19th Birthday Post - My Favourite Films About Growing Up That I Watched While Growing Up

This is a really dark birthday candle picture but I think it's pretty and there's no 19th birthday photos anyway

Hi, I know, two posts in one week...damn the world must be headed for an apocalypse or something. Rather, it is my 19th birthday tomorrow. Which is interesting because I feel absolutely no excitement for this new age because it doesn't really mean anything. It is like being 17 - that awkward gap between sweet 16 and the big 18. So when it came time for me to think about doing a birthday post, I really didn't have anything to draw on because there's no such thing as R19 movies here (although there probably would be, considering that New Zealand's rating system is just ridiculous) and I've already "grown up" since I have to pay full adult price for everything now.

Seriously, it sucks having to draw my attention away from the kids menu at restaurants because I'm an adult so I have to get steak.

In my thinking, though, I came to the realisation that even though 19 isn't a particularly special milestone age, this is the first birthday in my "new life", you could say. Gone are the days of growing up in a small town, since now I've lived in Christchurch for over six months and passed my first semester of university. I no longer have to go grocery shopping with mum but I can buy chocolate whenever I want which is honestly the best part of growing up. Oh, and did I mention that I have a cinema five minutes bus ride away, with three others within a half an hour radius? If that's not cool, then I don't know what is.

In a way, 19 is a pretty important age to be. Whereas 18 is the age where you get slapped with the label "grown up", whether you're ready or not, by the time you're 19 you've done a spectacular amount of growing up. Well, I guess that's just how I feel now since a lot has changed since I turned 18 (I say this every year, but I could probably say now that just about every aspect of my life is so different from what it was last year). In celebration of that fact, here's a whole lot of films that taught me a bit about growing up while I was growing up. Don't expect John Hughes films (don't get me wrong, they had their influence), but more a bunch of films that came out at vital times in my life and gave me a bit of perspective. And yeah, things get mushy.

An Education - Earlier this year I outlined my intense love for this film, mainly because it shows the struggles of living up to unreasonable expectations in every way possible. I've always found myself to be a little bit of a Jenny, trying my best to do things that I don't really care for, working hard but hoping that there'll be a little bit of fun around the corner, and maybe being a little too 'pretentious' for my age (now I'm grown up and living with a whole lot of engineers, I'm just known as the weird Arts degree student). Just as the title suggests, it has always been a film that I go back to get an education, whether it be about getting a "real" education or an education from "the university of life".

My 15 Favourite Films Filled with Colour

Down here in NZ, Summer is just around the corner, and there's no better way of getting Summer into my system than by injecting some colour into my life. And you know one way that colour is used better than it is anywhere else? In films. So I decided to compile a list of films that use all of the colours of the rainbow extremely well. There are some films - like Shame or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - that use blue hues well, but there are other films that just go all out. And here they are (in alphabetical order):

(500) Days of Summer (2009), Dir. Marc Webb - Despite its summery title, (500) Days of Summer spends most of its time with warm autumn tones. However, thanks to Zooey Deschanel's beautiful blue eyes, Webb decided to dedicate some of the film's palette to the colour blue - as evident in the dance sequence. Plus, a good bit of the film's colour comes from the awesome clothes that Summer wears.

10 Movies I Wish I Had Made

As some of you may know, in the future I wish to become a director. But we all know that that's never going to happen, because basically everyone I've talked to about it has told me that I can't do it (well not everyone, but everyone has frowned upon my career choice). However, I am one of those people who will always "chase my dreams" because I don't want to end up being something boring like an English teacher (which is where I am headed, believe you me). Anyway, here's a taste of the films I wish I had made. Not because I think I could do a better job - because I don't think anyone could - but I just wish I'd thought of these ideas and be the woman behind these films. Basically, it's a taste of the kinds of films I'd like to make in the future if I continue to chase my dreams and avoid being an English teacher...

10. (500) Days of Summer

I'm quite an old-fashioned person. I like old ideas. But what I like even more is when they have a fresh spin on them, just like (500) Days of Summer does with the already worn-out romantic comedy. Also, something else I particularly like in films are non-linear story-lines, which you will see pop up quite a few times in this list. The way that (500) Days of Summer zips and zaps back and forth, whilst giving us all a lesson about love and avoiding clichés, is something which I find simply genius. I wish that I had thought of the expectations/reality scene, too.

9. The Disappearance of Alice Creed

While this movie isn't by any means perfect, it represents two particular things I about cinema: the power of minimal sets/characters and being as low-budget as they come. I love it when movies are deceivingly simple, but they have a few twists and turns which can't be expected. And when movies have extremely simple budgets, then I like them even more. I'd never want to be the one making movies for $200 million.

8. Revolutionary Road

One thing that has always interested me is 50's suburbia, and how people seemed so suffocated by it. The best example of that is Revolutionary Road, which also happens to be a movie about a disintegrating marriage - yet another thing I'd love to make a movie about. Yes, I'm a sick person. And another reason why I would have loved to have made this movie that has nothing to do with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet? Having Michael Shannon steal the show.

7. The Double Life of Veronique

I just watched this movie yesterday, as I am becoming quite the Krzysztof Kieslowski fan. The Double Life of Veronique is an extremely clever movie which raises a lot of questions - most of those being existential questions. If there's one thing I love seeing in movies, it's existentialism. Oh, and it's beautiful to look at...not that I could ever emulate the beauty that Kieslowski was so good at creating.

6. An Education

An Education is a personal favourite of mine, which I probably love a lot more than anyone else. This is probably because this movie speaks to me on so many different levels - particularly when Jenny has her little speech about how education is boring and everybody is telling her to be bored. I don't know, it's a film which I find a lot of comfort and beauty in, and also a film which always makes me feel like studying and doing well at school...so obviously, I need to watch this movie again.

5. A Single Man

Okay, so I'm not as fashionable as Tom Ford, but I love style in movies. The more stylish, the better. Also, the more depressing, the better. Call me weird, but I quite like movies about suicide, and movies that make me feel extremely depressed. I am a happy person, though.

4. Blue Valentine

Again, here's a film with a non-linear storyline and a love story that's been given a different take. Oh, and it's another disintegrating marriage story. As I said in my review, this movie is "ingeniously depressing". Which is something that I'd love to try and do in the future.

3. Memento

Yes, this is my favourite film. I rewatched it the other day and all I can remember thinking is how much I wish I could have made this film. Obviously because of the non-linear narrative...that is bloody genius. Alas, I'm not as smart as Christopher Nolan and I'd probably end up getting confused with what I was trying to do. I could never make a film noir as smart as this one.

2. The Social Network

There is something about the internet that interests me so much, and if I can ever get around to writing this excellent screenplay I have lingering in my brain (it's not excellent) then it will have a lot to do with the way people use the internet. The Social Network has been described as the 'movie of our generation', and that's another thing that I'd love to try and do, because I'm all for our generation. Plus, I'd have lots of talking...I love listening to people talk.

1. The Virgin Suicides

While a lot of people may disagree, Sofia Coppola is one of my most favourite film-makers. She makes everything look romantic, while being perfectly simple at the same time. The Virgin Suicides is a very simple story of some teenage sisters who are suffocated by their parent's rules and simply being a teenager. There's something about being a teenager that fascinates me, and it's something which I'd love to make a film about. Or I would just love to be Sofia Coppola.

What are some movies that you wish that you had made? 

16 Days of Birthday, Day 11: You Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Make Me Happy...

Yes, I did just quote Tropic Thunder. I still find the fake 'Simple Jack' trailer one of the funniest things ever. As much as I'd like to sit here and talk to you about why Robert Downey Jr is the best at being an American playing an Australian playing a black dude etc etc, that won't be the case tonight. No. It's gloomy outside, the polar blast is still lurking around New Zealand (but no snow for Dannevirke...grrrrrrrrrrrr), and I'm feeling a bit under the weather. So I thought I better write a happy post!


You know, there are rarely any moments when I watch movies just to be happy. Usually I just stick a movie in and there you have it (I shall be watching Biutiful later tonight, which doesn't look like it will be a happy ride at all). If I had a type, I definitely do like watching movies which make me cry or really sad. But there are some movies which just make me happy. They make me smile like an idiot at the end, even if they aren't jovial right the way through.

At the moment, everybody seems to hate romantic comedies. Which is probably a good thing, considering that 99% of them are a load of crap and watching two people being in love isn't as interesting as it was back in the days of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. But you know one pretty recent romantic comedy that is actually awesome? (500) Days of Summer. Okay, so maybe it's more of an anti-romantic comedy, but either way, it still speaks the truth about many relationships and why they sometimes don't work out. While I wished that Tom and Summer could have been together at the end, I'm always smiling ear to ear once the credits roll. That's probably because this film, after all the depression that Tom goes through after being dumped by Summer, takes one last stab at happiness right at the very end. It comes in both the form of Tom finally realising that there are more things in life than the love of Summer Finn, and a very clever inside joke between the viewer and the film.

I'll admit, I'm secretly a hopeless romantic. You know, one day, I'd love a guy like Tom Hansen. Yet, another reason why I love (500) Days of Summer is the fact that it is so coy about love, as it's essentially about learning that love isn't the fairytale it seems to be. That's what really makes me happy. Yes, the film looks at a romantic relationship between a man and a woman. But in this one, Katherine Heigl doesn't get the guy who she really hated at the beginning. Instead, we see love happen. It may not be true love, but it's there. Then, we see the ultimate heartbreak through the brilliant expectations/reality scene, as Tom's fantasy falls down around his ears by seeing what actually happens. Yeah, reality will always be there to make sure that we don't live our lives through a fantasy. This is when I feel pretty sad for the guy, which makes the end all the more happy. And while Tom spends most of his post-Summer days in a state of depression, when he finally meets Summer again, he was able to take it like a man. (500) Days of Summer may have it's twee glossy coat, but really, there's a world of depression and sadness underneath it all. But it still manages to make me smile in the end.

Like I did with (500) Days of Summer, I can usually find happiness in the most unlikely films. For example, I always feel really happy when I finish watching Let the Right One In. This film, to me, is one of the most beautiful portrayals of friendship in a film. It features two outcasts, one being a young bullied boy and another being a young vampire who has lived for hundreds of years. Sure, it's unlikely, but this movie is essentially an allegory for having a friend who will always be there for you. My heart always shatters when I see the note Eli wrote - "I must be gone and live, or stay and die" - because this means that poor little Oskar has no-one yet again. But every time I see that amazing swimming pool scene, I'm instantly lifted. I think the bond between Eli and Oskar is so sweet, especially because of how Eli could help Oskar when he was in so much trouble. The final scene, showing Oskar in the train using morse code to communicate with Eli who is in a box, always makes me happy. Mainly because I love how they can help each other so effortlessly, whereas before they met each other, they were struggling to help themselves.
 
There are plenty of other weird movies that make me really happy (seriously, Inglourious Basterds will never fail to make me smile like someone on drugs). Oh yeah, and there are movies which make me happy once they finally end (uh, Sucker Punch, anyone?). But hey, I'm strange like that.
 
What are some movies which make you happy?

I can't even be bothered reviewing White Chicks

and if you saw me now you'd be like this...I know I'm slacking off on the job.

In a few words: it sucked, and I really don't get why people my age love it so much. I mean, it's kinda funny, but it just depends where your movie maturity level is at. Mine's definitely not the same as other people's my age. And I felt like I had seen this before.

Anyhoo, why did I abandon my blog for a little while? School. Nearly failed an exam (got another four next week), had to do a whole research project on global warming, and had to prepare for speech finals...doing a speech which I hadn't done since the day after I first saw Inception (which was a damn long time ago, July 23rd, to be exact.) Good news though...

I won my speech final!

^my victory dance=)

This means a lot to me because I have been trying to win a speech competition for six years, but I always come third. And this year, my final year to compete, I finally won. My topic was Facebook, so now I should thank that wonderful website, Mark Zuckerberg (whom I dislike immensely after reading The Accidental Billionaires), Eduardo Saverin (my hero), and all my stalker friends who inspired my speech.

...and that was the only acceptance speech I'll ever have to do.

So happiness all-round! Expect a bit of a run from me when I try and clear out my queue of reviews...

Week #3 in summary...! Apart from Nolan rewatches, I really like bombs this week...

Hello my dearest readers. This is me, Stevee, apologizing for my lack of non-Nolan movies this week. Okay, I rewatched three, but I have to apologize for it! It's okay if you want to shoot me or something...

So...what did I watch this lovely week number trois??

• Inception (2010) Yes...three long days after the first time I watched it. And guess what?? I'm going to see it again for my birthday in a couple of weeks. I am still pretty excited over it! (My friends: "She is obsessed with it. She is going crazy.") 10/10.


• (500) Days of Summer (2009) One of my favourite movies of all time. And because I am so behind with my blogging (here's the thing, I have internet in one place but not the other...it sucks), I just posted a crappy video review I did a while ago. I would prefer it if you clicked the link that goes to my actual wordy review. Reason for watching this?? Ah, Joseph Gordon-Levitt *swoon*. 10/10


• Daybreakers (2009) Not a rewatch. I'm amazed too. A pretty cool vampire flick that makes me pretty scared about the future. I'm not ready to become a vampire!! 6/10


• The Hurt Locker (2008) The winner of Best Picture. Yes, it is better than Avatar. But not better than Inglourious Basterds, District 9 or Up in the Air. Hell, Kathryn Bigelow sure did deserve that Best Director though. She runs rings around those guys who think they can do Iraq war films! 8/10


• Speed (1994) A total kick-ass movie. Bloody loved it from start to finish. Oh...and Sandra Bullock. WIN! 8/10


• Batman Begins (2005) Christopher Nolan is amazing. That isn't the first time you've heard that on this blog, right? I liked Batman Begins a lot better with the second watch...10/10


• The Dark Knight (2008) Beware: this is a lengthy review. I did apologize at the beginning of this post...10/10.

Okay, so all my rewatches got perfect scores...I'm not going to do Best Movie and Worst Movie because there isn't really a clear deserver of either of those categories.

Highlight of my week (non Movie a Day): Christopher Nolan night at my friends. Or going to see Inception with my friends (not watching the movie, what happened before it started...that's a whole other story!). Oh, and finally getting the highest mark for class speeches (surprisingly, mine wasn't on Chris Nolan, it was on Facebook.)

Lowlight of my week: Um, there was a bit of unhappiness circling around my group of friends. Not a good thing!

Bring on next week...

(500) Days of Summer

Of course, this is a rewatch. Check out my original and real review here.

However, because I am so behind in my blogging and seriously don't have a lot of time to catch up, here's a video review I did back in April for Youtube. Yes, that's me, but I don't have the same hideous hair, thank the lord.

Sorry, the quality is pretty crap, but this was my first time in doing something like this. It's not like I am auditioning for the Rotten Tomatoes show or anything.