Don Jon

There is a lot of truth in this movie. I had to close my eyes and take out my headphones for a lot of it because I didn't want to actually watch porn to watch a movie about how porn can screw you up.

It can: porn, images, imagination, masturbation. Hail Mary's aren't going to fix it. And probably a pot-smoking, sorta cute, older lady in your college class isn't going to fix it either. But realizing it, talking about it, being honest with yourself and others and then stopping, helping each other stop - I think that might be the answer to our instant gratification / addiction culture, to realize how defeating it is and then help each other overcome it.

So thank you Joseph Gordon-Levitt for putting some truth out there, through a medium people really like (and can be addicted to) and in a way that attracts, especially the people that probably need to hear it the most.

American Graffiti

People are stupid. Women. Men. Everybody. And horny.

This movie was so long and if I didn't have my friend Aprile to watch it with and make commentary during (see: something I never do with movies I like), I wouldn't have made it through.

There were a few good parts and lines, but I can't remember them. And I liked the soundtrack and the styles of the women, but that's about it. If you're thinking about watching this movie, I would say don't maybe.

Nothing happens--> that's what I forgot to mention.




**movie from Roger Ebert's four-star reviews, PG set

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

I actually really liked this movie. The kid - Tommy or whatever - was phenomenal, PHENOMENAL. Who was that kid?

--hold on, IMDB check.

Hmm.. Alfred Lutter III. And looks like he stopped acting three years after this movie, so I guess he didn't realize he had amazing talent, or nobody else did.

But anyways, gosh, all those terrible men. It started to make me lose hope (the little I have left) until the end when thank God she met a man who was cute, pretty good, and had a lot of money. He still hit the kid, but really he just gave him a spanking.

Wow. Ellen Burstyn has been in billions of things. She was really good. I'm so happy she could pursue her dreams and have a guy at the same time, and he was willing to drive and move her where she wanted to go, but then she realized she didn't need to go there anymore. That is true love.

And Kris Kristofferson's been in a lot too. He has a pretty unique bio on IMDB, you should read it.

Well anyways, relationships are rough and pursuing your dreams is hard. That's what I learned from this movie (not that I didn't already know it). But I especially liked when she finally said what she wanted loud in the restaurant when she said that everything she does from now on has to include singing.

That's how I feel - I can do a bunch of random jobs for money or whatever, as long as my life can still include acting and as long as these jobs are helping me get closer to acting. And if a guy wants to come along and be a part of it, great. -->Hmm.. that sounded harsh. It's just that as a woman you have to say it like that because we're so easily swayed to the extreme of giving up everything to please our husband (or even just some lame guy who will never be our husband).

I also found it interesting when Alice (Ellen Burstyn) said how at first she liked giving up her dreams to be with her husband because she thought that's how a man should be - dominating or whatever. Wow. Sounds so crazy but I totally get it. As "independent" as so many of us women are these days, we still have this innate desire to just live for a man and please a man. It's gross really. I hope I never do it. Just kidding. I hope I do. He just has to be perfect and love me for more than sex and not be abusive and love Jesus and maybe sort of cute with a stable job.




**movie from Roger Ebert's four-star reviews, PG set

Somm

This was a freaking emotional movie. I mean, I didn't cry, but it was just so amazing to watch these men work so hard to achieve this weird goal. And then the idea that some would pass and some wouldn't and watching who that would end up being. Geez.

It just makes me think of acting and my acting class and my friend Morgan and how we all help each other to get better and better at acting. And we really are helping each other, and it's working, and we really do want each other to succeed. But WE also want to succeed ourselves, and we know that there might be a time when one of us achieves it and one of us doesn't, and then what. Just like the guy in Somm said, the saddest part is not necessarily that we could lose but that if our friend wins and we don't, we'll end up alone. But then also like he said, we'd just have to find a different group to move forward with. You can't give up.

At least with acting it's a little less black and white about achieving and not achieving it. The goal is to make a living financially from it, and I guess the other goal would be to produce something of quality that's making a difference in the world, a good difference. In my case that would be something that could lead people to Christ and maybe the particular people I've been praying for. But maybe it won't be the movie that will do that but it'll just be me and my actual life, or maybe it will just be the Holy Spirit and I won't have a clue how it happened, but if I keep working hard at what God has put in my heart, something good will happen, whether I become a Somm or not. I mean, a star or not. :)

Well anyways, I wasn't really sure if this should go in the movie category or the acting category because it was so inspirational, but yeah I think everyone should watch this movie, no matter what your field or interest. Oh, and my favorite part was when the one guy was talking about how he wanted to pass so it could be a gift for his wife, so he could finally spend time with her. I know they all waned that for their spouses, but just the way he put it and his emotion, that was emotional.

The Accidental Tourist

I very much enjoyed this movie.

I like Geena Davis's character because she really seems to care about the man and want to help him. I guess, Don't we all? But so much of the time we're just waiting for someone to notice us and want us and want to help us, we don't look for a way we could actually help someone else. I mean, sure, she's probably lonely and wants a man, and she wants a dad for her son, but still I think her first thought is that she could help this man - first with his dog, then with his life. And she's so persistent. Makes me think about how marriage is a choice, but like most choices, there are things we have to do to make them, and to achieve the wanted result.

