Movies of the Day: Lord of the Rings Trilogy

  I finally did it. I finally sat down and watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies. And, yes, I loved the whole trilogy. I'll address each one individually.

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
  This one was my least favorite of the trilogy, definitely. It was good, don't get me wrong, but it was pretty predictable, and there was a lot left to be desired. A lot of the dialogue was bland and there was a lot of telling, not showing, which breaks one of the cardinal rules of screenwriting. But, as an introduction to characters and themes, a setup of the grandiose and immersive world, and an emotionally compelling story, it was really good, no doubt. That I didn't think it was perfect is blasphemy, I'm sure, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em. I think an 8 is pushing it, so I'm gonna give this a 7.75/10.

Favorite line: A lot of epic sounding dialogue in this one. Maybe, "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future." Simple statement of theme that worked for what it was.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
  So I was obviously somewhat disappointed by the first installment of the series. "Is this what all the hype is about?" I thought. But, I was still interested in the fates of characters who I was now emotionally invested in, so I sat down to watch this feeling wary but optimistic.
  Oh. My. God.
  This one was SO GOOD. Gollum is one of the more interesting and compelling characters I've ever seen on film, and the other characters really came into their own as well. And the writing fixed a lot of the problems I had with the first one, keeping the long-winded monologues to a minimum, not painting bad people as all bad and good people as all good and nothing else, showing instead of telling. AND THE HELM'S DEEP FIGHT SCENE. HOLY CRUD. I'm not sure I've seen many other things as exciting as that. Probably my favorite of the trilogy, and I now get what all the hype is about. Must credit the directing and acting for that. Couple of little things here and there, though, so not a perfect rating, but pretty close. 9.75/10

Favorite line:  Oh, I actually have to declare a tie. First, of course, "My precious." CHILLS. Smeagol/Gollum is the Darth Vader of Lord of the Rings, and the fact that I bought his inner dilemma and even sympathized with him is a testament to the writing and Andy Serkis's acting. And then, as Aragorn says, "There is always hope." Cheesy, I know, but... I found it worked. Inspiring.

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
  Another really really great movie. This one comes in just below The Two Towers for me, because I had a few pacing problems with it, especially near the end, but some of the scenes, some of the themes, man, they just got me. Also, the directing in this movie is fantastic. Minus some pacing problems, the fight scenes, the intercutting of story lines, some of the most suspenseful scenes I've ever seen in any movie ever... phew, man. I realized at a certain point that EVERY time the scene cut to a different set of characters, I was thinking, "Darnit, I wanted to see what happened!" meaning I was equally invested in every character. The fight scenes were epic in scope, and the fact that Peter Jackson didn't shy away from showing soldiers dying left and right shows that he wasn't trying to give anyone any easy answers. He embraced the moral ambiguity of the trilogy, which is great. And some scenes were Hitchcockian in suspense. I mean, there was a scene where I was literally cowering behind my arms and hands between my face and the screen. It was terrifying. (For those of you who've seen it, the scene with Shelob and Frodo in the canyon.) I solely disliked the length of the epilogue and some parts of the last scenes between Frodo and Sam, which I thought really dragged on and really pulled me out of the experience, and for that it'll be a little below perfect. 9.5/10

Favorite line: Hmm... This is gonna be a long one. "Hold your ground, hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!" Was stuck between almost crying tears of pure inspiration and getting up and beating someone up after this one. Anything that can do that... Kudos.

Trilogy as a whole
  After seeing the whole thing, this is one of the greatest full trilogies or series I have ever seen. Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Family/Comedy/Tragedy/War/Epic... This does every genre justice. I may have some minor problems with each installment, but... you know what? Overall, the whole trilogy easily joins my list of favorite movies. Gotta love it when the sum is greater than the parts. 10/10

