Another Reason Why Red "Doesn't Speak Klingon"

SPOILER ALERT!
If you intend to watch Star Trek: Into Darkness, you may want to skip this post. Thanks for stopping by, but fair warning is fair warning.
I will not give away any plot points, but "some people" don't like knowing anything about a movie before watching it. (I love you, Brett!)

My Movie Whore has been sadly neglected of late, what with my big move and all. I hadn't even intended to let her out of her shell yet, but partway through the movie, I could stifle her no longer, pulled out a pen, and started jotting notes in the dark. SO...

First, with all respect to my beloved, I LOVE Benedict Cumberbatch! So worth watching the movie just for him.

John Harrison...aka...


Oh, it's not a physical attraction thing, no-no. I think if I ever met Benny-boy face-to-face, I'd probably find him too skinny, too aloof, and his piercing eyes would make me uncomfortable. Not my type. But I swoon over his acting talent.

Always great to see on screen, Benedict Cumberbatch does not disappoint in Star Trek. He gives his character such life, such passion...  His brand of villainy is the kind where you love to hate him, even while he makes you sympathize with his cause.(if you've read anything about the movie at all, you know he's the villain.)

Actually, Mr. Cumberbatch would have made a great Spock.


Nimoy on the left, Quinto right. Wouldn't Cumberbatch be  better?


I am not a fan of Zachary Quinto's Spock. Leonard Nimoy breathed life into Spock. Even to this day, Nimoy makes you care about Spock, logical as he is. Quinto's Spock is...dry. Even his rare exhibits of humanity feel somehow "alien".

(Jim Parsons would even have made a better Spock, IMHO, but since Big Bang Theory was already running before this Star Trek series began, it would have just been ironic.)

This is a good action movie. Kind of like the last Star Trek. You don't have to be a Trekkie to get into the action sequences. Good fights. Great villain. Iconic characters.

Characters:

Aside from Spock, I still appreciate the casting of this crew! I have loved every Star Trek captain I've known: TOS' Kirk, TNG's Picard, Chris Pine as Kirk. Okay, I guess that chica who was Captain in Voyager didn't light my fire, but I didn't watch it much, so don't remember her much.

Bones? Pretty even, but I gotta give Karl Urban the nod for Dr. McCoy. Possibly I just identify better because we're nearer in age, possibly I just find him hot as Eomer from LOTR. He won me with his first dialog in the last movie, when he explained his new nickname "...all I got left is my bones." Haha.

Scotty? Even-Steven. Love Simon Pegg, but this character is all in the writing, I think. The original Scotty made me laugh just as much. But I have to say, I LOVE Scotty.

Uhura? I love that she's a bigger role now, but that kind of gets watered down by her mushiness in the new romance created for this series. Nichelle Nichols wins by a nose. (Through no fault of Zoe Saldana, who is exceptional.) It's just the new character-twist that bugs me.

John Cho as Sulu ROCKS!

Sulu rocks. Again, seems to have a bigger role now, so overshadows George Takei's take on the role. But this new Sulu? ROCKS! If you're not a Star Trek fan, you should become a fan of John Cho, and watch these Star Trek movies for him.




Random notes from the Movie Whore:
"42". There was an homage - surely intentional, in a sci-fi movie like this - to Douglas Adams' "ultimate answer" as defined in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (Unfortunately, the line was before the Movie Whore made me start taking notes, so I can't remember how they used it. "Suite 42"? "42 days"? No idea. The Movie Whore's gonna make me watch it again.)

They are flying a shuttle early in the film, which from a distance resembles the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars - (RESEMBLES! I said RESEMBLES! When they come in close, it's too bulbous-y to really look like it, but the overall shape is similar, and the maneuverability seems akin. Geez! Take it easy!) If the resemblance is intentional, kudos for connecting to both HHGG and Star Wars. If not, happy coincidence.

