Tassel Designer Awards 2011 India Cinema

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Lady Gaga Shoes Gaga Or Gaga

With four different outfits created by Giorgio Armani Prive, Lady Gaga rocked the Grammy Awards in her own unique way. more...

1 Plug, 10 facts, 20 quotes

First, a quick plug (or plea) for those of you readers that are LAMBs. You probably know it's time again for the LAMMY awards, and I'd appreciate some nominations in these (and whatever other categories) you'd consider me for. Thanks!

Next, I've been tagged by The Movie Ness for the latest meme going around. So here's 10 Movie Facts About Me:

1. When I was growing up, I wanted to be Princess Leia.
2. I'm not big on movie snacks at the theater, but if my friends get popcorn I always end up eating some.
3. I don't remember a time when I hadn't seen classics like Citizen Kane, Singin' in the Rain, Some Like it Hot, etc. I was raised on them.
4. I really hate when people are loud at the theater, talking through a movie. I got mad enough once to tell some people off before moving seats. (At home, though, I don't mind movie talk, as we can always rewind and are often rewatching anyway.)
5. I love spotting character actors from one movie to another. (When I don't know their names, I call them by the previous character name I recognize.) I'm always so pleased to yell out, "Hey, it's so-and-so from whatever-movie!" as if I've just seen an old friend!
6. I still watch my VHS tapes. While I've upgraded a bunch of favorite movies to DVD, I kept the VHS copies and store them in the bedroom (theater 2) for easy viewing.
7. I've never been to a drive-in movie, but I would really like to go. (If only I could find one somewhere!)
8. The only movie I ever went to see by myself  was A.I.
9. I wish my life could be more like a musical.
10. I'm excited (and trying to prepare for disappointment) about the Tron Sequel. I want this shirt to wear when I go see it.

And finally, a little while back (on a blog that no longer seems to exist) I played a game where the readers could guess the source of 20 movie quotes. I found it fun and thought I'd try it here as well. I'd like to say no cheating (as in, no help from google!) and although I can't really enforce it, I trust ya'll. Just comment with your answers for each number and I'll mark them off as they are gotten. (Hint: There's both classics and newer movies represented here.) Have fun!

1. Well, here we go, fast and loose. - The Hustler
2. I'll tell you right out, I'm a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk. - The Maltese Falcon (Alex)
3. I like to like what's better to like. - Born Yesterday (NoirGirl)
4. Don't you think that daisies are the friendliest flower? - You've Got Mail (Jess)
5. Lay off 'em, you'll live longer. - The Palm Beach Story
6. No matter what you think you think you think the same as I think. - Adam's Rib (Java Bean Rush)
7. People? I ain't people. - Singin' in the Rain (trulymadlygeeky)
8. It's not a pretty face, I grant you, but underneath its flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character. - An American in Paris (Java Bean Rush)
9. I'm fine all over! - The Apartment (Alex)
10. You ate a lonely dinner, then got into the tub to read. - Laura (NoirGirl)
11. Let us be crooked but never common. - The Lady Eve (Java Bean Rush)
12. Sometimes he said I laughed too much. - The Third Man
13. He's just kissing her for you. - Take Me Out to the Ball Game (Java Bean Rush)
14. What care I for colds when there is such a man? - Sense and Sensibility (Jess)
15. Could you say that in English? - Guys and Dolls
16. I've seen detergents leave a better film than this. - The Muppet Movie
17. I want my two dollars! - Better Off Dead (Alex)
18. Pay the two dollars! - North by Northwest
19. Let's just keep this brain melting stuff to ourselves. - Back to the Future (Alex)
20. There's a double meaning in that. - Much Ado About Nothing (trulymadlygeeky)

Creative and Over the Top!

Recently I had two awards kindly bestowed upon me. One was the Creative Blogger (aka Kreativ Blogger) Award, passed on to me by Sally of Flying Down to Hollywood. Thanks, Sally! I'm choosing to interpret the rules for this one creatively (since that is the name of the award after all) and to start off I made my own logo. (Have you seen the other one? Really.)


I'm also supposed to name 7 interesting things about me. But since I just wrote 5 things about me with the last award I got, I choose to add on only two more here:

6. I just brought home a pet parakeet and have named him Bogie. I'm hoping to teach him to talk eventually. Maybe I can get him to say "Here's looking at you, bird." or even "We'll always have parrots." (I can't help myself.)

