Movies of 2012

While being engaged certainly negatively affected the number of books I read this year, it created a substantial increase in the number of movies I watched. I love cuddling with Andrew, and that is best done while watching movies. There were probably countless more movies I could have added, except that I fell asleep during them and couldn't bring myself to truthfully say that I watched them. That's another thing Andrew has done to me. I never used to fall asleep during movies until I started dating him. He's just so comfortable. And then he falls asleep, and I just can't fight it.


MOVIES

1. 17 Again (Okay, I know this is a goofy teen flick, but Zac Efron is hot.)
2. Moneyball x2 (I'm a total sucker for inspirational sports films.)
3. The Help (OMGosh, this movie was amazing. I cried. A lot.)
4. Night at the Museum: The Battle for the Smithsonian (I may have fallen asleep halfway through, but I'll count it anyway.)
5. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Still funny. Always and forever funny.)
6. Ironman 2 (Robert Downey, Jr., is SO HOT.)
7. Real Steel (Hugh Jackman is SO HOT.)
8. Amazing (I miss Jimmer. I really, really do.)
9. The Hunger Games x4 (Yes, twice. In 24 hours. I liked it better the second time.)
10. The Woman in Black x3 (This movie was weird. And creepy. I'm still not sure how I feel about it.)
11. X-Men: First Class
12. Crazy, Stupid, Love x2 (Ryan Gosling. So. Hot.)
13. Sydney White
14. Much Ado About Nothing
15. The Avengers x3 (Awesome movie with so. many. attractive. men. Yeesh.)
16. Footloose (I'll stick to the original, thanks.)
17. 10 Things I Hate About You (Love this movie.)
18. While You Were Sleeping
19. Back to the Future Part I (These movies simply never get old.)
20. The Illusionist
21. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
22. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Indiana Jones is the best. Hands down.)
23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cowabunga!)
24. A Goofy Movie (Ah, childhood memories.)
25. Stranger Than Fiction
26. Brave (Super cute movie. I very much enjoyed it.)
27. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (Go ninja, go ninja, go!)
28. The Amazing Spider-Man x2
29. Back to the Future Part II
30. Batman Begins
31. The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition x2 (Four hours of pure awesomeness. I love these movies.)
32. Back to the Future Part III
33. The Dark Knight
34. The Dark Knight Rises x3 (SO. EFFING. GOOD. OH MY GOSH.)
35. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
36. The Devil Inside (Super dumb movie with a horrible ending.)
37. Paranormal Activity 2 (Freaky, yes, but not quite as scary as it was built up to be.)
38. Juno (Love this movie. So much.)
39. Tangled
40. The Muppets
41. Zombieland
42. The Artist (Really good, but didn't quite live up to the hype surrounding it.)
43. 50/50 (Way better than I expected it to be. Though there were far too many f-words.)
44. The Two Towers Extended Edition
45. Warrior (LOVE this movie)
46. Premium Rush (Pretty good movie. Plus, I just love Joseph Gordon-Levitt.)
47. Country Strong
48. Memento
49. The Princess Bride
50. Cabin in the Woods (What a freakin' weird movie.)
51. This Means War
52. The Amityville Horror (Who knew Ryan Reynolds could be so creepy?)
53. Paranormal Activity 4 (Pretty dang creepy, I must say.)
54. The Incredibles
55. Contagion (I've never been more aware of just how many things I touch throughout the day.)
56. Hocus Pocus
57. Tower Heist
58. V for Vendetta
59. Black Hawk Down
60. Event Horizon (Such a weird movie.)
61. Skyfall (I thought this movie was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed it.)
62. Silver Linings Playbook (This movie was fantastic. I loved it.)
63. Looper (This was far more intense than I expected. Some parts were rather difficult to watch. But it was a fascinating premise.)
64. Lawless (Good movie, but almost too much for me to handle.)
65. The A-Team
66. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
67. Lincoln
68. The Hobbit

