Indie Grits and Family Hip Hop Day

Finally went to an Indie Grits film here in Columbia last night!

Went to see "Female Pervert", which follows a female who is somewhat a sociopath and her attempts at dating and interacting with other people.  The film was shot in Atlanta and was intrigued by the Asian-American lead and director--though it had no bearing in the storyline: 

It was offbeat and humorous and it was great to see an indie film in a film fest.  It even had a Q&A with the director, which I loved:

This afternoon, checked out the Hip Hop Family day in downtown Columbia:

Glad I got to meet up with Veronica--

This was one of those events that was a lot more fun nodding my head with someone rather than standing by myself. I used to not care about that when I was young and was fine going to events, shows, and bands by myself. Now, if I don't meet up with someone, I'm like, eh, skip it. Yeesh, is this a thing about getting older?

Trainwreck

Okay, so I'm pretty sure I want to see this movie (fair warning, this is the red band trailer):



The cast looks great, from the chemistry between Amy Schumer and Bill Hader to Vanessa Bayer. Annnnnnnd...anybody who knows me, knows I love, love, love Tilda Swinton. And it doesn't look like she disappoints here.

"Thank you. You inspire me."

The Grand Budapest Hotel

I get so excited for Wes Anderson movies and after seeing this trailer that was just released (a LOT of times), I'm really looking forward to seeing The Grand Budapest Hotel.



I love, love, love the art direction, unexpected protagonists, and unique storylines. Seeing this made me crave watching The Royal Tenenbaums again.  Before I die, I would love to create something as lovely, magical, charming as these movies.

The Oscars happened

and I was so unprepared for it. This is hands down one of my worst Oscar-nominated movie viewing seasons ever. I saw only 4 of the 9 nominated films and I have to say for two of them I felt they were overrated ("The Artist") or WTH?! ("Tree of Life"). Not my best Oscar season. I will say that after watching the show, I really want to see "Hugo" and "Albert Nobbs".

I also have to say that after spending nearly a decade on the West Coast--it came back to me how much the East Coast is screwed when it comes to live events. I passed out somewhere around Best Director and woke up to Natalie Portman, awkwardly revering this year's Best Actor nominations. Maybe it would help if the Oscars were a bit more entertaining and could wrangle up decent commercials like the Super Bowl.

Anybody else watch or have a good movie recommendations?

SAG Awards season

Another reminder that it's good to quit Netflix--SAG Awards are coming up!

Despite that I'm trying to cultivate an non-cluttering mindset, I kind of prefer the DVD screeners to the free rentals on iTunes because I can watch them on a TV screen, which is much bigger than my computer screen. But either way, I can't complain--really looking forward to watching (and voting on) some great movies!

Young@Heart

Finally, watched my NetFlix movie: Young@Heart

This documentary about senior citizens in a singing group that covers rock songs by the likes of the Ramones and Sonic Youth was well-received when it first came out in 2007. Since the success of Glee came after this movie, it also has an element of being ahead of the game in terms of putting a twist on modern rock and pop songs. Unfortunately, it also has the burden of sometimes appearing as a novelty, kind of like the way you'll awkwardly laugh when a toddler repeats a string of swear words. The video of their version of "Stayin' Alive" is so tongue-in-cheek, it bordered on being condescending to me.

But the movie is still an inspiring story. Some of these seniors dedicate themselves to sing together as if it's something they live for--sadly, the concept of death and near-death is not lost in this documentary. And clearly, they enjoy singing (even though they are sometimes frustrated with the songs or lyrics). And sometimes the songs really work. The Ramone's "Sedated" certainly has a humorous restlessness that really clicks with this chorus. And Coldplay's "Fix You" sung by a member of this senior chorus resonates with the gravity of long life experience that is simply moving.

Overall, I give this movie a B. Enjoy it on NetFlix because by the time I watched this DVD it became available as a streaming movie. I know, time to return the DVD finally.

Netflix

Once again, I am late to the party. I joined NetFlix in December (of 2010)--opting for the magical streaming and 1 DVD-out option for the rate of $11/month that everyone raved about. I had been wanting to see a bunch of movies and I've been talking with a friend who watches movies voraciously and has seen dozens of arthouse and foreign films and another friend who I managed to watch the entire first season of "Dexter" with (through her Netflix). In terms of my streaming use and as someone who loves films, I'm disappointed in myself that I haven't watched a single streamed movie completely and have been watching more tv shows. And as much as I'd like to say I've finally seen all the Ken Burns documentaries or caught up on "Lost", or "24", I have to confess that my streaming history reveals episodes of "South Park", "Family Guy", and the "David Chappelle Show" instead.

