First I need to apologize to Fernando of Committed to Celluloid because it has taken me so long to complete this. He tagged me in his post (check it out) a while ago, and as much as I love these “getting to know you” posts, and I do very much, this is the first chance I’ve had to answer his questions. The rules of this game are similar to the Liebster, with a couple variations.

1. Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.
2. They must also answer the 11 questions the ‘tagger’ has set for them.
3. They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.
4. They must then choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers and tag them in their post.
5. These lucky bloggers must then be told.
6. There are no tag backs. 😉

11 (random, mostly movie-related) things about me:

1. I create the banners for this blog based on astrology. I choose Old Hollywood or contemporary actors or actresses for each sun sign. At the moment it’s contemporary Scorpio actors; the previous one was Old Hollywood Virgo actresses.
2. So far, my Best Movies of 2012 list includes Looper, Argo, and Skyfall.
3. I have at least 15 books on my “To Read” list, but I don’t know when I’ll get to reading them, or even adding them to shelves on goodreads.
4. I’m very pleased that my favorite color, green, has made a fashion comeback and I can stock up. It doesn’t happen that often.
5. Insomnia is my blessing and my curse.
6. My DVR is constantly at 90% or more capacity and I often have to choose between deleting a movie I haven’t seen or not recording another.
7. We got SiriusXM satellite radio in February, and it has changed our lives. No more morning shows, endless commercials, or people talking over the beginnings or endings of songs. True, channel 2 has a morning show, but there are over 150 other channels that don’t. For that, I even tolerate them putting Madison on TWO separate channels. Do I need SiriusXM? No, but I think it’s right up there with internet connection as the item I would miss the most. PS: To Ford Motor Company — Good job! Free samples really do work.
8. My favorite bands that were new to me in 2012 are The Naked and Famous, Cults, Crystal Fighters, Myths, and Grimes.
9. One of my favorite little things in life is finding a Where’s George? dollar bill.
10. Courtesy of Moxie Reviews, I recently found out that super-value-priced cosmetics brands Milani and Pixi are cruelty-free. Wet n Wild is of course as well. For the vintage shopper, check out Bésame Cosmetics — I love the 1930s and ’40s formulations and cases.
11. Daniel Craig is still my favorite James Bond, because he’s most like the Bond in the books. For a great analysis of the Bond books vs. movies, check out these two posts at Flix Chatter:   Part 1  |   Part 2

Questions from Fernando:

1. Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter? Any of the above except Winter. I really should move.
2. Fruit juice or fruit-flavored soda? Fruit juice. I try to stick with water and stay away from soda because it’s pretty harmful.
3. Modern Family, Parks & Recreation or Community? I really don’t watch TV that much, but I’ll say Community cos I’ve seen three episodes of it and it was pretty funny.
4. Britney or Christina? Forced to choose, I’d pick Christina. Otherwise, Adele.
5. Luke or Owen or Andrew Wilson? Owen. Midnight In Paris, you all.
6. Francis Ford or Sofia Coppola? Oh man, what a question. Both are geniuses, particularly with use of sound. If I choose FFC, I deny my love for The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette. If I choose Sofia, I go against 40 years of film criticism, The Godfather films, The Conversation, and Peggy Sue Got Married. I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me….I’ll probably still step on some toes.
7. Christmas or Halloween? I just slightly prefer Halloween. I think these two are the best holidays for movie fans though.
8. Drama or comedy? Comedy. Drama affects me too much.
9. Dogs or cats? Both. We had both until a few weeks ago.
10. Digital media or print media? Both. I design both.
11. Beatles or Stones? The Beatles.

And now….my 11 questions (with apologies to Bernard Pivot):

1. What is your favorite winter-holiday-related movie? Do you go traditional (It’s A Wonderful Life), alternative (Die Hard) or both?
2. James Bond or Jason Bourne?
3. What prop from which movie do you wish you had?
4. What film from this year really surprised you, in either plot or quality? (If none, name one from another year.)
5. “The TV show I never miss is…”
6. “_____________ is really overrated.”
7. What film never fails to make you laugh?
8. What film never fails to make you cry?
9. What movie character are you most like?
10. 3-D movies, bonus or bane?
11. What occupation other than your own would you like to attempt?

As for the 11 bloggers…Like I said, I love getting-to-know-you posts but I know some people don’t. So instead of tagging 11 people, I am inviting anyone reading this to answer any or all of my questions in the comments.

Happy Holidays!

It is my honor that Iba from I Luv Cinema tagged me with a 7 x 7 Link award. Due to continuous chaos and a sick doggie, I haven’t been able to respond until now. Similar to the Liebster Award, it’s a “get to know you” award. I love these!

The 7 x 7 Award highlights a blogger’s favourite pieces of work and is passed on to others so that they too can do the same as a way to promote posts and/or blogs.

Unlike the Liebster, the questions do not vary, but like the Liebster, some are more difficult than others. So here we go.

