Category Archives: media madness

Eden’s 100 Film Meme

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As seen here.

Here are 100 films spanning nearly 100 years. Mark them as PARTLY (if you’ve seen parts but not enough to say “yeah, I’ve seen that”), SEEN (feel free to add +/- for liked/didn’t like it), FAVE (would watch it repeatedly) or QUEUED (if you would like to or intend to see it, via Netflix for example).

As you’ll see, my “old movie” viewing is seriously lacking.

1. Broken Blossoms
2. Metropolis
3. The Phantom of the Opera
4. Un Chien Andalou
5. Nosferatu
6. The Passion of Joan of Arc
7. Pandora’s Box
8. Modern Times
9. It Happened One Night PARTLY
10. Gone With the Wind PARTLY
11. The Adventures of Robin Hood
12. Wuthering Heights
13. Freaks
14. Casablanca SEEN+
15. Citizen Kane
16. Rebecca
17. Kind Hearts & Coronets
18. The Philadelphia Story SEEN+
19. Double Indemnity
20. The Heiress
21. The Magnificent Ambersons
22. Arsenic & Old Lace
23. Rear Window SEEN+
24. 12 Angry Men
25. Sunset Boulevard
26. Touch of Evil
27. Singin’ In The Rain
28. Some Like It Hot
29. On The Waterfront
30. The Night of the Hunter
31. The African Queen
32. Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb SEEN+
33. Psycho
34. Lawrence of Arabia
35. To Kill A Mockingbird SEEN+
36. Mary Poppins SEEN
37. The Manchurian Candidate
38. Judgment at Nuremberg
39. 8 1/2
40. The Graduate SEEN (-)
41. A Man For All Seasons
42. The Hustler
43. The Innocents
44. The Godfather PARTLY
45. Five Easy Pieces
46. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest PARTLY
47. Taxi Driver PARTLY
48. Monty Python & The Holy Grail FAVE
49. Alien PARTLY
50. A Clockwork Orange
51. The Sting
52. Jaws SEEN
53. Annie Hall SEEN
54. Patton
55. The Exorcist PARTLY
56. Harold & Maude
57. Young Frankenstein SEEN+
58. Network
59. All The President’s Men SEEN
60. The Last Picture Show
61. Barry Lyndon
62. The French Connection
63. Rocky SEEN
64. M*A*S*H* PARTLY
65. Halloween SEEN
66. Das Boot
67. Amadeus SEEN+
68. The Elephant Man
69. Blade Runner PARTLY
70. The Princess Bride *FAVE*
71. Platoon
72. Body Heat
73. Die Hard SEEN+
74. Scarface
75. Brazil
76. Henry V
77. This Is Spinal Tap SEEN+
78. Say Anything *FAVE*
79. The Last Emperor
80. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off FAVE
81. Pulp Fiction SEEN
82. The Usual Suspects SEEN+
83. The Age of Innocence
84. Goodfellas SEEN+
85. Groundhog Day PARLTY
86. Leaving Las Vegas
87. Fight Club SEEN+
88. American Beauty SEEN+
89. Trainspotting SEEN+
90. The Nightmare Before Christmas SEEN+
91. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind SEEN+
92. The Pianist
93. A Beautiful Mind SEEN+
94. Million Dollar Baby
95. Kill Bill
96. Children of Men SEEN+
97. United 93
98. Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (Willy Wonka, yes…Charlie, no)
99. Little Miss Sunshine SEEN+
100. Casino Royale

Happy St. Pat’s!

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Enjoy my favorite South Buffalo Irish rockers…

Hrm. Embedding isn’t working. Go to YouTube and enjoy the fiddle stylings of Mr. Joe Davies.

And click here for Black & Tans.

Blogging Lost

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I have found a new favorite blog.

Once a week, author J. Wood writes about Lost at Powell’s Books.

His posts are intelligent, well thought-out and reasoned, and are quickly becoming the only Lost source on the internet I want to read at all. Rather than recapping the episode, Wood deconstructs each episode, exploring the references and connections that have been made. And even the comments are intelligent! Most recaps/message boards just degenerate into tiresome “bitterness fiestas” that just make me want to beat my head against the wall until the hurting stops.

Wood’s posts are making me want to check out his book, Living Lost. Anyone know anything about it?

Busy weekend

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Whew! Lots going on this weekend. I saw two movies–Pan’s Labyrinth and Babel. I’ll probably post more thoughts on these later. I will say that, while I liked Babel, I don’t think it was any great injustice that it didn’t win Best Picture. Both movies were dark, but I thought Pan’s Labyrinth was slightly more hopeful and uplifting. I cried during Pan’s Labyrinth and didn’t during Babel, which is not to say that there were not sad, heartwrenching moments during that movie.

