This week I learned that Breaking Dawn-Part 2 is a good movie. I got to go with my asbestos friend (click on new page “People of Interest” for more on her) on Monday night. I liked it. And I now know why people search the Internet for “breaking dawn carlisle fight”. Although they are not reaching the answers they seek on my blog. And that is all I will say about that, cuz I don’t want to be accused of giving away spoilers. And, dear readers, that being the fourth Twilight post this month, is probably the last time I will talk about Twilight for a little while.
I also learned that preparing for parties stresses me out. More on that on Tuesday.
If you are all still eating Thanksgiving leftovers, it is now time to freeze them or throw them out:)
The whole time I was reading and rereading Twilight, I was hoping for a movie. I am a much more visual person than a reader. It takes like six hours to read a book. I can watch a movie in two hours. My time is valuable to me. I also like the all-around viewing experience of the actors, costumes, special effects, music, and script. I like how they work together to provide you with a visceral reaction that no one element could give you on its own.
Twilight
I really enjoyed the movie Twilight. I have heard others repeatedly knock it. I don’t think a low-budget is a reason to knock a film. Although I have come to loathe the casting decision of Kristen Stewart as Bella. She doesn’t hold up on multiple viewings. I LOVED both the soundtrack and score from the first movie. I bought them both on CD. (Yes, I’m Old School.) Some good shots got relegated to the DVD deleted scenes, but it was good. My favorite parts are when Bella pictures Edward biting her, as if they were in a movie, and the beginning of the end credits with the Coldplay song and the black and white shots.
New Moon
When I first read New Moon, I hated it. After all, I was Team Edward and it was a book that Edward is only in about a third of. It is all Jacob and he is sooo annoying (in the book)! (Although Taylor Lautner is a fine actor.) But then I began to enjoy Bella’s pain and longing. My favorite part is when they are on the plane flying back from Italy and Bella just knows that Edward will leave her again, but she savors these moments together like a drowning man savors his oxygen.
I did like how in the movie they gave you a more fulfilling reason for Harry Clearwater’s death. In the books, Harry Clearwater is a close friend of Charlie’s , keeping him stocked in homemade fish fry. Harry is just suddenly snuffed out with a heart attack at a convenient plot transition. In the movie, Harry’s heart attack is brought upon my seeing and being confronted by Victoria the vampire. And right behind Charlie’s unsuspecting back. A very nice twist to add details to the bare-bones of the story the book tells.
“Edward stared right back at me, his dark eyes soft, and it was easy to pretend that he felt the same way. So that’s what I did. I pretended, to make the moment sweeter.”
“I touched his face, too. I couldn’t stop myself, though I was afraid it would hurt me later, when I was alone again. He continued to kiss my hair, my forehead, my wrists…but never my lips, and that was good. After all, how many ways can one heart be mangled and still be expected to keep beating? I’d lived through a lot that should have finished me in the last few days, but it didn’t make me feel strong. Instead, I felt horribly fragile, like one word could shatter me.”
– New Moon (Little, Brown and Co., Hachette, 2006)
And, of course, the movie cuts those scenes, those feeling of impending abandonment out altogether. And New Moon (the movie) has the most GOD AWFUL soundtrack! There are whole parts I have to mute when I watch it because the music is so horribly distracting. (Just before Edward leaves Bella in the forest and the spinning room are the worst.) So, while New Moon is my favorite book, it is my least favorite movie.
Eclipse
Eclipse is an OK movie. I love the part where Edward gets right in Jacob’s face after Jacob kissed Bella. I sooo want Edward and Jacob to kiss there. Then there is the awkward and obvious absence of one of the best Twi-universe quotes: “I refuse to be affected by territorial disputes between mythical creatures.” (I almost bought a shirt with that on it once. I totally should have. Where did I park that Time Machine…) It isn’t even in the DVD extras. Bummer. I liked that they beefed up Riley’s part.
Breaking Dawn-Part 1
Breaking Dawn-Part 1–> who paid how much for that to get a PG-13 rating? The birth scene makes it one of the most disturbing movies of all time. First you have Bella digitally emaciating (which I didn’t realize right away. I felt better when I realized it was not real, only a computer trick.). Then Edward is chewing open her uterus. Ew. Ew. Ugh. Then they show her bloody form following birth (which an actual O.B. pointed out in a print article was not nearly enough blood to be realistic!). There was not enough sex to balance out the gross factor. Although it is tame compared to what was in the book. They did a great job of cutting out lots of Jacob’s whining that was in the book. The wolves talking to each other in wolf form felt awkward, but that is how it is presented in the book.
