Since the last update, I have seen:
Despicable Me 2
The Wolverine
Red 2
And they were all awesome! Time for some brief reviews:
Despicable Me 2
An animated movie, one of the few I've seen this summer, and it's awesome. It's not particularly deep or anything (the first one dealt with Gru, Steve Carell's character, adopting these three little girls against his better judgment, only to find that he truly loved them), with the plot centered on Gru finding someone to love (Kristen Wiig, who is just as annoying in her animated self as in real life). A pretty simple plot, but the real stars of this movie are the Minions. They are riotously funny; this is probably the movie I have laughed at the most this summer, and it's largely because of those little guys. They deserve their own movie, and they probably will be getting one (if it hasn't been greenlit already).
8.5/10
The Wolverine
Saw an advance screening of it; surprise, it's awesome too! It actually takes place after X-Men: The Last Stand, with Logan dealing with the haunting memories of having killed Jean Grey in that (awful) installment. Really, the movie is less of a super hero movie, and more of a drama/thriller. Indeed, for the majority of the movie, Logan does not have his fantastic powers of healing, which kind of lends more gravity to his situation. Anyway, to say any more would be to spoil it, but it's a great adventure where Logan truly becomes 'The Wolverine' again, healing his pain that he had experienced after Jean's death. Also, the after-credits scene is awesome.
8/10
Red 2
This movie wasn't spectacular, but it was simply a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to simply be having a good time filming it, and even the new additions were awesome. Bruce Willis lends his usual stoic hilarity to the role he plays as Frank Moses, retired CIA agent. John Malkovich is also the usual crazy guy here, and he's hilarious. The true scene-stealer, in my humble opinion, is Anthony Hopkins. We all know he's a terrific actor, but he plays the scientist here with delightful scenes of him being crazy one moment, and then sane the next. I don't think the ending is exactly the most surprising one ever, but it's still entertaining. I'd see a sequel to this movie.
8/10
I will say my list of summer movies, now that it's been shortened by three, I've actually added to it with some new trailers. I want to see 'Paranoia', '2 Guns', and 'The Counselor'. Those movies come out, respectively, August 16th, August 2nd, October 23rd. While 'The Counselor' won't be seen this summer, the other two will be! That leaves my list now at:
Monsters University (out, but not in theatres any more)
World War Z (out, but not in theatres any more)
2 Guns (August 2nd)
Elysium (August 9th)
Paranoia (August 16th)
The World's End (August 23rd)
I'm quite excited to see these films; they all look awesome. woo movies!
Friday, August 2, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
summer 2013 movies update pt 3 - G.I.JOE edition
In an update to my summer blogging of movies, I saw G.I.JOE Retaliation tonight. To begin with a brief backstory: I went to go see 'Rise of Cobra' in theatres, the day after it was released. I loved the G.I.JOE cartoon growing up, and I have the action figures. I may not have been raised in the 80s (missed out on being an 80s kid by 22 days, in fact), but thanks to my cousins who were, I have a massive love for all things Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Transformers, Diehard (and other action movies of its ilk), and, of course, G.I.JOE.
My favourite character, by far, is Cobra Commander. In the cartoons, he was kind of like Dr. Claw, and more or less every bumbling supervillain of cartoons; menacing, but no real threat that he would ever really succeed. I mean, come on, it's a kid's tv show. But, nonetheless, he was awesome, crazy bad guy though he was.
Fast forward to the 'Rise of Cobra' movie of a few years ago, and I was just so sad at how bad it was. Pretty much everything about it was bad. The casting wasn't terrible, but I mean, casting Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander, and then messing up his voice AND his iconic costume? That's a terrible offence. At least Zartan and Destro were entertaining, but that was a consolation. I think the only good part about that first movie was Ray Park as Snake Eyes, which was awesome because of his outfit and the fact that he HAS NO DIALOGUE. Park does have experience in that regard, seeing as how Darth Maul has so little of it, but whatever. He's awesome (I met him, shook his hand and everything. Such a nice dude).
'Retaliation' fixed all of those problems. Firstly, the Rock (Dwayne Johnson) was Roadblock, Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye, some dude as Flint, Ray Stevenson as Firefly, Ray Park back as Snake Eyes, and Bruce Willis as General Joe Colton (the original Joe). The cast was much better...and, let me say, it's not as if Channing Tatum was a bad Duke. He wasn't. It just was that he was surrounding by so much bad. Though Sienna Miller as the Baroness...um, yes please.
