Movie Review: Revolutionary Road

Movie reviewer time. Yesterday I went to see Revolutionary Road & I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I didn't really know what it was about but it looked interesting from the previews & I mean who wasn't excited that Leo & Kate were together again? Not to mention the unsinkable Molly Brown, Kathy Bates.

With that said, obviously the acting was terrific because the cast was really phenomenal. Leo is like a fine wine, he just gets better with age. The story is about a young couple who expected a lot out of themselves, but they ended up just like everyone else of that time: she was a housewife & he was a businessman. They were forced to conform to society & were not happy about it. They didn't fit the mold. He looked at his father & didn't want to become that but it's exactly what he became. The only time they were happy is when they were going to escape. They lived on Revolutionary Road & they were revolutionaries. They wanted to move & she would support him, which everyone thought was crazy. As it turned out, the only person who saw past their "perfect" exterior was insane & visiting from a mental institution. Society drove them crazy & they constantly had to put on a show.

The movie was very well-done. I'm not an expert on cinematography or any of those production categories but this was really good stuff. The costumes & set designs were also great. It reminded me of Leave it to Beaver meets The Stepford Wives meets something new. The costumes helped tell the story of what was happening. Everyone was dressed the same going to work & it just reinforced the idea of conformity. The concept of the movie also was really interesting. Watching it I thought, this must be what it was like in the Cleaver household behind closed doors.

The movie did a great job in making you come away with a feeling of resentment. It made me so glad I didn't live in that time because as a woman, I couldn't stand having to be that perfect housewife all the time & nothing more then that. She was someone who wanted more then that & she was ultimately punished for it. Despite a woman in my theater continuously stating throughout that she thought it was a very weird movie, overall I enjoyed it. It was a beautifully artistic movie & I think this quote from it sums it up nicely. "If being crazy means living life so it matters then I don't care if we're completely insane."

Grade: A

A Little Glance Into My Subconscious

I generally have some pretty weird dreams but last night was definitely up there with the most bizarre of all time. It started off outside of my grammar school church of St. Charles. Two of the priests, Msgr. Kelly & Msgr. Gaffney (who both died many years ago) walked by & everyone was supposed to walk with them to get into church. I was eating a candy cane so they wouldn't let me in. I had to sneak in the side & my whole family was there, including my grandmother, who also died many years ago. We also weren't at church, it was the Olympics. My "cousin" Dean was going for the gold medal in doubles for tennis & we were all there to watch. My uncle asked my other cousin Lindsay to get him coffee & she wanted to get something to eat so I went with her to the candy cart outside. Natalie was sitting in her car, so I went with her & then I woke up.

I have one of those dream books & although I think the interpretation of dreams is a load of crap, I decided to look some of these things up...

- To dream of seeing the dead, living & happy, signifies that you are letting wrong influences into your life, which will bring material loss if not corrected by the assumption of your own will power.
- To dream of peppermint, denotes pleasant entertainments & interesting affairs. To a young woman, this dream warns her against seductive pleasures.
- If you see your uncle in a dream, you will have news of a sad character soon.
- Dreaming of one's cousin, denotes disappointment & afflictions.

So in summary, basically everything will make me sad or disappointed. I've even been warned of seductive pleasure because I happen to have been eating a candy cane. Or perhaps I dreamt of a candy cane because I have peppermint chapstick & I happened to taste that & it popped into my dream. The rest of the things in the dream were too weird I guess, because they were not in the book. Is a church turning into an Olympic tennis court not a common dream? Whether you believe this or not, I still thought it was interesting enough to blog about & since there's no football today, I had nothing better to do.

Movie Review: Marley & Me

I was thinking yesterday & I came to the conclusion that rather than sitting at home all day sometimes when I don't have work, I will go to movie matinees. There are so many movies out that I want to see & everyone is always too busy to come, so why not? Now, before I review the movie I am going to tell you my film critic guidelines, since I am hoping to get discovered as the next Roger Ebert in the very near future.

I'm not going to give it a thumbs up rating or stars or anything like that. I am basing it on a grading system, such as in college with letter grades. A+ is an option (& so is an F- in rare cases such as When Mars Attacks.) My criteria include, but are not limited to acting, direction, costumes, set design, musical score, continuity, concept, etc. Also does the movie make you feel what you're supposed to feel? And obviously, the overall movie experience. Now onto the review...

Marley & Me was a love story, of sorts; it was a movie about unconditional love. It's not going to win any Oscars or major awards but for any dog lover, it gives you a movie that makes you want to go home & hug your dog (which is precisely what I did when I got home.) The concept of the movie was very simple but enjoyable. It was about a family that had a dog. Basically, that's the end of the story. It showed the trials & tribulations of having a pet & what we go through for them. If you don't have a dog, you will probably enjoy the movie but not quite understand it, the way a dog owner would.

Watching it, you can tell that Jennifer Aniston & Owen Wilson are definitely dog people. They interacted really sweetly with the dog & they were very good at their parts. On the other side of that coin, they weren't exactly challenging roles to play. Costumes, sets, etc. were all nice but nothing all that original or complicated. I did enjoy the scene where Owen & Eric Dane were in Coconut Grove & went to Monty's, though! It was never mentioned as the name of the place but having been there/sat at the very table they sat at, I obviously knew where it was. They also captured the South Florida thunderstorms very true to form.

As far as whether or not the movie made me feel what it was supposed to, job well done. It was cute, it made me laugh & it made me cry. There was a part at the end that was really cheesy (hint, it involves a necklace) but other then that, I found it heart-warming. It's a very relatable movie, especially the parts like letting the crying puppy into your bed or the way the dog interacted with the kids. If you're going on a first date, don't see this movie. Overall, I liked it. I recommend watching it at home while snuggling with your dog, though & not at the movie theater because not only will you be surrounded by crying strangers but also all you'll want to do is hug your dog.

Grade: B

Self-Diagnosing Guru

I've always hated the cold weather. Hate really isn't a strong enough word, actually. In recent years, this hatred has gotten to be so much more. I came across an article the other day & it was about Seasonal Affective Disorder & reading it was like a checklist for me. I have self-diagnosed myself with this. You may have S.A.D. if you:

Feel sad, grumpy, moody, or anxious.
Lose interest in your usual activities.
Eat more and crave carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta.
Gain weight.
Sleep more and feel drowsy during the daytime.

I mean really it makes perfect sense. A rut is defined as "a fixed, usually boring routine." I have been going through exactly that lately. It's the same feeling I had about life right before I moved to Miami. I avoid getting out of bed when I can help it. All I keep thinking is that I just need to be in a bikini & lay on the beach in the warm sun. If it were up to me, I'd wear my bikini & nothing but all day every day. It brings me to my happy place. I'd gladly come face to face with that shark again as long as it meant I was someplace tropical. Well, maybe not but pretty damn close. When I came home from the Bahamas senior year of college, it snowed the next day & I had to shovel the sidewalk. I literally cried throughout the whole thing. No, seriously. At the time, I thought I just missed the Bahamas but I think it was more then that. I refuse to shovel snow now. I did a half-ass job of it the other day but why bother because it just snowed again! F that. If the mailman slips on the ice, oops my bad.

In a side note, let me just say that I had the opportunity to hook up with someone who is now on the Arizona Cardinals & I turned him down. The further they got along in the playoffs, the worse I felt about this. Now that they're in the Superbowl you can be sure that I certainly regret that decision! Talk about kicking a girl when she's down.

"The City"

With the premier of "The City" on MTV, a lot of my friends & I have been discussing the show. I think the general consensus is that we like it, if for no other reason than just because we're familiar with the places they've been going. Although most of the set-ups & conversations are obviously fake, I still enjoy watching it. I was very skeptical about it because if anyone should have their own reality show in NYC, it should be me. But I gave it a chance & I admit that I do like it. I do have a theory about it, however.

A while ago, I saw something (I believe on MTV.com) that was asking for girls who were into fashion, going out to nice clubs, etc. from NY that could be comparable to the girls from "The Hills". I of course forgot about it & never sent in my tape on time, or else who knows what this show could be like. Olivia Palermo is a socialite or "social" as she likes to refer to herself as. She is known in these little circles of uptown snobs & has been featured in New Yorker magazine. Her dad, who happens to be her supplier of money, is also broke. He lost a multi-million dollar bankruptcy suit. Little Olivia, in fear of losing her lifestyle obviously thought she would be the perfect candidate for such a show & the money it offered would be an added bonus. So she somehow got her father to pull some strings & get her a job at Diane von Furstenburg. When push comes to shove, I wouldn't be surprised if she heard Whitney would be working there & somehow weaseled her way onto the show that way. Or was she the one who suggested the job for Whitney in the first place! Who knows, but I hate her. It seems like Whitney has more responsibilities than her anyway & she sort of works under her. Kelly Cutrone, Whitney's old boss, said she knew who Olivia was & was very surprised when she found out that the girl was actually working. I think Kelly was thinking along the same lines as I was. I also found it hilarious when she told Whitney that she shouldn't rely on a guy & she should be independent. Perhaps someone should let Ms. Palermo know that being independent does not mean relying on one's father's money.

As for the other characters on the show, I generally like them. Whitney is more interesting then I thought she would be & she's super nice so I of course continue to like her. Jay bothers me. That whole apartment thing really annoyed me, because nobody finds such a perfect apartment in NY that easily. Erin seems very cool & I'd totally be friends with her. My question is how are her & Whitney friends? That just popped up out of nowhere. I guess she won the MTV show idea & she & Whitney were just supposed to pretend that they go way back. Either way, I will continue to watch & keep looking for my face in the crowds of "The City".

Let's Get Ready to Rumble

With the playoffs going on & my Giants playing tomorrow, you might think that this post will be about football. Well surprise! You thought wrong. I'm actually going to write about basketball & hockey, two sports I don't believe I have ever discussed on this blog. You may also ask, but Amy, what do these sports have to do with one another? Well I will answer that question a bit later on, so stick around.

First off, let's make a few things clear. I am not a hockey fan, but because I've had to watch it as of late with my job, I have come to the conclusion that I no longer hate it. I lean towards the Devils & probably the only reason for that is Zach Parise. That stud certainly has a little piece of this heart. I also have to watch NBA games at My9 so I have begun to care more about the NBA than just the Playoffs. I would also now have to say that I have become a Nets fan. Vince & Devin Harris are my favorites. I might even go as far as to say that I'd cheer for them over the Lakers, which is really saying something since I own a Kobe jersey & all. I still stick with my guns that the NBA is not as good as college hoops but it's growing on me.

Now here is why I decided to write about these sports in the same entry: fighting. I have a bit of a gripe about this. Obviously in hockey, the players are allowed to fight. A couple of days ago, a guy from the Senators bit somebody & drew blood through his gloves! Call me crazy but that's a little out of hand. On the other side of that spectrum is basketball. Jack McClinton (another love of mine) was ejected from the Miami-Ohio State game for a "flagrant foul" & Miami went on to lose that game because of it. I was watching the game & he barely touched the kid! It was an absurd call, especially because it came after the Ohio State kid hit Jack first with no foul called. I'm not advocating fighting in basketball but if somebody hits you, you should at least be able to get a little slap in to defend yourself. If Jack wanted to really hit this kid, trust me he wouldn't have just slapped him. I mean call a foul or something, that's fine but an ejection? Let the boys play. If you can all-but take off your skate & slice someone's throat in hockey, I'm pretty sure they can be a little more lenient in basketball.

That's all I've got. Done venting, thanks for listening (or uh, reading.) Go Giants!

Blogger's Block

I usually like to blog at least once a week but I feel like I have not been getting enough inspiration for my posts. I suffer from a common ailment referred to as Blogger's Block, kind of like writer's block but since I'm no writer I can't have that. There are times when the ideas just flow out of me like water through the Nile, but other times when I have absolutely no idea. This is one of those times, so I figure I'll just write about some things that are currently going on in my life.

The Giants will be playing the Eagles in the divisional playoffs on Sunday. I wanted Minnesota to beat Philly because I would have rather faced the Cardinals, but I guess one bird is no better than the other. I know we can beat either team but since the Eagles are playing really well right now, I was leaning towards Arizona. Whatever, you gotta beat the best to be the best & we will be once again. Mark Teixeira's press conference will be held tomorrow, making his Yankee-dom official. Spring Training tickets also will be going on sale this week. I will be waking up at 9 AM on Friday to get tickets for the exhibition games against the Cubbies. The best seats in the house for no more then $50 a ticket. I'm buying as many as physically possible & if I can't find people to go, I'll just sell them on StubHub for far more then that.

My parents are going away for the next 2 weeks. That gives me the whole house to myself for that time, which should be grand. It's funny because my mom was trying to convince me to have friends come over so I wouldn't be alone but I really don't see a full-on party erupting in their absence. I just have to remember to feed Maggie, water the plants & pick up Pop Pop from time to time, & I can certainly do that. This Friday, we will also be having an R4 reunion in the city. Sarah is home from Hawaii so we're trying to get as many of us together as possible to celebrate this joyous occasion. I think that's about it. Nothing too exciting, like I said. If I get inspired to blog in the very near future, though you will be the first to know.