The Center Seat

where i am

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:35:00 +0000

This is what work (you know, my day job) has been like for me this week:

That's me with my pretty manicured nails clawing the air.

See you next week when someone makes this cube into a seven-layer salad.

day zero update #3

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 10:20:00 +0000

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and I'm SO NOT in line at the stores. I intend to spend this entire day in my pj's, feasting on leftovers. So there.

Completed Tasks

~~#44: Get all new gifts put away and house in order.~~ With a LOT of help from Mr. Nayana.

Tasks in Progress

#15: Watch all AFI 100 movies. I saw Platoon! Now at 45/100.
#16: Get 200 Facebook fans. No movement here.
#17: Watch all Academy Award Best Picture winners. I saw Platoon! So now I've seen 43/82.
#19: Watch all Coen brothers movies. I posted the list on Wednesday; I'm at 8/15.
#22: Stay caught up on Google Reader for a month. Still going! This task will be completed on December 11.
#23: See all feature films directed by Hayao Miyazaki. I'm planning to post this list next Wednesday. I'm about halfway done.
#24: Pay off all credit cards. Nothing to report here.
#25: Pay off car loan. Or here.
#47: Finish name changes. Does the electric company really have to have my legal name on file?
#64: Eat at ten new restaurants. No new restaurants this week. Still at 1/10.
#65: Learn sign language. Had to skip my ASL class this week; hope I didn't miss too much.
#71: Complete our wedding registry. No real progress, but I did convert much of it into a Target "List", so family has a nice Christmas list to work from. (Am I the only one that usually draws a blank when someone asks what you want for Christmas?)
#77: Watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series) from beginning to end. We're through Season One! See yesterday's post.
#82: Get caught up at work. I expect to be done with this by this time next week. Yay!
#85: Structure my work time into a set schedule, and stick to it for a month. Still going! I should be done with this goal December 9. I'll probably stick to it after the month is up, as it makes my job MUCH easier, and gives me time for blogging.

There you have it! Have a fantastic weekend.

buffy the vampire slayer: season one, episodes five-twelve

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 10:20:00 +0000

Nayana's standard Buffy disclaimer/Reverse spoiler alert: This is my first time EVER watching this series. I am very interested in keeping my experience pure, so please take care in the comments to not give any spoilers, clues, or insights from future (to me) seasons or episodes.

We've been powering through these episodes! They're so fun to watch, so it's really easy to keep clicking the "Next Episode" button when we're done with one. Eight episodes in a week... it's not going to be the standard, but it could definitely happen again.

Episode 5: Never Kill a Boy on the First Date

Buffy's got a date! Despite all the bug-hacking, witch-fighting and vamp-hunting, the girl still wants a social life. That proves problematic, though, as Giles' vampire-slaying prophecies tend to coincide with when Buffy is supposed to be slow-dancing with shy, bookish Owen. Of course the two sides of Buffy's life don't stay neatly separated, and Owen gets the full Slayer experience. It turns out to be a little too exciting for Owen, though, and Buffy has to cut him loose.

Though it's not the meatiest of episodes, I enjoyed Episode 5, as it helped me sympathize with what the life of a teenage Slayer might be like. It's hard enough for any sixteen-year-old to juggle the responsibilities of young adulthood, but the responsibility shouldered by the earth's sole Slayer would indeed be profound. This episode was notable, too, in that it introduced the Anointed, a young boy who is being groomed by the Master for what appears to be Buffy's destruction.

Episode 6: The Pack

I found "The Pack" alternately fascinating and horrifying. The premise is as follows: a group of kids, including Xander, sneak into the closed hyena exhibit at the zoo, and become possessed by the hyena's spirit. So it's a bunch of high school kids acting like hyenas.

At first, they're just mean to some of the other kids. After a while, though, it gets nasty. They eat the school mascot, a little pig... and later, minus Xander, they eat the principal. They eat the principal. Blech.

Of course, Buffy et al eventually saves the day, and Xander is back to his Xander-y self. But the principal doesn't get uneaten. *shudder*

Episode 7: Angel

I already knew Angel was a vampire. Of course I knew... if you ever watched TV in the 90's, the commercials basically told you. So that wasn't a surprise. But the backstory was interesting: the gist is that he used to be ravenous and amoral like all other vampires until a group of Roma (gypsies) cursed him. Now he's a vampire with a soul, which means that he can't bring himself to kill humans. He staked Darla, though, which was a relief; I was getting sick of her.

Episode 8: I, Robot... You, Jane

Willow accidentally puts a demon on the Internet when she scans the book in which the demon had been imprisoned. All hell breaks loose.

I admit that, viewed from a 2010 perspective, this episode seemed a bit silly. It really highlights the vast differences between the online world of today and the infant Internet of 1997. For starters, when Willow seemed to have a new online love, Buffy and Xander reacted with extreme suspicion; nowadays, of course, it seems quaint to not meet your spouse on the Internet.

I'm a fan of the computer teacher, Ms. Calendar, who was introduced in this episode. She's cute, and witty--is it too much to hope that she could be a future love interest for Giles? But... techno-pagan? Come on.

Episode 9: The Puppet Show

I knew from the second I saw the kid with his creepy ventriloquist's dummy that the dummy was going to come to life. That part was über-predictable. It was completely unpredictable, however, that the creepy-ass dummy turned out to be a good guy! That was a nice surprise. I have to say, though, that they laid on the suspense extra-thick at the end. Giles on that guillotine.... Ack! It reminded me of when Sylar was stealing brains in the first season of Heroes.

Also, Armin Shimerman as the new principal! Loves it! He's not exactly Quark, but he's pretty fan-freaking-tastic. I wonder if this one will get eaten...

Episode 10: Nightmares

Everyone's nightmares are becoming real. Turns out it's all because a kid in a coma is projecting his "astral self" around Sunnydale... or something.

Two great things about this episode:

Almanzo Wilder is Buffy's dad! ZOMG!
Vampire Buffy, who delivers this beautiful line to the Ugly Man right before she kicks his ugly heinie:

"Scary. I'll tell you something, though. There are a lot scarier things than you. And I'm one of them."

Episode 11: Out of Mind, Out of Sight

Cordelia was apparently really mean to a girl she never actually noticed. That's nothing out of the ordinary. What is a bit extraordinary is that this girl (whom no one else ever noticed either) actually became invisible. And then she went cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

Everyone does start noticing Crazy Invisible Girl, though, when she starts attacking people and then leaving cryptic messages. Buffy, et al, eventually deduce that Crazy Invisible Girl's main beef is with Cordelia; they try to protect her, but not hard enough. Crazy kidnaps Buffy and Cordy, and of course Buffy eventually saves the day.

My geek moment was when I recognized pictures of the actress who played Crazy Invisible Girl: she was also Winona Ryder's funny-farm roommate in Girl, Interrupted. I don't know if I've seen her in anything else, but she does seem to have a knack for playing nutjobs.

Episode 12: Prophecy Girl

What do you do when you hear a prophecy (assuming you believe in prophecies) that states that if you continue to do your job, you will die tomorrow? You quit your job, right? That's what Buffy tries to do when confronted with that very prophecy by Giles and Angel. Of course, it doesn't pan out, she goes a-hunting anyway (in a knockout dress), and she dies. Sort of. Xander performs CPR. Sort of.* And she jumps up, stronger than ever! (Should I be suspicious?)

This episode was pretty great as season finales go, with a climactic battle at the end that leaves the Master apparently dead. One wonders if he's ALL the way dead (the skeleton's still there, after all), and even if he is, that little Anointed kid is still running around. So I'm sure there's much more trouble ahead for Buffy.

"Prophecy Girl" was the only episode of Season One that was actually directed by Joss Whedon, and the difference is stark. There was a heaviness, a moodiness, throughout this episode which made it feel almost like a movie. It's hard to describe, but "Prophecy Girl" just felt different. In a good way.

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm back tomorrow with another Day Zero update.

*No one on TV, including Xander, seems to know how to correctly perform CPR.

day zero: my coen brothers movie list

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 10:20:00 +0000

I heart the Coen brothers. They are easily my favorite local-boys-made-good (they're from Minnesota, just like me!) So I think it's tragic and a bit embarrassing that I have not yet seen the entirety of their oeuvre. Therefore, I added it to my Day Zero list at lucky #19*, and I can tell you this is one task I'm really looking forward to.

Here's the list:

Blood Simple
Raising Arizona
Miller's Crossing
Barton Fink
~~The Hudsucker Proxy~~
~~Fargo~~
~~The Big Lebowski~~
~~O Brother, Where Art Thou?~~
The Man Who Wasn't There
Intolerable Cruelty
~~The Ladykillers~~
~~No Country For Old Men~~
~~Burn After Reading~~
~~A Serious Man~~
True Grit

I've got 8 out of 15. How many have you seen? Any thoughts on the ones I haven't seen yet?

*Just saw the "Nightmares" episode of Buffy. Review tomorrow.

127 hours: whaddaya think?

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:06:00 +0000

All signs are pointing to Oscar nominations for Danny Boyle's new release 127 Hours, in theaters now. If you don't already know, this is the story of that guy who got stuck in a canyon a few years ago and escaped by sawing his own arm off. Compelling story, but... ew.

I'm about as queasy as they come. I can't usually handle the gore. But this is supposed to be a fantastic movie, and it seems destined for the Oscars. So what do I do? Do I suck it up and go, watching the icky scene through my fingers? Or do I stay home and just get by on everyone else's reviews?

platoon

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 22:21:00 +0000

I am a pacifist. I'm going to level with you all and confess that I didn't quite know which direction to take with this review, as pacifism isn't exactly a philosophy that is appreciated and understood by most, especially in a time of war.

Let me just say that while I love and appreciate the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and guardsmen who protect my freedom to believe in peace above all, I have a big problem with governments who choose to put those folks in harm's way when there may be other, more effective options available. War is costly (both fiscally and socially), it's ugly, it's the birthplace of a whole host of evils, and in this blogger's opinion, it's morally wrong.

OK, I'm putting my soapbox away, and getting to the movie now. I just figured you would get more out of my thoughts on Platoon if I first let you know where I was coming from.

Oliver Stone, the writer and director of Platoon, based this movie on his own experiences serving in the Vietnam War. I believe this movie is a success because it shows, on a few different levels, some of the distinct evils that war begets.

Platoon is the story of Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen), a soldier who dropped out of college and actually volunteered to serve in Vietnam. His idealism is quickly brought down to earth as he witnesses, and experiences, the soul-changing nature of war.

After a member of Taylor's platoon goes missing and is subsequently found mutilated and tied to a post, the humanity of many of the soldiers starts to fray. The platoon comes upon a village; the soldiers suspect the villagers of conspiring with the North Vietnamese Army, and they take that excuse to terrorize the petrified civilians. Taylor finds himself screaming at a disabled boy and shooting at his feet, forcing him to dance; another soldier eventually bludgeons the boy to death and laughs at how his head falls apart.

As some of the prominent villagers are being interrogated, one woman bravely confronts the intruders, and is summarily executed by the villain of the film, Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger). He then takes a screaming child, presumably the murdered woman's daughter, and threatens to kill her too if the villagers do not give up information about the NVA (which they may or may not have). Sgt. Elias, played by Willem Dafoe, confronts Barnes and saves the little girl, but this is only the beginning of the war between the two sergeants, which becomes a "civil war" (in Taylor's words) within the platoon.

Americans like to believe that when we go to war, we're doing it for a just cause. We want to think that our soldiers are out there being noble, helping the locals, making things right. That's just not always the case, and Platoon lays that out quite clearly. The men were supposed to be fighting a specific enemy, the North Vietnamese, but they ended up fighting and killing civilians, each other, and sometimes themselves.

I don't know why we were in Vietnam. I've taken plenty of history classes and read plenty of books, but I still haven't heard a justification that makes sense to me. It was a mistake which cost millions of Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, and American lives, displaced even more innocents, and poisoned an entire country's landscape, with effects still being felt today.

So yeah, I'm anti-war. But can I say I'm pro-war-movie? At least when it comes to movies like Platoon which unabashedly show the horrors of war; I'm probably kidding myself here, but if enough artists show truth as effectively as Oliver Stone did here, maybe we'll think carefully before getting ourselves into more scrapes like Vietnam... or Iraq... or Afghanistan...

day zero update #2

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:20:00 +0000

One more week has gone by, and I've made a teensy bit of progress.

Completed Tasks

None this week. I have a feeling there will be many weeks like this.

Setbacks

#83: Get to work on time and leave on time every day for a week. This is really, really hard. I've tried and failed twice already. Next attempt will be the week following Thanksgiving.

