Music Monday: "The Way" Heart Montage

Happy Valentine's Day, readers! I love each and every one of you and appreciate you guys taking the time to read my little slice of the internet.

Enjoy this montage featuring clips from some of my favorite movies (Eternal Sunshine, Scott Pilgrim) and tv shows (Spaced, Lost) and a whole lot more.



Have a lovely day!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World in 60 Seconds

Now, I love this movie so much that you should by no means see this and think you can skip out on the full-length feature. However, you can watch this on those days when you don't have enough time to dedicate the 2 hours but still need that Scott Pilgrim pick-me-up.

My Top 15 Movies of 2010

This list was tough to narrow down. There may be a few surprises and some that might have made the cut if I could have seen them, but I hope you enjoy. Here are my Top 15 Movies of 2010, descending order to build the suspense! For more, you can check out what my fellow Gordon and the Whale news writers included in their Top 10 lists.

15. THE GHOST WRITER
While many films this year, like SHUTTER ISLAND, were called “Hitchcockian” this is the only one that truly lived up the term.

14. THE LOTTERY
A sharp look into the failing public school system in NYC, it’s just so heartbreaking. While I haven’t seen WAITING FOR SUPERMAN, which made more money and had more buzz than this similarly themed doc, I hear this is a more even handed look at the system.

13. JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK
As most of my generation, I only know of Joan Rivers as the plastic surgery joke and red carpet staple. This was eye opening as to why she’s a star and what she’s done for the female comedy world.

12. KICK-ASS
If you followed my blog leading up to the release, you know how excited I was for this movie. It did not disappoint! Fun, action packed, and filled with violence it was just what I hoped it would be and more. Nicolas Cage finally got to play a superhero and he did his best Adam West/Batman impression for a pitch perfect performance that didn’t sound like it would work on paper. Chloe Moretz is going to be a star, her Hit Girl stood out above the rest and not just for the profanity that came out her 11 year old mouth.

11. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
This may be my favorite DreamWorks animated film yet. The animation was beautiful, plus Toothless was so adorable! A great coming of age story about believing in yourself and going your own way, filled with laughs. I saw it in 3D, and while it was a great experience, watching it on Blu-Ray was just as fun to watch. The animation is beautiful no matter what dimension you watch it in.

10. STEP UP 3D
This is honestly the best use of 3D I’ve seen since Avatar. Shot on the same type of cameras, it made the show stopping dance routines come alive. While the story and acting aren’t exactly high caliber, this was one of the most entertaining movies I watched this year.

9. THE SECRET OF THE KELLS
It has layers and history that I am not at all familiar with, but I enjoyed it regardless. You can enjoy its simple, concise story with beautiful imagery and animation without knowing the Irish symbolism and history that this movie is steeped in. A mark of a good film is how long it stays with you, and I was researching celtic mythology and folklore long after viewing.

8. BURIED
This tightly written, claustrophobic piece rests solely on Ryan Reynolds shoulders and he does a fantastic job. My heart was racing, I was laughing, I was crying – I was completely invested in this character’s plight in his small coffin. I wish this film had been distributed wider, I feel like it went completely under the radar.

7. INCEPTION
Starkly original, it was a fantastic blend of a big idea and big budget. While some have knocked it for clunky exposition, I feel the unique idea needed that extra bit of explanation. Christopher Nolan has become a brand name director, with his previous critically acclaimed hits like MEMENTO, THE DARK KNIGHT, and INCEPTION just further solidified him as the director of the 21st century.

6. TANGLED
Disney movies will always have a special place in my heart, and this was the best non-Pixar Disney film in years. Last year’s THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG was a return to form, but this was them at the top of their game since the golden age of the early 90s. Lovable characters on a quest filled with heart, laugher, and good songs. It brought me right back to my childhood.

5. EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
It was a strong year for documentaries, but it was easy for me to pick which one would land on this list. As a fan of Banksy’s street art, I’d been looking forward to this for a while and it did not disappoint. It gave us a look into the fascinating world of street art and then flipped in the middle to focus on a different beast entirely. Thoroughly entertaining, I recommend everyone add this to their Netflix Instant Queues now if you haven’t seen it.

