CAGE RAGE

There aren't many people in Hollywood that I can't stand.
They have to be a truly annoying. Bad at acting (in my opinion, of course). Gross in general.

The one man in Hollywood that fits this description perfectly for me? Nicholas Cage.
Yes, I realize I spelled that wrong. I don't even care at this point.

Have you seen any of his movies? He is notorious for freaking OUT. It's not even believable, it's laughable. I cannot even describe how funny it is... So go watch this, and tell me it isn't all hilarious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP1-oquwoL8

WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT!?
My aunt and I agree, this isn't just a video of Nicholas Cage freaking out: it's a reel of his career.
I can't take him seriously at all, and every single movie of his I've seen I haven't liked.
The only movie of his I liked a TINY bit, was Season of the Witch, and I only liked that because I predicted his death.
It was my favorite scene.

Normally I have a very open mind about movies/actors. Nicholas Cage is a different story. I can't handle him. AT ALL.

Movie Review: The Muppets

Today, I went to Harkins to see The Muppets with 2 of my friends.
I am warning those who haven’t seen it yet, there are spoilers in this post, so come back and read this review once you’ve seen it!

Before I go into my review of Muppets, I have to express my love for the Toy Story short, ''Small Fry''.
The short was played right before the actual began.
The plot line was simple: the 3-inch tall Buzz Lightyear in the display window at the fast food joint wanted to experience 'play time'. While Bonnie (the little girl who was given Andy’s toys in Toy Story 3) is playing in the ball pit, the mini Buzz takes Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear’s place, so Bonnie accidentally takes the little guy home. This leaves the original Buzz trapped in the ball pit for many hours!
Now Rex, being oblivious, doesn’t realize anything is different about the mini Buzz (voiced by Teddy Newton), while the rest of the gang thinks otherwise. All of that part is funny, but the best part of the short is the when the original Buzz ends up in a support group full of discarded fun meal toys! This scene has so many puns, puns that are actually punny! *I apologize, couldn’t resist myself*.

Now onto the main movie: The Muppets.

First: The stars, the ones we were all waiting for, the Muppets themselves!
They were all hilarious, even better than I remember as a kid. Kermit was his wholesome self, Miss Piggy was her dramatic self, Animal was his crazy self (at least, at the end he was!). It was a reunion for me, and for the Muppets!
The original Muppet theatre was to be closed down and destroyed by Tex Richman (played by Chris Cooper), who just wanted the oil underneath the studio. But Walter (a new character, who is obsessed with the Muppets in the movie) overheard Richman’s plans, and went straight to Kermit with the issue. They need to raise $10 million, and to do this, they decide to reunite the gang, and have a variety show telethon.

It is pretty hilarious where some of the Muppet characters had ended up (some more successful than others). Ultimately though, they all ended up back at their old performance space, and with a little music (“We Built This City”), they cleaned the place up and made it TV worthy.

Jason Segel and Amy Adams play a huge factor in the movie as well.
Their characters, Gary and Mary, have been dating for almost 10 years. For their 10^th year anniversary, Gary is taking Mary to Los Angeles, bringing his little brother (Walter) along with them. On their 1^st day in L.A, they go to the old Muppets studio, where the plot starts to unfold in Kermit’s old office. The pairing of Segel and Adams was an unexpected casting win, but the 2 of them together were perfect for this movie.

This movie is quirky, and hilarious. It has so many quotable lines in it, I can’t even count how many! The credit goes all to Jim Henson (creator of the original Muppets), Segel, and Nicholas Stoller, the screenwriters of the movie. James Bobin did a great job helping bring this script to the big screen. It could’ve easily looked really bad, with the Muppets being puppets, but it was so cleverly shot that you never really thought about the fact that they were being controlled by another person.

Muppets had many unexpected celebrity cameos, including Jack Black, Zach Galifianakis, Alan Arkin, Mickey Rooney, Sarah Silverman, and Ken Jeong. It was kind of a little game, paying close attention to see which famous person would be in the next scene!

The story was very predictable, but that didn’t bother me as much.
The characters would bluntly break the 4^th wall and tell the audience what was going to happen, or it would just be super obvious.

The Muppets is a feel good movie, and perfect to go see with your family or friends. It has rapping villains, classic childhood characters, great musical numbers, transvestite muppets. What more could you want!?
I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a light-hearted comedy.

''Hope will never be silent''

I am one of those people who is really bad about saying every single movie is my favorite.
I believe, though, it is fair to say a movie is my favorite of it's genre.
Milk is my favorite biopic.

Milk is based on the story of Harvey Milk, who was the 1st openly gay politician to be elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisor's in the year 1977. He had failed to win the seat twice before, but he and his supporters on Castro never gave up hope. He broke down so many barriers against gay rights, and never stopped in fear of loosing his life. Harvey was a BIG contributor to the gay rights movement.

