Two More Movies! (18-19)

So I watched two movies recently, both were sort of panned by critics yet I happened to enjoy them. First I watched the movie version of Water for Elephants. It was entertaining if predictable, you could say sweet but not much more than that. I don't know about the book, I have not read it. I was also somewhat creeped out by Reese Witherspoon and Pattison as a romantic match. Meh.

The same can be said for the second movie, Larry Crowne. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Larry Crowne. I thought Tom Hanks was delightful and identified some with Julia Roberts' character. I found myself wanting to excuse the movie against the sharp criticism it received with  "it was an entertaining movie". Of course, there are frustrations with using that argument, as I have gotten the same argument many times before when asking somebody, "how can you watch this?"

Where is the year going?!

I cannot believe it is almost MAY!

Recently I have watched...

15- Boogie Nights - what a great and funny movie. I thought the amount of acting power alone would be worth watching, and so many of the characters where outstanding. I loved Julianne Moore, I find her to be such a powerful actress.

16- Gloria Steinem - In her words: very nice documentary with her personal commentary, interview style.

17- Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - enjoyed this more than I thought I would, edge of your seat thriller.

Finishing...

7. Truman Capote - In Cold Blood - I was familiar with the story, and had read Capote's biography. So it was more for closure's sake that I read the book. Enjoyed it quite a bit although I am beginning to get bored as I approach the ending.

Movie 14

Yesterday I saw 21 Jump Street. What a funny movie! It has a spin of old school 80's teenage comedy about high school but with a 21st century twist. I found it a little long, arriving at the prom scene wondering where it was going. Although that ending was insanely priceless. 

Update

So I have been gone for quite a while, graduate school stuff was consuming my life. But, a decision has been reached, and I know where I shall be attending school come fall --- yipee!

Anyhow here is an updated list of what I've been doing. Hopefully I can make it a little more detailed at a later point.

Latest Movies

5. 50/50  - Good movie, although I am always disappointed at therapists depicted in media.

6. RIO - Great soundtrack and voice acting.

7. Swingers - My boyfriend had me watch this, such a great movie! Vince Vaughn is such a a-hole in this movie, yet hilarious.

8. Hunger Games -  meh... I didn't care for the liberties they took with certain parts of the book, but that's the name of the game when a book gets turned into a movie. Had I not read the book I would have loved it.

9. King of Kong - Well I did not care to watch this at first, a documentary about beating Donkey Kong did not really seem quite my palete, but boy was I wrong. This documentary sucks you in and keeps you glued until the end. Watch it!

10. It's Kind of a Funny Story - meh.

11. A Better Life - Sad, true to life, great acting, especially touching if you have lived through being a new immigrant.

12. I Am Comic - Documentary about what being a comic.

13. Game Change -  gosh if I didn't think the woman was certifiable before... I sure do now. 


Latest Books

3. Hunger Games - What else is there to say about this trilogy?
4. Catching Fire
5. Mockingjay

6. The Buddha in the Attic - A short novel written from the point of view of the collective experience of mail order Japanese brides. Lovely.

Movie #4

OMG! Last night I watched How to Train Your Dragon - 2010 directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders. What a pleasant surprise. I am not an enthusiast of children's movies and I have no children, so I often miss little gems like this one. I was enthralled, raptured, completely involved in these characters lives. 

Book #2

Over the weekend I read Anne Frank - The Diary of a Young Girl. I picked this up along 5 other books at a used book store, mostly out of embarrassment I had never read it. It is my understanding that this book is a likely candidate for middle school reading, and being that I did not complete this portion of my school in the States, I can hardly be blamed.  

This book, considered in the grand scheme of things, is a magnificent look at the trials of hiding, at the fear that being in hiding brought and at the guilt those in hiding carried. Also it is a profound look at the thoughts of a thirteen year old girl, who grows up with her thoughts and in spite of them. All in all I wish I had read this book when I was thirteen, since I would have found her irresistibly relatable.  

Movie #3

A few nights ago I watched Melinda and Melinda - directed by Woody Allen. I have loved the few Woody Allen movies I have seen and I am thinking I will minor or perhaps major in movies written/directed by him (however cliche that may be). Hopefully I will come up with a list after some poking around - I'll post it here when it's done.

As far as Melinda and Melinda goes, I really liked it! The main exploratory question is: what is the essence of human life - comedy or drama? This premise is explored through two stories, one developed by a comedy playwright and the other by a dramatist. The catch is that both are starting at the same point: a woman interrupts a dinner party. The movie then moves along, switching back and forth between the comedic and the dramatic plots. I must say eventually, it became difficult to remember which one was which.

