Coronavirus Lockdown Spanish Edition - Day 52 - Star Wars Social Distancing

I just want to take a few minutes to share some laughs in the form of more Covid-19 memes, in honor of Star Wars Day. 😉 (once again I know not the source, these have circulated on social media)

Coronavirus Lockdown Spanish Edition - Day 46 - Announcing deescalation!

Well here's something to look forward to! We finally have information on the Government's plan to slowly roll-back the lockdown rules. Gotta love the name "Plan for the Transition Toward a New Normality", really rolls off the tongue, lol!

It starts on Saturday with everyone allowed out (finally!) to do individual walks or work-outs, and restaurants that offer take-out options will be allowed to re-open (but not for seating). Then gradually, province by province (not all at the same time due to different conditions in each, and no movements between provinces if they are in different phases) we go through several phases:

Coronavirus Lockdown Spanish Edition - Day 33 - Quarantine Movie Marathon!

When we all got locked in a month ago (that long?!) one of the first things that popped into my head was "Tolkien movie marathon!!!" So the first weekend I watched the Hobbit trilogy, and the second one the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And then I stalled... what next? Looking at my dvds... Star Wars? Nope, missing the latest (doesn't come out on disc in Spain until June). Harry Potter? Indiana Jones? So many fabulous options!

Many people around me have been talking about fun "quarantine projects" involving books, Netflix series marathons, movies (I've been organizing online Saturday "movie nights" with friends)... And then it came to me! A quarantine-long (but not daily!) movie marathon in which the criteria were:

• Has to be a movie I own (some of them haven't been taken off the shelves in a loooong time)
• Whichever movie I watch has to be related somehow to the previous one (with the exception of Saturday Movie Night, since that's a consensus pick among the gang)

Coronavirus Lockdown Spanish Edition - Day 15 - Movie night!

What a lazy Saturday it's been... I can honestly say I have done nothing productive today! Not that I had any specific plans to, but I was hoping to get something done. But it's getting harder to get out of bed in the morning unless work beckons (weekdays). And then of course random stuff happens! Like a 90' FaceTime call involving a 15 month old who wouldn't give up the phone to either his mom or his sister (or at least not for long). Let's just say I am now very familiar with the ceilings in my sister's house! 😂😂😂 

Fortunately one thing I had planned did work out: movie night!!! My frequent cinema companions and I each set up on our TVs or computers the same film, I launched a four-way video call on WhatsApp - first time trying that option, worked like a charm - showed off our snacks (ranging from popcorn to brownies) and chatted for a nice long while. And then THREE - TWO - ONE - PLAY! 2h later and group call again to compare notes. One disadvantage compared to the cinema: one person fell asleep 15' before the end, tsk! tsk! We weren't there to nudge him awake! 😜

I've been told I should check out if Netflix in Spain has the "party" option, apparently you can watch it with friends in different homes and it will start it for everyone at the same time and you can comment or something... Might look into that for next weekend! Low-tech worked just fine this time.

Can I add, Tom Hanks is always a reliable choice for movie night? 😉

#stayhome #quedateencasa #yomequedoencasa #restecheztoi

Movie Magic - Celebrating the marvelous achievement that is the MCU (part 2)

Continuing the exploration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU), we move into Phases 2 and 3 (so once again my "part 2" does not coincide with the MCU Phase 2). 

Whereas we could have considered the Phase 1 (+ Captain Marvel) movies the warp of the tapestry that is MCU, with its series of origin stories for the principle heroes - and their first coming together to form the Avengers - as the foundation of the MCU, the movies in Phases 2 & 3 should be considered the weft, filling in the story further, adding colour & texture (sometimes through further developing familiar character and places, others by introducing new ones), making the overall design more apparent, while of course each movie is still telling its own story. Each film is designed as its own thing, but woven into it are the threads that connect back to the larger cinematic universe.

