Always nice to see Clark Gregg again.

Just in case some of you haven't seen it yet and are interested.... 

Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing Trailer

Returning to the Blog & DKR Videos

Honestly, I'm kind of trying to figure out how to restart this.

The past twelve weeks (or so) have been pretty eventful for my family. It was a terrible emotional roller coaster and ended with an unexpected crash. I never blogged during that time partially because I was gone a lot and partially because I absolutely didn't know what to say. Silly, mindless posts seemed so ridiculousy unimportant and thoughtful posts would've taken way too much... everything?

Now silly posts seem even less important, and yet oddly somehow, important anyway. Maybe important is the wrong word. Maybe a little needed.

This is going to be (eventually) a sillier post.

I would like to filter out some thoughts onto here about some of the past week....I think.  Maybe sort some things out. Maybe not. I just don't want to ignore the fact that something heavy has happened. But for right now, I just kind of want to get restarted. Reboot. Take a breather and figure the rest out later. And with that in mind, I present to you:

Batman Maybe
(If you haven't seen the movie and are avoiding spoilers, please avoid them now for the video and rest of the post.)



It's been stuck in my head. I think its pretty hysterical. And the costumes are awesome. (Thanks for showing it to me, Holly!)

My favorite line: "I know you're Batman... so STOP BEING LAZY."
BWAHAHHAHA!


That's all.

My absolute favorite Dark Knight Rises video on the internet right now comes from the Nostalgia Critic himself in his Bum Review:
(You canNOT possibly avoid spoilers in this one. Every spoiler is dropped. Avoid, avoid, avoid if you haven't seen it.)



"Uh, yeah...."

I love it. I can't tell you how many times I've watched it. So funny. If you have time, I recommend watching his Bum Reviews. They're usually four or five minutes (DRK is easily the longest) and incredibly funny. But full spoilers are involved in each one, so just beware that if you're wanting one saved.

Also, supposedly HISHE will have theirs up in a couple weeks as well. We'll see what they decide to do with that.

Catching Up: Class, Tonys, Articles and More.

Let's play catch up!

The Wedding Class....
....is mostly why I've been away. It was a wedding intensive class that began this past Sunday through Wednesday (where I graduated to Pomp & Circumstance, ha) and lasted from 8:30 - 5:30 every day in the city. And paranoid me left at 6:30 every morning to ensure I would beat traffic and make it to class on time.

And while I was rather terrified to go through the first hands on experience (since this was my first time around other designers) everything went okay. I learned a lot and it was really kind of nice to have a four-day designing focus, rather than multitasking computer, order taking, satisfying customers, etc. Not that those things are bad. Just that it was nice to strictly soak up some design wisdom and let some of it gel in my head a little better. Especially for wedding work.

I did solidify a few styles (one of which we just used today in the shop) and learned a few crazy things as well. For one, I never thought I'd be able to complete a composite flower which is several flowers put together to form one large bloom. So she showed us how to make a glamela (glad blooms) and we completed one and then she quickly showed us a composite rose. And it looked easier than I expected. So while we had some extra time on our hands this morning I wanted to make one while I could still remember how: 

 

In this picture it kind of looks like one giant bloomed-out rose, but that's kind of the whole point too.  That's actually three roses put together. I would love to make more of these, I think they're really beautiful. (And I was so excited to make one.)

Anyway, I essentially was coming home, eating dinner with grandma, rewriting my notes and crashing.

But I saw some awesome girls....
.... and had a chance to spend the night with them before my class started.  :) I spent the night with the Puckett family and played games and sang karaoke and had a general blast. Maybe I can sneak over there one more time before summer is up. ;)

Did I mention the Tonys are this Sunday?
Oh wait, I haven't.
Um.
I'm just not excited this year. I'll watch them (and blog inner-monologue style) but I'm just not anticipating them this year. I wasn't really last year either and they pleasantly surprised me and gave me lots of hope, but look at this years Best Musical lineup:
Once
Newsies
Leap of Faith
Nice Work if You Can Get It

Now. Not that I'm not excited for Newsies to finally be on Broadway (although, honestly, I'm not all that crazy about some of the new music I've heard) and not that I don't think Once can do well there (although, honestly, it is pretty slow in some places.) But the top three are all based off movies and the last one - while it has a new story - is essentially a Gershwin review. Where's the originality? It's nowhere. At all. And it just kind of depresses me a bit.
Okay, so it was a slow season for new stuff. How about the revivals?
Evita
Jesus Christ Superstar
Follies
Porgy & Bess 

I am VERY excited to see Porgy performed because it features none other than Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis (ahh!) but I've also heard amazing things about the supporting cast as well. That one, I'm stoked for. But the others? How many times has JCS been revived recently? Evita? Nothing new. Follies? Great show from what I've heard (my shame, I don't know that one as well), but again, played a lot.

And I'd tell you about the plays, but sadly I know nothing about them. So consider the rest of it strictly referring to musicals, because I'm telling you up front I just haven't kept up with the plays. 

This article that was posted today makes me sad: For Broadway Fans, A Moment in the Sun. It mostly discusses how nice it is for Broadway to be mainstream for a little while (and it is) and how shows like Glee, Smash and High School Musical have been the main backbone for that happening.
While I haven't been able to get into those shows, I don't have a problem with them. In fact, I like that Glee does pull a lot of old showtunes and breathes new life into them for a new generation. My problem with the article is not that our "moment in the sun" is because of these television shows. My problem with the article is when you continue reading it gives the impression that Broadway is gleaming right now with success. Newsies is finally on Broadway. This is the highest grossing year ever. We are awesome.
I'm really frustrated with this. This is a terrible year for musicals. We've been in an originality drought for awhile now, but really? Not a single show? I mean, at least in the past we've had Memphis (that's a joke.)

