Eagerly anticipating the sobbing...

2014 is only just about a month down, but there are already a number of movies I'm eagerly anticipating this year. While the adaptation of Mark Helprin's amazing Winter's Tale is due out soon (and looks good, despite the fact that Russell Crowe's presence is giving me Javert flashbacks), and the first half of Mockingjay (the final installment of The Hunger Games trilogy) will hit theaters toward the end of 2014, there's probably no movie I'm anticipating as eagerly as The Fault in Our Stars.

If you've been following my blog for a while, you may recall that John Green's The Fault in Our Stars was probably the best book I read in 2012. The book hooked me so hard I stayed up until nearly 2:00 a.m. finishing it, and then hating myself for reading it so quickly. Plus it was so emotionally gripping, I was sobbing on my couch in the middle of the night.

Shailene Woodley (The Descendants, The Spectacular Now and the upcoming Divergent) and Ansel Elgort (Carrie) star as Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus "Gus" Waters, teenagers who meet in a support group for kids with cancer. Gus is in remission from the osteosarcoma that took one of his legs a few years ago, and thanks to a miracle drug trial, the tumors in Hazel's lungs aren't continuing to grow, although she knows that's just a matter of time. The two are snarky, sarcastic, sensitive, and wise beyond their years, and begin an intense friendship that brings them both joy.

The first trailer for the movie came out today. I'm not embarrassed to say I've watched it about five times already. (Some of my colleagues are hooked, too, so I'm not alone in this obsession.) Maybe you won't understand what my excitement is about, but watch the trailer and you might. The movie opens in June, and I'm already prepared to sob.

All the 2013 movies you might not have seen (or might never see)...

I see a lot of movies, more so than most of my friends. But even I haven't seen many of the movies included in this amazing 2013 trailer mashup from The Sleepy Skunk. (Some haven't come out yet, so I'm not as out-of-date as I could be...)

Check it out, and for a list of all of the movies included in this trailer, visit here.

This is why I love the movies.

Get ready for an awesome summer of movies!!

The 2013 summer movie season officially kicks off next weekend with the release of Iron Man 3, but if this mash-up of trailers for a number of movies to be released this summer is any indication (assembled by Movies.com), I know I'll be spending a lot of time in the movie theater this summer. (Besides, I hate the humidity in the DC area anyway.)



Movies included in this mash-up are: Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby, Star Trek Into Darkness (Two words: Benedict Cumberbatch), The Hangover Part III, Fast and Furious Six, Epic, After Earth, Now You See Me, The Internship, This is the End, Man of Steel, Monsters University, World War Z, White House Down, Despicable Me 2, The Lone Ranger, Pacific Rim, Grown Ups 2 (Wow, never even heard of the first one), Turbo, The Conjuring, RED 2, The Wolverine, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Elysium, Disney's Planes, Kick-Ass 2, and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.

There are a few other movies I'm looking forward to this summer, including Joss Whedon's adaptation of Much Ado about Nothing, and Ryan Gosling's reunion with his Drive director, Nicolas Winding Refn, in Only God Forgives. And there's bound to be a surprise or two. (At least I hope so!)

My grown-up New Year's list...

I'm not much into New Year's resolutions, more because I think life should be about continuously setting goals and adjusting your focus when things don't succeed, rather than being overly ambitious on day one only to wind up disappointed in yourself when things don't work out. (There's plenty of time for me to be disappointed, believe me.)

That being said, I do have a list of ideas and goals I'd like to embrace in the coming year. Not all will be easily achievable, but that's what growing and bettering yourself is about, right?

Inspired by one of my favorite holiday songs, here's my Grown-up New Year's List:

1. In the immortal words of Journey, don't stop believing, hold on to the feeling.


2. Remember that strong is the new skinny. And emotional and intellectual muscles are just as important as physical ones.


3. Sweating the small stuff is infinitely harder than simply sweating.


4. Don't miss an opportunity to tell someone how important they are to you, because you never know when you'll miss the opportunity forever.


5. Sing even when someone is listening. As they say, don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear.


6. Play hard. Laugh hard. Work hard. Love hard.


7. Help make "thank you" two words more overused in 2013 than "Kardashian," "fiscal cliff," or "Westboro Baptist Church."


8. There's nothing wrong with wanting the same things others have, just don't let that want control you.


9. Be your own hero. And it wouldn't hurt to be someone else's, too.


10. Being perfect is overrated. Flawed people have more fun.

I wish all of you a happy, healthy 2013. And don't hesitate to remind me of any of the items on this list at any time!

T-minus 24 days and counting...

I've made it no secret that the movie version of Les Miserables may be the one movie I'm anticipating most this year. Since it is being released on Christmas, I know there probably will not be any midnight showings, but if there are, rest assured that this will be the first movie I wait on line to see at midnight. (And this coming from the person who bought tickets to see Independence Day on Independence Day, and stood in line before 6:00 a.m. that day to see the 10:00 a.m. show.)

Five new clips have been released and I am—seriously—squealing. Some, in my mind, are stronger than others—I'm not as much a fan of speaking lyrics as others may be—but I cannot help but get more and more excited when someone opens their mouths and sings the songs I've known by heart since the show first opened on Broadway in 1986. (Much like when I saw the movie version of Rent, I know I'll be singing silently along with every single song when I see this movie.)

Here's film newcomer Samantha Barks as Eponine, with a clip from On My Own:


In this clip, Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) releases prisoner 24601, aka Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman):


The working women enact their revenge on poor Fantine (Anne Hathaway) in this excerpt from At the End of the Day:


Here's an excerpt from Jean Valjean's Who Am I?


And I'm already in love with this tiny excerpt of Marius (Eddie Redmayne) and Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) singing A Heart Full of Love:

Another movie to look forward to...

Chills. Again.

Back in May I shared the first preview for the film version of Les Miserables, due out this Christmas.

While I absolutely cannot wait for that movie to come out, I just saw a trailer for another winter release that I am eagerly anticipating: Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and others.

As if simply seeing this movie poster with Day-Lewis as the spitting image of Lincoln, check out the trailer. You'd never know he wasn't born of the South.

Cannot wait.

How long until Christmas? I CANNOT WAIT!!

Oh. Emm. Gee.

This apparently hit the internet in the last few days, but I just saw it this morning. By this, I mean the first official trailer for the movie adaptation of one of my favorite musicals of all time, Les Miserables, scheduled to be released on Christmas Day this year.

Starring Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, and Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as Thenardier and his wife, the movie is directed by Academy Award-winning director Tom Hooper (The King's Speech). British actress Samantha Barks, who played Eponine in London, plays Eponine in the film, and thank goodness, as there were rumors Taylor Swift(!) was being considered for the role.

Chills, I tell you. I got chills. And you know I'm buying tickets in advance and seeing the first show on Christmas Day. Because that's what Jewish Christmas is all about anyway.

So now I may be a little psyched for this movie...

Like many people, I didn't think it was necessary to reboot the Spider-Man franchise so soon. I liked Tobey Maguire's performances and Sam Raimi's take on the films.

But the truth is, I am an Andrew Garfield fan (although I do think his performances tend to be slightly mopey), and as I've mentioned about a thousand times, I love Emma Stone.

Watch the official trailer below and make your own judgment. All I know is, this is going to be a good year for movies just considering three that are coming out—The Hunger Games, The Avengers and now, this one.