Breaking Dawn-Part 2
I can’t wait for Breaking Dawn-Part 2. Although I did hear that Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Rosenberg (screenwriter) dreamed up something new for the final third of the film over dinner. (Entertainment Weekly, Aug 17/24,2012) That worries me a little. Will the Volturi be defeated with giant meatballs? I can’t spoil it, because I don’t know what it is.
It will be nice to see Jacob happy instead of mooning over Bella. And maybe the rest of the Cullen family will have more to do in this movie than just stand around like statues. (In some movies I have wondered if it was Elizabeth Reaser or a mannequin playing Esme.) I hope Edward and Bella’s cottage doesn’t look as lame in the movie as Stephenie Meyer describes it in the book. And Alice really needs to quit trying to dress up Bella. And will THIS be the movie where Alice gets spiky short hair as it is actually described in the books?
To tell you the truth, I got my son’s name from the Twilight books. (But it wasn’t because I am such a hard-core obsessed fan. It is just one of the few names my husband and I could agree on. Now you are all trying to remember a name that starts with “M”, aren’t you?) Come back Wednesday for my retelling of how Peter Facinelli chased me across a stage;)
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There is a little place I sometimes go. It is cheap and entertaining (Not many places can say that these days).
Do you know how in movies whenever they show a small town street scene from the 1950’s there is always a tiny movie theater? Unbelievably, some of them still exist.
Clinton Theater, Clinton, Michigan. Image owned by The Clinton Theater
The Clinton Theater is one of these theaters. Located in Clinton, Michigan, pop. 2,336, their movies were only $3 when my husband and I first went to a show there. The refreshment prices were incredibly reasonable as well. The theater only has one screen. They only have one showtime a day in the evening, sometimes two on Saturday and Sunday. My theory is that everyone who works there also has a day job and is therefore unavailable to show movies during the day. And that whoever works there are probably the same people who own it as well.
If the Clinton Theater is showing a popular movie, it is usually necessary to get there early, as seats are limited. The lobby is very small and is usually filled with the people in line for refreshments. The theater is small and cozy. They play an eclectic selection of interesting music (or maybe it is just really old music) while you wait for movie time. They store their extra bottles of pop in the front of the theater. They are very trusting of their customers. It adds to the small-town feel. I am not that trusting.
When the film (yes, 35mm film) begins to roll, first you see hand-drawn animation of…an alien maybe? (The official website informs me they are a bird and a fish.) who welcome you to The Clinton Theater. Then the previews. Watching the previews, you have no idea which films will play in this actual theater. Unlike the ten screen multiplex, this theater only has one screen, remember?
Which movie they show each week is based firstly on a website vote (how modern for such an old theater). Secondly, it is based on when they can get a physical copy of the film. Those are becoming harder and harder to come by, with all movie studios moving to release all their films in digital. This causes a delay for when The Clinton Theater can get a new hit movie. I assume that this process probably frustrates the hell out of the owners. I kind of like it because if I missed a movie when it was at the multiplex, (ex. Snow White and The Huntsman) I can watch for it to be showing in Clinton. Or if it was a movie I wanted to see again in theaters (ex. all Twilight Saga movies) without having to pay full price, I can go to Clinton.
They have since raised admission to $4 a movie, although they usually still have a $3 bargain night if you check their website. Which is a perfect price point if you see a movie advertised that you think you might want to rent, but you don’t want to have to wait that long (ex. Joyous Noise). They also sell refillable fountain cups and popcorn tubs that you can bring in on future visits and get a refill for a fraction of the price.
The Clinton Theater had a few fundraisers to raise money to buy a digital projector, as they knew the future of their business depended on it. I kept meaning to attend one of their fundraisers or send them a check. I figured I had plenty of time, as they would be collecting money for it for years to come.
Then last week they announced that they will be getting a digital projector, possibly as early as November. Well, dang. That was fast. I am guessing they must have received one huge donation to fill in the gaps in funding. I saw an article in Readers Digest where a small town won a contest run by the magazine to put in a digital projector for their own down-home movie house. They only won $25,000 toward their goal of the $70,000 needed to convert their theater.
Well, since I missed my chance to donate to The Clinton Theater, I guess I will just have to support local business and watch movies there more often. Nowadays, I have to go to the movies by myself, as my husband and I have a shortage of babysitters. I can’t wait until my son is old enough to sit through a movie with us. Maybe in a few years…
My parting thought: The Clinton Theater is awesome and cool! If you live close by, drive there for a movie sometime (additional parking in the back). If not, find the closest similar theater to you and enjoy the savings and fun. (The Maumee Indoor Theater is another great small theater I have been to.)
