good ideas
I got the idea to keep track of movies and books I've seen and read this year from Mandi. I'm cheating and counting the things starting from December 1. =) A * means it's a repeat viewing. I guess I'll also aim for reading/seeing at least 50 this year. =) It's a good idea.
Books
i. Pyramids by Terry Pratchett -- I picked this book up December 17th and could not put it down until I was done at 4am the next morning. This book has great wit and commentary on religion within a comedy about a prince sent into the world to learn a trade--he picks assassin--who is unexpectedly called back home to rule, as god of his little desert country. Hilarious! Finished December 18, 2007.
ii. Firewing by Kenneth Oppel -- The third in a beloved trilogy I started in third grade, this finale veers into the realm of gods and has a most unsatisfying, non-kid-friendly ending. I would not recommend this to anyone but hardcore fans of the first two books, Silverwing and Sunwing. Finished December 30, 2007.
iii. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury -- This book was a collection of short stories, mainly about different Mars scenarios, both fantastic and common, but all philosophical. A few I remember offhand are: The future, most of the "superstitious" books have been burned except the originals, including Shakespeare's, Poe's, Dickinson's, and the "spirits" of the books along with their authors retreated to Mars, but a spaceship from earth comes to colonize the red planet... Martians invade Earth and are welcomed with open arms, to be destroyed by the television and free market... A city on a distant planet created by a race wiped out by humans waits and waits and waits for humans to visit it, for thousands of years, and then it infects them with diseases and sends them back home for revenge... African-Americans flee to Mars and set up a life there, while the white men blow each other up on Earth, until they come begging to live on Mars--will they be turned away?... A poor man on Earth and his family watch as all the wealthy rocket away to Mars. He finally gets a rocket of his own... A "rocket-man" visits his family only once every 3 months for 3 days before the pull of Space sends him packing again. A look at the psychological damage done to those he leaves behind... these are only a few of the many stories. Haunting. Finished sometime in December. Worth a read if you like sci-fi.
1. *Matilda by Roald Dahl -- I thought I loved this book as a child. Now I don't know if I ever read it at all. I had always classified it as a sort of "spy book" in my mind, but it involves much less espionage than I remembered, and a much sweeter rendition of Matilda herself. Are there different versions of it? Perhaps the movie was more exciting than the book. At any rate, it nearly made me cry anyways with the ending. How lovely. How I wish I could be like the teacher Miss Honey. Finished January 4, 2008.
2. *Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery -- I reread Anne of Green Gables because I disliked it in 5th/6th grade and Rebecca INSISTED I give it another go, as it's one of her favorites. I think I can see why I probably never finished it in the beginning, with the old language, but by the end I couldn't put it down even though my eyes hurt. It's a truthful tale of an adopted orphan's schooling and adventured in the country from age 11 to around 18, I believe. Finished January 5, 2008.
3. The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter -- I've been meaning to read this for at least a year, when my mom handed it to me and said it was a good book for teachers-to-be. I think she saw the word "Education" and assumed that. There were no good professional teachers anywhere in the book. There was a 5-year orphan who moves in with his Cherokee grandparents in the backwoods and learns how to live like a Cherokee. This is a wonderful book because it is written from the perspective of the child-- adult things happen but Little Tree's innocence and naivete change how we look at them. However, this book has one of the most depressing endings ever. I finished it on the beach in the Dominican Republic and cried. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, as long as they have tissues nearby.
4. The Shipping News by E. Anne Proulx; won the Pulitzer Prize -- My Dad handed me this book when I asked for a GOOD paperback to bring with me to the Dominican Republic, though I didn't actually read more than a couple pages while I was there, as I was on The Education of Little Tree. This book took me a while to read, or at least it felt like it. Probably a week plus some days. This book is as slow-paced as real life, and the most striking feature is the author's style. Her sentences end. Like poem phrases. Peering out at the rain-colored distance. Through a telescope made of old brass. The protagonist's name is a metaphor, as the very first words in the book tell you: "Quoyle: A coil of rope." Each chapter starts with a picture of a knot and description, or a bit of fisherman lore, which is somehow incorporated metaphorically into the chapter. Set mostly in Newfoundland after Quoyle uproots from his New York home and returns to the land of his ancestors and his aunt, among desperate fishermen, incestuous sexual abuse, a newspaper The Gammy Bird, and children trying to understand their world, this book is definitely worth a read, but you have to stick with it. It improves as the relationships between characters grow warmer. I soaked in the cynical outlook on life, but it's really just realistic. The story of a kinda journalist. Finished January 22.
5. Eva Luna by Isabel Allende -- My suitemate Laura gave me this book. This is a page-turner, a thought-provoker, a mind-opener. The author describes scenes so very vividly that it feels like you are right there with the characters. I would finish a chapter around 2am, turn the page to read the first couple sentences of the next chapter before I set it down, but be hooked. It's about a poor girl growing up in South America in a country filled with civil unrest, and the lives of the people that she grows to love, including a Turkish merchant, a guerrilla fighter, and a German photographer. It's amazing how much she learns during her life, given her situation. Most definitely worth a read. Please do. Finished January 26.