Tasks in Progress

#15: Watch all AFI 100 movies. Still at 44/100.
#16: Get 200 Facebook fans. Still at 89. Active users are up, though, so maybe that's a good sign?
#17: Watch all Academy Award Best Picture winners. Go look at my list, which I posted Wednesday. I've seen 42/82.
#19: Watch all Coen brothers movies. I'm roughly halfway done. I'll post this list soon.
#22: Stay caught up on Google Reader for a month. Well, I've stayed caught up this week. If I keep it up, this task will be completed on December 11.
#23: See all feature films directed by Hayao Miyazaki. I'll post this list in the next few weeks. I'm about halfway done.
#24: Pay off all credit cards. Ha.
#25: Pay off car loan. Double ha.
#44: Get all new gifts put away and house in order. Triple ha. But I intend to get this done before Thanksgiving.
#47: Finish name changes. I've been slacking on this one this week.
#64: Eat at ten new restaurants. I forgot to include this one last week! Mr. N and I checked out a local Italian restaurant called Amici. The food was delicious, but pricey. Incidentally, Pistola says Amici has given her food poisoning in the past. So maybe we won't go back there. But anyway, that's 1/10.
#65: Learn sign language. I've just signed up for the second round of classes. It's community ed, so I'm not learning as much as I'd like to, but it's good for what it is. I'll have to take a college course on ASL at some point in the future.
#71: Complete our wedding registry. No progress on this.
#77: Watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series) from beginning to end. If you read yesterday's post, you know I've started on this one. And I'm loving it!
#82: Get caught up at work. I have actually been kicking ass on this one. Mostly because of...
#85: Structure my work time into a set schedule, and stick to it for a month. This has been amazing for my productivity. I'm almost all the way caught up, and I haven't felt overwhelmed at all since I've started this. I guess you could say I started doing this on November 9, so we'll consider it completed on December 9, assuming I keep it up.

I didn't complete anything this week, but I'm still feeling positive because I made some good progress on some of those goals. We'll see where we stand next Friday! Have a good weekend, folks.

buffy the vampire slayer: season one, episodes one-four

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 22:10:00 +0000

Nayana's standard Buffy disclaimer/Reverse spoiler alert: This is my first time EVER watching this series. I am very interested in keeping my experience pure, so please take care in the comments to not give any spoilers, clues, or insights from future (to me) seasons or episodes.

Last night Mr. N and I sat down to watch the first several episodes of Buffy, and I actually had to give him the above disclaimer a few times. I really want to experience the storyline as Joss Whedon wanted it to unfold; I've already got a great opinion of him as a storyteller, and I'm really looking forward to the experience. Now, without further mucking about, my thoughts.

Episodes 1 & 2: Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest

As an introduction to the Buffy mythology, this pair of episodes did a great job. There was plenty of exposition, but the story never got boring, which is quite a feat. We meet Buffy Summers, newly transferred to Sunnydale (yes, I did relish the "sunny" and "summer" irony) High School after being expelled from her former school.

Buffy is a Vampire Slayer--the only one in the world--and, as such, she's got super-human strength, martial arts skills, and comprehensive vampire knowledge. It's unclear at this point how much of that is innate, and how much was learned. We are led to believe that Buffy was expelled for events that were a direct result of her battles with vampires: a burned-down school gym, missing classes, etc. As a result, Buffy is reluctant to get back into the vamp-killing game, but we all know that the "I don't want to kill vampires anymore" angst will last all of 10 minutes.

We also meet Rupert Giles, a Watcher (kind of like a Slayer's coach?); Willow, a nerdy girl befriended by Buffy (Alyson Hannigan, whom I already LOVE LOVE LOVE); Xander, a sweetheart of a doofus who's got the hots for Buffy; Angel, a mysterious hot guy who seems to know an awful lot about vampires; and Cordelia, the (for lack of a better term) class bitch.

The storyline in these two episodes centers around a den of vampires who live in Sunnydale's underground electrical tunnels and their Master who is trying to come back to the surface to feed on human blood. The vampires plan to trap a group of humans and feed on them, somehow sending their souls directly to the Master, who will gain strength from them and then be able to return to the surface. Of course, Buffy and her gang thwart that plan.

I truly enjoyed this introduction to the Buffy mythology, and I really like the character of Buffy herself. I don't know what I expected, but I was surprised to find her relatively intelligent, and her superhuman strength, agility, and mid-fight banter was very entertaining. Also, maybe it's because I'm watching this for the first time post-True Blood and Twilight, but it was a bit jarring (and, admittedly, refreshing) to see actual ugly vampires. I'm looking forward to more of this; it's not a bad way to spend an evening.

Episode 3: The Witch

Buffy wants to be a cheerleader. Naturally. That part made me roll my eyes a bit, but I dug the fact that there was a mystery in this episode right off the bat. I hope more of the episodes do that; I like a little self-contained mystery in a TV episode, a la Law & Order. During the cheerleading tryouts, one of the more promising girls inexplicably bursts into flames. Later on, a few other not-so-nice things happen to other would-be cheerleaders, and it turns out there's a bit of witchcraft going on in Sunnydale. Who's surprised? Not me, though it is nice that they've branched out a bit from the vampire thing. We think we know right away who the witch is, but in a sneaky little twist, she's actually switched bodies with her mother, Freaky Friday-style. Unfortunately Buffy ticks her off, and becomes the victim of a spell which starts to slowly kill her. Giles does a little "chemistry" of his own, reverses the spell, and once again Buffy saves the day with her super-hot Jackie Chan moves. My favorite line?

Buffy: "Guess what? I feel better."

Episode 4: Teacher's Pet

Buffy's really smart, but doesn't like to do her homework.* She gets a lecture from her science teacher about teacher-y things like Hard Work and Potential. Of course, as soon as Buffy's out of the room, the teacher gets attacked by something with a big insect-y claw. He doesn't show up to class and is replaced by Miss French, a boy-baiting femme fatale of a substitute teacher.

Meanwhile, the cryptic hot guy Angel shows up and warns Buffy (cryptically, of course) about what turns out to be a vampire with razor-sharp claws. Soon afterward, the science teacher shows up decapitated in the school cafeteria freezer. Everyone assumes the new vampire, or "fork guy" as Buffy calls him, is the culprit, and Buffy goes "hunting".

On her little excursion, she doesn't get the vampire, but she does discover that he is unusually terrified of Miss French, who happens to be walking down a nearby street with some groceries. The kids do a bit more research, and discover--wait for it--that Miss French is actually a giant praying mantis disguised as a hot woman. They find her house, and slash her to pieces just as she was about to mate with (ew) and then decapitate Xander.

"Teacher's Pet" was the most predictable episode so far, but I didn't care that much; it was hella entertaining.

*Sounds familiar. Hey, maybe I could have been a high school vampire slayer too!

day zero: my academy award for best picture list

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 22:09:00 +0000

Task #17 on my Day Zero list requires me to watch all movies that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture. This is one of those tasks that I want to be able to say I have done, but I'm not all that excited to actually get down and do it. I think that's mostly because some of the Academy's choices over the years have sometimes been, as we all know, a bit flawed.

All that having been said, I'm determined to jump into this task along with all the others. So here's the list; movies I've already seen have been struck through. Just like with last week's list, I've decided to only count the movies I've seen in the last fifteen years. I have a hazy memory of watching Mutiny on the Bounty with my parents when I was about ten... but there's no way that counts.

1928 - Wings
1929 - The Broadway Melody
1930 - All Quiet on the Western Front
1931 - Cimarron
1932 - Grand Hotel
1933 - Cavalcade
~~1934 - It Happened One Night~~
1935 - Mutiny on the Bounty
1936 - The Great Ziegfeld
1937 - The Life of Emile Zola
1938 - You Can't Take It With You
~~1939 - Gone with the Wind~~
1940 - Rebecca
1941 - How Green Was My Valley
1942 - Mrs. Miniver
~~1943 - Casablanca~~
1944 - Going My Way
1945 - The Lost Weekend
1946 - The Best Years of Our Lives
1947 - Gentleman's Agreement
1948 - Hamlet
1949 - All the King's Men
~~1950 - All About Eve~~
1951 - An American in Paris
1952 - The Greatest Show on Earth
~~1953 - From Here to Eternity~~
1954 - On the Waterfront
~~1955 - Marty~~
1956 - Around The World in 80 Days
1957 - The Bridge on the River Kwai
~~1958 - Gigi~~
~~1959 - Ben-Hur~~
~~1960 - The Apartment~~
~~1961 - West Side Story~~
~~1962 - Lawrence of Arabia~~
1963 - Tom Jones
~~1964 - My Fair Lady~~
~~1965 - The Sound of Music~~
1966 - A Man for All Seasons
1967 - In the Heat of the Night
1968 - Oliver!
1969 - Midnight Cowboy
1970 - Patton
1971 - The French Connection
~~1972 - The Godfather~~
1973 - The Sting
~~1974 - The Godfather Part II~~
~~1975 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest~~
1976 - Rocky
~~1977 - Annie Hall~~
1978 - The Deer Hunter
~~1979 - Kramer vs. Kramer~~
1980 - Ordinary People
1981 - Chariots of Fire
~~1982 - Gandhi~~
~~1983 - Terms of Endearment~~
~~1984 - Amadeus~~
1985 - Out of Africa
~~1986 - Platoon~~ - watched 11/20/10
1987 - The Last Emperor
~~1988 - Rain Man~~
~~1989 - Driving Miss Daisy~~
~~1990 - Dances With Wolves~~
~~1991 - The Silence of the Lambs~~
1992 - Unforgiven
~~1993 - Schindler's List~~
~~1994 - Forrest Gump~~
~~1995 - Braveheart~~
~~1996 - The English Patient~~
~~1997 - Titanic~~
~~1998 - Shakespeare in Love~~
~~1999 - American Beauty~~
~~2000 - Gladiator~~
~~2001 - A Beautiful Mind~~
~~2002 - Chicago~~
~~2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King~~
~~2004 - Million Dollar Baby~~
~~2005 - Crash~~
~~2006 - The Departed~~
~~2007 - No Country for Old Men~~
~~2008 - Slumdog Millionaire~~
~~2009 - The Hurt Locker~~

As you can see, I've done OK in recent years, but I've got a lot of catching up to do. I've got 42/82 so far. How many have you seen?

why I like sappy made-for-tv christmas movies

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:10:00 +0000

Two or three years ago, I would have reacted to that title the way many of you probably did: with an eyeroll and a "did Nayana have a stroke?" But my dear mother has converted me.

Thanksgiving weekend 2008: Mom and I were sitting in her TV room, and she was insisting on yet another Hallmark/Lifetime/ABC Family original movie. Because I love my mother, I kept watching. To be sure, I rolled my eyes and told her why the cheesy movies were making my teeth hurt. "Mom," I sighed, "This is not realistic. In real life, everything doesn't just get wrapped up with a neat little bow by Christmas Eve."

She replied that that was the point. Apparently not everyone wants edgy gloom and doom when they're feeling Christmassy. My little indie-girl brain did not compute, but as I sat back and started to let the saccharine Christmas cheer wash over me, I started to get it. And, as much as I hated to admit it, I was all over the sappy-ass movies when the 2009 holiday season rolled around.

This works much better for me if I compartmentalize, and just tell myself that these "original movies" on cable are not actual movies. I watch movies for artistic value as well as entertainment, but maybe it's OK once in a while to shut the indie brain off and relax. The purpose of watching A Christmas Visitor, starring Meredith Baxter and William Devane, is not (believe it or not) to appreciate the masterful cinematography*, but to let yourself float away on a gingerbread-y, deck-the-halls-y, Christmassy cloud. And that's OK on a Tuesday night.

So if you're looking for an excuse tonight to plop down and watch Hallmark's The Christmas Card (one of my favorites), here's a list of reasons why I think it's ok for a film geek to occasionally indulge:

Made-for-TV movies provide honest work for non-movie-star actors. In just the next few days, you can see Ed Asner in The Christmas Card, Kelsey Grammer in Mr. St. Nick, or Wallace Shawn in Karroll's Christmas. Inconceivable!
It's safe to watch this stuff with Mom. As I hinted earlier, this is perfect family viewing fare. My mother is a very sweet lady, but I can't exactly enjoy my all-time favorite Christmas movie with her. A budding romance between two body doubles on a porn set is not her idea of a fun storyline.
Fun with clichés! When you're watching schlock, it's 823 times more enjoyable if you mock it just a teeny bit. I'm a big fan of Entertainment Weekly's annual Holiday Movie Cliché Checklist, which is fantastic raw material for a drinking game, assuming Mom's not sitting next to you on the couch. See last year's version here. (Even more fun here.)
They make you feel Christmassy. OK, I know that's pretty damn glurgey. But it's a glurgey topic, so there was really no avoiding this. The truth is, I loves me some Christmas. LOVES IT. I usually try to show some self-control by not playing my ska version of "Joy to the World" until November... but it's a losing battle. And to be honest, these made-for-TV movies stoke those holiday embers for me till I have a lovely, chestnutty blaze. And I don't see anything wrong with that.

