What a fabulous NYE I had! Picture it: Thursday, 12 PM, me and the three coolest peeps I know pile into my tiny little car and head to the California Academy of Science! Woot! No traffic and lots of great conversation made the drive a breeze. We get there and are immediately informed of the wait for the rainforest exhibit (which promised birds, butterflies and all sorts of flora/fauna). So we get in line and chat. We finally get all up in there and it’s semi-bunk: we spotted a total of three butterflies! The exhibit itself is truly fantastic, but beware of the amount of humidity! I went in with straight hair and came out a mess, y’all! We end up in the aquarium section and I love oohing and aaahing at all of the wonderfully strange sea creatures. My faves were the jellies and sea horses/dragons. B especially loved the little cuttlefish, so cute! Sadly we weren’t able to catch the planetarium in time.

By this time the place is closing up and so we head out to West Portal to hit our fave Polish restaurant Old Krakow. We get there and find supreme parking (with tomatoes and sour cream, you know it!). But when we walk up the street we find that it’s now an Indian Restaurant. Boo! Old Krakow’s mushroom soup was calling us! We were beside ourselves with grief.

Walking back to the car, I noticed these gorgeous huge green orchids in the window of a flower shop. Then I noticed the gentleman inside smiling the greatest smile since Ewan McGregor! So J says, “Go in!” and I say, “No way! I’m broke…I can’t afford a thing in there!” But I ended up going in anyway to ask what happened to Old Krakow. Not only did the gentleman know, but he explained the whole story of how the owner was struggling for so long and when the Indian place made her an offer she couldn’t refuse, she took it! Good for her, yes…but sad for us.

So this man was the owner of the flower shop and introduced himself as Christopher. Then he proceeded to simply dazzle us with his charm and wit! He was briskly throwing together an exotic flower arrangement for a client as he continued to chat with us. He was so complimentary and instantly knew who was with whom in our group. He even called me cute and told me to keep it up! He kept saying that we had such a great vibe coming off of us and how he could just tell we were good/fun people (I don’t remember the specific adjectives).

He answered all of our many questions and finally I asked our new friend where we should eat dinner now that Old Krakow is gone. He mentioned a modern Chinese place and then started to describe a Mediterranean place up the street called, “Bursa.” He told us to tell the owner Gihad that Christopher sent us and that he’d take care of us. This just sounded so cool we had to go! We thanked our new friend and bid him a hesitant farewell.

Once inside Bursa we were immediately impressed! Not just with the décor (lovely) but the service and menu, too! Then the owner brought us a bottle or Cabernet Sauvignon…delicious! Our food was fucking amazing! While we were eating our new friend Christopher even showed up with some beautiful flower arrangements for the restaurant. Again, just full of smiles and love! The dessert was indulgent but not too heavy or overwhelming. The prices were beyond reasonable! We can’t wait to go back!

After the happenstance and excitement of the day’s events, we headed back to my place to ring in the new year. Only, we did it by playing video games. Ha! We had more wine and even hit up Taco Bell much later…I think we toasted the new year with our collective soft drinks, but I’m sure it makes no difference. A good time was had by all and that is what truly matters. No one got crazy drunk and no one got sick. Fantabulous! So, happy new year and let’s all hope for peace and prosperity for all in 2010!

I read a lot and a good majority of what I read is online. So I figured it’d be more fun if I share the crap that I find news worthy, notable or humorous. So, yeah…here:

Oh, hate them, but I’m ready for the price wars! Walmart to offer low-cost wireless service nationwide: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/10/15/walmart-to-offer-low-cost-wireless-service-across-the-u-s/?icid=main|main|dl3|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyfinance.com%2F2009%2F10%2F15%2Fwalmart-to-offer-low-cost-wireless-service-across-the-u-s%2F

Coke screwing us all again with more marketting BS! This “new” product (smaller, 90 calorie, cans launched) is just another item to add to those 100 calorie packs buying people who count everything they consume. Seriously? Seek help! Knowledge is power, but you can go too far! http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/10/15/seriously-coke-introduces-90-calorie-mini-cans/?icid=main|main|dl3|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thatsfit.com%2F2009%2F10%2F15%2Fseriously-coke-introduces-90-calorie-mini-cans%2F

WTF?! Bus Driver suspended for wearing pink tie in support of breast cancer awareness: http://autos.aol.com/gallery/weird-car-news?ncid=AOLCOMMautodynlsec0004&icid=main|main|dl4|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fautos.aol.com%2Fgallery%2Fweird-car-news%3Fncid%3DAOLCOMMautodynlsec0004 But did he still lose a day’s pay???

