Movie inspiration: Water for Elephants

I read the book "Water for Elephants" a few years ago .. so it wasn't recent enough in my head to make me want to watch the movie with any real excitement.

BUT -- watching the movie made me remember what a good book it was! The movie definitely does it justice, but the best part was the 1930's wardrobes and costumes!

It's basically a romance set in a traveling circus in the 30's ... super glamorous.

LOVE the headpieces!!!

There's also some fab evening gowns ... definitely worth a watch if you come across it.

What I'm looking forward to (entertainment-wise)

First, two British dramas that I LOVE and cry after each episode!

 1.) "Call the Midwife" 

If you haven't heard of this yet ... definitely check it out! I'm sure Season 1 is available on Netflix, and if you are at all into heart-warming historical drama, than this is your ticket!  No idea when Season 2 will make it over to the States. I hear they are just shooting it in the UK now .. :( 

2.) "Downton Abbey"

It's just so romantical ... and it makes me SWOON!!! Sigh. It's like a soap opera with amazing costumes, scenery, and good acting. Season 3 starts in January ... and I believe PBS is re-playing Season 2 beforehand.  

3.) "Les Miserables" -- The movie!!

Super excited for this movie!!!! I'm a pretty devout fan of the musical .. seen it twice! And Richard says he might maybe possibly want to see it, too. HA! SUCCESS!! 

4.)  "World War Z" -- (though I haven't read the book ... and though it supposedly has nothing to do with the book). But I still love a good zombie movie.

Have I missed anything?

Scary movies for the slightly wussy

When I was really little, my favorite movie was "King Kong" --- like, the one from the 50's with the claymation. I've always been a fan of the slightly scary flick. I got away from it in my teenage/college years where I fancied myself a brooding poet and was more into foreign dramas and period romances.

Anyway, back to my movie list. 

These are movies that ARE scary. But I think they are still good for the "slightly wussy" viewer, like myself.

I will post in order of least scariness first ... in case you need to stop ;) 

1.) "The Village" --- I KNOW!! I know. People hate this movie. Poor M. Night. He started off so strong with "The Sixth Sense," and this one was a general bomb with critics. I, for one, really liked it. I know people say the "big reveal" or "surprise" at the end is lame. But I really think it works for the movie. It's all about believing in a scary story to keep the village cut off from the world, but really the world is much more violent and terrifying than any scary story. I like it as a social commentary. And I LOVE the violin solo soundtrack. 

2.) "Psycho" --- this movie was SUCH a shocker when it first came out ...Rich told me recently is was the first movie where a woman was shown in a bathroom ... and flushing a toilet!! There's also something else that happens in the shower. This movie has so many great things going for it. The plot is amazing .. especially if you've never seen it. And since it's older and not super violent and gory, you can definitely handle it if you're not big into scary movies :) 

3.) "The Shining" --- This is another classic flick, but it's definitely a bit higher up on the scare level. I love the creepiness of this one. It's such a mental thriller .. and it really ramps up as the movie goes on. And if you've never seen it, you will get to know about such classic catchphrases as "Herrrre's Johnny!!" and "RED RUM RED RUM."  

4.) "Dawn of the Dead" --- OK. I know I have the 2004 version here. But I'm counting this entry for the original Romero version as well. I think they're both great, but I have to say that the newer one is pretty cool. I was pretty freaked out the first time I saw this, but it's really a fun scary movie ... You feel really connected to the characters and feel like you're running from zombies when they are.

5.) "28 Days Later" ---  I love the first part of this "outbreak" movie so so much. But it definitely goes down from there. But even so, this is definitely my all-time favorite scary movie. The first few scenes of the deserted London and then the first encounter with "the infected" are frightening. 

Any additions???? :) a

24601

Anybody else out there SUPER excited for the "Les Miserables" movie???? 

WAH!! December!!! Long summer to go ... 

Random factoid: My password for most everything used to be "24601" hah .. .dork.

And P.S. (for all you super-dorks) ---- Colm Wilkinson (the original Jean Valjean) is going to be playing the Bishop of Digne in the movei!!

Another post about movies

I consider myself to be a bit of a film aficionado ... I like foreign and indie films ... plus the old classics. I even took a film class in college! Not that this makes me an expert or anything ... but I find it strange that I usually like movies that get really BAD reviews!

Why is that?

Take for example, "The Lovely Bones." It's a film adaptation of a best-selling novel by Alice Sebold (which I did not read ... which also may explain why I liked the movie).

