Random Tidbits

• WALL-E: I haven't seen Pixar's new feature yet, though Elizabeth tells me it rocks, but I was completely charmed by the many previews. However, according to my in-the-know little sis, my favorite scene in the ads, where cute Johnny 5 clone WALL-E says in his name in that adorable animatronic voice (squee!), only occurs ONCE in the entire film! This saddens me to no end. But if I can get past this petty insult, I'm sure I love the film anyway.
• There's the Rub!: Andrea's been back from Africa for a solid 3 weeks now and we have forced her to watch the following movies: Becoming Jane, Juno, Dan in Real Life, The Incredibles, Once, Atonement, and Across the Universe. Though not on the pre-approved agenda, we also watched Swingers, Kissing Jessica Stein, Good Night and Good Luck, and Batman Begins. She's liked most of them, although it's hard to tell if any of them have really made a huge impact. Maybe she'll never watch any of them again. However, the main injustice, at least to my sense of pride, has been that she didn't like Atonement!!! I knew it would have to happen eventually, so I was braced for a negative reaction. Doesn't mean it didn't sting! Ironically she then decided to read the book and with only about 50 pages to go has deemed it better than the film. Which, of course it is. I'm not gonna win this one at all, but damn, I really love that movie. It's just so beautiful and sad. Oh, well. Can't win 'em all! I think Atonement ia gonna end up being one of those films I only watch alone. No one else seems to find it as haunting or powerful as I do? Fine then! I'm taking my ball and going home!
• Coming Soon - Emmy Nominations: After this year's abbreviated television season it's odd to see some of the names on the shortlist; I forgot about a lot of these shows when they didn't come back after the strike. The shortlist for each major category contains 10 names that will be whittled down to 5. So far, Supporting Actor Comedy still has John Krasinski and Rainn Wilson of "The Office", and Neil Patrick Harris of HIMYM. Best Actor, Drama has a great list of possibilities including Kyle Chandler's often overlooked coach on "Friday Night Lights," Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad," Jon Hamm of AMC's great breakout show "Mad Men," Gabreil Byrne in "In Treatment," and Eddie Izzard (love him!) in FX's "The Riches." That's a great, assorted group. In Best Actress, Drama, it's mostly the usual, although I do love Kyra Sedgwick in "The Closer" and "Elisabeth Moss" on "Mad Men." The real coup here is Mary McDonnell's potential nom for "Battlestar Galactica." The show was shut out of the Best Drama race (even though I feel this season was vastly superior to Grey's Anatomy, which was included) but at least McDonnell has a chance - she really deserves some Emmy love. Both Naveen Andrews and Michael Emerson are possibilities for Supporting Actor in "Lost," and while I loathe the character of Ben, Emerson is the most consistently awesome actor on that show. Here's a link to the full lists if you wanna check for any of your other faves!
• Disney Themed Photos: Over the last year, acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz has been doing a series of photos evocative of classic Disney films with famous actors and actresses taking the place of the cartoon characters. Some of them are a little hammy to me, but others are absolutely gorgeous. My favorites include Roger Federer as Prince Arthur, and Julianne Moore as Ariel. Here's a link to see the others which include nods to Cinderella, Pocahontas, Peter Pan (with Mikhail Baryshnikov, excellent idea), Sleeping Beauty, and Alice in Wonderland. Sadly, Heather probably doesn't care because she doesn't like cartoons, a surprising fact I learned just this week. Boo! Hiss! (Just kidding, love you anyways!)
• Found a new blog: It doesn't really have anything to do with movies or television, unless you count making fun of the fashion choices of celebrities. It's called Go Fug Yourself. (I also added it to my links section.) It takes ruthless shots at repeat offenders Maggie Gyllenhaal and Mary-Kate Olsen, but also has a feature titled "Well Played" where they actually show a great outfit. They also cleverly work the word "Fug" into every title, based on the person's name, TV show, hit song, movie, etc. It's fairly hilarious just to read the titles. For example, a recent post on Jessica Simpson was called "Fug on Over" because her current song is titles "Come on Over." Funny, huh? So if you enjoy ridiculous celebrity fashion mistakes as much as I do, take a peak.