It's been a while since I've updated, primarily because I've been ridiculously busy, but I figured that it was time for my obligatory Spring Break post as I am a college student just back from her spring break.
Rather than take a typical drunken spring break somewhere tropical (or at least warm), my friends and I opted for a trip to my favorite city in the states, Chicago.
To kick off the spring festivities I spent the weekend with my dad, who was in town for my cousin's confirmation as her sponsor. Even though we didn't really do anything exciting, it was nice to spend some time with my dad since I rarely get to see my family now that I live out of state.
I then headed up to Omaha to spend the night with my BFF and her family. We watched our favorite movie (Heathers) and played Disney SceneIt, only to lose to S (which is pretty insane if you know how intense my love for Disney is).
The next day S and I met up with our friend Abby to head over to the Omaha Zoo, which I'd never been to before, and I got to experience all the indoor exhibits, along with the wonderful penguins (my favorite animal since the dawn of time). S then gave me a driving tour of Chicago while we snapchatted our friend Johnny about sharks, West Side Story, and spring break. Soon enough, our friend Taylor arrived and we hopped aboard the Megabus to Chicago!
We arrived the next morning and checked in at our hotel, the Double Tree on the Magnificent Mile, and then went on a walk through Millennium Park, took excessive Bean pictures, ate sushi, enjoyed the Art Institute, and of course went shopping at Vineyard Vines and Forever 21.
The following days we went to Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum (where they had an exhibit on the Chicago World's Fair, which I'm pretty much obsessed with), the Museum of Science and Industry, and of course, the Skydeck at the Sears (or Willis, whatever) Tower. We also ate Deep Dish Pizza and went shopping along the Magnificent Mile where I spent way too much money on clothing from Topshop and H&M in addition to going up every floor at Macy's.
My favorite part of the trip, though, was the exhibit on Disney at the Museum of Science and Industry. It was an extra $9, but totally worth it. I already knew most of the information, but it was still cool to see original sketches of Mickey Mouse by the Walt Disney himself, in addition to storyboards for Mary Poppins, props for various movies, including but not limited to Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, and Teen Beach Movie. Not to mention costumes from Enchanted, Pirates of the Caribbean, High School Musical, and Saving Mr. Banks. But I think the coolest thing I saw was the telegram Walt sent Roy upon imagining up Mickey Mouse saying that everything would be okay. It was described as "oddly prophetic."
We unfortunately had to return to Omaha after four days. We spent the night at S's house, then headed back to Lincoln. And while I wish I could've stayed in Chicago for ever and ever, I'm glad to be back home in Lincoln.
30 March 2014
05 March 2014
February Movie Blurbs
The time has come, once again, to do a monthly update of the movies I have watched and how I feel about them. Naturally, this one is shorter for a multitude of reasons: not being home to watch excessive films whenever I feel like it, having a crazy busy schedule, and also the fact that its the shortest month of the year. But anyway, here we go!
She's All That
Apparently it was blasphemy for me to show up at college having never seen this movie, so my roommate ordered it for me to watch and for her own enjoyment, therefore I've seen it quite a few times since. To be honest, it's not my favorite, but I do enjoy the fact that it's a modern day version of 12th Night and has a fantastically feminist message. Otherwise, though, it just doesn't do much for me...I'm more of a Mean Girls person.
Mulan
The day I stop loving Disney animated films will never come, and Mulan has always been a personal favorite of mine. I even dressed up as Mulan for Halloween when I was a kid! She's this solid princess character who works her butt off to take care of her family and gets around the patriarchal society she lives in by faking her way through it as a "man," only to realize the way to save her empire is to get all the men to embrace their feminine side dressed as women! It's actually flawless and of course the feminist in me loves it, the Disney fan in me loves one of their most successful films from my childhood, and then the human in me loves it because who doesn't automatically hear "Be a Man" and think "WE MUST BE SWIFT AS A COURSING RIVER."
Aladdin
Not my favorite Disney movie, by any means, but if the music in this movie doesn't make you jump with joy you're lying to yourself. The Genie is possibly one of the best characters in animated history, and "A Whole New World" might just be one of my favorite Disney duets of all time. And naturally I gotta give an A++ to feminist princesses all the time always. Jasmine gets a lot of flack because she has to use her sexuality and has to be saved by Aladdin, but it actually doesn't bother me in that she works to be independent but lacks the tools to do so growing up in her patriarchal society living an overly privileged life, and when she finally finds someone to fall in love with, Jafar shows up being uber rapey (forcing Jasmine to marry him? Yeah...not cool), but as a villainous character it's an acceptable plot point, and she ultimately is able to fulfill her dream of marrying who she chooses because the story is really less about Jasmine being saved and all about Aladdin proving to everyone that where you're from doesn't have any bearing on what you're capable of. I could go on for days about this, but I'll move on.
21 Jump Street
All the Disney movies listed above were watched on the same day in a Disney marathon of sorts which we followed up with 21 Jump Street to a comment from a passerby on finally watching something age appropriate (Disney movies are always appropriate for any situation ever). Regardless, I love this movie. It's hilarious, it doesn't care, and it's a surprisingly accurate representation of modern day teenage culture. Yes, some of the jokes in this movie are problematic for various reasons, but the essential plotline is not, and is rather hilarious. Some of my favorite lines from this one include (but are not limited to) "Ja feel?" "Ja feel, ja definitely feel" or "Mother Earth...Mother Earth is dying" or "I have arthritis, I need a handful of the dick!"
Heathers
I have talked about this before, but it's pretty much my favorite movie right now. Like, how can lines such as "Well, f*ck me gently with a chainsaw, do I look like Mother Theresa?" and "Eskimo" ever be forgotten? I actually am in romantic love with this film. But really, if you haven't seen it, you should really truly watch it. It has excellent reviews (95% on Rotten Tomatoes), is a brilliant satire of teenage life, and features a very hot young Christian Slater. Like, what more do you need?
The Princess Bride
I have grown up with this movie and its simply the best. I have majority of it memorized, and watching it takes me back to my wonderful childhood when I had this BA princess to look up to. It's a fantastic adventure tale full of comedy, inappropriate costumes for the time period, amazing sword fights, and rhymes.
Airplane!
Until this month I'd actually never seen Airplane! which is kind of sad considering how much of a movie buff I am. However, I was excited to watch this iconic comedy and was not disappointed. The deadpan comedy style and the fantastically dated everything was all a part of what made it wonderful. Some of the dated comedy erred on the side of misogyny a bit much for my taste, but overall I was still able to appreciate the humor and the importance of this film in terms of the history of comedy.
LEGO Movie
Honestly has the potential (and is rather likely) to be the animated feature of the year. Like, beyond fantastic. The animation is actually really solid and the story line is surprisingly touching for a children's movie about legos. It's also pretty much one of the most hilarious movies I've seen in theatres in a long time. I mean, its by the lovely people that did Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which I have unfortunately not seen just yet, and 21 Jump Street, so it really shouldn't be a surprise that it's hilarious, and everyone should go see it, even if just for the hilarious Batman references.
Anastasia
This was pretty much one of my favorite cartoons growing up, and naturally the only reason us college kids decided to watch it was remembering how hot Demetri was. Although I also came to realize just how amazing the music is and how well developed the characters are and also, if I was an animated character I would be Anya and I'm totally gonna end up married to someone like Demetri and it's gonna be wonderful.
Monsters University
This is honestly one of my favorite movies of the past year. I saw it in theatres 5 times. So naturally, when my sisters on the bus to our District Leadership Conference put it on I was thrilled. I honestly think it is one of the most accurate representations of college life in any film I've seen, and I love the portrayal of the Greek system. Each house has it's own distinct personality, and they aren't all stereotypical srat/frat kids! I also just love seeing nerdy little Randy Boggs at the beginning. OH THE FEELS.
Pitch Perfect
Naturally, my wonderful sisters then chose one of my other favorite most accurate college representations. While I am (unfortunately) not involved in the a capella scene at my college, everything else rings very very true. Especially as a performing arts kid. And if you don't think "Well, hey there, Hillary Swank from Million Dollar Baby" "You don't have to say Hillary Swank, you could've just said 'Hey, Million Dollar Baby,' you don't have to reference the specific actor playing the part" "Damn, prisons changed you." is one of the best exchanges in the history of film you are wrong and I hate you.
Love and Other Drugs
To my dismay, on the ride back to our respectful campus homes, my sisters decided to watch Love and Other Drugs, which I found to be a pretty awful film full of awful people pretending they were great romantic characters along with gratuitous sex scenes all centered on a relationship that literally began with sexual harrassment. I CAN'T EVEN. Also, it's just a terrible film overall. I fell asleep in the middle, and I don't think I missed anything. So...
Ghostbusters
Of course upon hearing of the death of Harold Ramis I found it incredibly necessary to watch Ghostbusters instantly, and sure enough, the second I returned to my dorm, that's exactly what I did. I forgot how great this movie is, and also how fantastic the comedy is. It's a really great satire of film from the era, and I completely spaced that Sigourney Weaver was in it. And for the record, RIP Harold Ramis, you'll be dearly missed. You were a comedic master, and the world could always use more of that.