I'm not upset with the television shows that the article claims: "I trace this surge in popularity back to 2006's "High School Musical." Sure, I despised it (and the endless sequels) with a fervent passion, as any true musical nerd would. It turned our beloved world into a pop singer-filled, Disney Channel-style, teenybopper show." but within our own community. Why aren't we encouraging and supporting good, original art and pushing for it to be on the Great White Way where there's a better chance a larger community will see it? Why aren't we calling foul for this? Why aren't we helping promote or demanding a higher quality? Why isn't someone at least trying something instead of just rewriting movies with songs?
Probably for the same reason I haven't raised a fuss this year. Because we have in the past and now we're tired and a bit jaded with the whole thing.
I do realize there is a lot happening in smaller venues now, off-Broadway and way way off-Broadway and that's great. But I also wish we could open back up that larger market where the creative shows could potentially gain more attention and maybe one day create more of a demand for thought provoking and high quality work.
Ah well, a girl can dream.

And let me reiterate - turning a movie into a musical isn't bad in and of itself. I just wish it wasn't seemingly every show right now or that they would do something new with it. Lion King is the perfect example. Its a movie to a musical and while it's not a perfect overall show, it is excellent in so many capacities. Puppetry work? Absolutely worth the hype. The opening number? Outstanding and worth every laud. Scenery? Music? Lovely. This is a great example of breathing new life and making something truly theatrical from something that's been done before. I realize that kind of brilliance can't happen every time - that's why its so special - but its an excellent description of what I hope for in movies turned musicals and why they can be good. 

Actually, I think I hate that article. I think its dumb. And seriously, how does an article entitled "Broadway's Moment in the Sun" not include....

....the upcoming Les Mis movie.
The Les Mis trailer is still gorgeous and I'm still a bit shocked it looks so perfect. This would be such a hard show to get right and I'm so excited by all the pictures! December seems just around the corner.

And yet, there's one nail biter beforehand. 
The Dark Knight Rises marketing keeps throwing me from one side to other. I thought the Catwoman poster was stupid, yet I love all the tv spots I've seen lately. So I'm hoping its actually awesome and the marketing team has just been confused this whole time. Or if not awesome, at least solid. Please, Nolan, I want a solid ending to a good trilogy. Pleeeeeease.

However, my boss is awesome and when I begged to please, could we please be done with the wedding work by 7:00 so I can go see this movie, please oh please she laughed and said of course. So Dark Knight Rises opening weekend, here I come. Mwee!!

Let's make up for that last article.
I can assure you, this one will do it. This is a story about how a five-year-old boy and his mother got onto the Avengers set, was able to take pictures with some of the cast and how awesome they were treated by all the cast members and crew. I love it. It's super cute, really heartwarming and very "aww" worthy.
The picture of him with Loki alone is worth it. (It's at the top, I won't spoil it.)

Have you heard that saying about the thunderstorms being a good omen for Thunder?
Cause I'm sure sick of it. EVERY. WEATHERMAN. EVERY. FORECAST.
But I am glad they won, I'm thrilled for them and I'll watch the finals. They actually make watching the game fun and intense to watch, which isn't saying I usually say in context with basketball. Ever. I think these are the first full games I've ever watched where a family member wasn't playing in them. So go Thunder! You are awesome. You actually have made me enjoy basketball.

That's the majority of what you've missed. We are launching into wedding season now which will keep me busy, but not like this past week. Hurrah! I should be as back as I ever am.

First Les Miserables Trailer! (EDITED)

I have never been this purely excited for a movie musical.



So. Freaking. Happy. I've lost count the number of times I've watched it.

I know it's only the first trailer, but this looks gorgeous and so dead on.

Finally, Les Mis. You've waited a long time to bring your musical self to the big screen, but it looks like the wait may have been well worth it.

EDIT:
Also, I just learned that Colm Wilkinson will be playing the Bishop in the movie. I feel like shouting "THEY CARE, THEY REALLY CARE!" from the rooftops.

Summer Movies: Avengers

"So Nick Fury is like 'We need a team of the most brightly colored bullseyes we can find!'"
- Bum Reviews, TGWG (Um, beware some language, if you go looking for it.)  

So. This was my first review of Avengers:

OHMYGOSHAVENGERS.

That was it. And honestly, that still pretty much sums it up.

If you don't see this movies in theatres, you're missing out. This is one of the few movies I will tell you go spend your money. Give them your money. (I almost mistyped there and wrote "monkey." I doubt they want your monkey. I doubt you have a monkey.) Seriously, they have done so well with everything and all the movies leading up to this and all the build up, that you should go give them your money and support this. And because it's just that good. Sure, they've already made a billion dollars. But folks, in this case, there's a reason why.

Also you should go see it in theatres because you will be sad if you rent it first. This movie is huge. This movie needs to be experienced on the big screen. (I have now seen it in both 2D and 3D and I can assure you you're not missing out on anything without the 3D action.)

I can't rave about this movie enough. The characters, the action sequences, the dialogue, the story, everything. It is the ultimate superhero movie. Just go see it. I plan to go see it at least one more time in theaters, even if its at the dollar movie, just to get one more experience on the big screen. But if you're going, you should call me because I'll go anyway.

