Best Picture

Since I haven't done all the reviews yet, let's do this inspired-by-haiku-style of years past:

Winter's Bone: Gritty, dark, with a lead who's wise
Consider the nomination your prize
Same for 127 Hours, with my man Franco
You're first in my book, but it just won't be so
The Kids Are All Right is probably suffering from time
Released in June, it's certainly not front of mind.
Toy Story 3 is just the third animation considered tops
I cried a whole lot, but it doesn't quite have the chops
True Grit, I liked way more that I'd thought
The Coen Brothers - count them out not.
Despite the acting, The Fighter doesn't stand a chance
10 nominations got them in this dance.
Black Swan - you are so intense and unexpected
I think Portman's in, but you'll be bested
Social Network and Inception - brilliant and quick
You're a bit too young for the Academy to get.
King's Speech: You're a bromance and not too much more
And yet I think this Oscar is yours to score.

Another year, another Oscars

Make no mistake: I don't find the repetition of yearafteryear Academy Awards mundane, but reassuring and almost always surprisingly rewarding. It's like opening a Christmas stocking from my Mom & Dad - I know it's going to happen every year, and there will be patterns and there will be surprises, and I am going to love the process as much as anything contained.

As I sit here, the mountains of San Diego are being doused with snow - ten inches since this morning, and it's still falling - and the only thing on my mind is: What if we can't drive down the mountain for the Oscars? The roads are nowhere near plowed, and we live in a land of no cable, with only a Toyota Camry to our name. So, moreso than ever before, there's the chance that tomorrow Trevor and I will not be watching the Academy Awards. Gulp.

Of course the Oscars will still happen. Of course I could read about them online. of course I would know what everyone wore, and who won what, and who offended whom. And it won't change anything in the world at large. Right?

Well, let's not worry about that yet - let's focus on the Oscar predictions!

Movie Review: The King's Speech

As the circa-WWII reluctant king of Great Britain, bogged down since childhood with a stammer, Colin Firth is even better than what you may have heard. No one does uptight like Mr. Firth, but, in his posture, and as much in what he doesn't say as what he does, he gives real depth to a character that could have been a joke, or an empty sketch.

(I know what you're thinking: His inevitable Oscar nomination pales in comparison to his honoring as April 2010's Man of the Month, but it's still important to acknowledge these more mundane accolades.)

As for the rest of the movie: It's essentially a bromantic comedy disguised as a period piece. The tension is all based around whether or not stubborn royalty can learn to accept help from a commoner. They bicker, they make up. Secrets are revealed, they have to decide whether or not they'll stand by one another. It's all very touching, in an incredibly familiar kind of way. The sets are gorgeous; Geoffrey Rush is a very convincing Australian; Helena Bonham Carter doesn't do much, but she does have normal skin and hair, so the Academy will probably want to acknowledge this role as a real stretch for her.

7 Twix bars!

Marcia?

I thought that I was over 'Entourage.' A couple years back, the show began feeling like an obligation instead of anything enjoyable. They were over-dramatizing everything (as opposed to over-Dramatizing everything, which I might have been okay with); Ari had become a total one-note character. I was bored with it. But, on an impulse at the library a few weeks back, Trevor and I picked up Season 6, and I am now on board instead.

I like Jamie-Lynn Sigler for Turtle; Ari has actual dimension every once in awhile, while still carrying off great banter with Lloyd; Eric's not quite so pathetic; Drama is just as absurd as ever; the guest casting has been fun (Jeffrey Tambor, David Schwimmer, etc.) Maybe because the casting has been on, it took me four full episodes to realize that the new junior agent in Ari's office isn't, in fact, Mrs. Ben Stiller herself, Marcia Brady reincarnate, Christine Taylor.

Christine Taylor


Not Christine Taylor

Turns out she's actually familiar from playing a high school student on 'The OC,' which, incidentally, I've watched way more of than anything starring Christine Taylor.

Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland

I'm struggling to think of anything positive to say about the newest incarnation of 'Alice in Wonderland.'

To begin with: It's boring. Nothing's added to one of the most well-known stories out there. The surreal, colorful beauty common to Tim Burton falls flat here. The accents are inconsistent and often hard to understand, especially at the beginning. The climactic battle scene has been seen a million times before (I've searched high and low for corresponding pictures of the final battle scene of 'Enchanted' and a screen cap from 'Jurassic Park' where the dinosaur's eye is alongside the cab, but the internet has let me down.).

At least it's not too long?

6 Twix bars!

Movie Review: Toy Story 3

'Toy Story 3' was everything that I was expecting, Clever, funny and sweet, it was throwback-y enough for those of us who were kids when the first came out, and current/kidsy enough for the new generation watching this one first. I would love to write more right now, but my eyes are so bleary from all the crying, I can't quite see my computer screen. So, let's watch this trailer while I pull myself together.



It was a lot of fun to revisit these characters (especially Wallace Shawn's Rex and Tim Allen's Buzz Lightyear), the gimmicks were new and clever (Turning Buzz into Spanish mode, giving Barbie a Ken), and there were some true laugh-out-loud moments (The reveal of the cymbal smashing monkey as security guard.). And was that a flamenco version of 'You've Got a Friend in Me' in the credits?

For years, Pixar has been providing adults and kids with reliable entertainment. As the franchise that started it all, it's only appropriate that 'Toy Story 3' is just one more piece of heartwarming proof that they're the smartest movie house around.

Movie Review: Going the Distance

The weirdest thing happens when I try to think about 'Going the Distance', the summer romantic comedy starring perennial on/off/on/off/on/off real-life couple, Drew Barrymore & Justin Long: I instead immediately think of 'Date Night,' the earlier summer romantic action comedy starring never-been couple Tina Fey & Steve Carrell.





I don't know why. Maybe I think Justin Long should replace Steve Carrell on 'The Office' when he departs at the end of this season. Maybe I'm envisioning a future when Drew Barrymore & Justin Long are a bit older, and settled in their ways and can live happily ever after. It's probably just because we saw them around the same time.

Here's what was good about 'Going the Distance':

• The ups-and-downs, priorities and downfall of the relationship were realistic (way more realistic than the likelihood that he'd work at a record company and she in journalism - hello, it's 2010 - but, hey, they kind of addressed that.)
• Drew Barrymore was seriously funny - just the right amount of raunchy. It was nice to watch a romantic comedy where the woman has some personality.
  
• Mustaches. Justin Long's buddies in this movie are hilarious.

Boston friends, did you see the movie/watch the trailer? How much is the guy on the right like Zura??

Here's what was less-than-good:

I keep confusing it with a different film movie.

So, I really enjoyed the movie while I was watching it: laughed, cried, all the goods. But the long term effects just aren't there. 7 Twix bars!

Lookalikes Return

It should come as little surprise to most of you that, at least pop culturally speaking, I am at heart a 14-year old girl. Case in point: My life features infrequent internet, no cable access, and nothing resembling DVR, but I have found ways to follow television shows like 'Glee' and 'Life Unexpected.' These are both shows that I wish I enjoyed more, but to which I still find myself drawn. Judging by these new characters, it might be a lip thing:

He's in high school, potentially a love interest for Kirk,
but mostly relying on his acoustic guitar and
beach-voice "skills" to endear himself to the ladies.

He's in high school too...as a teacher! Yup, I didn't see that one coming either.
Thanks 'Life Unexpected,' for keeping this teen-soap-expert on her toes.

But maybe it's just me: Am I just imagining the lookalike-connection between these two new recurring characters?

Man of the Month: April

Being as I am a happily married woman approaching 30, I suppose it's a good thing that I'm not as boy crazy as I once was. But it sure can make choosing a Man of the Month difficult. My thoughts as I browsed through our DVDs this week in search of the perfect fit for April's honoree went something like this:

• Jon Hamm. Done.
• Taye Diggs. Done.
• Paul Rudd. Hahaha. Done.
• David Boreanaz. Done.
• Eric Chandler. I miss 'Friday Night Lights.' Done.
• Taye Diggs. Still done.
• Have I done Jake Gyllenhaal? Regardless, I'm not sure I can support his hair in 'Prince of Persia.'
• Peter Krause. Done. (Is it just me or is 'Parenthood' kind of boring?)
  
• Do I even like Owen Wilson that much anymore?

But then I came upon two of the most controversial movies in our collection. And no, I don't mean 'Buffalo 66' or 'Mulholland Drive; I speak, of course, of 'Bridget Jones's Diary' and 'Love Actually.' (These are controversial only in the the-participants-in-my-marriage-don't-agree-on-their-hilarity-and-cultural-relevance sense.)

Has there ever been a more natural Man of the Month than Colin Firth? No matter how many times 'Pride and Prejudice' is inevitably done, Colin Firth will forever be the quintessential Mr. Darcy, thereby making him romantic hero #1 among most women between the ages of 14 and 60. And then he was Mark Darcy, possibly an even more romantic hero, because he eats blue soup, and falls in love with the essentially-unstandable Renee Zelweger. This is a man that does uptight yet sensitive man at his best. I mean, he's in 'Mamma Mia' for Pete's sake. In fact, I'd venture to say that Colin Firth's only Man of the Month demerit (aside from his decision to co-star in a movie with Amanda Bynes): His name's similarity to the totally not-MotM-worth Colin Farrell.

Oscar Predictions 2010

If you're still keeping up with me here, no doubt you've noticed that I'm somewhat less pop culturally active than I once was. It's true: I've been sometimes busily and sometimes very lazily settling into life as a rural dweller. There isn't a movie theater, bar (that's open more than 3 days a week, that is), or concert venue within 30 miles of here; we've reduced our Netflix subscription to 1-at-a-time, and I'm surrounded by people who've never heard of the CW.

That being said, Trevor & I have done our best to stay current: We're watching 'Party Down' on Netflix, reading all the 'American Idol' recaps, and have seen eight of the ten best picture nominees (Yes, I have been completely irresponsible in terms of movie reviews, but, despite evidence to the contrary, we really have seen 8.). And - to the aghast of the Squirrels Squirrels Squirrels - we're skipping out on our weekly rec volleyball league match tomorrow in favor of the Oscars (Yikes, what if tomorrow is our first victory? Just coincidence, I'm sure.)

First things first: The best movie I saw in 2009 was 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' and - as impressed as I am with Meryl Streep constantly - I'm not so into the imitation-as-artistry form of acting (Yeah, I'm talking to you other Mr. Foxx), and I haven't heard a single one of the nominees for Best Original Song (but, I'm still willing to bet the one from 'Crazy Heart' will win.).

So, here they are, my not-entirely-fearless Oscar predictions:

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Best Director: James Cameron
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges
Best Actress: Meryl Streep
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Waltz
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'nique
Best Original Screenplay: 'Inglorious Basterds'
Best Adapted Screenplay: 'Up in the Air'

Plus, I'm sure that 'Music by Prudence' will totally win Best Documentary Short. Er, right?

Movie Review: The Hurt Locker

I get the hype around 'The Hurt Locker.' Totally intense, beautifully shot and well written, it's the first critically and commercially successful film about the war in Iraq.




The movie centers around the final 30 days of service for a 3-man bomb squad in Iraq - they are charged with neutralizing the risk of all reported bombs. A variety of different scenarios - roadside bomb, body bomb, desert ambush - are shown as we learn about these three men and their demons and drivers. As you wait for the bomb to go off, or to see the right wire clipped, each sequence is so tense and harrowing that my neck muscles are now sore.

The ending wasn't great, wrapping things up a little too neatly so that it was bordering on contrived. But I love that this movie was directed by a woman (especially because that woman, Kathryn Bigelow, also directed 'Point Break' - and what's not to love about 'Point Break'?) and that where movies like 'Black Hawk Down' are all A-list stars and flashy special effects, this movie was mostly no names and grittier, down-to-earth cinematography.

I enjoyed the surprise cameos - Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, Evangeline Lilly - among the cast of no names. And those no names were great - the acting was truly one of the high points of the film - once I figured out who the main actor reminded me of:

The OC's Benjamin McKenzie

+


Kiefer Sutherland

=


The Hurt Locker's Jeremy Renner

8 Twix bars!

Movie Review: Invictus

I have no one to blame but myself.

For the last 7 or so years - however long it has been that Clint Eastwood has been working way too hard for a 79 year old man - I've been left wholly unimpressed with what he's given us, including 'Mystic River,' 'Million Dollar Baby,' 'Flags of our Fathers' and the preview for 'Gran Torino.' (It's true: I couldn't even endure the preview of 'Gran Torino,' with all that growling and over-the-top-obvious Catholic guilt.) So, I should have trusted my instinct about 'Invictus'; instead, I let all the talk (Sure, Matt Damon helped) convince me that it was an important movie to see and worth $10. It wasn't.

Beyond how incredibly slowly it moved (Seriously, HOW do you make the final match of a rugby World Cup sooooo boring?), the most frustrating thing about the movie was its ridiculously heavy-handed plot, symbolism and soundtrack. How heavy-handed? This song - which would be cheesy in the credits of an animated Disney film - played during the climax:



Because, how else could the audience understand how bad apartheid was, how much adversity Nelson Mandela had overcome, and how important this team was to the country? At another point, Matt Damon's character visits the prison where Mandela was held and - in a totally independent-from-the-rest-of-the-movie moment of surrealism - sees Morgan Freeman cracking rocks and reciting poetry. Just in case we didn't understand what his character was learning, he then tells his wife exactly how moved he is. Later, there's another completely-removed-from-the-plot sequence where the audience is tricked into thinking that a Josh Brolin wannabe is going to attack the stadium with his plane during the all-important game. But - wouldn't you know it? - instead, he just does a fly over so the whole stadium can see the 'Good Luck' on the bottom of the plane. Talk about a complete waste of time.

And that's how I feel about the movie - obvious moment after obvious moment - as a whole. Sure, Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman were fine with what they were given to do - mostly look taken aback and serene, respectively - and I know a little bit more about rugby now than I did before. But I've got nothing else good to say about this movie. So, here's the resolution: I will watch 'Bridges of Madison County' and then Clint and I are done. For good, no matter what the buzz is next Oscar season.

6 Twix bars!

Man of the Month: January

We'd only seen 2 movies between September and December (Living 40 miles from the nearest movie theater makes film-going a little more difficult than when there was one half of a mile away.), so, over Christmas, we took advantage of a three week break and civilization to see several movies. 5 in fact. And the two best - 'Up in the Air' & 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' - both starred George Clooney. That made the Man of the Month decision pretty easy.



More than just his relevance this month, I'm realizing that I actually like George Clooney quite a bit. I like how at-ease he always seems, how he embraces his bachelor life and how smart his movie choices have been over the last 10 years. Finally, I love that he survived this:



And became this:


Let's hear it for bad glasses wearers everywhere, and raise our champagne flutes to 2010's inaugural Man of the Month, Mr. George Clooney.

(Oh, and yes: Official reviews of all 5 movies coming soon to a computer screen near you.)

Man of the Month: December

I actually chose a new Man of the Month at the beginning of December, but never finished a proper blog entry about him. So, let's just cut to the chase: This month's MotM is Peter Krause (apparently pronounced Kraus-eh).

Now, he might not play too many likable characters (I chose him as Man of the Month while watching an episode of 'Six Feet Under' where he did nothing but scream the F word and trip on drugs), but if you've ever seen 'Sports Night' - the pre-'West Wing' totally underrated Aaron Sorkin half-hour no laugh track dramedy that launched Felicity Huffman - you'll understand why he deserves this honor. And if you haven't, you're missing out.

Making sweet music

This weekend, I'll be in San Francisco throwing a bachelorette party for my sister. Part of the weekend will be a road trip, for which I have compiled a mixed CD: "First Dance Song Suggestions: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly." Here's the playlist.

1. "All I Want Is You" (U2)
2. "In Your Eyes" (Peter Gabriel)
3. "Kiss Me" (Sixpence None The Richer)
4. "Love Song" (Death Cab for Cutie)
5. "Wild Horses" (The Sundays)
6. "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" (Lauryn Hill)
7. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (Diana Ross)
8. "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" (The Spinners)
9. "Happy Together" (The Turtles)
10. "I Got You Babe" (Sonny & Cher)
11. "I Say A Little Prayer" (Dionne Warwick)
12. "Islands In The Stream" (Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers)
13. "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" (Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong)
14. "Love And Marriage" (Frank Sinatra)
15. "Love Is Strange" (Mickey & Sylvia)
16. "Oh, What A Night" (The Four Seasons)
17. "You're My First, My Last, My Everything" (Barry White)
18. "At Last" (Etta James)
19. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Elton John)
20. "Endless Love" (Diana Ross & Lionel Richie)
21. "It Had To Be You" (Harry Connick, Jr.)
22. "Lady In Red" (Chris DeBurgh)
23. "Something" (The Beatles)
24. "We've Only Just Begun" (The Carpenters)
25. "You Are So Beautiful" (Joe Cocker)
26. “I Only Want to be With You” (Vonda Shepard)

I'm happy about this playlist because of the balance between actually good songs (the 'Love Song' cover by Death Cab for Cutie) and the ridiculously awesome songs ('You're the First, the Last, the Everything,' by Barry White. Ow.). Embarrassingly enough, it was way more of those "awesome" songs that I already had in my CD collection (Yes, I own the 'Ally McBeal' soundtrack.).

Trevor and I danced to 'At My Most Beautiful' by REM, and the wedding we attended last week was all about the Flaming Lips's 'Do You Realize??", but with only 80 minutes to a CD, there are clearly limits. Maybe there should be a volume 2 once the wedding date rolls around - any suggestions?

Man of the Month: October

Kyle Chandler sure was a deserving Man of the Month, eh? Now that we’ve all had a chance to appreciate him (and now that I’ve settled in at camp), it’s time to tear the well-earned honor from his hands and bestow it on another gent. This month’s honoree: Jon Hamm.

I spent a lot of time resisting the urge (and Trevor’s repeated suggestion) to make Jon Hamm Man of the Month. He’s had a pretty big year, headlining television’s most critically acclaimed show, watching it shoot up in the ratings, hosting Saturday Night Live, guest starring on 30 Rock (which, despite my somewhat loyal viewership of, I still always want to call Third Rock from the Sun), winning a Golden Globe and generally becoming Hollywood’s new favorite It Actor. (Was he People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive? It seems like he would have been.)

I thought that Man of the Month would get lost amongst all the hoopla. But then Season 3 started. And he’s all supportive father, barely philandering husband (Hey, it’s an improvement), gay secret keeper, anti-bureaucracy suave, and I just can’t help it.

Plus, he’s really funny. Did you see him on ‘30 Rock’? The bit about Eric from ‘The Little Mermaid being based on him was priceless. Then there was his Lex Luthor video on Funny or Die and almost every skit he did as a host on Saturday Night Live (There are not many hosts you can even say “almost” about).



It’s official – even if just for one month this time around, Jon Hamm is a totally deserving Man of the Month titleholder.

Movie Review: (500) Days of Summer

I'd been looking forward to (500) Days of Summer so much, I easily could have wound up hating it. Luckily, I didn't. I thought it was smart, funny, original, and reassuringly relevant to relationships that 20-somethings have in this day and age. Until the end.


I'll leave this spoiler-free, and just say the ending was too darn cutesy. It made it feel like the whole film had just been a build up to one kind of lame, predictable punch line from a Readers Digest jokes page. And it's too bad, because Joseph Gordon-Levitt was great (though it's hard to get used to him having such a deep voice), his friends realistic, the soundtrack fun. It's hard to not feel like Zooey Deschanel was playing herself – equal parts pixie and sassy hipster, unaware of how beguiling she is – but she was perfect as the titular Summer.

There were other problems (An architect? Really?), but this is the kind of movie that I think will get even better upon repeat viewings, as you get to know the characters better. 7.75 Twix bars!

Movie Review: Up

'Up' does what Pixar movies do best - puts seemingly unrelatable characters front and center, and makes them real and likable. This time around, the character that we get to fall in love with isn't a toy cowboy, monster, superhero or robot - it's a sad old man (voiced by Ed Asner).



The story is about a boy and a girl obsessed with travel and adventure who grow up, fall in love and get married. Though they live a content life, they never achieve those travel and adventure ambitions. Eventually, the old man is being forced out of his home, so he decides to finally go on their adventure - and to take his house with him, by using balloons. Up, up, up he goes - and then he discovers that a curious boy scout who had come to visit is up there with him. They make it to their destination, and adventure ensues, in the form of a rogue explorer (Who, I was delighted to find out, was voiced by Captain Von Trapp himself, Christopher Plummer), a mysterious bird, and dogs equipped with voice transmitters ('Dug,' a sweet, dumb ol' dog, has some of the best lines of the movie - I could watch a whole movie just about him. Squirrel!).

The movie starts out melancholy, and quiet - I was told to bring my hanky, and this was certainly good advice - but it moves along quickly enough. After the sad beginning, there is just enough action and humor to make you remember that this is, in fact, a kids movie. Your attentions is kept and your spirits are up throughout the whole thing.

As Carl, Ed Asner is perfect, equal parts grumpy old man and devoted husband. His evolution to friend/psuedo-grandparent is as satisfyingly joyful as his quest to achieve that one final goal for his wife is heartbreaking.

I love the idea that a kids movie doesn't have to just be loud and colorful in order to be appealing. Like 'Wall-E' before it (which I think I liked maybe .25 of a Twix bar more), what I really liked about 'Up' is the sheer intelligence of it: I love that there are enough layers to be good upon repeat viewings, to both children and adults.

8 Twix bars!

Man of the Month: August

You know how famous people are always talking about how hard their lives are with all this fame and fortune? (And doesn't it seem like it's the famous people most desperate for the spotlight who complain the loudest? And they're often the ones with the least reason to be famous). Boo freaking hoo, right?

But do you know when I do feel sorry for celebrities? When they do genuinely amazing work, with little or no recognition for it. This is the syndrome that cancels the My So-Called Lives, Freaks & Geeks and Arrested Developments of the world after 1 or 2 seasons, while keeping 'According to Jim' on the air for 8 years (I wish I was kidding.). This is the affliction that leaves Lauren Graham, she of the brilliant Lorelai Gilmore creation, Emmy and Golden Globe free, while Jeremy Piven of the funny but mostly one-dimensional Ari Gold, makes his way to the podium – again. And this is why, this month, we are celebrating Kyle Chandler as Man of the Month.


Kyle Chandler plays Coach Eric Taylor, the heart and soul of one of the three best television shows on today, 'Friday Night Lights' (The other two being 'The Office' and 'Mad Men' – 'Lost' is too hot and cold) – a show that the Emmys somehow thought it sensical to nominate for “Outstanding Casting,” one of those prizes they don't even announce on the telecast, without recognizing a single member of that outstanding cast in the acting categories. Brilliant.

I've babbled on about 'Friday Night Lights' before – about how tragic it is that it's not more watched and about the reasons for this (People think it's about high school kids; people think it's about football; people think it's about high school kids playing football; all of these people are wrong; etc.). For today's purposes, that's neither here nor there (But those people are wrong.). And while I might love Tammie, played by the brilliant, subtle, smart, sassy, classy Connie Britton, even more than Eric, this is Man of the Month, not Celebrity of the Month. So, this August, we salute you, Kyle Chandler, for being a wonderful television dad, a brilliant deliverer of the well-meaning evil eye, and most of all, for making a football obsessed, middle-aged Texan sexy to a liberal, 20-something, baseball fan of an urbanite. Clear eyes, full hearts indeed.

Man of the Month: July

From 8th-12th grades, I had a video tape that I used to keep snippets of important television happenings (So, yes: I've always been this pop culture obsessed.). It was labeled “Melrose Place Tape #5” from a project I had undertaken of recording an entire season’s worth of 'Melrose Place' on VHS to send to my friend Ayesha who was spending 6 months of our 8th grade year with her grandparents in Pakistan. Upon her (and the tapes’) return, 'Melrose Place' quickly got replaced. Aside from 'General Hospital' which I’d record every day, and shows like 'Party of 5,' 'Buffy' and 'Felicity' which I recorded weekly, I kept careful track of when my many celebrity boyfriends would be on various talk shows so that I could tape them all. Then, I’d transfer scenes that I liked or interviews I wanted to keep onto this video tape. Man, I really knew my way around a VCR. Life skills, you know.

With ‘Brothers Bloom’ recent release (from the director of 'Brick'), all the film festival/indie rock love hoopla around the upcoming '500 Days of Summer' and the premiere of a TV version of one of my favorite 1990s movies, '10 Things I Hate About You,' I’ve been thinking about Joseph Gordon-Levitt quite a bit these days. And when I think of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I think about an interview I kept of him on this tape – it was with Jay Leno during the time that he was on '3rd Rock From the Sun,' but towards the end, because he had short '10 Things I Hate About You' hair, not the bob.

In this interview, he talks about having a hyphenated name, and how it really is both of his parents’ last names joined, and about how they used to be hippies but now they drive BMWs. As a member of the hyphenated last-name club, I actually think about this quite a bit. But, I feel like I’ve already told that story on this blog, so I have come up with some new reasons to like this seemingly well-adjusted, smart guy who likes what he does and just happens to be our latest Man of the Month:

1. This trailer:
   
   
   
   
2. This interview (From Entertainment Weekly, 4/24/2009):
   
   EW: How would you describe your character in '(500) Days of Summer?'
   JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT: He's a bit of a hopeless romantic who has taken perhaps a little bit too seriously pop songs and love stories. He has to figure some s--- out and man up a little bit.
   
   EW: You've never made a movie as outright romantic as (500) Days. Are you a fan of the standard romantic comedy?
   JGL: Well, who is a fan of the standard romantic comedy? The vast majority of Hollywood love stories — let's be honest, they're full of s---. Love is not about winning and losing. Love is not about happy endings or good guys and bad guys. [At] most movie studios, the big decisions get made by accountants and lawyers. They don't get made by artists.
   
   EW: Is that why you've done so many independent dramas since 1999's '10 Things I Hate About You?'
   JGL: I'll stand up for '10 Things I Hate About You.' I think that was a good movie. [Laughs] The A-R-T word is a complicated one. I shouldn't have brought it up because you can sound pretentious calling things art. But when I make a movie, it's because it inspires me. People always smirk when I say this, but when I saw the designs for the character that I play in 'G.I. Joe,' it was like, ''Wow! How'd I get to be that guy?'' That's exciting to me.
   
   EW: 'G.I. Joe,' in which you play Cobra Commander, opens three weeks after '(500) Days of Summer.' Are you prepared for the amount of fame that could bring?
   JGL: I don't know. When I was younger, I used to hate that kind of recognition. I still kind of have a problem with the intersection of this word called ''celebrity'' and acting. What makes it worth it for me is that people that saw '(500) Days of Summer' at Sundance have been coming up and saying, ''Wow, that really meant something to me.'' So if you're asking, ''Are you prepared for so many more people to connect with you in that way?'' I want that connection. That's a dream come true.