Elevenses (Liebster Award)

Today, it's time to respond to an award from a fellow blogger! Dan Heaton from Public Transportation Snob has generously passed along the Liebster Award, which asks each recipient to respond to a series of questions. You all know Dan as that massively entertaining guy whose posts are almost always themed and attacks a subject en masse. His current marathon theme is International Gangsters and started with a bang thanks to a great review of French flick A Prophet. I've since received the award twice more, the incredibly beautiful blog Love & Squalor and everyone's favourite film maker blog And So It Begins were also kind enough to pass on the love.

I'm giving it a go, but by this point there can't be many blogs left to pass it on to. If any of you fine readers feel like answering any one of the 11 questions I pose at the end feel free to leave it in the comments, I'm sure it'll be fascinating.

Here are the rules for the Liebster Award:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the 11 questions the person giving the award has set for you.
3. Create 11 questions for the people you will be giving the award to.
4. Choose 11 people to award and send them a link to your post.
5. Go to their page and tell them.
6. NO TAG BACKS


Eleven Random Things About blahblahblahToby

1. Currently enjoys his lack of employment way too much for it to be healthy and can be found most days laying on the sofa reading.

2. Wishes he was still a 21 year old hipster and dresses like it.

3. If he were to have a fight with any character from The Dark Knight Rises it'd be Bruce Wayne becaue he has a gimpy leg.

4. Has an addictive personality and is currently working on filling his apartment with books so that one day they might topple over and crush him - death by book porn?

5. Is endlessly procrastinating, never finishes anything and allows each new creative idea to push the current one aside.

6. Once dreamed of being a lawyer because he'd read too much John Grisham at a young age but Theodore Boone got there first. There's a reason Disney hasn't made a movie about lawyers you know.

7. Has noticed that any picture relating to Harry Potter or Disney gets more page views than anything else he's posted and is not ashamed of using that fact to boost his blogs stats.

8. Would have answered Maura Tierney to any question relating to picking an actress for anything until relatively recently and is sad that her career never really got going on the big screen before getting stuck on ER.

9. Loves the writing of Megan Abbott and the depressing yet true, shocking story of Barbara Payton, Franchot Tone and Tom Neal that features in the background of her novel The Song Is You.

10. Still considers becoming a professional football manager because a) he loves the sport and b) he's excellent at the Sports Interactive game Football Manager.

11. Enjoys comparing movie love affairs to his own life because his own life always seems perfect in comparison.


Eleven Questions From Dan 
 
1. What's the best movie of 2012 so far?

 

OK, so according to letterboxd I've seen eighteen movies released in 2012. The one I enjoyed the most has got to be Chronicle. I expected so little from the (relatively) small budgeted sci-fi thriller but director Josh Trank provided so much. It was a real pleasure to watch a good idea turned in to a highly enjoyable movie thanks to the talent of a new director, especially when it would have been so easy to make it generic and derivitive and a horrible mishmash of pop culture.

2. What's the worst movie of 2012 so far?

The Dark Knight Rises. Simply for how disappointed I was. It's not anywhere near as bad as John Carter in reality but then DKR provided my worst experience of a movie.

3.What is your favorite band or artist?

The Decemberists win this one hands down at the moment and for the past few years. Just taking a look at my all time plays on last.fm will tell you that I've played The Decemberists 8 times more than anyone else. Colin Meloy has a wonderful voice and he's a fantastic storyteller. He even writes kids books.

4. What's your opinion on singing karaoke?
Never. No way. You can't make me.
One of my most horrifying formative experiences is as a ten year old being left on stage by my sister to sing a song I'd never heard of n front of hundreds of people. Even now I wince at the thought of it and my heart is racing from the terror.

5. Spike Lee: Overrated or underrated?

When he's on form there's nobody better than Lee but he's his own worst enemy with some of the terrible films he's made, but then so is Woody Allen and he married his own daughter. At least Spike Lee's only apparent crime in the eyes of Hollywood is that he's black.

6. Although he won't admit it, does Tommy Wiseau realize that The Room is terrible?
Oh. I certainly hope so. Can you imagine the state of that guys mind if he didn't? But admitting so would cook the golden goose and he'd never be able to attend screenings as a superstar.

7. Beyond movies, what is your area of expertise for a trivia team?

Arsenal Football Club. Somehow this is what my brain is wasted on and why I identify so readily with Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch.

8. What's your favorite brand of cereal?

No cereal required when you live in the land of Vegemite on toast.
If we're ever out for breakfast and I don't feel like eggs I will however have the bircher muesli.

9. Is The Tree of Life a brilliant movie, a self-indulgent mess, or somewhere in between?
I haven't seen it yet, it's long. I am lengthist.

10. Are you excited about the Olympics? If so, which competitions?
I haven't cared about the Olympics since 1992, I don't even care about the fact that Great Britain has a football team entered this time around. It's not real football.

11. What's the last movie that you watched?
Bill Cunningham, New York

Who's Next? - Eleven Blogs That Deserve Your Attention
These 11 bloggers are all doing amazing work and deserve your attention. For that reason, they get the dubious pleasure of answering some essential questions. The "winners" are:
Cinemanarcs
Cinematic Spectacle
Can You Dig It?(feminisingfilm)
Defiant Success
Brian vs. Movies
Blondoner
What Indie Nights?
The Great Movie Project
Dangerous Dans Bookblog
OCD Viewer
Split Reel(This is me cheating because she's taken a break)



What I Really Really Want To Know Is: (Eleven Questions Paid Forward)
1. If the events of Purple Rose of Cairo could really happen, which movie character would you want to walk off of the screen in to your miserable little life?
2. If you were marooned on another planet with a limited space hard drive on your solar powered Macbook Pro (I'm sure Steve Jobs had them working on this before he died) what three movies would you like to have in your videos folder?
3. Is reading 50 Shades of Grey on public transport a badge of pride, a cry for help, a statement of sexual dissatisfaction or a label that screams "easily led by media fads"?
4. If you had to live in the world of crime fiction would you prefer to be in an Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler or Steig Larsson book?
5. You're stranded for 227 days in a boat with one animal, do you think a Bengal Tiger would eat you?
6. What superhero franchise would you give a dark and depressing Batman style reboot to on the big screen?
7. Gotham Central is a series of comic books about the lives of the gotham City Police Department and Death Comes To Pemberley is a detective novel set in the world of Pride & Prejudice, what fictional world would you like to see turned in to crime fiction and what type would it be?
8. Mint, Sage, Rosemary and Cinnamon, what flavour would you choose for your old fashioned tooth powder recipe?
9. You're tasked with programming an independant film festival, what genre do you focus on? Documentary, Horror, Anime, Martial Arts or World Cinema?
10. Witches, burn them at the stake or dunk them in the lake?
11. Which city in Europe would you most like to visit during the 2012 London Olympics?

Top Tens: Movie Bookshops

I was laying bed last night and the idea for this post just jumped in to my head. Sadly this meant I had to get up and make some notes. For a (former) book dealer this should have been an obvious post a long time ago but I was trying to avoid my other love - movies and books shouldn't mix, I wish somebody would tell Hollywood!

A little google will bring up several other similar lists it seems and incredibly the initial four scenes I thought of were on these lists. Fresh ideas were needed otherwise what's the point? This required my superb memory (and asking Leah for help.)



10. When Harry Met Sally... (1989) Dir. Rob Reiner

One of my favourite movies from when I first started watching film, the mid 90's provided me with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan on one of only three VHS tapes in the house, lucky it was so funny and sweet and actually interesting to a teenaged boy.

The bookshop scene is the moment when Harry and Sally meet for the first time in years and actually start to become friends, so in the scheme of things it's a pretty important moment and has a few laughs, including visual humour such as being in PERSONAL GROWTH, I don't think I'll have what he's having.

9. Annie Hall (1977) Dir. Woody Allen

The Oscar winning film from master film maker Woody Allen, showcased the darker and the softer sides of the (at the time) renowned comedian features a memorable scene in which he introduces Diane Keaton to the pessimistic side of his personality. I'll let the clip speak for itself:

8. Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets (2002) Dir. Chris Columbus

I believe the shop is called Flourish and Blotts, which is a terrible name for a bookshop in my opinion. But it does have a lot of books, look at them all piled up everywhere, the sign of a book lovers dream come true. The great thing about the scene from this movie rather than when we return in later instalments is that it's the first appearance of my favourite character/performance of all 8 movies, Kenneth Brannagh as Gilderoy Lockhart.

7. Notting Hill (1999) Dir. Roger Michell

I can't help but enjoy Hugh Grant, the fact that he almost always plays the same character doesn't bother me because ever since I saw Four Weddings I've felt like I identified with his bumbling Englishness. Notting Hill is a nice movie, despite Julia Roberts and her giant face, it has a fair few laughs and a famous travel book shop that no longer exists apparently. I will not hold the fact that it is merely a travel specialist shop against it as the following scene contains several things that have happened in Elizabeth's bookshop in the past year or so; an unexpected celebrity arrival (see blahblahblahloves Emma Thompson for full anecdote,) the bookseller (me) making a fool of himself/the customer choosing to ignore the bookseller's intelligent recommendation, the removal of a book from a thiefs underwear (see review of Jen Campbell's book Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops for full anecdote,) and Dylan Moran. My friend Chloe returned from the little girls room to find a shop empty except for Bernard Black himself sitting behind the counter and she promptly freaked him out by hugging him. Go Chloe! Yes, we were all very jealous of her fortuitous bathroom break.

