Joyeux Nouvel An!
2011 is upon is! To close what has been a busy and eventful 2010, I present to you the final list of all the movies I've seen in the past year. I am proud to announce that I am in excess of my 52 movies per year goal by almost TEN WHOLE MOVIES.
Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about that. Armed with new resolve to continue my standing resolution AND a new membership at the Museum of the Moving Image (an AWESOME Christmas present care of my wonderful aunt and uncle), I'm confident my cinephilic zeal will carry over into 2011. I'm excited to see what movies the new year has to offer.
Aren't you?
And now: THE LIST
1. Fantastic Mr. Fox (3)
2. Up in the Air (4)
3. Year One (1)
4. Duplicity (1)
5. Bonnie and Clyde (5)
6. 12 Angry Men (4)
7. This Is It (4)
8. Shutter Island (4)
9. Wolfman (1)
10. Alice in Wonderland (1)
11. The Hurt Locker (4.5)
12. Remember Me (0)
13. Bean (3)
14. The King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters (4)
15. Kick-Ass (5)
16. The Tenant (3)
17. Shine (3)
18. Agua Fria de Mar (3.5)
19. Beijing Taxi (3)
20. Dogtooth (3)
21. Twilight: New Moon (1)
22. The Blindside (4)
23. Brothers (4)
24. Extraordinary Measures (1)
25. Surrogates (1)
26. La Vie et la passion de Jésus Christ. 1902. Silent. (3)
27. The Automobile Thieves (incomplete). 1906. Silent. (3)
28. At the Crossroads of Life. 1908. Silent. (4)
29. Old Isaacs, the Pawnbroker. 1908. Silent. (4)
30. The Jacket (2)
31. Obsessed (1)
32. Blindness (4)
33. Please Give (4)
34. Toy Story 3 (5)
35. Orphan (4)
36. Changeling (5)
37. Despicable Me (4)
38. Jindabyne (3.5)
39. The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1)
40. The Kids are All Right (4)
41. Zombieland (4.5)
42. The Devil Wears Prada (2)
43. Eat Pray Love (3)
44. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (4)
45. Enchanted (3)
46. Last Train Home (4)
47. Frozen River (3)
48. Tibet in Song (5)
49. Jaws (3)
50. Catfish (4)
51. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (3)
52. For Colored Girls (4)
53. Due Date (3)
54. Megamind (3)
55. Single White Female (2)
56. Boys Don't Cry (4)
57. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (3)
58. Tron Legacy (3)
59. The Invention of Lying (3.5)
60. True Grit (4)
61. Black Swan (4.5)
The highlights: Bonnie and Clyde (1967), the Hurt Locker (2008), Toy Story 3 (2010), Changeling (2008), Zombieland (2009), Tibet in Song (2009), and the out-in-theaters-now Black Swan (2010).
The lowlights, which I cringe even now to remember: Year One (2009), Duplicity (2009), Wolfman (2010), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Remember Me (2010), Twilight: New Moon (2009), Extraordinary Measures (2010), Surrogates (2009), Obsessed (2009), and The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010).
Best Movie Seen This Year: Changeling
This is a really tough decision, but this was such a riveting movie, and my impression is that it's under-viewed. So go see it!
Worst Movie Seen This Year: Remember Me
A very easy decision by comparison. Good holy God was that a terrible movie. I'm still angry I didn't ask for my money back, and that's not something I do lightly.
Also, rough year for Robert Pattinson if my ratings are any gauge.
With that, Boyfriend and I have some food shopping to do in preparation for our New Year's Eve celebratory plans. Have a safe and happy night tonight, and a wonderful New Year!
Onward and upward!
<3
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Conference #2: Are You Going to San Francisco? ...Because If You Are, I Have a Poster to Show You
Since I failed to extend them in my last post: Belated Season's Greetings!
So I'm back at the where-I-live-now home, in the great snowy North. My flight was punctual if my baggage retrieval wasn't, and now I'm snuggled in with my beloved kittens. Boyfriend makes four, and he's home tomorrow!
I was asked many, many times while at the where-I-grew-up home whether I was aware of the somewhat dire weather conditions striking my dear adopted city, seemingly being expected to wring my hands and swoon at the thought: SNOW in DECEMBER?!?!!