6. The Wizard's Legacy by Craig Karges (with Jon Saint-Germain) -- This book, written by a magician/mentalist I saw put on a show, is about his shaman uncle "Doc" who taught Craig about the trade one summer when he was young, before passing away. The book tells a dual tale of Doc and Craig's lives. It reads like a fictional (auto)biography. This book is very interesting and while it doesn't reveal any of the magic tricks, claiming they're all mental subconscious thingybobs, there's another book to read to clear that up. =) An emotional read, but written by a busy mentalist, not a full-time author. Finished January 29.
7. Stardust by Neil Gaiman -- I borrowed this from Elizabeth after seeing the movie by the same title. I have to admit, head bowed, that I prefer the movie. However, it's still a good book. Just, when an entire side-story is summed up in, "In the town of Simcock-Under-Hill, Tristan and Yvaine had an encounter with a goblin press-gang that might have ended unhappily, with Tristan spending the rest of his life fighting the goblins' endless wars beneath the earth, had it not been for Yvaine's quick thinking and sharp tongue." (page 185), I go crazy with wanting to know more and am not satisfied. This book was originally released as illustrated chapters in a literary magazine, I found it, so it was never meant to be read in one sitting with plain text. Finished February 15 at 1am.
8. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett -- I borrowed this from Laurie after it was recommended by Jacob after seeing Stardust. This book is pure genuis and I want to reread it because I was so absorbed in the words that I didn't notice the mini-pictures in the stylized section-starting letters until near the end. I mean, I knew they were there, but I didn't look at them and comprehend that they had to do with the plot--I just kept going, which is something I used to do even as a kid, skipping over the drawings. Oops. Anyways, it's about the apocalypse, the spawn of the devil being a human boy, a demon and angel drinking buddies, and Death, Pollution (Pestilence having retired with the invention of penicillin), War, and Famine. The plot is the story of some people trying to incite the apocalypse, and some people trying to stop it, and the fate of Earth in the hands of an eleven-year-old boy named Adam. Wonderfully witty read, and I learned a lot of new vocabulary (or at least was introduced). Finished February 16.
Movies
i. *Mirror Mask -- One of the most artistic movies I have ever seen, this is worth re-watching several times over. A British tale, I presume by the accents, of a girl growing up in a carnival family who gets sucked in to the drawings she plasters on her wall and has to "save" her mother who is dreadfully ill. Along the way, she makes the most extraordinary friends and enemies, who tend to wear "masks" to show their personalities. Watched early December with SoIll.
ii. Avatar -- I'm not sure if this counts as a real movie, but it was long enough and Brittany was super-excited about it. Umm...I wasn't caught up in episodes, so it was a hard watch, but interesting. Watched early December.
iii. The Cat Returns (worked on by Miyazaki) -- I watched this with Brittany after the Avatar showing. A good watch, even if the "moral" was rubbed into our faces too often. The baron is adorable, as is the prince, and we should always believe in ourselves! Worth watching once but not really more often.
iv. The Golden Compass -- I saw The Golden Compass with Dad and thought it wasn't worth the religion controversy. It was much lighter than expected. I loved the CGI, especially with the changing daemons. At the false ending, I inwardly retched as Lyra was forced to sum up the remaining problems. Still, I think it did a fantastic job of including all of the important points of the book, but it had to do that in a rather rushed manner. Discussion here. Worth watching once. Watched around December 17, 2007.
v. I Am Legend -- A horror movie about the cure for cancer wiping out most of humanity and turning most of the survivors into monsters. One man tries to come up with the cure for the monsters. Watching was worth it for the look at how the mind alters after 3 years of solitude; he wasn't able to see the society in the Dark Seekers. Watched while in Tennessee, mid-December.
vi. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee -- The story of a boy torn from his Indian home as a child, raised white, who returns to the West as a doctor for his people and witnesses the tragedy of Wounded Knee. This movie was pretty good; very historical and touching. It brought the situation to life in a new way. Watched while in Tennessee, mid-December.
vii. The Simpsons Movie -- I was only expecting to watch the first 5 minutes and then walk out, disgusted, but it ended up actually having a good plot. I was amazed by the environmental theme throughout this movie, though it was mocking the extreme measures to protect it, too. Worth several viewings. Watched while in Tennessee, mid-December.
1. Tom Jones -- Two words: Urban Candide. This, what, 5-hour long movie? was a real hoot. A young ruffian falls in love with a childhood friend above his station and, after many follies, follows her to London and gets himself into more trouble, nearly dies, and finally wins the girl with a twist. Long but DEFINITELY worth watching--this is more racy than most modern movies today! Watched New Years Eve-January 1.
2. Emma -- This romance movie was ridiculous. Same era as Tom Jones, the moral of the story was to have a childhood friend of the opposite gender, don't try to make marriage matches for others because they won't work, refuse to be interested in anyone, and all of a sudden realize you love your childhood friend the day before he proposes to you. o_O Watched January 2, not going to watch again.
