Netflix on a Sunday Night

Just finished watching An American Crime. And now I'm watching The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Why am I watching these depressing movies? Sigh..

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I've seen this movie in the instant queue of Netflix for a while and I finally watched it Sunday night. I love Jim Carrey movies, but this was in the sci-fi/romance genre so I wasn't so sure. It turned out to be a really good movie. It's about a guy named Joel who finds out that his impulsive ex-girlfriend Clementine had him and their relationship erased from her memory. He reacts by also getting his memory erased of her. During the procedure however, he realizes that he doesn't want to follow through the procedure. Most of the movie takes place in Joel's subconscious mind where he tries to resist the operation and get the people operating on him to stop. Backtracking through his memories with her, Joel tries hold on to Clementine by taking her to different memories of his younger life.
It was a very interesting movie not only because of the provoking concept of removing another completely from one's memory, but also because of the personalities of the two main characters Joel and Clementine, which seemed to be polar extremes of one another that somehow clashed well, in a perfect harmony.

I guess this movie was a good one to me because I found myself relating quite a bit to Jim Carrey's character, who is emotionally withdrawn. Two of his quotes really clicked with me:

One was, for him, on the subject of girls (for me, on the subject of guys).
Joel: "[narration as Clementine acknowledges Joel by raising her coffee mug] Why do I fall in love with every woman I see who shows me the least bit of attention?"

The other was about him being so withdrawn.
Clementine: "You don't tell me things, Joel. I'm an open book. I tell you everything, every damn, embarrassing thing.You don't trust me."
Joel: "Constantly talking isn't necessarily communicating."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 I've gone to two sessions with counseling so far. At the last session my counselor/therapist suggested that I feel listless and somewhat depressed null because I feel withdrawn in relationships with those I care about most. Especially considering the relationships that have ended more recently, I feel somewhat void of someone to talk to whenever I need them. It makes a lot of sense. I'm glad she could connect the dots for me because it was bothersome not to know why I was feeling so down. So as a remedy I've decided to try going to one of the group meditation sessions on campus. That, or yoga/regular exercise. Something to help clear my mind and let go of the past. I've also recently read a book for Psychology called Understanding Other People by Beverly D.Flaxington. I 'm going to try and use the tips in that book to better communicate with the close friends I have now. Maybe I can make more meaningful relationships out of those. Maybe that'll be the way to help me feel grounded and not so                detached                 from others.

But anyway, back to the movie review!

I give it 3.5/5 stars. Great concept, beautiful presentation, something that I could relate to, but it was sort of confusing and it's a movie I'd only want to watch once. Still, go see it. It's worthwhile!

The Pianist (2002)

I know I'm late, but I saw this movie for the first time today. And I loved it. From the first scene I fell for Adrien Brody's character. I can't decide whether it was because of his charisma, his clothes and how well dressed he always looked, or the fact that he played the piano - and beautifully, at that. Anyway, this movie is a biographical drama about the Nazi invasion of Warsaw, Poland through the eyes of Jewish musician Władysław Szpilman. The images of violence and despair were disturbing, but left a lasting impression with their artful presentation. The themes of family and love added a beautiful element to the film also; I was heartbroken to see Szpilman separated from his family and those he loved, but his courage and motivation shown through in every scene. In the end a kind soul embodied by a German soldier saves his life (though I believe his talent and passion for music had a hand in that as well) and after the war viewers find him continuing to do what he loves - play the piano. Polanksi did an amazing job with this film and it was duly noted when it won 5+ awards. Take time to watch this masterpiece because I, as well as so many other people, rate it 5 stars.

Oh, and it doesn't hurt that Thomas Kretschmann is extremely attractive either. :)

ALL NIGHTER!
Just for the hell of it. Because I have nothing better to wake up early in the morning (aka before noon) for.

I've been watching movies on Netflix. I'm onto a thriller theme now. I just finished Misery (reviews will come later) and now I think I'll watch Hannibal next. I hope I don't get nightmares... or morningmares.

Dakota Skye (2008)

"Predictable doesn't always mean boring.

Lust doesn't always mean love.

Near doesn't always mean close.

New doesn't always mean exciting.

Different doesn't always mean better.

Far doesn't always mean distant.

Knowing everything doesn't make you wise.

Knowing the truth doesn't make you superior.

Knowing your problem doesn't solve it.

Sitting between your past and your future

doesn't mean you're in the present."

Continued Movie Marathon

Today I watched two more movies.

The first was Descent (2007).

It was... interesting... It's about a bright girl in college who gets raped and, after meddling in the drug world and  with her promiscuity, exacts revenge on her rapist. It started off pretty slow and right before the rape scene I found myself scolding the main character through the screen for going to the guy's house -_- But she finds some random drug leader guy and in the end she rapes her rapist with a wooden something and gets her drug leader friend to rape him. It's awkward. And there is some nudity - be warned. Umm... overall I give this 3 stars.


The other movie I saw was Melancholia (2011).

This movie was so much better. It is basically the story of two sisters as Earth collides into another planet Melancholia. It begins at the younger sister's wedding (with the older sister as the maid of honor) and everything just down-spirals from there. It was cool because something that seemed so perfect turned out to be a failure. The wedding though was absolutely gorgeous. I would love to have one just like the one in the movie. The only downside though is that the movie is over 2 hours long... That's why it gets 4 stars. Other than that, it's really good. I recommend it.

Movie Morning

So I've been up since about midnight watching movies on my list of movies to watch and.. I'm so glad I did (again)!!! Ohmygosh. They were the best movies I've seen in a while.

I pretty much spent all day watching movies. Earlier I saw Keith (2008). It reminded me a lot of A Walk To Remember. Though I already knew that he was terminally ill before watching it, it was all pretty cliche. I predicted everything.. Still, it was good I guess. Then I saw Serious Moonlight (2009) and that wasn't too bad. I actually laughed a lot watching it haha. Then I watched Anjelah Johnson's standup That's How We Do It, that was really funny :) Gotta love her Nail salon bit and her Bon Qui Qui...

But anyway the last two movies I saw topped everything else I saw today.
First I watched XXY (2007).

That was really good. It's about a 15 year old hermaphrodite named Alex and her parents struggling through a life-changing surgery decision. There's some tough romance stuff in there too (and some nudity - be warned). It definitely brings up gender and ethics issues, which much too often go unspoken. I liked that. I give it 4.5 stars.

Then I watched Super 8 (2011).

Oh. My. Gosh. That movie blew my mind it was so good. Congrats Steven, you really killed it with this one! It's about these 6 middle school kids living in the 70s-80s filming a movie who witness a train wreck and discover a secret the government's been hiding. It was ahhh! Jeez. Like the plot was interesting as it was, but then out of nowhere there would be explosions and crashes that had me jumping out of my seat. It kept me on edge. But the ending was satisfying too. I give it 5 stars. I loved it. Go watch it. Now. I mean it.

And I watched Thor (2011) a couple days ago too. That was really good too. Beautifully ripped actor. Very funny plot. 4 stars.

Ping Pong Playa

Chops - I like Cereal
Haha... This was like, my favorite part of the entire movie.

Disney's Anastasia

I forgot how much I loved this movie :)

Recently.

Pro: Today my friends and I went to the mall - an event I planned so that we could all hang out together.

Con: I spent a lot of money on unnecessary stuff.

Pro: I got my favorite perfume from Victoria's Secret (along with some others), a slice of my favorite cake from the Cheesecake Factory, and a copy of my favorite movie Spirited Away.
(Owning a copy is actually on my bucket list so... CHECK!!!)

Con: I don't know if I'll have enough money to go shopping for a new wardrobe with YMS in the upcoming weekend! D:

Pro: Part of the money I've spent recently went to the Invisible Children charity :)

Con: At the end of our shopping trip my friends left in a cab and abandoned me at the mall... Luckily two of them had come in a car so they picked me up. But still... -_-

Pro: Once I finish this essay for Expos, study for Bio, and read for Anthro, I will be 3 hours of classes away from Spring Break.

Con: I'm not excited about my plans for Spring Break anymore.

Pro: I got invited to Lizzzzzzz's fashion show at school! ♥

Con: Her older sister, my best friend, has not talked to me since Monday.

I'm just... ehh, not in the best mood. It may be my way of trying to forgive my friends for leaving me, but I feel... numb, like I have no emotion at all. I want to leave school.. but I still don't want to go home. I'm stuck, sigh.

On the bright side, I'm starting to make more friendship bracelets. I'm working on this watermelon one right now, it's pretty freaking awesome :)

Drive

The movie honestly wasn't that great. It took forever for the plot to pick up. I had no idea who Ryan Gosling was - seriously, I have no idea what the name of the main character was. By the time the movie ended I was so confused. Why was he driving? How did he get into driving? Who were his parents? Where did he come from? Why is he so shy/quiet? What's up with that scorpion jacket? Why the obsession with toothpicks? It made no sense. One thing I do know is that the coolest part of the movie was about an hour and a half in. I wasn't really paying attention and I was about ready to turn off the TV when all of a sudden someone got shot in the head and Ryan was all bloody in the face from killing two other bad guys lol. If there was anything good about that movie, it was that motel scene (which I've provided below just to save everyone else 3 hours of their time lol). The soundtrack however is pretty freaking awesome lol. The songs were all electronic and smooth and pretty much the main reason why I watched it for so long haha. Overall, I would not recommend this movie. I would however recommend checking out the soundtrack album. That's some pretty good stuff :)

Titanic

Just because it's in 3D doesn't mean it's new. There's no creativity anymore, nothing new. That's how I know the world is going to end...

Hahah, no jk.

It's Snowing! ^-^

I've basically spent the past 20 hours watching movies online lol. Last night I stayed up until 6 in the morning watching Beginners and Hotel Rwanda, then today I woke up around 11 and ended up watching Mississippi Burning. A day well spent, I think haha.


This movie was really cute. It made me laugh and, unlike Young Adult, in the scenes where no words were spoken I didn't question the point of the movie or why I was watching it. It was sweet. Plus the dog is adorable. I would definitely recommend this one.


