me and earl and the dying girl. jesse andrews. (277)

i picked up me, and earl, and the dying girl, because there will be a panel about the movie based on it at bookcon.  but unlike the other ya novels that i have read for bookcon, i absolutely adored this one.  and if you are going to watch a movie based on a ya novel this summer, make it this one!  screw paper towns!  team me, and earl, and the dying girl!  i have to add that the movie did really well at sundance and nick offerman is in it!

so the novel.  i feel like i have read something with a similar premise or maybe saw a movie (?), but basically this novel is an admission letter by greg gaines (the me in the title) to explain why his grades went south his senior year of high school.  i love that novel ended with greg saying that he would not turn this book into a novel, but maybe that was jesse andrews way of saying that he wanted it to become a movie.  lol

i don't know what to write, other than you need to read it.  its a ya novel, so it shouldn't take you long.  and its sweet without being sappy.  i also loved the realness of the characters.  earl grew up in a troubled home with gangster brothers.  greg is a bit of a dick.  these kids are not goody two shoes but regular teens.  i also admired how it was very realistic with its dealing of leukemia.  i, for one, appreciated "the moron's guide to leukemia", because you always read about it, but never really know what it is.  also i loved that greg didn't know how to comfort rachel (the dying girl) except to make her laugh, because most of the times we don't know what to do in those situation.  it was nice to see greg struggle with that instead of always saying the right thing.  i know i for one am always lost for the right words though my heart is filled with good intentions.  greg struggling to comfort rachel was refreshing, he's a teenage boy, what does he know about death?

though i will add that i was shocked how abruptly rachel died, but i guess that is how it is.  also her death wasn't stretched out but the again, this was greg's story, not hers.  and like novel warned us, this wasn't like other books that deal with cancer and teens.

and of course, i loved their movies!  i did have to look up most of them online. i have to admit that i have no desire to see aguirre, the warth of god that did not look interesting to me, but to each his own.  this part of the novel reminded me of michel gondry's  be kind rewind.  as i read about their remakes, i had visions of mos def and jack black remaking movies. 

i also loved the different forms of writing that andrews used, ie the stage directions and dialogue, the bullet points in that one chapter.

i really enjoyed this book and wish that it was around in high school.  and out of all the ya novels i read for bookcon, i have to say this may have been the best.

the producers. young frankenstein. a history of the world part 1.melbrooks.

i was channel surfing one day and came across a show honoring mel brooks. as i watched, i realized i had never seen a mel brooks movie! i know outrageous!! my facebook friends were outraged.  i decided to check out some of his films from the library and play catch up on life. i must add that i enjoyed all of them, though they didn't make me laugh out loud the whole time, i did appreciate the humor.  also loved seeing so many older actors young.  and last but not least, i was definitely scared of gene wilder as a kid thanks to "willy wonka" but thanks to these movies discovered, he truly is amazing!!

"the producers"- i found it great though a little sad how he hustled the old ladies.  and seriously L.S.D. as hitler, hey man, seriously so funny, really cool, baby, really hilarious, man.  lol. loved him. i would totally go see the musical, "springtime for hitler", i mean the theme song was so catchy!! i also about died when they did the swastika formation on stage. so clever yet so horrible at the same time.

also random note but the nazi playwright was the voice of king triton in "the little mermaid"!

"young frankenstein"-  i thought gene wilder was amazing!  loved his instance on the correct pronunciation of "frankenstein".  but who really stole the show was igor, marty feldman!!! i got was my favorite with his "walk this way" and jokes about his eyes.  his dirty jokes were the best too.  i also loved that cloris leachman was in it, love her, though her character was minor.  i will admit that i missed it but thanks to imdb discovered that gene hackman played the blind man!  i will add i did appreciate the allusion to the blind man in the book.  i was also not expecting the "puttin' on the ritz"

performance with the monster, his singing was superb!  lol.  and all of the jokes about the monster's privacy were too much.  

