Best of 2012.

Movies:

TV:

Books:

Music:

Classy Girls - The Lumineers

It's Time - Imagine Dragons

I Almost Do - TSwift



What'd you discover last year? xoxo

Movie Review: Ruby Sparks.

I was really excited to watch this movie. I had been stalking it since right before it was released in theaters. I was reading an article about Zoe Kazan, whom I love because she is extremely interesting, and she mentioned she had written a movie and was going to star in it with her real life boyfriend, Paul Dano (whom I also love). I was beyond stoked.... until I found out it only had a limited release and wasn't coming anywhere near where I live, rude! So I patiently waited until it came out on DVD and promptly ran to the video store that very day... it was gone. So finally last Friday I went to try again and it was finally there.

Ruby Sparks follows Calvin (Dano), a Salinger-like author who wrote a best selling novel at nineteen. Calvin is having a bad year between a break up from his girlfriend of five years and writer's block. Calvin is the kind of guy who buys a dog so he can meet people, but it's just his luck that Scotty (named after F. Scott Fitzgerald), is just as afraid of people as he is.

While in a weekly session with his therapist (played by a wonderfully Jewish Elliot Gould), Calvin is assigned to write something, anything at all, especially something bad. Following direction Calvin goes home and creates his dream girl, literately. He has a dream about Ruby (Kazan) and writes about her the next day. He becomes so taken with the idea of this character he has created he finds himself wanting to spend all of his time writing so he can spend more time with her. Little does he know he is actually willing her into existence.

The movie is witty, fun, romantic, and touching. It creatively plays with the idea of how much control one should have over another in a relationship. Dano and Kazan have more "sparks" on screen than the Fourth of July, but it's the supporting cast that makes the movie that much better. Chris Messina all but steals the show as the meat-head, jock older brother. Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas are fantastically quirky as Calvin's mom and step dad. In my opinion Ruby Sparks is more like Ruby Wildfire. XOXO.

"We can get into a trouble." "That's how you know it's an adventure."

Movie Monday: Hugo

As a major cinephile I really appreciated Hugo on many levels. First the movie is absolutely gorgeous! Breathtakingly beautiful. I wish I could have seen it in 3D. It was very apparent that is the way it was intended to be viewed. Second, I love the throwback to silent pictures. I love that the film was actually about George Melines one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. If you have taken any form of a film class you have seen Trip to the Moon,  but I also appreciated how they featured all of the influential movies. The Train. The Factory Workers leaving. The Train Robber. The really put into perspective the importance of these early films and how they paved the way for the brillance that we have now. Bravo Scorcese, you indulgent director, you! I can always tell when its a Scorcese film, by the "look how good of a director I am" style of shooting, but really that's why we love him, isn't it? xoxo.

They are adorable. ♥

"Yes, you had "Zombies." But this is "Zombie Redneck Torture Family." Entirely separate thing. It's like the difference between an elephant and an elephant seal."

Movie Monday: Cabin in the Woods

Amazing movie. See it. Can't really say anything about it because it will ruin it for the viewer. Just know it is an incredibly interesting topic and really plays with the anatomy of a horror movie. See it. xoxo

"I want to write a book from the prospective of the help."

Last Monday I finally got around to watching The Help. I liked it for the most part. I started the book a while ago on a trip to Chicago, my mom and I listened to it on the way but I fell asleep on the way back and missed a bunch of it. The movie was pretty good and I think if I hadn't started the book I would have liked it even more but for me it just left a lot out. I felt like it jumped around too much and it left out big chunks that were in my opinion important to the story. I could not have been more pleased with the cast choices. They were absolutely perfect and my girl Emma Stone is just getting better and better. Its definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it yet but if you've read the book just a heads up its not as good.

The fashion is to die for though.

Love you Like Crazy.

“I thought I understood it, that I could grasp it, but I didn’t, not really. Only the smudgeness of it; the pink-slippered, all-containered, semi-precious eagerness of it. I didn’t realize it would sometimes be more than whole, that the wholeness was a rather luxurious idea. Because it’s the halves that halve you in half. I didn’t know, don’t know, about the in-between bits; the gory bits of you, and the gory bits of me.”

-- Anna

This movie is absolutely incredible. It's so real. It feels as if you are getting a glimpse into an actual relationship. I adored Felicity Jones as Anna. She is so endearing and lovable. It made me really hate Anton Yelchin as Jacob though. He just doesn't try hard enough in my opinion. I really enjoyed the handheld camera work and all the cinematography is gorgeous With an equally heart-wrenching soundtrack this movie is definitely worth checking out. It's so different and refreshing.

