Herein lies proof that I have no life...

So, you may be wondering what I've been up to lately and the answer to that is a big fat NOTHING. I have, however, been watching a lot of movies. Some newer films I've seen at the base theater, but I've also been checking out a lot of movies from the Yongsan Library. While the library has a pretty pitiful selection of books, it does have a fairly large movie collection.....albeit a rather odd movie collection. They've got a bunch of popular movies, new releases, documentaries, tv shows and classics, but they've also got a sizable portion of just plain weird and obscure movies. And since so many people check out movies from the library, there's always new stuff on the shelves that I've never seen before.

Picking movies is always an interesting endeavor at the library. I always have to look at all the shelves to see what's there, what's new, what I've never heard of, and then whittle down all my choices to 5. Most of the time I grab the movies I've never seen before because you never know when you might see them again on the shelf. (You cannot reserve movies or be put on a waiting list.) Needless to say, I've watched some very interesting movies lately. For those who may be after some movie selections, here's a list of some of the movies I've watched recently.....the ones I can remember, at least....with a little commentary by me.

P.S. Please don't judge me because I watch some rated R movies. I know I'm a bad person.

There are four movies in particular which have especially stayed with me and I'd highly recommend.

1. The Lives of Others - This is a German film, set in East Berlin a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. It's beautifully written, fabulously acted and absolutely riveting. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2007 and deservedly so. It chronicles a Stasi agent whose life and views are completely changed while overseeing a surveillance project against a German playwright. It's a haunting look at a fallen socialist regime and the people who survived it....and those who didn't. I can't stop thinking about it. (And I want to rent it again but it's already disappeared off the shelves. Who knows when I'll see it again....)

2. Once - So I'd heard a lot about this little Irish indie, mostly because of its soundtrack and the sweet love story between two would-be musicians. It's a bit quirky in its plot and pace, but ultimately very satisfying. Also, great music. I'm also a sucker for unrequited love stories.

3. Doubt - The Academy heaped lots of praise and nominations on this film starring Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Viola Davis, and Amy Adams. The movie synopsis didn't make it sound particularly thrilling, but I thought I'd give it a try and I'm so glad I did. All four actors gave great performances and I thought it was a wonderful study of faith, doubt, and human nature.

4. Dan in Real Life - So I seem to have a thing for dramas staring over-the-top comedians. Will Ferrell in Stranger than Fiction. Jim Carrey in The Truman Show. Now, Steve Carrell in Dan in Real Life. It's a very sweet story about a widower (Carrell) with 3 daughters and his loving albeit nosy family. And how he falls in love with his brother's girlfriend. Ouch. But in a good way.

I'll try to be more succinct with the other movies. :-)

