Featured Artist: CHRIS GALLIPOLI

This month's featured artist is my good friend, Chris Gallipoli. Born in 1965, Chris is a native New Yorker who came to Los Angeles to become a rock star... and, he was. For many years, Chris was the lead singer in a rock band. Think, Alice in Chains or Black Crowes. It's true. But, that was long ago in a land far, far away... beyond the moon. Beyond the rain.

Today, with his rock'n'rolla spirit intact, along with his love for classic muscle cars, Chris is an art director in the entertainment design world of Los Angeles. Personally, Chris is one of the best art directors in the business. Professionally, Chris has won many awards to prove it.

Most recently, his concept and design for the packaging for, Wall-E, won "Best In Show" at the 2009 Key Art Awards.

Chris has come a long way in his career and has worked for some of the industry giants, such as MGM Studios, Trailer Park and Shoolery Design, to name a few. His impressive project list includes key art for the DVD and Blu-ray packaging for Up, special series packaging for Scrubs, outdoor concepts for Night at the Museum 2, and much more.

For as long as I've known him, Chris has always been working on something, creatively. He has an amazing t-shirt line and he enjoys working on old cars. His first love is his bull-dog, Mack, and design lands a close second. Chris is single and has yet to meet the woman of his dreams, but he is dating. He is close to his family and he is a loyal friend.

Thank you, Chris, for being a featured artist on L.A. Link and for being a good friend. To learn more about Chris, check out his web site at tricksixtyfive.com.

If you or someone you know should be a featured artist on L.A. Link, let me know. They should be living in Los Angeles.

Black and white photo credit: Hector Cruz, Big Boy Drums (www.2siick.com)

More On Inspiration

Inspired By...

Now that Thanksgiving is two days behind us, I'm back on the computer looking for inspiration for my next project, when it dawned on me that I had another great, regular topic to blog about--what inspires me. Because of my specialty in entertainment design, I get a lot of my inspiration from movie posters, entertainment magazines and of course, art books. Having first-hand experience in the process, it amazes me to see what other people come up with and it thrills me to try and discect their thought process and techniques.

For my first entry of the new series, "Inspired by...," I wanted to feature some of the posters from the upcoming film, The Wolfman. I'm a huge horror buff and I love some of the vampire shows that are out there (e.g., True Blood and The Vampire Diaries), so when I came across these posters on Internet Movie Poster Awards (impawards.com), I was inspired to share them with you.

Now, there are certain rules art directors must follow when coming up with concepts and designs for movie posters, and I'm sure, as an artist, you are familiar with some of them. First and foremost is to get the viewer to look twice at the image. If you can do that, they will probably read the poster, the date the film comes out and you will plant the subliminal seed that makes them want to go and see it. The other rules are pretty simple, too: make it cool, breathtakingly beautiful, award-worthy and do it yesterday.

What you may not know is that sometimes there are no images to work from--or very little, or very poor--so you have to think on your feet. If there is no budget for a photo shoot with the talent and the actual setting, then we have to come up with other ways to get the shots we need or change the concept. If there is no time to go through the approval process of changing a concept, we often have to shoot a model-double in a studio for the right pose or the right light, then we blend it all together with layers of overlays, textures, color and light. When you are all finished, your poster comps should be gorgeous and look ready for production. It's that simple.

Really, it's not that simple. That's why my first in a series of inspirations are the posters for The Wolfman. These three, in particular, are my favorite. Let's start from the left and go right.

The first one, with Emily Blunt hidden behind the trees, is exciting to me for several reasons. The fact that the artist put the viewers perspective from in front of her, and we can see behind her into the forest, with the tilt of the frame and the choice to go black and white with a touch of gold, are all compelling features in this design. There is another version, in color, where we can actually see the wolf man in the distance of the forest. I'm not especially thrilled with this title treatment, but I feel that this one is the better than the third option. It's more modern.

The middle one is cool, again because of the viewers point of view. We're up close and personal with the beast and all we can see is his yellow eye and his fur. Lots of mind-blowing technique for the hair and black negative space. I love these first two posters as a series, even if the colors do remind me of the Gran Torino campaign with Clint Eastwood.

The third one reminds me of a throwback to the 1950's horror films, but with a modern twist. The angle of the viewer, the details in the monster's face and hands and the lighting are all modern techniques that you do not find in the posters of the 1950's. But, overall the illustration-style of the final artwork is vintage in feeling.

