Out of that list I only know V for Vendetta, Because I Said So, and Sicko. I actually enjoyed them both a lot. Although, you said V was not that original... I wonder if you have a specific movie in mind?
As for the rest, I like how most of them seem to be Audrey related I would probably want to see all of them except for Nun's Story, seeing that seems too dramatic for me.
2007's Best in Music/Film/TV/Books/Style: Top Films #2-5
2. How to Steal a Million, A-: A pretty old movie, but I love the Hepburn. This inspired my friends to want to watch more of her, though what they said about the brilliance of the guy being really hot I didn’t really agree with. I loved the old-fashioned plot twists that kept you in genuine suspense, the chemistry Hepburn had with her man, and of course the traditionally great Hepburn wardrobe.
3. Spider-Man 3, B: I wasn’t expecting to like this at all. I avoided the first two due to what I felt was crass over-commercialization and exploitation of what had been dear to my childhood (the show, as I never read the comics). But it was…pretty good, a rare action movie that has an actual plot. Aside from some awkward acting and characterization. And the end was heartrending. My friends insist that the other two are better, but I don’t feel too motivated to watch them cuz I already know what happens.
4. The Children’s Hour, B: Clearly, this movie was meant to show, “Hey, Hepburn isn’t just pretty; she acts, too!” Which…she does. The ending sort of disappoints me, but I think that has more to do with my personal tastes than the movie actually lacking quality in that arena.
5. The Hills Have Eyes 2, B: I don’t like horror movies; I hate being scared. But this movie had surprises and things actually happened. The characters were round, and the acting wasn’t nearly as spotty as I expected. I’m still not going to watch horror movies on a regular basis, but clearly not all of them are bad.
Given my obvious penchant for Hepburn (my no. 3 actress, after Buffy Summers & Veronica Mars), here's how I would rate all the movies of hers I've seen - there are a few that I don't feel inclined to get to, whether due to how tiny her role is in it or how bad the movie is supposed to be.
Charade: A+ (Amazingly well-thought-out. Super fun, actually made me think of Veronica Mars...though maybe that's just because of similar genres.)
Wait Until Dark: A (Scary, but genuinely so. I really just like the unexpected.)
Love in the Afternoon (My favorite romantic movie of hers, just because she seems so unguarded and innocent that she's supremely loveable.)
How to Steal a Million: A- (See above.)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (Most would put this at the top, but while it is good and it has fabulous fashions, Holly Golightly isn't exactly the most relatable character. Though maybe if we spent more time with her, she would be more so than the comparable Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf.)
Roman Holiday (Ooh, what fun. Takes the archetype of meeting a stranger in a strange land and falling in love while having crazy adventures. The ending was...not what I would have had, though.)
Funny Face (Nice, nice music. Great outfits, and the characters...grow. Although that does mean that they start out not as great as how they end up.)
The Children's Hour: B (See above.)
My Fair Lady (Henry Higgins is actually kind of an ass. But yay for Eliza.)
They All Laughed
The Nun's Story: B-
Two for the Road: C-
War & Peace: D+ (Oh, so boring. Though I've never read the book. I actually started fast-forwarding through all the parts without Hepburn. Though her part is quite watchable and entertaining. If only the rest of it was cut out...which would have pissed off everyone else who watched the movie. Alas.)
The Unforgiven (Kind of racist, and Hepburn's character was very forgettable. I blame the writing and directing.)
Sabrina: D (Only movie in which I actually actively dislike Hepburn's character. She's just so, so stupid, I don't see how anyone could fall for her. It's like she's Marissa Cooper. Lana Lang. Joey Potter. Peyton...um, Sawyer, according to Wikipedia. 'Cept she doesn't have a supporting female who's a million times better than her.)
2007's Best in Music/Film/TV/Books/Style: #1 Movie
1. Ratatouille A-: Easily the best Pixar movie since Toy Story. I was shocked at how good this was, especially since my friends and I only saw it cuz we had time to kill after watching Harry Potter. Sweet, original, and with a perfect ending.
HEHE YESSSS! Gosh that movie sounds so cute and I have not even seen it yet! I love your number one movie!
As for the Audrey movies, have not seen them but seeing most of them sound like romantic comedies or just funny. I might try to remember to check them out. I cannot guarantee anything though!