7. I actually do think of myself as a creative person. I love to draw, sew, knit, etc. When I was younger, my mom and I sewed up a black and white houndstooth number that looked just like Lauren Bacall's suit in The Big Sleep. I wish I still had it (and that it fit me).

8. OK, I lied, I'm adding on one more thing: I have a separate blog for my crafty/creative side. You can find it here: Wendymoon Designs.

And now, in lieu of nominating more "Kreativ" bloggers, I invite anyone who's already received this award to steal my logo for it. (Just say I made it, if you please.)

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On to award number two. This one is the "Your blog is Over the Top!" award which was given to me by Caitlin, Princess Fire and Music herself. Thanks so much!


While I take this as a compliment, I don't know that I really have an over the top kind of blog. So, since I'm also creative, I decided to skip the questionnaire that comes along with this award and instead highlight what I consider to be real Over-the-Top-ness with a top five countdown of over the top movie performances/characters.

5. Burt Lancaster as General James Mattoon Scott in Seven Days in May

I tend to think that Burt Lancaster is always a bit of a ham. But his total commitment to the single-minded purpose of the sneaky general really works in this film. (Although he plays unlikable so well, it's a bit hard to see where the character's support would come from. Oh, well.)

4. Orson Welles as Will Varner in The Long Hot Summer

Will Varner's a growling, yelling, bombastic guy played to perfection by Welles, whose physical bulk adds to the larger-than-life feeling of this big daddy.

3. William Demarest as Constable Edmund Kockenlocker in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

A case could be made for Betty Hutton (and/or Eddie Bracken) in this movie as well, but Demarest holds nothing back with his broad physical comedy here and that earns him a spot on my list.

2. George C. Scott as General Buck Turgidson in Doctor Strangelove

The word is that director Stanley Kubrick always asked George for one over the top take, and Scott wasn't happy when those were all the takes that got used. But it makes for an attention grabbing performance that stands up to (and even outshines) Peter Sellers.

1. The entire cast of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Let's face it, this whole movie is over the top. The title might have been cut back from having a "Mad" for every star in it, but there's still a powerful group of actors here doing lots of crazy things. There's nothing subtle in how Jimmy Durante kicks the bucket, or Jonathan Winters destroying the service station, or any moment with Ethel Merman. Delightfully excessive and the top of my over the top list.

Anyone who wants to take this idea and run with it is welcome to the Over the Top! Award from me. And now, back to our regularly scheduled movie blogging.

Feeling Fabulous!

An embarrassingly long time ago, Clarabela at Just Chick Flicks tagged me for the Fabulous Blog Award. I am grateful, though slow to react, and now in honor of award season I'm here saying thanks (I think Just Chick Flicks is fabulous, too!) and passing it on. The rules (there's always rules to these things, you know) are to link back, post, write 5 random things, tag 5 more people...

So here's those 5 things you may or may not be interested in knowing about me:

1. Like the person who tagged me, I look younger than I really am. When I was a teen getting kids' menus this bothered me more, but the older I get the more OK I have become with still getting carded. ("Let's just say I'm old enough to know what to do with my young feelings.")
   
2. I love cheese. I've never met a cheese I didn't like. But I do love some more than others. One of my favorites is Manchego. Yum!
3. I graduated high school a year early. Not so much because I'm so smart, but because I had the credits and was ready to get out and move on with the rest of my life.
4. I stink at real bowling, but I'm really good at Wii bowling.
5. I have this strange thing about numbers, being comfortable with some and uncomfortable with others. Like, say the number of blogs I'm following is 30, or 33, or 35, that's all good. If it's 38, it really bugs me, and I seriously consider unfollowing 3 or adding on 2 more. (I said it was strange!)
   

And here's my tag-you're-it picks:

Kate Gabrielle of Flapperdoodle (Who is currently having an unfounded crisis of confidence in her art, as well as an awesome sale.)

The other girls keeping my Chain O' Movie Reviews going:
KC at Classic Movies
Amanda Cooper of A Noodle in a Haystack
and Sally, who's Flying Down to Hollywood (I only recently discovered this blog, but I love it!)

And, to round out the 5, (good thing it's 5 and not 6, which would bug me) a blog I've enjoyed reading for a while but have only recently gotten around to following:
Insight Into Entertainment

That's all, folks. Feel free to talk about awards in general, or the Golden Globes in particular (Avatar? Really?) in the comments.

Calling all classic movie bloggers... join the flock of LAMBs!

