January 2011 Media Inventory

I know this is so totally not the post you guys want to see right now, but if I don't get it out now, I never will. And I would regret it.... eventually.... probably not until August or something since I have significantly cut back on a) how much I watch and read and b) how much I care about watching and reading since having the burdens/joys of moving/graduating/falling in love/getting married/getting a job thrust upon me. But anyway, tomorrow is March 1st and I am posting this before midnight or SO HELP ME I WILL STRANGLE A PUPPY (Not really. Well, maybe. Did I mention that I'm kind of stressed at the moment?).

Movies:

The Sorcerer's Apprentice: Saw it last year and still liked it. I may be looked down on among film snobs for saying so, but I do think Nicolas Cage is funny and talented - especially in National Treasure... I probably wouldn't have seen it again on my own, but Matthew hadn't seen it yet, and I'll take whatever movie-snugglin' opportunities I can get.

The Great Race: LOVED it. Can't believe I'd never even heard of it before. Jack Lennon is unrecognizable - and hilarious. Tony Curtis is just the awesomest (I MUST find time to watch him again in "The Vikings" or "Spartacus" now!). Here he's ridiculous yet suave, which is a tricky achievement for any actor. And there's a girl. She's cool.

Alice in Wonderland: The Johnny Depp version - isn't it funny that we call it that? And that his role is basically the only thing I remember from it? Well, that along with the queen's brisk, matter-of-fact, "Offwithhishead!" which I kind of loved. I liked it okay, but not enough to finish watching it.

Wall-E: I've heard from some people that it was really amazingly good and others that it was really not so good. So you may or may not be surprised when I say that I really kind of thought it was pretty just okay in an all right aw yeah way. Worth seeing once for sure. I did like the reference to there being an evil red computer.

How to Steal a Million Dollars: I tried to watch this ages ago and couldn't get through it for some reason. Must have had a poor attention span or something, because while watching it with Matthew, I found it to be a very decent film with good performances and an interesting little plot. It's no big deal, of course, but don't overlook it if you're looking for a spot of old-fashioned capering (but first - please watch "Monkey Business" with Cary Grant. Please).

When in Rome: I don't remember much about it, except that I was surprised that I liked it enough to actually keep watching until I had watched the whole thing. Wow - I really need to work on that attention span thing....

Never Been Kissed: Boring. Generic. Predictable. Sappy. I only kiiiiiiind of liked it just a leeeeetle bit. But only cuz I watched it with Matthew and he makes watching ANY movie romantic :)

Signs: Interesting. Creepy. Absorbing. Not very satisfying, but I still was impressed. Dare I see "The Sixth Sense" now after having heard all the spoilers in every film class I ever took at BYU? I know I will someday, but should I make it a priority?

An Education: Wow. The basic plot of this film disturbs me, but I was fascinated by it at the same time. Things can start out so good and simply, and turn problematic and ugly so quickly. Lots of good life lessons in here, though I may not want my kids watching it for a while...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Would you believe this is the FIRST time I've actually seen this all the way through? The first time I ever saw part of it was either babysitting (I remember watching the "train" scene and trying to approach the T.V. stealthily and turn it off quickly because I was scared of the "evil" lurking within) or in the mall (I had to pretend I wasn't paying attention to it because my mom was there, but every time she turned her head I took a quick peak to see how the Quidditch match was going). Anyway, I enjoyed it. It's nice to see what all the fuss is really about. I don't really regret that it took me this long - it's kind of fun to go through all of it all at once, and just get it over with.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Loved Tom Riddle! Spot-on for the part in my head. The serpent was meh.

Books:

Mockingjay: I heard a lot of negative things about this book before finally getting to it, so I was prepared for the worst. So I was actually surprised in a positive way throughout most of the book by how she kept building suspense, creating interest, developing the characters, etc. And then I got to the end of the book and it was like !@!@@!?!??!?!?!!@@!@???#???? The series as a whole is still worth reading, but UuUUuuuuuughhhhhh. The first book was SOOOOOOO the best.

The Maze Runner: This book drove me nuts. I got SO into it, and then it just left me hanging, literally gasping for more. And then I raced to the library and all the copies of the sequel are checked out (until forever, apparently) and I have no idea what happens and my life was pointless and then I gradually started remembering that other books existed and at last I was able to get to the point where I don't mind not knowing the truth. It was actually probably a good thing that I was forced to take a break. All I could think about for the few days while I was reading this book was WHY THE HECK AND HOW THE HECK AND NOW WHAT NOW WHAT NOW WHAT!?!?!??!?!?!? And that just ain't healthy. I am a bit suspicious as well that the author isn't really sure what's going on, but that's just my opinion. You should still read it, you know, if you dare.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Golly, it HAS been a long time since this book came out. The weird thing is that I sort of know what's going to happen even though I've never read it because I've heard about it from so many people (all my basic HP knowledge comes from people my own age who discussed it in Sunday School class before and after the lesson). The other weird thing is that I still get surprised and wonder how on Earth I didn't manage to retain THAT spoiler when I KNOW the kids MUST have been talking about it.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: I guess I liked it. It was all rather typical. The exposition can be a little wearying at times, but eh, I liked it anyway. Sorry, Mom.