Anyway, the movie was great. As usual, it was a lot of explosions, gunfights, and action, and it was great. They even did up Cobra Commander right, which I loved. The plots of these things are always so crazy, and the bit about the Zeus satellites and having everyone blow up their nuclear armaments was a bit much, but at the end of the day, I chuckled and enjoyed myself. By the way, the scene where Snake Eyes and Jinx fight a legion of enemy ninjas while flying around on cables on the side of a mountain. Fantastic.
8/10
My favourite character, by far, is Cobra Commander. In the cartoons, he was kind of like Dr. Claw, and more or less every bumbling supervillain of cartoons; menacing, but no real threat that he would ever really succeed. I mean, come on, it's a kid's tv show. But, nonetheless, he was awesome, crazy bad guy though he was.
Fast forward to the 'Rise of Cobra' movie of a few years ago, and I was just so sad at how bad it was. Pretty much everything about it was bad. The casting wasn't terrible, but I mean, casting Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander, and then messing up his voice AND his iconic costume? That's a terrible offence. At least Zartan and Destro were entertaining, but that was a consolation. I think the only good part about that first movie was Ray Park as Snake Eyes, which was awesome because of his outfit and the fact that he HAS NO DIALOGUE. Park does have experience in that regard, seeing as how Darth Maul has so little of it, but whatever. He's awesome (I met him, shook his hand and everything. Such a nice dude).
'Retaliation' fixed all of those problems. Firstly, the Rock (Dwayne Johnson) was Roadblock, Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye, some dude as Flint, Ray Stevenson as Firefly, Ray Park back as Snake Eyes, and Bruce Willis as General Joe Colton (the original Joe). The cast was much better...and, let me say, it's not as if Channing Tatum was a bad Duke. He wasn't. It just was that he was surrounding by so much bad. Though Sienna Miller as the Baroness...um, yes please.
Anyway, the movie was great. As usual, it was a lot of explosions, gunfights, and action, and it was great. They even did up Cobra Commander right, which I loved. The plots of these things are always so crazy, and the bit about the Zeus satellites and having everyone blow up their nuclear armaments was a bit much, but at the end of the day, I chuckled and enjoyed myself. By the way, the scene where Snake Eyes and Jinx fight a legion of enemy ninjas while flying around on cables on the side of a mountain. Fantastic.
8/10
Sunday, July 14, 2013
summer 2013 movies update pt 2
So, since my last post, I've knocked two movies off my list: 'This Is The End' and 'Pacific Rim'. The two movies were so wildly different, and they were just so much fun, in their own ways.
This Is The End
This movie was hilarious. I can instantly see why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but after an amusing intro where Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen talk about gluten and what it is, the movie is quickly set up, and also quickly devolves into something crazy. The Apocalypse (with a capital A) of Biblical proportions strikes the Earth, and the protagonists quickly engage in the hilarity. It's not as inane as one might think, with all these guys who clearly know each other in real life, as it's pretty funny and clever at points. The dialogue is great, and the actors are well chosen. It has a fairly predictable ending, but, what are you gonna do, it's still funny, and I personally thought the last few minutes of the movie were AWESOME. If a 6 is a solidly average score, then a 7.5, to me, is above average. Not fantastic, but this movie was funny enough to keep me entertaining for an hour and forty five minutes, or thereabouts.
7.5/10
Pacific Rim
This is the movie I had been anticipating for quite some time. I went with my friend Matteo, and the two of us saw it in glorious IMAX 3D. Let me tell you, it was worth every penny. The plot was thin, yes. The acting wasn't particularly amazing, no. But, honestly? WHO CARES. I got to see building-sized creatures pick up building-sized robots and toss them around Hong Kong, through the upper atmosphere, in Alaska, and underwater. There were some absolutely amazing fights, and unlike the mess that is Transformers, I could actually tell what was going on during the fight scenes. Like I mentioned, the acting wasn't particularly noteworthy, no. Idris Elba was pretty awesome, though, and Burn Gorman along with Charlie Day were hilarious as the two scientists. Everyone else was kind of 'meh', though really, it doesn't matter. You don't go to see humans talk to each other. You go to see giant robots beat up giant monsters, and on that front, it delivered and then some. The IMAX 3D really is the only way to go; this is one of the few movies that I've wanted to see solely in 3D, and definitely was made for the format. Not all movies are, of course, and few actually justify using it, but this is a rare exception. I had a blast watching this movie, and I can definitely see myself going back again to watch it in theatres. This was easily the most entertaining movie of the summer thus far for me, and the score has to reflect that, on my end.