I don't desire to live like G.D.'s character, jumping in on a man so quickly after his separation and stopping at nothing to get her way. But I do think I could learn a thing or two from her, mostly that she plays the head writer in her life, and in contrast the dude totally doesn't learn how to do that till the end.

Also, the scene where the kid (Alexander?) is getting picked on by the other kids and the guy sees him and wants to help him. That was my first cry. I don't know what it is about kids getting picked on that just makes me so sad and so angry at the same time. I seriously hate it.. in real life, in the movies (when they're done real), in theory, whatever. There are so many kids in this world that need love and encouragement, I almost feel like I should spend my life helping them, rather than bringing new ones in.

I love the opening scene (was it the opening scene?) where the large man is sitting next to the guy and he's like, "I'm sorry I'm fat, I'm So-and-So, who are you?" or whatever. Hilarious.

Rose and Julian were weird but funny. Everything was so quirky and interesting, and the acting was phenomenal. Seriously, how can you show that kind of depth of grief without really "showing" or "acting" it, you know? It's amazing. Like are they really feeling that pain, or are they thinking of some similar pain from their real life, or do they just know how to make a certain kind of face, and people believe it? This is what I want to know (and learn how to do.)




**movie from Roger Ebert's four-star reviews, PG set

The Adjustment Bureau

I'm definitely more motivated to beat down my obstacles now.

This movie reminds me of all the people in the Bible that "fought" with God or bargained with him or whatever. That's how people in the Bible prayed - like it might actually make a difference, like God was real and had reasons and could listen to your reasons and could respect you.

Does God respect me? This is a weird question I have never thought of before. What does respect mean? According to Google, it is "a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements."

I usually believe God loves everyone just the same and it's not what we do that makes him love us more or less. He loves us because he made us. Everything we are is from him, so maybe he does love us for who we are, but who we are goes back to him anyway. So maybe he does respect us, but it all goes back to him anyway.

This is all a little bit mind blowing.

I still don't really understand free will.

Also, I often think a guy is going to steer me off the path I'm supposed to be taking. Or if I do anything even a little bit wrong, it's going to ruin everything.. all the good things I could have had or been. But sometimes I think nothing I do can change what's supposed to be.

That's sort of why I like this movie, because it plays with the idea that it's a little bit of both.

I do have free will, but it is God's number one plan for me that I am obedient to him and seek him first because then I will truly fulfill my purpose and have the most abundant life.

And I think our hearts matter even more than our actions. Is Matt Damon chasing this girl for purely selfish reasons, or does he really care about her and want to love her for her good? Well I think the second one is true, which is why Thompson used the threat of him messing up her life in order to make him give her up.

This movie was good because it made me think about things, but it really doesn't know anything about what it's talking about.

We can't be satisfied by a lover any more than we can be satisfied by achievement and applause. You could even feel it at the end of the movie, how now that they're allowed to have each other, it's not quite as exciting. They'll just go back to their normal lives, and when they can see each other everyday all the time whenever they want, it will become usual, and they'll start to look for the next pop-up bathroom experience.

The only thing we can be satisfied by is God, and what's awesome is he brings us those refreshing girl-in-the-bathroom-type moments all the time, but so often we worship the moment instead of the creator of the moment.

The Creator never changes, and if we seek him, we'll see him in our everyday, and we will stop caring so much about achievement and applause and about lovers and potential lovers. Our purpose will become something greater. It will become about something bigger than our life on earth, and then we can really be free to be who we are and serve who really matters, and that is the freedom and journey I long for.




**This was not a Roger Ebert movie. It wasn't four-star quality (I agree), but my acting class was talking about it forever last week, and I can see why. 

The Age of Innocence

I just really like Winona Ryder. What is she doing these days?

--Scuse me a minute while I look her up on IMDB--

Well, she's still acting but not as much, it seems.

This movie was sort of slow-paced, very talky, and nothing but romance, which is not my number one choice of movie, but I still found it somewhat interesting.

I like how at the end (spoiler alert) he doesn't go in to see her. I guess he just wants to keep her in his mind the way he imagined? Not sure but it's pretty interesting considering he says his wife didn't give him a choice and that's why he stayed, but now he is being given a choice and he's still not being with the other woman.

I think the point is that even though his wife "told him" he couldn't go, she actually was asking because he actually could have done whatever he wanted. So ultimately he wanted to stay true to his commitment despite what he felt he wanted, and he still did even after his commitment was dead.

I think that's cool. Because he should have just not married May in the first place, but since he did, he needed to stay true to his decision, especially considering she gave him an out during their engagement. She wanted it to be longer so he could have time to decide about another woman. That really is "noble," as Michelle Pfeiffer's character says.

How hard it is once you have someone you love to not try to clench your fists around them no matter what the truth may be.

**movie from Roger Ebert's four-star reviews, PG set