Eclipse Review!

 Hi, preeeetty.

I might actually be alone in this feeling since it seems like every other person on the face of the planet who's seen this movie thought it was amazing (as far as Twilight movie standards go, anyway), but I honestly have to say that I just...didn't.  I didn't think it was bad, and maybe I was let down somewhat because of all the hype surrounding the movie (this was the first time I waited a few days after the premiere to go and see it, so I was getting unsolicited reviews from everyone I know), but at the end I left feeling that it was just sort of okay.  Am I the only Twilight fan who thought so?  

In any case, here are my points of interest (be prepared for a lot of New Moon comparisons):

• It has to be said that Robert Pattinson looked amazing throughout the entire movie.  A.  Ma.  Zing.  Even if it looks like he was wearing the same blue shirt -- see picture above -- the whole time.  He also has this way of talking (that soft, sort of low, breathy tone) that just melts your bones.  Still a perfect Edward in my eyes.
• With such an amazing soundtrack (you can see I've warmed up to it and now love it), they could have done a lot more with the music.  There are only a few points where I really felt the music added to the scene, one of which was definitely Sia's "My Love" during Edward and Bella's bedroom scene, another was Band of Horses.  But for the most part, New Moon's use of music was much better.
• I didn't really get an overall mood from this movie.  For example, in New Moon there was a tone for the entire movie, a look.  For the most part, the coloring was in earth tones and the feel was very melancholy.  I didn't get a cohesive feeling from Eclipse and that was disappointing.  In fact, I often felt that scenes from the books were sort of haphazardly cut together, rather than flowing from one to the next.
• I desperately want to find the Eclipse stylists and beat them to death with Bella's wig.  It's horrible, especially after she looked so ethereal and beautiful previously.
• Jackson Rathbone was a very nice surprise (his hair isn't nearly as bad as the pictures make it look).  I really loved that he had more screen time, more dialogue.  It helped him to not be so...awkward  And I obviously loved the Jasper/Alice moments (I'm a fan of their relationship almost as much as I am of Edward and Bella's).
• I thought I'd dislike Edward more, given my feelings toward him in this book.  On the page, he came across as very possessive for the entire first half, but I think they tampered that down somewhat in the movie.
• The training scene was hands down the best.  It sort of seemed like a harken back to the baseball scene from Twilight and I loved it!
• Some other great scenes: Edward and Bella in his bedroom.  Edward and Jacob going toe-to-toe over Jacob and Bella's kiss.  Bella and Charlie's sex talk.  Any scene where I got to look at Riley.  The few seconds of screen time that Seth got (because he's adorable).
• I enjoyed the whole bit about Jessica's graduation speech and how it paralleled Bella's big decision.  Predictable, but still good.
• Even though she looked slightly kabuki, Nikki Reed's portrayal of Rosalie during the conversation with Bella was beautiful.  And when she talked about her revenge, she had this...satisfied look in her eye that gave me shivers, even while her story broke my heart.
• I like Bryce Dallas Howard.  Generally, I think she's a good actress and I enjoy watching her movies, and I also love that she's a hardcore Twilight fan.  I just didn't feel that she was the best person to play Victoria.  I think Rachelle Lefevre was.  Bryce Dallas Howard just didn't have that edge that I wanted Victoria to have (and that Rachelle Lefevre brought to the character); she's too sweet looking, too wide-eyed and innocent.  It didn't sit well.
• Um...hello, Riley and the Australian accent you have in real life.
• So this isn't a flaw with the movie, and it's actually probably a testament to it, but I hated the mountain scene.  It was the worst part of the books for me because it made me completely hate Bella and Jacob and everything about them.  And the same was true when I watched it on screen.  It's stupid and immature, but I wanted to yell at Bella on Edward's behalf, "How could you do this to him?!  You love him more?  That's the best you can do?!  What's wrong with you?!"  I generally don't begin liking Bella again until more than halfway through Breaking Dawn, after the conversion takes place.  And I never really warm up to Jacob after this.

Alright, that's it.  Bring on Breaking Dawn.

Why 1984 was so utterly fabulous

In honor of the fact that it's a very important movie premiere day for many, many [mostly women] around the world (and ohmygod I can't wait to see it), I wanted to make a shout out back to the days when our world did not revolve around vampires, wolves, and awkward teenage girls.

