A Letter to the Academy

Dear Academy,

I love The Oscars. I really, really do. I've been watching it since I was a child. I do believe I've only missed it once, when my Bridal Shower was scheduled the same day. And believe me, I was a wee, tad bit annoyed that my Mother did not have the hindsight to NOT schedule my Bridal Shower on the same day as the Academy Awards.

I am getting older, The Oscars seem to be getting longer, and I am bleary eyed and tired this morning. You would think I partied like Mel Gibson last night, the way I feel today. Bottom line is, you need to put some more thought into when The Oscars should be.

I start my Oscar celebration at 6 pm, watching the red carpet and I don't dare go to sleep until the last speech has been said, the last statuette has been given out, and the host(s) say Thank You and Good Night. I enjoy every minute, but the next morning as I rise at 6 am, I'm exhausted. And I am sure thousands of other Oscar Fans are too.

So, here is what I propose to you, the Almighty Academy: Have The Oscars on the Sunday Night before President's Day. It's a great solution. A great compromise. You still get the Sunday Night ratings and most of America has off the next day, so they can sleep in.

This is also perfect for the Oscar watching audience of tomorrow. My kids so desperately wanted to stay awake to see who won or who was presenting. They may be just kids, but I started watching as a child and my kids do understand all the work that goes into a movie. My kids appreciate all the work that goes into a movie. They cheered this morning when I announced that Alice in Wonderland won some awards. That Toy Story 3 won Best Animated Feature Film and Song. They get it. I would have loved for them to watch the show from beginning to end.

So, please consider making the Sunday Night before President's Day Oscar Night. Fans across the nation would be so appreciative.

Sincerely,
The Movie Junkie

P.S. My eight year old daughter would also like to suggest that Johnny Depp be nominated every year, regardless of whether or not he has made a movie. "He's just that good", according to her.

Oscar Time!!!

It's Oscar Time, Baby!!! This is my Superbowl!!!! Instead of beer, I got my wine. Instead of cooking, I get take out. Thinking Five Guys Burgers tonight. What do you think? Nothing like a great burger and wine while I critique the outfits on the red carpet and root for my faves.

Of course, I did not get to see all the nominees, as usual. I don't actually get out to the movies that often anymore. So, I put all the nominees for best picture on my Netflix and gradually watch them. There are just so many nominees lately...which kind of irks me. And it's too expensive to see them all in the family. Where I'm from, the average movie ticket is like 12 bucks now!! CRAZY!!

And, I have kids. Having kids make it harder to see movies that don't involve a cartoon in some way or form. Plus, when we do have the time and money I will choose Harry Potter over a Black Swan. Sad, but true.

So there are 10 nominees this year for Best Picture. A bit much if you ask me.

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone


Out of the above titles, I have see 3 of them so far. Inception. The Kids Are All Right. Toy Story 3. And out of those 3 titles, so far I'm rooting for Toy Story 3. I really was not impressed with Inception or The Kids Are All Right in an Academy Award Winning view. Don't get me wrong. The movies were enjoyable. But...are they really worthy of the nomination?


I'll have to get back to you when I have watched all 10 movies. Which I will. I did it last year, and I'll do it again this year. And I will give my views and opinions. You will learn then why I don't think Inception or The Kids Are All Right should have been nominated, even though I enjoyed them.

Here's to a Happy Oscar Night!!! I'm really looking forward to it!! Who are you rooting for?

The Movie Junkie Oogles

I'm going to admit this. I'm a tad bit fascinated with Gannicus, one of the main characters from Starz' Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

Just a tad bit.


A wee bit.

The show might be too much for some. Bloody. Violent. Sexual. and Language. Oh my!
That's why it's on Starz (or DVD).

But I'm still a tiny, itsy-bitsy fascinated with this man:



Gannicus. Played by Dustin Clare.

Gannicus. The only man in the history of entertainment to wear the hairstyle of a schoolgirl.....



and somehow manage to pull it off.

To most of my female readers (and some men)..........

You're Welcome. : )

Along Came Lola.

Happy Lola Day, Readers!! What is Lola Day? Well, it's a special day today in the Movie Junkie Household. Today is the one year anniversary of us bringing this beautiful girl into our home.

This is Lola. She was just a pup when her and her brother were abandoned in a park. They were taken from there to a kill shelter. And then from the kill shelter, they were pulled by our local non-kill shelter. Her brother was adopted first. We came along a couple of days later, fell in love, and took her home to add her to our already crazy household. Our lives have been hectic since then. It's very hard bringing a puppy (who grew quite quickly and large) into a house that already had two older dogs. The older dogs were settled into a nice, lazy, diva-like routine. Then....Along came Lola.


