Things I Love: March 2011

Dear March,

Things have been a little rough lately, but I hope you'll forgive me for being so late on this one (I do own a watch, Eduardo). For you, March, a thousand times over, because you brought me...

generously buttered toast
walking to class without headphones on and listening to everything
black tea in the morning
the guy who catcalled at some suggestive example during lecture
The King's Speech, which I don't even want to like because of the Oscars (bitter TSN fangirl!), but which I really can't help but like. I really admire Colin Firth in this movie (not that I've seen him in other movies), and his and Geoffrey Rush's characters have such an epic bromance (sort of the opposite of The Social Network, I have to say). Helena Bonham Carter is flawless, the acting is fantastic (in a very obvious way), and I EVEN LIKE TOM HOOPER'S DIRECTING. It's not invigorating the way David Fincher's films tend to be; you're never on the edge of your seat, but it's so aesthetically solid. The costumes, the overall colors, the way the very simple and deliberate camera angles work - it's not flashy at all, but it's skillful and just very pleasing. Plus, I really like the score. Gratuitous mediaspam:

This opening sequence is so ... quaint, or something. So charming! The entire movie is so charming!

Oh, the colors!

Flawless woman is flawless. I must admit, it was strange to see Helena Bonham Carter playing a completely sane character, but I think I liked it.

Oh, Colin Firth. Why do you and that wall go together so well?

My favorite moment in the whole film, and my favorite TKS graphic.

I'm glad Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won the Oscar for best original score (The Social Network would've been a completely different movie without it), but I think the score for The King's Speech was really nice. Very pleasant. Like the entire movie, I guess. And it stands alone better than the TSN score. Which has a track titled "Cocksucker." And which can't really be compared to any movie score I've paid attention to before.

Mark (the person I know in real life, not the Zuck)
Black Swan (can you tell I was on a mission to watch more of the Oscar nominees?), because Natalie Portman has an incredible face, and the aesthetics of this movie are so blunt but so well done. (The costumes! The use of black and white, light and shadow! The mirrors! The score! The fact that I'm uncharacteristically anticipating Mila Kunis in Friends With Benefits!)

Okay, to be honest, I get bored pretty easily watching actors emote, but this is my favorite scene in the movie. Even if Natalie Portman has a scene like this in every movie she's done. What can I say? She cries well, and I like her.

I also really like all the shots of the back of her head. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it gives the film its thriller feel.

But seriously, the color palette for this movie. Unf.

Look at this! In the next frame, she leans forward into the black part (is it a door? I'm not sure, but) SO SYMBOLIC, SO BLUNT, SO WELL-DONE!

CONTRAST! SO! BLUNT!

All in all, not one of those movies that hits me in the gut, and definitely very "ic wut u did there aronofsky," but it kept me glued to my screen, and it's really pretty, so if you haven't seen it, you are Missing Out.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip for the rhythm of Aaron Sorkin's dialogue (although I couldn't get past the third episode, but then again I never made it past the third episode of Mad Men or the second episode of Gossip Girl. Evidently, the only kind of television that can keep my attention for an entire season is the kind where the characters break into song every episode, a la Glee.)
Vanessa from My Heart Blogged, for being the nicest commenter ever
Ingrid Michaelson's cover of "Creep"
Jess
Kathleen, for her extremely upper crust pronunciation of "handstand"
eating out with my mother
The Golden Compass, for Lyra and Roger
working on blog posts that are essentially big catalogues of what I have consumed in the past month (oh hey)
Siggi's skyr
Script Frenzy (which I decided to do because Alex said he was going to do it, and which (I think) we both are failing miserably at so far)
chocolate glazed donuts
the girl who exclaimed "I LOVE YOUR COAT!" on my way out of class
Easy A, almost entirely for Emma Stone

I love this line.

Olive Penderghast is a fantastic fictional human being. And this is an excellent way to deal with stupidity.

I am so excited for The Amazing Spider-Man, and it's 60% to do with Andrew Garfield, 1% to do with Spider-Man, and 39% to do with Emma Stone. LOOK AT THIS WOMAN. (I also cannot wait to see Crazy, Stupid, Love, although that one's mostly for Ryan Gosling.)

cornbread with hot milk
working on a script again
Brittany/Santana on Glee, because "Landslide" reminded me that I kind of like this show

emailing Liana
Steven
The Social Network, the rewatch, because I noticed that the breakup scene is probably the first time that Eduardo's said something deliberately hurtful to Mark, ever (MY CREYS)
sleeping off a migraine for 12+ hours
Henry!!!
Skyping with Bella (I didn't know that Armie Hammer was on Gossip Girl! My heart! My ovaries!)
the really awesome, friendly, and funny sales assistant helping me at Clinique for making excellent stranger-talk
my cousin Nate, for bonding time and giving me a ride home
that Victoria, who is studying abroad in Sendai, is okay and has gotten out of the area
belting "Never Let Me Go" while doing the dishes
writing for Bella's zine, Grrrl Fashion Journal
my uncle for letting me use his Barnes & Noble gift card for frivolous book purchases (pictured here), although I have to say, the Barnes & Noble website is probably one of the worst e-commerce sites I've ever used. There's no way to delete your account. That is fucked up.
my current dentist (I guess my childhood dentists set up very low expectations for comfort during dental procedures, because I was so surprised at the kindness of my current dentist telling me "Well if you can't breathe, we'll just have to work without [that torturous device that keeps your jaw open]" that I teared up)
breakfast potatoes (Nothing. Compares.)
Zodiac, which is really not the sort of movie you should stop watching halfway through, because if you go to sleep without finishing it, your dreams will be So Effed Up. Highlights: David Fincher's directing in general for the motion/movement/action/stillness, Jake Gyllenhaal being precious and Eagle Scout-y, Robert Downey Jr. in general, the suspense! masterfully played like the tensest violin string for 157 minutes straight, and Mark Ruffalo's kind of effeminate voice, which I want to tuck myself into and roll around in.

the 2009 draft of The Social Network because Mark and Eduardo's relationship reads like Studio 60 Matt and Danny with a mutual baby
It's Kind of a Funny Story, because of Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, Zak Galifianakis (holy crap, that was the first time I've ever tried to spell his last name without Google auto-complete, and HOLY CRAP), a fun and great soundtrack, and the relatability of Craig's story. (I mean, you don't choose depression. It happens to you, and there isn't always a dramatic reason for it.)

I'm going to use this space to inform you that I want to make some comment about my Thing with a capital T for men in eyeliner, but that my unease about Keir Gilchrist's age at the time of filming is making me exercise some modicum of self-control. Honestly, I can see why this movie got so many negative reviews, but I think this movie cuts (and probably heals) deep for a lot of young people who know and remember how painful youth can be. Especially you, children of Tiger Moms. (I haven't read the book by Ned Vizzini yet, but I plan on it!)

WALL OF WORDS #1: The Thin Red Line, because 1) Terrence Malick's directing is breathtaking (almost literally), and 2) who isn't in this movie? (Cast includes James Caviezel, Sean Penn, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, Woody Harrelson, Miranda Otto, Jared Leto, John Travolta, and George Clooney, to start). If The Tree of Life is anything at all like The Thin Red Line, I will probably fall down and weep (and understand it all (or not)). I feel like The Thin Red Line (and The Tree of Life, judging by the trailer) toes the line of cheesy dramatics but never crosses it, and instead plants itself firmly on the side of beautiful. I could go on and on about how big this film feels, and how deep, how wide, how full of sorrow and joy, and life and death, how much it makes me feel like I am crawling back into the womb, how much I want to throw myself to the ground and, well, weep, like I am witnessing the intersection of human and divine, but I'll just leave you with a recommendation to watch this movie, the warning that it is very, very slow - and yet still worth watching, and the disclaimer that I JUST HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS FOR MALICK'S VOICEOVERS, OKAY.
Spenser
that the Borders I went to was closing down, because I bought Old School and All in the Timing and enjoyed both of them
eating lunch at IKEA
hoodies under a layer of outerwear, because they make me feel particularly badass
All in the Timing, especially for "Variations on the Death of Trotsky"
Old School for being very, very good in a humble way, and because I can see so much of myself in it
that Forever21 never fits me, because otherwise I would be broke
Connie
Lincoln
Ender's Game, the reread, because I like stories about compassion and pain, and life, and death, and kids who are forced to grow up too quickly (and if those stories happen to involve zero-gravity battles, all the better)
WALL OF WORDS #2: Never Let Me Go, the novel, because it is so understated and subtle. It seeps into your consciousness. Compared to the movie, it's less piercingly full of sorrow, and yet, even though I didn't even get teary-eyed watching the film, when I finished reading the book, I sat there blankly and wept. Not cried. Wept. Over the idea of resignation, I think, because it's an idea that has resonated with me for most of my life, and one that I have used to reason my way out of debilitating despair many, many times. (On a critical note, I'm more interested in Kathy and Ruth's relationship than Kathy and Tommy's, because it cuts me so much deeper, which is probably one reason why I found the book more emotionally compelling than the movie, although Andrew Garfield's Tommy HURTS SO GOOD.)
Fight Club the book because it makes me appreciate the movie so much more. (Sure, the book is good and interesting, but I think it might be the fighting words of a generation that is not my own. I'm probably going to get shot for this Unpopular Opinion.)
my cousin for helping me work on my resume (it is a White Blank Page)
perfect exam scores
quinoa
Jessie for a refreshing glass of water and a talk
ridiculous emails from Bella
awesome guest lectures about artificial intelligence
chips and glorious salsa from Cancun, courtesy of Kim
these beautiful human beings: