The D Is Silent, Hillbilly

I didn't make it in time to the theater to see "Django Unchained" after work on Thursday as planned, because of an accident on the freeway.  Stupid other drivers.  But I did make it just in time on Friday night, even with the showtime being 10 minutes earlier.  Yay, me!

• Just like with other Tarantino films, there is a LOT of blood.  I'm used to that by now.
• I'm also used to the fact that I dread the bloody scenes, but QT really is talented, and I like what he's done here with his version of a Western...errr, Southern.
• I'm convinced that Christoph Waltz needs to be in all of QT's films.  He does an amazing job here, as he did in "Inglorious Bastards".  His Oscar nomination is well-deserved.  I mean, I even love the way he would fix his facial hair.
• Tom Wopat?!  That's who that was? No wonder he looked familiar.  Don Johnson, too.  Hey, that's Amber Tamblyn in the window.  I didn't catch her dad, though.  I love that Tarantino loves his pop culture idols.
• "You mean, you wanna dress like that?"
• The scene with the white bags was hilarious! "No, nobody brought an extra bag!"
• Dude, Leo, you are not a good dude in this movie.  
• "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself."
• Also, I think this is the first movie wherein I actually hated Samuel L. Jackson's theater.  What an a- hole.
• "Alexandre Dumas is black."  Loved the reaction.
• So, um, I guess that I've now seen Jamie Foxx's man parts.
• I like this soundtrack!
• I knew it!  According to Quentin at Comic-con, Broomhilda's last name is a reference to "Shaft".

This movie is not for the squeamish, but I liked it.  I could watch that white bag scene many times.  That and listen to Waltz recite all of his lines.

C'est Vrai

I saw "Amour" at the Laemmle theater as part of my quest to see all of this year's Oscar Best Picture nominees.  Since the film isn't being shown in very many theaters, there were quite a few people there to see it, and I arrived just in time, so I sat in the second row.

• Sometimes I try not to read the subtitles when I'm watching something in another language.  I didn't need to read for all of the film, but there were a lot of words that I didn't know or didn't remember.  I need to brush up on my French.
• The film opens with the end of the story, so I'm glad that I was on time, or I wouldn't actually know what was happens since they didn't show it again at the end of the film.
• I liked the banter between the two leads (before she was too ill to speak, of course).  Just like an old married couple should be: sweet and  funny.
• I'm guessing that he's the cook, because he still kept eating pretty well after she got sick.  Then I thought of French cooking and got hungry, crazily wishing my popcorn would be replaced by haricots verts.  That would be messy, though, since I didn't have a fork.
• Ohhhhh...she was a piano teacher.
• So....what did he do with that last pigeon?
• Where did he go when he walked out the door at the end?
• I felt like she was selfish for not allowing him to take her to a hospital or a nursing home.  But his devotion to her was incredible.  It made me wonder about my parents.  I know that my mother would not want my dad to take care of her like that, but if he needed to, he would.  And here I am, crying again.  It's like his story about seeing a film and not crying about it until he told someone about it later.
• A woman arrived late to the movie and sat 2 seats away from me.  She had mannerisms that annoyed me (they were mostly audible mannerisms), and afterward, she felt compelled to tell me that this is why she loved French films: because they are so real.  Ergo, the title of this post.  
• I can see why both Trintignant and Riva are so beloved in France.  Wonderful acting.

The Obsession That Started It All

My friend Cindy gave me the book "New Kids On The Block: Five Brothers and a Million Sisters", the authorized biography by Nikki Van Noy.  Thanks, Cindy!

I finished reading the book this morning, and I really liked it because it told the story from the guys' points of view, as well as from that of the fans.  I wasn't as young as most of the NKOTB fans were when they got big.  I'm about their age, less than 5 years older than them, so my experience wasn't like a lot of the other fans whom were going through adolescence at the height of the madness, but I was still obsessed.  Many of them looked at NKOTB as the escape from whatever was wrong at school or at home.  I was done with college, so I could drive myself to venues and not look as obvious when I was stalking...er...looking forward to running into them somewhere.  I bought the teenybopper magazines with money I earned while they used their allowance.  It was different, but my level of obsession was just as crazy.  They screamed at decibels higher than what many animals can hear, and I had my alto-flavored "whoo!". Oh, Mercedes.  Such memories we had, girl.  I wonder if you think of me whenever you hear about NKOTB these days, like I think of you, wherever you are.

When NKOTB made their comeback, the fans got to feel young again, scream again, and cry tears of joy again.  Now all of us are 20 years older, and the guys are more accessible, and they've gotten to know a lot of their loyal fans.  

As I was reading, I thought of Rockapella and how thankful I am that I've been able to talk to them (kinda) at the beginning of my fandom, or at least when I started following them around to different venues.  I remember telling Barry once that I hope they never get so big that we don't get to talk to them, and he said that he felt the same way.  I'm at the point now (and I'm sure a lot of the diehards are) that I'm confident that even if Rockapella became huge, they'd still remember me and wave from the stage and smile.  But NKOTB is such a worldwide phenomenon that I'm amazed at how they remember a lot of their fans and know their stories and have reached the same intimacy that we Rockapella fans have with our guys.  It's been a lot more difficult for NKOTB because they were mobbed so much, and I admire how they all still tried to get to know their fans by reaching out to them, before at meet and greets at the malls, and now through Twitter and Facebook and their VIP tickets.  (Actually, they interact more with their fans on the social sites more than Rockapella does).

It also interested me that many of the NKOTB fans have gotten to know each other through the years and have become lifelong friends because of the group.  That sounds very familiar.  I wouldn't know some of my wonderful-est friends today if not for the Pella.  Our mutual love for the guys has allowed us to be crazy together, to cry together (in happiness and sorrow), and to have memorable trips that I'll cherish forever.  I know that the Rockapella fan community is minuscule as compared to the Blockheads, but the parallels are intriguing to me.  

I'll be seeing NKOTB in July, and I'm even thinking of seeing them twice because they've added a show in the area, but I won't go the VIP route, because that kind of money goes toward Rockapella shows.  :)  I'm excited to see them and Boyz II Men.  I'm ambivalent toward 98 Degrees, as I was toward Backstreet Boys, which is why I didn't go to the last tour, but I'm really excited about the B2M thing.  I have a much longer wait before I see Rockapella, and it makes me crazy.  But at least when I see them, I'll have a better chance at talking to them and spending time with them in my own PellaPusher way.  Until then, I'll keep myself preoccupied with my first 5-guy obsession.  And at least I'll still get to see my Posse a few times before then, too.