the big lebowski

I had never seen The Big Lebowski before last night. Honestly, that's (in part) why I nominated it for LAMB's new feature, Movie of the Month. It's been on my list for so long; everyone (including you, probably) has told me it's a must-watch. And this way, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep on procrastinating.

So that was a really long, wordy way of telling you that I've now seen "the first cult film of the Internet era." I'm now in the club. If you look at me, nod your head, and murmur "The Dude Abides"... I will not only know what you're talking about, I'll feel warm and fuzzy knowing that it's true.

Here's the real question, though: with all that build-up, buzz, hype, what have you... could I actually enjoy the film? Does the Dude live up to his cult-leader status?


Uh... yeah.

The Big Lebowski is a perfect example of why I love the Coen brothers. The crazy camera shots, absurdist humor, whimsical storylines and infectious music will hypnotize you (you may be apt to forget what time it is)... and the boys aren't afraid to get all trippy, either. It's hard to pick a favorite scene, but I immensely enjoyed the Dude's two acid flashbacks/dream sequences. And I can't get over the milk in the mustache.

I also fully get why this is considered such a quotable movie. If I were a bit more familiar, I'd likely be right there with the other freaks at the Lebowski Fest every year. Truth be told, I'll probably watch it again tonight.


Best dialogue (feel free to present your own favorites):
Jesus: You ready to be fucked, man? I see you rolled your way into the semis. Dios mio, man. Liam and me, we're gonna fuck you up.

The Dude: Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

***
UPDATE: Check out the other LAMBs' reviews of The Big Lebowski here. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , , , , , at 12:36 PM on Friday, June 13, 2008
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12 people had something brilliant to say.

the princess bride

The Princess Bride is one of the most beloved movies for those of us who were precious little girls (or boys too, I guess) in the 80's. One catch: because of my limited exposure to then-current movies as a kid, this particular film geek didn't see it till she was eighteen.

Still. Totally. Amazing.

The great thing about The Princess Bride is... oh, who am I kidding? There are so many great things about The Princess Bride. I spent some time working through this with my friend Virgin Mother, and this is what we came up with:
  1. "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
    Somehow Mandy Patinkin (who is totally not Spanish) brought this Castilian character impeccably to life on the screen. There was so much potential for cheeseballishness* with Inigo; on the contrary, Patinkin treats him with reverence, heart, and wit. The result is that we actually care about the guy instead of just laughing at his antics.

  2. The Fire Swamp.
    It's the reconciliation scene for Westley and Buttercup, but there's plenty of humor and action (as well as story exposition), so it's never in danger of sinking in its own sappiness.

  3. Andre the Giant.
    He was so sweet. And so huge. And so funny ("Anybody want a peanut?") And so perfect for the part. Also, I was just old enough at the time of his death to realize how tragic it was. So watching The Princess Bride is, in part, like looking at pictures of an old, dear friend.

  4. The score.
    If you've never noticed this, next time you see The Princess Bride, listen to the music during the sword fights. It's freaking awesome.

  5. The Bishop at the wedding.
    Mawwwaige. This was our toast at my little sis' first wedding.

  6. Billy Crystal as Miracle Max.
    Seriously, an MLT doesn't sound like a bad idea for lunch. I wonder if you can get one of those anywhere in Minneapolis?

  7. The interplay between the Grandfather (Peter Falk) and the Grandson (Fred Savage).
    It gave the movie a little bit of boy-cred, especially when the kid would balk at the "kissing parts". Plus, Savage is 2 ½ years older than me... so watching this movie always reminds me of how young I used to be. Sure, I didn't see it until I was a young adult, but whenever it comes on I somehow get tossed back into my eight-year-old self. And how often do you get to be eight again?
OK, so what did I miss? This is my official comment call for your favorite Princess Bride moment.

Oh, and did I mention? The Princess Bride is #20 on the 2008 Nayana's Top 100.

* It's my blog. Cheeseballishness is absolutely a word in the Center Seat universe. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , , , , , at 11:13 AM on Thursday, June 12, 2008
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13 people had something brilliant to say.

guest critic: the strangers

I am a bonafide horror movie wuss. I will never, EVER see The Strangers. So imagine my delight when Pistola Whipped agreed to review it for The Center Seat! You mean I get to post the review, but don't actually have to sit through it? Yippee!!! Thank God for friends (at least ones that are a bit more hardass than myself). Enjoy.

I do not question Nayana’s love and respect for movies. She has written about movies and we’ve discussed movies that I wouldn’t dream of seeing. And not because I’m a snob, but because…. well, yeah because I’m a snob. I appreciate that kind of dedication, whether it is to movie watching or classifying moss found only in temperate climate forest beds.

However, her love of movies does not encompass the horror/slasher flick genre. I usually don’t like them either. However, my friends had a different idea. They agreed to see Sex and the City with me, and then sneakily tricked me into seeing The Strangers instead. And since Nayana is definitely not going to see this one, I thought I would take it upon myself (I am so busy not doing my actual day job) to review it here: in the blog-a-go-go.

Let me start off by saying that I think that this movie was inaccurately portrayed as a horror/slasher flick in the previews. It actually played out as more of a psychological/psychopath movie along the lines of Silence of the Lambs or Seven. And that, to me, is a big distinction. I watched the first 20 minutes of this movie through my hands because I was expecting that weird tentacled thing in Carol Anne’s closet in Poltergeist to appear. After all, I’m old enough that I have to get out of bed at least once during the night to pee, but young enough to believe that a monster could still hang out under my bed. I watched it through my hands because movies about ghosts, oversized bugs loitering in the mist, crop circles and angry aliens freak me out. Your average roaming group of masked killers doesn’t. That being said, there were parts of this movie that did scare me.



So let’s start with a little plot familiarization. Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman play lovers who have hit a bit of a snag. They attend a wedding, return late in the evening to Speedman’s parents’ comfy summerhouse, and try to make the most of the night by drinking and listening to Sad Bastard music (see Jeff Tweedy, Richard Buckner and Don Gibson). They are startled by a knock on the door. It’s a strange girl covered in shadows asking where Tamara is (how did the writer know that the name Tamara is the creepiest name ever?) They inform her that Tamara doesn’t live there and instead of going away she stands at the end of the driveway, swings on the swing set, stands listlessly amongst the pine trees in an attempt to scare the viewer. At this point, naturally, Liv runs out of cigarettes and Scott runs out in the deep, dark night to fetch her some.

Enter the other two creepy, shadowy figures and let the madness unfold…

This is when my hands came down from my face and rested obstinately atop of each other. Over the next hour the viewer is exposed to sinister encounters with the three masked marauders who torture Liv and Scott for no other reason than ‘you [they] were home’. Bryan Bertino, writer and director, did a few interesting things to make this a creepfest. He would cut to shots of the house, which looked calm and kinda gave me that warm, fuzzy feeling like when you’d see a shot of the ‘Golden Girls’ house after a commercial break. One would never assume that any horrors other than floral-patterned wicker furniture were taking place within the walls of that solidly built 70’s rambler. And Bertino did kind of play on that whole Manson cult killing spree idea that kind of freaks me out too (side note: the Manson thing took place in the sixties--I don’t understand the sixties, and am therefore afraid of them), but overall there were too many token horror flick tricks and plot holes to make this a sincerely terrifying experience. Truly the scariest scene had to be before the movie even started, when the new Nic Cage ego-driven movie was previewed. Yep, it’s called Bangkok Dangerous. Chills literally just ran down my spine.

Liv and Scott get ups for decent acting and I think Bertino could go on to make a downright scary movie. However, the phony ‘based on real events’ beginning to the ‘it will be easier next time’ end line, as well as the casting of Franchise Queen Liv suggests that Bertino could get stalled out making even un-scarier sequels. So, my advice is to see this one…just skip the previews. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , , , , , at 11:28 AM on Wednesday, June 11, 2008
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2 people had something brilliant to say.

postlet #13

Attention parents!

I don't care if it's a kids' movie.... if your kid can't stay quiet and pay attention, or if he can't follow the movie without asking numerous loud questions, you have no business bringing him to a public theater.
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , at 2:03 PM on Monday, June 9, 2008
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14 people had something brilliant to say.

mean girls

I'm sure most of us share the same opinion of teen movies in general. They tend to be corny, self-serving, and obnoxious. So why do we still sometimes give them a chance now and then?

Because there have been some truly wonderful teen movies. Clueless was one. Juno's another one. American Pie and Bring It On also make my list, even if their sequels kind of blow. Quality is rarely found in this genre, but when it is, it can't be ignored. And Mean Girls definitely gets to be in that club.

