After Ever After

This is so genius! Also a little bit depressing. Mostly genius, though!

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) / afternoon in the land of Oz

"How hard can it be to kill a Wicked Witch?"

I was one of the seven people at the 3:45 pm showing of Oz the Great and Powerful last Friday. I hoped I'd be all by myself; in the last couple of months I have, a couple of times, come very close to attending a private screening, but unfortunately that luxury is still waiting to happen. I bet the cinema staff knows me as the poor lonely girl who goes to unpopular matinees all by herself. Haha.

I had no great (or powerful) expectations towards the movie, but I like the stories about Oz and I like Kansas and there's Mila Kunis, so I decided I'd go see it. And, yes, all the Wizard of Oz references were awesome, I loved how much good old Kansas sucked, and Mila Kunis and her character were pretty much the best thing about the whole thing. On the other hand, it was pretty Disney (in both good and bad ways, mostly bad), and it relied far too much on CGI and bright colors and fancy, made-up creatures. And even though I love all that, from bright colors to Disney (even bad Disney), you need more than that for a movie to be great. They won't be still watching and making origin story prequels to this one in seventy years...

The thing about prequels is that it's pretty much impossible to live up to the original. There is no true suspense because we know how things will turn out in the end, more or less. The climax is not truly satisfying, because it's not a happy end, it's a happy middle, and we know that in a few decades all hell will break loose again, and that's when the real hero arrives and saves the day for real. This Oscar person has got nothing on Dorothy: she killed two Wicked Witches, while he kind of just created one. Granted, he does own some nice machines that make pretty illusions.

The acting was somehow really awkward, or at least a bit strange, but then again, maybe it was supposed to be. I definitely got a very strong Wizard of Oz vibe every now and then, so maybe the acting wasn't bad, maybe it was just somewhat weird to see all these famous, modern (and great!) actors like James Franco and Michelle Williams go all 1930s. I don't know.

What I did love about the movie was the feeling of good old nostalgia. It's not that I am completely entitled to feel huge amounts of nostalgia about a film I have seen only twice in my life, both times within a few years, but you know me. I have nostalgia for dinner. The transition from black and white to rich, bright colors was expected, but still very cool. I was hoping they had included a change from 2D to 3D to the transition as well, because that would've added greatly to the effect, but I guess the Kansas part was too lengthy, and if it had been all 2D, they couldn't have charged the whole 3D extra for the tickets. Hah.

I also liked that the China girl was from Chinatown. I liked the Munchkin song. I liked the Yellow Brick Road and the poppy field and the lion, and the flying monkeys that were so scary I felt sorry the kids, and myself. I liked that a villain got a backstory, proving that everything is evil for a reason. I love when they do that. I liked the fireworks and Oz's final trick gave me goosebumps. I wanted to see some ruby slippers, and was a bit disappointed when I didn't.

Oz the Great and Powerful is essentially a Disney adventure, and we have to take all the good and bad things that come with that. At least the lion is far less annoying in this one, compared to the original.

"Kansas is full of good men. I don't want to be a good man. I want to be a great one."

(Nah. You just go stand behind your curtain, while we go back to 1939 to see someone save Oz for real.)

From Snow White to Ebony Black: the Evolution of a Disney Princess

What makes a Disney princess? Is it the gorgeous hair? Is it the tiny waist? Is is the cute little animals she always seems to befriend? Is it the stunning singing voice? Is it the kind, good-hearted nature? Is it the weakness for handsome princes and other masculine yet noble men? Is it the mysterious ability to attract evil forces to distress her life? Is it the fool-proof guarantee for happy endings?

More or less, it is about all of these. Maybe more about the good heart and less about the tiny waist. Or the other way around, I don't know. Anyway, the concept of a 'Disney Princess' means something, at least for me, and it should for generations of little girls before and after me. While boys had superheroes and ninja turtles and jedi knights, we had Disney princesses to look up to and model ourselves after. (I wish I could say that I was one of those cool, modern girls you pretended to be Donatello in their little make-believe games, but sadly, no.)

When it comes to Disney heroines, some things never change. You can find a few good examples of such qualities above. But some things have changed, parallelling the changing of the world. There's no way there could have been a Mulan or an Esmeralda starring the first Disney feature films, and on the other hand, in this day and age they would not raise a character like Snow White as a protagonist anymore.

I guess I ended up having a bit more feminist point of view to this post than I was originally supposed to, but never mind. Also, it slowly grew to be monstrously lengthy.

Warning: There is a chance your childhood idol gets bashed a little. But don't worry, most of MY childhood idols are quite safe!

Nostalgia

In the past couple of days (that can mean two days or two weeks or more, however you want to see it) I've had way too much free time (meaning I have hardly any lectures but SHOULD be doing IMMENSE amounts of independent study), so I've found myself making some dips in the nostalgic pool of my past passions and addictions. There's been the usual, more recent stuff like The Hunger Games and Klaine, but I also enjoyed some Chaplin comedy again the other day, and really feel like I need a fix of River Phoenix, too. And all this Episode VII talk makes me want to put on another 6-movie marathon, because it's been way too long.

Today I made the fateful mistake and was silly enough to read one of my posts from the early summer of 2010. That time was important in my fangirling life in the sense that Lost ended in May, and I was left nursing a hole bigger and more aching than no other fictional work has ever left in me (except for the Harry Potter books, maybe). This means that I wrote a lot about Lost. And now I read one of those post. And you know, if I give Lost my little finger, it'll soon have my whole hand. Both hands. And feet, and all my other limbs, too. I'm lucky I don't have the DVD's at my flat right now. Still, another Complete Lost Marahtron is an inevitability waiting to happen.

"Dear diary. Still on the bloody island. Today I swallowed a bug."

Good times!

In other news, I am currently occupying myself in catching up on my New Year Resolutions (I'm trying to tackle August at the moment, so there's still some way to go), being addicted to Breaking Bad (pun kind of intended) and feeling sorry for myself for being so broke that I'm not free to go to movies anytime I feel like it. Then again, I'm silly and easily persuaded, so the other day I agreed to go to see Paranormal Activity 4 with some friends. I've only seen the first one (and I'm pretty sure I was drunk at the time), and I haven't seen a horror movie in cinema since The Ring 2, which is for a reason. So, at the theatre I noticed that the new Bond was playing at the same time, and I started a passionate persuading process to convince my friends to go see that instead. We couldn't make up our minds, so at the ticket booth one round of rock-paper-scissors made the decision. I lost, and slept with the lights on the following night. And it wasn't even a particularly scary movie! I don't know how I slept after The Ring 2. Maybe I didn't.

