Friday's Five Faves: Broadway and Film

Yesterday I bought back Thursday's Three Line Reviews, so...what the heck. Might as well do a Friday Five Fave while I'm at it. Mr. Movie Junkie and I are celebrating 10years of marriage this weekend. Since I always hound the poor man about his gift-giving skills and his lacking the whole "sweep me off my feet" skill, he decided to go all out. Before anyone tells me I'm an ungrateful wife for complaining about past gifts, let me just say this is a man who, for my 30th Birthday, gave me a roast beef sandwich and fries from some place in Brooklyn and said "Happy Birthday". We don't live in Brooklyn. So...not only is a sandwich a crappy 30th Birthday gift...it was cold too. BUT...he's getting better. I've posted the awesome Christmas Gifts he gave me that I love and treasure.

And now...he's totally sweeping me off my feet. Because he...went...all...OUT for our 10 year anniversary!! Yay!! I'm talking spending the night in the Big Apple for a little mini-vaca!! I'm talking taking in everything the Big City has to offer! Broadway Play! Reservations for a Great Restaurant for Dinner! Brunch on Sunday! Shopping! Bright Lights, Big City, here we come!! But the best part is the Broadway Play. Because...well, I LOVE BROADWAY MUSICALS!!! Seriously. Right now...on my iPod...I'm listening to my Musicals Playlist. Everything from Grease to Hairspray to Annie Get Your Gun to Jesus Christ Superstar.

Broadway has been a huge part of my life. I saw my first play at nine and I was bitten by the Broadway Bug. There's nothing like it. I tear up every time I see a play, because it's such an experience for me. The hard work that comes together every day...every night...LIVE!! To make it the best it can for us, the audience. It's just amazing.

So, today's Friday's Five Faves are Movies that became a Broadway Play...or a Broadway Play that became a Movie. And only those that I've seen both on stage and on the screen (big or small). So...I guess I can call this one...hmmm...Broadway/Film Crossovers.

Here we go!

#5:
ANNIE:
Annie was my first Broadway Play. It was my 9th Birthday and I will never forget it. It wasn't just the play. It was the whole experience.

On that same day we went out to eat at a fancy restaurant, we took a carriage ride through Central Park, and Timothy Hutton held the door open for my Mother. So, it was a true NYC experience.

A year or so later, the movie came out. But that's not my favorite Broadway/Film crossover of Annie. I didn't particularly care for it, even thought little girls across the country were wishing their parents dead so they could be just like Little Orphan Annie. But I had seen the play and I knew and understood how much better the play was. Not to mention they left the song out: NYC. My favorite song from the play.

Flash forward to about 1999, when abc decided to remake the movie and air it as it's Sunday Family Movie. And. They. NAILED. It!!!! Not to mention NYC is in it!! And Miss Hanigan/Rooster was closer to the play than the original movie. LOVE IT!!

Skip the original and rent the remake!! You'll get a better idea of what the play was like.

#4:
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA:

I saw the movie before I saw the play. And loved the movie. Emmy Rossum is beautiful and Gerard Butler is amazing as the Phantom.

This was always one of my mother's favorite stories and I knew she would love to see the play. In all the years that she had bought me tickets to Broadway plays as gifts, this was the first and only time I was able to reverse the roles and get her the gift.

For Mother's Day, I had purchases a musical box with the Phantom's Iconic Monkey sitting on it. I managed to carefully tape two tickets between the Monkey's Cymbals. SHE LOVED IT!!

And the play was incredible, from the crashing chandelier, to the set, to the way the Phantom's voice would echo throughout the theater in a haunting way. This is a must for anyone who loves Broadway or wants to experience Broadway in it's finest.

#3:
THE PRODUCERS:
A movie that crossed over to Broadway then crossed back over to a remake of the original...or the play. However you want to see it.

