8 Perfect Cinematic Moments

Perfect Cinematic Moments

Andrew over at Fistful of Films started this Blogathon of listing those "perfect Cinematic Moments". Below he's listed a few rules and his description of that "perfect" moment

1) Pick a number between 1 and 100 (any more than 100 is just gaudy)
2) Choose that many cinematic moments that are either your all time favorites or ones that could, on any given day, be your all time favorites
3) Post them on your blog (or Tumblr or whatever) with the above header (or one you create for yourself)
4) Send me the link by either posting it here in the comments or getting ahold of me on Twitter ( @fististhoughts )

We all have them in the back of our minds; those moments that make us think "man, this is what the movies are all about". We relive those moments in our mind's eye, remembering them and dissecting them and adoring them. They come in all shapes and sizes, from all types of films, and yet they all share one very important aspect; they define why we love the movies. It could be the way that the moment is cut; the way it's edited together. It could be the way the moment uses it's actors to evoke a powerful emotion from us. It could be the way that music floods the scene and draws us even closer to the moment in question. It could be a grand climax, a breathtaking introduction or a simple interchange. It could be any and all things, because for every film lover, the list is different.

So Below I've made up my list, which turned out to be 8 perfect moments. I'm sure there are a lot more I've experience, but these are the ones that come quickest to mind. It's a lot of recent films, and a lot of these movies are just all-time favourite of mine. Enjoy the list and feel free to share your favourite moments in the comments! 

The Dark Knight

This exact moment, shown in the gif above. It's right after he escapes from prison and he's killed Rachel. With the sound muted, the Joker has his head out the window like a dog and is just enjoying the ride, basking in all the chaos he's created. I know there's a lot of moments from this film I could've picked (I was initially going to pick the opening sequence, which is also perfect), but this moment, this short shot, always sticks out to me and gives me chills. It's such a dark moment, but I love it.

Gone Girl

"I'm so much happier now that I'm dead"/Cool Girl

This reveal scene is just so, so, so perfect. Amy is now "dead" and she's so much happier. In a back and forth montage of realizing how she framed Nick for murder, and what she's doing now that she's dead is perfection. Just even that line, "I'm so much happier now that I'm dead" is spoken so perfectly, and this image of Amy, sunglasses and hair waving in the wind just looks so cool. And that cool girl rant, of talking about girls who try to become that girl who men find "cool" and makes them "one of the guys" is so iconic and true. This scene, with the music, Rosamund's fantastic performance, and the perfect and precise editing makes this scene perfection. Even though I knew this reveal was coming, it was still such a brilliant scene.

Singin' In The Rain

The Opening Sequence

The opening sequence of Singin' In the Rain is my favourite. It starts with Don Lockwood arriving at his movie premiere with Lina Lamont. Don gets asked to tell how his career began, and he does. We got Don's voice over with flashback images, but they often don't quite match. Don talks about getting the best education, and we see him singing at bars. He talks about how he and Cosmo were quickly getting offers in Hollywood but exclusively picked a certain studio, when really, that was their only offer. It's a great sequence of mismatch and irony. Also, it includes the great performance of Don and Cosmo at a crappy show, tap dancing while "playing" violin. 

The Social Network
"I'm coming back for everything" 

The Social Network was a film I didn't originally care for. I was kind of new to this whole actual-good-movies thing and I was in the Kings Speech camp. But even then, I knew this scene was amazing. It's right near the end and Eduardo finds out he's been cut down on his share and he swears to sue Mark. There are just so many fantastic lines ("Sorry! My Prada's At the Cleaner! Along with my F*** you flip-flops, you pretentious douchebag") But my favourite is when Andrew Garfield tells Mark to Lawyer up, and he's coming back for everything. The line delivering on this is perfection on the part of Andrew Garfield and I'm still so angry that he was snubbed an Oscar nomination for his performance. Eduardo has finally snapped, this was the last straw in a huge pile of straws and it's incredible to watch him finally break and finally truly speak his mind. 

