127 hours...

disclaimer:
i love james franco...
not like 'oh he's so cute' love
(though he is)
or 'oh, he's so talented' love
(though he is)
or 'oh, he's so hosting the oscars' love
(we're on the same page, right?)
no, i love james franco because whatever
he gets into his head to do, he does...
write a book of short stories?
yes!
go to college?
sure!
star in a few movies?
yep!
create an art show?
why not!
be on a soap opera?
try & stop me!
be a gucci model?
if you insist!
make a documentary?
all in a days work...

he's living the life that people who have ideas all day long
wish they could live
(uh, looking in the mirror right now...)
he's not married & doesn't have kids
so he only has to answer to himself if he messes something up...
he's rich & cute &
he could be spending his money on crap
& sleeping with lots of people
(i guess he could technically still pencil those things in...)
but instead he thinks of something
& he does it.

& that's why i love james franco.


oh & he made a little movie...
that's right!

127 hours.
127 hours.
what an intense experience.
watching the movie i mean...
& i guess the actual
'having your hand crushed by
a boulder & then cutting it off'
was pretty intense, too...


from
the opening credits
(which are so awesome)
to the closing shots
(which i watched through tears)
this movie is cool & beautiful...


describing this movie is kind-of difficult
without just telling the whole story...
i've tried to tell people about it & just say a little bit
but then i just go on & on & on...

i'll just say this:
even though i knew how it would end
i was totally totally engrossed throughout the
entire thing...

(i had a bottle of water almost exactly like this one during the movie...
i felt kind-of guilty every time i took a drink)

i loved how even though the movie was 90%
just one guy, it wasn't 'cast away' quiet
(not that i didn't like 'cast away')
& the fact that there was some humor, too
('that's no slurpee'
right jen? :)
it just all came together to
form one big mound of awesome...
a boulder of awesome you might say...
though i guess the boulder in the
movie was not that awesome...


& 'that scene'?
you know?
THAT scene?
it was perfectly horrible...
disgusting breaks
& grotesque snaps
& bloody everything...
i want to say i loved it
but that might sound weird...
there was definitely* a lot of twitching
& bracing in the theater
but we all remained in our seats
with no fainting of any sort...
score one for nooc!


& so we watched the last scene
& the credits rolled
& we all just sat there in silence...
it was the oddest, coolest thing...
& i'm more impressed with this
movie every time i talk about it...

& check out this cute group...