9/10
This Is The End
This movie was hilarious. I can instantly see why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but after an amusing intro where Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen talk about gluten and what it is, the movie is quickly set up, and also quickly devolves into something crazy. The Apocalypse (with a capital A) of Biblical proportions strikes the Earth, and the protagonists quickly engage in the hilarity. It's not as inane as one might think, with all these guys who clearly know each other in real life, as it's pretty funny and clever at points. The dialogue is great, and the actors are well chosen. It has a fairly predictable ending, but, what are you gonna do, it's still funny, and I personally thought the last few minutes of the movie were AWESOME. If a 6 is a solidly average score, then a 7.5, to me, is above average. Not fantastic, but this movie was funny enough to keep me entertaining for an hour and forty five minutes, or thereabouts.
7.5/10
Pacific Rim
This is the movie I had been anticipating for quite some time. I went with my friend Matteo, and the two of us saw it in glorious IMAX 3D. Let me tell you, it was worth every penny. The plot was thin, yes. The acting wasn't particularly amazing, no. But, honestly? WHO CARES. I got to see building-sized creatures pick up building-sized robots and toss them around Hong Kong, through the upper atmosphere, in Alaska, and underwater. There were some absolutely amazing fights, and unlike the mess that is Transformers, I could actually tell what was going on during the fight scenes. Like I mentioned, the acting wasn't particularly noteworthy, no. Idris Elba was pretty awesome, though, and Burn Gorman along with Charlie Day were hilarious as the two scientists. Everyone else was kind of 'meh', though really, it doesn't matter. You don't go to see humans talk to each other. You go to see giant robots beat up giant monsters, and on that front, it delivered and then some. The IMAX 3D really is the only way to go; this is one of the few movies that I've wanted to see solely in 3D, and definitely was made for the format. Not all movies are, of course, and few actually justify using it, but this is a rare exception. I had a blast watching this movie, and I can definitely see myself going back again to watch it in theatres. This was easily the most entertaining movie of the summer thus far for me, and the score has to reflect that, on my end.
9/10
Thursday, July 11, 2013
summer 2013 movies update
Several months ago, I blogged about a list of movies that I
wanted to see this summer, and as usual, I like to keep track of how many I’ve
actually gone to see. Now that we are in mid-July, I’ve seen a bunch of them. ‘Iron
Man 3’, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, ‘Fast and Furious 6’, and ‘Man of Steel’ all
have earned some revenue from me (actually, ‘Man of Steel’ earned it twice,
since I saw it on opening weekend, and then took my mom and dad to see it a few
weeks later). I’ve declined to see ‘Oblivion’, upon hearing awful reviews from
pretty much everyone, and I figure I’ll see ‘The Great Gatsby’ right before it
inevitably gets nominated for a bunch of costume Oscars. ‘After Earth’ also
will probably be a home rental, after learning that good ol’ M. Night was its
director. That leaves the following movies that are currently out in theatres:
This Is The End
Monsters University
World War Z
Despicable Me 2
The Lone Ranger
I definitely
want to see the first four, and indeed, already have plans to see ‘Despicable
Me 2’ with my girlfriend in a few weeks. ‘The Lone Ranger’, after its abysmal
reviews, is probably never going to get seen by me, honestly. I just don’t
truly care about it, and they seemed to have changed everything about the
original TV show (which I’ve only seen once, but still).
Apart from
that, I have my tickets to see ‘Pacific Rim’ in glorious IMAX, and it will be
awesome, even if my friends are complaining that they don’t understand the hype
behind it. At least *one* of my friends will man up enough to see it with me,
and frankly, the two of us will thoroughly enjoy ourselves, I’m sure. I also
have my tickets to see ‘The Wolverine’ (advance screening at 10pm the night
before!) with my little brother, who is turning 15 this year. This is (part) of
my birthday present to him, so I hope he enjoys it. We went to go see ‘Thor’ at
midnight when it came out a few years ago, so I know he at least appreciates
this kind of thing.
Iron Man 3
In
terms of a small review, it would probably get an 8.5/10 from me. It was solidly
entertaining, and moved the story forward. Some people didn’t like it, because
there wasn’t enough ‘Iron Man’, and more ‘Tony Stark’, if that makes sense.
What the story drove home, however, was the fact that Tony *is* Iron man, as
his words at the end of the first movie say outright. There is no Iron Man
without Tony Stark, but Tony Stark can exist without Iron Man. Truthfully, the
two co-exist now, and IM is as much a part of Stark’s psyche as anything else,
though that doesn’t mean he needs the armour. As a result, we saw far more of Robert
Downey Jr. outside the suit than in any other movie, but I think it pushed his
character in better ways. Not too much set up for ‘The Avengers 2’, though I
expect ‘Thor: The Dark World’ and ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ to do
that later this year/early next year.