With regards to the order of viewing, and wanting to keep it in chronological order within the MCU (as opposed to release date), it was a bit difficult to figure out which events took place before which others. Doing a bit of online research (a.k.a. Googling), I came upon a proposed order by AMC Theatres that makes a lot of sense to me, both in terms of organizing them chronologically and thematically. They propose going straight into the second Thor movie after the Avengers, as it directly takes up Thor and Loki's storylines. Then continuing with the two Guardians of the Galaxy films (the second is set mere months after the first), to continue with the cosmic side of the MCU, before coming back to Earth to look into the consequences of Avengers for the Earth-bound characters, leading into their next team-up.

So that means for part 2 I'm going with: Thor: The Dark World (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Iron Man 3 (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014); Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). This order brings a Phase 3 movie into the grouping (GotGvol.2), and pushes a Phase 2 movie (Ant Man) into Part 3. Although, to be honest, Ant Man should have always been considered a Phase 3 movie since it was released (and takes place) after Age of Ultron. Just saying... 😉 (that or you could consider it a coda to Phase 2, setting up a new plane - the quantum realm - for Phase 3)

Of course, SPOILERS BELOW!

Movie Magic - Celebrating the marvelous achievement that is the MCU (part 1)

Whether you're a fan or not... I don't think one can help to be impressed by what Marvel Studios has achieved in the past decade with the MCU. They have interwoven 22 mostly distinct films (some more, some less - or so it appeared at first - connected to the rest) into a vast tapestry that really is a cinematic universe! Each movie has its story to tell, and while for some of them it would be highly recommended you see other related ones (in particular the sequels), they can all be enjoyed independently of the other. Of course the experience is much enriched by having seen all of them and keeping track of the threads that weave in and out and tie so many of them together.

Tony Stark, the epitome of "cool"

Marvel put together this universe with a collection of characters from its wide roster of superheroes and villains, some who were already well-known to the general public (Hulk!), others were more familiar only to comic book fans (Iron Man). They took these characters and the traits that made them who they are, but often tweaked their origin stories or current ones in order to better meld them into an over-arching coherent cinematic universe and bring the stories into the 21st century. They even started enriching this cinematic universe with TV outings (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, the Netflix shows Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist - culminating in the team-up Defenders, and the Punisher etc.), but between 2 separate branches of the studio responsible for movies vs TV, and the differences between the chronology to put together a TV show and a movie, there's almost no connection or references between the TV/movie outings. The movies definitely don't reference the TV shows (although we'd love to see some of our favorite TV characters get at least a cameo!), and the TV shows only reference the movies obliquely (e.g. calling the Avengers-set "Battle of New York" as "the incident"), except for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. which in its first season does bring in a few elements of Captain America Civil War and Thor 2, and in its fifth season has side references to what's happening in New York and Wakanda... In any case, for the present I'm centering on the movies.

Of course with a collection this vast, with a diversity of characters/actors (although to be fair not enough gender or racial diversity - it took them 10 years to have a film with women either as the main lead or directing) and different voices of scriptwriters and directors, playing with different genres, well quality varies somewhat from one to another, as well as people's tastes. For me the highlight of the MCU, what keeps me coming back, are the characters (ok, the awesome spectacle on the big screen as well). Even in the movies that aren't that great, there's always some saving grace thanks to the lead characters and many of the supporting ones! Iron Man 2 and Thor 1&2 are generally agreed to be duds, but Tony Stark, Thor and Loki still shine in them! The exception might be The Incredible Hulk, none of the characters seemed to be allowed to meaningfully grow or let the viewer connect with them...

So, let's dive in, shall we? I started out planning on doing one overall post, but as I've been writing it I realize with 21 movies it's much too long! So dividing it in 3 parts - and NO the "parts" do not 100% coincide with the MCU "Phases" because I've decided to re-watch these chronologically according to the in-universe timeline, not order of release, so Captain Marvel is shifted to the top of the list. Oh! And as I said, I won't review/re-watch the TV shows (not enough time!), but I will include a mention of when they would be set...

