Happy V Day

To celebrate, I give you Dmitri & Rose pictures:

Yep. I saw Vampire Academy.

It was awesome.

I dragged the boyfriend with me (he has not read the books) and we trekked down to Times Square, dodged the sightseeing guys who wanted us to get on a bus to "see NY" (when we turned down his offer, he asked if it was because the boyfriend was too tall, um what?).

We settled into the theater and watched the previews--including A Fault in Our Stars which managed to make me feel a little weepy already.

Then the movie started.

My favorite part about it was Rose.

Which doesn't surprise me. She's my favorite part of the books too.

I love her sense of humor and her character arc and the way that she really comes into her own in these books.

I also really loved Lissa and Christian in the movie.

The chemistry between them really works.

I loved the movie, but of course I did. I love the books. And seeing a book I loved on screen is so much fun.

The true testament though is that the boyfriend also had fun. And he wanted to hear about Dmitri and Rose's future from the books. He might have even declared they were his favorite YA couple. I think that means it must be pretty awesome.

And with that, I leave you with my favorite thing about Vampire Academy.

Dmitri might be hot and I might love him and Rose, but this is more than just a love story. It's about best friends and the lengths you go for each other.

On Addictions...

For some reason, I have one of those personalities where I easily become singularly focused on one thing just shy of the point of obsession. I essentially get easily addicted. Right now, here are my top three addictions:

Law & Order: SVU

I don't know what it is about this show, but I have probably scene every episode and still whenever I flip the channel and land on a rerun or TNT marathon, I get sucked in and watch all over again. Half the time, I'll even be watching the show thinking, "I'm sure I've seen this..." but I still don't change the channel.

Bejeweled

I was never that kind of kid who played video games. Ever. What I know of video and computer games is next to nothing. (It was my boyfriend who supplied some of the Worlds of Warcraft references that are in Unraveling). But now that I have an iphone, I downloaded a few games to play on the subway. And the one that's sucked me in, is totally Bejeweled. I don't know what it is about those stupid gems but I'm always convinced that with one more game I can score better!

All things

and

Jane Austen

(as played by Anne Hathaway, here it Becoming Jane Austen)

This is one of those addictions that I've had ever since I read Pride & Prejudice, which I read late. I had my masters before I sat down with a copy of the book and started to read, mostly because I couldn't believe I hadn't read it yet. I didn't necessary expect to like it. (There are some classics that I just don't like very much). And I certainly didn't expect to love it, but I did. I promptly read all of her books and her letters and a bunch of Jane Austen inspired books. I watched all the movies and the miniseries and even started to dream "in British." At the time, Jane Austen took over about six months of my life. Then I moved on to a new obsession (I think it might have been Veronica Mars).

But now this obsession is back. It started with Downton Abbey which I watched in two weekends (one for each season). And then it continued with  For the Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund, which I read several weeks ago. It's a post-apocalyptic retelling of Jane Austen's Persausion which is probably my favorite. The romance is swoonworthy and as soon as I finished, I wanted to go back and read the original. Instead I started watch some new BBC shows that people had recommended like Luther and Sherlock and it's safe to say I am completely hooked.

 

My Oscar Picks

Last year, a friend of mine threw an awesome Academy Awards party. We ate amazing food, picked all of our winners for each category, and watched the awards show together. The best part was, that every time your pick ended up winning, you'd get a scratch off lottery ticket.  I walked out of that party $11 richer.

This year in order to better my chances where my picks are concerned, I've been trying to watch all the movies nominated. (This is tougher than I thought it would be. I still have a few to go and Oscar Night is coming up fast so I might not make it.)

And here are my picks in some of the top categories for the big night:

Best Picture

While my favorite film nominated is The Tree of Life, I'm thinking The Artist is actually going to win. I really enjoyed watching The Artist, though I did find myself missing sound a little. (My boyfriend who saw it with me didn't really like it at all.)

Director

I'm still deciding on this one. Right now it's a toss up between Martin Scorsese for Hugo and Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist.

