My Week With Marilyn

There was something lacking in this film that I have yet to pinpoint. It got rave reviews, so I went in with high hopes. During the duration of the movie, however, I felt myself waiting for something more; I found myself more and more expectant of the "wow" factor.

The premise of the film is based on a true story about a young man named Colin Clark (played by newcomer Eddie Redmayne) who becomes involved in the making of a Laurence Olivier film starring Marilyn Monroe. Of course, the two meet and the film revolved around their short "affair" which took place over the course of a week (if you had not guessed that part from the title already). 

I think the film could have been leagues better if the role of the young man were played by someone else. It's not to say that Redmayne was not talented, I just don't think he really made me "believe" his part. I guess that is not entirely his fault, as the whole idea of him falling genuinely in love with the sex idol Monroe after a couple of days seems a bit far-fetched to me. I just did not really buy it. I found myself not really caring about their little relationship. Michelle Williams did a good job with her portrayal of Marilyn, though I do not think she really represents her physically. She certainly did make me pity the late actress, however; she certainly had a tragic life.

Overall, I feel the flaws of this film stem from the true story on which it is based- I am just not sure it was movie-worthy for various reasons. I did not find it to be an extraordinary film, though at least it was not horribly drawn out and did not try to make the affair between the two main characters any more than it was, which was admirable, because it certainly could have attempted to do so.

Tower Heist Review

I do not even know if I just spelled "Heist" right. There is not a spell check on this thing. Anyways, back to the point of this blog. I was pleasently surprised at the film, it was extremely watchable. Of course, my expectations were not very high as it is a Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy comedy about stealing 20 million dollars from a rich guy. Not that Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller are not skilled at what they do, but you know what I mean.

The film is basically about a group of employees who work at an extremely ritzy apartment building in NYC who discover that the richest man living there who was put in charge of their pensions was involved in a fraud scandal and their money was gone. So, of course, Ben Stiller decides that with the aid of some of the other screwed-over employees that they need to steal their money back.

It was pretty funny, I did not feel like looking at my watch at all and it was very fast-paced. Of course, it was extremely ridiculous, and the end left a lot unsolved. But for what it was worth, it was a decent comedy.

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

Has anything more true ever been said? I don't think so. I feel like a fresh human being when the weekend comes around, and even more so when I force my mind not to have a thought of work, which is easier said than done as those sneaky little thoughts always try to worm their way in. It also helps not being at a computer screen all day. I got to read, relax, spend time outside and see friends. What a lovely, lovely thing a weekend is. Too bad we have to work for it at all.

Recipes

Hello to anyone who still checks this periodically. I am going to do this new thing where I write down the recipes that I try out and think are worthwhile to share, since I have decided that I want to begin bettering my knowledge of the culinary world. You all can join me in my endeavor! I know you are all excited.
The first one I am going to post is one that I tried last night and was only somewhat of a success. It is called a "Pecan Pie Martini", and I kind of got the idea from a specials menu at a restaurant (shhhh, don't tell!). It was good, but REALLY sweet and REALLY strong at the same time. So, just be VERY prepared for an intense drink. If that is what you are looking for, however, then this is perfect.

Pecan Pie Martini:
Ingredients:
1) Butterscotch Schnapps
2) Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur
3) Three Olives Cake Vodka

You can play around with the portions for this a bit, we first tried doing 4 ounces total per drink, 2 ounces of Frangelico and one of the other two types of alcohol and then we tried doing 2 ounces of schnapps and one of each of the other two. It really depends on what you want more of taste-wise. Dip rims of martini glasses into corn syrup and then into brown sugar. Pour liquor combination into a shaker and shake, then pour into martini glasses and serve.

Johnny Depp + Rum =... I'm still not sure

I like it when a movie tells me it's purpose of existence. I also like it when movie screenwriters do not just give up at the end and tell me with a block of text that everything worked out somehow. If you are on the same page as me in regards to these thoughts, then I would not recommend seeing The Rum Diaries.

Sexy men and women drinking excessively in Puerto Rico could potentially equal an intriguing film, or at least one that is nice to look at. However, there was seemingly no point to the movie whatsoever. It spent about an hour and a half building up the conflicts of the film only to tie up absolutely none of the loose ends except with the aforementioned text telling us that things ended up well. I think that a film should not be released until it is actually ready, and this one was definitely not there.

Even Johnny Depp failed to charm me. I am not a die hard fan or anything, but I think his rum drinking roles should have ended with Jack Sparrow, because how could he even try to top that? Maybe it was the eyeliner that really made that part come alive for him.