The Phase 1 movies were mostly everyone's origin story, and getting them where they need to be to team up in later - so Captain Marvel is a perfect fit!

So for Part 1 we revisit: Captain America (2011) - becoming a super-soldier but retaining that sense and ability to do what's right, Captain Marvel (2019) - discovering who she truly is, and claiming her power through that self-knowledge, Iron Man (2008) & Iron Man 2 (2010) an egotistical billionaire learns he can't go it alone and his actions have consequences, The Incredible Hulk (2008) - not sure really, since so much was ignored later, I guess acceptance of the beast inside, and a beginning of control, Thor (2011), and then of course The Avengers (2012).

Needless to say, SPOILERS BELOW!

Movie Madness: the intensity of BlacKkKlansman and Bohemian Rhapsody

Oh wow! I mean... WOW!!!

I just got back from seeing the Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody and man... they weren't kidding when they said "we will rock you"! I'm not sure there are words to describe the intensity of that film... of the music of Queen and their creation process. And those final 15' at Live Aid? DAMN!!!

The film's reviews might be kind of "meh" or "it's pretty tame, they took the 'safe' route in telling Freddie Mercury's story". IGNORE IT! Doesn't matter! Could there have been a more in-depth look at the band's hard partying life? At the choices Freddie makes? Sure, of course. But ultimately the music is what matters. And they are pretty damn insane! Their creative process is unbelievable. And their musical style, abilities for interpreting it, vocal range... you name it, they've got it! 

So go watch it, and I dare you to walk out at the end and not want to walk right back in to another screening... (I might go back on Sunday!) Oh, and someone give Rami Malek the Oscar for best actor right now and be done with it. 

And the thing is... that's not the only awesome movie I've seen this week. Yesterday my dad and I (he also came tonight) went to see Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman and we were equally (but differently) blown away by it! 

I remember going in thinking "ok, how is a black cop going to infiltrate the Klan?!" and came out going "with the help of a Jewish cop?!?!?" The story is so surreal, it could only be believable when you remember it's TRUE!!! Pretty insane! The whole film keeps the tension so tight you could cut it with a butter knife before the end, and yet at the same time it has some absolutely hilarious moments! We couldn't help cracking up laughing time and again (starting with that absurd phone call to the KKK's recruitment number that's shown in the trailer). I'm not surprised this took the Grand Prix du Public at Cannes last Spring!

After a couple of months of movie-drought, I've been blown away several times this past month (these, A Star is Born...). If the awards season is starting out this strong, I can't wait to see what comes next! And am happy I don't have to vote to choose a "best" from among them. 😜

Movie Magic - A Star is Born (2018)

So I just got back from watching the latest iteration of A Star is Born... and it was simply brilliant! I've known for a while that Bradley Cooper can act, but I didn't know he could sing so well! And vice-versa for Lady Gaga, wow! Both of them simply blew me away with their performances, and the music was simply amazing! Although I'm with Cooper's character Jackson Maine who clearly thinks Gaga's Ally is much truer to herself earlier on, her new manager is leading her in a direction (look, style etc.) that seem to hide her more than reveal her... Or maybe it's just that I'm more of a rock than a pop girl. 😉

I hadn't realized this was actually the fourth version of this story, I thought Judy Garland's 1954 movie was the first (follow by Barbra Streisand's in 1976 - haven't seen that one yet). Looks like I'll have to dig up from somewhere the 1937 original! The movies all follow an almost identical plot (aging, almost washed out star "discovers" a young woman with immense talent and ushers her into the business, her success parallels his decline) and have progressed from being about actors, to musical actors, to musicians... and we've correspondingly switched from the big prize being an Oscar to a Grammy. Come to think of it, I'd say 2011's The Artist follows this storyline quite closely as well (except the original star's decline is not self-inflicted, but a change in the industry itself - silent film to talkies). It's a story that could be retold in each generation as the media of film or music keep evolving. And as long as they take good care of the script and choose good actors who have chemistry with each other, it will continue to be a successful story.

