The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Words
Won't Back Down
Pride and Prejudice
The Breakfast Club
Center Stage
The Cutting Edge
Final Destination
High School Musical
The Parent Trap (Lindsey Lohan Version sorry)
Schindler's List
Somewhere In Time
Stick It
Twilight (again, sorry)
RENT
The Quiet
The Invisible
Matilda
You've Got Mail
10 Things I Hate About You
The Italian Job
Camp Rock
Speak (the book first)
Grease
Chasing Liberty
Charlie St. Cloud (more the book, but it counts)
Harry Potter(definitely the books, but the movies too)
The Notebook (because honestly, what girl isn't?)
Bring It On
Beauty and the Beast
Ok so that's a lot, but I've had a lot of changes in my life. Sorry that some are pretty mainstream and ridiculous (High School Musical, Camp Rock, Twilight) but all these movies have touched me one way or another and I recommend them all highly if you haven't seen them.
The reason for this post is that I just went to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower and I left a different person, so I guess I just thought I should share the movies that have changed me in some way or another with the nonexistent people who read my blog. : )
Thanks for reading and comments welcome.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Absolutely Horrified
I just watched this movie on Netflix called The Final. The premise of the movie is that these outcasts kidnap their classmates who have been torturing them since grade school, chain them up in a house in the middle of the woods, and punish them for their crimes. Now, I read the description and was genuinely interested in this movie because that sounds like it's got a good message, it's sadistic, but could really have a psychological element that deepens the plot.
Yeah, no.
I've watched a lot of horror films lately, mainly because I just now discovered that I actually enjoy them (never forsake something you've never tried, next week it's gonna be brussel sprouts). And I've seen some pretty crazy and truly sadistic movies (American Psycho, Skulls, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, House At The End of the Street, Cabin in the Woods, Saw I-V... ...), but this is the first time that I have truly been disgusted by one.
First of all, it is kids literally just shooting each other with cattle guns, cutting off each other's fingers, paralyzing each other, and stripping each other's faces of skin ever-so-slowly. Just the literal images of these things are vomit-worthy, but when you think about the psyches of the 18 year olds that are forcing their classmates to do this (oh, and then they shoot each other in the head and commit suicide), it's just vile.
I completely understand the fascination with horror that we seem to have; it makes us feel more alive if we see others die, especially when it's in the most gruesome of ways, but really, do we have to show kids maiming other kids just for retribution? Do we really need to put more fuel in the fire that is bullying and give ideas to the bullied? Now I am 100% on the side of the bullied (future teacher after all), but society can't keep giving these kids who have been severely damaged by bullies ways to act out their anger. But I guess that's just one of my soap boxes, so forgive me my ranting.
Moral of the story, don't watch The Final (or do, if you're into that kind of stuff, just be forewarned).
Yeah, no.
I've watched a lot of horror films lately, mainly because I just now discovered that I actually enjoy them (never forsake something you've never tried, next week it's gonna be brussel sprouts). And I've seen some pretty crazy and truly sadistic movies (American Psycho, Skulls, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, House At The End of the Street, Cabin in the Woods, Saw I-V... ...), but this is the first time that I have truly been disgusted by one.
First of all, it is kids literally just shooting each other with cattle guns, cutting off each other's fingers, paralyzing each other, and stripping each other's faces of skin ever-so-slowly. Just the literal images of these things are vomit-worthy, but when you think about the psyches of the 18 year olds that are forcing their classmates to do this (oh, and then they shoot each other in the head and commit suicide), it's just vile.
I completely understand the fascination with horror that we seem to have; it makes us feel more alive if we see others die, especially when it's in the most gruesome of ways, but really, do we have to show kids maiming other kids just for retribution? Do we really need to put more fuel in the fire that is bullying and give ideas to the bullied? Now I am 100% on the side of the bullied (future teacher after all), but society can't keep giving these kids who have been severely damaged by bullies ways to act out their anger. But I guess that's just one of my soap boxes, so forgive me my ranting.
Moral of the story, don't watch The Final (or do, if you're into that kind of stuff, just be forewarned).
Monday, September 24, 2012
Finding Peace in Odd Places
D'you know that feeling of peace people get when they stare off into the sunset or the horizon on the beach? You know, that moment when you feel like you've found your purpose in life, when you've found complete contentedness? I know it's weird, but I never really got the whole sunset/beach/stare-out-into-the-ocean thing. Sure, it's beautiful and great to appreciate for a moment and take a picture, but peace, no, I don't find it there. The truth is I find it in watching movies, and yes, television. Whether it be some blockbuster like Hunger Games or Batman, or some indie movie that no one ever saw, I find in it some piece of myself that I can never seem to translate into my reality.
