Category Archives: classic movie clips

Finally found what I was looking for

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A year-plus in the making, but we finally made it!

If you are reading this, you probably know how much I love U2, and what they have meant to me over the course of my life.

Last year I was talking with my friend (and fellow U2 fan) Tom, and he jokingly asked if I wanted to go out to Chicago over 4th of July weekend  to see U2, who were on their second leg of the 360 Tour. I thought about it for about five seconds, and then responded, “Uh…YES!” This was my chance to make up for missing them when they came to DC. I had debated and debated over getting tickets. Normally this wouldn’t have even been a question – of course I would go. But there was a lot going on at the time, and I am (very sadly) not a huge fan of their latest album, so it seemed to make good fiscal sense to sit that one out.

Then I made the mistake of reading reviews of the show, which were universally, overwhelmingly, positive, and had been kicking myself in the pants ever since.

So when this opportunity came up, I seized it. Tom got the U2 tickets, I got my plane ticket, and we waited for July 5th.

Then Bono broke his back and the concert was postponed until 2011. I still went out to Chicago, and instead of seeing Bono, I saw my college town and some old friends and ate Quatros Pizza.

While I was disappointed at the time, turns out it was all for the best. Fate and mysterious ways and all that. (See what I did there?)

Without getting into too much detail, I will just say that this has not been a good summer. It’s been stressful. So stressful that I was basically sick for the whole month of June. By the time July came around, what I needed more than anything was a break  – and not “stay-cation” style – I needed a break from my normal life and routine. I needed to not be on the East coast. Lucky for me, Bono broke his back last year and I had tickets to see U2 on July 5, 2011 in Chicago.

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Countdown to Christmas (Part 4 of 4)

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Happy Holidays! Here is the final addition to my countdown to Christmas. Between moving over the weekend, and being super busy at work, I haven’t gotten to celebrate the season as I normally do. No tree or Christmas cookie making for me this year. So instead, I decided to take a look back at some of my favorite holiday-themed TV and movies. We’ve come to the end, and I’ve saved the best for last: Here are the creme de creme, my favorite of the favorites.

From Love Actually: I actually love (see what I did there?) this whole movie, and if I could I would post the whole thing here. But…you people have lives. So instead here is the famous airport scene. Makes me cry every time.

From The Office: They’ve done a lot of Christmas-themed episodes, but for me, nothing can top season three’s “A Benihana Christmas”. This is The Office at its finest. Michael is heartbroken, but not over the top annoying about it, just enough to still be funny. Jim tries (and fails) to be more serious at work. And of course, the dueling Christmas parties. What’s better than that? My personal favorite part of the show is where everyone does karaoke, but that cannot be found on the Internets. So instead, here’s a music video someone made summarizing the episode.

“Are we taking this too far? You know what, I don’t think we’re taking this far enough.”
“I just got chills.”
Awesome. Totally awesome.

From Scrooge: This musical version of the classic Dickens tale doesn’t get its due. Sure, not everyone likes musicals. But Albert Finney’s performance alone should garner some attention. If you haven’t seen this film, and you like musicals, check it out. You won’t be disappointed. And you just might cry. I know I do. For example…

From Frasier: They also did a handful of Christmas episodes, but season six’s “Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskawitz” is my favorite by a mile. I’ve talked about it at length on this blog before, but man. Seeing Niles as Jesus will never not make me laugh. Plus the end has duel pay offs both with Mrs. Moskawitz finding Niles and the Christmas tree in the bathroom, and Frasier and Martin attempting to air their grievances.

Oh, man. Always, always funny.

From When Harry Met Sally: Technically this is New Year’s Eve, but the season is right. I think you have to be made of stone not to love this scene. This also umm…never fails to make me cry. (Do you see a pattern here?)

“I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

Does it get any more romantic?

From The West Wing: Sorkin puts on a good Christmas show. We know this. I enjoy season four’s “Noel” quite a bit, but season one’s “In Excelsis Deo” remains my favorite West Wing episode to date. (But stay tuned; I haven’t finished the series yet). The part that really gets me is when poor Mrs. Landingham talks about missing her boys. But since that’s not online, here is the next best thing.

