Tell us what you don't like about yourself...

This is in response to Tina’s post about Nip/Tuck. This season I’ve become a HUGE fan of the show, although I missed some of the first episodes. I’ve seen every episode in the first and second season and all I can say is WOW! I really can’t complain about this show. I think the characters are so well done and well developed. Never have I watched a show where you can understand the characters and feel like you know them more than this one. Even through all the bad things the main characters on the show will do, viewers are still able to see the good in all of the characters which accents one of the main themes of the show: looking deeper. The actors really deserve a lot of credit.

This is one of the most audacious shows I’ve ever seen. Sometimes I can’t believe they were actually allowed to show some of it on TV. They touch on subjects that many other shows wouldn’t dare to touch on, but Nip/Tuck does it successfully. I would seriously recommend watching this show. However, since the characters play such an enormous part in the show I would also recommend going back and watching the first two seasons to get a deeper understanding of the characters. It really enhanced the show for me. The first two seasons really set the characters up by letting you see the different sides of them, and explaining why they act how they do. This show pretty much has the most amazing season finales EVER! The finale the day before the English exam seriously left me breathless. That show was so incredibly intense I could barely take it! This season finale left with a lot more closure than the first two finales… thank GOD!

For watchers, I don’t know how I feel about Quentin being the Carver. The carver was only meant for one episode, and you can pretty much tell that they didn’t really expect the Carver to be a recurring role in the show. I personally think that Merrill Bobbolit, the rival plastic surgeon from the first two seasons would have been the perfect Carver because of his situation and the fact that you never really found out of he died or not. I thought Quentin being the carver was too predictable- but so predictable that I didn’t expect him to be the carver. That may be confusing… oh well. Watch the show! Only NINE long months until season 4!

Liz

And I shall call you a dramedy ...

Well, Liz, I couldn’t agree with you more about “The Family Stone”. Throughout the movie, the question in my head was What section will Blockbuster put this film under? Comedy? Drama? I don’t think it is a “tragic comedy” or a “comic tragedy” either, so I’m just going to call it a dramedy. Oh, I crack myself up. But, really, I think it was one of my favorite movies this year. I saw it the day after Christmas and I think it was perfect for the holidays. As I stood in line for a ticket a woman warned me that it was not a comedy and that she, in fact, cried for most of the movie. I definitely cried for the majority of the film, but was kind of brought back to laughing seconds later. That, I would have to agree with Liz, is the only downfall of the movie—right when parts get real, dark, and sad, they make it funny and bring in some comedy. I wasn’t expecting the entire movie to be either comic or dramatic, but the transitions were rough and in my opinion did not do justice to the comic/dramatic portions of the film. Despite that flaw, it was an awesome movie about coming together as a family and accepting those who do not “fit in”. Sarah Jessica Parker was great as she dealt with the criticism from the Stone family, Luke Wilson was played the hilarious burnt out son, and Diane Keaton tied the movie together perfectly with her hilarious and sometimes bitter attitude towards every situation. Rachel McAdams, also, deserves a pat on the back for her portrayal of the bratty youngest sibling and never failing to make Meredith’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) life miserable. I recommend this movie.


-Candice

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Memoirs of a....wait what exactly is a Geisha?

That is an excellent question…and considering I just saw the movie I should be able to answer that for you…but I still can not. I did however go home and look it up on websters.com and turns out it’s a Japanese woman trained to entertain men with song and dance. Why then did they sell their virginity to the highest bidder? Are gesihas suppose to fall in love? And what exactly were they saying at the beginning of the movie…I do not speak Japanese..I need subtitles please.
Over all it took a while for me to get the point of the movie which seemed to go on for quite a while. The deceit of the women towards each other added some excitement to it I suppose but over all I thought it was kind of boring. I liked Madagascar better.

Happy Holidays

If you see any movies over the break make sure you see Danny Boyle's Millions. It is powerfully poignant without the cheese factor that comes standard with most holiday films. If you do see it make sure you post your review to the blog.

