Road to the Globes

In case you're not into Hollywood navel-gazing the way I am, the Golden Globes were last night. Before I get to the main event, I need to briefly recap two other movies I saw. I have realized that I am not a fan of the Coen brothers (in my limited experience) and did not enjoy Burn After Reading in the least. I was actually very disappointed. For a comedy, I did not find it funny at all, and there was very little plot or story--it wanted to be a character study which itself worked, but it was part of this larger mess that I have absolutely no idea what to make of.

On Saturday night I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with my dear friends Valerie and Miss Liss. It was a most excellent film! When it ended Melissa was sobbing and I even wiped away a couple of tears. Cate Blanchett continues to be fantastic and wonderful, and the actress who plays the young Daisy did a wonderful job of anticipating Cate. Brad Pitt was also rather good. It's a wonderful and tragic love story rendered beautifully on film, so that even with its 166 minute running time, it never feels slow. I would also like to give a shout-out to Tilda Swinton that wonderful and rather odd-looking woman. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and if you haven't seen it yet, you should go check it out.

My friend Elise hosted our Golden Globe party where I ended up being the only guest, but that's okay. I brought some bubbly to make champagne cocktails, but the bottle remained unopened--the same bottle I originally had for New Year's. Oh well. However, we did eat some brie which was delicious and fancy enough for us. The big winners last night were Slumdog Millionaire, Kate Winslet, 30 Rock, and John Adams. First I have to give the Golden Globes award to Salma Hayek who was very beautiful and busty--having recently given birth--and her dress was gorgeous with generous decolletage.

There weren't a lot of great dresses last night as I had hoped--the Oscars better be amazing! But there were a few. Amy Adams wore a lovely heart-shaped black dress with sequins. January Jones was in a gorgeous, single-strapped, cool blue dress. Laura Linney was lovely draped in a dusty yellow, off the shoulder number. And Susan Sarandon wore a fantastic suit. I also have to say that I quite enjoyed Mickey Rourke's ensemble including his awesome blue belt. Drew Barrymore was also fun with her crazy hair. On the worst dressed list we have Glenn Close is her crazy, gold pants. I don't even know what Renee Zellweger was wearing, but it was quite craptastic. And as much as I dearly love Emma Thompson, she's on the list too. Of course Emma is the intellectual actress not the glamorous celebrity.

Ricky Gervais gave the funniest little speech all night. Of the winners, I gravitated to the ones with more soul. Sally Hawkins, whose slim little frame was racked with sobs, did her very best to get through her speech--and Emma Thompson offered to help, which was lovely. Colin Farrell's speech was about love and curiosity--the anathema to ignorance. And Kate Winslet--who won twice--was so surprised both times it was touching. I had to laugh when she forgot Angelina Jolie though. She also wore a gorgeous dress--probably my favorite of the night.

John Adams basically swept the mini-series categories, as it should have, so I don't even need to see the other ones. Except Bernard and Doris looks like such fun! Mad Men won Best Series-Drama, but was shut out in the other categories it was nominated in. 30 Rock won three times even though I think this season isn't very good. Tina Fey beat Mary-Louise Parker which I can't really support, but at least it wasn't America Ferrera who won. And Tina gave a funny little speech, so I don't hate her.

Heath Ledger won for The Dark Knight which is as it should be. Kate Winslet first won for a supporting role, beating Amy Adams, Penelope Cruz, Viola Davis, and Marisa Tomei--which was pretty steep competition. (Except can anyone else believe Tomei won, actually won, an Oscar for My Cousin Vinny?) Mickey Rourke of course won Best Actor in a Drama, and Kate Winslet surprised everyone, including herself, by winning Best Actress in a Drama. She started her speech by apologizing to the other nominees. Clearly, the correct choice here was Meryl Streep in a tour-de-force role for Doubt. Hopefully the Academy knows better. Of course it's high time that Winslet finally won an Oscar too. I was thrilled when Vicky Christina Barcelona won Best Picture-Comedy. It was so much better than Burn After Reading, and Mamma Mia! was only okay. VCB was funny, thoughtful, interesting, offbeat, and real. If you didn't see it in theaters, don't miss it on DVD. And Slumdog Millionaire won itself Best Score, Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture-Drama which I'm happy for. It really is a great movie. It made me a little sad that one of the other great dramas couldn't have snatched one of those awards though.

All in all it was a fun night and now I'm looking forward to the Oscars! Of course in the mean-time there are still a few movies I need to see. And Sundance is coming here very soon! Now what I really need to focus on are my grad school applications. Shalom.

Delirium

I'm pretty sure I have strep through. Currently I have a fever of 103.3 which is up from 102.8 of two hours ago--during which time I slept--except I couldn't actually fall asleep, I just lay there with my eyes closed listening to music. And is 103 degrees a dangerous temperature? Should I be driving to the ER? By the way I finally figured out what the "sleep" function is on alarm clocks, DVD players, and my iHome after twenty-two years of life. If like me you're totally ignorant about this awesome feature, let me enlighten you. You can choose for the electronic device you're using to go quiet and eventually turn off after x amount of minutes. So if you need to fall asleep listening to music or watching TV but you don't want it to play all night, use the sleep function. I used it during my nap, except I never fell asleep. Anyway, while I was not sleeping I had a little delirium probably from my extreme fever. My hands felt impossibly large and heavy like they were going to crush my body with an inexorable force, yet they didn't because in reality my hands were lightly resting wherever I had put them. So they felt extraordinarily heavy and also light since they were in fact not crushing me. It was a cool sensation which reminded my of my childhood and my grandma's house though I have no idea why. Eventually the sensation started to worry me, for everywhere I put my hands there was this great weight, but after a very long time it gradually went away. Delirium reminded of my the youngest of the Endless from Neil Gaiman's Sandman. There's Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire and Despair (who are twins), and Delirium--who is actually based in part on Tori Amos and whose music I was listening to as I tried to sleep. Anyway, I would love to get on some antibiotics and get rid of this horrible feeling. I was sick just a few weeks ago--I thought I had a better immune system than this! I blame Airborne: "and I swear you're just like a pill / instead of making me better, you're making me ill." Whitney was always taking different immune-boosting supplements and yet was always sick. And pretty much when my mom bough Airborne that's when we all started to get sick. I'm not really sure what to do now. I've already tried sleeping and that didn't work so well. My family's going to Texas Roadhouse since it's my dad's birthday, but I don't feel like going at all. Kristyn's probably going to Australia tonight--again I don't really want to go out in public and it would be lame to go to movie with friends on my dad's b-day. I'm sort of excited for a new The Office and 30 Rock tonight. And I probably have a new Netflix in the mailbox today. So I guess I will watch TV. Hope you're feeling better than I am right now. Shalom.

Blah

So I had my interview today at the Salt Lake Public Library and it went really well. The man I interviewed with was obviously gay which only helped me. Can I just say that every gay man (and woman) that I've ever met have been some of the greatest people I know--and yet I'm terrified of large groups of them: all those gay eyes on me--judging me; undressing me; then dressing me up again in a different outfit. Anyway, it went well and I largely avoided filler words if I recall correctly. My favorite is "well, um, you know..." you know? We bonded over Michael Cunningham, and he's looking for a position that will be the best fit for me, and I should get a call for the second interview sometime next week. I have great hopes.

My brother and sister are sick and I better not get sick too. I was sick right before the holidays, and I refuse to get sick again. So I've taken some Airborne and I will kill my brother and/or sister if I get sick. Seriously. I also feel, well . . . I don't know. A thousand different things. I believe Jack Black once stated that the three best feelings in the world (for guys anyway) are eating, shitting, and having sex. (By the way I learned the difference between profanities and obscenities today.) He then said the best feeling of all would have to be all three simultaneously. That's sort of how I feel right now--I want to eat (but I'm trying to lose weight), poop (but I haven't eaten), have sex (but I have no boyfriend), and sleep (but I'm not sleepy), and drive (but I have no destination), and watch T.V. (but it's boring) and read (also boring), and I don't even know. I thought about going to movie, maybe The Curious Case of Benjamin Button but I don't really have the commitment--it's like three hours long. I also want to talk to a friend I guess, but . . . I have nothing to say, well . . . that's not entirely true, now is it? Anyway

It started as a joke
Just one of my larks to see
if somehow I could reach you so
I swam into your shores
Through an open window
Only to find you all alone

Not Another Movie Post

So today I saw Changeling and it is one of the best films I've seen this year (or rather last year?), and so I'm a little sad that it is not nominated for Best Picture. I've noticed a theme this year in that most of the movies out now are about hope, except for Doubt which is well about doubt, and that perhaps is why it was not nominated for Best Picture. I wonder if the message of hope has anything to do with Barack Obama's campaign. Angelina Jolie gives a great performance and if anyone doubts her talent then go see this movie. Go see it anyway because it's fantastic! Of course she already one an Oscar for Girl, Interrupted, and Jolie finds herself in a psych ward once again. If you think the film is simply about a mother who loses her son, think again--that only provides the framework for this film.

When the LAPD finds her son after he's been missing for five months, she knows he isn't her child. Enter a corrupt city and police department, a reverend on the radio, the sorry situation of mental health care, a serial killer, and a time when everyone wore hats. When Jolie finds herself wrongly incarcerated in a state asylum, I wanted to see One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Iron Jawed Angels, and Girl, Interrupted. again. I would also be interested in reading Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly or Norah Vincent's Voluntary Madness. It's shocking how few rights women had as recently as the 1920s and how mental health was treated. I thought Dale Dickey's character was going to get a lobotomy à la McMurphy. Speaking of crazy people and memoirs, I am reading The Glass Castle which so far is quite good. Jeannette Walls tells the story of her wandering childhood--her charismatic but destructively alcoholic father, her free spirited mother, and how her siblings banded together to survive it all. It's quite interesting. Noticing my slightly British affect for "quite" and "rather" I would quite rather like to read The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British by Sarah Lyall. It looks hilarious.

I have to breifly mention that I just saw Mamma Mia! which didn't have nearly as many Greek boys in speedos as Ellen had promised. Meryl Streep looks impossibly young but is incredible as always even in something as silly as an ABBA musical--and earned herself her second Golden Globe nomination this year. By the way, Dominic Cooper pulls of boardshorts much better than period costume. And are we quite sure that Colin Firth is not actually gay? Anyway, it was a fun little movie but I don't think it will go on my top ten movies of 2008. I was at B&N today, said a little hello to Jenny, and I saw a new book--1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die--which I must have as a cineast (or cine*ass as I sometimes like to say).

Instead of writing this blog, I really should be preparing for my job interview tomorrow. I really hope I will be hired. I also look rather sexy at the moment, if I do say so myself, which can only be good. Nuts and salmon are quite good for the complexion if you didn't know. So goodnight children, I must go ponder why I want to be a library boy and make up hypothetical questions and real answers.

Doubt

So yesterday being Sunday, I decided to go see Doubt. I didn't see it on Saturday as I had planned because Brunch at Dain's turned into an all-day affair. Brunch was delicious--I consumed far too many buttermilk pancakes and Italian mimosas. We made them "Italian" by adding limoncello and I brought some Prosecco to use instead of Champagne. They were amazing! Later that day we made zenzerino which is a liqueur made with ginger, oranges, and spice. The name comes from the Italian word for ginger, zenzero. So a good portion of the afternoon was spent grating ginger and zesting oranges. Now we'll have to wait about three months for the infusion to to come to fruition. That night my uncle's family from Boston caught a red-eye home and with that, all the family that had assembled here for the holidays was gone, and I finally got my room back. Glory, hallelujah!

So on Sunday I saw Doubt and it was rather good. Of course I love nearly everything with Meryl Streep. I would dare say she is the most talented movie actress of all time. She heads the extraordinary cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. In fact, I think Adams is quite excellent in her best performance to date. Viola Davis also gives a remarkable, even devastating, turn as Mrs. Miller. The plot ostensibly focuses on whether or not Father Flynn (Hoffman) has sexually abused one of the students at St. Nicholas School and Sister Beauvier (Streep) heads the attack against Father Flynn though she has no proof or evidence. It is a quality adaptation based on the Pulitzer-prize winning play. Some of the shots were quite excellent. The cast is phenomenal and they all deserve Oscar nomination. However, I had a few problems with Doubt. Thematically the play means to tackle larger issues of religion, morality, and authority and yet by the end I'm not really sure where it stands on any of the issues (I would instead recommend Angels in America for that). Why this doesn't work for me is because everything is talked around, very little is actually direct, which leaves some items rather vague. Furthermore, it is never really clear what motivates Sister Beauvier in her attack. (And what is the meaning of the brief mention of her doomed marriage before she took her vows?) Her naturally unpleasant character is firmly established from the beginning, and she clearly disapproves of Father Flynn's indulgences for he does not live as ascetically as she does. The only cause I can see for the Sister's supposed certainty is as a defensive mechanism to Father Flynn's sermon on doubt which begins the film. I think the film works best as a character study and it is exhilarating to watch Streep, Adams, Davis, and Hoffman at work. Doubt wasn't as hopeful as Slumdog Millionaire or Milk but then it's not supposed to be, yet I think that will count against it in the final analysis.