Now I'm just waiting for The Hobbit, while hoping no one will say a word to me about Breaking Dawn Part 2, because I know I'd just say what the hell and throw that money to the wind.

I mentioned Breaking Bad; I should really write a post about it, it's a pretty cool show. Apparently I'm also writing my Bachelor's Thesis on it. Humanities, you know...

Also, I have a massive, Disney-related post on the way, which I've been working on for a year or something. It's the bomb! Although it has nothing to do with Breaking Bad. That Jesse Pinkman slang is just contagious.

EDIT// It's soon 1am and I've been sitting here for hours watching and listening to Disney videos on YouTube. This is going to be a long night...

The Lion King in 3D

I remember when I went to see The Lion King in 1994. Or, strike that, I remember when I came back home from the cinema and me and my sister started explaining mom the plot of the movie. So I guess I liked it! I don't remember if Lion King was my first cinema experience, but it is the first one I have memories of. Now I got new Lion King cinema memories!

The Diamond Edition will be released next month, and to mark that occasion the well-loved and adored Disney classic of classics was also rereleased in theatres. To begin with it was supposed to run only for two weeks, but as it has been ruling the heck out of box office, Walt Disney Studios will give it at least another week. I'm not surprised. They should rerelease all the 90s classics in theatres, because seriously, who wouldn't love them? (If you don't, don't you tell me; I like my bubble.)

 I'm not a huge 3D fan - in fact, I'm very anti-3D. But oh boy, did Lion King look awesome with that third dimension! The movie is like made for 3D, seriously! The technology suited LK much better than most of those films I've seen that really were made to be released in 3D in the first place. For example, look at the opening scene, Circle of Life, imagine it in 3D, and you'll know what I mean. I got some serious goosebumps and wasn't too far from tearing up.

 The Lion King is now officially included in my Top 3 of Disney classics, along with The Beauty and the Beast and Pocahontas. I almost feel another Disney phase coming on, but (un)fortunately I don't have the DVDs here, and Netflix doesn't have any of the classics. But well, I just purchased tickets to see Lion King the musical in Las Vegas in a few weeks, so that will do. I know that will be holy-sh*t awesome. (Aren't I courteous for cleaning up my language in a Disney-labeled post...)

"Hakuna Matata. It means 'no worries'."

Who would you be?

After a few week's break I though I'd accept the Movie Monday challenge again. Which film character would I like to be? Which fictional universe would I like to live in?

The first idea to pop into my head was very random and weird. And not nearly ambitious enough. I mean, come on, I have the whole universe on my hands; worlds and galaxies full of awesome and exciting milieus and fierce and admirable character executing daring and earth-shattering deeds. No way I'm going with something as lame as my first idea.

So, I naturally thought about Jedis. They're super über cool and can jump incredibly high and have most awesome weapons ever. But the thing is, their lives tend to end way too soon for my taste, or maybe they turn (almost) irrevocably evil just because that happens to be written in the stars or something. Too much drama for me, thank you very much.

Then I thought how wonderful it would be to be a part of the Weasley family and go to Hogwarts and learn magic and fight the Dark Forces. Only if I was a Weasley, it would be illegal for me to marry Ronald. Darn. Strike that.

'Oh but I've always wanted to live in a musical', I thought next. So how about High School Musical then? Bursting into song and dance in the middle of lunch, that would be the greatest thing ever. Maybe I'd get an amazing singing voice on the side, too? Honestly, though, that much positivity and smiling and happy endings and sugary clichees would make my teeth fall out in a day. So no. I decided to rule out every other Disney option too, because I'm always tempted to answer these challenges with Disney, and that's not very normal. (Oh wait! Does this mean I don't get to go with Pocahontas then? Damn!)

What else could it be, then? Superheroes? Other heroes? Dazzling and noble princesses? Revolutionaries who change the world? Mysterious loners or adventurous explorers from strange and exotic worlds or historic eras before ours? Nah. As nothing seemed to satisfy me, I thought 'Screw this', and concluded that I'm very boring, and thus don't long for galaxy-bending adventures or spine-chilling dangers. Not even in fun challenges that are meant for stretching your imagination and dreaming big. No, I guess in the end, real life with a spice is enough for me.

So I went with my first idea. Random and weird isn't necessarily bad.

Easy A is quite a surprising movie, as it's been stuck somewhere on the back of my head since I saw it some months ago. Comedies rarely do that for me. Thus it also happened to pop into my head when thinking about this challenge. I don't necessarily long to live in an American high school for the rest of my life, but the world of Easy A has pros too, and I will now concentrate on them.

Mainly, it's the insane wittiness that pretty much every person seems to possess. I'd love that. You'd just talk to people and say most genius things just like that. Imagine someone was messing with you, and you'd come up with the most awesome retort ever, but instead of proudly reciting the dialogue to everyone you know for the rest of the year, you wouldn't give another thought for your awesomeness, because those fantastic lines just keep pouring from your mouth all day, every day.

Also, as I would be Emma Stone's character Olive in this scenario, I would get a red hair (without having to be a Weasley and thus off Ronald's 'To Marry' list), and I wouldn't mind that. Nor the fact that she's inceribly and refreshingly mature, smart and self-confident for a protagonist of a high school comedy. I could use some of that. Also she has Stanley Tucci as a father. And Stanley Tucci would be a part of the deal, of course. Suck on that, wizards and Jedis, I have a Stanley Tucci father!

And maybe if I lived in the Easy A universe, someone would make funny montages of my boring weekends and actually make them look really cool and awesome, like this...



And for that, ladies and gentelmen, I will thus sacrifice the opportunity to jump unnaturally high, to be considered normal when breaking into a song when queueing at the supermarket, to keep saving the world on daily basis with awesome superpowers, and even to live in the Shire and spend the rest of my life eating and drinking and partying and daydreaming under fabulous trees and owning adorable feet and a terrific hair.

