Night 8: The Graduate

The Graduate

Remember when movies were simple and you could sit down to one without being burdened and beat over the head with a huge message about the state of humanity? remember that time?

enter, "The Graduate,"

or, as I'd like to call it "The Most Perfect Movie EVER."

It's perfect. Perfect. A likable hero, down on his luck. Winds up in an interesting situation. Begins to redeem himself through actual connection. Winds up in another unpredictable situation. Falls in love. Loses love. Is so pure of heart he wins love back. Loses the Ultimate love, and then, again, wins her again, against all odds.

It's so beautiful. So simple. So pure.

Of course, I love Dustin Hoffman more than life itself.

He's so dreamy.

And in this, he gives his all without pushing one thing any bit too far. He's present, he's activated, engaged, and interesting.

And his co-stars are pretty amazing too! Mrs. Robinson, purrrfectly seductive and sexy. Never missteps. These women are not alive today. This whole era, this frame of mind, doesn't even exist. Is there a modern Mrs. Robinson? An adult woman who can use her womanhood to get exactly what she wants in the way she does? I don't think so, not like this. This woman is dangerous!

And think about Benjamin! He promises NOT to take Elaine out, and when his parents call his bluff, he takes her TO A STRIP CLUB!! I was mortified in this scene, it was humiliating! There he is, sabotaging this date, and Elaine just stands there, crying, shocked, no idea what this is all about. The stripper comes over, swinging her tassels, and Elaine, so pure, so sweet, just stands there, mortified. Ben grabs her and takes her out. And she's crying and crying, so he kisses her!

Then, they're perfect. Ben comes clean about his behavior, and they really do get along right away. Elaine is so sweet, too. Charming, lively, smart, holds her own. I love watching this young actress on screen.

And at the end, I'm just so happy having watched it all. Ben remains honest throughout the entire movie--he never denies what he has done/is doing, and he always treats the other characters with honesty and respect. Of course, this causes problems, but if it didn't, well, we wouldn't have a movie, would we? :)

The Graduate. The Most Perfect Movie Ever Made.

so pissed

that my rainbow nails show up elsewhere.

makes me wanna take pictures of them real fast and post them on my blog.

done.

for the love of dog

i've a huuuuuge collection of heart-related things in my etsy favorites
check 'em out!

they're linked up!

ah, for the love of yellow

today's a very fashion-y esque day in my blogoworld, i see.

i had to post something else super quickly to get those creepy nesting dolls off my top page every time i pulled up the site.

they're still freaking me out and all i'm doing is thinking about 'em.

so....yellow?

pretty yellows?

yes yellows?

all linked up. show some etsy shops some luhve.

creepaholic

your family!

distorted and fattened!

like when you look at your reflection in a car!

if only

if only i could wear big ruffles every day.

via ritzy rose

Abby Butcher, this is for you

Abby Butcher, queen of party throwing, I hope you have an excellent unbirthday bash in October. Also, I saw these on Martha Stewart's website, and thought of you. She's a thousand and a half ways to celebrate autumn. And a thousand and a half ways to invite people to a party. Pricey, YEAH. But cool, nonetheless.

P.S. doesn't that finger kinda make you want to barf? have i mentioned i'm useless in horror films?

these cutie skeleltons are my favorite. too adorable.

you can buy this underwear

and believe me, you want to.

first of all, check out these photos.

these women look AWESOME.

for once...perhaps an actual role model? my biggest problem with models is that they look like suck. they look like they have ZERO life experience, and half the time, they don't even look like they remotely relate to what they're wearing.
which kills me.

i will happily buy almost anything from nice people who have a glimmer of personality. i will not buy anything from anyone who looks like suck.

so these women, being model underwear models, tickle me to death. they look AWESOME. like they can slam a few back and still make the planet a greener place. yay for cool women!




secondly awesome is the zippy posting from this etsy seller's site where she talks about her ability to make any shirt into underwear. it's silly. it's real. it's great. :)

High waisted and low waisted, super comfy and made out of t-shirts. Not only is there a seemingly limitless supply of epic eagle/wolf/motorcycle/lightning/jet fighter images out there waiting on over sized thrift store t-shirts to be converted into the cutest piece of clothing you ever covered up, but boy howdie does a slogan change in awesome ways when you move it from your t-shirt to you underwear.

