I can’t believe I did not see this sooner. In fact, I started watching it several months ago on cable but parts were subtitled and I decided to record it and take a nap. Then my DVR got messed up and I never got a chance to see it. Finally today I sat down and watched the entire movie. It’s SO GOOD! Very touching. My grandmother came from Odessa . . . this movie really makes you think about family.

I went to see the midnight showing of Control at the famous Music Box theater in Chicago. The real interesting people come out for a midnight show . . . it was an amazing and moving experience. I had a family membered who suffered from epilepsy in the late 70s and had many problems with all the medication as well so I found this movie quite painful on a personal level. I could really understand some of what Ian Curtis was going through and how no one else understood his issues.

I will watch any movie with Edward Norton. I will watch any movie with Paul Giamatti. I love movies set in historical time periods. Vienna is one of my favorite cities. The Illusionist, starring Edward Norton as Eisenheim the illusionist and Paul Giamatti as Inspector Uhl, is set in turn-of-the-century (20th century) Vienna.

The story is told from the point of view of Inspector Uhl and is mostly presented in a series of flashbacks. The cinematography is amazing. It really draws you in with the old-world feel through deep, saturated colors. And my favorite city of Vienna is absolutely gorgeous in this film. For me it is such eye-candy to get to enjoy. Even though it is not a true mystery movie, it plays that way because we are left wondering if the magicians powers are real or just magic. I first heard about this movie while listening to an interview on NPR. It was described as the movie being an illusion about an illusionist. I loved it. I even watched it a second time to listen to the the audio commentary on the DVD which was great. Most of the “illusions” that were performed in the film were not digital. They real illusions were recreated and then filmed. The DVD commentary explained how all of the illusions were created and it is really interesting.

Dreamgirls is an awesome movie. The music is great. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack since it came out. But the movie is amazing. It is not a dancing and singing movie, although there is some dancing and singing. It’s a drama. An journey of three women. The singing is mainly performances of the talented Dreamettes. It’s not all happy and cheery, there is some grit as there is in real life.

Eddie Murphy does a great job as a James Brown type of character. At the beginning I didn’t have much faith in his performance because I kept picturing his James Brown imitations from Saturday Night Live, but he is real. Each and every member of the cast does a great job. Even Beyonce, who I usually don’t like all that much, was excellent. She plays the sugar-sweet star. She really is gorgeous and she really shines. And she sings her heart out too. Jamie Foxx is a bastard, and he does a hell of a job in that role.

It gave me chills when they were running the credits and they made a big deal with the music and graphics “and introducing, Jennifer Hudson.” She definitely is a star. What a voice. I loved her on American Idol and I love her in the role of Effie. I want to watch it all again.

The title may turn some people off, but My Super Ex-Girlfriend is a really funny movie and deserves some credit. Ivan Reitman’s light comedy doesn’t have to be a “realistic” movie since the plot is about a man dating a woman who has superhero powers. However it ends up being a portrayal of challenges that actually might occur if an average person had to deal with a boyfriend or girlfriend with special powers. And they are funny ones.

Uma Thurman plays Jenny Johnson who is G-Girl, New York’s resident superhero, in disguise. Her superhero powers cause her to have a hard time in her relationships with men. Luke Wilson plays Matt Saunders, the unsuspecting man who asks her out on a date. The first half of the movie is about the two of them getting together and him finding out about her powers. Later, we find out that G-Girl is jealous, needy, and a little crazy so Luke Wilson has to dump her. And watch out world when that happens. She is a woman scorned and starts using her powers against him. She stalks him and tried to mess up his life in every way that she can. She fucks with his work and personal life by doing some hella funny shit.

A special treat is the supporting cast. They are the ones that really make this movie. Eddie Izzard plays Professor Bedlam, a super villain and G-Girls’ arch-nemesis. Wanda Sykes plays Luke Wilson’s supervisor at work. Rainn Wilson from The Office and Six-Feet Under plays his best friend.

The ending is kind of cheesy, but 80% of this movie is truly funny. It’s what I call a quality rental. Watch while in a good mood.

And one more thing, there is a scene what Eddie Izzard tells Luke Wilson that he can email him at professorbedlam.com. And there really is a website. I love Eddie Izzard. It cracks me up just looking at him.

i just finished humble pie by UK celebrity chef gordon ramsay. he is probably best know in the US for the reality show hell’s kitchen. i can’t believe i missed that one considering how much i like those type of reality shows and cooking shows. however, i have been watching the f word on bbc america which is another one of his shows and i love it. he is known as an obnoxious asshole. but really, he has had a hard life. he came from nothing and made something amazing himself. he could have been another statistic – like his brother who ended up a heroin addict. his story is amazing and he is really an inspiration for everyone.

the next time i have a stressed day at work, i’m going to remember those port authority officers that worked at the bus terminal and went over to the world trade center to help evacuate peole and found themselves burried under a collapsed building. and then another building fell down on top of that! watching these police officers and fire fighters dealing with the disaster really puts things in perspective.

while the movie walks you through the events of september 11, it is from the perspective of the port authority officers that got called on the scene. Will Jimeno and John McLoughlin were two of the officers were the last two men rescued alive. actually, i thought they were the only two who were rescued from ground zero, but at the end of the film it mentions that there were numbers 19 and 20. after the buildings collapse and they are trapped, the movie shifts over to their family and introduces us what they went through on that day. it also takes you through their entire experience of being trapped in the rubble and the effort involved in their rescue.

the movie isn’t a traditional “arty” oliver stone movie. it doesn’t have any of the trippy cinematography known in several of his other films. the special effects are super good because the movie seemed SO realistic. nicholas cage plays seargent john mcloughlin. for the first 10 minutes he kind of annoyed me because of how he looked with his moustache and police cap. it just didn’t seem like him. but then i got into the movie and forgot all about it.

the dvd has a very unique commentary as one of it’s special features. real life survivor will jimeno and rescuers scott strauss, john busching and paddy mcgee talk along the entire length of the film and discuss the events as they happened. the rescuers also talked about what they were doing exactly at that time since we didn’t see it in the film. it’s amazing how true to the real events olive stone kept things. only slight differences were mentioned like “i wore a different shirt” or “a different song was playing on the radio”. and they described the subtle ways olive stone built in some dialog for the story line. most of the changes involved timing of things that were accelerated to fit into a two hour movie. the movie itself is good to see, but it was really amazing to listen to their audio track in addition.

i listened to this on audiobook which i downloaded from audible.com. it is only one hour long. anthony bourdain is the supposed “bad boy” of the culinary world and he read the story exquisitedly. i was somewhat giggling throughout because of his sharp tongue and graphic language. it’s definately worth an hour of your time.

i really enjoyed the lost city which i watched tonight. the story is set in 1958 havana, cuba, during a time of turmoil and change: from the oppressive regime of Batista to the Marxist government of Fidel Castro. the film is composed of all bits and pieces i like . . . it takes place in another time in history (in another world almost), throw in the mafia, some historical facts, great cinematography and some good music scenes. andy garcia plays a nightclub owner (hence the music scenes). bill murray and one of the guys from without a trace is in there too. we see how the daily lives of the people in cuba change. do they side with Fidel Castro? Or the other party? Do the people who feel oppressed stay in Cuba, or leave the country? what weighs on them as they make these decisions. it’s a drama and won’t leave you feeling positive about things. but it is a good film and definately worth watching.

Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas) is a French film that won the 2006 acadamey award for best foreign film and also received several awards at the 2005 sundance film festival. it is based on a “true story” when on Christmas Eve, 1914, during WWI, the soldiers from opposing trenches (French, German and Scots) spontaneously initiated an unofficial truce in No Man’s Land in honor of the holiday.

despite its title, it is not exactly a heartwarming holiday movie. in fact the only thing it has to do with christmas is that the events covered in the film happened on that day. however the movie is very good and definately worth watching. there are some subtitles, but about half of the movie is in english. i think anyone who likes history will enjoy this film.