Star Trek
Into Darkness
It was fun too. I really enjoyed the action set pieces and everything
that went along, though the scope of the movie was far less grand. The first
one was all about literally saving Earth, whereas this one was more on the
scope of a manhunt. We meet the Klingons, briefly, and Benedict Cumberbatch is
fun as the chief villain. I dunno, there doesn’t seem to be much to say here.
It was alright, and it was fun, and that was that. 7/10
Fast and
Furious 6
Now this was a *ton* of fun, however. This movie just rocked and rolled all
over the place, with things that blew up, and fast cars, and all that nonsense.
And, truly, I loved it! Those kinds of movies appeal to me, where you can just
turn your brain off and have fun. The Rock was great again, and there were some
fun twists along the way. I don’t know that I’d rate it over ‘Fast 5’, but it
comes close, that’s for sure. The after-credits scene definitely sets the movie
up in a way for the future that I love, mainly because of the actor who
appears. Hilariously awesome. I’d go with a 8.5/10.
Man of Steel
It was everything I had hoped a Superman movie would be, and
finally, they made good ol’ Kal-El seem relatable. With a superhero who is
basically a god, that’s kind of important, I think. We also got an extended
look at Krypton, which was fantastic. Seriously, it could have been a scene
right out of a Star Wars movie, and it would have been fine. Russell Crowe was
great as Jor-El, Superman’s dad, and Kevin Costner/Diane Lane were great as Mr.
and Mrs. Kent. Did you know Diane Lane and I share a birthday? The more you
know. Anyway, Michael Shannon was a fantastic General Zod, appropriately scary,
and even though the movie decision with him at the end happened, I can
understand it, despite some people going ‘whaaat?!’. Oh, and of course, Amy
Adams was a great Lois Lane. Yeah, I know, not much description of their roles
and portrayals, but I’m doing abbreviated reviews. I did like that they showed
the damage that Metropolis (modeled after Toronto, for those who did not know that)
took in the battle, as a good amount of things were destroyed in the battle
with Superman vs. Zod and co. Superhero movies tend to gloss over stuff like
that, so I appreciated it, even if the destruction was absolutely massive.
Regardless, ‘Man of Steel’ was a fun ride, so I’d say 8/10 as well.
I also have
seen both Olympus Has Fallen and A Good Day to Die Hard; the former I saw
in theatres when it was out, the latter I saw at home. ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ was
awesome; it was action packed, Gerard Butler is awesome (and is a bonafide
action movie star. Seriously, he needs more movies like that one again), and it
just had gratuitous violence everywhere. I’d seriously give it a 8.5/10,
putting it on the same level as IM3 and Fast 6. On the other hand, while I
*love* the Diehard movies (first one is the best), this latest iteration
sucked. It was terrible. Please don’t waste money seeing it. Not even the
famous ‘Yippee Ki-yay’ line could save it. It was probably a 3/10, if not
worse.
Anyway, next
up in my movie docket were the ones listed above:
This Is The End (in theatres)
Monsters University
World War Z
Despicable Me 2
Pacific Rim (out this weekend)
Red 2 (July 19th)
The Wolverine (July 26th)
Elysium (August)
The World’s End (August)
Movies! Wooo!
Monday, April 29, 2013
summer 2013 movies!
As everyone knows, I love movies. Here are the ones I'm looking forward to, as the summer movie season starts to take shape:
Oblivion (out already)
GI Joe: Retaliation (out already)
Iron Man 3 (May 3rd)
The Great Gatsby (May 10th)
Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17th)
Fast and Furious 6 (May 24th)
After Earth (May 31st)
This Is The End (June 12th)
Man of Steel (June 14th)
Monsters University (June 21st)
World War Z (June 21st)
Despicable Me 2 (July 3rd)
The Lone Ranger (July 3rd)
Pacific Rim (July 12th)
Red 2 (July 19th)
The Wolverine (July 26th)
Elysium (August 9th)
The World's End (August 23rd)
That is a ridiculous list of movies. I've already gotten my midnight tickets to Iron Man 3, and really, I think the only other movie I'm considering midnight release for is 'Man of Steel', and MAYBE 'The Wolverine'. Everything else can wait, but then again, the wonders of UltraAVX tickets (which essentially take away having to wait in line) lets me pretty much watch it when my schedule permits. Hopefully, come September, I'll be able to say I've seen all of these!