So, I was finally getting around to making my nominations for the 2009 LAMMY Awards when I discovered a somewhat disappointing thing: several of the blogs I was wanting to nominate are not LAMBs and are therefore ineligible!

You may be asking, what is this LAMB stuff all about, anyway? Well, the acronym stands for the Large Association of Movie Blogs. The LAMB is a place for film bloggers of all sorts to connect. Different blogs are spotlighted, there are a variety of events to participate in, and readers searching for movie blogs can make some great blog discoveries.

The purpose of my post is twofold. First, I want to highlight some movie blogs that I don't see on the LAMB list, but that I really enjoy reading. (Since I couldn't give them LAMMY nomination love I figure I can at least give them linky love.) Here some great blogs to check out:

Another Old Movie Blog -- Excellent, insightful writing.
Asleep in New York -- Not just for Dana Andrews lovers.
Cinema Coquette -- Emphasizing the chic in chick flicks!
Cinema Splendor -- Natalie Wood fan with a perky perspective.
Classic Film Oasis -- Has me ready to petition for great films to be released on DVD.
Classic Forever -- Classic movie photos delivered daily.
Classic Hollywood Nerd -- Currently going on about favorite movie dancers.
Fire and Music -- Wonderfully written reviews that start with a quote and end with illumination.
Hollywood Dreamland -- We often seem to be on the same movie page.
Self-Styled Siren -- The siren is good enough to get away with writing about herself in the third person.
Silents and Talkies -- For the very cute classic movie-inspired art.
The Film Doctor -- Smart, savvy reviews and sensational links.
Wonders in the Dark -- Counting down movies decade by decade.

Second, I want to encourage more movie bloggers to join the LAMB. Especially you classic movie blogs -- the LAMB needs a better balance of classic film lovers on board. Come on, it's free. Think about it!

I didn't have a speech prepared...

All I can say is wow. Not one, not two, but three wonderful bloggers have passed along the Premio Dardos award to me!

My humble thanks go to R.D. Finch of the excellently written The Movie Projector, Anders from the highly entertaining Cut, Print, Review, and Vanessa at the fun and fabulous The Movie Ness. The feeling is mutual; I think you guys are great.

If you haven't seen this baby yet, here is what it means:

The Dardos Award is given for cultural, literary, and personal values in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing appreciation and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

And so I must:

1. Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog.
2. Pass the award to another five blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

In choosing five blogs to pass the award along to, I decided to go with fellow movie bloggers who keep me coming back for more. (I'm choosing blogs I personally have not given a shout-out to before, although they may have already been chosen for this award by someone else. Because they are good. And you should check them out.) What do I like? Quality writing, a touch of personality coming through, and a passion for classic films, of course!

Out of the Past ~ A Classic Film Blog
Fire and Music
Classic Film Oasis
Hollywood Dreamland
Cinema Splendor

This list certainly leaves out some excellent blogs. If you want more, check out my list of fellow movie lovers to the right.

The Oscars: Did you watch?

I know, I know, I recently did a post questioning the value of awards. But I must admit to being sucked in anyway. And so yes, I did watch (most) of the 81st Annual Academy Awards last night. Here's a few scattered thoughts about the show.

Since I didn't see all (or many, actually) of the nominated films, I'm not in a real position to debate about the rightness of who won or lost. I did feel a little sad that WALL-E didn't do better (and didn't Will Smith sound funny saying the title? He has kids, didn't he see the movie?) but overall I didn't care much about the outcomes one way or another outside of how it would leave me in the LAMB Oscar pool. (One year I won a contest run through the local newspaper for Oscar picks. Well, I tied for first. But because I had a relative working at the paper, they gave the big prize to the other guy. I got a hat.)

As far as the entertainment value of the show itself, I thought it didn't seem to drag quite so much as past years. (Although I've long been in the habit of doing other things with the show on in the background, which definitely helps.)

I thought Hugh Jackman was not a bad host, although we didn't see much of him outside of his song and dance numbers. I liked him admitting (pretending?) he hadn't seen The Reader. I didn't especially like the bit with him and Anne Hathaway, but then, I find her strangely irritating most of the time. And while I agree with the sentiment of being happy to see more new musicals out, it was during that number that I decided I don't really like Hugh's singing style.

Some random cattiness: I thought I was in favor of Kate Winslet winning, but I liked her less during her incoherent speech than in any movie I've ever seen her in (although I did like her looking for her dad). Didn't Reese Witherspoon seem strangely asymmetrical? And sorry again, Anne Hathaway, but your thank you speech from your seat professing your love for Shirley MacLaine was rather embarrassing to watch. As was an outclassed Jennifer Aniston presenting on a night with Brad and Angelina both up for awards.