I've had a lot of people ask me if this is family friendly. You're going to run into some language, but other than that, I don't think you'll have any problems - especially with older kids. With younger kids - while there are a lot of very very funny moments that will be right up their alley - there's also a lot of seriousness too and it may not hold their attention as well at the first. I think that just entirely depends on your kid. Outside of one scene where a very sharp object gets implanted on someone's face, there's no action or fighting that's gory. (And really, it reads worse than it actually appears onscreen. No blood or anything shown.) It's very much clean fighting.

This is a great movie. I can't say anything else about it. If we haven't talked about it yet, you should mention your thoughts in the comments because I would love to read them. (Beware: Potential spoilers in the comments.)

Next up: Hunger Games.

Dark Knight Rises Trailer!!

The New Dark Knight Rises trailer is here!

DUN DUN. DUN DUN.

This makes me excited.

I love how - especially since they're coming out in the same summer - this is a very different film from Avengers. Both hopefully awesome, but in very different ways.

SO EXCITED. JULY 20TH.

On a Timer: Go! Gotta run, gotta run now....

Ahem.

I have not left the blogosphere, but I have had Less Than Much to talk about lately. Also, sadly, blogging usually takes at least 45 minutes to an hour of my time and I have not been willing to give it that. Nor should it usually take that long.

And I did promise my body I'd be in bed by 11:00 tonight. However, due to the I Must Start Posting Again drive I'm giving myself a 15 minute abstention, as well as a 15 minute timer. It is 11:01. What can we discuss in 14 minutes.

1) My Town is Stupid.
This should really be its own post. But in Friday's paper it was announced that my town would be closing 3 of our 4 tornado shelters due to the fact that they don't meet the Disabilities Requirements Act. That's fine - I understand they need to be updated - but update them. Instead the article informed us that a) not only did the fourth shelter not meet the requirements either and that b) it only holds "about 100 people" but that c) instead we should prepare for alternative action. Like getting in a closet. Or bathroom.
I'm not kidding.
Look, how many times recently have we heard of a town "needing to be underground to survive." Too many. And while its true that our particular town hasn't had that particular event yet, we live in Tornado Alley. I'm aware that most of the time getting in a closet will do it, if you even need to do that - but come on. For those rare times you do need to be underground, you will regret it deeply if you aren't. There is no excuse for any town in our state to be without underground shelters. It is foolish.

2) I Love Lynn Ahrens and You Do Too.
Apparently one of my favorite musical lyricists (of Flaherty/Ahrens fame Ragtime, Once On this Island & Seussical) has continually worked on SchoolHouse Rock since its inception. (Thank you, Wikipedia!) So if you loved the songs The Tale of Mr. Morton, Interjections! or Interplanet Janet then you do too. (She's worked on lots of others. Those were just the ones I remembered the best.)

3) Now for the Ultimate Question.
I finished reading Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy for the first time. While I didn't realize it wasn't a stand alone book (and was surprised by that), I have borrowed the Complete version so I'm good to go. It was very refreshing, very fun and I'm excited to read the other books since I think I'll know less of the jokes ahead of time. (They were still great, but the ones that really made me laugh out loud were the ones that caught me off guard.) Marvin is still my favorite, although I love Trillian, and I love the Genuine People Personalities built into the computer system. The doors were my favorite. I'm looking forward to the next one.

4) I Miss Godzilla.
I must break out Final Wars soon. Anyone want to watch a Godzilla movie with me? Or we can watch a new one? Pleeease?


Down to three minutes. 

And I'm blanking! I'm blanking!

5) A Whole Class on Weddings.
My bosses were able to get me into the Teleflora Education Center's Wedding Class in June. It's a four day intensive study of all things bridal bouquet, consultations, pricing and wedding work and I'm pretty excited to take it.

Aaand just barely over a minute!

"Are you so desperate?"

I finally saw this for the first time tonight.



(I know, I'm late.)

If you haven't see it yet, you really need to take two and a half minutes and do so. It just continues to look even more phenomenal.

This word tends to be overused today, but the scope and the amount of effort that has gone into making this film, and all the ones prior to it, is nothing short of absolutely epic for the movie industry.

Bravo, Marvel. I'm currently more excited for this than Dark Knight Rises and that is saying something. I absolutely cannot wait.

(Speaking of DKR, where is your viral marketing?? Where??)

Chronicling Vday: When this starts to seem like a dumb idea.

Official Countdown: 3 days. 
Current Weather Forecast: The weathermen are essentially shrugging their shoulders. According to them it'll either be rain, sleet, freezing rain or snow. Ha. Good to know.

I'm tired.

I'm now up to 43 or so of my 50 dozens and we're calling it quits there, leaving the rest greened and ready to make up with ordered colors. I finished out the day completing all the orders for Saturday (which was only about.....three?) so far. My coworker and I have also finished most of Monday's in advance. We spent an hour extra tonight and plan to work a few hours extra tomorrow where we will finish any extra Monday orders that come in, build plenty of extra arrangements to sell out of the front cooler and, in general, prepare for the onslaught.

The wind chill tomorrow morning will be 1 with an actual temperature of 15.

But in good news, I can assure you the Muppets movie is somehow even better the second time around. Which is pretty phenemonal, considering it was incredibly fun and lovely the first round.

I also learned the one good thing about freezing temperatures: you can leave your Dr. Pepper in the car filled with ice for two hours and it doesn't melt.

Tonight I drove up to a stop sign and waited for the light to turn green. 

I'm going to bed. Goodnight.

Finally, I saw Once.