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(Click here to see my previous post about Dead Dad feature films.)
[This the only footage I have of my dad. My dad died before I was born. My mom said that her dad (my grandpa) died in December 1973. She was using up the film on his movie camera, so this was probably taken in 1974.]
Family movies. About once a year, when I was young, my mom would force my Gramma to get out the films (Super 8?) and the projector and we would watch them. Usually this was a few months after it was first discussed, because it seemed like my Gramma always needed to buy a new light bulb for the projector. There were about 15 reels of film. My mom always wanted to watch the one with my dad on it first. No one could ever remember which reel it was on.
The family movies contained relatives I had never met and would never meet. Relatives that my mom and Gramma had (it seemed) endless stories about. There were movies of my Gramma’s house before the porch was built and before it was screened in. There were movies of my mom and Gramma helping to build my uncle’s house. An uncle I did actually get to meet before he died, but he moved out of that house before I ever saw it.
In the movies, there were many scenes of dogs pooping (Ginger, who was our dog when I was young, and Suzy, my Gramma’s dog that died shortly after I was born, and my Great Grandpa’s future dog, Rusty). There was a flood rushing through my Gramma’s front yard. There were boring movies of driving out West to Yellowstone, taken from car windows. There was a more endlessly boring boat trip to Lower Tahquamenon Falls, which sort of blends in to another at Pictured Rocks. These trip movies also featured everyone walking from the car to the restroom and back again.
I was always disappointed that I was not represented in those movies. Here were my mom and Gramma and uncle, who I actually knew, fraternizing with all these strangers. They were living lives I would never know anything of, except for their stories and these movies. My lack of representation bothered me so much so that in college, studying Communications-Radio & TV Broadcasting, I checked the video camera out one weekend and shot my own home movies. One problem, my movies had sound. My Gramma’s did not. When I watch my home movies now, I watch them on mute. I prattle on about this and that. What I really want to see are my old clothes and furniture and posters on my walls. And I love on the video when my asbestos friend and I go to the gas station (which in a year would be the site of my first real job) and gas is $1.24. She says “$1.24! I should be able to put gold in my car for $1.24!”
In the late 1980’s my mom decided to have the films transferred to VHS. We numbered what order to transfer them in, placing the film with my dad first. At the time, Sears was running a promotion where they gave you a free extra VHS copy to send to America’s Funniest Home Videos (The new hit show:P). It even came in a cardboard box with the show’s address on it, all ready to mail. (Of course, our only funny scene, of a bear trying to get into the sunroof of a Volkswagen Beetle, had long ago been lost to the unfortunate break and scotch tape repair.) So, we kept one tape and my Gramma kept the other. My mom and I could watch it whenever we wanted. We would watch the beginning, with family and dogs. We stopped it when the Mackinac Bridge came into view, always skipping the boat trips.
In the 2000’s, my work had a discount offer to get film/slides/VHS converted to DVD. I decided I should torture the old footage and have it converted one last time. But, what to convert? The film had continued to deteriorate in my Gramma’s hot apartment. So then, which VHS? The one that had been kept in our hot trailer or my Gramma’s hot apartment? (Boy, analog is sure fragile.) I believe I chose my Gramma’s VHS tape, because it had been viewed very few times, as she had given us her VCR, which is what we watched our copy of the tape on.
Yes, the quality is iffy. And all the ritual is gone out of it. No setting the date, buying the light bulb. No guessing what was on each reel, no popcorn. No narration by those who had lived it. But it still feels like preserving history. My history. And now my son can watch them too. He can see the few fleeting seconds that are captured of my dad.
Then, he will know him as well as I do.
Looking to convert your own memories? I recommend The Archival Company. Who do I NOT recommend? Walmart.
I had a dream about an Ashton Kutcher movie. In the movie, he had knocked up two chicks within a year. He saw both the girls and their mothers only briefly now and then. The one mom and daughter were bitchy. The second mom and daughter were nice. They both started putting their daughters in beauty pageants. Ashton would go and cheer them both on. They are like six and seven years old. Then the good mom gets sick, so Ashton has to take over as the pageant mother. At first the other mom and daughter just laugh at Ashton and the good daughter. But then they feel sorry for them and help them out, learning to not be so bitchy. I figure Disney could make it. It would remind people of The Parent Trap.
My husband wanted to know what I would call it. I would call it “Sister From Another Mother”. Then you could have a sequel without Ashton called “Sister From Another Mother: Summer Camp”. Then you could have the straight-to-DVD “Sister From Another Mother: School Dance”.
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