TV SHOWS

1. 24 Season 4
2. 24 Season 5 (Ho.ly.crap. Just when you think things can't get crazier, they...well...just do.)
3. 24 Season 6 (The crazy just gets crazier.)
4. 24 Season 7 (You'd think the writers would run out of crazy at some point. But they don't.)
5. 24 Season 8 (It ended in a very 24 kind of way. Jack Bauer on the run. It makes sense.)
6. Parks and Rec Season 1 x2 (How have I not discovered this show sooner?! So dang funny!)
7. The Walking Dead Season 2 (I watched it live, but I'll include it because HOLY CRAP. What a way to end the season.)
8. Parks and Rec Season 2 (I am officially in love with this show. It's fantastic.)
9. Parks and Rec Season 3 x2
10. Harper's Island (I think watching this show has become a summer thing now.)
11. Breaking Bad Season 1 (This show is INTENSE.)
12. Parks and Rec Season 4 x2
13. Grey's Anatomy Season 1 (This is quickly becoming a guilty pleasure.)
14. Dexter Season 7 (It's the only season of the show I've watched. And it's kind of crazy.)
15. Grey's Anatomy Season 2

The Avengers

I have seen The Avengers twice now. Yes, it did just come out on Friday. Why would I see it twice already, you ask? Here are some legitimate reasons:

a) It is hilarious. Tony Stark is my favorite, because he gets most of the zingers, but everyone gets a chance to be funny.

b) The special effects are kind of really awesome. I mean, the Hulk finally looks believable.

c) All the actors worked incredibly well together. They had great on-screen chemistry, and their bickering and fighting were fantastic. (Yes, I did like the infighting. It was believable, okay? And it made the point when they finally come together that much sweeter.) Basically, all the casting combined worked super, super well.

d) And, most importantly, it meant I got to look at some incredibly attractive men for two and a half hours. Look at these guys. Seriously, just look for a second.

 What this picture doesn't show is how incredibly taut this man's booty is.

 Arms. Good arms.

I seriously just love this man to bits and pieces. He has a good face, too.

The arms, people! Look at the arms!!

All together, in one movie. And Mark Ruffalo is no slouch either.

And there you have it, friends. The four main reasons to go see this movie. If you're a guy, disregard the last reason, obviously, and replace it with Scarlet Johansson. I don't much like her (as an actor), but she's kind of smoking hot. If you're a girl, look at these pictures, drool a little, and then go see the menfolk in action. Totally worth it.

Nana nana nana nana...BATMAN!

Day Five: Your favorite super hero and why.

I think Batman is freaking awesome, though that's mostly due to Christopher Nolan's interpretation of Batman's universe. I've never been a huge comic book fan, so most of my super hero knowledge comes from the big screen. I have to admit, though, that I love me some comic book movies. They are highly entertaining.

The main reason Batman is my favorite super hero is that the movies are insanely awesome. Christopher Nolan is seriously a genius. I love Christian Bale as Batman (no matter how annoying his Batman voice gets), I love Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, I love Michael Caine as Alfred, I love Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and I love, love, love Heath Ledger as the Joker. The Dark Knight Rises trailer gives me chills, and I cannot wait to see it. Tom Hardy as Bane is going to be sick. Throw in performances by Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Marion Cotillard, and I'm in movie heaven (despite Anne Hathaway as Catwoman). Midnight showing here I come!

Another thing I like about Batman is that he's not a super hero in the super powers sense. He doesn't have any super powers. He's just a normal dude (albeit a very, very rich dude) who decided to take action in Gotham. It's kind of cool. And it brings up a lot of issues about society and about how societies view vigilantes who take the law into their own hands. Heroes like Superman and Spider-Man don't bring up quite the same issues. While they are technically vigilantes, they can do things no one else can do because they're "super." Batman just has loads of money and could have competition if another super rich vigilante decides to jump in the ring. It also means that the villains are more interesting because they don't have super powers either. They just want to take down Batman.

Basically, Batman is the coolest.

The Movies of 2011

Since I wrote a blog post for the books I read in 2011, I figured I should give the movies I watched the same courtesy. It kind of amazes me how much entertainment I consume throughout a year. I also like seeing which movies I watched multiple times. I'll definitely do this again for 2012. I'm looking forward to comparing the numbers.