5. From Here to Eternity - Classic. Schofield Barracks (on Oahu where this was shot) hasn't changed much. A little hard on the military, but still some truth to it.
6. It Happened One Night - Classic. Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert and Frank Capra. Why don't they make more movies like this?
7. P.S. I Love You - Warning: Must watch with box of tissues.
8. Cranford - Loving Elizabeth Gaskell right now and this has a great cast. (See also: Wives and Daughters and North and South)
9. The Holiday - A unique and ultimately charming romantic comedy with Cameron Diaz (I still don't think she can really act), Jack Black (charmingly goofy), Kate Winslet (love her) and Jude Law (man whore but so, so pretty).
10. Post Grad - Don't waste your time. So cliche and full of barely likeable "quirky" characters.
11. Northanger Abbey (2007) - The only Jane Austen book I hadn't read....so I checked out the book and the movie together. Read the book, then watched the movie. Eh. Not one of my favorites (book or movie). Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion (which just might be edging out P&P, gasp!) are still the best.
12. Strictly Ballroom - Love Baz Luhrman. (Still need to see Australia.) Visually appealing and offbeat, but in a good way.
13. Philadelphia Story - Um, hello? Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant in one movie! What's not to love?
14. Nightmare Before Christmas - I do appreciate and generally love Tim Burton's aesthetic (can't wait for Alice in Wonderland) but this one just fell flat for me. Though I thought it was brilliant visually and I liked a few songs.
15. Evan Almighty - I actually really enjoyed this film. I think we could use a little divine inspiration in Washington right about now.
16. Monster-in-Law - Okay, first off: Michael Vartan. I've loved you since Never Been Kissed, way before Alias. And Jennifer Lopez is very cute and adorable in romantic comedies. I thought this was pretty fun.
17. The Rocketeer - Not at all what I remember it being about. Timothy Dalton creeps me out.
18. Catch and Release - Pass. Not bad, just......not good either.
19. Mostly Martha - So I'm really into German films right now. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart did an English adaption of this delightful movie (No Reservations) but the original is much better.
20. Patton - They sure don't make generals like this anymore. "Rommel, you beautiful bastard. I read your book." Favorite line. Don't judge.
21. Chuck, season one - If you are not watching this show, you should be. Go!
22. Tess of d'Ubervilles - I couldn't finish the book and I couldn't finish the movie. Thomas Hardy, we are officially over.
23. Flags of our Fathers - Heartbreaking and horrifying and sometimes a little hard to follow with all the flashbacks. Great cinematography though. But whatever you do, do not get curious (like me) and read what happened to Iggy in real life. Just....don't.
24. Fireproof - Slightly cheesey Christian film (though I'm inoculated against those from all the cheesey Mormon films I've seen) starring Kirk Cameron, but actually has a sweet story and a good message about the importance of marriage.
25. Gentleman's Agreement - Another really great classic. A reporter (Gregory Peck) poses as Jewish to write an article about anti-semitism in America. Really eye opening. Also, I've got a thing for Gregory Peck. He's the thinking woman's leading man. Swoon.

That's all I can remember. I'm sure there are more, but I suppose they weren't that memorable. I just checked out a documentary called Helvetica today and I'm super excited to watch it. Yes, I get twitterpated over a movie about typceface.

I'm a nerd with no life.

Please don't judge.

Also, does anyone have other movie suggestions?

The Music of Movies

One of my favorite parts of going to the movies, which I don't do much anymore because a) it's expensive and b) there's absolutely nothing worth seeing, is to see the previews. I love movie trailers because they either let you know that a movie you've never heard of before is worth seeing (or not) or they make you even more excited for a movie that you have been anticipating for quite some time. I've noticed that some of my favorite bands (Sigur Ros, Band of Horses and Arcade Fire) have more and more of their music showing up in movie trailers, commercials and TV shows which always makes me want to see the movie if only because of somebody's good taste of music.

Sigur Ros is this wonderfully eclectic and poetic Icelandic band who compose beautiful six minute musical masterpieces....and you can never understand a single word that they sing. Most of the time, they sing in Icelandic, but, as I've recently discovered, they've also created their own language which sounds fantastic set in musical form, almost like the sound of humpback whales. Which is rather appropriate that their music was first featured in Wes Anderson's quirky The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou during one of the most pivotal underwater scenes.


(This song is entitled "Starálfur," off their second album Ágætis byrjun . My favorite song from this album is "Svefn-g-englar" which I swore was used in this movie too, but it's been 4 years since I've seen it so I could be wrong....)

After seeing Life Aquatic, I borrowed all their CDs from my friend Danny (who had insisted we see the movie in the first place) and have since fallen in love with them. And you've heard them too. I hear them everywhere now, in commercials, TV shows, and especially, movie trailers. And everytime a movie trailer uses music by Sigur Ros, I'm instantly drawn to the movie. Because if they pick Sigur Ros' hauntingly poignant music to represent their music, then there might be something in it that will touch my heart as well.

You've most likely heard the song "Hoppípolla" off their fourth album Takk (my second favorite) in these movie trailers:

Disney Earth (during the second half)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qicARYcTe6w
(Sorry, I can't imbed everything anymore.)
Baby animals! This song was also used extensively in the BBC's mini-series, Planet Earth.

Slumdog Millionaire (halfway through)


Children of Men (again at the end)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NikEQy1XxDE

It's also used in several movies, including Penelope, in the final scene. Actually, Penelope is a repeat offender because they also use Band of Horses "The Funeral' at the end of their trailer.



And just today, I saw the trailer for Spike Jones' Where the Wild Things Are which features a re-recorded version of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up," one of my absolute favorite songs off their Funeral album.



P.S. If you like Sigur Ros, you should check out their music video for "Glósóli," again off Takk, which is an absolute stunning music video for a beautiful song....



...or the real music video for "Hoppipolla" (which means, I believe, puddle jumpers) which sees senior citizens behaving like children.



Excuse me while I go tear up just a little.

More Books, Week Two

So. Last week, I read a lot of Shannon Hale. In addition to the two books I mentioned last week, I also read Enna Burning which I did not enjoy as much as the others. I still have River Secrets sitting on my bookshelf, and perhaps I'll get to it later. This week I've continued on my YA kick and turned to a new author, Meg Cabot. I was talking to a co-worker of sorts about my new YA fiction addiction (hah! that rhymes!) and she mentioned that I should read Meg Cabot. I'd heard of her, of course, so the next day I went to the library and picked up the first two volumes of the Princess Diaries.

A brief interlude. I must at this point admit my particular fondness for Disney movies and/or "tween girl movies" like What a Girl Wants, A Cinderella Story, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and yes, even The Princess Diaries starring Anne Hathaway. What can I say? I've got a sixteen year old girl living inside me somewhere. (Though if the YA books I've read lately are any indication, my 16 year old self has a much better vocabulary than most.) I loved the movie, so I should love the book, right?


Usually, I always say that the book is better. Well, I've recently read a string of books that have made me recount that statement. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, necessarily, since the book and the movie often end up being very different creatures and are hardly comparable. (Take, for instance, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, which I love, and the movie starring Jim Caveziel, which I also love and which have absolutely nothing in common except for France and the characters' names.) I wonder, also, if seeing the movie first prevents me from liking the book as much as I would have if I hadn't had the movie to compare it to. For the record, movies I liked more than the books: Stardust, The Devil Wears Prada, Confessions of a Shopaholic and now, The Princess Diaries (TPD). But I can also safely put TPD in the category of books and movies which have very little in common.

This leads me to another brief detour: I like Disney. I like that Disney takes sometimes unpleasant and gruesome fairy tales and makes them happy. I like that they sugarcoat the world and create a feel-good environment. Sure, I'm normally on the side of strict literary integrity when it comes to movie adaptations but sometimes, you just want something upbeat and Disney can provide that. I like TPD movie for this reason. It's cute, it's charming, it's funny. There are no Sidecar drinking, cigarette smoking, domineering grandmothers in Disney's version of the Princess Diaries. Which is exactly the kind of grandmother (the ostensible queen of Genovia) that makes an appearance in the book. In Disney movies, this type of woman would be on the bad side.

Before I get ahead of myself, I should probably explain the brief plot points of the book for those who are not familiar with it or the movie. Mia Thermopolis, a freshmen at a private school in New York City (the movie is set in San Francisco), discovers that her father (who is still alive, but in the movie is quite dead), is actually not a minor politician in a small European country called Genovia, but is, in fact, it's ruler. And, Mia, his illegitimate daughter with an American painter, is now his sole heir since he can longer sire any children after a battle with cancer. Mia must now endure "princess lessons" with her domineering grandmere (the lovable Julie Andrews in the movie is not a single thing like this grandmother). Mia must deal with her new position in life and her title, all the while battling high school stereotypes, mean girls, and unrequited crushes....and the fact that her mother is now dating her algebra teacher.

