my birthday weekend in California and possibly including a trip to Europe after the semester wraps up.
More books read: finish the 2/3 challenge, keep up with my book club, and hammer away at the To Read lists while reading at least two books per month.
Step up my game and learn to do alterations so that I can finally finish all of the half projects in my closet.
More feats of strength! More push-ups. More miles on Orange. And maybe, just maybe, a pull-up.
And, most importantly, more time connecting with the important people in my life. I’m not sure how to quantify this other than to say that I want to fight my introvert nature and say ‘yes’ more than ‘no’ for lunches with friends, dates with my husband, or visits to my family.

What will you do in the new year?

Ten on Tuesday: Chick Flicks

My first Ten on Tuesday: Chick Flicks

I’m sure what exactly defines a “chick flick”, despite Wikipedia’s best attempts. Most “chick flicks” are deliberately marketed to women and focus on stories of romantic love. This site attempts to crowdsource whether or not a film meets the definition of “chick flick”. I’ve seen seven of the top ten.

If you’ve ever glimpsed my Netflix queue, you’ll know that I don’t really watch chick flicks. Or funny movies. Or really anything other than gritty crime dramas, despite the fact that our queue is full of (very aspirational) Criterion editions and foreign films. That said, sometimes I just want to feel good – or cry – and not think for 90 minutes.

In no particular order, five “chick flicks” that I’ve enjoyed:

Sliding Doors – My go to feeling bad/good about love movie from college.
Love Actually – Reminds me of a fine Caturday Crafternoon with Jackie and Tina! Also just a fun ensemble comedy.
The Thomas Crown Affair – I feel like I could watch this every week and not get tired of it.
Strictly Ballroom – Love the movie, love the soundtrack, love that “Pam Short’s broken both her legs, and I wanna dance with you.”
Beaches – If you were an adolescent girl in the early 90s and didn’t sob over this at least once, well, I’m not sure what to say.
10 Things I Hate About You – In college I had this roommate for whom time seemed to have stopped in 1995. Most of the movies that she watched could’ve been described as “chick flicks.” This is one of the few that I actually enjoyed watching with her.
Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist – I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this sweet romantic comedy.
Garden State – If you were a 20-something in a messy relationship in the early 00s, I can almost guarantee you identified with aspects of this movie. I saw it two days before a devastating break-up.
Amélie – Quirky, lovely, and optimistic.
Shakespeare in Love – Oscar-worthy? Eh. But definitely nice to look at.

Resolution Check-In

With 6 months down and 6 months to go in 2008, it’s time for a resolution check-in:

1. Read two books for pleasure each month.

14 books so far, including one adorable childrens’ book that bizarrely made it to our New Bookshelf at work, so I’m actually ahead of schedule. And no, this doesn’t include any of my textbooks, finished or otherwise.

2. See 12 movies in the theatre.

So far we’ve seen There Will Be Blood, Atonement, Michael Clayton, Indiana Jones & the Crystal Skull, Iron Man, and WALL-E, so I guess I’m right on track here, too. WALL-E and Michael Clayton were the best, in very different ways.

3. Take a trip west of the Mississippi (and also west of Iowa).

Not yet, but we’ve confirmed that we’ll be spending Christmas in Carlsbad. Also, I’m presenting at conferences in Denver and Monterey. This one will definitely happen.

4. Go to Bonnaroo or Coachella.

Check!

5. Put $5,000 in savings by the end of the year (sub item: and leave it there).

No comment. Paying tuition has killed me this semester.

6. Finish Couch to 5K and run a 5K.

Check! I ran the Kelley Cares 5K in early June, and plan to run more in the fall. I’d like to do a 10K next year.

7. Continue weight training and do an unassisted pull up.

Less successful on this one. I took a lot of time off from lifting this spring due to shoulder and knee problems.

8. Finish my CAS.

I’m on target to defend my thesis in the fall, however I’m going to be one credit hour short of finishing unless I take another class. If that’s all that I have left at the end of the year, I’m fine with it.

9. Get published.

So far this year I have 3 accepted conference proposals (all co-written), 1 accepted (and award winning?) co-written virtual poster, and 3-4 conference and journal submissions outstanding. Not bad!

10. Find a church.

We’ve been sporadically attending services at Del Ray United Methodist Church, which we both really like. We found it when we went there with my family on Easter.

11. Reconsider therapy and/or medication.

I tried therapy with the GW staff counselor person, but I mainly found her annoying and “let’s fix it”-y. I did go back on medication, though, and it seems to be doing a lot to even me out. I go back this week for a six month evaluation.

