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2 Days in Paris: One Photography Dilemma

GeekSugar — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:01:20 PDT

Now out on DVD, the movie 2 Days in Paris is full of hilarious observations, most of them about relationships, but there was one that really stuck with me, as a travel and photography buff. Early in the movie, Julie Delpy's character Marion discusses a problem with Adam Goldberg's (Jack's) camera. Relentlessly taking photos, Jack didn't seem to be an excessive photographer - that's what you do on vacation, isn't it?

But Marion's argument was enlightening: by constantly taking photos, you're taking yourself out of the situation. By only seeing your surroundings through a lens, are you really seeing it all? When you're just thinking about capturing an image of what you did so you can show someone later, you're there, instead of your actual "there." You're removed from the experience. To see what I think of this, just

read more. While I doubt that I'll take far fewer photographs on a trip, Marion's monologue struck me. I do think that I've gotten caught up in what my photos will look like, and I've known many people to visit a place just to say that they were there. The trick is to be able to experience, and savor - and balance that with getting some great shots. Source

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:30:00 PST

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below you can view Cate Blanchett's award-nominated performance in Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The Jane Austen Book Club, which I featured as one of my February Must Haves. Additionally, the Jodi Foster thriller The Brave One, which I liked well enough, is now on DVD.

The Assassination of Jess James by the Coward Robert Ford
This movie adaptation of Ron Hansen's acclaimed novel brings to life two infamous personalities of the American wild West. Notorious outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt) befriends what amounts to a latter-day celeb stalker, Robert Ford. Played by Casey Affleck who has been nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal, Ford is a man looking for fame and will do just about anything to attain it.

I enjoyed this movie, despite some awkward pacing and artifice. The visualizations of the West and solid performances make this a great choice for home-theater viewing.

It's a fun week for DVDs so

read more. Across the Universe I once described the look and feel of Across the Universe as a shroom-induced dream set to Beatles songs, and I stand by that description. Using the Fab Four's music, a romantic plot line, and trippy visual effects, director Julie Taymor takes audiences through the ups and downs of the 1960s. The result is an ambitious, psychedelic attempt to capture a moment in time, and I give it an "A" for effort. The burning question you'll probably have when viewing these crazy visuals is, "How'd they do that?" Thus, the two-disc DVD set is highly satisfying with all its making-of featurettes. Also, the commentary by Taymor gives great background on why she chose the '60s as her backdrop and how the Beatles inspired her.
2 Days in Paris Julie Delpy wrote, stars in, directed, and composed the music for this comedy that co-stars Adam Goldberg. I had a chance to talk with Delpy about this film, and it was clear she has a serious interest in exploring what makes modern relationships tick. The film follows a neurotic yet lovable couple that spends two awkward days in Paris where Marion's (Delpy's) family forces them to confront their relationship issues, not to mention their cultural differences. Overall, the movie is a charming take on all the work that goes into love nowadays. Special features include five deleted scenes and an interview with Julie Delpy.

Interview: Julie Delpy of 2 Days in Paris

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 04:30:00 PDT

Julie Delpy is almost frighteningly talented. She writes, acts, directs, and composes music - and she does all four in 2 Days in Paris, one of my favorite films of the year so far. Delpy and Adam Goldberg play Marion and Jack, a lovably mismatched couple who spend a disastrous two days with Marion's family. The movie goes beyond culture-clash humor and settles in the much richer territory of romantic relationships, which is what Delpy and I talked about on her recent trip to San Francisco.

You’re really all over this story: you’re in it, you wrote it, you directed it. I’m wondering where it came from for you.
Well, I wanted to do a story about something that scares me the most, which is - apart from death or losing someone I love physically, outside of the big, really horrible stuff in life - breaking up with people. I just wanted to approach it in a comedic way, because all my life, breaking up has been horribly painful - or being dumped, even more painful. But breaking up with someone is very painful too. It's almost impossible for me. I get too attached to people, I can't hurt people. I’ve done it a few times. I did it very badly too, because I don't know how to manage, so I disappear, like I could be dead, I’m so bad at it. And when I feel that someone doesn’t love me anymore and I can see that in their eyes, it's heartbreaking.

