Tara on the Dark Continent
Being the name obsessed person that I am, last year I typed my first name in eBay's search bar and found out that there was a 70s comic book heroine named Tara. She was part of "Femforce" from Paragon Comics who was in charge of protecting mother earth. So, I bid on the comic and win,because I thought it would be cool to frame it and hang in my apartment.

So I get the comic book and turns out that Superhero Tara, might as well be a porn star, all she wears is pasties and panties, lol. I'm still gonna hang the cover up on my wall, but definately not the back cover. I'm having problems though finding a frame that fits, since it's a different size than the comics that are out now and the comic book store on 14th Street closes before 5 each day. What's a superheroine to do?

Article: I come from Planet Tiffany

Be a real hero and help the children:
Barefoot Principessa is having a raffle that supports the March Of Dimes, even a dollar helps. I just gave $5.

Million Dollar Baby
I finally saw Million Dollar Baby.

The film was very powerful and filmed in Clint Eastwood's traditional dark, majestic, shadow style. Not only did Clint star in the film and direct and produce it, he also wrote most of the musical score.

Hillary Swank was amazing, she managed to be tough and innocent at the same time, and like most of her films this was another heartbreaker. Definitely bring the tissues. However, I was really impressed that even though the film is very sad, it didn't go the extra mile to shove the sadness in the audience's face like some Oscar hopefuls try to do, and most of the story was very happy and inspirational.

With his deep smooth voice, Morgan Freeman provides some of the narration, reminiscent of his work in Shawshank Redemption. I enjoy it so much that I could seriously just hear his voice in lieu of actually seeing a movie.

Overall it was a great picture and deserves the Oscar nominations it has received, but honestly with these three great actors working together how could this film have been bad? I usually don't like when the same actors and actresses continually receive Academy Awards but I think Swank should win another Best Actress award for her portrayal.

The best thing about this movie is that it hits you more later. It has been a few days and I keep thinking about it.

Here is a review I wrote for another Best Picture nominee, The Aviator .

Super Bowl Commercials 2005
Did you miss the Super Bowl commercials? You can watch all of them at IFILM with no downloading and it plays one after another. Check out the Ameriquest cat killer ad and the Diet Pepsi Ladies Man one with Carter from Queer Eye. I also liked the Burt Reynolds one.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
I saw Broadway's new musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels last night. The film turned musical is currently still in previews and stars John Lithgow.

I liked the original late 80s film with Michael Caine and Steve Martin, so I was skeptical seeing it with new actors and as a musical, however I was pleasantly surprised. The whole show was really fun and filled with an exciting and electric spirit that captured me and the audience.

The Academy Award nominee and Emmy-winning, John Lithgow, was of course great as Lawrence Jameson, the classy seasoned con man/gigolo played by Michael Caine in the movie. Lithgow sang his numbers wonderfully and played the comedic character with ease in a seemingly effortless way. In the Steve Martin role as the unpolished cheat is stage actor Norbert Leo Butz, formerly of Wicked.

There were lots of added jokes relevant to recent public figures and pop-culture events that had everyone laughing. The show also included the audience in on their jokes by stepping out onto the balcony, having a staged usher sing or looking out at the filled seats and commenting: "Someone might need me in the second act."

The songs were fun without a corny dramatic feel. There is actually a love song called "Love is my Legs" that makes fun of love songs in general and big Broadway love ballots, which was a riot.

The sets were lively with an island vacation feel to them and would constantly spin into a new set, even as the characters were walking on it. How the stars never tripped or got dizzy is beyond me. The costumes though were my favorite. The dancers would come out in these really pretty gowns or tango clothes, plus the general wardrobe fit perfectly with the setting.

The new script also added in a diverting and cute side romance between two secondary characters that wasn't in the original film. These characters are played by the amusing Joanna Gleason and Gregory Jbara.

Sorry I keep mentioning the word fun, but that is what the show is, fun. The musical officially opens March 3 and will sure to be the next "The Producers."

PS: Another entertaining and silly musical that's out now is Wonderful Town with Brooke Sheilds, I wrote a brief reveiw of the show in November here

Quiet on the Set

Speaking of Law & Order in my Jan 21 post, it seems that Law & Order: Criminal Intent will be filming on my block today. I guess some murder suspect or criminal will be living on my block, lol.

Hopefully I'll be able to see something this time, the last time they were filming on my street for an upcoming film called Prime with Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep I had missed everything. When I was heading to work, they were setting up and the actresses were still in their trailers, but I did manage to swipe a muffin from their catering table, and then when I got back from work they were closing up shop.

The bad thing about them filming here is that they blocked off my block and my mother is driving down from Connecticut to deliver a rug for my apartment today. It looks like we'll be shleping the rug and other goodies from a few blocks away, urghh!

Update: no luck!
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Yay, When Tara Met Blog is listed under the Top Links section on Blog Rescource

Are orgasms overrated?
(sorry for the abrupt heading, but you knew it was only a matter of time til I addressed something sexual)

From January 2005 issue of Redbook:
90% of women are still satisfied even if they don't have an orgasm every time they make love, according to a study at Sheffield University in England. The research also revealed that the vast majority of women find the sensuality of cuddling, kissing and touching every bit as fulfilling as a climax, says Paula Nicolson, lead researcher and professor of health psychology at the university. "We found that women's sexual pleasure occurs on many levels other than simply orgasm alone," says Nicolson.

Talk amongst yourselves ;)

The Future of the Cinema...

Last night I went to a panel discussion at NYU about independent films and their impact on Hollywood. It was moderately interesting, but during the Q & A near the end, New York Times movie critic A.O. Scott was asked about the future of movie theaters now with the popularity of DVDs, Netflix, and streaming videos. He responded that sleeper films can now have extreme success in home theater, take Napoleon Dynamite for example. He responded that "Movie's released in theaters are now like long trailers for their later DVD release." He went on to say that in 10 years ago, home theater might replace movie theaters, which can start to seem antiquated to new generations. Of course people will still want to see films on the big screen, right? However I know because of time and money I have not been able to see many films in the theater as of late. What do you think?