*Heh.

i can't get this out of my head...

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:28:00 +0000

Apparently it's a phenomenon. More here.

day zero update #1

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 10:20:00 +0000

Each Friday, I'm going to try to update you all on my progress on my Day Zero list. Hopefully that will get me motivated to work on the thing! As Mr. Nayana mentioned last week, I've already gotten a few things knocked off the list (though not as many as he gave me credit for).

Completed Tasks

~~#21: Get caught up on Google Reader.~~ I did it! I don't want to tell you how many items there were when I started. :-/
~~#43: Get thank-you notes done.~~ Of course I've got no reason to whine about the lovely wedding gifts we received, but those thank-yous can lurk in your mind like the yet-unseen killer in the first 20 minutes of a slasher flick! I got tired of seeing them waiting for me on my desk every day, so I set a deadline: November 5, two months after the wedding date. And they went out! Just waiting on Mr. Nayana to deliver a few at work, but I think we can consider this one completed.
~~#86: No Facebook at work for a week.~~ It wasn't easy, but I did it. And it was amazing how much work I got done that week, though I obviously shouldn't have been surprised.
~~#88: Influence another person to make a DayZero list.~~ Mr. Nayana doesn't count, because we're kind of doing it together. But this was still the first task I completed; one day after I started, my friend Karen got on board. Yay!

Tasks in Progress

#15: Watch all AFI 100 movies. I just posted my progress on this one on Wednesday. Right now we're at 44/100.
#16: Get 200 Facebook fans. We're at 89 right now, people. If you haven't "liked" me yet, go here. And tell your friends!
#17: Watch all Academy Award Best Picture winners. I'm sure I'll post my progress on this one in the near future, too. I'm not as excited about this movie list as some others, just because some Best Picture winners have, frankly, sucked.
#19: Watch all Coen brothers movies. I'm MUCH more excited about this one. I think I'm about roughly halfway done.
#22: Stay caught up on Google Reader for a month. I officially got caught up yesterday, November 11. So this task will be completed December 11, 2010.
#23: See all feature films directed by Hayao Miyazaki. See #19. Pretty much the same goes here.
#24: Pay off all credit cards. Aren't we all working on this? It'll be a few years.
#25: Pay off car loan. See #24.
#44: Get all new gifts put away and house in order. Working on it. But, "house in order"? Yeah, right.
#47: Finish name changes. I actually changed my name with my cell phone company today! All I've got left to do is insurance company, electric company, cable company, one of my credit cards, and my passport. Have you ever tried to change your name? This is my third time. It's a pain in the ass.
#65. Learn sign language. I'm taking a class on this every Tuesday with my friend Karen (see #88 above). Super fun, though I've not had to use it with an actual deaf person yet.
#71. Complete our wedding registry. This is going to be a whole lot closer to completion after Christmas.
#82. Get caught up at work. Working on it, but it will be a few weeks before I can cross this one off.

And that's my progress so far. I hope to have good news for you next Friday.

megamind

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:20:00 +0000

OK, kiddies, I'm going to get right to it. Megamind is good. It's entertaining, witty, fast-paced, and it'll make you giggle. There. That's my review. Now, on to some not-so-reviewy thoughts I had while watching the thing (a few mild spoilers after the jump):

Firstly... Is it weird that I think this guy is kind of hot?

Secondly... I'm loving the in-jokes! Will Ferrell's Megamind alternately lifts lines from Dr. Evil ("I had a fairly standard childhood") and does an obnoxious caricature of Marlon Brando as the new "hero"'s father. And those were just the obvious ones. There were so many little one-liners sprinkled throughout this film, that I found myself snickering every 60 seconds or so..

Thirdly... Is Jonah Hill not the best, most neurotic superhero villain in recent film history? There was quite a bit of Buddy/Syndrome from The Incredibles mixed in, but that whole "referencing other superhero films" thing was par for the course throughout this movie.

As a matter of fact, fourthly, that was one of the greatest things about Megamind. It was quite self-conscious, as any quasi-parody must be; but it was not done in an obnoxious way. References, plot devices, and entire characters lifted from other franchises were treated with good humor. The whole thing had a potential to get tiresome, but we never got to that point. Rather than beating the superhero genre to a gooey pulp, Megamind celebrated it... and actually made me want to go see another superhero movie!

I must say, as someone who has wearied of parodies recently, that I was quite pleasantly surprised.

day zero: my afi 100 list

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:20:00 +0000

I posted an earlier version of this a while ago, but this is going to be my official Day Zero version. Task #15 on my list requires me to watch all the movies on the AFI Top 100 list; so here's where I'll keep track of my progress. So far I've seen 44 out of 100: not bad, but not nearly good enough. See the full list, after the jump.

I only counted movies I've seen in the last fifteen years; anything before age sixteen is probably something I don't remember too well. Movies I've seen have been struck through. How many on this list have you seen? And do you have any recommendations as to where on the list I should start?