Happy Birthday Mandi.

Hello friends. Friday was my best friend's birthday. The lovely Mandi turned 22. We celebrated by going out for sushi and hibachi. It was delicious! Plus it was boyfriend's first experience with hibachi... he's a fan. After dinner we went out and had a blast. We sang, drank, and were merry.

Saturday was a much needed chill day. E, the boyfriend and, I laid around all day watching movies and eating my mom's homemade chili (yum!). We watch Due Date (pretty funny but a little slow at times), My Soul to Take (awful!) and, The Ring. After movies we played Trivial Pursuit, which is a favorite of mine, be-tee-dubs. :) I'm awful but I still love it.

Today boyfriend and I got a much needed sleep in day, before we headed to my dad's. After munching on some yummy kabobs and baked potatoes we played the Kinect. It is soooooooo much fun! It's like a Wii but better. We seriously played it for like two hours. Best thing ever.

Also I'm about halfway through The Hunger Games! I'm already in love with Peeta Mellark. I haven't made a decision about Katniss but I think I like, which is a big deal for me because I usually hate chick narrators. They're usually whiney but Katniss has reason to be.

Battle of the Snow White Movies.

With the release of not only the Mirror, Mirror trailer but also the Snow White and the Huntsman trailer we are forced to compare them. I for one am excited for both and am intrigued at how different they really are. The movies have taken a VERY different approach from one another.

Mirror, Mirror 

Release Date: March 16, 2012

Stars: Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer

Mirror, Mirror looks lighter and more fun than its action packed counterpart. If you were wanting to take your kids this is the one I would choose. Though I'm not a huge fan of Lily Collins' eyebrows, did you get a look a them... yikes. 

Snow White and the Huntsman

Release Date: June 1, 2012

Stars: Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth

Snow White and the Huntsman looks a lot darker and more cinematic. I think it might be closer to the original Grimm version. I will be the first to admit I'm not Kristen Stewart's biggest fan (Team Danielle Panabaker for Bella!) but I think she will be good and Charlize looks like she is going to be the fierciest of fierce. 

If neither of these appeal to you, there is always the original.

You're such a TEASE!

It's Movie Monday and this week it's all about the incredible trailers. I'm such a sucker for movie trailers. I'm the girl that goes to the theater 20 minutes early to make sure she doesn't miss them. Here are the movies that I am dying to see:

Who doesn't love The Muppets?! I mean lets be real here. This movie is going to make a TON of money. It has an incredible cast and did I mention its THE MUPPETS!!!!!

If I could only go see one movie in the next week it would be this one. I am literately dying to see it. My boyfriend is getting so sick of hearing about it. Seriously everytime I watch the trailer I cry. It just looks so raw and real.

I have been waiting for this movie to come out for a year! I was so upset when they pushed it back so Michelle Williams didn't have to split her Oscar votes. Good for her. Bad for us, but now its FINALLY coming out and it looks incredible.

How adorable does this movie look? I love animated movies. I'm a child, what can I say. This movie looks super cute. I never read this book as a kid, but I read plenty of other Dr. Seuss books.

I know everyone thinks this movie looks stupid but I'm a sucker for a movie with an ensemble cast. I love how all the different stories intertwine.  Plus this one has my girl Lea Michele in it. It's her first movie!!! Yay. :) 

What movies are you guys dying to see?

This is Halloween, Everybody make a scene

This is my collection of Halloween movies and my mom's candy bucket (isn't it adorable?!)

In case you haven't realized it yet I LOVE HALLOWEEN! It is quite possibly my favorite holiday. I love dressing up in costumes, it's the theater kid in me. I go see Rocky Horror at midnight every year (last year and this year my good friend Smerica has been in the live version). I adore bon fires, hayrack rides, and recently haunted house (although this one might be a fluke seeing as last year I went to one and was ok but it was bad and not scary normally I would pee my pants haha... no but seriously). However my absolute favorite part of Halloween is curling up on the couch my some of my old favorites.

I've already watched Teen Witch, Sleepy Hollow, Casper, and Thir13en Ghosts, but tonight is a special occasion because I'm watching Nightmare Before Christmas, my most favorite. Yes I am indeed watching it on VHS, which I think makes it super awesome because it has that vintage vibe that reminds me of my childhood and how old the movie actually is (there is a trailer for Mighty Ducks 2 on here). There is a big debate about this movie some people think it's a Halloween movie and some say Christmas... I'm one of those people who watches it at both and my best friend S watches it on Thanksgiving because she can't decide... What do you guys think?

Amy Lee's cover of Sally's Song. Well worth a listen.