Anyway.

brownies

I made Eden’s peanut butter swirl brownies, and for my first attempt at brownies from scratch, I have to say not half bad. I think my pan was an 8×8 rather than 9×9, which made them a little thicker than I would have liked, but they were okay.

books

Sunday was our book club meeting. None of us hated the book as violently as Eden did, but we all basically agreed about the book’s problems. It seemed to me that Coupland couldn’t decide which story he wanted to tell, which resulted in a jumbled, chaotic story with too many loose threads left untied. I’m not sure the four-narrator thing worked so well, because the characters weren’t given distinct enough voices.

The book was very readable…I got through it in a day…but I just kept waiting for something to happen, particularly in Heather’s story. There were moments when I thought I saw where Coupland wanted to go, but I don’t think it quite got there. I think the father/son dynamic should have been more at the heart of the story than it was. I think Hey Nostradamus wanted to be a story about faith and redemption and family, but fell a little bit short.

I did mark a lot of passages that I thought were memorable–this one in particular:

Redemption exists, but only for others. I believe, and yet I lack faith. I tried building a private world free of hypocrisy, but all I ended up with was a sour little bubble as insular and exclusive as my father’s.

And this one:

Sometimes I think God is like weather–you may not like the weather, but it has nothing to do with you. You just happen to be there. Deal with it.

I didn’t love it, which was disappointing, given how much I enjoyed Girlfriend in a Coma and All Families are Psychotic. But I didn’t completely hate it either. I doubt I’ll ever want to read it again, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read any other Coupland.

Jen’s post, LT’s post, and Eden’s review.

LT hosted the meeting, which meant we got to visit with her adorable kitty, Linus, as well.

linus looking up

I <3 music

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I had a bit of time to play with the iPod over the weekend and I created an “erin’s faves” playlist. I listened to it on my way to work this morning (you may be asking how, since I don’t have a working radio…well, I put one bud in my ear and kind of dangle the other one near the other ear. It’s far from ideal, but it’s something), and it so rocks. I should start every day listening to my favorite music.

It’s funny how when you create a playlist of your favorite songs, you’re constantly thinking to yourself, “I love this song!”

Here’s a sampling of what I heard this morning:

  • Here on Earth (Crash Test Dummies)
  • Solar Circle Girl (Einstein’s Sister)
  • La La Land (Ookla the Mok) -aside…it’s a very good thing when your SO’s singing voice gives you the warm fuzzies. Very good indeed. 😉
  • Smoke Baby (Hawksley Workman)
  • Beautiful Chemistry (Ron Hawkins)
  • Skullcrusher Mountain (Jonathan Coulton)
  • We’re All Light (XTC)

I’ve got 73 songs in the playlist right now, and I’m not nearly done. But yay! for music that makes me happy. Yay, I say. 🙂

So, what songs never fail to bring a smile to your face?

I need a hero

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Oh, Heroes is such a fantastic show.

This week’s episode left me speechless…and incredulous that the next new episode won’t air until APRIL 24. Noooooooooooooo!

It was cliffhanger piled on top of cliffhanger on top of cliffhanger. “Everything is bad,” I moaned at the end of the episode.

(spoilers ahead)

Continue reading →

In the news

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Stephen Watson wrote an article on online fantasy leagues. He contacted me after seeing that I “won” the Oscars.com piggyhawk group. (I got 14 picks right; the highest in my group). I think he was disappointed to learn that all I actually won was bragging rights. He did, however, say he was going to come to me for help with his office Oscar pool next year. 😉

He did quote me:

“It’s a way to get involved and feel like you’re part of something, instead of just watching it,” said Erin Nappe, a college writing instructor from Williamsville who writes the Erin-Go- Blog! Web log. Last month, Nappe played — and won — in an Oscars fantasy league.

You can read his full story here, at the all new! Buffalo News website.

The Children of Men

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Finally.

As mentioned, I saw the film version a few weeks ago, which made me curious about the book. I enjoyed the book, though probably not as much as I enjoyed the film, and the two are wildly different.

Theo is the central character in both versions. There is a group called the Five Fishes in both versions, although in the film, the organization is much larger and much more influential. The setting is primarily the same (the book is set in 2021, the film in 2027), and some of the essential elements of the story are the same–humankind is infertile (although in the book, it is made clear that MEN are infertile. still no explanation as to why) and Theo has to help a woman who is miraculously pregnant safely give birth.

The film is much more violent than the book. Most of the shooting, bombing, and bloodshed doesn’t happen in the book at all. The government is much scarier in the film, although the book offers more of a meditation on power and corruption.

The book focuses a lot of attention on Theo’s relationship with his cousin Xan, the Warden of England. It’s hardly a blip in the movie.

And sadly, one of the major questions I hoped would be answered by the book–what exactly does the Human Project do? and does it actually exist?–was an element that was completely new for the film version.

Okay, now I’m going to get to what I liked about the film. I can’t possibly talk about this movie without mentioning those incredible tracking shots. Yes, they really were that amazing, and I still can’t believe it didn’t win the Oscar for cinematography. (This level of film geekery usually escapes me. I think I’ve been hanging w/Rand for too long!)