In the meantime, GO WATCH THIS ONE!

Now I'm going to go load the soundtrack on iTunes and listen to it on a loop. 😎

Oscar Preferences & Predictions 2017

I get teased quite often by family, friends, colleagues about my efforts each year to see as many of the Oscar nominees that I can (not always easy considering sometimes some aren't even out in Spain when the Oscars roll round), but this year's batch has reminded me again why I do it. 

In part it's because I love the movies and the Oscars and want to "try and guess the winners", but also because once the big night comes and goes I might not feel so much "pressure" to go and see the non-winners (I honestly don't think you can call a nominated film a "loser") and I might miss out on a gem. After all, when over 6000 film professionals come up with a list of movies to reward, you can be pretty damn sure those are going to be excellent films with something to say!

This year, if it weren't for the Oscars, I probably wouldn't have gone to see Manchester by the Sea or Moonlight or Fences or Jackie or Lion (or Hell or High Water which I still haven't seen but fully intend to on dvd - or an airplane, was only out for a week in English just after New Years, and the family chose another movie to see). And I would have missed out BIG TIME! All of them surprised me and moved me deeply. The depths of the human experience they allow us to witness, the huge talent of the actors bringing those characters to life, it just blew me away! I just came back from seeing Fences and I'm still in awe. Someone give Denzel Washington and Viola Davis their Oscars already, sorry for any competition (was sure Casey Affleck would win, until just now).

Random movie ramblings...

Is it just me or is the "movie summer" (as in season of blockbuster bonanza) starting earlier and earlier? With Captain American out this weekend, Noah next weekend and Spiderman in 2 weeks... and I believe Divergent came out recently in the U.S. (out in Spain in a few weeks), it kind of feels like summer in the movies! Now if only the weather would follow suit...

Or maybe the suits in Hollywood have finally realised that if you make a decent film that people want to see, then it doesn't really matter when it comes out! Unless of course you put it up against the release of another movie people want to see even more, but that's another story. :p

Dunno, I'm just happy the movie scene has a bit more options than several years ago... 

I took my dad to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier today (he's a fan of Cap', although he says he might be finally outgrowing "superhero movies"), and it was a blast! Sure, it's the usual "blow lots of stuff up and have lots of fight scenes" blockbuster, but with witty banter, great actors and a good sense of humour. And I loved the idea behind the main plot (which I won't give away 'cause it would spoil it for you, you'll find out about halfway in) and the not so veiled critique at our modern information/surveillance society.

Another thing: I think Marvel is doing an amazing job at weaving this cinematic universe of theirs together! Each film is different threads on that tapestry, all of them linked together one way or another (some pretty obviously, others more subtly). Whoever was the architect behind this, kudos!

Oh, and stick around until the veeeery end of the credits! As usual with Marvel films there are post-credit scenes which give you a clue of what's coming next... Two scenes, one halfway through the credits, the other at the very end. I'm guessing one is a clue for the next Avengers moving being filmed right now, the other possibly for Captain America 3 in a few years. I don't know anything about the comics, so the first scene didn't really "clue me in" on the next story, but I did enjoy the second one, was a nice little moment!

Now I'm quite curious to see how the events in this film are going to impact the Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series... ;o)

Summer Blockbuster Ramblings

As I mentioned the other day, I think I've managed to see most of the big blockbusters in the cinema this summer... or at the very least all the ones I was interested in as well as a few extras! As usual my partner in crime was my fellow cinema-addict, my dad! A couple of times I did go out with some of my friends (but it's not easy getting them to the theatre!) ;o)  

So here are a few thoughts... Old news, I know, but if you've seen them it's always fun to exchange impressions! And if you haven't, well then maybe this will help you decide to catch them on dvd/online/ whatever or stay away from it! :p

Cruel Albion

Although really I should be saying "Cruel Hispania", since Spain's the real culprit here!