So there's not really a lot to spoil in this movie, but I do give away the ending if you don't want to know. If that's the case, I thought it was a really beautiful, quiet film, the music is gorgeous, but the pace can be sometimes slow so just be aware of that going in. It works well for it, especially in developing their relationship, but yeah... sometimes for the viewer its still slow going. There, now you don't have to read the review I just worked an hour on. ;)




Whaaaaat? You hadn't seen Once yet?

I know, I know.

For those of you who haven't heard of Once, I can assure you that when it came out in 2007 it was HUGE. It was all I heard about. I don't really have a reason for having not seen it until now - it just never happened. But earlier this week I was wandering around our library - to which I have recently reacquainted myself with - and I was surprised to see the title there so I thought Why not? 

Once is a modern-day musical with the songs developing naturally within the storyline (as the two main characters are musicians) and they handle this so well. I can see how people who avoid musicals could fall in love with it since the music intertwines with the plot and characters so perfectly. In fact, the more I go back and think on it and the more I listen to the music afterward (because you will), the lyrics to so many of songs fit all the relationships involved. But not in a way that's generic or bland - the lyrics are just really deft.
Take the lyrics to (certainly) its most popular song "Falling Slowly":

Take this sinking boat & point it home, we've still got time/ raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice/ you've made it known....

This, to me, sums up the entire movie. 

While these lyrics are certainly (and often) attributed to the feelings between the Guy & the Girl - they were written before they met. These lyrics were originally intended for the Guy &, um, Former Girl and they certainly sync with both relationships. It's really beautiful how skillfully (and subtly) the entire movie is handled but how well the lyrics mash up with all three relationships involved. Those lyrics also apply to Girl & Former Guy.
Subtle is a great word here.  Once is a very quiet movie - in tone, in action, in character, in plot etc. With the exception of "Say It To Me Now" (which I loooove) your leads are very quiet characters.

Interesting note: usually whenever stories refuse to give their characters names - especially in movies - it tends to really bother me because it sticks out so much. It always seems obvious, heavy handed, as in 'hey, we're really trying to say something here' and it gets frustrating. Surprisingly here, I didn't even notice until after it was over and I was reading a review that mentioned it. Simply labeled 'Guy' & 'Girl' in this story, it's never over the top, never reaching. It truly manages to come across as a documentary peeking in on these two lives as they happen to intersect at this particular moment in time and it does that dead on.

This movie is just beautiful - not necessarily a lot happens, and it can certainly feel slow - but by the end of it you somehow feel like you just witnessed something precious and tender. Their relationship develops quickly, but doesn't feel forced. (These are fantastic actors for these roles.) The ending really sealed the deal for me, but its probably in how I interpreted it, because you could certainly interpret it in several ways and have evidence to prove your point. For me, this was less about unrequited love and more about healing. I didn't feel like Guy & Girl ended up in loveless relationships, but I guess you never really know that. Partially, I just didn't want them to, but I also feel like the hopeful twinge at the end of the movie implies the idea that they had an incredible week, would forever have an amazing bond, but made their choices elsewise and were still content. I feel like this week was a catharsis for them, finally through each other being able to heal again and move past the hurt and re-evaluate themselves. 
Ultimately, this movie is all about choices. Girl chooses to leave Former Guy. Guy chooses to leave Former Girl. Girl & Guy meet and have to choose how to handle their bond and where it goes from there.

Also, quite frankly, I loved that there were boundaries in this film. There are so many films that explore the sexual nature of relationships, and that's fine, but this one very bluntly said no and that created so much more interest. It also helped to really develop the sweetness & trust between them. It was just really refreshing to actually see them carry that throughout their relationship.
"I'm sorry, I screwed up. I'm lonely, you're gorgeous and I promise it'll never happen again."

Also, I really liked the Broken Hearted Hoover-Fixer Sucker Guy song. :)

Once isn't perfect - again, not a lot really happens. While the songs are gorgeous sometimes they feel a little longer than they should be and that can start to wear on you, especially since there's so little actual action in between. Also, its really hard to understand Girl's Czech, especially at first. Towards the end I started debating if I had actually liked it, but before the credits were rolling I had decided I did. The more I mused on it later the more all of its aspects melded in my mind and its just really well done. I should watch it again because I'd probably love it more knowing more the pace I was getting into.

Just so you know ahead of time, this movie is rated R for really strong language, but that's the only reason. (Also, so that you know in case kiddos are around.)

If you haven't heard "Falling Slowly" you should, so I'm posting it here if you're interested. It did win the Oscar for Best Song, and I'm glad, not only because of how crucial it was to the film but because of gorgeous it is.

Collection of Late Night Thoughts

Sporadic thoughts late at night.

 Do you know I slept over 11 hours last night? It was glorious.

For some reason, I was so ready to be off work this weekend that when I locked the door at 5 I almost did a victory dance. (I withheld until I was safely at home.) I think it was just a long week. Not a bad week. Just one where you're ready to be anywhere but work by the end of it.

We actually had another wedding last weekend that was a setup. If I would ever remember to edit the pictures I might post some of them here, but alas. I do however have a quick shot of the bridal:

Midnight blues & whites.

Holly asked me the other day if I was enjoying the unseasonably warm winter we've had so far. I LOVE it. In fact, we're supposedly going to get up to 70 on Monday. I'm so excited.
It's not that I'm against cold winters entirely - I really do like the change of seasons. Its just that we've had such bitter winters the past two or three years that I'm soaking up whatever warmth comes our way. I would love to scrape by with a mild winter this year.

Seriously, if you haven't listened to the Megas album yet, you're missing out. And once you listen to the original, go listen to this acoustic version. They're both incredible. These guys are awesome. They're on bandcamp, so you can listen to their albums on those links for free.