Mean Girls was my girl Tina Fey's screenwriting debut. It's smart, insightful, hilarious, and not even a tiny bit corny. It is (in my opinion, though some have disagreed) SO much better than some of Fey's more recent work. The cast is littered with SNL alums like Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, and Fey herself; it also boasts a few young actresses who, in the four years since the movie hit theaters, have begun to seriously hit their stride.


OK, yeah. You know I'm not talking about Miss Lohan. Her performance was actually quite decent in this particular movie, but we all know what's happened since then. Actually, scratch that--the whole message of the movie is not to pick on people who are in trouble... I'll lay off.

But Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried... good on ya!

Tina Fey deserves enormous credit for Mean Girls. It's very watchable--and given all the stories of bullying I've read lately, especially cyberbullying--it feels extremely topical. Definitely worth your 97 minutes. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , , at 2:00 PM on
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13 people had something brilliant to say.

postlet #12

When I wasn't looking, I surpassed 100 posts. This is officially #103, I think. Yay me!
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , , at 1:43 PM on Thursday, June 5, 2008
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4 people had something brilliant to say.

garden state

"Is it funny? Good. It's good to hear that things are funny. I find them funny, but I never know if anyone else is going to find them funny. If nothing else, I'm making a movie that I'll enjoy."

That's Zach Braff, on the set of his feature writing/directing debut, Garden State. I love that quote because it captures exactly why I love indie movies.

Major studio movies are too often tailored to focus groups, market research, and the big guy in the suit's idea of art. I love the idea that we can each decide what is art, and what is funny, and what is moving... and individuality like that can show up in movies, even if they don't make a ton of money.


So, Garden State. Have you ever gotten together with a friend that you haven't seen in a while, and you just have the best time? And then you think to yourself, "This person is amazing. Why don't I spend every freaking weekend with this person? All my other friends are losers."

That is how I felt last night when I sat down and re-watched Garden State. I've seen it before, when it first came out... and I know I liked it... but I've never seen it again since then. And I have no idea why. The movie is fugging phenomenal. It's hysterically funny, but intelligent too. It effectively explores those in-between stages of life... and right now I can so relate.

Oh, yeah, and the Shins kick ass. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , , , , , , at 1:41 PM on
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8 people had something brilliant to say.

weezer

This is brilliant.



I love the irony that "Pork and Beans" (Weezer's unique way of thumbing their collective nose at their label) is a bonafide hit.
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , , at 1:03 PM on
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1 person had something brilliant to say.

i was there

20,000 Minnesotans crammed themselves into St Paul's Xcel Energy Center last night to witness Barack Obama's declaration of victory (for the primary, at least). Dorcas Hathaway, her partner Psych Clone, Captain Crash, and I were among them.

We waited in an epic line to get in, and then sat for a few hours waiting for the big guy to take the stage. The excitement was palpable. Seriously. I actually palped it for a little while until Dorcas told me to stop.

This morning, my throat hurts from screaming. But I'm so glad I went. I can tell my kids and grandkids, you know?

I know we're a long way from the finish line. And I know it's corny. But I really am feeling hopeful.
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , , , , , at 10:26 AM on Wednesday, June 4, 2008
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4 people had something brilliant to say.

"guarantees" by atmosphere

This is my favorite song right now. I just can't get sick of it.



P.S. Atmosphere (like so many amazing things) is from Minnesota.
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , , , at 5:43 PM on Monday, June 2, 2008
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3 people had something brilliant to say.

postlet #11

This is what I did yesterday.

I love Minnesota.
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , , at 9:44 AM on
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4 people had something brilliant to say.

made of honor

I don't care what anyone says, Made of Honor is NOT just a reprise of My Best Friend's Wedding.


Actually, if you compare the two movies, Made loses every time. For one thing, My Best Friend's Wedding was far more original. It had the ending that you hated (at first), but grew on you when you realized it was more just, more intelligent, and allowed the characters to grow.

Made of Honor doesn't do that. It's a decent chick flick, enjoyable enough... but it's not any more than that. It's got its funny parts; it's got its romantic parts; it's not completely predictable. It does tend to blur with other rom-coms I've seen lately. And it's missing one fabulous ingredient from My Best Friend's Wedding which no movie shall ever have again:

Paul Giamatti before he was famous.

 ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.
Posted by Nayana Anthony in , , , , , at 4:20 AM on Sunday, June 1, 2008
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3 people had something brilliant to say.
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