muerto de risa

the red shoes

last thursday i told jordan that when we FINALLY get around to joing netflix, i want to rent the red shoes.  i first saw this 1948 movie based on the story of shoes that won't stop dancing during a lincoln center film festival in new york a few years ago.  i loved the performance of the red shoes ballet in the movie and was excited to see it again.  a few minutes after my request, jordan discovered that the movie was playing as part of a free film series put on by the local bookstore, the tattered cover.

obviously, we had to go see the movie.  it was as good as i remembered.  the dance performance is still my favorite part, followed by moira shearer's bright red hair.  if you like color, technicolor in particular, this is a film for you.

the next night i broke in my new irregular choice shoes i bought in new york.  they aren't red, but they do have red soles, so i was sure to be careful when i wore them.

i would hate to piss off julia...

one of the movies we watched on new year's eve was the french film, l'iceberg.  the movie is sweet, silly, and strange.  it is exactly what comes to mind when i think of french comedies (although this one is actually belgian).  while probably not for everyone, for me l'iceberg was a quirky treat.  plus, it's really fun to say l'iceberg with a french accent.

we also attempted to watch april's shower, but didn't make it past the opening scene.  don't see this movie unless you happen to enjoy bad acting.

i try not to force myself to finish bad movies and boring books.  i prefer to move on to something i can fully enjoy.

a recent favorite book is julia child's my life in france.  julia was amazing.  i wish jordan and i could have dinner with her and her husband, paul.  the only problem would be that my stomach might not be strong enough to handle her rich french cooking.  do you think she would be offended if i requested no dairy?

3 bits of advice...

1.

you should see juno.  today.  buy your tickets now.

2.

you would look adorable riding this bike.  (via joy)

3.

when considering where to live, you should consider each city's crafty to non-crafty ratio (aka the CNC ratio). 

it is quite fun running into talented blog friends like stephanie outside a local fashion market and meeting cool artists like mike, whose work i previously admired on several design blogs.

crafty folks are amazing online, but they are even more awesome in person.

bad movie, good art

i am very thankful for long weekends.  our thanksgiving weekend was relaxing and filled with activities like browsing books, sipping tea, and watching movies. 

yesterday, we saw gone baby gone.  a lot of folks loved this movie, but i thought it was terrible.  i like casey afflek and liked his performance as a young detective in south boston.  the plot, however, had too many holes in it and ultimately did not work.  it's difficult to go into details without ruining the movie for those who have not seen it (although i think it was pretty much ruined from the get go) but there were certain issues left unadressed (e.g. social services and the foster care system) and others that seemed forced (a masked detective remy showing up at the bar near the end).

   

much much better is the current exhibit by lauri lynnxe murphy at the plastic chapel.  her newest work isn't on her website, but consists of a mixture of mini-collages, paintings, and snow globes filled with seussian-style "plants."

i love the contraption in the above collage.

have a great week!

persepolis

as a long time fan of marjane satrapi and her graphic novels, i was very excited to see her new animated film, persepolis, based on her two books of the same name.  when jordan and i saw it was playing saturday as part of the denver film festival, we quickly purchased a pair of tickets.

i highly recommend this film, which like its printed predecessors uses simple drawings to convey the rather serious (although often simultaneously hilarious) story of marjane and her family in iran during a time of regime change and war.  there is an english version of the film, but i suggest seeing it in its original form (in french) with catherine denueve as the voice of the mother.  the english version may be good too, with sean penn and iggy pop providing voices, but i always prefer to see films in their original language.  plus, french is fun to imitate even if you sound like a fool attempting the proper accent.

two movies i watched recently...

1. Once

a low budget movie about a pair of musicians who meet and form a friendship.  she is a czech immigrant making her living through selling flowers and cleaning homes.  he is a street musician who also works in his father's vacuum repair shop.  the two are drawn to each through loneliness and a love for music.  the music is sweet.  the story is touching and real.  i liked it.  you may too.

2. Alice Neel

a documentary about the artist directed by her grandson, andrew.  she was a great portrait artist and an anti-establishment seeker of fame.  the movie is a little slow at times, but fascinating for anyone interested in art or psychology.  alice's sons are particularly intriguing.  the older one went from living in alice's bohemian home to being a right wing lawyer.  was her rejection of mainstream society worth it since she was successful in the end?  i'm not sure.  check it out.  but not when you're tired.

word origins

uschi and desiree asked me where the word butterfly came from.  i did a little research and thought others might be interested in the answers as well.

also, doesn't this movie look great? (found via eendar)

i have a crush on fred

jordan and i love to go the movies on sundays.  actually, jordan and i love going to the movies every day, but sunday evening is an especially wonderful time to go as it is one more time to relax before the work week begins.  this past sunday, we saw an excellent spanish movie called elsa & fred.  what a sweet film!  it is the love story between 82-year-old elsa and her 78-year-old neighbor, alfredo.  despite my difficulty in understanding elsa (a combination of her argentinean accent and her mumbling) i cried three time.

and in honor of elsa & fred, here are my answers to yah's movie meme:

1. The last movie you saw in a theatre, and current-release movie you still want to see:
umm, see above.  i just checked the other moview currently playing in quito and there really is nothing else i really want to see.  i usually try to see all of the movies out that are in spanish, but the only other one is rosario tijeras, a colombian movie which seems a little violent for me.  but who knows?  i'll porbably end up seeing it this coming sunday.

2. The last movie you rented/purchased for home viewing:
un dia sin sexo, a light peruvian comedy and (i am quite embarassed to admit), john tucker must die.  since we don't have cable, which means we only get four spanish channels, a stupid american teen flick is sometimes necessary for mindless viewing.

3. A movie that made you laugh out loud:
the daytrippers.  every time i see this movie it seems funnier than the last time i saw it. if you are a parker posey fan, a liev schreiber fan, a stanley tucci fan, or just grew up in suburban new york this movie is a must.  but you have to watch it at least 3 times.  trust me, it's worth it.

4. A movie that made you cry:
once again, see the beginning of this post.

5. A movie that was a darling of the critics, but you didn't think lived up to the hype:
i'm pretty easy to please, so usually it is the opposite, where the critics hate it, but i kind of like it (see next question).  that said, crash did not deserve best picture.  i liked it, just not in a "this is the bext film i've seen all year" kind of way.

6. A movie that you thought was better than the critics:
the last one i saw and really liked was quinceañera.  i admit it wasn't the best, but i thought it was cute and i like how it addressed gentrification in echo park.  plus. the grandfather's garden was super cool.

7. Favorite animated movie:
triplets of belville.

8. Favorite Disney Villain:
i love cruella deville.  i love her black and white hair and her sultry walk.  but my favorite part of 101 dalmations is a tie between the part where the dog owners and their look-alike dogs walk by the window of the guy's apartment and the tv ad for dog food the puppies watch after they are kidnapped.

9. Favorite movie musical:
hmmmm...i think i'll have to go with annie.  that movie totally reminds me of my childhood.  as does the old videotape of my brother and i singing songs from it, which included me yelling at him when he doesn't let me take lead.

10. Favorite movies of all-time (up to five).
In no particular order
1. amelie
2. cinema paradiso
3. harold & maude
4. chungking express
5. a christmas story

i'm not tagging anyone specific, but i love reading about movies almost as much as i like watching them so please play along!

see this movie!

on sunday, jordan and i went to see a new ecuadorian movie, que tan lejos (which basically means "oh how far").  the movie was directed by tania hermida and is about two women, one ecuadorian and one spanish, traveling from the city of quito to the city of cuenca. 

i highly recommend this movie to anyone who has traveled in ecuador in the past or would like to travel here in the future (especially anyone who might happen to have friends living in quito and cuenca).  there are beautiful scenes of both the sierra and the beach.  plus, there are hysterical portrayals of ecuadorian culture.  for those of you unaware of what that might mean, here are a few examples:

- a cab driver who is unable to provide change for a $20 bill, when the fare is $15. there is always a shortage of change here and my stress level always increases when i realize i only have $20s in my wallet. 

-t ahe cab driver also makes up a silly reason for why the fare costs $15 when the woman was told it would cost $8.  we've heard about an evening tax, a hotel tax, an extra person tax, various holiday taxes, etc. none of which are true.

-a road the women are traveling down is blocked due to some sort of political demonstration that nobody knows any details about.  political demonstrations are very popular in ecuador, and sometimes really do lead to great change in the government (like when the last president was forced to flee the country).  many times, however, we here about a protest that has lead to streets being shut down without any details about why people are protesting or if the protest is the real reason for the blocked roads.

-a man, who after hearing that liga (his favorite soccer team) scored a goal, pulls over his car, takes a liga flag out of the glove compartment, gets out of the car and proceeds to dance around in the street. ecuadorians love their soccer.

-the same man as above offers to drive the two women and their traveling companion, jesus, part of the way to cuenca.  during the trip he discovers that jesus and him are actually distant cousins.  everyone in ecuador seems to be related somehow to everyone else.

i'm not sure when this movie will be heading on to other countries, but when it does, go see it!

just beautiful

Last night we saw Memories of a Geisha.  What a beautiful movie!  The fabrics were amazing.  I was so inspired that I spent more time than I have this morning perusing the Japanese textiles at Marla Mallett Textiles.  This site is a great source of inspiration for textile lovers. In addition to Japanese textiles, she also sells, Chinese, Indonesian, African, Turkish, Indian, Laotian, Afghani and Persian textiles.  One (ahem!) could easily spend hours on this site.  Here are some of the breath-taking images I found: