The One Where Hugh Jackman Steals My Heart: 2013 Oscars Recap

Argo.

Argo.

Argo.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, shame on you. The masterpiece of Ben Affleck's career (up until this point at least) got the biggest compliment last night at the Academy Awards. Oh by the way, it's not called that anymore. Officially it is just "The Oscars". I disagree with this choice but oh well. I'll live.

I'm going to back and do this show in order:

Opening Monologue- I knew Seth Macfarlane would do a solid job. He's a charming if not self-deprecating person who can sing and dance. I have no problem with his humor (except for Family Guy, I just don't like it.) and I would bring him back on one condition: cut the sketch by about 10 minutes. Just do the song and dance and end with some jokes. We don't need 3 sketches that could easily have been web exclusive content to get people excited about him hosting.

Best Supporting Actor: Don't get me wrong, Christoph Waltz is a genius. I loved his in Inglorious Basterds and he was one of the only things I enjoyed about Django Unchained besides Leonardo DiCaprio, who in my and many other industry vets opinion, was robbed the nomination. I just believe that Tommy Lee Jones of Lincoln and Robert DeNiro of Silver Linings Playbook, showed more range and more emotion than is normal to their roles. DeNiro was my pick for his emotional turn as a helpless father.

The Musical Numbers: I am biased and I freely admit it but the celebration of musicals at the Oscars was phenomenal. Catherine Zeta-Jones nailed every line and every dance move with flawless execution and agility of a woman much younger. You go CTJ. Up next was Jennifer Hudson who showed you why she won her Best Supporting Actress a couple of years ago. Again, why people don't enjoy musicals astounds me. And then came the performance of the night and was anyone surprised that it brought the house down? (Sorry Adele and Babs.) The main cast of Les Miserables stunned and blew the other performances out of our memories and made me wish I could watch these people sing live forever. (I can! Thanks Entertainment Weekly! http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/02/25/oscars-2013-performances/5/ #5) Nothing made my heart swell more than when Aaron Tveit triumphantly strode onstage only to be followed my new favorite Russell Crowe. Say what you will about his singing voice, but this is the moment I fell in love with and the crowd clearly agreed as a single cheer rose up for him alone. I could gush more but you will probably hate me.

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway is finally the Princess she once played in a Disney movie. Looking very much the demure young woman she is, Anne was the one sure thing about this evening that everybody agreed on.

Best Actor: Ok, Daniel Day Lewis is a genius. I'm not disagreeing with his abilities but I just don't think he was the best compared to the other actors in the category. Personally my choice would have been Hugh Jackman or Bradley Cooper.

Best Actress: This was one of the hardest races in my recent history. Naomi Watts from The Impossible made me feel so many emotions in the span of two hours than most actresses do on a yearly basis. Jessica Chastain was truly gut-wrenching in Zero Dark Thirty but no one compared to Jennifer Lawrence's complete transformation and tour-de-force performance in Silver Linings Playbook.

Best Picture: My past two Saturday's have been spent watching the nine movies nominated for the coveted award. Most of them received a 7 or 8 out of 10. Only two got 10 out of 10's in my book: Silver Linings Playbook and Argo.  But Argo delivered on every front: action, comedy, suspense, and I'm gonna get sappy but the American in all of us. (My official rankings of all the movies are as follows: Amour: 4/10 Les Miserables: 8/10 Argo: 10/10 Django Unchained:  6/10Beasts of the Southern Wild: 7/10 Life of Pi: 6/10 Lincoln: 8/10 Silver Linings Playbook: 10/10 Zero Dark Thirty: 7/10)
Most are worthy of the nomination but there are two movies that were not nominated and I believe it was an oversight on the Academy's behalf. The Impossible and Perks of Being A Wallflower deserved to be among those up for the award.

Overall, I picked correctly who I thought was going to win over who I wanted to win. It was a good show, that some people will say was too long, but guess what: this isn't new. Make actual changes next year and maybe start earlier.

All I can really say is that I can't wait until I am up there. I can only hope if I fall on my way to the stage, Hugh Jackman rushes to my aide.

Relationship Status: It's Complicated

I'M BACK!!!!!!

Sorry it took me so long but I just didn't have the motivation or the ideas for a good solid entry to entertain you with my witty analysis and commentary. You know you missed me.