The movie industry really does get a lot of $$ from me :P
Oblivion (out already)
GI Joe: Retaliation (out already)
Iron Man 3 (May 3rd)
The Great Gatsby (May 10th)
Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17th)
Fast and Furious 6 (May 24th)
After Earth (May 31st)
This Is The End (June 12th)
Man of Steel (June 14th)
Monsters University (June 21st)
World War Z (June 21st)
Despicable Me 2 (July 3rd)
The Lone Ranger (July 3rd)
Pacific Rim (July 12th)
Red 2 (July 19th)
The Wolverine (July 26th)
Elysium (August 9th)
The World's End (August 23rd)
That is a ridiculous list of movies. I've already gotten my midnight tickets to Iron Man 3, and really, I think the only other movie I'm considering midnight release for is 'Man of Steel', and MAYBE 'The Wolverine'. Everything else can wait, but then again, the wonders of UltraAVX tickets (which essentially take away having to wait in line) lets me pretty much watch it when my schedule permits. Hopefully, come September, I'll be able to say I've seen all of these!
The movie industry really does get a lot of $$ from me :P
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Thanks, U of T
Again, no one really reads this blog, and I have found the experience of writing to be cathartic in the past. I'm not 100% sure it'll help in this case, but why not, yeah?
Last night, I learned that the 2013 Gordon Cressy Leadership Awards had finally been announced, with the list of recipients put up online. I nominated some people, my girlfriend included, and I was asked to be nominated by one of my friends who has since graduated. In what must certainly be some sort of karma that is being exercised upon me, several of my close friends who were nominated won, and I did not.
I always find these kinds of things annoying, mainly because sure, I'm a little arrogant, and I believe that I deserve it. It just always makes me even more upset when I see people who win who, in my honest opinion, deserve them just as much as I do, or in some cases, far less than I do. Perhaps people think this about me, with my own awards, and perhaps I should "just be happy" with what I have, and maybe that's true. But when people win these things, and they have put in literally half the work I have put in, over my undergrad, I feel slighted and wronged. Are they saying that I am less of a "leader" (whatever that means) than these other people, because U of T did not see fit to grant me an award, but over a hundred people got one instead? Are they saying my work is less important than some of these other people (despite the fact that I have done the *exact* jobs that some of these other winners have done, and MORE on top, to boot)? Are they saying that my 40+ hour work weeks for the past year simply don't mean anything? Apparently, the answers to those questions are all "yes".
So, thanks, U of T, for making me feel insignificant, unimportant, and crappy one last time before my undergraduate is completed. It's not enough that at Convocation, you're treated like a second-class citizen if you don't have high distinction (or even distinction at all). It's not enough that the Departments here (such as the Department of English, which has perhaps the worst undergraduate counselor in the history of this university) are so unhelpful that they seem to actively ignore or block you from doing what is required to graduate. It's not enough that the Dean's Office only have administrative interests at heart. It's not enough that my own college engenders elitism and snobbery by creating a program for first years that deliberately provides them with more resources and activities than other people. Nope, all of those things were not enough, so you had to go and take an award away from me that I deserved. On top of that, you gave it to (some; the person *I* nominated, as uppity as that sounds, definitely deserved it) people who were less deserving, people who had done less than I.
Thanks, U of T. I have never been so ready to graduate, and to never come back here for education for the rest of my life.
P.S. If I ever become rich enough to donate money, U of T, this is the last place on Earth that money will ever go. Just so you know.
So, thanks, U of T, for making me feel insignificant, unimportant, and crappy one last time before my undergraduate is completed. It's not enough that at Convocation, you're treated like a second-class citizen if you don't have high distinction (or even distinction at all). It's not enough that the Departments here (such as the Department of English, which has perhaps the worst undergraduate counselor in the history of this university) are so unhelpful that they seem to actively ignore or block you from doing what is required to graduate. It's not enough that the Dean's Office only have administrative interests at heart. It's not enough that my own college engenders elitism and snobbery by creating a program for first years that deliberately provides them with more resources and activities than other people. Nope, all of those things were not enough, so you had to go and take an award away from me that I deserved. On top of that, you gave it to (some; the person *I* nominated, as uppity as that sounds, definitely deserved it) people who were less deserving, people who had done less than I.
Thanks, U of T. I have never been so ready to graduate, and to never come back here for education for the rest of my life.