The book is, like it's title suggests, written from Mia's point of view, as if she were writing in her journal. Mia is at times selfish, self-aware, whiny, intelligent, frustrating, annoying, and delightful. Cabot's writing is, I think, very true to teenage girls but still leaves the reader a bit frustrated. (I kept thinking, "Did I REALLY do and say such stupid things when I was 14?") Despite its shortcomings, the Diaries is an entertaining and fast read. It's like a soap opera you can't stop watching. Which is why, against my better judgment, I read the second volume.

Once again, Mia writes about her struggles to accept her position as a princess, while dealing with her mother's unexpected pregnancy and marriage to her algebra teacher, a secret admirer, a primetime television interview and her still formidable grandmother. As usual, Mia's inner thoughts are a mixture of whining and whimsy as she deals with all this. But the more annoying thing is how quickly you can read these books and how instantaneously you fall right into the characters' worlds. I'm not kidding when I say it's like a soap opera you can't stop watching. And there are NINE volumes so far. Someone please stop me soon.


After reading the first two books in TPD series, I turned to another Meg Cabot book that my friend had recommended: Avalon High. Elaine "Ellie" Harrison moves with her parents (a pair of medieval scholars) from Minnesota to Annapolis, Maryland while her parents take a year long sabbatical to continue their studies in nearby DC. Her new high school, Avalon High, seems like a typical high school with the stereotypical students: Lance the jock, Jennifer the cheerleader, Marco, the bad boy/desperado, and Will, the senior class president, quarterback, and all around good guy. Eventually, it becomes apparent that Avalon High is a place where the ancient Arthurian legend is repeating itself. Will, Jennifer, Lance, Marco, and Mr. Morton all correspond to King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Knight Lancelot, Mordred, and Merlin, respectively. If this is the case, then Will (as Arthur) is in danger of being killed by his half-brother, Marco. Ellie decides to take matters into her own hands and help Will and in the process, discovers something about herself that she never knew before.

Looking back, I realize it's a pretty shaky premise with a weak plot, but I still really enjoyed it, far more The Princess Diaries, in fact. The characters are fun and Ellie has a very distinctive voice (if similar to Mia's). I'd read it again. Then again, I'm a sucker for Arthur legends.

Now, lest you think I've completely abandoned adult works, I'm in the process of reading a biography of John Steinbeck, since I realized that I know very little about my favorite American author. It's a massive book (over a thousand pages) so it will probably be a few weeks before I come back with my review of that book.

But in the meantime, I'm wondering, are there other movies out there that you enjoyed more than the books? Do you like Disney movies? Do you have a secret love of YA books and films like me? It's okay....don't feel bad if you do. We can start a support group.

The Rain Continues....and other unrelated useless bits of interest

The rain abated by late afternoon on Thursday [the day of the flash floods and heavy downpour] so David got up at his usual time on Friday morning to head to work. I declined to get up and drive him to work myself since I had a terrible headache and no need for the car that day. This turned out to be a very good thing since David was sent home from work at 11a.m. Though it wasn't raining, the sewers were backed up with all the water from the day before and they had to shut off the water in David's building, meaning that there were no functioning bathrooms. And when there are no functioning bathrooms to be had, you get to come home. Thank you heavy rains! I've enjoyed having my husband around.

By dusk of last night, however, dark clouds had rolled in over Oahu and we had a good-sized thunder and lightning storm, accompanied by even more rain. I love watching lightning light up the sky, especially at night. The best lightning I ever saw was in Arizona. You could actually see each individual lightning bolt streak across the sky over the vast and empty desert. Here I could only see bursts of light, but it was the first good storm I've seen on this island so I took what I could get. It's like the first snowfall of the year. You love the sight and sounds and smell of the snow and bask in its beauty....and then you slowly start to despise it as the winter progresses and you feel like you'll never be warm again. I'm starting to wonder if this island will ever be dry again.

The rain had stopped by nine o'clock last night and, having been cooped up in the house for quite some time, David and I headed out to see a movie. To see Twilight.

