Signing Off With a Summer Movie Preview

Now, towards the end of the semester, I found myself having trouble determining what to write about for my weekly passion blog.  While my undying love for movies has not wavered, I began to find that my well of potential topics was quickly drying.  For that reason, I waited in order to find the perfect sign off-post, and I finally have – a look at the wonderful and exciting movies coming this summer.  So be ready to drain your bank account, because you will be spending a great deal of money at the movies this summer.

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There are so many fantastic movies opening in May that one nearly becomes overwhelmed by the prospect.  This month contains a movie in almost every genre you could wish for in the summer.

Classy & Thought Provoking – the English class favorite The Great Gatsby promises to be intricate, engaging, thoughtful and exciting.  Admittedly I have never read the acclaimed novel, but friends that have have expressed concern that the film adaptation will go over the top.  Hopefully, the film doesn’t tie itself up in the grandeur and spectacle ad forget about the heart.

Superheroes – Shamefully I have not seen the Iron Man series, but from what I saw of Robert Downey Jr in the wonderfully successful Avengers, I am sure that Iron Man 3 will not disappoint.

The Hilariously Inappropriate – I have seen both installments.  I laughed uncontrollably each time, and walked out of the theatre happy but moderately disgusted. I expect nothing less from The Hangover III, which will likely insult me to my core, but hopefully I will be laughing hysterically the entire time.

Action & Awesomeness – I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am for Star Trek: Into Darkness. The first film not only reinvented and revitalized the beloved franchise but was also easily one of the best summer blockbusters I had ever seen.  I have no doubt that the sequel will rise to the occasion, largely because the phenomenally talented Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) will play the film’s bad guy.  **Now You See It also looks hugely promising, and I suppose Fast & Furious 6 too if you are into that sort of thing.

 

 

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Not on the list above (because it was the main article in the issue of Entertainment Weekly that these screen shots came from) is Man of Steel.  I am a Superman girl, through and through, so I am anxiously awaiting the film’s release on June 14th.  While initially I felt less than thrilled about the prospect of a British man wearing the red and blue suit as farm boy Clark Kent, Henry Cavill is certainly growing on me.

 

 

 

Other Things I Will Be Spending My Money On:

  • The Heat – It is Sandra Bullock AND Melissa McCarthy.  It is nearly impossible to go wrong with two women that talented and hilarious.
  • White House Down – Likely a good popcorn movie about the taking of the White House, but really the main attraction in this movie is clearly Channging Tatum.  For that reason alone, I will be present.
  • The Internship – Reuniting Wedding Crashers duo Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn for a wacky and bizzarre internship at Google, will either be surprising hilarious of wildly stupid.  A gamble? Yes.  But these are the risks that I take in life – small, contained, and comfortable, with the only consequence a few hours of my time wasted.

 

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To be honest, I am worried about July.  There are only two movies that I really have an interest in seeing, and I am not sure how well they will turn out.

The Lone Ranger – with Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer at the reigns I feel somewhat reassured about the films potential for greatness, but perhaps my unfamiliarity with the story is making me wary.  I want this movie to succeed and prove fantastically entertaining, but a small part of me is convinced it just doesn’t have the magic, though I can’t put my finger on it.

Despicable Me 2 – The first installment was so amazing that it is hard to imagine the sequel surpassing the original.  The second movie in part shows Gru dealing with the difficulties of fatherhood, and apparently the character has evolved to become softer and kinder to his three new daughters.  While from a moral standpoint that is great, Gru’s rough edges made him quirky, hilarious, and lovable.  Hopefully they didn’t sand him down too much.

 

 

 

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While I suppose I could see myself going to Elysium on a boring Friday night, the movie I am really looking forward to in August is not a sci-fi action thriller.  It is We’re the Millers.  The comedy reunites Horrible Bosses stars Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis and turns the idea of a family road trip on its head.  Sudeikis is a small time dope dealer who suddenly has to transport 1,500 kilos of marijuana across the Mexican border, and to allude border patrol he hires strangers (like Aniston, a stripper) to pretend to be his suburban family on an innocent road trip.  Odd?  Yes.  Hilarious?  Definitely.