Movie of the Day: Fight Club

  I had an urge today after Fight Club came up in conversation a couple of times during the day to rewatch what is my favorite movie, and I didn't have any homework, and I couldn't resist, so I did. (I'll keep this spoiler-free.)
  This movie. Is friggin' FANTASTIC. So intricately plotted, such clever writing that covers pretty much every genre, such intense character development, such cool themes, perfect acting, and near-infinite rewatchability. The characters are undoubtedly some of the coolest and yet most relatable ever put onscreen, and the humor and drama and suspense and satire and everything just hit home perfectly. Tyler Durden is one of my idols. Also, this is pretty much the most quotable movie ever. There are a few other contenders, but this one wins, definitely. SO many great lines.
  I'm not allowing myself to be too specific in terms of plot or characters because I know a lot of people haven't seen this movie and this movie is best seen knowing nothing about it and it's pretty impossible to describe in words anyway, but, in case you haven't seen this movie, GO WATCH IT. NOW. WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE?! GO! 10/10, obviously. I wish I had a higher rating to give it.

Favorite line: Umm... this is extremely tough. Can I answer with every line in the movie? No? Then I'm gonna have to declare a two-way tie between, "On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero," and, "I felt like destroying something beautiful." Not the obvious choices, of course, but those are my favorites.

Movies of the Day: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "The Apartment"

  My joy at seeing two fantastic movies in one day is boundless. Both of these I'd probably add to my list of favorites (which is almost, if not over, 50 movies by now).

  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Such fantastic writing, and directing, and acting, and everything. I've been meaning to watch some movies written by Charlie Kaufman, and I finally got around to this one, and it did not disappoint. Such a unique movie, and it's seldom seen that a high-concept film has such brilliant execution. Just so... nice. 9.75/10

Favorite line: Probably "Too many guys think I'm a concept, or I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive. But I'm just a f***ed-up girl who's lookin' for my own peace of mind; don't assign me yours." Really gets to the heart of things, don't it?

  The Apartment: After being introduced to Jack Lemmon's wonderful acting in Some Like It Hot, the previous Billy Wilder movie I had seen, I just had to see this, another Lemmon-Wilder collaboration. And WOW. I think this is easily the best Wilder movie I've seen to date. Double Indemnity was good, Sunset Blvd. and Some Like It Hot were great, but this one takes the cake. Such airtight writing, such great character development, such perfect casting and directing and acting. One must not overlook Shirley MacLaine's performance. There were points where I was literally yelling at the screen or gasping or ooh-ing out loud, and it was wonderful. And I was so emotionally invested in the characters. Suffice it to say, Wilder has a permanent place on my list of favorite writers and of favorite directors, if only for this movie. 10/10

Favorite line: Ooh, toughie. Probably have to say... "That's the way it crumbles, cookie-wise." So much character in that line, emotionally and vocally.

McDonald's Makes Me Mad and Moody

  So, I found myself at McDonald's for breakfast this morning with my family, and after the usual pancakes and stuff I found myself craving a milkshake.
  "Do you serve shakes this early in the morning, ma'am?"
  "Yes."
  "Okay, can I have a medium strawberry milkshake then?"
  She pauses. Walks away for a second. Comes back.
  "Sorry, machine's not working."
  Downcast, I reply, "Okay, thank you."
  A little later, I come back thinking some ice cream would hit the spot. "Do you have ice cream that's working, then, ma'am?"
  "No."
  Disappointed, I realize that the world is conspiring against me and resign myself to defeat.
  Cue Alayah: "Oh my god, I didn't get a milkshake and now my life sucks."

Fall Film Forecasting

Been looking through the movies coming out before the end of the year, and I thought I might share the movies for which I'm really excited. I won't watch all of them in theaters, of course, but maybe a few of them. These are in no particular order. 

Excited for:

Wreck-It-Ralph - Not much of a gamer at all, but from concept to execution this looks incredibly cool.

Cloud Atlas - I definitely like The Matrix, albeit not as much as some other people, and I hear terrible things about the sequels, so this movie, written and directed by The Wachowskis, could go either way. But, hey, Tom Hanks, and an INCREDIBLY intriguing trailer.

The Master - Latest Paul Thomas Anderson movie (of There Will Be Blood fame, which I really liked, and some other strong credits to his name which I have yet to see), and the trailer has me interested.

EXTREMELY Excited for:

Looper - Joseph Gordon-Levitt AND Bruce Willis AND time travelling AND having to kill yourself? Count me in! Can't wait.

