Mantoinette777's Journal

I'm back!

2007-08-19T00:12:13Z

I've got a bunch of new icons, too. And here's a banner made for me by pixiegrl_11 :

Isn't it pretty?

Back To School

2007-04-26T04:27:35Z

Hey, sorry i haven't posted in ages, but I can't wait to go back to school! How are you all doing? I'm watching Bewitched right now, it's twelve. I'm not tired at all! I'll be going into the eight grade at Romig this year, I am so excited. The strange thing is that I can't wait to busy with school and homework. Aah, what's happening with me? Then, I guess it's a good thing. It's great though, I don't have to take gym or any after school sports that I hate. Just biking and weightlifting. Hooray!!

Home Sick/ Seabiscuit Reveiw

2007-04-23T18:07:36Z

Wel, this sucks. i was in such a good mood this morning (before school) and now I'm home sick. hm, what's this/ 0o0o0oh, it's seabiscuit. Great movie, though i haven't seen the whole thing. What kind of a name is Seabiscuit, even for a horse? Here's a review:

Seabiscuit Review

By Shawn McKenzie 07/25/2003

I’m always leery when I start hearing Oscar buzz about a movie. I wonder if it actually justified, or just a publicity tactic to get people to see the movie. In the case of Seabiscuit, I think that Oscar buzz is justified.

This is the story of how a horse that some people thought should have been put down encouraged three men who, in turn with the horse, inspired the nation. Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) was a factory worker around the turn of the 20^th century who always saw the potential in things that others didn’t. He got the inspiration to open a bicycle shop because he thought it would be more efficient than a horse. Since he advertised that he sold and repaired bikes, a man (James Keane) with an automobile assumed he could also fix his car. After tearing the car apart and putting it back together, he realized that the future was in auto sales. He was right, and soon became one of the most successful Buick dealers in America. The Great Depression then hit the country, and Charles was affected, though not as badly as most. He did lose one of the most important people in his life though, his son Frankie (Dyllan Christopher), ironically in a car accident. With the depression of the loss of his son, coupled with his first wife Annie (Valerie Mahaffey) leaving him, he seemed to drift back to the thing he had initially shunned, horses. One person who had always had a connection with horses was Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), a cowboy who could no longer ride horses freely and now just trains them. Another person who had also had a long-time connection with horses was Johnny “Red” Pollard (Tobey Maguire), an intelligent redheaded kid who loved books but loved riding horses even more. He had a loving family who encouraged his talents, but when the Depression hit, his father (Michael O’Neill) and mother (Annie Corley) gave a young Red (Michael Angarano, Red as a child) to a rich couple who wanted to take advantage of his talents as a horse rider. Meanwhile, a few years after the death of his son, Charles found himself spending a lot of time at the horseracing track, where he meets Marcela Zabala (Elizabeth Banks), who soon becomes his second wife. They decide to buy a racehorse, and with Charles’ tendency to pick the underdogs, they buy Seabiscuit, the grandson of Man-O-War, a champion racehorse. Seabiscuit hadn’t picked up his dad’s championship traits though. He was knobby-kneed, too short, and had a bad disposition. Charles saw something special in the horse though, and he saw something special in Tom also, whom he hired to train the horse and find a jockey. Tom found that jockey in Red, who by this time had also developed a bad disposition, since he had lost the sight in his right eye because of the prizefighting he had to do to supplement his income. Despite being half-blind and a little too tall, he seemed to have the best connection to Seabiscuit, so he became Charles’ jockey. After working out the quirks, Team Seabiscuit found themselves winning all the races and becoming big stars in the West. They wanted to make national news, so they began challenging the Triple Crown winning horse, War Admiral, to a championship race. Millionaire Samuel Riddle (Eddie Jones) owned War Admiral, and he had no desire to race against Seabiscuit. Eventually pressure from the press, led by Tick Tock McGlaughlin (William H. Macy), forces Riddle to give in. Right before the big race though, Red is tricked into pacing another horse, which results in him becoming seriously injured. They hire George Woolf (Gary Stevens) to replace him temporarily. Red imparts all his knowledge of the horse to George, which pays off, and Seabiscuit becomes the 1938 Horse of the Year after his race against War Admiral, ridden by Charley Kurtsinger (Chris McCarron), at Pimlico. George continues to race the horse in further races, but Seabiscuit goes lame during one race. With both Red and Seabiscuit down and out, they work together to try to get back in the race.

I didn’t know whether to punish this movie for being gratuitously tearjerky, or reward it for actually making me get a little weepy. In the end, I went with the latter. This movie has so much to offer. First off, it can serve as an inspiration to anyone who wants to triumph over adversity. The three major characters, Red, Charles, and Tom, all have to go through this, with Red having to do it more than once. The horse is that source of inspiration for them all, but it’s Red who picks the horse up as well. They live a symbiotic relationship. This movie also serves as a great history lesson for kids about America from the turn of the century through 1940. The narrator of the movie, voiced by David McCullough, guides the moviegoers through history lessons, like the Roaring ‘20s, the Great Depression, Prohibition, and the New Deal. There are names, dates, and places mentioned, and it is done in a style that doesn’t feel like a lecture, but actually interests you.

Now let’s get back to the “Oscar buzz” issue. Do I think this movie deserves it? Oh, yes. Maguire, Bridges, and Cooper all gave incredible performances, and all deserve acting nods. The screenwriter/director, Gary Ross, helmer of the wonderful movie Pleasantville and Oscar-nominated writer of the screenplays for Big and Dave, deserves a nod as well. Randy Newman’s score is great, and so is John Schwartzman’s cinematography. If there were any justice in the world, they would give Macy some Oscar love too. His performance as Tick Tock steals every scene. He might not have been in the movie long enough to get a nomination notice, but Judi Dench won Best Supporting Actress for her five minutes in Shakespeare in Love, so stranger things have happened. I honestly think the greatest obstacle this movie will have to face will be that it is being released in July. The Academy has notoriously short attention spans and may not remember this movie come nominating time.

I encourage all of you to check out the first serious Oscar contender of the year, Seabiscuit. Sure, there are several points in this two and a half hour movie that I thought it was supposed to end, but it goes on to tell one more tale of inspiration. This is an adaptation of a best-selling novel by Laura Hillenbrand, and I’ve heard from several people who read the book that they love it. I haven’t read it myself, but I think the book fans will like the movie version. This movie made me a little misty-eyed by the end, and I didn’t think I would get that way over a horsey movie. Check this flick out, and then stay tuned to see if it wins the Oscar horse race.

Princess Bride

2007-04-15T03:03:57Z

"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

When William Goldman wrote those words, he did not intend for them to become a fragment of '80s pop culture. When Mandy Patinkin spoke those words, he didn't expect his every inflection to be endlessly mimicked. And when Rob Reiner directed those words, he had no idea that kids and young adults everywhere would be repeating them. Nevertheless, there's no doubting that nearly every movie-going American is familiar with those three short sentences. Reiner has stated that, along with "I'll have what she's having" and "You can't handle the truth," this represents one of the three most often quoted excerpts of dialogue from his movies.

It's an odd line to mimic, especially taken out of context. For example, you can't go in to your boss looking for a raise and state, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Chances are, you're not going to get that pay hike. Likewise, when meeting a date, the best choice of an opening is not, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Nevertheless, even though there is no practical use for this dialogue snippet, that hasn't dimmed its popularity.

But those lines are only a very small part of what makes The Princess Bride such a special motion picture. And, for those who crave features that can be enjoyed by every member of the family (grammar school kid, teenage troublemaker, tough-to-please twenty-something, beleaguered mom and dad, and grumpy grandparents), there may be nothing better than this motion picture, which celebrates fairy tales and true love with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. This is what happens when stories of heroism and derring-do collide head-on with a Monty Python sensibility. Best of all, despite its satirical bent, The Princess Bride can still be enjoyed on the simpler level of the story of a princess being rescued by her one true love.