This movie does ascertain to me however, that I am more of a Star Wars fan than a Trekkie... In case there was any doubt. The storyline of Star Wars in continuous, and - complain about the acting all you want - it goes from beginning to end. Star Trek is a bit more disjointed. Like episodes of a TV show.

Huh. Go figure. 

Nice one, Gene Roddenberry. Well-played.

Finally, I doubt there is a soul alive in the Western world who could deny the iconic status of the Star Trek theme music.

The new theme (during closing credits) by Michael Giacchino incorporates the original, but with punch.

FINALLY, finally, the dedication at the end choked me up. 'nuff said.

AND... I made a comment about this movie within the last week or so on facebook that elicited an odd response.
...Now I am very confused, and must watch Wrath of Kahn to understand the response.

We May Have Reached an Impasse

You’ve seen it on TV before. I know there are scenes in both How I Met Your Mother, and in Big Bang Theory dealing with it, and probably lots of other shows, too. In HIMYM, Ted forced his new girlfriend to watch Star Wars, because it is his favorite movie. She didn’t get it, and he hid the fact of how important the movie is to him.

The dramatic saga of Red and The Transformed Non-Conformist has reached such a roadblock.

I shouldn’t be surprised. Brett and I have known for a long time that we have wildly different taste in movies. There is some overlap. We have successfully watched DVDs together during most of our weekend visits, and have been to see movies in the actual theater… what, three times? (The Avengers, Brave…what else?) But there are concessions. When I’m coming over, Brett tries to ensure that Netflix sends him something “Red-appropriate” (AKA: not horror) although we did begin an attempt at horror-indoctrination. (Brett put a lot of thought into it, but we never got beyond step one, which was actually kind of an accidental movie and not the one he intended.) When he comes to see me… well, frankly, I’m having issues with my DVD-player, so we are kind of limited in that regard.

I’ve threatened him with Bridget Jones’ Diary, He’s Just Not That Into You, Moulin Rouge, and all kinds of other chick-flicks and classics. Last weekend, I put in Breakfast At Tiffany’s – one of my top three favorite movies, ever.

He hated it.

He hated the characters.

He hated the story.

He hated … well what else is there?

He didn’t chuckle at the bits that make me laugh.

I love this movie. The Movie Whore in me watches it a lot. And quotes it. We - the Movie Whore and I - find Holly Golightly to be a sympathetic character – oh, not that I can identify with the details of her life, but the way she deals or doesn’t deal? The abstract? Yep. I get it.

What to do?

My Love hates one of my favorite classic heroines!

...My new working theory is that Brett has a subconscious tic in his brain that will not allow him to appreciate any movie that is highly acclaimed. He must find fault with it. It's only a theory, but I have some evidence: He doesn’t like Casablanca. He doesn’t like The Godfather. He is "okay" with Star Wars (or so he tells me) but not wild about it. He said he wants to watch Doctor Zhivago (possibly my all-time, most favorite movie).

I have a sneaking suspicion he will hate it, too.

It’s a classic.

It’s hailed as a work of art.

It IS a work of art, in every respect.

I love him. I love Brett, and he can have any opinion he wants. We may be at an impasse on some movies, but you know what? That SO doesn’t matter. At all. If we’re ever in a situation where we have no available movies that we can agree on, there are plenty of other things to do instead!

The Moonrise Kingdom of the Movie Whore

That's right...she's back.


My inner Movie Whore is oddly insistent this time. I was working on a post about the wedding weekend and the bridesmad dress (from this post), but so much happened that weekend, it still needs extensive editing. Meanwhile, my mom and I saw the movie Moonrise Kingdom during an afternoon out shopping, and the Movie Whore can't shut up about it. She keeps popping into my subconscious with observations about it and really thinks I need to share it with the rest of you.

I think it came out recently enough that most of you will still have the opportunity to see it if you decide to. I had seen a preview for it months ago, and it intrigued me... not least because part of the trailer shows Bill Murray wielding an axe.