In another regard, I must be NetFlix's dream customer. I have had the same DVD for months--and if I wanted to follow the rules of rounding, it'd be more accurate to say I've had it for almost a year. And of course, there was the infamous rate hike.

It made big news this summer that NetFlix would start charging $7.99 each for streaming and for 1-DVD-out, raising my current set up to $15.98.  Apparently they're separating the two services into two separate bodies, and will rename the DVD-out entity as "Qwikster".  Yeesh, nothing like actual dollars to make me move my butt and actually watch the DVD that would have been a better value to purchase brand new at Best Buy and then donate it to Goodwill. Twice.

So I've decided to switch to streaming only and maybe when I actually watch more than a movie a month, I'll treat myself and get the 1-DVD-out service as well. But for now, I've got the rest of this month to watch the one DVD I have out now. Don't worry, it's on my to-do list.

Spring break and Source Code

Spring break for the girl could be encapsulated by this picture:

Little scheduling or pressure, lots of relaxing.

I did manage to arrange a few get-togethers with her friends that made a few dents in the craft supply, including this necklace the girl made for her friend:

I also took the girl and three of her friends to the beach. I decided on Beachwalker Park on Kiawah/Jones Island. It reminded me a lot of Montauk - very unspoiled, no attractions or snack bar, just restrooms and changing areas and beautiful beach:

Yes that's my hand interrupting an otherwise sweet landscape shot of the beach

The beach was very uncrowded and likely populated by residents. The waves were very mellow which was perfect for a parent trying to watch over four middle-schoolers. We had a great time, despite a steady wind of 10-13 mph, that blew the fine sand everywhere. I'd get up from reading and see a reverse stencil of my body in sand on the blanket. I definitely no longer kicked myself for not charging up the Kindle because it just would have gotten trashed on this beach trip. As it was, so much sand blew into the book I brought, there were times it wouldn't even shut closed.

The only downside? Sunburn. Despite buying 3 tubes and sprays of sunblock, I hadn't warned the kids enough about re-applying, and the only kids not burned were the ones that would allow me to spray it on them myself. I had one kid who claimed that he only got sunburned on his ears and slathered it generously on the sides of his head. SPOILER Alert: he ended up sunburned everywhere else the next day. The cruelest irony is that I was probably the most sunburnt. I didn't bother asking any of the kids to help me with the sunblock and an obvious pattern of where I missed bloomed, including outlines of my hand over each shoulder where I was able to apply sunblock as far as I could.

And to cap off spring break, we squeezed in a movie, Source Code:

Source Code is about soldier who relives the memory of a man in the last eight minutes before the train explodes in an effort to find out who the bomber is and prevent an even bigger attack. It ended up being a great discussion in the car ride back, which to me is a hallmark of a good film, even if the discussion is with three 12-year-olds. We all concurred it was a like "Groundshog Day with Doom". And though the science was very arguable, the personal story of man looking to change his story as well as humanity's in eight minutes was an engaging one. I've seen the director Duncan Jones' other feature film, "Moon" and find a common thread between the two films--a story of isolated man fighting to get back home and re-connect with those he loved, but both were quite different stories. I give "Source Code" a B+ and recommend it.

The girl goes back to school today--hopefully well rested.

SoCal Checklist: Vy Da, Indie Movie, Photo Shoot

Such a productive, satisfying day!

Got to enjoy these hard-to-find rice cakes at Vy Da (and they are PERFECT here) with my super trooper friend:

Got to check out an indie film (which are really hard to come by in Columbia, SoCar) with my indie-movie pal:

And I was able to squeeze in another photo shoot thanks to a very patient, game (and wonderfully photogenic) friend:

What a blessing she is to a growing photographer like me.  She totally came through for me.  I had a certain theme planned but I had to come up with a different shoot due to a rainstorm.  And frankly, I liked my new gameplan/shoot.  It kind of has a story and I would love to share it once I get my subjects' approval.  Because thankfully, she was able to dig up another subject for me who was ridiculously patient for my shoot.  Did I mention it was raining?  He turned out pretty darn photogenic too:

Unfortunately, one of the things that wasn't helping me was the rain that got on my lens (ugh-more than I realized!) and that the rapidly changing light proved challenging in terms of getting decent exposure.  It was very rare to get one that was the composition I wanted, with satisfactory exposure, and FOCUS (which proved the toughest in the rain).  But I did get a few, like this one:

Afterwards, we took our soaked bodies and got some hot soup and noodles at Ajisen Ramen:

Thank L and W for such a great shoot!

Great way to end a great day.

Post-Oscars

Hooray for me--I managed to squeeze in "The King's Speech" right before the Oscars. And then right after, I watched the actual awards show. Though the opening montage of Hathaway and Franco was pretty funny, the rest was so predictable and boring. It probably doesn't help that I'm on East Coast time now and this thing goes on until 11:30pm. Dudes, you really have to entertain me, please! You want me to stay awake, right?!

First, the young co-hosts really showed their age. With lack of hosting carriage and composure, I felt I was watching the best man and maid of honor stumble and giggle their way through their toasts a box of wine in. I was waiting for one of them to start pointing at respected actors and start crying into the mike, I love you, man...I really, really love you, man.

Second--what a teaser to suggest that Hugh Jackman was going to sing and dance! The payoff was watching Hathaway sing a send-up of "On My Own" on her own? Pffft. Let down.

Third--how many outfits and hair dos did Hathaway go through? Distracting. Almost as much as wondering if Franco was stoned or indifferent? Leaning his head back so that his heavy-lidded glassy eyeballs would be able to read the teleprompter annoyed me. This is Hollywood for cripes sake, I know they have access to Four Loko backstage, son.

And finally, no surprises in the winners. I stayed through the end because I was really, really hoping that Annette Bening would pull out a surprising win. Oh well. At least Natalie Portman's speech didn't include how much her fiance "totally wants to sleep with me!"

On the plus side, I really enjoyed Kirk Douglas' bit during the Supporting Actress award--really encouraging that a stroke has not kept him down. I found David Seidler's speech about being the oldest winner of the Original Screenplay Oscar witty and inspiring. And man, Sandra Bullock--that woman has got it together. She showed everyone how it's done--gorgeous and with great comic timing, class, and sincerity--totally engaging. Also--after seeing more clips from the nominations, I'd really like to see "Winter's Bone" now (though, it looks pretty intense--kind of still scared).

Oh well, on to next year...

Oscars Already?

How did that happen? Every year it is a goal of mine to see all the Best Picture nominations and I actually accomplished it last year--the year they doubled Best Picture noms to 10 films. So far this year, I've only seen 3 of the 10 (Inception, The Kids Are All Right, and The Social Network).

Because of my SAG membership, I have an opportunity to watch most of the other nominated movies on iTunes. But I have to say I'm kind of craving lighter fare than "Black Swan" or "127 Hours".

Kind of wish "Due Date" was nominated.

But I'll make it a goal to watch at least one other nominated film before Oscar time. Any recommendation which one it should be?

Wish Granted

The sequel:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

We're seriously contemplating going to the midnight showing tonight. Of course the girl would be psyched to go on a school night but realistically, I'm not sure I can stay awake. But to go on the weekend surrounded by kids? Eek...decisions, decisions.

As much as I agree that HP7 has too much to be contained in 2 hours (and to that end, HP6 as well), I'm very annoyed that HP7 Part 2 isn't coming out until JULY 2011.

Anyhoo, can't wait to see this!

So I heard

- I heard that Giada De Laurentiis (the food network chef) had a rumored fling with John Mayer. My thoughts: first, what is the deal with John Mayer? Is he made out of marzipan? And brownies? Second, she is married to a designer for Anthropologie! I would most definitely prefer spending time gazing through an Anthropologie catalog and its store displays over hearing quotes from another lame interview with Mr. Mayer. And finally her grandfather, famed film producer Dino De Laurentiis died a few days after the story broke out. If I heard my granddaughter was messing with John Mayer, I'm pretty sure that'd make my heart stop too. BTW, both are responding with denials.

- I heard 127 Hours is an amazing movie. It's about Aron Ralston. You know, the trapped hiker who had to amputate his own arm with a dull knife to survive? I saw an interview Ralston did shortly afterwards and just listening to the description of what happened was excruciating. I'm not sure if I have the stones to watch the story unfold.

