Criterion Collection Blogathon

John over at John Likes Movies is having a Criterion Collection Blogathon! The blogathon will be running all the way until Labor Day, which falls on September 5th this year. The blogger who submits the most Criterion reviews, as well as the person who refers the most people to the blogathon itself, will win a regularly priced Criterion DVD or Blu-Ray of his or her choice! To learn more about the blogathon and what Criterion films are out there, just go to John Likes Movies. If you decide to participate, please don't forget to mention that I (Kalli from Spectacular Cinema) sent you! Thanks and good luck!

Michael Jackson

Today marks the 2nd year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. The man was a legend! A musical genius! Fans all around the world are remembering him today. I listen to his music every single day and I never get sick of it. I'll be out and about this evening, since I'm going to some birthday parties. I'm sure that we'll hear a lot of Michael Jackson tonight!  

I stumbled across this fan video featuring some of Michael's best dance moves. I mean, what kind of fan would I be if I didn't include a video of him dancing?!

Pottermore!

J.K. Rowling has officially announced today what Pottermore is! It isn't a new book, but something new and kind of strange. It's a new interactive website where fans will be able to explore the magical world of Harry Potter in a more in depth and unique way. The site will also be the exclusive place where fans can go and purchase the entire Harry Potter series in e-book format. The website is meant for all fans of Harry Potter, young and old. J.K. Rowling herself will be joining her fans on the website. The site is not going to be launched until October of this year, however, one million lucky Potter fans are going to have a chance to gain early access to the site beginning July 31!

I'm very excited for the launch of this site! It seems like a lot of other fans are too because the site is currently going haywire with all the activity and e-mail submissions to the site. I'm sure that they'll fix this soon. I'm also excited about the series being available as e-books because I kind of hate lugging around the books, even the paper ones, because they are so bulky.

You can learn more about the wonders of Pottermore by watching the video below.

Happy Birthday: Billy Wilder!

I've had one of the craziest days of my life today. It was one strange event after the next. Billy Wilder would have found it hilarious. I can't go completely into my day on here because it was that insane. Basically, I had a very frightening plane ride, an extremely odd interview experience, random train ride with psychos, and an interesting encounter with an olympic ice skater that looked like Bam Bam (from the Flintstones!).

I'm going to try to watch some Wilder films tonight. Not sure which ones, but how can I not watch Some Like it Hot (1959), Sabrina (1954), The Apartment (1960), Avanti! (1972) and Sunset Boulevard (1950)? I'm obviously going to have to extend his birthday celebration to be able to watch all of these. Happy Birthday, Billy! Thanks for some of my favorite films of all time!

Yeah, yeah. I know Billy Wilder isn't in the picture, but he at least directed movie. I just love the picture because I want her outfit and Bill Holden looks so cute!

First Day of Summer!

I'm loving the hot weather that the Midwest is experiencing on the first official day of the summer! Now, if only it will continue to stay hot and humid, instead of windy, dreary, and cold. I'd love to be at the beach having fun like Ava Gardner and Burt Lancaster in the picture above. I'm pretty sure that I've used that picture before, but it's awesome, it should be shown more than one time. There is going to be a massive thunderstorm soon, so I won't be going to the beach today. I love thunderstorms, so I'm pretty excited!

For some reason, the first day of summer always makes me think of horror movies and The Parent Trap (1961). Maybe it has to do with camping or twins? The only creepy twins I can think of are from The Shining (1980), but Hayley Mills played twins that were funny and nice. Although, I am a bit frightened by how ghastly both of Hayley Mills' hairstyles looked in The Parent Trap; those were terrifyingly hideous. I hope all of you are enjoying the beginning of summer!

Harry Potter: Another Trailer and Pottermore!

I was on a train for 7 dreaded hours earlier today. The ride was meant to be 4 hours, but it suffered from several different delays that seemed unnecessary. Thankfully, all of us on the train eventually got to our destinations. During this time, I was frantically reading over Twitter to distract myself from being stuck on the train and I noticed that a new Harry Potter trailer had been released! I decided to wait to get home to watch it because I knew it would look much better on my computer than on my phone. I have posted the trailer below; it's simply amazing, enjoy.

Also, while I was reading over Twitter earlier this week, I had remembered reading several posts regarding Pottermore. What is Pottermore, you ask? Well, it's a new site that author J.K. Rowling has setup and she will be announcing something related to it in 6 more days, which is June 23rd! I'm desperately hoping that she's going to say that she has written another Potter related book, but I think that's just wishful super-fan thinking on my part. What else could Pottermore mean besides more Potter books? A new Potter amusement park? A new social networking site involving the Harry Potter world somehow? I just don't know!

Screen Fail

Sadly, the big screen that the park was going to put up had a problem, so they put up a much smaller screen. My friend and I decided to leave, since we were having a difficult time seeing the screen. It's all right though! I'm watching my DVD of North by Northwest instead. I can see it much better!

Cary Grant Day: Look Out! There's a Plane Chasing You!

Guess what movie I'm seeing later today! If you couldn't guess from the picture above, then today should be the day that you watch Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) because you're really missing out. I'm watching it in a park on the big screen for free! Cary Grant on the big screen is like heaven. I went to a film festival that was showing a newly restored North by Northwest and Martin Landau was the guest speaker. If you want to read about that experience, read this blog post that I wrote last year in April. I also talk about listening to Robert Osbourne from TCM and Eva Marie Saint discussing North by Northwest. I love the city I live in, free movies in multiple parks all summer long and amazing events all year round! 

When I get back from the movie, I'm going to watch some more Cary Grant movies. Not sure which ones, I'm feeling like Notorious (1946), The Philadelphia Story (1940), and Monkey Business (1952). Knowing me, I might change my mind and watch To Catch a Thief (1955), but you can't go wrong with any Cary Grant movie, can you?

Midwest Blues = Movie Time!

Midwest weather is crap! Crap, I say! The temperature has decreased by 40 degrees over the past few days.   I want the hot weather to return! Until then, I plan on staying inside for the majority of the past couple of days and watching movies. For some reason, the premium movie channels are all working. I think that's about the only exciting thing that the cold weather has brought along.

I'm watching How to Train Your Dragon (2010). This is my second time watching it. I love it! It's adorable and has beautiful animation. Toothless the dragon is my favorite! He looks so cute and cuddly! I feel like Hagrid from Harry Potter because I love dragons just about as much as he does.

I also plan on watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) later on, since it's Gene Wilder's birthday. I love this bizarre movie! It's brilliant and it's creepy. You've got to love the twisted mind of Roald Dahl. 

Happy Birthday: Tony Curtis

I'm going to miss Tony coming to show Some Like it Hot this year. It was a fun time. I can't believe he's gone. Happy Birthday, Tony!

Happy Birthday: Marilyn Monroe

Happy Birthday Norma Jeane Baker!! Marilyn would have been celebrating her 85th birthday today. She left behind a spectacular amount of amazing films. I'm keeping her memory alive by watching my favorite movie starring her, which is Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot (1959).  She's absolutely fantastic as Sugar!