What I did like: Having past winners coming out to talk about the current nominees was a cool idea, and it was interesting to see who got paired up. I also liked the montages of movie genres (like Romance in 2008). Tina Fey and Steve Martin were great. Philippe Petit doing a magic trick and balancing the Oscar on his chin was rather amusing, and made me wish I had liked his movie more. There were other little moments of enjoyment (funny bits, real emotion from folks, etc.) but not much seemed really, really memorable. Maybe because there weren't a lot of surprises?

When Slumdog won and the whole entourage of people started filling the stage, I found myself thinking it would be a great chance for some random person to jump up there just for kicks. Who would notice? I also wanted to see them all break into a choreographed dance number to the film's Oscar-winning song. That would have been a great way to end the night.

That's all I've got. Did you watch? What did you think?

Do awards matter?

It's not a new question, but I think it's still relevant now, with the Golden Globes just behind us and the Oscars fast approaching. Also, on a smaller scale, various awards are being passed around in the blogging world (blogosphere if you must, although I don't like the sound of it). Caitlin over at Fire and Music was even kind enough to send a Superior Scribbler award along my way. So, do all these awards really matter?

Raquelle at Out of the Past made some very interesting points in a post about why she would not be passing along the awards. Mostly it boils down to her not wanting to exclude anyone by her choices. Some of these things do begin to feel more like a popularity contest than a gauge of real merit. If picked, you are in with the cool kids, if not, you are left thinking nobody wants you on their team.

I have to wonder how much even bigger awards, like the Oscars, involve favoritism and factors outside of merit alone. When Julie Andrews won for best actress in Mary Poppins, didn't it have something to do with her being shut out of the film version of My Fair Lady? When Paul Newman finally won for The Color of Money, wasn't it (at least in part) compensation for him never winning in the earlier years of his career? What about this year, will the controversy over Slumdog Millionaire hurt its chances at the Oscars? I don't know, but it does seem impossible to bestow honors completely impartially.

It also seems inevitable that someone will be missed. Even though Citizen Kane is now almost universally regarded as the best movie ever, it lost out on the Academy Award for best picture. So will some great blog get skipped over in the blog appreciation awards? Very possibly.

Don't start that get-off-the-stage music yet, I'm not finished!

These blog awards can also start to feel like chain letters, although fortunately there is no crazy threat (like your blog exploding) if you fail to pass on to the required number of people. As the list of recipients grows, however, doesn't the value of the award begin to fade? It makes me think of The Incredibles, and its point about how saying everyone is special is the same as saying no one is.

I'm also reminded of With Honors, where Brendan Fraser's character is trying so hard to graduate summa cum laude. At the graduation ceremony, his name is called and followed only by silence, but by then the importance of that brief moment has been put in perspective. He has been told he will graduate life with honor and without regret, and that is what really matters. Sure, an award is nice, but it's only a blip in a life. It's not (or anyway I don't think it should be) the end-all be-all of who we are and what we do.

On the other hand, winning an award feels great! The attention and recognition provides a nice feeling of validation. Perhaps because we are social creatures, and being lauded in your community gives one a nice boost.

So while the argument can be made that awards don't matter (that bigger awards are little more than an excuse to get dressed up and party, or worse still a big money-making scheme to draw in viewers to award shows and the system they hype, while smaller awards are given too indiscriminately and without clear enough standards) I think awards do matter. At least, winning this award matters to me. I am flattered.

And so I will accept and display the award bestowed upon me, with thanks to Princess Fire and Music. I will also follow along with its rules:

1. Name five other Superior Scribblers to receive this award.
2. Link to the author and name of the blog that gave you the award.
3. Display the award on your blog with this LINK which explains the award.
4. Click on the award at the bottom of the link and add your name to the bottom of the list.
5. Post the rules.

While there are many blogs I read and enjoy, I'm choosing to pass along this award to the following: The Flick Chick, The Film Doctor, David, Cesia, and The Movie Ness. I hope they will receive it in the spirit I send it, which is to say that I like you(r blog), and I hope you keep writing.

They can choose to play by the rules in accepting and passing it on, call in a guest blogger dressed in Native American gear to refuse, or do anything in between. I imagine it will all depend on whether or not they think awards matter.