Movie Nerd: Films I'm Borderline Pee-My-Pants-Excited About For This Year

Borderline, people. I said borderline.

It's the time once again, folks: Summertime. The arrival of the sun, of tans, of sand getting stuck in uncomfortable places and, of course, of movies. Yes, movies. Movies of all shapes and sizes: dumb ones, smart ones, funny ones, sad ones. The thing about "Summer Movies", however, is that there are very rarely 'good' ones. More often than not, the most successful and popular movies of the summer are 'blockbusters', which usually have about all the charm and substance as a block of cheese. Actually, wait. Cheese can be very charming and substantial...

Oh well. Failed pun #1.

I shouldn't poo-poo the Summer Blockbuster, actually. One of my all-time favorite movies (The Dark Knight) was technically a 'Summer Blockbuster'. And, I guess, there have always been very funny and satisfying blockbusters around - especially in recent years past and usually starring Robert Downey, Jr. That is why I decided to include a few 'blockbusters' on my list this year as well as the 'good ones'.

Alright folks, this is going to be a long one, so I hope you're sitting down. Here goes!

[source]

X-Men: First Class
Starring: Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, January Jones
Why I Wanna See It: It's a fairly well-kept secret of mine (well...not anymore) that I used to watch those old superhero/comic book cartoons when I came home as a kid. Like...every day. X-Men quickly became one of my favorites, and I mildly enjoyed the first X-Men movies. Also, I'm borderline obsessed with Michael Fassbender...I mean...

[source]
Super 8
Starring: Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Noah Emmerich
Why I Wanna See It: JJ. Abrams. I'm fairly positive he's some sort of evil super genius. If it's half as good as Lost, or 1/3 as good as Cloverfield, (which, judging by the teaser trailer alone, it will be) I think we'll be good.

[source]
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgård
Why I Wanna See It: I read the book, thought it was 'eh'. Saw the Swedish originals, though, and thought it was definitely not 'eh'. I'm very interested to see how Rooney Mara does with a character that's so well known to so many people, and just generally interested in seeing how the entire movie translates. It shall be interesting..

[source]
The Muppets
Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Kermie
Why I Wanna See It: I'm pretty sure that Jason Segel is the future Mr. Julie P. I'm just saying we were meant for each other and I totally think we should get married. That being said, I'm really excited to see his collaboration with the Muppets! Everyone and their mothers, apparently, are in this movie (including Lady GaGa with Ed Helms and John Krasinski reportedly playing members of her posse!) and I can't wait to see how it all pans out.

[source]

The Ides of March

Starring: George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Evan Rachel Wood

Why I Wanna See It: Um, please imdb the cast if you honestly have questions re: why this movie looks good. George Clooney. Ryan Gosling. Paul Giamatti. Philip Seymour Hoffman. Evan Rachel Wood? Yes, please thank you. And it's based on a play about political corruption and intrigue?!

[source]

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
Why I Wanna See It: The last of the last Harry Potter films (which I think as a whole have turned out quite well, don't you??) which will feature the epic battle between good and evil, wizard-style. If the poster of Hogwarts in fiery ruins doesn't pique your interest, I don't know what will. Also, I just cannot wait to see Molly Weasley kick Bellatrix's ass.

[source]

Drive
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Christina Hendricks
Why I Wanna See It: For those who have been reading along, have you begun to notice a common theme in the list of films I want to see? They all have outstanding casts, the majority of which star Ryan Gosling. What can I say? The boy's a stud. And one of the better actors of our generation. I mean, did you see Half Nelson? Blue Valentine? Young Hercules? Ok, well, even if it weren't for him, I'd still want to see this movie. Carey Mulligan is bomb, and Christina Hendricks is actually one of my idols, AND it won for best director at Cannes the other week. Seriously, this should be a good one.

[source]

Immortals
Starring: Henry Cavill, Freida Pinto, Mickey Rourke
Why I Wanna See It: Ok, this movie will probably be miserable. Not Clash of The Titans miserable, but probably somewhere between that and, say...Troy. However, it stars Henry Cavill. As in Charles Brandon. As in the future-man-of-steel. As in dashing, charming, handsome. And British. So, it'll be worth it. It will.

