Oh interwebs lyrics, or 'How To Say Goodbye' from Nick and Norah is beautiful

I know, two posts about Nick and Norah in one day? Crazy! But I fell in love with Paul Tiernan's song and have been listening to it non-stop (the gloom/doom mood and the grey/rainy weather with this song on loop just makes me feel like in an emo montage...)

Anyways. So I looked up the lyrics and came up with these ones (read the last lines: they are HYSTERICAL)

"Living isn't quite the same

You said to me, it's runnin' away.

If you're scared or tired of what you're scared of

Why should you stay

You love to say goodbye

And always counted all the time 

'til he was free

to get up and leave

to learn how to breathe

again...

Slippin' out to have a cigarette

with someone else that he'd never met

Ask her if by the way would you like to

run away and try to forget

Just not to stay

To leave without saying why

To get up and go

To catch the last train

To get in some car and drive out again

To never come back this way

Left to say: 

goodbye

so long

farewell

ovwar

goodbye

so long 

farewell

ovwuar

[Thanks to Sally J. for lyrics]

[Thanks to Kara Kalinowski for corrections]"

I'm guessing neither Kara nor Sally speak French? Or is "ovwar" the new "Au Revoir"?

Rafi Gavron or How can he and I have an infinite playlist?

I recently saw Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (yes, I know... what the hell had taken me so long? It's a solid A film that harkens back to the teen films I love from the 90s mixed in with the great vibe of my current living quarters: NYC!) But can we just talk about Rafi Gavron for a second? He's adorably smouldering throughout the film as one of Michael Cera's "gay bandmates" (Aaron Yoo is also not bad at all, but Rafi gave us a shirtless scene so...)

Enjoy:

Now, does this make me a groupie of 'The Jerkoffs'? I think so. And yes, I know how that sounds...

Caprica, or How "Welcome to Vancouver!"

Watched Caprica (finally!) - the prequel series to my beloved Battlestar Galactica. My thoughts?:

Wow. Really, it's all I could muster. And then there's the whole "wtf" factor which had me hooked from the first scene where you're like "what the hell are these kids doing in this fucked up club?!" and which never really lets go (that scene where Adama sees his girl's 'avatar' works on the same level - it's at once creepy and creepily engaging). I do wonder where it's going to go and how well the whole 'I'm a human in a Cylon body' is going to work (especially if the CG is going to be on par with the only cringe-worthy scene of the show). That said, I do worry that it's very male-centered (sure BSG was all about the Adamas, but it was Roslin, Six and Starbuck that got me hooked) though I'm hoping the two teen girls and the accented headmistress get juicier roles as the show progresses.

That's a long way of saying: I'm intrigued and I really enjoyed it.

That said, the one thing that really made the show amazing for me is its use of Vancouver for locations. Sure, BSG had already shown us snippets of what the world in Caprica City was (both in the mini-series, in some flashbacks and in those last episodes of the show) but Caprica lives and breathes on par with the luscious Pacific Northwest scenery. Kind of makes me want to move back:

The LAMB, or How it's called networking for a reason

A Blog Next Door is proud to be inducted into The LAMB ("The Large Association of Movie Blogs"):

The LAMB is the premier movie blog directory - a one-stop shop for readers and bloggers alike. Want to know more?

So for those of you stumbling around here from there:

Meine Damen und Herren, Mesdames et Messieurs,
Ladies and Gentlemen! Guden Abend, bon soir,
We geht's? Comment ca va? Do you feel good?
I bet you do!
Ich bin euer Confrecier; je suis votre compere...
I am you host!

Und sagen
Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome
Im Cabaret A Blog Next Door, au Cabaret A Blog Next Door, to Cabaret A Blog Next Door

The Simpsons Wear Prada, or How I'm Seeing Double

Who knew all three Prada-attired ladies had guested as young Springfieldians? 

And you can totally see Jessica Lovejoy saying "That's all!"

Wolverine, or How Bad Films Make for Fun Reviews

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Directed by: Gavin Hood

Written by: David Benioff & Skip Woods

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schrieber, Taylor Kitsch, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins, Will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan & Ryan Reynolds.

Instead of railing against the blasphemous filmmaking that is X-Men Origins: Wolverine (dialogue: horrible, that 'Wolverine Pacific Northwest story' could have been good had it not been delivered so plainly and played for a joke; plot: infuriating, was it going anywhere? were there any stakes involved? what the hell was the boxing scene about anyways?; editing: appalling, re-watch the Gambit-Wolverine fight scene and tell me it's not one of the botchiest editing jobs ever in a big budget summer franchise film; directing: cliche here [walking into the sunset!], cliche there [they are animals, of course they'd run in the forest!], bad montage here [look! it's all these wars in 15 mins!], and don't even get me started on the CGI...) I figured I'd just throw some thoughts out there.

