tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61344794677700891012024-02-19T10:06:17.015-06:00What's goin' onNYC - SLC - TopCity - DTX - ATXJust Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.comBlogger1068125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-55805828951127181362022-04-11T12:20:00.004-05:002022-04-11T12:20:23.759-05:00The Grisham Papers: A Time to Kill (movie)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6lqWlh6fiFYlWSTsQdajU2zUh1KFgp1bKundQDHN34poIoV_ucy9Y2aC5iQXQfL4YnNSzaxWgm1BT331xwO9msLxUKWEbH-nFAGBOj25PCJwmxMEABpCnqm4K9dDDdlqi4ms9U5iaysmWIfcHnyJSbs84JOTkzx4-G8eQ0NTJjxxYdUtHciF0DsTQdg/s601/Screenshot%202022-04-09%207.51.18%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="393" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6lqWlh6fiFYlWSTsQdajU2zUh1KFgp1bKundQDHN34poIoV_ucy9Y2aC5iQXQfL4YnNSzaxWgm1BT331xwO9msLxUKWEbH-nFAGBOj25PCJwmxMEABpCnqm4K9dDDdlqi4ms9U5iaysmWIfcHnyJSbs84JOTkzx4-G8eQ0NTJjxxYdUtHciF0DsTQdg/w209-h320/Screenshot%202022-04-09%207.51.18%20PM.png" width="209" /></a><b><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117913/?ref_=tt_mv_close" target="_blank">IMDb Description</a></b>: In Canton, Mississippi a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan. <br /><br /><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-time-to-kill-1996" target="_blank"><b>Ebert review</b></a>: three stars ("...the movie is interested in the white characters as people and black characters as atmosphere.")<br /><br /><b>Lawyer protagonist</b>: Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey, in his first break-out role)<br /><br /><b>Evil antagonist</b>: D.A. Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey); white supremacy; systemic racism; KKK; oppressive heat<br /><br /><b>Client</b>: Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson)<br /><br /><b>Star supporting cast</b>: Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock, miscast IMHO); Harry Rex, Jake's friend (Oliver Platt); Lucien Wilbanks, Jake's mentor (Donald Sutherland); Carla Brigance, Jake's wife (Ashley Judd); Chris Cooper as a local police officer</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Background</b>: <i>A Time to Kill</i> was the first Grisham novel published, but the fourth to be adapted to a film. Matthew McConaughey was basically an unknown at the time and the studio and director took a chance on him. He was entering the big leagues with Sandra Bullock and Samuel L. Jackson, and even though he's the clear star of the movie he's billed after both of them (apparently it's alphabetical billing). He does well in his first starring role; Jackson is great as always; and Bullock is slightly miscast in my opinion as the smart, liberal, brash law student begging to be Jake's assistant free of charge. It's directed by Joel Schumacher, a sort of poor-man's Michael Bay, fresh off of <i>Batman Forever</i>. Two years previously he also directed another Grisham adaption, <i>The Client. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In small town Canton, Mississippi, two Confederate-loving degenerate rednecks come across a ten-year old black girl walking home from the grocery story. They grab her and proceed to tie her up and rape her (thankfully this is all implied in the filmmaking but it was still hard to watch). The two men are arrested, and as they are walking through the courthouse to be arraigned, Carl Lee, the girl's father, guns them down in front of A LOT OF PEOPLE. Local boy lawyer Jake Brigance takes the case, more out of a desire to be famous and further his career with a super difficult case than to see justice prevail. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Justice prevailing. Hmm. Everyone <i>knows</i> that Carl Lee committed the crime. He did it out of vengeance. The film comes down mostly on the side that what he did was okay, because sometimes there is "a time to kill". Justice has been served. But revenge as a motive has never sat well with me. Carl Lee is the breadwinner for his family, and with him in jail his family struggles to get by. If he gets the death sentence, then what happens to his family? The long-term consequences do not outweigh the short-term feeling of satisfaction. <i>Being there</i> for his family, especially his little girl that experienced unimaginable trauma and physical pain, is a far better choice. </div><div><br /></div><div>Carl Lee and his role in the crime that starts the story becomes secondary to how being his lawyer affects Jake, the white protagonist. The Ku Klux Klan targets everyone around him, eventually burning down his house and causing him to send his wife and daughter away. It can be a bit simplistic way to view the racial aspects of the story. The film goes fairly easy on the individual and systemic racism, and instead uses the KKK as the real villain of the film. </div><div><br /></div><div>It makes me think of an article I read a couple summers ago during the social unrest after the killing of George Floyd. While racism is a systemic issue, most media and schools portray the evils of racism through the KKK or one bad person like a sheriff or cop. It allows white people to feel removed from systemic racism and to claim that it was basically solved when the Civil Rights Act was passed. But that's not the case; racism IS individual but it's also very much systemic. </div><div><br /></div><div>The film follows all the basics of the story from the novel, but excises all the extraneous parts that weren't necessary to tell a complete story. It also chooses to actually show Carl Lee on the witness stand, instead of completing skipping out on it like Grisham did. However, it all happens really fast and is over so quickly that I wish there had more to come from it. </div><div><br /></div><div>The production values are good throughout, with lots of interesting camera movements. Schumacher stages his scenes well, particularly when Jake visits Carl Lee in jail. Everyone is <i>doused</i> in sweat, which I honestly thought was a really nice touch. The story isn't exactly interested in legal strategy and how the legal system works, but it's a fun enough legal "thriller" that's worth a watch. </div><div><br /><br /></div>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-42257471875100944792022-02-27T18:30:00.005-06:002022-02-28T08:56:26.943-06:00The Sparks Oeuvre: Wrap-up<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9fAMQdnfotzK_31x2lMWTKfd8ujHBrQfyN-ku8itu74BEHuf-6c3kVias0sAePHR17UDSxfbasvuIMpSMbPaP1vPZFjEsgrJbVowZ3Bw_ODoINMzpifsxV_at2ssGGtHUiMI0tKM_NHU0drOh5Q2vvYPXZc70XU2Q2zlequ9sHaQDR6i7MnH_HeGidQ=s659" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="659" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9fAMQdnfotzK_31x2lMWTKfd8ujHBrQfyN-ku8itu74BEHuf-6c3kVias0sAePHR17UDSxfbasvuIMpSMbPaP1vPZFjEsgrJbVowZ3Bw_ODoINMzpifsxV_at2ssGGtHUiMI0tKM_NHU0drOh5Q2vvYPXZc70XU2Q2zlequ9sHaQDR6i7MnH_HeGidQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div>For the past six months I lived in The Sparks Oeuvre world. It was a fun and interesting place to be, because even though I love romcoms, "<a href="https://youtu.be/2y-8vxObugM?t=93" target="_blank">I don't really know love at all</a>." Declarations of love in movies generally make me feel slightly anxious and a bit embarrassed, and sometimes I have to look away. For whatever reason though, I adore romcoms. And while #TheSparksOeuvre isn't exactly romcom territory, the time spent there the past several months has been an inescapable residence in romance and love. <p></p><p>Love in the Sparks world is about finding <i>the one</i>. His romances feel epic and life-altering because all of his couples are finding their <i>one</i>. Of course note every love story told is about finding <i>the one</i>, but that's not what Sparks is interested in. His couples fall in love fast because they each know that <i>this </i>time it feels different. And I imagine that's what it feels like when people find their <i>one</i>—everything feels different, and maybe it <i>can't</i> be explained because how do you explain why it's this one person and not the person you were dating before (or are currently dating, more on that later)? </p><p>In the words of Ted Mosby, it's ineffable. </p><p>One thing that maybe doesn't get discussed about Sparks stories is how much cheating is involved. Allie cheats on her fiance Lon in <i>The Notebook</i>. Savannah cheats on John while he's deployed in <i>Dear John</i>. Amanda cheats on her husband with Dawson in <i>The Best of Me</i>. Gabby cheats with Travis in <i>The Choice</i>. In all these cases it's the woman who is in an existing relationship when the cheating occurs; the men are essentially single and have held a flame for decades (Noah and Dawson) or knew immediately they were in love with the woman (John and Travis). </p><p>It's an interesting dynamic that Sparks has set up. Certainly I don't condone cheating, and I don't think Sparks necessarily does either. He full on recognizes that people are messy and relationships are messy and sometimes people make bad choices but that doesn't make them bad people. No one is cheating out of meanness or spite or anger; it's always about love, and though it may sound like a bad excuse to some I tend to give it a pass. To Sparks, love is important. Life-altering. And worth making bad choices for, because loving someone fully and whole-heartedly is to be alive. (Small sidenote that in <i>Safe Haven</i> the novel Katie specifically does not sleep with Alex because she is still married, even though she's run away from her husband who is abusive.)</p><p>Many critics are unfairly harsh towards Sparks adaptations. They get called out for being unrealistic, cheesy, simple. But so rarely is the same harshness and critique applied to films that are made for a different, perhaps more "masculine" audience. Big action movies are also unrealistic, cheesy, and simple - is a dude really going to need to defend their family from invaders, or fight off cars that turn into sentient bots hellbent on destroying earth, or drive cars fast and furiously through exotic locales? Movies like that are mass marketed and have huge appeal, even if some do get harsh reviews from critics. The point is that they are seen as entertainment that can make money because their target is men. </p><p>But Sparks movies are known to be exclusively for female audiences, and anything made for females is immediately seen as inconsequential or ridiculous. Think about the reaction to <i>Twilight</i>, boy bands, fashion, decorating. Superficial and frivolous, and would only appeal to women. But I ask what is more likely to be a part of most everyone's life: falling in love and building a relationship and life with someone, or becoming a vigilante to protect your family from intruders (or driving cars fast and furiously)? </p><p>That was all a bit off-topic, so thanks for reading my short diatribe about taking films centered on love and romance and geared towards a female audience more seriously, or at least not completely dismissing them. </p><p>I truly enjoyed my time with The Sparks Oeuvre, experiencing people falling in love, staying in love, fighting for love, and losing love. Some were better than others, and overall I probably enjoyed the films more for their tighter storytelling and great actors and directors (and all the other important crafts-people that contribute to a film: make-up, wardrobe, lighting, location, editing). Here's my ranking of the book and movies, plus a few "favorites":</p><google-sheets-html-origin><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; table-layout: fixed; width: 0px;" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><colgroup><col width="22"></col><col width="145"></col><col width="148"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 21px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Book"}" style="background-color: black; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; color: white; font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: bold; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Book</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Movie"}" style="background-color: black; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; color: white; font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: bold; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Movie</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">1</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Longest Ride"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Longest Ride</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"A Walk to Remember"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">A Walk to Remember</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">2</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Safe Haven"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Safe Haven</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Lucky One"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Lucky One</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":3}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">3</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Notebook"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Notebook</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Choice"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Choice</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":4}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">4</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Message in a Bottle"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Message in a Bottle</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Notebook"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Notebook</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":5}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">5</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Lucky One"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Lucky One</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Best of Me"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Best of Me</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":6}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">6</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Nights in Rodanthe"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Nights in Rodanthe</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Message in a Bottle"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Message in a Bottle</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":7}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">7</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Dear John"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Dear John</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Safe Haven"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Safe Haven</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":8}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">8</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"A Walk to Remember"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">A Walk to Remember</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Dear John"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Dear John</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":9}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">9</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Best of Me"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Best of Me</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Longest Ride"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Longest Ride</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":10}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">10</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Choice"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Choice</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Nights in Rodanthe"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Nights in Rodanthe</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":11}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">11</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Last Song"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Last Song</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Last Song"}" style="border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; font-family: "Century Gothic"; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Last Song</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Favorite Male Lead (movie)</b><br />It's probably a tie between Landon Carter in <i>A Walk to Remember </i>and Logan Thibault in <i>The Lucky One</i></p><p><b>Favorite Female Lead (movie)</b><br />I like Beth a lot in <i>The Lucky One</i> because she starts out tentative and a bit harsh but slowly loses that. And I like Theresa in <i>Message in a Bottle</i> because she's juggling different roles but is deep down a romantic. </p><p><b>Favorite Male Lead (book)</b><br />I'm going to go with Luke in <i>The Longest Ride</i>. </p><p><b>Favorite Female Lead (book)</b><br />Gotta be Katie in <i>Safe Haven</i>. She's got determination and a lot of strength, and I was hooked while reading her escape plan from her abusive husband. </p></google-sheets-html-origin><p><b>Biggest Change from Page to Screen<br /></b>Probably <i>A Walk to Remember</i> because it completely changes the setting from 1950s to present day.</p><p><b>Adaptation that stays most true to the source material</b><br /><i>The Last Song</i> (obviously, Sparks wrote the screenplay the same time he was writing the novel)</p><p><b>Most Disappointing Adaptation</b><br /><i>The Longest Ride</i>, because I liked the book so much and had never seen the movie before I had high expectations.