...Oh wait. I hadn't thought about the opportunity of being a Hobbit until now. Can I still change my mind about this and rewrite the whole post?

Ariel, that stupid teenage brat

I love Disney (news?), but last summer, after weeks of watching only Disney animations, I learned that the love isn't totally unconditional. The Little Mermaid made me want to reach through that TV screen, grab Ariel's skinny little shoulders and shake some sense to that silly, idiotic teenage princess. You can read my sentiments here. I don't no if my reaction would've been the same, had Mermaid been a childhood favourite of mine, but anyway, it's almost refreshing to passionately loathe a Disney film, for its twisted values and non-existent character development.

Some time ago I got into a debate about The Little Mermaid and Ariel, and, not surprisinly, found myself quite alone with my opinion. Today my opponent linked me the following video (very nice and selfless of him, as this gives me the advantage in the future debates, hahaha), and lo and behold! I'm not the only one after all. I pretty much agree with all the anti-Ariel arguments. Plus the video is funny, and doesn't take the matter too seriously, as it shoudn't (we're talking about a kid's movie, after all). I encourage you to watch it even if you don't share the hatred. I know critique towards your childhood idols feels basically like a sacrilege. But be brave and watch it anyway! Haha. (Easy for me to say. Good luck talking me into watching or reading or listening to one bad word about Belle...)

... And if someone now wants to stage an intervention for me, no reason to bother, I don't know the lyrics to Part of Your World, anyway. (Just two lines. Which are stuck on my head right now. Ugh.)

My dearest movie character

"Tough one", I thought, when learning the Movie Monday challenge of the week. Who could I possibly name as the movie character closest to my heart? Well, it wasn't that difficult in the end. I chose the one that first came to my mind, and did it for a reason.

Belle has been my hero for decades. (I guess you can now say that because the movie came out 20 years ago, haha.) She's always been one of my favourite Disney princesses, but while when growing up Cinderella steadily held the number one position with that dazzling ball dress and glass slippers, last year, when my love for Disney peaked once again, I felt safe to announce that Belle had claimed the title for herself.

And isn't she just thoroughly awesome? She was (one of) the first Disney heroine to ditch the role of a frail damsel in distress. Before her there was the stupid teenage brat Ariel (ugh, my blood just began to boil), the naive Snow White who just went with the flow and the apathetic Aurora who had no personality whatsoever. After Belle there's been other kick-ass heroines like Pocahontas, Mulan, Esmeralda and Meg. But Belle is the mother to them all. She doesn't just react; she acts.

Belle does own all the positive qualities of a textbook Disney princess: she's kind, righteous and caring, she sings like an angel, and oh, how pretty she is. I'm a huge fan of that strand of hair that she has to tuck back all the time! She dreams big and never loses her hope. On the other hand, she stands up for her loved ones, even risks her life for them. She's a bit stubborn and doesn't want to be bossed around. She loves books and stories and is very curious. She's subtly sarcastic ("Gaston, you are positively primeval."). She doesn't want to do something just because "she's supposed to", which makes her kind of a misfit. Her biggest nightmare is to become the little wife to the most desired nuthead of the town, and she will not yield to that even if everyone expects her to. She sees past the monstrous appearance of her prince and falls in love with the kind, brave, yet akward man inside the beast. She doesn't just wait around to be rescued. She rescues herself. And her prince, too, on the way. I call that kick-ass, and awesome, and thus Belle is the dearest movie character to me.

And yes, that yellow ball dress is gorgeous, just gorgeous. Might even beat the glass slippers.



I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. / I want it more than I can tell. / And for once it might be grand / To have someone understand / I want so much more than they've got planned


P.S. I burned my lunch while writing this post. For a change. I can't even begin to count how many meals I've ruined because of blogging. Oh well, I guess it's worth it.

Movie Moment: reheasing the Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me company musical

This week's Movie Moment comes with tidings of joy! The awesomeness also known as Monsters, Inc is getting a sequal! Though apparently there's a chance it might be a prequel. Even better! Just think Mike Wasowski and James P. Sullivan studying in the University of Fear! Nothing can go wrong with a plot like that. Even though prequel would mean the absence of Boo, the cutest kid in the history of animated children. She's even more adorable than Bonnie from Toy Story 3!

And now all together: PUT THAT THING BACK WHERE IT CAME FROM OR SO HELP MEEEE (BOM BOM BOM) / SO HELP ME / SO HELP ME... and cut.

2010: A Summary of a Year

2010 is almost over. Can you believe it, because I can't! The year has been pretty good, I've seen many awesome films (and quite a bunch of less awesome films as well, but that's unavoidable, I guess). I hugely regret that I didn't make a list of all the films I watched during 2010 (it did cross my mind, damn it), because I'm pretty sure I've broken a personal record. 2010 was also the year when I started blogging, so I guess we can say my year hasn't been a total waste!

To wrap the year up, I look back to the various phases I went through this year. (A phase: A period of time during which I am hugely enthusiastic about something or someone, and can't fully concentrate on anything else.) There's been unusually many of them! Also, I'll very reluctantly make an unofficial top five of my favourite movies of 2010. Don't take it too seriously. There are too many potentially awesome films I haven't yet seen! It's mostly there just for show.

**

My SIX PHASES of 2010

The Robert Downey Jr. phase (January - March)

Not often I go see a film in the cinema twice. Even less often three times. But I did see Sherlock Holmes three times, and I can only blame the unbeatable charm and overflowing hotness of RDJ. During the phase I also watched a lot of lousy films from his early career (and one damn good one that led to another phase later on) and the fourth season of Ally McBeal. That's when the phase probably reached its peak and I was more fanfirl-y that I've been in years and it was highly disturbing and I'm glad it's over now. (And I'm only half-kidding.) I'm still very much RDJ's girl, and I regret I managed to miss Due Date in cinemas.

