Movies of a Petite Aspie

Guess what?  I'm back.  (Duh.)  And it's not a movie-related post.  Oh well.  I just wanted to post my wish list for this year's Emmy nominations.  Let's get started!  You may notice that I couldn't come up with 5 nominees for each category.  Lead Actress in a Comedy Tina Fey -- 30 Rock Patricia Heaton -- The Middle Martha Plimpton -- Raising Hope Amy Poehler -- Parks and Recreation    * Honorable Mention: Lea Michele -- Glee * Lead Actor in a Comedy Alec Baldwin -- 30 Rock Johnny Galecki -- The Big Bang Theory  Jim Parsons -- The Big Bang Theory *Honorable Mention: Matthew Morrison -- Glee * Supporting Actress in a Comedy Julie Bowen -- Modern Family Jane Krakowski -- 30 Rock Jane Lynch -- Glee Betty White -- Hot in Cleveland Kristen Wiig -- Saturday Night Live *Honorable Mention: Heather Morris -- Glee * Supporting Actor in a Comedy Ty Burrell -- Modern Family Chris Colfer --...

Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland Director: Lars von Trier Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgaard, Skellan Skarsgaard Genre(s): Drama, Science Fiction Theatrical Release Date: May 26, 2011 DVD Release Date: March 13, 2012 Rotten Tomatoes Score: 77% Pleasant surprises, when in comes to movies, are often the best.  Although, I suppose you could not say outright that I was surprised that I loved Lars von Trier's fantasy/drama, Melancholia , after I had read Entertainment Weekly 's Lisa Schwartzbaum's raving review of the film.  But I had also heard those negative reviews, which are likely for just about every movie.  However, like Tree of Life , a similarly philosophical and innovative look and life and death, I found Melancholia to be utterly gorgeous.  However, unlike Tree of Life , Melancholia contains a discernible plot and is much easier to follow, though that is not primarily why I found it so f...

Emily Watson and Ryan Reynolds Director: Dennis Lee Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Julia Roberts, Hayden Panettiere Genre(s): Drama Theatrical Release Date: October 14, 2011 DVD Release Date: February 7, 2012 Rotten Tomatoes Score: 20% What is perhaps most painful about David Lee's semi-autobiographical drama, Fireflies in the Garden , is that it was released five years after it was filmed.  While some films, like the upcoming well-reviewed horror-comedy The Cabin in the Woods , age well after being left on the shelf for longer than usual, this is not the cast for Fireflies , a drama that fails to live up to the trailers' implications of the film being a reinvention of the genre. Ryan Reynolds ( Green Lantern ) plays a best-selling novelist who is returning to his hometown for his mother's (Julia Roberts, Larry Crowne ) college graduation.  After an unexpected tragedy occurs, Reynolds' characters is left to attempt to make peace wit...

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Lenny Kravitz           Director: Gary Ross Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Wes Bentley, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson Genre(s): Action, Science-Fiction/Fantasy Release Date: March 23, 2012 Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87% Adapting a beloved, best-selling novel for the big screen is no easy task.  Many have failed, and when this occurs, legions of fans are upset.  Sub-plots and minor, fairly insignificant details are destined to be eliminated from the script, but fans expect the book's original themes, plot(s), and characters are intact.  Many who have loved Suzanne Collins' wonderful post-apocalyptic trilogy -- The Hunger Games , Catching Fire , and Mockingjay -- were anxious (myself included) to see if director Gary Ross' film adaption could live up to its hefty, meaningful source material.  Luckily, we can all breathe a sigh of a relief. Ross has become as successful as the...

I don't rely solely on critics' opinions of movies to decide whether or not they are worth my time, and neither should you.  That said, if a movie receives a very low score on Rotten Tomatoes, it's unlikely that I'll find any good qualities about it.  And, typically, I'll give relatively high ratings to films with similarly high scores on RT.  I've decided to try something new and something fun: guessing whether upcoming movies will be "fresh" (60% or above) or "rotten" (below 60%).  Let's see how I do!  (FYI: these are only movies that don't yet have any ratings listed on RT).  March 30 -Dark Tide (PG-13) -- Halle Berry, Olivier Martinez, Ralph Brown -- rotten -Mirror Mirror (PG) -- Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer -- rotten -Wrath of the Titans (PG-13) -- Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Ralph Fiennes -- rotten April 6 -American Reunion (R) -- Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott -- fresh (just barel...

Even critically-reviled movies garner positive reactions from audiences.  And by "critically-reviled," I mean receiving under 20% on Rotten Tomatoes.  Some of these reviews, taken from imdb.com, make me laugh.   Abduction Released: September 23, 2011 RT Score: 4% Why critics hate it: "Sadly, it's impossible to fake the faintest enthusiasm for this picture, which is a fourth-rate Hollywood thriller that bungles a lot of thievery from better movies." Positive Review: "The plot is great, kept me guessing the whole time. Was more than action packed and to me Lautner and Collins have fantastic chemistry. Lautner has matured and it really showed to me in this movie." Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star Released: September 9, 2011 RT Score: 0% Why critics hate it: "Icky and repellent in ways it probably did not intend." Positive Review: "We come to expect movies to have way too much drama, and long scenes of terrible progression but Bucky did...

I know what you're thinking.  I should have posted my thoughts on last Sunday's Oscars immediately after they ended, or even the following day.  But I didn't.  Well, you see, I would say I've been busy, but that's rather untrue, so let me just say that I was still unsure as to what my post should include.  Instead of including a recap of the show itself--Billy Crystal was, in my opinion, not as energetic as usual, but still hilarious and entertaining--I'm just focusing on the winners...and losers.  (J'adore l'Artiste!).  Guess = what/who I had predicted would win; Winner = duh; Pick = what/who I wanted to win (& Runner-up: who/what I would've like to have won in a year without stronger nominees). Best Actor Guess: Jean Dujardin -- The Artist Winner:  Jean Dujardin -- The Artist Pick: Jean Dujardin -- The Artist  (Runner-up: George Clooney -- The Descendants ) Clooney may have been the frontrunner for the majority of the awards season, bu...