The main thing that the Movie Whore keeps whispering to me is that I should see it again. I'm sure I missed stuff. It's one of "those" movies. It is classified as "comedy" and "drama" - not a surprising combination - and also "indie". It plays like an indie film. (I don't think that impressed my mom so much.) In fact, the story is almost incidental to the style.

It is, in the Movie Whore's not-so-humble-opinion, a very cool film.

The cast, of course, is outstanding. Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton... even Harvey Keitel got on board! Most of the action centers on the kids, though.

The adult characters are ... not at all stereotype, actually. Mom (Frances McDormand) calls her kids with a megaphone, Dad (Bill Murray) hardly notices anything at all. The local cop (Bruce Willis) is a bit of a sad-sack, and the anal-retentive scoutmaster (Edward Norton) feels his failures deeply.

The Movie Whore was impressed with how much was demonstrated without words. Scant on dialogue, Moonrise Kingdom expresses the world through what's not said. Vague actions on the part of the parents, hints as to misunderstandings between generations. It's a very full film. The way the kids relate to each other is understandable to anyone who's been that age. Well, you might argue that Sam is a little more mature than most boys his age.

Still, it doesn't play like your standard cinema-fare. The opening has so little dialogue...it simply shows Suzy's impression of her world through her binoculars. And all those popular actors in the cast? They are like secondary characters - a secondary ensemble - after the unknown actors playing the Suzy and Sam.


But each of those great actors is outstanding in their role, in their own way. Edward Norton is so different from the usual things I've seen him in. And Bill Murray - probably on screen least of all the big stars - is a HOOT! What else would you expect, right? (I might be wrong about his screen-time. Another reason to see it again.)

Well, in short, the Movie Whore will insist that I get this DVD, and we might even hit it once more in theaters. But people who prefer mainstream films and don't really care for artsy-fartsy cinematography might not love it. The story is sweet, but there's so much more to this movie than the story, don't just see it for that.



Bill Murray, the clueless dad.

If it helps, my mom - who seemed very "meh" about it - said that if she saw the DVD in the $5 bin at Walmart, she would pick it up. So there you have it: mainstream movie-lovers will possibly feel that Moonrise Kingdom is not worth the ticket price. People who  like things that stretch the boundaries of normal may want to see it more than once.

Oh, and people who like to know the movies that are being discussed when Oscar season rolls around? See it now. It will be much talked-of.

"Mirror, Mirror" on the Wall, Who's the Biggest Movie Whore of All?

I entertained the Movie Whore by going to "Mirror, Mirror" one afternoon - feels like an age ago - when I was in Baltimore for a "hello" to Misty and a good-bye to my rollercoaster buddy. The Movie Whore had some thoughts about the movie, obviously, because she's totally opinionated. They were really random thoughts, so...well, bear with me.

At first, the Movie Whore thought we had made a terrible mistake!

M.W.: Uh-oh - Julia Roberts is trying an English accent? What is that? wait...dropped R's and soft vowels do not equate to an accent. Dude, Red does a MUCH more realistic English accent. Or...Hm, is that really what she's going for? Oh, this could be torture. What did I waste money on?

...okay. That seemed to be her narration voice. She was more herself as the Evil Queen. Which is a problem. Julia Roberts isn't "evil"! She doesn't do "evil" at all believably. She can do damaged. She can do tormented. She does sympathetic well. SOOO not evil. Hmm...

M.W.: That dude from Social Network is... the Prince? Hm. Interesting. Looks good. Plays it well.

...It's a shame that the guy who played the other twin in Social Network had this face digitally imprinted over his own. He's never gonna be recognized. ...I wonder what he's up to.

Then the movie got cute. There's some fun dialog, some irony. Like when the queen is all flustered about having a half-naked man in front of the throne, and he tells his sidekick "Women always get crazy when there's a Prince in the room." Ri-i-i-ight. The de-clothed-ness has nothing to do with it!

