30 December 2007

movies over the break:

so far over the christmas break (and in recent weeks) i have seen:



The Water Horse was basically free willy meets the loch ness monster. I never need to see this movie again, however the creature reminded us of our dumb little black and white cat. a little slow in the mind, but still cute and friendly. and you can't give him up even if he is handicapped and overweight. ha!




Atonement was a great movie. Again, another one that I don't think i need to see again, but i was glad to see Vanessa Redgrave making a cameo appearance at the end of the film. this movie represents one of my greatest fears. having a false accusation towards me end up causing a huge change in my life that was unneeded and unexpected. great acting though--even from ms. knightly. and mr. tumnus (lion, witch, wardrobe) was great.




Juno just might be my favorite movie from 2007. No that's unfair to my other favorites from 2007. It was a top three though of the year. i would consider this to be the sleeper film like little miss sunshine was last year and sweep up everything it's nominated for at the golden globes and oscars. the little pregnant chick had the greatest comedic timing, not to mention a handful of great one liners. everyone should see this film. period. it's pg-13 so you have no excuse.




Sweeney Todd....sigh....i don't know what to write about this film. I loved it for what it was worth. I hated some of the musical liberties they took. actually i didn't really enjoy a lot of the liberties they took, but tim burton did say that this was the "FILM" sweeney todd and not the stage play and that there would be differences. Toby was my favorite. I really liked that part and how they changed it for a smaller child with a higher register. i also enjoyed a lot of the intricate details that are possible in film, but not on stage. Mainly the production design. the sets where amazing. hands down fantastic. there was WAY too much tim burton blood. my friend kris thought the same thing i did! it's like the scene from addams family where pugsley and wendy cut off each other's arms and the blood sprays out like it's coming out of a pressured hose. there was SO much blood. almost so much that it made it comical and took away from the suspense and horror of the story that is sweeney todd, the demon barber of fleet street. he kills people! it's supposed to be scary! not funny! anyway. see it if you want a lot of blood, but don't get your hopes up if you're expecting it to be like the stage play verbatim.




i'm not going to say much about I'm Not There. It was very artsy. And edited so strange. I understood the overall idea of what the movie was trying to present, but apparently I don't know enough about bob dylan for the movie to make complete sense to me. i feel like i need to research him and his life now. maybe that's what the movie is encouraging? i don't know...maybe it just means i didn't really grow up in the bob dylan era like my folks, and even though i know a hand full of his songs, i'm more aquainted with his son's music talent in the band "the wallflowers." 6th avenue heartache. i still love that song. oh and cate blanchett is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses. she is the best thing about this film in her portrayal of dylan--hands down.




I loved I Am Legend...until I saw the creatures. then all i wanted to do was pinch their cute little ugly faces. they were all CGI and completely unbelievable. i mean come on! you're already spending millions of dollars on making new york city look abandoned and destroyed. what's a little more to use real humans and real actors and dress them all up like any other zombie movie like the 28 days later and 28 weeks later. Will Smith is surprisingly really good. it's just the dang "bad guys." they're no good. it did make me ponder though a little about the "what if" of the development of science and technology. what if one day while finding a cure for cancer or some awful disease like AIDS it has a deadly side affect and wipes out most of mankind? it is a feaseable concern i believe. it isn't going to be global warming that kills us--it's going to be the human race. just a thought..... see it if you like sci-fi movies and will smith talking to manikins like they are real human beings. just be prepared to see some cheesy looking night creatures.

things i love about utah:

One of the things that I try to do (and fail miserably at most of the time) is no matter what to find the good in people, places, things, etc. i gripe and moan about living in utah a lot of the time. it has its quirks--no doubt about it. sometimes i have good reasoning to complain, but other times i don't. over the break i've had some moments of "utah is great!" here they are:

1. for the first time since i moved here I went sledding today up american fork canyon. apparently it's this amazing popular place called the bowl. everyone goes, but i never have! so i made everyone get together and go with me. it was great! it was nice snow and not the icy kind at happy jack up the summit in laramie. and then we went on a little wilderness trek through the snow and in some spots it would come up mid thigh. i haven't had that much fun in the snow in a long time--in fact i think ever.

