New Movies (and TV) for 2012

I'm planning on just consolidating all my movie watching and completed seasons of TV shows of 2012 here...

1. The Apprentice S1 - My boyfriend and I love some reality shows and this is one we can both agree on.  We wanted to go back and watch the beginning to see how it all started and see the infamous Omarosa on her original season.  We were not disappointed!  It definitely had a lot of "first season" qualities (lots of bad audio dubbing, some awkward challenges), but I loved some of the challenges and I liked that it showed the cast out and about, at restaurants, drinking, having fun, not just the competitive stuff.  Also, man, I *really* miss Carolyn Kepcher, who is (by far) my favorite person on the show.  I love her comments, which I always agree COMPLETELY with.  She is not free and easy with the compliments, so if she says something complimentary about someone, she really means it.  I miss her.  *sigh*
2. The Muppets - It's been so long since I saw a Muppet movie/show that I honestly forgot there was going to be singing in it.  BUT, it was fun, nonetheless... The songs were funny (and short), so perfect for my ADD.  We saw it at the Academy Theater in Pasadena too, where procrastination can be rewarded in the form of a movie ticket for $3/each and delicious popcorn for only $3.25. 
3. Terriers - OMG.  With so much bad TV out there, I don't understand how good TV like this gets BURIED by who the hell ever gave this show the stupid name.  From the name, you'd have *no* idea what the show was about - it's a buddy/PI/mystery show.  The main actors are great, the plots are interesting without being toooooo detailed and complicated.  It's just good.  I have no idea what the back-story is on this show and I wonder why it didn't get the fan following that it seems like it should have.  I would highly recommend this!  It's available on instant streaming Netflix, which may be the best invention ev-er.  Well, right after TV on DVD.  THEN, instant streaming... 
4. Morning Glory - Cute movie with Rachel McAdams and Harrison Ford, who is grumpy as can be.  I'm not sure why I like the grumpy ones, but I liked him here.  I love her smile.  And I can't believe I haven't watched a movie since the Muppets, but that may be correct!  Just started Mad Men, S1...
5. Mad Men - I should've updated this sooner because I'm already on season 3.  It's surprising how fast it flies by...  This show is so tragic.  The overwhelming sadness of pretty much all parties involved is strangely compelling.  Everything is beautiful on the outside, but the characters all seem somewhat empty on the inside.  After watching this show, who would ever want to get married?  The men are drunks who cheat because they're trapped in an existence and life they don't seem to want or value, unless it's threatened to be taken from them.  I'm so thankful I wasn't born back then.  The chauvinism  is mind-blowing!  But I love it, even though I don't love all the characters.  It's quite addictive.  Why I never watched the S1 set that was loaned to me years ago, I'll never know, but thank goodness (again) for Netflix streaming!  A lazy woman's friend... Update around 6/1/12: Finished all seasons (1-4) available on Netflix and loving them.  Will probably splurge for the iTunes pass for the current season.
6. The Hunger Games - Read the book right before seeing the movie and loved the book.  The movie was pretty true to the book, so no complaints.  It was exactly what I expected.  
7. Hot Tub Time Machine - Silly comedy filled with lots of 80s and nerdy references (due to the time traveling).  I heart John Cusack, so thought this was pretty cute, although the ending was a little lame, but still okay.
8. Downton Abbey - SOOOOO good!  Love all the historical aspects, even though I have NO idea how accurate they are. We blew through the first season on Netflix in two days.  There are only 7 eps, so it's not too hard, but we totally enjoyed these.  Love the clothing, the different lifestyles.  I want some servants!  "What is a week-end?"  
9. Ted - Went with Mike to the DreamWorks free movie Monday on 7/30/12 and enjoyed the new Seth McFarlane movie, Ted.  If you like Family Guy, you'll love Ted.  not safe for kids. AT ALL.
10. 30 for 30 - Watched the one about how athletes go broke within a year or two of getting out of whatever sport they play.  As someone who is into personal finances as a topic, it's fascinating to see how much these guys spent on crap that didn't have value.  It was sad too to see how people just tried to take advantage of them every step of the way.  From their friends, family, management team, everyone!  Women trying to get knocked up because they think it's a payday.  Fascinating.
11. Moonrise Kingdom - Watched this as a screener with Doreen on 11/8/12.  Loved this movie. It's so sweet and touching in its innocence and capturing how everyone wants to be loved.  Having that steady love can be an amazing thing.
12. To Rome with Love - Also watched this one with Doreen on 11/8/12.  It had an amazing cast and full of love mishaps and adventures. I haven't seen hardly any of Woody Allen's older films, so not sure if they all have a fantastical quality about them.  I saw Midnight in Paris last year and loved that, partly because I love Paris and the film was gorgeous, so I thought I'd like this.  I did.  Rome looks beautiful.  Loved the acting and the little stories. The worst part for me was Woody Allen himself.  I didn't hate him, but I just wanted him to stop talking.  Ugh.  Why does he put himself in all his movies?  
13. This is 40 - Funny, but not nearly as funny as Knocked Up.  Maybe I'm not old enough to really appreciate this movie?

