Gran Torino

Because I spend so much time enjoying my favorite pasttime of watching movies and TV, I've decided to start writing reviews. Just short ones. I usually rate on a 10 point scale, but because I think this allows too much liberty, and because the Sundance Film Festival uses it, I'm going to use a 4 star scale. I'm free to use fractions though.

Gran Torino
3.5 stars
At first I thought this movie was about a car race, but it turns out that it's really about life and death. And really, the Gran Torino is not a car RACE but rather just a car.

This movie takes place in Michigan, and the neighborhood where this story is played out is a spitting image of its real life form. Who knows, maybe it was actually filmed there. This environment, which never seemed to recover from the Detroit riots, is the backdrop for Clint Eastwood and his Hmong neighbors who struggle in a deteriorating community. I don't know what Clint is like in real life these days, but he delivers a knock-out performance playing this crusty, grumpy, ~70 year old dude who squints, spits, and drinks beer on his porch.

This movie is insightful, ghostly, and inspiring. It not only touches the heart, but it's also LOL hilarious (totally unexpected!).

Sundance '09 (cont'd)

Eccles Theater

We waited for 5 hours in this line to NOT get into I Love You Phillip Morris. It was a sad day. However, attending the Q&A session afterward did lift our spirits. Note how we have adhered to the 3-Step Program with our similar-looking hats.

The awesome winter-wonderland that is Park City.

We didn't forget to squeeze in some snow play!

Kristen Wiig

You would never know it from her crazy antics in SNL, but Kristen Wiig is pretty and... seemingly normal?

LOL

Bill Hader came back for a do-over. I give 3 out of 4 stars for Adventureland!

Sundance '09 (cont'd)

John Krasinski

Very nice fellow. He took time to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. He did that the entire time he was "exposed" to the masses, which is leaps and bounds over what some people would do. It was pretty funny to see this crowd of squealing girls chasing after him. One fan said, "John, you're my HERO!!!" To which he replied humbly, "Aw, don't say that!" I heart John Krasinski. Yes, I won't deny it, I was one of those girls too, although I wasn't squealing. With all my experience, I am now a calm and collected fan.

Michael Cera

Not as awesome as we had originally thought. This guy dissed us! THIS GOOFY GUY!!! We were the only fans calling him over to the barricade, and he wouldn't come. Then everybody left, and he had been standing out in the cold for 10 minutes with his clan, doing nothing, and it was only 3 of us left, and he still wouldn't come over and only said "sorry." George Michael Bluth, I am sorely disappointed. However, I look forward to your upcoming movie Arrested Development.

Jim Carrey

Very funny (in a normal funny kind of way) and very nice. See how I didn't get a clear shot of him? That's because there are these scumbags who acquire autographs for a living and shove and pin women like the sis and I up against metal barricades to get their autographs.

Sundance '09

Another fruitful year at Sundance! Snow play, movies, and celebs. Here's what we learned.

Spencer Treat Clark

If you don't recognize this face, perhaps you know him better as Lucias from the Gladiator.
Spencer Treat Clark is now 22 years old and thinks he can be late to Sundance movies and still get in. No no child star, you're not that special. When nobody on the wait list (ahem, yours truly + company) can get into I Love You Phillip Morris starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, that means that there are no seats, and neither child stars nor people who have waited 5 hours can get in.

Guess the best thing to do is to sneak into the Q&A session!

3-Step Program

All our lives, the sis and I have tried NOT to look alike. Many times, as people who shop together, as people who have the same mom who shops for us, we end up getting the same shoes, sweaters, socks, helmets, etc. I objectively think, that up through high school, we haven't actually physically looked alike. But the older we get, the more and more we look alike. Well, now instead of fighting it, we're embracing it, and we've decided to try to look exactly alike and formulated a 3-Step Program to do it.

3-Step Program for Sisters to Look the Same

1. Start dressing alike. When together, we must change to mirror what the other sis is wearing.
2. Get the same pajamas and wear them at the same time. We spend a lot of time together in our pajamas, so it will become really hard to tell us apart.
   
3. Dye our hair the same color.

Okay, so we're well on our way to Step #3. (We didn't get the EXACT same pajamas for Christmas, but they're really the same with different patterns, so I call Step #2 completed.) I have to say, that I'm pretty excited about the hair. I feel like I am in this constant battle against having straight medium-length hair. Boooring. But no matter what I do, I feel like I end up in this steady-state of hair.

Steady-state

I tried other things:

Long side-swept bangs
But essentially, I think it's the same thing.

(Pic from New Years 2009)

Short!

I loved this cut, but it was so much upkeep! I would really have to have my hair cut every 6 weeks to keep this cut, so it eventually turned into steady-state.

So the sis and I decided to dye our hair 2 shades lighter. I think something like this?
Yay! Unfortunately, this will take a lot of upkeep too, so I may just end up at steady-state after say, one touch-up. *sigh*

Stay tuned...