The Princess Bride is constructed as a story-within-a-story, with the framing scenes occurring in the "real world" as a grandfather (Peter Falk) stops by to read a story to his sick grandson (Fred Savage). During these scenes, Reiner makes a statement about the value of books over electronic forms of entertainment. When the grandfather arrives, his grandson is playing a video game, a blank expression on his face. But, once the story takes flight in his imagination, he is absorbed and transfixed – transported to another time and place in a way that even the best electronic game cannot accomplish.

The primary narrative, which evolves as the grandfather reads it (and occasionally interrupts it to intersperse comments or skip over boring parts), takes place in the magical land of Florin, and tells of the true love between peasant girl Butercup (Robin Wright, years before marry Sean Penn) and stablehand Westley (Cary Elwes). After declaring their unending affection for each other, they are separated, and Westley is reported dead. Buttercup, cold-hearted and stone-faced after her loss, is chosen by the crown prince, Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), to be his bride. Humperdinck's motives, however, are not pure. He intends to arrange for Buttercup's abduction, frame rival country Guilder for her murder, and start a war with the backing of the common folk, who love their princess-to-be. To this end, he hires three rogues to capture Buttercup: the wily Sicilian Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), who fancies himself to be the smartest man in the world and has a fondness for the word "inconceivable;" the giant Fezzik (Andre the Giant), who is dumb, kind-hearted, and humungous; and the swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Pantankin), who is scouring the world in search of the six-fingered man who killed his beloved father.

Vizzini, Fezzik, and Inigo kidnap Buttercup one day when she's out riding. Heading for the Guilder/Florin frontier, they spirit her away by boat. Hot on their trail is the ship of the Dread Pirate Roberts (a.k.a. The Man in Black). He pursues them to the Cliffs of Insanity, where he engages in a duel of steel with Inigo, a wrestling match with Fezzik, and a match of wits with Vizzini to win Buttercup. Once she is in his custody, he reveals himself to be Westley. Fleeing Humperdinck and his lackey, Count Rugen (Christopher Guest), Buttercup and Westley enter the dreaded Fire Swamp, where the ROUS (Rodents of Unusual Size) are only one of the dangers. And, once they get out, there's still Humperdinck to deal with. Fortunately, Westley and Buttercup are not without allies. Fezzik and Inigo have joined them, and there's also help from a wizened old dwarf named Miracle Max (Billy Crystal), who harbors no love for Humperdinck or Rugen.

For director Rob Reiner, The Princess Bride represented the fourth of seven consecutive commercial and critical successes (a streak that began with 1984's This Is Spinal Tap and ended with 1992's A Few Good Men). The tone owes more to Spinal Tap than to any of Reiner's other outings – it is witty and irreverent without ever going so far over-the-top that it turns the proceedings into camp. Reiner manages the difficult yet ultimately rewarding task of creating a movie that simultaneously parodies a genre while also celebrating and participating in it. At the instance of The Princess Bride's most satisfying emotional climax (it has something to do with Inigo), the applause accorded the moment is heartfelt and genuine. Despite the satirical edge and the fantastic setting, we come to care about these individuals.

The film is based on the book by William Goldman, who wrote his own screenplay adaptation. Before Reiner (backed with financing from his old "All in the Family" buddy, Norman Lear) came along, Goldman had been trying for 15 years to get the movie made. (At one point, Norman Jewison was attached to the project.) After watching Spinal Tap and The Sure Thing, Goldman decided that Reiner was the man for the job. Years later, he would comment that he was only fully satisfied with the motion picture versions of two of his scripts: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride.

The average family film is targeted primarily at children, with a few elements thrown in to go over the youngsters' heads and appeal to their parents. (Many Disney films fit into this category.) The crafting of The Princess Bride, however, is superior. Nearly every aspect of the film delights all potential viewers. The sword fight between Inigo and Westley, for example, offers equal thrills to 7-year olds and 37-year olds (although the verbal repartee that accompanies the physical struggle will resonate more with older viewers). Incidentally, that particular sequence, arguably the best screen fencing battle in film history (including those from the likes of Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks), is notable for its lack of stunt doubles. All of the action (except a couple of acrobatic flips) is performed by the actors, not stunt doubles. Mandy Patankin and Cary Elwes studied for months to be able to pull off this struggle convincingly.

Everyone who has seen The Princess Bride has a favorite scene, and it's a testimony to the film's start-to-finish strength that nearly every minute of the movie's running length is on someone's list. The candidates are wide and varied, ranging from the Inigo/Westley swordfight to the battle of intelligence with Vezzini to the Pit of Despair to the visit to Miracle Max's to the storming of the castle and the duel with the six-fingered man. There is little, if anything, in The Princess Bride that doesn't work. Reiner hits all the right notes, and it would be impossible to achieve a better overall tone.

There isn't a bad casting choice, either. Robin Wright and Cary Elwes were selected as much for their good looks as for their acting ability, and they prove to be a superior romantic couple. Wright, despite being California bred, affects a flawless British accent. Elwes is equally at home with comedy, action, and drama. Mandy Patankin, playing Inigo, matches Elwes' athleticism and develops a character who is instantly sympathetic (despite initially being a "bad guy"). Andre the Giant represents the mighty Fezzik as a lovable brute, and Wallace Shawn is hilarious as the egotistic Vizzini, whose end is inconceivable. Chris Sarandon elevates Humperdinck's pomposity to amazing levels, and Christopher Guest underlies Rugen's cowardly ways with a sense of the sinister. The Billy Crystal/Carol Kane cameo offers some of The Princess Bride's biggest guffaws. (Reportedly, Reiner had to leave the set during the filming of these scenes, because Crystal's ad-libs were causing him to laugh so hard he was becoming nauseated.)

Although children generally appreciate The Princess Bride's pseudo-fairy tale narrative and action-oriented approach, much of the dialogue is designed for adults. Mostly credited to Goldman (except the Crystal ad-libs), it's brilliant stuff. The quips traded by Inigo and Westley during their duel are as impressive as the actual swordsmanship. Vizzini's double-talk about which cup is poisoned (during the battle of wits) needs to be listened to several times before it begins to make twisted sense.

Since its release more than 15 years ago, The Princess Bride has often been copied, but never equaled. Perhaps the most successful movie to capture its essential spirit was the animated Shrek. The word "brilliant" is often overused in the movie business, but this is one of those occasions when it is warranted. The Princess Bride is an unparalleled achievement – a modern classic that will be enjoyed for generations to come. It has been called the "Generation X's version of The Wizard of Oz," and, more than any other description, that comes the closest to identifying this movie's impact.

Geez what a weekend

2007-04-15T01:00:47Z

Today, i woke up, took a shower, did my chores, and slept. then i watched edward scissorhands special features and then got on the computer. well here i am dying during the most boring weekend in the history of time...:(

Hello

2007-04-13T03:57:41Z

Hey sierra! I see u haven't posted in a while, even tho i do it like 2x a day. Hurry up n post!

Freaky Friday Review

2007-04-12T05:52:52Z

Body-swap comedies are two-a-penny in Movie Land, but it's tough to criticise their ever-recurring appearance on the billboards when you come across one that's as genuinely enjoyable as 'Freaky Friday'.

After buying your ticket for this one, check your sense of originality at the door, because a change in formula isn't what this is about. In fact, it's a remake (and not the first one, either) of Disney's 1976 flick of the same name, which had mother Barbara Harris switching places with daughter Jodie Foster.

With that in mind, I went into this one thinking a nice idea would have been to bring back Foster, this time as the mother, and turn it into a sequel. Of course I was wrong, because that would have meant missing out on the terrific performance here from Jamie Lee Curtis as the single mom who, despite being a respected shrink, just can't understand teenage daughter Lindsay Lohan.