Why "Cruel Albion"? Well basically because when I was walking around Bristol a few weeks ago, the city proceeded to torture me by having a series of posters on display that were pretty much taunting me whenever I turned my head... Taunting me about what? Here, take a look:

Arrrrrrrrrghhhhhh!!!

Rub it in my face England why don't you! Same goes for the rest of the world!!! And the worst offender is my sister in New Zealand who was taunting me 10 days ago about already having seen it (before the rest of the world)!!!

So what's the big deal? Why don't I just go see it for myself and stop complaining? Because in Spain it's not coming out until JULY!!!! grrrrrrrrrrrrr.... How dare they!!! I've been impatiently waiting for mid-May to arrive for months!!! And now I have to wait an extra 2 months?!?!?! It's almost enough to drive me to log onto the Ryanair website and get myself a ticket to the UK... almost. I'm not that crazy! Although once upon a time I did used to go to Holland from Belgium just to watch movies in English instead of French... But to be fair... Maastricht was only a 20' drive from Liège, and there were several of us in the car who did not want to see Harry Potter (and several others) in French so... not that crazy of me... :p

Almost 2 months... I keep hearing good things about it and am trying real hard to stay away from spoilers. July 5th can't get here soon enough!!!

Rambling Oscar thoughts

Oscar, Oscar! What is it with this particular awards ceremony that so enthrals us each year? Makes even less sense for me to be obsessed with it, considering I'm a continent and an ocean away, haven't been able to see the ceremony live in years, and until a few years ago it was impossible for me to see all the candidates before the actual ceremony! I don't know... perhaps it's a residual from my childhood/adolescence when I did live in that hemisphere and enjoyed the show a few times with my family... Perhaps it's just another aspect of my obsession with the movies in general! Anyhow, it's always a lot of fun to try and guess who will take home the little gold man, and then to complain and grumble about how someone else was "robbed" each year! :p

I'm not equipped to really judge some categories (or don't have time this year to look into them in detail), and I haven't seen all the films... and so can only "judge" some. I managed to see all the BP nominees except Amour, couldn't find time to make it to the cinema this weekend! *sigh* I'd rather catch it later in French anyway (for some reason dubbing annoys me even more when the original language was French! :p ). In any case, based on those I have seen, 2012 was a really good year for the movies! Lots of really great stuff to choose from, and I'm glad the decision doesn't rest on my shoulders, in most of these categories I truly wouldn't know how to decide!!!

Drop a line in the comments and tell me how your predictions compare to mine (mine have an asterisk), or stop by again "the day after" to rejoice or bemoan the winners/losers! ;o)

Now, without further ado here are my thoughts on some of the contestants for this year's Oscars!  

Movies, movies and more movies!

Woah! Turns out I've seen quite a few movies in the past couple of weeks! Blame Oscar season... so many promising movies out all at once (after months of only so-so fare), I'm afraid I'm binging! No sign of it stopping either, still got a few more to see before the "big" night! :p

Random Ramblings

• I've gotten quite a few new visitors to the blog (WELCOME!!!)... all coming over for a visit from Snug Harbor Bay because my friend Kim wrote a lovely post about me yesterday!!! Fabulous surprise! (I thought you were just going to show off the hat and scarf Kim!) One of the things I like best about blogging is all the fabulous people I've been able to "meet" through our respective blog posts and comments. It's opened the world up for me and allowed me to make new friends in a fun way! I liken it to having pen pals back in the day (I tried once or twice, never stuck), except 100 times better! I hope some day to get to meet some of my "virtual" friends in the "real" world soon (Kim -> Spain + Italy for when???), but in the meantime it's wonderful hanging out with you guys online! :o)

• For the past 36h the news has been all abuzz about the Pope's "retirement" (15' section in the news today at lunch!!!). I don't have an opinion either way, but I do seem to remember about 10 years ago people asking why Pope John Paul II didn't retire and hearing it said that popes couldn't retire! Guess they got it wrong... just 'cause no one's done it in 800 years doesn't mean it can't be done! Still, it's weird to think of a Pope retiring! But he sure looks feeble in the news images... can't be an easy "job".