Of course, it being Woody Allen, this movie is about relationships and about female characters that turn everything upside down. What I found most interesting was that the actors played their characters in a very theatrical manner, with somewhat melodic intonations to their lines. It makes sense, since the ones supposedly "telling" these two stories are playwrights. All in all I remained entertained and enthralled in this witty exploration.

Book #1 Update

Today I finished Man Seeks God - My Flirtations with the Divine. The author, Eric Weiner, is a former NPR correspondent who has had much success with his earlier work: The Geography of Bliss, a NY Times bestseller. Man Seeks God is Mr Weiner's account of searching for personal religion after realizing he might in fact need a god. This realization comes when Mr Weiner finds himself in the hospital, afraid something is fatally wrong and a nurse comes in to draw some blood.  While she is doing what she does, without much ado, she asks "have you found your god yet?" At this point our main character is sent searching, circularly, for himself. 

The author is painfully self aware, and writes about his internal state as much as he writes about his experiences attempting to be a whirling dervish or a Raelian. Mr Weiner becomes smitten with a certain practice in a particular religion (or the idea of a practice), he likes to underline books, and he often feels as though he is faking ritual participation (and often fantasizes about being discovered as nothing more than a fake). Throughout his encounters he asks simple and profound questions, something he asks the questions you are not supposed to ask, the questions that might pop in my own mind were I in a similar situation. He does this not with academic flaunt but with the worry that if he is having such questions, he might just not be getting it. 

This book interlaces many current and historic ideas as well as thinkers in comparative religion, and is accessible to those who may know very little about the religions he covers. While ultimately the book might not be more than musings in a travel diary, it is nice to know others are equally smitten and confused.    

Movie 2

Pleasantville 1998 - Gary Ross

Last night, my boyfriend and I watched Pleasantville. The selection process was interesting if not a little frustrating. We watch movies often, we love movies. But we also enjoy showing one another (or anybody willing to watch) movies we really like. I find myself often trying to pick between a movie neither of us has seen (the risky choice) and a movie I have seen and he has not. I get really psyched about showing people movies I have already enjoyed. That is until I realize what is riding on this choice. I become inevitably defensive of a movie, a movie I may in fact only "like a lot" but not quite "love". I also become worried for the entertainment of the person watching the movie I chose. I get nervous, hope they laugh at the right time, notice if they are fidgety in their seats.  It is anguish. 

Last night, quite pushed by the fact that I cannot afford to waste prime movie watching time, we picked a movie neither of us had seen. I had only a vague awareness of this movie's existence. Pleasantville is about a brother and sister who get sucked into a 1950's T.V. show about Pleasantville, a town where everything is pleasant and nothing bad ever happens. 

The beginning of the movie reminded me of an episode of the show Eerie Indiana, where one of the characters gets equally transported into an old T.V. show. I loved Eerie Indiana so I instantly liked the feel of this movie. I thought it was appropriate for the political climate in which we live in, and the idea that man often opposes that which he does not know. I was also glad I watched a movie that seemed a little silly (kids go into old TV show as a premise is kind of a meh concept to me). I tend to judge a book by it's cover and a movie by, well whatever I know about it. So, I hope that I continue to venture into movies that I am just not quite sure about. 

Week 1

Doing 50 movies and 50 books in one year amounts to about one of each a week. To me, looking at it this way makes it look more daunting, honestly! But here is where I am right now.

Book 1 - 

Man Seeks God -  by Eric Weiner

I got this book as a Christmas present and I am currently about 100 pages in. I am truly enjoying this read. It is not out of the ordinary for me, since I was a religious studies minor in college and am interested in the relationships people have with religions, insiders and outsiders. The writing is witty and very honest, by someone who is painfully aware of their internal state.  

Movie 1 - 

The Descendants (2011) - Alexander Payne

On Monday I saw The Descendants. I thought it was more of a drama than a comedy, but it is billed as both. It is the story of a family who is going through a tragedy. It depicts family dynamics, a failing marriage and death, managing to do so in a very day-to-day kind of way. I cried at the end, but I cry at sad commercials so that is just what it is. Payne also directed Sideways and About Schmidt, two movies I thoroughly enjoyed. 

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These two sort of happened before I decided to start the 50/50 challenge, but I am looking forward to being more proactive in book/movie choosing since we cannot do repeats, as well as concentrating on a topic in particular.

The Fifty Fifty Challenge

I am attempting to complete the challenge proposed by fiftyfifty.me. This means I will attempt to read 50 books and watch 50 movies by the end of the year!

I will use this blog to keep myself accountable and to share the experience with others who are participating or would like to participate.

Suggestions are more than welcomed, and would love to do a few minors!