This brings up a point about book-to-movie translations. Should we view it as a comparison, or look to each as an entirely separate entity.

My Mom has started reading the Harry Potter series on my urging. She and my Dad are watching each corresponding movie as she finishes the book. My Dad really likes the movies, but my Mom is distracted by the differences from the books.

Anyway, back to "The Lovely Bones" --- basically, it's about a young girl about to get her first kiss and is in that key point in your life where you're leaving behind childhood and stepping into the great unknown ahead. She lives an idyllic family life with loving parents and a few siblings.

She is then murdered by a man in the neighborhood and enters a "purgatory" or fairyland of sorts of her own creation. She gradually realizes she is dead and has to help her family deal with her passing and her father solve her murder.

Here's what my favorite paper, The Guardian had to say about it:

How does one make a PG-certificate film about the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl? Director Peter Jackson provides an answer of sorts with The Lovely Bones, which leaves the murder unseen and the rape unmentioned.

His reward is a blushing mainstream entertainment that was tonight deemed fit to be introduced to polite society at a royal premiere in Leicester Square. Our reward is anyone's guess.

The drama ushers us through the afterlife of Susie Salmon (Atonement's Saoirse Ronan), a small-town kid in 1970s Pennsylvania who is killed by the local pervert (Stanley Tucci) and looks down on her scattered, shattered family from her place in limbo. She sees her mum (Rachel Weisz) flee the coop and her dad (Mark Wahlberg) come apart at the seams. From this celestial vantage, she starts to fear for the safety of her little sister (Rose McIver), whose jogging route leads her regularly past the killer's suburban home.

It's not that The Lovely Bones is a bad movie, exactly. It is handsomely made and strongly acted, while its woozy, lullaby ambience recalls Jackson's work on the brilliant Heavenly Creatures, before he set forth on his epic voyage through The Lord of the Rings.

Here, he audaciously conjures up heaven as designed by a teenage girl – a kitsch spread of sunflower fields, spinning turntables and the sort of airbrushed waterfalls that could have spilled straight off an Athena poster. All of which is entirely fitting, and often captivating. The problem, though, is that The Lovely Bones also gives us a real world as designed by a teenage girl. The land that Susie leaves behind is so infested with cartoon archetypes and whimsical asides that, at times, it scarcely feels real at all.

Might the fault lie with the source novel? Alice Sebold's best-selling book similarly held up Susie Salmon's innocent fancies as a kind of talisman to ward off evil. It dared to spin a sentimental fantasy out of a grisly tragedy, offsetting the tang of sulphur with the sweet taste of candyfloss. The difference was that Sebold's novel was not scared to look the central horror in the face. This ensured that it at least part earned its subsequent flights into the ether.

The screen version, by contrast, is so infuriatingly coy, and so desperate to preserve the modesty of its soulful victim that it amounts to an ongoing clean-up operation.

Gone is the dismembered body part that alerts the family to Susie's fate. Gone is her anguished mother's adulterous affair with the detective who leads the case. Gone is all mention of what really transpired in that lonely 1970s cornfield. Is this really the best way to secure a crime scene and retrieve the victim? Jackson turns up with his eyes averted, spraying cloying perfume to the left and right.

Anyways ... I forget what I was going to say about why I liked it ... but I did.

Style icon: Meg Ryan

I happened upon "Sleepless in Seattle" on TV this afternoon before I had to trudge through the snow into work. (16" around here today!!!)

Why did I never notice before!! Meg Ryan's hair in that movie is to-die-for!!

This is what I'm going for with my hair grow-out attempt: Loose, long layers with messy updos. She has this great effortless look in the movie ... like she's never touched a bottle of hairspray :)

I tried to find a clean shot of the back of her hair on the Interwebs ... but no luck.

I recommend you Netflix it if you haven't seen it in a while... definitely worth another look! She also has this super-cute shabby chic kitchen in it, too!!!

Oh -- and another, more recent one ....

Hmmm.... I'm feeling the pull of the scissors!!!! AHHH!!!

The road less traveled

I know I sometimes randomly blog about movies --usually romantic ones, or dramas --- but this one has NO relation whatsoever to Etsy or crowns, or anything whimsical and pretty. In any way. AT ALL. haha. But, whatever, I liked it!

"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy (the same guy who wrote "No Country for Old Men" ) is a chilling and enthralling read. To be sure. 

If was the first subject that me and my now-boyfriend talked about when we were in that "awkward talking stage." We had both just finished it and had heared they were making a movie with Viggo Mortensen (sp?)---(that dude from "Lord of the Rings.")

