Friday, August 13, 2010
Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella
I just downloaded this album and I think it's wonderful. My readers are similarly wonderful, so I figured I'd recommend it!
It is, in fact, an album full of Ben Folds songs sung a cappella by men's college choirs, and Ben Folds. Sound weird? It is. But a fantastic kind of weird, like when you find a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich on the dining room table, and a glass of ice cold milk, and a nice note from your mom, but you know your mom died three years ago. You know what that's like?
That's what this album is like. Like your dead mom doting on you. You'd like that, right? Of course you would. Download this album. In fact, if you have disposable income, by all means go out and buy it. This is an album I'd happily blow money on.
It is, in fact, an album full of Ben Folds songs sung a cappella by men's college choirs, and Ben Folds. Sound weird? It is. But a fantastic kind of weird, like when you find a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich on the dining room table, and a glass of ice cold milk, and a nice note from your mom, but you know your mom died three years ago. You know what that's like?
That's what this album is like. Like your dead mom doting on you. You'd like that, right? Of course you would. Download this album. In fact, if you have disposable income, by all means go out and buy it. This is an album I'd happily blow money on.
I JUST GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL.
Lately, Zack and I have been playing a lot of Pokemon. If you've been around us at all in the last two or three weeks, you probably know that and are annoyed by it. We bring our Pokemon cards everywhere with us, and we actually drove out to Roseville two weeks ago to buy me a used DSLite. . . because it came with Pokemon Heart Gold, and a Pokewalker, and it was a decent price. I gave Zack my old DS and we've been pretty inseparable from the damn things ever since.
In light of all this Poke-mania, I thought I should tell you all about the time I decided to start collecting Pokemon cards.
I was in fourth grade, merely one year after arriving at that school. If you know anything at all about my childhood, you know that I got made fun of a lot, and got into a lot of fights because of it, which also resulted in a lot of detention.
Everyone in my class had Pokemon cards. I didn't really have any idea what the cards were supposed to do, but I watched the show sometimes before school, and I thought it was okay. My classmates, though, were batshit about the stuff. Kids were trading at lunch, battling during Silent Reading, talking about who had the coolest holographic cards, and some even bragged about their legendary Japanese cards. Of course, nobody else could see those, because they were priceless.
One Thursday after school (Thursdays were detention days), my teacher left me alone in the classroom, presumably to go do teachery things that didn't involve sitting behind a desk doing nothing while one spazoid kid, who is also doing nothing, stares intensely at you. As soon as she left I got up and walked to her desk, knowing exactly what I would find.
There, on the upper right hand corner of her desk, in plain view, were eleven Pokemon cards. They belonged to a kid one grade below me, who'd been playing with them during class, and Mrs. Lambrecht had taken them away for the day. . . but she had neglected to give them back.
All at once, I had this ridiculous vision in my head. I would transform from being the geeky kid everyone picked on, to the coolest kid in school. All I had to do was take these Pokemon cards. So what if they'd belonged to somebody else? I'd take better care of them, mostly because I had no idea what they were used for. It was his stupid fault for getting them taken away in the first place. He didn't deserve them.
I stood there for about five minutes, waging this epic mental battle, with what I considered my own personal Dark Side telling me that I should, no, needed to steal those cards. I had a right to them. I was the finder, and everybody knows that Finders Keepers, Losers Stupid Little Crybabies Who Get Things Taken Away During Class And Given To Somebody Else.
I snatched them off the desk, stuffed them in the pocket of my jumper, and ran back to my desk just as Mrs. Lambrecht came back into the room. She didn't notice anything when she went back to her desk.
For the next week, I was super cool. I was in possession of eleven Pokemon cards, and one of them was a holographic Snorlax. I couldn't believe my luck. No one else had a holographic Snorlax.
It became a major scandal in my school once it got around t hat someone had stolen Matt Cherenzia's Pokemon cards right off of Mrs. Lambrecht's desk. Unfortunately for me, he remembered exactly what all of them were. . . and wouldn't you know it, I only had eleven cards, and one of them was the holographic Snorlax he was so proud of.
Oddly enough, I didn't get punished for it. My teacher was mad, but I think she actually completely understood. Like I said, it wasn't exactly a secret that I was a huge loser, and the teachers were usually pretty sympathetic to it.