CAN YOU IMAGINE???
I (perhaps snidely) responded to these somewhat fear-mongering inquiries by saying: "Most places, it snows during the winter. We can handle it."
Now, after a few short days of digging out, it appears my fair city isn't too much worse for wear. Though I will say I appreciated my luck in cab drivers on the way home tonight. The car bucked and bounded down my still-not-fully-plowed little street, but the driver negotiated it masterfully. And then the gentleman helped hoist my too-heavy bag over the considerable snow bank barricading in helpless cars parked along the side of the street. Definitely not something I'd ever have to deal with where I grew up, but the novelty hasn't worn off yet. In fact, real winters are part of what I love so much about being here.
And with that: A little montage of my extracurricular touristing from Conference #2, in beautiful San Francisco!
That boat ride was pretty awesome, but also a little scary near the end there. It started raining right as we got off the boat, and it didn't stop pouring for the rest of the night. Good timing on our parts!
It was a good trip.
So in spite of still being wholly exhausted, I'm feeling less panicky about my work. I had a nice, helpful chat with my testing supervisor today, and got his edits for the testing report I'm writing. He didn't make too many changes, which felt good given that it's my first attempt. On the plane, I completed the report's second draft and worked a little more on my CV for externship applications. With all the crap I've done since applying to grad school, it's doubled in length--also a nice little ego boost (see, I've actually ACCOMPLISHED stuff!). Finally, I worked a tiny bit on my thesis data stuff. A productive day all around.
The sad thing is, I've had the worst attitude for the last few weeks. That always happens around midterms and finals, but because finals spilled over into the holidays, this has been a particularly difficult patch. I've had a lot of "Well, at least I only have three and a half more years of this" thoughts... And if that's the best consolation you can offer yourself, that's pretty depressing.
The truth of the matter is that I know grad school is going to get more and more demanding over the next few years, and that kind of scares me. I like my boyfriend and my cats, my family and friends, my city and, well... my LIFE. It's hard to enjoy all of those things when I feel like my head is spinning, which it has been full tilt for weeks now. I'm worried that's how things are going to be more and more as I get farther into my program, and I'm not completely sure how to weather that without becoming a shrieking banshee all the time. I don't want to be a shrieking banshee. I want to figure out a way to endure this process with grace and hopefully a little enjoyment. A clear path to that state of being just hasn't fully emerged yet.
In any event, I'm probably awfulizing. No one would do this if it were really that awful. Right?
.......Right??
But all that said, still: I got some good things done today. I feel renewed confidence in my ability to do this work. I really needed that. I still have a few weeks to finish the big, scary things still looming. As always, things will probably turn out just fine.
Dare to dream.
It is so, so late. Bedtime!
<3
So I'm back at the where-I-live-now home, in the great snowy North. My flight was punctual if my baggage retrieval wasn't, and now I'm snuggled in with my beloved kittens. Boyfriend makes four, and he's home tomorrow!
I was asked many, many times while at the where-I-grew-up home whether I was aware of the somewhat dire weather conditions striking my dear adopted city, seemingly being expected to wring my hands and swoon at the thought: SNOW in DECEMBER?!?!!
CAN YOU IMAGINE???
I (perhaps snidely) responded to these somewhat fear-mongering inquiries by saying: "Most places, it snows during the winter. We can handle it."
Now, after a few short days of digging out, it appears my fair city isn't too much worse for wear. Though I will say I appreciated my luck in cab drivers on the way home tonight. The car bucked and bounded down my still-not-fully-plowed little street, but the driver negotiated it masterfully. And then the gentleman helped hoist my too-heavy bag over the considerable snow bank barricading in helpless cars parked along the side of the street. Definitely not something I'd ever have to deal with where I grew up, but the novelty hasn't worn off yet. In fact, real winters are part of what I love so much about being here.
And with that: A little montage of my extracurricular touristing from Conference #2, in beautiful San Francisco!
 |
| The architecture is pretty divine. |
 |
| This guy was singing opera on some random street. |
 |
| Approaching the piers. |
 |
| I've always loved photographing flying birds. |
 |
| Later, we decided to take a little boat tour around the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz... |
 |
| At first the weather was beautiful, if a bit chilly. |
 |
| We chugged along on our little boat... I decided I liked this buoy... |
 |
| We slid under the bridge... |
 |
| ...looped around it... |
 |
| ...and took some touristy pictures... |
 |
| It really was a stunning day. |
 |
| Almost perfect, really. |
 |
| But then: HOLY SHIT what happened?! We are on the ocean and suddenly the sky looks black. We may die. |
 |
| And yet everything looks so peaceful on Alcatraz (irony?)... |
 |
| Peaceful enough that I could appreciate this morbidly amusing sign (click to enlarge). |
 |
| But the birds knew better. They were hauling ass away from the ocean. |
 |
| But still: beautiful. |
It was a good trip.
So in spite of still being wholly exhausted, I'm feeling less panicky about my work. I had a nice, helpful chat with my testing supervisor today, and got his edits for the testing report I'm writing. He didn't make too many changes, which felt good given that it's my first attempt. On the plane, I completed the report's second draft and worked a little more on my CV for externship applications. With all the crap I've done since applying to grad school, it's doubled in length--also a nice little ego boost (see, I've actually ACCOMPLISHED stuff!). Finally, I worked a tiny bit on my thesis data stuff. A productive day all around.
The sad thing is, I've had the worst attitude for the last few weeks. That always happens around midterms and finals, but because finals spilled over into the holidays, this has been a particularly difficult patch. I've had a lot of "Well, at least I only have three and a half more years of this" thoughts... And if that's the best consolation you can offer yourself, that's pretty depressing.
The truth of the matter is that I know grad school is going to get more and more demanding over the next few years, and that kind of scares me. I like my boyfriend and my cats, my family and friends, my city and, well... my LIFE. It's hard to enjoy all of those things when I feel like my head is spinning, which it has been full tilt for weeks now. I'm worried that's how things are going to be more and more as I get farther into my program, and I'm not completely sure how to weather that without becoming a shrieking banshee all the time. I don't want to be a shrieking banshee. I want to figure out a way to endure this process with grace and hopefully a little enjoyment. A clear path to that state of being just hasn't fully emerged yet.
In any event, I'm probably awfulizing. No one would do this if it were really that awful. Right?
.......Right??
But all that said, still: I got some good things done today. I feel renewed confidence in my ability to do this work. I really needed that. I still have a few weeks to finish the big, scary things still looming. As always, things will probably turn out just fine.
Dare to dream.
It is so, so late. Bedtime!
<3
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Conference #1: Seattle May or May Not Be the Subject of This Post
Hello loves.
I recently discovered that including pictures in blog posts is really fun (even when they're not my own, though it's much more fun when they are). In that spirit, and because I'm too mentally exhausted to craft a proper post, I've decided to provide a little travelogue of my aforementioned conference attendances.
To start: Conference #1. Guess the supremely obvious Northwestern location!
 |
| It may or may not have a very famous marketplace and generally overcast climate... |
 |
| Said marketplace may or may not have a big fluorescent "Lower Floor" arrow with which I am in love... |
 |
| The marketplace also may or may not be staffed by friendly people eager to hand out delicious apple samples (like this guy)... |
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| This theater entrance may or may not be covered in chewed gum... |
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| The mass of gum may or may not have smelled overwhelmingly and deliciously fruity, in spite of being disgusting to behold... |
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| This peace sign may or may not have been spray-painted upside-down... |
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| I may or may not have seen these little robot men throughout this mystery city... |
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| I may or may not be sick of this "may or may not" convention I'm beating into the ground... |
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| I may or may not be able to sustain the sense of mystery much longer, since there are only so many cities where people famously throw fish around... |
 |
| You may or may not have guessed that the mystery city is... |
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| Seattle!! (Hurrayyyy no more "may or may nots"! Oh wait...) |
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| Molly Moon's honey lavender ice cream may or may not be to die for. (Hint: It most certainly may!) |
 |
| Do you love this "Lower Floor" arrow as much as I do? You may or may not. |
...Is it apparent I'm really tired yet?
Suffice it to say, in spite of being delighted to spend the Christmas holiday at the where-I-grew-up home, finals never really came to an end for me this semester. I've been working on the assessment report for my testing client, figuring out which externships I'm applying to, finishing up data stuff for my thesis, and thinking about finishing the paper that's due before spring classes start up mid-January (only at the thinking about stage on that last one... I can only handle so much at once).
I'm very very tired.
More than anything, I would love to have just one day where I didn't have to think about grad school (let alone do grad school-related work). We'll see if I manage to snag one of those days before the minute winter break I have disappears.
Up next: Pictures from Conference #2, the final list of movies I've seen in 2010, and if we're really super lucky, one last end-of-year review!
'Til then.
<3
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" of Sanity I Have Left
Bonsoir.
So I'm rethinking my commitment to writing about a movie AND grad school every single time I create a post, since that makes my posts really long, and that makes me not write them because I'm overwhelmed by the (actually relatively negligible, cosmically speaking) time commitment involved in covering both tasks in every post. Maybe sometimes I'll just write about grad school? Maybe sometimes I'll just write about a movie? I don't know. I'm considering my options.
ANYWAY.
So a month or so ago, I decided it was finally, FINALLY time for my boyfriend to watch "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (2001) with me. This was a big decision. "Hedwig" is my very most favorite movie ever ever ever, and liking it is very important if someone is going to like me. It's weird, loud, emotional, and complicated... and if you can't handle that for only 95 minutes, there might be a problem if you're looking to hang out with me.
Of course, the comparison between me and this movie is not perfect. I am a reasonably normal (again, cosmically speaking) clinical psychology graduate student from somewhere hot and conservative, living in a neither-hot-nor-conservative large city. Hedwig is an East German male-to-female transsexual rock star. Our paths are somewhat different. Still, I like to think that she and I would be friends.
The movie is based on Plato's Symposium, a discussion of the nature and origin of love. The theory goes that human beings were originally composed of two people stuck together, but the gods became displeased with us and chopped us in half leaving us in the form we take today. As a result, humans are doomed to spend their lives searching for their other half, in the hopes of negotiating some kind of imperfect reunification.
"Hedwig" is an examination of this theory: Is there really another half of every person, waiting to be found? Can any one person complete another? *Should* they?
I first saw the movie in theaters, when I was in high school. It was like hearing the favorite song of a past life. It resonated with me immediately. I purchased the DVD as soon as it came out. I've since watched it countless times. I bought the soundtrack. I memorized the lyrics to every song like the words were my own. I dressed up as Hedwig for Halloween twice in a row, devotedly tracking down a Farrah Fawcett wig, red glitter lipstick, fishnets, a zebra-striped miniskirt, and a t-shirt that said "Boy Scouting" in big silver and red letters.
In short, this movie means a lot to me.
So boyfriend and I watched it together. I was giddy and nervous. What if he didn't like it? What if he thought it was too weird? What if he didn't *get* it??
The best song in the movie is, appropriately, titled "The Origin of Love". It's a make-or-break moment in the film--a statement of its thesis, its central question. It's filled with drama, yearning, terror and exhilaration. I watched boyfriend so carefully during the song, trying to guess his reaction. He was riveted. And then, during a sing-along sequence later, he sang along! Best of all, when the movie ended, he wanted to talk about it a lot!!
Success!!!
It probably seems silly to be so invested in any one film. But as I peeked at my boyfriend during that fabulous opus of a song, my eyes brimming with tears, I was reminded of why I love it so much. After dozens of viewings, the movie still makes me cry (multiple times). After years of watching it and thinking about it, new nuances emerge each time I see it. The movie is messy, and there's no pretty, neat conclusion at the end. You don't know what happens to Hedwig, and you don't know the answers to all of the questions the movie asks. Characters assert their different arguments, change, and their feelings about their arguments change with them. As the film closes, it leaves with a spirit of enduring inquiry. After contemplating loneliness, love, meaninglessness, and failure, the film leaves you feeling renewed, almost reborn. It's a very special movie.
So you should watch it.
I should also note, before I move on to my very very brief synopsis of grad school: For all of its beautiful and emotional intellectualism, "Hedwig" is also fucking funny. It's one of the most delightfully quirky and entertaining movies I've ever seen. And the soundtrack kicks ass. And John Cameron Mitchell is intoxicating. Seriously. Watch it, and you'll love every second of it.
