MOVIES

Jan. 17th, 2011 02:11 pm
Went on a bit of a movie watching extravaganza this weekend and saw The King's Speech and True Grit, both of which are wonderful movies and I can't recommend them nearly enough. First up: The King's Speech!



I saw this just in time, considering I randomly watched The Golden Globes last night. Normally I steer clear of awards shows because they tend to be a million hours long and never that entertaining. But I was working from home last night and wanted some background noise. I'd read that Colin Firth pretty much had the Lead Actor in a Drama category wrapped up and I couldn't agree more. He was fantastic as King George VI, and what a part to play! He had the perfect mixture of stoic (we're talking British royalty here), strength, and vulnerability. He was so human in his faults (temper, frustration, etc) and even knowing the outcome of the movie didn't detract from his speech at the in the least. Plus, I just loved the look of the whole movie. I read one review (Ebert?) that talked about how a lot of the sets were these long, narrow spaces that served as a sort of mirror to Bertie's struggle to get words up and out his throat. As a bonus, Helena Bonham Carter was a treat as his wife Elizabeth.

I guess it was rated 'R' because of the use of 'fuck'? It's not even used in a sexual context. Bertie blurts it out in a fabulous tirade during a speech therapy session. It's a shame if the rating is what keeps people from seeing this movie.

Next Up: True Grit!



After I saw this movie I turned to my sister and asked her which she liked better: The King's Speech or True Grit. She couldn't decide. I'm not entirely sure of my opinion, because while I think The King's Speech is technically the better movie, I found True Grit slightly more entertaining. It's the one I thought more about when I decided to write this entry. Maybe simply because as a western there is more straight up adventure? I also think it's in large part due to Mattie Ross, the 14 year old girl dead-set on avenging her father's murder.

Mattie Ross is my hero. Here be spoilers )

Now, for some Golden Globes bitching. We'll move past the fact that True Grit got shut out, which I think is a shame. All three main parts were played to perfection, the dialogue was great (a much truer adaption to the book than the first movie, from what I've read) and the scenery and camera work was A+. Maybe it wouldn't have won, but it surely deserved some nominations.

Hate that Glee won Best Comedy. Not only should Community have been nominated, at the very least Modern Family should have gotten the win over freaking Glee. Ugh. Though, oddly enough, I'm fine with the Supporting Actor/Actress nods that Chris Colfer and Jane Lynch got (especially because they had some of the best speeches of the night).

Even more than that - I can't accept that Mad Men didn't win for Best Drama. Now, I'm pretty biased here because I've never seen Boardwalk Empire, but Mad Men was AMAZING this season. Jon Hamm was incredible as Don Draper and had some of the meatiest material he's ever had on the show.

UGH, THIS IS WHY I DON'T WATCH AWARD SHOWS.

Mad Men

Oct. 19th, 2010 12:44 pm
Mad Men finale... let's talk, flist. I'm pretty sure I can't be the only one underwhelmed. This has been a stellar season for the most part, featuring possibly the strongest episode of the show's entire run (The Suitcase). We've seen Peggy become even stronger, Sally grow into a young woman, and Don actually think about his awful life and choices. And if it's one thing that Mad Men is known for, it's AWESOME finales. Last season was pretty subpar in my opinion (Don's affair with that obnoxious teacher really tried my patience), but the finale was a huge gamechanger. This one? Not so much.

I wasn't in love with Fay/Faye, but I did like her more than I've liked any of Don's previous girlfriends. So to say I was bummed about his random decision to propose to Megan is an understatement. I think Megan is a lovely girl, but this marriage can only end in heartbreak. I think Don loves the idea of her. She was great with his kids. And can I just say that I loved seeing Don play with his children? He actually looked genuinely happy. That and the scene between Joan and Peggy were the highlights of the episode for me. Don wants to make a family. I just wish more time had been spent building the relationship between those two. We got all this Faye/Don interaction for no real (romantic) payoff. We did get Don admitting to being Dick, so that was something... I guess.

Totally knew Joan didn't get rid of the baby. Also: why is her husband still alive? Hate him.


I think I might be done with The Event. It just can't hold my interest. I was watching it last night, but mostly my attention was on finishing Scandal in Spring, the 4th book in the The Wallflowers series by Lisa Kleypas. I enjoyed all four of the romance novels and definitely mean to check out more stuff by Kleypas. She's a very fun writer. But now I need something else to tide me over until I can get Catching Fire from the library. The hold list is so loooong :(

ETA: OMG. [livejournal.com profile] typicrobots just made my day. Check out Sassy Gay Friend: Mad Men.

And for good measure, my favorite Sassy Gay Friend video.