so fun, girlies!

~~~~~~~

i've been thinking about ranking all of the best picture
nominees in the order that i liked them
& as i was telling my bff, angie, this i made
the astute observation that
it would be 'really hard because they are all so good'...
alert the academy!
all of the best movie nominees are awesome!

on that note,
next week we are going to watch 'true grit'
& then i will have watched every best picture nom...
i will not pretend that i don't want to buy a billboard
to announce that fact...



love view...
:)

* okay, i'm not even kidding when i say
that right up there was the
first time i have ever spelled 'definitely'
right without spell check
(i even spelled it wrong 9 words ago, then SCed it)
yes!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

check out my other
reviews (& i use that term loosely)
of academy award best picture nominees
here
they're wordy but mildly entertaining...

:)

the fighter...

disclaimer:
it was the year 1995
& a cute boy i liked invited me to an event called
'the smoker'
it had nothing to do with cigarettes
or
cooking a large animal...
it had everything to do with
regular college age frat & non-frat guys getting
into a boxing ring &
pounding the crap out of each other.
did i even think twice about going to this?
uh, a cute boy asked me so, no,
no i didn't...
the cute boy was going to be helping
a friend of his get the crap pounded out of him,
be 'in his corner' literally
so i was going to sit with the cute boy's roommate
& watch the fight...
as we got the arena
(mac court, for eugeneies)
there were tons of people,
huge long lines.
however i was with the cute boy
& he had an 'i'm in the crap pounding corner' pass
so we started weaving through the crowd
as we got closer to the door
& it was more & more packed
the cute boy grabbed my hand & pulled me
through the maddening, butt kicking, crap pounding crowd...
& then he just kept holding it...
*sigh*
cute boy delivered me to his roommate
& went the corner to support the pounder/poundie...
& a pounding it was:
on my back...
cute boy's roommate was so into the fight
& so excited that every time something good (?)
would happen he would pound on my back with his fist...
true story.
i was in so much pain
but he just couldn't help himself...
thankfully we were friends
so i wasn't being pounded by a stranger
but still, quite hilarious...
the testosterone was really flying!

but despite me getting pounded
& the frat guys getting pounded
& the non frat boys getting pounded
it's still one of my favorite memories
& why wouldn't it be?
it's the first time brian & i ever held hands :)

ps the roommate is married to one of my best friends...
don't worry, before they got married i
warned her never to go to a fight with him...
or if she did to at least wear some back padding...

the end...

oh wait!
this is a movie review...
my nostalgia got away from me...

so 'the fighter' yes 'the fighter'
i really enjoyed this movie
firstly, because i didn't have to keep my hands over my eyes
unlike another movie that shall remain nameless.
secondly, it was set in the 80's &
the clothes, shoes & hair were beyond rad.
thirdly, the acting was incredibly awesome.
fourthly, mark wahlberg.
(is that not a complete sentence?)

i don't really need to address the 'firstly'
it was really just a dig at 'black swan'
& i am over the fear & dementedness that is that movie...
did i mention that the costumes were beautiful?
the 'costumes' in the fighter
i would not really describe as beautiful...
more like authentically wicked cool


this picture of the sisters does not even
do any of those things justice.
but if you've seen the movie, just one look
at these girls & you are transported back to
their ever changing array of
lycra shorts,
teal & pink shirts,
stirrup pants,
acid washed,
reeboks,
hair up to there
wonders...
& their mom, too
she was glamor-trash-errific


the performances were amazing
my friend, lisa's husband said they should just hand
christian bale the oscar right now
& i agree
from the first second you see him, until the last scene
he's not playing dicky eklund
he IS dicky eklund...
& it might sound cheesey
but it was a pleasure to watch this performance..
never felt over the top
never felt like he slipped out of it...
christian bale may be a jerk in real life
(youtube has a few examples, i'm sure)
but so is alec baldwin
& just try to stop me from
watching '30 rock' every thursday night



an actress who i would imagine isn't a jerk in real life
is amy adams...
june bug, enchanted, julie & julia, night at the museum...
sweet girls one & all
& even in this she isn't playing a jerk
just a tough chick...
she was great & i'm excited to see her in more serious roles
if she so chooses...


melissa leo was so great too...
love her grit & take-no-prisoners parenting...
kind-of scary but you could really see her heart
if you could get past the aqua net...

& mark wahlberg
do i really need to say anything?

~~~~~~~
joanna & i were the only night owls this week
in fact
we were the only people in the entire theater, period.
which made it very nice
to be able to comment on the clothes
& laugh loudly if we wanted to...
thanks joanna, you're fun :)



did i mention that we are watching '127 hours' next week?
i'm pretty excited to see this...
even with the fainting :)

see you there!
love view...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

check out my other
reviews (& i use that term loosely)
of academy award best picture nominees
here
they're wordy but mildly entertaining...

:)

black swan...

this is my favorite pic from the movie
(which is why i keep using it, over & over)

disclaimer:
i am a scaredy cat
i cover my eyes during movies
& i jump in all the right places...
a director would be so happy watching me
view his scary movie :)
after watching black swan
i listened to my favorite movie podcast's review
where they stated quite plainly that
it should be categorized as a horror movie.
& i had even listened to that review a few months ago!
oh well,
at least the soundtrack was very foreshadowing
so i always knew when to cover my eyes...
& when to shut them completely.
some people might not say this is a scary movie
they are either very brave
or they are lying.
just so you know...

on another
much happier note:
i loved the fashion
looooved it
especially the things the ballerinas wore
during rehearsals...
so much grey!
(& may not really be considered fashion
because it all looked so comfortable...
ha ha?)

i also loved how the colors characters wore
represented their place in the story...
i loved it so much that i made a little collage:
(yes... i am a color & fashion geek with
access to google images & photoshop!)


top row: sweet & innocent
middle row: transition
bottom row: the dark side

& even though it may be really obvious:
the bad guys wear black!
the good guys wear white!
it was still really beautiful...
& really, does anyone fault star wars for doing the same thing?

via timkau.blogspot.com

the office & apartment of the theater director
were super cool
all black & white
(also obvious: he's the link between her light & dark side...
but it doesn't make the decor any less awesome)


even though i was scared out of my mind
i am so glad i saw this movie.
i had wondered if natalie was getting so many accolades
because of all of the attention on her preparation for the role
(training with a professional ballerina!
hours & hours a day!
for a year!)
or if she was really that good...
& i must say
she is pretty amazing...
really embodies the psycho
(my favorite personality trait in friends & neighbors)

alrighty
back to the fashion!
i found this cute little collage that
a blogger did inspired by the movie...

via approximatelyes.blogspot.com

that dress is just perfect.
& the feather necklace?
just right for a bit of an edge...

i was the only night owl this week...