- I heard that Jessica Simpson got engaged. Maybe that's the real reason Dallas won. I'm sure she burned that jinxed pink Dallas jersey when she put on that ring. The happy guy is an ex-NFL player who decided to pass on going to Wharton to snuggle with Ms. Simpson and hold her purse. Which is probably heavy considering she is worth nearly $100 million from her clothing and shoe lines. Make that lucky guy--apparently she doesn't want to sign a prenup. Unfortunately, the timing of her announcement after her ex-husband's engagement seems, I don't know...premature? Or is the word immature?

- I heard that "The Situation" and Bristol Palin shot a PSA promoting abstinence, where Ms. Palin confirms she's not going to hook up before she's married "for real" (previous actions resulting in a cute baby notwithstanding, of course) and he overuses the words "the situation" to the point of confusion/annoyance. Oh yes, it did happen:

Okay you...cool cats

Let's see what you can do now!

That's right I'm Hit Girl from Kick-A$$!

Except for the $15 wig, everything else is obviously home-pulled/made. Unfortunately, the purple ink didn't dye the original tan/black plaid skirt to the intense violet I was hoping for, though it's enough to get the Hit Girl idea across, right?

Bonus - I made some new friends at the local Starbucks when this cool guy shouted "Hit Girl!" I turned, excitedly and shouted, "Yes!"

One of the most satisfying feelings is when someone recognizes your costume and has the stones to shout it out in a Starbucks. Thank you Erik S!

The hardest part is trying to jam all my hair into a such a short wig:

But the little things make it worth it (though the young bank teller didn't recognize my character-Booooooo!):

At least the bank made up for the lame teller and rewarded me and wished me a Happy Halloween:

By letting me stuff my face!

So do I have a chance to win the Halloween costume contest at work, like last year? I'm eager to see my competition...wish me luck!

Super SoCar Saturday

As mentioned, we had loaded options for today. After briefly kicking around the idea of heading down to campus, we chose to start off the day by simply watching GameDay on tv and were glad to see that as suggested by the school paper, no Confederate flag was waving in the background (like the last time GameDay came to SC in 2006).

According to ESPN, these were the top five GameDay signs rooting for SC versus the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide. I love the "Stay Cocky my friend" sign, but my favorite wasn't pictured--it predicted Low Tide with chance of Sandstorm. After watching Corso predictably don the elephant head, we headed out to the Fall Festival at the State Museum. It was a nice-sized event, very easy to do in a brief afternoon.

There was a nice display of tractors:


Everyone was allowed to climb and sit in them, including this Cockshutt model which we've never seen before:


There were also art and craft vendors and this one was my favorite:


The Pig was there, offering a fishing game for young kids. For better or worse, the girl felt too old to get excited about a walking mascot.


We enjoyed Carolina Hayride's bluegrass version of Queen's Fat Bottomed Girls:


And a BarBQ assortment featuring various styles of BBQ was available for only $10. There was Mustard, Vinegar & Pepper, Light Tomato, and a version made with Cheerwine soda:


The highlight was a screening of A Man Named Pearl, which was followed by a Q&A with Mr. Pearl Fryar himself:


The documentary was a simple story of a man who went from deciding to fight discrimination quietly by winning "yard of the month" to creating fantastic topiaries recognized internationally. Needless to say, the movie was inspiring in its simplicity as was the man himself, who advised us to do something with what you have instead of waiting for what you need.


Velina loved his garden of sculptures, but I hope the bigger inspiring message stays with her too.

As we headed out after the event, I checked out the scores on my iPhone to see that both underdogs, South Carolina and Michigan State, were ahead in the first quarter! We raced home to flip back and forth and watched two very satisfying wins. As we live so close to the stadium, we could hear celebrations, cheering, and multiple playings of Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" long after the game.

What a super satisfying Saturday.

Saturday--options

I know it's only Wednesday, but I've already got the weekend on my mind. Sure I should finish painting but there are some big events going on around here.

First, there is the big MSU vs. Michigan game at 3:30. Both are currently 5-0. This should be good. (Go Spartans.)

Second, there is the big game less than a mile away at Brice Stadium between the home team, the USC GameCocks vs. Alabama, the #1 team in the country right now. That game also starts at 3:30. On top of that ESPN GameDay is coming to Columbia. I can only imagine it's going to be crazy around here.

But finally, I had circled this event on the calendar: this Fall Heritage Festival & Pickin' Party at the South Carolina State Museum. Not only will there be four types of South Carolina Bar-B-Q, a portrait exhibit of South Carolina residents in their daily element, arts, crafts, and entertainment, there will be a screening of A Man Named Pearl, plus Pearl Fryar himself. Needless to say, the man sounds ridiculously inspiring and someone that I think the girl would benefit from hearing speak. And frankly, I'm always up for some inspiration myself.

