It’s been quite a nice and mellow three-day weekend for me… the calm before the *storm* as it were, as the later part of September is going to be a pretty busy one for me. Twin Cities Film Fest is just a month away, but we’ll get a preview of the film festivities this coming Friday with the Fundraising Gala. I have a friend from out of the country staying with us the following week and then we’ll be taking a trip to Sedona, AZ and hopefully meet up w/ my pal Cindy C.!
Well, a good part of my weekend is full of script writing… AND dreaming of Deauville — Deauville American Film Festival that is…
Great shots of my fave actors from #Deauville2015 #KeanuReeves #JasonClarke #MichaelShannon #StanleyWeber pic.twitter.com/7offITmqpy
— FlixChatter (@FlixChatter) September 6, 2015
Of course THIS is who I’d most like to meet…
Anyhoo, I didn’t go to the cinema all weekend but I must say my home viewing can only be described as eclectic.
Zoolander (2001)
At the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Finally got around to seeing this movie. I’m familiar w/ the premise and it’s become such a pop culture phenomenon of sort that a sequel is in the works. I thought I’d watch it before it comes out next year. Crazy that it’s been 15 years since this came out and I think both Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson still look pretty much the same.
They’re both hilarious in this satire of the fashion modeling industry. There are actually some famous male models, like the outrageously gorgeous Tyson Beckford and Claudia Schiffer. In fact, this movie is worth seeing just for the cameo, esp. David Bowie! I expected it to be goofy good fun and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Long Way Round (2004)
This documentary series follows actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on a motorcycle trip around the world. The two friends will travel through such places as Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Alaska, before finally ending the journey in New York.
My hubby was watching this when I went downstairs to our entertainment room and we ended up watching a couple of episodes. I thought it was fascinating AND quite hilarious as the Scottish actor and his buddy prepare to go on this crazy motorcycle journey around the world for three months!
They also interviewed their wives (as well as their parents) and their reaction of this trip. But the funniest bits are all the challenges of all the logistics and training (medical, even self defense) as they’d go into some dangerous territories like Ukraine.
Of course the main draw initially is the fact that Ewan is a big film star, but after a few minutes we forget about that as he’s such a real and down-to-earth guy and this film is as much about Ewan & Charlie’s friendship as it is about the motorbike roadtrip.
The Age of Adaline (2015)
A young woman, born at the turn of the 20th century, is rendered ageless after an accident. After many solitary years, she meets a man who complicates the eternal life she has settled into.
I’ve been wanting to see this film for ages. There’s something about this romantic premise that beguilles me. I’m a huge fan of period dramas a la Jane Austen, so more on the old school romance so long as it doesn’t have the name Nicholas Sparks attached to it [shudder]. I have my full review ready so I’ll post that sometime this week.
….
I also rewatched BELLE on Labor Day as I’m in the mood of period dramas. I absolutely LOVE this movie. I’ve seen it a dozen times and it gets me every single time… I have SO many favorite scenes from this film, I wish I could find the one where Davinier declared passionately, ‘I love her, I love her with every breath I breathe!‘ in that carriage [swoon] 😛
But I also LOVE this scene between Belle and John… Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Sam Reid are absolutely perfect together [le sigh]
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
Wow! I can’t believe it’s been 15 years since Zoolander came out, it still feels like it’s yesterday that I saw it. And I haven’t seen it since then, might have to see it again, I didn’t think it’s that funny when I saw it back in early 2000s.
Didn’t see anything new over the weekend, in fact I didn’t really do anything at all. I actually stayed offline for most of the weekend, feels kind of weird not checking on Twitter or FB or IG or another other apps/sites for a while.
Hello Ted! That’s good that you took a break from technology this weekend. I couldn’t do that as I was glued to my Instagram/Twitter checking about the Deauville Film Fest 😉
Yeah, I can’t believe I just saw Zoolander for the first time. I just thought I should check it out before the sequel comes out. It was pretty hilarious!
Well, I finished The Idiot by Akira Kurosawa this weekend as it’s the weakest film of his that I’ve seen so far (though it was presented in its truncated version) plus The Theory of Everything (which was good), Dumb and Dumber To (bloody awful), and an early short film starring Jacques Tati. The only films I re-watched where Shrek the Third and Son of the Pink Panther.
Hi Steven! Oh my, you saw Dumb & Dumber To?? You poor thing man. I won’t subject myself to that, ahah. I actually haven’t seen Shrek The Third, but I did love the first movie!
It’s been on HBO and I wanted to see how bad it is and… yeah, it was horrible. Not funny at all.
Well thanks for the warning Steven, I’ll avoid it like the plague!
Oh my goodness, 15 years since Zoolander?! That makes me feel old…
Can’t wait to read your review of The Age of Adaline 🙂
– Allie
Hi Allie! I was surprised how long it’s been, yet Ben & Owen still look pretty much the same nowadays, so no you’re not old! 😀
I’ll definitely have my review of Age of Adaline up in a couple of days!
Zoolander is one of my favorite comedies ever! I’m always quoting lines from it. Can’t wait for the sequel! I’m also interested in seeing The Age of Adaline, so I’m curious to know your thoughts on it. And Belle is a true gem. I love it!
Hello there, welcome to FC! I’m glad I finally saw Zoolander and I can see how it’s become such a pop culture phenom. I’ll have my review of Age of Adaline up tomorrow. Glad you love BELLE too, I just got retweeted by its director Amma Assante today, she’s so awesome!!
Thanks for the welcome! That’s too cool that she retested you!
Yeah, she’s quite engaged on social media. I absolutely adore BELLE, nice to see a film about women, written AND directed by women.
Yes, very nice. 🙂
And in my earlier comment, I meant “retweeted” not retested lol. Dang autocorrect!
Ahah yeah I figure that’s what happened w/ auto correct 😛 No worries I knew what you mean.
Great post! I secretly want to see The Age of Adaline…looking forward to your review 🙂
Hi Courtney! I should have my review of Age of Adaline tomorrow. Let’s just say I was pleasantly surprised by it.
A good weekend’s viewing there Ruth! Belle is a lovely film isn’t it and Zoolander, well, it’s hard not to love that. “Am I taking grok kin’ crazy pills?” Ace.
Long Way Round and Long Way Down are Mr O’s favourites. He often just puts them on for background noise.
Yeah I think we might watch more episodes, both Ewan n Charlie are such a hoot!
Zoolander is fun, though I don’t think it needed a sequel. Gugu is stunning in Belle. So glad she landed a role in Beauty and the Beast.