2. salt lake is a clean downtown. been up there both days this weekend. if i were to get a job with #3 or something related i think i would be okay living in the downtown area of salt lake. at least for a while.

3. sundance. had a TON of fun last year. hopefully I will get my hands on some tickets for this year since i spaced signing up for the utah locals ticket sales. i have some sources. i'm not too worried.

4. wasatch front. the mountains are gorgeous. especially right now when they are covered in snow.

5. opportunity. moving to utah has given me opportunities that i know wyoming would have never been able to offer. i figured out what i really want to do when i "grow up" or maybe i should say graduate from college because of what i've been able to involve myself with here. plus i've made some great, great friends because of it.

and the countdown continues: t-minus 1.5 years until graduation.

25 December 2007

a new take on christmas eve

yesterday instead of our normal christmas eve tradition of cooking mexican food ourselves, we headed north to salt lake to eat chipotle! a great new tradition that i think we should do every year. less mess to clean up.

also. i went hot-pot-tubbing at 12:30 am last night in lehi. I have heard about said hot-pots but never went. I went with a few friends, and after the freezing walk to the hot-pot was grateful for the natural warmth. so much that i didn't want to leave!

24 December 2007

look alikes

this is my favorite picture from the holiday break so far. are we siblings or what?

Collage

Here is my final film project:

for some reason it is really dark on my blog, so you can watch it at this link.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ldzDaGi5zc


21 December 2007

i'm done!

i took my final test today! and also i got 100% on my final film cut. that makes me happy.


i'm going to celebrate and see sweeney todd. right now.

14 December 2007

best of 2007

This list includes both my favorite things of 2007 along with new music artists i stumbled across for one reason or another. It's not a complete list seeing how a lot can happen in 365 days, but here are a few highlights....

HAIRSPRAY!



This may easily be my favorite thing from 2007. I saw it too many times, and my mom even can be spotted dancing to it while it's playing in the house. Stacey even bought me this book as a joke. But i loved it!

MISSY HIGGINS



I stumbled upon Missy while working. A co-worker was playing some of her music and I asked for a copy. She's probably been around a while, but I just found her this year and I love her.

3:10 to Yuma



Everyone needs a good western every once and a while. This movie was brilliant.

Into the Wild



This movie really affected my life, I think. I mean, i'm not really one to get up and move to alaska after college. But I felt like I could compare his wants and desires to my own. After I graduate, I'll probably up and move somewhere. Even if everyone else thinks it's a bad idea or whatever. I'm itching to leave my comfort zone that I've created here in Utah and have new life experiences, meet new and exciting people, and basically grow up. Great flick. Maybe i should read the book?

Spring Awakening



A show very similar to me to Into the Wild. A show about growing up, figuring out who you are, and breaking free of people telling you what is right and what is wrong. This show is also special because it was the first show I ever saw on Broadway. oh! which brings me to my next best thing of 2007.

NEW YORK CITY



What a city...so much energy and so much activity. I think my A.D.D. brain thrives in such a place. The daily chaos of the city ironically is something I really enjoy. I'll live there sooner or later.

Other things without pictures:

2007 was the year I actually began to feel like a college student even though I've been doing this for almost 4 years now. I was accepted into an awesome program where I get to study and learn about media, and can thrive in an environment where I feel like I am talented and can grow in potential in both theatre and film.

2007 was the year that I stopped driving the burb and finally got behind the seat of a nice honda accord to take me to and from school.

2007 was the year I became an uncle to 5 kids.

2007 was the year my teeth finished straightening.

2007 was the year I lost my "freshman fifteen."

2007 was the year I helped get a full-featured length film to play in a movie theater.

2007 was the year I saw nickel creek in concert at Kingsbury hall. and they were AMAZING!

2007 was the year I went to New York twice.

2007 was the year stacey and I drove to vegas on a 24 hr straight road trip for in-and-out.

2007 was the year I didn't buy an iPhone.... sigh....

2007 was the year....

13 December 2007

Nutcracker

Come One Come All!!

11 December 2007

new year's resolutions

I thought I would crack these out early this year. Just because one of them may actually take some planning. I would also like to mention before starting that Brandon has started a chain reaction with his consume less save more campaign. Some of my resolutions go hand in hand with the campaign. Here they are in no order:

#1 Stay healthy. 2007 was a good year for me health wise. (except for right now because i've had this lame cold for weeks.) I'd like to continue what I've already accomplished so far. Maybe I'll add get buff to that.