Anyway, over a year later --- it finally came out! But only in limited release.

We saw it last weekend at this indie movie theater in Baltimore. 

It was SO GOOD. I am usually not a fan of book-to-movie translations ... but this one was superb. 

If you live somewhere where it's playing -- definitely go for it. I think it *may* be coming out it wide release soon, but, who knows.

It's not a particularly happy or up-lifting flick ... but even amidst the end of society, you find bits of humanity that remain. 

I can't really talk about much without giving away crucial plot points .. but basically, there's been some kind of catastrophic nuclear event, and a young boy is born just as all this is going down.

After about a decade of enduring this harsh life, the father and son decide to head South (where it would be warmer.)

They follow the road.

Where does it lead? Read (or watch) to find out!!!

All about Alice.

I search for inspiration everywhere and in everything. I find a great deal of inspiration outside of reality. (In dreams, fairy tales and costuming, etc.)

But the absolute best is when fantasy and reality come together.

I love the thought that one can be at once in a normal life and suddenly slip into another space through a rabbit hole......or was it all a dream? And in the same token, one can put on a hair accessory or item of clothing and feel transformed.

The idea of logic is never certain...and it is in this idea that true creativity is found.

Anyway, the point of all this seemingly pointless rambling is that I'm planning to start on an Alice in Wonderland line!!

Alice in Wonderland (or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) has always been a favorite of mine. I started with the Disney cartoon version and eventually read the original Lewis Carroll. '

The new Tim Burton movie is coming out soon (which looks so amazing, by the way) and I LOVE the idea of creating a whole line of goodies based on one central idea!

Whattayathink??

where the wild things were

So, we went to see "Where the Wild Things Are" this past weekend. Cuh-ray-zee.

It was BIZARRE! Obviously, it was cinematically gorgeous ... mesmerizing to watch.

But I really just didn't get it. I mean, it was nicely done. A good interpretation of the short story in the children's book. But ... I dunno.

Would kids really get that each monster was a representation of Max's struggles and personality as he works through them?

It definitely reminded me of those feelings of inadequacy and just frustration at times from the process of growing up. But maybe that's why it was so "un-graspable" to me ... I am no longer that way ... no longer a child.

I'd like to know if younger kids were more appreciative of the movie -- and what they though it was about.

And I'd definitely recommend it for a great 2 hours of visual artistry.

That's my two cents .... in case you were wondering :) hehehee

First love burns the brightest

I'm sure you all know by now of my love for period romance movies ... And this little gem is on my list for sure! The costuming just takes my breath away.... notice the little butterfly clip in the second picture?

So.... It came out last week, I think. But Rich and I already have plans to see "where the wild things are." Soo.... I feel bad dragging him to this, especially since I made him watch "the notebook" hehehe :)

Enjoy the view .......

The Duchess and Me

Que up those Netflix's ladies!! This one's a winner. It's slightly predictable, a little slow, but MY GOODNESS! The costumes are FABULOUS!! Every scene seems to be centered around them.

Also, there's a fairly good love story, and some top actors ... A worthwhile flick :)

The lead character, Georgiana (called "Gee") is the newly married Duchess of Devonshire. The guy turns out to be a total cold fish/controlling/jerk. And chaos insues!! There is meant to be a comparison between the Duchess and Princess Diana (of whom she is supposed to be distantly related.)

Whatever, I don't think Prince Charles looks like that bad of a character.




On a related note: Rich and I are starting to seriously plan out a trip to England this summer. GASP.

I am SOO nervous, but I excited, and I know I have to do it now, because who knows if I'll ever have the opportunity again?

We are thinking we will be centered in London, and just take a few day trips to some cool cities/ castles/ etc....plus spend a lot of time doing all the touristy stuff in London.

Any suggestions are welcome :)

weep you no more sad fountains

If you've been following my blog for any length of time whatsoever, 

then you are well aware of my movie obsessiveness! 

Here is my newest one: "Sense and Sensibility."

 (Are you sensing a trend?)

Anyway, apart from the amazing regency fashion and sweeping English countryside,

 this movie has amazing actors and a happy, heart-swelling ending that blows my mind!

Here is my favorite scene:

See if you can spot the new item in my shop that is named for one of the characters!!

 I will give you mad props if you can :)

www.whichgoose.etsy.com

Oh, and anyone want to build me a website? 

Here's what I've got so far www.whichgoose.com lame, I know !

i'm on a movie kick... can you tell?