These are one of a kind and made to order like every thing in my shop. In the future, I will put up pictures of t-shirts I have found for you to pick from, but for now, if you'd like a custom pair of t-shirt undies you can send me a convo with the color of undies you'd prefer, and whether you are leaning towards a snarky slogan or an epic image more, and also your measurements (hips at their widest (that's around your bottom) and waist at it's narrowest (just below your rib cage)). And then you can just trust to my taste that I'll make you something wicked cool. Because I will.

That being said, the underwear still available from the above pictures are: the angry wolves and the ymca low riders (made to fit hip size 34-38).

Oh, another awesome idea is you could send me your favorite t-shirt, and I will turn it into your favorite underwear. What do you think about that?

so, please, if it pleases you, give Slippery Slope Bloomer a convo, and get some new pantsies! :)

There's no place like home

ummmm...best. shoe. ever?

<3 alice + olivia

pua and malia

just thinking of my friends and loves in hawaii

Day 7: I Love You, Phillip Morris

I Love You, Phillip Morris

Ohh, here we go.

This movie would've been funnier without Jim Carrey in it. He surprises me--he's a good actor. But what's his deal? Or, better yet, why is he still doing it? I want some growth in his comedy, some growth in his humor. And here, it's not.

So I watch it, thinking, ooohhh uuuggghhh Jimmmm Caarrreeeyy (who I usually love,), and then, later on in the film, he pulls out some pretty good moments, and I think, JIM CARREY YOU'RE DRIVING ME NUTS. I want him to always be good, and I want his comedy to grow up.

And then, there's a couple of moments where the cameras focus on certain aspects of Texas life, Texas stereotypes, that I don't appreciate.

Maybe it's just me, but they're not funny, and if you're not from Texas, you won't even notice them.

Ewan McGregor's in it, and he's amazing, making me want to immediately rent and watch every Ewan McGregor movie ever made.

Isn't it funny how it doesn't take much to be an amazing actor? It doesn't. Just do your job, be honest, don't lie to your audience, and you'll immediately be amazing. Do it. Do it!

I can understand why this movie was made. It's cute. It's funny. It's interesting. I watched it all the way through. But it doesn't do justice to what is actually going on in the story. Jim Carrey is abusive, manipulative, a big fat liar, and does a LOT of illegal stuff, all the time. But don't worry, it's okay because he's gay. His ends justify his means, which is not okay. So, we watch it, but it's a little far-fetched for reality. A little too stereotyped, a little too meh.

Day 6: The Departed

Day 6: The Departed

You've seen it, right?

Everyone has.

Except me, obviously.

And now, I have!

I'm gonna have to say, the movie is GREAT.

It's well written, it's well acted (hello Leo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, etc.) and the story has all the elements that tickle audiences everywhere: there's endless parallels, appropriate twists, excellent mirroring, nice action, tongue in cheek events, and a story worth following.

Wahlberg and Leo are both mice in a larger cat-and-mouse game. Because they're both small nobodies, the fact that they've been implemented from opposing organizations as rats for the other is hilarious. I watch it waiting for the explosions, waiting for the fireworks. Boy, oh boy, do they deliver.

Mark Wahlberg got nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role here. I'm glad he didn't win--he's very good, but it's not a Best Supporting Actor role. He's obviously having the most fun with his role, though. He's seamless, he's abrupt, he's brusque, blunt, bold, and so so macho.

He's one-dimensional. But it's awesome. He's not supposed to be very rounded out. It's great! :)

The movie is good. It's pretty great. It didn't change my life or anything, but I watched it in the middle of the day on Sunday (even though it's my Saturday movie.) :)

It's great!

Day 5B: The Worst Movie Ever

Bride Wars

I watched thirty minutes of this movie while making dinner last night.

Judge me if you will, I probably deserve it for not changing the channel.

Know when you see a car accident, and you can't look away? Hello, Bride Wars.

Anne Hathaway, choose movies that you don't have to work so hard in.

Goldie's daughter, please grow up if you're going to be an actress. You're pretty good! Be pretty good in better things.

Whoever is playing the fiances' in this movie, it's obvious they are unknown for a reason.

THIS MOVIE IS A PIECE OF CRAP.

I don't like anyone in it. If, in thirty minutes, I don't care about you or your wedding or all the crap you are throwing on your best friend, then I don't like you at all. Your wedding is no reason for you to be a bitch. Get over it.

PLEASE NEVER EVER WATCH THIS MOVIE.

It's soooooo bad.

Day 5: The Reader

The Reader

There's very little I need to say about "The Reader," other than I spent the last half hour bawling my eyes out during it.

I can't believe this movie got so much kick back, so much derision! This movie is amazing! I will agree that it's a quiet, underlying message that isn't fully fleshed--ANYTHING dealing with the Holocaust is going to carry weight, and this one has the Holocaust and Auschwitz lurking nearby in its shadows.

But there is no way that anyone can create a solid argument that this movie is about the Holocaust.

It's not.

Let's take a look at what happens. There's a young-ish German woman, living alone. She cannot read. She is illiterate, and if truth be told, she's relatively stupid. She creates a life out of working, out of living, out of doing what she is told.

Enter into her life a young boy, ill. She helps him, takes him home, and three months later, cured, he returns to thank her.

She is alone. He is curious. And he catches a glimpse of her in all her nekkkkkid post WWII glory. An affair begins.

It's fun! It lasts for a summer, and throughout it, she repeatedly asks him again and again and again to read to her. He does. They begin to fall in love. Oh, such problems! Kate Winslet's Hanna knows she should not be the focus of attention in a young boy's life; he has to grow up, hasn't he?

So she leaves. She takes a new job, and disappears.

Years go by.

The young boy is now in law school, and turns up with his class at some post WWII trials where guards at Auschwitz are being tried.

And here...his heart breaks.

His Hanna, his love, the great love of his young life, is on trial. She hasn't changed much. She is still simple, still solemn, still purposeful. Despite the aftermath of revelation that comes with EVERYTHING DEALING WITH THE HOLOCAUST, Hanna has seemingly remained naive about the realities regarding the Holocaust. Whereas her fellow mates on trial deny and redirect the accusations against them, Hanna answers questions about her action, and the actions of all, very simply.

This, of course, gets her in trouble. She is accused of being in charge, leading the others to the horrible atrocities of WWII.

She denies it. The court calls for a sample of her handwriting, and immediately, shamefully, she admits to their accusations, falsely. Her young lover, the young man watching the trials from above, begins to sob. He knows Hanna is innocent, knows she is entirely illiterate, incapable even of making a legible mark regarding her own name. And here, not out of horror or humiliation of her actions, but out of shame, in her own simple way, shame of being illiterate, she prefers to serve the rest of her life in prison than own up to her lack of education.

He keeps her secret.

And I begin to bawl!

Kate Winslet is Hanna. Gorgeous, passionate, quiet, and full of such incredible depth. I am always and forever floored by her grace and by her glamour. An amazing actress. She hits the mark, continuously throughout the film, acting, reacting, questioning, deciding her way throughout the story. In her love affair, she is vulnerable and troubled, delighted, and alive, for perhaps the first time, in the life of a simple German Woman. On trial, she is dim, unaware, deeply disturbed, and quietly aware of the depth of her actions. She has not learned anything she did not already know throughout her life, but she is a good woman, very aware, and very repentent.

