(no subject)
I studied for the LSATs during much of my free time today. This was kind of annoying, as I was planning to do work (Oh, the exciting life I lead). However, what I went over is kind of a one-time deal, and I won't have to relearn that specific material in the next 20 days. I just need to practice at it. Bah. I need to get letters of recommendation from profs I haven't talked to in two years, but I hesitate to ask them because it's the beginning of the school year and I don't want them to tell me 'no' or 'maybe by December'. Anyway, I'll fire something off tomorrow. I've put it off long enough for fear of being rejected / being thought ill of.
This is why I haven't been posting much. I have typed up several entries, but deleted them all because they were largely uninteresting / banal. My life for the past couple months has largely moved between the poles of 'not working' and 'worrying about work'. Upon finishing my last video game ("Neverwinter Nights 2"), I refrained from starting a new one so that I would focus more of my time on work and getting into law school. However, as a testament to my lack of discipline in matters of 'choosing easy things' versus 'choosing things that make me think unhappy thoughts', television has replaced the void that video games left. Bah. I suppose I'd feel a lot better about the past few weeks if I had more to show for my worry than an increased knowledge of "Scrubs" gleaned from reruns on comedy central and episodes posted on youtube. Brian, Josh, and Andi are to blame, as they are for previous addictions I have had to cope with.
Last night I went to a group birthday party. Many of us at work have birthdays in early september, so we went over to my friend's condo complex and had a large bar-b-que at a gazebo. I got to mix up my dad's hamburger recipe, which was roundly praised. Another success! If I wasn't so risk averse, I would consider a go at a restaurant. Alas, though, I think it'd be better to stay on the path I'm on now. The party was alright, though I ended up staying longer than I wanted to because I had to serve as a ride for a couple of friends. I would -hate- to tell someone "Okay, fun's over, I want to leave and I'm responsible for getting you home". It seems I don't learn.
Marcia and Steve were here last week. They arrived Tuesday night. Steve was recovering from... something... but he bravely agreed to do the 'Standard National Mall Tour' (Natural History Museum, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial) with the 'King Street Restaurant Package' (Murphy's Irish Pub. Steve wanted Shepard's Pie) on Wednesday. You know, I've walked the first part of the tour many times (and the second many more, of course, but that has no bearing this conclusion), and I always need to rest by the time we reach Lincoln. This is kind of surprising, because I'm probably in the best shape of my life right now. Maybe it's cause the lethargic pace of a normal-person walking speed makes my muscles relax too much. "Charlie, don't walk so quick, we're on vacation!" (Marcia, within two minutes of us leaving the metro) For any subsequent visitors, do not feel shy about reminding me of this. I usually walk quickly and by myself, so it is not something I notice at first. Anyway, they only had a day here, and Marcia was coming down with The Plague by the end of day. I think she got it from Lincoln. They left Thursday for Virginia Beach. I burned everything they touched once I came home.
Marcia brought "Mirrormask" down, and we watched it while recovering from our Lincoln / Dinosaur pilgrimage. I thought the casting was alright, and the effects / created world was great. Very dream-like and imaginative. However, there were several holes / thin places in the plot that kinda left a sour taste in my mouth.
These aren't so much "Plot Holes", as things that jarred me back to reality by noticing something that didn't mesh.
Okay, so the whole story happened because the protagonist and her mom had a fight about the protagonist's chafing at a life tied to the family run circus. This fight -may- have caused her mother to have some sort of stress induced brain malfunction. As such, the protagonist falls into a magical world that's a reflection of the paintings and drawings she has posted to her wall. In this world, there is a Light Side and a Dark Side, each ruled by their respective Queens. Well, someone stole something from the Queen of the Light Side, causing her to fall into a coma. At the same time, the Queen of the Dark Side is hunting her daughter, who is a double of the protagonist.
Plot Hole 1: The protagonist has a 'dark reflection' of herself (a tempermental, egocentric goth / emo girl) who takes the protagonist's place in the real world by using an artifact known as the "Mirror Mask". Thus, the two are a reflection of one another.
The protagonist's mother is reflected by -two- people in the mirrored world, the Light Queen and the Dark Queen. I don't get she has two dopplegangers, while the protagonist only has one.
Plot Hole 2: When everything is solved and the crisis is averted, the protagonist is happy to get her mother back. She settles down to a life at the circus, apparently. To me, this kind of avoids a resolution to the argument that began the whole affair. I mean, is she just settling with a life she doesn't like, simply because she has her parents back? She tried for more, and almost lost it all, so she is willing to accept what she has. Is that the moral of the story? I could accept that, if the statement was made more explicitly. To me, the argument was unresolved. The girl did not state or show any willingness to defer her dreams to keep her family together beyond returning to work as if nothing changed, nor did she show any desire to pursue her own aspirations.