3. Jane Eyre -- THIS romance move was painful to watch, in a bad way. I just didn't get it. Why would she go for the man who was much much older, had been married to an insane woman who nearly killed him, and was always harsh? And on purpose made her jealous? Yes he talked to her, but then. The younger man might have, too, if she'd given him the chance. Maybe the novels are better. Watched January 3.
4. *Ratatouille -- A rewatch with SoIll, I love this movie and want to own it. The story of a rat with a great sense of smell and a love of cooking, teaming up with a poor hobbledehoy with the grace of a nutcracker. Watched January 16 and played in the snow afterward. WORTH BUYING.
5. Eye of the Dolphin -- Dad rented this specifically for me because it mentioned dolphins. It's about a teenage girl who is being raised by her grandmother after her mom died and she'd been told her father was dead. Truth is, he lives in the Bahamas and researches dolphins, believing they can talk through sonic images. When the girl does drugs and skips school, the tired grandmother dumps her with her father, who never knew she existed. Girl makes friends with a wild dolphin, father's research site is about to turned into a tourist franchise, girl suddenly saves the day. The plot is jerky. The credits song is "I Have Lost My Dreams" by Dar Williams!!! Watched around January 18?
6. 3:10 to Yuma -- This is a Western, the title coming from the train which the protagonists are trying to put the killer on. There are so many unrealistic things in this movie, but it's got the necessary violence to keep most males engaged. The most horrifying part, to me, was when Ben Wade (the bad guy) killed someone by stabbing them in the throat with a fork repeatedly. Oh my. It has a moral of sorts? Not really? because in the end, justice is (sort of) done. When he whistled for his horse I thought it was rather silly. Watched January 19.
7. All Quiet on the Western Front -- I watched this with Dad as he previewed it for his 7th grade social studies class. I had forgotten the ending. This movie is VERY true to the book, and would be a great thing to show young men too eager to get onto the front lines, though of course we never longer use World War I war of attrition tactics. Depressing and realistic. Watched January 20.
8. Tekkon Kinkrete -- I saw this at SoIll with subtitles. This amazing Japanese anime about gang violence and yin and yang made me cry three times, which is a record. "Black" and "White" are young brothers who go by the "Cats" as their gang name, orphans. White is completely innocent and Black is a killer. Somehow they manage to stay alive. When new adult mafia-types come to Treasure Town prepared to change up the order of things, life gets hard to hold on to. This looks into psychology, "traditions," and how horrible gangs are. A few non-distracting elements of magic are included--the ability to glide long distances in the air. WATCH IT. Please. Watched January 23.
9. *Flushed Away -- Kim and I were bored and I had time to kill, so I suggested watching a movie, and she looked at my shelf and said she'd never seen it. Being one of my favorites, I said she had to watch it. So we did. The volume wasn't quite loud enough, as she was cleaning while watching, but I still thought it was hilarious. Unfortunately, when you know the punchlines, the movie seems a lot shorter from lack of anticipation. Watched January 24.
10. Murderball -- This was a Cultural Event about paraplegics playing rugby. That's all that I knew going in. Caresse and I discovered it was rated R for language and sexual things, and that the rivalry between Canada and America's paraplegic rugby teams is INTENSE. They ARE athletes, even though they are confined to wheelchairs (not that I ever doubted it). This was a real documentary about real people and the pain they went through as were in the hospital, learning how to move their arms again. Most of the men in the movie had gotten into stupid, drunken accidents and broken their necks are high schoolers, it seemed. Which made their transition into bumper-car-slamming sports logical. Some of them, though, had polio or other diseases they couldn't help. They could still drive and everything though! One of them was raising a kid in middle school or so. ALSO, one of the last, inspirational songs I RECOGNIZED. I thought it was by Mates of State, but when I checked iTunes, I realized it The Polyphonic Spree's "Light & Day," which I had not listened to in 1 year and 8 days, haha. Anyways... DEFINITELY worth a worth, but not with any children in the room. Watched January 29.
11. *Aladdin -- Aladdin has not lost his charm over the years. I watched this with SoIll, and it was a fantastic movie to destress by. I still jumped in places and went "aww" in others. Magical. From an era when even sequels were good! Watched January 30.
12. *Jurassic Park -- SoIll was awesome as always and put on another old favorite. I hadn't seen it in years, and was freaking out in my chair. FANTASTIC STILL after all these years! The special effects are still amazing! I don't know if those dinos are CGI or what but they seem real, and the actors certainly interact well with them. I was scared. Watched February 6.
13. Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) -- Before I say anything else--I missed this one in theaters, hadn't heard anything about it, and have determined that I NEED to re-read the books and figure out in my head what happened in which book, because my brothers knew a ton more about it than *I* did, and I introduced them to the series. At any rate, this movie was HORRIBLE. Two of my brothers walked out before the end, it was that bad. Oh-my-goodness David Yates director and screenwriter Michael Goldenberg, on this one, you FAILED. They jumped from scene to scene with NO EXPLANATION, assuming you read the book and remembered the reasoning behind everything--which I didn't. Thomas bro pointed out that they left out the QUIBBLE. The underground newspaper. What the heck, guys? The books are ALL ABOUT the subplots. Horrible horrible movie! Don't watch it! Watched Feburary 9.