MOVIES

1. The King's Speech x2 (This movie is AMAZING. Everyone needs to go see it.)
2. The Karate Kid
3. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Hilariously awful, but Jake Gyllenhaal is hot so it was worth a watch.)
4. Rear Window (I love me some Jimmy Stewart!)
5. Inception x2
6. Practical Magic
7. Easy A x2 (so much funnier than I expected)
8. The Switch (I loved this movie. I thought it was adorable. I just might have to buy it.)
9. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World x3
10. Whip It
11. Despicable Me
12. Unstoppable
13. Doubt
14. Morning Glory 
15. Arsenic and Old Lace
16. Sweet Home Alabama
17. To Kill a Mockingbird (Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch is fantastic.) 
18. The Hudsucker Proxy (You know...for kids!)
19. Driving Lessons (Kind of a weird movie, but Rupert Grint is adorable.)
20. True Grit 
21. Get Smart 
22. That Thing You Do (I got the extended version from Netflix, and it was super fun.)
23. 500 Days of Summer 
24. Thor
25. Equilibrium 
26. The Village 
27. Newsies 
28. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian 
29. Star Trek 
30. No Country for Old Men (The book was scarier than the movie. But the movie was still good.) 
31. Red (Awesome, awesome movie. I need to own it.) 
32. Two Weeks Notice 
33. Super 8 x2 (Quite a good show. I would recommend it.) 
34. The Incredibles
35. Rescue Dawn
36. Dumb and Dumber (Believe it or not, this was the first time I had watched this movie. And yes, I thought it was funny.)
37. Speed (This movie was way cooler when I was 12.) 
38. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (So. effing. good.)
39. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
40. Windtalkers
41. The Social Network
42. Finding Neverland (I always seem to forget how absolutely perfect this movie is. It is phenomenal, and I love it so, so much.)
43. The A-Team
44. While You Were Sleeping x2
45. Cowboys & Aliens (So much better than I expected.)
46. Wild Target
47. Source Code
48. The Pacifier
49. She's the Man
50. Tangled
51. Hitch
52. Public Enemies
53. G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra (This movie is TERRIBLE. Absolutely terrible. That is two hours of my life that I will never get back.)
54. The Best Two Years 
55. Tron: Legacy
56. Captain America
57. The Lion King (Still as good as it was when I was eight.)
58. Young Frankenstein (A must for Halloween.)
59. What Lies Beneath
60. Warrior (This movie is kind of amazing. I absolutely loved it.)
61. The Joseph Smith movie x2 (I cannot watch this without crying. It isn't possible.)
62. The Dark Knight
63. It's a Wonderful Life
64. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows x2
65. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
66. Return to Me
67. Hard Day's Night

TV SHOWS

1. 24 Season 1
2. Bones Season 5
3. 24 Season 2
4. 24 Season 3
5. That 70s Show Season 1
6. Veronica Mars Season 1
7. Veronica Mars Season 2
8. Veronica Mars Season 3
9. Scrubs Season 1
10. Alias Season 1 
11. Alias Season 2 (The cliffhangers in this show are going to kill me. Seriously.)
12. Alias Season 3 
13. Community Season 2 (I watched it live, so it wasn't all this year, but I figured I'd include it.) 
14. Alias Season 4  
15. Bones Season 6 (Watched live. Oh my gosh, that ending!) 
16. Alias Season 5 (Finally! It felt like this series took forever to finish.) 
17. Glee Season 2 (Watched live.) 
18. Scrubs Season 2 
19. Scrubs Season 3
20. Scrubs Season 4
21. Harper's Island (13 episodes of complete ridiculousness. 32 people die. Gruesome, but somehow also incredibly entertaining.)
22. Scrubs Season 5
23. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 (watched live)
24. Friday Night Lights Season 1 (This show is totally awesome.)
25. Friday Night Lights Season 2 (I am completely in love with this show. It is absolutely amazing.)
26. Friday Night Lights Season 3
27. Friday Night Lights Season 4
28. The Walking Dead Season 1 (Zombies everywhere!)
29. Friday Night Lights Season 5 (I think this is my favorite TV show ever. I don't know anything that can beat it.)
30. Firefly, including the movie Serenity (I can definitely see why this has such a cult following.)

Giving Thanks Day 11: Good Entertainment

I love entertaiment. That sounds like kind of a weird statement (I mean, who doesn't), but I really love books and movies and plays and concerts and sporting events. I love talking about them and enjoying them with my friends. I watch a lot of movies and a lot of TV (though I have been quite busy lately and I have been watching less), and I have seen a lot of things that I probably shouldn't have subjected myself to. There is so much filth in the entertainment industry these days, so when I see something really good, I get really excited.

Tonight I went with some friends to see a movie called Warrior at the dollar theater. I had never heard of this movie and all I knew was that it was about MMA fighting. But we looked it up on Rotten Tomatoes, and it had 93% from the audience, so I figured I could risk $2 on it. And I am so glad I did. It may have helped that I went in with absolutely no expectations, but it was so good. There were good messages, and though I don't really like MMA fighting, I'm a total sucker for inspirational sports movies, and this one was no exception. I'll be buying Warrior when it comes out on DVD, that's for sure.