M.W.: Oh-oh-oh! GROSS! EWWWW! ...hilarious. The Queen's "Treatment" is as good as the pie from The Help. That's all I'm saying. MWAHahaha!
...Oooh! Love the Queen's  bathrobe!

Okay. The dwarves start training Snow to be a dwarf. That is some fun stuff. The dwarves kick butt. Best part of the movie, these seven!

Being a dwarf isn't just about size!

~~~
M.W. Now that's cute. The Queen:"Get this man a shirt so I can concentrate." Nice.

You can tell he's trying to kill her, right?

The Movie Whore's favorite quick-line comeback in a movie. Ever. (or at least, that she can think of at the moment):
Snow is pining for the Prince, and some of the dwarves are confused.
"He tried to kill her today!"
"What do you think love is?"
True. So true.


(As Jenny Lawson says in her book: Maybe this is what real love is: Trying to make it less difficult for someone to kill you.)

I love those dwarves.

The dwarves, whose names are not at all like Disney's dwarves.

...and by the way, anyone trying to crash a wedding? Watch "Mirror, Mirror". Those guys know how to crash a wedding!

And the close of the movie? Don't get up too soon. There's some very cool Bollywood-style end credit music and a dance party. Sweet.

Like I said, kind of random thoughts. All in all, I might actually add this to my collection. It's pretty fun, even though Julia Roberts was mis-cast.

Red Arrived in the “Brett Zone” and WAS NEVER HEARD FROM AGAIN...

...seriously people, this is the Movie Whore and Red's Inner Bibliophile (I.B., here. I'm going to try to sit back and just edit). Red drove off to meet her internet fiance Brett today, and hasn't been in her right mind since. We can only assume she's in some “other” mind (or “frame of”). But we knew you'd like to know what happened, so we'll do the best we can.

(okay, I.B. again. The Movie Whore does a fine job telling this story, but she's not a reader. I know readers, and some of you out there skip to the end. Shame on you. But just so that you WON'T do that, I am over-riding the Movie Whore's instincts and editing the order of this story, by bringing the end to the top. Enjoy.)

~~~

Seriously, that was an awesome good-bye. I bet Red can't wait to see him again, just to say good-bye again! ...well, maybe not just that. And I guess more to the point she probably wishes she'd stayed there just a little bit longer.

Are these squirrels, I.B.?
No, Whore, those are Prairie Dogs.
Whatever. Rodents.

But DUDE! It sure took them long enough to get there! They should have started their day that way.

I.B.: No-no. It was just right. They had to get used to each other's presence first. And it didn't matter that they started slow. These two can't keep anything from each other. Didn't you hear them?

Yeah, yeah. They both wanted to start out by greeting the other with a kiss. Both FAILED! Sad, so sad. It would have made a better opening scene if they had. ...I should have written this script. Romance is wasted on the unromantic.

I.B.: Maybe a better scene, but think it through. If they started the way they ended, would they have had the rest of their random adventure?

Sure! You know Red loves her “random”.