Backstory: I worked at a Borders bookstore for a couple years a couple years ago. During that entire time, this book (The Kiterunner) was on the top-sellers shelf. The whole time. Did I read it? Of course not. I hate bestsellers (unless it's Harry Potter-related...or Twilight...ok. I lie...)

ANYWAYS. I decided to Netflix the movie and I watched it Monday night when I was sitting home alone and crafting. Bad idea! It was SO GOOD....but sad. Oh my goodness. And definitely disturbing.

I was seriously blubbering with tears at the end...when he's running with the kite for the kid! AH.

So- have you read the book and/or seen the movie? I imagine the book is ruined for me now. 

I recommend the movie, nevertheless :)

p.s. Look at some of my NEW LISTINGS----you can totally see GRAY HAIRS!!!! ahh!! :O

Oh, and I spent some time with the fella this weekend, too :) I guess I can share his name. Have I not yet? It's Rich. And I still don't think he reads this. I hope not!! 

We took some photos with our sweet cameras. I forget what his is called, but it was definitely more technical than mine. 

I was not supposed to show the pictures of him to anyone because he didn't shave and he says he looks like "a dirty hippie" :) I guess I better not. (Aren't I such a good girlfriend!!) ha! Maybe tomorrow....

But, here's a consolation prize:  A picture of me that Rich took! I actually like it. It looks like how I feel. Usually I think I don't look like myself in pictures. I think he captured the real me :) (in more ways than one...sigh....) :)

AHH!!!!!!

OKay, I hate to turn this blog into a big dork-fest, but ..... THE NEW HARRY POTTER TRAILER CAME OUT TODAY!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

music of the night

More movie inspiration!!!! YAY! The Phantom of the Opera---good flick. Really dark and gothic. Makes me want to make little sparkly hair clips .... And wish I had really long, curly, black hair!! AH! jealous. 

I think with the winter coming (pretty much here) I'm trying to branch out (no pun intended) and get away from the natural elements of my crowns--at least until spring. It just seems more natural to use more vintage elements and things of the like...

So, big crafting day (Sunday) is only a day away! Amanda's coming over for movies and gossip and crafting....and I need supplies.

Tomorrow I have to buy/procure the following before work:

1.) Vines

2.) Headbands

3.) Clips

4.) Ingredients for dinner

PLUS! I have to go to the Post Office! I can't really complain though. If I wasn't super busy, I would be super bored :)

I admit it: I am a sappy girl

So, I was "researching" head wear in movies this weekend, trying to find some inspiration for new creations. 

I love the piece in "Love Actually" that Kiera Knightley wears. It's really simple and feathery. Can't find a photo though.

Anyways, I started YouTubing around and started getting all sappy looking at all these romance movies.

For your viewing pleasure, and no particular reason otherwise, here are my top four favorite romantic movie scenes ever!! (It was going to be three---but I couldn't decide between them---So grab some leftover Halloween candy and enjoy :)

4.) Breakfast at Tiffany's (This scene is mostly tear-jerking because of Cat.)

3.) The Notebook (sigh. No explanation needed.)

2.) Little Women (I think this was the first movie kiss I saw (when I was like 10) that made me actually swoon. I still think it's amazing.)

1.) Love Actually (Unrequited love. Gotta love it.)

Happy Halloween! ( a day late.)

I bought a bag of these things..."fun sized." Oh my.

CLICK HERE to carve a virtual pumpkin. It is a lot cooler than it sounds.  :)

In life news, my fella came over last night and we watched "American Psycho" --(scary, for Halloween and all that.) 

It's a well-made movie...definitely creeped me out a LOT. But hey, I guess that's the idea. It made me want to order some really nice business cards. Ecru, with raised, sans-serif lettering in deep ochre.  :) heheehee

Got my party tomorrow. I think the Amy Winehouse idea is not going to work out. But, I've got the ole standby fairy wings! I know, it's an easy way out. But what can I say?

OOOhhh. And I need to make an Election Day post here pretty soon. I will be laying out the front page (at 2 in the morning most likely....ugh...) But, I choose not to talk politics in blog--land. But, if you know me, you know who I'm rooting for :)

I'm such a dork.

Like a sucker, I got Netflix again. But now, instead of having to agree on a movie with my former man-friend, I get to pick THEM ALL! So here's the first Ben-and-Jerrys-eating-pedicure-and-face-mask-wearing-cry-my-eyes-out FLICK!

I give you, "Lady and the Tramp." One of my childhood favorites that still holds its charm. Enjoy and take part in celebrating my single woman-hood :)  -emily