Belle (reprise)

I remember seeing Disney's Beauty and the Beast when it was first released in theaters, and I immediately identified with Belle, a bookworm of a girl from a small village who was just looking for a little adventure and somebody with whom to share it. Is that too much to ask? Just as fantastic as the character of Belle were the songs from the film (don't get me started...I can sing "Be Our Guest" and "Belle (reprise)" for days). Here, Annie Leibovitz re-imagines the Belle character with the lovely Penelope Cruz, as well as Jeffrey Bridges in the role of Gaston. To see what other Disney re-workings Annie has up her sleeve, click here.

{Image via Disney}

A love letter to Colin Firth

Oh, Colin Firth, how I love thee. I was chuffed to bits (to use an expression from your blessed homeland) to see you win an Oscar for best actor for The King's Speech. The film was clever and winningly entertaining, and you were marvelous in it. And in interviews you come across as incredibly genuine and charming, intelligent, kind, and self-deprecating in a way that only a British gentleman can truly be. I can't think of anyone more deserving of this honor than you, my dear. Congratulations!

P.S. You will always be Mr. Darcy to me.

{Image via here}

Black Swan

It's been a few days since I saw Black Swan, and yet my brain is still reeling from it. It's intense, it's creepy, and it has more than a few jump-out-of-your-chair moments. It's the sort of film that weighs on the psyche for days afterward and warrants rumination and discussion. The dark psychology behind the story is absolutely compelling and is played out through the use of haunting visual images (i.e. mirrors abound in the film and are the cause of some pretty chilling moments).

All of this is just my long-winded way of introducing these graphic, 60's-inspired posters inspired by the film. Created by a British design studio, these advertisements capture the duality inherent in the main character, Nina (played by Natalie Portman...as if you didn't already know that) and in the role she portrays on stage in the ballet production of Swan Lake. The role calls for a dancer to simultaneously assume the grace, fragility, and physical perfection of the white swan, as well as the power and sinister seduction of the black swan. You can see where the struggle lies here, in trying desperately to conform to two very different ideals at once. Life soon imitates art, and it's no wonder Nina loses her grip on reality. I think the designers behind these posters did a beautiful job conveying all of this. The first image where the swan and dancer become one has a sinister quality to it that I find perfectly suited to the movie (and just might be my favorite in the series).

I can't help but think about our (i.e. my, society's) notion of ballerinas and the ballet world in general. Ballet is about attaining perfection, an ideal of beauty and refinement and poetry in motion. And yet, we don't really think about the not-so-pretty aspects of it: the physical injuries and deprivation, the intense physical and mental discipline and rigor, as well as the cutthroat competition among dancers. All of which makes it the ideal backdrop against which to play out this doubling and fracturing of the self that goes on in the film.

If you haven't already seen it, I highly recommend you do so; I know it's not the cheeriest of movies to watch over the holidays, but I promise you won't regret it! And after you've done so, tell me what you thought about it in the comments section.

{Images from The Guardian, via Fashionista}

A New Jane Eyre

They've done it again. Yet another film version of the gothic classic (and one of my personal favorites) Jane Eyre is in the works. We're told that Director Cary Fukunaga's adaptation will focus more on the gothic elements to the story; just exactly how he plans to achieve that (and how his version will differ from the many adaptations before him) remains to be seen when the film is released in March 2011. I am a major fan of the 2006 BBC/Masterpiece Theatre version with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens (talk about hotness--the chemistry between them is palpable) and in my eyes, no other can knock it off its pedestal. Still, I can't deny that this new movie poster with the lovely Mia Wasikowska has definitely peaked my interest. I find it at once haunting and heartbreakingly beautiful.

Countless film and television adaptations of this classic 19th century novel, as well as a multitude of literary re-tellings, prequels, and spinoffs (one of the most famous of which is my beloved Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, which in turn was made into a film by Alfred Hitchock--I heart both) have been made, and there has even been a graphic novel. Clearly, the story has resonated with generations of people, all itching to re-imagine this gothic tale of love and passion, of identity and survival, in their own unique way. I say, bring it on, Focus Features.

{Image via here}

Night at the Aero

One of the things I love most about my neighborhood is the fact that this theatre lies only a stone's throw away from my apartment. Last night the Aero held a screening of Pulp Fiction, one of my boyfriend's favorite films and one this blogger hadn't actually seen until last night (and yes, I am woefully inexperienced when it comes to viewing knowledge of some of the best films ever made; T mocks me for it all the time). To say I enjoyed it would be a vast understatement. My mind is still reeling from all the great memorable lines of dialogue, as well as the film's non-linear structure and the interesting way in which the different story lines intersect. Seeing such an iconic film for the first time on the big screen wasn't the only highlight. The good folks at Aero played a poignant tribute to the film's editor Sally Menke, who tragically died only three weeks ago. Sally had been a long-time collaborator with director Quentin Tarantino on all of his films, and his love and esteem for her was well apparent in the montage made in her honor (included were brief clips of the films Sally edited over the years, as well as a gag reel of all of the big Hollywood stars in Quentin's films shouting a warm "Hi, Sally!" as they shot their scenes). It was such a classy, unforgettable Hollywood moment and made my first viewing of this film classic all the more remarkable.

