Silver Linings Playbook - 2012

"Silver Linings Playbook" is about broken people.  Bradley Cooper is Pat, a bi-polar man who is recently out of the mental hospital.  Jennifer Lawrence is Tiffany, a young widow.  Of course the trailer is like any generic romantic comedy.

I went to see this film as it is nominated for a lot of Oscars.  All the acting categories are covered, Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. 

There are many aspects I'm not sure about.  First off, the way that Pat and Tiffany are brought together.  Pat's best friend invites him to dinner.  Tiffany is the wife's sister.  It isn't clear if it is a fix up or not.  They both say inappropriate things and leave before the duck is served.  We start to get bits and pieces of their back stories. 



One side note, Julia Stiles is wasted in a tiny little part.

Pat wants to get his wife back.  Tiffany wants to dance in a contest.  They work out a deal so they can both achieve their goals. 

Running along with this is Pat's parents played by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver.  Dad is obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles and reminded me a little too much of those Bud Light "It's Only Weird If It Doesn't Work" commercials.  He has to hold a handkerchief and his remotes have to be a certain way and his son needs to be on the couch. 



Mom is always in the kitchen making appetizers. 

There is rapid fire dialogue.  I didn't understand even having the brother character.  He seemed kind of a waste of screen time. 

I really don't enjoy mental illness as a plot device.  In the movie he finds his wife in the shower with another man and beats the crap out of him.  I think there are a lot of men that would do this and they wouldn't have to be mentally ill.  I felt like they gave him a disorder to forgive him for this act that doesn't really need it.  

I don't like the widow thing either.  There is a lot of talk about how her husband died and when she reveals the story it felt anticlimatic.  Certainly not a guiltridden tale. 



There was a lot of running in garbage bags. 



A lot of sweaty dancing.  But there weren't a lot of answers to questions raised. 

It was OK.  I was hoping for a transcendent movie.  It was a well cast romantic comedy.  I might check out the book and see if it has more depth and understanding. 

I will think about it. 

Finally My Golden Globes Review

Oh my, I don't know where this week went.  I had a sick day on Monday.  Not a whole day, I left after three hours feeling like I was going to throw up.  I got my Chicken N Biscuits and that helped.  But I didn't eat any dinner.  Here it is already Thursday and I haven't blogged. 

I was up late Sunday watching the Golden Globes.  Late for me anyway.  It just reminded me that I haven't seen any movies that were nominated.  But I did see the Best Drama, "Argo".  I love that the Globes has Drama and Comedy/Musical as separate categories. 



Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were awesome hosts.



They had fun.

They were witty.  I loved this quip from Tina when 24 year old winner, Lena Dunham thanked the other nominees.

"Congratulations Lena, I'm glad we got you through middle school."





Jodie Foster kind of came out and kind of retired.  My husband who gets up even earlier than I do had just gone to bed when it happened.  I texted him.  (What?  He was upstairs.  I'm supposed to scream up the stairs?)

I texted:  Jodie Foster just came out on the Golden Globes.

(Yes, I am one of four people that spells out the whole thing in texts! And uses punctuation.)

He texted back: Wow.  Thank her wife or what?

(My husband is one of the four)

Me: Her coparent and former life mate.

Him: So she's available now?

That's my husband.  I love him.

So after the awards I think I going to see "Silver Linings Playbook".  I'm not sure what else. 

My favorite speech was Adele for Best Original Song.




"I've come for a night out with my friend Ida. We're new mums. We're literally here for a night out.  Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your world for a night. It's amazing. We've been pissing ourselves laughing at all of you".

I love her songs but it is so funny to hear her talking like Eliza Doolittle. 

It was a fun night.  I am ready for the Oscars.

Oscar Nominations 2013!

The playoffs have begun.  My husband is watching football and I need to see some movies.  I have only seen one of the Best Picture nominees.  Last year was probably one of the worst years for new movies for me. 

I am a little ticked that they have 9 nominees.  In the old days with only five nominees I could crank those out in the month between nominations and the ceremony.  Now if I haven't seen them already, it is nearly impossible. 

I saw Argo.  I would like to see Silver Linings Playbook and Amour.  I'm not sure about Les Miserables.  I like a good musical, but I don't know about a couple of hours of fighting and crying.  I don't think I want to see Life Of Pi.   

For the acting categories, I did see The Master.  I will never get all the acting ones.

I did see two of the animated ones.  Brave and Wreck It Ralph were both awesome.

Should be an interesting awards season. 

See the list below:

BEST PICTURE
Amour
Argo
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Silver Linings Playbook

BEST DIRECTOR
Life Of Pi – Ang Lee
Lincoln – Steven Spielberg
Amour – Michael Haneke
Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell
Beasts Of The Southern Wild – Benh Zeitlin

BEST ACTOR
Denzel Washington – Flight
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin – Argo
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln

BEST ACTRESS
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Quvenzhané Wallis – Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Naomi Watts – The Impossible

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – The Master
Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Sally Field – Lincoln
Jacky Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Brave
Frankenweenie
Paranorman
The Pirates! In An Adventure WIth Scientists
Wreck-it-Ralph

This Is 40 - 2012

On New Year's day, I went to see "This Is 40".  I was going to go with my husband but he had an important football game to watch.  I started to go by myself and remembered my resolution to sharpen my saw.  I called a friend I hadn't seen in months and we went together. 



The movie stars Paul Rudd and Leslie "Mrs. Judd Apatow" Mann.  They are reprising their roles of Pete and Debbie from "Knocked Up".

Whenever I see an established couple in a movie I try to figure out how they ended up together.  The bickering and criticizing couple are always a mystery to me.  How did they get past the dating stage to marriage?  Why did they stay married for so long? 

In the movie, the implication is that Debbie got pregnant and they got married.   But I still don't understand their attraction.  Pete is a typical movie man child, hiding in the bathroom to play Scrabble and Bejeweled Blitz.  Debbie is a control freak and list maker who seems irritated by everything Pete does. 

The movie is funny.



Melissa McCarthy steals every scene she is in. 



John Lithgow and Albert Brooks are great as Debbie and Pete's dads.



Paul Rudd is funny doing something I can imagine many men doing. 



Jason Segal reprises his role as lascivious Jason. 



Apatow and Mann's daughter's come back as Pete and Debbie's daughters.  They probably do the best acting in the whole movie.  The little one is great.  The ghost cow scene really made me laugh.

Overall, I laughed a lot.  It was very funny.  The poignant moments didn't work for me.  Leslie Mann can be a little shrill in her attempts to be funny.  Paul Rudd mugs for the camera a little too much in that "yeah, but ain't I adorable" sort of way.

I enjoyed the movie and know it isn't high art.  It was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. 

New Year's Resolution!

This year I am resolving to Sharpen My Saw.

A few years ago I went to a training for work and they covered the Stephen Covey program.  This one stuck with me.  I was supposed to work on this but never really did.  But I never stopped thinking about it.  So I am going to make it my goal for the new year. 

The whole gist of it is to balance all parts of yourself to become the best version of yourself.  This past year has had a lot of ups and downs.  I am ready to make some changes.  So here is how I am going to do it.

Physical: Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting

I will walk 750 miles this year.  This works out to about 14.4 miles per week.  Just under 2 miles a day.  I still plan on running a 5K by the end of the summer.  I will also focus on eating better most of the time.  I am not going to call it a diet.  I will be realistic and just eat better.  I know myself.  The key thing is adding a salad and some veggies, eating more fruit. If I want the occasional cookie it is better to eat one and not bake three dozen.   

 
Social/Emotional: Making social and meaningful connections with others

I tend to be a homebody and if given the choice, I will sit home with my feet up watching Netflix.  I have good friends that I go months without seeing.  We had family over last night for New Year's Eve.  I will just connect with people more. 

 
Mental: Learning, reading, writing, and teaching.

I will get back in gear with my blogging.  I will commit to writing a post at least twice a week.  I hope I will do more, but again, I am trying to be realistic.  Reading is not a problem.  I love to read and now that I have both a Nook and a Kindle I can read a lot! 

 
Spiritual: Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through meditation, music, art, prayer, or service

To me the spiritual is the connecting with your inner self.   I grew to love the bike trail when I was walking through the end of summer and watching it turn to fall.  This surprised me because anyone that knows me knows I am not an outdoorsy girl.  But I loved the feeling of walking the trail, listening to some of my favorite songs and working up a sweat.  So the physical and spiritual will combine for me. 

I am not going to expect perfection.  I am a work in progress.  Here is to a great 2013!