Cup O Noodles

Ramen Girl: A story in pictures, starring Brittany Murphy.

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"A girl just can't go to Sing-Sing with a green face."

Because everyone can use a little Audrey Hepburn in their lives, Tutti from Tel Aviv pays homage to this icon (among other things we love—like SHOES, nerds, and tea parties) in her Etsy shop, Tutti Studio. Don't you love the backdrop? I want to wallpaper my apartment with it.

Holly is #3 in the Imaginary Art Gallery series. This one goes in the kitchen, so you can have breakfast with her.

Rollin' with the Homies

Brittany Murphy died this morning at the age of 32. In addition to starring in two of my favorite movies—Clueless and Girl, Interrupted—she was super-sweet in Uptown Girls and hilarious as the voice of Luanne on King of the Hill. And does anyone else remember her way back when on that show The Torkelsons? I loved this girl. RIP, Tai.

Babe Ruthless

So, let's review who's in this movie: Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Alia Shawkat, Kristen Wiig, Eve, Juliette Lewis... and Drew directed. Yeah, I wanna see it! I wish I was tough enough for roller derby, but since I'm more of a Betty Bookworm than a Smashlee Simpson, watching is just fine for me. Maybe I'll make it to a Philly Roller Girls match one of these days.

Sweet (Cotton-Pickin') Darlin'

Check it out: Zooey Deschanel's cotton commercial! She actually recorded a whole three-minute song that you can listen to and download. And you can learn all about her cotton-y look, too. Zooey says, "While I enjoy vintage styles, it's important that a fabric keep its shape. Form is essential to me, even in casual wear."

What do you think? Is this weird? I guess cotton is just about the least offensive product to endorse, and at least they let her wear cute clothes, right?

Where the Hipsters Are & Other Stories

I'm on semi-vacation this week, but I do have a few odds and ends to share.

Movies I'm excited about



Spike Jonze's version of Where the Wild Things Are looks ah-mazing. I'm skeptical of picture books being stretched into feature-length films, but I think they may be able to pull this one off.



I'm sold on 500 Days of Summer for the following reasons: The Smiths, Regina Spektor, Zooey Deschanel, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who was so cute in 10 Things I Hate About You and has aged quite well over the past decade). Also, I think the geeky chic guy from Criminal Minds is in it, and I'm pretty sure that's a scene of them frolicking in IKEA. Just like my boyfriend and I always do when we go there.

Other flicks on the ol' radar: Away We Go and Coco Avant Chanel.

Miss Porter's School

This NY Times article is a few days old but worth checking out if you are interested in or mildly obsessed with boarding school drama and secret societies. Bonus: the girl in the article is named Tatum T. Bass. Any relation to Chuck?

For Reels 2009

Based on a five-heart rating system, the best movies I watched (for the first time) in 2009 were:

Bridge to Terabithia
Hard Candy
Long Life, Happiness, and Prosperity
The Orphanage
Precious*
Quinceanera*
Rachel Getting Married*
Slumdog Millionaire
Volver
Walk the Line
The Wrestler*

Absolute favorites of the year are starred.

WORST movie of the year? Shrooms.

And all movies watched, in alphabetical order:

2LDK (2003) ♥♥1/2
Roommates fight to the death after one uses the other's shampoo without asking. In a nutshell.

Baby Mama (2008) ♥♥♥
Pretty much what you'd expect, plus one cheesy ending.

Boiler Room (2000) ♥♥♥
What's the catchy phrase for a dudes' movie? Like, instead of "chick flick"?

Bride Wars (2009) ♥♥1/2
I think they cast a blond and a brunette because the characters were otherwise so unmemorable.

Bridge to Terabithia (2007) ♥♥♥♥
Lovely retelling of the book, in spite of Leslie's portrayal as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl.

Dan in Real Life (2007) ♥♥♥1/2
Kind of odd pacing, but surprisingly thoughtful.

Dirty Deeds (2005) ♥♥
Extremely silly teen comedy, with Milo Ventimiglia and Lacey Chabert.

Fatal Attraction (1987) ♥♥♥1/2
Whoa. So much OMG.

The Hangover (2009) ♥♥♥
More entertaining than I would have expected.

Hard Candy (2005) ♥♥♥♥
Super provocative. Also, the dude behind the counter said, "it's hard to watch if you're a guy."

Hideous Kinky (1998) ♥♥♥
Wandering and melancholy. Kate Winslet's first movie after Titanic.

I Know Who Killed Me (2007) ♥♥
Really not good, yet somehow entertaining.

In the Land of Women (2007) ♥♥1/2
Just for Adam Brody and/or Meg Ryan fans. (Kinda doubt the overlap there...)

Les Poupees Russes / Russian Dolls (2005) ♥♥♥
Sequel to L'Auberge Espanole, aka The Spanish Apartment.

Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity (2002) ♥♥♥♥
The power of little girls and love potions. Excellent.



Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) ♥♥
Saw it with summer camp kids. Best part was realizing one of the voices belonged to Sacha Baron Cohen.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008) ♥♥♥1/2
Cute and funny. My favorite part, though, was Delysia's glam apartment.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008) ♥♥♥1/2
I already knew I loved Mr. Cera—thumbs up for Ms. K Dennings, too!

Okie Noodling (2001) ♥♥♥
Documentary about fishermen who do it without a rod and reel. Dudes are crazy.

The Orphanage (2007) ♥♥♥♥
Imaginary friends have never been this creepy.

Paris, Je T'aime (2006) ♥♥♥1/2
Short films leave so much unsaid, but this has some goodies.

Penelope (2008) ♥♥♥1/2
Christina Ricci was adorable with that pig nose.

Precious (2009) ♥♥♥♥
Forced myself to the theater for this one. Heartbreaking/heartwarming.

The Princess Diaries (2001) ♥♥♥
Liked the book a whole lot better.

Quinceanera (2006) ♥♥♥♥
LOVED this one! Great cast & great script.



Rachel Getting Married (2008) ♥♥♥♥
Some tedious parts, but Anne Hathaway is amazing.


Ratatouille (2007) ♥♥♥
Who knew rodents could be likable? Cute, even.

The Road to Wellville (1994) ♥♥♥
Generally weird. Good cast, great costumes.

Rumble Fish (1983) ♥♥♥1/2
Rusty James + Motorcycle Boy = LUV.

Running With Scissors (2006) ♥♥♥
Depressing, with some funny moments mixed in.

St. Elmo's Fire (1985) ♥♥
Kind of a yawn, but I like Ally Sheedy.

Shrooms (2007) ♥1/2
A horror movie with unnecessary hallucinogens.

Single White Female (1992) ♥♥♥
Awesomely 90s, but overall, it could have been better.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008) ♥♥♥
Made me kind of teary-eyed, just like the first one.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) ♥♥♥♥
Surprised me by living up to the hype!

So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) ♥♥1/2
So I spent an hour and a half watching this silly movie.

Southland Tales (2006) ♥♥♥
To be filed under "so bad it's kind of good."

Super Size Me (2004) ♥♥♥
Spurlock annoys me, but man did this make me want a Big Mac.

Teeth (2007) ♥♥♥1/2
If you don't know what this is about, look it up.

Twilight (2008) ♥♥♥
Pretty much what I was expecting. Excited for the next one!

Valley Girl (1983) ♥♥1/2
Totally. Tublar.

Volver (2006) ♥♥♥♥
Penelope Cruz is A1 in this surprising story about mothers and daughters.

Walk the Line (2005) ♥♥♥♥
Please, Joaquin, don't quit acting. I like you.

Wilby Wonderful (2004) ♥♥♥1/2
Sandra Oh + Ellen Page + Canada + "Quirkiness" = liked it.

The Wrestler (2008) ♥♥♥♥
Gory and a bummer, but I loved it.

Ratings out of 5 hearts
♥ = did not like it
♥♥ = it was okay
♥♥♥ = liked it
♥♥♥♥ = really liked it
♥♥♥♥♥ = it was AWESOME

Dandy Andies

For a while my secret wish was to have a nickname—Andie, specifically. It never quite took off. But get out the popcorn, cause tonight I'm celebrating my favorite Andies and Andys of the silver screen.



Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) in The Devil Wears Prada
Yeah, she should have stayed away from that sleazy journalist dude and made it work with Adrian Grenier. But her makeover could only have been more exciting if it had been orchestrated by Cher Horowitz herself.



Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) in Pretty in Pink
All she wants to do is date the cute rich guy, but she's so embarassed about how poor she is (she literally lives on the wrong side of the tracks) and his rich friends are all super jerks. Once again, thank goodness for the clothes.

And my favorite: Andy Carmichael (Kerri Green) in The Goonies
This pretty and popular cheerleader accidentally made out with Sean Astin, was BFF with supercool Martha Plimpton, and gave me the Andie-as-a-nickname idea in the first place.

P.S. Dishonorable mention goes to magazine editor Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. She gets minus points for a stupid last name, a ridiculous plot and an obnoxious leading man. Then there's Andrea Zuckerman of 9021-old fame, who could have been an Andie if she wasn't so snobby about the pronunciation of her name.

It Boy: Michael Cera

How can a boy who's so cute inspire a love that's so wrong? He and Rupert Grint are my favorite 20-year-old crushes. So I have a few years on Mikey. No biggie. At least I'm not in love with my cousin, like someone I know. (Ahem! Georgemichaelbluth!)

He was adorably awkward in Arrested Development and Juno, and now I am so excited for Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist! I think it will give him the chance to play someone a little bit cooler. Cause I bet he is cool, in real life. I mean, he had his own Internet TV show. If that's not hip, I don't know what is.

By the way, in case you were not aware, Nick and Norah is based on a book of the same name written by two YA powerhouses, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. I am so glad this movie was made. They even got Devendra Banhart to make a cameo. You know, Natalie Portman's boyfriend.

Flora and Fauna

From The Pie and the Patty Pan

Last night I watched Miss Potter, starring Renee Zellweger as Beatrix Potter and a mustachioed Ewan McGregor as the publisher she almost married. What a delight—as a romance and as the story of the woman behind Peter Rabbit and all the other tales. Not only did she love cuddly animals, but she was passionate about science and nature. She earned enough money from her books to own several properties in England's Lake District and left more than 4,000 acres of land, including Hill Top farm, to the National Trust.

Here in the U.S., the Philadelphia Free Library and Princeton University both have extensive collections of Beatrix Potter artwork, letters, manuscripts and the like. What I'd really like to see is her diary. She wrote in a secret code; how clever is that?

Three Point One Four

Math nerds everywhere celebrate pi today, March 14—and I was reminded of that fact by the Fred Flare blog, of all places! (They're way into geek chic these days.) In my high school, each of the math teachers would wear a shirt with one of the digits of pi; I'm guessing they all lined up for a group photo after classes let out.

Anyway, this is Mode a la Pie, so happy Pi(e) Day! Maybe rent Waitress tonight?

It Girl: Amy Adams

Did you see Amy Adams host SNL last night? I happened to rent the wonderful Junebug a week or so before she sang on the Oscars—my gosh, this girl is talented! And now Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is in theaters. The reviews are less than glowing, but that has nothing to do with Miss Adorable Amy. The LA Times says "Adams is amazingly adept at playing smart playing dumb." If you watch her movies, that makes sense. Over in New York, Stephen Holden muses:

For the next few years, until the dew evaporates, all Ms. Adams need do to win friends and influence people is weave variations on this archetype: [Jean] Arthur filtered through a flightier Julia Roberts with a dollop of Melanie Griffith. Beneath their wiles, Ms. Adams’s princesses are true-blue souls who would sooner die than hurt anyone. They’re just a little ditzy.

I don't know anything about this Jean Arthur character, but Amy can out-shine Julia Roberts any day.

I Hate It When You're Not Around

I won't pretend to be Heath Ledger's biggest fan. Of course I find him super attractive and charming, and even with that icky hair in 10 Things I Hate About You he made me wish I could make out with him after playing paintball in Gasworks Park. (Did you know it was set in Seattle? I didn't until after I moved here.) But I haven't even seen Brokeback Mountain yet. So why is it so sad that he died? Besides the fact that any 28 year old dying is sad. And any two-year-old girl's daddy dying is sad.

Maybe, for me, it's because I hate how all these boys keep dying. And because I hate seeing the phrase "found dead" after anyone's name. Like last week with Brad Renfro.

Heath is going to be a legend now. It could be because of his Oscar nomination or his good looks, or the fact that he and Michelle Williams were such an adorable couple.

I'm not sure how people will look back on Brad. Probably as someone who could have done better. If they don't just forget about him.



This photo is a total Teen Beat pin-up. And it's how I'll always remember him, the little brat in The Client whom I majorly crushed on. He was helplessly cute in Ghost World and way intense in Bully. So maybe I'm Brad Renfro's biggest fan. But Heath! I'm going to be bummed out for days. It's so tragic. I couldn't get that song that Patrick Verona sings to Kat out of my head this morning.

Vive la Reine

As a little girl, I somehow came to expect that any historical figure I would encounter would be easily classified as either “good” or “bad.” Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, exemplified the exception to this rule. I always knew she was put to death by guillotine; I never heard exactly why. Was I supposed to feel sorry for her, or did she get what she deserved? Even after a visit to Versailles, Marie Antoinette’s true nature eluded me.

“Let them eat cake”—it sounded like a nice thing to say.*

Sofia Coppola’s film was, for me, an entertaining means of catching up on the details of Marie Antoinette’s life that I managed to miss out on in school and during my holiday tour of her palace. I think she’s one of those people who’s so famous that everyone assumes everyone else knows all about her. But if you truly want to know all about her, and if you want to make your own decision about what kind of woman she was, the best place to go is Marie Antoinette: The Journey. Antonia Fraser’s biography is the text on which the movie was based; it reveals such fascinating details as these:

• Before leaving Austria for France, 14-year-old Marie Antoinette was married to Louis Auguste in a proxy ceremony—with her older brother, the Archduke Ferdinand, standing in for the groom.
• The women of Marie Antoinette’s family mysteriously referred to their periods as the “Generale Krottendorf.” (As in, “The Generale hasn’t visited yet this month … maybe she’s carrying a dauphin!”)
• Louis XVI remained “two-thirds of a husband” until seven years and three months into their marriage. Antoinette’s big bro Ferdinand had to talk him into finally doing it. Wow.

I suspect Sofia Coppola might agree with me that these particulars are more appealing than history’s political plot. She really nails the loneliness and awkwardness M.A. must have experienced as the newly arrived dauphine and focuses on her time at Versailles before the revolution. Though some critics have charged her with taking the easy way out, I can't blame Coppola for ending her film when she did. To give that period after the royal family was forced to leave Versailles proper attention would require a second film.

Also, the second film wouldn’t be nearly as much fun as the first. As it is, Marie Antoinette plays a lot like a two-hour music video with some dialogue thrown in for clarification; and I mean that mostly as a compliment. Since they weren’t going to a hire an all-French cast, why use only period-appropriate music? If a new wave soundtrack helps the modern audience appreciate this story that much more, bring on the New Order and Bow Wow Wow.

For the record, I don’t think anyone deserves decapitation.



P.S. Jason Schwartzman and Kirsten Dunst have a couple of super-sweet duets on the Coconut Records album, Nighttiming. Definitely worth checking out! I love the song "Summer Day."

*I am aware Marie Antoinette did not actually say this.