Harry Potter Pt II Review

I went to see the final Harry Potter film a month after it came out in theatres. I was just not up for going immediately or seeing all the films in order -- motherhood has taken its toll on my energy. Plus, it was nice to wait and go with friends to the film. So I wanted to list the pros and cons of the last film.

CONS:

I don't know if I can limit myself to SEVEN...I will try.

7. Too much soul baby: The Voldy soul baby thing under the seat was gross. Way gross. Didn't need that much screen time. Three seconds would be enough.

6. The Malfoys WALK AWAY: I can't even believe Steve Kloves wrote that $#*%. Seriously. The Malfoys would not walk away. Especially after the AWKWARD HUG of the century. And Voldy would NEVER HUG anybody. Fist bump? Maybe. Wand slap? Certainly. Hug? NEVER. WTF. (Though it certainly made sense with Harry-hugging-flying duel. Oh wait, no, that made NO SENSE AT ALL. Maybe Ralph Finnes was in a hugging mood that day. If so, then I should have been on set.)

5. Giant wave: Um, Steve Kloves, I know you are not a Ron/Hermione fan, but the giant wave of water right before they kiss? You don't have to OVER emphasize the sexual element -- subtle is good. Too Freudian for my taste. Just have them kiss and then give more time to Ariadne's story.

4. Students EVERYWHERE during the last battle: So, all students march around in neat little rows (a la Madeline books) and yet there are hundreds of them during the last battle all running around and screaming. What happened to the mass evacuation of students by McGonagoll? And WTF her sending out the Slytherins? Made NO sense. Also: why destroy the Quidditch pitch?

3. After fighting their way through Gringotts, riding on the back of a dragon, and then jumping in a frigid lake, Hermione pulls out...the hand-sanitizer? I know they had to cram a lot into the film, but with no explanation, I had to make up my own. That dragon wasn't in the cleanest of underground banks.

2. Where was Crabbe? And why was he replaced with Blaise Zambini? And WHY was Goyle the one who set the fiendfyre? WHY? WHY? WHY?!?!? Oh, drug issues (see here).

1. WTF: HARRY FIX YOUR @^#$^@& WAND!?!?!?!?! I did NOT like that part. Could you tell? Harry was supposed to use the elder wand to repair his broken wand with Fawkes feather in it. Now what is he going to use? Draco's wand? That is just SICK.

PROS:

7. They showed people dying/dead: I know that sounds harsh and I was really surprised Heyman gave this the OK, but I am glad they showed just how EVIL Voldy was and how high the stakes were. He was like Hitler but with a snake-like face and a wand. And Goyle falling into the fire. WOW. Oh and goblin death by fire equally shocking. Lavender Brown munched on by Fenrir. All very real and captured the sense that no one was safe.

6. Ron & Hermione's kiss: believable. Good job guys. Neville's little bit about finding Luna was sweet. Glad Ginny said "I know".

5. Neville was a BA: I wish he had been the BAMF he was in the novel, but making him a BA was just as good. I liked his speech to Voldy, and the mockery with it -- it was good. A little weak, but better than nothing.

4. "Harry, if we die because of them, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" "NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!" Hurray for greatest Weasley lines EVER! And I started crying when Ron was sobbing over Fred. And Tonks and Lupin. I also liked how Molly had a bit of hesitation with the wand duel, as if she can't believe what she stepped into and hopes she doesn't die in the process, and then overcomes her fear to off Bellatrix.

3. Little Snape was PERFECT: He was darling. I liked him. Botoxed-slightly older Snape was not so good. Snape's death scene was good. Not as I imagined it entirely, but completely brutal and in keeping with Volemort's character. Glad Voldy didn't hug him.

2. Oh yeah, Michael Gambon can act: Forgot about that. He was quite good when he isn't screaming intensely at Harry. Oh yeah, and WARWICK DAVIS is a AMAZING. MAN CAN ACT. And, John Hurt, Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Thompson...the list goes on and on. Glad all the actors found time to come in for a day to make an appearance. AND HURRAY FOR CIARAN HINDS!!! I call him Inspector Lindley because he looks like Inspector Lindley, but he isn't, but either way he is AWESOME and I am so glad he was in the movie (he was Aberforth). And hurray for high-happy imperius cursed goblins. Love those guys. (Oh, and the Grey Lady was in Nanny McPhee. It was bugging me during the last quarter of it and then right before I went to bed I remembered where I had seen her.)

And before the top pro, I want to mention how NOT FAIR it is to moms & dads who watch this film. The whole time I thought baby Harry looked like Nina. Then I got sad about how I might die and leave Nina behind and she is just this little baby. And would I be brave like Lily? Or would I hug Voldy? And then all those kids lying dead? Not cool. I kept thinking about all their parents. Makes me teary eyed just thinking about it.

1. YAY DRAGON! Best part of the movie, hands down. Love that dragon. Would want one if it would promise not to eat me. I thought Griphooks treatment of it was believable and Hermione's aversion excellent. LOVE THAT SCENE. The whole movie could have been that scene (extended) and I would have been happy.

Even better than the dragon was this:

No, not that kid from Twilight. YAY MIKAEL BLOMKVIST!!!! He is AMAZING!!!

And a MUPPET MOVIE!!! YAY!!!!

I AM SO THERE!!!

And I had most of the theatre scared because I LAUGHED SO HARD AT THE PREVIEW FOR THIS:

I might just have to see it at the Crest for the heck of it. I am sure it will be terrible. I will pay $11 to see the final Harry Potter film, but not for dancing penguins. Got my standards, you know.

Wait, What?

I had planned to write about some films that were nominated for an Oscar, and then I realized I had seen a grand total of two of the ten films.

So, I think I will write about the list of films and then write about some films I have recently seen that were memorable.

The Other Boylen Sister (British version) -- I LOVED the acting and plot in general. Didn't like how Mary turned to camera to tell her story, seemed too modern.

The Other Bolyn Sister (American version) -- Hm, Eric Bana is dreamy and a bit TOO dreamy for King Henry. Can Scarlet Johansson and Natalie Portman be more GOREGOUS??? Not possible. It was only *slightly* better than the British version

Sweet Charity -- I can see why this film flopped. Shirley Maclaine was AMAZING -- AMAZING! The plot and the musical numbers took way too long. Gotta love Fossy though -- and Chita Rivera!!!

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly -- What a BEAUTIFUL film this was! I really want to read the book because the main character was quite interesting. I enjoyed how the film didn't make him saintly and made him human. I had not seen work by this director and I am really intrigued to see more of his work. I can't recall the name of his latest film, but I will need to see it.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest -- If anyone read the book, could you please tell me if the defense attorney was pregnant in the book? My friend and I were wondering about this because no one in the film seems to take her pregnancy into any consideration. Which was pretty cool. If Nina wanted to ever get a real mohawk, I would get the clippers and hair gel. The push ups in jail were AWESOME. I also liked Lisabeth's warthog head earring. Swedish film is just excellent and I liked the conclusion of the series because everyone gets their comeuppance.

It Happened One Night -- I haven't seen a black and white film in quite awhile or one so old. Well, not terribly old. I forgot what it was like when films didn't rely on so much editing to tell a story. The scenes were chalked full of good acting because the actors had to interact more as if they were on stage. They had to give it their all because it would not be easy to cut away bad takes. It was AMAZING -- funny, full of heart, and a happy ending.

*Start Oscar Nominated Film Review*

Films Nominated (those in bold I have seen): Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids are All Right, The King's Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter's Bone

The King's Speech -- I love me some Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush (though I would prefer to see the former in a wet shirt). I also like Helena Bonham Carter, but she was not a big draw for me. The film was well done, but I found myself "underwhelmed" (to quote a friend). It was a feel good movie with EXCELLENT acting. Worth an Academy Award? Well, they won, so I suppose so.

The Kid's Are Alright -- I saw this when it was originally released. I LOVED IT! The acting was terrific and the situations were very true to life. I enjoyed how the moms didn't like the son's friend and it is later that he realized they were right. It just captured all of these moments in one's family life that are simple yet profound.

I REALLY want to see True Grit, Black Swan, and 127 hours in that order. I *might* want to see Winter's Bone if I knew more about it.