And if you don't... Maybe we shouldn't be friends.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: I'm in the middle of finals, applying for externships, scrambling to get all of my thesis data together, and writing an assessment report. To be extra-special concise: grad school sucks. Hence today's title.
With that, I have to study for my research methods final.
<3
So I'm rethinking my commitment to writing about a movie AND grad school every single time I create a post, since that makes my posts really long, and that makes me not write them because I'm overwhelmed by the (actually relatively negligible, cosmically speaking) time commitment involved in covering both tasks in every post. Maybe sometimes I'll just write about grad school? Maybe sometimes I'll just write about a movie? I don't know. I'm considering my options.
ANYWAY.
So a month or so ago, I decided it was finally, FINALLY time for my boyfriend to watch "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (2001) with me. This was a big decision. "Hedwig" is my very most favorite movie ever ever ever, and liking it is very important if someone is going to like me. It's weird, loud, emotional, and complicated... and if you can't handle that for only 95 minutes, there might be a problem if you're looking to hang out with me.
Of course, the comparison between me and this movie is not perfect. I am a reasonably normal (again, cosmically speaking) clinical psychology graduate student from somewhere hot and conservative, living in a neither-hot-nor-conservative large city. Hedwig is an East German male-to-female transsexual rock star. Our paths are somewhat different. Still, I like to think that she and I would be friends.
The movie is based on Plato's Symposium, a discussion of the nature and origin of love. The theory goes that human beings were originally composed of two people stuck together, but the gods became displeased with us and chopped us in half leaving us in the form we take today. As a result, humans are doomed to spend their lives searching for their other half, in the hopes of negotiating some kind of imperfect reunification.
"Hedwig" is an examination of this theory: Is there really another half of every person, waiting to be found? Can any one person complete another? *Should* they?
I first saw the movie in theaters, when I was in high school. It was like hearing the favorite song of a past life. It resonated with me immediately. I purchased the DVD as soon as it came out. I've since watched it countless times. I bought the soundtrack. I memorized the lyrics to every song like the words were my own. I dressed up as Hedwig for Halloween twice in a row, devotedly tracking down a Farrah Fawcett wig, red glitter lipstick, fishnets, a zebra-striped miniskirt, and a t-shirt that said "Boy Scouting" in big silver and red letters.
In short, this movie means a lot to me.
So boyfriend and I watched it together. I was giddy and nervous. What if he didn't like it? What if he thought it was too weird? What if he didn't *get* it??
The best song in the movie is, appropriately, titled "The Origin of Love". It's a make-or-break moment in the film--a statement of its thesis, its central question. It's filled with drama, yearning, terror and exhilaration. I watched boyfriend so carefully during the song, trying to guess his reaction. He was riveted. And then, during a sing-along sequence later, he sang along! Best of all, when the movie ended, he wanted to talk about it a lot!!
Success!!!
It probably seems silly to be so invested in any one film. But as I peeked at my boyfriend during that fabulous opus of a song, my eyes brimming with tears, I was reminded of why I love it so much. After dozens of viewings, the movie still makes me cry (multiple times). After years of watching it and thinking about it, new nuances emerge each time I see it. The movie is messy, and there's no pretty, neat conclusion at the end. You don't know what happens to Hedwig, and you don't know the answers to all of the questions the movie asks. Characters assert their different arguments, change, and their feelings about their arguments change with them. As the film closes, it leaves with a spirit of enduring inquiry. After contemplating loneliness, love, meaninglessness, and failure, the film leaves you feeling renewed, almost reborn. It's a very special movie.
So you should watch it.
I should also note, before I move on to my very very brief synopsis of grad school: For all of its beautiful and emotional intellectualism, "Hedwig" is also fucking funny. It's one of the most delightfully quirky and entertaining movies I've ever seen. And the soundtrack kicks ass. And John Cameron Mitchell is intoxicating. Seriously. Watch it, and you'll love every second of it.
And if you don't... Maybe we shouldn't be friends.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: I'm in the middle of finals, applying for externships, scrambling to get all of my thesis data together, and writing an assessment report. To be extra-special concise: grad school sucks. Hence today's title.
With that, I have to study for my research methods final.
<3
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