Tag: Movies (page 2 of 5)

Star Wars

before-after-star-wars-characters-1977-2015

I gave Mr. Michie an early birthday present tonight and took him to see Star Wars:The Force Awakens. I booked our tickets a few weeks ago, we were really lucky as we got the last two seats on sale. We ate popcorn, we held hands and we re-lived our childhood.  J.J. Abrams truly rekindled the magic of the original trilogy. We LOVED it! And, that is all I shall write as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else.

{Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher 1977 // 2015 – FOUND}

Picture House Cinema

Jennifer Michie Picture House Cinema 4

As we often use cut throughs when in London, we always discover new things. Yesterday while zigzagging around Shaftesbury Avenue, we walked by the Picture House Cinema. They are dotted around London, but this was the first one I had ever been to.

We peered through their cafe, took in the grandeur of this gorgeous old building and before we knew it, our feet were carrying us inside.

Jennifer Michie Picture House Cinema 1

Jennifer Michie Picture House Cinema 3

We bought tickets and walked up the stunning red tiled staircase. We peeked into the bar and then got some snacks. Popcorn and a pink striped cup of pick ‘n mix as I was in the mood for some gummy candy.

We headed toward the screens and then proceeded up two floors to get to our screen. There were carved murals on the wall depicting medieval scenes, that were just beautiful!

Jennifer Michie Picture House Cinema 2

The theatre itself was spacious, we sat in the back on a couch seat and snuggled up to watch The Irrational Man. It was a great movie going experience and we will definitely be back!

Pretty in Pink

One of my all time favourite John Hughes’ movies is: Pretty in Pink! The cast is great (Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Andrew McCarthy, Harry Dean Stanton, Annie Potts and James Spader), the costumes are even better; the music, oh, don’t even get me started!  Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s, “If You Leave”, one of the greatest 80’s songs ever, that took us in to movie bliss in the middle of a darkened parking lot at the end!

This past week, James Corden recreated the famous record store scene with Jon Cryer (who plays Duckie). I loved it! Is it just me, or does anyone else think, Jon Cryer should keep wearing his hair like that? That wig just seems to work for him.

Here’s to the weekend, long may it last!

“M&M” Date Night #1

The Goonies Poster 1985

As I mentioned in my previous post, this weekend, we decided to try a new Date Night plan of action: “M&M Date Night”. The M&M equals “Movie and Menu”. We want to try and do this at least twice a month and simply put, we plan to create a menu around a movie.

We started off the first of many “M&M” date nights with a childhood favourite, a classic really: The Goonies. We decided to go with homemade pizza and ice cream since that is one of Chunk’s favourite things to eat! The party lights were on and candles were lit.

Jennifer Michie Party Lights

While I was busy making pizza dough (I used my go-to recipe from Annie’s Eats, although I have made a few tweaks of my own to it), Mr. Michie found a “Which Goonies Character Are You?” quiz and we took that. I got Mikey:

You Got Mikey

He got Sloth:

You Got Sloth

I’m not sure what that says about us? We went with Italian sausage, mushroom and feta as our pizza toppings. Although Mr. Michie was sans mushrooms and just ate a manly carnivore pizza. It totally hit the spot and for dessert, we made ice cream sundaes with caramel sauce, chopped pecans, marshmallow fluff, whipped cream and cherries all piled high. It was a really fun way to spend a date night and we plan to do many many more!

Jennifer Michie Goonies Pizza

So, here’s to date night, long may it last! GOONIES, NEVER SAY DIE!!!!!

Christmas Shopping in London

I spent the day by myself wandering in and out of my favourite London spots. I had a bit of Christmas shopping to do and my path took me from one end to the other. I passed the lego reindeer in Covent Garden:

Jennifer Michie Lego Reindeer

The “Blush” entitled Paddington Bear designed by Nicole Kidman:

Jennifer Michie Blush Paddington

I went shopping at Fortnum & Masons, always a sumptuous feast for the eyes:

Jennifer Michie Fortnum & Mason

I stopped by Lina’s for some Italian Christmas pastries:

Jennifer Michie Linas

And I treated myself to an afternoon showing of “It’s A Wonderful Life” at the Prince Charles Cinema. Which is one of the greatest little movie houses in the world! It was bitterly cold outside, but I was snuggled up with popcorn and a coke watching an old black and white Christmas movie! It was a day of bliss!

The merry-go-round at the Leicester Square Christmas Market, where I waited for Mr. Michie to meet me for a dinner date:

Jennifer Michie Carousel

I love when we get to have totally un-interupted time together. We even went past a Christmas Party Bus on our way home, too cute!

Jennifer Michie Party Bus

A Gentleman

James Garner

There are few men today, who are truly a gentleman, a real man’s man. James Garner was one of those men. I grew up watching re-runs of The Rockford Files and Maverick on TV and fell in love. He was charming, he was funny, he was handsome, he was generous and hardworking. I always had a bit of a crush on him.

He was unique in that he appeared to seamlessly transition between TV and film in a time where actors simply did one or the other. I loved him as Doris Day’s husband in The Thrill of it All, he was hysterical! They partnered again in Move Over, Darling. He played opposite Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria. He was a cowboy, a detective, a comedian, a gentleman. He has played many characters, there are numerous films that I love him in, but one might be more special than all the others to me: Murphy’s Romance.

