Netflix Challenge #7 - Say Yes to the Dress Season 4

My seventh pick for my Netflix Challenge is admittedly, a guilty pleasure. I had no intention of making Say Yes to the Dress-Season 4 my next challenge but once the holiday weekend was over and I'd watched the whole season on instant, I figured why not?!

When I started this challenge I created some vague boundaries and rules in my head. One of these rules was that I couldn't just watch one disc or one episode of a tv show. If I was going to use it as a pick, it would need to be the whole season. Mission accomplished! (Another rule is that it can't be anything that I've seen before and so far I've stuck to that one too!) There are 18 episodes in season 4 but they are only 21 minutes each so the time flies as you are watching bride after bride find her dress. Or in many cases, NOT find her dress.

When it comes to reality tv, I turn up my nose a little bit. In my day I've watched a season of Survivor here, a season of American Idol there, but it's not something I really enjoy. The premise of most reality tv ridiculous and sad. The few exceptions are shows like Project Runway or Top Chef where having a legitimate ability is what lands you on national television. The drama and hissy fits are not the focus of the show...for the most part. ;) While Say Yes to the Dress doesn't feature talented chefs and there are no weekly challenges, I feel that it's pure in what it does offer. Women shopping for their wedding dress. That's it! Some are nice brides and some of awful bridezillas. Some are sample sizes and others fight to find a decent plus size dress for their big day. You have supportive families who cry when the dress is discovered but also family members who criticize and name-call. It's fascinating!

In case anyone isn't hip to my TLC guilty pleasure, Say Yes to the Dress is a show that goes behind the scenes of wedding dress shopping in a large NYC shop called Kleinfeld's. Each episode features 3 brides,usually two who are looking for their dress and one who is having a fitting. There are all manner of divas and snafus and it's just ridiculous! Pants HATES it! If I'm flipping through and see it on, I immediately stop and keep it on that channel even if I've already seen that episode! When I saw that Netflix had season 4 on instant I might've screamed out loud a little bit. Maybe. Yes, I did. :)

I am aware this post and choice is frivolous but come one! I'm at about the half-way point and I needed something fun and quick to keep me going! :) I don't expect everyone to want to queue this one up but I still recommend it if you're looking for fun, fluffy stories about what can be the happiest day in people's lives.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

Netflix Challenge #6-Herb and Dorothy

a fascinating true story about a girl and her herbs. <-----Pant's summary :)

As with last week's pick, I let Netflix do the choosing! Herb & Dorothy was recommended as something I might like based on my interest in...well I don't really know anymore! I tend to go on sprees adding things to my instant queue and don't always remember the path I took to get there.

From Netflix:

"Chronicling the story of unlikely art collectors Herb Vogel and Dorothy Vogel, filmmaker Megumi Sasaki demonstrates that it's not necessary to be wealthy in order to build a significant collection in this fascinating documentary. A postal clerk and a librarian, the Vogels share a passion for art, which they pursued over decades, becoming two of the most important collectors of minimalist and conceptual art with more than 4,000 pieces."

To be honest, much of this documentary went over my head. I am not an art aficionado and know basically nothing about minimal or conceptual art. Of the countless artists mentioned and interviewed in this piece, I was familiar with two or three of them. I had never heard the names Herb Vogel or Dorothy Vogel before. Regardless of that, I still found their story immensely watchable.

The Vogels were not beautiful people, or rich people. They live(d?) their lives in a small, one bedroom New York apartment. Into that apartment they stuffed what amounted to almost 5,000 works of art! Not all at one time, of course. When they decided to donate their collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. they were able to clean out and start again!

A few things that stood out to me:

-I loved their choice to GIVE their collection to the National Gallery. They could easily have sold their art for millions of dollars but made a vow in the beginning to never sell one piece. They had a strong desire to keep the collection together as they felt it was meant to be. Herb worked for the Postal Service his whole life and Dorothy was a librarian. They loved the idea of being able to continue their government/service jobs by giving their collection back to the people. The National Gallery, as all museums and national art galleries in D.C., has no admission and they wanted the people to have access to art easily and cheaply.

-I couldn't help but think of the show Hoarders as they showed footage of the Vogels apartment. Boxes, crates and loose art are stacked from floor to ceiling and entirely covers the walls. The idea of collecting being an addiction is touched upon and I feel like the Vogels are prime examples. Their entire life was devoted to the act of collecting art...and having cats. :)

-There is a little extra scene at the end showing Dorothy buying her first computer. I love it. LOVE IT.

One thing I will say about this Netflix Challenge is that I'm keeping my mind open to any and all choices before me. Knowing that I have to fit nine more movies in before August 31st has got me a little panicky. I'm not allowing myself to be choosy and I think it's working out pretty well! I've now watched at least 2, if not 3 or 4 movies I might not otherwise have taken the time to see. I certainly feel like a more well-rounded individual!

If you're interested in the art world or eccentric pop culture figures, I would recommend giving Herb & Dorothy a spin.

Challenge, One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Netflix Challenge #5 - TiMER

My latest pick for my Netflix Challenge is TiMER. It was a complete unknown to me when it popped up in the suggestions as I was browsing the latest Instant choices. It had a fairly high rating and sounded like an interesting premise. I was in the mood for something a littler lighter and romantic and thought it might fill the bill. I'm extremely glad I decided to watch it!

Here's a little description from Netflix:

In this comedic fantasy, science has facilitated the search for a soul mate via biotechnological implants that count down to the moment one is supposed to meet his or her match. But Oona (Emma Caulfield) is worried: She's nearly 30, and her TiMER isn't ticking yet. Will her dream guy get snatched up by someone else?"

Completely related to nothing I really like the name Oona now :)

The movie takes place in a time that in most every aspect is current day except for the introduction of the TiMER sometime in the last 10 or 20 years. The TiMER tells you to the instant when you'll meet your soul mate or One. My initial reaction is absolute delight. It delved into very true aspects of relationship that everyone deals with and how society portrays this NEED to know who our One is and when they'll show up. There is so much pressure on single women (and men) to wait for The One and that you only get one and how do you know them and on and on and ON! It reminded of Sex and the City episode where they talk about this exact issue at the diner. Do you only get one? What happens if had your one and it doesn't work out? Is that it for you?

The story doesn't follow only Oona but her whole family. Her mom and stepfather, her stepsister Steph and their half brother Jesse. Each of these characters has different experiences with the TiMER. Steph for example isn't supposed to meet her One until she's 43! This brings up the issue of what do you do until your One shows up? Is it cheating if you have another relationship? Oona faces this when she embarks on a relationship with Mikey. I don't want to give too much away but I just loved how everything worked out at the end. The reality is that even if someone isn't your One, those relationships and loves shape you. They scar you and it can be a beautiful thing.

It's currently available on Instant and I highly recommend it.

Netflix Challenge #4- The Remains of the Day

"A butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years post World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty has been." ( from imdb.com)

My fourth pick for my Netflix Challenge is another one available on instant. The Remains of the Day came out in theatres in 1993 and is based on the novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was nominated for a number of Oscars including Best Director, Best Picture and Best Actor/Actress for Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. I've seen bits and pieces of this movie over the years but never enough to fully understand the plot. I decided now would be a good time to finally see it all the way through!

I'll start by saying the movie is gorgeous! I'd recommend it for the visual aspect alone. The scenes of the English countryside are breathtaking and the interior shots of Darlington Manor are a sight to behold. Especially for an American like me not used to houses of that size and stature.

So much of the story is about restraint and coming to terms with your place in your little corner of the world. The main character played by Hopkins, is Stevens. He's been the butler at Darlington Manor for seemingly his whole adult life and it has completely shaped him and his worldview. He is so wrapped up in his duties and dignity that he doesn't see a lot of what's going on in front of him. Correction: he sees it but basically looks beyond it or pretends he doesn't understand. It was frustrating for me as a viewer because I genuinely thought he would change his ways at many points throughout the movie but he just kept soldiering on. The epitome of the stiff upper lip English people are always accused of having.

Many sites list this movie as a romance but to me isn't a romance in the strictest sense of the word. There is not a happy ending necessarily. I go back to the word restraint here because THAT is what you see. Hopkins and Thompson embody that word so well. The heat in the looks he gives her character of Miss Kenton! The way he stares at her whenever he gets the chance! Unfortunately I kept imagining Hannibal Lector but that was totally my brain and nothing at all in the movie. :)

The Remains of the Day was an extremely well made, well acted, and beautiful movie. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys period pieces, movies set in England or is just a fan of that Merchant/Ivory style of movie. (They did in fact make this one :))

On a side note: I was interested in the author of the book the movie was made from. His name is Kazuo Ishiguro and his two most well known books,(The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go) are both set in England. After perusing his Wikipedia page I learned his family moved to England when he was 6 so that explains the settings. There was one line on the page that I felt described this movie very well.

"Ishiguro's novels often end without any sense of resolution. The issues his characters confront are buried in the past and remain unresolved. Thus Ishiguro ends many of his novels on a note of melancholic resignation. His characters accept their past and who they have become, typically discovering that this realization brings comfort and an ending to mental anguish."

I'm curious to read Never Let Me Go. I've had it on my bookshelves for awhile. I'd heard many good things and when I heard it was being made into a movie, I decided to pick it up. I think I might pick up The Remains of the Day as well.

Challenge 1 Challenge 2 Challenge 3

Netflix Challenge #3- Mystery Team

I'm on a roll with my Netflix Challenge! As you may have noticed, I've been posting my recaps/reviews on every Monday and Friday but in reality I watched these first three movies all in the same day! It was an extravaganza!

Choice #3 was Mystery Team and to be honest, Pants picked this one. I can't even TELL you how many months ago he showed me the trailer for this movie on YouTube. We weren't living together yet so it was AT LEAST a year ago. The movie was produced/written/acted by the members of the Derrick Comedy group. It didn't get a very wide release at all but got a lot of indie/underground attention. As soon as Netflix had it available it went to the top spot of the queue! I myself am not familiar with Derrick Comedy but I still recognized a lot of actors who currently are part of much of NBC's Thursday night line-up.

The story revolves around 3 best friends who are....naive to say the least. Jason, Charlie, and Duncan created a Scooby-Doo type Mystery Team when they were kids and came to some acclaim in their neighborhood for their skills. Only problem...their 18 now and are still looking for missing bikes. A real mystery falls into their laps by way of a double murder. The victims youngest daughter asks the Mystery Team to find out who killed her parents. Hilarity ensues!

What basically happens from here on out pokes fun at all the kid detective movies/tv shows. Only raunchy. They read an article in the newspaper that basically solves the crime if you have half a brain cell but lucky for us, they might not. The three guys go all over town using 'disguises' to get into a strip club, lumber yard, and to get in good with a 'hobo'. The disguises were probably my favorite part of the movie because of the sheer ridiculousness of each one. The hobo scene made me snort. Duncan has a book about the history of hobos that was easily 50 years out of date. Their hobo is actually a homeless drug addict but the Team seems blissfully unaware of this.

By the end of the movie it comes out that everyone but Jason is ready to grow up and move on. They know they aren't taken seriously and have made plans for college. They manage to solve their last mystery although I think everyone comes out a little worse for wear.

I'd recommend this movie because while it doesn't break any new ground, it recycles old jokes in a fresh way with some new faces. There's a lot of funny people in this movie and I expect to be seeing a lot more from all of them. Also hearing Donald Glover scream like a girl is hilarious.

Netflix Challenge #2- Julie and Julia

The second choice in my Netflix challenge was the Julie and Julia based on the book by the same name. When this movie came out I had no overwhelming desire to see it in theatres and even poked fun at Pants because he did! He watched it illegally online somewhere and loved it and I poked fun AGAIN. Now I'll have to eat my words!

The movie follows the lives of both Julia Child and Julie Powell. It's supposedly based on the book 'Julie and Julia' by Powell but I know that for much of the Child scenes they used Julia Child's book 'My Life in France' as a reference. For the most part I enjoyed both sides of the story but Meryl Streep as Child is so memorable. Stanley Tucci as her husband Paul tips the story in their favor. It didn't feel like two actors portraying a couple in love. Tucci and Streep had a wonderful chemistry and came across so comfortably in the characters skin.

One thing I liked about the Julie side of the story was the conversations between she and her husband about her blog. She questions whether anyone actually reads numerous times. When she gets her first comment she is overjoyed only to find out it's from her mother so "it doesn't count". I empathize with that SO much! One thing that especially hit home for me was when she was trying to explain to her mother why she kept doing it. She tells her it's good to have short term goals and that it basically sets a regimen for her, something she has to do everyday. It helps keep her on the path forward. This pretty much sums up why I started blogging. I wanted to see if I could do it. If I'd be any good or anyone would care. Since I started only about a month ago, projects have been accomplished, books have been finished, movies watched...all things I meant to do but haven't found the time for. As her husband accuses in the movie, blogging is a very personal almost vain/selfish thing to do but I think it can also help make you a better person. I hope that ramble made sense!

I highly recommend Julie and Julia. It's not often you get a movie that features two strong female leads and is centered around their story. The acting is terrific and it made me laugh and cry and want to learn to cook!

Oh! I had 'My Life in France' on the bookshelf so I'll be starting that next I think :)

Netflix Challenge #1- The September Issue

Fascinating.

That's the first word that comes to mind after finishing The September Issue. This is a documentary about the creation of the September 2007 issue of Vogue magazine. It's an in-depth look at what goes into creating the magazine and the people behind the curtain. It's currently available instantly on Netflix and I highly recommend queuing that sucker up!

I have so many thoughts and I don't know where to start! I think Grace Coddington is my hero now. I was familiar with the fashion director before this but didn't honestly know much about her. She has such spirit! She truly loves what she does and says herself that she wouldn't still be doing it if she didn't. I can't imagine putting so much of yourself and your time and creativity into a photo spread just to have someone come and slash half of it away. What you found beautiful, they find "toothy" or "too dark" or say it doesn't fit in with the story of the spread. Direct quotes from Anna Wintour there. The two woman have a relationship that can only be shared by people that have worked together in a very tough industry for decades. They seem to share this antagonism toward the other but then go on to call the other a genius or a visionary. I didn't realize Coddington had been a model herself and worked at British Vogue for 20 years before coming to American Vogue. She and Wintour even started on the same day! I would love to be a fly on the wall in those offices.

Anna Wintour herself is character that is hard to define. I realize she is a real person but I think she, like most famous people, put on an act in public. Seeing her interact with her daughter or talk about her father/family was very telling. It was obvious how much she loves her daughter. I also detected a tear in her eye when she was talking about her siblings and how they were 'amused' by what she did for a living. Her daughter even went so far as to say she respects her mother but finds the fashion industry laughable and the people in it ridiculous. I'm paraphrasing there but she certainly wasn't singing it's praises. I can't imagine how that affects Wintour. During the day she has people cowering in fear of her, kowtowing to her every idea and whim, claiming she is the most influential woman in America! Only to have her family basically laughing at it.

I recently watched the documentary about Valentino called The Last Emperor and I highly recommend both movies. They show a side of the fashion industry that is not widely publicized. I honestly feel anyone would enjoy these movies, not just Vogue subscribers. Having a love of fashion only enhances the experience.

Fascinating.

Netflix Challenge

On an almost daily basis I check in with many of the Sugar sites. I'm obsessed! Fancy giveaways, (I'll have to post about my winnings!) coverage that spans fashion, media and more, and each mini-site is updated constantly throughout the day.

Well Buzzsugar has just started a fun challenge! The Netflix Challenge is your call to movie watching arms! Their approach is to pick one actor, director, etc and watch their entire repertoire. You've got until the end of summer so this is an easily achievable task. I'm going to take this Challenge but change up the terms to suit me. Take that Buzzsugar!

Pants and I have had Netflix for over a year now and have amassed QUITE the queue. Both instant and DVD (207 DVD and 154 instant). It's quite daunting when I stop and think about it. I've decided my Challenge will be to watch at least 15 selections from either instant or regular DVD. I'll give myself until August 31st to complete. September is no longer Summer to me no matter what the temperature is.

As I watch a selection I will post a review of the movie/tv show. Between catching up on the Hulu queue, the Busy Bookworm Challenge and now this Netflix Challenge, I should have quite the busy Summer! Wish me luck!