Yesterday I finished the novel The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich. Another work about religion. The LA Times writes that it is "Messy, ribald, deeply tragic, preposterous, and heartfelt." Which I think is true, especially in regards to messy. This is not a tightly plotted novel in any regards, and there were times I had trouble recalling a character who had not appeared for several chapters. (If you are greatly concerned with plot, I would heartily recommend The Secret History by Donna Tartt.) Nor is much time spent on the the so-called, eponymous miracles or of Sister Leopolda, the miracle-worker. Nevertheless, Erdrich has a lovely, eloquent voice and the novel is well worth reading. It explores gender, religion, culture, and grief--but then all Erdrich novels deal in grief.

Speaking of grief, today I saw The Reader a movie I had heard almost nothing about until I saw its trailer at Milk. Director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter David Hare, the team behind The Hours, collaborate again on The Reader. Kate Winslet shows off her body, which is still rocking, as is her wont, and I'm sure she'll earn an Oscar nom since the Academy loves it whenever she performs nude. And I suppose it's great that she is so comfortable with her body. Of course her overall performance is terrific as an illiterate German woman who ends up imprisoned for her work as an SS guard at Auschwitz. The story begins with her affair with fifteen-year-old Michael Berg played by David Kross (who goes full frontal) a young German actor who rather resembles William Moseley. Berg is a law student present at Hanna's trial when she's condemned. They don't meet again for another twenty years or so where Berg is played by Ralph Fiennes who gives an excellent performance in a somewhat underwhelming role. Fiennes really needs to find a larger, meatier, Oscar-winning role. And Kate deserves an Oscar too, though she has no chance against Meryl Streep this year. But I'm okay with Streep getting her third Oscar--she hasn't won one since Sophie's Choice.

Tomorrow I have plans to see Changeling at the dollar theater and I'm quite excited. Of course I still need to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon and others that haven't as yet come to SLC yet--Revolutionary Road, The Wrestler. I just got an exciting call from the SLC Public Library setting up a job interview on Wednesday! This is the third time I've applied but the only time they've called. I certainly hope to land a part-time gig there, because twenty-hours a week right now isn't cutting it. Wish me luck!

Road to the Golden Globes

I'm not a fan of winter, but I love Oscar season! I have seen so many movies in theaters lately it's starting to get exhausting--but in a fun way. But first--last night I went dancing and it was . . . all right. As most of you know, the club scene isn't really my scene. As I've mentioned before you should all watch "Okay, Awesome!" from How I Met Your Mother which largely explains why clubs are, in fact, not fun. We went to the Sky Bar in SLC which has, as many clubs do, a dance floor. But unlike many other clubs in the area, people actually dance there--and I mean dance, not just bump and grind it. Nevertheless, clubs are so loud, so much so that we listened to classical music very quietly on the drive home hoping not to incur tinnitus. I am also not the world's greatest dancer. I am competent at the waltz--not great, but surprisingly decent--and that's it. However, did they play some lovely waltzing music, no. This was not Vienna--it was Havana: salsa, salsa, salsa. All they played was salsa music and it all sounded the same and it was overly loud. We also didn't drink as we were there to dance, besides we weren't really in the drinking mood and I didn't have any cash. However, a little tipple helps me put up the whole scene. Yet clubs are not really good places to get cocktails simply because they don't know how to make them properly. I fell in love with the Seelbach bar in Louisville--it was dark, quiet, atmospheric, and they made damn good drinks--and nothing will ever compare. When I want to drink I want to go to bars like that, and when I want to dance I want to go to hotel ballrooms. By the by, the Rose Wagner Center is hosting the Repertory Dance Theatre's dance all day class tomorrow. I thought about going, but brunch is tomorrow and then I want to go see Doubt.

