New Year's Survey

Musique - "Let's Start the New Year Right" by Bing Crosby

The Girl with the White Parasol blog made a new year's survey and I love these sorts of things, so here are my answers:

1. What is your all-time favorite Grace Kelly costume?

 

Grace Kelly is my favorite actress, so it was hard to narrow down my favorite of her costumes. But this little number from To Catch a Thief is so adorable. I love how the dress is paired with a scarf and little white gloves. How very Grace Kelly.

2. What classic film would you nominate for a remake?

Absolutely none. I hate remakes of classic films. I have yet to see one done right.

3. Name your favorite femme fatale.

 

Greta Garbo as Felicitas in Flesh and the Devil

4. Name the best movie with the word "heaven" in its title.

 

All This, and Heaven Too; I just watched this recently, actually. It's not my favorite movie of all time, but I really haven't seen many movies with "heaven" in the title.

5. Describe the worst performance by a child actor that you’ve ever seen.

 

This is soooo easy—Karen Balkin in The Children's Hour. She was soooooooooo annoying. I know the character was meant to be a bratty, annoying, spoiled little girl, but this was over the top. I couldn't even finish watching the film and gave it a one star review on Netflix—99% because of her.

6. Who gets your vote for most tragic movie monster?

 

I feel bad for Frankenstein's monster because he didn't ask to be created or to be feared. I love when he finds the blind man and they become friends, but then it's so sad when he becomes so scared by the fire. Of course, he does kill a little kid, but I'm sure he just didn't know he was playing so rough. Poor guy.

7. What is the one Western that you would recommend to anybody?

I am so not a fan of Westerns, but I do love Barbara Stanwyck. So, I'd recommend The Furies, for the scene where she throws the scissors at her new step-mother-to-be's face if nothing else.

8. Who is your ideal movie-viewing partner?

If I'm at home, I prefer to watch movies alone, so there's no talking and I can pause the movie whenever I want. But if I'm at the theater, I really like seeing movies with my sister.

9. Has a film ever made you want to change your life? If so, what was the film?

Well, other than making me want to move to Paris and making me cut my hair like Audrey Tautou's (nearly every time I watch it), Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain makes me want to be more clever and more kind to others.

10. Think of one performer that you truly love. Now think of one scene/movie/performance of theirs that is too uncomfortable for you to watch.

I love Clara Bow so much, but I really dislike Dangerous Curves. From the drunk idiot she's in love with to the ugly spit curl on the side of her face (normally I like spit curls, but this one bothers me), there is nothing good about this movie. It just makes me feel bad for Clara that she had to be in it.

11. On the flip side, think of one really good scene/performance/movie from a performer that you truly loathe.

I don't necessarily "loathe" James Mason, but he usually plays such smarmy, pervy, icky dudes. So when I saw him as Gustav Flaubert in Madame Bovary, I was pleasantly surprised by his performance.

12. And finally, since it will be New Year's soon, do you have any movie or blogging-related resolutions for 2012?

Nope. I have only one resolution for 2012—to love myself unconditionally, no matter what. But, of course, part of that will involve watching lots of classic movies because I love them so. ;)

Fantasy Christmas Duets Album

Musique - "Baby It's Cold Outside" by Ann-Margret and Al Hirt

I love singing along to Christmas music in my car or at home. And when I'm all alone, I think I sound pretty freaking awesome. So, if I could record my fantasy Christmas album with my favorite musicians, here's what I'd put on it:

"Baby It's Cold Outside" featuring The Bouncing Souls
They're my favorite band ever, so of course I'd choose them for my favorite Christmas song ever. Plus, if you've ever heard "Wish Me Well (You Can Go to Hell)", you know how awesome Greg Attonito is at a duet.

"We Need a Little Christmas" featuring Angela Lansbury
Okay, maybe this one isn't so imaginative since she sang this song as Mame in the Broadway show back in the day. But I love her lots and how could I possibly sing it with anyone else?

"Christmas Wrapping" featuring Elastica
I just think that Justine's accent on this "rap" would be so freaking awesome. Plus, I just love this song and I love this band. I can never be in a bad mood when listening to Elastica.

"Sleigh Ride" featuring Gorillaz
I pretty much just want an excuse to sing a duet with Damon Albarn. Yum. Plus, I think they'd do some really cool things with this song. And I love this song.