P.S. If I ever become rich enough to donate money, U of T, this is the last place on Earth that money will ever go. Just so you know.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Oscars 2013 Follow-Up
Just for posterity, gotta post my correct predictions:
Best Picture: Argo
Best Director: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln (wrong)
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln (wrong)
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Best Animated Picture: Brave
Best Adapted Screenplay: Argo
Best Original Screenplay: Moonrise Kingdom (wrong)
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Best Original Score: Life of Pi
Best Original Song: Adele, Skyfall
Best Makeup/Hairstyling: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (wrong)
Best Foreign Film: Amour
Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Best Production Design: Anna Karenina
Best Film Editing: Argo
Best Animated Short: Paperman
Best Sound Editing: Skyfall
Best Sound Mixing: Les Miserables
Best Documentary: Searching for Sugar Man
Best Documentary Short: Mondays at Racine (wrong)
Best Live Action Short: Curfew
So, I got five wrong, for a total of 19/24 correct ones. I think that's a new personal best for me!
Best Picture: Argo
Best Director: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln (wrong)
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln (wrong)
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Best Animated Picture: Brave
Best Adapted Screenplay: Argo
Best Original Screenplay: Moonrise Kingdom (wrong)
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Best Original Score: Life of Pi
Best Original Song: Adele, Skyfall
Best Makeup/Hairstyling: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (wrong)
Best Foreign Film: Amour
Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Best Production Design: Anna Karenina
Best Film Editing: Argo
Best Animated Short: Paperman
Best Sound Editing: Skyfall
Best Sound Mixing: Les Miserables
Best Documentary: Searching for Sugar Man
Best Documentary Short: Mondays at Racine (wrong)
Best Live Action Short: Curfew
So, I got five wrong, for a total of 19/24 correct ones. I think that's a new personal best for me!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Oscars 2013
I actually can't believe I almost forgot to make my yearly Oscar predictions. Even though no one reads this blog, I like keeping track of it, for my own sake.
So, without further ado, my predictions (just in time before the show later tonight):
Best Picture: Argo (I really hope Zero Dark Thirty doesn't win. It's basically The Hurt Locker. Come on, Bigelow, make some new movies.)
Best Director: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Best Animated Picture: Brave (though, as I mentioned in one of my previous tweets, I think Wreck-It Ralph deserves it far more)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Argo (Ben Affleck probably loves these awards)
Best Original Screenplay: Moonrise Kingdom
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi (though I'm sure people will be upset if the Hobbit or Avengers doesn't win....and while I would like Avengers to win, it probs won't)
Best Original Score: Life of Pi (I haven't actually seen Life of Pi, but I'm just going off of the other awards all these things have been nominated for)
Best Original Song: Adele, Skyfall (SKYFAAAAAAAALL)
Best Makeup/Hairstyling: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (though, if Les Mis wins, I also won't be surprised)
Best Foreign Film: Amour (come on. It was nominated for Best Picture, so it better at least win Best Foreign Film)
After this point, for me, it's a crapshoot. But, still, predictions!
Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Best Production Design: Anna Karenina
Best Film Editing: Argo
Best Animated Short: Paperman (it was so awesome!)
Best Sound Editing: Skyfall
Best Sound Mixing: Les Miserables
Best Documentary: Searching for Sugar Man
Best Documentary Short: Mondays at Racine
Best Live Action Short: Curfew
So, without further ado, my predictions (just in time before the show later tonight):
Best Picture: Argo (I really hope Zero Dark Thirty doesn't win. It's basically The Hurt Locker. Come on, Bigelow, make some new movies.)
Best Director: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Best Animated Picture: Brave (though, as I mentioned in one of my previous tweets, I think Wreck-It Ralph deserves it far more)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Argo (Ben Affleck probably loves these awards)
Best Original Screenplay: Moonrise Kingdom
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi (though I'm sure people will be upset if the Hobbit or Avengers doesn't win....and while I would like Avengers to win, it probs won't)
Best Original Score: Life of Pi (I haven't actually seen Life of Pi, but I'm just going off of the other awards all these things have been nominated for)
Best Original Song: Adele, Skyfall (SKYFAAAAAAAALL)
Best Makeup/Hairstyling: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (though, if Les Mis wins, I also won't be surprised)
Best Foreign Film: Amour (come on. It was nominated for Best Picture, so it better at least win Best Foreign Film)
After this point, for me, it's a crapshoot. But, still, predictions!
Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Best Production Design: Anna Karenina
Best Film Editing: Argo
Best Animated Short: Paperman (it was so awesome!)
Best Sound Editing: Skyfall
Best Sound Mixing: Les Miserables
Best Documentary: Searching for Sugar Man
Best Documentary Short: Mondays at Racine
Best Live Action Short: Curfew
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
the light at the end of the tunnel
After seeing 'The Hobbit' over the last few months (which I haven't reviewed! oh god my movie reviews have been lacking...guess I'll go queue up a post after this), and watching 'Return of the King' recently as well, I almost want to title my graduation post 'there and back again'...but something tells me that'll be reserved for 'The Hobbit'.
