Movie Review ~ RocknRolla

RocknRolla pre screening in Hollywood @ the Montalban

My friends and I had a great night in Hollywood last night. The event was sold out with many turned away. We of course arrived early and had no problems getting our tickets. The doors opened with a party, lots of food and drink as well as popcorn, candy, and sodas. The people from Flux, Nike, and the Montalban put on a wonderful event, I look forward to more events in the future!

The movie was bit delayed in starting, a man came out on stage to welcome everyone and to announce the film, he also told us there would be a Q&A after the screening with Idris Elba and invited us to stay for the after party.

Finally the movie began, unfortunately the sound system wasn't the best, which didn't help out me out with understanding the dialogue. For me, I was lost with what they were saying because the accents were soooo thick, including Gerard Butler’s wonderful Scottish brogue. The rest of my friends were fine, but I always have difficulty and have to watch British movies with subtitles, especially when they are speaking fast. I know, you'd think I wouldn't have any problems by now, but that just means I have to watch the movie at least a dozen times! LOL!

The movie was hysterical, the audience laughed out loud thoughout, I laughed so much that my thoat is a bit sore. The audience was a good mix of people, mostly young people which was great. The people in line ahead and behind us were there because they are Guy Richie fans.

I'll try not to give too much away, so spoiler alert!

The dance scene was a hoot! I want to see that scene all spliced together in a continuous loop, as well as the second dance scene! LOL! I hope Guy Richie has some great deleted scenes for us when the DVD is released. The scene between Handsome Bob and One Two is sooo funny, Gerard’s range of emotions; shock, anger, the sincere apology, and then -- typical guy, "What did you want to do to me?" (or something like that) LOL!

Afterwards we walked down the street and found a French cafe so we could unwind and discuss the movie without having to yell because of the loud music. I finally pulled up into my driveway about 1:00 am… a wonderful night in Hollywood with the Girls.

I can't wait to see it again tomorrow night! Thank goodness for another screening at the Grove, I know that theater's sound system will be much better and it will be a calmer environment so that I can really concentrate on the movie.

Check out the Flux site for future events: http://flux.net/ & http://flux.net/2008/10

Rocknrolla opens in limited release October 8th, wide release October 31st

Russell Crowe @ The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

I went to Leno Monday to see Russell Crowe, one of my friends, Marcy is a long time fan so I was able to get tickets. We had such a great time. Russell was sooo happy to see Marcy in the audience he waved several times and had such a huge smile on his face! We had the best seats, different from the last times I have gone. We were center, above where John Melendez sits, a straight view from Russell and Jay. It was perfect, I had never noticed that the cameras on the floor block the audience sitting at the front at floor level.

Before Jay showed the trailor to Body of Lies, which Russell was there to promote, Russell mentioned Mark Strong who is also in Rocknrolla. I was sooo excited, I almost yelled, "YAY!"

I said to Marcy, "I question my sanity, making myself crazy with the effort to see my favorite actors. But then when he sees you and makes a special effort to acknowledge that he knows you are there supporting him, you know why you do it! He has a way of hooking you right back in! LOL!"

You should have seen the huge smile on Marcy's face at dinner... Priceless!



Watch Russel Crowe on Jay Leno:
http://www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/video/episodes/?vid=711004#vid=711004

Free Movie Screening ~ Rocknrolla

I thought I'd share to help get the word out!
Rocknrolla free movie pre screening, looks like a fun night in Hollywood!



http://flux.net/cinema-tuesdays-september

The Montalban Theater
1615 Vine Street Hollywood
SEPTEMBER 30 @ 8:00 pm

Free tickets for you + guest
RSVP required, you must bring email confirmation with you, but does not guarantee admittance. Tickets will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.

http://flux.net/rocknrolla/

COME EARLY, Box office opens at 6:00
Opening Reception with food and drinks
8PM - Screening
10PM - After Party with Benny Shambles from Part Time Punks

Body of Lies ~ Movie Review

I had the opportunity to see a prescreening of Body of Lies last night with a group of friends. Leo's performance was amazing as always, as well as Russell Crowe's, but Mark Strong was fabulous and almost stole the show. The storyline was very similar to the Traitor, but from a different view, very action packed and graphic. Spoiler: For a moment I thought Leo would die yet again, which would have disappointed my daughter who loves Leo, but he does survive!

Body of Lies opens October 10, 2008.

Afterwards we had a late dinner at Greenblatt's Deli on Sunset. We sat at a booth next to a group of men. I recognized one of the men as Dee Snider, the lead singer to the band Twisted Sister, most know for the song, "We're Not Gonna Take It". Never a dull moment in Hollywood!

