oh, coraline

rick and i were lucky enough to get out of the house long enough to see coraline last friday. i had heard nothing but good things about the movie, but i also went with pretty low expectations, as i was really afraid of being disappointed. we saw it in 3d, which also made me a little nervous. for one, i tend to hate the gimmicky way it's often used, and also, because lately i'm prone to motion sickness in any movie.

the opening sequence was breathtaking - i was happy to go home after that. the rest of the movie was pretty good too. excellent, actually. i am a huge fan of stop motion animation, and while i think it would be amazing to work on a stop motion film, i acknowledge that i am a weird combination of way too spazzy and way too obsessive to ever do it well.

if you haven't seen it yet, go. it won't be the same on a tv screen, although i will happily watch it again at home sometime in the future. the detail, and oh, god, the garden - the garden will inspire you.

i heart mulder and scully

sigh. here's where i will no longer be able to hide my inner geek. i kind of forgot about the new x-files movie coming out, but now that i've seen this photo, i am a sooooooooooooooooooo excited to see my mulder and scully again!

i started watching x-files in college, and now that i think of it, it's funny how i can trace some of the changes in my life along the ritual that was sunday night tv. first, it was turning off the phone and squeezing on the thrift store sofa with my favorite roommates sara and colleen, then, later watching it with my friend christopher (who i convinced to name his new puppy "mulder") , and finally, heading over to the apartment shared by kristy, chip, and their roommate (now my husband) to cook a nice meal before turning on the tv. i am embarrassed to say that kristy and i screamed and cried when mulder and scully finally kissed.

i don't like science fiction, and i'm not really into tv, but something about the relationship between mulder and scully was addictive. i loved the reversal of stereotypes - the strong, practical female character and the emotionally vulnerable male. in fact, i just read this article, and i think the writer's got it just right.

anyway, nothing artsy or craftsy in this post, i'm just brimming with excitement.

can't sleep, must blog

one of the many reasons i love my friend kristy is that she gets really excited about things. like movies. like mostly exactly the same movies i do. we saw moulin rouge in the theatre 5 times together, and there are certain movies that we will always just save to see together... mostly julie taymor films, anything with ewan mcgregor, and baz luhrman films. somehow, before the issue of vogue with these photos was on the stands, she had emailed them to me. i was immediately entranced (although i would prefer to substitute ewan for hugh) and can't stop looking at these gorgeous images. australia. november. kristy - it's a date.

we'll miss you, ewan.

better late than never

i don't get out much. this is no secret. so when i'm sitting here to write up my experience with the "new" sweeney todd film, i feel, well, like i don't get out much. it's worth mentioning, however, that for the first time in ages, i actually set down my sewing to watch a movie. (and this was not only because we had the subtitles on, since neither of us could understand the dialogue.)

i had mixed feelings about the film, primarily because i am not a huge fan of blood, but i did come away with 2 conclusions:

1. tim burton will continue to use johnny depp and helena bonham carter in every movie he makes
2. i will never stop loving his sets and costumes (i would so rock that outfit above)

who?

we saw a movie tonight. i have been anxiously awaiting the release of horton hears a who for no other reason than the fact that i have been dying to see a movie, and this was one we could take the bean to.

now, i didn't know anything about this movie. and, to be honest, even though my husband is a 3d artist and i am widely exposed to all the technology and magic that goes into making a movie like this - well, i still prefer good old stop motion animation. there's something about the dedication, meticulousness, and repetition involved in stop motion that blows me away every time.

i am an old suess fan, having favored his aesthetic and peace loving philosophies at an early age, and was somewhat skeptical about this blockbuster of a movie. this was an amazing movie, though. the flora and fauna were perfect, and the animation was unbelievably, well, believable. i wish i could find some images of the feathery plants in horton's jungle, and i am seriously thinking i might need a who haircut.

i think there will be feathers and stripes in my work in the near future.