Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

It's Springtime! That pretty much means topless film & drama boys playing volleyball and frisbee. Girls in bathing suits sun bathing on the hill, and a lack in energy and will to go to class. Tuesday is Editing and Sound from 1:30-6pm. The peak of the day and it always seems to be the most beautiful days.

Work Study with Bobby 
I got up in the lift and went all the way to the top of Stage 6. The biggest Sound Stage in the film school. It was the most exhilarating feeling I felt in a while! (aside from the various almost car accidents recently).

That's me in the air!


This is what I want my summer to look like. 

Some film boys on the hill


Volley-boys
Section 2: Spoons
This weekend some friend's of ours, Fanny & Pablo renewed their vows after being married for 10 years. They were so cute and giddy you'd think they just started dating. Brandon and I met 10 years ago this summer. And This is also my 10 year high school reunion year. AGH! Life goes by so fast it's scary. I don't want to miss any of it. I'm grateful I'll get to look back on this blog in the future to see what college take:2 was like. I wish I'd done this sooner.
Seeing how fast life goes by makes the time I spend on the internet feel silly. Life is what is happening around me, with the people I look at and get to touch (not in a dirty way). And if my nose is stuck in my phone the whole time, I'm going to miss it. I've had many friends "disconnect" or "unplug" from the social networking world for a bit for a break. What is your secret?! I know it's just something to do. But when you've been doing it for so long, (like smoking) what's the secret to stopping. There's nothing more rude than trying to have a conversation with someone and they are busy texting. Honestly, I may be guilty of it. I also would rather post something worth saying than just nonsense, and that is just a personal opinion/desire. This is nothing on anyone's else's posts. But I do "unfollow" people who just post very bitter/debbie downer things. It's not good for the soul. :)
Swag: Brandon @ Pablo's wedding
One of the most beautiful things about my friends, that we can sit in computer chairs in Office Depot and chit chat. That we can lay on a hill next to the road for hours after acting in a 5 minute and just release the negative vibes. That we can blare the most ridiculous songs in my car, roll the windows down, and scare the living daylights out of innocent passerby's.
Yeah, we hang at Office Depot. What of it?
A few movies I've seen recently:

Mommy Dearest  (1981)
Goodbye Uncle Tom (1971)
Pink Flamingoes (1972)
Bad Teacher (2011)
Run Lola Run (1998)
The Outsiders (1983)
Friday night the Supervising Sound Editor for Drive (2011), Lon Bender, was a guest artist. We screened the film and chatted with Lon about some choices in editing and sound. Drive was the first film I saw off campus when I started school last Fall so I hold it near and dear to my heart. It is a brilliantly sexy and exciting movie. (If you haven't seen it). 




For your viewing pleasure: Me and my bro, Chris, tipsinging to the opening number of In The Heights:



Thursday, March 8, 2012

Footloose (2011)

So. Let me tell you a little story... About an 18 year old girl freshly graduated from high school, looking for whatever an 18 year old girl is looking for: a purpose? Love? Her only interest? Performing. Dancing, singing, acting. Only weeks after her big debut in her high school musical: The Apple Tree. She was on top of the world! Her only feeling of personal inadequacy lay with the fact that she only applied to one University (for drama) and did not get accepted. In hopes of eventually getting to New York she auditions for the local regional theatre's summer show, Footloose. It is intense; dance callback, followed by a cold read and another dance callback. Girls running passed her in tears as they head out the door. "This is exactly how it is in New York", she thought.
Weeks passed before she heard back, but it was a "Yes." Her dreams were starting to come true.

This was the summer of 2002. The summer after I graduated from 71st high school, and the summer I performed in my first show at Cape Fear Regional Theatre. (Not including the Best Christmas Pageant Ever in 1999).
CFRT Footloose 2002

This was one of the best experiences of my life and the very start of a wonderful 10 year career with CFRT. Footloose has been one of my favorite musicals, 80's movies, and soundtracks. I've seen many stage productions of the show, and even choreographed and co-directed one of them. It's just wholesome, mindless fun.

So, of course, when I hear they are re-making the movie in 2011, I'm ecstatic. Against my better judgment I wait until yesterday to actually see the movie. It was GREAT! Flawed in many ways, but just what I needed to make me dance in my seat and get excited to throw some boots on and whip my (now shoulder length) hair around. Aside from dancers trying to act and the lack of Rusty/Willard love story, it was a lot of fun.


I've spent my break catching up with some great friends from Fayetteville:

Brandon & Tyler 
Me and Chris

Me & Tyler!

Carolina Ale House Fun!!




I woke up one morning to some serious "my SD card is not working, I think I lost a lot of really fun photos" drama. I spent the better part of this gorgeous day trying to find a way to get them back. Until I finally called it a lost cause. Speaking of 'cause'....

I'm a pretty curious person. So you better believe when my Facebook is drowning in Kony 2012 posts all morning, I'm going to look it up. I'm glad I did because I feel great about bringing awareness to something I had no idea was going on. And I want to do what I can to help. Starting by posting as much as I can about Kony. To be honest, I thought it was a Presidential candidate I heard nothing about until now. 

Take 30 minutes to watch a very informative movie. You won't regret it.



Now, an issue that gains popularity this fast and viral doesn't come with skepticism. Whether it's from those individuals annoyed by the abundance of KONY posts and the lack of daily gossip posts; or those who question everything. (Like myself). Money. Where does all the money go?

 "public financial records indicate that only 32 percent of the money raised last year went to direct services to help the children affected by the LRA. The other 68 percent went to things like staff salaries, film production, and travel costs. Plus, even though Invisible Children is advocating for a peaceful resolution in bringing Kony to justice, it is not opposed to direct military intervention." 
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/interviewing-invisible-children-ceo-kony-2012-film-goes-224212065.html

"So, where does the money that people donate go?"
"That's another point of contention across the Internet. The bulk of Invisible Children's donations go towards awareness campaigns in America rather than to resources in Africa. Another non-profit that measures the transparency of charities isn't too high on Invisible Children."



I'm torn. Because like anyone, I don't want to send money to an organization I know very little about. And this organization is doing their job/ a good job of reaching their goal to make people aware of what is going on. I know there are plenty of countries that need American aid, but the only way to get support is by spreading the word. So instead of finding the flaws in this organization, tell me about the other ones. Wanting to bring down someone like KONY is not a terrible thing. Embezzling money, is terrible and if this organization is guilty of it, then lets take down Kony AND Invisible Children. But until then, if you have an issue with the budget, save your money but spread the word. There is nothing wrong with that. And if you just don't care about the kids in Uganda, but care about something else, share it! Or keep it to yourself. That's the beauty of being an American. 

Monday, March 5, 2012

Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever (2009)

QT with my puppy. 


I've finally had the chance to catch up on my favorite tv show, Shameless. A Showtime series on it's second season adapted from an original British show. William H. Macy is brilliant! And the concept is so interesting! A family having to stick together through many obstacles... what am I saying, that's every show.




The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) There are a few movies I can only watch once, cry my eyes out, then never watch it again. Radio (2003), The Soloist (2009), I am Legend (2007), and anything with helpless animals (that normally die) or handicapped people (that just can't catch a break). Just not my kind of movie.
TPOH falls under this category because even though I love how hard Wil fights... it's just too much for my heart to handle! I think it's a fantastic movie and I watched it again today, but I can't watch it over and over.  But it's moment's like the following that make it completely worth the pain.


Peanut & Brandon 
Our roomie, Van Evans




I'm about to flip the switch entirely.
The Human Centipede (2009) On my search for an appropriate GIF in honor of The Human Centipede I only prolonged the inevitable puking that would ensue. Tumblr. C'mon. The things you will allow. (I'll laugh about it tomorrow, but for tonight, I stand offended.)
This is by far the most equally creative and disturbing film I've seen. I guess I was lying when I said "I've seen it all." I have NOW seen it all. Ew. Ew. Ew is all I keep saying. We decided to watch this movie, Brandon & I, after googling "scariest movie on Netflix Instant." A movie I've heard nothing about seems to be pretty popular. From a filmmakers perspective let me tell about the positive things I found. For starts:
SPOILERS
When Lindsay escapes, she tears the IV out of her arm and it steadily bleeds for the sequence that follows. It looked very realistic and continued to bleed in the pool and when she gets out. Then the scars created by the incisions on their faces looked eerily realistic as well. *shivers*
(this warning may fail depending on my blog layout, but there is a gross image at the bottom)