The River Phoenix phase (March - April)

The short-ish but passionate River Phoenix phase was triggered by the end credits of Stand by Me, as my even-slower-than-usual brain realised that the charming young fellow in the film was actually River Phoenix. Many of his film are almost impossible to come by, but judging by every film I have got my hands on, River was spectacularly talented and an amazing person and all the praise he's ever got is most definitely deserved. Also, when it comes to talking about River Phoenix, one can't get away without mentioning that he has one of the most photogenic faces EVER.

The Lost phase (~April - June)

My Lost phase has been going strong since 2006, but this year it culminated around the series finale in May. All year long I had been regularly freaking out once a week, as the final season teased and shocked and thrilled me to pieces. Lost is the most popular label on my blog, which shows that the Lost phase still isn't over. Just this week I completed a project I had been fantasizing about for years, as my Complete Lost Marathon finally ended. Lost truly has been one of the highlights of the year, but it was also a significant highlight of the whole decade. Dude, it's been awesome.

The Charlie Chaplin phase (June - July)

This is one of the few times ever I've become this excited about something that could easily be considered 'intellectual' (not that Lost, for instance, isn't, ahem). Thanks to RDJ (yep, I still think I owe him this), I read Chaplin's autobiography, loved it, and watched all of his films I could find. Oh and loved them, too, to say the least. I found it quite amazing that I so thoroughly enjoyed something that had been done before the 90s, or even before the invention of talking pictures! So uncharacteristic of me. Chaplin's films are wonderful, oh so wonderful and I'll be eternally grateful to RDJ. Haha.

The Disney phase (August - September)

Before and especially after our spectacular trip to Paris - which included that fateful visit to Disneyland - I couldn't make myself watch anything that wasn't animated and or didn't have a happy ending and a few cute animal friends. I watched more Disney films in a month than I did during the whole year when I was five. And oh did I have a blast! By the time I got annoyed at The Little Mermaid and actually began to look the films critically (first time for everyhing), I figured the time had come to finally shake the phase and move on. Luckily, an old favourite was coming back from a summer hiatus.

The Glee phase (October - December, and beyond)

 Glee, oh Glee! Just when I thought Lost had left a hole in me that nothing could ever fill, along came season two of Glee, and reminded me that there is one show out there that has that potential. Not that the hole is completely filled (won't ever be), but it doesn't ache anymore. Glee has been quite a dominant factor in my life recently: I created a blog dedicated to it, I'm listening to the songs on repeat, I ordered a ticket to their live concert and I want to marry Chris Colfer (oh, if I were a boy!). Glee has quite a steady position in my life, and this phase will continue to live on... Side by side with whatever I next get crazy about.

**

My (unofficial) TOP FIVE of 2010

Rare Exports

Okay, so. Rare Exports is here, because 1) it was a good film and 2) because it's not every year Finns make a film that one might even consider when thinking about the best films of the year. I might have liked The Deathly Hallows a bit more, but hey, the patriot in me wanted to give this film some more credit. (And I make sure DH pt. 2 will be on my top five of 2011. Promise.) And it's not only that it is a rare export when it comes to domestic cinema. Rare Exports is an imaginative and bold piece of work, it creeped me out, it made me laugh and gave me chills and, quite unexpectedly, a touch of Christmas spirit as well.

Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass kicked off my summer of various action adventures, such as Robin Hood, Iron Man 2 and Prince of Persia, and ended up kicking the crap out of all the rest. It is an entertainment bomb. It introduced two bright stars of tomorrow, Aaron Johnson and Chloe Moretz, and also features the brilliant Christopher Mintz-Plasse. One of my favourite moments (in addition to everything that includes Hit-Girl) still is when the main character is worried that if he dies, he won't find out how Lost ends. What a relief I don't have to worry about anymore! Because, on some of my less proud moments, I did. Anyway, Kick-Ass kicks ass.

Inception

Er, what? What is Inception doing this far from number one? Wasn't it pretty much the most mind-blowing thing I'd seen in ages, a complicated and intriguing masterpiece by the genious also known as Chris Nolan, and simply just the grandest cinema experience ever? Well, yes. As you can see, I haven't numbered the top five, even though they are supposingly in the order of superiority. It just felt wrong. When my friend asked me what my five favourite movies of 2010 were, he also asked me to mark put a star after each film that was so damn incredible you forgot it was a film you were watching. (continues below)

The Social Network

(cont.) (He asked me for the list in Facebook. By the way.) Inception was the only was that I starred. So why oh why are The Social Network and another film topping Inception? Well, quite frankly, I don't know. I'm just listening to my gut. I can't say which one I liked more, because they are so very different. Both left me in awe, but in different kinds of awe and for different reasons. I actually at one point promoted Inception to number two, but finally dropped it back down again, because this was the original order on the list in Facebook. And as we know, Facebook is the bible of today's world. And yes, The Social Network is freaking genious.

Toy Story 3

So here we are, then. 2010 is just about in the bag and my most favourite film ended up being... not a sci-fi epic nor an origin story of a web page... but a third instalment of an animated film series. Um... okay? I guess what happened here is that number three and number two were too busy wrestling with each other that they forgot one little Toy Story 3. Whoever saw that coming? ... I did, actually. (Just remembered that I did!) Here's a direct quote (with spelling errors and all, sigh... 'askes'... I should probably fix that) from my Inception post from July:

" So - if someone askes me in the end of this year what was the BEST film of 2010, I will probably say Inception. If they ask what was MY FAVOURITE film, I will say something else. Something silly like Toy Story 3 or Kick-Ass or Harry Potter. "

And yes, I don't think this is such a scandalous or unexpected choice after all. I mean, whoever has seen the film knows it's brilliant in so many wonderful ways. I'm definitely campaigning for Toy Story 3 to win the best picture Oscar, and not only because I like underdogs and tend to fly the flag of those who REALLY don't stand much chance of winning, but also because I think it has a tremendous amount of potential. I mean, don't you want an animated picture to win the Oscar some day? So why not now? (Yeah, yeah, okay. In my dreams. Anyway.)

**

Okay. So. A wrap-up of a wrap-up... 2010. What a year! And I have a sneaky feeling that 2011 might be even better! There sure are a big bunch of films worth expecting on the way. 2010 took us beyond infinity, but who knows, we might go even further next year.

Happy two thousand and eleven, everyone! Enjoy the fireworks tonight!

Cars (2006) - floats like a Cadillac, stings like a Beemer

directed by John Lasseter, Joe Ranft / voices by Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonny Hunt

Cars is one of the few Pixar films I had somehow avoided watching, until today. I'm not sure why. Guess I always thought I wouldn't be that good anyway. Makes sense, right? Because Pixar films are always bad and I never like them. (For those who don't understand sarcasm: that was sarcasm.) Anyway, point was that I don't know why I never saw this before, but now I had to.

See, Cars has just recently become my one-and-a-half-year old nephew's first favourite movie. And if he likes it, I'll like it too, right? And most importantly, his FIRST favourite movie is a movie I haven't seen? How did that happen?? Eager to fix this terrible flaw, (and because I feel it's the responsibility of a godmother) I tried to brainwash him into watching Toy Story. Result: he was interested for about 10 seconds and then wandered off the room. I tried my best: "Look, there's a cool cowboy, see? He's name is Woody and he's superawesome. Oh look, a cool little potato!" Guess it was the lack of a cool red car, or a "brumbru". Anyway, I delegated the babysitting duties and kept watching myself. And the brainwashing continues... One day he'll join my Buzz Lightyear fanclub. Mark my words.

Ahem, back to the topic? Sure, why not. Cars wasn't Toy Story, of course, but it wasn't bad either. Of course. It's another imaginative, new world created by Pixar, full of funny characters, who are full of witty remarks that wouldn't work in any other environment ("You know, some automotive yoga could really lower your RPMs, man."). So they've done cars and toys and robots and fish and superheroes and monsters and bugs and grumpy pensioners... Can't wait for what's next!

Oh well, I still haven't said much about the movie, but you know. Pixar is always Pixar. Right now I wouldn't place Cars to my top 5 of Pixar, but it might start growing on me after a few rewatches. Because I guess there will be quite a few of those over the upcoming years, if my Toy Story brainwashing doesn't start to work. I might have to see the sequel too! (Oh yeah, soon I'll have a good and unembarrassing reason to go see kids' movies! ... Like I ever needed good reasons before.)

Finally, let me present you two of the funniest things about Cars, which were 1) the end credit Pixar spoof and 2) the old hippie van that apparently smoked too much pot in the '60s.

"I'm tellin' you, man, every third blink is slower."
"The '60s weren't good to you, were they?"

P.S. Change of plans! Won't see The Deathly Hallows till Sunday! Aaaaah, the anticipation! I'll be the last person in the universe to see it!

P.P.S. My neighbours are having an apparently wild - and loud - party upstairs. I bet this is a revenge for the other Saturday...

Student life makes you watch movies you have nothing to say about, so you just sqeeze them all in one post. (It also makes you lazy.)

I guess the title says it all. My lectures began again last week after a loooooong summer, and the switch back to normal life didn't treat me very gently. I'm hoping this is a passing phase, and I'll soon be inspired to write proper posts about proper movies. Until then, here's some uninspired thoughts about movies I saw last week, with quite a hazy head. 

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

directed by Peter Jackson / starring Kate Winslet, Melanie Lynskey

Watched this because of Kate Winslet, of course. And because of Peter Jackson, too. BUT (I can't believe I'm saying this) I'm beginning to wonder if PJ actually is a very good director, or a director to my taste. Besides that one little trilogy, I haven't really liked any of his movies. Though I've only seen this one, Lovely Bones and Meet the Feebles, none of them really worked for me. But sure, a normal person couldn't have made Middle Earth so freaking real and amazing, so I'll always be a PJ fan. I haven't said anything about Heavenly Creatures, but I guess I don't have anything to say. Maybe I watched it in a bit indifferent mood, but I didn't get much out of it. But Kate is cool no matter what she does.

Leap Year (2010)

 directed by Anand Tucker / starring Amy Adams, Matthew Goode

 A boy meets girl and they very much dislike each other, and then they experience somtething cool together and then they are in love. The end. Someone really put some thought on the plot of Leap Year. Hope they got a rise. No, but seriously, you've seen this pattern a million times before, but it's always quite nice to see it one more time. Especially if the boy is played by Matthew Goode. And there was actually one scene I liked a lot - the ine on the bed of the motel, with Dream a Little Dream of Me playing in the background. And Ireland is of course damn beautiful.

The Princess and the Frog (2009)

directed by Ron Clements, John Musker / voices by Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos

 It's becoming quite clear that Disney makes films for kids and Pixar makes films for the whole family. In case you didn't know, I ADORE Disney, so I really, really wanted to love this film, but well, I didn't. It's not a bad film, of course, but it's no Beauty and the Beast. I wonder if the kids of today will watch The Princess and the Frog twenty years from now and feel the way I do with Belle and Simba and Pocahontas... No? I wouldn't want to think that the Disney movies are getting worse, maybe I'm just getting old and boring? But I guess they are. Well, Disney had their hour (well, it lasted a bit longer than an hour) and now they have to share the stage with Pixar. And why not, they doing quite slendidly! I just don't want old Walt to glance down from his cloudy retirement mansion and frown upon what they're doing with his good name.

 But anyway. I think it's very cool that a Disney princess has now journeyed from Snow White to pitch-black - Tiana is the first dark-skinned Disney heroinne ever! Also, the frail, delicate, high-voiced, snow-skinned, ebony-haired little princess is only a long-lost bad dream, when Tiana takes the stage with that kick-ass attitude and a serious case of workaholism. And his prince is a bit of an idiot. Still, no matter how modern this princess is, she still has the mandatory annoying animal friends. Tiger can't change her stripes and Disney can't change its most sacred princibles.

The songs are alright, so none very memorable. Visually the film was stunning. That picture above is just an example. Next, Disney will do its magic to the story of Rapunzel, and despite everything, I'm kind of looking forward to Tangled. Though the prince seems silly again. I guess that's the new Disney trend.

 

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010)

directed by Paul Hoen / starring Demi Lovato, The Jonas Brothers (I thought they were an actual band or something... I guess not? Or are they...? Oh well.)

