Merry Christmas!

Dear reader,

It is very unlikely you had to go to work today!  Hurray!!

 Oh man this month is almost over.

To repeat my now-typical third year refrain, things have been very busy this December.  I have several posts I'm hoping to publish before the end of the year, including: a reflection upon a recent dine-in movie theater experience, this year's movie round-up, and a post solely devoted to advice on how to survive a year/prolonged period that seems hellbent on making you feel like crap.  If all else fails, I'll have a bit more free time in January (maybe?) since that classes are out for the next few weeks.

But for now, since today is an extra-special-family-y family day, I will have to restrain myself from completing all but the most critical blog tasks: reporting which movies I watched last month.

What's super awesome about the following list is that, given my super-early resolution attainment in October, all movies I watch now are totally gravy and (to use another food metaphor) essentially icing on what has been a pretty interesting 2011 movies cake.

In November, I watched:
53. Bugsy (4)
54. The Silence (4)
55. In Time (2)

With many more to come in December, happily!

I hope everyone enjoys this day, regardless of religious proclivities.  Days to relax and be around people we love and don't normally get to see are nice days. :)

<3

"Bill Cunningham New York": Two Things to Love in One Delightful Little Movie

Why hello,

THAT'S RIGHT, I'm writing about this goddamned movie, I don't CARE that it's 11 pm on a work night.  Damn the torpedoes, blog post ahead!

So seriously: "Bill Cunningham New York" (2010).

I gave it a 4.5.  Which, as you are likely aware, is just about as high a rating as I give.

I endured at least one failed attempt to see this movie in theaters (instead seeing the also-wonderful also-documentary "Buck" (2011), as evidence that some failures are actually opportunities to see other spectacular films in disguise).  As a result, I was very excited to learn that it was available to watch through the View Instantly on Netflix.

Where to begin?  Well, with one of the titular characters, obviously!

Bill Cunningham is an octogenarian fashion photographer for the New York Times, responsible for the paper's highly influential weekly "On the Street" segment.  We observe Cunningham as he avidly photographs flourishes of beauty on the street and runway alike, then as he painstakingly and idiosyncratically crams as many of his snapshots as possible into the space allotted to him (alongside a beleaguered but affectionate and very un-typecast assistant).

While I like fashion insofar as I love Tim Gunn and Project Runway, I was not previously familiar with Cunningham's contribution to All the News That's Fit to Print.  Ergo, my love of this little film is not the product of pre-existing Bill Cunningham fandom.

Instead, he completely won me over with his sweetness, humility, and beyond-reason dedication to his art.  Early in the film, we meet a magazine editor with whom Cunningham has worked, who reports on his stalwart refusal to be paid for his "extracurricular" work as a contributing photographer to a fashion magazine she created.  In a ferocious protection of his artistic freedom, he has simply forgone payment for much of his work, taking paychecks only from the Times.

We also meet several icons of fashion, including the apparently terrifying (if Meryl Streep's portrayal is any indication) Anna Wintour, who sing Cunningham's praises as a titan in the fashion world for his uncanny skill at sensing trends of the moment.

However, in spite of his deep entrenchment in a world of materialism, posturing, and glamor, Cunningham's life is the embodiment of spartanism.  At the outset of the film, he is living in a tiny artist's studio above Carnegie Hall that is packed with filing cabinets filled with his negatives, lacking a kitchen and sharing a bathroom with other tenants.  He shows the camera a black plastic rain poncho he has patched with tape in lieu of simply buying another.  Everywhere he goes, even when being presented with a high honor in Paris, he wears a royal blue jacket in which his tiny elderly frame swims, and which he purchased precisely for its cheapness and functionality, explaining that his camera constantly rubbing against the fabric would ruin nicer outerwear.

Perhaps most maddeningly, he peddles a bicycle all over the city, often to several events a night that are nowhere near each other, constantly risking getting nicked by some stupid cab while not wearing a helmet.  

It may not surprise you that I sometimes talk to my television.  There were several occasions while watching this movie during which I took the opportunity to yell at Bill to protect his sweet old head.  Damn it man, buy some protective gear!!

In one of my very most favorite moments of the movie, Cunningham is at a beautiful event, busily photographing the attendees.  One of the organizers makes a concerted effort to pawn off some food on Cunningham, observing how hard he's working.  He graciously declines, saying with utmost sincerity, "I eat with my eyes."