2007's Best in Music/Film/TV/Books/Style: Singles # 11-14
So far:
15. Girlfriend, Avril Lavigne
16. Potential Breakup Song, Aly & AJ
17. Change, Kimberly Locke
18. Our Song, Taylor Swift
19. Get Me Bodied, Beyonce
20. Beautiful Flower, India.Arie
21. Easy, Paula Deanda
22. Paralyzer, Finger Eleven
23. Teenagers, My Chemical Romance
Runner-Ups: With Love, Hilary Duff
Alfie, Lily Allen
Do It Well, Jennifer Lopez
Beautiful Liar, Beyonce & Shakira
Pictures of You, The Last Goodnight
11. Glamorous, Fergie (1) (iTunes #5 Download, Billboard #10)
Sort of a hypocritical song, but whatever. Aspirational music.
12. Like a Boy, Ciara (19) (iTunes #79 Download, Billboard #68)
Addicted for awhile to the video. I just wish Ciara could have sung it a bit differently, cuz the lyrics are awesome.
13. D.A.N.C.E., Justice (Rolling Stone #4, iTunes #7 Best Song, iTunes #6 Dance Download)
People in my house ALWAYS play this. Familiarity leads to liking.
14. Find a New Way, Young Love (103)
Their singles are quite good. The other songs on their album, not as much. I like them much better than Justice or Daft Punk as dance artists go.
I never really got into Young Love but the rest of the list is pretty good! Just yesterday I was replaying Ciara's video... over and over again. Yes, I was bored, but definitely can see how you would be addicted!
2007's Best Music/Film/TV/Books/Style: Worst Songs
I know that many disagree with my no. 3 choice, but...it's just how I feel. It's like last year, when people were going crazy over Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and I just wanted to plug my ears upon each listen.
4. Soulja Girl, Soulja Boy (36)
The song is mostly innocuous though generic. But Soulja Boy’s insistence on that “You” he uses so much on Crank That gives me, like, flashbacks to that horribleness.
3. Lip Gloss, Lil' Mama (10)
I can’t believe that one of my friends is a megafan of this song. It’s just so…stupid.
2. A Bay Bay, Hurricane Chris (7)
Can you say more than one (stupid, stupid) thing?
1. Crank That, Soulja Boy (1)
Abomination. Sometimes my family will put it on just cuz they know it irritates me so.
None of these songs really annoy me but I do think most of them are pointless. Well, if you replace Paramore and Amy Winehouse with the close calls, then I would really agree. I loveee Paramore and Amy Winhouse is great!
I think Lip Gloss can be catchy if you remix it right and ignore how stupid it is... while I Got It From My Mama is just funny I am sure Soulja Boy is supposed to be funny too but I think what made it so pointless was that everyone seemed to like it and it was always on.
Oddly, I wasn't a big enough fan of the actual TV series to even watch all of the episodes of any season except the third. Yet I still have an urge to see what happened to all the characters I (somewhat) loved, and so far Whedon is delivering. The premise of this comic book series is a bit contrived, but seems full of potential nonetheless. The shockers so far aren't that shocking, but that may be because some ideas were culled from the originally planned season six (if the show hadn't been cancelled), details of which were divulged awhile ago. Still, the plot devices and characters thus far are richly created and hopefully continue to be so.
2. Buffy, Season Eight: The Long Way Home
Pretty much one of my most-anticipated books EVAH. Finding out what officially happened to the characters of my favorite show ever? Fantastic! The execution wasn't...perfect. There were a few quibbles I had about character development, though those have less to do with quality than my preference for where I would ideally want everyone to be. A new 'ship for Buffy was hinted at, one that I vehemently protest against. Some new holes in continuity were introduced, and old faces returned somewhat...bafflingly. However, the over-arching storyline introduced for this "season" is quite interesting, the characters are still likable and realistic, the action scenes are pretty nifty-looking, and cliffhangers work very well, as do one-liners and the dialogue overall.
1. Buffy, Season Eight: No Future for You
This second "episode" was much better than the first. In fact, it was one of my favorite reads of the year and would be able to count itself as one of the more solid episodes if it had been actually filmed for the show. Faith is my third-favorite character overall from the show, and I love every one of the Faith-centric episodes; she is just so dynamic, and more than any other character we are never really able to figure out just exactly who she is and want to know her better, probably because she doesn't know herself. Anyway, the premise of this episode is not exactly shocking, given how we last left off with Faith, but the execution of it is incredible. Faith's moral complexity and the moral ambiguity of the situation she finds herself in create a fascinating interaction, and the difference between how this ends and how the Angel episode "Damage" ends is striking and telling. Regarding the other characters, it is nice to see how relationships have changed, both with Faith and with others, especially given the kinds of fallout that occurred during the actual show, which clearly have had long-lasting impact. I can't wait to see if we get more Faith and if future episodes of this comic will be as emotionally wrought and carefully crafted as this one.
