The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I was definitely late to the party, but a few weeks ago I finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and really liked it. It started a little slow (it starts off with a long chapter of exposition) but then really gets going to the point where you don't want to put the book down.

Big thanks to S-Q for the suggestion!

By chance I was able to see the Swedish film adaptation of the book, and I thought it was really well-done. They had to depart from the book in certain ways but I think how they altered the story made sense. Here's a trailer:



I'm about to start the second book in the trilogy, and look forward to seeing the film adaptation of it.

But what I'm reallllly excited about is that David Fincher is directing an "American" adaptation of the novels starring Daniel Craig. With the exception of Christopher Nolan, I don't know of a better choice to make a series of films based on these dark, noirish books. Sadly Fincher's first film of the series won't release until 2011, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait!

Rent it or see it?

I've fallen out of the habit of going to the movies for everything I want to see, and only make time for films that I've been dying to see or that must be seen on a big screen (such as Inception or Casablanca).

Other films I'm interested in I put in my Netflix queue, which I now realize may take me several years to get through. At least it's cheaper (in theory) and it's a way for me to keep a list of the films (and TV shows) I'm interested in checking out at some point.

I have been strangely drawn to two new comedies lately, though. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for mass marketing when the ads involve Will Farrell. Maybe these aren't as good as they seem, so they'll go on my queue but I could probably be coaxed into the theater to see at least one of them...

Morcheeba

Morcheeba is a band that I really like but I rarely listen to... which is OK because I feel like I get to rediscover them each time I hear them.

They were on Morning Becomes Eclectic today, and performed a song that I think is one of their best:



Speaking of re-discovering something good, I watched Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels today - I haven't seen it in years! Such a good one.

The Ultimate "B Movie"

Every five years it seems there is someone commemorating Jaws, which hit theaters in 1975. It factors into my life in a weird way - my mom went into labor after seeing it at the drive-in with my dad!

Here's a trailer for a new documentary about the making of the film:

Inception

I'm very excited about this movie.

Movie, foodie, drinkie

I had really low expectations for this based on the trailer but I have to say, I laughed my ass off. There were several moments when I thought, "wow, they are going there? Really?" Yeah. Russell Brand is hysterical and kind of hot.


GET HIM TO THE GREEK: Movie Trailer - Watch more top selected videos about: Get_Him_to_the_Greek, Jonah_Hill, Russell_Brand, Nicholas_Stoller, Sean_Combs, DeRay_Davis, Rose_Byrne, Elisabeth_Moss, Colm_Meaney

Last night I went to Carlsbad Tavern with a couple of friends and although the food was tasty and the two pomegranate margaritas I downed were yummy, I thought it was overpriced for what it was. Nevertheless, a place I'd return to for happy hour, fo sho.

Iron Man 2 Trailer

New Almovodar Film!!

Broken Embraces opens in LA on 12/11/09 (in time for my visit to CA for the holidays)! Can't wait!

Radical lawyer, William Kunstler

There are many people I find inspiring, and William Kunstler is one of them. He was a controversial lawyer who represented a wide-range of clients, including the American Indian Movement and John Gotti.

His daughters produced a documentary about his life as a lawyer and a father. Here's the trailer:

River Phoenix at 16

RIP... what a cutie. I used to swoon for him!

Good Hair

Saw this recently.... so good, very funny, lots of interesting ideas/layers/commentary:

Sustainability

"...someday people like me will end up in jail."

Movies

After nearly a six month hiatus, I went to the movies today and saw Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore's latest opus about the corruption that led to the economic meltdown.

He is pretty masterful at tugging at your heart strings, and even though I knew was being manipulated emotionally I was glad I went along for the ride. Seeing this movie now couldn't have been timelier - it helps me stay in touch with the reasons I decided to be a lawyer, and the kind of person I want to be when I begin practicing...

On a lighter note, there were some great trailers before the film! I'm excited for both of these:

Ewan and Clooney together!


Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, John Krasinksi!!

Megan Fox needs to go back to obscurity

This is highly amusing...

Lucky you if you don't know about Megan Fox and Michael Bay. The former is famous for her roles in the heavy-hitting dramas, Transformers and Transformers 2. The latter is the director of such masterpieces.

Well, it turns out that the two of them have had a falling out, and it may or may not be because they screwed. We'll probably never know for sure.

The proverbial shit hit the fan when Fox upped the ante and called Michael Bay "Hitler." At that point, even crew members had to intervene and post a scathing letter on Michael Bay's website.

Some excerpts from the letter (read the whole sordid thing here):

Yes, Megan has great eyes, a tight stomach we spray with glycerin, and an awful silly Marilyn Monroe tattoo plastered on her arm that we cover up to keep the moms happy.

Michael found this shy, inexperienced girl, plucked her out of total obscurity thus giving her the biggest shot of any young actresses' life. He told everyone around to just trust him on his choice. He granted her the starring role in Transformers, a franchise that forever changed her life; she became one of the most googled and oogled women on earth. She was famous! She was the next Angelina Jolie, hooray! Wait a minute, two of us worked with Angelina – second thought – she's no Angelina. You see, Angelia is a professional.

We know this quite intimately because we've had the tedious experience of working with the dumb-as-a-rock Megan Fox on both Transformers movies.

*****

When facing the press, Megan is the queen of talking trailer trash and posing like a porn star. And yes we've had the unbearable time of watching her try to act on set, and yes, it's very cringe-able. So maybe, being a porn star in the future might be a good career option. But make-up beware, she has a paragraph tattooed to her backside (probably due her rotten childhood) easily another 45 minutes in the chair!

*****

She compared working with Michael, to "working with Hitler". We actually don't think she knows who Hitler is by the way. But we wondered how she doesn't realize what a disgusting, fully uneducated comment this was?

*****

On our first day in Egypt, the Egyptian government wouldn't let us shoot because of a permit problem as the actors got ready in make up at the Four Seasons Hotel. Michael tried to make the best of it; he wanted to take the cast and crew on a private tour of the famous Giza pyramids. God hold us witness, Megan said, "I can't believe Michael is fucking forcing us to go to the fucking pyramids!" I guess this is the "Hitler guy" she is referring to.

So this is the Megan Fox you don't get to see. Maybe she will learn, but we figure if she can sling insults, then she can take them too. Megan really is a thankless, classless, graceless, and shall we say unfriendly bitch.

Circa 1994

Thanks to Digg for putting this on my radar today.

Speaking of movies...

The trailer for "The Lovely Bones" (directed by Peter Jackson) is out. Enjoy.

Love this snarky shit

I've been watching "At the Movies" since I was a kid, and I'm not exaggerating. From it's days as Siskel and Ebert, to Ebert and Roeper (after Siskel died), to Roeper with different guest critics after Ebert became too ill. The show was great and I looked forward to it each week.

I can't tell you how PISSED I was when ABC decided to tart up the show by revamping it into utter nonsense.

Well, ABC has heeded the call of lots of angry fans and shit-canned the two imbeciles. Two awesome and totally-worth-watching critics A.O. Scott of the NYT and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune will now host the show. The first episode of the new and improved "At the Movies" will air on 9/5/09.... Yay!

Capitalism: A Love Story

When capitalism is stronger than democracy, what happens to society?

RIP John Hughes

WTF is going on with people dropping like flies?!

In loving memory:

Random, I know

But this movie is so good. I need to see it again.