New Movie List for 2009

In 2007, I used to keep track of all the new movies I watched and I've decided to revive that for 2009! I think I'll count seasons of TV shows too...

1. It Happened One Night - 1/1/09. Watched this with Travis and for an old, black and white movie, it was pretty good. Clark Gable is young and handsome and I found out later that he started a "no undershirt" trend way back when...
2. The Office - Seasons 1-3 - January 2009. I am so in love with Jim! He's cute, kinda dorky and funny.
   
3. Misery - 1/18/09. Yeah, this is an oldie that I still hadn't watched. Kathy Bates is (a) young, (b) freakin' creepy and (c) pretty damn amazing...
4. Murder by Death - 1/25/09. This movie completely reminded of Edward and his Top Secret! love. Oh my. It was pretty damn and you really have to pay attention because the jokes fly by...
5. The Office - Season 4 - Stupid Netflix doesn't have Season 5 available yet!!! Boo. I've decided that Dwight is my favorite character. He consistently makes me laugh.
   
6. Weeds: Season 1 - I love this show. The drug suppliers are awesome and just every character is interesting. Shane loves Uncle Andy!
7. Weeds: Season 2 - Oh, it continues to be awesome!
8. Dexter: Season 2 - A little slower than Season 2, but still awesome. And that British chick was just insane deliciousness.
   
9. Watchmen - 3/16/09. I've never read the graphic novel, saw it in the IMAX theater. It was very visually interesting. I can see why people like it, but I wasn't totally sucked into it like others. Maybe because I didn't already have a deep-seeded love? Not really sure.
10. The Thing - 2/12/09. An old horror movie that I actually really enjoyed. It was scary too which I kinda wasn't expecting. It just seems like older movies won't be scary, although I don't even know why I would think that considering that some of my favorite scary movies are from the 70s! Kurt Russell is so freakin' young in this too. Man, he was a cutie!
11. Boyz N The Hood - 2/20/09. Oh, this movie was incredible. How have I never seen it before? These movies just tug at my heart strings. I can't imagine living or growing up in such an unstable environment. I love Lawrence Fishburn's character too.
    
12. Ocean's Eleven - 1/30/09. I love the plot in the movie, although I had a little trouble following it. There was a lot of pausing and questioning of certain parts because I was watching it with Chris and he's seen it before.
13. Star Trek -
    

Day 1: So far, it wasn't a fluke

He's almost been here 24 hours and it's confirmed. It wasn't a fluke, we definitely are still crazy about each other. His flight got in early and instead of arriving at 1:06 AM, he was off the plane, with baggage in hand by 1:06! I was glad to see him. I just love being with him. I swear, he keeps doing more and more things to make me like him that much more. For example, he made it so my second laptop talks to my new printer. It would've taken me forever to figure out how to do it and to be honest, I never would've. Instead, he printed something out from the printer and typed it in and installed the drivers and we were printing in less than 5 minutes!

We had plans to go eat lunch with Davebo because he wanted to meet Athens. Dave was also going to try to go. I got a call from him this morning saying that he was coming and I was getting a bonus Winton in the deal! So we all carpooled out to meet Davebo for lunch and had a great time. It seemed like everyone liked him and he liked them all so that was good!

Then we came home and took a nap and that was even better. Dave called that later and asked what we were doing and when I told him that we were taking a nap, he said, "A delicious afternoon nap! Ahhhh, that's the best part about having a boyfriend!!!!" And really, I don't think I can argue with him. Afternoon naps are the best... especially when you're running on just a few hours of sleep and have a full tummy from lunch.