~~Citizen Kane~~
~~The Godfather~~
~~Casablanca~~
Raging Bull
~~Singin' in the Rain~~
~~Gone with the Wind~~
~~Lawrence of Arabia~~
~~Schindler's List~~
~~Vertigo~~
~~The Wizard of Oz~~
~~City Lights~~
The Searchers
~~Star Wars~~
~~Psycho~~
~~2001: A Space Odyssey~~
Sunset Boulevard
~~The Graduate~~
The General
On the Waterfront
~~It's a Wonderful Life~~
Chinatown
Some Like It Hot
The Grapes of Wrath
~~E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial~~
To Kill a Mockingbird
~~Mr. Smith Goes to Washington~~
High Noon
~~All About Eve~~
Double Indemnity
Apocalypse Now
The Maltese Falcon
~~The Godfather Part II~~
~~One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest~~
~~Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs~~
~~Annie Hall~~
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
~~Dr Strangelove~~
~~The Sound of Music~~
King Kong (1933)
Bonnie and Clyde
Midnight Cowboy
The Philadelphia Story
Shane
~~It Happened One Night~~
A Streetcar Named Desire
~~Rear Window~~
Intolerance
~~The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring~~
~~West Side Story~~
~~Taxi Driver~~
The Deer Hunter
~~MASH~~
North by Northwest
Jaws
Rocky
The Gold Rush
Nashville
Duck Soup
Sullivan's Travels
American Graffiti
Cabaret
Network
The African Queen
~~Raiders of the Lost Ark~~
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Unforgiven
Tootsie
A Clockwork Orange
~~Saving Private Ryan~~
~~The Shawshank Redemption~~
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
~~The Silence of the Lambs~~
In the Heat of the Night
~~Forrest Gump~~
All the President's Men
Modern Times
The Wild Bunch
~~The Apartment~~
Spartacus
~~Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans~~
~~Titanic~~
Easy Rider
A Night at the Opera
~~Platoon~~ - watched 11/20/10
12 Angry Men
Bringing Up Baby
~~The Sixth Sense~~
Swing Time
~~Sophie's Choice~~
~~Goodfellas~~
The French Connection
~~Pulp Fiction~~
The Last Picture Show
Do the Right Thing
Blade Runner
Yankee Doodle Dandy
~~Toy Story~~
~~Ben-Hur~~

introducing mr. nayana

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:00:00 +0000

I've been married for a little over two months to this great guy; we'll call him Mr. Nayana. I know I've mentioned him a few times over the past couple years, but this will serve as his official introduction.

Mr. Nayana is a geek, like me, though not of the artsy film-and-novel variety. Rather, his interests lie in things like anime (I like me some Miyazaki, but some of Mr. N's tastes go far beyond my level of comfort), video games (the current soundtrack which won't get out of my head is to something called Rogue Galaxy), and Dungeons & Dragons (it's how we met, actually). He also works at the Science Museum of Minnesota, of which he is justifiably proud.

So we've got this artsy-sciencey dichotomy in our house. There's a little bit of friction, but in the end it's probably good for both of us.

Mr. Nayana has joined me in the Day Zero project, and has been journaling his efforts here. You might see him comment on this blog from time to time... and now you know who he is. :-)

pride and prejudice (1995)

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:20:00 +0000

Mr. Nayana was working late the other night, so I took the opportunity to curl up with Zoe the Putty Tat, a bottle of Door Peninsula American Riesling (a holdover from my kickass bachelorette party), and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.

I used to roll my eyes when people would say, "Oh, you like Jane Austen? Have you seen Pride and Prejudice?" I would nod, commenting that I thought Keira Knightley was a surprising but good choice for Elizabeth Bennet. "No," they would reply, "I mean the BBC version." Oh, sure. Like I'm going to spend six hours watching some made-for-TV-movie.

Good Lord, was I mistaken. When a coworker finally insisted I borrow her copy of the BBC's 1995 Pride and Prejudice, I was impressed in spite of myself. I had recently read the novel, and it was astonishing how faithful the mini-series stayed to the spirit, and the letter, of the original work.

Readers may be surprised to sit down with a 200-year-old book and find it as lively, witty, and fast-paced as P&P; I had much the same reaction to the BBC mini-series. Yes, it's six hours long, but who thinks about that when you've got Mr. Darcy galloping around on his horse; Mrs. Bennet (Alison Steadman) shrieking about wealthy prospects for her daughters; and Mr. Collins (David Bamber) simpering around like the little Victorian bitch that he is. At any given moment, you're giggling, rolling your eyes, or catching your breath; there's no time to be bored.

Oh, and those long looks between Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle). The sparks fly between these two actors, whether they're hating each other or falling in love despite themselves. This thing smolders, more so than most feature-length "romances". The trick is that it actually makes me believe that these two people have fallen in love; and I tend to be more skeptical than most when it comes to movie love.

So Mr. Darcy has married his Elizabeth. The Riesling is gone, and the cat is attacking some invisible foe which lives halfway up the living-room wall. I'm feeling utterly relaxed and right with the world, as I always seem to do after a healthy dose of Jane Austen. But I'm sure it won't be long before I get a craving for Mr. Darcy again.

my day zero project ~or~ 101 things in 1001 days

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 09:20:00 +0000

I just got married. Whoo. :-)

So now I'm moving on with the REST of my life. Kind of a daunting task, as there's about a million things I want to accomplish.

Enter the Day Zero Project.

The point of this thing is that you come up with 101 things you want to do, and you get 1,001 days to complete your list. That's about 2.75 years, which is great for a professional procrastinator like yours truly. It's exciting, though: of course I've got tons of goals, and now I'm going to attempt to actually keep track of them! And yes, one of my goals is to spend much more time with my dear blog readers (you know...you).

I'm starting this project today: October 10, 2010. 1,001 days from today will be July 8, 2013. Totally doable. And I'll be keeping you up to date as I make progress on my goals, both in this list and in regular "dayzero"-tagged posts. (Strikethrough means I've finished the goal; italics mean it's in progress.)

So...here goes:

Health

Run a 5K race
Track my food and exercise for a month on SparkPeople
Go swimming twice a month for a year
Fly in an airplane without a seatbelt extender (I have a juicy ass, FYI)
Eat five freggies a day for a month
Ride my bike to work
Drink 8 8-oz glasses of water a day for a month
Run a 10-minute mile

Movies, Writing, & Blogging

Write in my blog every day during Oscar season
Get paid to write
Attend a film festival
Get 100 hits on my blog per day and maintain for a week
Participate in five blogathons
Write a short story
Watch all AFI 100 movies
Get 200 Facebook fans
Watch all Academy Award Best Picture winners
Make an updated Top 100 movie list
Watch every Coen brothers movie
Go back to college
~~Get caught up on Google Reader~~
Stay caught up on Google Reader for a month
See all feature films directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Finances

Pay off all credit cards
Pay off car loan
Go a week without buying anything
Put an entire paycheck into savings
Achieve a good credit score
Build a three-month emergency fund
Buy a house
Go an entire month, only eating out once

Travel

Put my hair in the ocean again
Go on a cruise
Get another stamp in my passport
Visit Washington, DC
Go camping alone with my husband
Take a spontaneous road trip
Eat at a Waffle House
Go to Canada with my husband
Ride the Ducks at Wisconsin Dells