The movie chronicles Harvey Milk's life from his 40th birthday, up until his memorial a few days after his assassination.

Not only is this story amazing because it is so inspirational, but also because it's  being told by an all-star cast, including James Franco, Victor Garber, Josh Brolin, Alison Pill, Diego Luna, Emile Hirsch, and Sean Penn as Harvey.

I'm going to be honest, I had a serious thing against Emile Hirsch for the LONGEST time. Then I saw this movie, and I started liking him. I'm not sure why I didn't like him before, but he plays Cleve Jones, my 2nd favorite character in the story!

The movie came out in 2008, and won 2 Oscars.
One for Dustin Lance Black, for best writing/original screenplay.
The other for Sean Penn's performance.

Both very much deserved. (:

I also love the music for this movie. It makes me SO mad that Napster doesn't have the Milk soundtrack for free! I LOVE Danny Elfman, and all the music he composes. This is just another example of how wonderful he is!

The reason I wrote this particular blog post about this particular movie, is because 3 days ago was the 33 year anniversary of when Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone were assassinated by Dan White.
This is in honor of one of the most inspirational men in political history.
Milk is a must see.

It's beginning to look/smell/feel a lot like Christmas!!!

So my little brother Vincent loves Frosty the Snowman. Watching it literally 15 TIMES today has inspired this blog post for the night. (:

I have always loved the holidays. I am in love with anything peppermint, the music, the feeling of the season, the togetherness of family. But as you can guess, my favorite part of the holidays are the movies that we get to watch! (:

When I was 5 years old, I remember going to the movie theatre down the street and watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas for the first time. I laughed SO hard, and to this day I still laugh at the same exact parts! Somehow, this movie has become one of the best quotable movies of my childhood (and occasionally teenage years!). My favorite part, you may ask?

This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=S6cAJHoUhiA

I do have other favorites though!
I grew up watching Irving Berlin's White Christmas, featuring Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. I absolutely ADORE this movie! One of my favorite musicals! It's such a feel-good movie, with dancing, singing, romance, humor, and of course Christmas. I love the ''Choreography'' of the movie (and the song ;D ). I have to admit though, I am always annoyed with Vera-Ellen (who plays the character Judy). Why? Because in every single song/dance sequence she is in, she is constantly looking straight at the camera. I dunno, I'm a bit odd, but it really bothers me.
Otherwise, wonderful story line, and memorable music (:

I feel obligated to mention Meet Me in St. Louis.
It isn't necessarily just a Christmas time movie (trust me, I watch it year round!), but it has one of my favorite Christmas songs EVER in it. It is towards the end, when Judy Garland's character comes home from her family's supposed last dance in St. Louis (before they move to New York) and finds her little sister in her room, awake, waiting for Santa Claus to come. Judy sings ''Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'', and the scene brings me to tears every time. Such a sad scene, and such a beautiful voice!

The rest of the holiday movies I love are the common cartoons: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

My favorite CARTOON Christmas movie though has got to be Santa Claus is Coming to Town, with the voice talents of Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney. I prefer the story of how Santa came to be, and the music is fun and light-hearted! (:

Two special ones that I forgot to mention but LOVE: A Christmas Story and Elf.
I literally only watch A Christmas Story on TBS, when they play it for 24 hours Christmas Eve to Christmas night.
Elf, well, I watch that ANY opportunity possible! (:

''Readers, this is the beginning of a beautiful Bloggership''

^^ I really wanted to kick off with some sort of famous quote. Casablanca seemed appropriate! (:

So if you don't already know me, my name's Alexis. I am 16 years old, a junior in high school.
I am apart of the theatre and choir department (LOVE performing arts).
But my one true passion is cinema. Many of my friends don't know this about me, but I am a complete movie buff. I watch every movie someone suggests to me, and love to critique them. Movie discussions are the best!

Even as a kid, I wouldn't have what adults would call 'normal' conversations. I would, as a 3-5 year old, speak in movie quotes. I was in love with cinema early on! (:

One of my most prized possessions is a book I FINALLY bought for myself over the summer, 1001 Movies to see Before You Die. I admit, I had only seen maybe 50 of them. But since I got the book, I've seen over 40 new movies, most of which I've enjoyed. But I'm definitely not afraid to say I don't like something.

A few months ago, I started thinking about college. I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life, after high school. I knew I loved cinema, but I knew I didn't have the looks of a Hollywood actress, the music abilities to be a composer, or the guts to be a director. Then it hit me: Film Critic.

I am so sure of this, I can't believe I didn't think of it years ago.
But I am set now, and my ultimate goal in life is to be on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I am DETERMINED beyond all reason to make it.

So, this is where my journey begins. This blog. I've never really written a film critique before, and I'm a little nervous I'll admit. We all have a beginning though. And this, my friends, is mine. (:


Movie Fun Fact: My 1st Favorite Movie as a baby/toddler was The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh