No Impact Man

"A Fifth Avenue family goes very green when writer Colin Beavan leads his wife, Michelle Conlin, and their baby daughter on a yearlong crusade to make no net impact on the environment in this engaging documentary. Among their activities: eating only locally grown organic food, generating no trash except for compost and using no carbon-fueled transportation. Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein's film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival." courtesy of netfilx

I knew this was going to be a movie that I wanted to blog about, and I was right. I only finished watching the movie a few seconds ago and already e-mailed a teacher about it as a movie to show in a sustainable design class. This movie is inspiring, scary, motivating and...whatever the right word for feeling guility is, but its rightfully so.

They talk about the guility aspect in the movie because there is a point where people apparently start to hate this family (which they dont understand why, and truly I dont either.) but someone is commenting on a theory about how it makes people feel guilty, and people don't like to feel guilty or feel like they are being told what to do or that they arent living their life properly or wrong (or even that this family is better than them which I think is what a lot of people originally perceieved.)

but I mean, I feel guilty when watching the movie, I'm watching this movie as i'm drinking out of a plastic water bottle, in my electricity lit room while I sit with trash cans full of trash - and I think "it needs to change" but deep down I know its not going to change that much. My theory on people being so angry against the family is because I think the family was going to the drastic measures, going vegeterian, making their own shampoo, living without electricity -- there is even a point in the movie where Colin even says "this is stupid, who does this? who lives without electricity?" but as you keep watching and the more he talks, hes doing it at the drastic level to make a statement, to get attention, to bring attention to the issue. He's not expecting anyone to live without electricity but he does want you to test and see how far you can go on nothing. Do you really need everything in your life? thats what its about.

"Is it possible to have a good life without wasting so much?"

definitley watch this movie!

p.s. obvioulsy you can tell my laptop has been fixed and i've been able to watch movies off netflix yet again - I'm back!

I'm Reed Fish

"A big fish in the little pond of Mud Meadows, Reed Fish (Jay Baruchel) has it all: He hosts a radio show with the mayor (Katey Sagal) and is about to wed the town beauty (Alexis Bledel). But when his high school crush (Schuyler Fisk) resurfaces, he makes choices that throw his life into chaos. DJ Qualls and Chris Parnell are among the colorful characters in this quirky comedy about a small-town love triangle, penned by the real Reed Fish." courtesy of netflix

This movie was kind of weird. and not completely in a good way, in the begining of the movie I thought I really liked it but as the story plays out its just odd you start thinking "what is this movie even about?" its pretty obvious whats going to happen in the movie, I will say it has a pretty decent soundtrack but the acting is pretty horrendous even for the some of the actors who are normal good (like Alexis Bledel) Its not a waste of time to watch it, but if its on your movie queue, take it off or move it to the very bottom. There are way better movies out there.

Ira and Abby

"A wry look at the insanity of married life, this offbeat comedy follows the ups and downs of a whirlwind romance between the brilliant yet neurotic Ira Black (Chris Messina) and the free-spirited but flaky Abby Willoughby (Jennifer Westfeldt). Hastily married after knowing each other for only a few short hours, Ira and Abby battle a series of misadventures that forces them to question just how real their love is." courtesy of netflix

I LOVED this movie. WATCH IT. I'm not even sure where to start. Its great acting, the music is good but overall the story itself, is good. its a feel-good movie but its not all fluff there is a lot of reality to the movie, its real, there are sad parts and happy parts and you don't feel like its a fake hollywood movie, its totally real. The characters are great you definitely fall in love with Abby and just like Abby says in the movie Ira has a great face, he's so damn handsome especially in his glasses - jojo you can add him to my husbands list! This is the kind of movie that makes me want to fall in love, but doesnt make me feel depressed for not having that in my life right now. It's really a lot of fun, definitley worth watching.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

"Based on the book of the same name by Peter Elkin, director Alex Gibney's documentary takes a behind-the-scenes look at the powerful energy company whose downfall forever changed the landscape of the business world. With a blend of fascinating footage, fast-paced interviews and a wealth of information, this film is a serious lesson in the potential trappings of dishonesty and unethical behavior dogging corporate America." courtesy of netflix

we watched this movie in my ethics class but it is totally worth watching, it is the most fascinating documentary I think I've ever watched. (okay wait I dont know, thats a hard statement to say, but its definitley up there.) The story of Enron is so complex, to me, a lot of this information was brand new (I was also younger when all this happened so I wasnt reading about it when it was going on.) but the documentary, seems to stay pretty neutral (of course its going to have a bias and a "side" but its nothing like Michael Moore) but the real footage that they use in this movie, and the real interviews with real people - its kind of hard to say that they are being bias because they are pretty good at just showing you the facts and what was going on. its definitley interesting and definitley worth watching. They cover the whole story and they do it in an interesting way, and you're just amazed that they actually could pull this off. they definitley were the smartest guys in the room, but i'm glad that karma eventually found them.

The Ramen Girl

"When her boyfriend leaves her high and dry in Tokyo, spoiled American tourist Abby (Brittany Murphy) finds solace in a neighborhood ramen noodle house run by a cantankerous old chef (Toshiyuki Nishida), who agrees to take her on as an apprentice cook. But will the dirty grunt work and endless criticism drive Abby away before she discovers the serene beauty in the perfect bowl of soup -- and in herself? Robert Allan Ackerman directs this comedy." courtesy of netflix

While I was watching this movie I kept thinking "what is it that is keeping my attention, why am I still watching this?" and I almost turned it off, but I couldn't. and in retrospect I really liked it. The acting is actually pretty off for Brittany Murphy, she is a better actress than some of this portrays but the idea of the movie is actually very cool. It surprsingly gives a lot of insight to the Japanese culture (although the movie makes it mostly seem all about ramen) its still an interesting concept. It does make me want to try real ramen though, since all i've ever eaten is instant ramen - its obviously completely different.

but I do actually recommend it, there is a lot of subtitles because Brittany Murphy never learns Japanese and her teacher never learns English so there are constantly talking to each other and never understanding each other - which is actually pretty hilarious because the teacher is a complete asshole, the teacher is actually pretty hilarious.

I did get on a Brittany Murphy kick after she passed away, I think we all do that a little, but she really was fun to watch she truly was a really pretty girl and she was soo tiny! i'd kill for her legs. I'm always envious of great legs.