Anyway, that's the story of how I got my first ever Pokemon cards. Needless to say, it's a lot more fun now.
In light of all this Poke-mania, I thought I should tell you all about the time I decided to start collecting Pokemon cards.
I was in fourth grade, merely one year after arriving at that school. If you know anything at all about my childhood, you know that I got made fun of a lot, and got into a lot of fights because of it, which also resulted in a lot of detention.
Everyone in my class had Pokemon cards. I didn't really have any idea what the cards were supposed to do, but I watched the show sometimes before school, and I thought it was okay. My classmates, though, were batshit about the stuff. Kids were trading at lunch, battling during Silent Reading, talking about who had the coolest holographic cards, and some even bragged about their legendary Japanese cards. Of course, nobody else could see those, because they were priceless.
One Thursday after school (Thursdays were detention days), my teacher left me alone in the classroom, presumably to go do teachery things that didn't involve sitting behind a desk doing nothing while one spazoid kid, who is also doing nothing, stares intensely at you. As soon as she left I got up and walked to her desk, knowing exactly what I would find.
There, on the upper right hand corner of her desk, in plain view, were eleven Pokemon cards. They belonged to a kid one grade below me, who'd been playing with them during class, and Mrs. Lambrecht had taken them away for the day. . . but she had neglected to give them back.
All at once, I had this ridiculous vision in my head. I would transform from being the geeky kid everyone picked on, to the coolest kid in school. All I had to do was take these Pokemon cards. So what if they'd belonged to somebody else? I'd take better care of them, mostly because I had no idea what they were used for. It was his stupid fault for getting them taken away in the first place. He didn't deserve them.
I stood there for about five minutes, waging this epic mental battle, with what I considered my own personal Dark Side telling me that I should, no, needed to steal those cards. I had a right to them. I was the finder, and everybody knows that Finders Keepers, Losers Stupid Little Crybabies Who Get Things Taken Away During Class And Given To Somebody Else.
I snatched them off the desk, stuffed them in the pocket of my jumper, and ran back to my desk just as Mrs. Lambrecht came back into the room. She didn't notice anything when she went back to her desk.
For the next week, I was super cool. I was in possession of eleven Pokemon cards, and one of them was a holographic Snorlax. I couldn't believe my luck. No one else had a holographic Snorlax.
It became a major scandal in my school once it got around t hat someone had stolen Matt Cherenzia's Pokemon cards right off of Mrs. Lambrecht's desk. Unfortunately for me, he remembered exactly what all of them were. . . and wouldn't you know it, I only had eleven cards, and one of them was the holographic Snorlax he was so proud of.
Oddly enough, I didn't get punished for it. My teacher was mad, but I think she actually completely understood. Like I said, it wasn't exactly a secret that I was a huge loser, and the teachers were usually pretty sympathetic to it.
Anyway, that's the story of how I got my first ever Pokemon cards. Needless to say, it's a lot more fun now.
Monday, August 9, 2010
ATTENTION READERS.
I GOT A NEW BOOK.
I'M SO EXCITED TO READ IT. I haven't been this excited to read a book in like, forever. At least, since Half-Blood Prince came out.
But even that book wasn't about THE SHAT.
I hope James Spader comes into play at some point. I really hope so. I am literally bouncing. I am hanging on the EDGE OF MY SEAT.
Be excited for me! That is all.
I'M SO EXCITED TO READ IT. I haven't been this excited to read a book in like, forever. At least, since Half-Blood Prince came out.
But even that book wasn't about THE SHAT.
I hope James Spader comes into play at some point. I really hope so. I am literally bouncing. I am hanging on the EDGE OF MY SEAT.
Be excited for me! That is all.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
My Freakish Memory
I remember everything. Well, everything after the age of. . . let's say four. I know, that seems a little bit early, but I'm telling the truth here. I have a freakishly accurate collection of memories, just waiting in the back of my mind for someone to say the magic word and open them. This generally serves me well in arguments when someone is trying to tell me that the thing being argued never happened, or was completely different, or that they did/did not say something they did not/did.
But usually, this weird. . . ability, if you want to call it that, manifests itself in one of two ways:
1) when watching a movie or a show with someone, I can spout off pretty much every leading actor, supporting actor, bit part, extra and cameo without breaking a sweat, which seems to annoy or astound everyone around me (depending on who I'm with)
2) I see/hear about/randomly run into someone I met years and years ago (which a normal person, with a normal memory span, wouldn't think twice about or even notice) and remember every minute I was ever around that person.
