Last weekend Mumbles and I stumbled upon the movie Enough Said. We’ll watch anything with a good Rotten Tomatoes score and this one got a whopping 96%. That’s a guaranteed good time, is what that is. And it was.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is so relatable and James Gandolfini was super lovable. I feel like we’re watching all these grown up movies lately (like this one, which we LOVED and also starred Toni Collette) and even though this was labeled a romantic comedy, I didn’t feel sheepish wondering if Mumbles was hating it the entire time – it was smart and funny and we both laughed out loud more than once.
Last weekend Mumbles and I watched the movie The Way, Way Back. I faintly recalled an interview on Kevin & Bean with Steve Carrell saying how he really enjoyed his part in the movie playing a total jerk. Other than that and the 85% Rotten Tomatoes rating in the info credits (so handy!), we had absolutely no idea what the movie would be about. And it’s description wasn’t very enticing either:
Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.
So anyway, we start watching and all of a sudden, Mumbles and I realize that this movie is fantastic and we’re totally enthralled – laughing and getting completely caught up in the story. We both were a bit sad when it ended because we enjoyed it so much.
It was funny for us to enjoy the ensemble of actors in roles you wouldn’t expect but it was cast really well. It’s hard to not like Steve Carrell but boy is he good at playing an oblivious a-hole. Mumbles realized about a quarter of the way into it that the mom is “the same lady from [now-cancelled, no shocker] Hostages [man, we gotta stop watching shows like that…always getting cancelled with no resolution! ugh!]. I only recognized Sam Rockwell as the bad guy in one of the Charlie’s Angels movies…ha! But we both were like “oh, hey, that guy…” to Nat Faxon who we knew from the cancelled Ben & Kate sitcom. A little more digging revealed that Faxon was one of the directors and writers with (the principal from Community!) Jim Rash. Other faces you’ll know include Anna Sophia Robb (The Carrie Diaries), Amanda Peet, Rob Corddry (“you know why!” — quick, name that movie!), Maya Rudolph, and Allison Janney who is awesomely hilarious in this one.
I can’t recall the last time I’ve been so satisfied after watching a movie. Really, really good, you guys. Watch it. Thank me later.
Since I’m spending a large chunk of my work day in a drab basement room (with no cell reception) pumping, I decided I needed an easy book to read to help pass the time down there. Where better to look than the top of the bestseller list for tweens? Enter: Vampire Academy. Set to be a movie here soon, it’s the first of a six-book series. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’ll actually read all six, but the first one is entertaining enough and it’s one of those books I don’t mind putting down and picking up – it keeps my attention and interest for the short spurts I need it to. Luckily, the movie appears to take a light-hearted approach because I really wasn’t going to be able to stand it if they took it all very seriously (a la the Twilight drama disasters).
Have you read it? Any recommendations for what I should read next?
P.S. Do you recognize the lead actress, Zoey Deutch, from the cancelled Sarah Michelle-Gellar show Ringer? I forgot about that show…
Did you see the trailer for Disney’s new movie Maleficent during the Grammy’s? Angelina Jolie looks wicked good as the evil sorceress, don’t you think? And Lana Del Rey’s “Once Upon a Dream” cover is simply eerie. You can download the song for free this week.
P.S. Mumbles and I watched Oz the Great and Powerful this weekend and it was so vibrant, magical and fun. Have you seen it?
You may or may not have guessed that we named our beloved pup, Baxter, after Ron Burgundy’s faithful friend in the movie Anchorman. Ahh, Anchorman. It’s been a while, right? Well, Ron Burgundy and crew are back in action, coming to theaters again late this year. Enjoy this awesome trailer (I’m sure there will be more!)…
Hope you had a great weekend and that your week is off to a great start!
P.S. Now I’ve got funny Anchorman quotes in my head…what’s your favorite line from the movie?
Stick Girl JAM 