Since today is the beginning of February and we have all been attacked by the commercialism that is the dreaded, I'm mean awesome, holiday that is Valentine's Day I thought I would do a two part series about two of the things I love most in this world. YAY! Just kidding. If you have read my blog before you know I have a great outlook on the day (see: Valentine Schmalentine). I love the idea of Valentine's Day... but not currently because I am single. I do not subscribe to the notion of 'Singles' Awareness Day'. No, you are alone. Accept it and be angry and self-indulge in desserts and wine like the rest of us. But I digress.

Today's blog is dedicated to the one solid relationship I've had for the past 7 year: Facebook. 

Laugh and mock all you will but Facebook loves me. And I love it right back.

I didn't even get into FB until right before college. One of my best friends signed me up two days before I embarked on the great adventure that was college. Since then I have surpassed any and all who claim to be Facebooker's in my devotion and my ability to navigate it's site. I don't think a single person who knows me (via FB or real life, because yes, there is a difference) would deny that statement.

Why do I love FB so much? It has never let me down. Ok, there were a few bumps in the road: changing the format for the greater good, updating privacy codes, and other minor adjustments that like all relationships take some time to get used to. But for the most part, FB and I have had a harmonious time. I even tried to be clever and be in a relationship with Facebook. It didn't work out.

Facebook allows me to keep in touch with legions of friends that had I not been able to be "friends" with on the site, I would have lost contact with years ago. It allows me to develop deeper friendships with people who I may have been a passing acquaintance in person, but online I see strings and connections that bring us closer.

Another reason I love FB deals with the more evil side of my personality: stalking. I have been called the Queen of Facebook because of my ability to discover, snoop, and in general be privy to others lives and the ability to hunt and track down these tawdry tidbits of scoop and scandal make me an invaluable 'friend'.

I love taking pictures. My reputation precedes me and because of that I currently have just under 4000 pictures uploaded on the site. I am only tagged in 1828 of them but that doesn't mean I'm not in more. This avenue to share, comment, and like moments from my life is invaluable to me. I can share my favorite experiences with loved ones across the country or world in a matter of minutes.

You may have gleaned that I like TV and movies from my past blogs. If you haven't... you should probably get something checked out, ok? I'm worried about you. FB allows me to share all these quotes that need an escape from my brain. And while others post about what they are doing that day or their thoughts, my status' tend to have themes (a celeb's birthday, movie premiere, how I'm feeling that day, a certain TV show is ending, etc.) and I get as much pleasure out of thinking of the quotes as I hope people who read them do. My tendency to post every three/four hours is a bi-product of my OCD and while I try to monitor how much I post, that goes better some days than on others. I have often told people that if they wish to not be attacked by my posts, feel free to unsubscribe. If you are unsure of how to do that, I can help you.

All in all, I love Facebook. It is my addiction in every possible way. It has led to hilarious moments, shocking discoveries, heartfelt conversations, some romantic advances, and tons of gossip. I wouldn't have it any other way.



Stay tuned next week for the second blog in the Valentine's Day series!!

Advice From The Future

Reader, something strange happened. I received a letter (and that in and of itself if a weird happenstance these days, no?) in the mail earlier this week. The weird thing was that it was from me. From the future.

I know, right? Mind blown.

Allow me to share this time-bending letter to you now:

Dear Kate,

How are you ? Hopefully you are happy and healthy and living the dream!!! (Obviously not because you still aren't married to Zac Efron with a wonderful baby, 2 Emmy statues, or your gorgeous mansion.) I felt a disturbance in the force this week and I thought I might give you some advice to help ease your troubles. What are future-selves for,am I right?

Let's tackle some quick issues: you can go tanning if you want. You will always be illegally pale and if it makes you feel more confident do it. Just use moderation. Also, you can work out if you want, either way you look great. (Zac confirms.)

Now onto the real issues. There are some things that you are worried about right now and I while I am not sure about what revealing the future does to your current timeline, I will try to be as direct as I can.

Life is too short to be wasted on people and problems that can't or won't be fixed. Why waste valuable time on people that just don't want to be apart of your life. You have done a good job of eradicating some problem people and I can assure you that those will get what is coming to them. The other ones that haven't realized their mistake yet will and you will be too busy with your life and successes to even care about them.

Work is work. Always is and always will be. If you enjoy who you work for and with, that's all the really matters. (PS your idea about how you and Zac meet and fall in love? Spot. On.) We both know that we have a hard time letting things that are trivial not bother us. That still hasn't changed. Sorry.

Green is still our color. Work it. Your fashion keeps getting better. And Target continues to make bank off of us. Who's shocked.

I'm sure you want to know some spoilers regarding TV and movies. I would love to tell you them but... I'm actually going to pull a "Kate" and make you wait. You'll thank me. You still get to movies early though and believe me, that is a BIG thing. Don't ever stop.

Basically, you are still awesome. There are tough times coming, but aren't there always? Nothing comes easy and you and I (ha!) know that better than most. Don't give up on your dreams, ever. One of your greatest qualities (Zac says daily there are many. Isn't he the sweetest?!) is your ability to be idealistic as well as seeing the best in people and situations. Nothing should or can change that and that makes you you.

In the meantime, try not to stress out too much. Life is too short and you know that.

"To be nobody-but-yourself--in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else--means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting."

(I'll be seeing you--- Zac)


There it is. It's some solid, if generic, advice. I wanted to share it with you because people generally are facing the same struggles, they just don't know it.

AND DID YOU SEE THAT I'M MARRIED TO ZAC FRAKKING EFRON!!!!!!!!!!

The End is Near... or Here?

Dear Readers,

I have reached a strange point in my movie going life, the end of a saga. Not even the of something I am dreading really. Tomorrow is the final installment of the (seemingly) popular franchise, Twilight, with the second part (of an unnecessary split) of the final book, Breaking Dawn. And readers, I think I'm actually going to miss it.

Before my friends and family take action and try to have me checked for mental illness, I think I have a valid reason for feeling this loss. It's more the loss of the experience of finding a saga or collective or series that you might not find again. Every publisher and studio head is constantly searching the next Harry Potter, and while some have been lucky with Twilight and The Hunger Games, there is no clear future for fans of series.

Now before the rest of you revolt and cry Hobbit, I don't care. It's a separate entity in and of itself. That is an established series and already has a rabid fan base. Asking if there will ever be another phenomenon like the above triad of book series is a very serious reality for a multitude of reasons. The first is I am no longer a teenager. These books are not as readily available or on my radar to embrace and criticize and demand justification at every turn. I will have to be vigilant and aware and utilize my younger audience. The second is while there are some adult book series that are being made into motion pictures, such as the Fifty Shades book series, it doesn't have that same level of innocence (well duh Kate) and the camaraderie that accompanies the movie going experiences. The third reason is can lightning strike again? There have been a litany of attempts to recreate the same enthusiasm and more importantly the monetary success of the previous series.

Obviously, it can and most likely will happen. But there is nothing on the horizon. Yes there are still three movies left in The Hunger Games series but even that has a finality to it. When Harry Potter ended, we had two movies left in the controversial Twilight series and the first movie of The Hunger Games hadn't even released a trailer yet, which can be more exciting than the movie at times. (I'm looking at you Twilight. You know you let me down. Deal with it.) As I sit here, I am wracking my brain to think of another prominent young adult series that could take the world by storm... and I'm coming up empty.

Recently there was a minor announcement about the Star Wars series finally getting its completed trilogy in the saga. I have mixed feelings about this and I'm sure I can elaborate once I have more details. It's still a difficult situation to wrap my head around. While I'm thrilled, I'm also terrified. Utterly, completely terrified. This is my childhood and legions of fans childhoods hopes and dreams for the series being put front and center and it could all be destroyed faster than the Millennium Falcon getting to lightspeed.

So what do I have to look forward to? Nothing comes to mind and that makes me almost treasure tomorrow night's swan song on the Twilight series. Never again will I get to mock and rip apart an acting job more thoroughly and with such good company. Never again will I be able to critique and simultaneously defend a ridiculously written book and movie series. Never again will I get to watch horrible CGI attempt to recreate sparkly vampires and chiseled werewolves. Never again will I watch an actress (cough cough Kristen Stewart) make me hide and shake my head.

I guess what I'm really saying is thanks Twilight. You have unintentionally filled my life with laughter and absurdity for the past 7 years. I think I'll miss you least of all, but I'll still miss you. From a now famous exchange for the first book, I think I am one of the more dumb ones but at least I am in good company.

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb." "What a stupid lamb." "What a sick masochistic lion."

Dear Adam Levine....

I had a vision readers. It came as most visions due, with no warning or even forethought. Adam Levine will be my Valentine's Day date this year.

I'm going to rewind a bit so that you can see what I saw.

Earlier this week, as I sat at my desk during lunch, I was looking at ticket prices for the 2012 Maroon 5 concert that my cousin Brittany and I were hoping to attend. The seats I wanted were not available on Ticketmaster any more so I decided to venture over to StubHub to compare. Low and behold I found the tickets I so desired: floor seats and about as close to the stage as I could imagine or at least afford. I instantly bought the tickets. Filled with excitement, I texted Brittany and told her we could actually look forward to Valentine's Day this year. We could hardly contain our excitement.