So let me ask you, when was the last time you checked out this movie?

I found it on On Demand the other night and couldn't resist.  Now, I realize this is sort of a classic of our generation, like The Goonies (let's pause for a moment to appreciate The Goonies), but...WOW.  That's really all there is to say about it.  Wow.

Interestingly enough, they're making a remake!  Let's hope the dubbing over the German isn't so obvious this time around...

Also, who besides me remembers that Jonathan Brandis played Bastian in the sequel?  Who besides me even remembers that there was a sequel?

friday feature: eclipse soundtrack

happy friday, everyone.

i was sitting at work yesterday when i was suddenly struck by a realization: wasn't there supposed to be an eclipse soundtrack coming out at some point before the movie?  and isn't the movie coming out next week?  i googled.  and was surprised to find out that a soundtrack had indeed quietly come out and i hadn't even noticed.  obviously, i was going to have to go home and buy it immediately.  that would be when the day decided that it was going to draaaaaaag by as slowly as physically and metaphorically possible, and it seemed like forever until i was able to sit down at my laptop and click that download button.

on first listen, i guess it was worth the wait.  after all, metric is fantastic, sia is -- as always -- amazing, the black keys are awesome (i mean, really, i could listen to "chop and change" on repeat for days) and band of horses is never a bad thing.  i'm even sort of digging this cee lo green song and definitely florence + the machine's "heavy in your arms" (her moody vocals at the end are great) , and jacob's theme song is sort of heartbreaking even if you're not a team jacob kind of gal.  and, okay, i'll be the first to admit that i'm not really the biggest vampire weekend fan, but i'm giving them a shot.   there's also a theme which comes across over the entire album pretty clearly, and i like that.

is this album as good as the "new moon" soundtrack?  i don't know...i mean, that album had grizzly bear, thom yorke (who could have single-handedly made that album better than many, many others), editors, the killers, sea wolf and the flaming lips.  what wasn't to love?  so we'll see.  it'll take me a little while to decide if i'm ever going to love this album, and i'd definitely like to be able to fit scenes with songs, but until then, i'm gonna start it over and see how it settles.

happy weekend!

eat.pray.love. check.

it makes me want to reread the book.

new moon review!

overall? better.

i've been waiting to give my new moon movie review until i've seen the movie twice, since that's how long it took for the first one to really settle in with me.  i guess i'll just begin this review by saying first that i was really, really excited to see it on opening day.  i'd somehow managed to refrain from looking up every single iota of information and movie stills that leaked prior to the movie, and the lack of it all had me primed and ready to go.  unfortunately, as eager as i was to see the movie, with the first one being what it was i was also mentally preparing myself for a huge let down.

thankfully, for me, it didn't come.  here are my thoughts:

• the amount of beautiful boys in this movie is astounding.  that's all i have to say about that.
  
• who knew that kstew was that pretty?!  those scenes with her running through voltera?  i mean, she's really naturally beautiful, and i know i said this before, but she's completely started to embody who i picture bella to be in my mind.  my one complaint about her, or the way she portrays our heroine, however, is that she tends to blink and huff a lot throughout the film.  while i like it at times because it sort of reinforces whatever feeling she's going through, it got kinda irritating after a while.
• people who say money doesn't matter have never seen a low budget movie.  because twilight was low budget, my friends.  new moon, on the other hand, was not.  and it was either that or the change of director that made all the difference in the world.  i no longer felt that the movie rushed through the book, or that a pivotal scene was just not what it should have been.  the filming was a higher quality, the make-up and costuming was better, i could go on and on but one of the better shots had to be of the pack chasing victoria through the woods while bella was preparing to cliff dive.
  