Speaking of movies, I already I mentioned I have seen several lately. I recently caught Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and The Duchess at the dollar theater. I enjoyed both movies. N&N was delightful and awkward, and if you enjoyed Juno then I highly recommend it. The only real connecting factor is Michael Cera, but it has similar offbeat and quirky humor. And of course I enjoyed the gay band Cera's character plays in--he's the only straight member. The Duchess was a great period piece featuring period favorites Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, and Hayley Atwell. By the way, I have a little something for Simon McBurney who was also in Body of Lies (more on that later). Fiennes did fine but his portrayal was a little underwhelming, and I'm a little surprised he earned himself a Golden Globe nom. Though to be fare, he has to play a rather dull person. Knightley and Atwell were both superb. Cooper was not so attractive in period costume but very sexy once undressed. Anyway, Georgiana's life was quite interesting but also sad. I would rather like to read the biography Georgiana by Amanda Foreman that the movie was based on. The Duchess isn't getting the accolades that say or Atonement or Pride & Prejudice earned, but it was still very good.

In my prep for the Golden Globes--I plan on having a fabulous GG party complete with champagne cocktails and perhaps crackers with brie--I caught Slumdog Millionaire at my favorite little art house theater, the Broadway Cinema. I had no idea what it was about except that it was set in India. I imagined a harrowing drama about a man in desperate poverty who realizes his life is rich à la It's a Wonderful Life. (By the way did you see this article about that movie in the NY Times?) And in a way it was. However, the plot is actually about an impoverished young man who competes on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and when he wins, he is suspected of cheating--how could a poor, uneducated young man go this far in the game when doctors, lawyers, professors, etc. drop out much sooner? Meanwhile, the story of his life--which is how he knows the answers--is revealed in backflashes. But most of all it's a love story and a crowd pleaser. If you're looking for a good movie with a happy ending that's not saccharine, I highly recommend it. And who can miss the Bollywood-style grand dance number during the closing credits? It also has Rubiana Ali who is one of those impossibly adorable kids and when she wears this dirty, but cute, yellow dress, my heart just breaks. Apparently SLC has Bollywood film screenings that are just crazy--I need to find out more about that. Oh, and I'm excited for Sundance!

I also saw Body of Lies at the dollar theater. I was so sad when I missed its first run and then so happy when I saw it was playing again--and for cheap! However, I didn't like it very much. If you remember the previews it was marketed as a film about a disgruntled CIA agent (DiCaprio) who goes AWOL and then is hunted down by his own agency. That movie was called Rendition not Body of Lies. In fact, I think I preferred Rendition with its great performances and a more cohesive message. This movie has strong performances too. Crowe was a major asshole and DiCaprio was great too. I'm not really sure what is message was except for Auden's poem which served as the epigraph: "I and the public know / What all school children learn / Those to whom evil is done / Do evil in return." That was the best part of the movie, but then I adore Auden. I also have a little crush on Simon McBurney. He is not hot; in fact he is rather odd looking. But he's British and he has a certain something which I find sexy. Anyway, DiCaprio finds himself trying to run an operation to bring down a terrorist organization but is constantly undermined by Crowe who is running everything from Langley. He is a fat, Machiavellian bureaucrat who is smug in his American superiority. However, the film's commentary didn't say anything new about the situation in the Middle East, and I thought it was a little disjointed. I kept checking my watch, but that was more because I was worried about my car which I had parked illegally. But glory hallelujah--I got out of the movie and my car had not been towed away or ticketed. The reason I parked illegally was because HSM3 has just opened at the dollar theater, schools weren't in session, and it was Monday family special. So every soccer mom had brought her snot-nosed brats, and while Sugarhouse is always a mess, but it was even more so that day. I really can't wait till the holidays are over! I have been dispossed of my room while my family is here.

Yesterday, I went and saw Milk which I rather enjoyed. If you haven't heard of it, it's a biopic of Harvey Milk--the first openly gay man elected to public office in the U.S. He also gave voice and leadership to the gay rights movement in the 70s. It was immensely watchable and great performances were given all around. James Franco was great, and is relationship with Harvey was wonderful and sad and real. One thing that struck me was how inconceivable it is that only 30 years ago it was legal to discriminate against gays in regards to jobs and housing. Furthermore, some of these anti-gay statues were still on the books as little as ten years ago. I cannot believe that any such law would still be upheld by any court in America. But perhaps I am wrong. It was also clear that Proposition 6 in the movie was a forerunner of Prop 8 from last November. Prop 6 in the 70s aimed to remove school teachers who were gay as well as any other teacher who supported gay rights. Fortunately, the initiative failed. Unfortunately Prop 8 passed. Harvey Milk's catchphrase was "I'm here to recruit you!" In order to defeat Prop 6, Milk asked every gay person to come out of the closet--to friends, family, employers, etc. And clearly Milk wanted to recruit today's generation to do the same in order to defeat anti-gay marriage initiatives. Which concerned me of course, since I'm still half-in the closet. There was one scene where one of Milk's friends and supporters has to call his family to tell them he's gay. It was a little hard to watch. However, as my cousin James, who is also gay, and I discussed, gay activism isn't really our scene. It's a certain kind of gay person who is attracted to that movement, and we are not that person. I'm also wary of art that is political--sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. In the end, Harvey Milk was "assassinated" though I believe that's the wrong term. He received many death threats for his activism, but in the end he and San Fran's mayor were both murdered by a rankled, former city supervisor. The killings may have had a political element, but I think they were far more personal. There's a lovely scene at the end where 30,000 people gather for a candlelight vigil at the double funeral. I got a little teary as I do almost anytime there's a candlelight vigil--because vigils are so infused with emotion and beauty and they're very cinematic. At the end of the day, I think Milk is a great movie and if you're interested in gay rights at all, you should go see it.

