Now You See Me 2

A few years ago I saw Now You See me because a friend invited me and as a mom with a new baby, I hadn't been out of the house much.  I went and saw it, asking during the previews what it was about, and I ended up really liking it.  When I saw that there was going to be a sequel coming out on the exact weekend of my anniversary, I knew I had to see it.  Actually, to be honest, I held out hope up until about 9:00 the night before that my husband would agree to go to our local community theater to watch The King and I.  He wouldn't.  But last year we spent our anniversary there watching The Sound of Music, so I guess it was his turn to pick.  I actually loved the sequel a lot more than I liked the original! And I even learned a couple of things.  First, I think it's obvious that Woody Harrelson is an actual hypnotist because he was never a 'Dave Franco' and now he's aging but I'd still... you know... give him the time of day.  And second, Harry Potter grew up HOT!  It's the beard and the eyelashes.  I'm a sucker for em.  This is something I know about myself.  Also, he was the shortest one in the movie.  That's kind of my thing. 

*sigh* So hot. 

Anyway, my recommendation is that you get out there and see that movie.  It's really great.  It even has Lizzy Caplan from Mean Girls! Extra fun!  And the part I was hoping for was a Hogwarts reference.  It's there, if you pay attention.  Watch and see. 

Beauty and the Beast

Hey pals, how do you chose your favorite Disney movie? Some people pick a favorite character, a strong storyline or a good moral.  I 100% choose by which songs I like the best.  So, while my favorite Disney movie is obviously Mulan (I mean, you've heard those songs, right?), the next best is Beauty and the Beast.  I guess it's been vaulted for awhile and I've been searching for it everywhere.  I had it on VHS but that doesn't help anyone anymore, so I tried to find it on DVD for less than it cost to make the movie in the first place.  It was slow going and it almost never happened.  My friend Marci has an eBay shop and it requires her to go to yard sales every single weekend.  My other friend Andrea has been (unbeknownst to me) reminding her for at least five years, but maybe closer to ten that I was looking for that movie, and a few weeks ago, she found it!  I cannot tell you how excited I am to finally have that movie and all the bonus features on the second disk!  You may not have known this, but Cogsworth was played by David Ogden Stiers, who was Winchester on M*A*S*H.  Such an adorable little clock he was, too! 

Finally... my precious.

So, hey.  Tell me this.  Does anyone remember in the 90s when McDonalds was selling and giving out those tapes in the Happy Meals?  The one I got was Buddy Songs and it included You've Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story and Candle on the Water from Pete's Dragon.  Well, it also had The Gaston Song from Beauty and the Beast, and I don't even know how many times I rewound that tape to hear that song!  It's definitely my favorite from that movie and I dissolve into laughter when I hear these lines from after the main song is over:

Lefou, I'm afraid I've been thinking.

A dangerous pastime.

I know.

If that's not comedic genius, what is?

Saturday Spotlight: Borganix

It's been quite awhile since I found something new (or just new to me) that I cared about and actually enjoyed enough to write a Saturday Spotlight about.  This weekend, I'd like to share some music with you, but let me start at the beginning.  My friend from high school used to be in this band that was named after him, called Unkle Nancy and the Family Jewels.  Look them up on YouTube for a good time.  In particular, if you can find anything from an album called Lovely... you've found some amazing work that I can't get enough of.  Lyrics like, "I want you to know me like the sun knows the sky" are what make that album for me.  But then Unkle Nancy's health needed some attention so not a lot of new music came from the guys for a good long time.

Me listening to Unkle Nancy in Berlin

Now, my friend and a couple of his friends, Marv Ellis Daddy-yo and met diggy are working together to bring us something new.  Both the sound and the medium are pretty unusual, but really pretty great.  The sound is a mix of everything, but in a good way.  They found a way to mix kind of alternative with rap and add a flute without sounding insane or like total wankers (because I watch a lot of British TV).  The music is hot, the lyrics are hot (and explicit; it's rap) and the guys need our help to take it to the masses.  Instead of trying to release a traditional album, which they've already successfully done, so why beat that dead horse? they're going to release a series of podcasts called Borganix.  I'll post a link to their Gofundme and here's what I need from you: just click the link, read the description and listen to the music.  If you like it and feel like donating, knock yourself out, then share it with your friends.  If you can't drop some spange, it's cool and if the music isn't your style that's cool too.  Either way I'm just saying, try to think of a friend who might like the tunes and share, share, share!  Don't pressure anyone to donate, but do give them a little nudge until they listen.  I think a lot of people will like it, so let's get the music out there!  Thanks, pals!  Here's that link: https://www.gofundme.com/borganix

I Was Vermeer

Hey pals, I don't only have favorite movies and TV shows. I'm like, way cultured, too! Well... I have a favorite painting, anyway. It's called The Girl With The Pearl Earring and it's by Johannes Vermeer. It hangs in a museum in Holland called Mauritshuis (which I've actually been to). It's forbidden to take pictures there, so please take a moment to view a picture of me with the painting.

What a lot of people don't know about Vermeer is that when he was young, his style was much different than what he became famous for, and that there's no appreciable link connecting the early work to his later style. Early on in the last century there was a very talented and inventive artist named Han van Meegeren who created a series of paintings that mixed the two styles and he very successfully passed the paintings off as authentic Vermeers. He became filthy rich, swindled the Nazis and eventually found himself in court trying to prove that he HAD actually forged priceless works of art and become almost limitlessly wealthy selling them. It's a long and tangled story that's a whole lot of fun to read about. 

