Fantasy Friday: Make a Date with Walter Mitty

I was supposed to write this post last week but I didn't get a chance to.  Oops!
One of the things I wanted to *try* and start doing for the blog was getting it to a place where there was a little more structure - like maybe having a theme day (not like Gif Party Wednesdays) but more like Fantasy Friday.  But this Fantasy Friday would be a little different.  It wouldn't be like the old incarnation of what it used to be - with the day being dedicated to sexy photos for one hot actor / musician every week.  No - it would be that PLUS other fantasy things like photo shoots that would evoke thoughts of fantasy or movies that bring that element out.

So - for the first revamped Fantasy Friday, I wanted to talk about a film that's getting weird reviews: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.


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I saw this film with my Dad and my old man before the New Year and I had a moment of clarity that I had never achieved before.  I mean, it was that deep for me because:
1.) I'm looking to shake up my life as much as Walter is
2.) One of my resolutions is to travel more this year
3.) I'm seeking for the meaning to my life - very much like Walter
4.) My new birth control is making me even more emotional than normal


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Let's start with this: say what you will about Ben Stiller but I have mad love and respect for him as a director.  I LOVE when he's behind the camera.  I mean, The Cable Guy, Zoolander, Tropic Thunder...and now, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  He has a clear vision and he does great things with text.  Granted, I would love more textual elements in the style of J.J. Abrams (because it's aesthetically pleasing to me) but I LOVED the sequence where Walter starts his actualized journey to Greenland.  It's lovely.  It made me cry.  I'm not giving anything away by telling you this, by the way - you see the beginning of the journey in the trailer (the slow motion run in front of past Life covers with Walter on the cover in an astronaut helmet).  The text elements for the sequence are beautiful and the song selection is already a tear-jerker for me (in certain situations, of course).  Basically, that whole sequence is so thoughtful and so beautiful and so meaningful that I was a crying mess during the whole thing.  That might be #4 on my list above's fault but you know what?  I don't care.

I had a major realization watching this film and even though it sounds like a weird, abbreviated male version of Eat, Pray, Love (or as I like to call it Rich People Problems), I relate more to this story than most things lately and I don't care who knows it.  This film is great and I encourage EVERYONE to see it.  My Libra Sun and Moon were both crying at how this spoke to them because, as we may or may not know, Libras are dreamers and this movie speaks to all the dreamers out there.

See it and let me know what you think of it!

Happy Friday!

THG:Catching Fire

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 I FINALLY saw The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and let me tell you, I was a big ball of emotions.

*SPOILERS AHEAD* in case you haven't seen the first movie or read any of the books...

In anticipation of "The Great Gatsby"...

In anticipation of the release of The Great Gatsby, I've been streaming the entire soundtrack via NPR all day today!  (I even pre-ordered it - no surprise there...)

I can't wait for this film to come out!  It's got everything: a bangin' soundtrack (obvs), Leonardo DiCaprio (um...YES PLEASE), Prada costumes (hell yeah) and the man behind the vision: Baz Lurhman.



I'm going into a Gatsby frenzy listening to this soundtrack. Baz Lurhman knows how to do a killer movie / soundtrack combo - Romeo + Juliet was an amazing movie with an even more amazing soundtrack (the teenager in me still loves it to death) and Moulin Rouge! was such a fantastic film with a flawless soundtrack.  You can't deny that.

So get your flapper dresses, your bejeweled headbands and your tuxes out.  Have them all dry cleaned for Friday because you know you'll be rockin' that 1920's look at the theater for your date with Jay Gatsby.

Why I Love Bloody Horror (NSFW)

I'm not your typical horror fan.  I hate zombie movies.  I'm sorry - I do.  If I'm given the choice, I won't watch a horror movie on my own.  My old man usually has to coax me into it.
As far as demonic possession goes, the REC movies started out okay.  The original Evil Dead was silly - but still well done.  28 Days Later was pretty good.  I can't stand the Paranormal Activity movies.  Insidious started out okay until the ghost busters showed up...I could keep going but I'll stop right here at Hostel and Hostel: Part II.
I love me some Eli Roth.  His blog is wonderful and my main source of inspiration for filmmaking, he's a great actor and he does great gore.  I mean, you can't go wrong with Eli Roth's Goretorium, right?!?

More gore under the cut!

2013 Design Inspiration

Yeah, so it's the first of the year and guess what?  Time for new inspiration!
With Avid in my face and 3D-capable After Effects, it seems like there's NO stopping me, right?  Well, I've hit a few walls (which you can read about here) and I was feeling a little discouraged BUT - I didn't fret.  I just let my brain rest.  And in that resting time, I was going to start watching The Borgias on my iPad.

I didn't get very far.  Why?  Because the opening title sequence was totally wonderful!  It had elements from the True Blood opener that felt familiar but it also reminded me of the ink bleed from my ultimate favorite end title sequence EVER - Sherlock Holmes.  Granted, The Borgias sequence is unique on its own and I had to find out the design studio behind it.

Independence Day Shenanigans

Having a random day off in the middle of the week is weird - even if it is for the Fourth of July. I'm not complaining or anything but I feel like I should be having a three day weekend instead of a Hump Day off. Might as well make the most of it, right?! Right!
I took advantage of having today off and had a few drinks last night to do my favourite activity: Drunk Tumblin'. All of that fun stuff aside, I saw the prettiest rainbow I've seen in a long time! I admit I was a little hesitant to take a photo of it since rainbows have been a source of bad luck for me lately but I couldn't resist!
 
Such a pretty arch!  It was too wide for me to get a full shot but this totally works!

I couldn't resist this either


This morning, I got up a little early (middle of the week habit) and watched my favrouite movie for makeup and costumes: Sucker Punch. I felt so inspired by Baby Doll and Blondie's makeup that I spent most of my morning watching Sucker Punch makeup tutorials and decided I'd wear some Baby Doll eyes today.


It was also a good excuse for me to try out the new Jane Lens and Ina's 1982 Lens with the Hipstamatic update.

Other than that, today was pretty mellow. The old man and I are getting "white girl wasted" on some Parrot Bay frozen drinks and doing some light grilling.
 

Are you doing anything fun this Independence Day?

Magic Mike? Yes please!

Phew!  After all the Sharon Needles controversy, let's get on to the most important part about this weekend: Magic Mike FINALLY opened and Lauren and I went!  Thank goodness!  After seeing and hearing all these crazy things about it, I was practically jumping out of my skin to see it!  I mean, I get to see Joe Manganiello shirtless on a pretty regular basis on True Blood but to see him shirtless (and pants-less) for almost 2 hours straight (even if he was mostly in the background)?!  Thank the Lord!



Matt Bomber doing things like this?! YES PLEASE!


Alex Pettyfer being ridiculously hot? YES YES YES


I wish I had taken my friend Brad's advice: see the movie and then go to Swinging Richards afterwards. If you're not from Atlanta, you don't know that Swinging Richards is an all male nude show. Not quite the caliber of Magic Mike or Stallionz (remember that from Glee? It's where Sam worked for a spell...) but it's close and it's quite the experience - although I hear they're cracking down on the amount of ladies that go there since it's technically a gay strip club but, you know, technicalities and all that...
Ugh.  And I feel dirty too.  Not because I saw the movie but because I'm not a Soderberg fan.  Yeah, I said it.  I do enjoy the Ocean's 11, 12, and 13 movies but that's about all I can stand in his director's lineup. We gave The Girlfriend Experience a shot but it didn't quite grab us like I thought it would. I'm sure Sasha Grey was wonderful and I'm sure I'll give it another chance. Later.
Magic Mike had Soderberg's trademark angles and weird dialogue.  The only way I can describe it is like this: He's got the general idea of the script and it's there, on set, with the script supervisor but for some reason, he feels the need to tell the actors the gist of the scene and maybe a key sentence they need to deliver but they can deliver it any way they want to, so long as they get that one sentence out. Like weird ad-libbing or something. And I only say that because there were quite a few scenes where Channing Tatum was trying to get out something like "I'm not Magic Mike in real life" but he stammered and stuttered his way through it and it felt like a bunch of okay takes were strung together to make the scene work. There were also a few places where Cody Horn was waiting for her cue to react. 10 seconds doesn't sound like a lot of time but in movie time, it's like an eternity. It's not her fault...
I tried to watch the movie without my behind-the-scenes eye but I couldn't help it! There were so many places where I was cringing at the lines being delivered and the Soderberg Angle and the multiple conversations happening that it was hard for me to stay focused on Joe Manganiello's abs.  The horror, I know.  All of that aside, I enjoyed the movie. I mean, when do us girls get a male exploitation movie huh?! Hardly ever and this one definitely delivers.  I think I might splurge and get myself the Blu Ray extended director's cut version of it when it comes out on DVD.  It'll be worth it.

How was your weekend?

Hunger Games weekend

Holy crap.  Josh Hutcherson.  Josh Hutcherson has stolen my heart as Peeta Mellark personified.  I loved Peeta from the first time he said his first words in The Hunger Games and finally being able to see him on-screen, I was transformed into a younger version of myself who was falling for this guy.  Ugh.



But I kept getting jarred back into reality by some very bratty and rude kids.

Yes, the theater my aunt and I went to was overrun with little tweens and teens alike for our Friday viewing of The Hunger Games.  No surprise.  But what was really surprising was their lack of manners.  During any and all of my Harry Potter viewings, the kids had the decency to shut the fuck up as soon as the opening credits started animating.  These kids were a different kind of brat.  They talked THE ENTIRE TIME.  My aunt threatened to get the manager quite a few times even though it would've taken her out of the theater to miss more of the movie and it would've taken even longer to get out of the middle of the row we were in.  There was no winning.  Not even the fucking parents of these asshole kids stepped in.  Why?  I don't know.  They tune it out, maybe?  Who knows.

The worst part about it was that Lauren and I had been talking about the cave scene since I read about it.  Then my aunt and I talked even more about how we were anxious to see it.  And once it started in the movie, I was ready to savor it.  Tears in my eyes, my heart glowing at the sight of Peeta and Katniss and the realization and then - LAUGHTER.  The entire theater erupts with laughter when Peeta starts stroking the knife wound on Katniss' forehead.  Ugh.  My favourite part of the first book ruined.

When we exited the theater, I practically ran to the parking lot as if I was trying to escape these...these fucking JERKS.  My aunt commented that she knew the kids were probably going to be bratty but this was unacceptable.  She was right.  I had expected some level of rudeness but not that.  And then I felt like I had lost something.  Yes, I felt like they had taken the enjoyment out of the movie.  Of course they did!  That's why I want a movie redo.  I want to wait a few weeks and see the movie again - on a better screen with louder sound.  I think it would've helped if the sound was louder.  I was expecting the vibrations to shake me when the gong went off in the arena but instead, it rang loudly enough to bring me back into the games - if only for a short time.

That fueled me to read the books faster.  I was halfway through book two, so I knew the fate of the characters for the second movie and I was excited for it but I promised to NEVER AGAIN go to that theater.  I might even attempt a midnight showing somewhere else.  Maybe in a part of town with no overprivileged kids to ruin my experience.  Opening nights for the first 2 Twilight movies were fun, but they were at another theater.  Maybe the opening for Catching Fire will be better at that theater...oh well.
I hate to sound like an old person with the whole "You crazy kids" thing but COME ON!!

My thoughts about the third book after the ol' jumperoo

Happy Hunger Games!

I hate to admit it but I'm really late to this Hunger Games party.  Why it took me so long to read, I'll never know but what I do know is that I'm super excited about seeing the movie tonight with my aunt!
I didn't really have a desire to start the books until Lauren and Heather both told me they were pretty great.  I decided I'd go ahead and buy them (making them my first official Kindle for iPad purchase) and I couldn't stop!  I got through the first book in about a day and half.  That's crazy fast for me!  Breaking Dawn took me 4 days and The Deathly Hallows took me 4 1/2 (lots of crying breaks) - which I thought was pretty good but a day and half?!!  I'm not the best reader.  Something has to really grab my attention and not a lot of stuff does, unfortunately.  But these books are great!  I'm partway through the second one I think.  It's hard to tell with the percentage instead of a page number...
All I kept thinking was "I can't wait to see the costumes and makeup and Josh Huthcerson as Peeta!!"  Seriously.  I can't wait to see Peeta.  It's like the Edward / Jacob thing all over again.  And what really got me jazzed up about it is all the articles about the Capitol makeup and costumes!
I first read this article by Kandee Johnson and I was glad to see that Ve Neill worked on it seeing as how I saw her as a judge on Face Off and all...She made Elizabeth Banks almost unrecognizable as Effie Trinket.  And her makeup is STUNNING.  I want to try this tutorial for my look tonight but I don't have enough pink colours with me to do it.

LOVE!  And I'd definitely wear the lipstick if I wasn't so allergic.  Aww :(
You know I'd like to see do this look?  Doe Deere.  Her Lime Crime makeups are perfect for this with all their crazy colours!  I'm kinda wishing I had a Lime Crime stock pile of shadow dusts to try out this look but oh well.  I just wasn't as prepared as I would've liked to be.  Luckily I found a pink and purple I might be able to work with in my travel makeup kit but if that doesn't work, I have my trusty nude and golds palate so I can do a "girl on fire" smoldering eye look.  So many things!!  I just really want to do the pink though!  Ugh.  Anyways...

Is anyone else seeing The Hunger Games tonight?  Lauren and I contemplated going at midnight last night but we both have separate tickets for tonight and I think I would've been a zombie at work today.  I did think about it very hard though.  In the end, we're being patient and waiting.  Ugh!  The waiting is killing me!  I just want to hurry up and see the chariot ride and the cave scene (so many tears!!!) and everything else in between.  And I'll admit that I'm a little jealous of Heather because she's also going to see it tonight.  ON IMAX.  WHAT.  So jealous.  Maybe I can talk the old man into seeing it on Imax with me...We'll see!

Happy Hunger Games everyone!

What We Do Is Secret

A few weeks ago I came home from work to the sound of weird punk rock coming from upstairs.  I knew my old man was home and I thought he was watching some horror movie but the music was pretty familiar.  When I asked what it was, he told me he had started watching What We Do Is Secret and promptly turned it off.  I had no idea what it was about so he gave me the basic rundown: it was a movie about the Germs.
So let me tell you, I was a little punk kid when I was growing up and I dabbled with Germs but most of what I listened to was because I was hearing it through someone else - like in someone's car or at someone's house.  I hardly owned any music from my teen years because it was all on comps or tapes or I didn't buy it because I knew somebody had it.
I had first heard of the Germs when I told the story of how Pat Smear tried to get Oni and me on the Foo Fighters bus back in '96.  We only knew him as "former member of Nirvana" Pat Smear at the time and we commented on his super awesome bright neon green pants.  That prompted him to try and get us on the bus to show us more pants.  WHAT!!!  We were stopped by a security guard before we could even get one foot on.  He apologized, ran to a window and proceeded to show us many of his crazy pants out the window!  That was amazing to me at the time because it was one of my first shows (without adult supervision - whoa rebel) and a former member of Nirvana was actually talking to us!
Later, when I told that story to someone, they told me: He wasn't just a former member of Nirvana, he was a member of Germs.  Germs?  Huh?  Uh, duh, the most influential punk band from L.A.  Huh?  Yeah, I was clueless but you know I wasn't really into that kind of punk at the time.  At that time, I was into The Queers, Screeching Weasel, The Donnas, Teen Idols and pretty much everyone on Lookout! Records and I was pretty open to whoever my friends played.  I had one friend in particular, RM, who played stuff that was more along the lines of Germs and I know it was through him that I heard them.  Our other friends gave him grief for listening to stuff like that and Subhumans and The Exploited, etc but I didn't care.  I have a pretty open mind when it comes to a lot of stuff, especially music.
So when I heard the weird noises coming from upstairs that day, it definitely sounded like I was back in RM's basement sitting around listening to music.  So why not watch the movie?
I did a little IMDb-ing and discovered that my *secret* boy-next-door crush Shane West (from such greatest hits as A Walk To Remember) plays the one and only Darby Crash.  Okay - I HAD to watch it now.  Especially since I also read that Shane is the new lead singer for the newly re-formed Germs.  WHAT.  Okay - definitely had to watch.
One Saturday afternoon, I sat down and watched it.  And I LOVED IT.  Weird acting, bad wigs and Bijou Philips aside, it was great watching Shane West as Darby Crash.  Just like watching Gary Oldman as Sid Vicious, Shane West played this role to perfection.  I was swept away in the romance of Darby Crash.  I felt like was a teenager again and I was part of his Germs philosophy.  His words cut through me.  I was rooting for him and I was crushed when he overdosed (even though I already knew that was coming).  He kept reminding me of someone I know and maybe that's why I got so emotionally invested.  It was hard to watch at times because there are quite a few similarities between Darby and my friend but Shane West really took me there and I wished I had been born earlier to have experienced the punk scene in L.A.
Ugh.  Did I really say that?  Yes.  But I'm glad I didn't experience that because I'm experiencing great things now.

Anyways back to Shane West.



I felt this weird universal connection to something greater than myself.  I felt like Darby's words made sense.  In fact, I felt like I would be the Pat Smear to Darby Crash.  Pat seemed to really grasp what Darby was talking about and their relationship was rooted some place deep.  Before I had even realized it, I was feeling like I was missing that person in my life.  Like, you know, someone I could connect with on an adventurous level.  Sure, I have a very VERY close confidant and I love him dearly but I miss the old reckless days too...

Date night - ruined

A few years ago, my old man and I used to go to the movies. A LOT. Like, at least 3 times a month (which is a lot for me). In my constant quest for spontaneity, I suggested we go to the movies. Yeah, real spontaneous, I know...but it counted as something slightly different for us on a Saturday night.
We visited our old friend - the movie theater dubbed "The Purple Monster" by our friend Courtney, and saw Your Highness. Yes, full of stoner jokes and as much Danny McBride as you can shake a stick at, Your Highness would probably have been better if we were high. Natalie Portman's lack of clothing at some parts surprised me (especially coming from her) but I'm pretty sure a majority of those shots were filled in by a body double (no surprise there). James Franco was particularly dreamy as Fabious, his long locks flowing in the wind and rippling muscles straining against his costumes...he was pretty hot. Justin Theroux was a nice surprise as well. I had no idea he was in the movie until I saw his name in the (well-executed) opening credits and let out a girlish squeal.
The movie was quite entertaining but there was one thing I didn't particularly enjoy at this theater...
The old man and I got to the theater quite early (for the 10pm show) and took our seats. We were the only ones in the entire theater for about 20 minutes, then a few couples trickled in here and there but they sat pretty far away from us - we like to sit dead center (just like most everyone does) and no one was really in our way. Until one final couple showed up and sat right behind us. No big deal, right? WRONG. Not only were these Ed Hardy wearing jerks noisy (they had really loud buckles on their clothes for some reason), but they decided it would be all right to put their feet up on the chairs next to me and my old man. Normally, I like to put my feet up on the chairs in front of me at the movies but only if there's no one in them or around them because that is just plain rude but I turned to face my old man and right next to his ear were a pair of douchey Ed Hardy slip-ons. I hesitated to turn my head to see what was awaiting me on my side but I turned anyway to see fucking BARE FEET. GROSS. WHAT THE FUCK? Have manners just completely gone out the window? What makes it okay to fucking do that? I wanted to say something but I figured my old man would do it. Avoiding confrontation the way he does, he didn't. Irritated, I took the passive aggressive approach (since the direct approach always gets us into trouble and usually embarrasses my old man) and squirmed to the point of leaning over to where her feet were and she took them down. But not for too long. The second time she put her feet up, I glared back at her and mouthed the words "What the fuck" but she didn't care. My old man and I hadn't been to the movies in forever and I didn't want to ruin it even more than it already had been by exchaning words with the inconsiderate couple. Who knows, maybe the guy in that relationship would've stepped in to squash the argument between me and his lady friend but I know my old man doesn't really have a confrontational bone in his body. It could've turned ugly quick - which is sad because we're adults and we need to respect each other - especially if we're trying to watch a movie and don't like the smell of feet next to us. Thankfully they left the movie 10 minutes early. If I had opened the box of Skittles in my purse, I would've thrown some at the inconsiderate couple. OR I would've taken a page out of Jonah's playbook. Jonah was a kid I knew for a brief period of time in high school. He was kind of a dick but I think he was trying to be like his even bigger dick of a brother. One night, Jonah was taking me and another friend home when he asked for some gum. I gave him some, watched him chew it and then throw it into a Jeep Wrangler. I thought that was the end of it but I was wrong. He took another piece and threw it into the Jeep again. Normally, I would've enjoyed a little stunt like that but this time, I was pissed off since the guy driving the Jeep decided to follow us to MY house.
Aaaaaaanyways...what I'm getting at is that if I was in the mood for a fight and if I had known the inconsiderate couple was leaving early, I would've chewed some gum and thrown it into the chick's rat's nest of hair. Oh well. Missed opportunities. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.
Maybe next time I'll say something - fight or no fight. I'm tired of all this passive aggression when people aren't trying to make the effort to respect each other. It makes me very upset.

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I