A Film Review

I recently watched a movie called The Fall. It came out in 2006, but I only came across it earlier this week. Let me tell you this: I have spent the last six years missing out on a fantastic piece of cinema. How I didn't know about this movie until now is beyond me, but I am so glad I found it.

Set in the 1920s, it tells the story of a little girl in a hospital who befriends a man recovering from a terrible fall. As a way of getting her to steal morphine for him, he tells her a story. A wonderful story of bandits and revenge. I usually get pretty cynical about films (excuse me if I don't like people making movies just to say they made a movie), but this is easily one of the most beautiful movies I have every seen. It is visually stunning, and the music fits each scene perfectly. The meshing of the story and characters into the real life plot works in a way that is true to anyone telling a story: always changing, but still subtle and consistent. The little girl, Catinca Untaru, deserves an Oscar for her performance; she had me in tears by the end of it. 

If you like stories of love and revenge and fantasy (and who doesn't, really?) then watch this movie. If you've already seen it, watch it again... and again... and again. 

It's Summer Reading Time!

While my pile of books to read gets taller by the week, I've decided to pull some of them specifically for summer. They all seem to fit the sit-in-the-sun criteria for good summer reading.

I just finished American Gods, which was a decent book. I'm hoping this will be similarly entertaining.

He's a Norwegian poet. This is his only novel. 

If any book is perfect for the summer, it has to be this one. I mean, really, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you see this? The Hamptons? Newport Beach? 

Since The Great Gatsby is coming to theaters this Christmas, I will probably reread that book for the fourth (or ninth) time.

I'm also open to suggestions, so long as it's not anything by Nicholas Sparks, or Fifty Shades of Grey.

Graduate School and German Verbs

For those of you who don't know (and you might not because I haven't posted in a while) I am going to grad school in the fall. That's right, I'm dusting off this small town (Chicago) and heading east, back to the roots of America. Where? you ask. The University of New Hampshire.

Come August I'll be pursuing a Master's degree- and hopefully after that a PhD- in this thriving metropolis here. It's always been a dream of mine to live in New England, which may have played a role in primarily applying to schools on the East Coast. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to get back to my education, but I'm also looking forward to the pretty autumn leaves, the old architecture, and the slightly stand-offish attitude of the people. 

But, before I get there I have some major catching up to do. This English student has to relearn her German. That's right, German. Because all English students also have to be efficient in a foreign language. So I will be spending my summer reading this beauty: 

Get excited, people. The hot summer months are going to be be filled with umlauts and diphthongs and a gravely, angry sound like something is caught in my throat. 

So, after the mastery of German verbs, and four or five (or ten) more years of studying, you can call me Doctor Miller. 

Isn't it pretty?

British Television

I've been watching a lot of British television lately. A. LOT. Here are three shows you need to watch:

Doctor Who
Doctor Who is to England what Star Wars is to America. Everybody knows it. Everybody loves it, even if you say you don't. The original series began in 1963 and aired for several decades. The new series started in 2005, and it is wonderful. Time. Space. Aliens. A sonic screwdriver. It has everything. It's no wonder why this show has become such a big part of British entertainment.


Secret Diary of a Call Girl is based on the book The Intimate Life of a London Call Girl. Starring the lovely Billie Piper (who, by the way, plays Rose Tyler- my favorite companion- on Doctor Who), it follows the life of a "high-class escort" as she lives a very sneaky double-life in London. I would say it's like a British Sex and the City, except that it is also not that in any way. It's super funny, and boy is there drama. Drama, drama, drama.
I should warn you, it's not for everyone, as can be expected by the title. But, it's a good show that shines a light on what it's like to have an unconventional lifestyle. It only has four 8-episode seasons, so you could watch it in a weekend if you wanted to. (Which I did.)


Misfits
What happens when a group of kids doing community service get struck by lightning? They get superpowers, of course. Despite the seriousness of the plot, this show continually makes me laugh. Although my favorite character did not return for season 3, the others are still witty and the storyline is good.

 

So, there you go. Three more television shows for you to enjoy. I have to say, when it comes to comedy, England really knows what it's doing.

Fan Sites

There are a lot of fan sites on the interwebs at the moment. There are also a lot of anti-fan sites. The one thing they all have in common is the amount of dedication that goes into hating and/or loving something. My two personal favorites are this one for Kate Middleton, and this one for Twilight.
You can't hate the Kate. I mean look at her.

But why not add captions to her pictures?

Twilight, on the other hand, was made to be hated. There is just too much wrong with it. Besides the storyline, there is also the writing itself. For example...

Check out these blogs. Whether you love the Royal Family, or you are soooo Team Edward, these blogs will make you laugh. If you don't like them, you take things too seriously. 

The Run Down

It has come to my attention that I have not posted here in some time. My apologies. I told my sister, Shanna (who also hasn't updated her blog), that I would do a stream-of-consciousness post, but sitting in an empty house does not make for great entertainment. Instead, I'll give you some facts about myself. Things you wouldn't automatically know about me unless I told you. Here we go:

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat made me want to be an actor. I think I was eight, maybe nine, when my family went to see this show (starring Donny Osmond) at the Chicago Theatre. I was so enthralled that I knew I wanted to sing and dance and run around a stage when I grew up. While I have never had vocal training, and only took one dance class in college, I did graduate with a degree in Theatre. I even moved to California last winter to see what I could get into. I moved back shortly after, coming to the realization that it was much more of childhood dream than a reality for me.

I make up stories in my head all the time. I have journals full of half-written stories and short scenes that I made up while watching people in public. My mind is permanently set in storytelling mode.

Along with stories, I sing to myself constantly. I like to make up songs about what's going on around me. I know I'll never win a Grammy, but I did make up a pretty fantastic song yesterday about my aunt's cocker spaniel to the tune of "Near the Cross."

My academic goal is to get a PhD in English. Having put my dreams of Broadway fame and fortune behind me, I have set my focus on my love for literature and my need to know everything. I've thought about being a teacher for a long time, and I think the idea of being a professor is fascinating. If you haven't guessed yet, I'm a nerd!


Other things about me:
I still watch teenager shows like Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl. (Also, Wizards of Waverly Place)
I am really good at Scattergories.
My favorite color is yellow, but I wear a lot of blue.
Not to sound too hipster, but I had Zooey Deschanel's bangs in elementary school.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

I work at Barnes and Noble. Which means I pretty much get paid to read books. Last week I was supervising the children's department, so my selection was limited to an elementary reading level. My book of choice was "a novel in words and pictures" called The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.

It was fantastic.

The book is 530 pages, but half of them are of illustrations. Instead of describing the action with words, he uses pictures to speed up the process. And the illustrations are amazing. I spent more time gawking over them than I did reading. I finished the entire book in one 7-hour shift.

What's it about? I'm glad you asked. It's set in Paris in 1930 and tells the story of a boy named-- you guessed it-- Hugo who lives in a train station. He spends his days stealing small pieces from toys to fix up an automaton his father found. With the help of the toyshop owner's goddaughter, he discovers a hidden message in the toy and a whole new world is open to him. The story focuses on the filmmaker Georges Melies and his silent film A Trip to the Moon. (If you've never seen it you should. It's only about 12 minutes long and is pretty hilarious.)

If you have the time (and you should) go read it. If you really can't motivate yourself, they are making it into a movie with Jude Law and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Other children's book recommendations:
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll; a picture book about a boy who can't go to sleep without a monster under his bed.
Llama Lama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney; the title should be enough for you.