5 posts tagged “movies”
Aside from being funny, sweet, tender, charming, and full of love, it confirmed my suspicion that Ryan Gosling is my favorite actor.
Back in January, I found this quote from Ryan Gosling, about the reading the script:
"I cried at the end, when I read it. I just thought it was so romantic - the idea that you don't need to be loved in return in order to love something or someone. Love can come from you. It doesn't have to be reciprocal. People love their cars. People love all kinds of things, and they really love them. And we don't really value that kind of love because it's not a real, reciprocal kind of love, but it's real love to them."
Atonement: I'm going to copy my thoughts on this one from a comment I left on Michelle's Vox, so I don't have to type it all again. :) I definitely recommend reading the book before seeing the movie.
It's hard for me to express exactly what I didn't like about it, except for the ending. I read two Ian McEwan books this year, Atonement and On Chesil Beach. From those I'm realizing that what I like so much about Ian McEwan is his ability to express feelings, perception, and beliefs through the thoughts of his characters. You really get inside their minds and can see why they are doing things and why other people who don't know what they're thinking might misunderstand. I was certain I would/will be disappointed with any movie for their failure to have that all-knowing narration. A movie could still be entertaining, but to me it would lose most of the power of the book. If I had seen the movie first I would have most likely decided not to read the book.
I didn't like the ending of the movie because it was my favorite part of the book. I liked how privately she reflected on her life and the whole situation. I do not think the interview suited that at all. Not only that, but the whole end didn't feel like part of the movie, it felt so different and weird.
But despite all this, I did like a few parts of the movie. I liked the beginning, I thought they did a good job showing what a boring, restless day it was that day, without the movie being dull. Everything was gorgeous too. I loved the green dress.... so perfect! :) (but they also, probably because it couldn't be done without narration, left out my second favorite part - when the mirror "won't let Cecelia pass")
I guess I just didn't like it because of how much I loved the book. The book shook me to the core and the movie was very underwhelming to me.
Juno: I loved Juno. I loved all of the characters, especially her stepmom. I found a lot of aspects of the movie to be fairly unbelievable, but that didn't affect my overall enjoyment. I also loved the soundtrack. Also, I need a hamburger phone, asap.
Enchanted: I probably would not have seen this in theater if I hadn't been back home in Michigan. But I am, and my Mom had a free movie ticket to see it, and so it was only $8 total for her, me, and my brother to go. It was pretty cute, and we all enjoyed it. However I don't think it was as good as it had the potential of being. It was actually a pretty fun idea for Disney, but I don't think the script was their best work. I would have saved it for Netflix if I hadn't been here.
Movies I want to see next: Charlie Wilson's War; Sweeney Todd; National Treasure Book of Secrets (I know, I know); Persepolis. Movies I want to see and desperately hope are still in a theater when I get back to New York: Margot at the Wedding; The Savages.
A note on the Oscars:
Usually I love the Oscars. I love trying to watch as many nominated movies as possible before the show, and I like making predictions on who will win. I like watching the show, especially when I like the host. This year I'm not really looking forward to it at all. One reason is that most of the movies this year that have "oscar buzz" are ones that are dark and violent, and I don't want to see them. Also, because of the writer's strike, it's likely to be an incredibly strange and boring ceremony. It will be interesting if the strike doesn't get resolved.... will Jon Stewart still host without his writers? If he doesnt, who will?
The one thing I am looking forward to this year is the expected nomination of Once for one or more songs in the best original song category. I can't wait to see them perform.
However - this being the Oscars - they probably won't win, because it has to go to some hideously overdone song from a blockbuster movie.
This movie was incredible. So beautiful and charming. So much life and spirit in the story and the characters; it's a joy to watch. Lately I've developed a great appreciation for books and movies centering around Indian and Indian-American culture.
Just added several move Mira Nair films to my netflix queue.
I love rainy weekend days sitting on my bed with all the books and magazines and movies I want to attend to stacked high all around me. I may not get to all of them, but it's nice to have them there.
First, The Ziegfled. It's absolutely incredible. Ryan joked that it must have been built when someone had 100,000 yards extra of red velvet. It's classic and beautiful. It's one of the last great picture houses left in the US. The kind with a single screen and a massive theatre where there are almost no bad seats among the 1000+ that it offers.
They don't play annoying ads the entire time you're waiting for your movie; they play music. Then, just before the previews, the golden curtain opens up to reveal an absolutely gigantic screen. The audience cheers. I love that people cheer and clap after the previews that they like, and that they also cheered when Johnny Depp sails onto the screen. The crowd was extremely excited and energetic, but extremely respectful. When the movie started the theater went completely silent. No one talked during the movie. It was a great experience.
Here is a picture of the lobby:
Next, the movie. I was obsessed with the first movie. I watched it nine times in the theater. My expectations were not incredibly high for the second because I thought the previews looked disappointing and bad. And my instincts were right, I did not like the second very much at all.
So I had low expectations for this one as well, especially because of the horrible reviews it got. However, I absolutely loved it. It was better than the second by far. The critics are right: it is confusing. Especially toward the middle. But it's funny. Much more funny than the second. It's also cooky - there's a plot line involving Captain Jack that's funny and weird, and sort of explains a little about why he's wonky. It also glorifies his weirdness, and it's fun to watch.
The second half is absolutely awesome. The visual effects are incredible, and the idea behind the battle scenes is outrageous and so cool.
So when (or if) you see it, don't worry too much about understanding absolutely everything. Just enjoy the pirates, Johnny Depp, the effects, and the humor. It's fun.
Here is a post from Amazon's blog that does a much better job than me about explaining why this movie is awesome. (And don't worry about spoilers, there are none, except for one at the end written in white font that you have to highlight to see.)
Last but not least, a picture of Ryan, while waiting to enter the theatre.
Book a minute is a funny site that condenses books down to a bare bones (and truly 1 minute!) plot. Very amusing to browse, this Frog and Toad one is especially cute. (There's also Movie a Minute)
For promotion of the upcoming Simpson's movie, eleven 7-11 stores are going to be remade into Kwik-E-Marts.
I love Owls, and this newly discovered tiny peruvian owl is just too adorable.
The U of Nebraska is one of the first colleges to actually stick up for its students against the RIAA. It's about time! I hope more schools do the same.
Fun blog called "Does Today Suck?" - examines historical events and decides whether or not today will suck. Very interesting and fun!
My dad always sends me fun links too. Here's a site with incredible, old pictures of New York City. And here's a link to pictures of Strange Statues from around the world - very fun to browse!