And we haven't regretted it. At least not on a daily basis. Having a puppy is hard. I'll admit it. Having dogs in general is hard. HUGE responsibility. And there are moments where I'm like "WTF was I thinking??? THREE dogs??? (and a cat...two turtles...two fish...two kids...and a husband...that's a lot!)" But, then Lola curls up with me on the couch, her head resting on my leg, and becomes the PERFECT Movie Junkie Companion. And I am so grateful for adopting her and having her be a part of our home.


So....in honor of my Beautiful Lola, let's look at Dogs. Movie Dogs. Some dogs have a small scene, some dogs steal the scene, and some dogs are the star of the movie. Take a look at the pictures. Play a little game with me. Can you name what movie each dog is from? Some are so stinking easy....but some might be harder. If you sign up and become a follower, you can post your answers in my comments section!! Have fun.

I'm going to get on my soapbox now. Many movies cause a trend in dog breeds. After 101 Dalmatians, everyone wanted a Dalmatian. Beethoven bought on the St. Bernards. And the Chihuahua craze is still going on from different movies. Yellow Labs, Pit Bulls, Collies, Jack Russells...all have become "trendy" breeds. And when the novelty wears off, many of these breeds end up in the shelters. Unfortunately, because of the economy, many other dogs are being left at shelters too. All these dogs, purebreds and mutts, are at an increased chance of being put to sleep before they even see the adoption room because there is just NO ROOM...NO MONEY. It's a horrible time for all of us.

If you decide that now is the time to add a dog (whether your first or your tenth), please research the breed to see if it is the right breed for you and your home. And then, if you decide not to go through a shelter or rescue, please, please PLEASE make sure you research your breeder. There are too many shady breeders out there. It's a quick buck, not a family member to them and many of these dogs end up with either medical issues or behavioral issues. I have seen where getting a dog from a breeder has worked. But I have seen where it went horribly wrong and in the end it was just heartbreaking.

And please make sure YOU are ready. If you are not ready, but would love to be a part of a dog's life, look into volunteering at a local shelter or even becoming a foster. And if you still can't do that, maybe you can donate something to your local shelter. If you don't want to do money, they are always in need of crates, food, toys, treats, blankets, beds, and so forth. Many of the items can be found at garage sales or Craigslist for a fraction of the retail price. Call them and ask them what they need. I promise they will be grateful.

And don't forget the cats and kittens too!!!

The Machines Will Rise

Last night, Watson debuted on Jeopardy. And I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. I had been hearing about Watson for weeks (months?) now. I watch Jeopardy religiously, almost every weeknight and well...quite frankly Watson was jammed down our throats on a nightly basis by Alex Trebek.

Yes. I was very curious. They were going to take Jeopardy's two best players in Jeopardy history and pit them against Watson. A computer. A machine. A device that recognizes the human language, breaks it down, understands it, pieces it together, and then respond. It's not simple commands that Watson is responding to. He answers questions. Trivial questions. Or rather he phrases the answer in the form of a question....you know...Jeopardy style.

But there's more to Watson than that. After watching last night's episode, you see that there is so much more to it. He (why couldn't Watson be a she???) is represented by a cute little Avatar on an oversized iPad looking thing. Cute, but downright eerie as it rings in and answers the questions.


I read up on Watson. He wasn't just designed to be a warehouse of useless, trivial information. He's just the beginning. They say that one day Watson and his....offspring? Watson and his offspring will be able to take phone calls for companies and answer questions for the common customer. Imagine calling with medical questions,or troubleshooting your cable television and talking to a Watson. It will understand your questions, compute them quickly, and then give you the information you want.

The next time your wireless service goes down, you will no longer be talking to some human who was outsourced on the other side of the globe. You might be talking to a Watson.

And this scares the crap out of me. Let's face it. Sarah Connor predicted this!!

First of all, if Watson does work out and does get improved upon and programmed to perform specific customer service jobs, that means bad news for the job market. And why stop at customer service? Soon, Military Men/Women will be asking Watson for advice on war and peace. Religions will worship what Watson's insight might be. The world will be lead by Watsons.

Or what if they are humanized...programmed to "love", be a member of the family? Replace children, pets, parents, nannies, and so on. Very eerie. Just how far are we trying to go?

It's been predicted. Like in AI: Artificial Intelligence.


And of course....Terminator. Watson may be a cute oversized iPadish looking thing for now. But years from now?

You better pray there's a John Connor to stop the madness.

Kisses!!

With the Oscars coming up, the channels are tv are going crazy with playing Academy Award Winners of the past. And tonight, one of my absolute FAVORITE movies (and book) of all times is on. Gone With The Wind.

I announced it last night. That at 10 pm, mommy wants to be left alone with a small 100 calorie bag of popcorn, maybe some Fat-Free Chocolate Pudding, a blanket, my couch, and Scarlett O'Hara. My kids begged me if they could please stay up and watch it with me. They know it's one of my favorites and they want to see it. It was this time last year when they discovered Titanic (another movie that makes it's rounds every award season), so I decided that yes. They will stay up late and join me on my couch with a blanket, some snacks, Scarlett and my daughter's newest American Girl Doll.

So, this got me thinking. How appropriate Gone With the Wind is for Valentine Weekend. After all, it has one of the greatest kisses in Movie history. Scarlett and Rhett Butler are one of the most recognizable couples of all times. And I began to think.....about great movie kisses. There are so many, but these are my favorites for different reasons.

Of course, Scarlett and Rhett:

And I have to put Titanic up there too:


But what about another movie of Leonardo DiCaprio? William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet? He kisses Claire Danes underwater, both still dressed in their Masquerade costumes:

Huh. Funny how both Leo movies involve water in some way or form.

Dirty Dancing is another classic. I love the scene with them having fun and being themselves in the dance studio. She's lip-syncing along and crawling towards him. I dare you to look at the picture without starting to hum "Baby.....ooooh Baby.....My Sweet Baby.....You're the one."



Lady and The Tramp is iconic. Everyone knows the spaghetti scene. And c'mon. Who hasn't tried to re-enact it? It may be a cartoon. And it may be dogs, but it is possibly one of the most romantic dining scenes ever.



Another cartoon where they "kiss"? Wall-E. They are not human. They have no lips. But they certainly know how to let the sparks fly between them. Wall-E and Eve have to be the cutest romantic couple ever.



The most unique kiss? It's a scene that went down in movie history. This is no Oscar Winning, most romantic couple of all times, but you gotta give it to Spidey for taking kissing to a whole other level.



The one kiss that I always thought packed so much passion and feeling and it tore at my heart was the kiss from Brokeback Mountain, where they see each other for the first time in a while. Their love is such a secret, yet when they see each other all their feelings come out in that kiss. Very painful scene, all that passion.



The funniest kiss? E.T. When a drunken Elliott steps on the kid to kiss his pretty classmate who is taller than him. And frogs are running (hopping?) amuck in the classroom. Classic scene. I can still hear the audience howling with laughter.


Empire Strikes Back has one of the greatest moments. Noooooo....not the scene with Luke and Leia (really, George?? Did you even KNOW they were brother and sister???!!!???). But with Han Solo. I remember seeing that and wishing it was me instead of Leia. Okay...okay, I still wish it was me.



Lots of great movie kisses take place in the rain. But what about the snow? There's something very romantic about a kiss in the lightly falling snow. Like Roger and Mimi in RENT.



And how about the love triangles? I can't figure out which was better...the kiss between Elizabeth and Captain Jack Sparrow:


or Elizabeth and Will Turner:
I keep going back and forth between these two.

And finally.....the kiss of all kisses. Or what is in my opinion, the kiss of all kisses. This is the scene that gets my heart beating every time.

A man is just crowned king. The people, dwarfs, elves, hobbits, bow to him. And then....he sees her. His beloved among the crowd. She is alive and healthy. She approaches him and slightly bows to him, but he takes her face in his hands and:


It gets me EVERY TIME!!! Aragorn and Arwen's kiss at the end of LOTR:Return of the King. It is just soooooo.....I don't even have words. Passionate? Romantic? Touching? Loving?
It's just so right is what it is. It makes you weak in the knees. It's classic and elegant. The filming and the costumes...everything makes this kiss so right.

Feel free to leave your favorite movie kiss or movie couple or romantic movie in the comments. Your recommendations could be a big help for someone who is looking for a romantic movie to watch this weekend.

Happy Valentine's!!! Kisses!!

Darth Vader Has Been Adorablized

We've all pretty much seen that commercial that aired during the Superbowl. The one EVERYONE is talking about. Little boy is dressed up as Darth Vader and is trying to use the force. It is cute. So stinkin' cute. It's adorable. You would have to have a heart of ice to not have cracked a smile at this commercial.

In case you have not seen it, here it is:




Cute, right? Kid is in full blown Darth Vader costume (minus the gloves), you never see his face, the Darth Vader March is playing. So...freakin'...CUTE!!

But that's my problem. It's cute. Adorable. They have taken one of the most iconic movie villains of all times AND MADE HIM CUTE!! The took Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, and MADE HIM ADORABLE!!!! And there is something just wrong about that.

Darth Vader is perhaps the most recognized movie villain of all times. He is THE BAD GUY. Tall, wears all black, his face a mystery until the very end, a voice that is cold and deep, breaths in an eerie asthmatic way, more machine than man, and can kill you just by holding up his hand. The ultimate symbol of movie evilness.