4. BLACK SWAN
As the most recently seen film on my list, I’m still trying to properly put my feelings on it into words. An entirely visceral film, it had my heart racing while I was tensed in my seat. Blending high art like ballet with the more low brow genre of horror/suspense makes for an art house flick that should make some big money.

3. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
It's sharp writing, giving us an excellent look at Facebook and the internet start up age, with fascinating characters and top notch acting from Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake move this to near the top of my list. It’s currently sweeping all the critics awards leading up the Oscars, deservedly so, and I hope it can keep it up throughout the award season.

2. TOY STORY 3
I've loved these characters for 10 years and to see them in a new adventure - with suspense, laughs, and heart - was amazing. Further proving that animation isn’t only for children, Pixar may just have crafted their masterpiece with this one. Could this be the year an animated feature takes home Best Picture at the Oscars?

1. SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD
I loved this movie the first time I saw it, and my love has only grown with every repeat viewing. Edgar Wright seamlessly blends film and video game tropes to create a thoroughly modern romantic comedy. Michael Cera has experienced some backlash recently, but this seems like the role he was born to play. I have no doubt that this will just become more popular on Blu-Ray/DVD, because there’s no where to go but up from its disappointing box office performance.

This list isn’t quite complete since I didn’t get a chance to see THE KING’S SPEECH, THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, I LOVE YOU, PHILIP MORRIS and BLUE VALENTINE.

A Look Back at 2010

The year is almost over and everybody is doing Top 10 lists or looking back through the year. Since my blog actually existed throughout the whole year, here's a look at some of the best and most popular posts of 2010!

As a huge dance fan, the first half of the year was dominated by America's Best Dance Crew and So You Think You Can Dance posts and reviews. Some of the most popular posts were videos of my favorite routines.
The Top 5 SYTYCD posts are:
1. If I Were a Boy by Lauren and Dominic
2. Collide
3. A short playlist I drew up from Season 6 continued to be popular in the new year
4. Fix You
5. Mad World



The Top 5 ABDC posts are:
1. ABDC: Illusion Challenge
2. ABDC: Season 5 Finale
3. ABDC: Champions for Charity
4. ABDC: South Regional Crews
5. ABDC: Hip Hop Nation and Last Chance Challenge

And of course, my most popular blog post is the write up I did about the Jabbawockeez Vegas show, winners of the first season and the biggest success to come out of ABDC. They're still in Vegas over half a year later and if you can, go watch it!

While a lot of my most popular posts are about those two dance shows, I also posted a lot about movies and TV.

Here are the Top 8 Movie/TV posts:
1. Dreamworks Face 
2. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Soundtrack
3. Jimmy Fallon's Gummi Bear Song 
4. Antoine Dodson at Hogwarts
5. I'm cheating on this one, but San Diego Comic Con posts were really popular and a whole lot of fun!
6. While the post is from last year, the Harry Potter vs. Twilight debate rages on.
7. Chuck is still one of my favorite shows, here are 10 Reasons Why You Should Be Watching

8. We take for granted just how much work goes into television. This video revealing just how much is green screen shows that a simple shot of people walking outside is more than meets the eye.

This year I also started a one off blog for the month long road trip I took with my boyfriend (now fiancé!!!), started a tumblr or two, wrote for a few awesome websites, and overall just continued to be addicted to the internet.

Here's to a fantastic 2010 and an even more promising 2011! 

Scott Pilgrim Q&A at the New Beverly

A few weeks ago, I got the chance to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World again, this time at a midnight screening at the New Beverly complete with a Q&A with Edgar Wright and several of the cast members. Scott Pilgrim was one of my favorite movies from this year, and it stands as the only film I’ve seen twice in theaters in 2010. It really needed it the most after all, with a paltry box office of $31.5 million.

Enough has been said on the film already, so I’ll just dive right in to the question & answer portion.

