Have you been in my bedroom?

The creators of the site "You fell alseep watching a DVD" clearly have spent time in my bedroom. Check out the site to see what I mean.

Seriously, I fall asleep to Pride and Prejudice at least once every two months and wake up to that damn menu. 

Dear Wizard People

HP Half Blood Prince teaser posters have arrived! They're similar to the ones from the last film, but a little bit more dramatic (if that's possible). So are you ready for wands and sexiness? Are you ready for glasses and scars? Are you ready for this movie to just come out already?? I thought so.

New Dragonball Evolution Trailer, and the Thrifting trip that almost was

Yes, I occasionally watched Dragon Ball Z as a kid, and YES, I will be seeing the movie. But, as it turns out, Dragonball Evolution might actually be good... for a live action anime action movie. There seems to be a lot of those around lately. What can I say, I am so excited to see James Marsters (aka British bad boy Spike from the Buffy) as alien Piccolo. And Emmy Rossum is Bulma! Check out the new teaser trailer.

I didn't watch the show that much, just sometimes. Stop judging me.

Met filmmaker Margaret Brown today, and came very close to a thrift shopping extravaganza (for her Independent Spirit Awards outfit), but sadly, not enough time between screenings of her new film, The Order of Myths. It's out on DVD, Netflix, etc, so there's no excuse not to see it people!

One last thing, don't see The Wisdom of Crocodiles (aka Immortality). You see the words vampire and Jude Law in the description, and you think it might be fun, but I promise you, it's not.

 

On a Todd Haynes kick

Bisexual glam rock stars, lonely housewives, and Bob Dylan. The only planet on which these things can co-exist, is the strange place that is Todd Haynes' mind. He's been a director since the '80's, but didn't get much notice till his 1995 thriller, Safe. The movie stars Julianne Moore (a Haynes regular) as Carol White, a wife and mother who comes down with a mysterious illness, and no one can figure out what is wrong with her. Though unconfirmed, many think it was a metaphor for the AIDS virus. I can't speak to the film's merits or underlying themes, having not seen it yet, but considering the affinity I feel for his later movies, I'm pretty sure I'd like it. The man just continues to blow me away as one of the most creative (and sometimes inaccessible) directors around.

• I saw Velvet Goldmine for the first time years ago, when I was still too young to understand what it meant, or just how unique it really was. But in watching it again, I'm realizing that it may be one of my favorite movies. Glam rocker Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) woos you with his antics of taking over the world, one boy questioning his sexuality at a time. Check out Jonathan's completely incoherent interview on the set of the film. It's actually a lot like Marie Antoinette, full of color, music, and frivolity, except there's more than three pages of dialogue. Toni Collette is incredible as Brian's American wife, who speaks with a British party girl accent. Haynes ages Christian Bale surprisingly convincingly from young teen (in love with Slade and glam rock) to adult journalist, longing for the past. Ewan McGregor is perfect as out of control Curt Wild, the epitome of the "troubled artist." It's pretty much an unauthorized biography of David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust phase (Bowie chose not to be involved with the film). It's sexy, it's insane. it's just really good, so see it.
  

• "Don't you think you've had enough, dear." That's the general tone of Haynes' next film, Far From Heaven. Seductively soft spoken Julianne Moore is perfectly reserved '50's housewife, Cathy Whitaker. Her outfits always match the room she's in, and her kids say things like, "gee whiz pop..." Everything was going just swimmingly for Cathy, till she finds out her husband isn't exactly "into women." But, being the '50's, the obvious choice for her was to completely ignore the situation, and start flirting with her black gardener... Every color is saturated, every sentence is exaggerated, and every situation is melodramatic, but it's all purposeful, bordering on parody. I still think I need to see it again, but once was enough to know it was good. And for anyone that likes pretty colors, this movie's full of them. 
  

• Haynes' latest, I'm Not There, still confuses the hell out of me. You have six people, including a woman and a little kid, all playing Bob Dylan... but none of them are named Bob Dylan. The movie officially qualifies as insane. But I have a soft spot for Heath, and Cate Blanchett's performance will go down in history. It's beautifully shot, and AGAIN, his colors are amazing (when he uses them). Michelle Williams gives a brief, but slightly awesome performance as "Coco," a '70's model/actress. I still don't know how I feel about this movie, but three days after watching, I'm still thinking about it. While I love all of Velvet Goldmine and Far From Heaven, I'm Not There gives me a chance to pick and choose the scenes and characters I like best. Don't make me use the word vignette, but yeah, it's basically an artfully assembled series of those. This too deserves a second viewing. I think I need to live on the Todd Haynes planet for a little while longer. 
  

S. Darko will go straight to DVD... as it should

And another terrible idea bites the dust... I think most fans of the cult phenomenon Donnie Darko can agree on one thing: a sequel was and is a terrible idea. Thankfully the ill concieved film S. Darko (which has no connection with original writer/director Richard Kelly), will go direct to DVD. It seems the fans weren't the only ones lacking confidence in this production about Donnie's sister. But studio heads aren't scrapping the project completely, thereby allowing for people to still see it, in the comfort of their own cellars (c'mon Darko fans, tell me you caught that reference). As much as I'm sure it will disappoint, I need to see it for 2 reasons: 1. Because my obsession with the original film will get the better of me, and 2. Ed Westwick's in it.

Fringe goes "Incredible Hulk" and reboots yet again...

I was less than enthused with last week's "reboot" ep of Fringe. I realize the show was trying to be more inviting to new watchers by re-explaining plot, characters, etc. but for people already into the show, it was kind of a slap in the face. Needless to say I went into this week with a lot more hesitancy and skepticism...SPOILER AHEAD...Tonight's show treads on familiar territory. A man aboard a plane develops a nose bleed and within minutes turns into the Incredible Hulk/Sonic the Hedgehog, thus bringing down the plane and killing all passengers. Back at Bishop's "house of horrors," as Peter (Joshua Jackson) affectionately calls it, Walter, Olivia and Peter try to solve the mystery and it's connection to Olivia's dead ex, John Scott. While parts of the episode were interesting/gross/bordering on exciting, on the whole it was yet another restart ep for the show. In fact, it was actually a carbon copy of an episode they aired before the winter hiatus. How many times do the writers think this is going to work? I'm a fan of show (and especially of Josh), but this "starting over" crap is getting old fast. Bring something new to the table Fringe, or you'll lose a loyal customer.

Fringe airs Tuesdays at 9pm on Fox

M. Night directs Avatar? Tell me this won't be Joaquin's return to film...

Apparently M. Night has decided to continue making films after The Happening, even though I strongly advised him not too... mentally. But instead of a deeply conceived, self written, semi-suspense story, this time he'll be directing a live action version of the hit anime series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. There's already been a lot of controversy surrounding the casting about whether or not white actors should play Asian and Inuit characters. Since I am not personally invested in the outcome of this film, a lot of the fan outcries seem a little melodramatic, but I know how invested I was in the casting for Twilight, so Avatar fans, I understand your concern. But, I've slammed movies for casting prior to watching before, and usually end up feeling later that I jumped the gun. At least give the film a chance to prove you wrong. I am kind of excited about the newest casting development of Dev Patel signing on. The more I re-watch eps of Skins, the more I remember how much he rocks. Patel will be replacing teen dreamsicle Jesse McCartney due to his other career as a musician... "career."

and god, The Happening was so very bad.