• Speaking of random news items, it turns out the Brits like to bury their Kings in car parks! lol! That was all over the news last week, did you guys hear about it? Talk about an archaeological treasure hunt... and find! Richard III remains "Crookback Dick" in my mind, not thanks to Shakespeare, but because of Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Black Arrow"! That was my first intro to the King (and the War of the Roses). Fascinating (and bloody!) period of British history... Now I'm wondering: what kind of State Funeral will the British Crown give its newly found monarch? An Anglican service doesn't seem right considering he was Catholic... but I have trouble imagining the head of the Church of England presiding over a Catholic funeral service... Anyhow there's a really interesting post about the dig itself over on The History Girls, very good read!

• I've tallied up quite a few movies these past couple of weeks (damn Oscar season!), have to prep a post on them... I'm only missing Amour to wrap up the Oscar nominees for Best Picture, will try to catch that this weekend. But I'm wondering whether or not to give The Master and Flight a go to get a look at their Oscar-nominated performances... neither movie really caught my attention, but I like to see as many of the major contenders as possible before the big night... Speaking of the Oscars, how ridiculous is it that Ben Affleck wasn't even nominated for Best Director considering he's winning just about every other "best director" award out there this season? He just got the BAFTA on Sunday! (bravo!)

• *sigh* I was really hoping I'd be able to make a grand announcement about spending 6 months this summer working in Iceland... but I didn't get the job. Major bummer! Sticking with the English classes for a while longer (and every week hoping none of my students cancels on me). When is this stupid global crisis going to end and there be more opportunities for people with a biology/environmental background? Anybody know of a decent environmental education or conservation position out there? I love my students but I'm tired of teaching English!

Violent Movie Madness

So, in the past 10 days I've been to the cinema three times with my dad (yes, I know it's a lot... but it's Oscar season!), and we've ended up watching some pretty violent films (two are Oscar nominated)... Although to be fair I really wanted to watch the third tonight instead of Lincoln (which will be next week) just so I could round out the three and write this post! :p

All three were violent in different ways, some parts more disturbing than others and for different reasons... And they've helped me realise that violence in the movies doesn't disturb me as much as it used to! Perhaps it's because more films have become more violent... or I've just been able to avoid the truly gory ones... or I'm able to distinguish "real" violence from the Hollywood special effects variety. In any case, each of these films did have moments that made me feel truly uncomfortable with the violence, and I'd say it was only truly "justifiable" in the first one.

Movie Magic: Les Misérables

So Les Misérables gets to be my first movie of 2013. It moved me to tears several times and had me in awe at the amazing talent of several of the actors involved! I knew Hugh Jackman could sing, but I had no idea he could sing like that, while acting so well that his Jean Valjean truly impressed me! (will someone just give him the Oscar already?!) And what about Anne Hathaway?! Woah!!! That girl can SING! It's a good (?) thing her role isn't any bigger, or she'd steal the show from Hugh Jackman! (ditto on the Oscar comment)

Movie Magic: IN A HOLE IN THE GROUND...

... there lived a HOBBIT.

"Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

Although the movie doesn't start with them, the famous first lines of The Hobbit are said by older Bilbo as he writes them down in the Red Book. :o)  And last night it sure was a delight to revisit Bag End with the elder Bilbo and young Frodo (Ian Holm and Elijah Wood) as they prepare for a very special birthday party! I've been giddy as a schoolgirl all week just at the thought of dipping my toes back into the waters of Middle Earth, so it didn't take much to get me to go on opening day or choose to see it in 3D! ;o)

Random Movie Ramblings

On Sunday I went back to the movies with my Dad.  And I realised that was 3 times in 8 days (with The Impossible a week before)... how obvious is it that we're big cinema fans? :p

