Oscar Snub?

The Oscar nominations came out last week. There were not that many surprises which probably means that the ceremony is going to be boring. But I'm sure I'll watch it anyway.

There are a couple of omissions that people keep griping about. One is the exclusion of 500 Days of Summer from the best picture category. This year, there were 10 slots and many people felt this movie deserved one of them even if it had no chance of winning.

I've blogged about this movie before. I thought that this movie was good and I loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance. If anything from the movie was going to be Oscar nominated it should have been him. My largest complaint about this movie was that while I really felt for the male character I could not stand the female character in the movie. That's a problem when it's a romantic movie and you are supposed to sympathize with both.

However, I did love the musical scene from the movie. It was so cute. But then again, Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes anything adorable.

My Sister's Keeper

While I was snowed in this weekend, I was feeling really sad. See, I was snowed in alone because Mike got snowed in at his house in Woodbridge. So we chatted on the phone multiple times a day but it wasn't the same as if he had actually been HERE. But, oh well. S*** happens, right?

So since I was already feeling sad, on Saturday night I curled up on the couch with a glass of wine to watch My Sister's Keeper on TV. This is a movie based on the book of the same name by Jodi Picoult. I read this book several years ago and was emotionally destroyed for a couple days after finishing it. However, I heard that the ending was changed for the movie and that it was "happier."

I'm not sure if I would describe the ending as "happier." It was really just sad in a different way. However, I do think it was a shame that the movie leaves out the twist at the end of the book. That twist was really powerful when I read the book. Without it, the movie becomes very predictable. That's not to say that I did not cry the whole way through - because I totally did. It's still a sad and emotionally charged story.

Mike called right as the movie ended. I was all congested and pathetic sounding because I had been crying for 2 hours. And he was like "Why would you watch this movie if you knew it would make you cry?!"

I guess I'm a glutton for punishement. Next time, I'll choose a nice comedy. . .

Merry Christmas!

It's my favorite day of the year!!!!

I love Christmas Eve. It's the best day because you are full of the anticipation of Christmas. Everyone is in good spirits getting ready for the holiday.

It's a day of family. I love hanging out with my family on Christmas Eve and going to Mass with my mom. Christmas Eve Mass is the best. We usually go to the children's mass around 4PM, which is adorable because they have the little children reenact the Christmas story. Too cute to see little kids playing Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds, etc.

Then we go to dinner at my sister's house. That's a relatively new tradition. We started it when she moved back from Florida. It's nice though because it helps break up the work so that my mom does not have to prepare everything.

Then at 10:45 PM, I watch the last 15 minutes of It's a Wonderful Life. Usually, I've watched the whole movie earlier in the season. But the ending gets me every time. I will cry the minute Harry says "to my big brother George, the richest man in town." That line basically sums up the greatness of the movie for me. George is not rich in wealth but he is rich in character and that's more important than money.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Bright Star

I have more to say about Bright Star. Yes, John Keats' decisions did annoy me - see yesterday's post - but the story of his love for Fanny Brawne is also incredibly romantic.

This is the poem he wrote for her (she was his bright star).

Bright Star

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art--
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--
No--yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever--or else swoon to death.
- John Keats

All I have to say is that it is no wonder she was never able to get over him after he died.

John Keats and the Stupidity of Nobility

Last night I went to see the movie Bright Star. It's about the romance and eventually death of the poet John Keats. Needless to say, I cried like a baby.

This movie is a great example of one of my giant pet peeves about the male psyche. It drives me insane how men think that by being noble and self-sacrificing they are somehow going to save women pain. Well, a newsflash to all men out there - IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY.

John Keats was a great example. He falls in love with Fanny and then realizes that they can never marry because he has no money. So he tries to push her away. Then he realizes he is dying and comes back to her only to leave her again because he does not want her to watch him die.

There are many things wrong with this situation.

1. Once you are involved with someone, you are involved. There is no room for second thoughts. It's not like he suddenly was going to come into money and poof problem solved. If he knew he could never marry, then he should have stayed away from Fanny. Don't start something that you cannot finish!
2. Why oh why would he think that she would care that he had no money. When a woman loves a man, she will not let anything get in the way. She finds a way to make it work. In this situation, John Keats had such a narrow focus. He could not think outside the box to figure out a way for them to be together so instead they both remained miserable.
3. Why on earth would he think that going to Italy to die would make things easier? It just cheated them out of their last moments together. It's not like Fanny was able to be like "oh I don't love John anymore because he is in Italy." Being apart probably made his death harder not easier for her. In effect, John did her a great disservice.

This stupid idea of nobility does no one any good. It only makes things harder for the couple involved. Stopping a relationship out of some misguided sense of self-sacrifice does nothing but create misery. Is either party really going to be able to just flip a switch and move on? No. They are just going to suffer apart instead of working on things together.

In my opinion, this idea of separating for the good of the other person is a point of weak character. It shows that 1) the person is not willing to find a way around the obstacle and 2) the person does not believe enough in the relationship to think that it can survive outside of ideal circumstances.

Truly, Keats sold Fanny short. And sadly it has been a theme throughout history and literature. Maybe I'll write a novel where the guy actually does the correct thing - i.e. talk to the other person and work out the problem.

But, I guess no one would read that book or see that movie. It would not have enough drama. I mean I did pay $10 to cry my eyes out while watching Keats die and Fanny have a breakdown over his death. It would not have had the same emotional punch and it been a movie about conversation instead of miscommunication. . .

Henry V

It's no secret that I love Shakespeare. I took a class called Shakespeare on Film when I was in college. It was my favorite class and it was a pure elective. We read various Shakespearean plays and then watched various film versions of them.

One of the best speeches ever written was Henry V's speech before the Battle of Agincourt. This speech is so full of passion. You understand how it motivates the soldiers. Plus, the battle itself was a really interesting point in history as it was one of the major turning points of the Hundred Years War. There was no way in hell the English should have won - they were completely outnumbered. But they did and kept the French from invading England.

Plus, the term "band of brothers" comes from this speech which is really cool.

Kenneth Branagh is the best at delivering this speech. Here's a clip from the movie. And if you look closely you can see Christian Bale as one of the young soldiers.