Discipline & Spirituality

Keep the house clean for a full month
Go to church twelve Sundays in a row
~~Get thank you notes done~~
Get all new gifts put away and house in order
Buy 10 food items for the sole purpose of donating them to a food bank
Organize our storage closet
Finish name changes
Join a small group at church
Participate in a run or walk for a cause
Move husband's curio cabinet to our home
Plan meals a week at a time, every week for a month
Get tree up by December 5
Take tree down by the end of January
Leave a 100% tip
Read a book by Greg Boyd
Cover a meal for a random serviceperson
Brown bag my lunch every day for a month

Just for Fun

Get a tattoo
Take a Spanish class
Ask 10 friends to suggest one book each, and read them all
Read three books from the banned books list
Run a D&D game
Do a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle
Eat at 10 new restaurants
Learn sign language
Perfect five signature dishes
Go to a Jimmy Buffett concert
Get three pedicures in a six-month period
See a play or stage show in Minneapolis or Saint Paul
Knit a scarf and hat
Complete our wedding registry
Go to a football game
Organize a hide and seek with at least 20 friends at IKEA
Beat five video games I've never beaten
Learn how to make jam
Beat my husband in Risk.
Watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series) from beginning to end
Go back to the Elephant Walk B&B
Learn the Electric Slide
Beat five Guitar Hero songs on hard
Beat one Guitar Hero song on expert

Work

~~Get caught up at work~~
Get to work on time and leave on time every day for a week
Take a personal day every three months for a year
Structure my work time into a set schedule, and stick to it for a month
~~No Facebook at work for a week~~
Keep my office clean and organized for a full month

Relationships

~~Influence another person to make a Day Zero list~~
Meet the A-Team (not what you think)
Complete wedding photobooks
Complete honeymoon photobook
Host a wine-tasting party
Have a baby
Drive to Michigan to visit Grandma
Have five different couples over for dinner and games
Drive to Wisconsin for the sole purpose of visiting my sister
Host a Lord of the Rings movie marathon at my home
Make friends with someone I don't like
Soak in a hot tub with at least three friends
Mail out Christmas cards
Host a Red Curtain Trilogy viewing party at my home

And there you have it. I've got to be honest: from here, it looks a bit overwhelming. It will be hard, but guess what? I can do hard things. :-)

fargo

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Sat, 01 May 2010 09:20:00 +0000

Hey Center Seat readers! I'm back from my much-needed hiatus. Wedding plans and work duties are back on track, so here I go again with this crazy film obsession of mine.

How is it that I've never reviewed Fargo before? After all, I am a Minnesotan... I've lived here for 12 years, I love it here, I probably will never move.

Minnesotans in general tend to have a love-hate relationship with the movie Fargo. For one thing, it drives us nuts that many assume Fargo to be a city in the good ol' Land of 10,000 Lakes. It so isn't. Go get yourself a map of North Dakota. For another thing, we don't all talk like that. I don't think I've ever in my life uttered the words, "Yah, you betcha." We do all say "Minne-soh-ta", but that's pretty much the extend of it. So to have folks from the coasts coming in, giggling at us, and asking us to say lines from the movie, can get a little grating.

But aside from all the "I'm annoyed because I'm a local" conceit, it's really freaking brilliant. I know I may skew a bit on the favorable side when it comes to movies from the Coen boys, but there's a good reason for that, folks. They're masters.

Have you ever looked out your window on a January day and thought to yourself, "Damn. There is no color out there. My life is a black-and-white movie"? OK, you smartasses in California and Arizona get a pass, but that is exactly what Minnesota looks like half the year. And the Coens captured it perfectly; the starkness, the colorless landscape. And the way that, even in the city, Minnesota in winter can start to resemble Siberia.

Beyond the setting, Fargo mixes comedy and violence more effectively than any other movie I can name*, without making the bloodshed seem trivial. The murders that happen in this story come about in a very matter-of-fact way, but the contrasts between the casually violent attitude of the criminals and the mournful viewpoint of Marge the pregnant cop can be quite jarring. You find yourself being grateful for Marge's frank perspective, while feeling a bit guilty that in the first half of the movie you were almost rooting for the bad guys.

Of course the cast is wonderful: I think the witless schemer Jerry Lundegaard is William H. Macy's best role; and the same could probably said for Frances McDormand's Marge. The script is great too, and the setting wouldn't be as powerful without the amazing cinematography. But when you're watching Fargo, you're not thinking about any of that. Setting, script, characters, and acting are all blended together homogeneously into one beautiful product, as though shoved through a wood chipper and sprayed onto the white snow of your screen.

*Except maybe another Coen brothers movie.

postlet #23

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:53:00 +0000

OK, this is going to happen once in a while. I am currently buried at work, so you won't see anything earthshaking from me in at least a day, maybe two. I'll be back soon. Stay tuned for reviews of The Time Traveler's Wife, It's A Wonderful Life, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

glee

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:20:00 +0000

This is a movie blog. But I'm gonna talk TV for a second.

Can I tell you how much I love, love LOVE Glee?

I don't watch a whole lot of TV. That's partly because I've got lots to do; partly because I hate commercials; but mostly because, frankly, TV is crap lately.

Not Glee. Only four episodes into its first season, Glee is on the FOX network (home of some of my three least favorite shows). In contrast to FOX's normal fare of escalating torture-based serials and tired reality shows, Glee incorporates humor, drama, and goosebump-y music in a way we've not seen in ages. Matter of fact, have we ever seen a television musical series that was actually good?

Glee centers on a high school teacher (played by Broadway vet Matthew Morrison) who is trying to relive some past glory by putting together a kickass show choir. The thing is, the fabulously singing students are a bunch of... well, freaks. The brat, the stutterer, the flaming gay boy, the sassy black chick, the jock, and the kid in the wheelchair are all relative unknowns. A few have done stints on Broadway here and there, or bit parts on the odd TV show, but this is the first time most of us have ever seen them. Together, they're absolutely magic.

The cast is rounded out by some fantastic villians: Jessalyn Gilsig (don't you remember Ms. Davis from Boston Public?) plays the teacher's spoiled wife, and the scene-stealing Jane Lynch is a nefarious cheerleading coach who wants nothing more than the demise of our little glee club.

If you haven't caught this show yet, it's on Wednesday nights on FOX... and you should definitely catch up by watching the first four episodes on Hulu. It's free, and no, Dad, it won't put a virus on your computer.