Runner up goes to the Othello one.
1. Playful Kiss ep 14 - I guess that's the most we're going to get from Ha Ni. Sigh. I like that she took some time to actually think about her future, though it took me more than a weekend to decide what I wanted to do with my life. Then again, I still don't really know. I also like that Seung Jo pushed her into actually caring about what she was going to do. I like the way they fit together as a couple. Just like Seung Jo's mom said: they are a pot and a lid. What I don't like is she still kind of ended up with the same decision as before with choosing nursing. Plus, I have doubts as to her actual mental capacity for it. We know she is determined, but she's also not very bright.

2. Saw Secretariat, because I like horse movies. I used to watch Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken ALL the time when I was younger. Secretariat was alright, but I thought Seabiscuit was by far a better made movie. Secretariat felt kind of oddly paced and I never really connected with the characters. I'm not really sure what audience they were looking for, because it's not like it was targeted at kids. But it also didn't have much finesse to it.

3. I think the Colts are trying to give me a heart attack. I don't even know what to make of this team anymore. Sometimes we have an offense, other times we have a defense. Last night NO ONE could hold onto the ball and we somehow managed to win. I don't even know.

4. Doing my best to stay away from Mad Men spoilers. I watched the football game so I haven't seen the finale yet. My fingers keep itching to check out summaries but I don't actually WANT to know what happens before I see it. So I'm also super anxious about looking at my flist... or anything on the internet really.
Things have been going a little non-stop at work. I wanted to make this post on Monday, but that... didn't happen. So here I am! Pieced this sucker together throughout the day. My eyes kind of ache and all I want to do is some loooong distance looking, since I'm sick to death of staring at a computer screen, but I need to get this post up. DEDICATION, PEOPLE. Recognize.

First, PROJECTS.

Randomly decided a couple weekends ago to refurbish my dining room table. This wasn't exactly the wisest move since I had a really tight budget for the month (I'M LOOKING AT YOU, CAR), but I did it anyway. Because who am I to kowtow to reality? I laugh in it's face. Besides, I was bored of looking at this: BEFORE! )

It was just a cheap dining room set that was actually found on the curb. The two red chairs I got from a family friend since it originally only had three chairs. I removed the legs, which was a lot easier than I thought. I was worried it was going to be super complicated, but it was just two bolts that were easily undone. Then I sanded all the pieces and primed the legs, sides of the table, and all five chairs.

TIP: Don't get quick-drying primer. It leaves all kinds of crazy brushmarks. I wasn't too concerned for this project though, since it's nothing fancy, but this is information I will hold for future reference.

Then I primed the top of the table. I used the same color stain as I did for the armoire I refinished, but it looks a LOT darker. I couldn't quite figure out what the table was actually made out of. I thought it was wood, but now think it might just be MDF with a veneer? It's not that heavy though. Anyway, it didn't want to take the stain at all. So I had to just let it sit on there and dry. When I've stained stuff before it soaks it right up. But this took for-ev-er. But it eventually dried. I don't even know how many coats I put on until it looked even. Then I put on three coats of satin polyurethane. I didn't want it to be super shiny, especially because it ended up coming out pretty much black. That's not exactly my style, but it looks really good against the aqua blue I put on the legs. That was just a little quart of paint my sister had left over from painting her room.

I ended up using the pale yellow I bought for my kitchen on the chairs. I love the way the table turned out, but I'm not convinced I like how the chair color looks. Maybe I just need a better rug to pull the look together? Anyway: the finished project ladies and gentleman: AFTER! )

The desk covered in junk and kitty litter bag probably aren't helping the look. OH WELL.

I also made a monkey: MONKEY! )

It's for the boy my cousin had a couple weeks ago. I have several other new babies to make gifts for. I'm making a lion next and I think I need to switch to a smaller weight yarn because it's HUGE. It might eat the baby, is what I'm saying.

On to entertainment yammering...

Not really thrilled with this week's Mad Men. I think it's because the last couple of episodes have been pretty fantastic. This one just felt blah. Good, but not GREAT. I want to like Faye, but she hasn't really clicked with me yet. But I was thrilled when she refused to break client-confidentiality for Don. Then she went and backed down :( As least it made Don feel guilty for SLEEPING WITH HIS SECRETARY, AGAIN. BECAUSE IT ENDED SO WELL THE LAST TIME OH MY GOD.

