the event

Just in case you didn't know I was a total geek.

Mark your calendar for July 15th!

A trailer, for your convenience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ITD03IcRIs

the cutting edge

I'm a cheap person. I steal napkins from McDonalds. When I go grocery shopping, I compare the unit price of items to make sure I'm maximizing my spending dollars (I don't remember how much that bag of cookies cost, but I know each individual one is worth 8.2 cents).

But there are some things I think are worth paying for. Like car washes or going to hair salons without the words "super" or "cuts" in the title. And now, I add to that list, Venus razors. [Or other brand equivalents. I'm not picky.]

Because that extra blade apparently makes ALL the difference between heaven and hell for my legs.

So this discovery came at the cost of my frugalness. I was doing that unit price compare thing at the grocery store the other day and Daisy razors happened to be like 10 cents cheaper. Usually I'd buy Venus anyway, but I always thought razors are overpriced in general (they make the handles so excessively nice for a product you throw away after a week), so I thought, why the hell not try a Daisy? Can't be that much worse, right?!

God! I never realized how spoiled I was with the Venus! The pillowy head would glide over my skin and the triple blade actions would cut smooth and close, leaving me stubble-free for a day or two. Never any nicks.

But this cheap, pink contraption? Inferior in every way and feeling dull half-way through the first usage. It scrapes along unwillingly, leaving your legs feeling itchy and not nearly as smooth after, even with generous amounts of shaving cream. The lack of contouring really makes shaving your knees a nightmare, too. Crazy!

Easier and Better? I don't think so, Daisy.

Like I said, some things, you just can't skimp on.

And since it's Wednesday:



Enjoy!

And stop procrastinating so you can get your stuff done. Or rent "The Cutting Edge" (1992). I promise, 100 minutes well spent if you're looking for a light, summer distraction.

the summer day

“The Summer Day”
Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?

the sequel: part 2

Remember The Fast and the Furious way back when? And then they had that sequel which sucked even more. And Vin Disel was too big of a star for it? And then they had the third movie, set in Tokyo with no one famous in it, to spice things up?

Well, number four's coming out next summer, cleverly named Fast and Furious. With the original cast in all it's glory. Hooray. I guess Vin Disel wasn't too busy making The Pacifier 2 or anything.

School of Rock might have a sequel too.

In the words of brilliantly bizarre David Lynch: "In a way, there's no original ideas -- it's just the ideas that you caught."

Doesn't mean you can't keep trying to catch interesting ideas, Hollywood.

But then again, I am insanely excited for The Dark Knight, so what can I say.

Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?

the greatest love of all

So today I watched Aladdin (1992) on the Toon Disney channel. Classic.

I notice that the moral of kids movies are usually the same: Be Yourself. It's the lesson at the end of the last 3 children's movies I've seen-- Penelope, Camp Rock (shut up, you want to watch it too), and Aladdin. Love yourself even though you: have a pig's nose/ are the cook's daughter (?!?)/ are a street rat. It seems that after all these years, no matter what the movies say, we still have a big self-acceptance problem.

You know, people always tell you to just be yourself, but what they really mean is to be your best self. See, Penelope's only problem is her nose (and ears). They make her slightly less cute. But despite her life imprisonment, she is surprisingly well-adjusted and cheerful-- she's a cool, talented, rich girl. So liking herself the way she is... well, we all like her too, already. I won't even touch the ridiculousness of Camp Rock. And Aladdin is a diamond in the rough. That kid goes into a cave full of gold and isn't tempted by any of it? That takes character. Aladdin's so awesome, he can win the heart of a princess. So why the hell wouldn't he want to be himself?

The problem these characters have are always exaggerated or too remote to real problems people face when they're labeled as weird or different.

It's not a bad message to put in movies, but the reason why no one listens to it, and consequently, why it keeps popping up in movies, is because once you exit the theater/living room, you're bombarded once again by reminders of how inadequate you really are. Out of the twelve issues 17 magazine puts out a year, 8 of them have a "Make-over tips!" headline on the cover. The other 4 tell you how to look hot, fun, pretty, and fashionable. You have a wonderful personality, as long as you're happy and nice and talented and come in a pretty package.

It's probably part of human nature; we're always striving to be better, faster, stronger, younger, richer.... And really, it's not always such a bad thing. I think you should always strive to be a better person (while of course being okay with yourself when you slip up along the way).

Kids, I'll tell you what I think the moral of a story should be. Be yourself. Love yourself. Because you are a cool and unique person. And just don't let it bother you if the "unique" side of you outweighs your "cool" portion. Get used to it kids, people aren't always nice as adults either.

If it helps, take Whit's words of wisdom (ooo, alliteration!):

The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

That song... so catchy, so true.

the top ten

AFI's ten top ten:

(and my random thoughts)

ANIMATION

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937
2. Pinocchio, 1940
3. Bambi, 1942
4. The Lion King, 1994
5. Fantasia, 1940
6. Toy Story, 1995
7. Beauty and the Beast, 1991
8. Shrek, 2001
9. Cinderella, 1950
10. Finding Nemo, 2003

I like this list. I mostly agree with it (though maybe not in that order-- but that's due to my personal taste rather than objective judging), with perhaps the exception of Shrek and/or Pinocchio. With Shrek, well, it depends what the guidelines are, I suppose. It is a good movie, unique, clever. But all the pop-culture references make it age poorly, and, well, you know how I feel about sequels. Shrek has two, and it's really a concept that only works well once. As for Pinocchio, well, okay, not one of my faves, but I suppose it had Jiminy Cricket. My favorite of the list would have to be Beauty and the Beast.

FANTASY

1. The Wizard of Oz, 1939
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001
3. It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946
4. King Kong, 1933
5. Miracle on 34th Street, 1947
6. Field of Dreams, 1989
7. Harvey, 1950
8. Groundhog Day, 1993
9. The Thief of Bagdad, 1924
10. Big, 1988

Okay, I haven't seen King Kong, Field of Dreams (blasphemy! says all the 30 year old guys reading this) and The Theif of Bagdad (who has seen this?). All the rest, I completely adore. Big and Groundhog Day I watch every single time they come on TV. Which is roughly once a week. And Harvey stars my future/past (??) boyfriend Jimmy Stewart, so 'nuff said.

GANGSTER

1. The Godfather, 1972
2. Goodfellas, 1990
3. The Godfather Part II, 1974
4. White Heat, 1949
5. Bonnie and Clyde, 1967
6. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation, 1932
7. Pulp Fiction, 1994
8. The Public Enemy, 1931
9. Little Caesar, 1930
10. Scarface, 1983

I have not seen ANY of these. The Godfather is totally in my netflix queue though, I swear. Maybe I'd watch Pulp Fiction, but I already have the tendency to label it as overrated.

SCIENCE FICTION

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968
2. Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope, 1977
3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
4. A Clockwork Orange, 1971
5. The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951
6. Blade Runner, 1982
7. Alien, 1979
8. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956
10. Back to the Future, 1985

I heard Invasion was awesome from a reputable source. Of the ones I've seen, my list of the top 3: E.T., Back to the Future, and Star Wars.

WESTERN

1. The Searchers, 1956
2. High Noon, 1952
3. Shane, 1953
4. Unforgiven, 1992
5. Red River, 1948
6. The Wild Bunch, 1969
7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969
8. McCabe & Mrs. Miller, 1971
9. Stagecoach, 1939
10. Cat Ballou, 1965

Oh man, I must admit, I usually avoid westerns. I did not get/like 3:10 to Yuma, if that's any indication. I have seen Harvey Girls with Judy Garland, which is actually a musical, but it's set in the west. Good movie.

SPORTS

1. Raging Bull, 1980
2. Rocky, 1976
3. The Pride of the Yankees, 1942
4. Hoosiers, 1986
5. Bull Durham, 1988
6. The Hustler, 1961
7. Caddyshack, 1980
8. Breaking Away, 1979
9. National Velvet, 1944
10. Jerry Maguire, 1996

Outrageous. The only movie I've seen in its entirety is Jerry Maguire. I freakn' loved that movie, though. I used to watch it every time it came on TV. Tom Cruise was HOT. Renee Zellwegger was really appealing. I love Bonnie Hunt. That kid was adorable. Now, I don't think I can really watch anything Cruise is in. That crazy guy. And I finally realized that he really just plays "Tom Cruise" in every single movie he's in.