Whatta ya know! Hillary Rodham-Clinton more popular than ever! http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/10/hee-hee.html

Bram Stoker’s Great-Grand Nephew co-writes sequel to classic “Dracula” tale. Gee, I wonder why he’d wanna do that ($$$$)? http://www.asylum.com/2009/10/15/dracula-the-undead-sequel-hits-bookshelves/?icid=main|main|dl4|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asylum.com%2F2009%2F10%2F15%2Fdracula-the-undead-sequel-hits-bookshelves%2F

“Paranormal Activity” turning adults into weepy babies: http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2009/10/14/real-paranormal-activity-movie-haunting-fans-reactions/ I love this! It was a great horror flick. It does stick with you, but I didn’t cry! But maybe I’m desensitized.

Impossibly Beautiful? Yep! http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/10/impossibly-beautiful-assvertising.html

Hot deals on Avon cosmetics: http://shopping.aol.com/beauty-health/makeup?ncid=AOLCOMMshopDYNLprim0001&icid=main|main|dl6|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fshopping.aol.com%2Fbeauty-health%2Fmakeup%3Fncid%3DAOLCOMMshopDYNLprim0001 If you’re into that sort of thang.

Watch the hottest trailers for upcoming movies (including Heath Ledger’s last film): http://www.moviefone.com/hd-movie-trailers?movieId=34807&icid=main|main|dl8|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.moviefone.com%2Fhd-movie-trailers%3FmovieId%3D34807

The Unicorn Code: http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/10/unicorn-code.html So fabulous! (Also, the comments are funny!)

It’s no surprise to me that Micheal Moore is more famous for being himself than for the content of his movies it seems. Even he knows it as I found out this morning in an email from him to his fans:

“And it’s true. I’ve been surprised (and slightly annoyed) that, with all that’s been written and talked about “Capitalism: A Love Story,” very little attention has been paid the mind-blowing stuff in the film: pilots on food stamps, companies secretly taking out life insurance policies on employees and hoping they die young so the company can collect, judges getting kickbacks from the private prison industry for sending innocent people (kids) to be locked up. The profit motive — it’s a killer.”

I had been dying to see his new movie as I have seen all of his, but with life being so full of busy I just wasn’t able to make it on opening weekend. So yesterday the husband and I hit the matinee showing. Because $10.75 for a regular viewing just wasn’t going to cut it on our budget! Yeah, I know, ridiculous! And as much as I would love to support what I think is an important film, I just couldn’t do it at full price.

Regardless of the price and the critics remarks about Moore, the man, not the film maker, I was hardly surprised but certainly fired up by the film’s end. Yep! Just like all of his movies you walk out of the theatre with a fire in your belly, a scowl on your face and a clear and determined path to take down “the bad guys.” Only this time (ha!) the bad guys are our government? Wait, that can’t be right…can it? Well, not exactly. It’s Wall Street & our government. And as I have been learning more and more everyday about the current health care “debate” (yeah, whatta lie!) I have come to the conclusion that our current system of elected officials doing the bidding of welathy and influential lobbyists is a bunch of convuluted bullshit. Oops, did I say that? Yeah, I guess I did. So be it!

Like all of Michael Moore’s films, “Capitalism: A Love Story” is no exception. It is just as well researched and informed and compassionate as his previous films. Somehow though this one leads you right into the belly of dispair, but also shows you the “businesses” that benefit from others misery. You will be aghast at the practices of corporations (surprise) and well known elected officials. You will laugh and cry and yell and burn with anger…but what else is new? It’s a Michael Moore film and I loved it!

Did you see “Capitalism: A Love Story”? What did you think?

