Two Must See Movie Musicals

Ok, first off I haven't blogged in a little while, and I definately haven't followed my planned posts list that was in my "Coming Soon" post. I have developed the idea that if blogging becomes yet another chore that I make myself do, than there is no real point to blogging. This should be fun and I should only do it when I really feel it. So... something has made me really feel it :-)

I am a sucker for the movie musical, and two new movie musicals have popped up that almost made me pee my pants with excitement when I saw the trailers. So I thought it was appropriate that I share both of them with the blogosphere.

The first:

Disney's The Princess and the Frog

I have been pumped about this one since they announced it! I, like most kids of my generation, grew up on the classic Disney animated films and animated musicals. So when I heard that they're return to the style was going to be with the studio's first BLACK DISNEY PRINCESS I almost busted with excitement... like fo'rizzle TOTALLY pumped! And I'll give Disney credit for trying their hardest to give this princess the same status and dignity as all the others; I was a little disconcerted when they originally gave their newest princess the name "Maddie" and made her a servant, but they soon rectified this giving her the name "Tiana" and making her a princess from the start. My only grievence is that they gave Tiana a white prince. I'm not completely up in arms like some, but I just thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase a dignified Black man in film for kids, which unfortuantely is not prevalent enough, but besides that I am very pleased.

Here's the trailer:




My movie prediction: Disney will change the race of the prince before the final release of the film.

Nine

I am not even going to start off describing the plot or anything, all I am going to do is list the cast and I challenge you not to be at least a little intrigued, if not head-over-heals-OH-MY-GOD-I-MUST-SEE-THIS-MOVIE excited: Javier Bardem, Marion Cotiard, Judie Dench, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Fergie, Sophia Loren, and Penelope Cruz. FANTASTIC RIGHT!!!
Ok now let me tell you now that it's also choreographed and directed by the famed stage and film director who directed and choreographed Chicago, Rob Marshall!!! See, I don't even need to describe the plot it's cast and crew speak for themselves (but I will anyway).
It's about a famous Italian director trying to get through creative block while dealing with these strong female personalities including, his wife, his lover, his producer, his muse, and a prostitute. And in case you are wondering who is who, Cotiard is the wife, Dench is the producer, Kate Hudson is an actress in the film within a film (I think don't quote me on that), Kidman is the muse, Fergie is the prostitue, Sophia Loren is the mother, and Penolope Cruz is the lover. This looks like Chicago to the tenth degree a must see!!!

Here's the trailer (I watched about five times it's that good!!!):


My move prediction: Fergie will shock everyone and will be amazing, maybe even earning a Golden Globe nomination.

Exam Craziness & My Must-Get DVDs for the Summer

OK, so my exams are mostly done right now, I only have Spanish now on friday, and now I'm just trying to chillax a bit. I aced my written Acting portion, and got a B in my tech exam, and acting performance was... ok. But right now I'm watching Red vs. Blue (http://rvb.roosterteeth.com), which in case you don't know it'sthis awesome machinima series that uses the Halo video game for footage it's hilarious, and perfect for homebody day-off fun, since tomorrow is a university wide "study day". ☺
But it is the inspiration for my list of DVDs I need to get this summer (you know when I actually have a job so I can actually buy DVDs).

So here are the movies, most I've seen some I haven't but all of them are essential for my movie collection:

1. Red vs. Blue Complete Series - If you don't know what this is you need to check it out. You can actually watch the episodes for free online either on their website or on their youtube channel. It's absolutely hilarious; it is a machinima thus it uses a video game as footage, and this one uses Halo. It's hard to describe but it is a must-see. And as soon as I get money, it's a must buy.
2. Slumdog Millionaire - The most emotional experience I've had seeing a movie since Passion of the Christ, and I'm not even kidding (not that intense of course) but this movie is simply amazing. Shows that we all have a destiny that may lead us to something miraculous. ♥
3. Quantum of Solace - I feel like such a bad James Bond fan, I still haven't seen Quantum of Solace, and I absolutely have to see and own it.
4. Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog - I am so late to the bandwagon, but everyone says this is hilarious, so I must get plus I love Neil Patrick Harris in just about anything
5. Heroes Season 3 - I know this season was not as good as season 2 and definately not as good as season 1, but I it still has some great moments (Cold Snap anyone?... The premeire episodes?) and I will follow Heroes to the end.
6. Reservoir Dogs - Once again, such a bad fan, I claim that I love Quentin Tarantino but I HAVEN'T SEEN RESERVOIR DOGS!!! I know such a bad fan and I need to correct that immediately...
7. Pulp Fiction - Awesome... Tarantino... Enough Said... ☺

And now for your Tales from the Tenth Letter - Moment of Zen:



Happy Summer! Happy Blogging!

- J

Coming Soon

O.k. I'm totally going to be a blogging fiend when exams are over... here's what's coming up:

1. Why I Still Think My Mom is Wonder Woman (Mother's Day)
2. So...about those exams... (Exam Week)
3. My Crazy-Behind Summer
4. My Must-Get DVDs for Summer
5. Acting through Life
6. Why I Still Think My Dad is Superman (Father's Day)

By the way if you want a little inspiration check out The Ark of Femininity Blog... ok I'm a little biased it's my sister's :-)... but fo'rizzle its awsome!

Your Tales from the Tenth Letter - Moment of Zen:
Me during exams:












Happy Finals! Happy Living!

- J

First Post! : Books for the Summer

With the school year just about over (thank god!!!) with only exams left, it is now time to look towards summer. One of the things I'm looking foward to in summer is finally being able to read, and my read I mean not textbooks and stupid plays about old Greek ladies killing her babies, I mean things that are fun to read. With this said I'm not quite sure if I'll actually have time to do anything as I will be working at Best Buy (joy of joys... though I'm finally happy to be making money again), taking classes at John Tyler Community College, and stage managing for the Richmond Shakespeare Festival Young Company, so this whole book thing might just be a fantasy but here it goes:

Jay's Books for the Summer:

1. Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli - Ok, I'm a huge Harry Potter dork. I love the books, the films, I'm into Wizard Rock, the podcasts (Pottercast and Mugglecast), all of it. So when I found out Melissa Anelli, webmistress of the Leaky Cauldron fansite and host of Pottercast was writing a book on the Harry Potter phenomenon I jumped on that. I've had the book since Christmas, only about 15 pages in.
2. Shakespeare and Company by Stanley Wells - Another book from Christmas that I havent't been able to get through. You'll see a lot of Shakespeare on the list, I decided I would read as much about Shakespeare and acting as I can this summer as a part of my plan of working towards auditioning for the American Shakespeare Center in three years.
3. Wild at Heart by John Eldridge - My sister gave me this book last summer for my birthday, to help me in my relationship with Christ. I've gotten about a quarter through... really good... just the problem of having the time to finish..
4. Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King - One of my favorite fantasy books. Very dark, but not really scary, a little bit of a departure for King.
5. The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King - Ok I'm trying to be realistic in that I don't think I'll get through the entire series, but I want to get at least through two books, as my dad swears by this series and my dad has great taste in books.
6. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - Obvious reread and probably won't get through all but would be nice.
7. Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen - One of the premeire acting books. Read the first chapter -- really good want to finish.
8. Playing Shakespeare by John Barton -I want to be a Shakespearian actor, I have to read this book.
9. Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - I've only read Magician's Nephew and Lion, Witch, and the Wardrope, even though I own all the books. So, if I get through Prince Caspian and maybe another I'll be happy.

• + I'll be trying to reread my acting books from this year, and trying to pre-read some of next semester's books. Also, I want to get through a couple of Shakespeare and Marlowe plays this summer and I want to read a book on digital photography just so I can do my job a bit better at Best Buy.
  

Somewhat abridged... for a full list of books I want to read check out the Bookshelf app on my facebook.

First blog, first post! Exciting!!!

Happy Living, Happy Blogging!

- J