"Winter Wonderland" featuring Flogging Molly
I really think the violin and accordion would add quite a bit to this song. Plus, I can't resist an Irish accent.

"Marshmallow World" featuring Dean Martin
Well, I did say this was a fantasy list, right? So, I can add dead people to it if I want. I'd want to do this song like he did with Frank Sinatra, complete with copious amounts of drinks.

"Oi to the World" featuring No Doubt
Another no brainer since No Doubt already covered this song. Love the Vandals, but No Doubt nailed it. I'm not sure it would work as a duet, but it would certainly be worth the try. Plus, I'd get to sing with No freaking Doubt!!

"Christmas Waltz" featuring Katy Perry
I think her voice would be really pretty on this song and I'd just like the chance to hang out with this badass bundle of fun!

"Jingle Bell Rock" featuring Reel Big Fish
They could only improve upon this Christmas favorite. They've already done so before with "Mele Kalikimaka". You can't help but dance with those horns. I've even got dance moves for this song that I choreographed in 8th grade.They're super awesome.

"Let It Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!" featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt
If I was trapped somewhere during a snow storm with JGL, I would most definitely sing this song. And we already know he does a killer duet.

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" featuring Helen Kane
And here's another super fantasy combo since Miss Kane has been deceased for 45 years. I just think her cutesy voice would be adorable on this. I can't replicate it, but I can sing pretty high—it might sound kinda good together.

"(Party) Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" featuring LMFAO
Oh. My. God. This would be such an epic song! I am incapable of not dancing when I hear their music, so I bet they would do wonderful, wonderful things to this song. And I would very much like to be a part of that.

"All I Want for Christmas is You" featuring All American Rejects
I am not a fan of Mariah Carey, but I am a fan of this song of hers. And I've seen what AAR can do with a pop cover. Plus, all I want for Christmas is Tyson Ritter. ;)

Holiday Movie Madness!

Musique - "Christmas is All Around" by Bill Nighy

I'm a sucker for a holiday movie—be it totally cheesy or heartbreakingly moving or romantic. My favorite holiday movies are ones I tend to watch every year around Christmas. This year, I'll be rewatching favorites Joyeux Noël (which I now own!), Christmas in Connecticut, The Holiday, Scrooged, and It's a Wonderful Life. I also recently purchased Miracle on 34th Street and The Bishop's Wife, so I'll be rewatching those as well.

Last year, I made a very concerted effort to watch as many holiday movies as I could—both ones I'd seen before and new ones. Besides the ones listed above that I watch every year, here are the movies I watched last year:

• Meet John Doe - I'd never seen this before (what?!), but obviously loved it because I heart Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper; kinda depressing in parts, though.
• The Shop Around the Corner - I'd never seen this either, even though I've seen the horrible remake with two actors I am not particularly fond of; I love, love, love Jimmy Stewart.
• The Ref - I used to love this movie because I had a huge crush on Kevin Spacey. But even now that the crush is over, I still think this is a particularly good holiday movie.
• Holiday Inn - sure, only part of the movie is around Christmas, but enough of it is to make it a Christmas movie to me; anything with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in it has to be good.
• Eight Crazy Nights - while some characters were annoying and I felt really bad for everyone that Davey made fun of repeatedly, I did really enjoy this movie. I totally cried.
• Four Christmases - I saw this in the theater when it came out with my best girlfriends. I did like it, but I tend to get really impatient with movies where everything goes wrong all the time. Plus, I don't really like movies where the happy ending is having a baby. That's not a happy ending, that's a nightmare.
• Christmas Time in South Park - Not just the Mr. Hanky Christmas special is included on this DVD. All of the best Christmas related South Parks are on here. My favorite was the "Woodland Critter Christmas" (how can you not love Stan taking the lion cubs to an abortion clinic to learn how to give abortions?)
• Fred Claus - another one my friends and I saw in the theater. Guess we have a thing for Vince Vaughn Christmas comedies? It's funny, but probably one I will only watch every few Christmases.
• Christmas Caper - okay, well, I love Shannen Doherty so that is why I deigned to watch this not so awesome flick. It wasn't as bad as I feared it would be, although it was predictably predictable in parts.
• Unaccompanied Minors - a cute kid's film with a nice message.
• Grumpy Old Men - it's been soooo long since I'd seen this. I really, really, really love Ann-Margret, so watching this was such a treat. It's nice when older people find love (although I don't really want to watch them making out).
• A Christmas Carol - I only decided to watch this computer animated Jim Carrey version (two things I do NOT like) because Gary Oldman was in it (and he is one thing I definitely DO like). Thankfully, the animation wasn't totally distracting (can I say how much I prefer hand-drawn animation??) and it was very faithful to the book. But I probably won't see it again.
• A Christmas Carol - this was the 1938 version and I obviously preferred it to the one above. However, I have to say the best adaptation of the Dickens novel is still Scrooged.
• 12 Men of Christmas - this was so very obviously a Lifetime movie. But I still enjoyed it. I mean, it was very obvious who she'd end up with, but it was cute and sweet all the same.
• Love Actually - this is one I like to watch fairly frequently, although maybe not every year. Although just thinking about it has gotten the Bill Nighy song in my head. I love so much about this movie, but I really hate the Alan Rickman/Emma Thompson story line. It makes me sad and angry at the same time. I don't want to hate Alan Rickman, but I do in this movie. But still, such a heartwarming movie for the most part. :)