#2 Drive less. Ride more. This one entails riding the bus when possible. Next semester I think this is definitely a possibility. I may have to take a hiatus during the summer when I'm running around with my head cut off with Castle responsibilities, but this is at least possible for Jan-May and August-December.

#3 Spend Less, Save more. I like being able to go on fun trips through out the year. Trips for 2008 already look to include New York in May, Illinois sometime, and maybe disneyland with stacey. I spend so much money eating out. I have cut back on this significantly to keep with #1, but I think I can cut back even more. Also, hopefully #2 will ultimately help with #3. By taking the bus I should be saving on gas and car repairs. Not that the honda has needed much beyond some breaks work. The little guy rocks, and does surprisingly well in the snow. (You just have to know how to drive in it! HA! sorry jon...that's a stab at when you guys stayed an extra few days with us because of sliding off the road. we were glad that you stayed though)

#4 Write to eric more often. Granted, i never really wrote to jon either. but since it's an email address i have no excuse.

#5 Read more. I put this at the end because there is a large possibility that it will not happen. but i am resolved at trying atleast. If anyone has any suggestions I'm game.


So there they are in a nutshell. Coming up soon. My list of "best of 2007."

09 December 2007

things left to finish by the 21st:

-tell my work that i am changing jobs, get someone hired to replace me, and train them.
-start training at my new job. say good bye to publications and graphics and hello to university communications. (i have a feeling that p&g will never fully be out of my life. especially if i want to use the hvx :) )
-rough cut of 185 project turned in, fine cut finished
-final anthro paper written
-religion class final
-114 final paper
-paper for barta for castle credit


i think that's all.

05 December 2007

so i'm putting this out there for discussion.

on sunday i was lucky enough to catch a tim allen double feature on cable.(funny how i actually was kind of excited to watch them...they bring back fun memories from a decade ago.) but then i realized when my mom pointd this out to me that tim allen is the same character in every movie. so true...so true. funny as he can be, there is no depth to his character choices. so i started to think about other actors who fit this mold.

tim allen
chris farley
mandy moore
steven segal
ben affleck
hayden christensen
keanu reeves
sandra bullock
lindsey lohan.


okay those are just to name a few.

04 December 2007

a like to have options

so i'm really amazed.

a few months ago i met with the wife of the man I would now call my supervisor at work (mainly meaning if I need anything i go to him, other than that he really doesn't know how or what I do with speeches. but speeches deserves its own post soon.) she's a really nice lady. she works for university communications. i put working for her just because it was a really busy time (not like now is any easier...) but she contacted me last week again and asked if i was still interested in working for her. well i gave her the big shpeal on the whole roundabout theatre hold up, and then asked her about just working/training during the christmas break until I know for sure about the internship. she was so nice about it and said that she thought that was a great idea, and really had no problem with me leaving for the winter term, and she still wants to hire me.

it's one of those nice and warm fuzzy kind of feelings to know that my previous work has impressed her enough to work around my conflicts. "I am interested in having someone become an expert on our system who will work as an editor and also help us with the technical side of the system. I know you have a lot of talents and would be a good fit on both the technical and creative side.."

so yes, it seems as though i will never fully leave "technical support," but its the kind of technical support I don't mind doing because it's CREATIVE technical support if that makes sense. plus i get free training on avid. sweet. sweet.

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i like having options. i think no matter what, speeches will soon be out of my life. sad, but necessary. and! i'm trying to stay positive about the new york thing. if i don't get the internship, I have a few options for working up at sundance in january. so there ya go.

03 December 2007

a realization

I'm 22.


if i were to follow the examples of my older siblings i would be married by now.

02 December 2007

two weeks and counting

my mom is a genius. this most likely isn't that much of a surprise to hear me say that. but for the second year in a row now we have set up the christmas tree in a matter of seconds. (minus the ornaments.) how you ask? It's pre-lit! no more matching up colored or numbered tree limbs to their correct hole. no more swearing! (well for tree related incidents) no more hatred towards setting up the tree.

pre-lit trees. i think i'll invest.

also i think my vitamin water is a little better than my parent's vitamin water.