6. Before Sunset (2004) Dir. Richard Linklater

The beautiful sequel to Richard Linklater's brilliant Before Sunrise, this time in Paris, who could resist? The bookshop in question is none other than world famous, in real life, Shakespeare & Co. of Paris. The same bookshop seen in Woody Allen's recent charmer Midnight In Paris infact. The scene in question is the moment the pair of lovers from the Before Sunrise are reunited after nine years as Ethan Hawke is giving a reading from his autobiographical novel based on his experience of the first movie. The bookshop is important to the scene which in turn is important to the movie and Shakespeare & Co. should get at least one mention don't you think?

For lovers of Paris on film I also highly recommend Julie Delpy's directorial debut Two Days In Paris which co-stars the excellent Adam Goldberg.


5. Funny Face (1957) Dir. Stanley Donen

Things to know about Funny Face: Audrey Hepburn is the most beautiful bookseller I've ever seen. Fred Astaire is creepy looking and the relationship between the two of them is massively off-putting. The film itself is bizarre and features an even stranger 'bohemian dance sequence' in a Paris nightclub. The bookshop has a wonderfully ancient feel to it, despite the exceedingly cinematic spiral staircase, who wouldn't want to climb up those rickety old wodden steps to find the rare first edition of Graham Greene's first novel that was never reprinted with an incorrect price tag?

4. Ministry of Fear (1944) Dir. Fritz Lang

It was an OK adaptation, filled with some brilliant cinematography and featuring a crazed Nazi bookseller. There's always a place for Fritz Lang and noir here on blahblahblahgay. Check out the full review from our noir-a-thon.


3. Easy A (2010) Dir. Will Gluck

Emma Stone didn't win the Oscar, you may call me crazy but I would suggest that she should have. The bookshop in question is in real life the world's largest outdoor(!) bookshop Bart's Books and was privileged to find itself playing host to the following Q&A with the girl with the pocketful of sunshine:

• Olive Penderghast: Do you have a religion section?
• Bookstore guy: It's right over there. Can I help you with something?
• Olive Penderghast: The Bible.
• Bookstore guy: That's in bestsellers, right next to Twilight.

2. Beauty and the Beast (1991) Dir. Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise

It was Leah's major contribution to the post, personally I don't remember the scene but she assures me it is a major contributor to what people of our generation think of when they consider the typical antiquarian bookshop, especially those ladders on wheels.

1. The Big Sleep (1946) Dir. Howard Hawks

Phillip Marlowe at his best as played by Humphrey Bogart in this classic adaptation of Raymond Chandler's noverl. It actually features two bookshops across from each other. One the hideout for an illicit operation, the other an excuse for Marlowe to pass time with the bookish girl, ridding her of the unattractive glasses and ponytail and proving that She's All That had some noir class at it's core.

EDIT: The first comment caught me short, I realised the post wasn't actually finished. The pleasure of having put the list together seems to have caused a brainfart.

I should mention that I discounted Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind despite the creepiness of Elijah Wood in Barnes & Noble and Serendipity because it was just plain dull as far as movies go. And as for the following question just what the hell did I forget? Alan has got a head start, feel free to leave your complaints in the blahs.

The Week In Movies 25/7/11 - 31/7/11

I spent the best part of this week either in bed with manflu throatyitis or forcing myself to go back to work due to the manflu throatyitis epidemic that has swept Perth leaving our stores massively understaffed. These two states combined to leave me viewing a measly four movies this week.

I've been quite looking forward to Scream 4 for a while, the problem being that Leah just won't watch horror movies and so I have to find time to watch alone. I know the majority of people disliked it and my expectations were pretty low after Scream 3 stinking up my screen as it did but I give it at least one thumb up. Kevin Williamson's script was so much fun but the scariest thing about the movie was Courtney Cox's plastic surgery/botox leaving her looking more like Ghostface than the actual mask. Whether it was the script not containing too many horror elements for Craven to play up or just that Craven put in a half assed job and forgot that the film was supposed to be scary I'm not sure.

And then it ended. I didn't write a review, everyone else did and I apologise to you all for not reading them yet but I wanted to know nothing about the final Harry Potter movie. I hadn't read any of the books and have lived this story solely through the 8 films. What's to be said? I'm glad it's over. I remember find the first 4 quite magical, all of them featuring moments that gave me that seeing the dinosaurs for the first time in Jurassic Park feeling but the longer the series went on the less there was. I am blaming David Yates. This one was a billion times better than the snorefest that 7.1 was though. Leah tells me that the epilogue was actually in the book too. That was so unnecessary and for me detracted from the entire 8 movies.

The Smell of Success starring Billy Bob and David Duchovny's wife was directed by The Polish Brothers who created the quite bizarre and beautiful Northfork and it was another quite bizarre movie only this time not so beautiful and filled with many puns and word games all related to poo. This movie is about manure salesmen in the America in the 60's and yeah, not great but not terrible either.

Then I finally got my ass around to seeing Sonatine as part of the research in to my yakuza movie post. This was probably my favourite film of the week and the capsule review of it was submitted to Duke & The Movies new Sunday feature The Best Is Yet To Come, if you're not yet involved send him some words quick smart like.

blah me blah me blah me baby til I lose control.