I still have several movies to see before the Golden Globes next Sunday. There's Doubt which I am very excited for--two words: Meryl Streep! Two Kate Winslet films--The Reader and Revolutionary Road. I cannot miss Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. And many more. It's a great time to go to the movies. Wish me luck!

And Days of Auld Lang Syne

So today is New Year's. It's a little hard to believe it's 2009. I was driving home today from a movie (more on that later) and it struck me that I haven't made any New Year's Resolutions. Immediately, of course, I want to lose weight. Living at home is not good for the scale. So I would like to regain my slimmer, junior-year figure. Second, I need to obtain a second job. It's not so much a goal as a necessity, but there it is. I applied for the third time to the SLC Public Library--I haven't heard anything yet, but I'll give it a few more days. My third goal is to go to graduate school in the fall. So I need to get cracking on the applications. One of them is due on January 9th! So it's crunch time. The rest are due a little bit later, but it's game time. Then I'll have to wait and hopefully at least one school will accept me. Then I need to choose a school--I'm leaning towards Syracuse University at this point. And then of course move there in the fall. I loathe moving with every fiber of my being. Looking for a job is a close second but just slightly less horrific. However, I hope once I'm there, wherever there is, I won't be able to buy food, and that will help with my first resolution. Anyway, those are my only three goals. In the best of all possible worlds, I will accomplish all three.

So last night was New Year's Eve and as per tradition, I rang in the new year at Megan's house. Also, as per tradition I arrived a good hour before anyone else. I wasn't even early, though it's true that punctuality runs in my blood. I'm always early or at least on time. When I try to be fashionably late it always worries me. Though usually I need not worry, since even if I am late, I'm still there before anyone else. I'm usually a pretty laid-back sort of guy, but I like t start on time and therefore I'm usually early. Anyway, the party was pretty fun. I don't remember much of last year except that we watched Casino Royale after midnight, which of course made for a very long night. I also remember just not having very much fun. Last night was different. Megan's friend Lindsey was there (and I hope I'm spelling her name right), and Megan, Lindsey, and I played the movie game which was great because we're all cineasts, except what didn't work is that Megan knows her old films, Lindsey was the 80s queen, and I'm much more educated about current film. But we quite enjoyed ourselves and freaked out everyone else just a little bit. We also played Catch Phrase which we've been playing since high school. We also played Curses and Truth or Dare Jenga. Unfortunately, I didn't get out of Curses but I refused to play Jenga. I thoroughly HATE games that involve any modicum of humiliation. I don't find it fun. at all. no. hate in my heart. I also ate too much which was bad for my weight, but also something didn't agree with me and so I suffered some indigestion throughout the movie. The night went by real quick like and we didn't realize it was midnight till 11:59:30. We cheered and then took some pics and then hung out late into the night, eventually leaving at three or so in the morning. It was a fun, sexy time.

Unfortunately, there was no boozing happening. Elise and I had made tentative plans to drink some bubbly with our friends Whitney and Alex. However, that plan fell through. So Elise and I thought we might find somewhere to drink, but by three o'clock I was so ready for bed. But we have made some lovely Golden Globe night plans, and I'm quite excited. I have seen a few movies already in preparation and am going to see several more in the next week. I was going to write about what I've already seen, but now my friends are going dancing and so I must go dress. Another night of fun, sexy plans! I hope you all had a lovely New Year's and I'm quite excited for 2009. '08 was sort of a crap-fest and I'm quite ready to just forget all about it. Shalom everyone!