This moment beautifully encapsulates the movie.  In eschewing all other worldly pleasures and comforts, Cunningham is wholly devoted to his love of fashion.

But his devotion is one of near total self-effacement.  It struck me as oddly moving that in spite of his love of beautiful clothing, Cunningham denies himself fine things to wear.  Surrounded by excess, he occupies the tiniest possible living space and gets around the city at 80 years old on a battered little bicycle.

This brings us to the movie's second titular character: New York.  While Cunningham's pursuit of his love by no means confines him to one city, the lion's share of the film is set in New York.  Given the movie's setting, Cunningham's love for fashion reminded me of another of my favorite films: Woody Allen's* "Manhattan" (1979).

One reason "Manhattan" is my favorite Woody Allen movie (a difficult selection to make with such a prolific director) is its fantastic opening sequence: stunning black-and-white shots of New York, set to Gershwin, as Allen narrates the writing of his character's opening chapter to a forthcoming novel, closing with a profession of his dedication to his city: "New York was his town, and it always would be."

And the music crescendosssssssss!!!

It is one of the finest moments in cinema, and it makes me well up every time.

This love and awe of, and joy in, something much bigger than oneself is what makes "Bill Cunningham New York" a complete delight to watch.  Would that we could all find a vocation so deeply, endlessly thrilling as Bill Cunningham's.

Obviously, I highly recommend this film.  I hope you watch and enjoy!

Thanks for reading, as always.

<3



* = Woody Allen has a history of sexually exploiting women and of being a hand-wringing apologist in support of men who sexually exploit women. I no longer support his work.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone,

As you may have noticed, I am quite behind in my November post-writing.  I've been pretty pleased with my semi-regular output this year so far, but a two weeks-long (still ongoing, bleh) cold and a general sense of work frenzy have knocked that progress off-course, hopefully only temporarily.

I am nevertheless very pleased to announce that one thing that has not in the least been knocked off-course is my steady progress toward my 52 movies goal.  In October, I TOTALLY watched my fifty-second movie of 2011!

Behold!:
50. Bill Cunningham New York (4.5)
51. Ides of March (2)
**52.** The U.S. vs. John Lennon (4)

I was planning to write a post on "Bill Cunningham New York" (2010).  It may not happen, but I hope it will.  It is a thoroughly delightful film, and on Netflix view instantly!

However, that will have to be delayed for now.  In light of our proximity to a recent nation-wide holiday centered on (oh my God food yummmm, and) gratitude, I thought I would share some of the things I've been particularly grateful for lately.  Third year has been kind of tough so far, and it's good for me to take every possible opportunity to focus on things that make life brighter and easier.

For example:
1. Kittens (obvi).

2. The ability to nap on the subway.

3. All of my fabulous podcasts that help me maintain my ties to the outside non-grad school world, but especially those that make me laugh (not to mention those that have me call in! :D ).

4. The fantastic, wonderful, amazing Museum of the Moving Image.
4a. Meeting talents of whom I am in awe.

5. My beautiful friends, who never fail to make me grateful to be a part of this world.

6. My family.

7. My clients, for giving me the honor of working with them and joining with them in the battle against their suffering.

8. Meditation.

9. My delightful, supportive, and brilliant classmates.

10. My Boyfriend, in totality, but this week, especially his courage to fly.

And, of course:

11. Anyone who takes the time to read my silly blog.  Thank you!!  <333

'Til next time.

<3

I Will Now Drive Myself to a Conclusion About "Drive"

Lovies,

I seriously should be going to bed instead of writing this post, but it's getting to the point past which things I wanted to say will permanently leave my brain if I don't get this show on the road.

So: "Drive" (2011).

You confuse me.

I saw this movie with several friends and colleagues as a part of my birthday celebrations last month.  While originally I had wanted to see "Contagion" (2011), it was decided by group consensus that that particular selection might be a bit of a downer. 

 That was possibly accurate.