Unfortunately, the studio(s) that created these posters are not mentioned, but as I stated earlier, you can find these and other cool posters at the International Movie Poster Awards web site at www.impawards.com.

Prizzi's Piazza

OMG...we love Prizzi's. And, it is my next restaurant review. It's in our neighborhood, walking distance, so we can drink and stumble home. (Not that we do.) We live in Beachwood Canyon, just under the Hollywood sign. Beachwood Canyon is, literally, just around the block from Prizzi's Piazza, which sits in a little fabulous strip of stores, at the foot of the Hollywood Hills on Franklin Avenue in Franklin Village.

Last night, my partner Mitchel, our friend Kris and I, all went to Prizzi's for pre-Thanksgiving dinner and it was amazing! As usual, because Prizzi's is one of our FAVORITE restaurants in Los Angeles and it has been for years. The cooks never disappoint, no matter what the dish. From the homemade soups, to the fabulous pastas (OMG, the best in L.A.!), to the entrees, the food at Prizzi's Piazza is prepared to order. The ambiance is warm and inviting, and there are always locals at the bar (did I mention Prizzi's has a full bar?). They also have quite an extensive wine list. And lastly, the service is great. We have our favorites--Rob, pictured here [center], is one of them--but all of them take good care of their patrons. Which, btw, is a must if you plan to make money in L.A. On to the food.

We have our staples and last night was no exception. My partner and I had the always amazing Chicken Picatta--which normally comes with the most buttery, savory, garlic mashed potatoes-- but we substituted for their garlic fries. YUM!! Now, we've all had chicken picatta, but Prizzi's chicken picatta is the best. They make it with chicken medallions, lemon slices, extra-virgin olive oil, capers, white wine, butter and lemon juice. It sounds simple enough, but the flavor...to die for!

Kris had pasta. It was the Penne Ricotta and Gamberi, which is shrimp and panchetta sauteed in extra-virgin olive oil, white wine and fresh herbs, tossed with homemade marinara sauce and ricotta cheese. From her first bite, she was making sex noises while chewing her food. She said it was the best she had ever had at Prizzi's and she's been coming with us for years. That's how delicious it was. She wouldn't shut up about it until she finished eating.

For dessert, we split our usual Créme Brulee, three ways, and we scarfed it down. It's one of the better créme brulees I've had in Los Angeles. The tops are always candy-crunchy and the inside is warm and creamy. It's one of the best places in L.A. to get créme brulee.

If you have never been to Prizzi's, make it a point to go. If you have, go again. For the price, it's one of the cities hidden gems of a restaurant. All of the restaurants in Franklin Village are pretty good and there is a wide variety of choices. From italian, to chicken and sides, to japanese, to french--there are quite a few options in our little neighborhood.

Prizzi's Piazza is located at 5923 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles 90028. (323) 467-0128

There is valet parking every night after 6pm and they deliver. What more could you ask for?

http://www.prizzispiazza.com/

Helvetica

My very good friend, Brad, recently gave me the DVD, Helvetica, a documentary film by Gary Hustwit. The film celebrates the 50th anniversary of the typeface, Helvetica, and it illustrates how much a part of our everyday lives the font really is. From signage, to packaging, to advertising, we take for granted the global impact this font has had to our cultures and societies. The documentary takes us, decade by decade, on a journey that both intrigues and educates along the way.

There are interviews with important designers, such as Erik Spiekermann, Matthew Carter, Massimo Vignelli, Wim Crouwel and Hermann Zapf, to name a few, and the film was shot in high definition in cities from all around the world. It has won many awards and was included as part of an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Personally, I love this font, and this film, and I recommend watching it. Whether you are a designer, or not, you will learn a lot about the subliminal messages in design, typography and their effects on us.

For more about Helvetica, please go to http://www.helveticafilm.com/about.html.

Wacom's "Dreams" Contest

For those of you who might be interested, Wacom (as in wacom tablet) is having a contest with some pretty cool prizes and bragging rights, if you win. It's free to enter, but you do have to be a member of Deviant Art--membership is also free. The theme is "Dreams: Bring Your Vision To Life." If you are an artist, I encourage you to enter and to exercise your creative muscles outside of work and for yourself. Who knows? You could have fun??

Just for inspiration, this is my entry to the contest. (Just click on the image to enlarge it!) I wasn't sure if my dream was a nightmare, but it ended up somewhere in between. The title is, "Dream On."

If you are an artist and already on Deviant Art, enter the contest or vote for your favorite. There is a special Community Choice winner based on the entry with the highest number of "favorites" received between 12:00:00 AM (PT) December 16, 2009 and 11:59:59 PM (PT) December 22, 2009, so please be sure to visit and 'click' my work as one of your favorites between those dates! It's worth a thousand dollars, plus other cool stuff!

The contest already started--Nov. 10-Dec 8, 2009--so get busy!

http://st.deviantart.com/news/wacom/dreams/rules-1.html

What Makes A GOOD Art Director GREAT?: Part One

There are many qualities that make a good art director, but what does it take to be a great art director?

As a consultant, you have less than a few hours to sell yourself to a new client or boss. From day one, it is not only important to make a good impression with your personality, it is also important to make an immediate impression with your expertise. I have worked at places where they will call in a freelancer for a day, and if you are not up to par, they will let you know and politely ask you to leave. Fortunately, this has never happened to me.

With an unstable business landscape and the state of the economy, as an art director, it is important for you to stay on top of your game and be thoroughly educated and up to date on current trends, new software programs, photoshop techniques and management skills. Do lots of research, read lots of industry trade magazines and ask your creative director lots of specific questions. I am always trying to find better solutions for challenges I might encounter in a project or as a manager and below are just a few professional suggestions to keep in mind.

Know your game.

These days, being a great art director consists of many skills. Two of the most important being the ability to conceptualize and communicate. As the art director, you are the go between your staff and the creative director. It is up to you to make sure that the overall concept, design and production of a campaign stays on point, on budget and on time, while leading designers, vendors, freelancers and clients down the same creative path. The campaign may consist of many elements--including print, outdoor, online, broadcast and/or radio--and it is important to have clear and concise knowledge of how programs work and a plan to tie them all together.

Put it in writing.

A good art director can articulate their ideas verbally, and in writing, so that everyone is on the same page as the project moves forward. A great art director can do that while motivating their team to do their best and getting them to commit to whatever it takes to get the project done right. If you don't know what you want, no one else will know what you want and that means time, stress and money. Put your thoughts and ideas on paper. Write a creative brief. This alleviates any misunderstandings about what you are trying to achieve. If you don't commit to your own ideas, how can you expect anyone else to?

Input equals output.

No one likes a prima donna, especially if this person is the one leading and motivating people. One of the most important things to remember is that "input equals output." Treat colleagues and coworkers the way you expect to be treated--professionally and with respect. This is not brain surgery. If people like working with you, it is much easier for them to hear you and better understand what it is you are trying to achieve. Don't be dramatic and try to flex your director muscles every chance you get. Everyone is looking to you for solutions, so take the lead. But, do it in a way that makes people want to follow you.

Share your knowledge.

Throughout my career, I have grown as an artist, learning something new at every place I have worked. At the same time, I try and teach something new to someone at every place I work. There is nothing more gratifying to me than to teach someone something they didn't already know and, as artists, it is important to share our knowledge with each other. Being a great art director means guiding, educating and sharing your ideas clearly and effectively with clients, bosses and coworkers, alike.

Take creative risks.

Push yourself to go further and to take chances with your skills and your career. Don't settle for what you know and call it a day. Indulge yourself with new art books, magazines--whatever inspires you. Expand your horizons and see what's other artists are doing by visiting museums and going to art shows. You never know where your next great idea is going to come from, and with all the competition in this city, it is important to stay ahead of the pack.

I would like to know what you think makes a good art director great. Please feel free to comment or send me a confidential email. To learn more about this topic, check out the following links.

An Artist Grown: Reflections of being a video game art director by Robert Chang

What Makes A Good Art Director Great? by Jeff Williams

A List Apart: Art Direction and the Web by Stephen Hay

Weekend DVD Review

Another gorgeous and relaxing weekend in Los Angeles and we took the time to watch, The Taking of Pelham 123, starring John Travolta and Denzel Washington, and Disney's, Up.

Disney does it again with Up, a heart warming story about a man who finds his heart while following his heart. It's an adventure worth taking and it is fun for the whole family. I won't give any of it away, in case you haven't seen it, but the story is touching, the characters are easy to love and it's a total "feel good" type of movie. Grandpa is in it. The dog is in it and the cute, funny boy scout, next door neighbor is in it. I loved it. It proves that families come in all shapes and sizes. I love Disney films. Definitely, watch it.

The Taking of Pelham 123 is a thrice remade film based on a thriller novel written by Morton Freedgood, writing as "John Godey," that must have lost some of its punch in all the remakes of this film--or I'm totally desensitized from violence in movies--because this film did not seem as "nail biting" as it did when I was a kid in 1974. It was okay, but whatever. It didn't thrill me or chill me. If you have nothing better to watch, then this is fine. Otherwise, go for your other options.

Restaurant Review: Firenze Osteria

If you are a fan of delicious, authentic Italian food--and who isnt?--then you'll have to have to try Firenze Osteria, located at 4212 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. The restaurant is down the street from Universal Studios and is owned by executive chef and Top Chef alumna, Fabio Viviana, and mixologist and honor graduate from the Instituto Professionale per I Servizi Alberghieri in Florence, Italy, Jacopo Fallini.

The restaurant is easy to miss from the outside, but the inside is a very cozy, yet modern, italian hideaway with a full bar, an amazing wine list and a chef's table for the ultimate dining experience. There are no bad seats in the house... except for the one I was sitting in. Our table was great because it was near the back in a cozy corner. But, while my friends and partner faced the dining room, I looked directly into the women's restroom with my back to the dining room. Sad for me. Great for them. Okay, moving on.

The menu sounded so incredible and so did the specials. We all opted to start with salads--our friend Natalie had the best salad, the Caprese di Burrata. It is tossed with Italian buffalo mozzarella, organic tomato, basil, arugula, aged balsamic vinegar, extra olive oil and shaved parmesan. $14.95 The rest of us had house salads that were also quite good, better than average, for a house salad. $7.95

For our main course, I had the rosemary and lemon roasted chicken with roasted potatoes and it was really good. $22.95 The skin of the chicken was so crispy and golden and the meat was juicy and tender...yum! I can taste it all over again. The potatoes were crispy, the way I like them, and very tasty. I topped it all off with a glass of the Mountain Cabernet, delicious for $7 a glass.

Mitchel had the Butternut Squash Ravioli in a light sage and cream butter sauce. $ 15.95 Natalie had the Braised Short Rib Ravioli with taleggio sauce and a 25-year aged balsamic vinegar. $17.95 And, Darcy had the Spinach & Ricotta Dumpling with butter & sage sauce. $15.95 All were pleased with their meals.

For dessert, we all split an order of the homemade, chocolate chip, pistachio encrusted Cannoli with ricotta cheese--OMG!! I normally don't order the Cannoli at Italian restaurants, but this was the bomb!! I could have had an order to myself. $6.95

We didn't see Fabio, but his partner Jacopo was doing a good job hosting and managing the busy restaurant. We also saw Ricardo Chavira, Carlos on Desperate Housewives enjoying his dinner. All and all, we had great meals, delicious cocktails (I forgot to mention the cocktails!) and good wine with friends, in a great restaurant.

www.firenzeosteria.com

Silverlake Art Crawl

Well, more of a "store-crawl" because we paid more attention to the merchandise in the stores than we did to the art, but who cares? What a lovely weekend in Los Angeles to have an art crawl in our local, east side neighborhoods. From Atwater Village to Los Feliz to Silverlake to Echo Park, there were lots of people out on the "crawl," as well as some of the locals (like us) eating and hanging out. I went with my friend, Veronica, who lives in Silverlake, and we made a few loops on Sunset today. We saw lots of cool stores with an assortment of amazing products and artwork. Not all of the stores we visited were part of the official crawl (what's up with that local stores?), but we visited them anyway and are only mentioning them because we thought that they deserve a "shout-out."