How the two end up undergoing the old switcheroo seems almost superfluous but, in case you're wondering, it involves a mad old Chinese restaurateur supplying them with magical fortune cookies. Is there any other way?

The usual brand of mayhem follows as mother goes about her daily business in daughter's body and vice-versa, and there's not much going on in the way of surprises. But what lifts this movie above the average is some great writing from Heather Hach (who has a cameo role as the school gym teacher) and Leslie Dixon (whose previous screenplay credits include 'Overboard' and 'Mrs Doubtfire'). Combined with the vibrant displays of the two leads, it makes for a funny and surprisingly sincere family comedy.

New Peeps

2007-04-12T01:08:42Z

Well, I just told a bunch of my friends about this website and they'll be making accounts. So far the only one who's made an account is my friend Sierra from school. Her account name is oh_fosho or something. No, I have no idea what that means. Whatever. Well, I have rehearsal in hour so I'll post more when I get back. And, Sierra you'd better have something posted after
7:00! I've nudged you once and I'll nudge you again! By the way how's your hand?

Staying Up Late 4 Me

2007-04-11T05:14:46Z

so it seems I shall be up late helping my stepsister Connie and her friend Audrey to make tshirts for their vollyball game tomorrow. So far we've made about 50% process and we'll probably working on it for another half an hour. Meanwhile, Will and Grace blares on the tv upstairs, calling to me, but I will resist.

hi

2007-04-11T03:41:12Z

Well, nothing much to say except that i'm bored and I wish my boyfriend hadn't left so early. I'm feeling flirty, but bored. Not really looking forward for school tomorrow. I have track after school but, hey, at least i have rehearsal for my play. Wer putting on Treasure Island and i'm a cannibal native.... Not much of a part, but I've gotta think of it as an ensemble or else the show will suck and I'll spread my negative energy. Gosh, I sound like a hippie.

hey friends

2007-04-11T00:04:12Z

i'm here waiting for my boyfriend to come over. Hopefully he will join us later for i am making him an account.
Anyways, I had the most boring easter as is humanly possible. The candy and food was the only upside.
I spent it with my boring family. *large yawn*
I'll see you folks later. ttfn

Edward Scissorhands

2007-03-22T01:14:39Z

Gosh, I love the movie Edward Scissorhands! Winona Rider is my favorite. She was in this one Friends episode and she played Rachel's best friend from high school who is secretly in love with her. It took my sister and I forever to figure out it was her, but I finally guessed it.

Movie Review

2007-03-22T01:06:20Z

John tucker Must Die Movie Review
This movie is a timid, screamingly unfunny rip-off of Heathers (they wish) in which a high school newbie (Brittany Snow) helps three popular girls exact revenge on John Tucker (Desperate Housewives hunk Jess Metcalfe) for pretending each girl is the only one he's boffing. Awful.

Pancakes

2007-03-21T03:15:38Z

I just ate two gigantic chocolate pancakes. I feel suprisinly bloated. Also i forgot to take my pills this morning.

Sex in the City

2007-03-21T02:11:07Z

Sex in the City. Where do I begin? I've joined one too many sex in the city hatelistings!! let us begin with Carrie. Sarah Jessica Parker's character. This woman is idolized by many girls on the show. What is possesing them?? For starters, she is NOT a good writer. Also, she is supposed to be a feminist. Yeah, right. She has sex with random guys that she meets on the street. And her clothes!! She thinks she's a country/pop/rap star poser! The rest of the girls on the show, including her friends, join her in her wrong-doing whole-heartedly! Yuck.

Boredness

2007-03-21T00:22:04Z

Isn't it kind of sad that, on my first ever livejournal entry I plan to to talk about being bored? This has to be changed. in stead, I shall leave for my singing lesson. Next time, i will post a play-by-play about how much I hate Sex in the city.