‘Cause if I can’t see you then you can’t see me
-- Anna Nalick

So yeah, I’ve been hiding, avoiding blogging for a little bit now. Sorry about that. I just don’t really have anything interesting to say. Happy belated birthday to Chris and America! Yea!

So it is summer movie season and I’ve seen a bunch. I’ve yet to see something that I just LOVE, though. I’m hoping my friend Johnny Depp will bring it in Pirates. So here are my thoughts on 2006 summer cinema (don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything, promise):

The Break Up – liked it, didn’t love it. But I do love Vince Vaughn and I’ll always have a soft spot for any of the Friends. The breaking up and arguing got old to me after a bit. And I don’t know what all the hub bub about seeing Vince and Jen together was all about – to see if they have chemistry or not. This wasn’t a hooking up movie, hello, title? So those that went for that reason apparently didn’t know the name of the movie. Team Vaughniston all the way, though. I’m so over Brad.

Cars – cute, but not definitely not up to Finding Nemo or either Toy Story. And plus Owen Wilson sort of grates on my nerves and I don’t know why. It was harmless fun and there were a few good jokes for the grown ups. The soundtrack was a huge plus.

Nacho Libre – Now I love Jack Black and I really loved School of Rock, but something was missing in this movie. It could just be that they pretty much showed all of the funny parts in the trailer. This one is definitely a renter, or better yet a late night cable rerun to catch in a couple of years.

Mission Impossible 3 – Pretty good and that’s considering that I think Tom Cruise is a total whack job. I just love JJ Abrams so much (Lost, etc.) that I wanted to see what he would do with the franchise. This installment was much easier to follow and Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a fantastic villain. The action was good, I was pleasantly surprised. Yea for JJ. Hate that crazy Cruise’s antics ruined the chance for JJ to have a huge blockbuster on his hands.

Superman Returns – don’t believe the hype. Well, I shouldn’t really say that. It was good, but I’m no superhero expert. I thought Brandon was pretty stiff (but oh so pretty) and I have developed a new loathing of Kate Bosworth – something was just off with her in my opinion. I mean, Superman was gone for 5 years and he comes back and she has a boyfriend and kid. And what is Kate in real life, like 23? She’s just too young for the part and she lacked a edge that Lois should have. But like I said, I can’t really comment on this one too much. I thought Kevin Spacey was great, but wasn’t he a bit too old? Again, what do I know.

Anyway, that’s pretty much all I could think of writing about, y’all. Hope everyone is well!

dabbs

I know I can’t be free
But those people keep a movin’ and that’s what’s killing me
-- Johnny Cash

Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.

I saw Walk the Line last week. Loved it. I’m not a huge movie person, I mean, I like movies but in recent years my enthusiasm has waned because of the ticket prices and the thirty minutes of commercials that proceed the movie I paid entirely too much to see. And anyone reading this knows about my issues with sitting by other people. (Wave the freak flag for me!) I’m more of a TV fan. Nonetheless, when I want to see a movie, by George, I HAVE to see it. I was dying to see this one.

From the opening minutes I knew I would love it. Sort of like with Chicago, I could just tell. No ramp up involved, it was love at first sight. Joaquin and Reese give the performances of their careers as the tortured soul Johnny Cash and his saving grace, spitfire of a soul mate, June Carter. I’m not a movie critic and don’t pretend to be one, but I’ll give you a few bullets on why this movie is outstanding and why you need to see it.

1) The music –Johnny was in the Air Force, teaching himself to play guitar and writing songs. As he quietly strummed a chord and sang, “But I shot a man in Reno” the hair on the back of my neck literally stood up. He paused, considering the options before singing “just to watch him die.” Brilliant. I’ve since learned Johnny has said he tried to think of the worst reason imaginable to kill a person and one of the greatest lyrics in history music is the result.

2) Joaquin is phenomenal. Look for the ripping the sink out of the wall scene.

3) Reese should get an Oscar. It was amazing to me how she conveyed so much emotion just through her facial expressions. I walked away feeling like I may have actually watched a June Carter documentary – I felt like I almost really knew her.

4) Redemption – I loved that they showed the ugly side of drugs and alcohol and how it can destroy a person. I loved even more that they showed redemption and forgiveness leading to a happy life. What’s even better is that this wasn’t dreamed up in some writer’s mind in LA for a Hollywood happy ending, but this was what really happened.

5) Reese and Joaquin do all their own singing and playing – come on, that’s reason enough to see it! They do a fantastic job! They’ll make you want to go check out the real Johnny and June. Loved the performance of Jackson.

So that’s my rave on that. Love, love, loved it! Go see it!

-- dabbs

Over numbers, unencumbered numbered words
-- Jason Mraz

I have absolutely nothing to say today. Don't know why, I must just be tired. So I'm fresh out of the madness for today, kids. Stay tuned, though, I'll bounce back.

Oh -- you must go see Pirates of the Carribean. Not typically my type of movie, but I LOVED it. Johnny Depp was amazing. Still not sure what the deal was with them putting black eyeliner on him with a Sharpie, though.