Okay, so I know I'm really, really late to the game here, but Newsies is awesome.
Wait....we know you've listened to Newsies before now. Right? Right...??
No worries! I have!
This is my history with Newsies: I had never even heard of it until probably high school when my cousin Jeff couldn't believe I had missed it. I was getting into musicals at that time, so I watched it and thought it was good. Really good. But I never really got into it. I never had the nostalgia factor with it and just never really attached to it. However, I've had my iPod on shuffle a lot more than usual recently and "Carrying the Banner" came on. Oh man! What a knockout! So much punch in one song. I've listened to it so many times in the past few days. I definitely plan on rewatching it.

This Wednesday Jeff & I are going to see the Addams Family musical! Yaaay! It's been awhile since I've seen a show.

Sleepy, sleepy.... Good night everyone.

We built this city....aw, now I have it stuck in my head.

Sporadic thoughts:

I am incredibly excited for Christmas this year. Incredibly.

The shop is doing well, we're just about perfect on our poinsettia count which is phenomenal considering we always have to throw out quite a few. We've also sold out of grave blankets, which is also unusual. While its true we have cut back on both, we've also just been selling well too so we're pretty happy.


I'm finally on the final season of LOST and.... oy. First episode, you were rough. I'm just really confused and I'm not sure how you're gonna drag it out a whole season, because right now you really only have one thing going for you anymore. Though Sawyer's line "Did we get captured by the Others again?" made me laugh a lot.

So.... the Rock of Ages trailer came out tonight.
What? There's a movie?
Yeah. Don't worry, I forgot too. Someone else needs to watch that though and tell me what they think. The musical has always sounded completely preposterous to me and I think its ridiculous to be chosen for a movie. And after reading the full synopsis of the musical, it sounds even more...ridiculous. (I do realize most of the silliness is intentional and all in fun and that's a good thing. I'm not knocking that.)
I actually can't decide if it looks awful or like a lot of fun. I don't really like aspects of it. And I suspect this may be one where the trailer is better than the movie, due to some of the scenes they flip through. (Catherine Zeta Jones leading a dance charge down the church aisle to We're Not Gonna Take It made me laugh, and I can't decide if I was supposed to.) I do like the smash up of We're Not Gonna Take It with We Built this City, but honestly I don't really care for the arrangement snippets we hear of the other classic songs.
 Anyway, it comes out summer 2012 if anyone's interested. The trailer bizarrely fails to mention that (or I just kept missing it?)

I haven't really had a lot to blog about recently, truthfully. Did I ever tell you I saw the Muppets? I saw the Muppets and it was really well done. You should go see it. But if you're planning to you might want to avoid spoilers! Just go and have a good time. It's very fun. :)

Eh, I need to talk about something besides movie junk....

I plan on doing a countdown to New Years with my end of the year list. I love end of the year lists! I wanted to wrap up 2011 with a one. So we'll see if that happens.

And hope still flies.

Shh.... I'm supposed to be sleeping.

Do you realize how much exciting entertainment news has occurred this week? (Okay, only two pieces, but they're extremely exciting to ME.)

First off, Dark Knight Rises announced a few amazing spoilers that I'm extremely excited about. (They're minor spoilers really, but since I've already spoiled it for one person, you're going to have to click on the link to see if you want to. Ha! :) Also, new photos on that link.) 

That first paragraph? That's what I'm excited about. I think its unexpected and brilliant. (Oh, it makes that trailer make SO much more sense now! How heartbreaking!) I have to admit: I was getting nervous and skeptical seeing some of the recently released pics and confused by the trailer. But this one piece of news has excited me so much I have to say: BRING ON THE GOGGLES, BABY.

Rumor has it an updated trailer will be released with Sherlock Holmes 2.

And then, my favorite dead band Five Iron Frenzy has been making noise for months now that they'll release huge news on the day of their break-up anniversary. And it's just been building and building hype and so tonight they finally announced it: they're not only getting back together, but they've already been working on a new album and have released one of the songs. (Hear it here.)

They were trying to raise $30,000 by January 21st, 2012 since they're doing all the releasing and recording themselves and avoiding a record label.

They reached their goal in 55 minutes total.

And as of now, four hours after the announcement? They're at $66,744.

I'm so excited for this, their new song sounds wonderful and those instruments are oh so crisp.

I'm supposed to sleep tonight, but that would mean I'd have to stop playing the new song and Batman trailer first.

Some Movie News (& Then Bedtime)

Some quick links worthy of noting:

Anne Hathaway Joins Les Mis (And Writer Announced)
"After months of speculation, Anne Hathaway has officially joined Tom Hooper's adaptation of the musical, Les Miserables. Her spokesperson confirms a Deadline report that she’ll play Fantine, the tragically abused mother of young Cosette. Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe have already been cast as the noble Jean Valjean and the heartless Inspector Javert, respectively. ... 
William Nicholson, who co-wrote Gladiator, is writing the script, with the film being targeted for a Dec. 7, 2012 release."

 Okay, maybe the writer was announced before, but I just now caught it.


I did see Nathan Fillion's tweet on this earlier, but I was a little confused since it came out of nowhere. Now I see I was supposed to be surprised! Cool! Anyway, interesting interview included here, as well as the notation that Avengers has finished production.
Joss Whedon Wraps up Secret 'Much Ado'

"After wrapping production on Marvel Studios’ gargantuan summer tent-pole The Avengers, writer-director Joss Whedon was supposed to go on a monthlong vacation with his wife, Kai Cole. Instead, Whedon tells EW exclusively that his wife suggested he finally make the feature film version of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing he’d been ruminating over for years.
And so he did— adapting the script, casting the film with Whedonverse alums like Nathan Fillion, Amy Acker (Angel), Alexis Denisof (Buffy, Angel), and Sean Maher (Firefly), and shooting the self-funded, black-and-white indie in secret over 12 days at his Santa Monica, Calif., home."

Of course, what is movie news without some Batman?
Dark Knight Rises Will Release Prologue
Y'know, I didn't see the prologue released for Dark Knight and truthfully... I'm not interested in seeing this one either. Sure, it would be cool, and I would love to hear a general consensus on it, but I just don't really want to see it out of context. This is the last Batman film, at least of this saga. And I'm trying to savor the wait. I look back on it and realize that if I had seen that DK prologue, while it certainly wouldn't have spoiled the film at all, I just... I just think I'd rather see the whole effect in theatres. If I had an interest in Mission: Impossible I might change my mind, but I don't.
(Despite that, it really will kill me when it releases to try not to go watch it. Self-restraint! Self-restraint!)

Lots of Woman in Black information coming out, including this new poster. I was sufficiently creeped out by the photo and then Will had to come along and point out that it is also animated (shudder.)  There is also a pretty cool trailer roaming around somewhere, but I can't seem to find it again. (Okay, there's several trailers roaming around, but I'm looking for a very specific one.) When I first heard they were adapting this I was a little concerned, simply because the play relies so much on atmosphere. But I'm pretty intrigued! What do you guys think?
(Intrigued meaning merely that: I'm intrigued, I hope it does well. Do I actually want to see something that may give me nightmares? Not particularly, and certainly not right anytime around Valentine's. That mashup doesn't bode well. We'll see how it goes.)

 Any thoughts on any of these projects? Nathan Fillion!

A trailer full of awesome.

Cannot. Wait. 




(But I do still miss Edward Norton.)

Theatre News: Movie Musicals

WAIT. WAIT. WAIT.
This post was totally going to be about Les Miserables. And it will be eventually. I promise.

BUT I HAVE BIGGER NEWS.

For its 25th anniversary, Phantom of the Opera is going to be released fully staged on the big screen and DVD with Ramin Karmiloo as the Phantom.

Ramin is only underneath Anthony Warlow in my Phantom dreamworld. Sure, he equally shares that title with Earl Carpenter, but that's it.

I mean, just listen:




 That, my friends, is what the Angel of Music should sound like.

He is also currently playing the Phantom in Love Never Dies and yes, he's entirely too young. But if they're going to go for young anyway, pick this guy.

 Oh wait - a FULLY STAGED version?! With 200 cast & orchestra?!

Seriously, I have no words for this. I've waited for this for SO. LONG. In fact, after the movie was made, I just gave up that a staged version would ever be filmed. I figured that was it.

BWAHAHAHA! SO HAPPY!

But, wait! That's not all!

Have you heard? It's official, via Cameron Mackintosh: Les Miserables will be coming to the big screen December 2012.

Um...didn't you just say that was a rumor, all of two days ago?
Yes.

Look, I've been hearing about a Les Mis movie for over 10 years. And I know there was talk of making one after it became big in the 80's. So I had reached the point where I treated all movie talk of it as rumors. But it's official! So let's take a look.

Apparently its being produced by Working Title, directed by Tom Hooper (King's Speech) and the two leads are already cast: Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe as Javert. Of course, acting wise, that's pretty awesome casting. And it's already well established Jackman can sing.

So the big question is: can Russell Crowe sing this role?

Yes, I know he has a band.You can imagine since I first heard the casting I've pretty much just been going back and forth between finding clips of him singing and reminding myself of Javert's role.

Here's a clip:


Russell Crowe has a solid dusky, low voice. But I'm really concerned about that voice with songs like "Stars" and "Javert's Suicide." You can't talk-sing those songs. You just can't. It doesn't work. Will mentioned tonight that you have to have solid singers for this piece "because, really, nothing about this story ought to be glamorous. the only things that are beautiful are the music and the character journeys." And that's dead on.
However, it sounds like he has a good framework for singing, so there's a good chance they can keep developing that and work with him.

Anyway here's "Stars," for reference:


So lots of excitement tonight and things to keep an eye on! Now here's hoping I can sleep tonight.

Goggles & All

So let's talk Catwoman.

Since I first heard they were bringing Selina Kyle into the Nolan verse, I was a little nervous. Of course, if anyone can pull her off in a solid way its Nolan and his team. But since Catwoman is always done, I was just hoping they would pull another character in.

But! It was still okay.

And then they cast Anne Hathaway, and it was still okay. I thought it was weird, but hey! I trust them. They've done excellent so far.

And then came the goggles. Oh, the goggles.

I was sad. Just...sad. The rest of it was fine...but the goggles. Eh.

But truth is, I have no context for the goggles. How does she even get them? Does she steal them? That would work. Does someone give them to her? Does Batman give them to her?
As long as she doesn't make the goggles, it works.

Yay! We're okay again!

And here's the deal: I LOVE her look as Selina Kyle. And this latest pic? Wow. Wow, wow, wow. She looks awesome.

Less than a year to go.

Summer Movies: Captain & Cowboys

No movie spoilers anywhere in this post.

I actually posted several days ago about my final thoughts on the first season of LOST. But blogger decided to eat that post and I was miffed enough that I haven't rewritten it. Mrr.