[source]

Cowboys and Aliens
Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde
Why I Wanna See It: Five words - Indiana Jones and James Bond. In the Old West. With aliens. Ok, more than five words, but still. This will probably be one of those really bad movies, but hey, who knows? Maybe they'll go all District 9 on us and use this film as a platform to have a serious discussion about immigration. Maybe. But judging by the gratuitous naked Olivia Wilde in the trailer...I'm gonna go with not.

[source]

Bad Teacher
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake
Why I Wanna See It: 1.) Jason Segel. 2.) Yelling at children. 3.) Possible Justin Timberlake/Cameron Diaz tension. 4.) Phyllis from The Office

[source]

A Dangerous Method
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley
Why I Wanna See It: Michael Fassbender as Carl Jung, Viggo Mortensen as Sigmund Freud. CHECK PLEASE.

[source]

50/50
Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick
Why I Wanna See It: This is a risky one, folks. It's the story of a 27-year-old's fight with cancer. As a comedy. Risky. But, judging from the trailer, it looks like it might play out. I mean, Joseph Gordon Levitt's character tries to pick up girls using his diagnosis.

[source]

Crazy, Stupid, Love
Starring: Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling (again, I know), Emma Stone
Why I Wanna See It: Ladies....Also, it looks both funny and heartfelt. And Emma Stone is in it, and I like her. And Steve Carrell bails out of a moving vehicle. And Kevin Bacon plays a douche. Sounds great.

And Finally:

Contagion
Starring: Everyone in the world that rocks.
Why I Wanna See It: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. About a deadly disease and the international team of doctors working with the CDC to fight it. I smell Oscars. Lots of them.

Can You Cannes-Cannes?

Ohh, I bet you no one ever thought of that pun before, huh? Oh, well.

This year's awards saw a slew of controversial, boring, new, old, thrilling, explosive, and implosive films - and red carpet style that followed the same guidelines, it seemed.

The Festival is such an exciting time of the year, not only for film, but for style. It's one of the few truly international red carpet events, and with the relaxed (well, more relaxed) media presence,
I think the actors and actresses feel more able to take bigger risks than they would at say...the Oscars. There were a lot of great looks from Cannes so without further ado...

Hottest. Couple. Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson. I'm not even going to fault Mr. Jackson his shoe choice because a.) I kinda love them and b.) No one is looking at him with that German beauty next to him

Uma Thurman in possibly my favorite look of the week

Ms. McAdams in a very daring red and nude look

Best Actress Winner Kirsten Dunst rocking it in a vintage-inspired dress

Carine Roitfeld (formerly of French Vogue and all around fashion genius) and Kanye West. I can barely handle all the awesome in this one photograph.

I think this look could have gone very boring were it not for the slit or the fact that inside said dress there was an Angelina Jolie.

Gwen Stefani looking mad glamorous in her midnight black gown

Anja Rubik in a dress that only one of the most successful models of our time could pull off.

Salma Hayek looks crazy beautiful and old Hollywood stylish in this dress. Reminds of why I love that woman so...



So who do you think wore it best?

Royal Wedding II

But wait! There's more!

But of course, I must analyze the fashion! Some of my favorites from the day:

The Beckhams looking dapper as ever.

[source]

Ladies Kitty, Eliza and Amelia Spencer. Beautiful girls in beautiful fascinators! Three of my favorites from the ceremony.

[source]

I believe all I have to say about this is: "I'm the Queen, bitches. I can look sunny if I wanna."

[source]

The Fogles (Ben is a tv presenter). Marina is in one of my favorite outfits from the day - the green and the tan.

[source]

We see where the bride gets her looks!

[source]

I'm actually obsessed with everything about Kate's second look. God I wish I could pull off a white fluffy sweater.

[source]

Who were your favorites?

Oh dear...

I...I don't know what to say. I'm ashamed, really. How, how...

How didn't I do this before now? I beg your forgiveness, faithful reader(s?).

The. Royal. Wedding.

Oh yeah, remember that? The huge, multi-million dollar, source of obsession and craziness and romance and history and British things? Yeah, that. Well, the truth of the matter is this: I got too consumed in the buildup of the whole thing - the speculation over what her dress would look like, would she be 'Princess Catherine', would they makeout in Westminster Abbey, would the Queen drop a bitch for not wearing a hat - you know, the big stuff. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't up at 4am, impatiently waiting for every tiny little moment, but I definitely saw her walk down the aisle, and the kiss(es), and when Harry smiled rakishly and whispered to his big brother how beautiful Kate looked. I saw that stuff. And, of course, I made a blue velvet cake with their initials and made fascinators and drank champagne and partied in an apartment decked out with photos of the wedding and from the Tumblr blog (and new favorite) Kate Middleton For The Win. And I loved every second of it. But then, after the weeks of excitement and ecstatic joy, I do believe I passed out. Like a light.

