I'm Clearly Not Afraid of Getting Stalked.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, 'Little Fockers' was filmed right in my neighborhood.

Well, if you check out 14-18, it was clearly RIGHT IN MY BACKYARD. I am still looking for myself in the background. I am so proud of my neighborhood for making it to the big screen - it was well-deserved.

Sidenote: In order to find this clip, I had to watch like 18 different coming attractions for 'Little Fockers'. They must feel that the scene with the turkey is some of their best stuff...which scares me for the movie....

Did Anyone See....

The Nightmare on Elm Street remake that was filmed at my very own John Hersey High School?  I remember it hitting the theatres and then not hearing much more of it.   I see it did very well on Rotten Tomatoes.  Anyone have anything to say about it?  Does it coordinate nicely with my impending ten year high school reunion?  Your thoughts?

At the Movies...

So, as I stated earlier, I am really not much of a movie person.  I have to really want to see the movie to go - otherwise it seems like a waste of time and money.  You can't really talk to the people you supposedly want to talk to.  The chairs aren't THAT comfortable.   That, and I guess I have really high standards for movies - so many of them grate on me.  I usually hate stupid romantic comedies.

While I've been sitting here thinking - there are a LOT of movies that I've hated.  I've been trying to think of the WORST movie I've ever seen.  The other day, a winner came to mind....

The Crossroads.

Check it out.  Actually, don't.  Kim Catrall's cameo is far and away the highlight.

Missed Connection

Should I post one?


I find the concept of them hilarious.  Who came up with the idea?  Someone who watched 'Sleepless in Seattle' too many times?  Maybe I'm naming the wrong Rom-Com - I have seen my fair share for sure, but my movie vocabulary is limited.

Anyhow.

Many of my friends are encouraging me to do so.  (I should also note that many of said friends are not single - most from long-term relationships.  Many of said non-single friends are VERY excited about hearing about my dating life - some might say they are 'living vicariously' through me, or miss the excitement of a first date, or something to this extent, however, I am confident this is really just for their amusement moreso.)

As I say, anyhow.

I expect nothing to come from it.  And I will (seeing that Craigslist is involved) be uber-careful.  So, I started to post - however, as I began to post, I got an initial denial - it was too similar to a post already up there.  Yep.  You see where this is going.  So I responded to the post that I'd like to think is about me (Carly Simon-style), then I posted my own.

Update to come. 

Sexism & Singlehood

Ok - so my nameless friend (and Marek) bring up the excellent point of sexism. This is, indeed, a sexist way of thinking.

Why is it that women are expected to pair up by a certain age, and viewed as a failure if they don't, while men aren't subjected to the same double-standard? (Note nameless's Clooney-Aniston comparison.) Why is it that men aren't advised 'marry her! she's good enough! she's the best you're ever gonna get!' (by anyone other than their mothers, that is....)? In fact, if a man seems to remain a bachelor for a while, then one day decides he should settle down, he's not criticized for having passed up a chance with a great girl but rather he's simply advised to 'date younger'.

That, and bringing up the movie analogy my good friend suggested (which I know I've blogged about before...). So why is it ALWAYS that we've got the hot girl and average joe paired up in movies?! I don't know why it bothers me so much, because I honestly don't view myself as a superficial person and I really can't say looks matter all that much to me, but it really really does. Well, in the reference my friend makes - Katherine Heigl & Seth Rogen in 'Knocked Up' - it's not as though Seth Rogen's character is average looking but the great humanitarian/family man on the fast track to success - according to my recollection, he's an unemployed pot smoker who enjoys watching porn on a daily basis.

I think my main annoyance with this subject is that I feel women are portayed as 'prizes' as opposed to equals in this ever recurring storyline. Here's a storyline I'd like to hear - Average Joe passes up the opportunity to be with some superhot leading lady for Average Jane with whom he has a lot in common and a strong emotional connection. It annoys me that it's completely socially acceptable for men to be blatantly superficial in picking a partner, however, if a woman rules out a man because she's not attracted to him/doesn't feel the chemistry, she is ripped apart.

Anyhow. I am not sure, necessarily, what I wanted to address in this post, but it seemed too long to simply be a comment. Is anyone else annoyed at the constant storyline of Average Joe getting the hot girl (whose role is simply being 'a hot girl')? Anyone else frustrated that women are criticized for being single? Can anyone think of some good examples/arguments I'm missing?

Most Depressing Movie I've Ever Seen....

'Everybody's Fine.'

No, they're not. Trust me, they're not.

It takes a lot to get me to cry at a movie. I cried for a character I'd never even met.... I don't have the time and energy to sit here and write out a review. This movie emotionally drained me for the month.

Nonetheless, I sometimes like sad, depressing, dark movies. I think I liked it....

