Review: Dark Knight Rises (mild spoilers)

I've been feeling sick all day so instead of getting a nice, tidy post you're going to get a stream of my conscious thoughts.

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It took me way too long to get this joke.

I saw Dark Knight Rises on Saturday! Who else did? Were any of you worried about going, because of the shooting? My sister was...she was planning our escape routes as soon as we got into the theater, just in case anything happened. It was quite unnerving, watching the movie and thinking about the people who died watching the very same thing.

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I think the shooting that occurred is horrible, and I can't believe that someone would do such a thing. I'm keeping everyone affected by this tradegy in my thoughts and prayers.

ANYWAY, onto my random musings about the movie. I'm not saying anything too explicit, but I still put a mild spoiler warning up in my post title just in case.

• How come Batman has a normal (well, semi-normal) voice in the first movie, but in the second and third he has to sound like he's either a chain smoker or he's just swallowed a bottle of Listerine?

• Speaking of weird voices, good luck understanding the voice of the main villain, Bane. He sounds like this tribal guy from the Simpsons.

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• If you've only seen the second movie in the trilogy, be sure to watch the first before you see The Dark Knight Rises. There's a lot of references to the first movie that you won't understand (like I didn't). Christopher Nolan said that these movies can stand alone, but the third one proves that they definitely can't. 

• My dad didn't know this was a  new Batman movie. He thought they were just reshowing The Dark Knight in the theaters. That's what you get, Warner Brothers, when you have a sequel's title that sounds almost exactly like the previous movie's title.

• The newcomers, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Joseph Gorden Levitt as a cop, are both great in their roles. They fit into the movie in a way that you feel like they're not A-list actors...they're just the characters you see before you.

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• Don't expect the constant action of The Dark Knight. The movie slows down a lot about halfway through the film. It's a nice pause and is the perfect time for you to take a bathroom break.

• The movie has the same political and terrorism undertones as the previous film, but in a different way. I don't want to give anything away, so I will say that this seemed more like a superhero film than The Dark Knight, rather than an Academy-Award contender. It focuses on how the special effects impact the audience, rather than emotions. You're no longer freaked out by the Joker and his creepy mannerisms...you're scared by the realism of the exploding buildings on the screen.

Anybody seen the movie yet? What did you think of it? I still don't know which I like better...The Dark Knight or The Dark Knight Rises. I might have to see both films again to compare them!

100th Anniversary of Titanic Sinking

Can you guys believe it? 100 years ago today, the Titanic sank. 100 years ago! By now, everyone who was on that ship and survived is gone. Wow.  Anyway, I have some Titanic-related news for you all.

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 Many of you probably saw my previous post know how obsessed I am with the ship. I saw the movie Titanic last week and, yes, it was a completely new experience to finally see it on the big screen. The 3D was absolutely pointless though: ten minutes into the film I forgot I was watching a 3D movie. It was that subtle. If you want to see the movie in theaters again, see it in 2D so you don't have to pay the 3D surcharge.


This new miniseries from Britain aired yesterday on ABC and will be airing the final part tonight. Personally, I don't know why the world needs another Titanic miniseries...I know there's one from 1996 already. And this looks almost too similar to the 1997 movie. But it does have a cool concept: the first three parts each follow a different person and lead right up to a cliffhanger. Then, in the final part we learn who survived and who didn't. Kind of neat.

Finally, I made some outfits inspired by Rose's dresses in the Titanic movie! I tried to make the outfits be somewhat preppy--something I would wear myself--rather than making them too costume-y.

I wasn't a fan of the hat myself, but KT liked it, so I thought, why not?

I love the purse in this outfit. I included the butterfly headband because there's a scene in which Rose is wearing a butterfly clip in her hair (yeah, I've watched the movie way too much) and I thought it went well with the outfit.

For these outfits I combined the yellow color of her dress with lace that is reminiscent of the time period. And of course I had to add the Kate Spade bracelet and anchor earrings.

Tell me what you think! Any of you guys going to watch the Titanic miniseries?

The Artist

So this is gonna be a long post. Just warning you. Skip to the part with my grandma, that's where it gets interesting.

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I'm a bit of a movie buff and I've been rooting for The Artist to sweep the Awards season ever since I saw it. I don't think a lot of people have heard about it, or if they have, they were turned off by the description right away (like I was). Say that it's a black and white film, and instantly 75% of the population turns away. Say that it's a silent film? Basically, you lose...everyone.

I never intended on seeing the film. My sister begged and begged me to go see it with her, and I told her simply there was no way in hell I would see a silent movie. I need sound, people! It's the 21st century! Hell, we can do movies in 3D, for gods sake! Why make a movie without sound?

One morning during Christmas break, my family and I received a phone call that my grandpa had passed away. We spent hours at home being miserable and in a state of shock, when my dad rallied us up and said we were going to see a movie to cheer up. We all just kind of went along with it and numbly went into the car. He refused to tell us what movie we were seeing until we got there. And guess what? We were seeing the freakin' Artist.

I honestly wanted to stay in the car. I was not in the mood to see a movie, especially this one. But this wasn't the day for me to act like a two-year-old. 

And I'm glad I watched it, because I loved it. Absolutely loved it. I don't want to give the plot away, but the movie is about a silent film star in the 20s and what happens to him when the "talkie" films come around. Your eyes will be on the main character, Jean du Jardin, the entire time. With one smile he'll pull you in. There is something so intriguing about him that makes the movie enjoyable to watch. His costar and love interest, Berenice Bejo, is equally impressive, maybe because she just seems so real. The talent of the actors, along with the exclusion of sound and color, transports you to the 20s and you'll feel like you're actually there.

Ok, enough with my love affair for this movie. There's also a DOG in the film! Uggie! See? He's right below, right down there! He went to all the Award shows with the rest of the cast this season. Dude, a dog gets to go to the Academy Awards. What's up with that?

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During my spring break, my dad and I took my grandma (the other grandma...not the one who just lost her husband) to see The Artist. We took our seats, waited for the previews to end, and suddenly the picture went out. Now, this isn't a good thing when you're watching a silent film. All we could hear was music, and my Grandma kept asking me "Is this part of the movie?" Eventually they got the picture up and running again after about fifteen minutes, but the whole situation was just very ironic.

Now, my Grandma is notorious for...everything. I love her, but I need to devote a whole blog post to her one of these days. Due to her personality, I did not expect her to enjoy this movie. But she couldn't stop talking about it! Halfway through the movie, she was so engaged that she asked us out loud, so everyone could hear her, "This is going to have a happy ending, right?" After it ended, she made me assure to her that she wasn't imaging things that Jean du Jardin really was attractive and handsome as she thought he was.

When was the last time you, your artsy 18-year-old sister, apathetic parents and quirky grandmother all enjoyed the same movie? Seriously, go out, see "The Artist" NOW with everyone you know, glue back together those severed family ties. "The Artist" is a true heartfelt movie, and we don't see many of those anymore.

Great Expectations: The Book, the Miniseries, and the Movie

Here's where the science-y side of me goes away. I'm a double major, so besides going for a BS in biology, I'm also trying for a BA in English. People ask me all the time how I can study both the physical sciences and the social sciences. They're polar opposites. Really, I don't know, and sometimes I wish I wasn't in love with both biology and English. You don't know how strange it is to go from a class teaching cell biology to one teaching about Victorian Literature in the 19th century.

Anyway, over break my assignment for the above literature class was to finish Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. It's not like we want to relax or anything over the break, right?

I "read" the book for an English Honors class my sophomore year of high school. "Read" as in I got to about page fifty, didn't understand a thing, and did a combination of skimming/Sparknoting to get through the rest. I didn't remember any of it. So, honestly, I didn't have high expectations for this book (see what I did there?) Even the cover looks dull.

I don't know how after four measly years, I can suddenly understand this book and actually enjoy it. Is this what college did to me? Did it turn me into one of those prudes who yearns for the classics and says that Pride and Prejudice is the best book ever written? (LIES...everyone knows its Harry Potter). Did I sell my soul to this major?

But no, something must've changed because I raced through this book. It's hard to describe: mostly its a coming-of-age story of a boy named Pip who inherits a vast amount of fortune. I imagine that this is one of the first books that showcases the problems that material wealth can bring with it, as Pip starts longing for the times when he was a poor blacksmith's apprentice. Therefore, the theme seemed a little overdone, but I'm sure that at the time it was fresh. We learned in my Victorian Literature class that material wealth was first talked about in books in the 19th century. Before then, people were too proud to brag to others about how much they owned. Just think of such a different society we live in today!

Like I said, I enjoyed the book but it wasn't as good as other books we've read in the class. What I find interesting is how this book is adapted over and over again into TV series and movies. There's two, two versions of the book hitting the US screens this year. That's too much Pip for anyone to handle.

Here's the trailer for the first adaption, the miniseries, which is on PBS April 1st and 8th. I don't care if you have no interest at all in Great Expectations, but you have to watch the trailer. It was just weird. There's no talking at all in the whole thing, just some weird hipster/new age/indie song wailing in the back. Now, I like indie songs, but they weren't around in the 1800s, people. I just want to hear these characters talk. Which makes me think they might not have the greatest acting abilities, and the good folk at PBS are just trying to hide it...

Watch Great Expectations Preview on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

Now the second adaption seems a little more legit. It's coming out at the end of the year, so there's almost no information on it but the cast list at IMDB. It's got some heavy-hitter names. Ralph Fiennes (i.e. Voldemort), Helena Bonham Carter (i.e. scary lady in every British/Tim Burton movie), Jeremy Irvine (i.e. the boy crying over his horse in "War Horse). Strangely of all, even Robbie Coltrane, HAGRID, is in it. HAGRID. So we got Voldemort, Bellatrix, and Hagrid. What is this, the Potter family reunion?

Even though we know nothing else than the cast list, I can tell by the caliber of these actors that the movie will be something special. I'll probably watch it just because I love to watch movie adaptations of books and then complain about everything they cut out. The miniseries on PBS? I'm giving that a maybe.

I'm glad that the classic book is getting exposure to a new generation, but why two adaptations in one year? Perhaps it's just bad timing. But I almost wish that instead of doing the 18th adaptation of Great Expectations (seriously, it's the 18th according to Wikipedia), they'd reinvent a different old classic. Like Villette. Or Mary Barton.

Or just let these books sleep peacefully--perhaps they were never meant for the big screen at all.