The Moment I Fell For... Audrey Hepburn

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It's this entire scene that did it - she sounds so lovely - but there's something about that dreamy-eyed "Hi..." she says to George Peppard at the end that really flipped the switch for me. She's swell.

And every New Years I think of the party scene in this movie, so it's an appropriate post for today. Y'all have a fun night! Happy 2009!
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And They'll Continue Singin' It Forever Just Because...

Well I had so much fun with our little game yesterday for JD's Endings Blog-a-thon over at Valley Dreamin' that I figured I'd take the opportunity of its continuation through today to do it all over again! Whee! Might as well spend my holiday somehow, and my brains are getting a little bit stir-fried from all the movie-watching. So here goes. Ten Thirteen (!) more final shots from ten thirteen (!) more of my favorite flicks. You tell me what they're from in the comments. I went a smidgen tougher this go-round - seriously, just a measly smidgen, I measured - because y'all proved your mettle quick-like yesterday. Now go!

Cache - guessed by Joel

Chinatown - guessed by Joel

Punch-Drunk Love - guessed by Mike

The Ice Storm - guessed by Janis

Holy Mountain - guessed by unclemike

Harold and Maude - guessed by Two Sheds

Showgirls - guessed by Joel

Audition - guessed by Sam Costello

Trois Couleurs: Bleu - guessed by Peter

The Conversation - guessed by Matt

American Psycho - guessed by the misomaniac

Bonnie & Clyde - guessed by Dennis

Children of Men - guessed by TwoSheds

Happy 35, Jason Behr

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Some People Started Singin' It Not Knowin' What It Was...

Y'all know what time of year it is right? That's right - the end. It is the end of the year. And that has come to mean one thing. No, not me passed out in the gutter with drool on my shoes. Okay, so two things, it's come to mean two things. Me passed out in the gutter with drool on my shoes AND JD's Endings Blog-a-thon over at Valley Dreamin'. I got sloppy last year (gutter drool shoes) and didn't participate but knew I had to this year when I got quoted in the blog-a-thon announcement (crafty trick, JD!). So here goes.

I went and chose the final shots from ten of my favorite movies. None of these are all that difficult I don't think, especially if you've come to know my tastes; hell, a couple of them are downright slap-in-the-face simple from where I'm standing. I chose these shots and these specific movies because each of these final shots in and of themselves give me the feel and the flavor of the whole movie. It's synecdoche writ here!

But you all should tell me what they're from, is what I'm getting at. It's a game and shit, yay! We love games. Go!

Ed Wood - guessed by Ross

The Elephant Man - guessed by TwoSheds

Oldboy - guessed by sparky2379

Heavenly Creatures - guessed by trey

Brokeback Mountain - guessed by sparky2379

Eternal Sunshine... - guessed by Trey

Halloween - guessed by sparky2379

Evil Dead II - guessed by anonymous

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - guessed by anonymous

Happiness - guessed by anonymous

See? Easy. Easy peasy, actually. Except maybe a couple. Whatev. Do it. And then go check out Valley Dreamin' for more exciting entries; the blog-a-thon keeps running through tomorrow night!
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I Can Spot A Shirtless Thomas Kretschmann...

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... from a thousand yards every time!

Did I call it, or did I call it? Way back in September when the trailer for Valkyrie appeared, I scanned that thing over and what to my wandering lustful eyes did appear but the quick image of a large fellow swimming in a swastika-emblazoned swimming pool in the middle of a long shot, and I kept the cards close in case I turned out to be foolish and overly hopeful but I should've remembered my keen eyes treating me right back during that "Charlize removes her sunglasses in the trailer for Hancock" debacle and known I was ideed correct to be calling it as my beloved Thomas Kretschmann in the Swastika'd pool and sure enough, there he was, in his swimming-betrunked glory. Swoon. And I say that swoon in earnest - I literally made a little gasping sound when TK got up out of the water. Yes, I am that person.

In related news, the movie was okay. Put somebody else into Tom Cruise's role and it might've even been very good. It's hard to root for someone whose face makes your stomach turn every time it appears. Alas.
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"Right now we are advising all our clients to put everything they've got into canned food and shotguns."

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Hi everybody! I trust everyone had a substantial last week? Yes? Good then, let us move on. Oh... but wait. There's a substantial this week too, isn't there? And I don't have to go to my day-job. Again. And if I don't have to go to my day-job, then my getting-out-of-bed ratio seriously fumbles. And with it, the blog stuffs. Ack.

So what I'm saying is, MNPP will remain quiet-ish til next Monday really. I might post some here and there - I cannot foretell the future, y'all - but mostly I plan on watching a shit-load o' movies this week and catching my woeful ass up. I'm two down on the end-of-year majors - The Wrestler and Benjamin Button have both been seen by these eyes; I'd love to hear your opinions if you wanna share (even though I do not, yet) - and I plan on seeing as many as I can stuff into the next few days.

Yadda yadda, if I don't pop back in the next couple days - and who knows? Not me! - y'all have a splendid New Years!
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The Happy Couple

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Ugh, I shouldn't be posting, I should be packing, I should be not having my third drink, but fuck it, I'm on vacation. And I saw the above picture of Jake and That One celebrating his birthday and I knew I just had to post it (via).

A picture can say a thousand words you know, and about 980 of the words that picture are saying are "OH MY GOD I HATE YOUR FUCKING GUTS HOW LONG DO WE HAVE TO SIT HERE OH MY GOD" over and over (and for the record, the remaining twenty words have to do with their waiter's ass).