• i like how, all of a sudden, edward's shiny silver volvo has turned into a shiny black volvo suv.
• dear jacob (and the rest of the pack): please keep your shirts off.  love, every girl in america.
• there are still some cheesy lines in there.  it wouldn't be twilight without them.  but there were fewer, or maybe they were just better camouflaged.  and unlike the first movie, there were actually really good lines in this one too.  my favorite has got to be bella's heartfelt plea with jacob to not make her choose between  him and edward because, "it'll be him.  it's always been him."
• my pet peeve of the movie: the fact that everyone kept referring to the quileute boys as werewolves.  i realize it's a small thing, but am i insane or did the books not make the distinction between wolves and werewolves?
• the chemistry between bella/kstew and jacob/taylor lautner is undeniable.  and while i'm a firmly entrenched team edward gal, i appreciated that this movie made me almost wish i was team jacob.  because that's what new moon is supposed to do, you know?  you're supposed to fall for jake and become just as conflicted as bella is.  this movie sets up eclipse quite nicely in that sense.
• once again, the music was great.  not as great as K.'s new moon playlist, but nearly there.  nearly.
• jessica is such a great portrayal of your classic frienemy.  and she's just so funny.  i missed the supporting cast in this movie a little, but since they weren't really in the book very much, that's understandable.  the scene with jessica, and the other with mike, were great though.  added just enough comic relief without making the movie stupid.
  
• i sort of liked the addition of the letters to alice.  i realize that they're a vehicle for moving the story along, and making sense of bella's voice over's, but i liked that they were letters to alice and not edward, and that it helps you to believe the closeness of bella's friendship with her.
• finally, i have to commend chris weitz on keeping so true to the book and on really making some very smart choices with both lines and direction.  there was so much less of those "wait, this wasn't in the book," or "that wasn't supposed to happen like that!" moments in new moon than there was in twilight, and i loved that about it.  i have to say i'm a little worried about eclipse, now that we've seen both a not-so-great twilight movie, and a great twilight movie.  with yet another new director, who knows how it'll turn out?  particularly since this director once said he'd rather be shot than even watch twilight (which he later apologized for and recanted, obviously.  and no, i don't care if that's understandable.).  he's just such an...edgy?...sort of filmmaker that i worry he really won't care about staying close to the books.  that being said, i'm all for giving him the benefit of the doubt.  and who knows, maybe i'll like it even if he doesn't stay close to the books...eclipse wasn't my favorite anyway.  :)
  

am i being oversensitive?

i know it seems like i've been talking a lot of about hawaii lately, and it might be because i'm homesick (and strangely touchy), but i just couldn't not write about this.

a few months ago, i posted the trailer of what was then a movie tentatively called, "princess ka'iulani."  the movie depicts the life of one of hawaii's beloved figures, a young, beautiful, incredibly intelligent woman who lived through the overthrow of her house and her country before dying at the age of 23. 

my initial thoughts on the movie were that, though i didn't wholly appreciate the addition of a romance to a history in which that romance didn't exist, i understood the need to make it appeal to people who don't have a vested interest in hawaii.

however, what i can in no way, shape or form understand is the need to officially title the movie, "barbarian princess," in order to make that same audience better connect to the film.

does this look like a barbarian princess to anyone?

from what i've read, the producers didn't mean to be insulting (and are perhaps even a little surpised that the title is being taken as an insult?).  they simply wanted to point out the irony of the name, "barbarian princess," since that's what american tabloids were calling ka'iulani while she traveled to washington d.c. to lobby congress, and she was anything but.  one news story evens quotes someone as saying something as insensitive as, "it's only a title."

okay.

how about this: the next time some film comes out about slavery, a film like "roots," we name it something like "them niggers."  i mean, yes, of course african americans are nothing near what the connotation of that name implies, but after all, it's just a title.  and this way everyone will see the irony of it, right?  is that okay? 

no, it's definitely not okay.  because it's insulting, insensitive, racist, ignorant, and just plain stupid.

same goes here.

it just seems like common sense that this title would upset a lot of people.  and it does.  i'm obviously one of them.

it's nice to know how far we haven't come as a respectful society.

for more on the movie (which debuted this past weekened on ka'iulani's birthday and at the hawaii international film festival) and it's controversial name, see here.

wallow

a short post because i refuse to allow myself to wallow so completely for very long.

the fact that i still haven't found a job is astounding. i mean (and i know this will sound arrogant, but i promise i don't mean it like that), how exactly has it been nearly two months of applying for jobs and i've gotten no call-backs? how?

the economy, you say.