Anyhow, we went for Argo (directed by and starring Ben Affleck). It's about the hostage crisis at the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979. Something I have no memory of whatsoever (I was 3), but my dad remembers quite well. This movie is about the 6 hostages who escaped the Embassy when it was overrun and found refuge in the Canadian Ambassador's house (spy daddy Victor Garber, yay!). It's about the CIA guy (Affleck) who was crazy enough to go and get them out by pretending to be making a Hollywood Sci-Fi film that needed to film on location in Iran. I thought it was an excellent film! Very well made and acted, and very tense even though we know the final outcome (history and all that). Both my dad and I really enjoyed it! As usual I'm sure they played with and stretched the actual timeline and historical facts to fit the storytelling needs, but I'm fine with that (I'll go digging around online later to do some fact-checking).

Argo was definitely MUCH better than the movie we went to see on Thursday: Skyfall, the latest 007. Boy was that... bland! Basically a transition film to introduce a new set of Bond people/actors for the next films. I was kind of bored during the first half of the film. It just seemed to move from set piece to set piece with no purpose, no guideline... An interesting villain but uninteresting Bond girls. Then it got better when M (the ever fabulous Judi Dench) got much more to do than her usual arguing with Bond. In fact the element that most surprised me was the fact that I was in a packed cinema (like during The Impossible the previous week), with kids/teens seated on either side of us plus behind and in front! The film itself I pretty much predicted everything way ahead of time. Even if you're a big Bond fan, you might want to wait to rent the dvd...

Just before Skyfall we got the trailer for Lincoln... looks really good! Plus a friend in Missouri who got to go to an advance screening said it's excellent, she even called Daniel Day Lewis for the Best Actor Oscar! So I'll definitely be there when that shows up on screen! Although we won't get it in Spain 'till mid-January. Fingers crossed I get a chance to see it in English!

Question: is there a Lincoln anniversary coming up? Or has there been one? That's 3 movies in a couple of years... ok one he was the victim (The Conspirator) and another was a loopy Vampire hunting one (better than I expected), but still...

But what really got my adrenaline pumping was the trailer preceding Argo: The Hobbit!!! Can't wait!!! If possible we're going to watch that all together after a family lunch on Christmas Day in Valencia (in English, yay!). We know they've filmed the whole thing... are they really going to spread it out over 3 years like Lord of the Rings?! *sigh* Apparently the titles of the three will be The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (1); The Desolation of Smaug (2) and There and Back Again (3). Time for me to re-read the book (plus the appendices of The Lord of the Rings for the extra stuff) and try and guess where they'll be splitting the story...

Question: has anyone seen a movie called The Words? Starring Bradley Cooper. It's playing here and caught my interest. I'm hesistating on wether taking my dad (or having him take me) to see that one or Looper this weekend. It will be his last visit to the movie theatre in a month probably (more on that another day)....

Movie Magic: The Impossible

What's impossible about the movie The Impossible is to walk out of the cinema without having shed a few tears! Go ahead, try it. I dare you! (be sure to stock up on kleenex). Seriously. A crowded room full of noisy people (including lots of popcorn munching teens) in minutes went dead silent, the only sound to be heard gasps and sniffles. And applause when it ended. My heart is still racing!!!

You probably have no idea what I'm talking about since this film won't hit screens in the U.S. until November and the UK until January so I'd better give you some more info! For starters the reason we got it in Spain a month before anyone else is because it's a 100% Spanish film, although most people won't realise that seeing as how it was filmed in English with international stars (Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts and a lovely cameo by Geraldine Chaplin). Although as usual I was stuck watching it dubbed in Spanish! :p But look at the names involved behind the camera and they're all Spanish! Plus part of it was filmed here in Alicante (I just learnt that online)! Oh, and just for stats: it broke all box office records in Spain for biggest weekend opening 2 weeks ago, and although since then it's been playing on 2 screens in my local cinema, one show per hour, the room was still packed! :o)