And now, some cute little boy dressed up and turned on a Volkswagen by using the force (or would it be the dark side of the force, since the kid is after all, Darth Vader and not Obi Wan). Darth Vader has lost all credibility of being the biggest bad ass in cinema.

And I know just how bad ass Darth Vader can be. I know this because...I met the Dark Lord myself. That's right. I met Darth Vader and he was one scary dude. And big. Like towering tall.

I was just a little girl, having recently discovered Star Wars as did millions of other kids back in the late 1970's. I was OBSESSED and my mother decided to feed to my Star Wars obsession.

On a Saturday morning, she woke me up and told me to get dressed. She was taking me somewhere and it was going to be a surprise. This in itself was exciting because: A, we were going out. B, we were going out FOR ME and not on a boring errand. and C, it was a SURPRISE.

My mom wasn't one for surprise outings, so this was really out of the ordinary. I kept guessing, but she would just smile and refuse to answer. Or she would tell me was that I would love it.

We got in the car and drove a little ways to a store called Korvette. Does anyone remember Korvette? It was department store, but with discounted prices.



I guess it was like a cross between Macy's and Walmart. Something in the middle.

Anyway, my mom took me to Korvette. Now I was really confused. Was not in the mood to stand around while Mom tried on clothes or browse through bedsheets and curtains. But she continued to smile as we were ushered into a room along with other parents and kids.

My eyes flew open with amazement!! The entire room was nothing but Star Wars merchandise!! Bins and bins and bins of action figures. Star Wars sheets and blankets and pillowcases. Star Wars lunchboxes and Star Wars towels. Star Wars electric toothbrushes with little Star Wars cups to rinse with. Star Wars, Star Wars, STAR WARS!!!!

But, that wasn't the surprise. An announcement was made. Darth Vader had landed and would be arriving shortly. I looked at my mother to see her smiling and nodding. What the hell was she smiling for?????!!!!??? HELLO!!! Bad guy is coming!!! Grab some figures and RUN!!!!

Seriously, I really wish they had these camera phones and Flip video cameras back then. I really wish my mother caught my reaction in some way or form. On the outside, I was smiling. On the inside, I was ready to shit a brick. Luke, Leia, or droid or two would have been cool. Han Solo would have been out of this world awesome. But DARTH VADER??!!!??? A man who could kill us all with a wave of his fingers?

And then...he came. The Lord Darth Vader walked into the room and I swear a hush fell over the packed room. Even Dads just stared at him with awe.

He was tall. So, so tall. And broad. He walked with great strides to the little stage they had set up for him. He was surrounded by his team of henchmen (Korvette employees). And he was scary as all hell.

This was no cheesy costume with the buttons painted on his chest. This. Was. The. REAL. DEAL. This WAS Darth Vader!! Every detail was there. There was no doubt in any Star Wars fan's mind that day that Darth Vader was gracing us with his presence.

They made an announcement that Darth Vader would not be speaking to anyone. He would not answer any questions. Only shake hands and sign autographs. What a frickin' Diva if you ask me.

Once I realized that he was not going to kill us or whisk us away into a galaxy far, far away I became excited. I mean...I WAS GOING TO MEET DARTH VADER!!!!!

I was still a bit unsettled as we approached the table, completely in awe. There was such a power to him that I began to think "Screw the Rebels! I'm joining the Empire!" There was nothing cute about him. Nothing adorable. Just big, black, silent darkness.

He was signing black and white pictures of himself. When it was our turn, my heart pounded, blood roaring in my ears. My eyes must have been so wide they should have fallen out. He signed my picture.

"VADER"


That was it. "VADER". He was so powerful, so well-know, so fearful that he didn't need two names. Kinda like Cher.

He handed me my picture, then motioned for his henchman to lean in close so he could whisper something in his ear. The Korvette employee turned red, then turned to my mother and says...and I KID YOU NOT....and says:

"The Dark Lord Vader would like to know if he can take you to dinner after this."

I SWEAR TO GOD!!! Darth Vader had just asked my mom out on a date.

And mom just sassed back "Tell the Dark Lord I'm married."

And with that, she grabbed my hand and we walked out. Me, my "VADER" autographed picture, and a brand new Darth Vader action figure my mother allowed me to purchase. My tiny, little mother had shot Darth Vader down. She became new hero. I didn't think it was possible to say "No" to Darth Vader.

The autograph picture hung on the back of my bedroom door for years. Eventually time got the best of it, the edges curling, maybe even ripping. And one day...it was gone.

And what was supposed to be a memory of "Remember the day you met Darth Vader?" turned into a very hilarious memory of "Remember the day Darth Vader asked you out?"

But no matter how I remember it, I always remember how scary and evil he seemed. And now...thirty years later...he's been reduced to nothing but a costume for cute little boys to pretend and have the force...and for old men to sell Volkswagens.