no shit, i say.

but someone is getting these jobs. and yes, they probably are way more qualified than i am (though i'm already over-qualified for a lot of these positions), but doesn't this go against some sort of law of physics or nature or the universe? throw enough mud at the wall and some of it will stick, right? right?!

wrong, my friends. so very, very wrong.

because i've been throwing mud for weeks. none of it stuck.

and i don't think it would be so completely overwhelming (because hey, who couldn't use a two-month long vacation?), except for the fact that it's a hit to my pride, and i have bills to pay. lots of bills. astronomical bills.

bills that have brought me to my knees and made me promise God that, when i finally do get a job, i will never step foot in anthropologie again.

okay, that's a lie. (sidenote: maybe i should apply for a job at anthropologie...)

but you get the idea. lots of expenses, little money. practically no money at this point.

so this is all to say that i know some of you have been waiting for that post about my plans for the next two years. but amidst the sleepless nights (and by sleepless i mean SLEEPLESS), the frantic job hunting, and the frustration, i just haven't had time to think past next months rent. sorry. it's coming eventually.

alright! to make myself feel better, and because i neglected to post it earlier:



and just because (there never needs to be a reason for some rob): an oldie but goodie.

because you knew it was coming

drool. and laugh a little. but drool, definitely.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON trailer


p.s. um...hi taylor lautner's pecks. my name is kahea.

the most sought-after guy in hollywood

here's my blow-by-blow of the oscar's for all those who enjoyed my grammy's commentary!

the red carpet in all its glory:

• kate winslet is beautiful, so vintage, and that dress is killing me (why is she always so perfect?!). i love that she's the youngest to be nominated for so many awards.
• SJP looks very carrie bradshaw (which i now know after having my first SATC experience last night with the ladies). and matthew broderick looks very nervous.
• tim gunn is about to drool all over mr. valentino.
• comparing the oscars to the prom to make it relevant to vanessa hudgens and zack efron. hilarity.
• okay, if people knock miley cyrus and her dress this time, i'm gonna kill someone. she looks awesome. it's young, fresh, appropriate, elegant, and people just need to get over themselves.
• penelope is wearing serious vintage. like, a 60 year old dress vintage. proof that beauty is timeless, and i need to start shopping in thrift stores.
• jeez, this award show is so...pompous compared to others.
• so the red carpet was officially a disappointment. way too many movie stars sneaking in the back entrance so as not to show off their dresses before the main event. haters.
  

the main event:

• oh, hugh. i love your accent. it's okay if you were an australian, playing an australian, in a movie called australia, hosting.
• it takes some balls to perform show-tune style live. cheesy, but apt and quite funny, mr. jackson. and who knew anne hathaway could sing?!
• meryl streep is a badass. plain and simple. bad. ass.
• best supporting actress: penelope cruz. it was the dress. lol.
  
• the milk acceptance speech will break your heart.
• the uniform of the oscars this year seems to be the white, strapless, sparkly dress.
• oscars are dragging.
• costume designer for the duchess seemed like he just inhaled a very large xanax before his acceptance speech.
• i love when winners say "'so and so' really should be up here with me..." and then just go on with their speech. because the rest of that sentence actually says: "...but i didn't want to share the spotlight so i didn't ask them to come up."
  
• ROBERT PATTINSON IS AT THE OSCARS! and looking HOT introducing the romance movies of 2008 (including twilight! holla!). i wasn't feeling the short hair originally. it's growing on me (no pun intended). that was by far the [most unexpected] highlight of the oscars for me. is that sad?
• natalie portman is rocking her pink dress. and ben stiller is out of control. i don't get it, could someone explain?
  
• that's 2 for slumdog millionaire.
• james franco. drool. massive, massive drool. (does anyone else think he's a dead ringer for jeff buckley?)
• there goes beyonce, singing "at last" again. etta james needs to just punch her in the face and be done with it.
• best supporting actor: health ledger. can i just start crying now? okay, crying.
• the oscars needs some performances to break up the monotony. just saying'.
• it's will smith. where has will smith been? besides making bad movies like "hancock"?
• that's 3 for slumdog.
• lol. that's 4 for slumdog millionaire!
• omg. that's 5 for slumdog.
• well, i asked for performances. i got performances.
• i'm sorry, i may be the only one, but i can't stand john legend.
• 6 for slumdog millionaire. should i just stop keeping track and assume they'll win every single one?
• i have a huge crush on liam neeson. and the slumdog actress's dress is beyond words.
• slumdog took best director. that's 7. so far. are we surprised? no.
• did you know nicole kidman was born in hawaii? i loooove her. one of the most statuesque women.
  
