Reel Love: Let Me In

So I have really fallen behind in posting my movie reviews here ... as in, I haven't posted any since the first one, Titanic. I'm going to start making this up by posting a review of the recently released vampire film, Let Me In. Enjoy.

LET ME IN (2010)

Let Me In depicts what modern life as a vampire would actually be like - or as close as we can guess. It's a complicated and tragic existence. But like any life, it isn't so bad when you're not alone.

Owen (played by Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a painfully shy boy just trying to survive middle school. He is bullied on a regular basis at school, and consistently ignored at home. When a similarly outcast girl his age, Abby (played by Chloe Moretz) moves into the apartment next door, the two misfits slowly form a friendship. A friendship that is complicated by the fact that Abby is not just a girl... Abby is a vampire.

Read the rest of the review here.

Reel Love: Titanic

In the weekend edition of Reel Love, I review a popular movie I have never seen. First up: “Titanic.”

TITANIC (1997)

When the credits rolled, all I could think was OH MY, that just happened.

(Well, that, and “I have to use the bathroom, because that movie was so long I had to stop halfway and put in ‘Cassette 2.’”)

Now, in my opinion, there are primarily two types of movies that will cause that reaction.

There are those that are just so well-crafted, so ingenious, or so astoundingly original that you just have to sit in awe for minutes after the final frames to soak it all in.

And then there are those that try so hard, invoke so many emotions, are filled with such adrenaline, and are just so gosh-darn earnest that you can’t help being moved.

Read the rest online at www.spectatornews.com.

What I do when I'm not writing for you

When I'm not writing for school, or for fun, or for my blog (hah), I'm writing for The Spectator.

The Spectator is UW-Eau Claire's student newspaper; this semester, I am the Currents editor. That means I am the editor of the "anything goes" section. From art to health to money to technology to entertainment, it might show up in Currents. It's hectic, but it's fun. A lot of fun. So far.

As part of my section, I am running a film column called "Reel Love." Every week (hopefully), I'll  be reviewing either a new release or the film playing on campus that weekend. Unfortunately, you probably won't have seen most of those movies I'll be reviewing--and movie reviews are much more fun when you've actually seen the movie the critics are talking about.

Therefore, I have proposed a sort of personal movie challenge. I have selected (with help from browsing the halls at Family Video, as well as input from friends) 15 popular movies that somehow I have never seen. I will watch, and then review, one of these movies every weekend (again, hopefully).

Here is the current lineup (for the "I can't believe I've never seen" editions of Reel Love):

• Titanic (review comes out later today)
• A Stallone movie (Rocky or Rambo)
• Pulp Fiction
• Wayne's World (?)
• Jaws
• Rush Hour
• Forrest Gump
• Terminator
• Saving Private Ryan
• Nightmare before Christmas 
• Blues Brothers
• Dances with Wolves
• Die Hard
• It's a Wonderful Life

These movies were selected not necessarily because they are SO GOOD I just have to see them. If that were the case, my list would be a bit different. No, these are the movies that everyone is most surprised to hear I haven't seen. These are the movies often mentioned in popular culture, but I never get the joke.

So anyway, if you'd like to follow along from home, you're welcome to. If not, then don't. I'll never know. =) And as always, if you disagree with my take, please comment! I love comments. I would encourage you to leave comments, however, on The Spectator site, where the reviews will be posted.

Okay, enough self-promotion for one day.

let the wild rumpus start

If I were to ever have a kid, he would wear this Halloween costume. And he'd love it.

From Coolest Homemade Costumes

From Hey I'm Jaclyn

From Modern Wife

I saved the best for last. This photo is from a fairy-tale themed wedding. He was the ringbearer; the flower girls were dressed like Little Red Riding Hood.

From Helmutwalker Photography

summer concert: something corporate

Something Corporate at the Cabooze, Minneapolis

Summer has finally started to feel like summer. Unfortunately, it is already August. Not the best timing, but I'll take what I can get.

