Haines His Way

Don't get me wrong.  I thought TLOTR:  TROTK was a good picture.  But it is beyond me that a movie that lasts three hours and twenty minutes should warrant an "expanded" release.

It's simply wanting the books filmed as completely as possible, Jay.

TROTK is a very long movie.  It's an even longer book.  I think Charles Pogue's argument about the battles being one too many has merit when you consider how long one sits and watches in a theater full of people who don't know the book...but I'll not naysay Jackson's determination to present as much of Tolkien's story with as much faithfulness as possible.  The expanded versions of the first two films are far superior to the theatrical versions, and Jackson had the expanded versions prepared the same way he prepared for theatrical release.  

I was emotionally drained for days after TROTK.  It still moves me when I think of certain scenes.

Sean Astin is a-m-a-z-i-n-g and he'll probably never be properly credited for what he brought to the third film -- certainly not by his peers, of which there are few who have ever turned in a performance like Astin's.

I don't know.  He has Sir Ian McKellen's eyes, and I'm guessing Sir Ian would like to have them back.

Can I have Sir Ian's boy toy?

Is this a lull???

[move=up,scroll,6,transparent,100%]Happy Ascension, Emily![/move]
(Never could resist a good visual pun.   )

I agree completely about the award shows. They're wonderful for publicity purposes, and much fun for the audience as long as you don't take them too seriously and begin to believe that they actually stand for SOMETHING.

That said, I still find them fascinating.

The only thing I hate about those NBC ads is the oh-so-serious voice of the announcer talking in reverent, hushed tones as if he's saying something profound. It's so phony!

TCB...you can direct if you want...just pick good craft services.....<G>

Greetings from New York City again!

It's cold here.

Nice day of checking out a few shops on Fifth Avenue - and one store actually let me return something that I had bought back in August, but had exchanged for the same item in September since it didn't work properly, then when I got it home I found out the new one didn't work properly either... So, after some discussions with two very friendly salespeople, they allowed me to return the item and get store credit!  -For something I bought back in August!!  Now that's service!!! -Thank You, Takashimaya!  domo arigato gozaimasu

Well, then came the first walk back to the hotel in the cold.  The sun had started to set, and once we crossed 9th Avenue, it was like we had entered a whole new world - a whole new COLDER world.  The wind picked up, the temp dropped, and snow was blowing off all the rooftops and awnings.  But we made it back safe and sound.

It's cold here in NYC right now.

After an hour of defrosting - and eating some more yummy treats from Amy's Breads (as well as some very good hot chocolate (made with whole milk, thank you very much)), we headed over Ollie's Noodles for some dinner.  Good dinner.  And the walk over wasn't too bad.

It is cold here in New York right now.

After dinner, we had some time to kill, so we headed over to Toys 'R' Us for some pre-show browsing - and to stay warm.  And, I ended up running into a few friends who were also just trying to stay someplace warm.  Then it was over to theatre.

The walk over wasn't too bad, but I could definitely tell that the temp had dropped a few more points.

-Did I mention that it's cold here in NYC?

Well... All I will say about AVENUE Q is...  What a wonderful show.  Very tuneful, great cast, great technical elements, and the puppets and puppeteers are wonderful.  Oh, and the show is VERY funny too, and touching at times too.  It's very real.  Steve and I - and the rest of the audience - were laughing out loud many a time throughout the evening.  *And I have to give the writers and actors some credit for making sure not too many jokes got lost due to people still laughing at a previous joke.  Oh, and I didn't realize that an actress who I worked with in DC last year during CARMEN JONES was in this production, Natalie Belcon.  She plays Gary Coleman.  -And Barret Foa was on for John Tartaglia tonight - wonderful job, and no "sense" of him being the understudy - a true performance.  -And I believe he had family and friends in the audience tonight as well. -Oh, and he's very cute too.

-And the celebrity sighting for the day took place at the Golden Theatre - Elijah Wood was also enjoying the show tonight.  I thought I had seen him, but had some doubts when no one else was noticing/ paying attention to him.  But on the way out afterwards, people started "oohing" and "aahing" - it was him.  And as we were waiting at the stage door, my "suspicions" were confirmed.

Oh, it's cold here in NYC.  In fact, it may even be "Montreal Cold".  -That was for you DCRs - Dear Canadian Readers.

Now... The walk back to the hotel this time was actually a little painful.  The temp had dropped even more, the wind picked up here and there...  Steve and I had to stop once since our eyes and foreheads were getting "chilled" due to out metal eyeglass frames!  We also slowed our pace down in order to reduce our own wind chill.  Thankfully, the hotel room is nice and warm - and I made sure to buy some extra treats earlier for a post-show snack.

But, seriously, it is cold out there right now - and they may even set a new record low tonight here in NYC.  My thoughts are with everyone who may have to brave the cold tonight - and I hope that DR Jason does not have to wait too long for his subway trains tonight after he gets done at the Met.

Well, I'm gonna do some skimming of today's notes...

But before I go:

Fiddler - Drew Carey
Golde - The actress who played his scary secretary on the Drew Carey Show - Kathy Kinney -
Yente - Harvey Fierstein

-That's all my still defrosting mind can come up with right now...

Oh, I forgot to mention, it's cold here in NYC.

BUT - We are having a grand time.  A truly grand time.  -And the temps will be warming up as the weekend progresses!  We're going to be breaking the 20 degree mark!

Goodnight.

Well, I have liked some of Robert Altman's films and others I liked parts of more than the whole. I will also readily admit that there are quite a few I've never seen. When I see them coming up on one of the premium channels, I try to remind myself to watch it, but I usually forget. I guess I assume I'll catch up with them eventually, and that's just not true. I would most like to see SHORT CUTS which got lots of very positive reactions from folks I know. I've never managed to catch it. One day . . . .

MattH...Three Women was a watershed in my movie experience....it was boring....long confusing....but so damned enthralling....made me love movies

Well, that's it for me today. Off to slumberland, and will back tomorrow morning to read the next 352 posts that will no doubt be posted once I leave. Good night.

Sorry....can't remember Quintet....maybe in the black hole that was some years ago....but I LOVED Gosford Park.....for what it was

sorry a lot of the country is FREEZING......tomorrow is gonna be like 72...and cold in Los Angeles.....and maybe 76 on Saturday...

puppers walked....and everything came out okay?

I HATE MARZIPAN.  I am back after a brief sojourn with the final episodes of season one Curb Your Enthusiasm.

And what a lovely number of lovely posts.  And one other thing: I HATE MARZIPAN.