Actor

I'm going with my heart here on this one and saying Brad Pitt in Moneyball.

Actress

Michelle Williams in My Week With Marilyn, because she was brilliant.

Supporting Actor

Hands down, Christopher Plummer in The Beginners.

Supporting Actress

My two favorites in this category are Octavia Spencer in The Help and Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids (she is marvelous!), but I think Octavia Spencer is going to win.

Original Screenplay

My new favorite Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris.

Adapted Screenplay

I waffled back and forth a lot on this one, but in the end I'm going with Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne, and Jim Rash for The Descendants.

Foreign Language Film

A Separation (Iran). This is a beautiful film. I loved it.

Animated Feature

I actually wish The Adventures of Tintin was nominated but since it's not, I'm going to go with Rango here.

Musical Score

Since the musical score carried the film, I have to say Ludovic Bource for The Artist.

Best Song

Have to say "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets. Not too many options this year. I wish there had been more.

Cinematography

I'm also going with my heart here. My pick is Jeff Cronenweth for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo because it was just a beautifully shot film.

Who do you think will go home with the Oscars on Sunday? You can fill out your own ballot here through the NY Times.

Romance Scenes to Swoon Over

I'm a romantic at heart, which means I love any excuse to celebrate romance and watch romantic movies. Valentine's Day, and the whole month of February really, is a perfect excuse.

So in honor of Valentine's Day and because each of these scenes inspired me when I was writing Unraveling, here are my top five best romantic scenes.

5. The Stadium Serenade in 10 Things I Hate About You

Adapted from Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" this teen movie came out when I was in high school and was one of my absolute favorites.

Heath Ledger's character, Patrick Verona, serenades Kat Stratford (Julie Stiles), singing "I Love You Baby" on the steps of their high school's stadium while she and the girls' soccer team are on the field.

He risks getting in trouble and he embarrasses himself, which make this romantic gestures all that more swoonworthy.

4. On the prow of the Titanic

I can't lie. I was one of those people that saw this movie more than once in theaters. I actually saw it 6 times and then I bought the DVD when it came out. (I also owned the soundtrack and listened to it constantly).

And my favorite scene is when Leo and Kate, I mean Jack and Rose share their passionate kiss on the prow of the ship with the world flowing by under their feet.

It's of course, even more romantic, because as an audience we know their romance is doomed because the boat is going to sink, but for that moment, it's like they're the only two people in the world and nothing else matters. And I can't help swoon at that.

3. That Scene in the Library in Atonement

I'll watch just about anything with James McAvoy in it, but when his character, Robbie Turner kisses Cecila Tallis (Keira Knightley) in the library after a lot of angst over the letter he sent to her by accident, it's amazing.

(He meant to write something sweet and he did, but in his frustration when trying to think of the right words, he also wrote something pretty crass and of course that's the one that made it into her hands. It's also that letter that got him in a lot of trouble.)

2. Starcrossed Lovers Reunite in Casablanca

This is, in my opinion, one of the most romantic and heartbreaking scenes ever captured on film.

Set during World War II, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman play star crossed lovers who reunite, only she's married! And they still can't be together.

This is one of those movies that is so perfect in black and white, and the ending makes me cry every time.

Anyone who hasn't seen this one, should.

1. Love at First Sight in Romeo + Juliet

This was another one of my favorite movies from when I was younger. When I was in the theater and Leo first came on screen as the tortured and love sick Romeo, the audience let out a collective sigh.

Romeo first spies Juliet (Claire Danes) at the party her parents are throwing, which of course Romeo and his friends are crashing. They see each other through the tropical fish tank and fall madly in love.

One of the best things about this scene is that there are no words, just Romeo, Juliet, the fish, and Des'ree singing "I'm Kissing You."

I don't love the whole movie. Some of the Shakespearean dialogue mixed with the modern day time period doesn't totally work for me now. But this scene is amazing.

Those are my top five. Which good ones did I miss? What are some of yours?