Category: Movies

Getting the Hang

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So as you may or may not know, I recently moved to Northern Virginia to start a new job in the District of Columbia. The move was definitely a big deal to me because even though I’ve lived in Virginia for the past two years, Williamsburg and DC are two different animals.

At this point I’ve been in my new apartment and my new job for about a month and a half, and I felt a tangible change this week. I did a little bit of on site work for my job at different locations in the city, and had some social engagements in some new areas that I haven’t explored. Even though I continually experience new areas, this week it went from an exhausting experience of relying on google maps every five minutes and looking up the metro map several times a day, to recognizing neighborhood names and starting to piece them together on the map in my head.

I definitely have a better sense of place, and I’ve gotten closer to a decent daily routine so the daily adventures are not such an ordeal. I feel like I caught my wind for the moment. I realize I still have a lot more to explore, a lot more to experience and some unresolved moving details to finish up, but I think the wind changed in DC this week, and it’s starting to feel more familiar every day.

What are you up to this weekend? I’m looking forward to a low key weekend of errands, some shopping, and hopefully I’ll get a chance to go see “Lee Daniel’s The Butler.”

Butler

In My Own Little Corner

Sadie3 Comments

This weekend I broke what has been kind of a Broadway draught for me.  My mom and I went to see the new production of Cinderella!  It’s not the Disney version, but rather the Rodgers and Hammerstein version that has only been shown as a TV movie.Great White Way

You know it, it’s the version that was most recently re-made with Brandy and Whitney Houston in 1997.  There are some great songs like “Ten Minutes Ago” and the “Stepsister’s Lament.”

It was a very enjoyable girly affair.  Definitely a show to see on a girl’s night, unless for some reason, your Prince Charming is willing to make the trip.  I thought overall the actors were good and they had nice voices. The costumes were elaborate, but I sort of wished they made a more artistic decision with all of the big dresses and done something a little more interesting.  Like do all the chorus girls in shades of the same color, rather than have one in each color of the rainbow.  I felt like they made some safer choices when it came to costumes and sets, which were fine, but they could have re-invented it in a better way.

The lead actress really looked like she walked out of Disney world.  She even had one dress that was very reminiscent of Belle’s gold dress from Beauty and the Beast.  The prince seemed a little nerdy at first, but he grew on me.  By the end, I felt like I wanted to be his Cinderella.

Hearing the songs again was very nostalgic, but they added a couple new ones that were not as great as the originals.  They also added a little political sub plot about helping the poor, and voting for a Prime Minister to advise the King. That part wasn’t my favorite. I felt like they tacked it on to beef up the plot, but I just want to see pretty dresses and balls and princes.

Something new to add to the wall!
Something new to add to the wall!

All in all a festive choice for a girl’s night out! Here’s to a lot more Broadway in my life this year!

Have you seen any good Broadway shows lately?

Movies Over Winter Break

Sadie2 Comments

Since this is my last winter break as a grad student, I took full advantage of the time off to decompress (don’t worry, I’ve had my productive moments as well).  This translates to seeing a few movies.  Especially since there are always good movies in theaters during December.  In light of the Golden Globes last night, here’s what I saw over the past few weeks:

The Silver Linings Playbook

I enjoyed this quite a bit.  First of all, I like Bradley Cooper a lot, and I thought he was good in this.  He plays a man trying to recover from an extremely violent bi-polar incident, and turn his life around.  I found it funny and uplifting because he’s constantly looking for “silver lining developments.”  His love interest, Jennifer Lawrence, has similar goals to make personal improvements, and they end up making a cute pair.  I liked that is was set in Philly because I recognized some of the scenery.  It has story lines that go along with football and dance competitions.  Something for everybody!Bradley

Anna Karenina

This was a tricky one to track down.  I thought it would open in more theaters but it was kind of spotty.  I finally saw it several weeks after it came out.  It was a lot more artsy than I was expecting.  The film constantly made visual references to a stage, making the analogy that all of the characters were either pandering to or subject to a constant audience.  I enjoyed the story (I haven’t read the book) because it illuminated some significant double standards for men and women in relationships. I’m hit and miss with Keira Knightley films because sometimes I find her annoying, but I think she does pretty well with older period pieces like this one.Anna

Les Miserables

I saw this one on Christmas Day with everyone else in New Jersey I think.  The theater was Packed with a capital P.  But prepare to get mad at me.  It wasn’t my favorite.  I knew going in that I’m not a Les Mis person.  I’ve seen it live on Broadway, and it didn’t do much for me.  I’ve seen about 40 musicals live on Broadway, and I can’t say Les Mis is in my top 20.  Anyway, back to the movie.  I’m not so into three hours of the talking/singing thing.  I prefer having normal talking with intermittent songs.  That being said, I thought Anne Hathaway was fine, and Hugh Jackman was, as well.  I loved Eddie Redmayne, who played Marius.  I’ve actually seen him in the show Red on Broadway a couple years ago (he won a Tony for it).  He is cute and fantastic.  I would say Russell Crowe was underwhelming, but frankly, I’m not sure why they cast him in the first place so I wasn’t expecting much from him.  I think at the end of the day the musical is too overwhelming for me.  I find that the musical themes lack cohesion, and there are too many going on at once.  There are several instances when too many melodies are happening simultaneously and I can’t follow any of them.  I could talk about this for a long time, so I’m going to stop.Eddie!

The Guilt Trip

I’m not going to lie, I saw this one by myself.  I knew that I probably couldn’t talk any of my family or friends into seeing it, so I went on a quite weeknight when I was looking for some entertainment.  But, you know what, it was cute.  First of all, who doesn’t love Barbara Streisand.  She’s looking good.  And Seth Rogan played a cute, kind of bashful character in the movie.  It’s a cute mother- son bonding story, and it has a good balance of some real moments, plus positive developments and a happy ending.  It’s not something to run out and see at your earliest convenience, but it had a few good laughs and some cute moments.