Hunger Games

I'm not going to say anything other than that the movie is AWESOME (and also that the author of the books is fine with the one change that annoyed me, so I'm un-annoyed). BUT! You guys I made it to the very first weekend the drive in was open this year and saw Hunger Games. I went with my friend J and his delightful wife. They are two of my favorite people in the world and I had a great time sitting in the back of his SUV, curled up in a blanket, eating and watching the movie.
Before it started we were walking around the parking lot and J asked me if I had seen this picture-

Which he loved but apparently his wive hadn't gotten when he showed it to her (in the end she came close with "Is it because it's like three different things?" close, but no cigar J's wife). That made me think of this one-
which has been cracking me up for the last few weeks. At which point we were talking about Star Trek (yes internet, I am a nerd) and J said something that cracked me up and I was going to share it with you, but then I forgot what it was and he couldn't remember either. Fortunately for you (if you're a Star Trek fan, which you should be because it's the awesomest series) he remembered and shared it with me again.
"Johnathan Frakes has two acting styles- beard and no beard." Which is hysterical, and also true.

Oscar Night

Last night I had an Oscar party, which is not something I’ve ever done before. Nonetheless, it was TONS of fun. I invited a few of my bookclub friends to bring a snack, enjoy the show and the company, and hang out. The party was exactly the kind of party I like, just a few good friends who all know each other so I don’t spend all night introducing people and getting people talking, I just get to hang out and enjoy the party. Did you watch the Oscars? Were you happy with the winners? For once I had actually seen almost all the nominated movies (you know, except things like “Foreign Language Film” and “Live Action Short” because, puh). As a fan of movies, I of course had my favorites, although my fav was a long shot at best. I liked The Fighter. I told you about the afternoon I saw it over New Year’s. Perhaps it’s because it was the first of a series of Oscar bait that I saw, but even now, months later, it’s still my favorite. I loved the cinematography (not even nominated), the acting (won best supporting actor and actress, but Mark Wahlberg wasn’t even nominated), the directing (nominated, but lost to The King’s Speech), and the screenplay (nominated but lost to The King’s Speech).
I enjoy Anne Hathaway’s movies and I had a great time last night. But I lay my enjoyment completely at the feet of my friends, because Anne and James were terrible Oscar hosts! I sort of hated that intro video of Anne and Hathaway inceptioning their way through the Best Picture nominees, I didn’t think they were funny or even truly interesting, and I don’t think they did the job of hipping up the Oscars. Jon Stewart did a better job. Super fun night anyway. Also, I’m so excited that my bookclub is going to go see The King’s Speech.

King's Speech and Black Swan

Do you suppose King Edward VIII and King George VI (also know as David and Bertie in King’s Speech) could feel the weight of history pressing on them? They are poised on the edge of history, but in the time the movie chronicles, did they know how close to the brink they? Did Edward VIII know what he was walking away from when he abdicated? Could George VI sense the weight of the mantle that he was about to take around his own shoulders? These are the questions that raced through my mind as I settled in to watch The King’s Speech. Obviously the movie cannot answer them for me, but I felt the actors had asked themselves the same questions. This is how good the acting is- at no point did I think of Colin Firth (who plays Prince Albert/George VI) as Mr. Darcy, my favorite role he’s acted.
On the other end of the movie spectrum, we have Black Swan. Honestly, it’s probably the better movie, but I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much because it is intensely disturbing. Nina (the main character) lives with her mother in a thirteen-year old’s bedroom, complete with pink bedding and stuffed animals lined up on the window sill. She is fragile and innocent, perfect to dance the part of the white swan in Swan Lake. She is also cast as the Black Swan, who seduces the White Swan’s one chance for true love. We watch as Nina changes, descending into madness as the part of the Black Swan takes over. It was fantastic, but hard to watch.
I watched both films as part of my crusade to have seen the movies nominated for Oscars this year. Having seen Black Swan, I can tell you it was robbed, and the Oscars haven’t even aired yet. There is simply no way it shouldn’t have won for costume design (which I know isn’t a big deal, but hear me out) and it wasn’t even nominated. The costuming of the ballet was perfect, and the costuming of rehearsal? Nina starts rehearsing in white but as madness slowly warps her, she begins dressing in subtle shades of grey. It was beautifully symbolic and subtle and should have won the Oscar.

Movie Review: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I normally only make it to the theater about twice a year because I hate spending that much money to see what is generally dreck. However, this was actually the second movie I’ve seen in as many weeks (although the first one of the new year). I told you before about how exciting I found The Fighter, but you guys I have been DYING to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader since well before it even came out. Like pretty much since I found out they were making new movies out of the books. I have loved these books since I was a very small child and my dad read them out loud to my brother and me.
Visually it is fantastic. The beginning in World War Two England manages to be both dreary and war torn without falling into the grey overtones that so many period pieces fall to. Narnia is a beautiful place and I think the cinematographers did a fantastic job overall.
**SPOILERS BELOW**
The big problem with this one, is that I’m not sure the screen writer actually read the book before he wrote the script. There are some fairly major changes to the story as Lewis wrote it that I can understand (i.e. changing what temptation Lucy falls to while reading the magic book). And then there is the change to the story that I don’t understand and that took up so much time they had to change almost everything else about the story to accommodate it. I refer here to the evil green mist. Yeah, if you’ve never read it, that is not in fact in the book. One of the places they visit is indeed an “island” where your dreams (not fantasies, but actual dreams) come true, but it is a brief scene, not some extended “villain” throughout the story. They had to sacrifice some of the most powerfully moving parts of the story like a boat of Narnians to the green mist storyline, and I was just befuddled.
**END OF SPOILERS**
Had I never experience the story as Lewis actually wrote it I would have found this movie fairly fantastic. Therefore, I have to assume that the fact that I find it merely okay is because I am a die-hard Narnia fan. It is the Narnia stories that fed my love of epic adventures and high fantasy. From reading my brother and I these stories (I was about 4 the first time I heard them), my dad moved directly onto the LotR trilogy and I will always have fond memories of both of those series because of those memories.
If I was grading this movie I would have to say-
Standing on it’s own merits: B
Held up to the book: C-