In my excitement I took to Twitter. With no thoughts of grandeur, I tweeted the following: Going to see Maroon 5 for Valentine's Day. Hey @adamlevine, would you be my Valentine. I laughed to myself, clearly Mr. Levine would never see my tweet or even more unlikely respond in any way, positive or negative. I carried on with my day.

But something was nagging me... why couldn't I get the lead singer of Maroon 5 to be my Valentine? Crazier things have happened. Look at the girl who serenaded Jason Segel for a date only to become an Internet sensation and actually have said date happen?? I realized that my approach would have to be unique enough to get recognized on a national or at least social media version of national level. So I started to plot....

My plan is quite simple. I just have to get Adam Levine's attention. There is no real sob story here, nor would I want there to be one. I have to be earnest and honest and blunt about my intentions. I also need the help of social media to get my idea launched. I plan to use my blog, my Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts to get my message out and if  you can share/like/comment/retweet any and all of these posts, it will only increase the chance that he might see my request.

So let me take this opportunity to address Mr. Levine personally:

My name is Katelin Bonk. I am 24 years old and love your band. I would not dare to say that I am your biggest fan, I would not want to take that honor away from someone else. I always enjoyed your band's music but didn't own any CDs until I discovered Hands All Over. That album changed my taste in music. It is in my top favorite albums of all time, that I am not lying about. So you can imagine how excited I was when I picked up your newest album, Overexposed. It took a while but I fell in love with that album as well. My favorite song is "Love Somebody". But I digress. I am a fan and a very loyal one once I become one. I was wondering what you would say to being my Valentine at the Detroit concert of your upcoming tour. I'm sure you get ridiculous requests all the time but I would love it if you would hear me out. My cousin and I are beyond excited to go to the show, regardless of this particular outcome. The reason I ask is because I've never had a REAL Valentine. I've had a couple male friends do me a solid and be my fake Valentine and I love them dearly for it. But I've never looked forward to the day to be honest. Being a romantic person and having no one willing to share it with you can be lonely. I've written a blog that tries to give you other ideas to get through the day, take a look! What am I looking for in asking this? Well, there are a couple ways this could go. 1. Getting a tweet on the day of the concert would probably blow my mind and make my day. 2. Dreaming a bit bigger, but a shout out at the concert during a romantic song would probably give me a heart attack, one I would be willing to have. 3. This is the biggest option and most unlikely but it comes with the biggest reward. Call me up on stage and sing to me.

I know, I know. These are all quite ridiculous requests. But in an age where social media is the driving force, what hard does it take to at least ask?

Adam, I am going to just ask this once or on the flip side bombard you with requests. I have a plan. I came up with a Twitter hashtag: #KateBonkWouldLikeAdamLevineToBeHerValentine. ( I admit that it's not clever and very long but I needed both of our names in it!!) I will be tweeting this hashtag everyday (105 and counting...) until the concert as well as an update here in my blog monthly. I also have a couple of other tricks on getting your attention but I am going to keep those to myself for the moment.

Mr. Levine, I realize the improbability of this question and request. If you never see or hear my posts or even if you do and you choose not to respond, my heart will not be broken. I will still scream at the top of my lungs at the concert (Dressed in red and black, probably some leather. Hey, can't blame a girl for trying!) and my cousin and I will still have the best time because we won't be alone on Valentine's Day. But if you do... just know that you're making one very loyal fan extremely happy.

So thanks Adam Levine.

#KateBonkWouldLikeAdamLevineToBeHerValentine #KateNeedsAVDayDate

Will The Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up?

The title of today's blog might lead you to think that I am about to drop some raps but the title is just a rouse to pull in more readers. Gotcha!!!

The real theme of today's post is inspired by a lovely and dear friend (I am not being sarcastic.*) We were discussing characters on TV shows and how I love the ones that are a word that rhymes with witchy. I postulated that I love those witchy characters so much is because in reality I am too nice and wish I could say the things they do or act how they act. My amazing friend** said that she can be witchy. NOTE: I never called her witchy. That just needs to be clear. I said the reason for her comparison might be that we, as viewers, are drawn to our opposites and dislike characters that resemble ourselves. Well, that's would I have said had I not been accused of calling my very pretty friend a witch. But I digress.

So the topic at hand is why we or I rather love characters that are seeming polar opposites. My though process on this is pretty rudimentary: I am what one would call a nice to a fault person. This is a positive as I have lots of friends and have the reputation of being a good person. However, being nice all the time has its downfall. People think they can walk all over you, take advantage, and treat you in a way and expect to get away with it because you are too nice to really come at them. Most of the time I would agree with this description of me. But like the Hulk, I have a secret.... I can get mad.

It comes as shock to people when the wrath of Kate comes down on them, and for good reason since it takes quite a bit to make me truly, completely angry. Yes, I am emotional so my immediate reaction might make it seem like I am mad. But the real, deep anger lies doormat and it takes a great deal for me to unleash it on my unsuspecting victims.

So when I see these characters on TV just unleash vicious comments, snarky comebacks, and evil revenge I get all happy inside. Finally!! Someone is unleashing their inner Hulk and it feels so good to watch! If I can't do it some else can. Do I get an unhealthy amount of satisfaction watching completely lovely and nice characters ripped to shreds with words? Absolutely. Do I care? Not one bit.

If I were to pick one character on TV right now that most embodies me I would honestly have to say Rachel from Glee. I don't say this because I think I can sing anywhere close to her level (I try. Really hard.) but because multiple people have told me that I remind them of her. I love her character and have since the pilot purely because of her no holds barred quest for the spotlight and her ruthless at times ambition. However, Rachel is usually a doormat and lonely and doesn't have the verbal viciousness of some of the characters that I gleefully await seeing each week for their ability to take down their "prey" with a sentence. On occasion both Rachel and I have these witty/snarky comments and we render our enemies speechless. But more often then not we end up singing a sad song in a montage, or in my case my car ride home.


*I'm being a teensy bit sarcastic.
** But she really is  quite lovely. And not a all a witch. Despite what she says.

I'm Backkkkk and Crazier Than Ever

READERS!!!!!!! I'm back!!

I went on a self-imposed writing exile for the last two months. Not really. I just got really lazy. And lost my sense of wit. But I found it!!! I know, you were all deeply concerned. "Is Kate still funny?" "Are there movies out right now? Kate hasn't written about anything in a while." "Should we rescue her from the Bunker?" (That's what those in the inner circle call my viewing room/bedroom. Pretty cool, huh?!) Fear not. I am safe and sound.

During the past months, it's not like I didn't think about writing. Heck, I made some headway on a new script. But I just couldn't think of anything topical to cover weekly. Oh sure, I could have bored you with my opinions on some of Summer TV's finales. I could have detailed my amazing concert with Kelly Clarkson and The Fray and how we met and they signed my first TV script that they inspired. But that just seemed like filler.

What brought me out of solitary, you ask, and why today? Well folks, today is perhaps one of my favorite days of the year, just behind Christmas and my birthday. It's TV premiere week. And yes, I know FOX and NBC premiered some of their shows last week but this is the real deal. All summer long I have been waiting for this day.

Now you better sit down and relax because I'm about to get real deep with you. Lately, my quirks and antics have been under scrutiny. You see, they are not the norm. I recently considered dropping a large sum of money on the Complete Blu-Ray Collection of Harry Potter and was immediately deemed insane and irrational. I was so taken aback by this reaction it caused me to go even deeper into my exile and really think about how I come across to friends and acquaintances.

You know what I discovered? That I don't care. I don't care at all. You may think I am crazy and that I need help but I don't care. I am passionate about something that I love. Do I sit in line for seemingly endless hours to see a movie at midnight that I could easily watch the next day with no line? Absolutely. And I'm not even close to being done with that. Do I own over 500 DVD's, including over 25 seasons of TV? You betcha. And still counting.

Some of you may point out that this isn't that bad but rather its my age that causes concern. I am in mid-20's and am more mature than some adults I know. I will gleefully admit that I am a child at heart and I hope to never lose that sense of wonder and joy about something that means so much to me. I am also professional when the occasion calls for it while bringing that sense of fun to any environment. Some may call me crazy, and I have too, but the word that truly describes me is quirky.

Do normal people get excited about new TV and the return of their favorites shows? Of course. Do they get a box of wine and snacks to celebrate? Probably not. Regardless that is what I will be doing tonight and I will be having more crazy adventures sooner than you think. So if you enjoy my "crazy", please keep coming back for more frivolity. If not, well, I feel sorry for you. You clearly have forgotten about what it is like to truly embrace yourself and just enjoy the ride.

E.E. Cummings once wrote; To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle, which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.