13 Random Thoughts I had while watching X-Men Origins: Wolverine:

- Hugh Jackman is a great actor. Given mediocre dialogue and thinly veiled metaphorisations all around, he grounds Wolverine/Logan in a place where you at least enjoy him on-screen. And yes, he's shirtless and/or naked enough to give us some eye-candy while at it.

- Okay so Weapon XI was Deadpool, correct? That's why it was Ryan Reynolds in his full-ab glory at the end right? So why is Scott Adkins billed as "Weapon XI"? Did something go over my head here?

- "OMG! That Nigerian building is where I spent most of my academic life in my undergrad years!": Who knew that Buchannan Tower at UBC worked so well as a diamond dealing fortress?

- Helicopter scene: Puh-lease. And no I'm not just talking about Wolvie jumping off with the help of the explosion's thrust onto the helicopter, but mostly about Agent Zero's jump into the helicopter... Oh who am I kidding, the whole scene was preposterous EVEN for a comic book film.

- Why do Wolverine's claws look like they're Hasbro-made when he's in the bathroom of that annoyingly nice elder couple? Also, why did they have to play that scene for comedy? That in it of itself seemed to be the biggest issue I had with the film, its tongue was so squarely placed in its cheek, I couldn't really follow through Logan's dramatic arc at all cause every time I did, one of the characters would spew out a useless 'zinger' that rang very hollow and it sucked me OUT of the film completely.

- Rule # 1 of good filmmaking: you DON'T need to show us everything. Was I the only one annoyed at the fact that Hood cut to this after Logan says that's what he wants his dogtags to say?

- Did we really have to get rid of Dominic Monaghan so quickly? His short scenes at the circus/fair were one of the highlights of the film for me.

- Can we get Liev more work? Better work?... What's that? He's playing a cross-dresser in Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock? Good!

- Uh, why is Emma Frost's transformation akin to being bedazzled by diamonds?!

- "Am I seriously liking this LESS than X-Men: The Last Stand?" (But then, anything with Sir Ian McKellen makes me like a film more... though the Patrick Stewart was a welcome sight)

- Am I ever going to be able to take Ryan seriously as an "actor"? I'm thinking: No. I'm content with admiring his bulging biceps and his beautiful abs.

- THE END: Are they seriously doing the "walking into the sunset" thing?... And then again? And then again?!

- THE BONUS SCENE: Are you EFFING kidding me? That was it? He was "still walking"? WTF?

Verdict? C -

Julie and Julia, or How: trailer love!

Meryl + Amy + Norah + Julia Child + Food + Stanley = I'm excited.

Every Little Step, or How you really hope they get it

Every Little Step

Directed by Adam del Deo & James D. Stern

They say (who is 'they,' don't ask me...) that documentaries are as good as their subjects. Maybe this is why I enjoyed Every Little Step so much: its 'subject' (auditions and performers, Broadway and a classic musical) is utterly hypnotizing and makes for a great ride. Del Deo and Stern takes us back in time to the 1970s when Michael Bennett sat down with a bunch of NYC dancers and taped a session where they discussed their lives as performers. From that initial session came the stories that make A Chorus Line, whose revival sets the stage for another set of auditions and stories which the documentary tracks. It's 'meta' filmmaking at its best: a doc about auditions and performers vying for a spot in a show about auditions and performers based on try stories about auditions and performers. That all these strands are kept nicely balanced throughout, shows the deft and clear vision of its directors: we care about the performers we meet but we also follow the show's creation and process, and enjoy the snippets of the actual show we glimpse from auditions and callbacks. With a format that might mirror current reality TV, Every Little Step's never misses a beat by knowing that it is not only echoing but re-enacting the show which it is at once following and re-creating. A

Scene to watch out for: Jason Tam's heartbreaking audition for 'Paul' which left both the production team (and this audience member) in tears.

Julia Roberts, wtf? Or How I (heart) Julia

As if I didn't love Julia Roberts enough, here she is roasting Tom Hanks at an event honoring him at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Best line: Tom Hanks, what the fuck?