Ok, I just finished this movie on Netflix called The Forger. Now, it came out this year and has Josh Hutcherson and Hayden Panitiere in it, but most likely no one who doesn't have Netflix, or doesn't watch the same movies I do, has never (and let's be frank, will never) hear about this movie. It's a low budget film with a story line that really isn't great for the masses, but to me, it's somewhere for me to get away. Movies and TV have always been an escape for me, as well as books, but watching this movie tonight, I realized just how much I depend on this outlet for my curiosity of the world. Now, I'm not a social person (c'mon, I'm writing a blog probably no one's reading at nine o'clock at night on a Monday about finding peace in a crappy movie, if it isn't obvious to you I'm not social, you're worse than I am) so I tend to live vicariously through the characters I watch and read. It's weird to me that people have actually experienced the things I watch on TV; I know they do, but since I've had such limited experience, it feels weird to admit just how naive I really am.
I don't know, maybe (probably) this is just me rambling on about a stupid feeling of joy I get from watching way to much TV, but every time I go see a movie at the theater (which, as you might guess, is a lot) I sit in the seat and when the previews start I think to myself "this feels like home to me, maybe this is where I belong." I know it's not, I want to teach (but that's too much information you don't care about), but I feel sometimes that if I could just have that feeling all the time, or just once outside the theater or classroom, I would be somewhere that I may never leave. If, just once, I could feel that in a social setting, or with another person, they would either end up my husband or my best friend for life. But again, that's probably too much information about myself.
I haven't really been on here for a while (like anyone cares, but I guess I do, so there you go) and I just recently got some new music. Of course it's pretty popular music anyway, but I do want to say something about the new Matchbox Twenty album: so awesome. My sister bought it because she likes that song "She's So Mean" and I mean I do to, it's a great song, but I was listening to the album and "Radio" came on and I just thought it was such a cool idea. It's talking about how their lives are related so much to what they hear on the radio and I wholeheartedly buy into that theory because I'm so attached to music as well. I read a quote somewhere that said "I believe in using songs to say things" and I've adopted that theory, though I really don't have very many people to say things to, so that gets kinda hard. My sister gets really mad when I keep putting song lyrics on my Facebook because they describe how I feel and other people think they're coming from me.
Ok, definitely too much information given tonight, but if you've made it this far, I congratulate you. You are a true trooper and I kinda wish I could know you because you're awesome in my opinion. Thanks for listening to my incessant rambling. Comments are welcome.
Ok, I just finished this movie on Netflix called The Forger. Now, it came out this year and has Josh Hutcherson and Hayden Panitiere in it, but most likely no one who doesn't have Netflix, or doesn't watch the same movies I do, has never (and let's be frank, will never) hear about this movie. It's a low budget film with a story line that really isn't great for the masses, but to me, it's somewhere for me to get away. Movies and TV have always been an escape for me, as well as books, but watching this movie tonight, I realized just how much I depend on this outlet for my curiosity of the world. Now, I'm not a social person (c'mon, I'm writing a blog probably no one's reading at nine o'clock at night on a Monday about finding peace in a crappy movie, if it isn't obvious to you I'm not social, you're worse than I am) so I tend to live vicariously through the characters I watch and read. It's weird to me that people have actually experienced the things I watch on TV; I know they do, but since I've had such limited experience, it feels weird to admit just how naive I really am.
I don't know, maybe (probably) this is just me rambling on about a stupid feeling of joy I get from watching way to much TV, but every time I go see a movie at the theater (which, as you might guess, is a lot) I sit in the seat and when the previews start I think to myself "this feels like home to me, maybe this is where I belong." I know it's not, I want to teach (but that's too much information you don't care about), but I feel sometimes that if I could just have that feeling all the time, or just once outside the theater or classroom, I would be somewhere that I may never leave. If, just once, I could feel that in a social setting, or with another person, they would either end up my husband or my best friend for life. But again, that's probably too much information about myself.
I haven't really been on here for a while (like anyone cares, but I guess I do, so there you go) and I just recently got some new music. Of course it's pretty popular music anyway, but I do want to say something about the new Matchbox Twenty album: so awesome. My sister bought it because she likes that song "She's So Mean" and I mean I do to, it's a great song, but I was listening to the album and "Radio" came on and I just thought it was such a cool idea. It's talking about how their lives are related so much to what they hear on the radio and I wholeheartedly buy into that theory because I'm so attached to music as well. I read a quote somewhere that said "I believe in using songs to say things" and I've adopted that theory, though I really don't have very many people to say things to, so that gets kinda hard. My sister gets really mad when I keep putting song lyrics on my Facebook because they describe how I feel and other people think they're coming from me.
Ok, definitely too much information given tonight, but if you've made it this far, I congratulate you. You are a true trooper and I kinda wish I could know you because you're awesome in my opinion. Thanks for listening to my incessant rambling. Comments are welcome.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The Stigma of Teen Dramas
Why, may I ask, is it so embarrassing to enjoy teenage shows, or even kids shows, that are dramas? Has no one ever heard of a guilty pleasure? And for that matter, why be guilty about it, why not just like what you like and get over what everyone else thinks? Why are we constantly worrying that are friends will laugh at us for liking shows like Pretty Little Liars, or Switched at Birth or really any other show that airs on ABC Family?
Okay, so I'm probably ranting a little and, in reality, a lot of teenage girls watch these shows and they never feel guilty about it, so why is there still a sort of stigma to shows like this? I didn't have a childhood that anyone would call normal, and I'm definitely not the posterchild for popularity or even social adequacy, if anything I'm the posterchild for the exact opposite. So maybe I just don't understand the ways in which teenagers aren't guilty for loving shows like Dawson's Creek or Teen Mom for that matter. But I have always felt that to admit my enjoyment, okay fine I'll cope to it being obsession, for shows that I like, even if they may not be popular when I watch them. It is true that I have watched very few shows from the beginning when they originally aired, usually I just watch full series back to back to back on Netflix, but really, many of the shows I've watched, and felt guilty for obsessing over, were very popular in one point in time, yet I still feel like it is awkward for me to talk about them in front of people. Though this is, I know, mostly due to my lack of any social coordination, I also feel that on some level I am scared that people will judge me for what I watch, and how religiously I watch it.
Sometimes I like to brag that I can, and have several times, sit for ten plus hours a day in front of my computer and watch, from pilot to series finale, an entire tv show in a month and a half. This is borderline insane, I know that and that is probably why I feel that I can't talk to people about any of it because I know how insane I sound because I'm very much aware of how insane I actually am, but I guess my question is whether or not anyone feels the same way I do. I have seen many circumstances where there have been crazed fans that have watched all sorts of shows and know every part of each character down to the missing button on a shirt in a thirty-second scene, but I have never actually come across someone like me, who moves from show to show, soaking up all the drama I can find and, once I've exhausted it all, falling into a type of mourning period until I find a new show and start the process all over again.
If you're observant and now One Tree Hill, you'll see that my profile picture is a picture that was painted on Peyton's wall for a long time in the show. These are the types of things I do, I emulate and mimic a character in each of the shows I obsess over, and when I find a new one, I find a new vocabulary, personality, fashion sense, even hairstyle. It's crazy, I know, but somehow I think it helps me find a personality at all. I am who I am, but for all intents and purposes, I'm a mixture of all the characters I've ever come across.
Now, I've gotten pretty far off my original point, but what I want to say is that even though I'm a freak, I have a suspicion that I'm not the only one out there with a tendency toward overly dramatic teenage shows, and I just want to make sure that, if you're one of those out there, you're probably not as crazy as me, so don't feel guilty about what you find meaning in.
Comments welcome, bash me if you want, I'm game for any feedback.
Okay, so I'm probably ranting a little and, in reality, a lot of teenage girls watch these shows and they never feel guilty about it, so why is there still a sort of stigma to shows like this? I didn't have a childhood that anyone would call normal, and I'm definitely not the posterchild for popularity or even social adequacy, if anything I'm the posterchild for the exact opposite. So maybe I just don't understand the ways in which teenagers aren't guilty for loving shows like Dawson's Creek or Teen Mom for that matter. But I have always felt that to admit my enjoyment, okay fine I'll cope to it being obsession, for shows that I like, even if they may not be popular when I watch them. It is true that I have watched very few shows from the beginning when they originally aired, usually I just watch full series back to back to back on Netflix, but really, many of the shows I've watched, and felt guilty for obsessing over, were very popular in one point in time, yet I still feel like it is awkward for me to talk about them in front of people. Though this is, I know, mostly due to my lack of any social coordination, I also feel that on some level I am scared that people will judge me for what I watch, and how religiously I watch it.
Sometimes I like to brag that I can, and have several times, sit for ten plus hours a day in front of my computer and watch, from pilot to series finale, an entire tv show in a month and a half. This is borderline insane, I know that and that is probably why I feel that I can't talk to people about any of it because I know how insane I sound because I'm very much aware of how insane I actually am, but I guess my question is whether or not anyone feels the same way I do. I have seen many circumstances where there have been crazed fans that have watched all sorts of shows and know every part of each character down to the missing button on a shirt in a thirty-second scene, but I have never actually come across someone like me, who moves from show to show, soaking up all the drama I can find and, once I've exhausted it all, falling into a type of mourning period until I find a new show and start the process all over again.
If you're observant and now One Tree Hill, you'll see that my profile picture is a picture that was painted on Peyton's wall for a long time in the show. These are the types of things I do, I emulate and mimic a character in each of the shows I obsess over, and when I find a new one, I find a new vocabulary, personality, fashion sense, even hairstyle. It's crazy, I know, but somehow I think it helps me find a personality at all. I am who I am, but for all intents and purposes, I'm a mixture of all the characters I've ever come across.
Now, I've gotten pretty far off my original point, but what I want to say is that even though I'm a freak, I have a suspicion that I'm not the only one out there with a tendency toward overly dramatic teenage shows, and I just want to make sure that, if you're one of those out there, you're probably not as crazy as me, so don't feel guilty about what you find meaning in.
Comments welcome, bash me if you want, I'm game for any feedback.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Country Music Stereotype
Okay, I really haven't listened to a lot of country music as of late (like the last few months) but I have always been a country girl. I love Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Trisha Yearwood, old George Straight (sorry but I can't stand his new stuff) etc, basically anything from the 90s, I love. Now however, in most cases, country music is starting to live up to the stereotypes that have been shoved upon it for decades. Yes, I understand that songs about country living are anthems for country folk and I love the idea, but we've kind of gotten out of hand and have gotten a little hicksville. I love some of the "hick" songs like... okay I can't think of any at this particular moment, but I know I like some. Honestly, I still love Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift (I know, groan, but I still like it) and an up and comer names Jana Kramer (yes, another One Tree Hill alum) and some other artists, but I just feel like, though I like a lot of his older stuff, artists like Toby Keith are going back to the days of Bocephus and it's just getting a little annoying.
I guess my point is that country artists need to re-evaluate the themes in their music and we need to get back to the songs that really hit you right in the chest and end up making you cry (ie "Holes in the Floor of Heaven" AMAZING SONG). I don't know, this is just really a random rant, but that's kinda what blogs are for right?
Go ahead and comment on how crazy I am, I won't hunt you down and kill you or anything (probably)
: )
I guess my point is that country artists need to re-evaluate the themes in their music and we need to get back to the songs that really hit you right in the chest and end up making you cry (ie "Holes in the Floor of Heaven" AMAZING SONG). I don't know, this is just really a random rant, but that's kinda what blogs are for right?
Go ahead and comment on how crazy I am, I won't hunt you down and kill you or anything (probably)
: )
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Real Life or Reality TV
Ok, we all know that reality tv isn't real, at all. But if you've ever seen shows like "Parking Wars" or "Flip This House" you know that sometimes, you just can't make this stuff up. Parking Wars is hilarious because, be honest, you would totally want to react like most of the people on the show if you walked out of your apartment and found a meeter-maid putting a boot on your car. I love how the officers react too, because we all know it can be a dangerous job, essentially taking people's cars from them, but they are either super worried, or very nonchalant and sometimes kinda snotty. Flip This House, on the other hand, is full of drama, most of which is staged and over-dramatized, but in reality, anyone who tries to do any type of large-scale construction project, especially on a budget or in a time-crunch, is going to run into many, if not all of the problems that the people on the show do. In all honestly, it's just addictive because we like to watch other people's problems and we keep watching because it's kinda like a train wreck, you just can't look away.
On the other hand, show's like "Cupcake Wars" or "Food Network Challenge" (with are both shows that I enjoy watching, by the way) are really torture devices that make you want to eat food that you will never be able to make, and they captivate you with all the problems that the cooks face and, especially Food Network Challenge", make you choose contestants that you like because of their personality and make you hate the judges for not seeing how hard they work, even when their food is terrible or their chocolate/sugar San Fransisco Bridge completely toppled over halfway to the judging table.
Overall, actual life is never replicated in reality tv (let's face it, it would be pretty boring if it was), but there are shows that show you the real world activities of hardworking people (this does not mean the cast members of "Real World" or "Jersey Shore"), who's jobs are actually interesting. These types of shows are worth wasting you weekend on, but I'd still rather have the scripted drama of regular tv (at least the storylines are thought out and not semi-spontaneous) over the "authenticity" (that's sarcasm btw) of reality tv.
On the other hand, show's like "Cupcake Wars" or "Food Network Challenge" (with are both shows that I enjoy watching, by the way) are really torture devices that make you want to eat food that you will never be able to make, and they captivate you with all the problems that the cooks face and, especially Food Network Challenge", make you choose contestants that you like because of their personality and make you hate the judges for not seeing how hard they work, even when their food is terrible or their chocolate/sugar San Fransisco Bridge completely toppled over halfway to the judging table.
Overall, actual life is never replicated in reality tv (let's face it, it would be pretty boring if it was), but there are shows that show you the real world activities of hardworking people (this does not mean the cast members of "Real World" or "Jersey Shore"), who's jobs are actually interesting. These types of shows are worth wasting you weekend on, but I'd still rather have the scripted drama of regular tv (at least the storylines are thought out and not semi-spontaneous) over the "authenticity" (that's sarcasm btw) of reality tv.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
The Facets of Glee
Okay, let's talk about Glee. Yes, I watch Glee almost religiously every Tuesday night on FOX. However, I do NOT, I repeat DO NOT, watch the show for the story lines, I watch it for the musical numbers. The music is why I fell in love with the show in the first place and is why I keep watching it. Lately however I have been disappointed with the quality of the numbers, not because the performers aren't amazing, they definitely are, but because of the lack of good music (I say that with caution because all music is good in my mind) that they have chosen.
Now, before you start writing me off right now, I want to say that I do enjoy all the songs that are chosen to be on the show, however, I just wish that they would chose more popular songs, or at least ones that more people know. I'm sorry but I just don't want to sit there and have no idea where a song came from. And stop with the theme weeks too. Just like American Idol, only doing one artist or era in an episode is ridiculous and, quite frankly, pretty boring. I'd like to see the characters sing songs that reflect their personalities and storylines, not their combined love for Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, or Michael Jackson (even though they are all great artists).
I will say that very recently there has been an upswing in the song choices of the show. I loved the mixture of choices on the episode when Mr. Shue enlists the Glee Club to help him propose to Emma, and the episode that aired tonight, the Valentine's Day episode, was full of fun and "hip" music, with just enough old school to satisfy all of the ranges of love songs. Hell, they even sang "Love Shack" which, let's be honest, was a little weird. By the way, "Stereo Hearts" is one of my new favorite songs, so check the original by Gym Class Heroes and Adam Lavigne.
I will say one random thing about the storylines of Glee (okay, maybe more than one), what the hell is going on with Sue? I don't at all understand this baby thing, and the "I'm marrying myself" thing was really weird too. Overall, I'd really like the writers to go back to about halfway through the first season, when the storylines (1) made sense and (2) were really pretty good. What of the love triangles and real high school issues? Where'd they go?
Anyway, awesome ep tonight, and so glad to see Samuel from The Glee Project finally make an appearance, but we are in dire need of some new storylines and great music for regionals.
Comment with agreements or arguments.
Now, before you start writing me off right now, I want to say that I do enjoy all the songs that are chosen to be on the show, however, I just wish that they would chose more popular songs, or at least ones that more people know. I'm sorry but I just don't want to sit there and have no idea where a song came from. And stop with the theme weeks too. Just like American Idol, only doing one artist or era in an episode is ridiculous and, quite frankly, pretty boring. I'd like to see the characters sing songs that reflect their personalities and storylines, not their combined love for Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, or Michael Jackson (even though they are all great artists).
I will say that very recently there has been an upswing in the song choices of the show. I loved the mixture of choices on the episode when Mr. Shue enlists the Glee Club to help him propose to Emma, and the episode that aired tonight, the Valentine's Day episode, was full of fun and "hip" music, with just enough old school to satisfy all of the ranges of love songs. Hell, they even sang "Love Shack" which, let's be honest, was a little weird. By the way, "Stereo Hearts" is one of my new favorite songs, so check the original by Gym Class Heroes and Adam Lavigne.
I will say one random thing about the storylines of Glee (okay, maybe more than one), what the hell is going on with Sue? I don't at all understand this baby thing, and the "I'm marrying myself" thing was really weird too. Overall, I'd really like the writers to go back to about halfway through the first season, when the storylines (1) made sense and (2) were really pretty good. What of the love triangles and real high school issues? Where'd they go?
Anyway, awesome ep tonight, and so glad to see Samuel from The Glee Project finally make an appearance, but we are in dire need of some new storylines and great music for regionals.
Comment with agreements or arguments.
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