Revolutionary Road

Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet are finally together in a movie again. It's one of the most somber, provocative, brilliantly acted masterpieces I've ever seen.

I read in a Seattle Times article that both actors had difficulties doing the "yelling" scenes because they're such close friends and had never raised their voices to each other, that they could remember. But, watch those scenes, and you are immediately convinced that they are feeling and thinking everything their characters are. The raw emotion present onscreen is mesmerizing. I would watch it again for that reason alone.

You can read the article here:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2008577807_zmov01winsletdicaprio.html

Yes, I will go to Nebraska with you!

I saw the movie Yes Man last night. And, unexpectedly, it inspired me. Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel play the lead roles as Carl and Allison. Carl is plodding through life, barely acknowledging his close friends and making a nightly trip to the movie store. He's merely existing. Then he goes to a "Yes" seminar and resolves to make some big changes in his life. He meets Allison by chance at a gas station and is attracted to her passionate, out-of-the-box philosophy on life. At 6:00 am once-a-week, she hauls herself out of bed and takes a group of photographers running through the park to capture blurry, scenic photos as they exercise. She's part of a band that has a five-person following, but continues to perform every week because she loves it. She rides a motorized scooter everywhere and always opts for the unconventional. She's exuberant, fun-loving and everything he isn't, and he finds her fascinating.

At one point, Carl and Allison decide they want to travel somewhere for the weekend, so they go to the airport and ask to leave on the soonest flight available, which just so happens to be middle-of-nowhere Lincoln, Nebraska. They look at each other for two seconds and decide that it sounds like an adventure waiting to happen. THAT. RIGHT THERE. That part of the movie made my jaw drop with jealousy. That's my idea of fun. I hope I marry someone who's spontaneous like that. Assuming we have the money and the time to do wacky things. :P


If I did a bunch of random things I've always--or just recently--wanted to do, here's what they'd be:

1. Learn how to Irish dance.
2. Go white water rafting again. Multiple times.
3. Run a half marathon.
4. Learn to play the violin well.
5. Take a photography class and then buy a very nice camera.

I'm sure there are more, but that's just a little taste. Although I don't really have the resources to do most of those things right now, I know what I CAN do. I can resolve to be dissatisfied with a boring old routine. I can resolve to stretch myself and think unconventionally at times. Life is meant to be lived not tolerated. That was the basic gist of the movie, and I couldn't agree with it more.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Have you seen The Boy in the Striped Pajamas? An eight-year-old boy, Bruno, discovers the brutal realities of the Holocaust in this exquisitely filmed movie. This blue-eyed child, curious and innocent, spends his days swinging on a tire swing and contemplating the far-off "farm" he can see from his house. Gradually, he realizes that this "farm" is no farm. It's a concentration camp. He befriends a boy his own age who sits by the electric fence surrounding the camp. This boy wears "pajamas," gray and white striped shirt and pants, matted with layers of dirt, evidence of the backbreaking labor he has been forced to do.

The ensuing events are both inspirational and heart-wrenching. This is a must-see movie.

Transformers

I went to see Transformers this evening with a girlfriend of mine. This was one of those movies that would usually never entice me, and I certainly don't make a habit of paying $9.25 to see movies like this one. But, from the moment I first saw the trailer, there was something about it that excited me. Maybe it was the way the transformers transform from cars to robots to planes to... whatever they feel like transforming into. Or maybe it was the fact that Shia LeBeouf was in the movie. I've always had a thing for him, ever since the days when I compulsively watched the Disney Channel's show Even Stevens.

No matter the reason, I decided that I really wanted to see Transformers in the theater. So I did. And it was amazing, just like everyone said it was.

Why was it amazing? Well, for one, it wasn't as insanely cheesy as it had the potential to be, if that makes any sense. A successful script being crafted with only toy transformers as inspiration? Let's face it, pretty much every other script that tried to go off a popular toy has done terribly. But this one just did a fantastic job somehow. Personally, I think it's largely due to Shia LeBeouf's genius acting contribution, but that's just me. :)