I know this may be a little random, but I really am thankful for the good entertainmnet that exists in this world. There are so many bad things that sometimes we get lost in them and forget to look for the good. The entertainment industry is so far reaching and has so much capacity to spread a good word and tell a good story about perseverance or good conquering evil or simply alerting the public to something that needs attention, so I am thankful when filmmakers and musicians take advantage without being preachy or overbearing. Those are the movies or TV shows or the songs that I like the most.

It also never hurts when there are reeeeeaaallly attractive men in said movie.

I could no sooner choose a favorite child.

Day 28: Your favorite movie.

I do not have a favorite movie. I can't choose. It is impossible. I like far too many actors and genres and styles to choose a single movie that I love enough to deem my favorite. I love action, thrillers, comedy, quirky comedies, some romantic comedies, dramas, and animated films. If it's well written, well acted, and well directed, there's a good chance I will enjoy it. I like quality.

But to feel like I've at least got something to contribute to this post, I will post a few favorites (though this list is by no means all inclusive).

I may not be as crazy as I seem.

Day 20: The meaning behind your blog name.

A few years ago, I was in a Shakespeare class at BYU. I wrote a paper on Kenneth Branagh's full-text film adaptation of Hamlet (which is amazing, by the way). At one point, when Hamlet is intentionally making Polonius think he's crazy, Polonius mutters, "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't." That line ended up being the title of my paper, seeing as how it's a major theme of the play.

I just really like this line. I know the fool is the one who says it (because he's pretty slow on the uptake), but it still fits. Sometimes I act a little crazy. I get obsessed about random things. I start laughing for no apparent reason. I love to read. I can be a complete girlie girl one minute and start gabbing about basketball stats the next. I am often a study in contradiction.

While things about me may not make sense at first glance, if given a little time, I will start to make plenty of sense. There is method to my madness—you just have to stick around long enough to figure out what that method is.

Being Thankful: Day Eighteen

My thankful post today is going to be a little silly, but I don't care. Because in all actuality, I am thankful for Harry Potter. I know it sounds a little dumb, but I've been thinking about it all day because I'm going to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 tonight. I'm so excited. I've never been a really huge fan of the movies, but I have definitely enjoyed the last few, and Deathly Hallows looks like the best of the bunch so far.

I really am thankful for the books, though. It isn't every day that you come across a series of books that you can literally grow up with. Plus, the themes and messages of the books are legitimately good: love, friendship, loyalty, courage. The idea that if you just do what it is you know you have to do, everything will turn out in the end. There are even some gospel themes in the book, such as the veil in Order of the Phoenix, and when Luna tells Harry that the loved ones they have lost are just on the other side, just waiting to see them again.

Plus, how can you not be glad for a book that taught millions of children how fun it is to read? And thanks to the success of the Harry Potter series, the YA genre has been catapulted into mainstream, yielding some rather amazing new authors, such as Maggie Stiefvater and Suzanne Collins (no, I will not include Stephenie Meyer—she doesn't come even close to amazing).

While I will always love the Harry Potter books much more than the movies, I'm super thankful that I get to go hang out with friends and see all the crazy costumes people will come up with tonight. It's going to be awesome.

Return of the Blu-Ray

Today is a very happy day. I got my Blu-ray player back, which is fantastic. It's really amazing how big of a difference a Blu-ray player makes even in regular DVDs. I won't have to mess with the aspect ratio on my TV anymore when we watch movies, so no picture will be cut off and no images will be stretched. Hallelujah.

I went home for lunch today, and it was a good thing I did. The UPS guy left the Blu-ray player sitting in front of my door. Awesome. I love it when they leave my expensive purchases sitting out like that.

As soon as I got inside, I ripped open the box and hooked up the player. I couldn't wait to see if it actually worked. I popped in Beauty and the Beast, which had been giving me the worst problems, and the Blu-ray loaded just fine. Happy, happy day! Then I came home from work and watched the whole thing, just to make sure it's really working. And it is.

I think I'm pretty safe to go and buy the Back to the Future trilogy now. I can't wait to watch it on my newly working Blu-ray player. (Or my simply new Blu-ray player . . . I think they might have just shipped me another one. As long as it works, I don't care.)

Being Thankful: Day Two

Today I'm thankful that I have an artistic brain. That's not to say that I'm particularly creative or that I am able to produce great literature or moving pieces of music. In fact, I would say that I can't do those things. I don't feel incredibly talented at creating art. However, my brain is wired to appreciate great art, whether it be painting, photography, literature, or film, and I'm grateful for that. I love well thought out ideas that are executed to perfection. I love dissecting films and books to find the driving force behind the story, behind the characters.

Tonight I watched Inception for the second time, and the brilliance of the story blows me away. The simple idea that transforms itself into complex plot and dynamic characters. The genius mind that recognized the idea as being worth pursuing. The visionaries who translated the paper version to vivid images.

This is what I want to do with my life: I want to create art. But until I can get to a point where I know how to do it effectively, I'm incredibly grateful that I can look at the art that others have created and see the beauty in it. Without art, life would be dull and colorless, and that wouldn't be much of a life at all.

I get lost in the beauty of everything I see,

the world ain't half as bad as they paint it to be.

If all the sons, all the daughters, would stop to take it in,

then hopefully the hate subsides and the love can begin.

-"Come Home" by OneRepublic

Chills. I have chills.

This trailer looks AMAZING. So does the other one. Basically, I think the final Harry Potter movies are going to be the best yet by a long shot. With two movies, I would imagine that almost everything in Deathly Hallows (which is my favorite book of the series) will make it on screen. And I can't wait.

I already have my tickets to the midnight showing. And I'll be dressing up. Am I a nerd? Oh yes. But I don't really care.

Spending Money

This is slightly old news, but I haven't blogged about it yet, and I thought I would rectify that situation.
So I've been wanting to get myself a TV for a while now. I figured I might as well own one, seeing as how I've got a decent movie collection that is always growing and a Wii with some awesome games. It was kind of dumb that I was completely dependent on my roommates as to whether or not I could actually play the Wii. The only problem with this was that I didn't want just any TV; I wanted a nice one. Which, unfortunately, is expensive.

But about a month ago, I found a pretty decent deal on a 40" TV at Walmart. And I was a little impulsive and bought it.

It's pretty sweet—I like it a lot. It goes up to 1080p, so I was pretty stoked about that.

After this purchase, I realized that I didn't have a DVD player, which was a problem, what with my aforementioned movie collection. Again, I ran into the I-want-the-best-in-my-electronics syndrome, so I started looking around for a decently priced Blu-Ray player. Because let's be honest, Blu-Rays look pretty dang awesome. And . . . I found a refurbished Samsung for a pretty awesome price.

I thought I would have major buyer's remorse after these two pretty major purchases, but I was fortunately mistaken. I freaking love these things. That might make me materialistic or addicted to entertainment, but I kind of don't care, and I don't regret spending all of that money.

Except that now I have to be all adult and exercise self-restraint for a little while. How lame.

Going Strong

Last year, I wrote this blog post about my newfound love of instrumental music. I'm here to say that my love is still going strong. I've actually been on kind of an instrumental kick lately—it's about all I want to listen to. Instrumental is now the biggest playlist on my iPod—I never thought that would happen.

Here are some new acquisitions:

I'm especially loving Danny Elfman right now. He's pretty dang awesome. I'm planning on tracking down the soundtrack from The Corpse Bride sometime soon. I also really want to get the Sherlock Holmes soundtrack—it's by Hans Zimmer, who is also awesome.

Just for the heck of it, here are a few old soundtracks that I have recently come to love:

Hmmm...is anyone else seeing a Johnny Depp theme here?

Best Girls' Night Ever

On Friday night, Faith and I decided we would have a little girls' night out. We had both found some cool-looking spots in Provo/Orem, and we wanted to try them out, so we made a night of it. All I have to say is that café hopping was pretty much amazing, and it's really too bad neither of us had thought of it before.

We started out the night at Spark. I had already been to Spark, but Faith hadn't. We got some appetizers and drinks, which were really good. My apple martini (non-alcoholic, of course—don't go getting the wrong idea) wasn't nearly as sweet as I thought it would be, but it was still really yummy.

 

The food was also really good. We decided that the next time we go to Spark (because there definitely will be a next time), we'll go a little bit later and sit at the bar. It just sounds like fun.

Our second stop was the F Stop Café. At first, we thought the place was closed. There wasn't a soul in sight, and their hours were a little confusing: 5 PM to 12 PM. I think someone needs to let them know that 12 PM is actually noon, not midnight. In the end, we tried the door, which was open, so we went in. There was local art on the walls, which was kind of cool. Faith got a hot cocoa and I got a peach Italian soda, both of which were delicious. I loved the atmosphere of the café; it was really loungy and comfortable.