"the history of the world part 1"-  i was shocked by how x-rated this movie was, i mean some of the jokes!  loved that it opened with a 2001 parody though the humping primates got gross.  but i was impressed by how edgy it was!  the joke about the homo sapiens wedding followed by the homosexual homo sapiens wedding was great, also nice to see that cavemen were so tolerant. gregory hines was great.  i couldn't believe he rolled a huge joint to escape the romans!  but my favorite was the inquisition musical number, such bad yet catchy songs!! i mean seeing the jews being tortured was horrible but that is how it went.  also the esther williams-esque number and sparkler helmets for the menorah! amazing!!!!  it was great but will add i did get bored during the french revolution but other than that great!

the killing.

currently, the lacma has a stanley kubrick exhibit.  i heard it's amazing but i haven't seen it, the reason being that i haven't seen all of his films.  i've seen "the shining", "a clockwork orange", "full metal jacket" and "dr. strangelove" but figured the exhibit would be pointless if i haven't seen them all.  now i am on a personal mission to see all of his films before the end of june (when the exhibit closes). 

to start my mission, i typed "stanley kubrick" into the catalog search engine and "the killing" was one of the first to come up, so i decided to check it out.  i wasn't sure what to expect.  considering the "ultra violence" of kubrick's films i have seen, i imagined that this movie was going to be quite gruesome.  but in fact it wasn't.  without giving too much away, there is some killing but nothing horrible.

"the killing" is the story of johnny clay, who is fresh out of jail and planning a heist.  sounds like "ocean's 11", the premises are the same but this is darker and better, but with less attractive men of course.  johnny plans on stealing money at the peak of a pony race.  i know, a pony race?  but he got 1.2 million which back in 1953 was a lot of dough.  the movie is how the heist goes down.  i don't want to ruin it for those of you who haven't seen it but let's say the ending was surprising, great, very clever and well done.

at the risk of sounding dumb, at first i thought the movie was a nod to the noir films of the 50's, kinda like "chinatown".  i loved that it was in black and white and the narrator's voice was perfect, very gumshoey.  however, it turns out that kubrick made movies for a time and that "the killing" was made in 1953.  and though i'm not an expert, it seems to embody film noir perfectly.  i took a history of los angeles course at ucla and film noir was covered in it. from what i can remember, film noir always has a femme fatale.  "the killing" continued with this traditon of women as evil, the heist goes awry because of woman, (played by marie windsor, who i thought was perfect and lovely).  

the dialogue and narrator definitely gave it that gumshoe, film noir vibe.  it was quick paced and clever and filled with great lines.

my favorites:

johnny to sherry: "you like money.  you've got a great big dollar sign there where most women have a heart."

sherry:  "it isn't fair. i never had anybody but you. mot a real husband. not even a man. just a bad joke without a punch line."

the film is really well done.  visually it is stunning, there are so many great scenes.  SPOILER WARNING:  STOP READING WILL RUIN THE TWIST IN THE MOVIE FOR YOU.

for example, when george shot sherry and he stands there with the birdcage next to him.  i also love when george falls and the birdcage does too and they lie side by side. that would make a lovely picture

or when clay changes into his outfit for the heist and he takes his time to make sure that the flower box is covered properly and placed carefully into the locker.

and of course the last scene with all of the money whirling around the airport.  amazing.  i have to add, i knew something was up, i wasn't sure why we watched that silly woman and her stupid dog at the counter, but then it all came together.

also the music was great, added an element of suspense and drama.  it made the most mundane scene interesting, like when johnny left his jacket and guitar case in the motel room.

i highly recommend it, especially if you plan on seeing the kubrick exhibit.  and if you hate it, it's fine, it's only 84 mintues so not that long of your life wasted. 

the edition i checked out also had "the killer's kiss" on it, i tried to watch but sadly had to return the dvd before i could.  (i had the dvd for two weeks, and didn't feel like checking it out for the third time.)

i watched like half of it.  i'm not sure the premise, i think it's about a boxer who falls in love with his neighbor.  i will say that it looked good.  the visuals were great, especially the b-roll around new york, like the store windows, especially the one with the doll swimming in the bowl of water. that series of scenes could be a collection for art gallery.

i also loved how when the neighbor shared her story (which was sad and beautiful) it was a voice over while the audience watched her sister, who was a ballerina dance.

i will prolly look for it online to watch and see it before the exhibit, so if you get the criterion version, please watch the second dvd.

breaking down part 2. movie version.