2007's Best Music/Film/TV/Books/Style: Singles 9 & 10
So far:
11. Glamorous, Fergie
12. Like a Boy, Ciara
13. D.A.N.C.E., Justice
14. Find a New Way, Young Love
15. Girlfriend, Avril Lavigne
16. Potential Breakup Song, Aly & AJ
17. Change, Kimberly Locke
18. Our Song, Taylor Swift
19. Get Me Bodied, Beyonce
20. Beautiful Flower, India.Arie
21. Easy, Paula Deanda
22. Paralyzer, Finger Eleven
23. Teenagers, My Chemical Romance
Runner-Ups: With Love, Hilary Duff
Alfie, Lily Allen
Do It Well, Jennifer Lopez
Beautiful Liar, Beyonce & Shakira
Pictures of You, The Last Goodnight
9. Big Girls Don’t Cry, Fergie (1) (Rolling Stone #96, iTunes #1 Download, Billboard #4)
A song essentially about love that’s neither bitter nor sappy. What a concept.
10. Teardrops on My Guitar, Taylor Swift (33) (iTunes #54 Download/#1 Country Download, Billboard #89)
I found “Our Song” first but this has a better video…though I don’t like the ending. And like a good sad country song (as many of them tend to be), listening to it leads to a bit of catharsis through relateability. And the pop version is so danceable that it made me love the song in a whole different way.
2007's Best Music/Film/TV/Books/Style: Notable Albums
Notable albums not in my top 2, one for each month, plus two extra since my top consists of two:
1 Too Young to Fight It, Young Love – Pretty danceable album, but only a handful of songs are replayable. Highlight: Discotech
2 Infinity on High, Fall Out Boy – Good singles, but the rest is pretty forgettable. Highlight: Thnks fr th Mmrs
3 Five Score and Seven Years Ago, Relient K – Well, their past albums have been pretty great, but this one is pretty dull. Highlight: Must Have Done Something Right
3 Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge, The Pierces – They performed two of their songs on “Gossip Girl” and I thought they were so good. Alas, those two songs are by far their best. Most of the rest of the album is decent and catchy, but not enticingly so, and they don’t have much beyond that. Highlight: Secret
4 The Best Damn Thing, Avril Lavigne – “Girlfriend” made me excited for the album, but while the first two albums are classics, this one is just…immature and kind of amateur. The aforementioned lead single is the only really hot track, though I do like parts of some other songs, such as the chorus in “Hot.” Highlight: Girlfriend
5 Lies for the Liars, The Used – In Love and Death is one of my favorite CD’s, but this one left me cold. Highlight: The Bird and the Worm
6 Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna – Close call. While her singles, and Rehab, are pretty nifty, the rest is not really noteworthy for me. Highlight: Umbrella
7 Little Voice, Sara Bareilles – She has a good voice, but her songs aren’t very interesting or special, with the notable exception of “Love Song.” Highlight: Love Song
8 High School Musical 2, Soundtrack – I lurved the first album, but this one, eh. I actually think the second movie is as good as the first, but that’s because the improvement in acting and writing makes up for the downgrade in singing and dancing. While I think the dance sequences for “Fabulous” and “I Don’t Dance” are, well, fabulous, none of the songs are really that good (“I Don’t Dance” comes sort of close, though.), even if they are still very karaoke-worthy. Highlight: I Don't Dance
9 Electropop, Jupiter Rising – I heard the songs on their Myspace and was totally infatuated. Too bad only one or two other songs on their album are worth multiple listens, not that the others are bad, exactly. I feel like they could have a pretty good album next time if they chose their songs more carefully. Highlight: Foolish
10 Brave, Jennifer Lopez – Enough quality songs to eke out a decent number of singles, but the majority is filler. Highlight: Wrong When You're Gone
11 Hook Me Up, The Veronicas – “The Secret Life of…” is one of my favorite CD’s ever, but in this one, the girls’ voices are annoying and just don’t sound very good. Highlight: Hook Me Up
11 As I Am, Alicia Keys – So boring, especially given how much more fun it is to listen to its predecessor. Highlight: No One
12 Perfect Day, Cascada – It’s almost like she’s singing the same song over and over, even each time that she does a cover of a song that sounded better by the original singer. A few exceptions exist, but Cascada’s first album was much, much more varied and, unrelatedly, danceable. Highlight: What Hurts the Most
I would probably want to see all of them except for Nun's Story, seeing that seems too dramatic for me.