• the women presenting best actress blow my mind.
  
• anne hathaway was nominated for a best actress oscar?! nice. she's made absolutely all of the right moves with her career so far.
  
• halle berry is untouchable. but can i please have her boyfriend/baby daddy? lol.
  
• best actress: kate winslet. so great. i should watch "the reader". and i love that she asked her dad to whistle so she could find him in the audience.
• best actor: sean penn for milk. "yes, totally deserved it!" is the consensus in the room i'm in. best acceptance speech EVER.
  
• update: rpatz is sitting behind mickey rourke. looking quite edward-ish if i do say so myself. smile for once, would ya?!
• i'm going to guess best movie now before they present it: slumdog.
• was i right? yep! slumdog millionaire takes best movie!

overall, a pretty good show. there are definitely some slow moments, but it didn't seem as long as the grammy's. sorry, too lazy to find the links! just google it!

ranting

what could very well have been the worst semester of my entire academic career is now officially over.

i've finished my ethics presentation, my trial, my ethics paper, my fed indian law exam, my writing requirement/article, and work. and i get to go home tomorrow.

life couldn't get much better this second.

so the way this writing requirement/article thing works out is that i originally wrote this paper for comparative law final last spring. because i want to go into indian law, the topic i chose was violence against women. amnesty had just done this huge project on sexual violence against women that really inspired me to do my own research from a more legal perspective, and so my paper was born. once that paper was done, i decided to continue to pursue it as my upper division writing requirement, meaning it would have to be longer and better than the original. at the same time, a law journal at school decided to publish it in their upcoming april/may volume. so i spent nearly every minute over the weekend revising it and adding sections, taking sections out, cite checking, all for my writing requirement. and over the course of the next several months, i'll be working with editors at the journal to bring it up to publication standards.

i should probably be more excited, because i'm finally getting published. but i'm more stressed actually. it's really scary when your thoughts and theories are going to be out there for people to read and quite possibly attack. i'll guess we'll see what happens.

to give a brief summary, native american women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped and/or sexually assaulted than any other woman in the united states. 86% of the time, the perpetrators are non-Native men. unfortunately, tribes have no jurisdiction over non-Indians. that jurisdiction, in most cases, lies with the federal government. the federal government, however, rarely prosecutes perpetrators (we see this in rape/sexual assault cases against non-Native women as well), mainly because of a lack of resources, the distance and time it takes to get to a lot of these remote areas in Indian country (think: reservations for Sioux nation, Alaska Native villages, etc.), and the fact that even the federal government is confused about it's authority to prosecute these perpetrators. compounded with this is the fact that the severity of the crime also matters. one U.S. attorney from michigan can be quoted as saying that in order for this sort of case in Indian country to see any sort of action, "there needs to be stitches, practically a dead body."

so tribes don't prosecute because they can't. the federal government doesn't prosecute because of a lack of resources, a lack of effort, and general overall confusion.

and then you have the states. so in some states, the federal government has decided to chuck it's jurisdictional responsibility off of itself and on to state governments. so in those states, when a Native woman is raped by a non-Native man, the state is the one with exclusive jurisdiction to prosecute. BUT, when the federal government decided to give states this responsibility, they neglected to also give them extra funding, and tribes, as we all know, don't pay state taxes since they live on the res and are quasi-sovereign entities. states now have a much larger jurisdictional area, much more responsibility for a much larger population, and they have to police this increased area with the same small budget. added to that, there's already hostility between tribes and states when it comes to jurisdictional issues, so states rarely choose to prosecute crimes committed by non-Indians against tribal members.