Argo - Seen this trailer twice now, and I'm really intrigued. I haven't seen any Ben Affleck-directed movies yet, but I hear interesting and very positive things about his directing style, and the story is both interesting AND true. I'm really interested, I have a good feeling about this one.

Flight - Denzel Washington, and that trailer. Nuff said.

Django Unchained - Tarantino is easily one of my favorite writers and directors; a lot of his movies are some of my favorites of all time. I realized that Tarantino's writing had gotten a lot less... self-indulgent... in Inglourious Basterds (although Tarantino's self-indulgence is often one of the best things about his movies); it made for a really interesting and powerful movie, and this looks to follow the trend. Also, Leonardo Dicaprio I really don't like usually (no nuances), but he might just restore my faith in him with this movie, from the looks of the trailer. Heartthrob Leo, a villain? This I've gotta see.

Killing Them Softly - I'd heard nothing about this one before today, but Brad Pitt's in it! Brad Pitt's a fantastic actor, one of the best, and I hear this movie got a ten-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. TEN. MINUTES. And Ray Liotta's in it too. And the plot sounds great.

Lincoln - Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lewis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and inarguably one of the best presidents America has ever had? Sounds like a winning formula if ever there was one.

This is a great season for movies. Have I mentioned I'm excited? No? Well, I'm excited.

First Day of School

  So, I haven't posted in almost five months. Sorry about that. But it's not like anyone reads this anyway, so it's fine, I'm sure I'm not disappointing anyone. I'll try to post more.
  Anywho, it was my first day of my senior year of high school today, and it was exhausting. I'm optimistic for the year, but I can't help but feel that my mental health will be questionable by the end of the year. But! Seeing my friends again was great, and all of my teachers and classes range from fairly nice to AWESOME. I imagine that I'll have fun and maybe even learn some stuff.
  I can't shake the feeling that I'm in the home stretch. I keep having conflicting feelings of, "Oh, a year, it'll go by before I even know it!" and "A full year?! HOW DO THEY EXPECT ME TO SURVIVE?!" I'm not sure whether it's a healthy mentality living in perpetual wait of a time in the future; it reminds me of something I was told by an acquaintance years ago.
  I was, of course, lamenting having to go back to school after summer break ended, and he said something along the lines of, "When I'm off on summer break, that's one kind of happiness, there's more freedom to do things. When I'm in school with my friends and learning things, that's another kind of happiness, I'm being social and productive." It made me wonder what kind of life I'm living if I spend all my time looking forward to something instead of enjoying what I have now.
  That was a long rant to get across something along the lines of, I'm gonna do my best to make this a good year. Let's hope I don't crash and burn.

  Maybe I'll do a post soon about what I hope to do for college.

The Cool People Head Nod and Pet Peeves

  It's come to my attention that I'm really odd about the most trivial of things. At the moment, I'm talking about, as the title might suggest, the Cool People's Head Nod. You know the one, where you see someone you know walking down the hall, but you're obviously too cool to say "Hi." So, of course, you give them a slight jerk upwards of the head as if to silently say, "'Sup?" Now, here's where my weirdness comes in. Most people would answer a silent "'Sup?" with a similarly silent "'Sup?" signal. However, I recognize that it's not the best of manners to answer a question with a question. Therefore, I generally reciprocate with the opposite gesture, a slight downwards nod, as if to say, "'Sall good." The mental image of someone lobbing something off of the top of their head and me catching it on the top of mine usually comes to mind. I assume I overthink things like this.
  Am I weird? Probably. My pet peeves are similarly strange, too. Of course, they include classics like people coming into my room when my door is closed and leaving it open when they leave, but the others aren't nearly as normal. Things like people reading my t-shirts (which are almost always shirts with funny pictures or messages on them) out loud, people asking me questions to which the answers are obvious ("Did you get a haircut?", "Oh, you can't find your pencil? Where'd you put it?", etc.), and people changing the volume on my mom's van's radio to a number that isn't either a multiple of five or 43 (43 because that's the sweet spot in my mom's van, multiples of five because... I'm not sure, I think they just feel like fulfilling numbers). So, I think it's safe to say that I'm an oddball. But I suppose that's better than being an evenball.