Sigh. Good thing we have a DVR.

Sunday

Today we all woke up sore. Fortunately not too sore to open up that Cracker Barrel map my fairy godfriend sent and head out and stuff our faces:

Not quite ready to jump into unpacking, we drove around and spotted this shopping center--heck of a name:

Still not ready to unpack a lot, so gave my best friend from college a buzz. A bonus of moving to the East Coast is catching up with East Coast friends without calling them at midnight (their time). Now when I call my buddy from college, she's probably awake too.

And we made it!

We enjoyed the movie but the girl thought the books were better--atta girl!

The Kids are All Right

I went to see The Kids are All Right with my friend and her mom. A slight digression--we went to Veggie Grill for dinner and I tried out the organic Mothership wheat beer brewed with spices:

With the promise of spices and "organic" in the name, I was excited to try this wheat beer. Unfortunately it proved disappointing. Apparently though, I was supposed to pour the beer in a glass to get the proper mixing of the spices (instead of drinking straight out of the bottle as I did) so perhaps I should give it another try. My friend had the chili and sweet potato fries, which is exactly what she ordered when we went to Native Foods a few days ago for lunch:

It should be noted that she is not a vegetarian at all and normally avoids these establishments. As a generous friend she makes an occasional exception for me. Anyhoo, for the non-vegetarians in SoCal, she says the chili is better at Native Foods but the sweet potato fries are better at Veggie Grill.

When we went to see the movie, I sat between my friend and her mom. The obvious bright side--I'm right in the middle of the candy-sharing flow: Junior Mints to my left, Twizzlers to my right, with Whoppers in the cup holder. On the flip side, for a movie about family dynamics when kids of lesbians find their sperm donor father, this movie has a lot of naked hetero sex scenes. A LOT of them (and one fairly explicit scene of the moms getting it on). Enough to awkwardly stop the candy-sharing flow.

On a slight tangent, I have to say Mark Ruffalo is really comfortable dropping trou for extended scenes for his characters. Like a young Ewan MacGregor. Or a male version of Kate Winslet. I feel like half the movies I've seen with Ruffalo have featured him bottomless. But regardless, I do enjoy his work (and MacGregor's and Winslet's).

On another note, I was totally appreciating how Annette Bening has not had any work done on her face. Talk about aging gracefully--and gorgeously. I would take her face over Megan Fox's or Heidi Montag's any day. Plus Bening delivers an outstanding performance--a fully realized character where we see her flaws and the emotion she goes through. Thank God for her real face. I wouldn't be surprised if she got nominated for a Globe or even an Oscar.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie a lot. It wasn't deeply profound but it hit issues and let us watch as they unfolded. It was well-written and the cast, as a whole, was super. Giving this one a B+.

Inception

Of Christopher Nolan's movies, I have seen Memento, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and now Inception. He has been a writer and director for all these and I have to give him ridiculous credit for the vision he has for his movies. With the exception of Memento, to my eye, the worlds he has created have enough anachronisms that you're not sure if the story is set in the past, present, some dystopic future, or a parallel universe. I have absolutely been sucked into the worlds he has created on the screen and Inception is the latest one where I have become lost in. I cannot say that I'd want to live in any of the worlds he has created but I am in awe of him for putting such a viscerally and visually perceptive one onscreen.

The visual weight is compounded by the emotional weight threaded in the story lines. Of his movies I've seen the protagonist is wrestling with the loss of a loved one, his role in her demise, and the ensuing guilt. This journey always hooks me and I can't help but wonder why this is a common theme in Nolan's movies--though a tip of the hat in that each movie handles it differently.

I'm not sure if I could even give a decent summary of this movie--given that the subject and world is intertwined with dreams, I'm not sure if I knew which scenes were supposed to be grounded in reality. You walk in accepting the fact that this is a world where dream espionage is a common corporate threat. If you've seen commercials or trailers for this movie, you know it's visually arresting. The characters are all fascinating and I ended up just accepting the theories they put out as fact and science or else I know I'd fall behind trying to question why their posits are true or not. At this point I'm still wondering if seeing it more than once would clarify anything.

Overall I'd give this movie an A-. When a movie stays in my mind for a while after I've seen it, I can't help but rate it highly. But it's been staying in my mind like a dream I've been trying to figure out and I'm not sure if that's good thing or not.