In case you haven’t noticed (we hear there’s quite the publicity campaign going on), Hellboy II is now out in theaters. Of course we think it’s great — Evan worked as the first assistant editor — but we’re happy to see that lots of critics have agreed, too. So take a couple hours to go check it out, and let us know what you think!
Well, as you may have been able to tell from my lack of blogging, it’s been a busy week. I’m still busily pumping out the celeb gossip, fashion and music stories over at Sugarscape (finding budding YouTube stars has become a new favorite passtime), I’ve also been busy in the evenings.
Monday I hung out with my friend Jess, who I’ve known since we went to summer camp together when we were 12. We went to a pub, then to Pacifico for a nice Mexican dinner — I really like their fajitas, and my experience was much better this time, going on a quiet Monday night than when we went on a Friday and had to wait for hours in the packed place for a table.
Tuesday, I got to meet up with Charlotte, one of my editors as Entrepreneur, who is actually responsible for this first story in the print magazine, “Talk to Me,” about Joe Badame and Martha de la Torre, who run the LA-area Spanish-language media empire, El Clasificado. Martha was a wonderful woman to talk to, and I only wish the article could have been 1500 words instead of 150. Sorry to digress. Tuesday, Charlotte and I met up at the Red Lion, then went to Imli, an Indian tapas place on Wardour Street, which was great. The only complaint there is that they don’t have one of my favorite Indian staples — naan. But the meal was flavorful, with lots of spicy and sweet notes, and eating tapas-style, it was fun to get to sample a good array of the inexpensive dishes on their menu.
Wednesday and Thursday night, I was at film screenings — Forgetting Sarah Marshall and What Happens in Vegas (which I’m not allowed to write about until the week the movie comes out). I know I didn’t really write about it on here, but last week, I also went to the 21 screening, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but didn’t have a very convincing story.
I also managed to meet up with the Londonist folk at a pub on Wednesday, though because of all my activities this week, which kept me out of the house until the late hours, I didn’t write any posts for them. I did also meet Gordon Butler from Fancyapint?, and he was happy to learn that I’d used his site just the day before.
Wednesday night I went to a bloggers’ Forgetting Sarah Marshall screening. I loved The 40-Year-Old Virgin, quite liked Knocked Up, and think this is another win for Judd Apatow and crew. The movie got a lot of big laughs, a few cringes and had a pretty shocking amount of male nudity — apparently Jason Segel likes taking off his pants and doesn’t mind showing all his bits to the world.
The story’s premise is simple enough: guy gets dumped by his TV-star girlfriend and goes to Hawaii to try to get her off his mind. As fate would have it, the ex and her new beau are also vacationing at the same resort and all are too proud to leave. This recipe for awkward situations stands up quite well, and watching Jason Segel go from heartbroken slob to something closer to happiness as he makes new Island friends, meets a girl and tries to get over his ex is almost as sweet as it is funny.
Jonah Hill, Jack McBrayer and Paul Rudd all show up in funny supporting roles, but Russell Brand, the British comedian who I’m guessing most Americans, like myself, have never heard of, gives the standout performance. He’s smarmy and gross, yet intriguingly fun and likable. A little Jack Sparrow-esque, his too-cool, free-loving rock star character steals all the scenes he’s in, with plenty of exaggerated eye-rolling, hair flipping and suggestive singing and dancing.
The women don’t fare quite as well. I don’t know if it’s because I have typecast Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis as teens in my mind that they just don’t quite work as the adults they’re playing, or if it’s because though they have pretty big roles, they’re really secondary to the male characters. They don’t get as many laughs, and while they have some sincere moments, they seem more like caricatures of women than the real thing. Of course, all the characters in the comedy are stereotypical, so maybe I’m just being a bit oversensitive.
The film also takes some funny jabs at the Brits, has a Bubba Gump-like bartender who likes to list things like names of fish, and even includes a short but traumatic pig-slaughtering scene. And its gorgeous Hawaiian scenery, which is replete with sappy newlyweds to torture the main character, made me really excited for my trip there this summer.
I’ll probably be going back to the theater to see this again since Evan hasn’t seen it and I know he’ll love it. It’s definitely a movie to see in a theater full of people, whose laughs only add to the hilarious two-hour experience.
Thanks, Annie Mole, for inviting me along!
Last weekend, Evan and I saw The Orphanage. I’m not a big fan of scary movies because, well, they scare me a bit too much, and I felt The Orphanage really went a bit above and beyond when it came to creeping me out. Though I think it was in a good way.
The story itself is great — it plays by its own rules, weaves the human and supernatural, and has a plot twist that makes you rethink the whole movie — basically, it has all the elements of a classic and cohesive scary movie. It always leaves you guessing what’s real and what’s imagined and you really feel attached to the main characters. It also has some incredibly eerie imagery.
The boy in the homemade sack mask that looks like it’s melting off his face (not a spoiler, he’s on the poster), is reminiscent of the twin girls in the shining, but scarier — the kind of character you imagine follows you home and could be hiding down any dark hallway or around any corner. At least I feel like he’s stayed with me since I left the theater. Honestly, I just decided against putting an image up here because I just don’t want to look at it. IMDb it if you must.