Merry Christmas,
Mr. Fleig

Well then...

Oh, I saw it was out in theaters but I guess that is select theaters. Well, whenever it comes out even if it is after the holidays I think we should try to go…I guess we’ll just see what everyone else things or maybe we are the only people that check this, I know Mr. Fleig is out of town though.

-Candice

About Brokeback

Candice--I'm pretty sure Brokeback Mountatin doesn't come out in BR until early January. Hopefuly during the holidays. I agree that we should definitely go see it.


-Alycceeee

Has anyone seen Brokeback Mountain?

I have been seeing previews and hearing reviews about it here and there and I thought it would be fun if we went as a class over the holidays. I’m sure after Christmas day is better for everyone because this week/weekend is going to be so busy, so tell me what you think or if you like the idea.

Merry Christmas!

Candice (

Just Friends

I saw the movie Just Friends the other weekend. I absolutely LOVED it! Apparently it was more of a chick flick than the boys expected, but everyone still enjoyed it. The story is about Chris (Ryan Reynolds), a boy who’s in love with his best friend Jamie (Amy Smart) throughout his younger years. Because of his looks and all around nerdiness, he doesn’t stand a chance with her. She considers him her best friend but he wants more. After Chris is humiliated in front of everyone at a graduation party, he vanishes from his hometown in New Jersey. Years later, we catch up with Chris who is now a wealthy, charming, successful and extremely hot L.A. businessman. He works in entertainment and to avoid being fired, he has to get Samantha Jones (Anna Faris) to sign with his record label. Samantha Jones is an INSANE pop star who was apparently modeled after Paris Hilton… but I don’t really see the Paris in the characters personality. Whatever. Anyways, he ends up in his hometown because of a problem on the private jet bringing Samantha and Chris to Paris Hilton’s Christmas party. The movie tells the story of Chris, now a big-shot Hollywood guy, trying to get Jamie, who still remains the girl of his dreams. Because of the effect Jamie has on him, Chris falls back into the clumsy and awkward stages of his teenage years. Anna Faris’ character is hysterical, and Chris has to deal with her thinking they are in love throughout the movie.

I would definitely recommend going see it. The guys thought that the movie was going to be more of a Van Wilder, National Lampoon type movie, but it wasn’t. Definitely more of a chick flick. It was definitely a good Christmas comedy.

~ Liz

The Family Stone

There’s nothing like a good old light Christmas comedy to ring in the season, right? Well, contrary to what the preview makes you believe, The Family Stone was more of a drama and less of a comedy. It was amusing but also very dark. Of course it has its share of funny quotes and laughable moments, but the movie definitely left me with a few tears. The preview makes you think the movie is Christmas version of Meet the Parents, except with Sarah Jessica Parker and an even less accepting family. However, right away you see that the main characters don’t seem to actually be in love and it may not be what you expected. It’s a Christmas movie about a real family, and it isn’t Hollywood sugarcoated by any means.

Sarah Jessica Parker (who remains Carrie Bradshaw to me) plays Meredith, an uptight Manhattan business-woman going home to meet her boyfriend Everett Stone’s (Dermot Mulroney) family for Christmas. In true SJP style, Meredith seems to care more about her Manolo pumps than whether the family likes her or not. Needless to say, the Stone family is NOT uptight in any way possible. The variety of characters in the family is quite interesting. A bad-mannered sister, a sloppy laid-back brother, an adorable interracial gay couple and some less-than normal parents really make this family unlike any other. It is easy for both the family and the audience to notice right away that the couple is missing something.

The only possible weakness this movie had was that it kind of goes back and forth between refreshingly funny scenes and then heavily dramatic scenes. I guess I felt it was kind of draining to go back and forth between the two. However, I still really enjoyed the movie. I’d check it out- but just be forewarned that it isn’t all jolly laughs and giggles around the Christmas tree… at all.

~Lizzzzzzzz

Good Mornin' to a Classic!