I went in thinking "Oh, it's going to be one of those culture clash things." But it's so much more about their relationship.
I mean, the culture difference stuff is fun, but it's mostly about conflict within a relationship and how to make a relationship work. Especially with two neurotic people. Psychotic and neurotic.

They’re so imperfect together, and then that’s kind of perfect.
Yeah, yeah, I know! Adam was always worried that my character was so unlikable. He kept telling me all the time, "She’s so horrible, your character" and "my character, I don’t want to make him unlikable." And to me it was much more exiting to make unlikable characters likable. He’s always grumpy, and he’s kind of an unbearable guy, but at the same time, with all the shit that happens to him, you start to really feel for him. She’s unbearable - I mean, she snaps at people, she's flirtatious, she’s like the worst nightmare - but at the same time, she snaps at racists, at pedophiles, you know and she's in a way protecting him. So to me it was a lot of fun to take these characters that are so anti-heroes and make them into almost likable people, or at least people you follow and embrace until the end of the film.

2 Days in Paris: Perfectly Imperfect

BuzzSugar — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 05:45:00 PDT

I'm almost afraid to write about 2 Days in Paris, as if somehow, by writing about it, it won't be a precious memory in my mind anymore. That sounds sappy and overwrought, but the fact is, I adored this movie more than any other movie I've seen in a long time. It's possible that the movie happened to hit all the right notes at all the right times for me personally. It's also possible that 2 Days in Paris is just a very good movie. I believe it's the latter.

Julie Delpy (who also wrote, directed, and composed music for the film) stars as Marion, a French photographer with an eye defect who goes on a vacation to Europe with her American boyfriend, Jack (Adam Goldberg), a hypochondriac with a jealous streak. In the movie's first moments, you see the couple asleep on a train, she wearing a silkscreened T-shirt with a picture of a gun that is, not coincidentally, pointing right at Jack. The two of them are on their way back from a trip to Venice that, while not exactly a disaster, was not a whirlwind of romance either. Before heading home, they need to pick up their cat at Marion's parents' house in Paris - and that's where things really get bad.

Jack, who speaks not a word of French, feels marooned in a foreign land where everything is moldy and everyone has dated his girlfriend. Marion is no saint, either, having dallied with her share of men; she plays right into Jack's phobias by stroking the sweater of a fireman who comes to the apartment one morning and taking Jack to a party filled with probable exes. They're already a bickering couple, but Jack's suspicions - and Marion's egging on - propel them to quarreling of world record proportions. The "crazy American in Paris" stuff is funny, but where the movie really hits home is in its portrayal of flawed adult love, so

read more Jack and Marion seem like such a mismatch; we can sense the love between them, but their insecurities and fears keep it from coming out. Marion is beautiful and smart and funny, but she's also deeply angry; when she picks a fight with a cab driver, Jack looks like he would rather just be stranded on the streets of Paris than have to defend this crazy woman. For his part, Jack is sarcastic and neurotic and jealous, though it's not without reason. I kept wishing for them to just cut each other a break, but instead of bugging me like it would in most movies, their arguments felt raw and real. You know those fights you have with someone you love, epic battles where you're just yelling and screaming and suddenly you realize you have no idea what you're even angry about or how the fight started? This movie is like one of those fights, but with the most tender outcome possible. The movie has its missteps; Marion's parents (played by Delpy's actual parents, both French actors) are best when dealing with Jack and Marion, not pursuing story lines of their own. There also are a few scenes toward the end of the film where Marion's ugly side gets so outrageous that I wondered if Delpy had gone too far; they're awkward and uncomfortable, presumably on purpose, but they nearly undermined my belief that Marion was a good person underneath her copious flaws. But I can overlook those problems, because 2 Days in Paris is, at its heart, a smart, sweet, and truly unconventional love story - the kind of love story we hardly ever see on screen. It's not a sweep-you-off-your-feet romance; it's not a fiasco. It's just two fundamentally screwed-up people doing their best to muddle through, being perfectly imperfect together. Source

Movie Preview: Julie Delpy's 2 Days in Paris

BuzzSugar — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 11:34:41 PDT

2 Days in Paris first caught my eye back in April when it screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, and now that I've seen the trailer I'm salivating to see this film. I love pretty much anything Julie Delpy touches, and seeing as she wrote, directed, edited and stars in 2 Days in Paris, she's touched this project often and much.

The movie follows Marion (Delpy) who brings her American boyfriend (Adam Goldberg) on his first trip to Paris. There, he struggles with the language, encounters countless ex-boyfriends of Marion's and learns all about the differences in how Americans and the French view sexual relationships. Delpy seems gorgeous, adorable, smart and funny... as usual.

If you're a Delpy-phile like me - and even if you're not - you should check out the movie when it opens August 10. To watch the trailer in the meantime (and to see a picture that made me chuckle),

Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen Have a Weekend Full of Loved-Up Lunch Dates

Allie Merriam — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:01:00 PST

Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen hugged and kissed as they left a lunch in LA Saturday. Afterward, Rachel hopped into her car and went to shop at Dior. Yesterday brought the couple another sweet brunch date. They went to Little Dom's, later emerging hand in hand to go browse around a comic book shop. Rachel had a big week in LA gearing up for the Friday release of The Vow. Her leading man, Channing Tatum, was in NYC over the last few days to host SNL. Rachel, meanwhile, stuck around on the West Coast and attended the premiere of Journey 2: Mysterious Island. Rachel was solo on that red carpet, but we're hoping she steps out with Michael later this month at the Oscars. Their movie, Midnight in Paris, is up for best picture.

Love Fools Love Valentine's Day Goods by DODOcase

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:15:22 PST

While you're up all night wondering what to get the object of your affection for 2012's most romantic day, DODOcase has come along with the sweetest solution, their love-ly new line of Kindle Fire and iPad 2 cases.

Street artist Curtis Kulid designed the Love Me iPad 2 ($80) and Kindle Fire ($70) cases based on his mixed-media work, found on city streets in New York, Paris, Tokyo, and LA.

For the hopeless romantic, the company created the Vintage Love iPad 2 ($80) and Kindle Fire ($70) cases for a modern take on the opulent style of the Victorian age.

View close-ups of the amorous line in DODOcase's trademark bookbinding style in the gallery.

The Fitness Goal You Can Accomplish Before 2012

Self — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:23:44 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Self here on FitSugar!

"Make your last set the one that counts," the instructor cued us during last night's workout. And while the last things my arms wanted to do was another bicep curl, ending on a strong note not only made me feel extra accomplished, but it's that extra push towards sculpting a slim, strong bod.

So while we've only got four days left before the end of year, end on a high note by crossing a fitness goal off your to-do list. Your challenge: perfect a squat. (We know it's one of your least-favorite moves, but maybe this'll change your mind!)

"The squat is what we call a functional exercise. If you can practice doing it properly in your workout routine then when you have to do it in everyday life it becomes easier and you're less likely to get injured as you age," says NY-based fitness expert Melissa Paris. "You don't even realize but you are already squatting every day: when you go to the bathroom, when you pick something up off the floor or when you get up and down from your office chair."

Read on for tips on how to perfect the all-important squat.

See Miranda and Orlando, Jay-Z, Kanye, and Beyoncé in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show!

Allie Merriam — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:37:15 PST

The Victoria's Secret runway extravaganza airs on CBS this evening! In honor of the big TV event, we're taking a look back at the show which was recorded at NYC's Lexington Avenue Armory on Nov. 9.

Between the musical acts and the amazing costumes on the angels, Nov. 9th was a night to remember. Candice Swanepoel was the first down the catwalk in the "Ballet" portion of the show, the first of six-themed sections that also included "Super Angels," "Passion," "Angels Aquatic," "I Put a Spell on You," and "Club Pink." They strutted, interestingly enough, to the song "You Make Me Want to Die" from Taylor Momsen's band, The Pretty Reckless! Candice was followed by Anja Rubik, Lily Aldridge, Alessandra Ambrosio, Chanel Iman, Doutzen Kroes, Adriana Lima, Miranda Kerr, and many more! This was a unique year from the company since they introduced at least 12 new models to the lineup.

It was hard to compete with the over-the-top outfits, gems, and wings, but the musical acts nearly did so. Kanye West was finally able to perform for VS after canceling his 2007 appearance after the sudden death of his mother, Donda West. He dedicated the event to her saying, "I lost my superhero, but now she's my superangel." Kanye went on to sing "Stronger" as the Angels walked by him on stage, then Jay-Z came out for an amazing duo on their Watch the Throne song "N*ggas in Paris." Beyoncé Knowles even came out to see Jay in action, taking a front-row seat only for the duration of the track. Jay and Kanye got the fashion crowd on their feet, and Orlando Bloom was seen doing a little fist pumping!

Orlando was front and center to cheer on his wife, Miranda. It was Miranda's first time on the VS runway since giving birth to Flynn at the beginning of the year. She took multiple turns down the catwalk and finally wore Victoria's Secret's $2.5 million Fantasy Treasure Bra. Orlando gave Miranda a couple of standing ovations, as one of the most enthusiastic famous attendees, which also included Stephen Dorff, Lake Bell, Maxwell, Jack Huston, Lala Vasquez, and Gossip Girl's Matthew Settle.

In addition to Jay and Kanye, Maroon 5 performed "Moves Like Jagger" and lead singer Adam Levine broke from the band temporarily to place a big kiss on the cheek of his angel girlfriend, Anne V. Earlier in the day while backstage, Anne V said she and Adam planned the moment. She said, "I'm a model, he's a singer, we're just doing our jobs and just happen to be together, so maybe we'll do a cute moment but nothing crazy. I'm very excited to have him next to me, it's very special." Nicki Minaj wrapped things up with a rendition of "Super Bass," with newcomer Karlie Kloss closing the show in her fluorescent wings.

Hugo: 3 Reasons Why You Should See It - and 3 Reasons Why You Shouldn't

Becky Kirsch — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:35:37 PST

Iconic film director Martin Scorsese veers off his beaten path with this week's Hugo. Based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the film tells the tale of a young orphan who is secretly living in a train station in Paris. He spends his days winding the clocks in the station, hiding from a villainous station agent, and trying to fix an automaton (a robot-like machine) left behind by his deceased father. Scorsese definitely packs magic into this film, but it's not exactly the children's fantasy film I was expecting. Before you head to the theater this Thanksgiving weekend, check out my reasons why this might be the film for you - and why you might want to avoid it.

Why you should see it:

The cinematography is stunning. With Scorsese at the helm, it's pretty much guaranteed that you're in for a visual treat, and Hugo is no different. His depiction of 1930s Paris in the wintertime is dazzling; the train station where Hugo lives and spends most of his time is enveloped in warm tones and rich colors, making the film look like a beautifully illustrated children's book come to life - which is exactly what it is.
The acting is superb. It's no surprise that a veteran like Ben Kingsley delivers a spot-on performance as a prickly man who fixes toys in the train station. His mysterious animosity towards Hugo and Hugo's desire to fix his father's automaton becomes the crux of the film, and Kingsley turns in a complex performance as a character with a secret. In turn, Sacha Baron Cohen provides comic relief as the station agent with a bum leg who is intent on having Hugo shipped off to an orphanage. However, it's the performances from young actors Asa Butterfield and Chloe Moretz that hold the film together, and both are impressive. Butterfield particularly does a wonderful job carrying the film; his big, curious blue eyes portray Hugo's loneliness, curiosity, and pain, and he brings his A-game to the film's most emotional scenes.
The story has enchanting elements. I loved the whimsical idea behind Hugo, and Scorsese captures all of these elements perfectly. From the automaton to Isabelle's fascination with storytelling to the Parisian setting, Hugo certainly qualifies as escapist entertainment that pays homage to the magic of moviemaking, on multiple levels.

To see the reasons why this movie might be a pass for you, just