I.B.: Yeah, but after 3 months of talk? It's better that they ended today this way. It's a better story. PLUS you know there will be a sequel.

~~~

(I.B. the editor back again: There, now you know it ended well. And some goobers who still skipped to the bottom will have learned their lesson! Now I'll let the Movie Whore tell it.)

First off, if this were a movie, the costumes would get about a B-. Red stuck to her guns (thankfully) and dressed as she naturally would in shorts and a tank for such a hot day. She did NOT follow Aphrodite's unsolicited advice to wear a dress. But seriously, Red? Sandals? Fail. Big time fail. Should have gone with flip-flops.

I.B.: Brett looked good, what's your complaint there, Movie Whore?

Brett did look good in his black jeans and light blue shirt that matched his eyes perfectly. (Yeah, we're onto you, Brett; that was SO not a coincidence!) But jeans? In 85-degree weather? Fail.

They both looked good, natural, like themselves, but since they both got a FAIL, that brings them both down to a B-.

I.B.: Okay, I'll go along with that logic. Tell them about the State Park Fiasco!

Yeah. They had this one all figured out until the day before when they decided to meet at a different State Park. See, Red liked the idea of meeting at a park because it's different, it's active, you get to really see what the other person is like. ...It's a good idea, really. Only because of the last minute change, Red and Brett found themselves at a state park whose nature center was not open – not such a catastrophe since it turned out to be sunny for the first time since Red got here! - but Red gets these ideas in her head, and so this "not being able to meet at the nature center" kind of threw her off.

Anyway, they started off on one of the trails, just chatting like on one of their phone calls. Boring stuff. Then they get to the puddles in the path and Red remembered that it had been raining for 3 days! Seriously, what a goober she is. After a while of both of these two nuts trying to find the dry ground on either side of the many puddles, and of Red finding guck squishing into her sandals, she finally took them off and carried them. This is what I'm saying: FLIP-FLOPS!

I.B. Hey at least there can be no pretense! She wanted to be her real, natural self and not the dress-wearing perfect Miss that Aphrodite was suggesting... and I think squishing through the mud and splattering it from your shoes onto your clothes qualifies as “real” and “natural”!

Whatever. When they got back to the parking lot, they decided to find something else to do that would be less hot and muddy. Thanks to Brett's road atlas, they trekked off down the road to a town of historical significance that was in the direction of Brett's hometown.

I.B.: Oh that's good. I know Red was concerned about the fact that he had to drive the furthest.

Yeah, but did you hear later when he said he didn't mind driving so far, because he knew she had just driven across the country? Geez. Is it possible for two people to be TOO considerate of each other?

I.B.: I don't know. But it sure seemed like the two of them together have difficulty making any clear decisions. Go on with the story, you're doing fine.

Well, kudos to the historian who was giving the tour of these little buildings from a time before Indiana was even a state. He really knew his stuff and was very thorough. Red is a very good audience, and she later blamed herself for how long he took. But after all, this is her new home state, and she loves this kind of stuff anyway.

The funny thing was that later, when Red blamed herself, Brett agreed that the historian seemed to get excited every time she asked questions.

I.B.: Do most people not ask questions when they're touring an historical site?

I dunno. I've only ever been in Red's head. I don't think she's a good example of “normal”. ...and what's with the pretentious "an historical", I.B? Loosen up!

I.B.: Whatever. They both got a personalized bookmark out of the tour, and I LOVE it! I'll put it in the book I'm reading right now! But moving on, what did you think of the dinner scene? (if that's what we're calling it, because it was quite early for true “dinner”.)

That was a surprise! I know neither one had eaten before they met, so by 4:30 in the afternoon of course they were hungry, but Red was intentionally avoiding that scenario by doing the park thing because if you do a meal there's the whole “decision-making” thing, the whole “here's what I don't eat” thing, the possibility of dripping/splattering all over yourself, the possibility that he might chew with his mouth open and then it's all over(because that's disgusting), and of course the whole “Bistromathics” thing. ...although she needn't have worried: Brett took care of the Bistromathics issue by just paying for everything, like a gentleman.