Having never saw the original movie, I went to The Producers on Broadway as part of a Ladies' Day Out gathering and had a blast. Besides drinking Mimosas on the bus on our way into the city, and having more drinks before the play started, this play was just hilarious!!! My face was hurting from smiling so much. I smiled from beginning to end. I laughed endlessly. Where else could you find songs about Hitler and LAUGH.

Then, I rented the movie (starring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane) because I wanted to see how close it was to the play. I can honestly say this is the only movie that is a remake of a play that is SO CLOSE TO THE PLAY!!! Any closer and it might as well have been filmed right in the theater. They truly did the play justice.

#2:
THE WHO'S TOMMY:
I first stumbled upon the movie Tommy in the middle of the night in my late teens/early twenties. I was on the couch with bronchitis or pneumonia or maybe a bad ear infection. All I remember was I was ill and couldn't sleep and I came across Tommy and pretty much muttered "What the f*ck is this?"

And then...I fell in love with it!! Maybe it was all the meds in me or lack of sleep or a fever, but I was completely engrossed. I thought it was the best thing since...Star Wars.

Months later, The Who's Tommy opened up on Broadway and the cast performed before the Thanksgiving Parade. As they danced and sang to Pinball Wizard, I turned to my mother and said "I MUST see that!!" So, guess what I got for Christmas that year!!

The play was beyond words. I became OBSESSED with it. I played the soundtrack over and over for YEARS. (I still play it and I know EVERY WORD!) I lived by Tommy!! It was my absolute FAVORITE play/musical ever!!!

Until...

#1:
RENT:

Yes. RENT. RENT is my life. I first saw RENT as the movie. It was actually the very first movie Netflix ever sent me. I watched it, not really knowing what to expect. And I was just blown away. It has such a message and I have been trying to live it's message ever since.

I sent the movie back to Netflix and ran out to buy a copy for myself. I watched it over and over and over. I bought the soundtrack and we listened to it over and over and over. Sadly, my husband knows every word. Not that he wants to. He just didn't have a choice.

Then, he bought tickets for us to see RENT on Broadway. It's so different from the movie, but still amazing. Better than amazing. It's so powerful. I was a blubbering mess by the show's end.

It was so amazing, that I bought tickets for my brother's birthday and went back a second time with him, his then girlfriend, and my mom. Again...I was blown away.

Then, the original Mark and Roger came back to reprise the roles they created (and also played in the in the movie). Yeah. I bought tickets for me and my BFF and went and saw it a THIRD time! This time, it was INCREDIBLE. The audience was WILD for Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal. The theater was just electrified!!

Then, there's that 1/2 time that I saw RENT...but we don't talk about that.

When RENT was coming to a close, I cried. The good news is, they did something that I believe ALL Broadway shows should do when the play is closing. They decided to film an actual production right in the theater and release it on the Big Screen, then DVD. I think that's a great way to share the play with people who can't make it to the Big Apple or can't afford tickets. And it's a wonderful way to memorialize the play.

If any Broadway Producers are reading this (I doubt it..but Hey. You never know!), think about filming the play before it closes and release it to the public. Everyone, from NYC to California, from rich to poor should experience Broadway in some shape or form. Broadway is not just plays. It's culture. It's art. And it should be out there. The crossovers to or from movies are just not enough. Take a hint from RENT and follow their footsteps.

And to everyone else...remember NO DAY BUT TODAY!

Thursday's Three Line Review

Ok. So I decided to bring back Thursday Three Line Review. Mainly because I really want to write something, but kind of stumped. This makes it easy. Like a teacher giving you an essay assignment on what you did over the summer vacation.

Here's how it works: On Thursday I list the movies I've watched in the past few days. Sometimes there will be lots. Sometimes not that many. Depends on how busy I am. Then, after each title, I ramble a review...in Three Lines.

And here we go:

CATFISH-
Entertaining. Not sure if I believe the documentary is real. You can read a whole post on this in my last Blog entry.

THE OTHER GUYS-
I really thought the casting was very interesting with Samuel L. Jackson, The Rock, Michael Keaton, Will Ferrell, and Mark Wahlberg. Unfortunately, this movie is a huge let down. Not funny at all and no one was used to their potential.