About five minutes ago I was reminded of this second fact, when I scrolled down my Facebook updates (herpderpFacebookherpderp) and saw that my friend Chelsea had recently become "friends" with a guy with a very familiar and somewhat unique (or at least it seemed so to me) name.
I know. You're all just hanging on the edge of your seats.
Upon even seeing this person's name, I was forcibly, viscerally launched headfirst into memories of my gawky awkward self at twelve. I attended the YMCA during the summer because my mom worked, and I met this kid there. I immediately had this like totally huge crush on him. We became friends, and at some point I hid his glasses, knowing he couldn't see without them, and used this opportunity to gracelessly grab his face and try to kiss him.
What a charming kid I was, right?
I also remembered that after I came back from my annual summer Boston visit, he didn't want to be my friend anymore, and was a super-jerkface to me about it.
I haven't thought about this in. . . years, honestly. And yet the mere sight of a name remarkably similar to the name I remember was like the proverbial number 19 opened this Pandora's box of hilariously uncomfortable awkwardness and weird feelings I had no idea what to do with.
This happens all the time. I'm not even joking.
Hanging out in the student lounge at school one day, a couple of years ago, I noticed someone really familiar. He'd put on quite a bit of weight and didn't look as birdlike as he used to, but I recognized him all the same. David Mayne, my first boyfriend. I mean holding hands to slow-skates at Riverside arena, back when all-school skate nights were still a thing. I remembered everything from him telling me his eyes changed color with his shirts, to his home phone number, which I haven't dialed since I was twelve.
I've seen him a lot since that first initial weird-out, since we apparently run in the same circles now, but I haven't said anything about it. Because what are you supposed to say? "Hi, I know that any normal person wouldn't remember this, but I sort-of-not-really-dated you in middle school. You got me pizza and we played Area 51 at Riverside. One day we went to the park and you got mud all over your clothes, so you had to wear mine for the rest of the night. Wasn't that fun?"
I've also seen Joe (yes, that same Joe) down in the student lounge a couple times, which you as my readers should be thankful for. I didn't think about crazy Mrs Cooke's meltdown once after it happened, until I saw Joe in the Waterman. After that it was just lodged in my brain.
Again, I never said anything. Because, again, what am I supposed to say? "Hey Joe, it's me, Kelli Renas! We had detention in middle school together? I gave you twenty bucks to beat up your friend for making fun of me, and you totally did it? Your favorite band was the White Stripes. I bought Elephant because of you! Remember when Doug Raymond and his stupid friends were throwing everybody's art projects into the fan, and you saved mine and yelled at them because I was crying? You were so awesome! Man, we had some good times. Some GOOD TIMES. Anyway, here's my number! Call me."
Yeah. That wouldn't say I was a serial killer, or anything. He wouldn't be creeped out by that at all. No sir. Especially, you know, if it actually didn't turn out to be him. Just someone that looks almost exactly like a guy I remember from grade school.
It's no wonder, with all this stuff in my head, that I come off as crazy to people who don't intimately know me. ON OPPOSITE DAY.
EDIT: If you're curious about Joe at all, I've just looked him up on MySpace (I know, right?). He was an amazing musician even back in middle school, and it seems like now he's getting the recognition he deserves. Hats off to you, Joe! :]
But usually, this weird. . . ability, if you want to call it that, manifests itself in one of two ways:
1) when watching a movie or a show with someone, I can spout off pretty much every leading actor, supporting actor, bit part, extra and cameo without breaking a sweat, which seems to annoy or astound everyone around me (depending on who I'm with)
2) I see/hear about/randomly run into someone I met years and years ago (which a normal person, with a normal memory span, wouldn't think twice about or even notice) and remember every minute I was ever around that person.
About five minutes ago I was reminded of this second fact, when I scrolled down my Facebook updates (herpderpFacebookherpderp) and saw that my friend Chelsea had recently become "friends" with a guy with a very familiar and somewhat unique (or at least it seemed so to me) name.
I know. You're all just hanging on the edge of your seats.
Upon even seeing this person's name, I was forcibly, viscerally launched headfirst into memories of my gawky awkward self at twelve. I attended the YMCA during the summer because my mom worked, and I met this kid there. I immediately had this like totally huge crush on him. We became friends, and at some point I hid his glasses, knowing he couldn't see without them, and used this opportunity to gracelessly grab his face and try to kiss him.
What a charming kid I was, right?
I also remembered that after I came back from my annual summer Boston visit, he didn't want to be my friend anymore, and was a super-jerkface to me about it.
I haven't thought about this in. . . years, honestly. And yet the mere sight of a name remarkably similar to the name I remember was like the proverbial number 19 opened this Pandora's box of hilariously uncomfortable awkwardness and weird feelings I had no idea what to do with.
This happens all the time. I'm not even joking.
Hanging out in the student lounge at school one day, a couple of years ago, I noticed someone really familiar. He'd put on quite a bit of weight and didn't look as birdlike as he used to, but I recognized him all the same. David Mayne, my first boyfriend. I mean holding hands to slow-skates at Riverside arena, back when all-school skate nights were still a thing. I remembered everything from him telling me his eyes changed color with his shirts, to his home phone number, which I haven't dialed since I was twelve.
I've seen him a lot since that first initial weird-out, since we apparently run in the same circles now, but I haven't said anything about it. Because what are you supposed to say? "Hi, I know that any normal person wouldn't remember this, but I sort-of-not-really-dated you in middle school. You got me pizza and we played Area 51 at Riverside. One day we went to the park and you got mud all over your clothes, so you had to wear mine for the rest of the night. Wasn't that fun?"
I've also seen Joe (yes, that same Joe) down in the student lounge a couple times, which you as my readers should be thankful for. I didn't think about crazy Mrs Cooke's meltdown once after it happened, until I saw Joe in the Waterman. After that it was just lodged in my brain.
Again, I never said anything. Because, again, what am I supposed to say? "Hey Joe, it's me, Kelli Renas! We had detention in middle school together? I gave you twenty bucks to beat up your friend for making fun of me, and you totally did it? Your favorite band was the White Stripes. I bought Elephant because of you! Remember when Doug Raymond and his stupid friends were throwing everybody's art projects into the fan, and you saved mine and yelled at them because I was crying? You were so awesome! Man, we had some good times. Some GOOD TIMES. Anyway, here's my number! Call me."
Yeah. That wouldn't say I was a serial killer, or anything. He wouldn't be creeped out by that at all. No sir. Especially, you know, if it actually didn't turn out to be him. Just someone that looks almost exactly like a guy I remember from grade school.
It's no wonder, with all this stuff in my head, that I come off as crazy to people who don't intimately know me. ON OPPOSITE DAY.
EDIT: If you're curious about Joe at all, I've just looked him up on MySpace (I know, right?). He was an amazing musician even back in middle school, and it seems like now he's getting the recognition he deserves. Hats off to you, Joe! :]
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The best beginnings are silly ones.
This post is not about my childhood. I apologize for the misleading title, because I fully realize now that some people may have seen it and gotten all excited. Don't worry. That's coming later. I just have to compile all the research.
No, this post is instead about SONGS, not lives, with hilarious beginnings.
I'm sort of a music nerd. I don't mean that like I'm a music major, or I study it intensely and know all the ins and outs and technical stuff; I don't even play any instruments, except for drums from time to time, when Zack is playing guitar and needs a backbeat. And I'm not even good at that.
I'm a music nerd more in the sense that I love music and honestly don't think i could live without it. At least, not a functioning life, or a life that anyone would want to live. How would I get out my wiggles if I wasn't able to dance to Ben Folds? How would I get over my depression and anger, unless Max Bemis were there to guide me? And how would I come up with ridiculous analogies and euphemisms if there were no more Fall Out Boy?
These are questions I don't want to ever have answered.
Over the last couple years, I've compiled a short list of songs with very, very silly beginnings that never fail to make me giggle, no matter what kind of mood I'm in. I have many more lists, because I make lists when I can't think of anything else to write, but I figured this is a good one to start with.
Silly Songs With Kelli: Hi-Larry-Ous First Lines/Stanzas/What-Have-You
"Shit! Nothing makes sense!"
"The Futile", Say Anything
"If there's a God, he's laughing at us and our football team."
"Effington", Ben Folds
"I'm really sorry, Steven, but your bicycle's been stolen."
"Apology Song", The Decemberists
"WHOOOOOO you callin' 'bitch'?"
"Who You Callin' Bitch?", Rivers Cuomo (I'm not even kidding, the song is actually called that.)
"Well, I thought about the Army; Dad said 'Son, you're fuckin' high.'"
"Army", Ben Folds
"Did you know that there are people in the world annoyed at all the other people in the world?"
"Hate Everyone", Say Anything
"I have to record the spoken-word introduction to the record. It's only a few little lines, but I'm having anxiety about it."
"Do you know what it is?"
"Yeah, it goes, uh--"
"Oh, good. I was gonna say, yeah, if you know what it is, then go ahead."
"It goes, uh, 'And the record begins with a song of rebellion.'"
". . . That's it?"
"AND THE RECORD BEGINS WITH A SONG OF REBELLION!" *album starts*
"Belt", Say Anything
"I'm going crazy trying to keep you sane. You're taking my prescriptions and forging my name. I was happy this morning; you finally got yourself dressed! Eating raw bacon. . . It's okay, I was still impressed."
"Even If You Don't", Two Tongues
and, my personal favorite,
"The answer you seek, my son, only poses more questions.
Ask many woman why relationship has failed. Each woman offer unique reason for demise.
One woman might say 'man could not commit', or 'man is douche, and is now free to make love to himself instead.'
Another woman might say 'man have changed' or even 'man no longer satisfactory lover.'
But my son, ask many men same question all over the world, why has relationship failed; each man, each time, will give same, simple answer.
The bitch went nuts."
"Bitch Went Nuts", Ben Folds
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Movie Monday!
You might be thinking, "Hey, you big dumb stupidhead! It's not Monday! It's not Monday at all! You're just a BIG DUMB STUPIDHEAD who doesn't know how WEEKS work, you STUPID PERSON. You're FAT."
To which I would like to say, "Bite me, unnecessarily angry guy! I'm doing this in anticipation of the fact that I won't have access to the Internet on Monday, because I'm spending the day WITH MY MOM. So there. And fat? Really? Have you even seen me lately?"
So without further ado, or conversations with people who might not exist, I would like to present to you
Movies I Totally Thought Were Going To Turn Out Different Because Of Retardedly False Advertising, But Really Liked Anyway Because They Were Awesome
Saved!
Jena Malone, Eva Amurri, Macaulay Culkin, Mandy Moore, Patrick Fugit
This movie came out in 2004, and if you don't remember it, don't feel bad. A lot of people don't. This is because the advertising for this movie ("OMG CHRISTIANS LOOK HOW STUPID THEY ARE LET'S LAUGH AT THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE STUPID HAHAHA") was so incredibly off-putting that no one wanted to see it. I mean, would you want to see a movie whose sole point was poking systematic, douchey fun at a system of beliefs, even if you didn't necessarily follow them?
I didn't, really, but i was 13 and Rachel picked it out when she was spending the night, and I didn't really care.
I'm glad I actually saw it, because it was fantastic and remains one of my favorite movies to this day. Instead of happy-assholing all over the place about how Christians are stupid and hilarious and we should make fun of them, it gives you kind of a nice inspirational message without being too preachy. It's more about how extremists are created, how something that is supposed to be a good thing (ie, Christianity) can get morphed into a bad thing just that easily, and instead of alienating people (which is what all the trailers showed), it should be accepted that everyone is different for a reason.
In other words, the exact polar opposite of what everyone thought it was going to be about.
You might say that's kind of a stock feel-good message, and i might say, so what? Movies don't all have to be about messing with your twists and unexpected endings and messing with your head; if they give you a simple message while being incredibly original about it, that's an awesome achievement and I applaud it. TEN GOLD STARS.
Moon
Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey
If I'm recalling correctly, I first saw trailers for this when I went to go see Coraline, which makes sense, I guess, given what Coraline ended up being about (those poor kids in the theater). That trailer led me to believe that it was either going to be about A) some Dead Space shit where monsters and/or aliens invade a moon base where Sam Rockwell is stationed, or B) some Stephen King shit wherein Sam Rockwell has been alone on the moon for so long with only a Kevin Spacey robot for company that he eventually just loses his goddamned mind. As I don't like scary movies (and, while i do like psychological thrillers, and anything by Stephen King as a general rule, 1408 scared the hell out of me when Jon insisted I watch it), I understandably was not too excited when Jon wanted me to watch Moon.