And I did like that once I got past the initial shocks in the first half of the movie I was able to relax a bit knowing that the scariest bits were most likely over and that it was heading toward a resolution.
So I suppose this is my cautious recommendation — it’s worth watching, but bring someone whose hand you can hold.
I’m sure I’ll be posting a bit more, with photos and better descriptions, but Evan and I got back from our New York weekend today.
We left from Gatwick airport Friday morning and had a 2-hour delay off the bat since our plane didn’t arrive on time. After an uneventful flight — Evan slept and I finished reading Youth in Revolt (very funny) — we got to Newark, took the train to our hotel (the W, very nice) and got ready to go out to dinner.
We had Greek food (yum), went to see Towards Darkness (unfortunately the theater wasn’t very full, though it was well-received by the friends and family who came), and went out for drinks at the Thirsty Scholar (fun!).
Saturday we went to MoMA (very cool, check out the photo), walked through Central Park (always lovely), had Mexican food in DUMBO (quite an adventure to get to, though the food was delicious), and went out with friends at B Bar.
Sunday, we had brunch (I miss American-style brunch), Evan bought a camera, we had drinks with a friend, then spent a long time in Newark airport waiting for our flight (we were early). The flight was bumpy. Evan slept; I didn’t. I did, however, completely conk out on the train in from Gatwick. I also managed to take an accidental 6-hour nap this afternoon (oops) while Evan was at work.
More about the weekend soon.
Also, check out my latest Hitched article, “Online Tools to Keep You Organized.”
If you’re going to be in New York this weekend, come join us to see Towards Darkness on its opening night, Friday, March 14. We’ll be at the 9:40 p.m. showing at the Quad Cinema in Greenwich Village. Then we’ll be going out to celebrate.
Let us know if you’d like to join us. The more, the merrier. We hope to see all you New Yorkers this weekend!
The film is also coming out in Los Angeles, Irvine and Santa Fe next weekend, starting March 28. For more information, check out this previous post.
This just in: The schedule I posted earlier for the Towards Darkness screenings has changed. The latest opening dates and theaters:
It seems like the Fort Lauderdale screening is off at the moment, too, unfortunately. Thank goodness the New York premiere is still happening the same weekend as planned — we already have our tickets.
You can stay updated on the movie through it’s websites: www.peacearch.com, www.tdmovie.com, www.myspace.com/tdmovie.
There’s also a new trailer:
UPDATE: This information is now outdated. View new theaters and opening dates here.
Save the date, book your tickets and plan an awesome night out at the movies on March 14 if you’re in LA, New York, Miami or Fort Lauderdale: Towards Darkness (aka Hacia la Oscuridad) is finally making its public debut. Its also Evan’s first feature as an editor.
We went to the premiere last year at the Tribeca Film Festival, which was actually the first time I got to see the film — no sneak previews for me on that one — and I was totally blown away. About a college student’s kidnapping in Columbia, the story is full of suspense. It also stars America Fererra among other talented actors and is half in Spanish, half in English.
Evan and I are planning on going to New York to see it, so if you’re going to be around, let us know and we can all go together.
Where you can see it:
I have no idea how long it will be playing, so try to make it opening weekend, March 14, 2008.
What people are saying:
“A gritty bilingual kidnapping tale.” -Entertainment Weekly
“A thrilling and mesmerizing story that will have audiences glued to their seats.” -Skuawk! Magazine
“Slick, riveting, and absolutely sure of itself at every moment…like ‘Man on Fire’ only with a cooler story structure.” -Creative Screenwriting Magazine
The trailer:
And if you can’t make it out to the theater, the DVD is set to come out June 17, 2008.
Last night, Evan and I went to the Rambo premiere in Leicester Square. We dressed up and walked over, not quite knowing what to expect, and were greeted by palm trees, fires, an announcer and a huge red carpet — which we got to walk down! No red carpet entrance and normies entrance here, which was fun. It was quite intimidating having all the paparazzi and gawkers just staring at you. We asked one of the superfans to take a photo, too, but you can’t see the exciting, flame-throwing Rambo display at the end of the carpet.
The movie was, as expected, very bloody. It’s definitely not my favorite of the films Evan has worked on, and I spent a good deal of our movie-watching time clutching his hand and turning away from all the throat-ripping-out, limb-severing horrors on screen.
The afterparty at Rex was much more fun. There was plenty of champagne, mango martinis and hors d’oeuvres, which included mini caesar salads, various skewered meats, veggie sushi, mini burgers (both veggie and meat), asparagus, and fish and chips. There were some self-important people hanging around, but nobody I could recognize as famous except for Sylvester Stallone. Best of all, though, is that I finally got to meet him.
