Leap Year

When I saw the above photo on IMDb I immediately had to search for the trailer to Leap Year. It's amazing to me how one photo can conjure such intense emotion. It gave me goosebumps. I, of course, am a sucker for romantic comedies and throw one in a foreign country and I'm a goner. I adore Europe so nearly all my favourite movies are set there. Leap Year stars Amy Adams (a truly gorgeous redhead and two time Oscar nominee) and Matthew Goode (British and yum) as the romantic leads and though the plot seems a little "out there" (the woman is going to propose to her boyfriend in Dublin on Leap Day), the chemistry between the two certainly seems worth the watch. I know it's a light recommendation, but watch the trailer for a few goosebumps of your own! If you're a romantic like me, you'll get them. 

Watch the Leap Year trailer here. 

The Grand Gesture

Every girl dreams of the "grand gesture". You know, the grand gesture~ that moment at the end of the movie when the man decides he can't live without "her" after all and states his feelings and intentions in over the top, romantic style. Does this happen in real life? 

I wonder all the time. 

Hundreds of films and novels over my thirty years have made me susceptible to the concept of the grand gesture. Fairy tale love, soulmate love~ whatever you call it, I'm a sucker for it. Meant to be. What does that even mean? I believe in it, absolutely, but never quite known it. And I have never experienced the grand gesture. Sometimes I think my idealism has been formed by all those movies I have wept through. After a recent "disagreement" with someone I cared for this ran through my mind~ What if I go home to find him waiting on my door step? If that were ever to happen would there be flowers? Some kind of declaration? This didn't happen, naturally. 

The door step was empty, the phone silent. 

Do men (in real life) believe in the grand gesture? Or does taking that leap mean being too vulnerable, thus too scary to actually act? Risking all is terrifying but the grand gesture is always used and loved in the movies because of that very element of the unknown. The bigger the risk the greater the reward. People love that. Especially women. 

We love the idea of the grand gesture. 

Why do we dream of this? For me~ it is because if someone ever did that for me then that would be utter proof, not only of the person's feelings for me but also a testament to the kind of man they are themselves. I dream of someone that is brave enough and strong enough to take that leap. Every girl wants a man who will take a risk for them. My advice to all boys out there~ scary be damned, risk all for that girl you love. Do it. Sometimes real life can be like the movies. Fairy tale love does exist. Everyone wants a grand gesture, sometime in their life. 

Embrace the romance and leap. 

My all time favourite grand gestures on film:

-Will driving cross country to "see about a girl" in Good Will Hunting

-Harry flying to Paris to tell Erica he loves her in 

Something's Gotta Give

-Mark's Christmastime cue card love tribute to Juliet in Love Actually

-Mr. Darcy's declaration of love to his supposed nemesis 

Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice

-Linus quitting his company and moving to Paris for his love in Sabrina

There must be more..... What are your favourite grand gestures? 

Have you ever experienced this in real life? 

New York, I Love You

One of my favourite films of the last few years was Paris, Je T'aime (I saw it three times in the theatres), a movie comprised of upwards of a dozen shorts dedicated to different areas and stories throughout the city of lights. It is a love story to Paris, highlighting its beauty and history while inviting the viewer into the lives of dozens of characters, but only for a few minutes at a time. It made me both laugh and cry, but more importantly, it made me fall in love with Paris over and over again. 

This month another film will be released in the same vein. New York, I Love You is also a series of short films, starring the likes of Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, James Caan, Orlando Bloom, Robin Wright Penn, Chris Cooper, Julie Christie, Shia La Boeuf, Rachel Bilson, Hayden Christianson, Andy Garcia, Ethan Hawke and Eli Wallach, as well as many others. The shorts, directed by such talent as Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth), Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, X Men) and Joshua Marston (Maria Full of Grace), weave tales of friendship, romance and heartbreak in the dynamic and iconic city, 

from Brooklyn to Central Park. 

I can't wait to see this. Watch the newly released trailer here. 

Chanel No.5

I adore Audrey Tautou in this just revealed advertisement, commencing her role as the new face of Chanel No.5 perfume (replacing the lovely redheaded Nicole Kidman). She is everything that Chanel embodies in the fashion world~ elegant, feminine, French! I, like many people the world over, fell in love with Audrey in her role as Amelie, the lonely Parisian girl with the gamine haircut seeking her equally quirky soulmate, while performing good deeds for others along the way. She is truly one of the most breathtakingly beautiful and talented actresses working today. Chanel is lucky to have her. 

It almost makes me want to buy a bottle of Chanel No.5~ almost, but not quite. 

I wear Coco. 