Now, does anyone out there have a Valium?

Neighborhood Buzz

So apparently, Universal Studios is filming a movie in my neighborhood. On my street, in fact. I can't remember the exact name - three letters. ZJF? Something like that. I'll do research.

I know this because, tonight, after a long day, I had to park my car three and a half blocks away because there is no parking on my street for the next week. INSANE. However, I don't mind. I think I might have to come back to my apartment on my lunch break every day this week to walk up and down the street casually while this all happens. This could work nicely for the production folks as well, seeing that my appearance fee is minimal.

I clearly picked the right apartment. That, or these movie folks know where the action is. Or maybe both.

Guilty Pleasure - Dance Movies

So a friend of mine and I have plans to go see the above movie. Well, the remake. I am super excited about it. However, it is not getting good reviews. However, I didn't expect it to. It's a guilty indulgent dancer movie. Much like:



Which I have to admit - I love it but it's baaad. I think the critic who said 'There are some amazing dance sequences in this film. However, in between these dance sequences, the actors are allowed to talk - this is where the problems come in," hit the nail on the head. Also, the jazz class is painfully bad/unrealistic. Note to any of my readers who are not familiar with what a jazz class consists of - it is not supposed to mirror the "Call on Me" music video. Just sayin'.

Good Will Hunting....

Ok, so this movie came up in a discussion with coworkers over lunch today. A lot of people would rank this in their top ten movies ever; both my coworkers said they would. I remember liking it at the time; however, I have not seen it in a good six years or so, so I can't remember it super clearly.

However, here is what I do remember most distinctly about this movie - it was my first date, EVER. Which segued into my first boyfriend. A rated-R movie at age 14; I was super-scandalous back then.

Fast-forward a couple years later - I'm a sophomore in college, and on a first or second date (I can't remember at this point; and honestly, what constitutes a 'date' in college - but that's another can of worms) with the person who turned out to be my second boyfriend - we are watching TV and he flips through the channels to discover Good Will Hunting and suggests we watch it.

Fast-forward a little over a year - I am hanging out with the person who turns out to be my third boyfriend for one of the first times. He invites me to watch a movie. He pulls out his collection of DVDs - only ten or so. "I don't have too many," he explains, "but I do have 'Good Will Hunting'" (which was the most dignified choice of bunch). "NO. Not that movie." Instead, I opted to get to know 'Van Wilder' a little bit better; for better or for worse.

Anyhow.

Sex in the City, in the City

Where Carrie and Big first met....


Where they were supposed to marry....


Miranda: But if one of us decides not to show, we're rejected and standing on a bridge.



Where Carrie and Miranda stalked Big and his mom in the first season.

Just Wondering?

So, there's some movie coming out (forgot the name) in which Zac Efron plays a young Matthew Perry (well, his character). Now, no offense to anyone, for I like Matthew Perry and do think he is a good-looking guy overall, but do we find this believable? I, for one, find this a bit of a stretch.

Secondly, while we're on the subject....would you date Chandler Bing? (Not Matthew Perry, Chandler Bing.) I wouldn't. Not because of anything to do with his looks. He's 'the funny one'. I'm the funny one. At least in my mind. And I like to keep the illusion as such. Anyhow.

Hilarity

So, from my work, I often get a lot of good tchotchkes from my friends Burt and Erin on the movie desks. I have a 27 Dresses pullover, a Batman tank top, a New in Town t-shirt, etc. Well, earlier in the week I was digging through my desk and discovered quite possibly the BEST one yet, courtesy of my desk's previous occupant.

I am not sure what movie it's from - I think maybe Kinsey or something. Please note the dimensions of the ruler.

Box Office Winner

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this weekend's box office winner was the one and only "Paul Blart: Mall Cop". Not Slumdog Millionaire, not Marley and Me (go ahead and argue that these movies have already been out whereas the former was just opening). In this rough, hurting economy and torrential weather, we Americans went out to the theatre and spent our hard-earned ten bucks on a movie about a mall cop.

I didn't even know there was a market for movies about mall cops. Although, if there is - let's face it, this movie had a monopoly of it. Now, granted, I know Kevin James has a fan base and I've seen him on tv doing some good, humorous work across from Stacey Carosi, but seriously, the trailer for this movie LOOKED mind-numbing for your average stoned ape. (I have not actually seen said movie, so I cannot give a fair and balanced critique. I say this only as my reaction to the first impression.)

Anywho - I can't help but think this says something about the mindset of the American people. Has our taste been so dumbed-down by everything in pop culture that this is our new brand of humor - or - are we so down in the dumps and depressed at the current state of affairs that we need some good low-quality slapstick humor to put a smile on our face? Maybe it's that, no matter how sorry our own current state of affairs are, well, they look pretty good in comparison to those of a mall cop.