Britain's Finest

*Under the words 'Britain's Finest' should probably not be a photo of Russell Brand, an ex-heroin addict who used to have sex with lots and lots of prostitutes. I don't care though, I love him!

Last weekend I watched a movie called American Dreamz, starring Dennis Quaid, Willem Dafoe and the dreadful Mandy Moore. I had this very detailed blog about my hatred of the movie which ended up not making sense, was horribly constructed (something I imagine that is very fixable) and I just deleted it because I was so frustrated, the movie ruined my life even after watching it. So to summarize, don't watch it! Other than Hugh Grant being in it, it's a total trainwreck, it's essentially a romantic comedy but it's laced with crass and unneccessary political satire. They try to cover too much material, it's the wrong genre and I have to disagree with the cover of the movie that says that the movie is 'Daring'. Although, it did get me thinking about people and their guilty pleasures. Some of mine are romantic comedies (anything with Hugh Grant, I just can't resist...), documentaries about people with weird habits, viral video shows (like the Soup or Tosh.0) and reality tv shows. Now when I say reality tv I don't mean competition shows like American Idol or Survivor, I mean shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Bridezillas, Jersey Shore, Teen Mom or Real Housewives of Orange County. I like watching the Human Condition, I like watching people in their "natural" environment, I can't explain why this is so enticing to me or why they are so popular. I can only think we like watching people live their lives out in front of us to ensure that we aren't crazy or maybe it's just pure escapism because whether their problems are worse/better than ours, they aren't our problems and it gives you a break from our lives. As much as people may speak down on reality tv, if I were given the opportunity to be paid a large amount of money to live my life in front of a camera I would absolutely do it! If the people on the shows choose to degrade or humiliate themselves that is their choice, but it's not going to keep me from watching. The next night I watched The Full Monty, one of the movies on my list, this movie was not what I expected at all, I was pleasantly surprised. I expected raunchy humor and a ton of nudity and it instead it was a sincere and heartfelt movie about a bunch of middle aged men who find themselves out of work and aspire to be male "Chippendale" strippers in order to make money. They have to hide this from their wives, learn how to dance and overcome their stagefright. "Anti wrinkle cream there may be, but anti fat bastard cream there is none." It is a great movie with an honest story and great acting and it just further confirms my love of all British entertainment. Seriously, from Harry Potter to Amy Winehouse, I love it all, I haven't ever seen or heard anything that I haven't liked.

Cheerio for now & happy viewing!!

I can't end a blog about British actors without a photo of Colin Firth =]

Just A Quickie

The reason I haven't blogged in awhile is because after watching The King's Speech I have been temporarily obsessed and preoccupied with Colin Firth.

This is the kind of obsession that makes you late to work everyday of the week because you've been up late watching movies at night, you don't pay attention to the posted speed limit because you are too busy thinking about the next movie you are going to watch, I've had little tastes before, I didn't mean to get hooked but now the inevitable has happened, I'm a Colin Firth addict. Immediately after watching King's Speech I put Love Actually in the dvd player, this was by sheer coincidence that it was the next movie I chose to watch was this one, since he stars in it as well. I had checked it out from the library because it's on my list of movies I haven't seen. By the end of Love Actually (which is my new favorite movie) I was totally enamoured, hanging on every word he says and then just for fun I wrapped up my Sunday on the couch by watching Bridget Jones's Diary.

I own both Bridget Jones movies and I like to watch them every now and then because I think they are delightful pick me ups and I really enjoy the humor, I've read both the books and I really identify with her as a person. (I read they're making a 3rd movie!!!!) This time however I really paid attention to his performance and I saw Mark Darcy in a whole new way. I am already a sucker for a British accent and when watching him on screen he ignites every role he plays, he can be serious or the perfect kind of quirky and funny. Bottom line he is absolutely charming and so nice to watch in any movie and not mention sexier than a shirtless neanderthal with pulsating tan and shiny muscles any day of the week. In the last week I have watched one of his movies everyday, making many many trips to the library to raid their vast selection of movies, I'm sure all the clerks in the entertainment area think I'm a little strange but I honestly couldn't care less. I congratulate him on winning the Oscar for Best Actor this year and I hope to see him in many many more movies. Farewell for now & happy viewing!!