Delightful!

Anytime there's a Meryl Streep movie out, is a time for joy. A few weeks ago the poster came out. It looks very different than anything I've seen recently. And it's catchy, eye pleasing and simple.

And more joy with the trailer. Just delightful. Not only Meryl, but the charming Amy Adams too. I've had a crush on her since Enchanted. And Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina. It just goes on. Hope the movie's as good.

In an Apatow world

Full disclosure : I don't like Judd Apatow movies. I find them smug and unrealistic and the humour juvenile . I particularly did not like Knocked Up. I think an attractive, upwardly mobile woman like the Katherine Heigl character would simply get an abortion if she found herself in that situation. But probably would not because she would use protection or not sleep with the Seth Rogan character.

Anyway the reason for this rant is this very funny video. Apatow's world is an alternate reality, indeed!

500 Days of Summer

So I'm really looking forward to this movie. It looks great. Something about a love story where the guy is the romantic pinning after a woman who's skeptical is a nice change from recent movies that have portrayed women as desperate and needy. Yes He's s Just Not That Into You, I mean you.

Plus the two leads, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, are so likable. This is my bet to be this summer's sleeper, the movie that comes out of nowhere and ends up being talked about by everyone.

Check the trailer here.

Leaving NYC?

I never enjoy travelling outside of NYC. I've become one of those Manhattan snobs who never want to leave the island.

But I have to say I'm quite enjoying my trip to Seattle. I'm just sitting in a Tully's downtown scribbling on my laptop. It's nice to feel the energy of a different city for a little bit. Variety is good and makes one appreciate what they have.

Every Little Step

Wow is all I can say. Every Little Step is fantastic. It is a documentary of the audition process of the 2006 Broadway revival of A Chorus Line, interwoven with old and new interviews with the original cast and creators telling the story of how the show came about. And boy is there a better show to showcase the audition process than A Chorus Line!

While the historical context is interesting the part that makes the film great is the stories of the dancers and actors auditioning. Just like the actual show. From Broadway veterans to novices we get to know these people and what drives them. The movie captures the process, its joy and its agony, particularly for those who came so close but were ultimately not chosen. It's a hard life. We are always auditioning, not just for a job, for friends, for lovers, for life itself.

Is Kristin Scott Thomas the new Maggie Smith?

Easy Virtue looks really boring. The kind of stiff upper lip English comedy of manners that we've seen and been bored by a million times.

All that I could think of watching the trailer is when did Kristin Scott Thomas become Maggie Smith. How did this actress with a vital and sexy presence in such movies as Four Weddings, The English Patient and recently in French films like I've Loved You So Long and Tell No One, end up playing the shrewish marm. You know the character who's a staple of these kind of movies. Always sticking to rules and decorum, mining comedy out of being laughed at by the other characters. It is the role that Smith has perfected for years.

I guess KST is in that age group now. So it's her time to play second fiddle to Jessica Biel!!!! Say it isn't so.

Funny or not?

I can't decide whether 30 Rock is really funny or just very clever. I certainly watch every week (on Hulu since I'm addicted to Grey's Anatomy and don't have TIVO). However I never laugh out loud. I get the jokes, they are smart - Indigo Girls lyrics as a metaphor for the good life - the actors are uniformly good and appealing, the pace is snappy and gets my attention. But again I never laugh out loud.

Heaven, I'm in Heaven.........

And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak,
And I seem to find the happiness I seek,
When we're out together dancing, cheek to cheek.

Love the New Yorker! But what does this say about me when this news makes me feel the giddiest I have in a long time.

Is the fuss deserved?

As my friend JP says "this is so 4 days ago". But I wanted to chime in with my take on the latest youtube sensation Susan Boyle.

11 million hits since the weekend. Wow. But is this fame deserved? Yes she has a lovely voice and sang beautifully. But did our love for underdogs propel Susan to these massive heights of fame. It's a good story and that's why she became a sensation.

All I can say is, she's no Whitney.

Chect it out here if you haven't already.

What if..........

Steve Carrell, Tina Fey, James Franco, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P Henson, Common, Kristin Wiig and Leighton Meester were in the same movie? Would you go see it. Well get ready if you said yes. Date Night is coming your way. i just wish the director, Shawn levy, had more of an exciting resume. He directed Night at the Museum, Just Married and Cheaper by the Dozen!

Plus anything to post a pic of James Franco!!!

My State of Mind

On American Idol tonight, Adam Lambert sang Mad World by Tears for Fears. I don't remember ever hearing it before. But immediately it became a favorite. Completely captures my state of mind this week.

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
And their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
'Cos I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very
Mad World

Monday Blues Antidoe - Box Office Edition

In celebration of Fast & Furious huge box office (who knew America still loved car chases and a guy named Diesel this much?). I give you Paul Walker.

Kippenberger, Shmipinberger??

So I went to see the highly touted Martin Kippenberger exhibit at MOMA. Blah. I zipped through it in less than a half hour. Nothing special about it at all. The big centerpiece installation had one interesting detail : a wooden table cover. Go to be utterly bored.

On the other hand there is a very small exhibit of silent era movie posters. You get to see posters of movies that starred Greta Garbo, Emil Jennings and Lillian Gish. Much more interesting.

What are you reading?

I'm reading Netherland by Joseph O'Neil. Just started, interesting so far.

Love that the protagonist resides at the Chelsea hotel, which is on 23rd street. Same street I live on, in fact it's just a block away from me. For someone born halfway round the world who always dreamed about New York City. Only saw it in movies and other pop culture. This is something.

My friend Livia lent it to me. We just started a book club. I gave her On Beaty. Fantastic, fantastic. Wish I was as talented as Zadie Smith.

Hello Iowa!

Gays can now get married in Iowa. That's fantastic news and definitely a move forward. Who would've thought, Iowa before New york!! (Reuters).