 

Well, I hope this has gotten you excited for the summer.  What better way to spend months of sunny, gorgeous weather, than sitting in a dark air-conditioned theatre watching a movie?  None.

Why I Chose my Top 5

The majority of the blogs that I chose to classify as my “Top 5” for the year were written during my second semester at Penn State.  Here is an extremely short synopsis of each blog:

Finding Dory

This post discusses the upcoming sequel to the critically acclaimed film “Finding Nemo” as well as my emotional attachment to the first film.

When it Happens to You

This post was for my civic issues blog about gay marriage, and focuses on a republican Senator who found out that his son was gay.

Twilight

An explanation of what in the film series I find abhorrent.

Back in the Day

A comment on the change in style and quality of films released by the Disney Channel in recent years.  I think this is my favorite of all of the posts that I have written.

Do the Right Thing

A reaction to Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing.”  The film was screened for all students in the RCL course at the beginning of the year.

Advocacy Plan

For our advocacy project my group plans on bringing awareness to water shortages around the world and responsible practices regarding water.  To do this, we want to hang up posters above nearly every water fountain on campus that looks like this:

WIW2-01

The goal of this sign is to encourage people to visit the twitter account we will create. (We can will also try to lead people to the twitter account through Facebook cover photos and profile pictures that group members and friends will use). This account will tweet facts about water shortages and awareness, as well tweets that encourage retweeting – things like “if you turned the faucet off all the way, retweet this!”  Further, we will use the hashtag “wateriswet” to try to get our message trending on twitter.

Finding Dory

FindingDoryLogoTemp_small-610x342

Oh yes.  Get Excited.  It is finally happening.

As an 18 year old college student I probably should not be this excited about the sequel to an animated movie, but, come on, its FINDING NEMO! (which is easily one of the best animated films ever made.)  Shockingly, the film came out ten years ago.  I can still remember the first time I went to see it when I was in the third grade.

As a reward for passing the Maryland School Assessments (MSA)s, all third, fourth, and fifth grade students got a free trip to see Finding Nemo in theaters during the middle of the school day.  We all walked as one colossal group up the massive hill that is Spartan Road towards Olney 9 Cinemas.  The theatre was sort of run-down and old but that hardly mattered – we got the entire theatre to ourselves and we could not stop gushing at how grown up we felt walking there. I sat with my friends and watched the movie and immediately fell in love with it.  I laughed so hard at Dory I nearly cried. It was the best thing an eight year old could have imagined.

tumblr_lp9otz7t7G1qmubjzo1_500Now times have changed.  My beloved run down theatre has been replaced with a Harris Teeter grocery store (one of five grocery stores servicing my town, all of which can be seen from the top of a hill).  My once charming partially rural home town has become over-populated and polluted.  My friends and I are spread out across the United States at college and my family is gearing up to move.  With so many changes, I am ready for a little taste of the good old days when the grass was green, the sky was blue, and my town/life wasn’t an armpit.  Finding Dory will do that.

 

Now to actually talk about the movie instead of rant about myself.  According to the ever reliable Huffington Post, Finding Dory will be a prequel, taking place about a year before Finding Nemo.  The plot is inspired by why Dory was alone in the ocean the day she met Marlin. She will be reunited with her loved ones and learn about her family, but the director promises that Finding Nemo favorites such as Marlin and Nemo will be back. The lesson to be learned from this movie, according to the director, is the meaning of family. “I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time,” said Ellen DeGeneres, who voices Dory, in a statement. “I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating ‘Toy Story 16.’ But the time they took was worth it. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It’s got a lot of heart, it’s really funny, and the best part is—it’s got a lot more Dory.”

The movies is scheduled to hit theaters November 25th 2015.