where does this leave Native women? without remedy for crimes against them. and this is not to say that tribes wouldn't prosecute if they had the authority to do so; many tribes have tribal codes which cover these sorts of crimes. but tribes are also limited in the sentences they can impose under the Indian Civil Rights Act. so, for example, if a Native man rapes a Native woman, the tribe can prosecute, but they can only give the perpetrator either one year in jail, a $5000 fine, or both. and a lot of tribes feel that this isn't enough, so they'd prefer to leave even this sort of prosecution up to the federal government (especially because the government can vacate the sentences if they feel it doesn't measure up to federal standards).

and again, Native women get no remedy.

there's a lot more to it, obviously, since i write 50 pages on it, but this is just a really rough and tumble sort of summary.

it's okay if you don't understand it. i had to literally draw myself graphs and pictures until i really got it. like i said, fed. indian law is ridiculously complicated.


OFF TOPIC:
so not to be 13, but i'm one of those who think the twilight movie people should keep the dude who plays jacob instead of recasting him. i'm not saying he's the best actor, or that he can necessarily handle a leading man role, but come on, you let rp have a leading man role... it's kinda shady (not that that isn't the movie biz as a whole...).

AND, maybe you should have thought of all this before casting him in the first place, no? even if there was only the possibility of a sequel. it's called planning ahead, hollywood studio. little jake fans (of which i, for the record, am not) all over the place are attached to him now. first you change directors, now this? ever thought of changing the screenwriter instead?!

oh, and the dude from oth circa-season 2 as jacob is a no-go, imho.

haters.



reminders to myself for future blogs:

• new camera!
• home!
• decision to take the bar
• writing
• book reviews
• new layout?
  

hello december, it's been a while

it is officially the last month of what's probably been the most difficult year of my life. i've been waiting for december to arrive for a while now, and can only breathe a sigh of relief now that it's finally here.

what i'm looking forward to this month:

• going home, obviously! i'll be in hawaii from dec. 17th-30th this year, which will give me the much-needed vacation i've been looking forward to, and will allow me to get my fill of my boondock-y home town until next time.
• seeing my new niece for the first time! she's 6 months old and i haven't met her yet!
• playing with my nephew, who seems to realize his agency more and more each time i see him. why can't they stay 2 years old forever?
• christmas shopping! we need to stimulate our economy people! :)
  
• visiting with my grandparents. probably what i'm looking forward to most, even if it'll most likely mean playing hours upon hours of gin rummy. i miss them like absolute crazy. i've also been wanting to get my family history/stories out of my grandfather, so maybe i'll find time to video record him while i'm there.
• watching the bf bond with my dad over throw-netting and spear fishing. it'll be a sight to see, and i'm bringing my camera.
• reading. i've got a book list as long as my arm. see it on the right hand side of my blog.
  
• reclaiming the tan i've lost somewhere along the way.
• finally finishing my article! it's been months and months in coming, and it'll finally be ready for publication! woo!
• ending what's been the worst semester of my academic career.
• christmas! i love absolutely everything about christmas. i've got lists ready to go and cookies ready to bake.
• writing for fun. i plan on sitting on the patio and writing till my hands fall off.
• the beach. ohhhhh, the beach. ocean so blue it looks fake. sand so warm it burns your feet. *SIGH*
• hilo rain. i know this seems like the exact opposite from the last one, but the fact is that hilo is one of the rainiest places in the united states, with quillayute/forks, WA coming in next of course. it's just that it rains at night (every night). so you go to the beach during the day, then fall asleep to a storm. there's nothing like it.
• seeing some of the bffs for the first time since lehua's wedding in june. it's tradition to go to this italian place and order the same exact thing every single time.
• seeing my mom. i don't know if you can ever miss anyone the way you miss your mother.
  

just 17 days and counting!

happy december everyone!


also, and kind of randomly, i don't know if i've mentioned this before but i think the Lord of the Rings movies are some of my favorite movies ever, which is saying a lot considering how hard it is for me to pick a favorite anything. i decided this over the weekend, since tbs has been playing the movies over and over, and we (meaning me, the bf, and the bf's bff) have been watching them. not only do those movies give me the opportunity to see new zealand again, which can't be discounted (my bf and i met and started dating while studying abroad in new zealand), but they are just ridiculously well-made films.