There was something about this movie that just captivated me. It was my Birthday movie of choice this year. Mr. Michie put up the vintage projection screen for me and we ate cake in the dark and watched Murphy’s Romance. I love that movie! It has everything: Sally Field, Carole King singing the theme song, the cowboy element and it had James Garner, who you just fell in love with as the movie went on.

The world lost a gentleman this week and I was sure saddened to hear it.

The Blunder Years

Breakfast Club Movie Poster

I have long been a fan of This American Life. An episode aired at the end of the May that I missed and as I have been catching up with some podcasts here and there, I listened to it this morning. It was called: “Is That What I Look Like?”. In the third act, entitled the “Blunder Years”, Ira Glass talks to Molly Ringwald and what it was like to sit down with her 10 year old daughter and watch The Breakfast Club together for the first time.

I was still a little kid when this movie came out. It wasn’t until my early teens that I saw it. And, I got it! That was the magic, one of the many magic things about John Hughes, he got it. I think that there is a piece of us that identifies with each of the characters. There was always something in one of this films that you could identify with, you knew these characters, they were believable. They were your family, your friends, your neighbours. He understood teen angst and not in the whiny way that is mostly portrayed like today, but the real angst, where you are just trying to make it and you know there has to be something better out there than High School. It is a movie that I think all teenagers should see.

I remember a few years ago, Mr. Michie showed it to one of his Media classes and they had never seen it! I was shocked! This is a move that should be in your film viewing repertoire! I was an 80’s girl, to this day, that collection of John Hughes films are some of my favorite. If they are on TV, I have to stop and watch it.

Growing up, The Breakfast Club, somehow always seemed to be on TBS at least once a month. I would get home late from babysitting, my sister would get in from waitressing and we would sit down, get a snack to unwind, talk about our evenings and watch The Breakfast Club. To this day, we still randomly yell lines out to each other. Sometimes, all we need is one line, one word to sum up a situation, we get the rest, we have the unspoken language of sisters to fill in the blanks.

I can’t imagine how nerve-wracking and awkward and scary and slightly exciting, it must have been for Molly Ringwald to sit next to her daughter and watch this film. A little girl on the cusp of becoming a teen, the things you wonder if she knows about, if she doesn’t you would like to keep it that way, for as long as possible. It was insightful for Molly Ringwald, her daughter’s take on it and to which character she identifies with. The styles may have changed, the hair, the clothes, the time period, but to this day, I think that this is not a dated film, it is still poignant today.

I enjoyed listening to it, while cleaning the kitchen and I thought you might too:

Just Dance!

It’s Wednesday, the middle of the week and it has just been crawling by. Work is keeping me busy, getting all the studio spaces ready for next year, placing orders and tying up any loose ends. But, I feel that I should be farther in the week than just Wednesday. I’m ready. I’m ready for my summer to begin. I’m ready for that sweet taste of freedom.

I came across this video while reading the news this morning before I left to catch the train. It made me smile. It makes you just want to DANCE! And as it is Wednesday and we are 1/2 way through the week, I think that calls for dancing. I dare you to try and sit still while watching this. I couldn’t, my feet were tapping, my head was bobbing, there might even have been a “jazz hands” moment or two, but I’ll just keep that one to myself.

Enjoy!

We Can Dance – Movie Dance Tribute: Part 3 from Robert Jones on Vimeo.

Let The Weekend Begin

Erin Gregory Flower Painting

Friday has come at last and I am so happy! My Birthday is this weekend and we are going to start celebrating tonight, with dinner from Five Guys and watching a good movie on our vintage projection screen for Friday the 13th. I’m voting for The Goonies or maybe Sixteen Candles.

We’re gonna make my birthday cake tonight and tomorrow I want to get up early, grab some coffee and walk through Regent’s Park, one of my favorite parks in London. I want to stroll around when it is still peaceful and the zoo animals are just waking up. We are going to visit the new Folk Art Exhibition at the Tate Britain and maybe grab a bite out.

And, we shall just take it from there. I don’t want anything too planned out, just something fun and simple. I also want to carve out a little time this weekend to finish my Copenhagen posts and one or two other things that have been on the back burner!

The sun is out today, I was lucky and got to have my Friday meeting out on the balcony. So over business, I could work on my tan. Life is good! Here’s to Fridays and Birthdays and THE WEEKEND! Long may it last!

{Image: Erin Gregory, found HERE, Pinned HERE}

Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple 1928 – 2014

You were my Little Princess, where I dreamed of living in the attic with you as my bedmate and having secret parties with our gorgeous neighbor, Cesar Romero, who would regale us with magical tales of India.

You were my Heidi. I dreamed of sleeping in your hay loft that was warmed by the fire below and walking through the alps with you and your little goats, Schwanli and Baerli. Stopping by a meadow stream to feast on bread and cheese out of our lunch pails.

You were my Bobby-Soxer, who I watched dreamily as you fell head over heels for Cary Grant and the gorgeous Myrna Loy starred as your sister.

You were my favorite drink to order out at dinner on special occasions! I still make “Shirley Temple’s”, your never too old for a couple of cherries in your beverage!

You were kind, intelligent, talented, a diplomat, a breast cancer survivor; you were “Little Miss Bright Eyes” and you will be missed.