Favourite Films Watched in 2015

Update March 2, 2016: Remember that time I started writing a blog post in January then completely forgot about it? Whoops! I just found this sucker in my drafts folder. It looks like I had the intention of writing a little blurb about each film but only finished one and barely started another. So, hilariously it's a little top 5 list where I take a break in the middle to ramble about Magic Mike XXL. Why delete when I can share THAT with the world? Hitting publish... Now. 

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Well 2015 brought the second fail year in a row of keeping track of my new-to-me movie watching, HOWEVER I would still love to share my 5 favourite movies I saw.  And (for the first time?) all of my favourites were movies that actually came out in 2015.

5. Inside Out

4. Spy - This movie was not at all how it appears in the trailers. It wasn't the usual "plus size woman is a bumbling simpleton that is the butt of a million fat jokes" but instead "plus size woman is underrated but is a totally capable badass". 

3. Magic Mike XXL - This movie is a masterpiece. STAY WITH ME NOW. It's basically a buddy road trip movie but all the buddies are "male entertainers" and they're road tripping to the big stripper convention. I'll let that sink in for a minute... BUT it's also an extremely positive portrayal of female sexuality and shows so many varied types of women. It is SO REFRESHING to see fat women in roles like this - and I say roles with an S because there are MANY plus sized women to be found. Fat women getting all sexy danced on by hot dudes and NOT ONE FAT JOKE IS MADE IN THIS MOVIE. While there are absolutely zero stakes to anything happening in this movie, and the lead actress is by far the least interesting character, this movie just makes me SO HAPPY YOU GUYS. 

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

GratiTuesday #9 & #10

Finding the positives in every day. 

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April 7 - April 13

MY JAMES HANCE ORIGINAL OF ADAM WEST BATMAN ARRIVED. It is so glorious. I'm going to hang it on my comic book originals/prints art wall but I sort of want to put it somewhere like... my bedroom. Or keep it in my bag. So I can look at it constantly. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Speaking of, my love for the Twitch show Critical Role (from the Geek & Sundry Twitch channel) continues to grow wildly. When I explain what it is to people, the general response is "... how is that entertaining?" but trust me you guys! It is! It's a weekly live stream of a game of Dungeons & Dragons played by 9 insanely talented voice actors. Stop. I can hear your eyes rolling from here. I PROMISE YOU IT IS SO GOOD. If you ever wanted a masterclass on storytelling or character building, this is it. Also, they've started playing Just Dance after the main episode and it was so funny to watch I ended up on the stream til 2am. On Friday I saw a production of the Rocky Horror Show. I'd never seen the stage version and a guy I knew from a musical we were both in a few years ago was playing Frank so I went tot check it out. HOLY CRAP it was AMAZING. Also there was a themed cocktail. The Sweet Transvestite was delish. Saturday my sister, niece and I all wore Captain Marvel shirts to take part in the Geek Walk 5k (which started with a hilarious 0.5k for all the geeks not used to physical activity. There was even a couch set up halfway through.) and that evening was Meeting #1 for AVENGERS CLUB. I set up Avengers Club as a weekly double feature screening of Marvel movies to prepare for AGE OF ULTRON! Meeting #1 included Iron Man & Thor, skipping Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk... Since it was also International Table Top Day we played some Boss Monster and Monty Python Fluxx during the films.

April 14 - April 20

Here's some awesome things that happened this week. Great Steel Magnolias rehearsals. Went to a Quarter Auction for the first time. Had a wine tasting for my sister's wedding wines. Played an awesome new game - Terra Mystica. I could talk about stuff like that. But really all I want to do is WATCH THE NEW STAR WARS TEASER AGAIN AND HOLY CRAP. It made me cry. At work. Awkward.

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GratiTuesday #6 - 8

Finding the positives in every day. 

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So.... Definitely missed posting the last 2 weeks. WHOOPS! Rather than a long rambling post outlining the last 21 days I'll just give you the highlights of the highlights. Extra highlighted.