Dallas Buyers Club
This movie was far better than I expected, and I was expecting a great movie. For the record, I had literally no idea what this movie was about aside from Matthew McConaughey surprising everyone with acting ability and Jared Leto being a transgender woman and AIDS, so learning about buyers clubs and the whole AZT situation of the 80s at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic was really eye opening. Matthew McConaughey's performance was simply stunning, from his ridiculous weight loss and his ability to channel a pretty unlikeable man in a realistic manner, down to my favorite scene from the entire movie (*spoiler alert)*, when he's sitting in the library doing research on AIDS while still in denial of his diagnosis and he has a flashback to having sex with a woman with track marks. That's the moment when he realizes he's not misdiagnosed and that his homophobic image of what AIDS is was wrong, and with one line, he made me cry. Jared was equally brilliant, his best scenes being when she's putting on makeup and saying that when she meets God she will look beautiful like an angel if it's the last thing she does and when she starts coughing up a bunch of blood and cries saying "I don't want to die." Of course, the transphobia in the movie really pissed me off as well, from the fact that on Rayon's deathbed all her doctors continued to call her "him." Like, really? She's on her death bed and you can't even call her by her preferred pronouns? Way to be a bunch of dicks. But really, this movie is stunning and everyone should see it. Why AIDS isn't still a huge subject in this country I don't know, because it's not like it's suddenly dormant, but if you want to really be transported back to the early days of AIDS, here's a real great way to do it.
So, there you go! My February movie blurbs! Have any questions or wish I'd have elaborated on something? Let me know in the comments. And keep watching great movies!
She's All That
Apparently it was blasphemy for me to show up at college having never seen this movie, so my roommate ordered it for me to watch and for her own enjoyment, therefore I've seen it quite a few times since. To be honest, it's not my favorite, but I do enjoy the fact that it's a modern day version of 12th Night and has a fantastically feminist message. Otherwise, though, it just doesn't do much for me...I'm more of a Mean Girls person.
Mulan
The day I stop loving Disney animated films will never come, and Mulan has always been a personal favorite of mine. I even dressed up as Mulan for Halloween when I was a kid! She's this solid princess character who works her butt off to take care of her family and gets around the patriarchal society she lives in by faking her way through it as a "man," only to realize the way to save her empire is to get all the men to embrace their feminine side dressed as women! It's actually flawless and of course the feminist in me loves it, the Disney fan in me loves one of their most successful films from my childhood, and then the human in me loves it because who doesn't automatically hear "Be a Man" and think "WE MUST BE SWIFT AS A COURSING RIVER."
Aladdin
Not my favorite Disney movie, by any means, but if the music in this movie doesn't make you jump with joy you're lying to yourself. The Genie is possibly one of the best characters in animated history, and "A Whole New World" might just be one of my favorite Disney duets of all time. And naturally I gotta give an A++ to feminist princesses all the time always. Jasmine gets a lot of flack because she has to use her sexuality and has to be saved by Aladdin, but it actually doesn't bother me in that she works to be independent but lacks the tools to do so growing up in her patriarchal society living an overly privileged life, and when she finally finds someone to fall in love with, Jafar shows up being uber rapey (forcing Jasmine to marry him? Yeah...not cool), but as a villainous character it's an acceptable plot point, and she ultimately is able to fulfill her dream of marrying who she chooses because the story is really less about Jasmine being saved and all about Aladdin proving to everyone that where you're from doesn't have any bearing on what you're capable of. I could go on for days about this, but I'll move on.
21 Jump Street
All the Disney movies listed above were watched on the same day in a Disney marathon of sorts which we followed up with 21 Jump Street to a comment from a passerby on finally watching something age appropriate (Disney movies are always appropriate for any situation ever). Regardless, I love this movie. It's hilarious, it doesn't care, and it's a surprisingly accurate representation of modern day teenage culture. Yes, some of the jokes in this movie are problematic for various reasons, but the essential plotline is not, and is rather hilarious. Some of my favorite lines from this one include (but are not limited to) "Ja feel?" "Ja feel, ja definitely feel" or "Mother Earth...Mother Earth is dying" or "I have arthritis, I need a handful of the dick!"
Heathers
I have talked about this before, but it's pretty much my favorite movie right now. Like, how can lines such as "Well, f*ck me gently with a chainsaw, do I look like Mother Theresa?" and "Eskimo" ever be forgotten? I actually am in romantic love with this film. But really, if you haven't seen it, you should really truly watch it. It has excellent reviews (95% on Rotten Tomatoes), is a brilliant satire of teenage life, and features a very hot young Christian Slater. Like, what more do you need?
The Princess Bride
I have grown up with this movie and its simply the best. I have majority of it memorized, and watching it takes me back to my wonderful childhood when I had this BA princess to look up to. It's a fantastic adventure tale full of comedy, inappropriate costumes for the time period, amazing sword fights, and rhymes.
Airplane!
Until this month I'd actually never seen Airplane! which is kind of sad considering how much of a movie buff I am. However, I was excited to watch this iconic comedy and was not disappointed. The deadpan comedy style and the fantastically dated everything was all a part of what made it wonderful. Some of the dated comedy erred on the side of misogyny a bit much for my taste, but overall I was still able to appreciate the humor and the importance of this film in terms of the history of comedy.
LEGO Movie
Honestly has the potential (and is rather likely) to be the animated feature of the year. Like, beyond fantastic. The animation is actually really solid and the story line is surprisingly touching for a children's movie about legos. It's also pretty much one of the most hilarious movies I've seen in theatres in a long time. I mean, its by the lovely people that did Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which I have unfortunately not seen just yet, and 21 Jump Street, so it really shouldn't be a surprise that it's hilarious, and everyone should go see it, even if just for the hilarious Batman references.
Anastasia
This was pretty much one of my favorite cartoons growing up, and naturally the only reason us college kids decided to watch it was remembering how hot Demetri was. Although I also came to realize just how amazing the music is and how well developed the characters are and also, if I was an animated character I would be Anya and I'm totally gonna end up married to someone like Demetri and it's gonna be wonderful.
Monsters University
This is honestly one of my favorite movies of the past year. I saw it in theatres 5 times. So naturally, when my sisters on the bus to our District Leadership Conference put it on I was thrilled. I honestly think it is one of the most accurate representations of college life in any film I've seen, and I love the portrayal of the Greek system. Each house has it's own distinct personality, and they aren't all stereotypical srat/frat kids! I also just love seeing nerdy little Randy Boggs at the beginning. OH THE FEELS.
Pitch Perfect
Naturally, my wonderful sisters then chose one of my other favorite most accurate college representations. While I am (unfortunately) not involved in the a capella scene at my college, everything else rings very very true. Especially as a performing arts kid. And if you don't think "Well, hey there, Hillary Swank from Million Dollar Baby" "You don't have to say Hillary Swank, you could've just said 'Hey, Million Dollar Baby,' you don't have to reference the specific actor playing the part" "Damn, prisons changed you." is one of the best exchanges in the history of film you are wrong and I hate you.
Love and Other Drugs
To my dismay, on the ride back to our respectful campus homes, my sisters decided to watch Love and Other Drugs, which I found to be a pretty awful film full of awful people pretending they were great romantic characters along with gratuitous sex scenes all centered on a relationship that literally began with sexual harrassment. I CAN'T EVEN. Also, it's just a terrible film overall. I fell asleep in the middle, and I don't think I missed anything. So...
Ghostbusters
Of course upon hearing of the death of Harold Ramis I found it incredibly necessary to watch Ghostbusters instantly, and sure enough, the second I returned to my dorm, that's exactly what I did. I forgot how great this movie is, and also how fantastic the comedy is. It's a really great satire of film from the era, and I completely spaced that Sigourney Weaver was in it. And for the record, RIP Harold Ramis, you'll be dearly missed. You were a comedic master, and the world could always use more of that.
Dallas Buyers Club
This movie was far better than I expected, and I was expecting a great movie. For the record, I had literally no idea what this movie was about aside from Matthew McConaughey surprising everyone with acting ability and Jared Leto being a transgender woman and AIDS, so learning about buyers clubs and the whole AZT situation of the 80s at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic was really eye opening. Matthew McConaughey's performance was simply stunning, from his ridiculous weight loss and his ability to channel a pretty unlikeable man in a realistic manner, down to my favorite scene from the entire movie (*spoiler alert)*, when he's sitting in the library doing research on AIDS while still in denial of his diagnosis and he has a flashback to having sex with a woman with track marks. That's the moment when he realizes he's not misdiagnosed and that his homophobic image of what AIDS is was wrong, and with one line, he made me cry. Jared was equally brilliant, his best scenes being when she's putting on makeup and saying that when she meets God she will look beautiful like an angel if it's the last thing she does and when she starts coughing up a bunch of blood and cries saying "I don't want to die." Of course, the transphobia in the movie really pissed me off as well, from the fact that on Rayon's deathbed all her doctors continued to call her "him." Like, really? She's on her death bed and you can't even call her by her preferred pronouns? Way to be a bunch of dicks. But really, this movie is stunning and everyone should see it. Why AIDS isn't still a huge subject in this country I don't know, because it's not like it's suddenly dormant, but if you want to really be transported back to the early days of AIDS, here's a real great way to do it.
So, there you go! My February movie blurbs! Have any questions or wish I'd have elaborated on something? Let me know in the comments. And keep watching great movies!
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