As it turned out, it wasn't about either of those things. What it is, is Sam Rockwell thinking he's losing his goddamned mind when really, there's something entirely different that you don't even expect going on. It does kind of mess with you for about half the movie, but it doesn't really try to; you're just following what the original Sam Rockwell is thinking, and discovering stuff at the same time as his character does.
Now, I should tell you that I love Sam Rockwell. He was the best part of Hitchhiker's Guide, and that was a terrible movie. I mean terrible. This movie further solidified what I knew all along: Sam Rockwell is a brilliant actor. They basically just gave him a movie, and rather than just just kind of trudging his way through it like a lot of other people would have, he acted his ass off and made you believe it, right up to the end. If you haven't seen Moon, see it. You won't be disappointed.
The Invention of Lying
Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Louis C.K., Rob Lowe
I have to admit, I was really curious about this movie when it came out. . . but not because of the adverts. I was more curious about the mechanics of a world where people are honest all the time, than I was about what crazy batshit lies Ricky Gervais would come up with.
The trailers don't give you very much, but what they do give you is kinda misleading. It looks like just another stupid comedy that they could've done a lot more with, but chose to just bullshit around and go "hey, wouldn't it be CRAZY if".
Zack and I rented it one night, and I have to say, I loved it. They went a lot deeper into the implications of a world without lying than I thought they would, and Ricky Gervais is a lot more likeable than I've ever seen him. Jennifer Garner is unexpectedly adorable, and the plot is WAY more developed than you'd expect from such an over-advertised movie. Rent it if you can; it's easy to love.
Funny People
Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill
When I saw the previews for this movie, I think the first thought that went through my head was "Oh. Another irreverent Apatow movie. I guess this one's about comedians or something? No thanks."
I do like Judd Apatow, don't get me wrong. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of my favorite movies, and I basically had the delivery experience from Knocked Up, right down to the unwanted Asian doctor. But there are only so many varieties of penis jokes one can take before it starts to get, you know. . . stale. And I've never really been a big fan of Adam Sandler.
Zack watched it the other day, and he kept telling me how much I would like it, since we have the exact same taste in movies. I had to trust him.
Right off the bat I knew it wasn't going to be what I'd originally thought. Literally the first thing that happens (and it's right in the On-Demand summary, so it's not really a "spoiler") is that Adam Sandler finds out he has a rare strain of leukemia that cannot be cured. That sets the tone for the entire movie, which is funny (because it is, after all, an Apatow film, and it does, after all, star Seth Rogen), but also kind of heartbreaking. It gave me a new level of respect for Adam Sandler as an actor, and Seth Rogen plays a completely different sort of character than his usual stoner-douchebag-with-a-heart-of-gold. This movie honestly shocked me. It gave me a completely different experience than any of the promotions for it had told me to expect. If you haven't seen it, and you don't mind wading through the dick jokes (and I have to warn you, there are a LOT), I'd absolutely recommend it.
To which I would like to say, "Bite me, unnecessarily angry guy! I'm doing this in anticipation of the fact that I won't have access to the Internet on Monday, because I'm spending the day WITH MY MOM. So there. And fat? Really? Have you even seen me lately?"
So without further ado, or conversations with people who might not exist, I would like to present to you
Movies I Totally Thought Were Going To Turn Out Different Because Of Retardedly False Advertising, But Really Liked Anyway Because They Were Awesome
Saved!Jena Malone, Eva Amurri, Macaulay Culkin, Mandy Moore, Patrick Fugit
This movie came out in 2004, and if you don't remember it, don't feel bad. A lot of people don't. This is because the advertising for this movie ("OMG CHRISTIANS LOOK HOW STUPID THEY ARE LET'S LAUGH AT THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE STUPID HAHAHA") was so incredibly off-putting that no one wanted to see it. I mean, would you want to see a movie whose sole point was poking systematic, douchey fun at a system of beliefs, even if you didn't necessarily follow them?
I didn't, really, but i was 13 and Rachel picked it out when she was spending the night, and I didn't really care.
I'm glad I actually saw it, because it was fantastic and remains one of my favorite movies to this day. Instead of happy-assholing all over the place about how Christians are stupid and hilarious and we should make fun of them, it gives you kind of a nice inspirational message without being too preachy. It's more about how extremists are created, how something that is supposed to be a good thing (ie, Christianity) can get morphed into a bad thing just that easily, and instead of alienating people (which is what all the trailers showed), it should be accepted that everyone is different for a reason.
In other words, the exact polar opposite of what everyone thought it was going to be about.
You might say that's kind of a stock feel-good message, and i might say, so what? Movies don't all have to be about messing with your twists and unexpected endings and messing with your head; if they give you a simple message while being incredibly original about it, that's an awesome achievement and I applaud it. TEN GOLD STARS.
MoonSam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey
If I'm recalling correctly, I first saw trailers for this when I went to go see Coraline, which makes sense, I guess, given what Coraline ended up being about (those poor kids in the theater). That trailer led me to believe that it was either going to be about A) some Dead Space shit where monsters and/or aliens invade a moon base where Sam Rockwell is stationed, or B) some Stephen King shit wherein Sam Rockwell has been alone on the moon for so long with only a Kevin Spacey robot for company that he eventually just loses his goddamned mind. As I don't like scary movies (and, while i do like psychological thrillers, and anything by Stephen King as a general rule, 1408 scared the hell out of me when Jon insisted I watch it), I understandably was not too excited when Jon wanted me to watch Moon.
As it turned out, it wasn't about either of those things. What it is, is Sam Rockwell thinking he's losing his goddamned mind when really, there's something entirely different that you don't even expect going on. It does kind of mess with you for about half the movie, but it doesn't really try to; you're just following what the original Sam Rockwell is thinking, and discovering stuff at the same time as his character does.
Now, I should tell you that I love Sam Rockwell. He was the best part of Hitchhiker's Guide, and that was a terrible movie. I mean terrible. This movie further solidified what I knew all along: Sam Rockwell is a brilliant actor. They basically just gave him a movie, and rather than just just kind of trudging his way through it like a lot of other people would have, he acted his ass off and made you believe it, right up to the end. If you haven't seen Moon, see it. You won't be disappointed.
The Invention of LyingRicky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Louis C.K., Rob Lowe
I have to admit, I was really curious about this movie when it came out. . . but not because of the adverts. I was more curious about the mechanics of a world where people are honest all the time, than I was about what crazy batshit lies Ricky Gervais would come up with.
The trailers don't give you very much, but what they do give you is kinda misleading. It looks like just another stupid comedy that they could've done a lot more with, but chose to just bullshit around and go "hey, wouldn't it be CRAZY if".
Zack and I rented it one night, and I have to say, I loved it. They went a lot deeper into the implications of a world without lying than I thought they would, and Ricky Gervais is a lot more likeable than I've ever seen him. Jennifer Garner is unexpectedly adorable, and the plot is WAY more developed than you'd expect from such an over-advertised movie. Rent it if you can; it's easy to love.
Funny PeopleAdam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill
When I saw the previews for this movie, I think the first thought that went through my head was "Oh. Another irreverent Apatow movie. I guess this one's about comedians or something? No thanks."
I do like Judd Apatow, don't get me wrong. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of my favorite movies, and I basically had the delivery experience from Knocked Up, right down to the unwanted Asian doctor. But there are only so many varieties of penis jokes one can take before it starts to get, you know. . . stale. And I've never really been a big fan of Adam Sandler.
Zack watched it the other day, and he kept telling me how much I would like it, since we have the exact same taste in movies. I had to trust him.
Right off the bat I knew it wasn't going to be what I'd originally thought. Literally the first thing that happens (and it's right in the On-Demand summary, so it's not really a "spoiler") is that Adam Sandler finds out he has a rare strain of leukemia that cannot be cured. That sets the tone for the entire movie, which is funny (because it is, after all, an Apatow film, and it does, after all, star Seth Rogen), but also kind of heartbreaking. It gave me a new level of respect for Adam Sandler as an actor, and Seth Rogen plays a completely different sort of character than his usual stoner-douchebag-with-a-heart-of-gold. This movie honestly shocked me. It gave me a completely different experience than any of the promotions for it had told me to expect. If you haven't seen it, and you don't mind wading through the dick jokes (and I have to warn you, there are a LOT), I'd absolutely recommend it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)