I.B.: Should we explain Bistromathics?

Nah, Red already did. I'll just link to that post

(For those of you who aren't going to click the link,
Bistromathics is a theory from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.)

I.B.: You may be on to something with your "is it possible to be TOO considerate?" Although they decided on Fazoli's pretty quickly, for all Red's concerns about eating on a first "date".

I think Red was only pretending to be indecisive about where to eat. She knew full well she'd passed a Fazoli's, and ever since Brett's daughter made a comment about that chain on her FB page, Red's been looking forward to that aspect of Indiana.

I.B.: See what I mean? Too considerate. She could just as easily have said, “I saw a Fazoli's, and I've been anxious to eat there, because we don't have them in Delaware.” Brett's a very easy-going guy. He wouldn't have minded ...and then someone would have made a quick decision!

Well, regardless of how they got there, the dining scene was my least favorite part of today: No action. Just two people talking and eating. And then good-bye.

I.B.: Good-bye was good!

Good-bye was very good! I'd watch a replay of that. Maybe that's where Red is...watching the replay. Haha!

(I.B. the editor: For those of you who jumped to the end first, regardless of the warning. HAHA! Joke's on you! The ending is at the beginning!)

Well, hopefully Red will return to her right mind soon enough to field the comments. I don't know if we're equipped to answer any questions!

The Movie Whore and “Elizabeth” part II…or really, Part I

(please note that, as suggested by Misty I am changing the color of my links.)

A week ago the Movie Whore reviewed “Elizabeth: Age of Reason”. Bozo had provided a list of possible movies to review that are NOT new releases, so that Bozo could participate in the ensuing conversation, but the Movie Whore I the Movie Whore (shut up!) picked up the wrong DVD, only noting that we needed the “Elizabeth” with Cate Blanchett.

We have corrected our mistake. (and “we” are calmly going schizophrenic in the meantime.)

So this is the original Elizabeth (1997?) starring Cate Blanchett and Geoffery Rush.

Once again, the Movie Whore wonders how much is based on fact and how much was Hollywoodized.

Either way, Cate makes a lovely, young Princess Elizabeth. Like with its sequel, there was a heavy emphasis on the romance angle, which really is not the reason I watch a movie, but as the movie neared the end, I could understand the emphasis, since that made her entrance as “the Virgin Queen” more poignant.

A friend of mine - “The Nurse” who you read about here has a total crush on Cate Blanchett. We’ve had fun with that crush, believe me! But the Movie Whore can see the allure. Cate Blanchett brings a warmth and depth to this poor young girl whose half-sister wants her dead, and who is thrust into a leadership role she’s ill-prepared for. It’s hard to believe this is the same person who would later portray Galadriel in the LOTR movies!

The best example of how deeply the actress is entrenched in the role is when Elizabeth is practicing her speech before appearing to parliament. She’s so clearly distressed and concerned about how to get it exactly right. The actress in me loves that scene.

The Movie Whore got very opinionated about the various men involved:

“Finally! It’s about time she got rid of that tool Sir William. Lord Walsingham is much more subtle, and tactful, and actually looks out for her.”

“Ha! I KNEW that stupid Lord Robert was a bad’un! She was setting herself up for disaster all along. It pays to vet your suitors, queenie! Seriously, if my suitor was flirting with my ladies-in-waiting I’d kick him to the curb!”

Darth Inquisitor!

“Hey, how did a Sith Lord get in Elizabethan England?” [spoken about the black-robed Daniel Craig character] “That’s pretty awesome."

Overall, The Movie Whore finds the movie Elizabeth to be beautiful and interesting. It’s slow in parts, but maybe that’s because there’s just too much to get it all in gracefully?

And the Movie Whore LOVES the excellent soundtrack.

What’s that music playing when she confronts Lord Robert after all the others were sent to the Tower? I recognize it…is it Beethoven? I can’t quite place it… It flows seamlessly into the music that plays when Elizabeth enters the court and proclaims herself “The Virgin Queen”, married to her country. Finally it got to a point where I can place it: Mozart’s Requiem. Oooh. Chills.

The score to Mozart's Requiem. I'd add a music file, if I could.