Read The Hunger Games. Loved The Hunger Games. Need the next book in the series, WHY MUST THE HOLD LIST BE SO LONG?! D: Katniss was a fantastic heroine. I loved her. I loved how exciting and emotional this book was. I cried like a baby when Rue died. Full on sobbing. The only downside is that I'm trying to come up with something to write for NaNo and I've got nothing. I wish I had the creative powers displayed by Suzanne Collins. *jealous*

Finished My Girlfriend is a Gumiho and enjoyed it overall. By far the best thing about it was Mi-ho. It reminded me a lot of Fantasy Couple in that respect. I loved Anna, but could take or leave the rest. There were things I both liked and disliked about the finale. Mi-ho and Dae-woong's final day together was beautifully done. I teared up when they kept trying to find something to do and being thwarted. I thought the resolution was a major cop out though. I don't ask for much, but I do ask for no deus ex machina. If they were going to have the Samshin grandmother come in and help fix everything, they least they could have done was introduced her earlier. Random, but I loved how Hye-in was all "eff you people, I'm sick of this nonsense" by the end XD


SO MUCH GOOD TV, GUYS.

I'm not even going to go into My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, because I'm still ridiculous about it. I'm aware of it's faults (mainly any character or storyline that ISN'T Mi-Ho... and to a lesser degree Dae-Woong), but I don't care because I just go to a happy wonderful place whenever Gu Mi-Ho is being adorable.

In other drama news, I've devoured the first 6 eps of Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku (hereafter known at Natsu Niji because COME ON). And it's been so long since I've enjoyed so many dramas at the same time. This one is just completely precious and I adore every character, which is more than can be said for MGiaG. And since it has a shorter jdrama running time, I just inhale it like candy. I just want to snuggle everyone. It's so pleasant and easy to watch.

Sakura might be my favorite character though, as wonderful as Shiori is and as goofy as Taiga is, I wish Sakura had her own show. I love how serious she is about work, she manages to be very professional but is just as quick to drop that facade and show her slightly acerbic personality. But she's never false or cutesy and I love it! I just wish she hadn't fallen for Taiga. I knew it would happen, but I really don't like it. I don't think the show needs that. Also, I KNEW I had seen her before. She was totally in Hana Kimi! I'm not insane!

GOLD is awesome. More subs need to come out. That is all.

What's with all the fantastic female characters this season? I LOVE IT.

Watched the first 15 minutes or so of Joseon X-Files and it looked pretty promising. Very slick. I'm excited to watch more. Anyone else following this series?

Leverage went out with kind of a putter for it's summer mid-season finale. I thought they phoned it in, which was disappointing.

No True Blood this week... *claws at walls* I don't see how they are going to resolve everything next week (there is only one episode left, right?). The show has been all over the place I almost feel like too much has gone on, but also nothing at all. I mean really, what are the plot points? The werewolves have kind of disappeared...

Basically, I'm still on kind of a high from this week's Mad Men, which I'm fairly certain is in my top 5, if not my favorite episode. Fantastic through and through. I found this recap/picspam here and it just made me want to rewatch the episode more.

TV!

Aug. 24th, 2010 09:50 am
rosdrise: (mad men - betty is PISSED)
I stalled on Ashes to Ashes a while back as it wasn't really holding my attention, but picked it up again recently. Episode 5 was great and the first 14 minutes of episode 6 are shaping up to be a repeat performance. This is really such a solid show, I only wish I understood more of the slang used. I feel like I'm missing out on a lot.

Leverage 3x11 - "The Rashomon Job" was A.MA.ZING and easily my favorite episode ever. What a stand-out effort. I love when shows play around with story-telling formats. The running gag around Sophie accent was spectacular and only one of so many great moments. Good job, show.

True Blood 3x10 - "I Smell a Rat" - Not a terrible amount of action in this episode, but I still enjoyed it. Lots of pieces being moved around and set in place. Sookie kind of cracked me up this episode, but if I were her I'd be a hell of a lot more wary of Bill, especially after Tara came clean about what happened to her on top of the secrets he's been keeping. Bill may love Sookie, and he was trying to keep her safe, but that doesn't excuse letting Franklin terrorize Tara. Speaking of Tara: I loved the scene between her and Jason. Fantastic acting by both parties. Also, I love Pam.

Mad Man 4x05 - "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" - WOAH. This show. I can't even. I know pretty much all of fandom hates Betty Draper, and understandably so. She's an awful woman-child who is front-runner for Worst Mother of the Year. Yet, I can't help but be really invested in her story and I'm not even exactly sure why. Maybe it's residual pity for what I felt towards her in the first season? I don't know. By all accounts I shouldn't stand her, she doesn't have any admirable qualities. But when she just started laying everything out on the table for the psychiatrist without any prodding all I could think was "Oh, Betty." She really needs someone to talk to and I really REALLY hope they go more into her childhood. They've hinted at it so many times up till now, I'd love to see a flashback like we get for Don.

Also, that scene with Joan in her red dress and Roger in his stark white and gray office was so beautifully shot. I love the way this show looks.


QUERY! - My music selection is in desperate need of some revitalization. Anyone have any suggestions for good work-out songs? What do you guys listen to when you want to get PUMPED UP!?