127 HOURS-
Oscar Nominated movie, but did it really deserve the nomination? Wonderful filming and editing. Great Soundtrack. James Franco was impressive.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN-
One of my all time favorite movies. I can watch it again and again. Great true story that is just really entertaining and wonderfully cast.

JONAH HEX-
With Josh Brolin and John Malkovich, I really expected more. Not a great movie, but not that bad either. Worth the watch if you have nothing to do and nothing else is on t.v., but not worth the bucks if you need to rent it.

EAT, PRAY, LOVE-
Was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Very light with a spiritual message. Gotta love the scenes of the food in Italy.


Overall, if you're looking for something to watch, I recommend 127 Hours. I will talk more about that movie when I finish watching all the nominated movies. I only have two more to go.

Catfish: Fresh or Half-Baked?

I just finished watching the documentary, Catfish. I had first heard about it months ago when Kelly Ripa...or maybe someone who was way to perky before noon was raving about it. I was intrigued. When I saw it on Netflix last week, I not only immediately put it in my queue, but also zoomed it right up to the top of the list ahead of all the other thousands of titles I would like to see sometime in my lifetime. Okay...maybe not thousands, but it zipped right past a whole lotta movies.

Anyway, it came in the mail yesterday and I just finished watching it this afternoon. Hmmm...where to begin.

Well, first off, if you have not seen Catfish, but plan on it...please stop here. Visit this post another day. I really want you to watch this movie with an open mind, because there really is so much to debate. If you have not seen it, and don't plan on it...or if you have seen it...then welcome to my Rambling thoughts on this documentary.

I went in with an open mind. It started out great. It held my interest. I was hoping this was going to do to me what District 9 did to me last summer. Awe me. Surprise me. I thought this was going to be what District 9 was to Avatar...this was going to be to The Social Network.

A New Yorker named Nev begins an online relationship with a talented 8 year old artist, Abby, and the rest of her family. Abby's older sister, takes an interest in Nev and he responds, beginning an online romance with her. Meanwhile, Nev's film maker brother and friend decide to document Nev's relationship with Abby, her paintings, her mother, and her sister. It sounds weird...maybe even "huh?", but it's actually not bad.

Eventually, they follow Nev to Bubbabuck, Michigan to meet Abby, her mother, and of course Nev's "girlfriend", whom he never met before. Their entire relationship was based on Facebook and phone calls. And of course...maybe things just ain't quite right in Bubbabuck, Michigan.

After the movie, I sat down here, at my old desktop, and began to google Catfish, because I wasn't sure it was all real. I wanted to know if the movie was like Blair Witch Project or The Fourth Kind...movies that claimed they were real to start up a hype, then admit they are not after they get the following and the dough rolling in.

Apparently, from what I've read, there are people who claim the movie is a fake and there are people who claim it is real. And some claim it is semi-real. Lots of debates going on. Is it real? Isn't it real? Do we care?

As much as I would LOVE for this documentary to be 100% real, I have to say that warning signs went off for me right from the start. It's really easy. There's one major clue. A dead giveaway.

Right from the start, they pretty much establish that Nev and his counterparts are from New York. They even show you the Googlemap of the street where their office is in the Big Apple.

I'm a New Yorker. As a New Yorker...I...don't...trust...ANYBODY!!! Most New Yorkers have their guard up. Most New Yorkers need proof.

And yet, I'm to believe that Nev, a grown man who lives in New York, and his co-stars/co-directers/co-whatevers believes that an 8 year old girl from Bubbabuck, Michigan is sending him these amazing paintings, owns her own art gallery, has sold paintings all over the place, is very much in demand in her area...yada, yada, yada...???? If a child prodigy lived in Smalltown USA, you KNOW there would be write-ups about her in the Smalltown Newspaper.