WARNING: THIS BLOG CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!! (you have been warned so save your bitching.)

(yes, hell did freeze over and i saw a twilight movie at a movie theater!)

i debated about blogging about this movie but figured:

a) it is based on a book and i did blog about "the perks of being a wallflower"
b) with the movie versions of "life of pi", "les miserables", "anna karenina" and "on the road" coming out, i should start the trend of blogging about movies based on books
c) it was a PDC dance moms book club event (though we didn't read the book)

i have never been interested in the "twilight" series, books or movies. my grandma said it was a bunch of teenage fluff and no offense but not interested in reading about a love triangle consisting of a girl, a vampire and a werewolf and their teen angst and sexual frustration. so never read the books. i did see part of the first movie, but had no desire to watch the movies. the movie franchise got too out of control for me to get on the bandwagon. i can admit that robert pattinson is hot, pasty and tall, swoon. i think taylor looks prepubescent so feel like a pervert when i look at him. yes, abs are hot but not on a 12 year old. and seriously kristen stewart???! ever since i saw her first vmas appearance, i can not stomach her. she is not an actress, girl is not acting. she is that weird and awkward in real life and luckily finds roles in which she has to be the weird and awkward girl. (for the record, yes i am sad that she is "on the road".)

however, i decided to break my no-twilight-rule when the PDC dance moms book club decided to see "breaking drawn part 2". i could be a team player plus i owed robert pattinson one for drunkenly harassing him at an adele concert, for this photo:

as much as it pains me to admit this, it wasn't that bad. it was actually entertaining. i enjoyed how they gathered up the different vampires from all over the world. i found it interesting how some of the vampires had special powers, even the evil ones. and that british vampire was dreamy and eye candy always makes everything better.

but here is my laundry list of what i did not enjoy:

-the "war" being a premonition. what a cop out! i got caught up in the battle, i was sad when carlisle died, and cheered when the bad guys died (btw, loved dakota fanning as a villain). and instead of rejoicing when it turned out that it didn't happen, i was disappointed. it was like meyer didn't have the balls to have a real battle. in harry potter, we (yes, we, i loved this series) lost so many amazing people in the battle against evil: sirius, remus, tonks, dumbledore, dobby!!! because guess what, life is unpredictable and unfair and sometimes we lose the ones we love so that good can prevails over evil. furthermore, the kid seemed to be okay with dying. they should have given her up. i mean harry potter sacrificed himself and that aspect is what made that story so powerful. i think the just-kidding-it-was-all-a-dream-ending prevented "breaking dawn" from being great. it lost its heart. instead it was a lame hollywood ending where everyone lives happily ever after.

-in regards to this happily ever after ending, everything cleaned up waaaaay too nicely. seriously jacob and their kid ending up together?!?!? that was gross and the story should not have gone there. in what universe would this be okay?!?! what about an ending showing jacob okay with being single the rest of his life and hooking up with chicks for all of eternity? wouldn't that be more realistic for a werewolf in a vampire movie? lol

-the sex scene 30 minutes into he movie?!?!? i could have lived without watching them christian their house. and the talk about, "wow you were holding back" and "how will we stop ourselves from going at it all the time". seriously, spoken like someone who has been sexually repressed their entire life. (see: meyer is mormon. this sounds harsh but i was raised mormon, i know). people having sex when they want and for as long as they want?!?! these concepts are neither ground-breaking or revolutionary, in real life or the vampire genre. i think twilight's original message of abstinence is important for teens but it does send the wrong message that once married, the lead character turns into a sex fiend. bella was first the virgin temptress and then the horny sex addict. women should not be restricted to only two sexualities the virgin or the whore. we can have healthy sexual appetities without feigning innocent or craziness. we should try to break the virgin/slut whore versus reinforce it!

-instead of abstinence, safe sex needed to be discussed. if half-breeds could potentially pose danger to the world, shouldn't they have been more careful in terms of birth control?!?! edward should have wrapped it up or bella should have been on the pill. just because you are married doesn't mean you are ready to have kids or that you should have them, so you should still take precautions. again another indication of their sexual immaturity.