12. Beat SB at Zooloretto or Alhambra.

I won at Zooloretto in January, but have been soundly defeated in almost every other game since then. Between Shane and our friend Kevin, I just don’t stand a chance.

13. Finish 2007’s Bond-watching resolution.

We’ve watched two Bond movies this week, and have now made it to the ill-fated George Lazenby era. 15 to go!

We’ve been watching John Adams this week, and I just wanted to let you, my internet comrades, know that it’s a damned fine miniseries. It’s moving and well-acted, and has both of us interested in refreshing our memories of American history.

Best Pictures

From Keem and Kasia, here is the list of Best Pictures that I’ve seen:

1927/28: Wings
1928/29: The Broadway Melody
1929/30: All Quiet on the Western Front
1930/3: Cimarron
1931/32: Grand Hotel
1932/33: Cavalcade
1934: It Happened One Night
1936: The Great Ziegfeld
1937: The Life of Emile Zola
1938: You Can’t Take It with You
1939: Gone with the Wind
1940: Rebecca
1941: How Green Was My Valley
1942: Mrs. Miniver
1943: Casablanca
1944: Going My Way
1945: The Lost Weekend
1946: The Best Years of Our Lives
1947: Gentleman’s Agreement
1948: Hamlet
1949: All the King’s Men
1950: All about Eve
1951: An American in Paris
1952: The Greatest Show on Earth
1953: From Here to Eternity
1954: On the Waterfront
1955: Marty
1956: Around the World in 80 Days
1957: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958: Gigi
1959: Ben-Hur
1960: The Apartment
1961: West Side Story
1962: Lawrence of Arabia
1963: Tom Jones
1964: My Fair Lady
1965: The Sound of Music
1966: A Man for All Seasons
1967: In the Heat of the Night
1968: Oliver!
1969: Midnight Cowboy
1970: Patton
1971: The French Connection
1972: The Godfather
1973: The Sting
1974: The Godfather Part II
1975: One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1976: Rocky
1977: Annie Hall
1978: The Deer Hunter
1979: Kramer vs. Kramer
1980: Ordinary People
1981: Chariots of Fire
1982: Gandhi
1983: Terms of Endearment
1984: Amadeus
1985: Out of Africa
1986: Platoon
1987: The Last Emperor
1988: Rain Man
1989: Driving Miss Daisy
1990: Dances With Wolves
1991: The Silence of the Lambs
1992: Unforgiven
1993: Schindler’s List
1994: Forrest Gump
1995: Braveheart
1996: The English Patient
1997: Titanic
1998: Shakespeare in Love
1999: American Beauty
2000: Gladiator
2001: A Beautiful Mind
2002: Chicago
2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2004: Million Dollar Baby
2005: Crash
2006: The Departed
2007: No Country for Old Men

Somewhat embarassing, I have to say. If I didn’t already have 458 movies in my Netflix queue, I’d be running over there to add a bunch of these. Speaking of which, did you know that Netflix tops out at 485 movies? I discovered that on Sunday.

2008 Oscar picks

Yesterday Shane and I went to a Oscar film extravaganza – all five Best Pictures in a row – and even though we skipped out early, we managed to see all five nominated films BEFORE the Oscars. Pretty exciting, right? Anyway, since I won’t get to spend Oscar night with a crew of friends, here are my picks based solely on my opinion and no other research except discussing with Keem and Shane and consulting previous emails from Jimi. Get your Oscar ballot here, and check back as the evening progresses, as I’ll do my best to update with the winners and my comments.