</p><p><b>Best First Kiss</b><br />Tie. <br /><i>A Walk to Remember</i> because we are treated to the classic line of "I might kiss you." and Jamie responding with, "I might be bad at it." And you know Landon loves her because he then says, "That's not possible." but it's entirely possible she could actually be bad at kissing :)<br /><i>The Choice</i> because it's lit and staged really well, and then has this great exchange - Gabby: "Why are you walking slowly towards me?" Travis: "Because if I ran I'd scare you." </p><p><b>Best Sex Scene (movie)<br /></b><i>The Lucky One</i><br />Sparks is generally pretty PG when he writes sex scenes. Sometimes he just writes "they made love" and sometimes he'll go into very simple explanation of actions leading up to sex. And his leads are always in love when they have sex. The only characters that don't have sex are Jamie and Landon in <i>A Walk to Remember </i>(book and movie), Ronnie and Will in The Last Song (book and movie), and Katie and Alex in <i>Safe Haven</i> (book only). </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-58849872426578453902022-02-22T20:50:00.001-06:002022-02-23T12:46:53.809-06:00The Sparks Oeuvre: The Choice (movie)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7mtmIJBVjCWuhuRS0AxxE_vXTyvNRCh9qVTLicLlNTdpO62n8o9VPU9AggjyWyPWieJi2IMj3aBf5eHNslEJIqR3MrIdD39WeHxD4_Snp-72HFJF1ekgj3Q5yg_6c9j_nFzZRPH2jVJW0L1cXHTtoiiN066qcmtzUuUfm31EvDr4p2eoyDZVgnMatIQ=s586" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="395" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7mtmIJBVjCWuhuRS0AxxE_vXTyvNRCh9qVTLicLlNTdpO62n8o9VPU9AggjyWyPWieJi2IMj3aBf5eHNslEJIqR3MrIdD39WeHxD4_Snp-72HFJF1ekgj3Q5yg_6c9j_nFzZRPH2jVJW0L1cXHTtoiiN066qcmtzUuUfm31EvDr4p2eoyDZVgnMatIQ=s320" width="216" /></a></div><b>Tagline</b>: Let your heart decide. <p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><b><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3797868/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0" target="_blank">IMDb description</a></b>: Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining moments. </p><p><b>Roger Ebert review</b>: sadly, Roger Ebert passed before this film was released, and therefore the review on his site is not by him. </p><p><b>Female protagonis</b>t: Gabby Holland (Teresa Palmer)</p><p><b>Male protagonist</b>: Travis Shaw, changed from Parker in the book (Benjamin Walker)</p><p><b>Star supporting cast</b>: Tom effin' Wilkinson as Travis' dad; Maggie Grace as Travis' sister; Tom "Superman" Welling as Gabby's boyfriend</p><p><b>Background: </b>Despite being the sixth book published, it was the eleventh (and so far last) to be adapted to a movie. I can't find any information on why, so I've gone ahead and made the reason be that the book was not well-liked so it just languished. That doesn't explain, though, why it was even chosen for a movie adaptation when they are other Sparks books that could have been chosen! I guess we'll never know. </p><p>First off, let's discuss the movie poster which so obviously deviates from the now-standard "two people about to kiss as a light shines between them". This poster has the lovers not even facing each other! And it has a weird color palette (clearly subjective, I know). Every time I saw this as a thumbnail when scrolling through Netflix or Amazon Prime I just thought it looked <i>ugly</i> so I never bothered to watch it. </p><p>The film is still the story of Travis and Gabby, neighbors that fall in love despite him being a playboy and her being completely annoyed by him (but is she??). Oh, and Gabby also has a long-term doctor boyfriend which is a huge DESPITE as well. Small things though when you find your real person. Travis and Gabby soon fall into <i>something</i> over a weekend when her boyfriend is away. The book doesn't really have any tension on whether Gabby is going to tell her boyfriend and end up with Travis. The movie, though, goes a bit cliche and has her unsure of what to do or who to choose. It comes to a head when her boyfriend returns home early and, while out with Gabby and his parents at the local restaurant, Travis also happens to be there. </p><p>This leads to a showdown between Gabby and Travis. She tries to be like "well, we didn't define what this is." And Travis is like "Oh, so you have fun time with country boy and run back to your rich boyfriend." I don't entirely buy this direction of the argument from Travis; he acts as if he's some poor country boy (like Noah or Dawson) when he actually owns a vet practice with his dad, has a home on the shoreline, owns a boat and a motorcycle, and is well-respected in the community as a vet. The dude speaks with a country accent, but that doesn't mean he's poor. When Gabby is trying to find some footing she claims that she doesn't even know how he feels. To which Travis grabs her face and says HE LOVES HER. He says it over and over. And even though the timeline is still ridiculous, I roll with it because both of the actors really sell it. </p><p>She ends up telling her boyfriend, who is mad at her at first but then proposes. And she says yes, which she tells Travis in a note she leaves for him. Only in movies do people say yes to proposals from the wrong person just to prove a point. They of course make their way back to each other and we see only our second Sparks wedding (the other being in <i>A Walk to Remember</i>). </p><p>There's a nice montage of their life together, until the Sparks Tragic Occurrence that has Gabby in a coma after a car crash and Travis left with the difficult choice of having to pull the plug. He doesn't and she eventually wakes and everything is great. </p><p>Not <i>a lot</i> changes from the book. It's mostly small inconsequential stuff (random name changes, adding a side story for his dad) that generally helps tell a tighter story. The timeline is still very fast, but for whatever reason the actors sell it (Benjamin Walker more so than Teresa Palmer) so when Travis tells Gabby in his southern drawl (the first actor in a Sparks adaption to actually use an accent after Rachel McAdams in <i>The Notebook</i>) that he loves her I believe it. </p><p>I know I give the timeline of the falling in love a lot of heat, but it's an interesting thing to think about. Gabby has been with her boyfriend a long time, and if she had never met Travis she likely would have married him and been happy. Travis would have gone on being a bit of playboy. But they meet each other and it's like <i>Oh THIS is actually my person</i>. It must be a strange thing to experience. Relationships can be messy, and I guess as I get older I just acknowledge that more and realize that most people are honestly doing their best. </p><p>Since I disliked the book so much, I had very low expectations for the movie. Which ended up serving me well, because it wasn't terrible and I mostly enjoyed it.</p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-50381214999209530552022-02-19T08:41:00.002-06:002022-02-19T08:41:13.106-06:00The Sparks Oeuvre: The Longest Ride (movie)<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqsNe-6B_qv63VAE-FpIzBEqEXcCmyZcWiXZSJoaBNt2bKrBhFJ2WN6TT0FSDBPVAOksVSI8yqt7WSUVDVIKrg4Tp4UaL-a-teg3k1mM5sg5bfHRYRPtTvXy-oAGtZ-OHcotEXYpuZrvsexk-8X8IbqDUNY0eHjGzgZBo81VglqgiV7PDeD_xXWk8cwA=s599" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="401" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqsNe-6B_qv63VAE-FpIzBEqEXcCmyZcWiXZSJoaBNt2bKrBhFJ2WN6TT0FSDBPVAOksVSI8yqt7WSUVDVIKrg4Tp4UaL-a-teg3k1mM5sg5bfHRYRPtTvXy-oAGtZ-OHcotEXYpuZrvsexk-8X8IbqDUNY0eHjGzgZBo81VglqgiV7PDeD_xXWk8cwA=s320" width="214" /></a></b></div><b>Tagline</b>: can’t find one. <p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><b><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2726560/?ref_=ttmi_tt" target="_blank">IMDb description</a></b>: The lives of a young couple intertwine with a much older man, as he reflects back on a past love. </p><p><b>Roger Ebert review</b>: sadly, Roger Ebert passed before this film was released, and therefore the review on his site is not by him. </p><p><b>Female protagonis</b>t: Sophia (Britt Robertson)</p><p><b>Male protagonist</b>: Luke (Scott Eastwood)</p><p><b>Star supporting cast</b>: Alan Alda as Ira (played as a young man by John Huston, with his young wife Ruth played by Oona Chaplin.....lots of children/grandchildren of Hollywood icons in this film)</p><p><b>Background: </b><i>The Longest Ride</i> was released way back in April 2013, a little over a year after <i>The Best of Me</i>. This is the first in the Sparks Oeuvre that I knew literally nothing about (I mean obviously I had just read the book but <i>before</i> that this was not anywhere in my consciousness). I hadn't even seen the trailer before I settled in to watch it! Having watched them now....wow, they are something. It's not unheard of for a trailer to be nothing like the film, but it is always fun when one is found. The trailers lean heavy in to the <i>sexy</i> aspect of the film and honestly I did not find the film to be that sexy. After watching the movie, it felt like the scene used at the beginning of the trailers was shot specifically for the trailer because it was awkwardly placed in the movie and didn't make a lot of sense. </p><p>I really wanted to like this because I genuinely enjoyed the book. But the movie changes all the big and small details to make a more-cliched movie (which is saying something when it's adapted from a Sparks book). Most of the acting is pretty bad. Scott Eastwood is attractive but I never quite believe him, and the script has him be mean in one scene that is entirely untrue of his character in the book. The dialogue is very bad, including the last line of the film that makes absolutely no sense (why does Sophia ask Luke "What took you so long?" when at that point they are already married and their relationship wasn't over an extracted length of time?). Scenes are awkwardly staged and make no rational sense sometimes. </p><p>A few good things though. The bull-riding scenes were actually staged pretty well and looked good. The characters of Ruth and Ira were excellently portrayed and had a lot of natural chemistry. But these are both very small parts of the overall film. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-12873726233643029032022-02-09T18:27:00.001-06:002022-02-09T18:27:02.816-06:00The Sparks Oeuvre: The Best of Me (movie)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5Jdt49Dmz0Sv75GfOJBgCoFOGVB1sZAXXZvRLd_gMk9RDmte64V-u6l3dsZoGSMs6QiYNituhV6xPRMJYaGk25P6XnegeIZ9_hu6EnBSZKXK_sgUm2qefsjL_9qDL9Ik7kLbDlSqjiU2pFcv8_9tmz6bxU8PNxAaq5ZIHQDi3rNMhBC_UtLZvgCdiGg=s603" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="381" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5Jdt49Dmz0Sv75GfOJBgCoFOGVB1sZAXXZvRLd_gMk9RDmte64V-u6l3dsZoGSMs6QiYNituhV6xPRMJYaGk25P6XnegeIZ9_hu6EnBSZKXK_sgUm2qefsjL_9qDL9Ik7kLbDlSqjiU2pFcv8_9tmz6bxU8PNxAaq5ZIHQDi3rNMhBC_UtLZvgCdiGg=s320" width="202" /></a></div><b>Tagline</b>: You never forget your first love. <p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><b><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1972779/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3" target="_blank">IMDb description</a></b>: A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown. </p><p><b>Roger Ebert review</b>: sadly, Roger Ebert passed before this film was released, and therefore the review on his site is not by him. </p><p><b>Female protagonis</b>t: Amanda (Michelle Monaghan, Liana Liberato: young Amanda)</p><p><b>Male protagonist</b>: Dawson (James Marsden, Luke Bracey: young Dawson)</p><p><b>Star supporting cast</b>: Gerald McRaney (Major Dad) as Amanda and Dawson's mutual friend/caretaker/guardian/good person</p><p><b>Background: </b>This is the ninth Sparks movie adaptation, following a string of near-annual releases since <i>Dear John</i> in 2010. It's also the first to have a repeat actor! James Marsden played Lon in <i>The Notebook</i>, a truly lovely character who just happened to meet Allie at the wrong time. Here Marsden is the long-lost love from youth that gets the second chance (according to IMDb Paul Walker was originally cast but sadly died before filming started). I originally stated that I had seen this movie before, but I was wrong. I've seen <i>parts</i> of it because I knew the story and key plot points, but I had definitely never watched the entire film before. For whatever reasons my view on the film was negative and I was kind of dreading watching it. </p><p>But I actually liked it! Weird, right?! </p><p>Dawson and Amanda meet as teenagers in high school in small town Louisiana. He's from a bad family that does bad stuff; she's from a rich family. But they like each regardless and form a connection that is quite lovely. Dawson is taken in by Tuck, and both Dawson and Amanda see Tuck as a father-like figure, a friendly widower who loves them both. Dawson ends up going to jail for a truly accidental death, and rather than let Amanda wait for him he tells her he won't take her visits. She's devastated (and folks, I was invested enough in the characters that I was too). </p><p>Twenty (one) years later, Tuck has died and his estate lawyer summons both Dawson and Amanda to their hometown per Tuck's will. Turns out he plays matchmaker from the grave, as he wants both of them to spread his ashes at his charming cottage retreat (where Dawson and Amanda spent some steaming time as teenagers). At first they are a bit cold to each other, stung by past pain and hurt. </p><p>But, they also feel incredibly at ease and comfortable with one another. Honestly folks, it truly is a great feeling to be around a person/people that just "get" you and know how to love you. Dawson has never stopped loving Amanda, as he says during one of their chemistry-fueled dinners. Amanda is married and treading carefully, but it's clear she's also never stopped loving Dawson. (I have to suspend my own disbelief at this as I don't really think people carry torches that long, but then again I've never been in an all-encompassing, this-is-my-soulmate love so what do I know.)</p><p>Whereas the novel spent a chapter giving the background on Dawson and Amanda, the movie spends equal time with them as teenagers and as adults. This is key to why the story works better in the movie. I really <i>feel</i> the love and loss between them. Also, both the young and older actors playing the couple have effortless chemistry. You believe why they would be drawn to each other as teenagers and why that would last through to being adults. I mean seriously folks, every time they are on screen it's fire. </p><p>The movie also switches up the tragedy that causes them to lose touch. The movie has the character accidentally killed be a family member and it immediately makes Dawson's story make a lot more sense. Also, their estrangement makes a lot more sense, too. In the book, I don't recall a scene of Dawson in jail telling Amanda to move on and not visit him and I was always so confused why she didn't just wait for him. Why did she get married? The whole narrative is adjusted and it makes for a better story.</p><p>The film isn't perfect. It's still burdened with Sparks' characterization of Dawson's extended family and the layers and layers of tragedy. Even with that, though, I like the characters a lot and feel even more impacted by the sad ending handed to them. Amanda, though, is at least divorced from her husband at the end of the movie and that's a win in my mind (again, I don't readily advocate for divorce willy-nilly, but it's a legitimate choice and very often the right one - happy marriages don't end in divorce and this was the right choice for Amanda). </p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-68709883652882151022022-02-06T18:25:00.000-06:002022-02-06T18:25:00.032-06:00The Sparks Oeuvre: The Best of Me (novel)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLoVWG6aCpMdP2E7XU3nlTgToUz9G52S1Aozgl_5xEjKXl2yxKAHZ7dITe9YdX-9XLSRC-xcHga-DHnTRm-QSDyw-2Id20aDzNhZrkfYNxtpRT286eu2NjCns9cfkAJufztYCWt823Hkg9PIcOzaJxh8Pkr68PtKiZ_CIwcG5kCzzwRKC3KYaVe4W-4A=s499" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="339" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLoVWG6aCpMdP2E7XU3nlTgToUz9G52S1Aozgl_5xEjKXl2yxKAHZ7dITe9YdX-9XLSRC-xcHga-DHnTRm-QSDyw-2Id20aDzNhZrkfYNxtpRT286eu2NjCns9cfkAJufztYCWt823Hkg9PIcOzaJxh8Pkr68PtKiZ_CIwcG5kCzzwRKC3KYaVe4W-4A=s320" width="217" /></a></div><i>The Best of Me</i> is Sparks' 10th novel, released a year after <i>Safe Haven</i>. He's definitely gotten into a certain mode at this point, but also trying to mix things up just a bit and trying his hand at larger casts, more tragedy, and outright villains. <i>The Best of Me </i>has all of that, but it's also essentially the same story as <i>The Notebook</i>. <p></p><p>Dawson and Amanda meet as teens in small town Louisiana. He's from the well-known for all the wrong reasons Cole family, and Amanda is from the upstanding Collier family. Despite social and economic divides, and the strong opposition from her family, Dawson and Amanda fall in love. After an incident with his family, Dawson is taken in by Tuck, a local widower who becomes a loving paternal figure to both of them. Tragedy strikes, though, and Dawson is the cause of the death of a local doctor after a car crash one night. He gets sent to jail and him and Amanda lose touch. </p><p>Until twenty-five years later, when Tuck dies and his lawyer contacts both Dawson and Amanda as they are requested to spread his ashes at his requested place. Is this their second chance? Dawson has never lost his love for Amanda. Amanda is married to a man who became an alcoholic after their youngest daughter died of cancer. Over the weekend that they spend together, orchestrated by Tuck from the grave, they know that they still love one another. BUT. </p><p>Amanda is married. Y'all, I know that marriage is a big deal. But I also know that sometimes people shouldn't be married anymore. It's not a failure to recognize that one's marriage is no longer working and it can't be fixed. That's especially true if you love someone else. Amanda admits to Dawson that on her wedding day to Frank she was thinking of him. If her and Dawson hadn't been reunited due to Tuck's passing, she would just go on living her life with an unfulfilling marriage. </p><p>Her weekend with Dawson is a chance for her to assess what she really wants and make a choice. But she doesn't do any of that. She tells Dawson to tell her what to do. When she goes through the reasons why she can't end her marriage they are all based on the emotions of others and not what she wants or needs. Frank wouldn't be able to handle it, he'd drink even more. The kids would be traumatized. She'd be breaking up her family and leaving them.</p><p>None of that is true though. Of course she shouldn't be callous to Frank's feelings, but his reactions and how he handles a possible divorce are on him. The kids would likely not be traumatized, as long as her and Frank are still both committed parents. And she would not be breaking up the family. It's not as if her and Dawson are planning to run away together to Italy and never see her kids again. Getting divorced isn't "breaking up the family"; you're still a family regardless if you're divorced. As a child of divorce myself, I know that it can be hard. But it's truly better for everyone in the long run when it's the right choice to make. Parents are people outside of being a parent, and they deserve happiness too. Life is too short to be in a relationship that isn't right. It's good for kids to see their parents be in healthy relationships (be that with another partner or staying single). </p><p>But Dawson and Amanda don't talk about any of that. They choose to be martyrs, as if it's virtuous of them to neglect their own happiness and well-being to "do what's right." That's not virtuous, because at some point the kids will grow and move out of the house and then it's just these two people who aren't right for each other. </p><p>So, unlike Allie in <i>The Notebook</i> who realizes she can't marry Lon even though she made a promise to him because she loves someone else, Amanda chooses to return to her home and husband. Just in time for her son to get in a car crash and need a heart transplant. At the same time, Dawson is involved in a family altercation which, sadly, makes him an organ donor. You can deduce what happens next. </p><p>Sparks fills his story with a large, yet mostly unimportant, supporting cast. Where he used to keep his stories limited to his main couple with a few people around them (generally disapproving parents or a close confidant), he now spends time with Amanda's son and husband, Dawson's cousins that are out to get him even still, his cousin's girlfriend, the widow of the local doctor he accidentally killed in a car crash, plus her son. It is A LOT and most of the time I don't enjoy Sparks' characterization of supporting characters, and it always feels a bit silly when he writes "bad" language or describes a character's sinister thoughts. I would have preferred a story that was confined to Dawson and Amanda, but then I guess it would have <i>really</i> just been a retelling of <i>The Notebook</i>. </p><p>Since I didn't grow up in a small town and I never had a high school romance with someone who was from "the wrong side of the tracks", I always feel like the emphasis on those things are super extreme. Do parents really forbid their children from seeing someone because they are from a bad family? Are the strict social roles that people adhere to really a thing? It just always rings so false to me. </p><p>I thought I wasn't going to like this book because I had seen the movie and considered it "the cheating movie." Well, first, I <i>thought</i> I had seen the movie but when I watched it last night it turns out I hadn't seen it other than maybe twenty minutes. And second, it's not really a cheating movie, depending on what constitutes cheating to you. Dawson and Amanda don't cross <i>that </i>line (even though Sparks makes us think they did until several chapters later) but they do kiss and share emotional intimacy. </p><p>If I'm meant to believe that Dawson and Amanda are soulmates who have carried torches for each other for over twenty years, then of course I'm rooting for them even if Amanda is married. Which is a weird thing to do. I don't condone cheating, however I also see the intricacies involved that led these two people to make the choices they did. I'm not here to judge them on that; I'll just comment that if Amanda was truly happy and fulfilled in her marriage a weekend with Dawson would not have posed a problem. </p><p>I didn't dislike the novel, but I oftentimes felt frustrated with Dawson and Amanda for not being more assertive and honest in their feelings for one another. Amanda's mom straight up tells her that she's too afraid to make a choice and wants someone to do it for her, which is basically the worst person in the world making a correct statement. And in the end Amanda doesn't actually have to make a decision anymore, because Dawson dies. The tragedy was a bit much in this one and I honestly just wanted them to be happy together. </p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-76046753372813225992022-02-04T19:10:00.001-06:002022-02-04T19:10:20.586-06:00The Sparks Oeuvre: Safe Haven (movie)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTOaTHg160drPeK50uwFb6pKj6PXhcsjQ5iQQwPEmZOv9-G6xwI9c3O0t1jS2MkTRQDxa4HmtvizhBYoSN3A4mEyW-qTGevyqk2FEuIpHivFC3f29E573_N4Isdad6GDyVZZh1osjc3s0HzE1mVxTRe4m_cBEOpCIbuFIgjqv0_hDhQydexT346lvUYw=s573" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="406" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTOaTHg160drPeK50uwFb6pKj6PXhcsjQ5iQQwPEmZOv9-G6xwI9c3O0t1jS2MkTRQDxa4HmtvizhBYoSN3A4mEyW-qTGevyqk2FEuIpHivFC3f29E573_N4Isdad6GDyVZZh1osjc3s0HzE1mVxTRe4m_cBEOpCIbuFIgjqv0_hDhQydexT346lvUYw=s320" width="227" /></a><b>Tagline</b>: You know it when you find it. </div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><b><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1702439/?ref_=ttmi_tt" target="_blank">IMDb description</a></b>: A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her. </p><p><b>Roger Ebert review</b>: sadly, Roger Ebert passed away a couple months after this film was released, and therefore the review on his site is not by him. </p><p><b>Female protagonis</b>t: Katie (Julianne Hough)</p><p><b>Male protagonist</b>: Alex (Josh Duhamel)</p><p><b>Star supporting cast</b>: just Cobie Smulders as Katie's friendly neighbor, Jo</p><p><b>Background: </b>This is the 8th Sparks movie adaptation, coming just a year after <i>The Lucky One</i>. By this point, the studio knows exactly what they're doing to promote this film and who the audience is - it's released on Valentine's Day and announces that it's from the author of "The Notebook" and "Dear John". It's <i>always</i> "The Notebook" that is referenced, as it's seen as the high-water mark that all other adaptions should strive to emulate. It also references "Dear John", which seems a bit weird to me because "The Lucky One" is a better movie and the more recent of the two. Julianne Hough was starting to make a name for herself separate from <i>Dancing with the Stars</i>, and Josh Duhamel was dipping into leading man/rom-com roles after stints in the <i>Transformers</i> movies (and starring as Tad Hamilton in one of my cheesy rom-com favorites, <i>Win a Date With Tad Hamilton</i>). </p><p>Katie (Hough) is quite literally looking for a safe haven. She's arrived in Southport by catching a last minute bus after fleeing something dangerous. She's on the run, but we don't yet know why. We do know that she wants to be alone and live a quiet life, just living in a small cottage in the woods and waitressing at a local restaurant. Katie doesn't have a car, so she walks everywhere including the local "grocery store" run by handsome widower and dad of two Alex (Duhamel). He gives her a bike, they spend a day at the beach with this kids, they fall in love. But what is Katie's secret past?!</p><p>The movie wants us to think Katie has done something truly terrible because a cop is chasing her. When Alex sees her face on one of those "Wanted" posters he is incredulous that the woman he's just fallen in love with is in trouble with the law. He confronts Katie and she decides to leave. Alex recognizes his mistake and has the classic "chase after someone before they leave" moment, this time at a ferry. She then tells Alex she's not running from the cops, but A cop: her abusive husband. </p><p>This is <i>entirely</i> different from the book and I hate the change. In the book, Katie is secretive about her former life with Alex because she's afraid of being caught by her husband if she gets too comfortable. Alex intuits a lot about her based on his background as a criminal investigator in the military (this back story is completely gone in the movie). He pieces a lot of it together but tells Katie she only has to tell him what she's comfortable telling. And then she does, because she's building trust in their relationship. The movie just ruins all of that for the cheesy "oh no I made a mistake I need to run after them."</p><p>In my opinion, the novel tells the story in a better way. It doesn't make us guess about Katie's background, and it tells how she tried to get away several times and she planned her escape for months. It's great character-building for Katie, and a lot of that is lost in the movie (although I do think Hough does a decent enough job). </p><p>This is the second time that a Sparks adaptation is directed by Lasse Halstrom (he did <i>Dear John</i>, too). He's the only director to repeat in the Sparks Oeuvre, which I guess is something. He's a good director, but I think he's saddled with a somewhat bad script. The script jettisons much of the backstory of both Katie and Alex, to the detriment of both. They then become just attractive people that fall in love, which isn't bad but also leaves this film a bit....shrug, I guess. </p><p><br /></p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-21998357073127683252022-01-07T18:28:00.004-06:002022-01-07T18:28:38.212-06:00The Sparks Oeuvre: The Lucky One (movie)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtx_p0OVuRCdFBp21rsclzHW4mtR0a59q9Hb8lCw1fMusMSjoKhzqLkxq-bKcArVk8Ch4gv_Q3gSG2_oGS4xVJeEMWyFiY3lX59nU4rArnUME6-A76fP1gi-_ywc05jm0EBdnCZuzzejsQ9PzewAXiXu2VCdV1yfTWu7Sla-13d4TbMWwlHgG0wxOSew=s567" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="388" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtx_p0OVuRCdFBp21rsclzHW4mtR0a59q9Hb8lCw1fMusMSjoKhzqLkxq-bKcArVk8Ch4gv_Q3gSG2_oGS4xVJeEMWyFiY3lX59nU4rArnUME6-A76fP1gi-_ywc05jm0EBdnCZuzzejsQ9PzewAXiXu2VCdV1yfTWu7Sla-13d4TbMWwlHgG0wxOSew=s320" width="219" /></a></div><b>Tagline</b>: I can't find one. <p></p><p></p><p></p><p><b><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327194/?ref_=ttmi_tt" target="_blank">IMDb description</a></b>: A Marine travels to Louisiana after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war. </p><p><b>Roger Ebert review</b>: <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-lucky-one-2012" target="_blank">two and a half stars</a> ("Luck is putting it mildly")</p><p><b>Female protagonis</b>t: Beth (Taylor Schilling)</p><p><b>Male protagonist</b>: Logan (Zac Efron)</p><p><b>Star supporting cast</b>: Blythe Danner as Beth's nana; Jay R. Ferguson as Beth's ex-husband, Keith Clayton</p><p><b>Background: </b>This film is the first Sparks adaptation to be directed by an Oscar-nominated director! Scott Hicks was nominated for Best Director for "Shine" back in 1996. He didn't win, but he directed Geoffrey Rush to a Best Actor Oscar. This film came out four years after the last <i>High School Musical </i>movie, and it's Efron's push into being seen as an "adult" actor and not just that kid who made musicals for Disney. It works because he is....not a kid in this movie :)</p><p>The movie starts with Logan (Efron) providing voiceover about how life can change quickly and we never know when it will. We then go to Logan in Iraq. A morning after a night raid, he just standing around the rubble when something gleaming in it catches his eye. He steps over to it and finds a picture of a woman with the words "Be safe" written on the back. Then an explosion occurs right where he had been standing....finding the photo literally saved his life. He keeps the picture (after asking around to no avail to see if it belongs to someone), and he ends up surviving a few other near-death experiences. His friend and him joke about how the woman in the picture has made him lucky. </p><p>Logan returns home and, feeling awash and that he owes this woman a thank you, he sets out on foot from Denver to Louisiana (he did some internet sleuthing to find the town where the picture with the woman was taken in. Just go with it; as Ebert says in his review: "I'm not going to say anything at all about the odds of that happening. The odds are overwhelming against anything in any movie happening, so I should just shut up and pay attention."). </p><p>He finds her, he doesn't tell her at first why he's there, he starts working for her and her Nana at their dog kennel, they fall in love, she finds out he has the picture and is angry, he feels bad, someone dies, and they end up kissing in the morning sun. It's all very romantic. </p><p>The film keeps the basic story of the novel, but tightens it up. It spends much less time detailing Logan's time in Iraq (it's just the opening scene) and gets way less into the detail with Beth's ex, Keith (the novel has chapters that were from his point of view and I hated them). It also doesn't explicitly address that Logan is kind of a stalker. In the novel Beth actually confronts him and tells him he's a stalker. The movie softens this a bit and never outright says that his behavior is definitely obsessive. However, when a person is attractive or we like them, then actions that would generally seem stalkerish and obsessive get overlooked (especially in movies!). </p><p>I've said it many times before, but having a good director that can get good performances from his actors makes all the difference. It's what elevates mediocre Sparks adaptations to great ones. Zac Efron gives a wonderful performance; he's quiet, contemplative, never moving more than he has to, forceful when he needs to be, charming, and romantic. Taylor Schilling, at this basically unknown and starring in her first movie (lucky her!), really sells Beth. She plays every emotion across her face and in her eyes, she's vulnerable and a little unsure of herself and when she gets her big moment of standing up for herself she nails it. </p><p>This is also probably the most sexy of the Sparks adaptations. I know we have <i><a href="https://justjulieanderson.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-sparks-oeuvre-notebook-movie.html" target="_blank">The Notebook</a></i>, which has really been the only one to have an out-and-out sex scene, but to me this one is better (and hotter). It's a different relationship between Logan and Beth. Noah and Allie fell in love young and are both loud characters; Logan and Beth are the opposite and while their connection is no less strong, beautiful, and passionate it is displayed and conveyed differently (and really directed and acted well by everyone involved). </p><p>This is likely in the top three of Sparks movies for me, probably second after <i><a href="https://justjulieanderson.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-sparks-oeuvre-walk-to-remember-movie.html" target="_blank">A Walk to Remember</a>, </i>even with it's slightly melodramatic ending that sees someone die (this IS Sparks after all). Logan and Beth are characters I like (and her son Ben is truly adorable in every sense). I accept the misunderstandings and untold secrets because they are two lonely and lost people that needed to find each other and I want them to get their happy ending. </p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-88442278817971634202021-12-02T20:12:00.003-06:002021-12-02T20:12:27.064-06:00The Sparks Oeuvre: The Last Song (movie)<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWwImKSJqNkBowRn2vCxKCdpD0ZyvDUJL1WhVjDHXPcRd_HEz6c-sV7UE01nS_ThcGl7M-JSsnoUbKE2TIFTlZhjl036_KdublJQqqQJtocLQqyHNwdEDJ2vt8wnlznVzrRr-OQO7gAQH/s569/Screenshot+2021-12-02+7.23.33+PM.png" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="381" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWwImKSJqNkBowRn2vCxKCdpD0ZyvDUJL1WhVjDHXPcRd_HEz6c-sV7UE01nS_ThcGl7M-JSsnoUbKE2TIFTlZhjl036_KdublJQqqQJtocLQqyHNwdEDJ2vt8wnlznVzrRr-OQO7gAQH/s320/Screenshot+2021-12-02+7.23.33+PM.png" width="214" /></a><b>Tagline</b>: A Story About Family, First Loves, Second Chances, and the Moments in Life That Lead You Back Home</p><p></p><p></p><p><b><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1294226/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0" target="_blank">IMDb description</a></b>: A rebellious girl is sent to a Southern beach town for the summer to stay with her father. Through their mutual love of music, the estranged duo learn to reconnect. (this description is so weird because music is honestly not what helps them reconnect)</p><p><b>Roger Ebert review</b>: <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-last-song" target="_blank">two and a half stars</a> ("Miley Meets Cute over a spilled milkshake")</p><p><b>Female protagonis</b>t: Veronica "Ronnie" Miller (Miley Cyrus)</p><p><b>Male protagonist</b>: Will Blakelee (Liam Hemsworth)</p><p><b>Star supporting cast</b>: Greg Kinnear as Ronnie's dad; Kelly Preston as Ronnie's mom; Bobby Coleman as Ronnie's brother (I only note him because he was the kid star of the movie I worked on in 2009, <i>Snowmen</i> </p><p><b>Background</b>: the second Sparks adaption to be released in 2010, the only time there were two Sparks in one year. This came two months after <i>Dear John</i> and was the first to have a screenplay by Sparks himself. He actually started the screenplay first as a vehicle for Miley Cyrus, which made reading the book interesting. This film is also infamous/famous for being how Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth met. They dated on/off for ten years before getting married in late 2018 and then divorced in 2019. (Yes I know too much because it's one of those celebrity relationships I was inexplicably invested in.)</p><p>Since the screenplay is written by Sparks, there's not too much that's different from the novel. Sparks is still trying way too hard to make Ronnie an outcast. When she first arrives, against her will, for a summer with her dad and brother, she walks on the beach and gets <i>stared</i> at by all the other girls there in their swimsuits. Because Ronnie is wearing jeans and boots. That would get stares from anyone; it does not make Ronnie an outcast or the others girls mean. </p><p>Sparks, however, loves his gender stereotypes and almost all of the girls are mean and have it out for Ronnie. The mean girls try to break up Ronnie and Will by giving her bad information. Will even says the classic, tropiest of lines "You're not like other girls." Yes, Ronnie is different because she wants to save sea turtle eggs nesting near her dad's home and is....nice. It's all very surface-level. </p><p>Which is to be expected, as this is a story centered on teens and their drama, angst, and love. It's fine for certain demographics, but I'm beyond the age where any of it feels compelling. </p><p>The story ends in sad tragedy, as Ronnie's dad is dying of stomach cancer. He's kept it a secret (is this a thing people do in real life?) so he can enjoy one final summer with his kids. He and Ronnie patch things up before he passes, and it's actually very sweet that Ronnie chooses to stay and take care of her dad when the summer is over. </p><p>If you're curious about seeing a celebrity relationship where it began, this could be a good watch for pure anthropological purposes. If not, then it can definitely be skipped. </p><br /><p></p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-68222959321318992482021-10-30T21:48:00.001-05:002021-10-30T21:48:12.740-05:00The Sparks Oeuvre: Dear John (movie)<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_9TWCGT846RF9T5O2ES9xbPg0BjgtZywHr3SAvuSlsBjRw1Ae07nDilQOpaA4PjPm_uOEivcT_xAe1Obdl5AvmaqKC7i4voSGkMoCPnlD8kLzZPEdULmG1fnWG-NenSerZATdTeJV2P1/s590/Screenshot+2021-10-26+8.09.37+PM.png" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="405" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_9TWCGT846RF9T5O2ES9xbPg0BjgtZywHr3SAvuSlsBjRw1Ae07nDilQOpaA4PjPm_uOEivcT_xAe1Obdl5AvmaqKC7i4voSGkMoCPnlD8kLzZPEdULmG1fnWG-NenSerZATdTeJV2P1/s320/Screenshot+2021-10-26+8.09.37+PM.png" width="220" /></a> <b>Tagline</b>: What would you do with a letter that changed everything?</p><p></p><p></p><p><b><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0989757/?ref_=tt_mv_close" target="_blank">IMDb description</a></b>: A romantic drama about a soldier that falls for a conservative college student while he's home on leave (this is truly a strange description that labels Savannah as "conservative" which has no bearing on the story). </p><p><b>Roger Ebert review</b>: <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dear-john-2010" target="_blank">two stars</a> ("....heartbreaking story of two lovely young people who fail to find happiness together because they're trapped in an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel.")</p><p><b>Male protagonist</b>: John Tyree (Channing Tatum)</p><p><b>Female protagonis</b>t: Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried)</p><p><b>Star supporting cast</b>: Richard Jenkins, the best character actor out there, as John's coin-collecting dad; Henry Thomas as Savannah's friend/future love </p><p><b>Background</b>: This is the fifth Sparks adaption and also the fifth Sparks book! The movie was released in February, which is a perfect time for a Sparks movie to hit theaters as by this point a Sparks movie was shorthand for a romantic "chick-flick" and it likely had a marketing campaign geared towards Valentine's Day. Also, for whatever reason this film was not produced by Denise Di Novi, who had a producer credit on all previous Sparks adaptations except <i>The Notebook</i>. </p><div>I <i>think</i> I like the movie adaption more than it's source. The movie makes some weird changes with characters that aren't necessary, but it also cuts out some unnecessary elements that make the story tighter. As with most Sparks adaptations, the movie leaves out all the religious stuff (it's pretty minor in this book). The director is truly the key to a good Sparks adaptation, and Lasse Hallstrom does a decent job with this one (he's the only person to director <i>two</i> Sparks adaptations). He has very pretty if not exceptional actors in Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, but he manages to give each of them two knockout scenes. </div><div><br /></div><div>For Tatum, he actually gets <i>two</i> knockout scenes, which is fine because he's the main character. The first is when he's returned home immediately after 9/11. He gets a short leave before presumably re-enlisting, but doesn't know how to tell Savannah since he had been nearing the end of this commitment and both were excited for planning their future together. Faced with John being gone even longer and in a more dangerous situation is more than Savannah can take. John has a moment with Savannah where he just pours his heart out and ends with "just tell me what to do?". Tatum plays this so well, showing John's struggle between his commitment to Savannah and to the military. </div><div><br /></div><div>His second comes in my favorite scene (probably of all Sparks adaptations). His father is in the hospital near the end of his life. John and his dad have had a strained relationship most of his adult life, not for lack of love but for understanding. But since Savannah he had started seeing his dad differently and was understanding him better. He writes a letter to his dad, a letter that encompasses all his love. At first he just gives it to his dad to read later, but he realizes that's not possible and decides he'll read it out loud to his dying dad. Tatum knocks this out of the park. He has just the right amount of emotion. The quick tears leaving his eyes. And his dad slowly puts his hand on his head and the two hug and cry together. This brings me to tears every time I watch it. Both Tatum and Richard Jenkins kill in this scene. </div><div><br /></div>Savannah makes some truly baffling decisions, with the motivation seemingly being that she's in a Nicholas Sparks adaptation so there has to be angst. I don't want to downplay or overlook her feelings and how having John gone and the stress of worrying about his safety while's deployed affected her. BUT. Instead of, I don't know, talking through it with him or a professional, she instead starts writing less. Then makes the truly baffling decision to instead get married to a family friend who is sick with cancer and has an autistic son. She believes that being a wife, mother, and caretaker is an easier choice than waiting for John to come home. <div><br /></div><div>For most of the film, Amanda Seyfried plays Savannah as sweet and loving and frankly she doesn't have much to do. But near the end of the film she's given a scene that lets her showcase Savannah's pent up anger and exhaustion, as she tells John how difficult it was for her when he was away. I <i>feel</i> her struggle and pain. I just wish she had found a way to express that before she decided to tell him she was engaged when she Dear John'd him (also, the letter serves as a breakup letter but it's also her announcement to John that's she's engaged, so technically she cheated on him and that's not cool).<br /><p></p><div>There is one truly baffling scene (it's in the book, too), where John is visiting Savannah in her new life. Somehow wine is spilled on both their shirts; John goes to the bathroom to wash it out (what??) and Savannah goes into her room to completely change her blouse (okay?). These are both baffling choices, but there are more! Savannah doesn't close her door when she's changing her blouse, also is not wearing a bra even though she was out riding and working with the horses earlier (not one to judge other women not wearing bras, but it seems highly unlikely in this scenario she wouldn't be wearing one), and John sees her in the mirror from the bathroom. They just stare at each other for a moment and it is truly bizarre. </div><div><br /></div><div>As mentioned previously, the truly moving relationship of the film is the one between John and his father. Richard Jenkins, who is marvelous in everything, plays John's father so quietly perfect of an adult man that was never officially diagnosed as on the Autism spectrum. John is always a little bit exasperated by him, as he's a good father that has provided for him but John has never been able to connect with him. They once shared a love of chasing and collecting coins, but John grew out of that. </div><div><br /></div><div>I feel like this review craps a bit on the movie, and gives the sense that I didn't care for it. And maybe it's not my favorite because of the scenarios that seem to only exist because a Sparks plot dictates strife and tragedy. However, the scene with John and his dad always redeems it for me. Give it a watch if you've never seen it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-28576045039231815502021-10-19T19:05:00.002-05:002021-10-19T19:05:44.368-05:00The Sparks Oeuvre: Dear John (novel)<p> Nicholas Sparks' fifth novel is <i>Dear John, </i>published in 2006 and 4 years after his previous novel, <i>Nights in Rodanthe. </i>It's in stark contrast to that novel - focusing on young love, autism, duty to country after 9/11, being in the military, and moving through and past relationships. It was inevitable in my eyes that Sparks would write a story that uses 9/11 as a story device. Lots of people have done it since then, and art is nothing if not a reflection of the time it is made in. </p><p>This Sparks story gives us John Tyree, on home for two weeks of leave in Wilmington, N.C. (classic Sparks setting) where he meets college student Savannah Lynn Curtis. She's also there for a few weeks building a home for a family, Habitat for Humanity-style. They meet when he retrieves her bag when it falls off the pier and into the ocean. In true Sparks fashion, they fall and it's deep and fast in two weeks. John has to leave back to Germany due to his commitments to the Army, and they agree to write to one another while he's gone. Their life and plans for the future are interrupted by the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and after he reenlists much to Savannah's dismay he eventually receives a "Dear John" letter. </p><p>The story is told from John's point of view, and it, surprise surprise, starts in the present and then has John tell us the story. This is entirely unnecessary; it doesn't add any suspense to the story and it's only used at the beginning and the end. Several of his other novels had the narrator checking in during the present but that doesn't happen here. For whatever reason, Sparks likes his readers going into his stories questioning if the characters are still together. </p><p>Because of this choice, Savannah isn't really a full character. She's kind of like Jamie in <i>A Walk to Remember.</i> She's there to help the main character on his journey. That's not a bad thing outright, but I kind of like his stories more when they focus on both the male and female protagonists. Sparks writes her as deferential. Whenever her and John get into an argument, she always says "You were right." even though, in my opinion, that is incorrect! </p><p>For his part, John has what I would say are some issues with anger. Savannah shares an honest thought about John's dad with him, and while possibly a bit out of line it wasn't hurtful or mean. John yells at her, then gets in a fist fight with the dudes Savannah is working on the house with. When Savannah shares that she was sexually assaulted her first year of college, John's reaction is not to comfort Savannah but instead say that he'll beat the guy up (and Savannah sincerely is like "thank you so much that means a lot" like whaaaaaat?). When they get into another argument based on competing expectations of their time together when he's on leave again, he's rude and again yells at her. And she again is like "You were right, I'm sorry."</p><p>Also, John and Savannah's guy friend, Tim, talk a lot about Savannah in a way that seems....not inappropriate but slightly uncalled for. Tim provides a lot of feedback and acts as a sounding board for John, when really he should have been talking to Savannah. The gender dynamics are a bit weird, to say the least. </p><p>Sparks gives Savannah and John a real predicament in their relationship - how to keep it strong and together when one half of the relationship is across the world? He does highlight the strain it puts on the relationship during the small interludes they get when John is on leave. However, he squanders most of it by having Savannah send the "Dear John" letter because basically the two can't communicate. It feels like a Katie/Greg from The Bachelorette situation and it's overall just frustrating. </p><p>What's interesting about <i>Dear John</i> is that Sparks has a secondary relationship that feels just as important as the romantic one - the one between John and his dad. It really is quite beautiful to see John accept his dad for who is, and then to take care of his dad as his health deteriorates. In some ways it's better than the relationship between John and Savannah. </p><p>The book is good, not great.</p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-69389854735191197942021-10-03T15:42:00.006-05:002021-10-03T15:53:30.740-05:00The Sparks Oeuvre: Nights in Rodanthe (movie)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPO2sUtrYGRHfh2hL38bALTo2GCvWFi8cBNAJ-ZEPjk1xnMHg4pnTduXmtyrhkej8EljROikT9LhJYUbX4JlJaXwC4dA8W6PyrmiX0r_8gAXB1KC9dcYnFPkkyMY67KtiedOl-WKTRq8Y/s501/Screenshot+2021-10-03+12.14.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="338" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPO2sUtrYGRHfh2hL38bALTo2GCvWFi8cBNAJ-ZEPjk1xnMHg4pnTduXmtyrhkej8EljROikT9LhJYUbX4JlJaXwC4dA8W6PyrmiX0r_8gAXB1KC9dcYnFPkkyMY67KtiedOl-WKTRq8Y/s320/Screenshot+2021-10-03+12.14.17+PM.png" width="216" /></a></div><br /><b>Tagline</b>: It's never too late for a second chance. <p></p><p></p><p><b>IMDb description</b>: A doctor, who is travelling to see his estranged son, sparks with an unhappily married woman at a North Carolina inn. </p><p><b>Roger Ebert review</b>: <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/nights-in-rodanthe-2008" target="_blank">one and a half stars</a> ("A Leaky Weeper" is the title of a truly great review)</p><p><b>Male protagonist</b>: Dr. Paul Flanner (Richard Gere)</p><p><b>Female protagonis</b>t: Adrienne Willis (Diane Lane)</p><p><b>Star supporting cast</b>: Viola Davis as Adrienne's best friend; Christopher Meloni as Adrienne's cheating husband; uncredited James Franco as Paul's son; Mae Whitman as Adrienne's daughter</p><p><b>Background</b>: Gere and Lane starred together as married couple in 2002's <i>Unfaithful</i>, the Adrian Lyne sexy thriller that earned Lane an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. That same year, <i>Nights in Rodanthe </i>was published, and made it's way to this adaptation in 2008. As the fourth Sparks movie adaptation (and fourth adaption!), it's the first to nearly completely miss the mark. </p><p>For the most part, the story from the novel is the same. However, for the first time in the Oeuvre, the changes that were made for the screen feel detrimental to the film. The biggest change, for me, is the update in Adrienne's marital status. In the novel, she's been divorced for three years, but in the movie she's just separated from her cheating husband. Separated is still married, and I just don't like that this means Adrienne is technically cheating. This change effectively removes the lovely arc in the book of Adrienne and Paul both having the new versions of themselves post-divorce be discovered and loved by someone else. </p><p>The book uses the Sparks-loved device of flashback to tell the story. None of the adaptations have kept this device (except, of course, <i>The Notebook</i>, as it's actually integral to the story) and this is the first time where I felt like it was actually needed. Without it, we lose all sense of Adrienne's journey. We lose the scope. We lose meaning in her choices and the way she has learned to live with the loss. None of it translates with the shortened time frame of the film. </p><p> <i>Nights in Rodanthe </i>underscores how important the director is in making a Sparks adaption really work. Director George C Wolfe has a great cast, but he mostly squanders it. Gere and Lane were great as a married couple in <i>Unfaithful</i>, and they do their best here but are saddled with a bad script and very bad staging. Wolfe bizarrely stages a dinner scene between the two where I was sure Gere wasn't actually there and Lane was acting against a stand-in; then he frames them each against a yellow wall in medium close-ups and it looks so very bad. He can't direct a proper kissing scene, as I was sure Paul was going to devour Adrienne's face. The visual effects are terrible, and the post hurricane scenes are laughable when their intent is to be tragic. </p><p>This adaptation felt distinctly like most involved did not understand the essence of the book, and just wanted to cash in on the popularity of the last Sparks adaptation, <i>The Notebook; </i>at this point in the timeline of the Sparks Oeuvre it's become the standard and created/enforced the shorthand we know today as "a Nicholas Sparks movie." Unfortunately, it takes more than attractive actors to make a good Sparks adaption. </p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-74254700558849445252021-09-19T16:03:00.005-05:002021-09-19T16:03:48.590-05:00The Sparks Oeuvre: The Notebook (movie)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nA_wPAPneftsfzoMT_GWWwzSX60Ctg7pGUB-Whq_ltz6mnI4IRpnKEUIIrbjCK51ek4EGS08VkN038qW3Qvet0Un9iBiaO8FDDE0JoJpViyjIsJSnZoxs5xwCMIR_IqRSZzWU9G2Z3LR/s649/Screenshot+2021-09-08+6.16.06+PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="446" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nA_wPAPneftsfzoMT_GWWwzSX60Ctg7pGUB-Whq_ltz6mnI4IRpnKEUIIrbjCK51ek4EGS08VkN038qW3Qvet0Un9iBiaO8FDDE0JoJpViyjIsJSnZoxs5xwCMIR_IqRSZzWU9G2Z3LR/s320/Screenshot+2021-09-08+6.16.06+PM.png" width="220" /></a></div><b>Tagline</b>: Behind every great love is a great story. <p></p><p><b>IMDb description</b>: A poor yet passionate young man falls in love with a rich young woman, giving her a sense of freedom, but they are soon separated because of social differences. </p><p><b>Roger Ebert review</b>: <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-notebook-2004" target="_blank">three and a half stars</a></p><p><b>Male protagonist</b>: Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling, young; James Garner, old)</p><p><b>Female protagonis</b>t: Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams, young; Gena Rowlands, old)</p><p><b>Star supporting cast</b>: Pulitzer Prize Winner Sam frickin' Shephard as Noah's dad, Joan Allen as Allie's mom</p><p><b>Background</b>: This was Sparks' first novel, but his third to be adapted to a film. However, according to his commentary in the DVD extras, the film rights were sold before the film was even finished. There were various directors and actors attached (Spielberg, Cruise) but for whatever reasons nothing was ever a go and it ended up being the third film adaptation. Whatever those reasons were seem to have worked out just fine, as the film was a smash and is generally seen as the quintessential Sparks movie. </p><p>If I had read the book first, well before it became a movie, I likely would have been pretty pleased with the adaptation. It stays pretty true to the story and characters, but adds a lot more to the beginning of the story. In the book, Noah and Allie's summer romance takes up about 2-3 pages. The movie, though, spends almost half of the movie on the summer romance. We see them meet, dance in the street, ride bikes together, meet parents. We experience the passion and sometimes volatility of their love. They fight and don't always agree, but they always make up because they truly love each other. </p><p>This extra time with Allie and Noah is pivotal to understanding their relationship. We've seen them fight and laugh and get frustrated with each other. Most notably in their break up at the end of summer, when they go from declarations of love to crying to screaming to apologizing to leaving. When they have reunited, and Allie must choose between Noah and her fiance, Lon, she's given the straight truth by Noah - sometimes they'll fight and he'll tell her when she's being a pain in the ass but they'll work on it because they love each other. </p><p>I used to think their fighting was a bit much. However, I watched the film with the director Nick Cassavetes commentary and it changed my perspective. He said he made Allie and Noah fight and yell in the film because, being Greek, he felt that was normal in relationships (and then said that perhaps those from colder ancestries maybe felt different and I felt