(500) Days of Summer

Expectations vs Reality

I love all the experimental and quirky stuff that (500) Days of Summer does. The documentary style interviews, the dance sequence, etc. So much of it reminds me of Annie Hall, but for a new generation. But expectations vs reality is probably the best sequence of the movie. Played exactly side by side, running at the same time, it shows Tom's expectations of getting back together with Summer, but instead has him drinking alone and finding out she's engaged. It's shown exactly how people think. These expectations we have that almost always turn out so different from what we think. It sums up a lot about the movie overall, actually, and it was a unique way to show Tom's disappointment

Whiplash

Final scene

Is there really anything to say about this scene that hasn't already been said? The editing is lightning fast, the solo is 9 minutes long, and the tension is about a mile high. It's such a fantastically amazing and tense scene. Who knew a drumming scene like this could put you completely on edge? Miles Teller completely owns this. I love how he just gets so into the drumming. His face is weird and funny but it shows just how much effort he's putting into this. Andrew is playing his heart out. Also, can I talk about that shot of his father looking through the door at Andrew on stage? In his expression you can see that he thinks Andrew has completely lost his mind, and he's gone completely insane. He's just completely fallen off the bridge. And this, out of everything, is the only audience reaction we get at all. We don't see anyone else or what they're thinking and whether this is making of breaking Andrew's career. We see the reaction of Fletcher, the man he's ultimately trying to impress, not the audience. But the shot of his father is heartbreaking. But again, I could go on and on about this scene and how perfect it is. If you haven't seen this movie, do it now!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Dumbledore & Voldemort Ministry of Magic Battle

I probably could've picked different moments from any of the Harry Potter films, but I've always loved this battle scene. Ralph Fiennes is so awesome as Voldemort, and this battle is just great. It's a battle between two of the greats, and they constantly deflect each others shots. This battle is just something different we've seen in any of the films before this point. It's generally Harry or other students doing battle against someone experience, but it's so great seeing these two go head to head. The graphics are great and the choice to leave out any music is great. Also, that gif on the bottom, of Ralph Fiennes taking in power and then releasing it, shattering all the glass in building is a beautiful moment.

The Sound of Music

"The Hills Are Alive!"

One of the most iconic moments in film is definitely one of my favourite moments in film. The Hills Are Alive is such a beautiful and positive song that you don't hear often these days. This gives us our first taste of exactly who Maria is, and it shows who she is so perfectly. She's loving and positive and always looking for the sunshine in everything. The setting of this is just so beautiful that I can't blame her for singing a song like this, in mountains like these ones.

So Fetch Friday: the Mindy Project!

You know what's really awesome? I'm not sure about Netflix in other countries, but The Mindy Project had it's season finale literally like 3 days ago and that season is already up on Canadian Netflix! So yeah, that's definitely going to be how I spend my weekend. So far, i'm 3 episodes in already, and I feel like it's off to a solid start. Mindy Kaling is seriously so great, and I was a little weary of them already having Mindy and Danny be together and it's only season 3, but so far, the dynamic is really hilarious. I was a fan of the first two seasons, and, thus far, I'm glad it's off to such a strong start.

As well, I finished Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Can Jon Hamm please win an Emmy for his guest appearances as the Reverend? The only things I've seen Jon Hamm do are about 10 episodes of Mad Men (I'm working on it...) and Million Dollar Arm. So I had no idea he could do comedy so well. Seriously, he is such a scene stealer, and gave, probably, the best performance of the whole season. Am I exaggerating? I honestly don't think I am. I just want Jon Hamm to do more comedy in general. Can he get a sitcom now? That'd be lovely.

As mentioned, I'm giving Mad Men another shot. We watched about 7 or 8 episodes of the 1st season back in the summer, but we figured we'd give it another shot since it's so critically acclaimed and people seem to love it. Thus far, it's not overly interesting. Does it get more interesting? We just watched the episode where Cooper has a heart attack. So that was more interesting. Also, could they get someone more blah to play Betty Draper? I know she's supposed to be blah, but someone like Jessica Chastain could at least play blah more interestingly.