I've actually seen this movie before, I just forgot how powerful it was. It's hard to believe that that genocide actually happened (though, honestly, it's hard to believe a lot of stuff happens in the world today, smh). Excellent for a reality check. Not so fun when you're alone in your room with the lights off at 3 in the morning... Still, learn some history from Hotel Rwanda, I recommend it!

"Hatred isn't something you're born with, it gets taught."

Finally, I watched Mississippi Burning this afternoon. It was recommended to me by my history teacher a couple years ago. From the get-go it's... disturbing, but I mean that in a good, wake-up-and-make-a-change way. I loved Anderson's character. And this was a particularly great movie choice because today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. All week I've been thinking of how I was going to take time to honor MLK on his day and this movie, with it's intense scenes of raw racism, was the perfect solution. It helped me to appreciate the world around me just a little bit more. I mean, look around! We can all work and live and attend school together. We can eat and go to the bathroom and drink from any fountain we want. This not only applies to black people but to people of all different races. And a major part of it goes to MLK's work.
Be thankful. Be appreciative. Be happy.

Live.


However, now that my movie marathon is over, I need to get settled and start preparing to knock second semester out of the park. Lehgo.

The Fall

Now that was a good movie. Visually superb...

Young Adult

Today I finally got to see my friend Maya. She was the only person left on my list of people I wanted to spend time with over vacation. Good thing too because she's going back to school in Rhode Island tomorrow lol. So we talked and I actually tried to be sociable and talk about my life this time. It was a lot easier than I thought. Maybe it's just because I was talking to her. Throughout the course of high school there were a select few number of people I willingly told about my life without any problems. Maya happened to be one of those people. I don't know. There are some friends who, when I'm with them, I tend to talk almost nonstop with, but with others I do all the listening and rarely say anything. Like I said, I'm weird.
Anyway, we went downtown. It was freezing cold. We ate burgers and fries at UBurger. We went to see Young Adult. It was terrible. I don't recommend it at all. It was a total waste of nine dollars. I laughed like twice throughout the entire thing and the main character's life was just... messed up. It was weird, period.


Other than that though, I had a good time. Now I'm going to try and watch a movie (from my long list of movies that I want to see) online. Good night! :)

Highlights of the Day

I'm pretty much broke because the place my parents got their massages at (it was my Christmas gift to them) charged $170 for them, not $85 like I thought they would... But it was worth it I guess. My parents have raised me all my life. Going out my way - out of my pocket more like it - to give them something in return just seems right. They deserve it. I'm proud to have been able to do this one thing for them. Even if it caused me a couple of problems and prohibited me from getting other people the gifts I wanted to get them.

I finished watching The Elephant Man today. It was really sad but it had a great moral. It's hard to believe that it was based on the life of a real person, Joseph Merrick. I would definitely recommend it.


I also finally watched Kevin Hart: Laugh at my Pain tonight. Hilarious, as always :)
"Alright alright alriiiiiight!" "You gon learn today!"

The Princess and The Frog

Interracial relationships FTW!
♥

I just finished watching that and it was one of the cutest movies I've seen in a while. I loved it! Even though Prince Naveen just happened to fall in love with Tiana over the course of a day... lol. It's now one of my favorites :)

Romance

I've been watching a bunch of romances lately. I don't think I meant to, I guess I just got bored.
Last night I watched Prelude to a Kiss, that was pretty cute! And it was funny too :) I didn't know that Alec Baldwin looked so good back in the day. Though I must say that his chest hair was disturbing..

I've spent the last week or so watching season one of Nikita too. But I stopped like 3 episodes before the finale. Honestly I just wanted to see Nikita and Michael get together and they did so I stopped lol. Maggie Q is really beautiful and she's a pretty awesome person in general :) But as I kept watching I couldn't help but notice Shane West's crooked bottom tooth. I saw it in A Walk to Remember too. Sure, he's pretty attractive and he looks good in a suit but I'm not really sure how he got all those acting roles with that tooth...

And of course I've been watching the Korean Drama Can You Hear My Heart. I stopped watching that too though. I just wanted to see Woo Ri and Dong Joo get together.. and they did :3 So there's no need to stay up till four in the morning watching those videos anymore lol. I read the recap of the last few episodes and I totally missed when he proposed to her, but I saw pictures so it's okay haha. The boy who played Dong Joo as a boy is soooo cute! I can see him going far in the acting business ;)


All these make me wonder about what guy I'll meet and what he'll be like and what we'll do together... I just hope it's not as dramatic as anything I've watched in the last two weeks lol jk.

Elephant

A while ago I heard about this movie called Elephant so I tried watching it online, but the beginning was way too slow and there were so many characters involved that I didn't really get the point of it so I stopped it before it even got to the good part (the part when the kids actually try to bomb their school... crazy, right?). But anyway, from what I remember this one character playing Beethoven on the piano was the best and most interesting part of the movie for me lol. Enjoy!

Crazy Stupid Love

Now, I loved Ryan Gosling before, but now? Oh my gosh. First off, that movie was great. Funny, cute, sexy, I loved it! But Ryan taking off his clothes and showing off his amazing body just topped it off for me...

*drools*

Look at that perfect butt. Take me nowwww! lol
♥