Quick and Dirty Movie Reviews

I scoff at the notion that I must blog daily. Isn't it enough that I update my facebook regularly? Still, facebook does not give one the opportunity for lengthly writing, so I continue to blog.

The past few months have been incredibly busy with teaching, grad school/portfolio, and pregnancy. The summer has brought a welcome respite from such a stressful situation, but I find myself quite bored. I have nothing to look forward to - no job to prepare or fuss about. The only thing I have to do is grow a child. While it can be thrilling, it is not necessarily an occupation (much less an occupation that makes money).

So, I have watched a lot of World Cup soccer and movies - and so here present my thoughts on what I have seen.

Wives and Daughters

I actually watched this as I started my professional portfolio. I tend to distract myself when I have something to do that I particularly do not want to accomplish (tasks that seem boring or pointless fall into this category). I was playing around on Amazon when I discovered this series based on the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell.

It was WONDERFUL - really well developed characters and a not too virtuous protagonist. It is the story of a country widower who falls in love (lust?) with a social climber. His daughter is the one to suffer at the hands of this selfish woman and her gorgeous but spoiled daughter. It will keep you wanting MORE!!! The plot is engaging and has some unpredictable points - a good amount of foreshadowing, but not the outcome one would anticipate.

If you like really well done Jane Austen novel adaptations, you will enjoy this series. I watched it on YouTube with French subtitles, but I understand it also streams on Netflix.

Iron Man

I am aware that Iron Man 2 recently showed in theaters, but I had yet to see Iron Man (the first). My uncle in Texas lent me many videos from his bachelor DVD collection and this film as one of them. It came highly recommended by my friend Megan C. and I trust her taste.

I was not at all disappointed. Robert Downey Jr. ranks among some of the first male movie stars that I liked as a kid. He has retained that wonderful deadpan delivery and is hilarious in this film as well as clever. He has definite super-hero swagger, but no so much so that you become annoyed with him. The plot is pretty darn amazing and, though it is easy to predict who the villain is (hint - usually the lack of hair gives it way), keeps one very engaged in the characters and situations. I also like that Gwyneth Paltrow was the cool assistant and Jeff Bridges was pretty awesome too. If you are looking for a decent action picture to watch and get lost in, Iron Man is your movie.

Up

I was REALLY upset that Fantastic Mr. Fox did not win the Oscar for best animated feature. I mean REALLY upset - as I have mentioned before, it is probably one of the best children's films have seen in a long while. I could not believe that Up won with a movie like Fantastic Mr. Fox in the SAME category!!!

Then I watched Up with my mother and cried three times in the first twenty minutes.

Stupid #$U#$(&&* hormones.

Anyhow, it was really interesting and VERY well crafted! I like how the little guy sticks it to the man who is trying to over run a cute town with high rise condos (and yes, I do live in one, but it was built in the 70's so I don't feel as if our little nest in Seattle is bringing about the demise of Western civilization). All of the characters were REALLY well developed, just with mannerisms and sayings, one felt like they understood who these people were.

There was INCREDIBLY well written dialog and the animation was mind-blowing. The only thing I did not appreciate was all of the high flying action at the end - it was TOO REALISTIC and I had to shut my eyes and ask my mom when it was over!

My mother on the other hand, did not appreciate the film AT ALL. She felt like it was billed as a children's film and addressed issues that children did not need to know about (such as infertility). I am for full disclosure and I want my little one to know that the world is not rosy and that people will NOT always be nice. I don't want to create paranoia in my child, but I also want him or her to know that adults will not always treat children nicely simply because they are children and that their peers may sometimes hurt them (which is NOT ok but not a cause for retaliation) but ultimately they can learn from the experience.

I was pleased with the film, appreciate it (not to the same extent that I love Fantastic Mr. Fox), and I admit that Up deserved the Academy award.

Secret of Kells

I saw this film with my friend Renee yesterday and we both left the theatre thinking "WTF was that??? Thank goodness we only paid $3!"

Secret of Kells is a film commissioned by the Irish, French, and (oddly enough) Belgian government to present the story behind the Book of Kells. The ancient artifact is fairly well known and film is BEAUTIFULLY animated - but the characters are not at all developed and plot centers around surviving several viking attacks.

What I found fascinating was the ties the film gave to St. Aidan and St. Brendan. Though I do not know enough about these two saints, I suppose they could have contributed to the Book of Kells. I was not aware prior to the film of their connection, but I suppose it makes sense.

Or it doesn't and Aidan and Brendan were just common Irish names that the writer chose to use. The Aidan in this film was from Iona, which sounded right for the saint and Brendan had several encounters with this wood sprite/wolf which also seemed correct for the saint (I seem to remember something about St. Brendan and a wolf...).

The film was also nominated for an Oscar, but though beautiful, it was not well written or planned. There was a kid in the the theater who had Turrets Syndrome who kept asking if the film was over - and I completely empathized with his outburst!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The most interesting aspect of this film was that I discovered that my husband has NEVER seen an Indiana Jones film before! Seriously! How can one go their whole life and NOT see Indiana Jones?!

The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was my hubby's first exposure to the series and he was engaged in all the action sequences (as he frequently is mostly to laugh at how outrageous they are). I enjoyed Cate Blanchet and thought she was awesome - she knew her character to be a campy caricature of a Cold War Era officer and just threw herself into the roll.

Overall - meh. The Last Crusade was MUCH better and this seemed like a half-hearted effort on the part of everyone involved in the film. The plot was ridiculous and it just had too many nods to prior films (not that this bothered my husband at all, but I did have to explain why I was laughing so hard at points).

Knocked Up

Hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

This movie is really hilarious to watch when your pregnant and feeling like you are no longer in control of anything. This movie makes you think "at least I don't have to put up with this #$#@".

Judd Apatow is the director and he really needs a good editor for his films - someone who will tell him to shut the #$#&* up and just tell the story. I saw "Funny People" and that went on for far too long and Knocked Up suffers the same treatment.

The characters are interesting, the plot is well crafted, but it takes FAR too long to get from point A to point B. While I am all for creating conflict to progress a plot, too much of a good thing can destroy the overall story.

Still, this movie is hilarious and I especially like the pregnancy sex scene - it is WAY more realistic than what is presented in the Pregnancy Bible (which I write about here). I also like the line where it is obvious the two main characters are doing a walk of shame and a dad says to his little girl (who he is holding) "never do what they did."

And she replies "I'm gonna do it." (She's about 3 years old)

Then dad says "Uh oh, someone's getting home-schooled."

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Or when the main characters are in a fight and the dude says "I know this is just your hormones talking and I would like to say '!#$&#$& hormones, you #$#*#$& suck!'"

Hee!!! I feel like that every day!

Well, that wraps it up for now. I need to now get my hands on Iron Man 2....

The FANTASTIC Mr. Fox

I love Wes Anderson's films. I remember enjoying Pulp Fiction in high school but thinking Tarintino was a bit too violent for me. I saw a preview for Bottle Rocket and thought it had the same flare and flavor of Tarintino, but was more my speed.

It really was not - I did not like Bottle Rocket. The characters were somewhat interesting but the plot really needed some work. A few years later, I saw a preview for Rushmore and thought "ok, I NEED to see that film". And I did and I LOVED IT.

Ever since I have been a fan of Wes Anderson. Especially his soundtracks - they have not only introduced me to some amazing artists I had forgotten, but also energized and appealed to my auditory senses.

When I heard about the Fantastic Mr. Fox, I had the impulse to see it much in the way I had the impulse to see Royal Tenanbaums and Steve Zissou and the Life Aquatic - Wes Anderson created them! I also saw that Fantastic Mr. Fox was nominated for an Oscar and was very happy that Wes Anderson was getting some credit for his amazing film making.

In my opinion, Fantastic Mr. Fox was ROBBED of that Oscar (stupid "Up") because it is by far one of the best children's films I have seen in a long time. It is not silly, not predictable, and in no way tries to sheild children from the way people really behave. It is as fantastic as Finding Nemo but edgier because Wes Anderson is amazing. And it was certainly better than Darjeeling Limited.

I loved everything: the voices


Ahem, Jason Schwartzman was in it too! And don't you love Wes Anderson's use of language? I do! Fantastic Mr. Fox was a Roald Dahl book! I love that author!

the animation (stop-motion - SO very cool)



Just look at the set-up for the shot - it is SO Wes Anderson! Gorgeous!

And of course I loved the music - Stones,Bobby Fuller Four (it works) and I was surprised to find myself enjoying a few Beach Boys tunes (which I typically hate - maybe the baby's taste in music is developing too...). I will totally allow my future little one to watch this movie again and again and hopefully avoid exposing him or her to the capitalist tendencies that is Disney.

Meh (Beware:HBP movie spoilers)

I am DONE with one of the two classes I am taking this summer. I finished this Wednesday with a class that was driving me INSANE!!! It was full of teachers in training who were so idealistic - great for reflecting on how much I have grown as a teacher, but not so great for discussion where I had hoped to generate ideas.

I went to see Half-Blood Prince yesterday afternoon in celebration with my buddy Renee.

Neither of one of us were pleased.

This review pretty much sums it up: http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=1717

Things I Loved:

- Jim Broadbent: ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! I love this actor and he is amazing as Slughorn. He has a really cool story involving Lily that made my cry.

- Lavendar Brown: Hee - Dead on!

- Young Voldemort: A bit of a berk but REALLY well done! Captures the great manipulation and darkness of the future Voldy.

- Harry on Felix Felicitas: HA!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Super funny - not quite the sensation described in the book, but it was so d@mn funny!

- Cormic & Blaise: Can they be shirtless in the next film? HOT!!! Cormic was captured very well (though more handsome than I envisioned him in the book)

- Ring + Harry = Harry is a Horcrux forshadowing. Well done and interesting.

- Overall cinematography: really beautiful.

-Draco: FINALLY a character! He did a terrific job and had some great lines. Loved the Katie Bell scene and the sectumsemra scene.

- Snape: Allen Rickman is made of awesome and had more lines that were not just for comedic effect. He got to be Snape and his hair did not look like a bad wig.

- Olivander captured! Really quite scary!!! (brief though)

-OVERALL: beautifully shot, finally a blend of young and adult actors, and some nice set up for the final films.


Things I Did NOT like (WTF = What the Frak):

- WTF: we waited THIS LONG FOR THE MOVIE - it still seemed slapped together and not polished. And they used music from Order of the Phoenix. LAME.

- Hermione: FLAT. Her characterization was so 2-D and written such that she seems shallow and not interesting. The film drove home the point that she and Ron liked each other, but Hermione seemed just as vapid as Lavendar (though slightly less annoying).

- Fenrir: Is he a werewolf? Or just a DE with a really hairy face and collection of 70's open shirts to reveal his manscaped chest? Just give him a medalion and he could be a wizard pimp. No back story with Lupin.

- Narcissa: not AS bad as I thought, but her HAIR?!?!?!?!? And she didn't speak the lines of the unbreakable vow!!?@>!?!>?@ So weird...liked her shoes though.

- HORCRUXES: no tiara, no back story with the ring, no Helga Hufflepuff cup. Harry and Dumbledore mention 7 horcruxes, but I don't see how the film makers will exposition this in the next films. Unless Voldemort had some secret diary where he recoreded all of his horcruxes and Hermione finds it, I doubt there will be seven horcruxes in the final film.

MY PREDICITON: no Gringotts break in - it will be 5 horcruxes: diary, ring, Harry, nagini, and locket.

- RON: WTF!?@#?@ Ron was a real character in the last film. Then Steve Kloves got his hands on him and made him a silent statue that eats, gets snogged, and looks rather silly.

- Dozens and Dozens of Gollums: Seriously. The inferi in the cave were dozens and dozens of gollumses. Lame.

- Slight Return of Creepy Dumbledore: Ew. Asking questions about Harry and Hermione, telling Harry to "get collected" by Slughorn - it was weird.

- Dumbledore: He had more lines, excuted them well (cave scene was good), but his hand looked slightly burned instead of sinister. AND THERE WAS NO FUNERAL!!! WTF!!!! I did cry when Faulkes goes flying by, but it wasn't nearly as sad or beautiful as Dumbledore's death should have been.

- Top of the Astronomy Tower: WTF!?!@!@$!>?>!@#>?!>@#?!

?^&%^*#@!?^&(^*&#$%#

Harry over hears the "you ask to much of me" Snape & Dumbledore interaction. Later Snape "shushes" Harry who is hiding in the lower part of the Astronomy Tower (? When did that happen?). Renee felt it was giving away that Snape was good - perhaps she is right. I am of the opinion that it had to be written this way so that movie-only fans could get the idea that Snape is not all that he seems to be.

NO BATTLE AT HOGWARTS!!! NO BATTLE AT HOGWARTS??? That alone made me mad, never mind the stuff above.



Overall: the film was not its own adventure. It was a slight stepping stone into the final films. They had to make the characters grow up, set up for the next film, and move along. It was like watching a stage being set up for a play - interesting, but not riveting.

A New Year...

...and I guess it is finally time for a new post.

I just spent the past *hour* on itunes looking for songs.

Seriously - I can't get enough music. And I just got the new Squirrel Nut Zippers album for Christmas (Bedlam Ballroom). It is very good - little salsa style in there. Lots of fun to dance to in the kitchen while cooking.

I am also finding...that I like Amy Winehouse. Seriously - girl has a voice. I just might have to buy one of her songs.

And, I am also liking another version of "The First Cut is the Deepest". I have the Cat Stevens, but this other one I found is more interesting. I do not like the Sheryl Crow version.

And I finished watching Tess of the D'ubervilles. GO TO PBS NOW AND VIEW IT!!!

So good...I mean totally watered down, but REALLY good.

It did, however, make me scream not so polite things at the screen. One example would be when I yelled "HIT HIM AGAIN!". El hubbster told me to take a chill pill. And also when the hubbster asked for a description of Alec D'uberville (because he wondered in half way through and got into it and wanted to know more)
and I explained

***warning - my explanation is quite explicit. The faint of heart should look for the next set of ****'s *****

that he was a man who deserved "to be headbutted and then have his balls cut off."

I was told that my description was quite crass. Good thing I didn't mention how he should then be decapitated and his head shoved on a spike with the detached genitalia shoved in his corpsey mouth.

:| What?

Fine - I am being crass. Please forgive me. (though I refuse to edit this post - Alec D'uberville at least got his comeuppance).


********end explicit**************

And I saw "Doubt" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".

:|

I had snow days - what else was I supposed to do!

Doubt was alright - I liked the cast a lot. Meryl Streep should be in every movie - she is AMAZING. And Amy Adams is made of awesome. So is Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I like how they let the movie be just like the play - it has a wonderful ending and it is true to the title.

The CC of BB was made of lame. First of all - I did NOT go to see the movie because of BP. No...see this post for why.

I went to see it because I love Cate Blanchet. Is she not gorgeous? And she can ACT! She made the film.

Otherwise it was just like Forrest Gump if FG was born old.

And I saw Quantum of Solace. It was alright - a bit of loose ties to be tied. Bond is...em. Well, Daniel Craig and Ralph Finnes are my only blond-blue-eyed crushes. *blushes*

Other wise QoS was lame. Daniel Craig was not at ALL.

So, I am also amused by the amount of fan fiction writing I have done - which is none! I need to work on getting it out of my system because I just have all these stories playing around in my head.

Which brings up something I have read - the LAST book in the Princess Diaries Series.

:(

I know - the LAST ONE!

I really like Princess Mia. I don't think I like her decisions in this book, but I really like her. And I am glad that it ended well. The lack of detail in one scene made me want to write PD fan fic! But I refuse since it would be like Ransom of My Heart, the romantic novel Princess Mia "writes".

Yes I read it.

:|

I read it and am affirmed the romance novels are NOT my favorite.

One thing about the last book I adored is how Princess Mia made out in a horse drawn carriage -- that was super cute (I am trying not to give away spoilers in case peeps reading this want to read it).

Oh, I saw Kill Bill (1 and 2). I like Quentin Tarantino - I do. But I don't like the violence...and the misogyny that is trying to disguise itself as feminism. I am disturbed that most females in his move are psycho, physically violent, and extraordinarily beautiful. It just isn't real life.

And as I try to separate the film from the violence, I find what is at the heart of movies I love.

I love interesting characters. I love REALLY quirky characters.

I like unusual plot lines where it is almost predictable what will happen, but then it takes a twist that leads to a more satisfactory ending.

I like stories that are true to the human experience. And I love little details that become vital at the end ('cause I pay attention to little details, but speak in generalities -- basically if I had to give a detailed account it would be TOO detailed).

So, Tarantino appeals to me in the plot. The characters - meh. But his plots are AMAZING!

Wow - this has been a random post - lots of reviews. I would love to hear others opinions in the comments!

V for Violent

I have given up on watching the Pallisers. Not because it is boring or because the quality of the film, but because every time I start to watch it, Lance wants to settle down and get a brief synopsis of what has happened thus far.

I now know how Kate felt when I would sit in on her watching Buffy. My sincere apologies Kate.

A friend from the Harry Potter Meetup in Seattle lent me several films to enjoy. One of them was V for Vendetta. I really enjoy Natalie Portman - she is not only gorgeous, but also talented. She was also quite kind on Project Runway. She had one positive thing to say to each designer. Brooke Sheilds wasn't even that nice!

So, I had been looking forward to viewing V and sat down one night to watch it.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. It contains some very strong political messages that I do agree with.

There is a strong sense of rebellion in the film that I identify with.

On the whole, I am a pessimistic idealist. I remember discussing this with the hubbster once - that I want the world to act justly and fairly to all humans and creatures, but that I want policies put in place to ensure that those ideals are carried out. In my idealism, I also have a pessimism because I know that people do act justly.

Does that make sense? Well, the hubbster said that my pessimism about the world springs from an INCREDIBLY IDEALISTIC sense of how the world should work.

V for Vendetta brought to the surface of my mind all of the things that I would hate to see the world become. I am a Christian - I believe that Christ demonstrated the ultimate example of how humans should be have. But in V for Vendetta, Christianity is promoted as something totalitarian in nature. And I was very bothered that the symbol of the totalitarian government looked very much like the three bar Cross (minus the bottom bar). I was disturbed at the interpretation of what a Christian government's policies would be.

In its defense, the totalitarian government was supposed to be extreme, but why extreme Christianity? Why not extreme Buddhism? Or extreme Hinduism? Isn't the cast system of the Hindu religion also an extreme? I suppose Christianity is easy to take "shots" at because of the way SOME Christians have acted in the past.

I would hate for the world to become a place where one could not express oneself. It would be awful to hide away one's ideas.

But where does freedom begin and end? If I put parameters around what others can do, I also limit myself as well.

Hmmm...despite the anti-Christian sentiment I viewed in the film, I still enjoyed it because it made me think.

I will send this warning - the film was created by the same crew that did the Matrix trilogy, so it is VERY violent. I would crochet or do something else whenever someone was getting washed by a pressure hose, arrested in a most vicious manner, or becoming Swiss cheese via a volley of bullets.

But overall - it is worth watching.

A Review of The Darjeeling Limited...

...or How I Managed to Behave in Front of My Husband...

Let me explain why I would need to behave...

See this guy?



Most women would say "HAAAAaaacheee Machee!"

Me: "Meh...he looks like a bloated chipmunk"


Now...this one...



and this one...



even...this one...



(not even kidding on the Harry Potter - back when GoF came out I was in Chicago...and not a Harry Potter fan at all...I saw this cover in the Borders I always hung out in and thought "Whoa! That fictional character illustration is kinda hot!!!" :| Don't judge me!)

So, then I hear Wes Anderson, one of my FAVORITE directors, is doing a movie and I get super excited because this is the movie poster:



I almost fainted...just get rid of the blond, and it is droolfest for me.

Now, if you do look at my profile, you will know that I absolutely ADORE Rushmore; it is my FAVORITE movie and the debut for Jason Schwartzman.

If I was the type of person to say I have a "boyfriend", I would COMPLETELY "boyfriend" Jason Schwartzman!

Anyhow, I also like the plot and characters of Rushmore. It is just the type of movie that appeals to me. Now, I didn't like Bottle Rocket and not just for the absence of the hot menz...the characters just didn't appeal to me.

What I love the most about the characters in a Wes Anderson film is that quite often the protagonist is someone of mean abilities and little intelligence but they are reaching for greatness and with all of the pomp of someone who should rightfully achieve that greatness.

So, the protagonist is quite often like me :D

There is also usually a character (quite often female) who is super intelligent, knows the protagonist well enough to see his weakness, and she knows exactly how to steer the sinking ship (without actually steering - she usually let's him fall on his bum).

And there is a beauty and goofiness to all the proceedings that I just ADORE and ENJOY watching. I honestly think Rushmore is the best work because there is a darkness there, an innocence lost in Max, but then, a come back at the end that makes the film fantastic.

I next enjoy Steve Zisou and then Royal Tenebaums - but they are not my favs.

The Darjeeling Limited attempts to have THREE such protagonists - three very different brothers all trying to come to terms with the lack of parents and direction. All three are very flawed and do not care for each other at all - this idea is well established at the beginning.

I enjoy all the quirks of the characters and the ridiculous situations, but there is no real STORY here. I think the conflict is that the brothers must get to know each other and come to terms with their father's death and feel a need to find their mother for some sort of conclusion (again, an intelligent, but flawed, female who understands her family) - but it is not a very interesting conflict.

I am not compelled to love these characters - at the end of the movie, I sort of understand who they are and their motivations, but the characterisation is so shallow. It is mostly quirks and neuroses.

The set was pretty cool - I really liked the journey and train aspect of it all.

So, I just sat back and contemplated why the above gentleman (sans Pitt) are so attractive to me...and enjoyed some eye candy:)

I suppose it all starts with my father - at least that is what Freud thinks. But I am inclined to believe that we are so attracted to those who resemble us or our parents NOT because we are sexually attracted to ourselves or our parents, but because that is our environment. Our parents, our own features, create a Platonic "form" in our mind of what is comfortable and good.

So, my dad has large eyes, dark hair, thick eyebrows, and a moustache. So, naturally I would be attracted to dark haired men and facial hair.

But not moustaches - NEVER moustaches!

But, somewhere along the line I also found large noses attractive. It could be from watching Bert from Sesame Street (his unibrow was pretty cool) - but I think that my family has some pretty large noses too (me included).

So there you have it - dark men with prominent noses - large eyes and nice smile...longish, slim face...that is pretty much my dream guy...

Which is why I always feel like my hubby is the hottest man in the room...



This is why it was SOOOO difficult to behave - what with all the eye candy in the room! I am seriously lucky to have such a sexy man for a hubby!

LAST DAY!!! (And other random thoughts)

It was SWEET! Well, sort of an odd feeling...we were discussing this at the faculty party afterwards. The sky was grey, we were all huddled around with blankets on our lap to keep warm - it felt more like November than the beginning of summer.

And I bought some really cute sandals (Dansko) at REI - just wondering when there will be the requisite sandal wearing weather.

I have been writing a lot lately - I think JK Rowling's recent "pre-quel" set my mind going. Not that it had much to do with my favorite pairing (Lily/Sev in case you have not picked up on that), but it did get the wheels spinning on my own lingering question: "WHY DID SHE MARRY HIM???" (HIM = James Potter).

So, I started the beta search again. Gave the beta this URL, so if you read this: "hi!"

Oh - and I get home at 3:00 ('cause school's out for summer!!!) and my hubby's home! Which was great - not for him because it was a bit of bum day, but we got to spend some quality time together.

I had been wanting to watch a movie...it is so fun to snuggle up with the one you love and watch some great film.

I rented Enchanted.

It was not a great film. It was formulaic, offensive (SOOOO many bad stereotypes - especially for African - American females), and sexist-but-not-trying-to-be-sexist (the worst sort).

I was not impressed. I would rather watch Mulan than this (and I haven't watched a Disney film in AGES). Rah - Rah females, breaking out of romantic idealist constrictions whilst "saving" the guy. Ugh!

The hubbster did not think much of it either - it made us agree with Conservatives (for once) that the whole "Hollywood" set of ideals deviates from actual morality. There is a real liberal slant in these "movie ideals" and (IMO) a lack of duty - Kantian and non-Kantian - when it comes to relationships. That it is not easy to be in a relationship, and THEREFORE should not be entered lightly. I certainly wouldn't want my children watching this load of...well...crass commercialism with a dose of prejudice.

The chipmunk was animated well, I will give them that.

I better rap it up - the hubby wants his ipod synced.