Appaloosa ~ Movie Review

I went to a screening of Appaloosa on Friday. The movie was a bit long, but excellent, I don’t mind if there’s a good story. Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, and Renee Zellweger were brilliant as well as the supporting cast. All the characters were interesting, especially Allison French (Renee), she’s not the usual woman you find in a western, a school teacher or a prostitute, you know nothing of her except that she's a widow, has $1 to her name, and ends up in Appaloosa. If you like westerns, you must see this movie.

Afterwards there was a Q&A with screen writer Robert Knott and screen writer, director, and actor, Ed Harris. I enjoyed when Ed Harris spoke about how he had bought the book because he liked the cover, and by the first few chapters he was thoroughly entertained, so he called his agent to find out if the book was available. Ed and Robert spent months working on the script and now it’s a movie!

My poster Ed Harris autographed for me.

Days of Wrath ~ Movie Review

Some of the subplots could have been taken out, making the main story tighter. I love LA, but I could have done with less shots of the city. I would have liked to see the storyline of the father/son more fleshed out. I’m not sure the father, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, died!

Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Wilmer Valderrama, Ana Claudia Talancón, and Jesse Garcia were excellent. Would see again. I enjoyed the festival overall.

The LA Latino Film Festival September 12-19

For Information:

http://www.latinofilm.org/

Inflation

“I brought you something.” My recently graduated from college daughter, Loren, handed me a small pine cone.
She had just returned from Pikes Peak in Colorado. I laughed, “Remember? I use to pay you 10 cents for every pine cone you collected when you were little.”
“Yes, you owe me 25 cents,” she said and laughed, “Inflation.”

The Duchess ~ Movie Review

The Duchess was very good, terribly sad, the costumes were amazing!
Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes were excellent as well as the supporting cast Dominic Cooper and Hayley Atwell.
Definitely a must see!

Marian College 2008 National Champions!

Congratulations Marian College Cycling Team!

What's going on?

The Summer Quarter went by fast! I'll have three weeks off from classes until Fall Quarter starts on October 8th. Until then I have a long list of things to do; movies to see, 3 next week, and lots of hours editing the manuscript.

My daughter, Megan, is in Colorado Springs competing in Collegic Track Nationals for Marian College. I received a screaming and teary phone call last night while at dinner. She and her teammates had won the Team Sprint!

This is the first picture I've received so far, sorry for the blurry quality!

Now off to grading hell! Grades are due Monday 8 a.m!

Righteous Kill ~ Movie Review

This week's movie was Righteous Kill. Hubby wanted to see this movie badly, but unfortunately he couldn't go to see it because he was preparing to go out of town for a hunting trip. I had hoped the script would be worthy enough for Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, I wasn't disappointed. It's gritty and violent, leaving you wondering until the very end who the serial killer is.

Movie Reviews

Traitor


I'm late with this movie review, sorry! It's been so hectic with school, work, social commitments and grading!

I'm a fan of Don Cheadle so I was excited when a screening came up for Traitor. The movie was action packed and the political point of view left me with a lot to think about. Don, was fantastic in the movie, I had no idea he was so physically fit, the action scenes were great!

Here's the link to the official movie website for the trailer and synopsis:
http://www.traitor-themovie.com/


Burn After Reading


All I have to say is you WILL laugh out loud! I have to see it again because there was so much going on I'm sure I missed something. Brad Pitt was hysterical, at some moments he didn't have to say a word and the audience was laughing. The entire cast was terrific, Frances Mc Dormand, George Clooney, and John Malkovich. We have been talking about it for days since we saw it! A must see!

Here's the link to the official movie website for the trailer and synopsis:
http://www.burnafterreading.com--live.com/#/home

Lunch with Michael

We had lunch with Michael yesterday and we heard great stories about his experience in Beijing. Michael is off to Barcelona of competition in a few weeks and then back to Colorado Springs OTC (Olympic Training Center) where he lives, back to training! He's already setting his sights on London 2012!


Brittany & Michael


Loren & Michael


Loren & Michael

My students making it work!

I always have a difficult time explaining the classes I teach at school. One of the subjects is Fit Analysis. I took these pictures to show one of the assignments the students have to do. The assignment is to take a piece of fabric I've given them and design something by draping it on the dress form. They have a 1/2 hour to make it work!

Stacy making it work!

Tod making it work!

Michael's & Giddeon's welcome home party

Michael's family invited us to a welcome home party from Beijing. Also we honored was Giddeon Massie, Michael's team mate.

Loren

Michael, Loren, & Giddeon

Michael & Giddeon doing a Q & A

Loren & Michael

Me, Loren, Michael, & Don