Random Factoid #518

28 12 2010

I’m a movie ticket collector, not a stamp collector.  But I must say, given this announcement, I may take up the incredibly common pastime.  (Not likely, but I just like saying that.)

The USPS announced today that in 2011, they will issue Pixar-themed stamps!  There will be 5 stamps in the collection from the “Toy Story” movies, “Cars,” “Ratatouille,” “Wall-E,” and “Up.”  I’ll probably run out and buy a bunch next year and forever make my letters festive, but I have to hesitate some since postage is always going up!

I’m ecstatic that these stamps are going to be arriving on my mail next year!  It makes me excited to receive snail mail.  But I do have to point this out – where is “Monsters Inc.” among the stamps?  It’s a lot better than most of the movies that made the stamps!

 


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Random Factoid #379

11 08 2010

In my first post, I talked a little bit about obsesssion:

I love movies, but I don’t want everyone who reads this to become as big of a movie lover as I do.  Then I will have manufactured a society of obsessive movie fanatics, and as fun as it would be to have people that I could really relate to, I don’t know if I would wish my level of infatuation with movies on anyone else.

I’m always interested in seeing how other people are obsessed with movies too.  I can’t find it now, but I remember reading about a woman who saw the movie “Walk the Line” over 70 times.  Now that’s dedication!  And thanks to a link on Cinematical today, I found other people who aren’t afraid to show their obsession – at a wedding, no less!

The author of the post seems to deplore their “Up”-themed wedding, but I totally dig it!  Not even kidding, I would actually have a wedding like this because it’s simple, tasteful, and not to mention absolutely adorable.  It’s not over-the-top obsessed, but they aren’t afraid to show their influence.  Compared to some of those awful weddings alluded to in “27 Dresses,” this is not bad by any stretch of the imagination.

Here’s Lynette, the bride, on the wedding:

We wanted the wedding to be unique, personal, intimate and beautiful which it turned out to be all of those things! We wanted every aspect to represent “us” from the handmade save the dates and invitations to the picnic blankets and baskets we used in lieu of chairs at the ceremony. We had one of our best friends perform the ceremony which meant so much to us. It was so special saying our own self written vows and “crossing our hearts” to love each other rather than saying “I do”.

According to The Wedding Chicks, “Lynnette and Jame’s wedding was loosely based on our favorite Pixar movie ‘Up!’ Some fun items that they included was picnic baskets, grape soda, a painted mailbox and a few balloons!”  I surely hope that they find the same kind of love that Carl and Ellie had for each other.  Check out some other great wedding photos below!


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Random Factoid #322

15 06 2010

Back in Random Factoid #73, I manned up enough to say that I cry in movies occasionally. But what I didn’t tell you is what those movies were.

Now, 249 days later, I’m ready to reveal some of those movies. In keeping with the spirit of Pixar, you can probably guess what I’ll tell you.

Three Pixar movies have made me cry.

The song “When She Loved Me” from “Toy Story 2” makes me sob. It’s so beautiful and wonderfully done.

The climax of “Monsters, Inc.” – which I won’t ruin for those dumb enough not to have seen it – made me cry the first time, although I don’t think I’ve cried since.

And I pretty much cry the first and last 15 minutes of “Up.” The “Married Life” sequence at the beginning is so incredibly powerful that I cry earlier and earlier every time, anticipating the tragic end.


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Random Factoid #316

9 06 2010

Recently, my family and I have noticed a very strange looking bird lurking around our neighborhood.  He stands on two large legs, only comes out after dusk, and is not easily scared by cars and people.  He can fly, although I have only seen him do it once.  He shows up irregularly; I will see him several consecutive days and then not again for a week or so.

The bird has become a sort of fascination for my family.  We love to speculate on what it’s doing, what kind of bird it actually is, and what he does during the day.

But we don’t just call it “the weird bird.”  We have given it a name: Kevin.

Catch the movie reference?  We call it Kevin because it reminds us of the large bird that Russell finds in the South American jungles in the movie “Up.”


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LISTFUL THINKING: The Top 10 Movies of 2009

31 12 2009

As strange as it is to say, 2009 is over.

As the bookend of the first decade of the new millennium, this year has come to represent the changing scope of the 2000s.  Technology, as it always seems to, has reached soaring heights.  But as the man who created the most revolutionary of these advancements this year, James Cameron, said in an interview with Newsweek, “Filmmaking is not going to ever fundamentally change. It’s about storytelling. It’s about humans playing humans. It’s about close-ups of actors. It’s about those actors somehow saying the words and playing the moment in a way that gets in contact with the audience’s hearts. I don’t think that changes.”

With that in mind, I celebrate 2009 for all the incredible stories that enchanted me as only cinema can with my top 10 list.

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Oscar Moment: First Predictions!

1 12 2009

I’ve held off as long as I could on issuing my predictions, but now I simply cannot wait.  It is December and Oscar season is about to kick into high gear.

Don’t fret if you haven’t heard of some of these movies.  You will soon.  The National Board of Review, the first precursor that deserves to be taken seriously, issues its list this week.  Critics circles from all over the country will begin to put forth their lists, and then we get the Golden Globe nominations on December 17th.

So, without further ado, here’s my first stab at predictions.

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