Summer Cinema

Well, I guess I kind of blew it in keeping up with this blog. But I have continued to see movies. I'm not sure if I got busy or lost inspiration but maybe a blog wasn't the best idea. Regardless, here I am, back once more to take another crack at it.

Movies from the summer:

• The Dark Knight Rises
• Snow White and the Huntsman
• The Avengers
• Magic Mike
• The Hunger Games
• Spiderman
• Julie and Julia (obviously not in theaters)

I think that's a pretty healthy balance of movies although most of them are comic-book movies but who cares? Those are some of the best kind! Also, I saw Snow White pre-scandal. I wonder if that will actually impact any talk of a sequel, I would imagine it would given the negative press it would draw, putting the two back together again...

And may I just say, yes, you should go and see Magic Mike. Ladies night during the day! Bonus points for a dinner-theater where you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a cocktail. 

Also, definitely read The Hunger Games. As much as I love movies, they miss out on some internal dialogues the characters have in books. For example, Katniss is awesome but in the book comes off as being what she is: a 16 year-old girl being forced into being older than she is. She makes mistakes, she doesn't understand situations and is in fact a teenager. I think this gets lost in the movie but her badass-ness certainly shines through. 

Next up on the movie watching list:

• The Bourne Legacy
• Re-watch Harry Potter 7 and The Hunger Games. 
• Oz
• Les Miserables
• War of the Buttons (which I think already was a movie but different setting, still a battle between kid gangs though)
• Pitch Perfect (judge away, juuuuudge away)
• Taken 2 (hello, LIAM NEESON!!!)

So September might be a little slow....

The Avengers

A is for Awesome. Just go see it, it doesn't have to be in 3D because I'm a firm believer that not every single movie needs to be in 3D. This movie is awesome and hilarious and there is NO reason you should not go see it. The only question that I have is how much have shawarma sales increased since the release of this movie?...

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

I have heard two common opinions on The Hunger Games. One states that the movie is amazing and the books are even better. The other, however, goes something like "I can't believe people find teenagers killing each other entertaining, that's disgusting". The fact is, the movie is not about teenagers killing each other. The movie is about a society that does find entertainment value in teenagers killing each other. The fact that people in our society still find this form of gladiator fighting appalling is exactly what sets us apart from the fictitious country. People also compare it to Lord of the Flies, a fight for survival on a deserted island...or was that Lost? Both became well known works in our society, not because we found entertainment in death (although there are a lot of crime shows out there that center around murder and horrific crimes but I don't hear as much hullabaloo about those...) but because they taught us things. What would you do if you were deserted on an island? Alliances form, choices are made.

Perhaps The Hunger Games is more of a warning or lesson to avoid becoming that society. Movies, and literature for that matter, are meant to challenge us and call into question social norms. You have to look beyond the face value to see the meaning.

Personally, I enjoyed the movie (I need to find movies I don't like, it seems) and it wasn't as graphic as I expected. Plus, Katniss is a badass and it does make me want to learn how to hunt just in case the apocalypse shows up in the near future. I found several parallels between our society and theirs, and if you think about it, we have a lot of reality shows where people are eliminated but obviously we would never condone a gladiator fight. In case we haven't learned from history where humans were forced to fight to the death, fiction steps in to trick us into thinking the concept is surreal and impossible. It is possible, though. The lesson is to keep it improbable.

And to end on a light note, I believe there is a parody out there entitle The Younger Games with the main character Dogny being placed in an arena where some of the challenges include a band of screaming toddlers...

Trailers Are Your Friends

I read this article today and I must say that I am absolutely guilty of watching trailers endlessly. And I do get slightly annoyed when I'm late to a movie because I know I won't miss the actual movie but the stellar previews...or in some cases, the previews to the previews (see Twilight Breaking Dawn: Part 2).

Personally I think it's a clever marketing ploy to get us amped for months ahead of a movie premiere BUT it's a win-win situation.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-fi-ct-trailers-20120410,0,6503131.story

My Heart Still Goes On

 In honor of tomorrow's 3D re-release, today's post will be about Titanic (quit now or forever hold your peace...or better yet, go watch the Riff Trax version of this movie because it's amusing). Yes it's an extremely overplayed movie and apparently no one wants to hear 'My Heart Will Go On' ever again BUT, I happen to really like this movie. And by like I mean I've seen it over 50 times and in multiple languages. Plus, Kate Winslet, duh. She was only 19 when she filmed this movie, what did you do when you were 19?

I saw the movie twice in theaters when it came out and looking back, I was probably way too young to see it. No I didn't cry, my friend told me it was a sad movie and I wasn't allowed to cry because then she would cry too: fast forward to everyone dying and she's bawling her eyes out while I sit with a stiff upper lip. Anyways, I remember thinking that living in the 1900's must have been so exciting. Everything seemed glamorous and exotic with so much adventure in store. And I guess that's the lesson I took from Titanic. Not that second class people are people too or always be prepared or even the tragedy of it (yes, I took away the tragedy of it and how class rankings like that is bad but that wasn't the main thing). My way-too-young self was instilled with a sense of adventure. This was from a time when crossing the Atlantic was a big deal, this ship was a luxurious invention. Where can we get that kind of amazement and adventure now?

That coupled with Rose's decision to live her life to the fullest left me with a lot of dreams myself. Here was this upper class woman, who seemed to have the world at her feet--but alas: she was a woman and therefore stuck with the inferior position society dictated for her. But women's rights and equality is a whole other issue (or is it...). But then she decides not to shut up and go along with expectations or other people's wants. Back on point: I decided that I would have a fun and exciting life and I would try all kinds of things. It also started my love of photography and making sure I actually documented this fabulous life I was going to have. I can't say that I have actually lived up to my young self's expectations...yet. But there is still time.

So in conclusion, yes, I will be seeing Titanic in 3D, if for no other reason than nostalgia. And no, I didn't think it was ridiculous for her to physically let go of Jack's frozen body as she said "I'll never let go". She was never going to let go of the promise, people.

Can you guess the villain?

Before he got into the roles of some of history's most notorious villains, both fictional and non-fictional, he was a simple literary professor in Quiz Show, looking to please his father. He also had a cameo in the award-winning film The Hurt Locker. A little too vague? He is often mistaken for Liam Neeson, with whom he worked during Neeson's Oscar-nominated role in 1994.

10 Facts According to Me

1. Liam Neeson is a badass.
2. Kate Winslet should play Princess Diana in a biopic (sorry Naomi).
3. Ralph Fiennes is scary good at being scary bad.
4. Colin Firth is a genius. And he can pull off being Oscar-worthy and awkwardly ridiculous in every other movie.
5. Mel Gibson is very good at being tortured/is crazy (in real life too).
6. Will Helena Bonham Carter ever play a "normal" character? No, that is beneath her.
7. It is possible for a child actor to do things other than the works that made them famous. Wait...
8. It is not possible for celebrities to use popular names for their children. Fruit is so much better!
9. Why doesn't Demi Moore look different than she did in the '80's?
10. You can't actually see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard (contrary to the song lyrics).