Anyway, I am off in about 7 hours, so everybody have a great week! I'll be back... eventually...
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... And To Y'all A Good Night!

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So... Happy Holidays, Y'all...

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Look, It's A Vampire Playing The Drums

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Yup. That's a vampire playing the drums. (via)
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Jake Six Times

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I See You Got The Flowers, Jake

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Happy 28th birthday, Mr. Gyllenhaal!

Unfortunately I'm too busy with work and prepping for my long vacation today to give Jake a proper birthday celebration (maybe I'll find a little time later this afternoon to show some affection though; we'll see). But just click here to explore the agony and the ecstasy of MNPP's oft-infatuated but here-n-there tumultuous relationship with the furry man-boy of our dreams through the years. (And let's hope that 2009 is a little Jake-lover-friendlier than '08 has been, eh Jakey?)
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Hey Helo

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io9 has got a gallery of new stills from the first episode of Battlestar Galactica's return next month. I guess you could sort of consider them spoilery if you haven't seen the last episode. Mostly, it's just everybody standing around and looking bummed, and there's nothing shocking about that no matter how many episodes you've seen. (I say that with love!)
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Good Morning, World

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Mighty Hung Jane

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Thomas Jane's Penis is a subject that's near and dear to my heart. It's something that never far from the forefront of my mind. Passions may come and go, but my love for Thomas Jane's Penis will remain, eternal, etched into stone.

So I've had my ear to the ground for news of the TV series Hung, in which Thomas Jane's Penis gets co-billing alongside Thomas Jane, since the series was announced, and today some word emerged:

"HBO is hung up on "Hung."

The pay cable network has picked up the dark comedy pilot starring Thomas Jane to series.

The order for the project, from "The Riches" creator Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson, is said to be for 10 episodes, with the launch eyed for June.

Jane ("The Punisher") plays Ray, a well-endowed struggling high school basketball coach who figures out a way to use his best asset.

The sexual aspect will be a major source for comedy but not the main focus of the series, said Lipkin and Burson, who are already writing Episode 5.

"It has its sexual moments, but the show is very much about what's happening in the country, how people are trying to survive using what God had given them," Lipkin said.

Burson noted that the theme is even more relevant now, with the worsening economy, as is the Michigan setting for the show, picked long before the state became a focal point for the economic crisis as the home of the struggling Big Three automakers.

Most of the actors in the pilot, including Jane, Jane Adams, Sianoa Smit-McPhee and Charlie Saxton, will continue on the series, slated to begin production early next year.

"Sideways" director Alexander Payne, who shot the pilot, will stay on as an executive producer. "It was fun to do, and I am happy it is being picked up," Payne said."

I should step off my Thomas Jane's Penis soapbox for a moment to note that Jane Adams (I never forget an Oola!) is also in this show, thereby making this show more awesome than I can practically handle.
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Ryan Phillippe Is Drunk

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A drunken Ryan Phillippe was wandering the streets,
stumbling around, calling out my name,
and nobody called me? Damn you all to hell.
He'd better show up under my Christmas tree. (via)
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The Abortive Sorrows and Short-winded Elations of Men

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Baz Luhrmann's next film is going to be an adaptation of my favorite book, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The only cinematic version of the book I've ever seen is the Redford/Farrow one and that was in High School because they made us watch it and it does not sit well in my memory.

The main thing we need to figure out first is casting this sucker. What do y'all think? I can't wrap my brain around actors realizing these parts right just yet. Or ever, maybe. Help me!

And no, Baz, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman are way way way too old, so don't even think about it. And the first person to say Jessica Alba as Daisy gets a fist to the forehead.
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Behind The Scenes Of Bubble Boy

One of the great cinematic achievements of our time, Bubble Boy... man I can't even make an entire sentence from that nonsense. Bubble Boy is underrated though. It makes me laugh anyway. It has characters named Pushpop, Pappy, Pippy, Poonanny, Red Hot, Human Sasquatch, Flipper Boy, Dr. Phreak and Schlomo! It co-stars Swoosie Kurtz and Marley Shelton pre-Grindhouse! Awesomeness.

But then it also stars Jake and I think we all know what effect that has on my brain, so let's forgo discussing the merits of Bubble Boy. Thanks to IHJM I just caught these two behind-the-scenes stills from the 2001 film, and they are love itself, so I had to post them.

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5 Off My Head - Brad Be 45

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Whenever Brad Pitt comes up, I'll usually just post a bunch of pretty pictures of him (click here for confirmation). Because, you see, he is very pretty, in case you have not taken note of that fact, and photographers seem to like to take pictures of him, probably due to the first fact of his being very pretty. So there are plenty of pretty choices of pretty pictures of pretty Brad to choose from and post.

But today, on his 45th birthday, I am going to do something else. Give his acting a little love. That thing he does for a living... when he's also being pretty. My five favorite performances by Brad Pitt in no specific order:

Jeffrey Goines, 12 Monkeys

"You know what crazy is? Crazy is majority rules."

Tyler Durden, Fight Club

"Now, a question of etiquette -
as I pass, do I give you the ass or the crotch?"

Chad Feldheimer, Burn After Reading

"Appearances can be... deceptive."

J.D., Thelma & Louise

"I may be an outlaw, darlin',
but you're the one stealing my heart."

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Jesse James, The Assassination of Jesse James
by the Coward Robert Ford

"Can't figure it out:
do you want to be like me or do you want to be me?"

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Oh and what the hay, here's a young Brad
with a bunch of daisies growing out of his pants, just cuz:

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