My Thoughts on Things

Inception
Was awesome and made more sense than I thought it would, which makes me think I'm missing something. You should see it so you can talk to everyone else about it. It was also very nice in the IMAX theater and I'm still bitter that I missed the first half of the Harry Potter trailer.

2012
Worst. Movie. Ever. Except maybe Dunston Checks In. I don't like "end of world" movies as a genre; the less visual I have on that situation the happier I am. Watching billions of people die is never a good time, especially if it's horribly predictable, trite and ridiculous. If you want to see the best bad movie ever, I recommend Cabin Fever.

Eat Pray Love
I'm Catholic and I love being Catholic and I like Catholic things so I did not expect to like this book because I thought it would be too, for lack of anything more politically correct, "hippie-dippie spiritual". (Which is fine if that's what you believe in, but it's not something I want to read for 300 pages.) But I really really loved this book and can't wait for the movie. I actually related to a lot of her thoughts on God and faith and enjoyed flipping through all my underlined passages when I passed the book on to a friend this weekend. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one whom, in a moment of crisis, God tells to get some sleep.


Arrested Development
My new obsession. I'm trying to get everyone and their brother to watch it because I love it and do not have enough fellow fans in my life. If you love Arrested Development maybe we could start some kind of support group. If you don't love it yet, you can watch all the three seasons on Netflix Instant and you will thank me. IMDB says that there's a movie in pre-production which is both exciting and scary. (Please don't suck. Please don't suck.)

Also, IMDB says that there's a Hangover 2 in pre-production? Also exciting and scary. (Please don't suck. Please don't suck.)

Project Runway
A note to the contestants: You're surprised that you don't have enough time?! NO ONE has enough time!! (Except maybe that guy who did pants, a top and a cape. That was crazy.) That is the point of the show. You are given an impossible task and no time and then you cry for the judges. If I knew I was going on Project Runway, I would do sewing time trials at home and practice making pants from garbage bags. Maybe I should start a new career as coach for future Project Runway contestants.

image: Rob Inh00d

500 Thumbs Up

I saw (500) Days of Summer this weekend and I absolutely loved it. If you don't want to take my word for it, Dwight Shrute loved it too.



My Not-Quite-500 Reasons to Love (500) Days of Summer (not necessarily in order):

1. Multiple scenes in IKEA.
2. Joseph Gordon-Levitt a lot cuter now than he was in 10 Things I Hate About You.
3. Brilliant soundtrack.
4. Adorable clothes! I'm trying to convince Lee he wants to start wearing cardigans and sweater vests.
5. Adorable, wise-beyond-her-years little sister character.
6. Sweet, fun, not too sentimental, still optimistic story.
   
7. Funny from the start. It opens with an "Author's Note" that was something to the effect of, "This is a completely fictional story. Any relation to real people or events is purely coincidental. Especially if your name is [Random girl name I can't remember]. Bitch." Love it!
   
8. References to another one of my favorite movies with a top-notch soundtrack, The Graduate.
   
9. I had almost forgotten about the penis game! Penis!
   

It was a completely precious and fabulous movie that everyone should go see. I went with my sister, but it seems potentially guy friendly. Totally worth the ticket cost!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Rocks!

Yes, I was hardcore and did the midnight showing of Harry Potter last night and it was awesome and totally worth the lack of sleep! (Especially since I took a half-day and didn't go to work until after lunch so not too bad.)



I really think all the HP movies do a fabulous job of translating the books into movies, adding and deleting scenes so we get an excellent visual of the 700+ pages of text in 150 minutes. Especially since I haven't read this one (or any of them) since the Deathly Hallows release, my memory was a little too vague to be picky. My main thoughts on the film, and feel free to discuss in comments:

Beware coming spoilers for this movie/book and the next.

Is it just me or did they foreshadow Snape being on the good side a bit more than the book does? One of the reasons I re-read all the books before the last one came out was I determined to find some sort of clues about where Snape's loyalties lie and came up with nothing. I think the movie gave more pro-Snape clues.

Where was the battle?! The Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts, they didn't just come to watch Dumbledore die and bust some windows.

A little more Ginny and Harry time is always appreciated.

I can't remember how important the Percy vs. rest of the Weasleys tension was in book six, but a lack of Percy in this film makes me concerned he might not be in the next, and one of my favorite scenes is when Percy comes to Hogwarts to fight and they have the big family reconcilation before the final battle.

Emotionally, I held up better than expected. Normally when I read Dumbledore's death I cry to the point of sobbing sounds and moans, but last night I kept it to a steady stream of tears. Although I must admit, I started crying before they even made it the cave. The whole "You have to do exactly as I say even if that means leaving me and saving yourself" speech...*sniff* *sniff*

I very much appreciated the extra humor in this film as it helped soften the ending a bit. I don't think I've ever laughed so much during the movies.

All of this reminds me how much I want a Book 8.

The Hangover

I went to see The Hangover last night, and in short, it was brilliant. Trust me, I'm not exaggerating on this one. (Okay, well, maybe a little. It does require a certain sense of humor. Like a college frat boy sense of humor.) After the movie my face hurt from laughing so hard. At one point, I laughed so hard I cried. Randomly last night while I was getting ready for bed I would start to giggle, Lee would ask why, and I would mumble something about being a "one-man wolf pack." (That would be the scene where I laughed until I cried.)

Here's another one of the hysterical parts I kept quoting last night:




On a local note, the Tinseltown in Springhurst has $5 movies on Tuesday. Very good to know.

Review: WICKED!

Lee and I went to go see the Wicked here in Louisville last night and it was AMAZING!!! I felt like a little kid again (That happens fairly often...) as I watched in amazement at all the lights and I cried during "Defying Gravity" and "For Good" and the whole thing was just wonderful and amazing and everything I ever could have imagined!!!! I told Lee that if it had really been Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth then I probably would have wet my pants with delight! I've been listening to the soundtrack all day (Oh! "Defying Gravity" just started!!) and it was just amazing.

Last night, as I was in awe of Elphaba's soaring into the air, Glinda's hair tosses and the amazing dragon-clock machine, I kept remembering my first trip to the theater.

It all started in 3rd grade when I saw a Reading Rainbow special on CATS. I was completely fascinated by the costumes and make-up and I loved kittens! I always loved it when the advanced piano students would play "Memories" at piano recitals. Then in 6th or 7th grade CATS came to Owensboro and I begged my parents to take me. My parents weren't really in to musicals, particularly ones with dancing cats, so they had my uncle take me. I still remember what I wore (Plaid skirt with oxford shirt and lime green sweater, knee-high socks and clogs. I thought I was very Cher from Clueless.) and how I felt, sitting in the balcony as the lights started to flash throughout the theatre. I was completely enthralled and sang Mr. Mistofolles all week.

Not only is Wicked an amazing and beautiful sight and sound, I really enjoyed the story. It varies greatly from the book, but in ways that are understandable as a long, dark political fantasy is translated into a Broadway sensation. I even like the musical version better since it ends much happier. Since I've never liked The Wizard of Oz I love the idea that Wicked Witch is more of an anti-government rebel trying to save the lowly in society than an evil, malicious witch. Wicked also deals with a lot of important issues: the consequences of blindly following government leaders, the complexities of moral ambiguities, the importance of treating others with respect, the motives behind "being good" and so on.

I've heard rumors of a movie. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.