RIP Karen Black

I found out earlier today, while watching the news, that Karen Black passed away. She died after a long battle with cancer and she was 74 years old. I watched Burnt Offerings (1976) for the first time last October. She was amazing in that movie, a perfectly eerie performance. I need to check out more of her movies. Rest in peace, Karen, thanks for the awesome horror movie.

Emmy Nominations: What Shows are Worth Watching

Television is currently split between absolutely outstanding or incredibly awful (reality television). The Emmy nominations have done a fantastic job of showing what shows are worth watching. The show I'm most excited for is American Horror Story: Asylum, which is nominated in the Outstanding Miniseries or Movie category. The show is so well done, perfect casting choices, interesting stories, sick twists and turns, and marvelously entertaining. The actors who were nominated from the show, Jessica Lange, James Cromwell, Zachary Quinto and Sarah Paulson, were brilliant. It would have been nice if Lily Rabe was nominated, I think she deserved it for her role as Sister Mary Eunice, the nun who was possessed by a demon. Evan Peters is amazing as well, but I think his character wasn't as interesting this season compared to the previous season. I hope American Horror Story: Coven lives up to my very high expectations, given the old and new cast additions and fantastic first and second seasons.

I really hope that Jon Hamm finally wins an Emmy for his role as Don Draper. Mad Men really stepped up its game again with this past season. I couldn't get enough of it. I am going to be sad when the final season starts.

I hope that Claire Danes wins the Emmy as Carrie Mathison in Homeland. That cry face deserves to win every award out there. I love Damian Lewis, but it's time for Jon Hamm! Wouldn't mind having Mandy Patinkin win the Emmy, but I'm torn because I love both Peter Dinklage and Aaron Paul, as well. Maybe there will be a tie? Is that allowed?

The shows that I think are the best are: Mad Men, Homeland, American Horror Story: Asylum, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones. I haven't watched a lot of House of Cards, but from what I have watched so far, it's really well done. When isn't Kevin Spacey incredible? The comedy shows are good, but I'm not that into any of them right now. I enjoy Modern Family, but it seems to be running out of good material compared to other seasons. I have not watched Louie or Veep, but I would like to check them out. Girls is funny, but I haven't finished season 2. I am sick of the Big Bang Theory. I loved 30 Rock for a few seasons, but stopped watching it regularly due to my accounting class schedule. Drama and Miniseries have stolen my affection when it comes to being entertained.

Filming in the Chi

I love the city that I live in! It has given me the opportunity to see different films and television shows filming almost every single summer that I've lived downtown. I just finished watching Channing Tatum film a small stunt for his upcoming film Jupiter Ascending, directed by the Wachowski siblings. It was super exciting! I watched his stunt double do some very impressive stunts this past weekend and I also saw Mila Kunis. Sean Bean is also in this film and I would love to see him! Ned Stark is one of my favorite characters from Game of Thrones and he played him perfectly! Wouldn't mind seeing Eddie Redmayne either.

Past movies that I've seen being filmed here include The Dark Knight (2008) and Public Enemies (2009). During the Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan was so cool, he allowed a bunch of fans to watch scenes and take pictures, as long as they didn't use flash. I met Gary Oldman that day, which was so fun! He was so nice and I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and he gave me an autograph. He signed it Gary Oldman and Sirius with a little paw print. I wish that I could have met or at least seen Heath Ledger.

I didn't get to see Christian Bale until he was filming Public Enemies, which was surreal. He was standing there before they shot the Dillinger death scene. The whole street had been transformed to look like old Chicago, so cool. He is so handsome! I also saw Johnny Depp and I about died because he was riding in the back of one of those Suburban's with the tinted windows, rolled the window down, stuck his head out, and waved to all of us with a huge smile on his face. Oh, Johnny, I will never forget that!

I've seen some other films and television shows filming, but the above have been my favorites so far!

RIP Cory Monteith

My heart sunk around 1:20 AM last night when I was checking my Twitter. At first, I thought some immature, sick person started it as a rumor. I think I was just hoping it was, but went over to IMDB to confirm. I felt terrible when I read it and I am still having a hard time with it now. Not because he was an actor, I honestly only watched the first season and the half of the second season of Glee, but I did follow him on Twitter. What upset me is how young he was, how he had been struggling with drugs and had tried to get clean, and that he genuinely seemed like a nice, loving guy. My heart and prayers go out to Cory's family, friends, and everyone whose life he touched. Rest in Peace, Cory.

Bloglovin: New Way to Follow

So, I probably should have done this sooner, but now is better than never. Google Reader is going bye-bye tomorrow. Bloglovin is a new way for you to follow, so you can either click the following link: Follow my blog with Bloglovin or click the button to the right labeled: Follow this blog with bloglovin. Thank you all for your continued support, even though I haven't been updating that regularly! It means a lot to me. Thank you!

Monsters University: Pixar Continues to Impress

Pixar is beyond incredible. They churn out amazing films year after year. What really impresses me about Pixar is how much emotion their films, including their sequels (and now prequels) and their short animations, convey. The short before Monster's University was so sweet. It follows around a blue umbrella and the events 'he' goes through during a rainy day. There are two little love stories wrapped up in it, too. It reminds me a lot of The Red Balloon 'Le ballon rouge' (1956). Two beautiful short films. I've inserted a little clip of The Blue Umbrella for your viewing pleasure.

I absolutely loved Monsters University. It was humorous, insanely adorable, and very well done in all aspects of animation and film in general. Pixar has a way of inputting little jokes that adults will get, but the kids won't, which is why I think Pixar movies are enjoyed by every age group. I was entertained throughout the entire movie. A lot of little kids would start roaring like the monsters when the monsters were practicing their scare tactics. It was so funny! 

If you have not seen Monsters University yet, what are you waiting for! You aren't going to want to miss seeing this one on the big-screen. 

Long Time

I have been so busy lately that I haven't been able to post hardly at all. I miss writing on my blog! I have been working two jobs and taking accounting courses to be eligible to sit for the CPA exam. That doesn't mean that I haven't been feeding my movie/Netflix addiction. I've now realized that I may be on my way to becoming a Trekkie because of how much I enjoyed Star Trek Into Darkness so much. That led me to watch Star Trek (2009) and I liked that as well. I do not consider myself a true Trekkie because I still have not seen any of the original movies. I'm probably one old-school Star Trek movie away from it!

Besides being an almost Trekkie, I have currently been obsessing over my favorite 80's movies. I have recently watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) and Back to the Future (1985) on the big screen. I'm so excited that I had the opportunity to see these movies on the big screen. I knew I was missing out! I bet it was awesome seeing these movies when they first came out, which is why I am still jealous of those who were able to see it then. They don't make movies like that anymore, especially not like Back to the Future. The theatre was packed with people still wanting to see it on the big screen.

The theatre was also playing The Breakfast Club (1985), which I was not able to see. That's another favorite of mine, so maybe they'll be playing it again some other time. Dirty Dancing is going to be playing there, too! I hope that I can make it to that! I wish they'd show more 80s, especially Stand by Me (1986), E.T. (1982), and Heathers (1988).