14. Sicko -- Directed by Michael Moore, I watched this movie because several people in my college classes said I should. So I did. What to say... it was by Michael Moore, that's a statement in itself. It was very interesting, and I hadn't realized how well the French had it, what with government people coming into the home and doing laundry and feeding the babies for new moms... but also the part about the Cuban hospitals was soooo not realistic. They only did all that for free because Michael Moore was filming it! HMO's are bad, though. *sigh* On the one hand, socialized medicine seems to work wonderfully in France, Canada, and England, but on the other, they pay lots of taxes for it... and come to America when they need some things done. Meh. Interesting movie, worth a watch, but his sarcasm in places grated on my nerves. Watched February 10.
15. Stardust -- NEIL GAIMAN -- This movie was very exciting and has redefined my idea of a "good movie." This beats The Princess Bride. Stardust deserves the highest compliment that isn't obscene and it's not for kids. The mature humor, fantastic visuals, flying pirates (I will never forget "Captain Shakespeare"), and witches (amazing make-up work for aging!), make for an inspiring movie at the end of which, instead of pining after the hero, one is content that he and the heroine are together. --Watched February 13-past midnight to Valentine's Day.
16. Juno -- This movie was not what I expected, because what I had heard was that it was about a couple of teenage kids who got pregnant and they decided to keep it--no mention of adoption. Or her enviable spunk. Or the expression in the boy's eyes when he lay next to her in the hospital. Or the soundtrack, which I want to buy. Very well done. The adoptee couple totally fooled me, as did her stomach--it looked real, and the baby did too. Definitely worth a watch, or at least a listen. The opening credits are artfully done. Watched in the Rock Hill theater with Laurie and Rachel, February 17.
17. Super Mario Brothers -- This is a classic I'd never seen before, nor entirely understood as I never got to play this game as a child, but it was funny and the fungus bit was really cool. The special effects were actually pretty up-to-date in my opinion. Watched with SoIll February 20.
18-19. Reefer Madness: Musical and 1938 versions -- This was rented because it is apparently a classic "campy" movie. It's all about over-dramatizing the evilness of weed, which is apparently worse than heroine. I watched the modern musical version first and was laughing, until I was wincing at the rather nasty parts. Then we discovered that the entire 1938 original movie was on the DVD, so I started that. Laurie fell asleep, but I was shocked when I realized that some of the goofy lines, like "You've got more static than a radio" were actually said deadpan in the original. It wasn't quite as over-the-top, and I was concerned, but I know it was still propaganda and not realistic. This was rather disturbing, but worth the rental (thanks Laurie). Watched with Laurie March 7.
20. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? -- Once I got into the swing of this movie, it was a hoot. I think the scene where the bad guy is revealed is a bit too graphic for me, and Toon Town is so insane I'd get lost in 5 seconds, but I loved the irony of the bad guy's plan. It wasn't the best movie, but it's worth watching. Watched with SoIll March 12.
21. Dan in Real Life -- This feel-good comedy/romance is about an advice columnist widower who is raising three girls on his own. He goes to his family reunion and meets a woman in a bookstore...who is dating his brother. Chaos ensues. Watched with my family at the beginning of Spring Break.
22-23. Crocodile Dundee & Crocodile Dundee II -- When Granddad heard that I was going to Australia but had never seen Crocodile Dundee, he sent Oma and me out to get it. When I liked it, he left to get the second one, too. Pretty much, this outback Australian supposedly crawled to safety miles and miles after his leg was bit off by a crocodile. A New York reporter hears about it and checks it out. Turns out there was some exaggeration, and it's unclear whether or not he was poaching, but he's charming, and his age is hard to determine thanks to his sun-whitened hair and sun-wrinkled skin. He goes back to NY with Reporter Lady, who is dating someone else, and bumpkin-in-the-city chaos ensues. The sequel has to do with Reporter Lady's ex-husband sending her secret photos and the drug dealers who are photographed try to kidnap her and get Dundee to deliver the letters to her. A bunch of teenagers help save the day, and then an outback chase with Aborigines ensues. Hilarious, certainly unrealistic, and cool accents. Watched mid-spring-break.
24. No Country For Old Men -- This movie was a pretty standard bad-guy-chasing-good-guy-killing-people-on-the-way film, except the bad guy was really creepily insane, and the end is totally anticlimatic. Not really worth the watch, I think. Watched March 22 during spring break with my brothers.
25. *batteries not included -- This Steven Spielberg movie was from 1987, based off a book which I read and adored as a middle-schooler(?) and is set in New York City. One of my all-time favorite books. It's rated PG, but the 1987 version of PG, which means there's violence, cursing, and nude paintings XD. I'm amazed how standards change. At any rate, it's about a New York mob trying to flatten a whole block to put in skyscrapers, and one building is holding out against them. Those people are threatened and are about to move out and give up when some flying saucers arrive who love to fix things. The rest is great, in my opinion, but my brothers found it boring and left and came back throughout. It's a cheap rent if you want to see it, but I'm not pushing this one so hard as others because it could have been better, though it IS done with Steven Spielberg. Watched with my brothers March 22.