The Lovely Bones

I read Alice Sebold's chilling novel The Lovely Bones years ago and I can still remember the feeling of how the story of a young girl's murder haunted me. Fast forward a few years and acclaimed director Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Heavenly Creatures, King Kong) is bringing Sebold's book to the big screen, starring Mark Wahlberg (having replaced Ryan Gosling once filming had already commenced), Rachel Weisz and the truly luminous Irish actress (and Academy Award nominee for 2008's Atonement) Saoirse Ronan as the murdered Susie Salmon. 

This is not your typical murder mystery, however. Set in suburban 1973 the story is instead more interested with Susie after her murder and how she watches her family from the other side of mortality as they discover her disappearance, try to come to terms with her shocking death and become involved in her murder investigation. The description, I know, sounds grim and far too depressing, but the story itself is inventive and unique (Susie exploring her life after death) and the film would be worth watching for the amazing group of talent alone. Unfortunately you'll have to wait to see the film itself until it's released on December 11. 

Watch the goosebump-y trailer (just released officially yesterday) here.  

Update: My first trailer was already removed from youtube due to copyright infringement so I have to go with this clip from ET. Not as good, but still decent. 

You can purchase Sebold's novel online here. Trust me, it's worth it. 

500 Days of Summer

"This is not a love story. This is a boy meets girl story."

First of all, I love that. Not all couples have the same, typical Hollywood ending. 500 Days of Summer is so not your average romantic comedy, not even close. Starring the quirkily handsome Joseph Gordon Levitt and the pinch-her-cheeks-adorable Zooey Deschanel (fyi: engaged to my dream man, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie) the movie bounces back and forth in time, exploring the relationship of a boy who has always wanted to find his soulmate and a girl who doesn't believe in love (um, hello role reversal!). What ensues is sweet, poignant and, most of all, honest. Relationships are messy~ let's tell the truth! Still, the movie is so lovely it is definitely my must see pick for the summer. Besides~ any film that has references to The Smiths, Belle and Sebastian and The Pixies in the first twenty minutes just can't be bad! 

Go see this immediately but watch the trailer here first! 

p.s.~ I adore the 1950's styling of the film~ so beautiful. The movie's blue obsessed colour palette was chosen to highlight Zooey Deschanel's eyes! 

Where The Wild Things Are

While watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last night with Leah I also saw the trailer for the upcoming October release of the hotly anticipated Where The Wild Things Are. Brought to life over the last eight years by director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) the film is based on the 1963 classic children's book of the same name, written by Maurice Sendak. While bringing such an iconic book to the big screen has been apparently both controversial and grueling for Jonze, the film itself looks magical. The story centres around Max, a young boy who acts out when his mother has her boyfriend over and is therefore sent to bed without his dinner. Max then creates his own world of escape, a land dominated by the Wild Things, who crown him as their ruler. I haven't read the book but you can be sure I will be doing so now, and before the movie is released! 

Watch the amazing trailer here. 

The song featured, which I have been listening to all morning, is Wake Up by Arcade Fire (hello, great Canadian band). 

Inside all of us is hope. 

(Photos via IMDb)

Girl Crush~ Marion Cotillard

My latest significant girl crush is French goddess and Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies, La Vie En Rose). Not only is Marion a truly charismatic actress but she's also the face of Lady Dior handbags, the latest ad having just been revealed. In this latest campaign Marion portrays a woman leading a double life (just what exactly is peeking out of that lovely handbag?) and Dior will reveal more of what this mysterious beauty is up to with further ads in late summer and early fall. Aren't her red gown, lips and polished nails perfect? 

Marion's first campaign for Dior had her climbing on the Eiffel Tower. Tres parisienne! 

I first fell in love with Marion's style at the 80th Academy Awards. She was nominated for Best Actress for starring as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose~ a role that demanded she lose all her glamour (and eyebrows), but she ruled the red carpet in Jean Paul Gaultier's ivory mermaid gown and long gold necklaces. I especially love her side swept curls, which she kept over one shoulder all night. Gorgeous! She won the Oscar (and the best dress award in my opinion). 

Marion on the red carpet for Public Enemies, her latest film starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. I love her ruby Vivienne Westwood cocktail dress and pretty up do. 

Can't you see why I have a "girl crush" on her? Watch A Good Year and you certainly will! 

(Photos via People, IMDb, Eonline)

Smile of the Day

I came across this photo the other day and had immediate warm and fuzzy feelings. Apparently at one time a young Audrey Hepburn had a baby deer as a pet, who took naps and trips to the grocery store with her! Isn't this the cutest thing in the world? I would like to bring one home to make a sister for Lulu! 

(Photo courtesy of my blog guru A Cup of Jo)