So why in the name of all things good and holy (I kind of stole that from Lost. Sorry, Hurley) did I watch a movie called Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam?? Here's your answer: cable open. I spent my Friday night quite cosily in front of TV, watching Disney Channel. Ah, some high-quality entertainment! And this was on. So I watched it. Duh. And it was so überly High School Musical-y that I would've felt disgusted if I hadn't been so amused. All they've changed is the setting. The songs and the characters are just the same. Though this one had much more annoying female lead. (And HSM is better. Ahem, it's just one hell of a guilty pleasure, you know.) Poor kids, having to watch junk like this. It's just so bad... that I feel ashamed saying that I had no problem sitting through it.

Dear Walt, don't look down.

Toy Story 3 (2010) - to brilliance and beyond

directed by Lee Unkrich / voices by Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty

I finally saw Toy Story 3 last weekend. A very much wanted to see it before, but they played only the dubbed version in our local cinema. When I went to Tampere for the weekend to see my friends I convinced them that we should go see it (to be honest, I didn't have to do much convincing). And yes, oh yes. The film may have kept me waiting for a long time, but who minds a little wait if this is what you get.

Many things have changed since 1999. Andy has grown up and is leaving to college in just a few days. This also means winds of change to our dear toy friends, Woody the sheriff, Buzz Lightyear the space ranger and co. - who gets thrown away, who ends up in the attic in a small hope of getting played with again when Andy has his own kids, who gets donated and who gets to go to college with Andy? After a few twists of fate, they all end up in the Sunnyside daycare centre, which first seems like the perfect place to everyone - except for Woody, who just can't get over Andy. Very soon it becomes clear to them that Sunnyside is actually an evil, corrupted prison, ruled over by Lots O'Hugging Bear, or Lotso, who was once embittered by the loss of his owner. The stakes are higher than ever as the toys get ready for the great escape.

What can I say? Pixar once again proved that whatever they have for breakfast is superior to everyone else's morning meals. Gee, who would've thought a third instalment of an animated movie series would be one of the best movies of the year, if not the best? ... Actually, I know I'm not the only one who believed just that. Pixar can't seem to do wrong.

Like the two previous films, Toy Story 3 was sweet, funny, intelligent and heartfelt, but this time darker and deeper, and seriously, there were times when I threw the hopes of a happy ending away, far away. And that's saying a lot about a film that has something to do with Disney, you know. It's amazing how attached I felt to those characters, every single one, each of those three Pizza Planet aliens and even Jessie the cowgirl, who kind of annoyed me in the second film. And of course Woody is just great. ("He'll never give up on you... ever. He'll be there for you, no matter what." Ah, goosebumps.) My favourite is still Buzz. I always cherish every "return of the astro-nut". The Spanish mode was pure genious, hilarious, just hilarious... I can't wait to put my Buzz straw from Disneyland into action! Haha. God bless the impulse purchases. (PS. I kind of miss Bo Peep.)

Let's talk about the new characters! There were lots of them, which troubled me a bit beforehand, but luckily they didn't steal the stage from our old friends, only shared it with them peaceably. I cracked up to Mr. Pricklepants and his posh accent, and I'm not even getting started with Ken and his extensive wardrobe, ooooh dear (and how it's totally normal for him to wear high heels? Hahahahaha)... I think it was a brilliant idea to make the pink, fluffy, huggable, strawberry-smelling teddybear the big bad villain. He was really scary, but you can't talk about scary without mentioning the Big Baby. Damn! That 180 degress turn of the head. Kids will have nightmares all over the world. Also, the monkey's creepiness rate isn't much lower than the baby's.

And thumbs up for Barbie for proving she's not just a silly blonde! "Authority should derive from the consent of the governed, not from threat of force." You said it, girl. Also, you kick ass. Awwww, there were so many charming and funny bits, I'm going mad, I need to see it again! NOW! Come DVD, come.

Ah, a word or two about the 3D. This was my most pleasant 3D experience so far. Avatar was torture, Alice in Wonderland not quite so because it was shorter, but anyways, my eyes were sore which was disturbing. Now, I don't know if my eyes are just getting used to 3D, but I was a bit bothered by it only in the beginning. My guess is, I forgot about my sore eyes, because I was thinking about nothing else but the movie. I wasn't even conscious of the third dimension all the time, which means it was just the nice little finishing touch for a film that would've worked well otherwise, too. (I wish this 3D phenomenon passes, soon.)

Toy Story 3 was wonderful, so wonderful. Inception has met its match, quite possibly. I'm now stuck thinking about the ending and how perfect it was... Oooh dear. That's it, I'm going to see it again. There are much worse ways to spend 10 €.

 "Buzz, you're back!"

"Uh, yes, yes I am. Where did I go?"

"Beyond infinity, my friend."

My TOP 10 favourite Disney songs

Disney wouldn't be Disney without the songs. They are used to set up a story, to introduce a character, to make people fall in love with each other, to learn what is going on in a character's head, or simply because there's nothing like a merry little song to spice up a scene. I've wondered and pondered over this list for a while now, and it's as complete as it can be. I didn't make a top five as usually, because five simply wouldn't have been enough. Hell, ten isn't enough! I had to exclude many songs that I like, even love. I picked only one song from each film, to get some versatility. There's one exception though, sorry. Voila, dig in. (Making this list was so much fun! I don't now if it was the topic or what but I really enjoyed myself. Should've made it a top 20...)

10. I'll make a man out of you from Mulan (1998)

 In this training montage scene Captain Shang struggles to turn a bunch of sissys (and Mulan) into fearless badass warriors.

Mulan has otherwise pretty forgettable songs, but this one's catchy. I've been working out to this song for a couple of times now, and it really is motivating! Fetching that arrow is one of the coolest things a Disney princess has ever done. Kick ass, girl! (See, I call them all princesses, even if they technically weren't. They are all royal to me.)

You're the saddest bunch
I ever met
But you can bet
Before we're through
Mister, I'll make a man
out of you

9. Be prepared from The Lion King (1994)

Scar kindly suggests his hyena army to be prepared for his upcoming reign.

Boy did I have a hard time choosing only one song from The Lion King. Finally, I chose this over wonderful songs like Can you feel the love tonight, Hakuna Matata and Circle of Life, mostly because of Scar's awesome charisma and the visual awesomeness of the scene. This is the finnish version, because I think it's even better than the original. Jukka-Pekka Palo's voice is just wonderfully raspy and creepy! What a great baddie.