After F Stop, we headed over to Anna's birthday party, which was pretty fun. Poor Faith didn't know anybody, but she was a trooper and came with me anyway. It was fun to go to the BC and see a bunch of people that I hadn't seen in a while. We also planned a little BC Apt 8 ice cream reunion for President's Day, which should be fun.

Once we had finished socializing, we ran over to Wyview to pick up Cora, then stopped at the dollar theatre to pick up our tickets for the late-night movie we were going to see. Then we headed up State St. to a little place I had passed a few times, called The Chocolate. As soon as I walked in, I knew I loved the place. It was adorable—there are really no other words for it. There were couches and armchairs and candles on the tables. It had a great atmosphere. Plus, one of my former roommates was behind the counter. It was fun to catch up with Rachel—I hadn't seen her in over a year. 

There was so much to choose from! Luckily, Rachel helped me out and told me to try the Kitty Katrina, which I did, and it was amazing. Faith tried a turtle brownie. She liked it so much that she put the last bite that she couldn't finish in a napkin so she could eat it later. Cora had a mint brownie, which was equally tasty. 

 

The Chocolate also sells bottles of Madagascan and Mexican vanilla, and after eating that delectable piece of vanilla cake, I've decided that I'm buying a bottle the next time I go. Because there will definitely, definitely be a next time.

After stuffing ourselves full of good food and drinks all night, we headed over to see Fantastic Mr. Fox at the dollar theatre. It was an awesome movie. I would highly recommend it, especially if you like dry humor. It was about as dry as it comes. 

Overall, it was an awesome night. I haven't had that much fun in a really long time.

Public Enemies

Today I saw the movie Public Enemies. To put it shortly, I loved it. I thought the acting was stellar and the story was fascinating. Part of the reason that I was so gung-ho to see it was because I recently found out that my great-great uncle Jay C. Newman was one of the G-men who helped hunt down John Dillinger and his gang. He was actually shot by Baby Face Nelson. The bullet grazed his forehead and left a scar there for the rest of his life.

I really think that's why I found this movie so completely fascinating. I have some personal interest in the story.

Throughout the movie, I felt conflicting sympathies. I sympathized with John Dillinger and with Melvin Purvis, who was the lead agent who was after Dillinger and his gang. I can't believe how inadequate the police force was in 1933. The police force either didn't have the ability, the knowledge, or the manpower to get these criminals, or they were taking bribes from the criminals so they could stay out of the prisons. It was incredibly difficult for the regular police officers to understand what they needed to do in order to apprehend these criminals.

The acting in this movie was absolutely superb. I love, love, love Johnny Depp. He's amazing and did a tremendous job as John Dillinger. I especially loved seeing him in a role that wasn't a kind of caricature, not that he doesn't perform those roles brilliantly as well. But seeing him as a real person, as opposed to as Edward Scissorhands or Jack Sparrow or Willy Wonka, just proves to me what a talented actor he truly is. I feel a slight Johnny Depp kick coming on after watching this movie . . . I think my slight obsessive tendencies are making themselves known.

Christian Bale also did a fabulous job as Melvin Purvis. He played not only a hard-working government agent, but also a decent and honest man. I loved his character about as much as I loved Johnny Depp's. Christian Bale is also a brilliant actor. (But it's too late for a Christian Bale kick . . . I've been on one my whole life. I've loved him since I was five.)

I think the most fascinating thing about this movie and this story was how the public viewed John Dillinger and his gang. They were celebrities. They took hostages and forced them to ride on their cars as they got away from their bank robberies. Yet the public loved them. At one point in the film, Dillinger refuses to aid in a kidnapping because the public doesn't like kidnapping. He gave the people in the banks their money back before taking off with the bank's money. He was seen as a decent criminal, it seems. He hid among the public who loved him so much. I tell myself that I can't believe people would love such hardened criminals so much, that people would line up just to see John Dillinger at his court appearances, but then I look at our current world and at the celebrities we gawk at. Some of them are horrible people who have done horrible things, yet the public still lines up to see them, sometimes even at their court appearances.

I'm planning on scoping out some books about the 1930s crime wave. I'm completely intrigued by the whole story and I want to know how things really went down.

Public Enemies is rated R for violence. (There are a lot of Tommy guns.)

Art Review Numero Uno--Once

I love art: music, books, movies, paintings . . . It's amazing to me how influential and inspiring and emotional words on a page, or images on a screen, or some musical notes can be. So I decided I wanted to write about some of the amazing things that I love. I would love to make this a series--a weekly review of some work of art that has amazed me recently. So here's the first of hopefully many.

Once is the story of two musicians who meet coincidentally. It stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. It's an independent film that was shot over 15 days with $150,000. It really is a touching story of how these two people touch each others' lives through collaborating on their music.

I feel like this movie is very much about love, though not in the typical love-story sense. I think it is about how two people can love each other enough to do what's right by the other person and what is right for themselves. It took me a little bit to get into the movie, but the realism with which it was filmed intrigued me. Eventually I felt like I was spying on someone else's life, like I was watching them live without them knowing I was there. The fact that I never found out what the characters' names were made me feel even more like I was watching a little piece of two strangers' lives. The dialogue was natural, like it wasn't scripted or outlined at all. They were simply talking like any normal people having normal conversations. It was so simple and so ordinary, yet so poignant and so significant.

A lot of the movie is dedicated to the amazing music they create. I watched this movie last Sunday. On Monday I got the soundtrack, and I haven't been able to get enough of it. The music is absolutely brilliant. I love it. Glen Hansard is a very famous musician in Ireland who fronted the band The Frames. He sings with such passion and such emotion, and as I listen to his songs, I can't help but feel what he must have felt as he wrote them. Marketa Irglova's soft harmonies add depth to Hansard's emotion.

Here's a little sneak peek of the music. I think it's best if you experience the music through the movie with all the emotions of the situation attached, but this is the song that is most well known. It's called "Falling Slowly" and it won the Oscar for best original song in 2008. It is definitely one of my favorites on the soundtrack.



The movie is set in Ireland (in Dublin, I think) and is rated R because they say the f-word a few times. But there's no sex and no violence.

Grandpa Newman, the Bow Tie Man

Today I went and saw the movie Up! It was pretty much the most amazing animated movie I have ever seen. And that's really not an exaggeration. It was wonderful. I can think of absolutely nothing bad to say about it. It was perfect; there was the perfect amount of just about every emotion in it. I will own that movie very shortly after its release to DVD.

The main character, Carl, is a man who has just lost his wife, a woman he spent most of his life with. During one part of the movie, they showed a picture of the elderly couple, sitting in their usual chairs in their home. Carl was wearing a bow tie, and I was instantly reminded of my Grandpa Newman, who always wore bow ties. He was known as the bow tie man. Grandpa Newman died four years ago this past March.

Well, this wasn't the first time I'd seen a bow tie and instantly thought of my grandpa (I think of him every time I see one), but for some reason, today it got to me. As soon as I saw that picture on the screen, the tears started flowing, and I've been having a hard time stopping them ever since. I think that's due to a number of things, but missing my grandfather was the key that opened the floodgates.

My Grandpa Newman was an amazing man. Amazing. Altogether, he served four missions: one on his own as a young man and three with my grandma. They served in the south side of Chicago, Kirtland, and Kazakhstan. They had to come home from Kazakhstan early when Grandpa found a lump in his throat. Six months later he was gone. He was the first person I lost who was close to me. He was a spiritual giant who had a dry sense of humor. He obviously deeply loved his wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I miss his chuckle, the way he would clear his throat, his pocket protector, his sneaky hand that was always finding a grandchild to tickle, his Donald Duck impersonation, the way he would talk to any and all birds, the warmth of his hugs, and the way his eyes radiated love when he looked at me. And, of course, his bow ties.

I am so incredibly grateful for the knowledge that I will see him again. I don't know how I could bear the pain of losing that beloved man without that knowledge. Though the pain is sharp and real, I know that it is temporary. The tears may flow tonight, but one day I will be crying tears of joy as I hug my grandfather again. The Lord is there, and I know it. He has to be, or none of the pain of mortal existence would be worth anything.

Can't Wait!

I'm not the biggest fan of the Harry Potter movies. I am a complete and utter fanatic when it comes to the books (I read them at least once a year, often twice--I've totally lost count of how many times I've read them), but the movies just never really appealed to me. But this one--this looks absolutely phenomenal. I'll be in line for the midnight showing. Sorry the video's a little cut off...that's the best I could do.

A Monster...

I have always been into music. I love listening to it, singing it, playing it, just being a part of it in any way I can. It's in my blood, I think. As long as I can remember, music has been an essential part of my family. Everyone in my family sings; my dad and my brother play the drums; my dad and my other brother play rock piano (meaning they play chords, they don't read music); my sister and I play the piano; my brother, my mom, and I play the guitar. We've even had a family band, and yes, we did perform. It was awesome. My brothers actually want to start that up again. We'll see if that ever happens.

