years ago, when i was an idealistic young sod who couldn't wait to bust out of high school, thought that college life would be such a breeze. you don't need a lot of books, just some sheets of paper and a fancy bag to put them all in. getting a degree is a pie. my social life would be awesome. four years of a nice balancing act between knowing it all and having fun after class. wrong on several counts. the way i see it, it's like i'm back in high school all over again -- the bags are bigger, the books loads heavier. and you have to lug 'em everyday, that by 5 years you'll have suffered spinal damage. and there's the photocopying machine... it seems that you always have to get something xeroxed almost on a daily basis. handouts here, additional references there, and i guarantee you that by the end of term you'll have a closet-full of smelly 50-cent scrap, half you won't even dare try to reread. (poor trees.) it's almost impossible to have a functioning extracurricular existence because the time is too taxing. and you'd better stick your butt to your books. the bottom line? college is gruesome.



...and expensive. it's all in a student's day to budget the measly allowance. sometimes you just have to compromise the stuff you badly want for ridiculous school expenses. do we really get our money's worth for the fees charged upon us? not all books are being read anyway. (it's annoying when profs refer to other books and barely use the ones required.) and i don't really see the significance of student orgs' fees unless they do something really useful and not just use it to promote themselves.



before someone kicks me in the face, i'm diverting the attention to what i love: movies! we folks have been a movie-going bunch lately (yes! resurrect the popcorn!) and i'm really glad there's some good stuff just 'round the corner (it's Oscar season, so it ought to be!) :)





Atonement: Might just be one of my fave films this season.



i don't read a lot of books anymore. the last time i managed to finish a novel, it took me 6 months to sit the whole thing out. (it was John Grisham's "The Last Juror". no, it wasn't because it was dull -- actually i'd rank it high on the Grisham hot list! and i like it because it was similar to my #1 The Rainmaker) ... and before that, i probably read only 3 other books this year. i can't brand myself as a bookworm anymore, not with the years of neglect and waning enthusiasm. (i should also say that with my "writing prowess" -- this blog as the evidence! xp) ... J.K. Rowling should be honored that Harry Potter was a hit and that it all got us back into burying our noses on thick tomes, because otherwise this generation would've gone nearly illiterate. (i would like to say, once and for all, that i h8 txt lnguij.) ... and i'm just as glad that Hollywood's taking notice of this phenomena. what better way to reintroduce reading than through 2-hour visual advertising?

Atonement

but then let's start with Beowulf. we caught it last sunday, and who would've thought that an Old English Poem of Old would turn up to be interesting? i remember reading an excerpt of this during 3rd year english and gawd i was so bored. with the power of animation, a little deviation, and Angelina Jolie -- et voila! XD



i saw the preview for "Atonement" for the very first time, and must i say i cried! hahaha. it was that amazing. i don't know why i had a natural curiosity for this -- hmmm, Keira Knightley? James McAvoy? the WWII backdrop? the plot? the wardrobe? -- but i found the whole package interesting anyway. "Atonement" is written by Ian McEwan, who's quite a literary toast of the town lately with the raves i've read on his works ("On Chesil Beach", "Saturday", etc.). to summarize, the story is seen through the eyes of a 13-year old wannabe writer, who in search for the perfect story, one day caught her beautiful sister with their servant's educated son. she squeals, one thing led to another, and soon enough their lives will be changed... toss in the war for a bleak, dramatic backdrop. very intriguing. the movie reviews have been generally favorable, some even hinting that it could be a possible Oscar contender. ... i'm drooling now!



... the book's actually on Time Magazine's List of the 100 Best Novels of All Time, and i'm scouting around the bookstores but then it's out of stock. and also i don't know when the film will be shown, giving me ample time whether to wait for a sale. :|

The Other Boleyn Girl

i've talked about this on the other site, but i couldn't resist.

Eric Bana + Scarlett Johansson + Natalie Portman = Smoldering!and royal subjects are always fascinating. this one is based on Philippa Gregory's fictionized historical novel about the court of King Henry VIII (hot hot Eric!) and two sisters fighting for his love and the ultimate prestige. Mary Boleyn (Scarlett) has always been Henry's favorite mistress, until the younger Anne (Natalie) blossomed up and started conniving to pull Mary out of the circle and seducing the King. the stake for Queendom is somewhere up there of course, and this is where Mary makes a crucial decision. (the rest is history, as we know that Anne had Elizabeth I, but was later beheaded.)



it makes for a somewhat-thick tome, i wonder how they'll translate it to the screen. also remind me to look up "Marie Antoinette" by Antonia Fraser (and the movie with Kirsten Dunst).

Across the Universe

i know it's not book-related or anything, but hey, it's got the spirit of The Beatles! :)



The blurb reads: "A romantic musical told mainly through numerous Beatles songs performed by the characters. A young man from Liverpool comes to America during the Vietnam War to find his father. He winds up in Greenwich Village, where he falls in love with an American girl who has grown up sheltered in the suburbs. Together they experience the sweeping changes of America in the late 60's."



as i rated "I Am Sam" as one of my all-time favorites mainly because it was Beatles-inspired, i'm pretty sure this might make it up there too. not your typical high school musical.



Other Films of Note, adapted or otherwise:

The Golden Compass

Love in the Time of Cholera

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Charlie Wilson's War

Michael Clayton

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

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watch out for my template this weekend! :)

Libellés : movies

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