i've read the books (the hobbit through the silmarilian). i love the books. and i think the movies were such clever adaptations of one of the best stories ever written. i mean, tolkien created an entire world. how do you do that? it's amazing.

damn, now i need to add that series to the book list again...

and finally, i think bella's lullaby is growing on me. put it on repeat and it's great study music. still not sure if i like it as that specific song though...

impossibly excited

it may be time to move on from twilight. at least until new moon comes out. and what better way?

twilight review!

so the twilight movie has finally been released and i, for one, was really excited to see it. some friends and i braved the masses of tweens on friday night and were able to get our first looks at the film. here are my thoughts:

• i've never been a great judge of movies. no one i know will ever claim that i have amazing taste in my favorite flicks, and will actually probably be more likely to say that i tend to love awesomely bad movies. so the fact that i liked twilight should come as no surprise to anyone. it isn't a great movie. i'm not delusional enough to think it is. but i liked it just the same.
• the cheese factor in this movie is through the roof. i mean, at times the awkwardness was straight up painful. (picture me, hands over face, cringing into my sister and whispering over and over, "ohmygod, i can't watch, i can't watch, i can't watch.") but that's sort of how the book is, you know? edward's lines are cheesy. the romance is cheesy. that's why we love it. because it's not real life. and i feel like those lines almost had to be kept in the movie to even keep the movie true to the book. if edward was just this smooth guy, he wouldn't be edward. because edward is most definitely not smooth. he's a melodramatic manic depressive obsessive compulsive stalker vampire. so while i admit that, at times, the pained look that crossed edward's film-face was over the top, i'll deal with it. besides, it's robert pattinson's face. who wouldn't deal with it?!
• speaking of cheesy lines, the lion and lamb line was kept in! and it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been! i thought the actors pulled it off much as it could have been pulled off. besides, if that line was taken out of the movie, could you imagine the riots that would cause?
  
• i didn't have as much faith in kristen stewart playing bella as i should have. because i really enjoyed her portrayal. it came across truer to bella than i thought it would, and that was a pleasant surprise i wasn't expecting. the voice over in particular set the movie for me right from the start, and i think she had the right tone when delivering it.
  
• charlie was awesome. one of my favorite characters in the movie, while he wasn't necessarily one of my favorites in the books.
• i think i was prepared for the beginning half of the movie to be rushed, so it wasn't that bad for me. some of the girls i watched the movie with were disappointed with the speed at which bella and edward's relationship developed since, as we all know, it took nearly 300 pages for that same relationship to develop in the book. but i was impressed that it even took as long as it did in the movie. i thought it was a clever adaptation in that they had to fit an entire week of back and forth questioning between the book's bella and edward into about 5 minutes for the movie's bella and edward.
• oh, the sparkling-in-the-sun scene. should have left it out... i think we all would have understood. they should also probably steer away from doing close-ups of the characters while they're flying. like, the mid-air shot of bella and edward when edward is flying from one tree to the next? baaaad effect.
  
• can i just say how excited i was that iron & wine's "flightless bird, american mouth" ended up being the prom song playing in the last scene? which was also my favorite scene in the movie. i love love love that song.
• um, i want a volvo c30. cutest little sports car ever.
  
• supporting cast: i've said it once, i'll say it again. i have a girl crush on alice. which is why i wish she was in the movie more, but i guess we can look forward to that more now that the next books are being adapted! oh, and dear jasper: what is up with your expressions?! you are so cute in real life! why do you look so strange in the film? love, kahea. emmett and rosalie are perfect emmetts and rosalies, and i loved the supporting cast playing bella's human friends. jessica in particular was awesome in that way that she was the girl you knew in high school that you were great frenemies with. bad vamps = bad vamps. and hot james was, well, hot.
• baseball scene was actually better on the big screen than i thought it was in the book. maybe because i'm not a big baseball person. or sports person in general for that matter. that look that rosalie shoots bella when she's called out...i think i've seen my older sister give girls that look before. i pitied them, and i pitied bella.
• what can i say about jacob? not impressed with the wig. pull it back in a pony-tail and maybe it'll work. and that's all i've got. i figure i'll have enough to say about him in the next couple movies. (though isn't the actor playing jacob just adorable?)
  