Instead, since I just returned from Cowboys & Aliens, you're getting a different review. This was the closing movie of the summer for me - sure, there may be others I see, but this was the last big summer blockbuster I was looking forward to in a season that was full of them.

But wait, I skipped Cap! We have to rewind.

First off, can we just say that both these movies had an awesome looking poster?





I mean, really. Those are awesome.

Okay, here we go.

Captain America: The First Avenger
Solid. That's the best word for this movie. This was a very solid movie.

It's very good - I wouldn't change a thing - and I really enjoyed it. Somehow, though, it still felt slightly...formulaic. Like Marvel has figured out the best way to make a comic book movie and just did their thing. Or maybe it's simply we've watched so many superhero movies now that you already know the pattern - the hero has to start out weak, gain his powers, learn to use them, grow into them, and become his fully fledged self. That's just how it goes.

I don't know. It just didn't feel quite as fresh as some of the others, somehow.

That being said - again, I wouldn't change a thing. The ending was beautiful, there were some really lovely bits of humor, the acting was totally top notch (Chris Evans as Rogers is fantastic) and the storyline was great. The 40's feel to the movie was brilliant. Go see this movie. I'm just saying - for some reason- it just didn't feel quite as, well, fresh as the others.

I liked it, it's just not my favorite.

And the after-the-credits scene in this one? Wow. Wow, wow, wow.

Cowboys & Aliens
(I have no comparison to the comic book with this movie. Until a few days ago when Brad told me it was originally a comic book, I had no idea. So this is strictly movie based alone.)

Ha. Oh, this movie. This movie drew many different responses from us and they're all totally understandable.

This is what I wanted: I wanted to watch Daniel Craig beat up some aliens. That's all I wanted out of this movie. If Harrison Ford beat up some as well, even better. Enough of a plot to carry the movie, some great western scenes and cowboys taking out the aliens. That's it.

So, for the most part, I enjoyed it.

Truthfully, I don't have much interest in alien premises - I'll wave aside most movies that include them - the idea of "are we alone" is interesting, but that's about it. It's kind of like zombies for me - I'm not that interested in zombies. Sure, there are a few movies I won't mind seeing that include them, but I'm certainly not going out looking for them. There's just no desire there. But I wanted to see this one because it seemed like such a fun mashup. Cowboys versus aliens? Yes, please.

First off, this movie has some beautiful scenic shots and an even more perfect soundtrack. I loved the music for this movie. (Apparently the music was composed by the guy who did Narnia's soundtrack, which was also amazing. Good memory, Holly!)
Secondly, you're going to see western cliches. Its stylized that way.
Thirdly....sigh. There is a point in the movie - about halfway in - that may make or break it for you. I was sooo disappointed for about twenty minutes and ready to give up on it, when it went back to the original alien/cowboy showdown and I was content again. But at that point, blah. Blah blah blah.
Not to mention we were all sick of the trailer. Eric & I made the same joke at two separate times - at least in going to see the actual movie, we wouldn't have to sit through the trailer for it.

If you came out of this movie hating it, I wouldn't even have to ask you why. I would already understand. You may be better off renting it or finding it at a local dollar theatre. As for me, this was my summer action flick. Had it continued down the path I thought it was going to push, I would've been done with it. But it did right itself for me after that twenty minutes.

So the biggest factor on your enjoyment level all depends on what you're going in for.

Tbat's the last of my summer blockbusters! What a great year. We do still have an incredibly promising next season: 2012 brings about both The Avengers and Dark Knight Rises. Those two movies alone carry the whole waiting period.

Dark Knight Rises Teaser Trailer: It's the bat-man....

This was not what I expected.



Mind you, I don't think its bad or disappointing. It just blew me away on the grounds that I didn't see this kind of trailer coming at all.

Well, what did you expect then?

Eric had actually given me a heads up the day before the opening of Harry Potter that the trailer had been leaked and that he had seen it and it did include new footage. So I knew to no longer expect just a voiceover over the logo like they did for Dark Knight.

So. I expected the now iconic shot of Bruce Wayne climbing the mountain from Begins and a few shots from Knight, etc. etc and then flash-bang quick action shots with a resounding boom as the title screen appeared and Bane's famous "I will break you."

That's exactly what I expected.

So. The opening footage rolling by, there's the mountain as anticipated, the cave, things are moving along --

Whaaaat? Gordon!? GORDON!? Is that GORDON?! On a HOSPITAL BED?!

Mind. Blown. I was so stunned that at the end of the trailer I had no idea how to intially react - and apparently no one else in the theatre did either because an eerie quiet came over. (I've read reviews of the teaser that mention the same response happening in several different theatres. Mind you, it also didn't help that it was difficult to understand what Gordon was saying.)

SO. This puts an entirely different feel than I was anticipating for the next movie and I'm excited by this because I now feel that same sort of Dark Knight curiosity, "How are they going to manage to work all this into one film? And where on earth is this going?" And GORDON!

Only 364 days away.

Speaking of trailers, and because I love them, here's a couple more you might have interest in.

The Amazing Spiderman



The Woman in Black

Summer Movies: Goodbye Harry.

There are major spoilers ALL OVER this post. I assume by this point most people reading this have read the books. Also, there's movie spoilers as well, so tread lightly if you don't want to know.

I came into the series a little over its halfway point. Book 5 had just come out the summer before and Holly had finally convinced me to give them a try. And so began "Mr. & Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive..."

It feels so strange to look at that sentence knowing where it eventually ends up.

I was not sold on the first book. I thought the end was crazy and creepy and great, but I wasn't sold. But I read Chamber of Secrets anyway, and then what really hooked me was Book 3 - Prisoner of Azkaban.
It was not only a great read, but it also brought along Sirius Black. Who I ended up loving dearly.