I watched Whiplash again this week. I've now seen it three times since January, and seriously, this movie is incredible. I've decided I can't really trust anyone who dislikes this movie (do people like that even exist? Apparently they do because there are 12 rotten reviews on RT.) But yeah, this movie is just so incredibly solid. It's just so good...

So now that I've seen Nightcrawler (which I watched 2 days in a row, by the way) and The Guest, I think I'm probably going to start putting together my top 10 list for 2014. A few months late, yeah, but I needed that time to be able to see everything worth seeing.

Also, I've updated my Best Picture Rankings to include Birdman. Now that I've seen it twice and it's been over a month since it's won, I feel I have settled on how I feel about the movie as a whole, so it's been updated. It's ranking is #18, right after My Fair Lady, and just behind The Deer Hunter. You can check out the full list here.

Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler, 2014
Directed by Dan Gilroy

Lou Bloom is a thief. By night he's stealing manhole covers and wire fencing to sell for money. But upon driving down the highway one night, he comes across a single car accident. The car is on fire and the firefighters are trying to get a woman out. Lou stops to watch. A van with people in it stop to watch as well, but they climb out with video cameras and begin to film the scene. The fire, the woman, the crash, all being filmed. Lou approaches one of the men after he's done shooting, inquiring if this would be on TV in the morning and on what channel. When the man replies that it would be on the channel that "pays them the most", it sparks an interest in Lou. The next day, he gets his hands on a police radio and a video camera from a pawn shop. That evening he begins "nightcrawling", racing around town to film crimes and then sell the footage to local TV news stations. But Lou starts to blur the lines between being an observer and a participant in the drama, seemingly willing to do anything to make the most money he can, and to get the best footage.

"My motto is, if you wanna win the lottery, then you have to make the money to buy a ticket."

In large part, this seems to sum up a lot of what Nightcrawler is about. Lou Bloom is cold and calculating, but he does so with a smile. He's a fast-talker and hardly ever blinks, bringing a strange sort of intensity. Lou was sort of like Jesse Eisenberg's Mark Zuckerberg, but with the ruthless of Walter White, all done with a smile. He is completely taken with nightcrawling, saying it's something he loves and it something he's good at. But he's willing to do anything he can to get the best footage, which will equal the best amount of money. It's a film about determination and hunger. The hunger to succeed and to do anything to to achieve that success. And clearly, Lou will do just about anything whether legal or illegal, he does not care.

Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou is pretty much perfection. He lost 20lbs for the role, which accentuates his skull and his eyes that hardly ever blink. There's something slightly off-putting about Lou. He stares with an intensity, but is also overlaid with a smile, so you're not sure exactly how serious he is. You're unsure if he's completely deranged or if he's simply misguided (though the further you get into the film, the more sure you are which side of that fence he falls to). Gyllenhaal walks this line with perfection.  Lou Bloom was a very different character than I expected him to be. I hadn't watched the trailer many times, but the image I always had of Lou before watching the film was that scene where he's screaming into the mirror and shattering it. This was the type of performance I was expecting of Gyllenhaal. But what he does with the character is virtually the exact opposite. He's quick-talking and sometimes socially awkward and sometimes socially suave. He's determined to succeed but is also a loner. It's such a shame the Gyllenhaal was snubbed from an Oscar nomination. This performance was fantastic and it really deserved the recognition. I'm disappointed that he missed out.

Overall, the film was just really well done. The cinematography, the writing, the music, everything is done so well. The supporting characters as well, brought a lot of interesting things to t he table. Firstly, you have Rick, the young man Lou hires as an assistant. He was temporarily homeless, and insists he get paid something while working under Lou. Rick is virtually your only sympathetic character in the film. Played by Riz Ahmed, Riz brings naivety but a willingness to do the work that Lou tells him to. Also, you have Nina. Nina works for KWLA, the first news station that Lou takes his first footage to. She's the morning News Director, and is excited about Lou's graphic footage of a carjacking victim. She insists that Lou call her first anytime he has footage. She's excited about pushing the boundaries and getting the most graphic stuff for her station that she can. Rene Russo does an excellent job as Nina. Bold and powerful but slowly finding herself under the thumb of Lou.

I can't recommend Nightcrawler enough. It's a film that will have you on edge but also a little terrified of your main character. It's a slightly uncomfortable film, but that's what makes it's so engaging. It's a blurring of the lines between right and wrong and what people will do to make money and to make their place. You won't see very many performance better than Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou.  Honestly, it's just a fantastic film, and I'm not really sure what else I can really say.

9.5/10

So Fetch Friday

This past week hasn't been all that exciting for me. I have a bunch of movies from the Library (Nightcrawler! The Guest!) that I'm terribly excited about and haven't seen yet. So that'll be my Saturday while my husband goes off to class for the day. (Yes, my husband has a Saturday class which is only a few times over the semester but is still kind of a bummer). I'm really excited to see both of these. I know a lot of people have spoken extremely highly of, not just the movie itself, but of Jake Gylenhaal and I'm looking forward to seeing what I've missed. As well, The Guest  is another movie I'm looking forward to because I loved Dan Stevens on Downton Abbey and I'm excited to see him in something different. So far, all I've seen him in was A Walk Among the Tombstones, which was a decent movie, but his part wasn't terribly large. It'll be a good weekend for movies. 

As well, I finally finished watching Breaking Bad! Holy smokes, what an amazing show. Seriously, I get why it's regarded as one of the best TV shows of all-time, already. The finale wrapped things up really well, and I'm so glad I wasn't too spoiled for how it all turns out. The only spoilers I had come across was spoilers Walt dies and Andrea is killed. end spoilers. So I'm really happy that, other than that (and one of these was easily guessed), I really went in with my own guesses and most of them turned out to be at least somewhat correct (or, at least, not entirely wrong). 

As well, I haven't exactly been binge-watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but I have been periodically watching it. Honestly, it's not amazing, but I do enjoy it. I was never really a huge 30 Rock person, though. Amy Poelher is a little my humor than Tina Fey. I feel like while stuff like Parks and Recreation is pretty quirky and weird, it always feels kind of grounded in reality and more of a commentary on socieites similar to Pawnee. And, not that I've seen much of 30 Rock, but it always felt a little too weird and unreal to me, and I get that a little bit with Kimmy Schmidt. However, I don't usually love trope characters, but Titus Andromeda is actually my favourite on the show. He's just hilarious and actually seems slightly more grounded than most (in a strange way).

Also, I finally got around to watching Big Hero 6. Cute, but not amazing. I mean, I liked it and it was fun, but I'm pretty sad that it won the Oscar over How to Train Your Dragon 2. I don't know, I've never really been a Disney/Marvel person, so I'm not surprised I didn't love it like so many others. 

Last weekend was my mother-in-law's birthday and a week later (tomorrow) is my mother's birthday, and since they are best friends, they had expressed wanting to go see Cinderella for their birthday's. So we did just that! I went with my in-laws, my parents, my sister and my husband to see it opening weekend. The movie itself was good, and Cate Blanchett was just great (i love her!). Also Lily James and Richard Madden were actually fantastic casting and I was just quite pleased with everything overall. Also, having Ella and The Prince/Kit meet before the ball was a very, very good change, as it makes it less random when she arrives at the ball and they fall in love. 

And since I love all things Tom Hardy, I also watched the movie This Means War this weekend, while the pie I baked for the Cinderella birthday party mentioned above was in the oven. What a terrible yet kind of fun movie. I mean, it was pretty bad. My husband kept wondering if the movie was aware of how bad it was, and I don't think it was. He noted, had they been self-aware it might've actually been a better movie. However, how any woman could pick Chris Pine over Tom Hardy is beyond me. The ending resolution was a little too easy, but it was nice to see Tom Hardy not being serious for once. 

So yeah, I watch a lot of movies and TV in my spare time. This is what happens when you finish work at 2:30pm everyday and, when you get home, your husband does homework or is at class and you don't have a lot to do! 

March Blindspot: Roman Holiday

March Blindspot
Roman Holiday (1953)
Directed by William Wyler
Starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck

I am sadly really lacking in my viewings of Audrey Hepburn films. Until now, the only other one I had seen was My Fair Lady, and that was for my Best Picture project. Roman Holiday is a classic and is the film that Audrey Hepburn won her sole acting Oscar for. As well, it was her first film in a lead role.

The film has a pretty typical romantic comedy story line. Audrey Hepburn plays Anne, a sheltered and protected young Princess. She's touring Europe, and, while in Rome, she gets tired of her schedule and just wants to go out and have fun. After being given some medicine to make her sleep, she decides to sneak out of the Embassy and tour Rome for a few hours. She hops in the back on a truck leaving the Embassy and hops off at the Trevi Fountain. It's not long after that we meet Joe Bradley, an American newspaper man. He has an interview with the Princess Anne the next morning and is making his way home after a poker game when he comes along a young woman, sleeping in the ledge of a fountain, mumbling to herself. Taking pity on her, he tries to take her home, but when she doesn't say where she lives, Joe takes her home with him, letting her sleep at his place. However, it's the next morning, when he see's in the newspaper that Princess Anne is ill, see's her photo, and realizes exactly who he has in his apartment. He proposes a bet to his boss that he can get an exclusive interview with the Princess. And not just about politics but about everything personal. Upon finally waking up, Joe convinces Anne (calling her Anya) to spend the day to herself and do all the things she wants to in Rome.

I know I took a long time explaining it, but, as you can see, there have been dozens of films similar to this. Rich people hiding their identity, trying to live their life and get escorted by a good looking reported, only looking for a story but they fall for each other.

But that's not to take anything away from this film. Audrey Hepburn was great in this. I'm not sure if it's a performance that would garner an Oscar there days, but it is still a fine performance. Also, she's so young! She was probably 23 or 24 when this filmed and she definitely looks that old. It's crazy to watch her in this and realize she's the same age as I am now and won an Oscar! Young Audrey Hepburn, pre-haircut in this film, reminded me a bit of Rooney Mara. If it ever gets remade, please cast Rooney Mara. However, please don't ever remake this because goodness knows it'll never be nearly as good.

As well, Gregory Peck was quite a bit older than Hepburn here. He is 13 years older than her, and I could definitely tell while watching the film. It wasn't too much the age difference but he did get a little creepy stalker-ish. I know it's supposed to be cute (and it is) but the part where he's talking to a young school girl and trying to take her camera so he can get photos of Princess Anne for his interview was a little weird.

However, this was just a fun movie. It's a well done romantic comedy, and there is definitely room in my life for movies like this. It's similar to many movies I've seen (no doubt made with Roman Holiday in made, either consciously or unconsciously) but it's done so much better than films like it. Hepburn and Peck had great energy and chemistry together. Even if there was a bit of an age gap, they worked so well together and it's a pairing I would've loved to have seen more of. I'm going to talk about the end, since it's not spoilery and this movie came on over 60 years ago. But the ending I really liked because Anne went back to being a Princess, out of duty to her family and country. And Joe gives her all the photos her took on their "holiday" at a press interview held for all the press to come and ask questions. She is reassured that, even though she discovers Joe was a news reporter, he isn't going to write a story about their time together. They go their separate ways and their story is over. They don't have a scene where she discovers, and gets really mad and leaves only to rekindle with him. Anne doesn't find out until he's at the press interview and, while you can tell she's angry, Joe simply hands the photos over and he goes on his way. No explaining, no tears. I'm glad they didn't try to force Anne and Joe to get together in the end, because it wouldn't have made a lot of sense. It was a holiday for them and that's it. It was a realistic ending without being too sappy and I appreciated that a lot.