And then her sister. The one Nev is falling in love with. A New Yorker is falling in love with...she's beautiful, talented, owns a horse farm, is a vet, plays the cello, the guitar, the piano, sings, paints, has Sunday breakfast with her family every week at 8 am, and so on and so on and so on...and she's only 19. You know where I was when I was 19? In some park or hanging on a stoop, drinking beers with my friends and listening to Metallica. So were the rest of us New Yorkers.

No red flags there, Nev? New Yorker Nev? No desire to scour the Internet for articles on this talented family...advertisements for the horse farm...the name of Abby's Gallery...anything? No? Nothing?

I guess what I'm trying to say is...I just find it so hard to find a New Yorker so gullible. I mean to the point of investing your heart into a relationship.

But, if Nev truly did believe all this, then I sincerely apologize. And I also have a bridge I would LOVE to sell him!!!

A Fascinating Creature

Every so often, I stumble upon a movie and I am completely sucked in. Can't take my eyes away. And it might not be that the movie on a whole is such a fantastic movie. Maybe it's the scenery. Or the costumes. It could be one actor/actress. The haunting music. But with Splice, it was different. I was completely engrossed with the star character of the movie...a creature named Dren. Splice is a science fiction movie, starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as scientists who decide to play God. They somehow meld together the DNA of different species with human DNA...and Dren is born. As with most science fiction (and apparently with vampire/human hybrids), baby creatures tend to grow at a rapid speed. Not sure why. I wish they would back this super growth spurt up with some believable science information....but...as it happens, Dren goes from armless, naked, kangaroo mole (a kangamole? a molaroo?) to little elphant man girl to a beautiful, odd, deformed, haunting, sad young woman...who is bald with her eyes spaced far apart, her feet like talons, her legs bending in different ways, and a tail with a venomous stinger.

But she's still beautiful. And I couldn't stop watching. Despite the tired, same old same old script, the weak storylines with the occastional plot holes, and the over acting by Adriend Brody and under acting by Sarah Polley. This movie lies solely in the hands of who ever envisioned Dren...who ever had the imagination to bring her to film.

And Delphine Chaneac. This is Delphine Chaneac: Though there was a lot of computer effects added to her, she still shone through as the teen/adult Dren. Her smile was beautiful, but sad. Her facial expressions showed the creature's confused sorrow and the very rare delight. Without words, she just was something else to watch. So....graceful, despite the alien features. My heart really went out to Dren's character. I am completely impressed by Delphine and the creators of Dren.

If you want to watch the movie, but don't want to be spoiled by seeing a picture of Dren close up...stop reading now. Don't scroll down. I would advise to just watch the movie. Be taken in by the fascinating creature. By Delphine's subtle emotions. By the make up and FX department's genius. The movie isn't that bad either, despite what I said about weak story and acting. It's still entertaining. Enjoy it for what it is. BUT...

BUT...

BUT...

If you're curious to see Dren's beautiful, but odd face up close...here she is:

Following My Foot Steps

As a little girl, I fell in love with reading and story-telling at a very early age. In Kindergarten, I read my first book, all by myself. I still remember it. It was called "The Little Black Puppy". I remember reading it out loud and my mother was blown away. I could read!! This was a big deal back in the 70's. Kindergarten was so much different back then. It was a half day and all we learned where shapes and colors. 123's and ABC's. Prayers and God Bless America. And that was it.

So, my reading on my own was huge. And I loved it. And it stuck. Over the next couple of years, I moved onto chapter books. Most of the books were written by Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary. My days were filled with the adventures of Fudge...or Ramona. They made me laugh. They made me imagine. They made me want to be a writer. Now, I take such joy and pride as my own children are discovering and enjoying books. My son is obsessed with Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. And my daughter? She just finished Beezus and Ramona on Tuesday. And she finished Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing yesterday. All of the sudden she is constantly with her nose in a book. CONSTANTLY. And....I....LOVE...it!!!