And then Goblet of Fire was amazing and wonderfully wild. I couldn't imagine being a reader having to wait years in between the two books - I couldn't imagine the return of Voldemort without being able to immediately pick up the next one. I read through 4 & 5 voraciously.

But then I reached the end of Book 5.
I remember mentally watching Sirius Black fall through the veil as I scanned the pages. Devastation. I had just proclaimed to Holly how Sirius had become my favorite, even throughout the solemness of Book 5. It was actually really late when I reached that point - probably 2:30 in the morning - and I remember running the few steps down to her door, seeing the light still on and busting in demanding answers. She merely sent me back to reading. Sob. Sirius. This could not be.
This continued the unfortunate recurrence of all my favorite characters dying. That spell has since been broken - also by Harry Potter - but I still get leery.

(Later, I would find a shirt online that I bought and still enjoy: In Sirius Denial. True.)

Then it was my first wait. And began the heavy theorizing with friends. And curiosity. The checking of Mugglenet daily waiting on news of the next book.

I'll be honest - I don't actually remember how I bought book 6. I just remember when the cover was first revealed and Holly & I discussing what it could possibly be. Besides the Birdbath of Doom.

My favorite memory of Book 6 is actually how I finished reading it. Holly & I were at our apartment and she had finished it a few hours beforehand. I was sucked into the final few chapters and had read all night. The sunrise was just beginning to peek out, so I went for some fresh air. And happened to be sitting by the pool in the morning light while reading the chapter about Dumbledore & Harry get attacked by the creatures in the water at the cave.
I don't recommend reading that chapter by a body of water.

Book 6 was okay. It was not my favorite, but we felt like it was necessary. We figured it had to be a slower book to make way for the finale. We waited.
And waited.
And obsessed. And theorized.
And waited.
And checked her website.
And waited.

And was at the midnight release party at the local Waldenbooks with Holly & Brad, in line, having ordered our copies weeks before. This was it. Although there were still a few movies to come out at this point, the wait would essentially be over. One way or another we would know how it was going to end after all our discussion.

I have to be honest: I was pretty bitterly disappointed.

In truth, I would like to go back and reread the series again. I feel like now that I know where its going and without the years of waiting and wondering and questioning, that I would probably like it a lot better. I just expected so much more than chapter after chapter of walking through the woods. There were some great elements - my favorites include the entire scene at Godrics Hollow where Harry finds his parents graves, in the forest where his family walks him to his death, Neville having his moment, etc. It just wasn't what I expected at the time.

All that being said, I loved the seventh movie(s). Really. Sure, I can nitpick it, but don't misinterpret that as disliking it. I felt like they handled the final battle really well- for the most part, you got to actually see all the action instead of being forced to watch fast cut sequences of battle. The moment in the cemetery and the moment in the forest with his family are both incredibly lovely.

This is one of the few occurrences where I will tell you I feel like the movie served the story better than the book. But again - I haven't read it since that first time and I know I do need to go back and reread it. I know several people who love the last book. I'm totally willing to give it another chance without all the hype.

There are two things I really missed. One, I wish they would have left Neville's moment alone. Sure, he does eventually kill Nagini. But by stretching it out and not giving it to him at the moment where he's just had his throwdown with Voldemort I felt kind of took away from it. He was equally my favorite character throughout the books alongside Sirius (and Luna slighly underneath them) and I was so thrilled to see that moment in Book 7.
And for a brief moment in the movie I thought they were actually going to give that moment to one of the others and I was going to be ticked.
The other thing is actually not one of my favorite moments in the book, but I know it is to a lot of the fandom and I feel they did it a disservice. Molly's "Not my daughter" went by so quickly that I didn't even realize Bellatrix was fighting Ginny until Molly flipped around. They should have given that moment some more weight. It simply went by too quickly.

Outside of those two things, the only thing I really missed was one tiny detail from the final battle. And that was Trelawney throwing her crystal balls in the fray. I know it wouldn't have fit the feel of the film, but that was my favorite part of the final battle in the book. :)

One of my favorite moments of the movie, however, (outside of those just mentioned) had to be when the professors were beginning to lay down the defenses for the school. I just loved the visuals. I loved watching the professors getting to do their thing. I loved seeing them work together. And I loved McGonagall's "I've always wanted to do that spell!" :)
(Also, riding the dragon out of Gringotts was pretty cool.)

But I was not a fan of the epilogue. Again. Both in book and movie, I'm just not a fan of that. I've invested myself into your world and attached myself to your characters for seven books...for what? A four page epilogue? That's all I get about how all this ends? (I don't actually remember if it was only four pages. It felt like only four pages.)

After downing the seventh book so much I feel I need to add a disclaimer: I still love Harry Potter. When the dust settles from this final film, and whenever I'm caught up on books, I do want to go back and rediscover its magic and all the beautiful world and characters. Its still one of my favorites. I just felt like it went way too far off track from how it had been set up at the time.

And truth be told, I'm glad to see the final film. I know it means its over, but that's okay. It feels like the end of something special, something a lot of people worldwide enjoyed as one and now its come to a rest.

So farewell Harry Potter. I'm glad I met you at your height. I'm glad I joined the fray. I'm really grateful for all those long nights up talking with friends about how you might end or who might make it even if that means you drove me crazy some of the time. I wouldn't have traded it.

And thanks J.K Rowling for letting Neville live. Because by that point I was really beginning to develop a complex.

Lots of love.