Books
i. Pyramids by Terry Pratchett -- I picked this book up December 17th and could not put it down until I was done at 4am the next morning. This book has great wit and commentary on religion within a comedy about a prince sent into the world to learn a trade--he picks assassin--who is unexpectedly called back home to rule, as god of his little desert country. Hilarious! Finished December 18, 2007.
ii. Firewing by Kenneth Oppel -- The third in a beloved trilogy I started in third grade, this finale veers into the realm of gods and has a most unsatisfying, non-kid-friendly ending. I would not recommend this to anyone but hardcore fans of the first two books, Silverwing and Sunwing. Finished December 30, 2007.
iii. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury -- This book was a collection of short stories, mainly about different Mars scenarios, both fantastic and common, but all philosophical. A few I remember offhand are: The future, most of the "superstitious" books have been burned except the originals, including Shakespeare's, Poe's, Dickinson's, and the "spirits" of the books along with their authors retreated to Mars, but a spaceship from earth comes to colonize the red planet... Martians invade Earth and are welcomed with open arms, to be destroyed by the television and free market... A city on a distant planet created by a race wiped out by humans waits and waits and waits for humans to visit it, for thousands of years, and then it infects them with diseases and sends them back home for revenge... African-Americans flee to Mars and set up a life there, while the white men blow each other up on Earth, until they come begging to live on Mars--will they be turned away?... A poor man on Earth and his family watch as all the wealthy rocket away to Mars. He finally gets a rocket of his own... A "rocket-man" visits his family only once every 3 months for 3 days before the pull of Space sends him packing again. A look at the psychological damage done to those he leaves behind... these are only a few of the many stories. Haunting. Finished sometime in December. Worth a read if you like sci-fi.
1. *Matilda by Roald Dahl -- I thought I loved this book as a child. Now I don't know if I ever read it at all. I had always classified it as a sort of "spy book" in my mind, but it involves much less espionage than I remembered, and a much sweeter rendition of Matilda herself. Are there different versions of it? Perhaps the movie was more exciting than the book. At any rate, it nearly made me cry anyways with the ending. How lovely. How I wish I could be like the teacher Miss Honey. Finished January 4, 2008.
2. *Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery -- I reread Anne of Green Gables because I disliked it in 5th/6th grade and Rebecca INSISTED I give it another go, as it's one of her favorites. I think I can see why I probably never finished it in the beginning, with the old language, but by the end I couldn't put it down even though my eyes hurt. It's a truthful tale of an adopted orphan's schooling and adventured in the country from age 11 to around 18, I believe. Finished January 5, 2008.
3. The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter -- I've been meaning to read this for at least a year, when my mom handed it to me and said it was a good book for teachers-to-be. I think she saw the word "Education" and assumed that. There were no good professional teachers anywhere in the book. There was a 5-year orphan who moves in with his Cherokee grandparents in the backwoods and learns how to live like a Cherokee. This is a wonderful book because it is written from the perspective of the child-- adult things happen but Little Tree's innocence and naivete change how we look at them. However, this book has one of the most depressing endings ever. I finished it on the beach in the Dominican Republic and cried. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, as long as they have tissues nearby.
4. The Shipping News by E. Anne Proulx; won the Pulitzer Prize -- My Dad handed me this book when I asked for a GOOD paperback to bring with me to the Dominican Republic, though I didn't actually read more than a couple pages while I was there, as I was on The Education of Little Tree. This book took me a while to read, or at least it felt like it. Probably a week plus some days. This book is as slow-paced as real life, and the most striking feature is the author's style. Her sentences end. Like poem phrases. Peering out at the rain-colored distance. Through a telescope made of old brass. The protagonist's name is a metaphor, as the very first words in the book tell you: "Quoyle: A coil of rope." Each chapter starts with a picture of a knot and description, or a bit of fisherman lore, which is somehow incorporated metaphorically into the chapter. Set mostly in Newfoundland after Quoyle uproots from his New York home and returns to the land of his ancestors and his aunt, among desperate fishermen, incestuous sexual abuse, a newspaper The Gammy Bird, and children trying to understand their world, this book is definitely worth a read, but you have to stick with it. It improves as the relationships between characters grow warmer. I soaked in the cynical outlook on life, but it's really just realistic. The story of a kinda journalist. Finished January 22.
5. Eva Luna by Isabel Allende -- My suitemate Laura gave me this book. This is a page-turner, a thought-provoker, a mind-opener. The author describes scenes so very vividly that it feels like you are right there with the characters. I would finish a chapter around 2am, turn the page to read the first couple sentences of the next chapter before I set it down, but be hooked. It's about a poor girl growing up in South America in a country filled with civil unrest, and the lives of the people that she grows to love, including a Turkish merchant, a guerrilla fighter, and a German photographer. It's amazing how much she learns during her life, given her situation. Most definitely worth a read. Please do. Finished January 26.
6. The Wizard's Legacy by Craig Karges (with Jon Saint-Germain) -- This book, written by a magician/mentalist I saw put on a show, is about his shaman uncle "Doc" who taught Craig about the trade one summer when he was young, before passing away. The book tells a dual tale of Doc and Craig's lives. It reads like a fictional (auto)biography. This book is very interesting and while it doesn't reveal any of the magic tricks, claiming they're all mental subconscious thingybobs, there's another book to read to clear that up. =) An emotional read, but written by a busy mentalist, not a full-time author. Finished January 29.
7. Stardust by Neil Gaiman -- I borrowed this from Elizabeth after seeing the movie by the same title. I have to admit, head bowed, that I prefer the movie. However, it's still a good book. Just, when an entire side-story is summed up in, "In the town of Simcock-Under-Hill, Tristan and Yvaine had an encounter with a goblin press-gang that might have ended unhappily, with Tristan spending the rest of his life fighting the goblins' endless wars beneath the earth, had it not been for Yvaine's quick thinking and sharp tongue." (page 185), I go crazy with wanting to know more and am not satisfied. This book was originally released as illustrated chapters in a literary magazine, I found it, so it was never meant to be read in one sitting with plain text. Finished February 15 at 1am.
8. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett -- I borrowed this from Laurie after it was recommended by Jacob after seeing Stardust. This book is pure genuis and I want to reread it because I was so absorbed in the words that I didn't notice the mini-pictures in the stylized section-starting letters until near the end. I mean, I knew they were there, but I didn't look at them and comprehend that they had to do with the plot--I just kept going, which is something I used to do even as a kid, skipping over the drawings. Oops. Anyways, it's about the apocalypse, the spawn of the devil being a human boy, a demon and angel drinking buddies, and Death, Pollution (Pestilence having retired with the invention of penicillin), War, and Famine. The plot is the story of some people trying to incite the apocalypse, and some people trying to stop it, and the fate of Earth in the hands of an eleven-year-old boy named Adam. Wonderfully witty read, and I learned a lot of new vocabulary (or at least was introduced). Finished February 16.
Movies
i. *Mirror Mask -- One of the most artistic movies I have ever seen, this is worth re-watching several times over. A British tale, I presume by the accents, of a girl growing up in a carnival family who gets sucked in to the drawings she plasters on her wall and has to "save" her mother who is dreadfully ill. Along the way, she makes the most extraordinary friends and enemies, who tend to wear "masks" to show their personalities. Watched early December with SoIll.
ii. Avatar -- I'm not sure if this counts as a real movie, but it was long enough and Brittany was super-excited about it. Umm...I wasn't caught up in episodes, so it was a hard watch, but interesting. Watched early December.
iii. The Cat Returns (worked on by Miyazaki) -- I watched this with Brittany after the Avatar showing. A good watch, even if the "moral" was rubbed into our faces too often. The baron is adorable, as is the prince, and we should always believe in ourselves! Worth watching once but not really more often.
iv. The Golden Compass -- I saw The Golden Compass with Dad and thought it wasn't worth the religion controversy. It was much lighter than expected. I loved the CGI, especially with the changing daemons. At the false ending, I inwardly retched as Lyra was forced to sum up the remaining problems. Still, I think it did a fantastic job of including all of the important points of the book, but it had to do that in a rather rushed manner. Discussion here. Worth watching once. Watched around December 17, 2007.
v. I Am Legend -- A horror movie about the cure for cancer wiping out most of humanity and turning most of the survivors into monsters. One man tries to come up with the cure for the monsters. Watching was worth it for the look at how the mind alters after 3 years of solitude; he wasn't able to see the society in the Dark Seekers. Watched while in Tennessee, mid-December.
vi. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee -- The story of a boy torn from his Indian home as a child, raised white, who returns to the West as a doctor for his people and witnesses the tragedy of Wounded Knee. This movie was pretty good; very historical and touching. It brought the situation to life in a new way. Watched while in Tennessee, mid-December.
vii. The Simpsons Movie -- I was only expecting to watch the first 5 minutes and then walk out, disgusted, but it ended up actually having a good plot. I was amazed by the environmental theme throughout this movie, though it was mocking the extreme measures to protect it, too. Worth several viewings. Watched while in Tennessee, mid-December.
1. Tom Jones -- Two words: Urban Candide. This, what, 5-hour long movie? was a real hoot. A young ruffian falls in love with a childhood friend above his station and, after many follies, follows her to London and gets himself into more trouble, nearly dies, and finally wins the girl with a twist. Long but DEFINITELY worth watching--this is more racy than most modern movies today! Watched New Years Eve-January 1.
2. Emma -- This romance movie was ridiculous. Same era as Tom Jones, the moral of the story was to have a childhood friend of the opposite gender, don't try to make marriage matches for others because they won't work, refuse to be interested in anyone, and all of a sudden realize you love your childhood friend the day before he proposes to you. o_O Watched January 2, not going to watch again.
3. Jane Eyre -- THIS romance move was painful to watch, in a bad way. I just didn't get it. Why would she go for the man who was much much older, had been married to an insane woman who nearly killed him, and was always harsh? And on purpose made her jealous? Yes he talked to her, but then. The younger man might have, too, if she'd given him the chance. Maybe the novels are better. Watched January 3.
4. *Ratatouille -- A rewatch with SoIll, I love this movie and want to own it. The story of a rat with a great sense of smell and a love of cooking, teaming up with a poor hobbledehoy with the grace of a nutcracker. Watched January 16 and played in the snow afterward. WORTH BUYING.
5. Eye of the Dolphin -- Dad rented this specifically for me because it mentioned dolphins. It's about a teenage girl who is being raised by her grandmother after her mom died and she'd been told her father was dead. Truth is, he lives in the Bahamas and researches dolphins, believing they can talk through sonic images. When the girl does drugs and skips school, the tired grandmother dumps her with her father, who never knew she existed. Girl makes friends with a wild dolphin, father's research site is about to turned into a tourist franchise, girl suddenly saves the day. The plot is jerky. The credits song is "I Have Lost My Dreams" by Dar Williams!!! Watched around January 18?
6. 3:10 to Yuma -- This is a Western, the title coming from the train which the protagonists are trying to put the killer on. There are so many unrealistic things in this movie, but it's got the necessary violence to keep most males engaged. The most horrifying part, to me, was when Ben Wade (the bad guy) killed someone by stabbing them in the throat with a fork repeatedly. Oh my. It has a moral of sorts? Not really? because in the end, justice is (sort of) done. When he whistled for his horse I thought it was rather silly. Watched January 19.
7. All Quiet on the Western Front -- I watched this with Dad as he previewed it for his 7th grade social studies class. I had forgotten the ending. This movie is VERY true to the book, and would be a great thing to show young men too eager to get onto the front lines, though of course we never longer use World War I war of attrition tactics. Depressing and realistic. Watched January 20.
8. Tekkon Kinkrete -- I saw this at SoIll with subtitles. This amazing Japanese anime about gang violence and yin and yang made me cry three times, which is a record. "Black" and "White" are young brothers who go by the "Cats" as their gang name, orphans. White is completely innocent and Black is a killer. Somehow they manage to stay alive. When new adult mafia-types come to Treasure Town prepared to change up the order of things, life gets hard to hold on to. This looks into psychology, "traditions," and how horrible gangs are. A few non-distracting elements of magic are included--the ability to glide long distances in the air. WATCH IT. Please. Watched January 23.
9. *Flushed Away -- Kim and I were bored and I had time to kill, so I suggested watching a movie, and she looked at my shelf and said she'd never seen it. Being one of my favorites, I said she had to watch it. So we did. The volume wasn't quite loud enough, as she was cleaning while watching, but I still thought it was hilarious. Unfortunately, when you know the punchlines, the movie seems a lot shorter from lack of anticipation. Watched January 24.
10. Murderball -- This was a Cultural Event about paraplegics playing rugby. That's all that I knew going in. Caresse and I discovered it was rated R for language and sexual things, and that the rivalry between Canada and America's paraplegic rugby teams is INTENSE. They ARE athletes, even though they are confined to wheelchairs (not that I ever doubted it). This was a real documentary about real people and the pain they went through as were in the hospital, learning how to move their arms again. Most of the men in the movie had gotten into stupid, drunken accidents and broken their necks are high schoolers, it seemed. Which made their transition into bumper-car-slamming sports logical. Some of them, though, had polio or other diseases they couldn't help. They could still drive and everything though! One of them was raising a kid in middle school or so. ALSO, one of the last, inspirational songs I RECOGNIZED. I thought it was by Mates of State, but when I checked iTunes, I realized it The Polyphonic Spree's "Light & Day," which I had not listened to in 1 year and 8 days, haha. Anyways... DEFINITELY worth a worth, but not with any children in the room. Watched January 29.
11. *Aladdin -- Aladdin has not lost his charm over the years. I watched this with SoIll, and it was a fantastic movie to destress by. I still jumped in places and went "aww" in others. Magical. From an era when even sequels were good! Watched January 30.
12. *Jurassic Park -- SoIll was awesome as always and put on another old favorite. I hadn't seen it in years, and was freaking out in my chair. FANTASTIC STILL after all these years! The special effects are still amazing! I don't know if those dinos are CGI or what but they seem real, and the actors certainly interact well with them. I was scared. Watched February 6.
13. Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) -- Before I say anything else--I missed this one in theaters, hadn't heard anything about it, and have determined that I NEED to re-read the books and figure out in my head what happened in which book, because my brothers knew a ton more about it than *I* did, and I introduced them to the series. At any rate, this movie was HORRIBLE. Two of my brothers walked out before the end, it was that bad. Oh-my-goodness David Yates director and screenwriter Michael Goldenberg, on this one, you FAILED. They jumped from scene to scene with NO EXPLANATION, assuming you read the book and remembered the reasoning behind everything--which I didn't. Thomas bro pointed out that they left out the QUIBBLE. The underground newspaper. What the heck, guys? The books are ALL ABOUT the subplots. Horrible horrible movie! Don't watch it! Watched Feburary 9.
14. Sicko -- Directed by Michael Moore, I watched this movie because several people in my college classes said I should. So I did. What to say... it was by Michael Moore, that's a statement in itself. It was very interesting, and I hadn't realized how well the French had it, what with government people coming into the home and doing laundry and feeding the babies for new moms... but also the part about the Cuban hospitals was soooo not realistic. They only did all that for free because Michael Moore was filming it! HMO's are bad, though. *sigh* On the one hand, socialized medicine seems to work wonderfully in France, Canada, and England, but on the other, they pay lots of taxes for it... and come to America when they need some things done. Meh. Interesting movie, worth a watch, but his sarcasm in places grated on my nerves. Watched February 10.
15. Stardust -- NEIL GAIMAN -- This movie was very exciting and has redefined my idea of a "good movie." This beats The Princess Bride. Stardust deserves the highest compliment that isn't obscene and it's not for kids. The mature humor, fantastic visuals, flying pirates (I will never forget "Captain Shakespeare"), and witches (amazing make-up work for aging!), make for an inspiring movie at the end of which, instead of pining after the hero, one is content that he and the heroine are together. --Watched February 13-past midnight to Valentine's Day.
16. Juno -- This movie was not what I expected, because what I had heard was that it was about a couple of teenage kids who got pregnant and they decided to keep it--no mention of adoption. Or her enviable spunk. Or the expression in the boy's eyes when he lay next to her in the hospital. Or the soundtrack, which I want to buy. Very well done. The adoptee couple totally fooled me, as did her stomach--it looked real, and the baby did too. Definitely worth a watch, or at least a listen. The opening credits are artfully done. Watched in the Rock Hill theater with Laurie and Rachel, February 17.
17. Super Mario Brothers -- This is a classic I'd never seen before, nor entirely understood as I never got to play this game as a child, but it was funny and the fungus bit was really cool. The special effects were actually pretty up-to-date in my opinion. Watched with SoIll February 20.
18-19. Reefer Madness: Musical and 1938 versions -- This was rented because it is apparently a classic "campy" movie. It's all about over-dramatizing the evilness of weed, which is apparently worse than heroine. I watched the modern musical version first and was laughing, until I was wincing at the rather nasty parts. Then we discovered that the entire 1938 original movie was on the DVD, so I started that. Laurie fell asleep, but I was shocked when I realized that some of the goofy lines, like "You've got more static than a radio" were actually said deadpan in the original. It wasn't quite as over-the-top, and I was concerned, but I know it was still propaganda and not realistic. This was rather disturbing, but worth the rental (thanks Laurie). Watched with Laurie March 7.
20. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? -- Once I got into the swing of this movie, it was a hoot. I think the scene where the bad guy is revealed is a bit too graphic for me, and Toon Town is so insane I'd get lost in 5 seconds, but I loved the irony of the bad guy's plan. It wasn't the best movie, but it's worth watching. Watched with SoIll March 12.
21. Dan in Real Life -- This feel-good comedy/romance is about an advice columnist widower who is raising three girls on his own. He goes to his family reunion and meets a woman in a bookstore...who is dating his brother. Chaos ensues. Watched with my family at the beginning of Spring Break.
22-23. Crocodile Dundee & Crocodile Dundee II -- When Granddad heard that I was going to Australia but had never seen Crocodile Dundee, he sent Oma and me out to get it. When I liked it, he left to get the second one, too. Pretty much, this outback Australian supposedly crawled to safety miles and miles after his leg was bit off by a crocodile. A New York reporter hears about it and checks it out. Turns out there was some exaggeration, and it's unclear whether or not he was poaching, but he's charming, and his age is hard to determine thanks to his sun-whitened hair and sun-wrinkled skin. He goes back to NY with Reporter Lady, who is dating someone else, and bumpkin-in-the-city chaos ensues. The sequel has to do with Reporter Lady's ex-husband sending her secret photos and the drug dealers who are photographed try to kidnap her and get Dundee to deliver the letters to her. A bunch of teenagers help save the day, and then an outback chase with Aborigines ensues. Hilarious, certainly unrealistic, and cool accents. Watched mid-spring-break.
24. No Country For Old Men -- This movie was a pretty standard bad-guy-chasing-good-guy-killing-people-on-the-way film, except the bad guy was really creepily insane, and the end is totally anticlimatic. Not really worth the watch, I think. Watched March 22 during spring break with my brothers.
25. *batteries not included -- This Steven Spielberg movie was from 1987, based off a book which I read and adored as a middle-schooler(?) and is set in New York City. One of my all-time favorite books. It's rated PG, but the 1987 version of PG, which means there's violence, cursing, and nude paintings XD. I'm amazed how standards change. At any rate, it's about a New York mob trying to flatten a whole block to put in skyscrapers, and one building is holding out against them. Those people are threatened and are about to move out and give up when some flying saucers arrive who love to fix things. The rest is great, in my opinion, but my brothers found it boring and left and came back throughout. It's a cheap rent if you want to see it, but I'm not pushing this one so hard as others because it could have been better, though it IS done with Steven Spielberg. Watched with my brothers March 22.