For more info on the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232207/ or: www.MichaelMoore.com and check out his new blog, too!

Last night I saw an advanced screening of the new film, “Zombieland” starring Woody Harelson & Jesse Eisenberg (also starring, because there’s only four characters in the thing: Emma Stone {from Superbad!} and Abigail Breslin). I went into this film expecting nothing! I figured if it was terrible my friends and I would enjoy tearing it a new one afterwards over dessert. If it was good, yay! As it turned out, the movie was pretty f-ing good! I mean, the only scary part (if you can call it that) was at the beginning of the film.

I would actually like to acknowledge the clever mood trickery at the start of the film, too! You go into it think it’s going to be ____ type of experience, but then it switches it up again…and again! I say bravo! It was sutble, but kept you guessing for a couple minutes and I liked that! The opening credits were well crafted as well. A lovely smow-motion slideshow of would-be action shots full of all of the blood and gore we horror fans enjoy. There were many hoots/hollers/whoops and of course claps and laughter at the various scenes of brutality crawling across the screen.

While I’m not a huge fan of their little tagline, “Nut up or Shut up!” I did enjoy most of the humor in the movie. I have one major beef though (aside from the sexist BS that is the “nut up” thing): Fat Jokes! I mean, straight from the beginning of the film where the “Columbus” character is explaining his list of rules for survival. He straight up says that fatties were the first to be devoured by zombies because, yeah, they can’t run. Nice–Not! I mean, with all of the other rules on the list, you really don’t think fat people are smart enough to somehow outwit a zombie? Yeah, whomever wrote those jokes (only two parts really) is a lazy-ass writer! For real tho!

Beyond the immature jokes and Woody Harrelson’s “Tallahassee” character’s strange enthusiasm for twinkies (ironic given the fat jokes, yes? So that character can eat garbage, but the fat, for whatever reason somehow deserve to be killed simply for their looks?) the movie was downright good. I rarely say this since I always find flaws, but I was thoroughly entertained for the full 80 Mins (it feels a lot longer). I loved Emma Stone in “Superbad” and enjoyed her smouldering hotness in this movie, too. Abigail Breslin also delivers a good/fair performance.

Now there is some hilariously awesome shit at some point in the movie, but it’s so good (at least it was for me, I still giggle at the thought) that I refuse to ruin it! Seriously…there were parts that made that movie so good for me. My friends enjoyed it, too. We all had a good time and really, isn’t that why we all go to the movies at all?

Now this weekend is packed full of attractive new releases and I for one shall be seeing “Capitolism: A Love Story” & “Whip It” because I love both directors dearly and trust that they have put forth a fine product for my consumption. I will of course write reviews for them, but please be patient, Darlings, this business of mine is demanding so much of my attention. Take care! 

For more information on “Zombieland” : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1156398/

It is very difficult to give a full review of a film such as this buzz-worthy and future cult classic (trust me!) without giving away too much or just ruining it. Sadly I overheard the ending to “Inglorious Bastards” last night even though I had been trying not to even read reviews until I had seen it myself. Oh well. Such is life sometimes. So I shall give you my thoughts and opinions, but I shant be sharing much since I would hate to ruin it for anyone. But if you’d like more, simply comment with your question and email address and I will gladly share!

As Promised, “Paranormal Activity” A Notblueatall Review:

Well, I’d first like to thank my friend J for telling me about this film last week and getting us pumped up about it despite the fact that we hadn’t heard a peep prior to his enthusiastic endorsement. I would also like to thank Steven Spielberg for suggesting the ending. It’s a doozy! Lastly I’d like to thank the douche-nozzle sitting next to me that huffed-puff-sighed and fake-snored during the majority of the film who has since made me swear off midnight showings of new movies possibly forever. I don’t know why you didn’t get it, dude, but maybe if you’d have given it a chance you would have enjoyed it. And sorry, I thought your wookie joke was corny-funny but I was simply too exhausted to laugh.

I will say this about the film first: it left me with the overall feelings “The Blair Witch Project” & “The Exorcist” gave me, but like TBWP, it was a modern twist on what could have been a typical dissapointment you’d find at the straight-to-video rental store horror section. Boy, am I glad it was not a dissapointment!