How do you [Brian Lee O’Malley, creator of the graphic novels] feel about the differences between the books and the movies?
I did the books all solo while Edgar worked on his own thing. There wasn’t much collaboration between us two to get the movies to be exact adapations, we wanted there to be differences to make sure it fit for their own mediums. Plus, it's a long production process and I understand that the movie can't include everything.

What’s everyone’s favorite video game?
Edgar Wright: Rampage
Michael Cera: Contra
Mae:  Mist
Anna Kendrick: Shenobi
Satya Bhabha & Mark Webber: Mega man

This role was very physical, how did you feel preparing for it?
Cera: I trained for 2 months, in fighting and bass. It was great because I got to know everyone before we even started shooting. Because of the exercise, I’ve never felt more confident. I was pretty much a stud by the end of it.

What was your most entertaining movie going experience?
Edgar Wright: My most entertaining movie experience was when I saw Hostel 2. It was a midday, midweek showing so there were maybe only 5 people in the theater. Then, during the cannibal scene, some guy came in just then and sat next to him. During one of the goriest moments, he just leaned over to me and said “beautiful.”

The soundtrack was fantastic and one of the many highlights of the film, how did you go about putting that together?
Edgar Wright: The soundtrack came together really came together because of my friend Nigel. He put together the score, and he’s been produced by Paul McCartney and some other big names. The idea was to have a different artist do their song as if they were a different artist, like Heck channeled their garage band roots, and Metric did a parody of themselves. We currently have three soundtracks out – one for the game, the score, and then the traditional soundtrack. We have enough songs to fill a fourth, and we want to distribute it, but it’ll depend on money down the road.

How familiar were you with the material before landing your roles in the film?
Mae: I was the only one who had read the books. I loved it before auditioning for the role.

When you were casting for this role, how did it all shake out? Did you have people in mind from the beginning, or did you leave it open depending on auditions?
Edgar Wright: I had a lot of people in mind from the start. Michael Cera was at the top of my list from near the beginning. I was lucky and got most of my first choices. Casting spanned at least a year; it was a long process. One of the many special features on the Blu-Ray is the casting tapes. That’s a fun little feature.


This movie obviously draws a lot from video games, were there any specifically that you pulled from when writing the story/filming the movie?
Brian: I never had N64, so I don’t know the games well enough to have based anything off them specifically.
Edgar Wright: The fights were inspired and referenced a lot of great video games. I looked to Fuly coolly, Beck, Akira, Naruto video games, and especially Marvel vs. Capcom. For the twins battle specifically, the creatures were double dragons because there are two of them. That bit was an homage to Scott Wolf and his fabulous work in Double Dragons. [The Double Dragons trailer played before the movie, along with a few video game commercials.]


Are there any character notes that didn’t get explored in the movie, but that still influence who they are?
Edgar Wright: Julie's secret fact is that she had a crush on Scott during college, that’s why she treats him the way she does. Roxy is half ninja, but insecure and angry about not being a whole ninja


What did Scott order off amazon?
Edgar: I don’t actually know. Maybe it was a Wang Chung CD? Hott Fuzz DVD?


What is everyone currently working on now?
Brian: I’m glad to be going back to Toronto and being a hermit again. I’m not sure what I’ll do next.
Stephan stills is directing.
Envy is in The United States of Tara and a film called Rampart.
Mae is focusing on her music and is also starring in the NBC show Parenthood.


Other odds and ends mentioned throughout the night:

• Roxy’s whip wasn’t in the graphic novel. It was designed specifically for the movie.
• Edgar Write would want to make The Action Doctor. The first thing Chris Evans did for the project was all the posters.
• Check out the plot keywords on IMDB.com. It makes it sound like an NC-17 flick with one of them being "Death by Orgasm." 
• Brian enjoyed the movie and was himself surprised by the ending. The last book was done after the movie was already nearly complete so there wasn’t much discussion between the two about where things would end up.
• Another special feature that will be on the Blu-Ray is a compilation of all the TV-safe voice over edits they recorded. They had to change any instance of them saying “god” or “ass” or anything like that. The montage was hilarious, with constant references to people being such “bad owls.”

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Blu-Ray is out now and would make a PERFECT holiday gift for your friends or family. More people need to see this film.