Well, I suppose it's taken me this long to get to it because, the pain of it being over had simply been too fresh until recently. But, I think with the threat of Armageddon, it would be best to revisit a very happy time. A very happy time, indeed.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, bitches.

Oh, Pippa. Oh, Sarah. There's no need to fuss. Let the cartoon birds fix it!

I love this particular shot. The dress, the veil lightly ruffling in the wind, and, of course - the look on her face that seems to understand both the weight of this moment and the lightness of love.

Some people seemed disappointed by the smallness of the bouquet. Not me. I love the lily of the valleys, the simplicity, and the eco-friendliness/national prideyness.

William is saying to Mr. Middleton: "I thought this was supposed to be a small family wedding."

Who, me? Yes, I know I'm fabulous.

Perfection.

I love how similar these dresses were. Grace IS the definition of class and elegance, and to borrow from her, the original humble(ish)-origins Princess, is to truly borrow from the best.

All I have to say.

Seaside Woman

[source]

A very pensive Simon & Garfunkel

[source]

Grace Slick v. GI Joe

[source]

See ya, Babe. Gotta go be Mick

[source]

Paul is sad.

[source]

The Queen of Soul. And Attitude.

[source]

Are You Experienced (at photography)?

[source]

This is the way my mind works. I see something, or hear something, and that will lead to much more pondering and thinking and eventually I'll end up somewhere entirely different. Perfect example: the other day I was driving along, thinking about Ming Tsai (who I had went to go speak/cook at my old high school the night before and who is probably one of the cooler people I've ever been three rows away from...but more on that later) and some how I ended up jumping from him to Paul and Linda McCartney. Don't ask me how. It's like six degrees of Kevin Bacon in my head all the time.

But so here I am, putting along in my little car thinking to myself how very sad it was that Paul lost Linda, and lost altogether as to how I arrived at this subject. Well, imagine my surprise when, the other day I happen upon Linda McCartney's Sixties: Portrait of an Era. What an incredible book. What an incredible life! Not only did Linda McCartney get to photograph some of the most influential artists of the era, but she also got to marry, have a family with, and truly love one of them. I know I tend to have a tendency to get all sappy on the subject of love, but hey. You gotta have some kind of faith, right?

[source]

Met Costume Institute Gala

Well, it's my favorite time of the year, everybody - The Met Gala. The glamour! The celebrity! The art! The fashion. Every year there's a new theme, like in 2007 (my personal favorite Gala), when they honored Poiret, or 2008 when they focused on Superhero imagery. This year, fittingly, I think, honored the late, great Alexander McQueen. Stars of the fashion and movie world collided last night, in some interesting ways. Without further ado, my favorites of the night!

Rihanna in Stella McCartney

Mary-Kate Olsen in Vintage Givenchy

Sarah Jessica Parker in McQueen (as if she would wear anything else)

Chanel Iman in Dolce & Gabbana

Ginnifer Goodwin in Topshop Unique and Van Cleef & Arpels Jewelry

Gisele Bündchen in McQueen

My new favorite Fashionista Hailee Steinfeld in Stella McCartney

Ms. Jennifer Lopez in Gucci

Diana Agron in...hmm...could it be...maybe...Michael Kors?

L-R: Cindy Sherman, Consuelo Castiglioni, Anouck Lepère, and Giovanna Battaglia, all in Marni.

Salma Hayek in McQueen

Jessica Stam in Tommy Hilfiger

Elettra Weidemann in Prabal Gurung

Zoe Saldana and Francisco Costa, both in Calvin Klein Collection

Ashley Greene in custom Donna Karan

Diane Kruger in Jason Wu (with the designer)

Mia Wasikowska in Thakoon

Anna Dello Russo in McQueen

Natasha Poly in Alexander Wang

Karlie Kloss in Dior

Vera Wang in Forever21

Karen Elson in McQueen

Daphne Guinness in the most McQueeny of the McQueen looks of the night

[all photos from style.com]