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To tide you over, here are some wonderful Dory moments from the fantastic original.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/finding-dory-finding-nemo-sequel_n_2999649.html?ir=Entertainment

 

Responding to the Supreme Court

Last week, as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on two cases involving same-sex marriage (one centered on California’s Proposition 8 and the other on the Defense of Marriage Act), people around the country began to voice their opinions.  One of the most attention grabbing tactics came on Facebook.  The Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights, changed their Facebook profile Tuesday morning (March 26th) to a red equal sign to show support for same-sex marriage, and encouraged others to follow suit.  This adaptation of the Human Rights Campaign’s logo then exploded all over Facebook.  It was everywhere (the fact that I knew about it says something, given that I hardly ever use my Facebook).  Data released by Facebook last Friday actually supports the notion that most people followed the lead of the Human Rights Campaign, as “2.7 million more people changed their profile pictures on Tuesday, March 26 compared to the previous Tuesday.”  While Facebook did not track what exactly people changed their profile pictures to, one need not be Sherlock Holmes to connect the dots.  The wave of red spread to Twitter (13 Congressmen changed their avatar’s to the symbol) and it began to take on a life of its own, as people started posting modified versions of the equal sign.  Some adjustments were touching, others amusing, and many were just plain random, but they all helped show support for a worthy cause.

red-equal-sign_6 red-equal-sign_8 red equal red equal1 red-equal-sign_meme

However, the red equal sign was not the only way people responded to the Supreme Court’s pending decision.  The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) held a March and Rally in Washington DC to advocate protecting traditional marriage.  The 10,000 individuals in attendance showcased signs that read “Respect Our Votes!” and “Kids Deserve a Mom and a Dad!”  The march ended in front of the Supreme Court and the rally included 20 different speakers.  Brian Brown, President of NOM said, “A diverse crowd of more than 10,000 marched today to show that those who protect marriage are on the right side of history. The Supreme Court has no right to redefine marriage and roll back the efforts of Americans to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman, the only social arrangement that gives children the mother and father they deserve.”  At the rally, one staff writer for the website BuzzFeed went around and asked twenty different young people why they supported traditional marriage, and this is what a few of them had to say:

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I respect the views of others.  In my opinion, what you believe is your business, not mine, and I want nothing to do with it (as my best friend says “do you”).  However, I have trouble wrapping my head around many of the arguments presented in support of traditional marriage.  These are just a few statements that puzzle me.

 

“Kids Deserve a Mom and a Dad!”

What about single parents?  Based on this logic they should not be allowed to have children. However, in reality, numerous children go through life with only one parent and can still have a fulfilling and wonderful childhood.  So why does having two fathers or two mothers make a difference?  In my opinion, having someone who loves you, cares for you, and protects you is a much higher priority than having parents of opposite genders.

 

“It is written in the bible.”/”Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve.”/”Marriage is not a right but a call from God.”/etc.

I would never tell anyone how to practice their religion or what to believe in. If you steadfastly believe that God does not support same-sex unions as a part of your religion then that is your choice and it is not my place to tell you what to do.  However, marriage is not a strictly Christian institution – people of all different religions and beliefs get married and receive the legal benefits of that union.  Since the institution is not restricted to one religion, no religion has the right to set restrictions that apply to everyone and not just their followers. To do so would be to project your religious beliefs on others.  That is your business and your choice, not anyone else’s.

 

“Marriage is a child-centered institution, not an adult centered one, which unites children to their parents.”

So many people get married without the intention of having children, or they get married but learn that one spouse is physically incapable of conceiving a child. This does not mean they should no longer be married.  In a modern sense, marriage is not solely about children but about love – a life long commitment to another person.

 

 

Hopefully in July the Supreme Court will agree with me, but the Justices and the nation in general are so divided on the issue, that almost anything could happen.