The book I learned all this from is I Was Vermeer by Frank Wynne. There's a little section of photos in the middle, like you get with some biographies. There are quite a few pictures and they all help to tell the story. The art history is fascinating and the man himself was really an interesting guy with an unbelievable life. I hope you all check it out, and that you love it as much as do. Happy reading!

Fame

Here's another movie from my top ten list: Fame. It's a musical, because I'm a nerd, and it's from the 80s because I'm old.  If you haven't seen it yet, shame on you, but luckily I can tell you a little about it (including where to find it.  Here.).  Since it came out in the same year that I did, I feel like I've seen it at every stage in my life, from young childhood when I didn't understand much except broad strokes and that the music and dancing were super fun, to my teen years when all I knew was Leroy, played by Gene Anthony Ray may he rest in peace, to the adult phase of my life when I realized that my mom had wisely shown me the edited-for-TV version when I was a kid, because there is a pretty intense scene with a sexually predatory character that definitely needs a trigger warning.  If all you know of Irene Cara is the songs Fame or What A Feeling from the radio, you can definitely see that she's a hugely talented actress from this movie, particularly that scene. 

I mean...

I may be doing things a little differently this week by detailing SO MANY different characters, but you've got to understand that I've seen this movie so many times that these people are my friends, albeit imaginary friends.  I have hung out with them, sang with them, laughed with them, cried with them and wondered about their futures, their careers and their families.  I love those characters, like you should when writers, actors, directors and the rest of the crew have done their jobs so perfectly.

I'll start with Bruno Martelli, who has somehow always been my favorite character.  With most movies, my favorite character changes every few years as I do.  But Lee Curerri's character always stays my favorite, year in and year out.  He was in the TV series, too, although I remember that I watched it, but I don't actually remember watching it.  I was really young.  I think what I like about Bruno is that he genuinely has the most natural talent of the group.  He works, he learns, he creates... and he's the best.  He lacks in confidence and ambition, which are maybe more important than talent, but his father has the best line in the movie, in my opinion.  Bruno and his father are arguing about Bruno's seeming disinterest in being well-known or winning awards or creating any kind of career.  Bruno says that maybe he'll never get famous until after he's dead and the awards will go to his ghost.  Mr Martelli says, "Does your mama cook and clean and wear old clothes for a ghost? A ghost, Bruno? Elton John's mama's got three mink coats!"  FYI, whenever I want my kids to do something with their lives, like when I tell The Villain to be a doctor, I always think, "Elton John's mama's got three mink coats!"

Maureen Teefy plays Doris Finsecker, and Doris is just so great!  All she wants is to be destined for bigger things.  She lives her life surrounded by people with the right look, the most talent and great connections and she sees how easy it is to mess things up, even in the best of conditions.  I like to think of Doris in her mid-thirties winning Tony awards and living in the kind of comfort that it's hard to come by as an actor.  It's important to me to see her that way.  Her boyfriend, Ralph Garcie was played by Barry Miller.  He is an amazing actor and I've shed plenty of tears over Ralph and his struggles.  I imagine his career going just like River Phoenix's, and his life ending tragically and far too soon as well.  It's not what I want for Ralph Garcie, but it's all too easy to trace his path in that direction.

Lastly, if you're an ER fan from the 90s (I'm not, but I think I'm the only one who was around back then and never saw it), you're already pretty familiar with Paul McCrane, who plays Montgomery McNeil.  He's a sweetheart of a character who mostly lived on his own in New York City because his mother was a famous actress and her plays took her all over the country touring.  His father wasn't around, so as young as a high school Freshman he was basically a 24-hr latchkey kid with nobody to answer to except Dr Golden, his therapist.  It seems like a horrible way to grow up, but often that produces the best art, you know?  And bonus fact, Paul McCrane- the actor, not the character- actually wrote a song for the movie.  It's called Is It Okay If I Call You Mine? and this is a link to it on YouTube.  It's beautiful.  Go listen to it now.  Because I'm done here.  Go.

Fablehaven

Hey there, pals! Long time no see.  I've been a bit sick and pretty busy, so my posts have been a little hit or miss (and this one should've posted yesterday), but now I'm back and I've got good news: I have a book series recommendation for you!  Hooray, right? It's a five-book series about two kids who go to visit family for the summer and discover that their grandparents' wildlife preserve is actually a preserve for magical creatures like fairies, centaurs, demons and even a witch or two.  The older sister, Kendra, is the honest, reliable one and her little brother, Seth, is well-meaning but impossible to harness.  He takes rules and commands more like suggestions and as a result he causes lots of problems, but by far not all of them.  He's also the one willing to take the biggest risks to solve problems and no spoilers, but he's easily my favorite character in the series.  I definitely like his storylines the best.  Well written, Brandon Mull.

Let me also say quickly that I read a lot of YA novels and that's only partially because I'm an aspiring YA novelist.  My main reason for choosing YA is because they often focus more on the adventure, and if there's any romance it's usually secondary(Twilight doesn't count).  Plus, I prefer the quick, satisfying pace used for teens.  I have two small children running around my house and I don't have time to devote six weeks to analyzing imagery for hours on end.  So if you haven't tried Young Adult novels since you were a young adult, maybe give them another try.  Fablehaven is a great place to start.

Check at your local library (since there are FIVE in the series and a companion book coming in Oct '16) or buy them all here or at any bookstore, Target, etc.

Alright, pals, here's the interactive portion of the post.  Drop on down to that little comment box and let me know what you think of YA novels and if you have a favorite.  And no shame if it's Twilight, I liked them too!