ETA: HOW COULD I FORGET TO MENTION THIS? I am very excited about the upcoming Oguri Shun/Inoue Mao (with bonus!Narimiya Hiroki) drama. It does my little Rui/Makino shipper heart good (as much as I love the Domyouji/Makino endgame, I can't help but ship R/M in the beginning). But... the title. QUESTIONABLE CHOICE, JAPAN.
I finished my TV meme and now I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. So, I suppose I can give a few quick updates on what I'm watching at the moment.

Leverage - Good fun! Leaps of logic abound, but it doesn't really matter as long as you have the crew :)

Mad Men (4x04 "The Rejected") - I think the show has been aces since it started back up. I'm looking forward to a possible Don Draper breakdown in the future. The man's life is in shambles. The shit has to hit the fan AT SOME POINT. Maybe more secretaries need to through things at him.

True Blood (3x09 "Everything is Broken") - I love you Jason Stackhouse. Your idiocy is just too endearing, but your storyline this year IS BORING ME TO TEARS and YOU'RE BEING KIND OF A DICK. I liked that mildly self-aware speech he gave to the high school QB a few episodes back, and I like that he's recognized he needs to do something worthwhile with his life. But the way he's going about it is just so self-absorbed and, I guess, VERY Jason-Stackhouse. Regarding Tara: I KNEW FRANKLIN WASN'T DEAD. I really wish Tara had been the one to kill him :/.

Hotaru no Hikari 2 (Episode 5) - WTF BUCHOU? Take it back!

Yankee-kun to Megane-chan (Episode 7) - Finally an OTT manga drama I can get behind. It's actually funny, thank goodness. Though subs seem to have stalled on it :/

Gumiho: Tale of the Fox's Child (Episode 6) - I feel like the show had been treading water for sometime. There are only so many times I can watch people search for Yeon Yi before I start ffing. But finally we got some movement with the Lady finding out what the Lord was up to, Yeon Yi's boyfriend seeing her Gumiho fur, and Momma Gumiho getting smacked with some kind of binding charm by the demon hunter who then proceeded to THROW HER INTO A LAKE. Right on show.

And because I'm having meme withdrawal:

5 Things Meme from [livejournal.com profile] geewhiz

Ask me my Top Five whatevers. Fannish or literary or RL or otherwise. Any top fives. Doesn't matter what -- fandoms, characters, ice cream flavours, cartoon moments, women/men in my fandoms, OTPs, ideal holiday destinations, goals for the future, celebrity crushes, books I wish would be made into movies, love songs, etc. And I will answer them all in a new entry.
rosdrise: (mad men - betty is PISSED)
Note: I started working on this before I realized that my list was missing "Day 7" for some bizarre reason. But I'd already finished this post, so it's going to have to be out of order.

Day 08 - A show everyone should watch

MAD MEN




HOW EXCITED AM I FOR MAD MEN TO COME BACK ON THE 25TH?! VERY.


I don't care what anyone says, I love Betty


Cut for text and GIFS )

30 Days of Television )

Mad Men finale: That. Was. AWESOME.

Nothing I say would ever be able to match what sheer perfection that episode was. It turns both funny and sad, by far the best episode of the season and maybe the entire run of the show. It had everything.

Jon Hamm and January Jones KILLED it. Is it 2010, yet?

On the complete other end of the spectrum, I'm still enjoying Smile, You in all it's harmless fun. If I was the type to fast forward through dramas I'd wear out that button when it comes to the adults storylines. Though I do enjoy when Jung-In and Geum-Ja bond. But I kind of love everything about the second generation stories. Lee Min Jung is balancing the perfect amount of adorable and brat with her character. She can be really intolerable, but you can't help but root for her. You know beneath everything she has a good heart, it's not her fault that her parents are complete morons.

Seriously, I could through her father off a bridge. What a worthless man.

You're Beautiful is also amazing. It's definitely a better show than Smile, You but I can't help but root for my little family drama. YB is a lot more exciting, as it doesn't focus solely on relationships. And even the 'evil' character I can't fully hate (like Jung-In's dad). Plus, Tae Kyung is one of the best characters I've come across recently.
rosdrise: (mad men - betty is PISSED)
I'm so excited. The third season of Mad Men premiered last night and I got to watch it on a real tv like a normal person. It wasn't the best episode, but it was a solid premiere and I'm just so thrilled to have it back on my screen that I'll forgive any slow bits or missteps it may have had.

Photobucket


3.01 - Out of Town )
It's time to talk about my new favorite show...

MAD MEN


Enter the high-powered world of advertising in 1960's New York City and all the sexism, drinking, and awesome clothes that come with it.

Did I mention the drinking? And the smoking. Don't forget the smoking.


Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting



Seriously, don't forget the drinking and smoking )

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