Anyway, aside from that, I mostly liked the movie. I would give it a 6.5 / 10 overall on account of the story. 8/10 for art / setting.
This is why I haven't been posting much. I have typed up several entries, but deleted them all because they were largely uninteresting / banal. My life for the past couple months has largely moved between the poles of 'not working' and 'worrying about work'. Upon finishing my last video game ("Neverwinter Nights 2"), I refrained from starting a new one so that I would focus more of my time on work and getting into law school. However, as a testament to my lack of discipline in matters of 'choosing easy things' versus 'choosing things that make me think unhappy thoughts', television has replaced the void that video games left. Bah. I suppose I'd feel a lot better about the past few weeks if I had more to show for my worry than an increased knowledge of "Scrubs" gleaned from reruns on comedy central and episodes posted on youtube. Brian, Josh, and Andi are to blame, as they are for previous addictions I have had to cope with.
Last night I went to a group birthday party. Many of us at work have birthdays in early september, so we went over to my friend's condo complex and had a large bar-b-que at a gazebo. I got to mix up my dad's hamburger recipe, which was roundly praised. Another success! If I wasn't so risk averse, I would consider a go at a restaurant. Alas, though, I think it'd be better to stay on the path I'm on now. The party was alright, though I ended up staying longer than I wanted to because I had to serve as a ride for a couple of friends. I would -hate- to tell someone "Okay, fun's over, I want to leave and I'm responsible for getting you home". It seems I don't learn.
Marcia and Steve were here last week. They arrived Tuesday night. Steve was recovering from... something... but he bravely agreed to do the 'Standard National Mall Tour' (Natural History Museum, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial) with the 'King Street Restaurant Package' (Murphy's Irish Pub. Steve wanted Shepard's Pie) on Wednesday. You know, I've walked the first part of the tour many times (and the second many more, of course, but that has no bearing this conclusion), and I always need to rest by the time we reach Lincoln. This is kind of surprising, because I'm probably in the best shape of my life right now. Maybe it's cause the lethargic pace of a normal-person walking speed makes my muscles relax too much. "Charlie, don't walk so quick, we're on vacation!" (Marcia, within two minutes of us leaving the metro) For any subsequent visitors, do not feel shy about reminding me of this. I usually walk quickly and by myself, so it is not something I notice at first. Anyway, they only had a day here, and Marcia was coming down with The Plague by the end of day. I think she got it from Lincoln. They left Thursday for Virginia Beach. I burned everything they touched once I came home.
Marcia brought "Mirrormask" down, and we watched it while recovering from our Lincoln / Dinosaur pilgrimage. I thought the casting was alright, and the effects / created world was great. Very dream-like and imaginative. However, there were several holes / thin places in the plot that kinda left a sour taste in my mouth.
These aren't so much "Plot Holes", as things that jarred me back to reality by noticing something that didn't mesh.
Okay, so the whole story happened because the protagonist and her mom had a fight about the protagonist's chafing at a life tied to the family run circus. This fight -may- have caused her mother to have some sort of stress induced brain malfunction. As such, the protagonist falls into a magical world that's a reflection of the paintings and drawings she has posted to her wall. In this world, there is a Light Side and a Dark Side, each ruled by their respective Queens. Well, someone stole something from the Queen of the Light Side, causing her to fall into a coma. At the same time, the Queen of the Dark Side is hunting her daughter, who is a double of the protagonist.
Plot Hole 1: The protagonist has a 'dark reflection' of herself (a tempermental, egocentric goth / emo girl) who takes the protagonist's place in the real world by using an artifact known as the "Mirror Mask". Thus, the two are a reflection of one another.
The protagonist's mother is reflected by -two- people in the mirrored world, the Light Queen and the Dark Queen. I don't get she has two dopplegangers, while the protagonist only has one.
Plot Hole 2: When everything is solved and the crisis is averted, the protagonist is happy to get her mother back. She settles down to a life at the circus, apparently. To me, this kind of avoids a resolution to the argument that began the whole affair. I mean, is she just settling with a life she doesn't like, simply because she has her parents back? She tried for more, and almost lost it all, so she is willing to accept what she has. Is that the moral of the story? I could accept that, if the statement was made more explicitly. To me, the argument was unresolved. The girl did not state or show any willingness to defer her dreams to keep her family together beyond returning to work as if nothing changed, nor did she show any desire to pursue her own aspirations.
Anyway, aside from that, I mostly liked the movie. I would give it a 6.5 / 10 overall on account of the story. 8/10 for art / setting.