lynn m fisher

Wait, Didn’t I See This Movie Already?

27 April 2012 – 10:26 pm

Today I had a fun conversation with some friends about the film Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and the upcoming biopic Lincoln starring the amazing Daniel Day Lewis. While the two films have different plots (one true to history and one not so much), it can still be confusing as to which one is which. This isn’t the first time two strikingly similar movies have been made and released suspiciously close together. Here are a few you may also have confused.

Year: 2009, Released: 9 weeks apart
Two films about the dangerous lives of mall security guards featuring pretty funny lead actors. While I do love Anna Faris, I think I love Kevin James on a Segway a little bit more.
Winner: Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Year: 2006, Released: 8 weeks apart
Two dark films about magicians. Both of these movies were actually pretty good, which isn’t surprising when Edward Norton and Christian Bale are involved. However, I just can’t seem to take Paul Giamatti seriously, in any role ever.
Winner: The Prestige

Year: 2011, Released: 6 months apart
Two films about casual sex between friends. What could possibly go wrong with a friends with benefits situation? Especially when you’re gorgeous like Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake, Natalie Portman, and Ashton Kutcher.
Winner: Friends with Benefits

Year: 1998, Released: 7 weeks apart
Two films about an asteroid about to hit Earth and destroy all of humanity. I love an epic disaster movie and these two are no exception. Morgan Freeman is definitely the better President, but the cheese factor in Armageddon is just too good to resist.
Winner: Armageddon

Year: 1998, Released: 7 weeks apart
Two computer animated films about ants. And so it begins: where all other animation studios desperately try to outmatch Pixar. In only the rarest occasion do they succeed and this was not one of them.
Winner: A Bug’s Life

Year: 2004, Released: 8 months apart
Two films about the President’s daughter just wanting to have a normal life. If you know me at all, you certainly know about my undying love for the beautiful Mandy Moore and every romantic comedy she’s ever made.
Winner: Chasing Liberty

Year: 2012, Released: 8 weeks apart
Two films about Snow White. I haven’t seen either of these films, but there’s only one I’m excited about. Time will tell on which one is more successful, but I already have my prediction.
Winner: Snow White and the Huntsman

By lynnandtonic | Posted in film | Comments (0)

Paul Coelho

24 April 2012 – 7:56 am

“People want to change everything and, at the same time, want it all to remain the same.”

By lynnandtonic | Posted in quotes | Comments (0)

Happy Earth Day

22 April 2012 – 5:54 pm

Today is Earth Day. Instead of telling people to recycle or worrying about your carbon footprint (’cause hey, that can get pretty tired, right?), take a moment to think about and appreciate this planet we call home. Whether you believe a heavenly father created our world or if all of this happened by accident, I think we can all agree that planet Earth is pretty freaking awesome.

sources: one, two, three, four, five

By lynnandtonic | Posted in holidays | Tagged earth day, nature | Comments (0)

Cat Alarm Clock

17 April 2012 – 8:20 am

This is awesome.

from laughingsquid.com

By lynnandtonic | Posted in funnies, pets | Comments (0)

American Nostalgia

16 April 2012 – 7:32 pm

American Pie was never a promise of great cinema. If you were ever expecting that, then you probably didn’t see it. It was a raunchy coming-of-age film about four high school seniors trying to lose their virginities. And that’s all it was ever trying to be. In the process it created culturally iconic phrases (One time, at band camp… and MILF are two examples) and launched the careers of many young actors. Two theatrical sequels and countless straight-to-DVD spinoffs later, it seemed the American Pie franchise was old news. Then, the producers decided to play off something even more American than apple pie: nostalgia.

I was 14 when the original American Pie hit theaters. Because the movie was rated R, we had to do the whole ticket-to-a-different-movie switcheroo. When you get past all the gross-out stuff and the teenage boy stuff, it was certainly a movie I could relate to. It was the summer before I started high school and many of my friends were headed to different schools around the city. It felt like the last summer we would all be together and things would never be the same afterwards. It is a youth-defining movie, that captures the difficult changes teenagers deal with and how your senior year can be simultaneously the best and worst of your life.

American Reunion follows the boys as they return to their hometown for their 13-year high school reunion. The actors all look noticeably older reinforcing that, no matter how much we deny it, it actually has been a long time since the original American Pie. Reunion delivers even grosser comedy and Seann William Scott again proves this franchise should have been called The Stifler Show.

This time around the boys, ahem, men realize their lives are not what their high school selves envisioned them to be, for better or worse. They encounter temptation, career embarrassment, and “the one that got away.” Reunion cleverly combines the nostalgia of high school with the nostalgia of the 90s. And even better yet, it capitalizes on the “where are they now?” fascination we all have. (That’s what Facebook is for anyway, right?) If not for the nostalgic value, you may want to see it because it’s pretty damn funny.

By lynnandtonic | Posted in film, nostalgia | Tagged american pie | Comments (0)

Chuck Palahniuk

13 April 2012 – 9:13 am

“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.”

By lynnandtonic | Posted in books, quotes | Comments (0)

30 Before 30

13 April 2012 – 9:02 am

My birthday snuck up on me this year. Yesterday I turned 27 and boy, do I feel old. With my next milestone being the big 3-0, I figured it’d be good to start up another list of things I’d love to do before then. While I didn’t come close to completing my 26 before 26 list, it was a fun process and finally motivated me to cross off items on my ever-growing backlog. I have three years to complete this one and I’m ready to get started.

Learn how to properly use my camera
Learn conversational French
Eliminate my private debt
Paint the bathroom cabinets
Paint a picture for myself
Learn how to change a tire
Take a city tour of Phoenix
Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Watch an actor’s entire filmography
Host a yard sale
Memorize the U.S. Presidents in order
Read the Bible
Take Clay to Paris
Take a road trip
Eat at a Top Chef’s restaurant
Give only handmade gifts for Christmas
Start a real retirement plan
Sell a piece of artwork
Learn to juggle
Learn to play an instrument
Host a get-together at the house
Re-read the U.S. Constitution
Face a major fear
Bake a cake from scratch
Organize my email inbox
Run every day for a month
Print something by hand
Meet a hero in person
Read an author’s entire catalog
Have a child

By lynnandtonic | Posted in 30 before 30 | Comments (5)

San Francisco ’08

10 April 2012 – 10:52 pm

A blast from the past. In 2008, Clay and I took a trip to San Francisco. Here’s us narrowly escaping the jaws of death at Fisherman’s Wharf.

By lynnandtonic | Posted in my life, nostalgia, travel | Comments (0)

Making Nerd Buttons

10 April 2012 – 9:32 am

view my instagrid

By lynnandtonic | Posted in diy, geekery | Comments (0)

San Francisco Trip

9 April 2012 – 10:32 am

I spent the last four days in San Francisco with a few of my coworkers from meltmedia. We attended the design conference TYPO and also had some fun around the city. We visited Fisherman’s Wharf, the Japanese Tea Garden, rode the trolley, and ate plenty of delicious food. I also managed to fit in a viewing of Beach Blanket Babylon, the hilarious musical comedy show. While I gained plenty of inspiration and perspective, both professionally and personally, I am glad to be home with Clay and the two pups.