March 17 - 23
This week I went to the Bridal store, got measured up and dropped a downpayment on my bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding. Exciting! I saw two new movies -  Birdman & The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The later was a lunch date matinee with my mom and grandma which was delightful. My sister, Christine, and her fiance had to go up to the GTA for their engagement photos so I hitched a ride so we could spend some time with my other sister, Courtney, who lives up there. I HAD CHICKEN & WAFFLES FOR THE FIRST TIME AND MY LIFE HAS CHANGED FOREVER. Saturday night we went out for a nice dinner, went back to Courtney's place, had some drinks and watched YouTube videos of music from the late 90s/early 2000s and sang all night. Seriously, till 4am. Sunday had a surprise party for a lovely friend of mine.

March 24 - 30
Another new movie this week. The Theory of Everything. On Friday I got to see Bo Burnham live! He was INCREDIBLE! My favourite part was at the very end. He did an amazing Kanye West-style autotuned rant and I've had parts of it running through my head ever since. I am constantly singing it wandering around the house. On the weekend we had our monthly themed potluck get together of my mom's side of the family. This month was at my parents' place and the theme was all appetizers. I decided to try a new recipe & made Buffalo Cauliflower Wings and they were INSANELY GOOD. (Find the Recipe HERE)

March 31 - April 6
My favourite annual event was this week. It's a night where a bunch of local chefs, wineries and breweries all come together to create and amazing meal with pairings to raise money for the hospital. Always so much fun and so much yum. Courtney came down on the weekend so all 3 of us sisters could spend Easter weekend together. On Saturday we got manicures, had brunch at my favourite restaurant and Courtney went to her bridesmaid dress fitting. We all took turns each night cooking for each other. I made a spicy Asian salmon dish, Courtney made quinoa fried "rice" and Christine made these huge chicken meatballs. Everything was SO GOOD. My niece was at her dad's this weekend but we got to have her for a bit on Easter Sunday. It started as a cloudy day but it turned surprisingly nice so we all went for a walk and played in 2 different parks, which she (and we!) thought was just great. Yesterday was Dungeons & Dragons night and it was SO FUN. We adventured around and took out so many goblins & hobgoblins that we all got to level up! I think I am getting the hang of it!

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2014 RoundUp: Favourite Films Watched in 2014

I had a fail at keeping track of my films this year. My Evernote app, where I keep track of them didn't sync my updated list, then in turn updated the correct list with the unfinished one. ARG!

I *think* I have most of them on my paper backup in my filofax, but I'm not sure. DOUBLE ARG! 

So this year I won't be posting my full list - since it doesn't exist, but here are my 10 favourite films I saw last year.

10 Favourite Films Seen in 2014

10. Finding Vivian Maier (2013)
09. Nebraska (2013)
08. The Big Lebowski (1998)
07. Wadjda (2012)
06. Chef (2014)
05. The Lego Movie (2014)
04. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
03. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
02. Big Hero 6 (2014)
01. Up (2009)

Advent Movie Challenge.

I. LOVE. CHRISTMAS SPECIALS.

I love them so much that this season I decided that I would watch a Christmas movie or TV special every day from December 1st to December 25. And I actually did it!

I figured I'd let the TV schedule dictate what I would watch what day, and if there was no special on or a special I had already watched I would draw a title at random out of a jar. A jar I filled with slips of paper with the names of about 27 different Christmas specials. Yeah. I took this seriously.

Unfortunately, this method prevented me from FINALLY watching Scrooged or Die Hard. When I do this again next year, I think I'll just start with those two.

Here's what I watched!

1. A Muppet Family Christmas
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas
3. Toy Story That Time Forgot
4. AD/BC
5. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
6. Frosty the Snowman 
7. Pioneer Woman's Cowboy Christmas 
8. Great Christmas Light Fight 
9. Santa Claus is Coming to Town 
10. Jamie's Cracking Christmas 
11. Nativity!
12. Radio City Christmas Spectacular 
13.  Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger
14. Holiday Baking Championship 
15. MasterChef Canada: A Holiday Special
16. Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas
17. Elf
18. A Garfield Christmas Special
19. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (1966)
20. He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special
21. The Wiggles: Go Santa Go
22. White Christmas 
23. Merry Christmas Mr.Bean
24. Would I Lie to You at Christmas 
25. Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade

2013 RoundUp: Favourite Movies

I'm going to switch it up this year, because I'm crazy like that. Hold on to your hats because I'm posting my least favourite movies FIRST.

My 10 worst movies that I saw this year:
10. Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012)
9. Man of Steel(2013) (yes. I preferred a Katy Perry documentary over a Superman movie. That pretty much sums up my feelings on Man of Steel...)
8. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
7. Road House (1989)
6. That Guy... Who Was In That Thing (2012)
5. The Dictator (2012)
4. Zardoz (1974)
3. Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie (2013)
2. The Abominable Dr.Phibes (1971)
1. Blubberella (2011)

It really was hard to narrow my favourites down to 10 this year. When trying to fill in my final slots, I decided to ultimately go with "what do I want to keep watching more than once or twice" which is why some films made the list that may not be as technically "good" as others I left off.

My 10 favourite movies that I saw this year:
10. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
9. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
8. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
7. Blue Jasmine (2013)
6. Eraserhead (1977)
5. Fantasia (1940)
4. The World's End (2013)
3. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
2. Frozen (2013)
1. Grey Gardens (1975)

2013 RoundUp: The 67 New-to-Me Flicks of 2013

1. Aziz Ansari: Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening
2. Beasts of the Southern Wild
3. Hope Springs
4. What to Expect When You're Expecting
5. Silver Linings Playbook
6. Moshe Kasher: Live in Oakland
7. Numb: Simon Amstell Live at the BBC
8. Girl Walk // All Day
9.  9
10. Still
11. Warm Bodies
12. Miss Representation
13. Aziz Ansari: Dangerously Delicious
14.  Brian Posehn: The Fartist
15.  Grey Gardens
16.  Spirited Away
17.  Quartet
18.  Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
19.  Road House
20.  Craig Ferguson: I'm Here to Help
21.  Zardoz
22.  The Abominable Dr.Phibes
23.  xanadu
24.  Iron Man 3
25.  The Aristocats
26. The Sapphires
27.  Bridget Jones's diary
28.  Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
29.  Star Trek into Darkness
30.  Attack the Block
31.  Louis C.K.: Chewed Up
32.  Zach Galifianakis: Live
33.  Bert and Dickie
34.  The Comedians of Comedy: The Movie
35.  Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie
36.  Eraserhead
37.  Wreck-It Ralph
38.  The Beales of Grey Gardens
39.  This is 40
40.  Katy Perry: Part of Me
41.  The Dictator
42.  That Guy... Who Was In That Thing
43.  Howl's Moving Castle
44.  Jay & Silent Bob Go Down Under
45.  Blubberella
46.  Kiki's Delivery Service
47.  Princess Mononoke
48.  Despicable Me 2
49.  Man of Steel
50.  Fantasia 
51.  Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
52.  Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
53.  Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
54.  Monsters university
55.  The 39 Steps
56.  The World's End
57.  Blue Jasmine
58.  A Fantastic Fear of Everything
59.  The Mighty Boosh on Tour: Journey of the Childmen
60.  Die Friseuse
61.  Bottle Rocket
62. Rushmore
63. Hotel Transylvania
64. Thor: The Dark World
65. Mulan
66.  Frozen
67.  Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Haiku Review: The World's End

.

For someone who had

Very high expectations

I was really thrilled

Seriously. Thrilled. I've seen it twice since it was released on Friday and I expect I'll see it at least twice more in theaters.

I think Hot Fuzz will always be my favourite movie but this is definitely up there. It may even pass Shaun of the Dead for me.

I could not have imagined a more perfect ending to the *Three Flavours Cornetto* trilogy. It was hilarious, action packed and really very touching.

Suffice to say... LOVED IT.

Weekend Wishlist: Grey Gardens

Little Edie keeps popping up in my life recently. She'll be mentioned in blogs I'm reading, referenced in passing in conversations and spoofed in RuPaul's Drag Race. Grey Gardens is an amazing documentary that I find both inspiring and melancholy.​ 

'Grey Gardens' by AnnieDroyd

grey gardens beccastadtland... $18	Black turban, head ... DutchessofYork $42	Revolutionary costu... VanityGallery $12.5	Little Edie vintage... kittenteeth $39
NEW pear print scar... byCinneWorthin... $89	Little Edie crystal... BBJstudio $28	Vintage Large Gold ... uncommonvintag... $14	Vintage Purse Book ... CHARMRI $5
Brooch - raccoon NikkiDotti $8	Cat in The Shade ph... DWKNYPHOTO $25	An Embroidered Litt... kimberlybriley $90	Balance - 8x10 Natu... FlandersField $25
Reproduction Print ... MarkSatchwillA... $12	1950's Brass Ma... CozyTraditions $49	The Edie Beale pape... ClaudiaVarosio $12	Grey Gardens 12x18 ... ClaudiaVarosio $12

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

2012 RoundUp: Favourite Movies

My 10 favourite movies that I saw this year (in no particular order):

• The Avengers (2012)

• Rhod Gilbert and the Award Winning Mince Pie (2009)

• Greg Davies: Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog (2011)

• Life in a Day (2011)

• Tiny Furniture (2010)

• Beginners (2010)

• The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

• Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

• The Intouchables (2011)

• Midnight in Paris (2011)

Usually I list my 10 least favourite as well, but this year I could only come up with 5 that I felt I could call my least favourite of the year:

• Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

• A Complete History of my Sexual Failures (2008)

• Morning Glory (2010)

• War Horse (2011)

• The Campaign (2012)

2012 RoundUp: The 60 New-to-Me Flicks of 2012

Wow! Coming from the success of last year, this year sure was a flop! I only saw 60 films (both movies & dvds of live shows included) but this year I enjoyed way more than I disliked. I'll get into that a bit later today in my roundup of my favourites of the year.

This is my list of the new-to-me flicks of 2012:

1. The Adventures of TinTin

2. Mark Watson Live

3. Rob Brydon Live

4. Rich Hall: Hell No I Ain't Happy

5. The Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra

6. Dara O'Briain: This is the Show

7. Rhod Gilbert and the Award Winning Mince Pie

8. Greg Davies: Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog

9. Ed Byrne: Different Class

10. Tim Minchin: Ready for This

11. Alan Carr: Spexy Beast Live

12. Russell Howard: Right Here, Right Now

13. Rhod Gilbert and the Cat that Looked Like Nicholas Lyndhurst

14. Life in a Day

15. Stagedoor

16. Sean Locke: Lockipedia

17. Dara O'Briain: Live at the Theatre Royal

18. A Complete History of my Sexual Failures

19. The Lorax

20. Poetry

21. The Hunger Games

22. Albert Nobbs

23. The Avengers

24. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

25. Midnight in Paris

26. Tiny Furniture

27. Hysteria

28. Much Ado About Nothing

29. Beginners

30. Fright Night (2011)

31. Island (2011)

32. Parked

33. Morning Glory

34. War Horse

35. The Deep Blue Sea

36. The Artist

37. Snow White and the Huntsman

38. Unrelated

39. Rock of Ages

40. The Amazing Spider-Man

41. Brave

42. Henry IV part 1

43. Henry IV part 2

44. Batman Begins

45. The Tempest

46. Archipelago

47. Henry V

48. The Campaign

49. John Pinette: I'm Starving

50. Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe

51. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

52. ParaNorman

53. Being John Malkovich

54. Adaptation

55. Moonrise Kingdom

56. Pitch Perfect

57. White Christmas

58. The Intouchables

59. Rise of the Guardians

60. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I have feelings about The Avengers

I planned on doing a "Quick & Dirty review" of the Avengers. I had also planned on there being at least SOMETHING I could nitpick. This turned out to be not the case. I've seen it twice now (and I'll be going again tonight) and I cannot find a single thing I disliked about it. In fact, the film has instantly jumped into my favourite films of all time, behind only Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

So instead of doing a "review" that's simply me gushing over how amazing it is, I bring you the top 5 things- no matter how unlikely- I want to see in the sequel (I'll try to keep this spoiler free, but it may be safer to not read on until you've seen the film).

1. Joss Whedon to return as writer/director. This man knows how to do an ensemble story. No character seemed like they were pushed into the background. They all had their moments to shine and the battle choreography & cinematography was some of the best (if not the best) I have ever seen.
2. Spider-Man. How I wish Marvel Studios had the rights to the character! (On another note, HOW EXCITED AM I ABOUT THE NEW SPIDER-MAN MOVIE?! Hint: very)
3. Spider-Woman & Ms. Marvel. Two of my favourite Marvel heroes, and the cast is in dire need of more bad ass women.
4. Redemption for Loki. I have some speculations about his character that I am saving for a future, mega spoilery blog post.
5. THE VISION. I will go more in depth into this in the above mentioned post!