For now, enjoy Glee's football team and their rendition of Beyoncé's "Single Ladies".

fiddler on the roof

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:20:00 +0000

I realized something weird today. Out of the 172 posts I've written (yeah.), I've only featured two musicals. And I really love musicals. I can only think of one musical I didn't enjoy--From Justin to Kelly--and nobody enjoyed that one. I don't even think Justin and Kelly enjoyed that one.

So I'm going to be talking more about musicals I love, starting with Fiddler on the Roof. My parents brought me up on this one; I think I probably saw it for the first time in third or fourth grade, and then I think we came close to wearing out the VHS. My parents would close their eyes reverently when Isaac Stern would get going on his solo during the title credits, we'd all sing along with all the songs. And as part of his extraordinary parenting philosophy, Dad would spout Fiddler wisdom at really random times ("why, you ask? I'll tell you. I don't know"). It went well with his Rolling Stones wisdom ("you can't always get what you want") and his Pink Floyd wisdom ("if you can't eat your meat...")

Anywho.

For me, Fiddler is one of those classic movies, like The Princess Bride and The Wizard of Oz, that never fail to entertain and thrill me, even if I think I know the whole thing by heart. Of course it's got its classic moments: the parents singing "Sunrise, Sunset" at the wedding; the freakishly awesome bottle dancers (does anyone know if those bottles were somehow affixed to those hats? Mr. N and I had a bit of a disagreement about that); and my favorite part, the drunken inter-cultural dancing at the tavern.

What really sets Fiddler on the Roof apart, though, is its lush versatility. In one cinematic breath, it showcases the mundane life of a Russian turn-of-the-century peasant, and then knocks you over the head with huge issues like revolution and bigotry. This movie goes in a heartbeat from light comedic banter, to poignant longing for a simpler time, to plain awe at what makes life beautiful.

Most of all, I love to watch Tevye as he navigates the precarious tight space between his long-held beliefs and his love for his daughters. It mirrors what I've figured out in the past few years: just because you've believed something as long as you can remember, don't be surprised when you learn it's worthless in the face of real life.

the proposal

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:20:00 +0000

I didn't want to see The Proposal. I even (briefly) considered featuring it as a FWLFS. From the moment I saw that first trailer, the whole thing just felt... icky. The premise--a put-upon gopher is forced to get engaged to his abusive female boss so that she can stay in the U.S.--is classic, egregious sexual harassment. Would we laugh, I opined, if the genders were reversed, and a lecherous male boss did the same to his female subordinate? Of course not. Because it's awful.

With my air of progressive hipster superiority fully satisfied, I happily shunned all opportunities (including a free preview) to see The Proposal. It was beneath me, don't you know.

But then some writers whom I actually respect (I'm looking at you, Jess!) had to go and say it wasn't that bad. So on my inaugural Wednesday night movie, I headed down to the Riverview and saw it for $3.

OK, seriously. The premise is awful. But looking past that for a second--can I just say how much I've missed Sandra Bullock? She hasn't been this yummy in a rom-com for at least nine years. And her chemistry with Ryan Reynolds was muy caliente.

So, really, this movie was saved for me by two things: first, the delicious cast (Mary Steenburgen! Betty White! Coach! Oscar from "The Office" doing a lap dance!); and, secondly, the hilarious script*. I have not laughed this much since Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Yes, The Proposal was a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, and yes, it followed a formula. You always knew what was going to happen next. But--it didn't suck. I was smiling as I walked out of the theater; and that, in itself, transcended my best expectations.

*"You know I can't swim!" "Hence, the boat." If you saw it, you know what I'm talking about.

wednesday nights are movie nights: whaddaya think?

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:01:00 +0000

Relationship Nayana has been beating the crap out of Movie Nayana. So last week that whole thing came to a head, I got upset, decisions were made. Relationship Nayana is still in charge, but she has to let Movie Nayana out once in a while. So...

Wednesday night is movie night! I'm gonna go, every week, by myself, to a movie in the theater. But here's the rub... I have no idea what I should see this week. I've been unplugged for far too long. I need your guidance, my bloggy friends.

Here are some of my options. Suggestions, please!

Food, Inc.

The Proposal

Public Enemies

9

Extract

The Informant!

Inglorious Basterds

Julie & Julia

OK, lemme have it.

(500) days of summer

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:40:00 +0000

I've had quite the struggle lately between the movie-lover me and the relationship me. It's not that Mr. Nayana actively keeps me from going to the movies per se... it's just that it hasn't occurred to me to get my ass to the theater when I could just hang with my best bud at home. Does that make any sense?

Anyway, this whole "I never go to the movies anymore" thing came to a head this week. More on that tomorrow. But Mr. Nayana, in his infinite sweetness, saw that I was upset and promptly decided to take me on a date. We saw (500) Days of Summer, which I had been itching for since I first read about it months ago.

First of all, it's definitely not your standard romantic comedy (which, honestly, was a huge part of its appeal for me). Secondly, it stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, both of whom I looooove.

The coolest thing about this movie is that it doesn't give us the normal crap we get about love from your standard commercial film:

Step 1. You meet someone of the opposite sex whom you immediately despise.
Step 2. Your quirky best friend helps you realize you actually are in love with aforementioned despised person.
Step 3. An unfortunate misunderstanding will drive the two of you apart.
Step 4. It all comes right in the end (thanks again to your quirky best friend).

This, as we should all know, is complete shit. And (500) Days of Summer--blessedly--doesn't do that. We are taken on a journey through a realistic relationship... the highs, the lows, the initial blush, the later disillusionment. And guess what? They don't like each other exactly the same amount! Sound familiar?

This movie was a beautiful, refreshing look at the real stuff we go through when we make the rash decision to allow another human being to become intimately close to us. It's not always pretty, but it's real life, not fantasy. And as for me, I'd much rather my film (or music, or art) reflect the life I actually lead.

changes are coming...

noreply@blogger.com (Nayana Anthony) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:24:00 +0000

So, yeah. I haven't blogged in about a million years. (Five months is about a million years in bloggy time, isn't it?)

I think that may have a lot to do with the fact that my life has changed dramatically in the last year... but I do miss y'all. So I'm going to give The Center Seat a face lift and we're going to get going with a second wind. Hopefully this week, but I make no hard and fast promises.

Biggest change: remember Nuevo Man? We have to change his handle, I think. On September 7 he asked me to marry him.... so maybe "Mr. Nayana", a la "Mrs. Fletch"?