T the Nominee

Congratulations to my boyfriend T whose short film "Mark & Tom" has been accepted into the LA Shorts Fest! Quite frankly, I couldn't be happier or more proud of him. I'm itching to go to the main event next month to finally see it on the big screen. The festival runs from July 22-30 and tickets can be purchased on the website.

{Image via LA Shorts Fest}

Valentine's Day Weekend

Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day weekend. I ended up taking my own advice and indulged in a little pre-Valentine's Day pampering (a massage here and a manicure/pedicure there), after which T and I caught a Hitchcock double feature of Rebecca and Notorious, two of my favorites, at the local theatre. And these gorgeous lovelies below, courtesy of T, were just the icing on the cake. It was such a lovely long weekend all around! Hope yours was just as great.

Bright Star

I saw Bright Star over the weekend and was stunned. Stunned by the exquisite, nuanced performances, stunned that a film could ever rival the beauty and grace and heart ache of John Keats' poetry. The entire film is pregnant with symbolism, every act or gesture contains layers upon layers of meaning. The more I reflect upon it after seeing it, the more in love with it I become. Ben Whishaw's recitation of "Ode to a Nightingale" as the closing credits roll kills me. You must listen to it here. Thank you, Jane Campion, for reawakening my schoolgirl crush on John Keats. I'm off to contemplate some grecian urns now.

(More images from the film here)

Movies to watch

How creepy, yet eerily bewitching, is this movie tie-in book cover of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones? I read and loved and sobbed over this book years ago, but methinks a re-read is in order, especially considering the film comes out very soon (read: December). The director is the super talented Peter Jackson and the cast is pretty stellar, too: Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Mark Wahlberg, Saoirse Ronan (she is definitely one to watch; you might remember her from Atonement), and a disturbing Stanley Tucci. You can view the trailer here.

I'm also itching to see Coco Before Chanel and Bright Star. Having a bounty of interesting, well-made films to choose from is yet another reason why I adore this time of year!

Lights, Camera, Action!

The boyfriend wrote a script with his best friend recently and shooting has commenced at my apartment of all places. This could potentially be a trying, albeit exciting, experience for me, the apartment dweller, but I tend to make myself scarce while they're shooting because it's just easier that way (although I couldn't resist watching a few takes). And when I get home everything is miraculously put back in its place, as if no filming had been done at all. Can you believe that it's just the two of them doing this all on their own? Impressive, right? T is co-writer, actor, director, cinematographer, camera operator, and film editor (whew). Yeah, I think he's wildly talented, too.

T doing his thing while his friend Marco mentally prepares himself for the scene ahead.

Back on the farm

This Mother's Day weekend, I took a trip up to central California--to the countryside of my youth--to spend the weekend with a few of the moms in my life. It was a nice little break from the city and I got the chance to pay some long overdue visits with family and friends. I spent a lazy Sunday lounging around with my mom and watching classic films like How to Steal A Million with the devastatingly stylish Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. Don't they make a fetching pair? We also caught Freaky Friday with Jodie Foster, which surprisingly, my mother had never seen before. The movie is a lot funnier than I remember and had my mother in stitches. The acting is superb, too.

I also got to meet a very special person, who will make a first appearance on my blog in the days to come...

Photo via imdb.

Best Valentine's Day Ever

I admit it. I'm pretty spoiled (recognition is the first step, right?). I had quite simply the best Valentine's Day ever. I'm not even a big fan of the holiday, as more often than not it tends to make people feel miserable that they're single or disappointed that their partner didn't do enough to make it ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. I think the reason Valentine's was so fabulous for me this year is because I've been very good to myself all week (i.e. filling my apartment with flowers and indulging myself with literature from Thomas Hardy and Leo Tolstoy is what I call love), while also spending some quality time with the boyfriend, who just so happens to be very thoughtful. On Friday, I received a lovely Valentine's Day bouquet at work, courtesy of said thoughtful boyfriend. Aren't they gorg? I was completely gobsmacked; I wasn't at all expecting flowers at work, which made receiving them all the more fun and wonderful.

The next day I decided to show myself a little love by treating myself to a hair cut and color. I love how bouncy my hair feels after leaving the salon. Typically, I like to make plans the night I get my hair professionally done because it so rarely happens that my hair looks nice--considering I generally put about 0% effort into it--but I had doubts about it this year since it also happened to be Valentine's Day. T insisted on taking me out to dinner, even though I argued that V-day is the WORST night to go out for a meal: it's more expensive, a set menu is typically forced upon you, and you're robbed of any originality because the place is full of couples just like you wanting to share a romantic meal together and as a result you feel like cattle. T wasn't convinced. He made dinner reservations anyway because he knows me, basically. Turns out my fears were completely unfounded: the vibe at the restaurant he picked was perfectly low-key, there was a healthy mix of couples and families, the menu consisted of plenty of options and the food was really good. We went home, our tummies full, but not full enough to forgo the chocolate chip cookies I had made earlier, sat down on the sofa and watched The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. If you haven't seen this film, I HIGHLY recommend you do so. Amazing (and I don't use that word lightly). The film made me feel very happy and grateful to be alive and to be able to do the things I love with the people I love most. Because that's what truly matters. As I said, best Valentine's Day ever.

January Reads

One of the resolutions I've made for myself for 2009 (and for life, really) is to read more books. Particularly, a book a week. Of course, this is easier said than done, especially when my typical week day (i.e. work, long commute home, gym, dinner, shower, nightly chat with T, and getting to bed at a decent hour so I can do it all again the next day--living the American dream, I am.) leaves very little time for reading. The fact that I've grown rather addicted to blogs in recent months certainly doesn't help in my quest to read more literature. Since graduating from UCLA with a reading-intensive English degree, I've been a sporadic reader at best. It's when I recently calculated that reading a book a week over the next fifty years would mean only reading 2,600 books that I started panicking. Doesn't this seem like a shockingly low number (or am I coming off as a major book dork here? Don't answer that!)? With my list of must-reads ever expanding and the time in which to read them slowly shrinking, it's quite possible that I'll never get through all the books I want to read in my life. And what's worse, I've already failed at my resolution, having only finished three books in the month of January. Still, I'm trying to focus on the bright side; I'm spending more time reading, which is always a good thing. And there's always February. So, a quick breakdown of my January reads:

Mrs. Woolf and the Servants by Allison Light. The always wonderful Mary Laure introduced me to this book, which I've also mentioned twice before. I've only dipped my toe into the captivating world of Virginia Woolf, so I'm looking forward to reading more of her biographies, novels, journals (which I own and should really crack open again), etc. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I'll go ahead and say it: I preferred the film to the book. I know, I know, this almost NEVER happens, but what can I say? The Coen Brothers had me on the edge of my seat when I saw it in the theater last year. Literally. Plus, Javier Bardem chilled me to the bone. I couldn't help but picture him in that god-awful haircut while reading the book. The book itself is positively heart-thumping and still worth a read. No Country for Old Men is my first western, and I have a feeling it won't be my last.

The Amnesiac by Sam Taylor. I randomly came across this book in a bookstore. I was totally struck by the cool graphic cover, as well as the synopsis on the back. It had me at "remnants of nineteenth-century manuscript of a murder mystery" and "part detective story, part haunting gothic tale." Done and done. Turns out that it was a pretty entertaining read and the writing was very solid.

I plan on finishing the two books I'm juggling by the end of this week. There, I've said it. Nothing like a declaration in print to make you stick to your word!

A Charlie Brown Christmas

I was stuck in bed with a pernicious cold at the weekend. So to cheer myself up a little, I popped in the holiday classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and there I sat amid fluffy pillows and snuggled under my down comforter, positively transfixed while slurping a bowl of steaming chicken noodle soup (the soup was courtesy of Whole Foods, which was delicious by the way. Note to self: I really need to learn how to make a killer chicken noodle soup. But I digress). I'm convinced that the film and soup combination alone did more in the way of making me feel better than all the vitamin C and veggies I had consumed up until that point. Charlie Brown and co. are just THAT good. When you think about it, the film has so much going for it: a lovable and sensitive protagonist you can't help but root for, a rockin' soundtrack (composed by the great Vince Guaraldi), sage advice for only 5 cents (a steal!), some rather enviable dance moves you can use to impress your friends (my favorite is the one performed by the bobbsey twins), and most important of all, a special message about the true meaning of Christmas. How many holiday films can boast all that?

My first film premiere

The other night I attended the premiere of The Punisher at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. As it turns out, the film wasn't at all my cup of tea (to put it gently), but I was more than happy to be there to support a friend of mine who has an important role in the film, and he was fantastic in it. Plus, I had never attended a film premiere before, so it was interesting to see what goes on at these types of events (i.e. mainly just actors looking across the room and sizing up other actors. Riveting, huh?).