10 Most Significant

so it's that time again where film applications are due. i went back and was looking at mine, and i like some of what i said for the 10 most influential list requirement. it includes films so it's applicable to the blog, but yeah... here's some of my thoughts regarding my favorite media...

10 Most Significant List
1. Meet your Meat Online video by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Steak had always been one of my favorite foods, but when I saw this in 8th grade I knew I had to give it up. Clips of cows that are still alive, dangling from ceilings with blood dripping get to me. I think they would get to anyone, if they’d watch it, but ignorance is bliss. Yes, it’s propaganda, and yes, I fell for it, but even if it’s just showing the most extreme cases, it proves that this kind of thing does occur. What it comes down to is that I love animals more than I love my taste buds.
2. Decatur, or Round of Applause for Your Stepmother! Song by Sufjan Stevens.
I never thought I could like folky music, but I love Sufjan Stevens. His voice is beautiful and his lyrics mean something, at least to me. I don’t have any stepparents, but I didn’t always appreciate my own parents, and this song kind of tells that story for me. It begins with “our stepmom, we did everything to hate her,” but ends with the powerful repetition of “stand up and thank her” fading out on cheers and clapping. My parents have been so supportive in everything, and I try and show my appreciation for them more now.
3. Paris, Je T’aime Film by Various Directors.
This was my “gateway drug” to foreign film, and it opened my eyes to how much can be told in such a short period of time. It’s an emotional rollercoaster ride, two of my favorites being a testament of this. The first, Gurinder Chadha’s Quais de Seine, makes me feel compassion with its theme of sincerely reaching out to others to expand one’s own understanding. The other, Place des fêtes by Oliver Shmitz, is depressing, but it has a certain beauty in its message of keeping a positive attitude and not letting a moment pass you by. It’s all about people, different types of love, and an assortment of responses in a variety of relationships; I love it.
4. i carry your heart with me Poem by e.e. cummings.
My best friend, Charlotte, and I used to read poetry late at night when we slept over at each other’s houses, and this was a favorite of ours. We grew distant during our first year of college, but for Christmas that year she artfully crafted this poem on a sheet of paper and then blogged about it—“ I made this for my best friend since seventh grade, Sammi. I’m hoping that this is not just a nice present, but a sentiment that will make up for distance and differences. I’m not sure if just wanting to stay friends is enough, but we’re sure as hell trying.” Not only does this have sentimental value, but I also love the imagery and the theme of attachment. I am often more invested in relationships with my friends than they are, and although this poem is more romantic, I feel like it represents my loyalty and love.
5. After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away Book by Joyce Carol Oates.
Her novels were the first pieces of depressing fiction I enjoyed. Before I had to have happy endings, but she makes sad endings bearable, and I’ve since come to love movies that don’t end the way I want them to. The author also helped me appreciate my mom more through her narratives. Many of her novels, including this one, relate to mother-daughter relationships, and it made me feel closer to my mom.
6. Newsweek Magazine.
Newsweek opened the door to my interest in politics. It put politics into an intellectually digestible format that I could read and discuss. With this understanding I was able to talk about the world with my dad, and it was a sort of father-daughter bonding experience.
7. postsecret.blogspot.com Website by Frank Warren.
I’m really interested in people—which is why I’m considering minoring in sociology (psychology is too much science)—and Post Secret has given me a glimpse into people’s lives unlike my own. A lot of people use it as a way to relate, but I often read it to learn about those who are not similar to me. Post Secret offers me a means to find out about people and why they do the things they do. The secrets are funny, depressing, and shocking, and they shed light on human connections, giving me comfort because we’ve all got secrets.
8. Freaks and Geeks Television show by Paul Feig.
I feel like a lot can be learned from this show about friends, families, and fitting in. Not only did the show entertain me, but it also provided characters I could relate to. I love how wholesome the show is, too. It represents the good that can be done through mass media.
9. Waitress Film by Adrienne Shelly.
This is also significant because of what’s portrayed within relationships of different people, and what I learned from it. I find it empowering that the woman overcomes her abusive husband and makes it on her own, and the way she does it is through the love of her newborn child. Not only that, but she also overcomes the moral ambiguity of her character, and in the end it makes for a perfect kind of closure of both happiness and some regret. This movie shows that there’s good to be found in the most unexpected places.
10. Promises Film by Carlos Bolado, B.Z. Goldberg, and Justine Shapiro.
After watching this film in 102, I want to make a documentary that will touch people’s hearts as much as this touched mine. I have no particular tie to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict other than the fact that they’re my fellow human beings, but this movie made me care, and left with me a desire to change attitudes through the medium of film. Children are so impressionable, and they must be taught to love one another or a cycle of hate will be perpetuated. I need to do everything in my power to make the world a better place, because if everyone’s pulling his or her weight, we might get somewhere.

Deception

I think my roommate described Inception best when she said "I don't know how to describe it." But I'll try.

In simplest terms it's an action movie that makes you think. In complex terms its much more than that. With all its intricacy it can't be categorized into one basic genre, or even two. It's about life in a dream--and not in a sci-fi way.

This was my second time seeing it. I marveled at it more this time, already knowing it was brilliant--trying to pinpoint why--but I couldn't. It just is.

The concept is so original and so smart, and the execution is perfect. There's dreams within dreams, and the filmmakers had to have taken their time because the continuity and consistency are flawless. They explain what would be the unexplainable and make this dream world... reality. But it's not. And that's what the point is... kind of. Not to get lost in the life-like dream, or you'll compromise what's most important. In that way its beautiful. What's most important is family (to the main character). Although, it's about money and thrill for the rest of them. And that's where I see what I don't like. All the characters are kind of amoral, and even immoral. Their either hijacking people's subconscious to get information or put it there for their own benefit. Except DiCaprio. The first and second time he performs inception are for his children.

And in their scheming, they fix a son's relationship with his dead father, but its fake so in the end its not really good. or maybe it is... since the son thinks the reconciliation is real...

I don't know. Besides that, fan-freaking-tastic movie.

Now I guess I need to dig a little deeper as to why Nolan told this story. It wasn't just about family. It was about reality. Did he mean for us to question ours or to not take it for granted? I think it could be read either way. Maybe it was just his weird way of explaining something we don't know a lot about--dreams. My one roommate is convinced it was ALL a dream because of the end, but I think that would defeat the purpose of the movie. None of it would matter if the end wasn't real.

Anyway--GO SEE IT! I've paid for it twice and before that I had paid for two movies in the regular theater in the past year. It's so worth it.

up in the air... finally

The last movie I saw worth writing about was Up in the Air. The only problem is that I don't find it worth writing about. It's one of those movies where you feel more inspired by the commercial than you do the actual movie. I actually feel that way about one of the movies I've worked on (and I think it had everything to do with the music), but that's beside the point.

George Clooney is a man who distances himself from everything, especially family. He flies around firing people, and his success is being part of elite clubs because of loyalty. He meets a woman in his travels who shares this same interest. It's about sex at first, but he brings her to his younger sister's wedding (because he decided to give his family a chance.) Parallel to this, a new girl at his company is revolutionizing things--firing people over the internet.

With both plot lines he learns, and that's nice, but not quite as nice as my expectations had hoped it would be. Moral--don't wait till it's too late to value what matters most.

Back to the commercial, it also includes the best cinematography. So save yourself some time and a little bit of heartbreak.

remember me

this movie may seem mediocre, but the end makes the whole experience. i can't write about it without spoiling it so if you haven't seen it, go watch it. and don't read on.

yes, the movie is slow, but it's real. it's about life. and family issues. and love. and disasters that can shatter all that in a moment. and for that reason, it's wonderful, and i think it may be a favorite of mine. i appreciate it even more after seeing it a second time.

this time it was with reiel and alisha. alisha was visiting to watch a good chick flick, and reiel and i had been kind of watching the mtv movie awards, and remember me was such a shift from all of that. but that's the kind of movies i want to make. ones that hit people in the heart and the head.

i refuse to say anymore because i don't want to ruin the moment at which you will realize that this movie is fantastic. (like the sixth sense was for me, making it impossible to ever fully appreciate.)

the p's

so i wanted to start this blog when i watched the new pride and prejudice at a relief society sleepover. i thought about it again when i finished watching phoebe in wonderland tonight. and as to not make it coincidence, but pattern, i decided to add punch drunk love to the list.

i came home from a wrap party tonight after talking with a friend for a while and feeling very contemplative. i didn't want to watch mindless t.v. as i often do with my roommate. i wanted to watch something meaningful and satisfying. at first, i suggested the hurt locker. it was made by the first oscar-winning female director. that in itself is satisfying. but she didn't sound too into it. i had already been browsing netflix for a while and had considered instant playing a foreign film, but settled on phoebe in wonderland, a recommendation from a film friend and t.a.

the main character has an obsessive-compulsive form of tourettes, and seems to only be able to control it when concentrating on something else. in this case, it's the school play, alice in wonderland. her parents are both writers, and both phoebe and her sister are kind of brilliant, but they've all got their issues. her disease seemed almost contagious, but i must've been noticing the similarities between her parents once her problem became more obvious. her parents are honest and they talk about things. i love that. communication was never a big thing in my household. and their opening up is the semi-resolution along with the show going on (as it must) despite her theater teacher being fired. the whole "the man" theme always intrigues me, and there was definitely a lot of "the man" suppressing differentness.

it was good. but not in the way i wanted. it was beautifully lit, and the acting was fantastic, especially by dakota's little sister, elle. but i felt dark and confused. probably as the little girl did, but that's not what i was looking for. it was all the better for making me feel as the character did, just as in punch drunk love (but i hated it for that reason). it should be regarded as filmmaking at its best, and it is, but it makes me feel awful. lucky for me, it wrapped it up a little at the end--but don't get me wrong, i like sad, and even unresolved, movie endings--however it wasn't enough to bring me back up from what i'd been brought down to.

it's the same with punch drunk love. the message of the film, although uplifting, was not strong enough to support the darkness that had preceded, and essentially filled, the movie.

next time i'll go with my first instinct, which tonight was to watch o'horten, a movie by the same person who did the delightful, yet depressing, swedish film kitchen stories.