Her repentance is not what causes her to confess her crimes. It was her job, she says, should she have not signed up at Siemens?

Winslet is most amazing when she is listening to the events around her, a good marker of a fantastic actress. She reveals such emotion, and is undeniably incredible when her atmosphere affects her.

David Kross, Kate Winslet's young affair, Michael, is absolutely stunning. He imbues a quiet, European sensibility, a long-suffering, passionate eternal love, a puzzling patience for life to reveal its meaning to him. He knows Hanna's heart, he knows her mode of activity, her compass, and now, he must reconcile what he knows of this woman, and what she has done. He must make sense of it. His journey, his understanding, is stunning.

The filming of the movie is breathtaking. Romantic, purposeful, meaningful.

Again, spoken in the present about the past, Ralph Fiennes is the leader in delivering the message of the past informing the present. He continuously struggles with the changing times, continuously looking to make sense of them, for himself, and for Hanna.

Repeatedly, this film smacks of a message few have commented on: Silence has Consequences. Watch the movie, apply that to every level of storytelling, and see what you find.

My Wishlist

if only, if only!

i've an excellent idea to begin making a movie soon.

as in, as soon as i get a laptop.

and then, as soon as i get a camera.

so soon, so soon!

these are funny

am i right?

right? :)

yoda tassels

Lego Store and Brothers

without a doubt, one of the many perks of being newly single is being accountable ONLY TO ME for my spending.

well, within reason. (Hi Parents who go out of their way to help and support me!)

But let's say that, as I should, I plan and save my money for my future and my bills the way I should.

and because I have a very blessed life, I'm also able to plan and save money to BUY PRESENTS FOR MY BROTHERS!

Happy Birthday Chester!

I recently sent him the above military lego soldiers (recognize a Toy Story reference, anyone?). I thought perhaps a child's imagination should tie into his real-time life, and since T-Bone just hit it up in the Marines, military men it is.

And then, this one. FIREMEN. and an awesome FIRE TRUCK. How cool is that? Duane, my oldest bro, is a fireman/paramedic, and he's the bomb.com. I'm happy to love almost all my brothers by creating a relevant present out of them.

Well, actually, I owe it to them. Once, when I was a little girl, I decided one day that I was REALLY MAD at all my brothers. So I wrote them hate notes.

"Dear Duane and Tim,

You are terrible brothers and buttheads.

Love, Jared"

Of course, I got into all kinds of trouble, as I should (even though I wasn't trying to get Jared in trouble. I just wanted to remain anonymous."

But seeing as I printed the hate notes off of the computer and decorated them, it wasn't hard to figure out they originated from me. :P

And then! Guess what!

I got "Creationary" for Duane.

Have you guys seen it? It's like pictionary except you build things out of legos, which is WAY more fun, and WAY cooler. If you've played it, let me know how it went. I want to play!

No reason, except that I love the crap out of my big bro who always checks in on me and tells me he loves and misses me. I miss him too!

I've decided to start being a woman worth her weight in love. The way to get is to give, and giving is my favorite thing to do. So when the choice was between a new pair of sexy shoes, or giving Duane a surprise awesome present, hands down, no argument, the present goes to Duane.

I love you brothers! and I love the Lego Store!

soups cute

alphabet letter stud earrings

weather girl brooklyn

oh gosh these are simple

and sweet

and wonderful

weather girl brooklyn

Anne's Blog

"How presumptuous to consider a play a temple and yet I believe that we are constructing a temple because the work of theater, although ephemeral, is an act of hope, audacity and faith in a world not formally asking for it."

from Anne's Blog

as in, Anne Bogart,

as in my celebrity crush?

Not barfing

there's only so many engagement photos one can see before one begins to barf, and luckily, this series (by W. Scott Chester Photography,) found on 100 layer cake, is not one of them. :)