1.Tell everyone something that no one else knows about you.
I don’t think I’ve told very many people why I don’t like camping. By “camping” I mean, sleeping in a tent, not a cabin or a camper, and cooking your meals over a fire. My parents were really into it but it was never something I liked. Then I nearly drowned on a canoe trip in the Canadian wilderness, and that pretty much sealed the deal. Canoeing isn’t my favorite thing either.

2. Link to one of the posts that I think best fits the following categories:

a. Most beautiful piece: I don’t know! I think it’s The Best Picture Project: THE APARTMENT (1960).

b. Most helpful piece: The post that I find most helpful to refer back to is The Artist: Homages, tributes & shoutouts. Not only is it a record of all the details noticed by myself and others, it also shows me how very much I have to learn about silent films. I hope other people find it helpful too.

c. Most popular piece: Future Classic Movies Blogathon MEGA POST. The Future Classic Movies (FCM) Blogathon involves predicting films made in 2000 or after that will still be drawing audiences on TV, or a chip in our brains, or whatever form of communication exists, 30 or 40 years from now. These will be as old then as the ones we watch on TCM now. And my pick for the inaugural FCM blogathon…well, have I mentioned how much I like The Artist?

d. Most controversial piece: I don’t have too many controversial opinions (about movies anyway), but there’s no question that my pick for Future Classic Movies, Round 2, Moneyball, did not meet with unanimous, or even minimal, approval. I just saw it again, and I stand by my choice 100%.

e. Surprisingly successful piece: That would be Dana Andrews Blogathon: BOOMERANG! I didn’t think this would be one of my most-read posts but I’m happy that it is because I think Andrews is really underrated and more people should see his lesser-known work.

f. Most underrated piece: I don’t know about underrated, but my movie typography posts on Espionage Agent and My Man Godfrey are two of my least-read posts.

g. Most pride-worthy piece: Who’s The Boss? Ida Lupino. This was a really spontaneously-written post prompted by research I was doing for TCM Party, the live tweet I run. I think it’s one of my better-written pieces; it seems to flow well, and I managed to cite all my sources.

3. Pass this award on to seven other bloggers:

UPDATE: Here are my nominees for the 7 x 7:

R.A. –  Silver Screenings
Stephen – Classic Movie Man
Eric – The Warning Sign
Kristen – Journeys In Classic Film
Lindsey – The Motion Pictures
PG – PG Cooper’s Movie Reviews
Karen – Shadows and Satin

If by some chance, you’ve already gotten a 7 x 7 that I missed, please feel free to pass it along to the deserving blogger of your choice 🙂

I’d also like to highlight some previous winners’ 7 x 7 posts:

Andina – Inspired Ground
Iba – I Luv Cinema
Ruth – Flix Chatter
Michael – It Rains… You Get Wet

I wasn’t sure what I was going to be able to really do with this post because I’ve only seen The Dark Knight Rises once, and I believe that it, like all the other Christopher Nolan films, will improve on further viewing. Plus, I’m never a fan of spoilers and if you’ve managed to avoid them this long, you may have the increasingly rare experience of actually being surprised while watching a Hollywood film. So in the grand(?) tradition of a good Powerpoint slide, all I have for you at this point is notes toward a later review.

Although it’s not all action all the time, this film is extremely intense for most of the two hours and 45 minute running time. Nolan knows how to pump up the adrenaline; one of his most effective tools is Hans Zimmer’s score. The first part of the film (until Bruce Wayne makes his entrance) is deceptively slow; I believe this is Nolan’s way of telling the audience to pay extra attention to this introductory bit.

Nolan stated in the clip above that he wanted to make the scale of TDKR larger, more like a disaster movie or a silent film, and he definitely achieved that. But the film also works on a personal level. The acting, from both the returning cast and the new faces, is uniformly great.

Anne Hathaway makes Selina Kyle/Catwoman an entirely believable ethically-challenged 21st century woman, yet I thought I saw in her performance (and her look) an Old Hollywood grace imparted by her study of Hedy Lamarr (one of Batman creator Bob Kane’s inspirations for the character).

I have special affection for Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon. His interactions with Joseph Gordon-Levitt recall the best cop movies of the ’70s and ’80s.

Much has been made of the muffled nature of Bane’s verbal communication; however, as my mother always used to say, actions speak louder than words. I’ve read in other reviews that Bane could have been played by any big guy who can fight. I disagree. Though his words are at times unintelligible through the heavy-duty mask, Tom Hardy manages to give Bane a relaxed bearing, with a sort of Jamaican-sounding accent. His casual manner makes his brutal actions that much scarier.

Gordon-Levitt’s and Marion Cotillard’s roles were pleasant surprises — I think I thought they’d just have cameos. Both are excellent, though Gordon-Levitt has a larger role. JGL and Hathaway threaten to steal the entire movie and divvy it up between them. Perhaps they will get their own.

Nolan continues the thievery/pickpocketing motif he began so entertainingly with Inception. That’s all I will say at this point.

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