(have i mentioned that there are some scenes that
may be offensive to viewers?
thankfully (?) i have no cinematic standards...
my night owl friends, however, do.)

next week:
the fighter
i'm so eager to see christian bale's performance
& of course, mark walburg...
& amy adams!
& melissa leo!
so join me won't you?
i think it's going to be a knock out...
(& if you come
you can kick me in the shins for that last cheesy comment...
everybody wins!)

love view...
:)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

check out my other
reviews (& i use that term loosely)
of academy award best picture nominees
here
they're wordy but mildly entertaining...

:)

inception

disclaimer:

i like movies
i like almost every movie i see...
i'm not completely without opinions, of course
but in general i love the escape &
the fun of watching people do what
they are really really good at
(most of the time...cameron diaz, i'm looking at you)
i love the stories
& the drama
& the laughs
& the cries...
if asked
i couldn't tell you the last movie i didn't like
(& in fact i was asked by my friend, susan,
right before we saw 'inception')
& since i do enjoy most movies
these are not really reviews per say
more like 'what i saw & liked'...
& oh boy
did i like this movie
so
let's move right along...

i love this movie...
don't ask me explain it
in any cohesive manner
but i looooved it...

every scene was better than the one before it,
every non-stop bit & twist was so cool,
every style change fit so perfectly...


i totally loved the inside-out
no gravity parts...


& i don't mind seeing them recreated with
legos either...
so cool!


i was so glad that it wasn't scary
i did cover my eyes
(read: watched through my fingers)
a few times
but i tried my best to pay attention
(thanks for the heads up, meg!)

the sets were great
especially the warehouse that they
made their crazy-cool plans


one thing that struck me was
that leonardo decaprio has become a man!
i know he's been playing men for a while now
but i never really bought it...
i loved the movies (shutter island, the departed)
but he still just seemed like a young guy...
not here:
boy oh boy, he's a man :)

(loved this costume change...little bit of a 70's vibe)

the visuals were awesome
all of the architectual details
& the crazy ways they moved
(mc escher meets hogwarts)
l.o.v.e.

another visual that was striking
was the cast...
look at these people:

via tumbler

not a cringer in the bunch...
& (spoiler alert!)
it struck me that if the entire movie was a dream
which some say it was
maybe that's why everyone was so good looking...
why fill your dreams with ugly folks, right?
(i recently had a dream about eminem
not too shabby either :)
or maybe they were trying to make money
(gasp)
by including 9 beautiful people...
it's a mystery!

& as long as we're talking about cuties...
you may have noticed a trend in all of my picture here..
a certain dark haired male
who mysteriously popped up in every single
photo i chose off of google images...
oh look!
there's another one!


what a totally weird glitch...
:)
i mentioned in the previous post that i was looking forward to
seeing joseph gordon-levitt in this movie...
i was a fan before
& the only thing this movie did
was move him up on my list of favorite actors...
poor joanna & susan had to hear more than once during the movie:
'i love him!'
so much so that i looked up his resume on netflix...
i watched 'brick' on netflix instant today
(a modern day film noir take on high school... pretty cool)
& i reordered '500 days of summer' :)
in fact i'm thinking of starting to do a
'spotlight on the actor/actress' post
after each movie
just so i can gush about jgl a little bit more...

in conclusion,
i highly recommend this movie...
just be ready to focus
cause it's a mind bender...
(but let's face it
focusing on these guys isn't really hard at all :)

here's the nooc girlies at a little after midnight...

still with energy to burn!
(enough to get us home at least :)

up next:
black swan
eek!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

check out my other
reviews (& i use that term loosely)
of academy award best picture nominees
here
they're wordy but mildly entertaining...

