I hate rain

It's rainy and cold. I was packing my backpack for school today and thought, "I don't need my umbrella." On my way to class, it started pouring. Go figure. Gray weather makes me tired and unmotivated. All I want to do is curl up in my bed and watch a movie. Luckily, it's a Friday, so I don't have to worry about homework until tomorrow. Right now, I am listening to "Northampton," the newest Enter the Haggis CD. It is cheering me up immensely. They are all so ridiculously talented. I can't wait to see them live!

Midterms are over!

I am finally done with all my midterms. What a relief! I was pretty stressed there for a while. Seriously, if I have to write another essay about why Hamlet isn't a tragic hero or something along those lines, I am going to cry. Besides, Kenneth Branagh has ruined Hamlet for me. I don't even like THINKING about that play anymore. The best way to ruin Shakespeare is to see a terrible performance. Just ask anyone who saw my high school's production of "Romeo & Juliet." Anyway, I'm rambling now, but just be thankful that you don't have to take midterms (if you're out of school). They ruin your life.

Some advertising

This is Enter the Haggis. They are one of my favorite bands of all time. Go out and listen to their music. Also, check out their new blogs! Each member started a blog this year, and they're worth checking out. Here's Brian's blog. You can find all the others on his side bar. Check them out! :-)

I'm Keanu Reeves...

Last night I watched "The Matrix Revolutions" with the people who live on my floor, and we had a good laugh at Keanu Reeves' lack of talent. He has one expression that conveys all his emotions, except the only thing it really conveys is, "I'm Keanu Reeves..." And (spoiler) we decided that the real reason that they decided to burn out Neo's eyes was to avoid having to try and make Keanu look sad when Trinity died. I mean, he looked exactly the same with the blindfold on as with it off. Blank. So it was easier to cover his eyes than try and get him to show some real emotion. Haha.

Omigod!

Today I watched, "Legally Blonde: The Musical" on MTV. It was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. But totally wonderful. To give you an idea of how ridiculous it was, the songs are named things like "Omigod You Guys", "Bend and Snap", and "Whipped into Shape". It's halfway making fun of the movie "Legally Blonde" and musicals in general and halfway serious. If you like musicals, it's pretty great. And the best part? Emmett, the Luke Wilson character (if you've seen the movie) is played by Christian Borle, who played Herbert in the original cast of "Spamalot". Basically, I love him just for that. I couldn't watch him in "Legally Blonde" without imagining him singing "Where Are You?" in that ridiculous Herbert voice. It was amazing. So, if you like musicals and don't mind when things are corny and silly, definitely watch "Legally Blonde: The Musical". It's on again tomorrow night...hint hint.

Warning: DO NOT see this movie!!

Okay, I will admit that I have not actually SEEN the movie "The Seeker" nor do I intend to. I have, however, seen the trailer (it made me cry), and I LOVE the book "The Dark is Rising" on which the movie was based. When I first discovered that they were making a movie of it, I screamed. Literally. Ask my parents. You see, "The Dark is Rising" was one of the books on my list of movies that I would like to make. It would make a FANTASTIC movie if done well. It is a marvelous story. So, although I was upset that someone else had beat me to it, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. I mean, sure, it looked like yet another stale, packaged Hollywood fantasy movie, but I could be wrong.

Unfortunately, I was right. The trailer made me cry, as I mentioned before. I mean, they made Will Stanton AMERICAN! When the whole story is based on Welsh mythology! The outcries of angry fans resounded across the IMDB message boards. Also (spoiler alert) his brothers are terribly mean to him. Not the case in the book. Will's family is supposed to be loving and supportive. Now, normally I don't put much stock in movie reviews, but when 82% of reviewers say this movie sucked and the average movie goers (from die-hard "Dark is Rising" fans to those who have never even heard of the books) agree...well, the information is in front of you, folks.

I might be able to cut the movie some slack if the filmmakers even cared a TINY BIT about the story. However, the director, David L. Cunningham, has said that he doesn't even think the books provide good movie material and that he doesn't, in fact, even like fantasy movies OR movies for children. So why on Earth did he decide to turn this wonderful, classic story into one of the worst examples of children's fantasy film? Not only that but Ian McShane who played Merriman Lyon, the mentor character, didn't even WANT the role. Please explain to me why a director who doesn't like the material and an actor who dislikes his character decided to go ahead and make this movie anyway. It all translates into money, and it is disgusting.

So, let's recap. Unenthusiastic crew and cast. Doesn't follow the story remotely (not only are important characters changed. Some very important characters are reportedly missing from the movie entirely). Lots of plot holes (according to just about every review I've read). This movie makes the 4th Harry Potter movie look good, and that's pretty hard to do.

Movie Review: "Mon Oncle"

For my film analysis class, we watched "Mon Oncle" as an example of a movie where the plot is pretty much superfluous and the setting is the most important part. It was made in 1958 by Jacques Tati, and it's a wonderful movie. It was very funny, but not necessarily in the laugh out loud way that we're used to today. "Mon Oncle" contrasts modern and old Paris in the 1950s and gently pokes fun at both lifestyles. I have to say, though, the old fashioned life style is a lot more appealing. I absolutely LOVE Mr. Hulot's house. If you watch the movie, you will understand. Since it's neither plot or character oriented, there's not much to say about it. Or, rather, there's not much to say that can fully describe the movie. It's kind of...Charlie Chaplinesque in a way, but Mr. Hulot isn't as overly comic as Chaplin is. The best thing I can think to say about the movie is this: Imagine you (the viewer) are a character in the movie. Or, better yet, imagine the characters are real people. When you walk down the street and pass people, you don't know anything about them outside of that singular experience. You don't know what's going on in their head or if they have some deep inner turmoil. The characters in "Mon Oncle" are the same way. There's no big character development or even much of a story line. It's simply a slice of life from Paris in the late 1950s. It's very beautiful, and if you don't mind slower movies, I would highly recommend it.