30 Rock, or How "Elisa! Elisa! La Viuda Negra!!"

Liz can't read the Spanish-language websites on Elisa, but I CAN:

"The Black Widow is Elisa Pedreira and she is known for having killed her husband. She is a woman very jealous. No cross her. No make her anger. No look other woman. No talk close to other woman. When in presence of Black Widow is better to pretend no other woman in exist Earth. The Black Widow is very pretty and that is what makes it so dangerous. When is about the Black Widow is better smile the smile, but not too much or too little. No touch unless she gives you permission. No take nothing from her without permission. No forget of your love with all your heart for all the time and more"

I tried to mimic the syntax and bad grammar as best as possible. But here's to the hit song 'La Viuda Negra':

Lisa the Drama Queen, or How I'm Seeing Double

The Simpsons' "Lisa the Drama Queen" took a page (or two) from Jackson's Heavenly Creatures (minus the whole matricide, of course...)

And it left me wondering: so is Lisa Kate, then? Or would it be the other way around?

Die Twilight, or How I (heart) Guillermo del Toro

"None of this romantic, languid young men sucking the necks of beautiful people." He reassures his hardcore horror fans that he will not be churning out more of the same. "I tried also to make the vampires as menacing and as real and as absolutely disgusting and as alien as possible," he promises."I tried to make them into a plague of creatures where you did not recognize their humanity — but our own inhumanity in them."

Del Toro on his take on Vampires for his upcoming books and how they're NOT like those /other/ books that are such a hit with the tweens

[via Vulture]

Gigantic, or How THIS is what's wrong with indies these days

Gigantic

Written by: Matt Aselton & Adam Nagata

Directed by: Matt Aselton

Starring: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman & Ed Asner.

It had been a while since a film infuriated me and frustrated me more than Gigantic did. In a way, the film takes most of the things we tend to love (or at least appreciate watching) in "indie" films (quirky characters, dysfunctional families, introspective leads) and uses them in such bizarrely contrived ways that you end up wondering why someone (Aselton, I presume) would think all of the elements belonged in one single film. Take for example Ed Asner's character: he is Paul Dano's father (I won't even bother with names, cause they alone made me roll my eyes every time; "I'm Happy, I mean, my name is Harriet, but everyone calls me Happy", seriously?) and every scene he's in becomes a "Old People Are Crazy" skit, having him ask for bourbon at an office ("Dad they don't do that anymore"), wonder why Paul doesn't have a porter in his apt ("He lives in squalor!" he exclaims) and be utterly overwhelmed by a cellphone. In the same way characters like Deschanel's "Happy," Goodman's "Al Lolly" and Dano's "Brian Weathersby" (see what I mean?) become mere caricatures of themselves by pushing their endearing quirks to awful extremes: Happy comes off as a 'happy drunk,' Al's racism and homophobia try to come off as tongue in cheek but that somehow rings hollow while Brian's big reveal at the end of the film seems like a cinematic cop out for character development since it doesn't feel earned or deserved.

There are good moments in the film (the pool scene between Deschanel and Dano is starkly cute) but these characters, their lives and their dialogue inspired little other than frustration so that when we get to the end of the film and Brian's mom and Happy share a balcony scene and actually utter the words "I think I fucked things up"/"Nothing in this world is fucked up" (or something as inane like that) I wanted to mirror a character in the film and punch these people in the face. Thank god I had Ms Deschanel's wardrobe to stare at (and sometimes puzzle over) otherwise I think I might have walked out. C -

30 Rock, or How Tina & co. makes my Thursdays THAT much better.

"Friendship and trust in the entourage is the most important thing. Like that HBO show... John Addams"

Grey Gardens or How Barrymore + Lange = Great TV

Grey Gardens

Written by: Michael Sucsy & Patricia Rozema

Directed by: Michael Sucsy

Starring: Jessica Lange, Drew Barrymore, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Daniel Baldwin, Ken Howard & Malcom Gets.

Grey Gardens, a TV Drama produced by HBO based on the lives of Big Edie and Little Edie Bouvier Beale (relatives of Jackie O) is an amazing journey - a "riches to rags" story like no other, filled with humour, singing, dancing and top notch production (the transformation of the eponymous house from 1930s splendor to drab 1970s squalor is mesmerizing). And that doesn't even begin to describe the acting talent that its two protagonists showcase here. Now, to say that Ms Lange is a wonder is no surprise: her crazy cheekbones and commanding voice and presence suit Big Edie well (both early on as wealthy bohemian matron and later as recluse commanding mother) but the surprise (obviously) comes from realizing that the Barrymore name comes not in vain with Ms Drew who (and what a biopic cliche!) 'becomes' Little Edie - a character which could have easily become a caricature had Barrymore not tinged her quieter moments (and her louder ones as well) with a vulnerability and tenderness that humanizes her portrayal. This is such a luscious production (the music! the art direction! the costumes!) that dazzles without losing the heart and soul of the two characters at the center of the drama. A+