Encouraged by a Jezebel article in which Ryan Gosling had claimed that his latest project was supposed to be "Pretty in Pink with a head smashing", we decided to see "Drive" instead.  I mean, who wouldn't want to see "Pretty in Pink" (1986) with a light dusting of violence??  Being an epic fan of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986) and "The Breakfast Club" (1985)--because if you don't like those movies, seriously, you're dead inside--it seemed like a great bet.

Fast forward 100 minutes, and I suddenly had no idea what had happened to me.  I staggered out of the theater with my friends, feeling a bit shell-shocked and bewildered.

It is.  So.  Violent!

Had I seen this movie poster, I might have had
a more accurate impression of the movie
going in.  The hammer is a bad sign.

But that's not a good enough reason to write off the movie.  I've definitely seen movies gory enough to make me cover my eyes that were nevertheless masterful and worth seeing.  How can I resist, for example, citing my oft-lauded favorite gore fest, "28 Days Later"? 

In spite of being a lover of nonviolence, I recognize that violence has its place in film.  I was finally fully convinced of this while listening to an interview with David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen about their 2007 release "Eastern Promises".  The movie is extremely violent, and in fact, Cronenberg went to extensive lengths to make the violence feel real in order to facilitate the audience's empathy for his characters.  In service of this aim, Cronenberg set up the camera during the violent scenes in the movie such that you couldn't look away from the violence.  As a result, the violence hurts, creating a visceral reaction in the viewer, because it should--because violence is ugly and horrifying. 

That didn't happen in "Drive".  There were definitely some charmingly realistic acoustic tricks thrown in to make sure you knew someone's face just got stomped in, but the violence was so random, senseless, and so extreme as to not seem plausible in the real world.  It's desensitizing, achieving exactly the opposite effect of the violence in "Eastern Promises".  That, I would argue, is pretty troubling.

But nevertheless, so many people like this movie!  Two of the three commentators on a podcast I enjoy and trust insisted that the movie was worth seeing.  It has a 93% rating on RottenTomatoes, for Christsakes! 

Okay so it's really violent.  But a good plot can make that okay, right?

See.... I don't know that the plot is helping this movie, either.  Because, well... there isn't one, really.  I mean there are events that happen, and there are characters that interact in seemingly significant ways, but it all feels flimsy and again, implausible.

I'll explain: The basic premise is that Ryan Gosling's character, who is pointedly left without a name, is like the best driver EVER.  We know next to nothing about him, and he's incredibly emotionally flat so he doesn't have much of a personality per se, but Bryan Cranston's character says that seriously guys he's the BEST DRIVER.  Except we barely see him do much of it.  Minor oversight. 

I mean it's not like the word "drive" features prominently in the movie's title or anything.

Don't be fooled: Fancy driving gloves do not = fancy driver.

Gosling meets his next door neighbor, played by Carey Mulligan, and apparently gets insanely attached to her and her young son after only hanging out with them for like four and a half hours. 

 
This also feels weirdly unbelievable.  I mean, I don't mean to be a jerk, but...

...her?

One of the aforementioned podcast commentators actually compared Mulligan to Molly Ringwald, trying to explain the whole Ryan-Gosling-said-this-movie-was-John-Hughes-y thing.  The problem with that theory is that Molly Ringwald has spunk, and like... a personality!  Carey Mulligan definitely has neither of those things in this movie.

I'm sure she's a perfectly nice woman and a talented actor.

ANYWAY, so Gosling is all Borderline-I-get-super-into-people-way-too-easily-God-knows-why.  So when (spoiler alert) Mulligan's husband gets gunned down in a botched pawn shop robbery and some scary dudes threaten her son, Gosling decides to save the day.  Cue the insane violence!!

Really, the major problem I have with this movie is the lack of backstory.  Outside the theater, my classmates and I tried desperately to diagnose Gosling's character with a mental illness of some kind.  Clearly, we reasoned, there was something really wrong with that guy, because there's no way a normal human being would behave the way he did.  But there isn't even a clear diagnostic category to shove him into.  I simply haven't been able to figure out a way that his character makes sense to me, given the very scant information I have about him.  And that annoys me.  I know I've already copped to being perhaps overly into characters and not that swayed by plot, but that's just how I am.

In the interest of fairness, there were definitely some great things about this movie.  The soundtrack is really cool, and Bryan Cranston is spectacular.  That man knows how to transform himself for a role.  He's remarkable.  And I really want to like Ryan Gosling!  I'm under the impression he's immensely skilled, and let's face it, he's pretty.  Every actor, even really accomplished ones, have projects that are less successful.  Maybe this is just one of them.

What I think my confusion over "Drive" comes down to is misinformed expectations.  This film got amazing critical reviews and was compared to some movies I really enjoy.  And it included an actress I'm dying to see more of, given that I'm almost out of Mad Men episodes: Christina Hendricks.  In actuality, the movie's plot and character felt flat and unbelievable.  I would stridently argue that it takes more than hot pink scrawly credits text and synth-y music to make a movie seem like it deserves to stand among the ranks of Ferris Bueller and "The Breakfast Club".  And the final insult?

I can haz mor Joan?

They totally underutilized Christina Hendricks.  Maybe that's the real reason I just can't get behind this movie.

So sorry, critics, but I'm just not convinced.  I'm giving "Drive" a 1.

Bedtime!

<3

Joyeux Octobre!

Hi guys,

There is a small but nevertheless present possibility that I am finally acclimating to my insane schedule, which is really great. 

It's been a bit of a challenge, in part because of the whole getting-up-early-doesn't-really-work-for-me thing, and also the getting-home-late-every-night-when-I-have-to-get-up-early-the-next-day-which-did-I-mention-really-doesn't-work-for-me? thing. 

HOWEVER.  With the occasional carry-out meal, learning to force myself to be in bed by midnight (ugh so early, what am I, a child??), and napping on my epic-length subway commute, I have (kind of) managed to get into a routine that still includes a daily dose of Don Draper (alliteration!).

Crucial.

I *also* somehow, I don't even really know how, managed to watch some more movies last month.  I'm kind of amazed, frankly.  But here they are!

46. The Debt (3.5)
47. The Help (3)
48. Drive (??)
49. Last Days (4)

...You may notice my atypical notation for entry #48.  That is because I seriously don't even fucking know what I thought of "Drive" (2011).  BUT!  This presents an opportunity to write a post about it, in which I will decide how much I hated but maybe also loved it.

Are we perhaps noticing a trend?

Anyway.  One hobby that definitely suffers when you have too much real work to do is that you don't get enough dick-around-on-the-internet time.  I know that probably doesn't sound overly important to mental health, but apparently it kind of is. 

Why, you might ask? 

Because: I feel like almost every other moment of my life right now is overly purpose-driven.  I am working, trying to attend to critical needs (e.g., eating, sleeping, Mad Men) as efficiently as possible, trying to keep my apartment from becoming an abyss of uncompleted housework, or criminally neglecting my communication with the outside world, all the time.  Sometimes, a little aimlessness is really what you need to wind down.

So.... The post on "Drive" will have to wait, because right now, even just writing a blog post is a little too accomplishmenty for me.

'Til then.

<3

Reflections on Murakami and, You Guessed It, Grad School

Darlings,

I mentioned a while ago that there are many activities that draw me away from my responsibilities as a graduate student.  While I've occasionally managed to resist some (apparently, since I now have 309 unlistened-to podcasts), I've made some inroads with other (hopefully constructive?) distractions.  Specifically: given my epic-length commute to externship, I have finally commenced reading Murakami's "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle".

Obviously this blog is primarily devoted to grad school and movies, but I recently read a passage in this book that struck me with particular force.  While it may not initially seem related to the primary topics considered here, in a somewhat circuitous way, I believe it is.  And so, I want to share it. 

In this passage, the main character describes his aspirations for his marriage when it began.  While the book isn't exactly an uplifting story of relationship success, the narrator's ambitions for his marriage are nevertheless boldly romantic:

In that new world of ours, we were trying to get hold of new selves that were better suited to who we were deep down.  We believed we could live in a way that was more perfectly suited to who we were.

As you perhaps noticed, the start of the school year has been a little rough for me.  My head sometimes spins in the midst of uncertainty, and late-August/early-September is really good for that when you're in grad school (apparently).  Lots of big elements in my professional/academic life took their time settling into place, and now that they have, my life is much (much) more full than it used to be.  It's a little scary, even though it's also exciting.

To be succinct, I was a bit of a basket case for a few weeks there.

In so many ways, Boyfriend was the glue holding me together.

But to leave it at that would make it sound more simple than it is.  It's not just that I would lose my mind with anxiety, and then he would patch me up (though that definitely happened a few times).  It's also that, while holding my hand through this tempest that is my life now, he is also a beacon, leading me toward the human I want to be. 

It's so easy to lose track of longer-term life goals when you're staring down the twin barrels of thesis and dissertation.  With all the deadlines and hurdles looming in the future, it's easy to get such stress-induced myopia that looking even six months ahead is incomprehensible.  But Boyfriend helps me see the distant but nevertheless shining light at the end of the grad school tunnel, and helps me remember that my own growth as a person can't be put on hold for five years just because I want to get my PhD.

How does he do that, you may ask?  One of the (many) things I liked about Boyfriend right away is that he is immensely kind, gracious, and patient with others.  Even in times of stress, he just doesn't let that pollute how he treats people.  Even when school turns me into a shrieking banshee, he is calm, loving, and helpful.  It's very striking, and it's something I deeply admire... largely because I just can't really do that sometimes.  When I'm any combination of tired, hungry, stressed, and anxious, which I have been a lot more than usual lately, I get--to use a polite term--snippy.  I am not fun to be around.  I carry my little furious stress cloud everywhere with me, including home.  And sometimes--I promise not all the time, but sometimes--I let it take over my otherwise at least moderately humane temperament.

This is where the Boyfriend-as-beacon thing comes in, and the Murakami quote.  Being in our home and in our relationship helps me every day to work toward being a calmer, kinder, more patient human regardless of whatever else is happening in my life at the time, just by being around the good example Boyfriend sets.  Because even if everything else feels like chaos, I still have the home I want and the relationship I want, and they make a good and happy life an attainable reality and not just some pipe dream.

Only half true!

And this, finally, gets to what I've learned that love, in its best form, is: it's a constant, gentle gravitational force, slowly pulling you toward being your best possible self.  Not just because your partner reminds you, in the kindest way possible, just by being a good person, of the ways in which you could be better, but also because loving that person makes you want to create a better world for them.  It's the most powerful and lasting motivation I've ever had to do anything, which is good, because shaping yourself into something better apparently takes some time.

I definitely still have work to do on staying in my better self when I'm feeling overwhelmed... but I think I'm a little better at that than I was before Boyfriend came along.  He's the best possible reminder that grad school is a distraction from real life, not the other way around.

'Til next time.

<333

How Am I Already This Tired.

Me

 That's right, I don't even have the energy to punctuate the title of this post correctly.  Or open it with a proper greeting.  I am that exhausted.  (Notice how I also didn't add italics to "that" for emphasis?  More of the same.)

To give you an idea of the etiology of my mental and physical fatigue, I present to you: An overview of the next year of graduate school.

Fall Semester: You know all that stuff you were doing last year?  Research, therapy, coursework?  Keep doing that, but now add 20+ hours of clinical work somewhere 90+ minutes from your apartment/school.  Only contemplate finishing your thesis and continuing work on your dissertation, because really, who has time? 

Spring Semester:  More of the stuff you were doing during the fall, except now also
--Apply to externship again
--Finish your thesis
--Prepare for and complete comprehensive exams so you can finally actually have a Master's degree 

Summer: Consider not even calling it that (alternate suggestions: Hot Semester During Which *Other* People Have Fun, But Most Certainly Not You (aka HSDW*O*PHFBMCNY)), because holy shit you need to
--Finish and defend your dissertation proposal, then
--Prepare to apply for internship during Fall 2012

It makes me sad thinking about it.  Also tired.  Very tired.  Sad because I anticipate missing my life and having fun, and tired because, well.... Let's be honest: my body is completely resistant to adopting a normal sleep schedule, which makes being properly rested in order to accomplish everything expected of me more difficult than it already is.  Lamesauce if you ask me.

...In lighter news, movie progress has been made!

In August, the following films were viewed:
42. Tangled (3)
43. Salt (2)
44. Gothika (3)
45. Atonement (4)

Totally within striking distance of my 52 movies goal!!  Less than 10 movies to go!!!!!

Here's hoping this is at least one hurdle I can somehow, just barely, clamber over.

Wish me luck.

<3

Super 8: Super or Super Sucky? Also: Now With Hyphens!!

Hihi,

Since my current status is trapped-inside-until-a-certain-major-weather-entity-has-the-decency-to-go-away, I figured the most productive use of my time would OBVIOUSLY be to write a new post.

Because really, who can concentrate on the fifth (yes, fifth) draft of their thesis proposal when a hurricane looms in the distance?  Who, really?

So last month a beloved reader took issue with my rating for "Super 8" (2011), which I saw in June.  I promised to respond to her comments, and now I'm finally making good on that.

For the purposes of making this seem like a flashy dialogue/clash of movie-loving titans, the reader's comments will be in italics and I will respond to each of her arguments in normal text.

Here we go! 

we must fight over super 8. It'll be fun. annnnnnd go! 

Woooooooo battle!!

So ya, I liked super 8 i'd give it a 4. for several reasons. 

My rating: 2.

omg an alien movie?! ya well: kids. 

I know I'm cutting you off just as you're starting to make your argument, but: one of my biggest complaints about this movie seems to be one of the things you liked a lot about it.  In other words, "Super 8" was both a coming-of-age or look-at-the-adorable-kids-making-a-movie-they-think-they're-people movie AND a science fiction alien-invadery movie.  It felt like two completely unrelated movies mashed together.  Different commentators said they really loved one plot line and were bored with the other, but I just wasn't into either.  For me, combining them only made the movie that much more annoying because it felt disjointed.

The sad thing is, apparently J. J. Abrams wrote the original kids-related screenplay (no alien) before partnering up with Steven Spielberg to actually make the movie.  The way I understand it, it was not going to be an alien/monster movie until Spielberg had his say.  The pre-Spielberg project would at least have been focused, instead of getting dragged in multiple directions the way the finished product is.

What makes this even sadder is that the kids plot was apparently semi-autobiographical for Abrams, who actually worked for Spielberg as a young aspiring filmmaker.  I would like to have seen this mentor-mentee partnership produce cooler material, but it just didn't deliver for me.  It's a shame.

Douchey dads: unite!

 
and you know, I don't like kids, but yet the thing that i enjoyed the most about this movie was: kids. The group of them weren't your average, I'm the fat one I must be a big dummy I'm the wild one I must be the ladies man. No. The fat one was a movie director trying to win a competition for making zombie movies A, yes. love it, B really gave him dimension while he was a side character. The wild one was good lord he was wild, made an excellent zombie and was a chicken despite his lust for exploding things. 

See.... I definitely agree that for the most part, the kids were the best part of the movie.  The child parts were mostly very well-acted--Elle Fanning was delightful as a zombie in the movie within a movie.  And also, you know I'm a complete sucker for anything zombie-related.  In any event, the kids were sure as hell less wooden and boring than the adult characters.

Adorbs.

However, while the kids had more depth than the average trite movie-with-kids-in-it, I still felt like they were pretty two-dimensional--more twists on expected stereotypes than truly real-feeling, complex characters.  This is probably not all that revelatory (being a psychologist in training), but generally I find characters way more interesting than plot.  Which is part of the reason I get hostile when characters suck.

To explain my stance, I have to back up a little bit: honestly, I'm just pretty over Steven Spielberg.  He seems like more of a plot guy than a character guy, so maybe we just weren't destined to get along.  And I know he was the producer and not the director or writer of the film, but I thought his influence was very apparent throughout the movie, from the flatness of the characters to the overly epic, sweeping and showy camera work.

I don't mean to belittle his earlier movies.  As happens to many artists, I feel like Spielberg has lost the hunger and freshness that made him such a remarkable filmmaker in his early career.  Now, the same crowd-pleasing heartstring-tugging tricks he used before seem tired, over-used and cliche--and his characters lack dimension.  Frankly, I feel like he kind of insults the intelligence of his audience sometimes, expecting them to get so distracted by his flashy gimmicks that they don't notice the characters aren't believable and there are holes in the plot.

Obvi counterexample to my beef with Spielberg.

It's been a while since I saw "Super 8", but the best example I can think of for what I'm talking about involves the explosives-addled kid you mentioned.  As soon it was revealed that he was really into blowing things up, I thought to myself, "Well that's going to be a major plot device in the last quarter of the film."  And an hour or so later, there it was: when a diversion is desperately needed to liberate some human hostages from the big scary alien, guess who has fireworks in his backpack??

I hate that kind of predictability.  A lot.  I don't want to be able to spot these things from a mile away.  I want filmmakers to try to outsmart me.  I just feel like Abrams and Spielberg weren't trying that hard, or maybe they just thought their audience wouldn't be paying attention.  Either way: annoying.

And seriously: characters are supposed to be people, not plot devices.

Also wtf you *so* do not like kids!  I mean really.

 The fact that the main character in the opening scenes loses his mother to the most normal thing's you can fathom in a alien movie, good job. 

I definitely take your point that they went to an interesting emotional place by opening the film with the kid's mom's funeral.  That was a cool choice.

But... she died because something fell on her in an industrial accident? She worked in a factory??  In the seventies???  That just didn't hold up for me.  I'm definitely being nit-picky at this point, but I found that particular detail of the plot really distracting.  If they really needed the drunk dude to kill off that kid's mom, wouldn't it have seemed way more plausible that he killed her by getting in an accident with her while driving drunk or something?

I loved the heck out of it, some people complained about length, I had no issues. There was one scene where i was like mm, bad which was the them being attacked on a bus scream scream escape and oh... hey look we are back at this bus for this locket and ya giant angry monster isn't here anymore? bad call. I dunno the alien to me was secondary, the movie was about he kids who were filming during some crazy nonsense in a perfectly logical way cause we'll we'd have to pay bajillions for a train crash and LOOK, here it is. Also, I love the train crash scene I dunno, maybe people focus on what the movie was about ie: monsters rrrrrr, but I really just could not get over what a good plot they had going with the variety of run of the mill children. It was a plot within a plot within a larger plot. Dimension /faint.

I will definitely not argue with you about the train crash sequence.  That was totally baller.  It was by far my favorite part of the movie, and it was Spielberg/Abrams doing what they do best: balls-out spectacle.  It was totally transfixing and AMAZING cinema.  It also made it worth seeing the movie in a theater.

However, this is another reason I'm pissed at the movie.  The set-up was so cool!  Some kids set up their little camera to make a movie and capture a mysterious and catastrophic crash and discover something completely unexpected in their footage... what could it BE??

Oh, a really steroided-up version of E.T. who seems all scary and grouchy but really just wants to go home?

Okay well that's lame.

but anyway
<3 you

<3 you too, like crazy.

Stay away from hurricanes, everyone!

<3

I'm So Productive!!... In a Very Circumscribed Fashion

Bienvenido,

So: My Neuropsych summer class is over as of Wednesday (two days ago), when we had our final.  Between final-studying, aggressive touristing secondary to a week-long family visit, and a mini-vacation over last weekend, I'm somewhat exhausted.

Which is why, in spite of my stated goals to finally resume work on thesis and dissertation yesterday, I instead read in a large and beautiful park, napped in the sun, bought a smoothie, cleaned my kitchen, and watched three episodes of Battlestar Galactica with Boyfriend and a visiting friend over pizza.  In other words, I had a day of almost pure self-indulgence and avoidance.

Mmmm.... Painfully nerdy avoidance.

And now, still, with an empty apartment for the next few hours and therefore ample prime research-worky time, I am writing a blog post (rationalized by the fact that August is almost half over already) and staving off a desperate craving for Mad Men.  (OMG it's on Netflix--I can watch AS MUCH AS I WANT!!!)

So, in the interest of clinging to my work-related aspirations, I will keep this brief.

Here are the movies I watched in July, and there are SO MANY OF THEM:

32. Persona (5)
33. Waste Land (5!)
34. Green Lantern (2)35. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (5)
36. The Girl Who Played With Fire (4)
37. The Trip (4)
38. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (3.5)
39. Tabloid (5!)
40. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (5)
41. Cowboys & Aliens (3.5)

THAT'S RIGHT.  To adhere to my annual resolution, I only need to watch 11 more movies over the next 4.5 months.

So absurdly achievable!!

On that note, I will leave you so I can finally update draft four of my thesis proposal (sigh) and finish extracting fidelity data (because really, why *shouldn't* I tack on one more analysis????).  And also maybe finalizing dissertation hypotheses.  Finally.

Talk to you soon.