Our plan for tonight is to go see Hancock at the Arclight and then go get something to eat. We'll be right next to Koreatown, so I think we might have to get some Korean food while we're there, especially since he has never had it before!

Agenda for tomorrow: Din Tai Fung and gaming/BBQ/swimming at Chris' house...

Couch Surfer #2 Update

Sebastian, my couch surfer #2, arrived last Friday night, just after midnight. I was out dancing at Clockwork Orange and he called and then texted me to let me know that he would meet me at my apartment. So, I left the club, drove home to meet him and then we chatted for quite a while. Shane & Ron showed up around 2 AM and Ron got a chance to practice some of that German he's been studying on a live person!! Those podcasts have really paid off because Sebastian said that he could understand everything Ron was saying and apparently Ron was understanding what Sebastian was saying too! So, it looks like we'll be set in both France and Germany as far as languages go!

On Saturday, I cooked a HUGE breakfast for me, Shane and Sebastian - bacon, eggs, potatoes with onions cooked in bacon grease, YUM! And then Sebastian headed out to Hollywood & Highland to do some shopping. Apparently, the jeans in Germany are very expensive, so he wanted to buy some while he was here. He also went to Venice and Santa Monica. Meanwhile, Shane & I listened to the rain and watched the last five episodes of Heroes Season 1 so she'd be all caught up for the premiere on Monday. Sebastian met up with us over at L&N's for their movie party later that evening. We ended up watching "Support Your Local Sheriff" and "The Sting." Both were really good! He showed up in time to play Loopin' Louie and sleep through "The Sting." Poor thing, he was still trying to adjust to US time.


On Sunday, he was already gone by the time I woke up which was nice because it gave me a chance to clean up the kitchen and watch some football. He went again to Hollywood & Highland and then 3rd Street Promenade and then drove up PCH to Malibu. It was gorgeous weather on Sunday, so it was perfect for that!! He met me back at my place to go out to dinner with me and Travis. We ended up going to Colombo's, a place that I'd been wanting to try FOREVER! It was OK. Has that really old school feel to it and they have a piano guy singing the standards with a crazy lookin' chick playing a bass. Then we headed over to Barnes & Noble in Old Town Pasadena because Sebastian wanted to get a book about California to figure out where to stop as he drove up to San Jose on Monday. After that, we picked up a piece of Godiva chocolate cheesecake and walked to Lucky Baldwin's for a couple beers.

It was really cool hanging out with him and comparing notes about the differences between Germany and the US. Things he mentioned were: he likes that retailers are nice to you even if you don't buy anything! Also, people in Germany don't call dates "dates." It's just going to dinner with someone. They don't have a different way to indicate that it's a romantic relationship like we do. And people in Germany don't own guns, I guess they're not allowed to.

Kitties + Warriors = Fun stuff

I stole this from CuteOverload.com who stole it from somewhere else I'm sure. It's so cute! :-)

New Movie List for 2007

OK, since my resolution was to watch one new movie a week, I decided to chronicle my new movies for 2007 to see how many I watch! I'll add on to this list and keep it as one big post all year. So, scroll down for the most recent additions. I'm going to do the same for the restaurant and book resolutions. I also decided that seasons of TV shows are going to have to count as movies.

1. The Professional - 1/1/07. Pretty good, Gary Oldman makes an awesome bad guy!!
2. The Pursuit of Happyness - 1/6/07. I left this movie feeling (a) like a slacker and (b) grateful that I'm not broke!
   
3. The Notorious Bettie Page - 1/8/07. The movie looked good, but there wasn't much plot or anything. Gretchen Mol looked fabulous in this! I love all the clothes and stuff, I definitely have more the pin-up girl figure. Check out this pin-up girl clothing line!!
4. Where the Truth Lies - 1/15/07. I liked the story, but the thing that really struck me was the huge disparity in the ages of the men and women. Kevin Bacon's character is in his mid- to late-40s and he's getting it on with someone who looks young, even though her character is probably in her mid-20s.
   