I spent a good portion of the party just sort of staring at Sly — he was so close, though in his own private area. Evan didn’t see him for a while (I thought maybe he was just being shy), but when he finally did, we started trying to find a way to say hello. Fortune was on our side, and Sly was headed across the room and walked right by us, so Evan said hi. I was introduced. Sly told me how smart Evan is and how he was the only person who ever knew what was going on with his movies, and he told me that I was very lucky to be with him (I agree!). He also said the movie should have been more violent (I disagree, but I think I just smiled). We shook hands, and that was about it.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get any photos — it would have been weird to ask. But it was a really neat evening, and it was great to finally meet Sly — and have him say very nice things about Evan.
Sunday, Evan and I went to the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, then went to Chinatown to celebrate Chinese New Year. The museum had some interesting displays, but the part about Churchill seemed a bit disorganized, since we were skipping around through different parts of his life. There were some really neat interactive exhibits, though, like a very long, tabletop timeline that had folders you could click on to expand and open.
The cabinet war rooms were actually pretty interesting, but we were a bit rushed getting through them since we got to the museum about an hour before closing time. It was definitely a bit creepy down there, since there were of course no windows and everything was pretty cramped. I read in my guidebook that it wouldn’t have survived a bomb, either. And it was in a pretty obvious spot to target, since it’s right by 10 Downing Street. Guess they got really lucky.
We walked to Chinatown after the museum closed, just in time to miss all the shows and fireworks. It was still pretty ridiculously crowded, but we fought our way beneath the festive red lanterns to a Chinese restaurant Evan had been to before called Fung Shing. We had a bit of a wait and ended up chatting with a couple we were sitting next to while waiting who were a bit ahead of us in line, and they invited us to join their table.
I had a great tofu and stuffed peppers dish and Evan had duck. Our new friends, Robert and Annette, had curry crab and lemon chicken. It was great to talk to some new people — he is from Manchester, she is from Zurich — and we all shared a bottle of wine.
Evan and I went to see Juno afterwards, which was great. I’d seen it already, but liked it just as much the second time, even though the ending makes me sad. I don’t know why the happy ending is so sad for me. Maybe it’s the dad telling her that she’ll be back there someday on her own terms. Or maybe it’s the sweetness of the love story and how everything magically goes back to normal. Whatever it is, despite the sometimes over-the-top dialog, the movie has a lot of heart (wow, that’s so cheesy, I can barely believe I just wrote that).
I saw Sweeney Todd for the second time last weekend (I saw it in the U.S. when it came out there at the end of December), and I must say, I liked it more the second time around. I enjoyed it the first time, but I found myself too caught up in all the spurting blood and dead bodies and cannibalism, so I couldn’t really enjoy it. I was just waiting anxiously for the next kill.
I still think that Anthony is the weakest part, but Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are great. As are Sascha Baron Cohen and the little boy. The fantasy sequences are my favorite. Especially when they go to the seaside. Sometimes funny and always excessive, whether it’s the masses of blood, showmanship or singing, I’ve been humming the tunes all week now.
There are still some things I don’t understand about the UK. Saturday night, Evan and I went to go Sweeney Todd. We bought our tickets well in advance of the show at the Odeon Marble Arch, and we went next door to have a cup of coffee before the film started. It was supposed to start at 6:10. At about 6:20, we decided to head over because the last time we went to that theater, we had to sit through 30 minutes of ads before we even saw the first preview. No kidding. 30 minutes. On movie tickets that cost about 10 pounds each.
And the ads aren’t the fun movie ads you’ll see in the U.S. once the lights go out. I remember the uproar over those — and there are usually only two or three of them, and they’ll be pretty clever Coke or L.A. Times commercials that are interesting to look at and segue to the previews pretty quickly. The TV-style ads, if there are any, will come on before showtime, when you’re just waiting around, munching on your popcorn with the lights on. And even those are usually broken up by movie trivia questions to keep you engaged.
I don’t remember the ads being quite 30 minutes when we went to see a movie at a Cineworld, maybe about 15 to 20 minutes, but the full 30 minutes of ads for beer, whiskey, cell phone service and chocolate bars were just infuriating. Worse, even, are some bizarre fear-mongering ads about excessive drinking and deadly accidents happening close to home that seem to be more dramatic than what anyone would air on TV. One ad had a guy pretending he was batman climbing up all sorts of scaffolding to fall to his death on the pavement below, focusing on his twisted body and warning about the perils of drinking too much (you can watch it here). Another involves a motorcycle slamming into a pole, paralyzing its rider on a seemingly ordinary day.
Then after you’re done watching your fill of ads, for a movie you’ve paid a nice sum for, then there are only two or three actual trailers before the movie starts. And while I don’t like watching commercials, I do enjoy seeing the new trailers.
And just as a contrast to the moviegoing experience, Evan and I stayed up until after 3 a.m. to watch the Super Bowl last night and didn’t see a commercial the entire game. The one place where you look forward to commercials! It was also sort of funny to have the show hosted by a pretty British boy. Ended up being an exciting game, too. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever actually watched the whole Super Bowl. I usually just go to a party and talk to people and eat.
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