Before Midnight {movie trailer}

Truth be told, I haven't seen this trilogy yet, but I have heard crazy-amazing things about these movies and can not wait to see both, including the upcoming release of Before Midgnight.  The movies take a real look at relationships - it's many difficulties, the ups & downs, the giddy beginning and painful endings. 

The story of Jesse and Celine begins in Before Sunrise, where they meet on a train and spend an incredible & incredibly romantic night together.  It's the beginning of a love story that survies 9 years of being apart when they happen upon eachother once more in Before Sunset, reminding you of how raw & incomplete love can be through time and distance.  And now the story concludes with this third installment.

Just reading about it reminds me of how unfiltered our emotions can be, and how deep feelings can linger burdening you with happy thoughts and enduring pain.  Have you seen the first two?  Planning on seeing the third?  It's my mission of the week.

Movie Rewind: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Hi, my name is Crystal and I've never seen Breakfast at Tiffany's.  Until yesterday.  Sure, I know who Audrey Hepburn is and can vividly recall the famous shot of her exiting the cab in that black dress, pearls and those wide-rimmed sunglasses and walking over to the Tiffany's display window eating a croissant and drinking her coffee.  But I had never seen the movie.  To be honest, I wasn't even completely sure what the movie was about.  So, I finally watched it yesterday.

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a wonderful snapshot of Manhattan in the 60's - the scenery is amazing, the fashion is iconic, but the story is completely implausible.  Holly, as a character, in incredibly flawed - she's extremely naive, a social climber using men of a certain wealth to maintain her lifestyle, and is arguably very selfish having abandoned her family and married life for a Hollywood/Upper East Side lifestyle.  She steals from the Five and Dime, regularly, just to see if she can get away with it and is such a commitment-phobe that she even refuses to name her cat.  All of that aside, you just can't help but love her.  Audrey Hepburn's portrayal of Holly Golightly is so charming that you find yourself looking past the character's flaws and wishing nothing but the best for her, even wishing you were her.


{photo via Pinterest}

Horror Movies for Halloween Night

There's no better way to set the mood for a frightening & eery night, than to watch a scary movie.  I used to love watching them as a kid, biting my nails during the movie and then staring at the door all night as I tried to sleep afterwards.  To make matters worse, the house I grew up in had a really long hallway and as I'd walk down it my anxiety would build up to a point where I found myself running to the very end of it and frantically knocking on my parent's door.

Here are a few of the scariest movies ever, with notes from IGN on the scariest scenes.

Scene to watch with the lights on: All of it. No no no, trust us. Watch it at mid-day, with the blinds open and the lights on. And then get used to the fact that you may never, ever sleep again.

Scene to watch with the lights on: Laurie Strode is trying to hide from Michael Myers, and crouches down inside a closet. She manages to tie the door shut, but that's not going to stop Michael, who begins smashing the door in, causing light to shine in and for Michael's spooky mask to come into plain view of the understandably terrified Laurie. 

Scene to watch with the lights on: When Freddy gets a hold of Tina in her dream, we suddenly realize just how big the stakes are, as her sleeping body is suddenly pulled up into the air, and four fatal cuts rip into her. The fact that she's dragged along the ceiling, screaming, before she dies, as her boyfriend looks on in horror, only adds to the shock of the scene. 

 Scene to watch with the lights on: "The blood usually gets off on the third floor." When both Jack and his psychically attuned son begin communing with the many spirits haunting the Overlook, things quickly take a turn for the worse. Deadly hedge mazes, elevators full of blood and the terrifying Room 237 are only some of the horrors that await viewers.

Scene to watch with the lights on: Man. Just pick anything. How about the guy who tears his own face apart or the malicious clown doll that loves to strangle or the vengeful zombies coming out of the swimming pool. This movie will hit you from every direction and leave you cowering in the corner. 

Scene to watch with the lights on: What scene could we pick but the quintessential shower slaying? Coupled with the iconic music cue, this scene remains a horror classic 50 years later.

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{photo credits for movie posters N to S: Exorcist, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Shining, Poltergeist, Psycho}

Home Design Ideas from It's Complicated

Just watched It's Complicated today for the 1000th time and I am still drooling over Meryl Streep's fictional house.  It is absolutely amazing and makes you want to buy a Tuscan-inspired home in California almost immediately.  I can imagine dinner parties by the pool, playing Scrabble on the raw wood dining table, and making chocolate cupcakes in the kitchen.  The house is romantic, easy, and cozy with its neutral colors, clawfoot tub, and mature trees.  Below are just a few pictures from the set of It's Complicated for your viewing pleasure.

 

  

 

The last movie still pictured here is what brings you back to reality.  Just seeing it makes you remember it's a fictional house since no one has that great of a garden.  It's absolutely impeccable and reminds me more of the community gardens around town than someone's home garden.  It would be great though...

{pictures courtesy of Traditional Home,  IMDB and Elle Decor}