So pretty much music is a part of me, and has been my whole life. I've been listening to The Beatles my whole life (literally--probably since the womb), so of course I love them. I love a lot of oldies. I also love Sherwood (they're freaking amazing!), Jimmy Eat World, Snow Patrol, Dashboard Confessional, Peggy Lee, Norah Jones, KT Tunstall, Reign of Kindo, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I really don't have to list here. I'm always on the warpath for new music, because I listen to it all the time.

But the one thing I've never been too into is instrumental music. I like some classical, but I just don't listen to it very often. And I've never really been into movie scores. Until recently. Maren and Jonathan have together effectively created a monster. I had gotten some soundtracks from Maren and Jonathan a few months ago, but I didn't really listen to them much. Then I started my new jobs, and the work that I do is such that silence makes it boring, but instrumental makes it much easier to focus and work. So I started listening to the instrumental that I had, and I quickly found that I absolutely love James Newton Howard.

The soundtrack that really spawned this big love is The Village soundtrack. I love this soundtrack so much! It's the kind of music that as soon as it starts, I feel like I'm going to burst with the beauty of it. I don't quite know how to explain it. It's almost a transcendental experience. Is that too strong? I don't know, but the music elicits such emotion from me that I just can't explain it. I have listened to The Village soundtrack so many times recently that I can listen to a song and name the track. That's pretty crazy, seeing as how they all blend together.


I am now thoroughly obsessed with James Newton Howard. I have eight soundtracks that he composed or helped with, and I just ordered a ninth today. There are at least two more that I know I want. I just absolutely love his use of strings, and how the piano blends right in and often takes the melody. It's beautiful. I have discovered that I love strings, and woodwinds. When it comes to soundtracks, I'm not the biggest fan of a lot of brass, like John Williams. He seems to use a lot of brass, and I get tired of it very quickly.

My love of strings also comes through in my love of the October Sky soundtrack, which is not James Newton Howard, surprisingly enough. It's by Mark Isham. I love the strings in this one. This is another soundtrack that gives me that surreal, transcendental feeling. It's amazing the power that music has over me. It can completely transport me. Maybe that's why I love music so much, and why it is such a big part of me. It's amazing the emotion can can evoke in me, with absolutely no effort on my part. But that also means that music can affect me in a bad way. In my Music 202 class a couple years ago, we studied an opera called Wozzek. That music gave me the worst feeling ever. It was physically repelling, I don't know how to explain it.


Anyway...wow, this is a random post. A long random post. A little insight into my loves, right? Right. And if anyone has any suggestions on new bands that I should listen to, or any amazing movie scores or instrumental in general, give me a holler. I'm always on the lookout for new stuff.

Are You Afraid?

Well, are you? Because you should be. Of the movie Twilight, that is.

Before I begin my tirade, I should let you know a couple things. I did read the novels, and I did enjoy them. No, I do not think they are the greatest books ever written (far, far from it, in fact), but they are entertaining and fun. So this review does not come from a Twilight hater.

I spent a grand total of $1.75 on this movie. At least, I will once I pay Jonathan back. And it was a complete waste of my $1.75. I could have bought a burger at Wendy's with that. Or seven candy bars at work. Or even better, a pack of gum. Instead, I saw Twilight at the dollar theater. Why? Because I was told it was terrible and wanted to see for myself. Take it from me, don't assuage your curiosity. It was terrible.

The whole thing was just ridiculous. How many close-up shots of eyes can you have in one scene? I understood the point of it. The Cullens' eyes are golden because they're vegetarians. The other vampires' eyes are red because they're not. It's important. But find another way to portray it.

And the sparkly Edward? Really? Come on. Seriously? He did not shine like diamonds, that's for sure. He shined like fish skin. It was rather gross looking, to be honest. Not at all what I was expecting.

Edward and Bella had absolutely no chemistry. None. The slow kisses were supposed to build the sexual tension, but all they did was make it awkward. And the meadow scene? Ugh, don't get me started. It was painful. Absolutely painful. Painful to the point that I felt bad for the actors. "Say it. Out loud." Who would ever say that? "Are you afraid?" "Only of losing you." Ugh. Gag me. With a pitchfork. Please. It would have been more enjoyable than sitting through this movie.

Okay, so that's an exaggeration. But you get my point.

I could continue. I could continue for a long time. But a lot of my complaints have already been voiced in Jonathan's post from a couple months ago. So if you want to read a scathing review by a film person, read that.

And if you have already subjected yourself to this movie, watch this clip.