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
comments: I loved George Clooney in Michael Clayton, but I think DDL has this sewn up. Bottoms up for everyone if he (or anyone else) says “Bastard in a basket”.
winner: Daniel Day-Lewis, who gave a very nice speech, despite his questionable earrings.
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
comments: If Tommy Lee Jones were nominated for No Country, I would’ve voted for him. I also heart Tom Wilkinson, but Javier Bardem was kind of like the ultimate movie bad guy.
winner: JAVIER BARDEM. I can’t believe he didn’t win anything for The Sea Inside, though.
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
comments: I’ve heard the field is really strong, but I’ll be upset if Marion Cotillard doesn’t win. She was incredible in La Vie En Rose.
winner: Marion Cotillard, YAY. YAYAYAYAY.
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
comments: I’ve heard good things about Amy Ryan, and I like her in The Wire.
winner: Tilda Swinton, who I really like, but I don’t entirely know why she won.
Animated Feature: Ratatouille
comments: I would LOVE for Persepolis to win, but I have more faith in Pixar, and besides, Ratatouille was so good.
winner:Ratatouille, yay! Brad Bird is cute.
Art Direction: Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
comments: Really no idea on this one.
winner: Sweeney Todd
Cinematography: There Will Be Blood
comments: Jimi, don’t let me down here.
winner: There Will Be Blood, incredible.
Costume Design: Atonement
comments: It’s too easy to pick the costume drama, and I thought Atonement was exquisitely costumed.
winner: Elizabeth
Directing: Juno
comments: Really no idea on this one either, but I suspect they’ll reward Jason Reitman. If not, it’ll probably go to the Coens for No Country.
winner: the Coens! They’re funny and small.
Documentary Feature: pass
winner: Taxi to the Dark Side
Documentary Short: pass
winner: Freeheld. This whole announcing from Iraq business is weird.
Film Editing: There Will Be Blood
comments: Can someone tell me what makes good film editing? I can probably tell you what makes bad film editing, but I can’t say anything authoritative on the opposite.
winner: Bourne Ultimatum. Which Shane thought was terrible. Terrible editing, that is. This is live blogging. We’re going for recall, not precision.
Foreign Language Film: pass
winner The Counterfeiters (Austria)
Makeup: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
comments: I would love to see La Vie En Rose win, but Pirates was damned impressive as always.
winner: La Vie En Rose, omg!
Original Score: Atonement
comments: SB and I both really enjoyed the way music and sound was used in Atonement, although Keem would have appreciated the occasional carriage return.
winner: Atonement. Fantastic.
Original Song: “Falling Slowly” – Once
comments: I <3 Glen Hansard.
winner:”Falling Slowly”. OMG OMG OMG OMG. Did you know that she’s NINETEEN?
Best Picture: Michael Clayton
comments: Of the five, I think this was the strongest film, though each of the others have stand-out elements. It could probably go any way, but I’ll be disappointed if Juno wins, even though I loved the movie.
winner: No Country for Old Men! God job, Coens!
Short Film – Animated: pass
winner: Peter & the Wolf
Short Film – Live Action: pass
winner: Le Mozart des pickpockets
Sound Editing: There Will Be Blood
comments: Stab in the dark here.
winner: Bourne Ultimatum. Shane’s vote: Ummm….Bourne? Shane wins.
Sound Mixing: No Country For Old Men
comments: Oooh, mixing!
winner: Bourne Ultimatum.
Visual Effects: Transformers
comments: This could also go any way. I thought I’d vote for Transformers, though, cos who doesn’t like giant cars?
winner: The Golden Compass. Animated polar bears. What’s not to like?
Adapted Screenplay: No Country For Old Men
comments: I may be a Cormac McCarthy hater, but I’m voting for No Country anyway. Bottoms up if Cormac McCarthy is actually at the ceremony.
winner: No Country for Old Men. Was that Cormac McCarthy? YES, yes it was. Bottoms up!
Original Screenplay: Juno
comments: If Juno wins, it will be well-deserved, and not just the “let’s give the quirky comedy something” type of win.
winner: Diablo Cody for Juno, also winning the award for the most embarrassing outfit and tattoo on the stage

elements of a nice weekend

culinary:
- Red Ink, a soft grassy sheep’s cheese, Appenzeller cheese, and jamón ibérico (!!!!!!). The jamón was a birthday gift from Shane, and oh what a gift it was. We have a bit more in the fridge, and I plan to savor it at some point this week. Some girls get chocolate for their birthdays – me, I get expensive Spanish ham.
- brunch at the Corcoran, which wasn’t all that exciting in and of itself, but it was a very nice atmosphere and I enjoyed the souffle.
- the always reliable veggie options at the Hut.

cultural:
- one more opportunity to see the Annie Leibovitz exhibit at the Corcoran. Our memberships paid off today when we didn’t have to wait in line for the sold out show. The galleries were packed with people, so the exhibit lacked some of the intensity of our first visit, but I’m awfully glad we went again.
- staying in to watch Helvetica and Paris, je t’aime, two very different films but both quite good.

home life:
- our new sofa arrived on Saturday and promptly exerted its dominance over our living room. I showed it who’s boss by taking a nap on it later.
- meeting a new friend at the Arlington Animal Shelter. She can’t possibly replace Sid in our hearts or memories, but she will Basil on his toes and the two of us in stitches. We’re hoping to bring her home in a few days, once she’s healed from her spaying and they’ve made sure that no one is going to come claim her.
- lots of quality time with SB. The last few weeks have been very hard, and very tiring, and it was wonderful to have a lot of lazy downtime together.