One of the most powerfully moving scenes in the film involved Michael Caine as Theo’s friend Jasper and a cover version of the Stones’ Ruby Tuesday, by Italian Franco Battiato. I don’t want to say any more about it, other than that it made me crycrycry.

Another moment that moved me came toward the end of the film, watching people living in the midst of of shooting and bombing and horror all around them. I thought to myself, “I can’t imagine living in a world like this,” then immediately thought “There are people who live in a world like this. Right now.” It made my heart ache.

I thought the ending of the movie, while sad, was much more hopeful than the ending of the book. I thought it was brilliantly done, and I highly recommend it. (Be warned, though, that it is heavy on social commentary. If that’s not your thing, you might want to stay away.)

Reading, watching, listening

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Reading: After seeing Children of Men, I was curious about the book that it was based on. Whenever I see a movie that was adapted from a novel (well, a good movie), I’m interested in seeing the original source material. What was changed, what was cut, what was kept, and what bears absolutely no resemblance to the original. I’m not all that far into it…so far, it’s moving pretty slowly…but I’ve decided to save any in-depth comments about either the book or the movie until I’m finished.

I’ve also been reading the collected Mutts comic strips. I *heart* Mutts. How had I never read it before?

Other than that…student essays. Sigh.

Watching: Ok, so my favorite show on the air right now is Heroes. This week’s episode was amazing, and I can’t wait to see what happens next! We learned a great deal about HRG this week, and his relationship with Claire is reminding me a lot of SpyDaddy and Syd; there’s no black and white. He operates in shades of gray, and Monday night, it became clear that he’s motivated by his love for his daughter.

I’m a week behind on both Lost and Veronica Mars. I’ve watched some of MASH season 2 with Rand…Trapper John is less annoying this season. I’m finding it interesting that so many people put MASH on their list of greatest sitcoms ever, because it’s hardly a sitcom. We’ve been watching with the laugh track removed, and I can’t figure out who thought a laugh track was a good idea in the first place. See, I think MASH is a half hour drama with occasional humor. I also think Aaron Sorkin owes a lot of the tone of his shows (Sports Night in particular) to MASH. That’s just my $.02.

Listening: So Rand bought a shiny new iPod, and I’ve taken control of the old one. I haven’t had much time to play with it, so I’ve mostly been listening to the playlists he’s created that I enjoy.

The one I seem to be listening to the most is called Mellowmodern…This is filled with mostly indie musicians, some the current hipster trends, and some more or less unknown stuff that Rand likes. I started out with a mental block against Sufjan Stevens, because my God, could he be any more pretentious? But he’s starting to grow on me a little. Anyway, the list is generally good for mellow background music.

I’d really like to check out the new Dixie Chicks album, and I still want KT Tunstall’s Eye to the Telescope.

And as usual, I’m open to any suggestions. 🙂

Oscar picks–how I did

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Best Picture THE DEPARTED
Actor in a Leading Role Forest Whitaker|THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
Actor in a Supporting Role Eddie Murphy|DREAMGIRLS Alan Arkin|LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (I had Alan Arkin and changed it…)
Actress in a Leading Role Helen Mirren|THE QUEEN
Actress in a Supporting Role Jennifer Hudson|DREAMGIRLS
Animated Feature Film HAPPY FEET
Art Direction PAN´S LABYRINTH
Cinematography CHILDREN OF MEN PAN´S LABYRINTH (this kind of shocked me.)
Costume Design DREAMGIRLS MARIE ANTOINETTE
Directing THE DEPARTED
Documentary Feature AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Documentary Short Subject THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT
Film Editing THE DEPARTED
Foreign Language Film PAN´S LABYRINTH THE LIVES OF OTHERS (what? I so didn’t expect that.)
Makeup PAN´S LABYRINTH
Music (Original Score) BABEL
Music (Original Song) “Love You I Do” – DREAMGIRLS “I Need to Wake Up” – AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (this was a total guess, but I was completely sure it was going to be ONE of the three Dreamgirls songs! I was wrong.)
Short Film (Animated) MAESTRO THE DANISH POET
Short Film (Live Action) THE SAVIOUR WEST BANK STORY
Sound Editing APOCALYPTO LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Sound Mixing APOCALYPTO DREAMGIRLS
Visual Effects PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN´S CHEST
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) CHILDREN OF MEN THE DEPARTED
Writing (Original Screenplay) LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Anyway, whoo! for me (and Rand!). I got 14 picks right. And although most of the show was a big snoozefest, I was glad I was watching to see Martin Scorsese win. It was pretty obvious when Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Francis Ford Copppola came out to present that he was going to get it.

Other thoughts…I have no interest in seeing The Queen, but Helen Mirren totally made me want to see The Queen. She was stunning. I also enjoyed Ellen’s hosting. Hm. That’s it for now. Maybe more later.