Our crawl started at a great little shop called, Sumi's, located at 3204 Sunset Blvd., 90026. Ladies, they have an original purse line that is elegantly crafted, yet hip, modern and fun. They have cases of women's jewelry that are also refined and beautiful. The type of jewelry I would buy my mom, or a girlfriend, as a gift because I know they would not see it anyplace else. This shop is "da bomb," so make sure you stop by this holiday season and shop. www.sumisinsilverlake.com

Our next stop was a local skate shop called, Maintain. The store was not officially part of the art crawl, but we went in anyway and we liked what we saw. There were a bunch of skateboarders hanging out in front and we heard they had a big party Saturday night behind the store. Being in the store made me want to buy and build my own board and the artwork on boards and t-shirts was cool and original. I would totally buy t-shirts there! Maintain is located at 3318 Sunset Blvd., 90026.

http://vimby.com/video/sports/us/all/detail/7363

Next, we crossed Sunset and went into Mercado, located at 3517 West Sunset Blvd., 90026. Mercado is a very nice home decor type of store. Their merchandise varies from amazing body lotions and candles, to beautiful pillows and pottery. Definitely, the store to shop for something original and luxurious without the high price tag.

www.mercado-store.com

Lastly, on this run, we stopped at Body Bar, located at 3037 Sunset Blvd., 90026. What an amazing place to go for a spa treatment. The staff was so friendly and inviting. They gave us a tour of the spa and the shower area, which is all very clean, quiet and subdued. The front of the spa is their store, with a nice, big wall full of products for sale. The back of the building is where the relaxation room is, along with the lockers and showers. I thought it was very nice, clean, modern, and I would definitely recommend you try it.

www.bodybarspa.com

Later, we hopped into the car and drove over to KellyGreen and Mi Alma. KellyGreen, located at 4008 Santa Monica Blvd., is a one-stop shop for eco home and lifestyle goods. It is a very cute home decor store with an earthy vibe. I noticed lots of wood carvings and turquoise jewelry.

kellygreendesign.net

Mi Alma, located at 4016 Santa Monica Blvd., is a one-of-a-kind store for custom handcrafted lighting and home decor. The lamp shades in this store are incredible. The details, embroidery and fabrics that they use for the shades are exquisite. I did not ask the price of the shades, but I'm sure they are not cheap. However, they are works of art and, if you can afford it, you should consider having one.

www.mialmadesigns.com

Featured Artist: ED FREEMAN

One of the many advantages to living in Los Angeles is the assemblage of creative people you will meet and get to know, and hopefully work with, while you are here. Whether it is someone in your neighborhood or where you work there are many creative professionals living in the city. I have the privilege of knowing and working with many of them, including our first of many featured artists to come, Ed Freeman.

Ed was born and raised in Boston and majored in French and Russian at Oberlin College in Ohio. After college, he worked as a performing musician, arranger and record producer, creating dozens of pop and jazz vinyls, including Carly Simon's debut album and Don McLean's American Pie.

Mr. Freeman moved to California in 1977, where he gravitated towards film scoring, computer music, consulting and teaching. In 1989, he set up a portrait studio in downtown Los Angeles and began his gradual transition to working full time as a photographer. I met Ed Freeman in 1990 and have watched him grow as an artist and a teacher. For the past eight years, Ed has been teaching a Photoshop class at Santa Monica City College and currently has large pieces of his work, Desert Realty, featured in a traveling museum.

Ed loves to travel and he uses that time to take original photographs that he later crafts into his fine artwork. Early this year, Ed headed to Hawaii to work on his fine art book on surfing. During the summer, he spent a month in China, taking photographs in Taiwan, Shanghai and Guilin. And, in the near future, he will be traveling to New Zealand for a month. As long as I have known Ed, he has been traveling back and forth from anywhere and everywhere taking photographs for his library. He is a true adventurist and a nice guy.

To learn more about Ed Freeman and to view his original works, please visit his site at www.edfreeman.com.

Thank you, Ed, for being a featured artist on L.A. Link.

_________________

If you would like to be a "featured artist," please let me know. My goal is to showcase local artists from all mediums with a link(s) to their site and a short interview.

Who Are You?

Knowing who you are as a pro- fessional artist is vital, especially when it comes to self- promotion. It is a question you will need to ask yourself over and over again, as your career grows and evolves. Don't be afraid to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself that question: Who are you?

In the current market, if you are going to sell yourself as an artist, you have to know who you are, as an artist. What is your specialty? What are your strengths? Where do you see yourself in five years? Are you flexible to change and growth? All of these are questions that you should be asking yourself throughout your career, because the business palette for artists is ever-changing. The needs of the various departments that hire us change with the demand of the marketing. Is it digital? Will it be an online campaign? Will there be a print and outdoor campaign? Who will conceptualize? Who will do the fancy photoshop work? Is there motion? These are only some of the questions that a creative department will ask themselves on big campaigns, and as an artist, you have to know your strengths and where you fit in, to get the jobs.

As an art director who has worked in both corporate communications and entertainment sides of the arts, I have known both young and seasoned artists, who do not know who they are, what their strengths are and how their contribution matters. If you don't know, nobody will.

Be prepared. Have a professional online presence, be it a portfolio, blog, or all of the above. When the gig comes in, and it will, show up on time knowing who you are and what you bring to the table.

A Freelancers Union To Keep Your Eye On

For years now, I've been saying that someone should start a freelancer's union. Well, not long ago I was driving along and on the back of a bus, I saw an ad for a freelancer's union. They are based on the east coast, but they are trying to grow their memberships in other states, especially California, so that they can supply more support to our area. It's FREE to sign up and you can browse through their site to see details about all the benefits offered. Check 'em out!

www.freelancersunion.com

Expose Yourself

Not literally. On the web, silly. I was talking to my friend Julie on the phone today about ways to get your professional brand, as an artist, out there on the world wide web. If you're an artist looking for work--and who isn't these days--it's important to have a professional presence on the web. Not a social presence, a professional one. An online portfolio is a must and you have to think of a plan to drive traffic to your site. In other words, it's not enough to have a web site, you have to find ways to get links to your site on the internet.

If it sounds complicated, it's not. It is, however, time consuming. You see, getting links to your site isn't as easy as it sounds. It costs a lot of money to buy advertising or to sponsor a link to your site. So, how are we, independent artists and professionals, going to do that without spending a lot of money? Let me help you.

I have had my online portfolio for two years now and I can monitor the traffic to my site. The first year, there wasn't much traffic. I was sending out printed postcards to clients on a quarterly basis, with a recent piece of artwork I created on the front, along with something about the project and my URL on the back. I would also send out emails with the artwork attached. Needless to say, this didn't draw the numbers I was hoping for. I realized that the only people who would know about my web site were the people who were receiving my postcards and emails. And, only a handful of them would actually go to my site. No, no, no...this would never work. If I was going to draw more traffic to my site, I had to have links to my site out there on other creative web sites.

Okay, so here's where the help comes in.

First, you must upload your artwork, resume and bio on as many free online portfolio sites as possible. Make sure you take the time to upload your best work and fill out all of the necessary information about yourself, and your work, so that employers and search engines can find you. Most of the free portfolio sites will have links to your personal web site, so you'll be driving traffic from there. Here are a couple of free online portfolio sites for you to check out.

http://www.coroflot.com/

http://www.deviantart.com/

http://www.mosaicglobe.com/

http://www.intuit.com/

Next, write a blog about something that your passionate about. Give tips based on your specialty and you can feature friends who do what you do in exchange for a link on their site.

Lastly, you can give a free interview on a site called Whohub, at whohub.com, about your career specialty. It's free and they don't ask for your social security card or any bank information. There are jobs and a wide variety of creative topics for interviewees, as well as another link to your site.

These are just a couple of ways to get links to your site out on the net for free. Depending on your specialty or type of business, the best advice I can give is do your research. With a little time invested, you could be driving traffic to your site and picking up more business in the process.

Halloween Weekend DVD Reviews

If you live in Los Angeles, you were supposed to set your clocks back one hour last night, giving the ghouls and goblins an extra hour to haunt the night and giving us less daylight to mark the beginning of winter in L.A. Did you receive any scary visitors on Halloween? We live in a secure building, so of course, we didn't get a single soul, living or dead. But, we did watch Thursday nights episode of The Vampire Diaries (FABULOUS!), along with a DVD we rented called, Trick or Treat.

As I already stated, the Vampire Diaries was terrific! It had gore, good story lines and it moved quickly. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. That is, if you like gore, blood and vampires. Trick or Treat, on the other hand, was not well constructed, at all. It starts near the end and it jumps around a lot. The only interesting things about it were that it stars Anna Paquin from True Blood and Tahmoh Penikett (Paul Ballard) from Dollhouse and their scenes weren't that great, anyway. I would not recommend renting this movie. Not scary. Not cute. Not.

There was, however, a pleasant surprise in the mix and it was our Friday night movie, The Proposal, with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Betty White steals the movie! She's so funny. The one scene with Ryan's shirt off was good, too, but not long enough. A perfect date night movie. I highly recommend renting this DVD. It's cute. It's fun. It makes you laugh out loud.