leapin' lizards!

I love you Miss Hannigan!

I love Annie.  LOVE that musical.  I especially love the 1982 film version which was always one of my "comfort" movies as a child.  [I was somewhat of a sickly child, and when I was growing up, the grocery store in my town had a small video rental section by the pharmacy.  After a trip to the doctor, while waiting to get my medications, my mom would let me pick out a movie to watch.  I associate comfort movies with being sick, but it's not a negative memory for me.  Funny.]  From the opening credits with the locket, til the very end, I'm entranced with the film.  I would sing all of the songs over and over again, as I'm sure many young girls did.  I romanticized the idea of being an orphan, which now sounds so silly from my adult perspective (I am super thankful for my family & the home I grew up in!), but being with all those other girls, singing and dancing and jumping on beds seemed like a lot of fun!  To this day, I still watch this movie every few months because it puts me in the best mood.  Annie is a great example to us all.  Her life isn't the greatest, an orphan in Depression era NYC, living with Miss Hannigan of all people to watch over her, but she still has fun and keeps a great attitude.  Then she gets a chance of a lifetime and continues to spread her joy when she moves in with Daddy Warbucks.  Throughout everything she always thinks of others and making her friends happy.  She's pretty awesome.  And the songs are so easy to belt out and enjoy.  John actually gifted me the dvd this past Christmas, up until that point I had been watching it on Netflix (which we don't have anymore, so I'm even more glad I have the movie) because I only had it on VHS and have long lived without a working VCR.  I was SO HYPED to get this movie.  Click here to see what our exchange was like when I opened it! Ha :)

Anyway, I bring up Annie because I've been reading articles about the Broadway revival and the casting of the new Annie.  A young lady named Lilla Crawford will be playing her in the Fall 2012 run.  Reading these articles reminded me of a documentary I watched last year called Life After Tomorrow.  I would definitely recommend this documentary because, frankly, it's rather disturbing.  I don't think that was its intent, but that is how I found it.  Annie came to Broadway in the late 70s and ran through the early 80s, during that time a slew of young girls played Annie and the main orphans.  This documentary interviews them, their experiences then and their life now.  The most famous of these, of course, is Sarah Jessica Parker.  I took away a lot from this documentary and it made me question some things.  These girls are between the ages of 9-13, the musical is wildly famous and they are welcomed at establishments that are NOT meant for children (Studio 54, for example), and are worked day and night and sent on tour to continue to work day and night.  The most frightening thing to me however was how damaging it was to the girls views of womanhood.  They were so scared to grow up.  Annie is an 11 year old girl, and as you know, it can be a difficult time for girls as they are entering puberty.  The title role was so coveted, and all the main orphans wanted to be Annie, that the girl that had the role was afraid for the day she'd grow breasts and get taller because the director would literally rip the wig off her head as she came off stage for her bow, put the wig on another orphan and send that child out to be praised by the public because she would be a new Annie.  It was devastating to these small girls.  Can you just imagine all the psychological damage from that?  Their hard work was ripped from them the moment their bodies do what they are supposed to do and so they resent becoming a woman.   It's crazy.  I do hope people have seen that documentary now that Annie is coming back to Broadway again.  Hopefully the way the girls are treated is better now than it was then.  I feel like conditions are probably a lot better now than they were, but then again, I do not know.  But I do wish the best of luck to the new cast and Lilla Crawford (and her, hopefully involved, parents).  I would like to see this musical on stage sometime soon.

So yes, check out Annie... whether it's rewatching the 1982 version, giving the documentary a try, or seeing it this fall in New York City!  It's a delightful story of hope.

photo credits:  one / two

movies. [favorites of Jan/Feb '12]

Picking 5 favorites out of the 24 movies I watched in January and February was really hard.  I didn't want to post movies that everyone has probably already seen (eg The Help, Midnight in Paris etc) but those were probably the only ones I'd really recommend.  Long story short:  I watched a lot of duds the past two months.  But here are five movies I thought were pretty good other than the ones you've most likely viewed.

