books: February

5. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen. 1813.

Feb 1-8

AAAAAAAAH MR. DARCY AND ELIZABETH FOREVER AND EVER

It took me a long, long time to come around to reading P&P; I've had the book on my bookshelf for what's probably long past a decade. In a way I think it's a good thing I waited to read this classic novel - for one, the massive literary crush on Mr. Darcy is much less soul-consuming now than it probably would have been when I was in middle school.

As for the novel itself, it was lovely. The characters had humanity, the dialogue was sharp with no line wasted, and the plot chugged along at a nice pace. I found the beginning rather annoying, though it was mostly because I so desperately did not want to like Pride & Prejudice, but when Mr. Collins was introduced he was such an ass that I was fascinated, and by the time the ending rolled around I was deeply, deeply in like of everything about the story. (Particularly Mr. Darcy!) Seeing Elizabeth slowly get over her prejudice against Mr. Darcy was a real literary treat.

The only issue I have is all the Miss Bennetts. There are five Miss Bennetts, can we please just clarify? With first names? The moment there's more than one Miss in a scene it becomes ridiculously confusing trying to keep up in conversation. Other than that minor pet peeve, however, I do find it nice how everyone is called "Mr." or "Mrs." or "Miss". "Mr. Darcy" - it just has a very nice ring to it.

Now that I have adequately hammered people in the head with my Mr. Darcy-obsession, I am finished.

6. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk. 1996.

Feb 13-

Lovely as the book was, I'm going to have to stick by what I first thought when I finished reading - I like the movie better. It's easier to have a visceral reaction to seeing things played out on the screen, and while it can be seen as taking the easy way out, this story is one meant to punch you in the face with the sheer feeling of it all.

Put this off too long, and now I don't remember everything it was I wanted to write. Ugh. I haven't been too good about keeping up with reading, but hopefully I can finish up at least one more book before the end of March.

Still on my to-read list:

1. Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson
2. Game Change, John Heilemann & Mark Halperin
3. 9-11, Noam Chomsky
4. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
5. Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond

films: February

warning: spoilers, swearing, mightily uninformed opinions.

5. Unstoppable, dir. Tony Scott. 2010.

Feb 4 (on flight - Air Canada)

Air Canada is a nice airline to fly with. Each seat has a screen of its own, so you can go through and pick radio channels, tv shows, music programs, and best of all, movies. Instead of sleeping through my red-eye flight, I decided to watch movies. When I navigated my way to the "Blockbuster" category, the guy sitting next to me suddenly reached over, pointed at theUnstoppable box on the screen, and promised, "This is a really good movie. Watch it!"

So I did, after thanking him for the recommendation.

The movie reminds me vaguely of The Fighter, because in a way the action is very much... subdued. You go in knowing what's going to happen: Denzel Washington and Chris Pine are going to save the day. The big execs in charge of the railroad company are going to show off how much of a profit-driven asshole they are. Chris Pine's character Will is going to get back together with his wife, and they're going to have a big kiss at the end of the movie because that's just the way Hollywood rolls.

It was a good movie, don't get me wrong. It was suspenseful in the right ways and not too heavy-handed with the melodrama and the characters, while rather two-dimensional, aren't terrible.

But ultimately this movie fails for me. Why so damn predictable? This is probably because I don't "know" movies - the technical details of filming or the use of lights or the editing - but I felt nothing for the characters. Frank's two daughters waitressing in Hooters? Baw, tell me more. Will is separated from his wife and son and yearns for them? Poor baby, what happened. The train is stopped by the heroic actions of Frank and Will and the support of Rosario Dawson's character Connie? So inspirational! Let's all put our hands together for these small town heroes!

The moral of this film is I'm a heartless word-that-I-shall-not-use-because-I-am-taking-women's-studies-and-using-this-word-makes-me-feel-guilty.

6. Date Night, dir. Shawn Levy. 2010.

Feb 5 (on flight - Air Canada)

If I had to describe this film in just one word, it'd be "disappointment". Steve Carrell, Tina Fey, shirtless Mark Wahlberg... Come on, it could have been so awesome. The jokes were flat, Steve Carrell and Tina Fey were bogged down with a script that was more stupid than entertaining, and jesus christ Mark Wahlberg will you cut your damn hair?!

7. Pride and Prejudice, dir. Joe Wright. 2005.

Feb 11 (at home, with momma)

AHAHA Mr. Darcy. Now that I've watched the British miniseries, I can just say that the movie version with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen is much more... sensual. The scenery, the costumes, the dialogue - everything is lusher, brighter. The understated

I watched the movie just a couple days after reading the book, which was helpful because it helped me stay on track, plot-wise.

8. The Cove, dir. Louie Psihoyos. 2009.

Feb 18 (at home, with parents)

This documentary was: beautiful heartbreaking inspiring but also very, very one-sided. I'm not sure, however, if showing the fishers' side of the situation would make it any better - I mean, how do you justify slaughtering dolphins the way they do? How do you justify something so obviously unnecessary?

9. 127 Hours, dir. Danny Boyle. 2010.

Feb 22 (theatres, with Mike)

The best word for this movie is "intense". But not overwhelmingly so, I felt - it may be because I knew what to expect from this movie, as the story is made the rounds the first time the news broke. A large portion of the audience is going to know what they're going into, and even if someone's never heard of Aron Ralston they're going to hear the whispers: "it's the movie about the guy who cuts his own arm off". Still, despite the predictability of the plot (he gets stuck, he's going to get flashbacks to happier times/regrets, he's going to film himself telling his parents/family goodbye, he's going to cut through his arm with just a cheap knife), the film is an enjoyable one thanks to the stunning scenery and the gorgeous James Franco.

What can I say, I'm just shallow.

10. Raiders of the Last Ark, dir.Steven Spielberg. 1981.

Feb 25 (theatres, with Norman)



11. Pride and Prejudice, dir. Simon Langton. 1995. (TV miniseries)
Feb 27

AHAHA COLIN FIRTH. Being a TV miniseries, there was more time to stay truthful to the novel, which was really enjoyable.

11. The King's Speech, dir. Tom Hooper. 2010.
Feb 28 (theatres, with Lareina)

Great film. Impeccable acting. Lovable characters.

Also the most disappointingly, boringly beautiful film of the year. I wish I was kidding. This is probably because of my disappointment with the Oscars this year (I know, such white people problems), but David Fincher should have won that goddamn Oscar, okay. It felt like anyone could have filmed this movie and made it as beautiful as it is.


(Off topic, but I had a moment in the theatre where I chuckled loudly because omg, Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice! In The King's Speech! COLIN FIRTH AND DAVID BAMBER REUNITED! /IMDB nerd)

ARGH I GIVE UP this will be all. February films, finished!