5. Save the Last Dance - 1/27/07. Cute fluff. (I didn't say they had to be "good" movies did I?)
   
6. 21 Grams - 1/29/07. OK. Not nearly as depressing as I had heard it was.
7. Children of Men - 2/5/07. I liked the premise that is set-up in the beginning, but the execution/story was so-so. Probably better for a movie-type person who can appreciate all the camera work, etc. First movie I've seen with Clive Owen and he's hot!
8. The Maltese Falcon - 3/5/07. We laughed several times while watching this movie, but at spots that probably weren't meant to be laughed at. The dialogue and overly dramatic acting was quite amusing though. I have learned something about myself though. I can't watch black & white movies while tired. They put me right to sleep!
9. Stranger than Fiction - 3/12/07. We loved the graphics at the beginning of this cute movie. Has a lot of more subtle laughs, but pretty enjoyable! Maggie Gyllenhaal is so cute!!!
10. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - 03/19/07. Really interesting story.
    
11. Miller's Crossing - 4/23 & 5/8. Good, but not as crazy good as I had expected. Gabriel Byrne is so young in this movie! And boy do they smoke!!
    
12. Spiderman 2 - 4/29/07. Watched it to get ready for S-3 coming out next week.
    
13. Spiderman 3 - 5/4/07. Not that great. Wait for video!
    
14. V for Vendetta - 5/8/07. I really liked this one.
    
15. Little Women - 5/13/07. So-so, book was better.
    
16. Persuasion - 5/20/07. Pretty good.
    
17. Pan's Labyrinth - 5/29/07. Dark movie, but I liked it.
    
18. BattleStar Galactica: The Mini-Series - 6/10/07.
19. Knocked Up - 6/14/07. SOOOO funny. I would highly recommend!!
20. Monster House - 6/30/07. Animated movie that's cute! Kinda scary in parts.
21. Serenity - 7/1/07. The movie based on the "Firefly" series. Pretty good! Just as good as the TV show. And after watching it, I'd say the movie might make a bit more sense having seen the TV show first, but it's pretty good as a self-contained unit. I love the subtleties of this movie!
22. Heroes Season One - 7/11/07. Read here about Heroes!
    
23. Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix - 7/13/07. The fifth HP movie and it was great. We saw it at the Imax theater, so there was some 3D action. I liked it quite a bit, especially considering that it has been my least favorite book so far. All that teenage angst!
    
24. Once - 7/14/07. This was recommended by a friend who had recently seen it and said that it really moved him and was in his top 5 films of all time! With a recommendation like that, how could I *not* go see it? Well, I did. And I'll just put this warning out. There is lots of indie rock-type singing. Which, unfortunately for me, is not my cup of tea. I am not a big fan of singing in movies in general (unless it's hard rocking type stuff for some reason), so if I had known that I might've skipped it. But apparently some people REALLY love it, so you might want to check it out.
    
25. Nacho Libre - 8/13/07. This movie isn't that funny. It's more kinda the fart, gross stuff type humor. Not awful, but definitely don't ever need to see it again. I'm certainly glad I didn't see this in the theater! I like Jack Black, but oh well. Not the best.
    
26. Across the Universe - 9/29/07. It's the movie that is set to Beatles music and I loved it! The songs totally go with the story and the story moves. I normally don't like musicals, but I enjoyed this one for sure!
27. Black Knight - 10/13/07. Silly Martin Lawrence movie. I was in Belgium and there weren't many choices, what can I say?
    
28. Freaks - 10/14/07. OMG, this movie is awesome! It shows all these real freaks and it's weird. There is a guy with no arms and no legs and he lights his own cigarettes. The most surprising part was that in the commentary, it said that he had a wife and kids!!! Geez.
    
29. The Wanderers - 10/14/07. Movie from the late 70s about a high school Italian gang. Man those boys are cute. I think I like the Italians. :-)
30. Nancy Drew - 10/21/07. It was showing on the plane back from Germany. Cute, but not great as you'd expect.
    
31. The Amazing Screw-On Head - 10/22/07. Funny, but I was tired while watching it. Chris really enjoyed this one.
32. Murderball - 11/1/07. AWESOME! I highly recommend this movie!!
33. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - Pretty good. I enjoyed it. Philip Seymour Hoffman is so good.
    
34. Sahara - 11/4/07. Watched this with L&N in HD at their house. Matthew McConaughey's teeth are so freakin' white in this movie. He has a flashy smile. Movie was OK, not bad for the type of film it is.
    
35. American Gangster - 11/9/07. This was pretty good. I enjoyed the story and Denzel. He is one handsome man!