MYSTERY

1. Vertigo, 1958
2. Chinatown, 1974
3. Rear Window, 1954
4. Laura, 1944
5. The Third Man, 1949
6. The Maltese Falcon, 1941
7. North By Northwest, 1959
8. Blue Velvet, 1986
9. Dial M for Murder, 1954
10. The Usual Suspects, 1995

Ooo... good category. Vertigo was great... and weird. I actually wrote an entire research paper on The Maltese Falcon so you can probably tell how much I liked that movie. And North By Northwest will always have a special place in my heart because it is essentially the movie that got me into the classics way back in middle(?)/high school. Thanks Grandpa. :)

ROMANTIC COMEDY

1. City Lights, 1931
2. Annie Hall, 1977
3. It Happened One Night, 1934
4. Roman Holiday, 1953
5. The Philadelphia Story, 1940
6. When Harry Met Sally…, 1989
7. Adam’s Rib, 1949
8. Moonstruck, 1987
9. Harold and Maude, 1971
10. Sleepless in Seattle, 1993

I think I've seen these all. When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle are ANOTHER two movies I literally watch every time they come on TV. The third romantic comedy would be Overboard with Goldie Hawn. To all those people who think they're above Rom/Coms, I dare you not to totally enjoy those three movies.

COURTROOM DRAMA

1. To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962
2. 12 Angry Men, 1957
3. Kramer vs. Kramer, 1979
4. The Verdict, 1982
5. A Few Good Men, 1992
6. Witness for the Prosecution, 1957
7. Anatomy of a Murder, 1959
8. In Cold Blood, 1967
9. A Cry in the Dark, 1988
10. Judgment at Nuremberg, 1961

I've only seen the top three. Mockingbird and Kramer are amazing. And I'm sure Tom Cruise played Army-Version-Cruise very well in movie #5.

EPIC

1. Lawrence of Arabia, 1962
2. Ben-Hur, 1959
3. Schindler’s List, 1993
4. Gone With the Wind, 1939
5. Spartacus, 1960
6. Titanic, 1997
7. All Quiet on the Western Front, 1930
8. Saving Private Ryan, 1998
9. Reds, 1981
10. The Ten Commandments, 1956

I hate any movie that labels itself as epic. It's just cruel to make someone watch something for more than 3 hours. Also, get over yourself, movie.

the sequel

So the poster for the next Terminator came out a couple days ago. Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Yikes. Who thought back in 1984 that The Terminator would be the one movie franchise that just refused to die? (AND have its own TV show.) Now, I love Christian Bale and all, but I’m afraid he’s just turning into a masochistic action-movie seeker. Apparently he signed on to do three of these. THREE. The script for this movie must be mind-blowing. …But somehow that seems highly unlikely. Mr. Bale, please don’t make me embarrassed to say I’m a fan (yea, I’m looking at you, Ben Affleck). You know, Tom Cruise refused to do a Top Gun 2 and 3 because he didn’t want t play the same part over and over (yet, isn’t he essentially the same person in every movie anyway?), and I never thought I’d say this but, I wish more actors would sometimes take his lead.

Other inevitable sequels: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (when has a good movie ever had the word “revenge” in it?) and Angels and Demons (which would technically be a prequel?). Yikes. Neither one of the original movies, I think, deserve a second viewing (come on, you have to admit that Transformers was all style, no substance), much less twelve more dollars from me. But at least if I do get suckered into seeing one of these, I can rest assured that neither will be able to match the travesty of National Treasure 2. It was literally the first movie re-shot. IT WAS THE SAME MOVIE.

But maybe it was my own fault… what did I expect? Hollywood, you fiend, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…

[And on a completely unrelated note, Katherine Heigl, shut up.]