We drove down to Santa Cruz, CA to see it at a midnight showing on 9-26-09. It was fun and cool and exciting. There was already a line of about 8 or so people before we arrived around 8:30 ish. And shortly after we got in line (after a search and decision and finally enjoyment of dinner) the line quickly grew around the block (or so it seemed, not entirely sure). Can I just tell you how much I hate standing in lines? Not DMV type lines, mind you (although seriously, do your car stuff online it’s mega-fast!) but preview or midnight show movie lines. They are always outside in either horribly hot or soul-crushingly cold weather and it’s an endless wait of misery and passersby asking “what’s this line for?” even when there is a giant marquee just above them stating in humongous letters precisely what’s playing! Like we’re all just standing there for hours because it’s fun?! But I digress.

I thought the two main actors were good. They were exactly what they were supposed to be for the mood and type of film they starred in (monster-tits and all!). If not for their “average joe/jane” appeal you might not have believed such horrific “Paranormal Activity” could have ocurred in the cushy San Diego, CA setting. Also, the sound effects were beyond outstanding! Just fantastic! If you’re a horror-geek or if you just like the thrill of a truly scary movie this is a great film! If you’re going into this expecting some Hollywood hack-job or overdone action style flick, forget it! This is not an action-packed thrill ride or slasher movie. This is just good fun gone scary!

If “Poltergeist” or “The Exorcist” scared the bejebus out of you, this will, too! Okay, I’ll admit that M.Knight Shyamalan’s “Signs” scared the crap out of me, too…so? Believe me, you will walk out of this one jittery and awake, even if you walked in half asleep! Allow me to break it down, modern twenty-something couple living together in a large San Diego, CA house (with three bedrooms with made-up beds and all-inexplicably since it’s just them living there), deal with “Paranormal Acitivity” surrounding the female lead. She’s a student, he’s a day trader. They are funny and cute together and have real-looking fights on-camera.

The male lead tends to come off as a douche when he’s just filming his freaked-out girlfriend and you just hear his voice. Strangely though, when he is on camera he seems more rational and caring, just an impression I got. The female lead was very convincing in all of the emotions her character required. Better acting than a lot of big name Hollywood Actors I thought. The “Paranormal Acitivity” starts small with bumps and noises in the night, but soon progresses into sanity-shattering disturbances.

I always try to put myself in the main character’s shoes, asking myself what I would have done in their place. With this one? Um, I didn’t want to consider the options. She does call a paranormal specialist who quickly explains that he can’t help her/them because he only deals with ghosts or human beings and she was dealing with something alltogether not human. He recommends a specialist, but the couple fights over calling him and when they finally do in a time of dire need, he’s conveniently out of the country.

Sure there are flaws to any film, unanswered questions or inexplicable things you may see or hear or events that get only a cursory mention or investigation. If you can ignore or get past them, you will love this film! In originality and acting I would give this movie a strong A. Some of the things that came up that weren’t truly questioned or investigated bothered me, but only after we left the theatre. When you do get towards the end, well, the possibilities are endless. I sat there in tense andticipation and finally terror, with a hundred scenarios in my head that could have played out. I am pleased with the ending they chose and the pace of the latter half of the film’s escalation. Some without patience or an appreciation of tension building and character development may find the film overall boring, but then they would probably be paying to see G.I. Joe or Transformers anyway.

I say go see this indie and enjoy it for what it is: Something different than the norm. There’s no big names or famous monsters. There’s no serial killer or police investigation. There’s no big budget explosions or CGI effects (that I know of), it’s just darn-right good horror-thriller in a homegrown-grassroots sort of way. And sadly, you may have to demand it in order to see it near you. While I’m fairly certain that it will get widely released, in these econmic times and with movie studios gun-shy about anything other than big-name projects I also fear that it won’t. But you can go to the website and hit the “Demand It” button and hopefully enough of us will do just that and it will get it’s due. www.paranormalactivity-movie.com

I shall leave you with that and nothing more unless you specifically ask for it. Thanks for reading! =0)