Anyway, graduating. Honestly, no one reads my blog, so it almost serves as a sort of journal of sorts, which is kind of cool, I guess, for me. I don't get to do a lot of creative writing, or more specifically, writing that has not been tied down to a certain subject. Indeed, over the past 4.5 (soon to be 5) years of university, I find that this blog (along with the various internet forums I post on, is one of my few solaces. I kind of wanted to chronicle my university career in this post, only because I always find myself remembering things that I did, or participated in, and I find myself astonished at the things I have done. I'm a talkative person, and I like doing new things, but even I couldn't have guessed that over the course of 5 years, I would have done all these things.
In first year (08-09), I was the VOCA first year rep...and that was it, really. After that, though, one thing led to another, and I found myself in an avalanche of things. In second year (09-10), I was the VUSAC Finance Chair, again part of VOCA, and in the summer of 2010, I was on the Orientation Executive 2010. In third year (10-11), I was a VUSAC Member-At-Large, the VCDS Finance Chair, on VOCA again, and I hosted (with a friend of mine) the Battle of the Bands as well as the Environmental Week Fashion Show. During the summer of 2011, I was on the Orientation Executive 2011, and also a part of UofT's Festival of Dance, something crazy and incredible, and performed a dance with three friends to the tunes of Michael Jackson's 'Smooth Criminal'. In fourth year (11-12), I was again on VUSAC as the Vice President External (something which I spoke about a LOT on this very blog back then), and was one of the Student Life Ambassadors for the Office of Student Life at UofT. In the summer of 2012, I was one of two Orientation Student Co-Chairs, and was also a co-host of 'Beyond the Classroom', a show about extracurricular involvement for UofT's radio station, CIUT.fm. In fifth year (12-13), which is now, I am the President of VUSAC (a long road here), I work for the Office of Student Life (the Leadership Development Office, to be more specific) as a work-study student, and I also work for the Division of Engineering Science as a Student Experience Assistant. Being the President also means being a part of the Victoria University Senate, the Victoria College Council, and the Board of Regents, all of which are pretty large responsibilities.
Again, because no one reads this blog, this isn't me preening to my imagined audience...no, it's more of a reflection over my undergraduate career. I also don't know why I'm writing it as if someone other than me is reading it, but there you go, neuroses for you.
I think the Festival of Dance was the thing I was most uncomfortable with, and even to this day, I have not rewatched that dance. I am incredibly proud of myself and of the other three people I did that with, all of whom I consider friends, but I just get super self-conscious when I see that video, and so I've never watched it ever. That's probably for the best.
In some weird way, I can't even believe that first year was way back in 2008. It's now 2013! That was five years ago. A lot has happened in five years, and not just the stuff I was going on about earlier in this post. I definitely branched out a lot, from just student government, to a whole host of things, including the drama society, dancing in front of huge audiences, hosting large events, becoming a radio host, and using Twitter for a job. Despite the fact that every single one of those things probably caused me a bit of stress at any given point, I would not change a single thing. All of those experiences have shaped me as I am right now, and have helped me figure about things about myself that I view as more important.
I don't have a 4.0 GPA, no, but then again, that was never a priority of mine. Grad school was something I worked towards in first and second year, and then it just became something far more abstract, once I realized that further academics were not something I particularly cared for. Maybe it was the level of pretentious-ness in my classes? Maybe it was the mere fact that a lot of the readings and case studies I did for English and Political Science were just too dense for me to care? Maybe I simply didn't care what Margaret Atwood was inferring when she wrote about the river in the book 'Surfacing' (personally, I don't think she was inferring anything, I think it was just over-zealous professors, scholars, and students reading too much into it), but dayum, school quickly became secondary to all these other wonderful things that I saw and did.
That's not to say I will never go to grad school. The London School of Economics has a method of getting a law degree that I find appealing at the moment, and I have always wanted to write the LSAT. Perhaps after further research into LSE as well as the LSAT then I will make my decision.
But, graduation. It's more or less the end of January now, I'm 23, and there is approximately two months of class left. Then, I am done my undergrad FOREVER. Can't say I'll miss the essays, exams, tests and endless hours of lectures...but I'll definitely miss all the other stuff. One good thing about graduating is that I made a whole ton of friends. I didn't touch on that now because it's a huge topic, and not one that can be given justice tacked on at the end of a post. But, thankfully, a lot of those people will be my friends forever (along with my Scarborough friends), and I'm excited to see what lies beyond, with them (and Savannah, who is awesome. She's another post, but again, not going to do her justice at the end, so that's for later).