Amy

It appears that Grace, Heather and I weren't the only ones that thought Chicago was all that jazz! 13 Academy Award Nominations! I may actually watch this year! Great movie -- I told ya! =)

Today is January 13 and Heather is 25! Much love to you, sis! I wish I could party with you. Wow! 25, dude, I'm starting to feel old and stuff. =)

Well, this weekend I saw "Catch me if you Can". It was ok. I mean, I think I made a mistake by seeing it after "Chicago." It just didn't entertain me as much. ("Let me entertain you, let me make you smile")

Anyway, suffice it to say that I enjoyed the movie and Leo was good. Tom Hanks grated on my nerves with that accent, though. Where was he supposed to be from??? I really do think I would have liked it better had I saw it before. I just wasn't engrossed in it. In fact, I was ready for it to be over -- it seemed to drag a bit at the end to me. I was thinking, hurry the freak up and catch him! That's another thing, why show us at the beginning how it ends up?? I couldn't see any purpose it served other than to let Hanks' character ask him numerous times how he passed the bar exam.

Movie question for those of you out there with a keen eye --- why do I keep seeing trailers with deleted scenes?? this is driving me nuts!! For example, the trailer for "Two Weeks Notice" (great one, by the way) has a scene with Sandra Bullock and Heather Burns (the one with the very recognizable voice). They are jogging in a park and she says to Sandra, "You love him" and Sandra replies, "I love him?" they banter back and forth in this manner and it ends with Sandra saying, "come on, give me another." This scene was totally not in the movie! so why would you spend millions on advertising dollars showing something that is not in the movie?? this is just a dumb business practice! Anyway, I had just seen that trailer before I went to see the movie, so I know I'm right. Also, in "Catch me if you can" there is a scene with Leo and either Jennifer Garner or the braces girl jumping up and down on the bed and throwing money around. This scene, I imagine was supposed to remind us that he really was just a kid. Was it in the movie?? NO! People in Hollywood, get a clue! If we see it in the trailer, we expect to see it at the theater. Enough of showing us what "bonus footage" we'll get in the DVD!

Now, that's that. You know now my new pet peeve! Have a great day today, it is Bubbles' b'day, after all!

Amy

Every once and awhile, a movie comes along that is so good that you can’t get your mind off of it. I’m here to tell you folks that that movie is Chicago. It surpassed my very, very high expectations. It’s that good – I promise. This movie catapulted its way into my all time favorites list during the opening number. It’s that good. Forgot Moulin Rouge (which I did adore, save the Madonna number), Chicago has set the bar for the all new American movie musical, and make no mistake, that bar is extremely high – I doubt any at all will be able to compare. I’m telling you, it’s amazing.

So, as I mentioned in another post, I saw Chicago on stage back in February (I think) of 2000. I almost missed it because I was in T-town and it snowed 5 inches. I couldn’t get home on Friday. Thankfully, it had all melted by Saturday and I was able to make it. I loved it. It was edgy, provocative, intriguing and I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage. My favorite part was the music. So, like I said, I had very high expectations seeing it on the big screen. It surpassed those expectations. I’m no Roger Ebert, but I’m going to give you a run down, Amy D. style, on this movie.

I saw this with Grace. About 30 minutes or so into the flick, she leaned over and I said, “I LOVE this!!” I wholeheartedly agreed. I was hooked from the very beginning after Velma (Catherine Zeta-Jones) washed the blood off her hands and bounded on to the stage of the club. I was already grinning when I heard the familiar opening strains of “All that Jazz”. The bass and piano were thumping as she stepped on to stage. “C'mon babe, why don’t we paint the town.” Pause, pause. “And all that jazz.” I knew this was going to be an awesome movie.

I’ll spare you all the details of the rest of the movie and run down what I thought of the actors. Catherine was excellent; she has a great, belting voice and can dance like nobody’s business. I think she was perfect for the role. Renee Zellweger was spectacular as Roxie Hart. I thought she was a movie star before, now I think she’s going to become a mega wattage, full blown, superstar. She was so good. She’s convincing and her singing and dancing really did rival Catherine’s, if not surpass it in some cases. In fact, I’ll go ahead and say that her singing did surpass Catherine’s. Catherine had the upper edge in dancing. Richard Gere is not one of my favorite actors, but I came away impressed. His first song, “All I care about” had me a bit skeptical. In that number all the girls around him danced, so he didn’t have to. But he grew on me throughout the movie and did a good job, and even danced pretty well. My favorite number of his was, “Razzle Dazzle.” Oh, maybe not, I forgot how amazing, “We both reached for the gun” was. (See what I’m saying? Nary a second that wasn’t spectacular!) Now, Queen Latifah, threw down in her role as Mama, she was great. Unfortunately, her number with Catherine was left on the cutting room floor. I would have rather seen that than another Gere soft shoe, but alas, I’ll wait for the DVD. John C. Riley and his “Mr. Cellophane” gave one of the few poignant and quiet moments of the movie. He wasn’t in it much, but that one number was excellent.

What more can I say other than you must go see it on the big screen. Hands down, the best movie I’ve seen in years. If you love music (not just musicals) you’ll love this movie. The modern day audience will probably be pleased with the fact that most all of the music numbers take place in Roxie’s head so you don’t have to suspend reality. No one just bursts into song standing on the street. Anyway, it’s beautifully filmed, splashy, exciting, just downright awesome entertainment. I could go on and on, but you just have to see it for yourself! I’m going to see it again --- hopefully as soon as next week! And, I’ll be picking up the soundtrack on January 14! (Check out 3 of the songs -- you'll have to click on upcoming releases)

If and when you see it, (and I made it pretty clear that you absolutely have to, right?) throw a comment up here to let me know if you liked the movie, too.
Ames