The only disappointment is that we don't actually get to know Anne or Joe all that well. We stay surface level, which works fine with the film, but it would've been nicer to dig a little deeper into their stories. However, Roman Holiday is really about a moment, and when it's over, it's gone. It's about that fleeting instance of meeting a person and then having them leave your life. So it made sense that we stayed surface level, but I would've felt a little more drawn to the characters had we dug a little deeper. However, this is an extremely minor complain as both actors player their roles so well and made the film a lot of fun that this complain only came 18 hours after watching, and wasn't something I immediately felt was missing.

In the end, it's a film I quite enjoyed and I'm happy I finally got around to watching it. I love Gregory Peck and it's great to see more of Audrey Hepburn. While I'm not nearly as fascinated or enraptured with her as some other people, she proves again that she is a fine and classy actress and I look forward to seeing more of her films, and it's always fun seeing more of Gregory Peck.

So Fetch Friday

So here comes another entry for So Fetch Friday. I know the last time I posted on here was last week's entry. But I promise I have a few posts coming up. This weekend I'm going to see Cinderella, and I'll likely provide a review (or at least a few thoughts) on it here. As well, I still have my Blindspot for this month, and hopefully that'll also be coming soon.

Right now my husband and I are planning our trip to Ireland. We're leaving in less than a month, and I'm pretty excited. So I definitely need to indulge on a few Irish movies before I go. Leap Year was a film I liked when it came out, so maybe I'll check that out again. Also, I've never seen PS I Love You? Part of me feels like that's a film I shouldn't really bother with.

Anyway, we're almost at the end of Breaking Bad! We just watched the episode "Ozymandias" last night, so we only have two left. SPOILERS AHEAD: I am so mad that Hank died! But like, I guess someone needed to die that was close to Walt to realize exactly what he's done to everyone around him. But still! Him and Marie have been through so much! But I know Walt dying is inevitable at this point so like, Marie and Skyler can just be widows together. But still, I'm so sad. So unfair! But yeah, seriously, that episode was craaaazy. I'm so eager to see how this all finishes! Will likely watch the last two episodes this evening. end spoilers.

As well, I was able to catch up with a few 2014 movies that I didn't have time to see in theatres. Things are finally releasing on DVD and I'm kind of the best at getting really good holds at my local library.

The first I watched was Dear White People. This was a film I was really looking forward to. I'd read a lot of good stuff about it and was eager to see what I think. As someone who doesn't like in the US, but lives in Canada, race is very different here. I mean, everywhere has it's racist problems, and Canada isn't immune to that, but the problems in America just seem to be so different from things in Canada. At least, ours isn't as nearly as large scale. Although admittedly, I do live in one of the most multicultural cities in the country, so I have no idea what it's like in smaller, mainly white towns, but where I live, it's weird when the majority of people in a room are white. No, seriously, it wasn't weird to go to class in high school and be one of only a handful of white kids. But anyway, the movie itself was pretty good. Tessa Thompson as Sam White was awesome! In the end, I wasn't exactly sure what the movie was trying to say. The stance it was taking was unclear. My guess is that it's saying you shouldn't have to "prove yourself" to others. Either by trying to be "really black" or prove you aren't that black and are more of a "white person inside". But it's just accepting who you are. And that goes for all characters involved. It starts a conversation, but I don't necessarily know what it's trying to add.

Another film I watched, just last night, was Fury. I'm a big Brad Pitt fan and I've been wanting to see it for a while, but I didn't want to see it bad enough when it was in theatres. War movies are always hit or miss with me. I love Bridge On the River Kwai, The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, but I'm not a huge fan of American Sniper or Saving Private Ryan. So I was unsure how I'd like this. The rah-rah American films never go down well with me and I was glad to see Fury wasn't one of these films. Fury paints a bleak and unrelenting picture of the horrors of war. It's violent and bloody, but never because "blood is cool!" but because it wanted to show how much these soldiers went through, and how much of a toll it took. I know a lot of people aren't a fan of the ending (I get it, it's a tad unrealistic) but I liked what it said at that end and what it did. Logan Lerman was the heart of the film, and he really proved himself, as an actor, to me. As well, Shia LaBeouf was actually really good. I'd like to see him take on more good roles (and less weird ones). Does Brad Pitt ever deliver something short of great? Seriously, this guy picks such great roles and this is another one. As well, I'm not really a superhero movie person, but I'm really interesting to see Suicide Squad now, since it'll be directed by David Ayer, who directed (and wrote) Fury.

I have a few more movies to catch up on, but I'll probably eventually post a top 10 list of 2014. I know it's already March, but there are so many movies I still haven't seen that I know I need to (Nightcrawler, Big Hero 6, Mommy, etc). So hopefully that'll also be coming up soon. Have a good weekend everyone!

So Fetch Friday

I've decided to join in on doing So Fetch Friday! As put by creator, Girl Meets Cinema, it's "a weekly post challenge inspiring bloggers to chat about good experiences in your offline life, fandoms you are looking forward to, and generally things found around the internet that are SO FETCH." So here's my first post!

Breaking Bad
-guys, i'm finally getting to the end of Breaking Bad! I'm halfway through season 5. Yes, I'm soooo behind and I know this came out like a year ago, but I'm often late to the party. I loved season 4 and felt like it almost could've ended there. This season is really different, but it's super interesting. I just kind of love Jesse Pinkman, like, so much. He's just gotten so mixed up in everything, and I know he didn't imagine getting this deep. I'm just really eager to see how this all ends for him! 

Gilmore Girls
-A show I've been really slowly watching and I'm still not done the first season. But I totally get why so many people love it. The wit! The coffee! The cute guys Rory dates! (Also, how is Rory a short form for Lorelai? This part always confuses me). But her and Dean are just super cute at this point. But I figure she'll eventually get together with Chad Michael Murray. And how long will it take for Lorelai and the coffee guy Luke to get together? These are the big questions... 

Birdman
-I finally, finally rewatched Birdman after seeing it like 5 months ago in theatres. All I can think about is the ending! I liked it so much better this time through (not that I disliked it the first time, but I wasn't crazy about it). But yeah, that ending, man. I have 2 theories for it and I just can't decide which one I think definitely happened. One of them goes to my cynical side and the other to my love of happy endings. Also, having seen this after Michael Keaton lost at the Oscars, I feel like it wasn't as big of a robbery as people think. It feels really sentimental on most people's parts. I feel like he was kind of constantly outshined by Ed Norton and Emma Stone. Seriously, if JK Simmons and Patricia Arquette weren't around, they probably could've easily walked away with Oscars and I'd be totally down for them winning and not Keaton. But that's just me. 

Redmayne-hate
Speaking of Keaton being "robbed", the cool thing lately is to despise Eddie Redmayne? This is confusing to me. I mean, yeah I guess he keeps doing "baity" movies that attract awards attention, but I feel like he's more just getting offered awesome parts and he takes them. I mean, do you blame him for accepting any role he has (besides like, Jupiter Ascending? But on paper it sounded like it could've been good). I'm happy for the guy and think the hate and the insinuations of Oscar "thirst" is kind of unreasonable, but I'm always one of those people who defends the things most people hate... go figure... 

Honestly, this is kind of all that is happening in my life right now. Besides rewatching Friends and occasionally rewatching Parks and Recreation (aka my favourite show ever), I'm basically just going to work, coming home, occasionally baking, and going to sleep. I have the privilege of  my work hours being from 6am to 2:30pm so I feel like I'm perpetually tired, and this weekend I get to spend with High School kids at snow camp (run through our church, at which my husband and I volunteer with the Sr Highs). Yay!