Last night Zach and I went to Minneapolis to watch a shared favorite band perform: Something Corporate.

The concert was held at the Cabooze, which apparently holds both indoor and outdoor concerts. I thought the whole outdoor setup was awesome; it was the first time I didn't leave a concert with a massive headache, fearing for the future of my hearing abilities.

From Summer 2010

Pre-concert beer for the Birthday boy

From Summer 2010

Hey, we actually have a picture together...

From Summer 2010

Here's some footage of "Konstantine" someone else took at the same concert:

Friday Five

So, I'm copying Amanda's blog this Friday and joining in on the five question Friday. Don't hate me. I'm just trying to be cool.

1. Did you have a favorite blanket or toy as a kid? If so, do you still have it?

Yes, technically I did have a blanket. However, I never developed incredibly strong feelings toward it. It was just something I felt I was supposed to have in my possession as a child, you know, according to popular culture. I apparently was concerned about being a hip toddler. 


What I did form strong attachments to, much to the despair of my parents, were stuffed animals. Multiple stuffed animals. So many that my parents put shelves in my room to house the stuffed animals so they didn't overcrowd my bed. And yes, I must admit, a select few are still in my bed. I thought I was prepared to part with them (for storage) when I moved out, but then I watched Toy Story 3 and that just left me an emotional wreck and now I have no clue what I'm going to do!

2. Do you dream in color?

Oh do I. I dream often and I dream vividly. Usually, I dream so deeply that I find a way to convince myself that the alarm sounds I'm hearing are simply some element of the dream. This is how I manage to be late to school and church most days. Sometimes I dream about conversations, and days later, I can't remember if those talks were real or not. I've had to ask people whether or not we have actually had certain conversations. But it's worth it. I love to dream. 

3. How tall are you? Do you wish you were shorter or taller?

I am five feet and five inches. It's a good height for more things. Unfortunately, it is not a good height for giving my boyfriend a hug. Seriously, if I was an inch or two shorter or taller, things would be perfect. But as it is, I'm pretty cool with my height.

4. If you could have anyone's (celeb or other) voice as the guide on your GPS, who would it be?

Ooh, ooh, I know this one. It would probably be Stephen Fry. Lately I've been listening to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book-on-cd, narrated by Stephen Fry, and since then, when I talk through things in my head, his voice is usually the voice I hear. Hmmm, I see people running away, maybe I should stop talking about the voices in my head? Done.

Runner ups include James Earl Jones (who wouldn't want Darth Vader commanding your vehicle?), Alan Rickman (only if he also added a very dry and sarcastic commentary), and Liz Lemon. Yes, I know that last one is fictional, but I know she wouldn't condemn me for my frequent fast-food stops on road trips. 

5. Do you return your shopping cart to the corral or leave it wherever in the parking lot?

Unless it's raining and 3 am in the Walmart parking lot, I always return the shopping cart to the corral. I worked at a grocery store for about four years--I know how fun it is to chase down stray carts.

up and away

I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist sharing this link. I happened across this Pixar themed engagement photo shoot. The couple's favorite movie is "Up."

View the photos here:
http://www.weddingchicks.com/wedding-chicks/engagement-sessions/37401/disney-pixars-up-engagement-shoot/

good morning, tuesday

I hope Amanda is reading this blog, because I'm pretty sure she'll love this video I found. I know we both have a lot of love for both of these people (or at least for the girl). Have a happy Tuesdsay.

meaningless

Image borrowed from Sixty-Six Clouds: Word Cloud Bible at www.identity33.com

"Meaningless! Meaningless!"

says the Teacher. 

"Utterly meaningless! 

Everything is meaningless." 

Ecclesiastes 1:2

I don't know if it's wrong to have favorites, but Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books of the Bible. And this is why. 

This was the original draft of my blog post:

This summer has been a lesson in disappointed expectations.