-lastly, how did the writers let that loch ness monster line remain in the movie?!?!??

so those are my complaints and oddly enough i might read the series but that is just so i can have proof for my avoidance of this series instead of just my snobbiness.

the perks of being a wallflower. stephen chbosky. movie version.

before i start, i haven't blogged in a while because i haven't read anything new. "war and peace" is taking forever to read and i have been working a lot so lo siento but will be better in the future.

second, this isn't a movie i checked out but saw in theaters and it isn't based on a book i checked out, but it is a book that i absolutely loved in high school. and so i decided to blog because it is one of my all-time favorite books (and sadly not one of my all-time favorite movie.)

i remember finding in at the bookstore and since it was an MTV book, decided to give it a go. plus the title sounded interested. i read it my sophomore or junior year, my friend stephen warren ruined my copy by highlighting a line about masturbation in it, and i think that happen in our sophomore english class. but regardless i love it, i love it so much that at the mention of it, my heart gushes with love for it.

it was my favorite book in high school. i read it a handful of times throughout high school. i made a mixed cd of the mixed tape that charlie gave patrick for secret santa and listened to it constantly. i also recited the poem that he wrote for a 4H speech competition. (it was pretty heavy but i won a medal). and i started picking up pennies and sharing the luck just like stoner bob said, i would also tell people "stoner bob says . . .". i was kinda obsessed with it.

so when i first saw a trailer for the film i was not excited but scared. i was scared that they would a) ruin something near and dear to me and b) take something that i felt like was my own little secret book and turn into this huge public fad. (the book deserves success but not the trendy let's read it cos emma watson is in it but more of the word of mouth (which trust me in high school i tried to get everyone to read it). so i was not planning on seeing it. but then i talked to people about it and discovered that chbosky wrote (well, adapted his own novel, that sounds very charlie kaufmanesque) and directed it, so decided it would be true to the book and decide to watch it.

i was expecting to be in tears over it. but i wasn't. i was kinda disappointed and the only reason i can think of is that my love for the book is so great that any movie would have failed. i mean the author made the freakin movie, it was his vision i initially loved and eventually saw. but i wasn't filled with warm fuzzies like i expected. and i'm not sure why. i mean the casting was great, everyone seemed like their character, i mean patrick was amazing and charlie was charlie. and who
doesn't love emma watson and "anne"?!? also i love the actress that plays his aunt though i don't know her name. and i wanted to hug paul rudd as his english teacher. i loved that the tunnel song was bowie's "heroes". the rocky horror scenes were great. but i still didn't connect like i thought i would. i got tear-eyed during some moments but no crying. and oddly one of the most emotional scenes for me was the dance with the "living room" routine because it was straight up my best friend miguel and i at our 8th grade graduation dance.

i will add that i was disappointed that chbosky edited out the poem that charlie gives to all of them at christmas. its sad but one of my favorite things about the book. i also did not like how he tried to tie in "something" to the aunt verses it being sam's favorite song.** i would have also like to have seen stoner bob share his penny wisdom.

and i'm not saying its a bad film. it's a great film and if you are reading this, go see it! i might go again. everyone did a great job. it just wasn't for me. but it did inspire me to dig up my old copy and re-read. i last read it probably my senior year though it did travel with me to college. but didn't re-read it recently because i figured that the story not so fresh in my head would be better for movie watching. but not the case.

i would also like to add that the douchebag sitting behind me, annoyed the hell out of me which could have caused my un-enjoyment of the film. he was not the brightest bulb in the pack and kept on asking his girlfriend questions. he also ruined a scene between patrick and charlie because of his homophobia to which i gave him a dirty look in the dark and debated lecturing him out of the film. also his girlfriend laughed inappropriately during a scene with charlie and sam. i hate how immature/ignorant people can be. it was at the landmark, i expect more from their audience.

but go see it and fall in love with the movie and then read the book and fall into deeper love with it.

**blogger note: i just finished rereading "the perks" and realized that i was wrong about this. in my head, sam had played "something" for him as her friend song. but not the case. sorry. (12.12.12)