<3

Note: I have not forgotten my commitment to write a review of "Super 8" in response to a beloved reader's comment.  I swear that's coming.  I just need to quell my guilt over my neglected work for a little bit, and then I'll get to it.

Why I Make Progress at a Snail's Pace

Me

What I Should Be Doing:

1. Working on my thesis
2. Studying for my neuropsychological assessment midterm


What I Would Rather Be Doing:

1. Watching Mad Men (after finally drinking the kool-aid and becoming addicted two weeks ago)
2. Dicking around on Facebook
3. Reading back-email digests from Gothamist, Jezebel, and Apartment Therapy
4. Going to the Errol Morris or Paul Newman series at my new favorite museum
5. Watching any/all of the 121 titles (literally) on my Netflix view instantly queue
6. Washing the dishes (seriously)
7. Figuring out which Internship sites I want to apply to (not necessary for at least one more year)
8. Updating my CV (because I need to apply to externships again in like 6 months)
9. Chipping away at my giant stack of articles snatched from old issues of the New York Times
10. Chipping away at my (altogether separate) stack of New York Times Magazines
11. Sleeping
12. Reading the Murakami novel I bought a month or two ago
13. Listening to the 294 podcasts I currently have downloaded
14. Snuggling with my cats and/or boyfriend

And, of course:

15. Writing blog posts that completely perpetuate my refusal to get anything productive accomplished, complete with oodles of unnecessary links just to draw the writing process out a tiny bit more

Thanks for enabling me.

<3

Happy Parade Season!

Darling readers,

We are in the middle of summer, which means OMG PARADES.

ALL THE TIME.

I have been in attendance at several of these processional festivities over the last two months or so.  I've witnessed four, in fact--two small-town spectacles and two big-city extravaganzas.  I figured I'd share some of my pictures of these events for your viewing pleasure.

Since I'm apparently in a list-making mood lately, I present them to you thusly:

Parade 1: Highly Inconvenient Live Free or Die Parade

Boyfriend and I had the immense pleasure of spending Memorial Day weekend with many of our friends in the beautiful state of New Hampshire.  In order to make our bus back home on time, we had to get out of there in a somewhat timely fashion.  As we were leaving, this parade came along.

Note: NOT the band for the California-based basketball team.

The town we were staying in is not large, yet as we spotted the oncoming marching band and flag tossers, our deft driver dodged onto a parallel street to avoid them.  Then they turned onto our street.

ANNOYING.

The lucky thing is, the town is so small, the parade literally consisted ONLY of said marching band and flag tossers, plus a few cops.

And we had such a nice view!

In case you were concerned: we made it to our bus just fine.

Parade 2: Feathers, Balloons, and Confetti Parade

June is an awesome month.  It's the first full month of summer (unless you're in high school or something), AND it's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.

Anyone who can look that happy in lucite heels that high is a goddess in my book.

Which means the BEST.

PARADES.

Sailors: obvi.

 EVER.

Because I live in a city so big and so fantastically fabulous that its jubilation and pride cannot be contained by only one parade, we have MULTIPLE.

And this is the first one I went to last month.

THE BEST PART.

Because God knows there's no way I'm missing something that's this much fun.

I mean really, who would?

3. Post-Spectacular Legal Milestone Achievement Parade

....So you may have heard that some minor civil rights legislation passed a couple of weeks ago in this state you might have heard of.

 
NBD.

Let's just say being on a certain little island a few days later for the Pride Parade was the tiniest bit emotional.  And AMAZING.

(Editor's note: I unfortunately don't have the most stunning pictures in the world of Parade #3 because I only had the use of my cell phone camera.  My apologies!)

And finally:

Parade 4: Let's Be Quaint and Then Make Things Explode Parade

Boyfriend, Mom and I took a little trip for 4th of July weekend to visit my grandfather.  As a bonus, we got to see this adorable Independence Day parade.

Lots of marching bands...

And old cars...

And old people (in marching bands)...

Seriously precious.

Afterward, we had an awesome view of a very respectable fireworks display.

Ooooooooo

oooooooooooo

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa

ahhhhhhhhhhh

It was fun!

The grand

finale!!

I hope you enjoyed!

Now, I really should get back to my thesis proposal.

TTFN!

<3