• the makeup. hmmmmm... i think here i have to join the critics and ask what the eff was up with edward's lipstick?! i mean, i get that they have to have pale skin (though carlisle's skin may have been a bit too powdery), but edward's lipstick is practically darker than mine.
• i think one of my least favorite scenes was the hospital scene. and i'm not sure what this says about the entire movie itself, so i'm just going to write it here and see what everyone else thinks. i'm talking about several lines of dialogue specifically. those lines where edward is telling bella that she should go to jacksonville and bella starts freaking out saying how he can't leave her and all that. and i don't know. that felt rushed for me, more than the entire beginning part of the movie did. but i think it felt rushed because the beginning was rushed. it just felt like, "really? you're that in love with him already? i didn't get that..." so i don't know. that was my big complaint with the script, i think. i'm just not sure if that one little complaint is a reflection on the whole script, you know?
  
• biggest drawback of the movie for me was the crowd in the theater i watched it in. i mean, i get that people love robert pattinson, and love edward's character even more. but seriously? you're in a public theater. so that means you should shut up during a movie. if you want to cat call, yell out some pretty disgusting suggestions (that, btw, would be totally illegal because you're all jail bait), and propose to the actor on the screen in front of you, wait until the movie comes out on dvd, rent it, and do those things in the comfort of your own living room. i mean, yes, there were times when i laughed out loud at the awkwardness. and even more times when i clenched my hands in anticipation for what i knew was coming next (i.e. the big kiss), but i'm not going to sit there screaming. but i guess that's what i get for watching it with 13 year olds. my one consolation? the theater gave away raffles right before the movie started. just pins, posters, t-shirts, and the grand prize of all three. guess who won the grand prize? that's right, yours truly! so when i walked back to my seat with my loot, some 15 year old begs, "ohhh, can i have it, pleeease?" and i get to snootily say no, then hand it all to my little sister. best moment ever.

alrighty, so those are my thoughts on the new twilight movie. overall, on a scale of 1-10, i'd give it a...6.5 or a 7. i'll definitely watch new moon and anything else they adapt, and i'll probably see twilight again. i think i've convinced my boyfriend to see it with me on wednesday when hopefully all the tweens will be in school.

he owes me BIG for apaloosa.

interesting...

a crash course in hawaiian history...or not.

on one hand, i'm glad that a movie is being made, because i don't think a lot of people are aware of what happened to hawaii. and i guess i understand why they had to add a romance that for all intents and purposes never even happened into it. this is hollywood, after all. but on the other hand, i definitely think it could have been compelling enough without the romance.

i guess i can only say that i hope q'orianka kilcher (who, don't get me wrong, i support whole-heartedly as a native actress) plays princess ka'iulani as a strong woman. because i'd like to think she was a strong woman who would have made even more of a difference in the fate of hawaii had she lived.

mid-day update

so two things for this mid-day update, i guess.

FIRST:


and SECOND, a little inspiration from ms. rhea:

A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

ummm...wow

Twilight HD Exclusive Trailer



ALSO, so the ever brilliant K. has made a twilight playlist that's about a million times better than the official soundtrack of the movie. i knew there were benefits to having friends who work at record labels and know music like the back of their hands...

enjoy!

- fair - grab your coat (arriving in forks)
- copeland - you have my attention (cafeteria)
- the juliana theory - trance (freaking out in bio)
- far-less - devil without a clue (van on black ice)
- doves - sea song (at first beach)
- muse - time is running out (trouble in port angeles)
- paloalto - breathe in (with him in port angeles)
- the fray - look after you (her room after day at the meadow)
- coldplay - shiver (meadow)
- sigur ros - viorar vel til loftarasa (lullaby)
- the receiving end of sirens - the war of all against all (baseball)
- linkin park - easier to run (escape from forks)
- radiohead - jigsaw falling into place (motel in arizona)
- oh, sleeper - vices like vipers (fight in ballet studio)
- mutemath - after we have left our homes (semi-consciousness)
- death cab for cutie - stable song (ending)

my personal favs are: fair, copeland, paloalto, the fray, and death cab. PERFECT.

embrace the mob mentality

three words: harry. potter. tomorrow.