It is no wonder that Bozo loves that scene the most. Music can tell a story that is heard most clearly by the soul. Even the non-musical person can be surprised by their reaction to powerful music. (And classical-style music, more than any, evokes this emotional response.)

So, if you play Mozart’s Requiem, what do you hear?

You hear mourning.

The sounds of sorrow.

Then a dying soul rises above the mourning,

as if trying to elevate itself above the mourners.

You don’t need to understand the Latin of the lyrics to feel the meaning of the music! That mourning? It applies not only to Mozart’s death, but is just as suitable to depict Elizabeth’s “re-virgination” and denial of her true love!

And today's Something to Celebrate:
It's Barbra Streisand's birthday! (70th) Whatever you think of her personal choices, you cannot deny the musical talent that she has!
I think I'll put in Hello Dolly as a movie to pack to tonight, in her honor.

Baltimore in…1, 2, 5!

So yesterday was quite full. “Let me ‘splain. No; there is too much. Let me sum up.”

1.       Misty! I met with Misty of Misty’s Laws for lunch by Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Here’s a picture of the two of us together:



You didn't think I'd really show our faces, did you?



It was great fun. A fantastic “hello!” at a lovely restaurant. She looks exactly the way she sounds on her blog…if that makes any sense. And she now knows my true identity, which makes her my double-extra-special Secret Squirrel! We did have a real picture taken of the two of us together, so we have blackmail photos of each other if we misbehave. Hmm, wait… WHAT was I thinking!

2.       I actually got there a little early, and wandered the Inner Harbor because it was a too hot for April gorgeous day!  There’s this sort of walkway, water feature (ha! On a harbor. Because they need a water feature), relaxation spot that connects the Harbor area to the businesses that don’t have the grace to sit ON the water.

Here’s one of the sculptures.

Then as I walked up towards the bridge, I saw this tunnel thing:

Looking out the other side of the tunnel, you look through a waterfall:

Here’s that sculpture from the front:

This was all about half a block from where I met Misty. It was a short but sweet lunch-time visit. A couple hours downtown, and I headed north of the city. I was meeting my rollercoaster buddy for dinner, but the place we were meeting was attached to a major shopping center, so I knew I could entertain my inner bibliophile at Barnes & Noble, and perhaps even satisfy the Movie Whore at the cinema.

3.       My inner bibliophile is laughing her butt off! She’s so happy with me for buying her THIS:

Yes, I bought the Bloggess’ book.

And I was laughing out loud in the café.

Unashamedly.

Every other sentence.

Because she’s such a hoot.

4.       Then, I took the Movie Whore off to see Mirror, Mirror. She’ll review it in a separate post.

The dwarves are AWESOME!

5.       THEN I met my rollercoaster buddy for dinner. The food was great. I couldn’t help, however, thinking of another person we all know, who would have been better company at that moment. >sigh<

I had just been up at Hersheypark over the weekend, riding rollercoasters with the rollercoaster buddy, who is a friend I know from the theatre. He’s a lighting techie, and very good at what he does. We have precisely two things in common: Theatre and rollercoasters. I believe he’s suffering from separation anxiety because he’s never moved anywhere before and doesn’t seem to be a big fan of change.

He kept saying “you’ll be back.” …”You’ll be back.” …”You’ll be back,” at random intervals in the conversation, sometimes generously adding “after you get settled in”. He started making plans for the fall. So I finally got annoyed and laid down the law. “Stop pushing me into my future! Right now I’m focused on moving. After I get there, I’ll focus on getting a job. Then a place to live. THEN I’ll start settling in!”

I’m really trying to distance myself. (can you tell?) In my perfect world, I’ll move and my memory will fade away! I’ve not told him about my internet fiancé Brett for the simple reason that he’s not very computer savvy and would probably dismiss the concept because of the internet involvement. (But don’t worry, Squirrels, Brett is aware of this whole rollercoaster buddy situation, and fully understands that it is no competition to him. At all!)

So I imagine, if I don’t fade away out of the rollercoaster buddy’s mind after moving, and the rollercoaster buddy actually does start contacting me to try to get me out there, I’ll have to say, “Um, sure. Can I bring my boyfriend?”

Finally, I submit for your approval:

My Random Act of Kindness for the day.

THIS is what a “normal” person (or, at least, me) brings in to feed her coworkers:

Let me zoom in on that label for you:

See – the local orchard’s market is open. I know it’s not apple season, so the Apple Cider donuts are not from “freshly pressed” cider but from last season’s “freshly pressed” cider. Still.

Something sweet, yummy, and guilt-laden.

NOT dried fruit!

Do you think anyone will get the message?

The Movie Whore and "Elizabeth"

Boy was the Movie Whore confused! …but you’ll have to wait to read why. (…and sorry about the pronouns here. They are inconsistent and I know it. I think I’m becoming schizophrenic.)

Our friend Bozo posted in a recent blog post some movies for the Movie Whore to review that Bozo knows about. Where Bozo lives, she doesn’t have a lot of opportunity to see movies right away, so Bozo often doesn’t have much to relate to when the Movie Whore talks about the latest new release.

So the Movie Whore decided that Elizabeth sounded like a good place to start, of the movies listed that we don’t know. We went to the library and checked out the “Elizabeth” movie starring Cate Blanchett and took it home to watch.

First of all, what a fascinating beginning! It reminded me of The Godfather! – all that plotting in another language, and using the church as a cover for their crimes! (Don’t jump ahead, if you know where this post is going. The Movie Whore will get there.) Wow, pretty exciting and very modern, even though, you know, it isn’t modern at all!

This movie makes the Movie Whore very curious about the genuine history of Elizabeth. When I was in Jr. High, my best friend was English and as a project for History class, she wrote “A Shorter History of England”, which was 100 pages or so including all her pictures. We were all annoyed that she so exceeded the bounds of the assignment, but she insisted that it was shorter than the whole thing. I believe her.

Somehow, with all my personal knowledge of England’s history via a young friend, and even having visited England a couple times, and toured the Tower of London, I still seem not to have paid enough attention for the Movie Whore to know the difference between what in this movie is based on fact and what has been assumed about the queen. The Movie Whore is very mean, and is now chastising me about reading so much fiction when I could have been reading things that would help her out here!

Random thoughts about "Elizabeth":

The Movie Whore thought there was too much emphasis on the romance between Raleigh and Bess. (…wait for it…) But then, we’re not romantic. We like our history without fluff.

Geoffrey Rush. Yeah. Wasn’t he the King’s tutor in The King’s Speech? He seems to be destined for roles in support of the royalty!

The Catholics kept referring to the Virgin Queen as a whore, and the Movie Whore is very curious as to whether they use that word the way she does - non-literally, or if there is any knowledge that Elizabeth had a history of sexual promiscuity! (…wait for it…)

She is also curious as to whether there is documentation of Elizabeth’s anxiety about the execution of Mary. (I hope that wasn’t a spoiler. Since it’s an historic event, I don’t think it can be.)

Being a big Monty Python fan, the Movie Whore might have shouted “NO-O one expects the Spanish Inquisition!” in a snarky English accent at the TV. She might have done this more than once. (and maybe listed their chief weapons…)

The Movie Whore congratulated my inner bibliophile for having read a historical-fiction novel a while back that gave us background knowledge about the fire stations on the coast that were used to relay the news of the attack. (...wait...)

One question came to mind when I saw the tagline at the end about the “Loss of the Armada was the greatest defeat in Spain’s history”. Why was there no more focus on this attack? They spent so much film on a romance that was really kind of a side-bar, and barely any on this amazing historical defeat! (…wait for it…) 

AND… (NOW!)

Because the Movie Whore is even worse as a DVD Whore, and must watch all the extras, we watched the extras and the interviews, and it was then that I realized…

I WATCHED THE WRONG MOVIE!

DOH!

Who knew there were two!?

I had in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, which apparently is the sequel to the one Bozo listed!

…which explained why I never noticed the scene Bozo referred to!

Fortunately the Movie Whore didn’t get upset, because she was laughing her evil laugh too loudly to be angry.

...Laughing at me.

For being a goober.

Which I am.

Well, Bozo? You’re getting a two-fer. Because obviously my next step was to go check out the first one. The Movie Whore will be back shortly with that review.