Thursday, November 26, 2009

Cards for special occassions...

Awhile ago I stumbled upon the site SomeECards.com which provides e-mail ready greeting cards for every occasion. They are based around line drawings of characters in action and feature tag lines such as "I hope you live twice as long and are half as creepy as Michael Jackson," or "I hope that wishing you a happy birthday does not constitute sexual harassment."

The nice thing is that you can customize the cards to fit whatever occasion you like and there are even a few gems that you can send for no reason at all. Visit the site, you may find something that tickles your fancy.

Goes without saying...

Top 20 Unfortunate Lessons Learned from Twilight

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Proof that I am a petty child...

That is all.

Et tu Variety? Et tu?

Question: when did journalism suddenly turn into the ability to summarize factual information?

I was cruising Variety.com for new entertainment info and clicked a link to examine this article about Fox's new mid-season lineup. Unfortunately what I discovered was essentially a spoken word schedule chalk full of information I already know. Here's the thing, most of the blogs have at least a couple of these types of lists floating around and if I really wanted to read the Fox schedule, I would go to FOX. What I'm looking for from one of the foremost entertainment magazines is just that: ENTERTAINMENT! Or at least an article that doesn't look like a carbon copy of somebody's press release.

Dead man decals

Okay I know that I'm just perpetuating things by talking about it but I can't figure out which member of the cast and/or crew sold their soul for this damned Twilight thing to take off. It's insane! Speaking of insane I was looking at some interior decorating stuff and came across this:


Edward Cullen silhouette decals for your wall. In the tradition of the shower curtains, pillows, sheets, underwear and countless other things that have been released in tandem with the franchise this disturbs me greatly. Who wants to wake up in the middle of the night to a person in their room? Don't kids spend years GETTING OVER the idea that someone's going to sneak into their room at night.

*shudder*

Why?!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Precious...

Every once in awhile you see a film that truly touches you, makes you examine life and love and all those things that you take for granted.

You see a film that makes you think.

Although it doesn't sound like a relaxing Friday, I went to see Precious with a few friends at the Varsity VIP last night. After seeing the trailer a few months back we have been anticipating this film and with it finally coming to theatres in semi-wide release it was time for us to settle in and experience the story.

I'm not sure I can properly express to you the power of this film. It is a truly unique and moving portrayal of terrible acts perpetrated upon a young girl who, in some ways, genuinely believes that she deserves this sort of treatment. That said, the power of Clareece Precious Jones (and Gabourey Sidibe's portrayal) is that she also believes she has the ability to grow and it is that overcoming of the incredible obstacles in her path that is the crux of the film.

A good deal of the film involves the catastrophic relationship between Clareece and her mother (portrayed with absolute abandon by Mo'nique) and both women give tour de force performances. Was the conflict difficult to watch? At times. But the film remains conscious of its audience and balances showing just enough to drive the point home but not so much that you are overwhelmed. There is humour and light, there is camaraderie and sorrow, and there is a certain amount of horror but the balance is absolutely pitch perfect.

Please see this film; it will stay with you in a positive way that is entirely inexplicable.

EDIT: Gabbe has been doing the rounds of the talk shows. Laineygossip.com has posted the videos of her on the Conan O'Brian show so click here if you'd like to see (I can't get the video to embed for Canadians).

Monday, November 16, 2009

Backstage pass to impatience...

Doesn't this just make you want it baaaad? This movie is already heartily anticipated but somehow the powers that be have managed to make it worse by dropping this little tidbit of behind the scenes footage, neatly wrapped up in the instrumental version of the film's calling card song "Be Italian".

Check it out...

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Betty for Humpday!

I've been saying this for years but Ugly Betty is a highly underrated show. Are there more finely crafter shows on television? Maybe, but the key with Ugly Betty has always been the heart, something that many other programs either over or undersell consistently. The show's audience understands that on occasion dramatic instances need to be humorous and are comfortable with the silly tactics sometimes employed by the writers to undercut any seriousness inherent in dramatic plots. Recently I haven't been overjoyed with the series (read: last week's episode is still in my queue) but I'm still not ready to jump off the band waggon just yet...even if ABC has recently made some decisions which could easily have doomed the series for good.