 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/red-equal-sign-facebook_n_2980489.html

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/10/politics/scotus.cases/index.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/26/facebook-profile-pictures-red-gay-marriage_n_2957968.html

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2013/03/what-is-that-red-equal-sign-on-facebook-all-about/

http://www.nationformarriage.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=omL2KeN0LzH&b=5075187&ct=13053133

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/young-people-who-believe-marriage-should-be-between-a-man-an

http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/slideshow-hrc-logo-memes

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/26/supreme-court-proposition-8_n_2950615.html

Bad Lip Reading

Continuing with the theme of YouTube channels that riff on Hollywood films, this week we will explore the wonderful world of Bad Lip Reading.  Okay, so this is VERY tangentially related to my theme of movies, but this channel is definitely worth the step outside the box.

 

Bad Lip Reading is a YouTube channel run by an anonymous Texas-based music and video producer.  It first popped on the scene in March of 2011 when it spoofed Rebecca Black’s glorious revelation of a song, “Friday.”  The video spoof was called “Gang Fight,” and it humorously changed the words of the song to match Black’s lip movements.

 

Numerous spoofs on songs followed.

Michael Buble – Haven’t Met You Yet

 

Something very odd involving One Direction

 

The Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow

 

 

In September of 2011 Bad Lip Reading branched out from the music scene and began covering the Presidential election.  In my personal opinion, these short clips were the brief shining moments amid an otherwise horrific and long experience.

 

The First Presidential Election

 

And now, for the clips that make this seemingly bizarre and fragmented post make sense with my overall theme, here are some great Bad Lip Readings of famous Hollywood movies.

The Amazing Spider Man

 

The Hunger Games

 

Twilight

 

 

Channels like this are perfect for entertaining us during stretches of boredom on a rainy afternoon, for lifting our spirits during a particularly difficult week, and most importantly, it allows me to mock the world freely and shamelessly.  I recommend taking a break from the hassles of daily life and instead spend far too much time smiling and laughing at these odd little videos.  They let us escape from the world, even if for a brief moment, and that is a wonderful and precious thing.

 

And the NFL, just for fun

When It Happens to You

“That is something that happens to other people.”  If we all chose to be completely honest with ourselves, we could admit that at some point in our lives this thought has crossed our minds.  Whether it is meant maliciously or ignorantly, focused on a disease or a tragic accident, we have all had a moment where we thought “that is something I hear about, not something I will ever actually experience.”  And this self-assurance often shapes how we view numerous issues and the level of sympathy we afford them.  That is, until whatever we have comforted ourselves against actually happens to us – the seemingly unimaginable knocks on your front door.

Sen. Rob Portman's family, from left: son Will; the senator's wife Jane; the senator; daughter Sally and son Jed.

Sen. Rob Portman’s family, from left: son Will; the senator’s wife Jane; the senator; daughter Sally and son Jed.

For Ohio Senator Rob Portman (R), this knock came when his 21-year-old son came out as gay.  Senator Portman previously opposed same-sex unions.  Though he was not outspoken about such opinions, “while in Congress, he supported a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and voted for a bill prohibiting gay couples in Washington from adopting” (1).  However, two years ago his son Will came out to his parents, saying “that he was gay, and that it was not a choice, and that it’s just part of who he is, and that’s who he’d been that way for as long as he could remember” (1).  The Senator and his wife accepted their son, and after much research and discussions with pastors and friends, Senator Portman announced last Friday March 15th that he had now had a change of heart.  “I’ve come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I’ve had for over 26 years. That I want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay,” Portman said (1).

However, this change of heart has garnered much criticism from both the right and the left.  Bryan Fischer from Instant Analysis criticized the reversal and compared the situation to bank robbery. “Public policy should be based on reason, not emotion. If it turned out my son was a bank robber, I would not love my son any less. I might even have great sympathy for the circumstances that drove him to steal. I would come alongside him and help him in any way that was in my power. But I would not change my mind about the morality of bank robbing” (2).  On the other hand, many from the left felt unwilling to give Portman praise for making “the right decision for the wrong reasons,” as he only adopted this viewpoint after he discovered his son’s sexual orientation.  Shreveport Times scathes, “so one can’t help being frustrated and vexed by the senator’s inability to ‘get it’ until ‘it’ included his son. Will explained to him that his sexuality ‘was not a choice’? Lovely. But was the senator not listening when all those other gays and lesbians tried to tell him the same thing?  Apparently not. Like Dick Cheney, father of a lesbian daughter, Portman changed his view because the issue became personal. Which suggests a glaring lack of the courage and vision needed to put oneself into someone else’s shoes, imagine one’s way inside someone else’s life. These are capabilities that often seem to elude social conservatives” (3).

I find nearly every position mentioned above somewhat limited and distorted.  For Senator Portman, clearly he experienced the phenomena I first described, that certain things just happen to other people, as he was thoroughly shocked by his son’s announcement.  However, the fact that his son was gay made him shift his perspective and see the issue from another vantage point.  Now it was personal, now he could empathize, now he could understand, now he could trust the notion that sexual orientation is not a choice because the words came from his own son’s mouth.  This reaction, this shift in opinion, to me, is not for the wrong reasons.  Everyone can be judgmental and narrow-minded about a plethora of issues, but only when that issue lands on your front doorstep do you really understand it, and that does not make Senator Portman evil or lacking in vision as Shreveport Times claims.  It makes him human.  It makes us all human.  I see this development as powerful progress, and it demonstrates something that I have always believed; socially conservative individuals are not cold hearted or evil, they simply have their own beliefs.  However, as Senator Portman demonstrated, when an issue lands close to your heart, you can see it in a whole new light, and that should make all in support of gay marriage rejoice, not sulk.  Hey, if Dick Cheney could have this change of heart when his daughter told him she was a lesbian, I think anything is possible for gay marriage in the future.

 

And the notion that homosexuality is in any way comparable to robbery is absurd for innumerable reasons, and therefore was not explored in depth in the last paragraph.  Otherwise, this post would have degraded into a rant, and no one wants that.

 

 

(1)http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/15/politics/portman-gay-marriage/index.html

(2)http://www.instantanalysis.net/afa-blogs/2013/03/15/bryan-fischer-on-sen-portmans-reversal-on-same-sex-marriage#.UUMywpmBIkw.twitter

(3)http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/D2/20130321/OPINION01/303210052/Another-View-Right-decision-wrong-reason-Senator-Rob-Portman

How It Should Have Ended

Wait seriously? Like THAT’S IT!? I just wasted 2 hours of my life for THAT!? For reals?

 

That is my standard reaction after sitting through a full-length film only to realize that the ending left much to be desired.  Everyone has experienced this hugely disappointing event at least once in his or her movie-going experience. Whether the film began phenomenally and jumped the shark at the end, or your eyes began bleeding and your soul started to die from the very first line (see Twilight Breaking Dawn Part II and you will understand), the outcome is always the same – a momentary loss of faith in cinema.  The solution? A YouTube channel called “How It Should Have Ended,” which creates animated shorts that change the horrible endings to popular films.

How-it-Should-Have-EndedWhat began in 2005 as a joke between friends about “The Matrix Revolutions,” turned into a hugely popular Internet short that has churned out over 100 videos.  They have everything from Twilight to Pulp Fiction, and a few hilarious superhero shorts thrown in for good measure.  Perhaps I enjoy these Internet shorts because looking at a film from the outside rather than from within the creative process, it is easy spot the flaws in a story line or in the characters themselves, and to make myself feel better I want to see the situation rectified.  Or maybe I want to lift my spirits after wasting my time and money on a pointless film.  Or I want to procrastinate on other homework by simply having a good laugh.  Whatever the case, I think you will agree that these short clips can easily put a smile on your face and brighten your day as you shamelessly mock Hollywood’s many many mistakes.  Here are a few that I personally enjoyed.

 

Twilight (you should have seen this coming)

 

Titanic

 

Captain America

 

The Amazing Spider Man

 

The Hunger Games

 

Harry Potter

 

Inception

 

An interesting note, all of the above clips showcase how the problems the respective characters faced could have easily been avoided had they thought through their decisions just a tiny bit more.  Perhaps a life lesson for us all.

 

Twilight

Unsure of what to write about this week, I decided to fall back on Old Reliable – Twilight.  Fear not blogging group, you will not have to endure 300+ words of drooling over Robert Pattinson’s hair or Taylor Lautner’s abs.  Rather, I will espouse a few reasons why the Twilight novels and films disgrace literature and film (I will explain why they suck in a way that hopefully does not come across as a rant).  I apologize in advance to all Twilight fans – I was one of you once.

twilight_final

For those of you who have never heard of Twilight (though I find that hard to believe), IMDB provided the shortest synopsis ever:

“A teenage girl risks everything when she falls in love with a vampire.”

 

The atrociousness of the series breaks down into two categories: the story’s lack of heart and the horrid acting.

1. The story. The novels have engaged and touched millions of people across the globe, particularly tween and teenage girls, and understandably, at that age we tend to idealize the pop culture that we fall in love with – something is not good but rather OMG THAT WAS SO F***ING AMAZING.  However, in this case that passionate love and support is even more unwarranted than usual. The Twilight series centers entirely around the love life of Bella Swan and her decision between Edward and Jacob.  Not only does this make the story lack substance, because nothing outside of the trivial really occurs, but the characters themselves do not have enough substance to support such a flimsy story.

Bella –  The consistently awkward damsel in distress, is neither emotionally strong, sassy, confident, or endearing – she merely wines about Edward.

20100731000855!Bella_Swan

Edward – People too frequently overlook Edward’s stalker qualities because of his looks and charm, but tween girls should not find it okay for a boy to sneak into your room uninvited and watch you sleep.  That’s not romantic, it’s disturbing.

Jacob – While more tolerable than the others, his only roll in the novel is to helplessly and pathetically pine for a girl who has no interest in him.

Unbelievably this odd love triangle and flimsy storyline took 4 large novels and 5 long movies to play out.

2. The Acting.  In many ways I pity Kristen Stewart, Pattinson, and Lautner for receiving the daunting task of transforming a giant pile of crud into something of cinematic quality.  However, their acting turned a relatively insufferable story into an unwittingly hilarious film series.  Stewart’s blank stares and total lack of emotion, Pattinson’s thinly veiled accent and constipated expression, and Lautner’s ability to pull his weight in the film by merely taking his shirt off was entertaining for all the wrong reasons.  More skilled and experienced actors may have been able to work more magic than these three, but they did have to work with a script that gave them lines like “We’re the same temperature now.”

50-shades-of-greyWhile numerous other reasons exist, and more detail could be given to the two reasons above, I believe that it presents sufficient evidence as to why the series should not have been made or written, as it proved a torturous experience for all.  Finally, although a side note, it does seem worth mentioning that this disastrous story spawned a Hell child (and no I do not mean Renesme the half human half vampire baby).  I mean 50 Shades of Grey, which originated as Twilight fan fiction.  Just another reason to hate Twilight – it produced one of the most disturbing “books” I have ever heard of.

Interesting Op-Eds

I stumbled upon this article while researching a paper for another class.  The paper (and the article found) is an opinion piece regarding the validity of posting nude photographs of one’s child on Facebook.  What I liked about the style of the article was its colloquial nature, which I think suits the topic of discussion well.  The author, Carolyn Savage, persuades and engages the reader through her passionate tone, personal anecdotes, and humor.  It is a very interesting and engaging piece and a nice departure from dryer and more rigid opinion pieces.

My second op-ed I found on Wired.  The article humorously discusses the behavior of human beings when riding in an elevator with strangers.  What I found interesting about this article was its attempt to persuade largely through humor – every fact, every opinion, and every example are expressed in a humorous way.  I am not sure if this makes the ideas presented easier to accept, but it certainly makes the article entertaining and the behaviors relatable.