Tuesday evening, she told me she finished Beezus and Ramona. She told me about the different scenes that made her laugh and I reminisced, remembering reading those same scenes when I was her age. Suddenly, I was eight years old again. The memories of the book all came back to me. It created a connection...a bond with my daughter. And....I....LOVED....it!!!!

Then, she asked if we could please rent the movie Ramona And Beezus. Please. Please. Please. Pretty Please with Sugar On Top!!! Normally, we don't rent from On Demand. We wait for it to be on a movie channel or we put it on the top of the Netflix List. But this time, I gave in. She finished the book in less than two days and was so giddy about it. I was proud of her. And we were bonding over a classic, timeless book. So, yes. Our cable bill will be six dollars higher this month. And it will be so worth it.

The movie combined all the Ramona and Beezus books by Beverly Cleary. And once again...the memories came flooding back. Picky Picky the cat. Ramona and her father drawing the longest picture in the world. The hole in the house. Howie and Willa Jean. Hobart and Aunt Bea. And on and on and on. It was as if I was revisiting family members that I had not seen in almost twenty years. The movie actually made me cry.

Days of reading childish stories were long forgotten over the years of growing up and becoming an adult. I remembered why I wanted to be a writer in the first place. How I wanted to be the next Beverly Cleary. The next Judy Blume.

When the movie was over, I wiped my tears and looked over at my daughter. Both of us were snuggled on the couch, under a Jedi Blanket. We smiled, both of us loving the movie...another thing that bonded us together.

And then she announced that when she grows up she wants to be a writer and a publisher. That made my heart sing. She is so much like me.

And I began to make a mental list of other books I would love for her to read. Other books I grew up with.
The Henry and Ribsy series
The rest of the Ramona Books
All the Fudge books
The Little House books
Blubber
and so on
and so on
and so on.

Showtimes' Shameless

As if I don't watch enough Premium Cable shows (like Dexter, Weeds, True Blood, Big Love, Spartacus, etc. etc.) I decided to check out Shameless when it first premiered back in January. Mainly for two reasons: Emmy Rossum and William H. Macy.

I went in, totally clueless and not knowing what to expect. I had no idea this show already exist across the pond and that Showtime had re-made it. After the first episode, I was hooked.


Shameless is...well, the title says it all. You just never know what is going to happen. What is going to shock you. The writers really do have no shame and yet it works. What should be sad, is actually funny. And sadly, I knew people like the Gallaghers back in my day. I've been in that house. Over sized family with the parents not really around and the kids doing whatever it took to get through the day. Again...sounds sad, but the show is really good at making it funny...and shocking...and you find yourself rooting for the bunch of trashy people and wishing you were part of the family.

I always liked William H. Macy. I always thought he was a good actor. His role as the EXTREME alcoholic, dead-beat, conniving father-Frank Gallagher, puts William H. Macy in a whole new category. I predict Emmy nominations and A Golden Globe for him next year!!! (Hey, I called John Lithgow with his Portrayal of Trinity in Dexter!! I'm calling William H. Macy!)

He looks dirty...almost homeless. He's a horrible father. He's always spewing "words of wisdom" about what is wrong with the world. And Frank is most possibly one of my favorite television characters ever. And it's all because William H. Macy makes such an unlikable character likable.

And then there's Emmy Rossum. She first caught my eye in Phantom of the Opera. I think she's so beautiful and talented. As Fiona, the eldest child in the Gallagher clan who is trying her best to keep everything together. She tones down the prettiness, but even with old, baggy clothes and unkempt hair, she's still so pretty.


Also, the rest of the Gallagher family: Lip, Ian, and Deb. These kids are great. Great complex characters and great acting.




Of course you got the wacky neighbors who get the good one liners:


And, maybe...just maybe Joan Cusack is the best of the best. She plays Sheila, the perfect housewife germophob/pervert who can't leave her house....ever. She's all kinds of crazy and Joan Cusack is a genius. Right now, she's listed as a Guest Star, but I really hope Sheila is here to stay. I live for Sheila scenes. I also predict nominations for her.