that as a person with Danish ancestry haha). Anyway, Cassavetes made great choices with the film that really set it apart and I think he was perfect for it. I especially liked his stance on Lon - that if Allie had met him first he likely would have been her one true love, but it was really a matter of timing not him being a bad person. James Marsden plays Lon so perfectly. </p><p>The film holds up really well after all these years, I think because of the great actors involved and a director who knew exactly what he wanted. It feels the most grandiose and epic and passionate of the Sparks films (to this point) and I recommend it. </p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-53864294276930855132021-09-06T16:32:00.002-05:002021-09-06T16:32:44.214-05:00The Sparks Oeuvre: The Notebook (book)<p>Well, I've made it to THE Nicholas Sparks book--<i>The Notebook</i>. It was Sparks' first published novel, arriving in 1996 and becoming an immediate bestseller. It's the standard that all Nicholas Sparks novels (and movies) are compared to. Since I'm reading in order of the films being released, I'm reading this third and it's interesting to read this knowing what comes after. </p><p><i>The Notebook</i> is about love. First love, reunited love, and forever love. Noah and Allie meet one summer when her wealthy family is summering in his town. They quickly fall in love, but get separated due to class, miscommunication, WWII, and just time. Fourteen years later, Allie is engaged and, when she sees a photo of Noah in the paper with a home he refinished, impulsively decides she needs to see him. Despite being engaged, she and still has <i>feelings. </i>So does Noah. Their young, first love is the real deal and Allie has to make a choice between her fiance, Lon, and Noah. The story then goes back to the present, with Noah reading the story to Allie from a notebook because she has Alzheimer's and reading to her is his daily task. Of course Alzheimer's is degenerative and memories don't come back, but this is a story about love and how it can create miracles. For brief moments Noah will get Allie back. But Noah is also old and his body failing, and the two share their final(?) moments together laying next to each other. </p><p>Sparks is able to fit in all the stages of love by skimming over over Allie and Noah <i>falling </i>in love (seriously, it's like 2-3 pages) and spending the bulk of the story on their reunion. This mostly works, and probably is helped because I have the movie in my mind while reading and it spends a lot more time on the falling. But he nicely works in background details through their conversation and inner thoughts. He then spends the last quarter or so of the book with older Noah and Allie. They married and had kids and were happy, until she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and eventually had to be placed in a care center. They're past the passionate, reunited love stage of their relationship that dominated most of the book and are in caretaker mode. It's no less full of love though, as it's Noah's love for Allie that keeps both of them going. She wrote out their love story before her memory was completely gone and asked him to read it to her. </p><p>It has become clear that Sparks has a few storytelling devices he likes to use. First, he loves to start a story in the present day and then spend the book having a character(s) look back on the past and their relationship. Theresa does it with her and Garrett's story, Landon with his and Jamie's story, and now Noah does it with his and Allie's story. However, with <i>The Notebook</i>, the device actually feels integral to the story. Noah is reading his and Allie's love story because she is suffering from Alzheimer's and actually can't remember their love story. This is inspired. The other books use the device as a crutch, either to lend some mystery to what happened or just because he wanted to set a story in the 50s. </p><p>I don't think the fourteen years between their reunion works. I get that WWII probably hindered Allie's dating life a little, but it seems fairly unrealistic that a woman of her class and wealth would still be unmarried at 29 in the late 1940s. Noah, as a man in a world that catered to men (especially in the post-WWII America) could absolutely still be single at 31; he wouldn't need a wife to enjoy or participate in society the way Allie would need a husband. </p><p>In this first novel, Sparks really sets a tone for what kind of stories he wants to tell. He hits all the best marks that have become his calling card. There's a reason why you never forget your first. </p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-65526605270780242592021-08-30T18:26:00.004-05:002021-08-30T18:26:48.575-05:00The Sparks Oeuvre: A Walk to Remember (movie)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WBdH8MVEKOmFce5yKbHmNRHzaaz3yjDPnrs4uxK5kGH9QPU8KxQH9IpSKT9mw9YQpyOvlDiM6CzmtNrClBcLbZ_i5viWNO5CzWB5p_9d4XsICgUSGNPBSdGiWewKMRYqOJEPh3tcMOZc/s595/Screenshot+2021-08-29+12.17.55+PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="405" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WBdH8MVEKOmFce5yKbHmNRHzaaz3yjDPnrs4uxK5kGH9QPU8KxQH9IpSKT9mw9YQpyOvlDiM6CzmtNrClBcLbZ_i5viWNO5CzWB5p_9d4XsICgUSGNPBSdGiWewKMRYqOJEPh3tcMOZc/s320/Screenshot+2021-08-29+12.17.55+PM.png" width="218" /></a></div><b>Tagline</b>: She didn't belong. She was misunderstood. And she would change him forever. It all comes down to who's by your side.<p></p><p><b>IMDb description</b>: The story of two North Carolina teens, Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan, who are thrown together after Landon gets into trouble and is made to do community service. </p><p><b>Roger Ebert review</b>: <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-walk-to-remember-2002" target="_blank">3 stars</a> (he calls it "a small treasure")</p><p><b>Male protagonist</b>: Landon Carter (Shane West)</p><p><b>Female protagonist</b>: Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore)</p><p><b>Star supporting cast</b>: Peter Coyote as Jamie's dad and Darryl Hannah (in a truly terrible wig, per the DVD commentary) as Landon's mom</p><p><b>Background</b>: This film came out at the start of the second semester of my freshman year of college in January 2002. I feel <i>pretty sure</i> I saw it at the theater in Ephraim, UT but I can't find my ticket stub. However, I remember <i>very clearly </i>my BFF, Lindsay, and I being <i style="font-weight: bold;">obsessed </i>with it that summer when we returned to Pocatello. We rented it (bought it?) and watched it several times. We even watched it with the commentary from Adam Shankman (the Director) and Shane West and Mandy Moore. We were obsessed with the soundtrack (it slaps y'all). Lindsay even got her hair cut like Mandy Moore (not in the film, but in the "<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6973462/mediaviewer/rm3089310208/" target="_blank">Cry</a>" music video). Lots of nostalgia wrapped up with this one. I did my re-watch for this project with my friend Rachel and we had a great time watching it. </p><p>As with <i>Message in a Bottle</i>, the basic story from the novel makes it's way to the screen. But once again, the medium of film brings the story to life and adds to it. First, the film swaps out the 1950s for present day; this change feels critical. Second, movie-Landon is more of a present-day cool kid (in the book he's Student Body President and planning for college, in the movie he's smart but doesn't really try at anything because that's not cool), and movie-Jamie gets a lot more personality and feels like a person rather than a device. </p><p>The love story in <i>Message in a Bottle</i> was adult and earnest. In <i>A Walk to Remember</i>, it's two high school seniors falling in love so one might think that it's more simple, or trite, or even silly. While Theresa and Garret had to deal with very adult things in their adult relationship (dead wives, careers, different states), the obstacles Landon and Jamie face to their love are no less compelling or real; one just has to remember what it was like to be a teenager and to care what people thought of you and if you were cool. I don't entirely buy into school cliques and cliches because that wasn't my high school experience, but I do remember thinking what my friends would think if they knew I had a crush on a certain guy who wasn't <i>our </i>brand of cool. </p><p>Landon thinks he knows Jamie because they've been in school together since kindergarten; he can list off outward things about her - she wears the same sweater, sits at uncool Lunch Table 7, tutors kids on the weekend, and looks at her shoes when she walks - that he thinks means he actually knows her. It's like when we stalk our crush on the internet; we find out things <i>about </i>them but it doesn't mean we <i>know</i> them. Jamie knows that's what people think about her and she doesn't care because she knows those are just things <i>about her</i>. Landon is amazed by this; all he does is care what his friends think about him. So much that he can't really be true to himself. Jamie is a chance for him to forget about outward things and focus on real things. </p><p>When Jamie takes her turn to assess Landon, she does so with deeper things than just his outward characteristics. She recognizes the part he plays as the cool kid in school who has no cares because he's "too young to die." Which is especially poignant giving that Jamie is herself dying (though he doesn't yet know that and neither does the audience). It's interesting that Landon gives no real thought to the future; his only goal for the future is to just get out of Beaufort. He sort of lives in the moment. Jamie of course does think of the future because she knows she's sick and hers is limted. When she decides to take a chance on Landon, their first date is all about Landon having her live in the moment and Jamie having him think more concretely about the future. When he's confronted with her sickness he has to <i>really</i> think about the future, but he also finds a way to be present and in the moment with Jamie in her final months and that's really lovely. </p><p>That's why I love their love story. Lots of romances and love stories (even many by Mr. Sparks himself) have intense passionate love (what T. Swift would call <b><a href="https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-red-liner-notes-lyrics" target="_blank">red</a> </b>love). Landon and Jamie's is no less full of passion, but it's more stable and built on shared respect, support, and love. They bring out the best in each other and support one another (what T. Swift would call <b><a href="https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-daylight-lyrics" target="_blank">golden</a></b> love). To learn, feel, and have that kind of love at 18 feels pretty remarkable, and that it's pulled off with such care throughout the film is pretty remarkable. </p><p>Lots of credit for the film goes to the director, Adam Shankman. He had only directed one film before this one, the Jennifer Lopez delight <i>The Wedding Planner</i>. But he was already known in Hollywood for choreography - he choreographed the out-of-nowhere <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4mQmoD72tc" target="_blank">prom dance sequence in <i>She's All That</i></a> and the <i>Buffy</i> musical episode "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmLSjwam26E" target="_blank">Once More With Feeling</a>". He doesn't do anything terribly flashy with the camera, but he <i>is </i>able to get great performances from his leading actors. With his choreography and music background, I feel like he was particularly a good choice for relatively new to acting Mandy Moore, who had this point was mainly a pop star with only a small part in <i>The Princess Diaries</i> on her resume. At times you can tell she's working hard (the credits list "Mandy Moore acting coach", no shame, kudos to her for working on her skill) to convey all the right emotions. There's only one scene where I feel like she gets it slightly wrong, and that's when she tells Landon she's sick. He first misunderstands her as not feeling well based on the way she phrases it. When he says he'll just take her home and she'll feel better, she responds angrily as it it's his fault he's misunderstood her and it feels off to me; her tone needed to be more heartache than anger in my opinion. But she mostly plays Jamie as sincere, but also confident. </p><p>Music and wardrobe really have an impact on the story as well. The soundtrack is absolutely killer, with perfect songs at the perfect moments. The <a href="https://youtu.be/A7Yd95Nwi3o?t=45" target="_blank">New Radicals singing over the montage </a>of Landon practicing and rehearsing for the play, ending with him and Jamie passing in the hall IS SO PERFECT. Who doesn't remember being in high school and waiting for the moment(s) in they day when you would pass your crush in the hallway?! And wardrobe. I mean Landon in button-ups and baseball shirts is swoon worthy, and is epitome of cool guy. Jamie dresses simply but not frumpy; she is consistently and emphatically herself with her "uncool" outfits. She's always in stark contrast to the two "cool girls" that are part of Landon's friends group, and, thankfully, never has to suffer the indignity of having a makeover or changing her wardrobe once she starts dating Landon. </p><p>In the book, Jamie always has her in a bun UNTIL she starts dating Landon, at which point he comments that she starts wearing it down. In the movie Jamie is always wearing her hair in a low ponytail UNTIL she starts dating Landon at which point she starts wearing it down (or in a half pony sometimes, which honestly looks great). Nevermind that I think this is dumb because guys rarely IMHO notice things like that (and also I personally hate wearing my hair down) and why would Jamie even think about that every day, but whatever this was written by a guy who seems to think hair is an important part of a couple's relationship. (Not that hair <i>isn't </i>important....who hasn't drastically cut their hair Felicity-style after a breakup?! I just feel like Sparks gets the sentiment of a woman's relationship to hair in our relationships wrong - it usually changes as a result of a bad end not a fresh start. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.)</p><p>(Random aside: when I watched the DVD commentary, Adam Shankman said he actually received complaints that having Jamie in a ponytail perpetuated the stereotype that unattractive women wear ponytails. He was so taken aback because, he said, if that was true then why did he have Jennifer Lopez, an objectively beautiful woman, in a ponytail basically the entirely of <i>The Wedding Planner</i>?!)</p><p>Minor changes from page to screen include Landon being estranged from his dad because his parents are divorced, rather than his dad just being gone all the time because he's a Senator; the play is put on by the school in the spring instead of by the church at Christmas time; Jamie's dad, Reverend Sullivan (a great Peter Coyote), is a lot more likable and isn't crazy old (in the book he married a younger woman later in life and was quite old); and there isn't a weird family grudge between Landon's grandparents and Reverend Sullivan. Still the same: Landon's terrible friends. </p><p>The film is lovely and overall tells a better, more complete and engaging love story than the novel through direction, acting, music, and wardrobe. I say definitely give this one a watch. </p><p><br /></p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-80950095326881483072021-08-29T11:27:00.000-05:002021-08-29T11:27:07.808-05:00The Sparks Oeuvre: A Walk to Remember (novel)<p> "You have to promise not to fall in love with me." Jamie Sullivan, a religious and very self-aware teenager, says this to Landon Carter, a popular and unknowing teenager, after he asks her to the homecoming dance. And with that, we know that fall in love with her is <i>exactly</i> what Landon is going to do. </p><p><i>A Walk to Remember</i> was Sparks' third novel, but my second to read/review because I'm going in order of the film adaptations. Whereas <i>Message in a Bottle</i> was about mid-adult love, <i>A Walk to Remember </i>is about young high school love. The aforementioned Jamie and Landon have known each other their whole lives going to school together in Beaufort, NC. However, Landon is more "worldly" and popular while Jamie is religious and everyone makes fun of her (the only way this makes sense to me is because the characters are in high school, but even still I think it's a stretch). When Landon ends up having to star in the local Christmas play opposite Jamie, he begins to see her differently than just the girl that wears brown cardigans and her hair in a bun every day. They fall in love against the odds of differing life views and truly terrible high school friends. However, Jamie is dying of leukemia and Landon, faced with losing the one person he's ever loved, doesn't know what to do. Eventually he decides to help her fulfill the one dream she's ever had. And then...the book is ambiguous if/when Jamie dies but it's implied. </p><p>Sparks again uses a framing device to start and end the story. Landon tells the story in first person, looking back on the events of forty years ago when Jamie changed his life. The "voice" Sparks adopts in the writing for Landon can be annoying, as he kept saying "if you know what I mean" about all sorts of things. The setting is also 1959, which.....ok, I guess? There isn't really a need for this, and at times I felt like Sparks forgot the setting he had set his own book in; he referenced Landon driving all the time and calling people on the phone. I know those things existed in 1959 but I don't think they were as prevalent as they seem to be in Landon's life.</p><p>Landon at first only <i>really </i>notices Jamie when she's in the role of the "angel" in the play - her hair is down instead of in a bun and she's wearing make up and beautiful dress. He makes note of her looks ALL. THE. TIME. As if she's not worthy of being loved because she's "plain" and wears a bun. Seriously, the bun and her hair being worn down are mentioned a lot. I'm harping on this a lot, I know, and I give Sparks some serious flak for being obsessed with how his female characters look <i>when I do the same thing with men</i>. What can I say, I'm complicated and it's a complicated issue and we're all full of multitudes of contradictions (shrug emoji).</p><p>Anyway, the story is short and broad, and uses Jamie less as a character and more as a device for everyone else to realize how they can be better. Forgiveness is a big theme. Recognizing that people are more than what we assume they to be. And that when you learn someone is dying, start being nice to them. Or maybe you should always be nice to people...because we're all basically dying? I don't know, just be nice to people that aren't like you. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-44483414148111092382021-08-23T21:02:00.000-05:002021-08-23T21:02:54.644-05:00The Sparks Oeuvre: Message in a Bottle (book)<p><i>Message in a Bottle</i> the novel uses a framing device to start the story. It's told in third person, beginning with Theresa thinking back on the events that are going to happen in the story. I don't really think this device is necessary, and it feels a bit like a crutch to make events in the story be shrouded in mystery. </p><p>The thing with Sparks is that he isn't a terribly great writer. His prose feels more perfunctory than poetic, rote instead of riveting. He often explains <i>exactly </i>what a character is doing. <i>Theresa set the table. Theresa got salad dressing from the refrigerator</i>. He also constantly describes what a character is wearing, as if that's a key to their personality (not to say costuming <i>isn't </i>important, but probably more so in a visual medium...like film). He actually wrote "For some reason Garret couldn't sleep well that night." as the last sentence of a chapter. <i>For some reason</i>, as if Sparks isn't the creator of everything going on in Garret's head. </p><p>If I had read the book first, I likely would have been completely surprised at the casting of Kevin Costner for Garret. At the most basic level, he's too old to play Garret; Costner was 44 and in the book Garret is no more than 32. He's a young guy who got married young to the love of his life and lost her too soon. That is not Costner at all. However, since the film really only takes the bare bones story of <i>Message in a Bottle</i>, Costner's version works for the story told in the film. Mostly. He does seem a bit old to have a "young" wife just getting pregnant. But the rest of film-Garret works better than novel-Garret. </p><p>In the novel, Garret is supposed to be clinging to his dead wife. So much that he can't progress in his relationship with Theresa. I don't ever really feel this. In the movie, we get great visuals of Catherine's things still being the house. In the novel, we're just told that Garret isn't over her. We also get a series of dreams, which made me roll my eyes because nowhere else other than novels and movies do characters have such exact, personal dreams. </p><p>Truth be told, the tension in the novel is mostly how they each have lives and careers in different states. Neither can just up and move to the other's city without changing their whole world. In the book that feels like the real issue keeping Garret and Theresa apart, whereas in the movie it's definitely that Garret hasn't let go of Catherine. </p><p>Sparks is also deeply into gender roles and a little bit sexist. He can't describe Theresa without mentioning her slim figure or the way her clothes "highlight her figure". She's basically described as a spinster divorcee who has given up on dating post-divorce because all the men are crap. Theresa also claims her son, Kevin, has no father figure even though he HAS a dad that he sees, a dad who takes him on trips and such. I don't know, that just bothered me. </p><p>The novel's relationship is a bit longer and a bit more invested in by both parties. Theresa visits Garret several times, he comes up to Boston to see her several times. They talk about marriage. In the movie, the timeline is compacted - the trip where Theresa first meets Garret, then he visits her once in Boston, and then misunderstanding. But since the actors play the roles with deep emotion and chemistry, I completely believe that they yearn for one another and are meant to be, even with the short timeframe. </p><p>There are several other minor changes, like Theresa's boss being a male in the movie adaptation, and Garret's dad having a noticeably bigger role (I mean, it's Paul Newman so of course). Theresa's son's age is a little bit younger, Garret restores and fixes boats but in the novel he owns a diving shop. None of these make any sort of difference, but for the story that is told in the movie they work. </p><p>For <i>Message in a Bottle</i>, the story of Theresa and Garret feels more true when the actors bring it to life, elevating Sparks' mediocre dialogue to genuine emotion. In this case, I'd probably skip the book because it doesn't bring anything extra to the movie. </p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-77782301880209034982021-08-21T11:56:00.002-05:002021-08-21T11:56:38.087-05:00The Sparks Oeuvre: Message in a Bottle (movie)<div class="separator"><p style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="464" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0UO4xeSU0iCYuDjgMU0vuX0aAmzv7d_3-dUjMJEecV6lvOPPrqHc-0GnuPT-DDWgcLS2G6O0Om6jJy2MDef2_Tln8PXxDwKgFKPxAO-7xmjRtn08z-htgR1ruCpSbAQocdL0fwRre4dj/s320/Screenshot+2021-08-19+8.26.02+PM.png" width="245" /></p></div><b>Tagline</b>: A story of love lost and found.<div><br /></div><div><b>IMDb description</b>: A woman discovers a tragic love letter in a bottle on the beach, and is determined to track down its author. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/message-in-a-bottle-1999" target="_blank"><b>Roger Ebert Review</b></a>: two stars</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Female protagonist</b>: Theresa (Robin Wright <i>Penn</i>)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Male protagonist</b>: Garret (Kevin Costner)</div><div> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">in the novel it's spelled Garrett</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Background</b>: This was the first film adaption of a Nicholas Sparks novel. However, it wasn't Sparks' first novel. That was "The Notebook", which came out two years before. <i>Message in a Bottle </i>came out February 1999, less than a year after the novel was published. My guess is that, since Kevin Costner was a producer, he had optioned the book and had it in development well before the book was published (and that's why it came out before <i>The Notebook</i>).</div><div><br /></div><div>Theresa (Robin Wright), a columnist for the <i>Boston Globe</i>, discovers a message in a bottle while she's on vacation in Cape Cod. She's recently-ish divorced (the movie starts with her dropping off her son to spend the summer with his dad, his new wife, and their baby). The words of a man writing to the woman he loves (his "one true north") speaks to her. After showing it to her coworkers and editor, the letter is published. The letter strikes a nerve, and Theresa receives lots of mail about the letter. There's even another letter discovered! Through some investigation (which now seems so quaint because the internet wasn't really a thing at this point in '99), aided by coworkers at the newspaper, she discovers the name of the letter-writer and where he lives. </div><div><br /></div><div>In no time she's on her way to his sleepy coastal town, and they have a somewhat meet-cute at the dock where Garret (Kevin Costner) is restoring a boat. Out of the blue (or is it fate?) he invites her to go sailing with him early in the morning. She leaves her jacket on the boat, he has to return it. So he shows up at her hotel and their interaction feels so <i>real</i>. He's awkward, she's awkward. These are two people that haven't dated in a long while, and even though they clearly have interest in one another they feel a bit unsure and scared of what it means. </div><div><br /></div><div>Costner plays Garret so well. He's aloof, but not in a bad, uninteresting way. He plays the hurt the audience knows he has quietly and subtly, and you can understand why he was probably interested in the role (however, spoiler alert, it is <i>much</i> different than the novel version of Garret which I will discuss when I compare/contrast). </div><div><br /></div><div>What I like about the relationship between Theresa and Garret is how <i>adult</i> it feels. Both are "older" (Costner was 44 and Wright was 33, which is <i>very</i> different from their ages in the book....will discuss later). These are two people that have experienced love, marriage, death, divorce and have their own well-established careers and lives that they're leading. I guess I just feel those struggles of dating as a 38 year old that I didn't when I was 16 and saw the movie in the theater. When Garret comes up to Boston to visit Theresa, he sleeps on the couch because she has her son with her that weekend. When the son leaves the next night and they are alone, Theresa says something about having to get used to someone else being in her home. </div><div><br /></div><div>The screenplay is very vague about what actually happened to Garret's wife, Catherine, and how she died. There's also some weird family drama between Garret and his former in-laws. They, along with the secret Theresa keeps of finding Garret's message in a bottle, provide the tension and conflict in the movie. The family drama does help fill in some of Garret's character and backstory, so I'll let it go. And thankfully Garret's discovery of Theresa having his messages and bottle <i>meant for his dead wife</i> is only a minor obstacle; it's honestly almost an afterthought most of the movie even though it propels the action. </div><div><br /></div><div>Paul Newman, playing Garret's dad, steals every scene he's in. The producers really lucked out in getting him. </div><div><br /></div><div>As a first foray into Nicholas Sparks adaptations, this sets a pretty good tone and fairly high bar. It also has all the standards that we've come to know from "A Nicholas Sparks Movie" - a coastal setting, attractive people falling in love, miscommunication, love, death, a single dad. What I like about the movie is how earnest it is; how naturally the relationship plays out. I recommend it. </div>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-85187006250438304092021-08-15T18:34:00.002-05:002021-08-15T18:34:35.340-05:00The Sparks Oeuvre<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrG9GIQ6Nltx_if0-O1M1ZBgoZZcBh3xfbrzgD-fsKdYSjp9JfX3m8KoRG1Bqwezyue8N6ZiTOiqKiV6foHODJREdDlEfFJwGVbj_rI4vWa4RzgnOWL81ujlsqeAGm834K86nWBHaxYM6h/s674/Screenshot+2021-08-15+5.06.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="674" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrG9GIQ6Nltx_if0-O1M1ZBgoZZcBh3xfbrzgD-fsKdYSjp9JfX3m8KoRG1Bqwezyue8N6ZiTOiqKiV6foHODJREdDlEfFJwGVbj_rI4vWa4RzgnOWL81ujlsqeAGm834K86nWBHaxYM6h/w462-h228/Screenshot+2021-08-15+5.06.46+PM.png" width="462" /></a></div><br /><div>The past couple weeks I had conversations with two different groups of friends about Nicholas Sparks movies. I guess I'm somewhat of an apologist, because I have generally enjoyed some of the films. I go into the theater knowing what I'm going to get. At this point, more than a decade after the first movie adaption came out, "a Nicholas Sparks movie" is a type of short hand for a romantic and melodramatic movie (exclusively, at this point, about attractive and thin white people) that involves love, time, lost connections, and almost always death. Sometimes it's done and well and sometimes it's not, but my bar for judging them is always based on "for a Nicholas Sparks movie". </div><div><br /></div><div>Between one of the conversations with friends I watched <i>The Lucky One.</i> After I did what I normally do-- check to see if Roger Ebert had written a review of it. <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-lucky-one-2012" target="_blank">He HAD</a>! Surprisingly (but also not surprisingly because Ebert was a very fair critic who loved film) he gave it a very decent review; he recognized it for what it was and judged it based on that. </div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nicholas Sparks has a good line in stories like this. They usually involve the triumph of love over adversity, are usually set in beautiful natural settings, usually involve such coincidences as finding a message in a bottle, and usually make me stir restlessly, because such escapism is shameless. Still, credit must be given to a film that delivers the goods, and if you've ever liked a Nicholas Sparks movie, you're likely to enjoy this one. I've seen him in interviews where he's better-looking than some of his leading men and comes across as sincere. I think he really does believe in his stories, and I think readers sense that.</span></span></div></blockquote><p>After that, I ended up watching <i>Message in a Bottle</i> after the second conversation with friends. I decided to start at the beginning of the Nicholas Sparks oeuvre, and while I was watching I thought back to my freshman English class at Snow College. The theater department was putting on a staging of "Of Mice and Men" and the teacher had us read the John Steinbeck classic, watch the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105046/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0" target="_blank">'92 film</a> with Gary Sinise and John Malkovich AND watch the play and then write up a paper comparing and contrasting. </p><p>So I decided to do that with Nicholas Sparks movies and novels. I was sure <i>The Notebook</i> had been first, but it was the first <i>novel</i> whereas <i>Message in a Bottle</i> was the first <i>movie</i> (<i>The Notebook</i> was the third film adaptation after <i>A Walk to Remember</i>). I'm going to go in order of the movies. I don't know if I'll watch the movie first then read the book, but that's currently the status for <i>Message in a Bottle</i>. I'll have a writeup of the movie and book when I finish. Follow along with #TheSparksOeuvre </p><p><google-sheets-html-origin></google-sheets-html-origin></p><span> </span><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 0px;" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><colgroup><col width="22"></col><col width="145"></col><col width="100"></col><col width="112"></col><col width="48"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 21px;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Movie Release"}" style="background-color: black; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: white; font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: bold; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Movie Release</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Novel Release"}" style="background-color: black; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: white; font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: bold; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Novel Release</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Novel Order"}" style="background-color: black; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: white; font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: bold; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; white-space: normal;">Novel Order</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">1</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Message in a Bottle"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Message in a Bottle</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1999}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">1999</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"mmmm yyyy","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":35886}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">April 1998</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">2</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"A Walk to Remember"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">A Walk to Remember</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2002}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2002</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"mmmm yyyy","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":36434}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">October 1999</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":3}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">3</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":3}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">3</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Notebook"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Notebook</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2004}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2004</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"mmmm yyyy","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":35339}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">October 1996</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">1</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":4}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">4</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Nights in Rodanthe"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Nights in Rodanthe</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2008}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2008</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"mmmm yyyy","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":37500}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">September 2002</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":4}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">4</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":5}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">5</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Dear John"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Dear John</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2010}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2010</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"mmmm yyyy","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":38991}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">October 2006</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":5}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">5</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":6}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">6</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Last Song"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Last Song</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2010}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2010</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"mmmm yyyy","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":40057}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">September 2009</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":8}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">8</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":7}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">7</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Lucky One"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Lucky One</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2012}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2012</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"mmmm yyyy","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":39692}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">September 2008</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":7}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">7</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":8}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">8</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Safe Haven"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Safe Haven</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2013}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2013</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"mmmm yyyy","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":40422}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">September 2010</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":9}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">9</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":9}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">9</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Best of Me"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Best of Me</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2014}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2014</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"mmmm yyyy","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":40817}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">October 2011</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":10}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">10</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":10}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">10</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Longest Ride"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Longest Ride</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2015}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2015</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"mmmm yyyy","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":41518}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">September 2013</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":11}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">11</td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":11}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">11</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"The Choice"}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">The Choice</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2016}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">2016</td><td data-sheets-numberformat="{"1":5,"2":"mmmm yyyy","3":1}" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":39326}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">September 2007</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":6}" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;">6</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-74301008820843587352021-04-25T19:03:00.003-05:002021-04-25T19:03:38.855-05:002021 Oscars - Best Pic<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwxPMlIjOnk88nH-Hcv8TedYPzrqhd-AYZPFvrNuN0RU7arMAxhSglireKO3OAvNPRyPX76Ar5ZJi1DMQo4UFHG9RaL7q82xcFnwH8Jzxw8JGrD00v58IerKDp0zCWx-63TePqNSyjwSv/s1280/HZAX5TJ2WVDCRHUM5MLH7T5FAA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="1280" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwxPMlIjOnk88nH-Hcv8TedYPzrqhd-AYZPFvrNuN0RU7arMAxhSglireKO3OAvNPRyPX76Ar5ZJi1DMQo4UFHG9RaL7q82xcFnwH8Jzxw8JGrD00v58IerKDp0zCWx-63TePqNSyjwSv/w400-h289/HZAX5TJ2WVDCRHUM5MLH7T5FAA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">I wrote a much </span><a href="https://justjulieanderson.blogspot.com/2021/04/oscars-2021.html" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">longer post talking about </a><span style="text-align: left;">each of the seven Best Picture films, so this will just be a quick rundown. While the Oscars is oftentimes incredibly unreflective of society, and overwhelmingly skews white and male, this year there are a lot of historic firsts. </span></div><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>TWO women nominated for Best Director</li><li>First male of Asian descent EVER nominated for Best Actor</li><li>A <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1818032/?ref_=tt_ov_dr" target="_blank">University of Utah Film Studies MFA graduate</a> is nominated for Best Director! </li></ul><div>I am very happy that stories about women told by women are getting recognized. I know that in the grand scheme of representation and equity, the Oscars are small potatoes - they are a symptom of issues and change that needs to happy. Once women and people of color get more access at the <i>beginning </i>of the process - being hired as writers, directors, stars, DPs, producers - they would be more likely to end up in nominations. We aren't there yet, so we'll start with celebrating this first until they become second nature. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lots of interesting and diverse stories were told this year, and I LOVE that women were nominated in Lead and Supporting in roles that were more than just "the wife" or "the girlfriend". So often a film centers on a male protagonist, and the woman that is nominated (and wins, see: Jennifer Connolly, Alicia Vikander) has played a supporting role in his story. Or the woman is nominated, but their film is overlooked in the Best Pic category (see: <i>Wild</i>, <i>Monster, Still Alice)</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>I haven't done any prognosticating or read anything about odds on who will win, so here's my thoughts on what I want to win with absolutely no outside influence of who I think <i>will </i>win. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Best Pic</b><br />The only one I actively dislike is <i>Mank</i>. I'd be okay if <i>Minari, The Father, Nomdland, </i>or <i>Promising Young Woman </i>won. I appreciated what was being said in <i>The Trial of the Chicago 7</i>, but I'd be surprised and a little displeased if it won. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Best Actor - Leading</b><br />Honestly, anyone but Gary Oldman would be fine with me. My knowledge of the Academy and awarding posthumous awards has me thinking Chadwick Boseman will win. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Best Actress</b><br />Oh I definitely want Carey Mulligan to win. I love her and it is a powerhouse performance. However, I'm concerned she might lose to Frances McDormand. And Frances is great in <i>Nomadland</i>, way better than her performance in <i>Three Billboards</i> that got her an Oscar a few years ago. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Best Actor - Supporting</b><br />I'm definitely rooting for Daniel Kaluuya. I hope he and Lakeith Stanford don't split votes since they're in the same movie. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Best Actress - Supporting</b><br />Olivia Colman was so great in <i>The Father</i> and it'd be great if she won, but also I'm pulling for Yuh-Jung Youn from <i>Minari</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Best Director<br />Y'all, I am <b>conflicted</b> with this category. I want Lee Isaac Chung because he's a U grad, but I also am pulling for Chloe Zhao and Emeral Fennel. I liked all their films so I guess I'd be okay with any of them winning. </div><div><br /></div><p></p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-31413497713104160862021-04-25T18:34:00.003-05:002021-04-25T18:44:29.858-05:00Oscars 2021<p> I love <i>going</i> to the movies. I mean I love movies in general, but my joy is in the movie theater experience. Last year that was taken away and it was <i>hard</i> (please don't judge, everybody's hard is relative). I go to a movie for many reasons, including to feel better whenever I'm sad or anxious or feeling lonely or stressed. It is a refuge, and when I was feeling ALL those things last year during lockdown and quarantine I couldn't do the one thing that makes me feel better. One Saturday night in March last year, I waited for the sun to go down, closed all my blinds, turned off the lights, put my phone on silent and in my bedroom, and made some popcorn to recreate the theater experience in my apartment to watch <i>The Rise of Skywalker</i> (y'all, I was obsessed with that movie last year and I can't even tell you how many times I saw it in a theater). While it sufficed for the world we were all living in, and it <i>did</i> help me in the moment, it was never going to be a permanent solution.</p><p>All that to say my relationship with movies has been very different this past year. Movie theaters reopened in Austin in August, but most studios were choosing to not release their films since the big markets of NY and LA were closed. <i>New</i> movies to see were not in the same amount as normal years, and while I was thankful for the new films that <b>were</b> released (yay <i>Tenet </i>and <i>Wonder Woman 1984</i>), it's just been a year where I've felt very disconnected from film and the film award world. </p><p>And here we are at Oscar Sunday. Back when the nominations were announced I wasn't very excited about anything. I didn't really even follow or keep track of the other awards during the season. But then Cinemark announced their annual Oscar Week and I could catch up and see all the films and be ready for Oscar Sunday. So here's my take on the noms, most notably the eight Best Pic nominees (which I've seen all), and some (likely) annoying commentary. </p><p><i>The Father</i><br />Wow, what a film to come out of left field for me. I saw this on Wednesday last week knowing nothing about it except the title and the stars. I had seen the ads for it online and immediately assumed it was some sad, treacly, sappy story of a dad and daughter in his final days; something akin to <i>On Golden Pond. </i>It definitely starts out that way, and then there is a huge change that made me wonder if I was watching a psychological thriller (helped along by the score and directing during the change). And I guess it kind of is a psycholgogica thriller, as Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) is living with dementia and he can't actually remember who is who and what is happening. The film always kept me on my toes and made me even wonder what was going on. Living with dementia must be terrifying, and those experiencing it through family members are also going through a lot. Both Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman are great and I recommend this film. </p><p><i>Judas and the Black Messiah</i><br />I saw this on a February afternoon at the beginning of some plumbing issues at my house. I really just wanted to escape and let go for a couple hours, and was so glad the theater in Denton was open and there was a new movie on the docket. Daniel Kaluuya gives a phenomenal performance as Chairman Fred Hampton, leader of the Black Panther in Illinois. Lakeith Stanfield gives an equally phenomenal performance as FBI informant Bill O'Neal, looking to get his conviction for stealing a car softened. The Black Panthers are incredibly misunderstood by (white) society and this film was a great intro into what they were really trying to do and the way the FBI (illegally) treated them. I intend to do more personal study of the Black Panthers. The ending had me crying at the brutality and illegality of the FBI murdering Fred Hampton.</p><p><i>Mank</i><br />When this film was announced I was pretty sure I was the target audience - directed by David Fincher (he directed one of my top-five favorite films, <i>The Social Network</i>) about the classic of classic-est movies, <i>Citizen Kane </i>(which I love). I even got to see it in a real movie theater (the S. Lamar Alamo in Austin). However, I found the movie to be incredibly boring even though I think billing for movies is incredibly fascinating. I didn't like Gary Oldman as Herman J. Mankiewicz (Mank, the guy who wrote <i>Citizen Kane). </i>I didn't really like anybody or anything, except for one very crackling scene at a crowded and somewhat fraught dinner party at the estate of Randolph Hearst. </p><p><i>Minari</i><br />I was excited to watch this film because it is directed by Lee Isaac Chung, a guy who also graduated from the University of Utah Film Studies program (he was a grad student that finished in 2004, I was an undergrad that started in 2005). When I moved to NYC in September 2007, I reached out to the alumni network and was given the email for a fellow graduate that was also living in NYC - Isaac Chung. I contacted him and I actually helped on a film that his friend was directing and he was shooting in early 2008. I don't even remember what I did to what the short/film was about, and we never connected again (although we did friend each other on FB). All of that to say, I was excited that this film had Oscar buzz because of my very small connection to the director. When A24 sent me an email about virtual screenings, I immediately bought a ticket because I wasn't sure I'd be able to see it in theaters. However, the application used wouldn't let me cast from my phone, laptop, or chromebook to my tv, and the ticket was only good for a five hour window, so I ended up watching it on my phone. NOT ideal, especially when reading the subtitles. Anyway, I still found the story to be incredibly affecting and the performances all very moving. </p><p><i>Nomadland</i><br />This was the first film I saw during Oscar Week, and I had no idea what it was about except that it had some scenes involving workers at an Amazon warehouse facility. It's a quietly affecting story of one woman's live after the death of her husband and the closing of the US Gypsum plant that employed her husband in Nevada. She lost her husband and her community, and she spends the movie as a nomad finding new community through work and solitude. It was melancholic and lovely. </p><p><i>Promising Young Woman</i><br />I can imagine many a conservative white dude who believes women "call rape" frequently, watched the trailer (not even the film) and immediately dismissed it as 1) the Me Too movement run amok; 2) angry women revenge film; 3) just a feminist movie (these are all basically versions of the same thing). And maybe it IS those things....but it's also more nuanced than that. Anyone who thinks Cassie the heroine of this movie isn't paying enough attention. She is damaged and hurt and angry (all understandable and justifiable), but her outlet isn't healthy. Numerous people tell her that she needs to move on, and it's clear she's stopped progressing by choice - and that's not a good thing for her or her friend Nina. When she does move on, she's timid and careful, only for it to be taken from her. She reacts in the extreme. And maybe that's all she felt she could do. I'm not really here to judge her....but I am judging the men and other accomplices in the film for their own actions and choices. It is a dark, funny, irreverent, stylistic film with really wonderful music choices. I hope Carey Mulligan wins Best Actress.</p><p><i>Sound of Metal</i><br />I don't have a ton to say about this film. I watched it a couple weeks ago in my home on Amazon Prime. I really like Riz Ahmed, but this film didn't totally connect with me. It's not as if it's bad in anyway, I just didn't feel it. But I don't have any negative feelings toward it. </p><p><i>The Trial of the Chicago 7</i><br />I watched this today instead of spending four hours at the theater watching the nominated Shorts. I like Sorkin as a writer (for the most part...I mean he wrote <i>The Social Network</i> which I love but he can definitely be overly speechy in his screenwriting), but don't particularly enjoy him as a director. He has a really all-star, stellar cast, that, in my opinion, helps him overcome some of his weaknesses as a director. But his dialogue oftentimes was annoying and to on-the-nose and it annoyed me. I don't know nearly enough about the actual events, but I feel like he dramatized a lot of the proceedings. The content of the film is extremely applicable to our current time, and it made me feel frustrated that we haven't really come all that far in equity and social justice. After living through this past summer and seeing so much police brutality and violence on Americans, I had anxiety watching the riot footage and had to turn away. The film definitely made me angry, frustrated with the ongoing white supremacy institutions that continue to perpetrate inequity, but that doesn't make it an overwhelming great film; telling a relevant, important story doesn't automatically bestow accolade. Additionally, I was troubled that Gary Seale, the Black Panther roped into the trial simply because he was black, was "saved" by the conscience of a respectable white man. That being said though, Joseph Gordon-Levitt gave a restrained performance that I really liked. </p>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-47400006495996647322021-02-19T20:19:00.000-06:002021-02-19T20:19:15.200-06:00Snowvid-21<p> It started with snow on Valentine's Day. Despite the decent accumulation of snow on the roadways, I made the drive to Hannah's for planned brunch with my friend Lindsey. We both made it safely an</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yMg2efEhVvnNeiA_UnZXA-o-M4J96Hh3ffd7mOTNwWsf2HAF7nIvHTdqMib8SqxvdJK8BmgJ1p0O7KsXZGaaqgOp4RjjLYsChCEB44kIJCDaG1aPV-fJvnZfK8bwxH3opI0YCl-Ib8IR/s761/IMG_7192.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yMg2efEhVvnNeiA_UnZXA-o-M4J96Hh3ffd7mOTNwWsf2HAF7nIvHTdqMib8SqxvdJK8BmgJ1p0O7KsXZGaaqgOp4RjjLYsChCEB44kIJCDaG1aPV-fJvnZfK8bwxH3opI0YCl-Ib8IR/s320/IMG_7192.PNG" /></a></div><br />That night, Sunday, was cold. Monday morning came with fresh snow and lots of people didn't have power. I thankfully did, though. I logged into work but it was hard to concentrate as it was clear a lot was going on. Throughout the day I kept checking Facebook to get updates on my friends. I texted with close friends to check in on them. Turned my thermostat down to 65 to conserve energy and do my part. <p></p><p>Evening came and I still had power, which I was feeling very lucky about. I couldn't believe that I'd get to watch The Bachelor, a piece of joy during this cold, crazy time. </p><p>Then the power went out at 6:30 p.m. I was a bit lost on what to do, as I was feeling confident I wouldn't lose power. I found two good-smelling candles I had from Target, and also some tealight candles from Ikea, lit them and placed them on my nightstand. I brushed my teeth, opened up my faucets to dripping to prevent frozen pipes, gathered blankets and my cats on my bed and settled in. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0E39_vIfNErFCtBqesMQ6DRIg-5GZYx2m-3H7yDApeM3YedOaxnicaAevthDYEYS40PRdtRGBlYS0alDSWjhU-SGyoPRizJjnJ-SVlEuidvEaPxZiyV2t8L2tDyUOLZzG21N9M5q-ytp/s3088/IMG_7191.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0E39_vIfNErFCtBqesMQ6DRIg-5GZYx2m-3H7yDApeM3YedOaxnicaAevthDYEYS40PRdtRGBlYS0alDSWjhU-SGyoPRizJjnJ-SVlEuidvEaPxZiyV2t8L2tDyUOLZzG21N9M5q-ytp/s320/IMG_7191.HEIC" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qhHrpUmAPUC2JMdwX8tew1i77Xi2CJfgsK-7ZMHt_aUbOMdc27zdkEDlYr4KvvQoodicuIpybbj0PLX-bxbyYb772BIEmiNbpraTE4Vyn_fejRFfGWifxWK-Da2XpuLvbzGXPScJb6zy/s3024/IMG_7194.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qhHrpUmAPUC2JMdwX8tew1i77Xi2CJfgsK-7ZMHt_aUbOMdc27zdkEDlYr4KvvQoodicuIpybbj0PLX-bxbyYb772BIEmiNbpraTE4Vyn_fejRFfGWifxWK-Da2XpuLvbzGXPScJb6zy/s320/IMG_7194.HEIC" /></a><div><br /></div><div>I sat there in the candlelight, wondering what I would do if the power was out all night. My mind couldn't handle that thought, so I just cuddled up with Biscuit and ignored the gnawing, overwhelming thoughts. <p>Power came on about an hour after going off. I was giddy, and turned on The Bachelor. Sadly, power went out again at about 8:30, around an hour after being on. So I relit my candles and got back into my bed, cuddled with my cats and just laid there. </p><p>I finally fell asleep, and the power went off and on in approximately one-hour increments until about three a.m. It woke me up sometimes, as my heater is kind of loud. Overall though, I was basically warm with all my blankets and layers of clothing (I slept with socks on and I <i>never</i> sleep with socks on). The power went off around 8 a.m., just in time for work to start. It came on an hour later and stayed on for the rest of the day. </p><p>At this point, even though I was cold and mentally exhausted, I was still feeling lucky that I had power ALL DAY. I was, however, feeling concerned that I didn't have enough food to get me through the upcoming snow and cold that was coming Tuesday night; it seemed that Friday would be the next time that it'd be okay to leave (I went grocery shopping Saturday but I didn't get enough to make it through that long). My friend Steph came to my rescue, picking me up in her 4-wheel drive vehicle to get groceries. </p><p>Getting groceries was an adventure. We bypassed Murder Kroger because the parking lot was jam packed. We decided to go to Albertsons farther down on University since its' generally, in normal times, not busy. It was closed. So we headed back towards down and stopped at Aldi's. It was moderately busy, but not overwhelmingly so. They still had a decent amount packaged food, but meat and other deli items were pretty much gone. This surprised me, as my goal was to get items that <i>didn't </i>need refrigeration. Before dropping me off, Steph stopped by her home to give me one of her flashlights. </p><p>With a new food supply, I was feeling ready for whatever came. My power went off around 9 p.m. and was off/on all night in one hour increments until 9 a.m. The temp dropped to below zero over night. Despite that, and the heater being set to 63 and going off every hour, I kept warm in my bed. Power was on all day, except for a random half hour at 2 p.m. I also still had water as my pipes hadn't froze or burst. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8JPpazn5xpNM9LLsyWhUova9FRHuJeDfezKw4D5_a_FK3QXVyv0Sxyx_w_qe9UWYJxcvHpb1aYCUOugp9l4eGPBWuyKs5HPF2IULom_z2jLGycTm6cGoMMl5Q9uBsUaStkkYxzZpza66/s3024/IMG_7203.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8JPpazn5xpNM9LLsyWhUova9FRHuJeDfezKw4D5_a_FK3QXVyv0Sxyx_w_qe9UWYJxcvHpb1aYCUOugp9l4eGPBWuyKs5HPF2IULom_z2jLGycTm6cGoMMl5Q9uBsUaStkkYxzZpza66/s320/IMG_7203.HEIC" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9vHeqbGWFSCTuZSlMS7drZsjkvyEl9yuyayiOV8MhVcC_C3SCo2r0Au8JYzsDAnD38xOKKaVEN9yzug0vuDtI519hs1tA59pbJWm_RcLOLvFSyAhyHFPr9Oi6z3tE1mvMhAo8jrkmxY0/s4032/IMG_7204.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9vHeqbGWFSCTuZSlMS7drZsjkvyEl9yuyayiOV8MhVcC_C3SCo2r0Au8JYzsDAnD38xOKKaVEN9yzug0vuDtI519hs1tA59pbJWm_RcLOLvFSyAhyHFPr9Oi6z3tE1mvMhAo8jrkmxY0/s320/IMG_7204.HEIC" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Power stayed on Wednesday evening and all through the night. The City asked all of us to not drip our faucets as the water supply was low. Did my best to conserve water (and electricity), however a boil water order was issued Thursday afternoon. Thankfully I had filled up some pots and containers with water on Monday, so I had some water I could use without having to boil. <p>At this point it was just looking forward to Friday, when temps would finally rise above freezing. Friday has come and things are feeeling normal again. The sun came and the rising temp meant the ice and snow melted. Water boil order is still in place, but that's no so bad considering what we've all been through. </p><p>I never lost water, my power only went out at night/overnight and the lowest the temp got in my home was 58. I had food and was checked in on by friends and family. I didn't have medical issues that required power. It was a <i>trying</i> week, though, and I was luckier than most. </p></div>Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-22895835520790410022020-07-14T23:54:00.001-05:002020-07-17T12:11:04.622-05:00Escape to Texas Mountains<div>
Working from home is overall pretty great, but there's nothing to do <i>after</i> the end of the work day. All planned and thought-about summer vacations have been cancelled. The one hobby I have is going to a movie theater, and they have all been closed since March. I stay indoors except to get groceries, get takeout, or replenish cat food and litter. </div>
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It all makes me feel even more stir-crazy to get out of dodge. Even though it was just six weeks ago that I roadtripped to Baton Rouge and New Orleans, the absence of everything else in my life exacerbates my need to GET OUT. The need and desire to feel and experience something beyond the four walls of my apartment, but also being safe and not risking infection of myself or possibly others. It is indeed a strange time. </div>
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So on a whim I booked a room at the Indian Lodge in <a href="https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/davis-mountains" target="_blank">Davis Mountains State Park</a> for Sunday night. I did this Friday night. Because there are no rules during a pandemic (other than actual rules like physical distancing, wearing a mask, etc.). </div>
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Mountains aren't <i>prevalent </i>in Texas. At least that's how I feel as someone that grew up in Idaho and Utah in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. And I <i>always</i> miss them, in an abstract way since I'm not an avid hiker or anything. So finding these mountains, just a six-and-a-half-hour drive from Austin felt like finding gold. </div>
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All I wanted to do was escape my apartment and clear my head with pretty views, sunsets and sunrises, and some stars. I got all of that in spades. I spent the day sitting on a rock overlooking a valley. I watched birds (even though I know nothing about birds), listened to the wind, saw some deer foraging for food, and watched the mountain slowly be enveloped by shade as the sun set. </div>
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Then everything was swathed in the magical glow of magic hour, and suddenly everything was evocative, beautiful, transcendent. Trees and cactus and rocks were beautiful masterpieces of elegance and purity. Then the star came out, and I spent at least an hour gawking at the majesty of the Milky Way and nighttime sky. </div>
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I got up very early in the morning to catch the sunrise. Everything looked gorgeous, and I spent the morning hiking around the area and taking pictures of cactus. I even ran across a group of wild pigs. Check out all my photos <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/BGP3oT4N3BgkZjm4A" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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I then headed out to Marfa, because it seemed like if I was already out this far in west Texas I might as well hit up Marfa and see the famous Prada art installation. But what I'll always remember is the amazing fried chicken sandwich I had at <a href="https://www.visitmarfa.com/partner_listing/the-water-stop/" target="_blank">The Water Stop</a> (and the very pricey pillow I bought at a gift shop). </div>
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These plants were everywhere, and they definitely gave a feeling of an other-worldly place. Aliens, maybe? ;)</div>
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Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-46497711019335347782020-05-25T12:32:00.002-05:002020-05-25T12:32:17.545-05:00Callin' Baton RougeAfter my day-trip on my birthday to the Hill Country of Texas, I thought about planning another road trip for Memorial Day (since my trip to San Diego with my Kansas friends as part 3 of our "Four Corners of America" was cancelled). I convinced myself out of it, though, and didn't plan anything.<br />
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But then I woke up early Saturday morning (thanks to my cats) and couldn't go back to sleep. I decided to make the most of being up so early (and thought about another weekend at home after another week of being at home) and decided I'd head to Baton Rouge, a six and a half hour drive from Austin. I booked a hotel, fed my cats, and then headed out with no plans. (Check out a <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/L6wS5vsdFB2vCib29" target="_blank">google photo album</a> for photos.)<br />
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It started raining right as I got to Baton Rouge. Not ideal, but not terrible. I drove by my hotel, but didn't want to unload in the rain so I just drove towards a tall building. Turns out it was the State Capitol. What kind of State Capitol looks like this, instead of columns and domes? I knew right then I loved Baton Rouge.<br />
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<span style="color: black;">I spent my time just walking around, mostly at the riverfront. "Patriotic" music was playing from several speakers and it was kind of nice, but also kind of annoying as I sat there for awhile and heard the same songs over and over. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I watched the clouds and the barges, and just <i>contemplated</i>. </span></div>
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Baton Rouge has an amazing Downtown Greenway that I took a walk down as the sun was going down. The median of North Street is full of trees, a bike path, and a walk path and it was lovely. Then I walked through the historic Beauregard Town during the fleeting magic hour. Everything was bathed in a glow of purple and pink, and I could smell rain and flowers as I walked along old streets and admired old homes. Through one window I could see a person watching <i>Casablanca. </i>It was magical and lovely.</div>
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The next morning I decided to make my way to New Orleans, specifically I wanted to drive across the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=lake+pontchartrain+causeway&rlz=1CALKNW_enUS707US707&sxsrf=ALeKk01buDmnerjxeI902l-5hqw5GEFYcA:1590427880763&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiuo_7Gxc_pAhVRLK0KHQLNCqkQ_AUoAXoECBsQAw&biw=1366&bih=621" target="_blank">Lake Pontchartrain Bridge</a>. I had sent some photos to my friend Kate, and she mentioned that Louisiana was home to one of the longest bridges in the world! I took the longer (and on my opinion more scenic) route to New Orleans just to cross this bridge. I paid five bucks and it was well worth it! The bridge spans Lake Pontchartrain and is 24 miles long. One site I read said that at one point on the bridge a person can't see any land; that's not true, as almost from the beginning one can see the skyline of New Orleans. Whatever. It was amazing. I rolled my windows, let the wind blow my hair, and sang along to the radio as I marveled at the bridge, the clouds, the water, and the fete of engineering it was to build the bridge. </div>
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I spent a couple hours in New Orleans, since I had come all this way to cross a bridge and was now there. Due to Covid response measures, lots of things were still closed. The famed Bourbon Street was not teeming with people (I actually ended up driving down it on accident when I first entered the city). Lots of people weren't wearing masks. Some places were open, but most places were still closed. So not the best introduction to a city. I hung out at Jackson Square, and did some walking in the French Quarter, but was hot and sweaty so decided to leave. Major shout out to the random restaurant I found next to a post office drop box in downtown that let me use their bathroom even though I wasn't a customer - I was <i>dying</i> and my bladder would not have made it much longer. </div>
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On the way back I stopped in Baton Rouge for lunch. I really like Baton Rouge, more so than New Orleans. I often wonder what touristy places like Bourbon Street were like <i>before </i>they became touristy places, full of terrible souvenir shops and restaurants that catered to tourists. What was it like when it was a place people just went to, or stumbled upon. </div>
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I had started playing Garth Brooks when I left New Orleans, hoping the song "Callin' Baton Rouge" would start playing at just the right moment. After stopping for lunch, I was making my way to the freeway and, in a perfect moment of kismet, it started playing just as I got on the on-ramp and crossed over the bridge spanning the Mississippi River. </div>
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<br />Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134479467770089101.post-22420015641996916542020-05-21T22:30:00.001-05:002020-05-25T21:33:19.659-05:00Quarantine TV WatchingUPDATED<br />
When everything's closed and you aren't supposed to leave, what else is there to do than catch up on new and old tv shows. This is what I've been watching the past couple months.<br />
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<b>Girls</b><br />
I already watched <i>Girls</i> a couple years ago out of curiosity. This time I watched it because of Adam Driver specifically. His character, Adam Sackler, and Hannah have such an interesting relationship and when they break up I am reduced to a mess of tears because it feels so real.<br />
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<b>Angel</b><br />
I started this rewatch when I got to season 4 of my <i>Buffy</i> rewatch. I had a newfound appreciation for season 2, but it's still my least favorite. Season 3 is my favorite with the epic story of Darla and Angel having a baby, even if we are supposed to believe Angel and Cordelia are in romantic love. Season 4 is grand in scale, and is for the most part good but Cordelia truly was terrible. Season 5 is overall fun, with some great episodes and arcs. I hadn't seen the finale since it originally aired and I was reminded how good it is.<br />
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<b>Tiger King</b><br />
A train wreck where everyone is a villain and no one wins.<br />
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<b>Fleabag</b><br />
I had heard about the "hot priest" and was tempted to skip to season 2 just to see if it was as good as it was made to be. But, since season 1 is only six 30-minute episodes I stuck with it. Glad I did because I ended up enjoying season 1 and it really made a lot of the character motivations clear from earlier in the season and is pivotal to understand season 2. The hot priest storyline definitely delivered. So. Damn. Heartbreaking.<br />
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<b>Succession</b><br />
Dang. So good. This was one of the shows offered for free from HBO Max when quarantine started. Season 1 was so amazing, and season 2 I almost gave up on after the first episode. I kept with it, though, at the urging of my coworker and I'm glad I did because it was amazing. I mean, that ending. Also, everyone is super terrible and it's hard to pick who I dislike the most; sometimes it's Tom, most of the time it's Logan, and occasionally it's Logan.<br />
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<b>Single Parents</b><br />
I randomly started watching this when I saw a commercial for an upcoming episode. It's simple fun, and there were a lot of times when the kids made me laugh out loud.<br />
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<b>Killing Eve</b> (adding this after I originally posted because I forgot about it)<br />I get most of my t.v. recommendations from my coworker (she recommended I stick with <i>Fleabag</i> and <i>Succession</i>), and she has been urging me to watch <i>Killing Eve</i> more than anything. I started it one Saturday when, like most other Saturdays during quarantine, there wasn't anything else to do. Most of season I really liked, but the ending didn't really do it for me. I unenthusiasticly started season 2 but didn't get past the first episode. I love that it's female-written and stars two females (both took home awards for their roles!) but I'm just not <i>into </i>it.<br />
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<b>One Tree Hill</b><br />
I just had a hankering for a teen drama and this is on Hulu. I watched the first season when it aired way back in 2003, but knew random things about what was happening over the years due to my general interest in pop culture. The first season is pretty classic, and was the last time before a long span of truly terrible hairdos and wardrobe choices for Lucas. The show started embracing the crazy at one point, but dang if I wasn't fully invested in the star-crossed relationship of Lucas and Peyton. Season 5 stretched the limits of what was believable in the quest of the writers to keep them apart one last time, but it eventually paid off. The show, in my opinion, went on much too long; I'll probably stop my rewatch at season 6.<br />
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What's next???? Who knows....Just Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00369805473365280203noreply@blogger.com0