Friday, September 30, 2005

I Heart Huckabees

Good Googly! What a fantastically over the top brain twister.

Determined to solve the coincidence of seeing the same conspicuous stranger three times in a day, Albert hires a pair of existentialist detectives, who insist on spying on his everyday life while sharing their views on life and the nature of the universe.

As for my own viewing pleasure, I learned the following.

I spend my time avoiding pain, and as such, I never meet it face to face. It remains the lurking threat that guides my steps. I would choose to encounter my pain, eye to eye. And know it completely. And so know myself.

CAST-incomplete list
Jason Schwartzman .... Albert Markovski
Isabelle Huppert .... Caterine Vauban
Dustin Hoffman .... Bernard
Lily Tomlin .... Vivian
Jude Law .... Brad Stand
Mark Wahlberg .... Tommy Corn
Naomi Watts .... Dawn Campbell
Angela Grillo .... Angela Franco
Ger Duany .... Mr. Nimieri
Darlene Hunt

Monday, September 26, 2005

Crazy Hollywood

The 19-year-old Lindsey Lohan hit the headlines in May when she became alarmingly skinny, and was rumored to have an eating disorder after she announced she was still overweight compared to other girls her age. Lohan is now starting to gain weight again, and regrets mistreating her body. She says, "I was going through a rough time and I probably wasn't taking care of myself - I wasn't. I want to encourage young girls to not get to that point. Now they're going to say I am overweight, which is ridiculous. I don't know what to say to that ... you grow up and you mature."

Supermodel Kate Moss has lost another modeling contract over her recent drug scandal, as jewelers H Stern cancelled their current 60th anniversary campaign on Friday. The 31-year-old has already lost contracts with H&M, Burberry and Chanel after photographs of her allegedly snorting cocaine were published in a British newspaper earlier this month. Moss' $1.8 million agreement with cosmetic house Rimmel London is currently under "review"

Lil' Kim has been given a horrid haircut butchering her long locks, according to a prisoner who was released from the Philadelphia detention center just as the rapper was admitted to begin her 366-day sentence for perjury.

Country singer Mindy McCready was listed in fair condition Friday afternoon after being hospitalized earlier in the day for overdosing on about 30 antidepressant pills, according to the Associated Press, relying on a Nashville police report. The police report said that the pregnant McCready and William McKnight, the father of the unborn child, were arguing on the phone about whether his parents would help pay for the pregnancy. McKnight reportedly cursed at McCready and she became angry and took the pills, the report goes on to say.

Angelina Jolie made a young cancer patient's wish come true on Tuesday, paying a visit to 6-year-old Dylan Hartung. The Tomb Raider actress spent more than an hour with the boy at Manhattan's Ronald McDonald House. Dylan, who's suffering from a nerve cell cancer that has spread to his bones, has been staying there with his mom since January while he undergoes treatment at nearby Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Jolie "introduced herself as Angie and said, 'I heard you are a very special boy. I've been eager to meet you,'" Dylan's mother Melissa tells PEOPLE. "She gave him a cuddle and a kiss. He told her that she was his ultimate 'Chickie Babe' and she just laughed."

Just as Charlie Sheen publicly said that he and his estranged wife Denise Richards are "working toward getting back together," Richards has been spotted sporting a ring on her wedding finger again. A rep for Richards had no comment about the couple's status, but a source tells PEOPLE that the pair have been spending more time together and with their daughters Sam, 1, and Lola, 4 months. Sheen, who appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman Sept. 15, said he has two theories about why his marriage hit an iceberg. One: "I was a gigantic ass," he told Letterman. Two: He watched too much sports on TV, neglecting parental duties. But, he said, the couple are working on their marriage. "I had to take a step back and really take a look at myself and the situation,'' Sheen said. "I made a commitment to this woman that I love, this family that I love and I realized this can be fixed.'' The perhaps somewhat sugarcoated explanation of what went wrong came after more signs that the couple are closer than ever to reconciliation, a happy ending that Sheen said they are hoping to make come true. "We're working toward getting back together and fixing things," Sheen said. "We have hope. We have a shot."

Friday, September 23, 2005

Million Dollar Baby

With all the hype surroundunding the movie, I was prepared for a titanic meets Pearl Harbor experience. No such luck. I had been chastisiing myself for letting such a popular movie go by with a visit to the theater. Must be my intrinsic movie quality instinc leading me. The movie was good, not great. It had some great concepts, great moments, but it stayed safely in the emotionally touching arena, and somehow made the depths of despair seem serene.

I appreciated the quirkiness of the chats with the priest. I admired the unrelenting focus and courage of the female boxer. I enjoyed the characters of the manager and trainer, and their interaction.

An advertisement for Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" appears on the side of the bus Maggie is riding.
Mo chuisle" literally means "My pulse", but can mean "My love" or "My darling". It's a term of endearment taken from the original phrases "A chuisle mo chroĆ­", or "Pulse of my heart".

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

These are a few of my favorite leading men.

Johnny Depp-Born John Christopher Depp in Owensboro, Kentucky, on June 9, 1963.
Pirates of the Caribean-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-Finding Neverland-Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-What's Eating Gilbert Grape-Edward Scissorhands-21JumpStreet

John Cusack-28 June 1966, Evanston, Illinois
Must Love Dogs-Runaway Jury-Identity-Being John Malkovich-Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil-Gross Pointe Blank-Say Anything


Sean Penn-CA-17 August 1960Santa Monica, California
Interpreter,-Mystic River-I am SAM-Thin Red Line-Carlito's Way-
Produced-The Crossing Guard

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

I Love Movies

I'm not a trivia fan. I just enjoy the escape, the inspiration, the emotional push.

OK -and sometimes I enjoy the characters, the actors, and their backstories.

Maybe you will too.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse beauty Sienna Guillory has launched a scathing attack on fellow Brit Kate Beckinsale for becoming one of the "bitchy Hollywood" set and allegedly having breast implants. The London-born actress says she is horrified by Beckinsale's transition from English rose to Tinseltown movie star and believes the rumors the Van Helsing star has gone under the knife. Guillory says, "In Hollywood, women hate each other. Everyone is so bitchy and they don't want younger actresses coming in and taking their roles. You only have to look at what it's done to Kate Beckinsale. She used be cool. Now I've heard she's got a clause in her contract saying that she can't be filmed bending over at more than a 45-degree angle because her boob implants slide up onto her collar bone." Beckinsale's agent Jane Brand responds, "I do her contracts and this is absolutely untrue. She has no clause in her contracts and this is absolutely untrue. She has no such clause in her contracts and she has categorically not had breast implants."