This year, I'm excited to watch my favorites again, as well as Home Alone, which I haven't seen in eons. Plus, some new ones:

• Christmas Eve - I've been dying to see this one with George Raft and Joan Blondell and now I own it!
• Remember the Night - this is another Barbara Stanwyck Christmas movie, so I'm sure to love it. I bought this on Black Friday along with Christmas Eve (and umpteen other DVDs).
• Mrs. Miracle - OMG, does this look cheesy. But I bet I'll still love it.
• This Christmas - I don't know how I haven't seen this one yet.
• The Family Stone - I haven't seen this one yet, either, but the cast sounds awesome.
• A Christmas Memory - set in the Depression = awesome! Baking fruitcakes for FDR and Jean Harlow = perfect! 
• Un conte de Noël - I love me some French movies; especially when Catherine Deneuve is in them!
• Surviving Christmas - this promises to be totally horrible. But ever since Ben Affleck married Jennifer Garner, I like him much more. And I do love Christmas movies, so I will probably actually enjoy this quite a bit.
• The Christmas Card - okay, I'm pretty sure this one will make me cry. A US soldier tries to find the woman who wrote him a Christmas card? Yeah, definitely a romantic tearjerker.
• Scrooge - this 1951 film is supposed to be the best adaptation of A Christmas Carol. We'll see if Alastair Sim can even tango with Bill Murray.
• A Colbert Christmas - I need some laughs to go along with my tears.
• Saturday Night Live: Christmas - again, I need more laughs.
• Larceny, Inc. - Edward G. Robinson in a Santa Suit? Yes, please!

Oh my, am I going to have a busy Christmas season!

New Classic Movies

Musique - "Let's Do It" by Nat Star

No, I'm not talking about remakes of classic movies. I'm talking about new movies set in the past that are sure to become classics. I recently saw two films in particular that really captured my heart and imagination.

Midnight in Paris
Oh. My. God. No seriously, what Owen Wilson's character, Gil, gets to do in this movie is my ultimate fantasy. If I could travel back in time to the 1920s, yet still be a part of life in the present, I would be the happiest person alive. I even wrote a paper about how I'd like to do just that about 5 years ago—I reread it recently and I cracked up to see how close to the movie it was (mostly meeting and spending time with the Fitzgeralds). The two things that make my heart swell with longing the most are the 1920s and Paris and this film captured both so well. Plus, the cast was amazing—Adrien Brody as Salvador Dalí was perfect and hilarious, not to mention the other host of stars who were perfect in their roles. I can't wait to own this movie (soon!) and rewatch it, but fast forward through the present day parts (no one needs to see the annoying girlfriend parts more than once).

Hugo
I saw this one today and immediately loved it. I saw it in 3D, which was kind of cool because of all the steam and clock works and trains and stuff, but I never ever want to see another movie in 3D again. It's so unnecessary and I think takes away from the movie itself. Plus it gives me a wicked headache. But 3D aside, this movie was incredible. It is SO very different from other Martin Scorsese films, but he did such an amazing job. I can't imagine anyone on earth doing better. The cast was perfect, the way they made the old silent films look was perfect (you really couldn't tell which parts were excerpts from real silent movies and which were new parts they cut in—except for the presence of Ben Kingsley or Helen McCrory giving it away), everything was perfect. You can just tell what love and respect Martin Scorsese has for the art of film and for old movies in particular. I shed a tear more than once during this movie because I loved it so much.