 Hanna  This movie came out a while ago I believe but I rented it from redbox one night.  I wanted to see it mainly because I had remembered from watching the trailers forever ago that I just wanted to know why this young girl was a trained killer with Eric Bana as a papa.  I started the movie with very low expectations and ended up pleasantly surprised when I didn't regret spending the $1/night on it.  We watched this movie just when we were really starting our exercise routine regularly and it motivated me to work out a lot -- because what if one day I'm running for my life and have to beat up bad guys and stuff?  Thinking of escape situations I will most likely never be in is probably the number one motivator for me to workout every single day.  (In this vein, reading The Hunger Games will do the trick too!)  Also, the movie's soundtrack is by The Chemical Brothers and it is perfect workout music - we downloaded a few songs because we loved them so much!

IMDB info found here
Official site found here

 Restless  I'm definitely a fan of Gus Van Sant movies and this little number did not disappoint.  For one thing, it stars Mia Wasikowska and she is just so cute & delightful to watch on film.  The movie is kind of a downer, though -- obviously when you have a terminal cancer patient as the lead role, but it is incredibly endearing and wonderful.  I loved Enoch's ghost friend, Hiroshi. I also loved seeing Schuyler Fisk in a movie again.  It's a lovely movie to check out!


IMDB info found here
Official site found here

 The Invention of Lying What a clever movie, Ricky Gervais!  A movie starring basically all the "it" funny people of the day (... and Jennifer Garner) about the man that told the first lie ever -- and thus religion came to be!  Known Atheist Ricky shows the need humans have for answers and religion while also showing what the world would be like if everyone said exactly what they were thinking all of the time.  Is ignorance really bliss?  The movie sheds some light on that question.

IMDB info found here
Official site found here

 Red State  I'll start off by saying this:  on my list this has the notation of "never watch this again."  Ha!  That being said, you should probably watch this movie.  This movie is very violent and I do not like to watch extremely violent things so I made that note.  But other than the violence, I found the message of this film to be inspired.  Kevin Smith's story about the dangers and corruption of fundamentalist Christians AND the US Government is eye-opening.  I was also super surprised this was a Kevin Smith movie... I loved that he went in a totally different direction for this film. If you can handle a lot of violence (I looked away during a lot of this movie) then I suggest you watch it.  If you can't handle seeing those things, just read the wikipedia entry for it or something. ;)

IMDB info found here
Wikipedia page found here

Troll 2  If you read my entry on favorite documentaries of January & February then you know that this is the movie that pairs with the doc Best Worst Movie.  Voted "the worst movie ever made" and for good reason.  I'll be completely honest here, I haven't watched the entire movie.  It was a movie I put on to be background noise as I cleaned the house and did laundry so I caught bits and pieces of it ... and that was quite enough.  This is a really bad movie, but in a very funny way.  If you want a good laugh or enjoy feeling awkward and embarrassed then you should watch this film.  Or if you watched the documentary Best Worst Movie and wanted to see the film it was about you should watch it.  If you are looking for a scary horror movie, this is not for you.

IMDB info found here
Wikipedia page found here

north.

Last night I watched the movie North.  It's safe to say that I haven't watched this movie in at least 10 years, probably more.  I adored this movie when I was younger.  I was very excited to see it on instant Netflix. It's so interesting to watch a movie you loved as a child, haven't seen in years, and now watch it as an adult.  This movie is so fun and clever.  Mister, who had never seen it & wasn't thrilled by my choice of movie for the evening, even really liked it.  About 15 minutes in, "hey, this movie is pretty good."  Yes, yes it is!

Bruce Willis as the guardian easter bunny.

Ma and Pa Tex! I absolutely LOVE Reba.
I felt North shoulda chose them simply because they had a song and dance prepared!

Viva El Norte!

loved the sweaters & needlpoint, Kathy Bates!

didn't realize baby ScarJo was in it!

{images via}

Some wisdom from the movie:

                    Joey Fingers: Remember, kid, if you can't stand the heat, stay out of Miami.
                    North: What metaphor is that?
                    Joey Fingers: What metaphor? You ever been down there in August? Your balls stick to your leg like crazy glue.