If you haven't seen it, check it out. Shameless is the best show about the most dysfunctional family on T.V. yet. It makes me feel like I'm 19 again, hanging with my friends.

(and yes...there's a reason why I decided to talk about Shameless on St. Patrick's Day. It is not a coincidence.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Rocking the Eye Patch (Not-So-Pirate-Style)

As I posted on my other blog (http://www.themoviejunkiecooks.blogspot.com/), it's been a rough, tense couple of weeks here at the Movie Junkie Castle. My little girl had some asthmatic problems which involves trying to adjust to new medications and daily nebulizer treatments. I was rushed to the hospital in unbelievable pain to find out I had two kidney stones. And when I came home from the hospital, I found my little boy holding his eye and crying and screaming that he was blind.

After trying to get him to open his eyes and thinking it was a simple poke in the eye, I realized he also needed medical attention. So, off to urgent care we went. The story has it that my son was playing with my Lola (my over sized, over excited puppy) and Lola got him in the eye with her claw. The doctor let me look into my son's eye with this groovy black lighted magnifying glass and sure enough....there was the BIG scratch right where my son's pupil is.

They put all kinds of drops and fluids in his eye, then patched him up. And then the comments came. Comments like:

"Arrrggg!!"

"Hey! It's Captain Jack!!"

"Arrggg!!!"

"Look at the Little Pirate!"

"Arrggg!!!"

"Ahoy Matey!"

and of course: "Arrrgggg!!!"

My son thought having an eye patch was the coolest thing! He was disappointed that he only needed it for two days and that he never got to wear it school. All he kept saying was how he was just like the pirates. He wished his friends could have seen it because "They would think this is SO COOL!!"

But, what pirates? I tried to think of a Pirate with an Eye Patch.

Captain Hook?



No.

Captain Jack or his counterparts?


No.

The only one I could come up with was One Eyed Willie from the Goonies.


And he's a dead pirate, so does he count? Why do we associate the Eye Patch with the Pirate? Where did that come from?

I can think of so many other characters from movies and T.V. that I associate with the Eye Patch.

A psycho killer assassin nurse:


A futuristic action hero trying to escape:


Angelina Jolie makes the Eye Patch kinda hot:


We got original and remade gunslingers:


Samuel L. Jackson wears a m*thrf*ckin' Eye Patch as Nick Fury:


Anthony Hopkins will be rocking a Mythical Eye Patch in an upcoming Movie:


Tom Cruise tones down the "Crazy Eyes" to just one Crazy Eye:


The Wonderfully, Weirdly, Oddly, and Strange Crispin Glover wears a Patch in Alice in Wonderland:


Danny Glover not only wears a Patch on one eye, but is blind in the other:


And Mad Eye Moody has the coolest Eye Patch EVER!!


But NO Pirates!!! I looked. I googled. All I got was a whole bunch of pictures of Johnny Depp and lots of cheap, cheesy Pirate Costumes. And the occasional advertisement for some Pirate Themed Porn. Hey, whatever floats their boat, eh?

So, why do we associate the Pirate with the Eye Patch? Where did that come from? Please, if you know, leave me a comment. I love being educated on odd, random, trivial stuff like this. You never know when it might be a Final Jeopardy Question.

On a final note...I can't write about the Eye Patch and not mention this guy:


If you are a child of the 80's, you know who he is. Steve "Patch" Johnson. He was a Mega-Star in the Daytime Television World. He hailed from Days of Our Lives and became one of the most memorable Soap Characters of all times.

There was a time when they gave his character a make-over and plastic surgery so he could have two eyes and go undercover as a Janitor at a Religious Cult Church/Compound thingy to catch the Reverend at something shady....and the fans cried out in dismay over the loss of his Eye Patch. So, they had to write in another fight/accident that resulted in damaging his new "Glass" Eye and bringing the Patch back.

Yep. He knew how to rock the Eye Patch.

And so did my son...for two days.