So prepare for a chance of a lifetime
Be prepared for sensational news
A shining new era
Is tiptoeing nearer

8. A dream is a wish your heart makes from Cinderella (1950)

Cinderella wakes up to another morning, singing her worries away and, as usual, never ceasing to dream.

Most of the songs on this list are from more recent films, but of course I had to include this wonderful song from an age-old favourite. I love the optimism of the song, it really summarizes the essence of Cinderella.

No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true

7. I won't say I'm in love from Hercules (1997)

Meg tries to fight the feelings he has towards Hercules and remind herself that it's just not worth it, she's seen it all before. Yeah, yeah, talk to the hand, girl.

Of all the groovy songs of Hercules, I had to choose this one. It's always been my favourite. The little Amor statue, the flower and muses singing the backs... A really nice scene. Meg is cool. Although she has those crazy hips, swinging from side to side all the time.

If there's a prize for rotten judgment
I guess I've already won that
No man is worth the aggravation
That's ancient history - been there, done that! 

6. Just around the riverbend from Pocahontas (1995)

Not sure what path she should choose, Pocahontas takes a canoe ride on the wild, playful, unsteady river. The fierce torrent is so much more fun than a steady little stream, and she knows it!

An awesome song about taking chances, and how it might not be better to be safe than sorry, if safe means marrying a dude, who has forgotten how to smile. Ah, where's the nearest river, I want to go canoeing! (I easily could've filled the list with songs from Pocahontas, but decided I'd be happy as long as this one was on it... And the other one. I had to make an exception. Keep reading...)

Can I ignore that sound of distant drumming
For a handsome sturdy husband
Who builds handsome sturdy walls
And never dreams that something might be coming?

5. Once upon a dream from Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Walking in the woods, the princess, who doesn't know she's a princess, sings and dances with her animal friends (because that's what princesses do, duh) and attracts the attention of a handsome prince, who just happens to be in da hood, what do you know. (That's what princes do, especially the Charming ones.) She's sneaky and finds a loophole in her strict no-talking-to-strangers promise.

It's simple, but so pretty. I could dance to this song at my wedding. (Or to that other Disney walz, from a more recent film, not that animated and way more embarrasing, so let's leave that story to another time...)

I know you
I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you
The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam

4. Belle from Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Belle walks through her home town one morning, and we see how tough the life of a soon-to-be princess can be: you can't go anywhere without people starting to sing a song about you!

Introducing the best Disney princess ever, Belle is as great a song as Belle is a character. And don't forget the reprise! (Ok. The biggest sacrifice I made was leaving Tale as old as time out of the list. Ouch, it still hurts. Be our guest kind of stinged, too.)

And for once it might be grand
To have someone understand
I want so much more than they've got planned

3. The bells of Notre Dame from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

In the prologue of the film, we see how Quasimodo came to grow up in the bell tower of Notre Dame.

You just can't deny the goosebumbs.

Now here is a riddle to guess if you can
Sing the bells of Notre Dame
Who is the monster and who is the man?

2. A whole new world from Aladdin (1992)

Aladdin takes Yasmine on a ride of a lifetime, introducing her to the wonders of the world beyond Agrabah and a whole new world... of love?

The only non-childhood-favourite film that managed to fit a song on my list. Actually, I wanted to include One step ahead and maybe Arabian nights, too, but ten is only ten, so I couldn't. Oh well. Aladdin is a recent discovery, I don't why I didn't like it more as a kid, but it's awesome. And this song, ah! Just amazing. Forget the canoe, get me a magic carpet, will you?

I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride

1. Colors of the wind from Pocahontas (1995)

Pocahontas teaches John Smith the famous proveb: when in the pre-colonilized America, do as the aborginal people do. Because they just know better than you idiots, you savages, you oh-so-civilized Europeans.

What can I say? This song is not THE ABSOLUTE favourite of mine, but I made it number one, because... Well. It's one heck of a song, isn't it? The melody, the lyrics, the visuals of the scene, the context, the message... Everything about it is just fantastic. (On top of it, this summer - at a kids' camp I worked in - some lovely lovely girls sang this song to us. We were all holding back our tears, it was wonderful.)

You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

To conclude... The best Disney songs were written in the 90s. Actually, the best Disney films were made in the 90s. And I'm not biased, alright? I just happened to grow up in the 90s...

Now. That will be enough Disney for a... while. (That wasn't a promise, I'm afraid.)

Disneyland... where every Cinderella story comes true (or so they say)

The 5-year-old me used to watch Beauty and the Beast all the time. In the beginning of the video there was an advert of Disneyland (and of course I always watched the ads - that's the beauty of the old VHS casettes, skipping the ads just wasn't that simple). The ad showed kids hugging Mickey Mouse, a gorgeous fairytale castle, and all my favourite princesses come to life, waving and smiling in their beautiful dresses. The place seemed to me like another world - a land far far away - and sometimes I suspected if it was even a real place. Seeing that magical place with my own eyes remained a dream until this month. I had been waiting for it for many long years - an ideal opportunity for disappointment to occur - but I loved it. I don't think anyone can be disappointed in Disneyland. Because it's pretty damn amazing.

We went to Disneyland on the fourth day of our trip, it was a Sunday. My friend worked there for a summer two years ago, and lucky for us, a friend of hers works there this summer, too, so we got in free of charge! Which was awesome, naturally, though I'd been more that happy to pay the price if I had to. 40 € is a small price when we're talking about fullfilling childhood dreams.

We arrived to the park soon after 10, that's when it opens. I was pratically jumping up and down of excitement, grinning like a madman and sighing of pure wonder. We first went to the Walt Disney Studios, which is a smaller park next to the main park. We chickened out from trying the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and went for a Studio Tram Tour instead. It was a cool and fascinating ride to the "backstage" of film making - we saw some film props and sets. The most awesome thing was a staged "action film shoot" with an earthquake, explosions and a surge of water. (They had also built a little bit of London along the ride, and I had a feeling I should go there again, soon...)