This weekend Liz and I rented Singin' In The Rain and a few other movies, but none compared to Singin'.
For starters, the dancing in the movie was phenominal. Being a dancer, I know some good dance moves when I see them, and my do they have them in this movie! Gene Kelly, who plays Don Lockwood in the movie and is also a director of the film, and the other director, Stanley Donen, choreographed the majority of the dance scenes, adding in all varieties of dance. Some scenes had tap, some had jazz, some had couple dancing, and some even incorporated ballet. It was amazing to see how well the actors could actually dance. There were so many dance scenes in this musical, that picking out only one or two that I would say are the best is probably impossible, at least for me.

The directors Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly did a fabulous job at making sure the choreography was perfectly together, as well as that the actors remained professional. The actors portrayed their characters with great charisma and drew in the audience with this charisma. The cinematography from the movie was also very well done. The film flowed well as a whole.

Some interesting info for those of you who plan to see or have seen the movie:
- Gene Kelly had a 103 fever while filming the dance for the title song, Singin' In The Rain.
- When Gene Kelly insulted Debbie Reynolds on her dancing, Fred Astaire found her crying around the studio and helped her with her dancing.
- Only two songs were written for the movie, "Make 'em Laugh" and "Moses Supposes"
- This was voted the 10th Greatest Movie of all time by Entertainment Weekly (which I agree with!), being the highest ranked musical!

This movie is definitely a MUST SEE by everyone, even if musicals are not your thing, there is something that will pull you in and capture your attention.

- Christina :)

Plastic Surgery - the new "it" thing!

Does anyone else watch Nip/tuck? I have been watching it for the majority of the season and it tends to really pull me in every time that I might want to stop watching it. For those of you who know nothing about the series, it is about a two men who have a practice in plastic surgery. One of the men, Sean MacNamera, has an ex-wife who has, to put it lightly, "gotten around" with the men in the office of her ex-husband's practice. Christian Troy, the other partner in the practice, is a ladies' man who finally decided to settle down with one woman, when she did not come to the alter. The reason she did not come was because the carver got her. The Carver has been in the entire series. He will randomly kidnap a person, rape her, and cut slits on the side of their face. There are many other twists and turns that occur throughout the series, and yet it is still somewhat easy to get into. Although some of the events are inappropriate, the writers do a magnificent job at drawing in the audience and adding in random twists. Also, the show can have the tendency to make people feel bad about themselves because it is all about making oneself pretty on the outside through surgery, and other outside means. Even still, I really enjoy the show. Everyone should watch the show, unless you think that it may not be appropriate for your oh so young eyes :)! Have a wonderful week!

- Christina

Springsteen music

Yes, this post is a little delayed, but I still wanted to talk about the music and such we listened to in class. I found the album to be extremely enlightening and true to human nature. The stories heard in each song built one big theme for the entire cd. I enjoyed it so much I decided to buy the Nebraska cd when I happened to see it at the Barnes and Nobles hang out. The songs are very mellow and just seem to put me in an all around settles mood.

~Jessica Allain

Test Run for Vlog It! software

This is to test out the new Vlog It! software. If it works we will be able to post video to our blog.

The funniest man alive...

If you are someone who loves to laugh, then Dane Cook is the guy for you. Rolling Stone recognizes him as the funniest and most known comedian at this time. His stand ups are about common things in our every day lives, and he is able to twist those events into ways that everyone can't help but laugh. He is wonderfully delightful, and I know he is only going to get bigger.
~Lindsey Carline

The Longest Yard

Seeing as this weekend I decided to get a start on the montage project I proceeded to rent my movies at major video where there happen to be the deal of rent 2 rent 1 free…I rented 2 comedy movies and, since the guy at major video had no idea what he was talking about and said they didn’t have the other movie I wanted on DVD, the longest yard. I was extremely happy in the choice of my free rental. If you like movies such as remember the titans, miracle, might ducks, and other things of that nature, you would like the longest yard.
Leigh Ann

A Movie to Remember

Last night I felt the need to watch a cheesy romantic drama that I haven’t watched since I was an awkward 8th grader with braces: A Walk to Remember. As a 14 year old I thought this was the most amazing love story I had ever seen. With a beautiful cast (Mandy Moore and Shane West), and cute romantic lines, how could I not like it? After seeing the movie now, as a 17 year old though, I must say that I find the movie slightly less impressing and a little outrageous.

A Walk to Remember was based on Nicholas Sparks’ best selling novel. Like most books turned movies, there is a challenge to find the balance between keeping the movie true to the book and also adding a touch of Hollywood to it. I’m not so sure it succeeded. There were moments when I was watching that I was reminded that they were just reading a script (I don’t know if ya’ll know what I’m talking about. Like in good movies you get totally caught up in the characters and believe everything they say. But in this movie I could tell by the awkwardness of lines that they were a little forced). Lines like, “Promise you won’t fall in love with me” made me seriously laugh out loud. If I was Landon (Shane West) I would have laughed hysterically and gone running in the other directions. I cannot imagine any real girl saying that to a guy. Also, Landon (West) told Jamie (Moore) that he loved her ON THE FIRST DATE. No special effects or good direction could have made me believe that. The acting was not up to par either. I think Mandy Moore really over exaggerated her character and I don’t think Shane West ever got a handle on what he was supposed to be.

There was no breathtaking cinematography or crazy special effects. It was basically just shots of their school and houses with a few random dramatic landscapes inserted in the middle.

And of course, the love story. The more I watched it the more I realized how crazy it was that Jamie and Landon fell in love. The two seriously had nothing in common. I know that was the basic premise of the story but they really had NOTHING going for them. I don’t know what they even talked about as a couple. All she would be able to do is quote the Bible and he would just talk about the last time he got drunk. But I think that the absurdity of it all made me want to watch it even more. It was so unlikely but it made me want to believe it could really happen. So basically what I’m saying is the movie was kind of really bad in technical terms but I will always be a loyal fan.

-Alyce Thibodeaux

La Vie Boheme!

I saw the movie Rent twice over the holidays. I absolutely loved it. The movie was a film adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s appraised musical, which won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony award. It is based on Puccini’s La Boheme, which is an opera that was written in the late 1800’s. I can see how the movie could go two ways though. I'd definitely reccomend this to fans of Broadway.

It’s very different from most musicals because it’s a modern day musical and is considered to be a “rock opera”. The music was definitely the movie’s strongest aspect. Because the cast for the film was almost exactly the same cast as the original Broadway cast from 1996 (besides Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms), the characters seemed like second nature for the actors. The actors seemed just perfect for the parts, and they all had extremely strong and amazing voices.

The movie tells the story of a group of Bohemians living in the east village in NYC over a year long period of time. NO, everyone in the movie does NOT have AIDS! A few of them do- but the movie is not all about AIDS. It is set in 1989, so many critics argue the material is outdated- especially because it was written and created almost 10 years ago. The movie does have some raunchy/out there characters and ideas, but I didn’t hate it. At all.

The director of the movie is Chris Columbus. I like his name. He directed the first three Harry Potter movies as well as a few other well known films. Many people were anxious about him directing this musical, but I think he did quite alright. The movie remained very theatrical instead of being too Hollywood-ified like some musicals are.

All in all, I’d go check it out! You may like it, you may not like it. A lot of people mock it and poke fun at it but hey, it’s a good movie with a touching story, a great message, and lovely music. The soundtrack is AWESOME!

~ Liz

i know i know

Star Wars -- 1977-- George Lucas.....same igloo! The pictures are definitely similar and Star Wars was a pretty ground breaking movie, so I think it is quite possible that Lucas drew some inspiration from Malick and his cinematic techniques and style (?), although i don't think the pictures are saying quite the same thing. They both incur a different mood and very different feelings, because the characters have different stories.

Puckett