There are so many movies set in my favorite time period (1920s and 1930s) these days, but I think these two are definitely going to be my favorites. I am interested in seeing The Artist, although I am disappointed that it just looks like a black and white movie, not an actual silent film. I wish they could have done effects to the film to make it look like it was actually old. The lead actress, Bérénice Bejo, doesn't really look 1920s enough to me—she just looks like someone who dressed up to be a flapper for Halloween (at least in the trailers). The lead actor, Jean Dujardin, reminds me of a mix of John Barrymore, Fredric March, and Gene Kelly, so he was a very appropriate pick for the role (Gene Kelly counts because he played a silent film actor in Singin' in the Rain). In any case, I am sure I will enjoy it if I do see it.

In other news, I've been stockpiling classic holiday movies this weekend. I am so excited that I now own Miracle on 34th Street, The Bishop's Wife, Remember the Night, and Christmas Eve (well, and Joyeux Noël, which isn't a classic, but is set in WWI and is my favoritest of favorite holiday movies EVER). They will go along nicely with the other holiday movies I already own: Christmas in Connecticut, The Holiday, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Plus, I've added some movies I've never seen to my Netflix queue. Oh man, do I love holiday movies!!

The Wind-Blown Bob

Musique - "Fascinating Rhythm" by Fred and Adele Astaire

I was re-reading Fate Keeps on Happening by Anita Loos and had to laugh at the following excerpt from "It's All a Plot of the Hairdressers" (written in the voice of Lorelei Lee):

So now let us come to the Behavior Pattern which was evolved by the Economic Trends of the Nineteen Twentys. And this pattern had its basic foundation in the fact that young girls who became addicted to bootleg Gin were enclined to develop quite high spirits, particularly in the Speakeasies, where most of a young girl's time was whiled away.

And now we come to the observation that these high spirits had a tendency to cause disarrangement of both the garments and the coiffeur. And, since Fashion is invaritably influenced by a girl's Mode of living, a Flapper, in order to always appear modish while badly groomed, solved the problem by going to the root of the matter and getting herself dishevelled on purpose before she ever started out, which resulted in the Birth of the Wind-Blown Bob.

The picture above is from a hairdresser's book, but it looks too neat to be "wind-blown" to me—it's not nearly disheveled enough. When I think of women of the 1920s messing up their hair (stylishly, of course) before going out, I picture something like Clara Bow:

In any case, I'm glad disheveled hair is something that's come back in style (again). I'm going to start to refer to my own hair as a "wind-blown bob". :)

Men Seldom Make Passes at Girls Who Wear Glasses

Musique - "I am a Girl" (The Girls with Glasses Theme Song) by Brooke White

Thank God that Dorothy Parker quote in the title is no longer true. As a girl who has had to wear glasses for most of my life, I find it almost ridiculous that people are now wearing non-prescription glasses as fashion. Obviously these people didn't get teased for wearing glasses when they were little. Of course, maybe I deserved it, given that I wore granny-sized glasses:

Here are some pictures of my favorite celebrities wearing glasses:
Angela Lansbury (okay, well, she's holding glasses)
Annette Funicello
Ann-Margret

Anouk Aimée

Audrey Hepburn

Ava Gardner

Barbara Stanwyck

The Beatles (well, at least 3/4 of them)

Bette Davis

Brigitte Bardot

Carole Lombard (these look like some kind of safety goggles/sunglasses, but I'm still including the picture because I love it!)

Catherine Deneuve

Chip

Clara Bow

Clara Bow and Conrad Tearle

Clark Gable (awww, he has glasses to match his wife's)

Donald Duck

Dick Powell (with Gale Page and Ann Sheridan)

Gary Cooper

Gary Oldman

Ginger Rogers (I think a monocle counts as glasses, don't you? Plus, I just love 42nd Street.)

Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly (yes, again!)

James Stewart, Cary Grant, and Gregory Peck

Jennifer Garner

Joan Crawford

Joan Fontaine

Katy Perry

Louise Ebel (aka Miss Pandora)

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Marion Cotillard

Maurice Chevalier

Miriam Hopkins

Robert Mitchum and Cary Grant

Ruby Keeler

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Vivien Leigh

Weezer

Zooey Deschanel

These pictures all came from random Google searches, but I did get more than one from here and here.