Then we entered the Disneyland Park itself. And it was WONDERFUL. We walked along the Main Street, packed with shops and little cafés and there was a train driving through the park with this very disney song playing (inside information: the staff practically want to shoot somebody or themselves everytime the train comes and the song's played, haha, don't blame them) in the background and some characters dancing and waving aboard it. We saw Woody and Mr Incredible and Mickey and Lilo and as you can imagine, I was pretty close to heaven.

Disneyland is divided into four lands with different themes. First we went to Discoveryland, with future and space themed things. I was happy find a Star Wars spaceflight stimulator, which was a lot of fun, I still don't quite understand how those things work, because it sure felt like we were going up and down and forward - and jumping into hyperspace! There was also a French speaking C-3PO, which was weird, especially as he still talked with his "right" voice. Hmm. Cool.

Next... Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, whoo! We sat in these small wagons and had to shoot as many evil aliens as possible. I was pretty good, I must say, for a first-timer, and we sure defeated Zurg! By then we were getting quite hungry, so what's a better help of not Pizza Planet! Like in Toy Story, get it? Hahaa! It was 17 € for pizza buffet, but well, I liked the place a lot, as it was decorated to look like the restaurant in the movie. And cool toilet sings as you can see on the left!

Autopia - a track where you can drive with these little cars - was where my friend used to work. She spotted a familiar face at the entrance and ta-dah! we got to walk right past the kilometre-long queue. I felt a bit guilty, looking at those little ones patiently waiting for their turn, but mostly just like a damn V.I.P., haha.

Next we went to explore Fantasyland, a true fairytale world, which also included the famous castle. Which apparently is Sleeping Beauty's! It was pretty nice inside, too. I think I maybe could manage to live there, if I really really had to. Hmm-mm.

(RIGHT: Someday my prince will come! And if not, at least they can't blame me for not looking.)

Fantasyland is all about princesses and classic tales like Peter Pan, Dumbo and Alice in Wonderland. We spent quite a lot of time there... We spotted Cinderella, next to a long queue of kids wishing to meet and pose with her. What a summer job! At least her smiling muscles are on top shape after a few months.

Peter Pan's Flight was a ride starting from the Darlings' bedroom, across the London skies (it looked so nice, stars above and city lights below, cars and all, and Big Ben, naturally), second star to the right and straight on till morning to Neverland. It lasted all too little time compared to the wait on the queue, but I guess that's kind of a must-see. There was similar ride in the world of Snow White. The part in the forrest with the monster trees was just as scary as in the film, and I might've screamed just a little. Hmm. We tested Mad Hatter's Tea Cups, too. And even dared to spin a little, though not like a bunch of guys, who spinned their cup as fast as they could, all the time (also, there were five of them in the cup - there were three GIRLS in our cup and it felt a bit crowded) - no wonder that one of them fell right down on his knees as he exited the cup. That was a sight, haha.

Let's move on to Adventureland! First we walked through an Aladdin house, or Le Passage Enchanté d'Aladdin to be specific. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril is a rollercoaster, which we entered hesitating a bit, and not only because of all those suspicious stories about it being broken all the time and stuff. But we got out fine and it was fun!

Pirates of the Caribbean was surely my favourite in the whole park. We sat on boats and floated through the world of pirates, battles and wild parties. Cool! Yo ho, a pirate's life for me and so on. Afterwards at the shop we met two Finnish girls, and I was happy to do my business in Finnish, as weird as it was. (For that matter, it was nice to speak English for a change, Disneyland was the only place I didn't just let my French-speaking friend to do the talking for me. Everyone were tourists there, so it didn't matter, haha.) I bought a cool key chain, it was like Davy Jones' key from The Dead Man's Chest. What else did I buy... Not as much as I thought I would! Ha, a Buzz Lightyear straw! Haha, I know, it was a real impulse purchase. Then some chocolate coins I don't want to eat because they're wrapped in Disney characters, oh and Mickey Mittens for my nephew! He doesn't really appreciate them yet, but oh well, he will. Haha. I do, at least, if he doesn't.

Last, Frontierland with cowboys and pioneers. We only had time for Big Thunder Mountain, another rollercoaster, more traditional one, but maybe even more fun! Twice the track went through a pitch-black tunnel, which was cool.

Seeing the familiar characters 'in real life' was obviously one of the highlights of the day. At one point we happened to walk past the Central Plaza, right at the beginning of a 'Disney Showtime Spectacular', meaning characters jumping and dancing and singing about friendship and solidarity and... ratatuille. Haha.

Oh, and of course the parade! Or the parades, to be exact. First one at seven and second around eleven, just before the final fireworks show. In summary, the parade was this: characters from the most beloved stories - everyone from Simba and Woody to Mary Poppins and all the princesses, of course - riding by, wawing and smiling and generally just being very cool, while all the best Disney songs are playing in the background. Simply wonderful! I wasn't supposed to take any pictures, afraid that I might miss something just concentrating on my camera, but no, I needed to eternalize some of those moments. And I did, when ever the idiots people in front of me weren't standing to photograph. (You're on second row, you sure you HAVE TO stand?) Anyway.

I loved the parade, and was happy to see the other one later, too. It was, again, awesome. The vehicles they were riding (I don't know what to call them) were all lit up fabulously and everyone had their happily ever afters - Beast was a human again, Ariel was human... for a change (that ungrateful little... hmm) and so on. One prince, don't remember which one, had a pretty amusing style to wave. Like the royal wave, but exaggerated. Haha. Finally, there was the fireworks show, which was sweeeeeeeet. I guess there was some belt-tightening going on, because the show wasn't as grand as it reportedly had sometimes been, but sweeeeet anyway. Ah! Then we had to leave. That was the only part that sucked.

Shame to end this post with a picture of the mermaid brat I declared as the most annoying Disney princess just a few posts ago. But it was the only decent picture I've got. Oh well, let's call this making amends.

... Okay, no. Here's one more photo. I feel better now.

(Aww. It's so preeeettyyyy. Mama get me one please pretty please!)

In summary: It was awesome, wonderful, magical, escapism at its very best. I felt like a child, and was free to do so. I will go back, because I want to and I have to and I need to. Also, I want a time machine so I can go and kiss the ground under Walt Disney's feet.