:)

the king's speech...

let's start with a disclaimer
shall we?
i am not a professional film reviewer
i'm not even an amateur film reviewer
i am simply a girl who
likes movies
& saw this particular one at 9:30pm three nights ago...
if my ideas seem shallow
(i like how things look!)
if my words are inarticulate
(i like to keep it simple!)
if i am long winded
(i spend my day with tiny creatures who only hear every third word i say)
if my thoughts seem scattered
(welcome to my life!)
if this doesn't seem like a review at all
just me listing things i like
(probably the most accurate account so far)
well, i guess you've been alerted :)

above all
if you have opinions
(about the movie
or about my opinions)
please comment!
i love to hear what other people have
to say about movies i've seen...

here we go...

okay to start off
if you ask me
there should be an award for best walls in a room
& if there were such an award
in would be handed to the walls in
lionel louge's office all day long...
i have no idea if they were on purpose
(like in the script...)
or if it was just years of paint & wallpaper peeling away
whatever it was
it's fantastic...
(& i read something
comparing the peeling wallpaper
to george peeling back layers
as he works with lionel...
love it.
live for that sort of thing...)

i loved this movie...
it was so beautiful & stirring
& pulls you right in from the very beginning...
the first speech
where every little tick & titter echoes through the stadium
devastating.
& perfect.

i loved george & elizabeth's relationship...
she is the queen
(& i will admit right now
that i was so confused by why elizabeth was the queen
but not married to the old dying king
& why the old dying king's wife wasn't the queen
& why elizabeth was the queen
but not married to the king
she's married to a duke
except then he becomes the king later...
not confused enough to research it now
but confused none the less...)
anyway
she is the queen
but showed so well
how anxious a wife can get to see her husband succeed...
not in a bad way
she was always really respectful of his space & feelings
but in a way that made you feel like she really loved him
& wanted him to overcome his difficulties with stuttering...
& when she hears him speak without the awkward pauses
she just seems so so proud of him...
i loved that!
(i realize that she may have just been embarrassed
& needed him to do well so that the
family remained in ultimate standing among the people of england
but it felt real to me
& so i'm going with it...)


i loved how colin firth made you believe he was
having a hard time speaking
& made you want to root for him...

the relationship between the king & his speech helper (?)
seemed kind-of cliche at times
like we've seen this in so many movies before:
person has problem
they try many things to solve their problem
but the only thing that helps is some weird person
with crazy (cool) wallpaper
who does unconventional things
& they resist
& they fight
& they give in
& the person's problems are solved
& they are best friends for life or longer
(see 'good will hunting', 'just like heaven', 'the blind side' etc)
i'm not saying it doesn't work
(hey, i loved & cried in all of those movies)
it just felt a little 'been there' to me...
but then it's a true story!
how can i argue with that?
& really if i'm being period accurate
this movie was set before all of the others...
this relationship might have been the one that
started the cliche'!

edward's girlfriend's necklace in the party scene...
die for.
(couldn't find a picture of it
but it's worth the price
to see the peeling walls & the necklace...
oh & guy pearce looking so not 'momento'...
(not that i don't looove 'momento'...i do!)
vintage super cutie)

& is this not the most adorable thing you've ever seen?


the costumes & the sets were so pretty...
the signs on the buildings made me weak in the knees...
i love signage & fonts & all of that dorky graphic stuff...

helena bonham carter is an actress i admire so much
she goes from wild & insane in harry potter
to proper & sophisticated here
& so many more in between...
& she always takes wacky risks on the red carpet
(& in real life)
so fun to watch!

i am really not a history buff
but this even made me want to google the time period
if only just to figure out the queen, king, duke situation...

all in all
a really wonderful movie...

taken after the movie & we all look so wide awake!
totally impressive, if you ask me...

nooc by the numbers...
night owls: 5 fun girls
price for popcorn on tuesday nights at vrc: $2!
number of the queen's cute hats: 4 (at least)
my personal tissue count: 2
starting off with a sweet & inspiring movie: priceless

prediction: colin firth will win the best actor academy award
he was so close last year (a single man, also a beautiful film)
& he deserves it...
(also he was in 'bridget jones diary' so there you go
a complete body of work!)
everybody else should be nominated...
pretty amazing cast

next on the list:
inception
at the $2 theater
(yes!)
the theater that doesn't have stadium or comfy seats
(darn!)
the theater we will be at
(yes! yes!)

see you there!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

check out my other
reviews (& i use that term loosely)
of academy award best picture nominees
here
they're wordy but mildly entertaining...

:)