In my parent's house, you will find a futon, a sofa sleeper, a full bed, a coffee table, three desks, two dressers, three lamps, a coffee grinder, and several bookshelves, all to my name. Over the last few months (well, more like years), I have been stealthily amassing furniture, waiting anxiously for the day I could move out on my own. I was sure that day would come this summer. I had a roommate lined up, a place picked out, and an application completed. But unfortunately, the thing that always seems to happen, happened: something came up. Something came up and she could no longer be my roommate. And now I'm back to square one. Except now I have way more crap.

My parents like to tease me about it. "So you've got a futon and a couch and all these things--have you thought about finding someone to live with?" or "Why don't you go on that Facebook thing and find some more friends?" I feel that they have the right, seeing as they are currently harboring me and all of my possessions. Besides, I think the situation is comical as well. And I do realize I could venture out and live on my own. In fact, I'd love to. I just don't know if I could afford it. And I'm too scared to risk it.

But the summer has challenged my expectations in other ways as well. Zach and I were looking forward to the summer as the time of the year we'd finally get to hang out together more often. Zach's manager told him he'd be working full-time in the evening, and so I requested the closest thing to an evening shift at my job, 11:30 to 8, Sunday through Thursday. Two weeks into the summer, Zach's manager informed him that not only would he no longer be working full-time, but that his occasional shifts would often be morning shifts. So much for seeing each other. Now I'm stuck with what is possibly the worst placement of 8.5 hours of work. Bleh.

Zach isn't the only person I'm not seeing as often as I'd like. One of my best friends, Janie, will be leaving the country this fall, possibly never to return. And I've seen her once since May. My good friend Stacy was in town from South Carolina for an entire week this month, and I was so consumed with planning for a camp that I forgot she was here until it was too late.

So here I am. The summer is half over. I spent the first half of the summer planning a camp, and will spend the second half building an enormous website with a friend that I volunteered to make for free. I'm not complaining--both of those tasks I gladly signed up for and am happy to do. But when everything adds up, this summer is nowhere near what I had depended on.

This is the summer of seeing everyone around me graduate and move on, or get married, or get engaged, or move out. Do I necessarily want all of those things? No. But do I feel left behind like a selfish little child? Yes.


There, that was the blog post. What a pathetic, whining rant of a post that was. And then somehow I thought of Ecclesiastes (thanks Holy Spirit). I cruised over to BibleGateway.com, and Ecclesiastes slapped me in my stupid face (to steal a phrase from Zach).

 
Ecclesiastes 3:22 "So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?"

I think that God is using this summer to hammer into me the lesson that you can't count on the future. The present is really all that matters, and even that is meaningless when not working for God. The past is inaccessible and the future is known only to God, so just do what you can to live for Him now.

the big night

For some unexplainable reason, I adore Oscar night. I don't know why--almost everything about it should point to me disliking it: the spectacle, the drama, the hype. But if you look past all of this, down to it's very core, it's really a group of people gathering once a year to pay tribute to the beautiful art that is filmmaking.

At least that's how I choose to view it.

Anyway, I've been a little MIA lately, but I thought I'd still sneak in a few last-minute comments about films in 2009 and who I'd like to see win some awards tonight.

Also, for those of you wondering where the "master list" of 2009 films is, the Academy puts out a list every year of all the films eligible to be nominate for best picture.

Who I'd like to see win:
Sadly, there really aren't any movies or actors this year that I'm really rooting for. Normally there's at least one contender for Best Picture that I can really get behind and root for; this year, however, there are quite a few films and performances I like, but none that I love. Basically, as long as Avatar or The Blind Side don't win Best Picture, I'll be happy. Both were OK, but neither are Best Picture worthy.

Though I do think Christoph Waltz should win Best Supporting Actor (Inglourious Basterds). And I'm rooting for Carey Mulligan, even though I have yet to see An Education.