Anyway, graduating. Honestly, no one reads my blog, so it almost serves as a sort of journal of sorts, which is kind of cool, I guess, for me. I don't get to do a lot of creative writing, or more specifically, writing that has not been tied down to a certain subject. Indeed, over the past 4.5 (soon to be 5) years of university, I find that this blog (along with the various internet forums I post on, is one of my few solaces. I kind of wanted to chronicle my university career in this post, only because I always find myself remembering things that I did, or participated in, and I find myself astonished at the things I have done. I'm a talkative person, and I like doing new things, but even I couldn't have guessed that over the course of 5 years, I would have done all these things.
In first year (08-09), I was the VOCA first year rep...and that was it, really. After that, though, one thing led to another, and I found myself in an avalanche of things. In second year (09-10), I was the VUSAC Finance Chair, again part of VOCA, and in the summer of 2010, I was on the Orientation Executive 2010. In third year (10-11), I was a VUSAC Member-At-Large, the VCDS Finance Chair, on VOCA again, and I hosted (with a friend of mine) the Battle of the Bands as well as the Environmental Week Fashion Show. During the summer of 2011, I was on the Orientation Executive 2011, and also a part of UofT's Festival of Dance, something crazy and incredible, and performed a dance with three friends to the tunes of Michael Jackson's 'Smooth Criminal'. In fourth year (11-12), I was again on VUSAC as the Vice President External (something which I spoke about a LOT on this very blog back then), and was one of the Student Life Ambassadors for the Office of Student Life at UofT. In the summer of 2012, I was one of two Orientation Student Co-Chairs, and was also a co-host of 'Beyond the Classroom', a show about extracurricular involvement for UofT's radio station, CIUT.fm. In fifth year (12-13), which is now, I am the President of VUSAC (a long road here), I work for the Office of Student Life (the Leadership Development Office, to be more specific) as a work-study student, and I also work for the Division of Engineering Science as a Student Experience Assistant. Being the President also means being a part of the Victoria University Senate, the Victoria College Council, and the Board of Regents, all of which are pretty large responsibilities.
Again, because no one reads this blog, this isn't me preening to my imagined audience...no, it's more of a reflection over my undergraduate career. I also don't know why I'm writing it as if someone other than me is reading it, but there you go, neuroses for you.
I think the Festival of Dance was the thing I was most uncomfortable with, and even to this day, I have not rewatched that dance. I am incredibly proud of myself and of the other three people I did that with, all of whom I consider friends, but I just get super self-conscious when I see that video, and so I've never watched it ever. That's probably for the best.
In some weird way, I can't even believe that first year was way back in 2008. It's now 2013! That was five years ago. A lot has happened in five years, and not just the stuff I was going on about earlier in this post. I definitely branched out a lot, from just student government, to a whole host of things, including the drama society, dancing in front of huge audiences, hosting large events, becoming a radio host, and using Twitter for a job. Despite the fact that every single one of those things probably caused me a bit of stress at any given point, I would not change a single thing. All of those experiences have shaped me as I am right now, and have helped me figure about things about myself that I view as more important.
I don't have a 4.0 GPA, no, but then again, that was never a priority of mine. Grad school was something I worked towards in first and second year, and then it just became something far more abstract, once I realized that further academics were not something I particularly cared for. Maybe it was the level of pretentious-ness in my classes? Maybe it was the mere fact that a lot of the readings and case studies I did for English and Political Science were just too dense for me to care? Maybe I simply didn't care what Margaret Atwood was inferring when she wrote about the river in the book 'Surfacing' (personally, I don't think she was inferring anything, I think it was just over-zealous professors, scholars, and students reading too much into it), but dayum, school quickly became secondary to all these other wonderful things that I saw and did.
That's not to say I will never go to grad school. The London School of Economics has a method of getting a law degree that I find appealing at the moment, and I have always wanted to write the LSAT. Perhaps after further research into LSE as well as the LSAT then I will make my decision.
But, graduation. It's more or less the end of January now, I'm 23, and there is approximately two months of class left. Then, I am done my undergrad FOREVER. Can't say I'll miss the essays, exams, tests and endless hours of lectures...but I'll definitely miss all the other stuff. One good thing about graduating is that I made a whole ton of friends. I didn't touch on that now because it's a huge topic, and not one that can be given justice tacked on at the end of a post. But, thankfully, a lot of those people will be my friends forever (along with my Scarborough friends), and I'm excited to see what lies beyond, with them (and Savannah, who is awesome. She's another post, but again, not going to do her justice at the end, so that's for later).
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