That said, E Online has stated that "According to sources, ABC higher-ups are considering moving Ugly Betty to Wednesdays at 10 in January as part of a flashy relaunch of the show in an effort to save it. The thinking is that Betty would complement new hits Modern Family and Cougar Town nicely, and make ABC a solid destination for comedy on Wednesday night" (Ugly Betty May Steal Eastwick Slot From Lost, E! Online). This is welcome news to me as I'm hoping it will give the Ugly Betty writers the kick in the pants they need to bring the series back to where it found its niche.

Oh goodness me...

So I've just been informed that not one but two twitter account holders have landed major development deals based solely upon their ability to produce one liners that many will ascribe to. Really? Are you kidding me? Some of the stuff that comes out of my mouth is f***ing gold (yes, mostly because it's profane) but honestly, I could get a development deal just by having thoughts and sharing them?

That's it. It's a new campaign....TCMC is going global my friends. It's on!

(in case you're interested the feeds are Shit my dad says and Texts from last night).

Monday, November 2, 2009

Siobhan is concernicus...

What is it about being between thirteen and sixteen/seventeen that makes your blood run hot at the sight of the latest popular movie stud? I imagine the hormones are part of it but that can't be the reason that perfectly normal thirty to fifty year olds are also gaga over this boy. I don't remember every being that overwhelmed by any celebrities, let alone one who appears to be little more than a mouth-breathing over-actor. It does, however, seem to be the year (maybe two or three) of the effeminate boy-child star...

What's up with that?

The pictures from Robert Pattinson's participation in this upcoming month's issue of Vanity Fair have surfaced and they've got me once again questioning why anyone thinks this kid is attractive. He looks like his legs and torso are too short for his body and his head's going to topple over any second. One thing I can say for R.Pat (as I'm told the masses have nicknamed him) is that he seems to be fairly self aware: he's even trying to punch himself in the face for being annoying.

Why can't we celebrate some men of substance? Plenty of the cute ones have more to offer than looks...Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt anyone?

Just sayin'...

Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Wintour Issue

Just got back from a lovely Sunday morning date with an old friend and thought I would put down a few words about the film before it went out of my head. This morning's fare was the long anticipated "Anna Wintour movie": The September Issue (btw: movies before noon at AMC are $6 in case anyone's super cheap). As many of you know, Anna Wintour is the celebrated and famously icey editor-in-chief of American Vogue. Her demeanour is so famous in fact that a former personal assistant wrote the bestselling novel The Devil Wears Prada about it (later turned into the popular film starring Meryl Streep in the role in question).

Ultimately this film seems to take a softer view on Anna's personality (which is to be expected considering how much influence she has amassed in the fashion and entertainment worlds). It does not, however, shy away from her emotional disconnect as one would think, rather addressing it directly to her and those who work with her. While everyone freely admits to her distance, the underlying implication is that this is how she remains efficient. In a world where many of the creative types normally tapped to produce work for her magazine are flighty and unfocused, Anna Wintour remains the engine driving the train towards greatness. Her ability to strike fear into those around her means that she does not have to say much in order to get what she wants, and get it quickly.

The surprise in this case is actually the appearance of Wintour's long time Creative Director, Grace Coddington (a former model and brilliant stylist in her own right). Grace is brilliant and driven, opinionated and intent on getting what she wants and a good portion of the film features the complicated relationship between the women. In the end, it is this relationship and the conflict that defines it which manages to keep the film moving forward as everyone at Vogue struggles to put together the largest September Issue in Vogue's history.

I had some concerns going in that it was going to be two hours of Anna Wintour being mean to people and it is certainly not that. The filmmakers jump effortlessly from place to place and work chronologically with the magazine employees to follow the story as it develops; which in this case is probably the best way they could have structured the film. The numbers involved in the production of this magazine are astounding (at one point Grace mentions that Anna has, in fact, cut about $50,000 worth of work from the issue in taking out a few outfits from one of the early shoots).

Alternately funny and intriguing, the film reads a little like a television special but keeps the audience interested.