Worst Movie of 2009:
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (yes, even worse than The Proposal)

Biggest Disappointments:
9
Public Enemies

Top Favorites:
Where the Wild Things Are
(500) Days of Summer

Most Laughs:
I Love You, Man
Inglourious Basterds

Most Tears:
Up (those first five minutes killed me)
Where the Wild Things Are (I was a mess at the end of this movie)

Movies I was able to see from 2009:
9 (NOT to be confused with "Nine")
(500) Days of Summer
17 Again
Adventureland
All About Steve (saw half of it)
Avatar
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Coraline
District 9
Fired Up
Funny People
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I Love You, Man
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Julie & Julia
Moon
New in Town
Public Enemies
Sherlock Holmes
Star Trek
State of Play
The Blind Side
The Hangover
The Hurt Locker
The Invention of Lying
The Proposal
Up
Where the Wild Things Are
Whip It
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Movies I missed but still want to see:
A Serious Man
Adam
An Education
Away We Go
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Monsters vs Aliens
Precious
Sunshine Cleaning
Taken
Taking Woodstock
The Bluetooth Virgin
The Princess and the Frog
The Road
The Soloist
Up in the Air
Zombieland

That's all for now, folks. More later....? Perhaps. =) And feel free to share your picks, if you feel so inclined.

Two thousand ten

Would I come across as sounding too eccentric if I said that I am so happy to no longer be living in an odd numbered year? A sigh of relief for even numbers--even years are always better.

As a blogger, January is my favorite month of the year. Yes, I do love to make up resolutions with blind optimism and page through the best memories from the previous year. But the real treat is when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences releases the Reminder List for voting members and I can get my hands on this complete list of movies released in 2009. Nerdy as it sounds, I like to go through this quite comprehensive index and list the movies I had the chance to see as well as the movies I wish I would have made time for. So, blog fans, expect to see some more posts in the near future about the films of 2009.

And really, January wouldn't be complete without resolutions. Do I remember them by the end of the year? Heck no. But do I have fun making them? You BET I do!

Really, the only real "resolutions" I have this year are directly related to blogging. Last year, I believe I said I wanted to commit to writing an entry once a week? Well, I think that was such a good idea that I'm going to say it again this year--one entry per week, minimum.

Second, I've toyed with the idea of posting some film reviews on this blog, but I never actually got up the gumption to do it. I'd like to try to write a brief review or even a few comments about each movie I see this year (or at least the newer releases).

So there you have it. May God bless my and everyone else's resolutions.

Review: 9

I was unabashadly excited for this film. In fact, I was so intrigued by the film's asthetics that in the couple of months leading up to the film's release, my desktop background feautred the movie's poster (left) and my Twitter icon was a small snapshot of the main character 9's stitched face. Unfortunately, as a busy student, the film went through theatres without me having the chance to see it. I was finally able to watch the film with Zach last night, and I have to admit--I'm glad I didn't pay to see it in theatres.

Despite the fact that 9 was less than 80 minutes long, I still found myself checking my watch. This film jumped into the plot almost immediately without giving much of an explanation for how the palm-sized sock puppet "9" was given life or how the world around him had faded to apocalyptic ash and ruin. Normally, I would commend the screenwriter for letting the audience figure things out on their own; however, in the case of 9, this rushed treatment prevented me from ever forming an attachment to the characters. I felt sympathy and curiousity for the numbered handmade inventions, yes, but never did I feel like they were in any real danger. The Beast, a mechanical villain that was so terrifying to the little inventions that they retreated into hiding, was killed early in the movie after a short skirmish that almost looked easy, begging the questions, "Why hadn't they just done that earlier?" Also, the questions raised throughout the film were either interesting queries that were never even addressed or were obvious questions that were answered with redundant spoon-fed narration.

By the end of this movie, the only emotion I felt was sadness about the opportunities that this visually intriguing film squandered. I didn't really believe in or care about the problems of the characters, and it felt like the filmmakers didn't either.