“Toby? I’d like to come” is almost as good.

And finally (drumroll please)…

From It’s A Wonderful Life: No man is a failure who has friends.

And that’s it! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Countdown to Christmas (Part 2 of ?): BING!

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Happy holiday season, Internet. If you read my last entry, you know that, due to a hectic winter schedule, I’ve found it hard to get into the holiday spirit this year. In an attempt to capture some of that magic, I am sharing some of my favorite holiday moments in moves and television.

This entry is all about Bing. Bing Crosby. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.

First up is the debut of the song White Christmas from the horribly racist  classic Holiday Inn.  

And while we’re at it, this has nothing at all to do with Christmas, but is my favorite dance in the horribly racist film.

Next up: White Christmas. (Which, FYI, is my favorite Christmas movie of all time. Yes, I am horribly cliched.) I basically love every song and performance in the film (with the exception of “Love You Didn’t Do Right By Me”, which I KNOW is supposed to be cheesy, but man alive, I just can’t take it), so it’s hard to narrow down my favorites. The whole movie is awesome, go watch it.

Since “Mandy” is not available on YouTube, here’s the next best dance number from the film:

So, remember what I said about hating “Love” because it was so cheesy? Well…forget I said that for the next 49 seconds while you watch the next clip. Y’all, I’ve seen this movie probably every year of my life and I STILL tear up at this part.* Every damn year. Even though it’s totally cheesy.

*Also every year, I get mad at Emma for spying on Bob and telling Betty. I’ve seen the movie enough times, I know it’s coming, and I know it all works out in the end, but I STILL get mad. Stupid Emma.

And finally, you can’t talk about Bing Crosby without talking about this scene. Which, now that I think about it, is also totally cheesy. But it’s Irving Berlin, guys. He produces good cheese. White Christmas is the cheddar of holiday movies.

“She’s so refined. I think I’ll kill myself.”

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Last night, my friend Liz and I went to the Comcast Outdoor Film Festival and saw Singin’ in the Rain. Outside. On a giant, inflatable screen. It was awesome.

We’d talked about going to one of the many summer outdoor film festivals in DC, but none were showing anything we wanted to see. (Well, anything I wanted to see, anyway.) Until now.

Singin’ in the Rain is my all-time favorite movie. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know the film and love it. My sister and I grew up watching Gene Kelly dance and fall in love with Debbie Reynolds. I know the film cold. I can recite all the dialogue. I know every beat of every dance.

SingingTrap

So you know, I like it just a little bit.  

If you ever get a chance to see your favorite movie outdoors on a huge screen, do it. Of course, I’ve seen Singin’ in the Rain a million times. (No exaggeration.) But to see it on a huge screen with a captive audience was something else. We applauded after every number. We laughed when RF yanked Lena’s mic chord and she fell over screaming. We sat in awe at Cyd Charisse’s legs. (Okay, maybe that last one was just me. But seriously, the legs on that woman!)

cyd_charisse_singing_in_the_rain

One of my favorite parts of the evening was observing the two boys who sat in front of us. They couldn’t have been more than 12, and arrived just before the film started. Once they set up camp, I thought, “Oh, no. This is going to be bad.” But they sat, enchanted, throughout the whole film. It was adorable.

In case you haven’t gotten it by now, let me say again how cool it was to see Don Lockwood and Cosmo Brown on the big screen. The best part was watching the dance numbers all blown up. These two, in particular, were amazing to see.

 

“It’s gotta be a rose, cause it rhymes with Mose.”

 

When we were walking home, I said to Liz, “I could go watch that again right now. I love it that much.”

In the words of Barney Stinson: “De…wait for it….lightful! Delightful!”

And with that, I say goodbye for a few weeks. I’m going on vacation tomorrow, and will be back in September. I’ll leave you with what was undoubtedly the audience’s  favorite from last night: Ladies and gentleman, Mr. Donald O’Conner.