I had avoided seeing the movie for so long because I expected it to be three parts lame, awkward, and poorly acted. After hearing the reviews from friends who opinions and interests I generally share, I determined that my expectations for the movie were sufficiently low that I could probably enjoy some of the movie, if not just laugh through the whole thing from sheer lameness. Plus, I figured the 12 year screaming girls would be gone by now. I had also finally convinced David to come with me and so we set out for the 9:55 showing.

I was quite pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the movie. So did David. Sure, there were a few things I did not like but I think the series has the potential to vastly improve. Especially under a different director with a bigger budget. I think it really did help that I expected the movie to suck, that I was prepared to laugh at all the awkward moments.

What I Didn't Like
1.) The special effects could have used some help. I especially hated the shots of the vampires running and jumping, etc. Since when did their feet not need to touch the ground?
2.) Was it just me or was every scene with Eric extremely awkward? Maybe it was the hair.
3.) Same for Jaspar. He seemed so pained. I swear....in some parts, he was the spitting image of Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands. I wish there had been less of the Forks High students and more of the Cullens.
4.) The direction. I felt like there were some weird shots and direction in the movie, especially in the scene where Bella and Edward are revealing his vampire status in the woods. [It also didn't help that the emergency alarm started going off during this scene.] Why all the close-ups of trees and not the actors while they are in the middle of talking? Why did Edward look like he had body glitter all over him in the sun? I always thought he would sparkle much more, and have a greater amount of light radiating off him. There were just some weird shots and I'm glad that Catherine Hardwick will not be back to direct the sequel.
5.) Robert Pattinson. I actually think Robert is very physically close to how I pictured Edward Cullen. And I didn't think he did a horrible job with the entire role, just certain parts. I always knew Edward was very intense, but Robert gave Edward a creepy intense vibe and came across as rather wooden at times. It was the scenes in which he loosened up and smiled that I actually believed him as Edward and enjoyed him in the part.
6.) Of course, it's not all Robert Pattinson's fault. The script was rather clunky in a lot of places and there was some bad dialogue.

What I Did Like
1.) Kristen Stewart. I'd never seen her in any movies and just from the trailers, I didn't think she was the right choice for Bella, nor did I think she was a good actress. Her performance as Bella was actually my favorite part of the whole movie. I thought she did a terrific job and really conveyed Bella's character perfectly.
2.) Victoria. Sure, she didn't say much and sure, I thought she'd have redder hair, but her presence was exactly as I imagined her.
3.) The chemistry between Bella and Edward. They worked together.

So yes, Twilight was not the most fantastic movie, but I at least enjoyed it, which was far more than I was expecting. I only wish that they had pushed the new Harry Potter movie back six months! Oh well.

Now, I suppose it's time to clean the house a bit. Tonight we're going to the Navy holiday party at a hotel in Honolulu. It's a bit of a fancier affair and I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully it will be exciting enough to warrant a post and some pictures.

Guess the Movie!

ETA: I'll keep this up for a few more days until I reveal all the answers. I want to see if anyone can come up with the last few.

I stole this from my friend Jasie and thought it was a cool idea. The hard part was selecting 15 of my favorite movies...eventually, I decided to pick movies that I either adore or which have scenes and/or lines that are memorable to me. I thought I'd pick the most obscure quotes I could find, but in the end, that just seemed a little cruel. There are certainly quotes I could have picked that would have easily given the movie(s) away and I tried to steer clear of those. This is only a brief sampling of the movies that I love, find amusing, make me cry, or are simply a good time. I actually think I would have had an easier time picking my favorite quotes from 15 television shows but that would have been downright impossible for anyone to guess. (In some cases, I've removed the names of characters which would have easily revealed the movie. Just FYI.) Here are the rules:

1. Pick 15 of your favourite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Fill in the film title once it's guessed.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions

1) "I mean, the voice isn't telling me to do anything. It's telling me what I've already done... accurately, and with a better vocabulary." Stranger Than Fiction, Kara

2) "I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." When Harry Met Sally, Christa

3) "Shelves in the closet. Happy thought indeed." Pride and Prejudice, Kara
(Now this is a rather obscure line in this movie but it has never failed to make me giggle.)

4) "That's so tacky... and you know what else is tacky? Tucking your shirt in when you're wearing a belt." "I only did that one time!" Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Kara
(This is from a movie that I love, but which does not have a lot of really quotable lines. Isn't it funny how some movies are like that?)

5) "What I'm trying to say, is... I think I love you. I never imagined I'd know it for myself. My heart... It feels like my chest can barely contain it. Like it's trying to escape because it doesn't belong to me anymore. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I'd wish for nothing in exchange - no gifts. No goods. No demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine." Stardust, Christa

6) "He must be very smart. I bet you look pretty good from a few thousand miles away."
(I could have gone with a very famous line from this movie but I didn't think that'd be very fun for those playing along at home.) The Cutting Edge, Kara (yay!)

7) "The Claw! The Claw is our master. It decides who will go and who will stay." Toy Story, Kara (I actually like Toy Story 2 better but I love this scene in the first one. Both are fantastic movies.)

8) "What is this? A center for ants? The building has to be at least... three times bigger than this!" Zoolander, Kiersten
(I'm a little hesitant to admit this--because this is the type of movie I generally hate--but I have all sorts of love for the movie this quote is from. David and I quote from it all the time.)

9) "Thank you for curing me of my ridiculous obsession with love." Moulin Rouge, Kara

10) "She weaves all things together."

11) "A woman happily in love, she burns the souffle. A woman unhappily in love, she forgets to turn on the oven." Sabrina, (the original), Kara

12) "Never tell me the odds." Empire Strikes Back, Kara (I tried to stump you but I should have known you'd get this one.)

13) "I've always known myself. But he was the first to recognize me. And to love what he saw." Jane Eyre, MJ

14) "But I love the old Rose! The one with no makeup and baggy clothes who loves 'the perfect bite'! She eats carrots now, isn't that tragic?" The Mirror Has Two Faces, MJ

15) "Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing." Iron Man, Christa

Runners-up:
(Most of these are quotes from the movies above that were very close to being picked. I just couldn't not include them.)

16) "Because it's a book about a man who doesn't know he's about to die. And then dies. But if a man does know he's about to die and dies anyway. Dies- dies willingly, knowing that he could stop it, then- I mean, isn't that the type of man who you want to keep alive?" Stranger than Fiction, Kara

17) "Would I be correct in thinking that you can neither see nor hear me? Then I'd like to tell you that you smell of pee. You look like the wrong end of a dog. And I swear, if I don't get my Tristan back as he was, I'll be your personal poltergeist! " Stardust, Kara

18) "I'm Tour Guide Barbie. Please keep your hands, arms, and accessories in the car, and no flash photography. Thank you. " Toy Story 2, Kara

19) "A eugoogalizor, one who speaks at funerals. Or did you think I'd be too stupid to know what a eugoogoly was?" Zoolander, Kiersten

20) "You're going to be bad for business. I can tell." Moulin Rouge, Kara

21) "Nobody poor was ever called democratic for marrying somebody rich." Sabrina, Emily

22) "I don't date these girls because they're well-read. I gave one of them a copy of "Farewell to Arms". She thought it was a diet book."

I realized, after doing this exercise, that I have seen a lot of movies but very few of them stick with me. There are snippets and scenes and emotions that stay with me long after I've forgotten the plot, but there are not many movies that I repeatedly watch or that stay fresh in my mind. The majority of the films that I do own and do watch again and again are the happy films, the feel-good movies about love and life. But for every five sappy romantic comedies and teen girl empowerment movies, there is one powerfully visceral movie which affects me in ways that I cannot describe and which, on occasion, change the way I view the world. But unfortunately, these are also the type of movies that can only be watched once or twice in a lifetime and so they did not make the list.