In the spotlight: April

Jane Wants a Boyfriend
I thought the romance was excellent and very real. Also, I like that style of storytelling when you start in the middle and end in the middle; without really "solving" anything. They go on with their lives, you go on with yours..

The Choice
I had the best time watching this with my sister Julia, even though neither of us liked it very much. We felt that the second half of the movie was very VERY slow and being cut off from the characters, by letting the time pass in the form of several montages, didn't help at all. Julia even went so far as to say that she had warmer feelings for Gabby's wind chime than she had for Gabby herself (I agree - she really wasn't that easy to empathize with). 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Paranormal elements, a little slow motion and very aesthetically pleasing shots made for a great watch! Sure, it moved a little quickly but overall it had very few of the plot holes that I've come to associate with these types of movies. (Just one thing though: "Only the living can kill the dead" - Really? Why? That made less than NO sense)

Grand Budapest Hotel
I just.. am in love with this film. I'd forgotten how funny I find it. One of my favorite scenes is the long argument outside the prison! <3 

Double Indemnity
Almost didn't make it through, after stopping halfway, but I'm glad I did. This was such a simple story and yet so fascinating. I think it was the dialog that did it - I've never heard anything like it.

Went to a flee market today. 

It's just one of the things that makes one of the mes chuckle

I always laugh during the farewell scene in Titanic, because for the longest time I heard: 

"Don't say goodbyes, not yet" 

(I missed "your"). 

In Sweden "byes" sounds like bajs and bajs means "poop".

  

#mature #manure #hahahahahahaahaha

Elin and her siblings dwell in the house of sickness (currently watching)

I have a fever. I'm dry-coughing and drinking shards of glass. My attention span is that of a one year old child, so I'm falling behind on my paper. I'm watching:

* You've Got Mail
* The Princess and the Frog
* Someone Like You
* Just the romantic parts of The Choice
* Chasing Liberty*

Edit: I may have cried to almost all of the movies above. Evidently I cope with illness v. v. well..  

My brother Stefan's also sick. He's watching:

* Star Wars: The Force Awakens
* Grey's Anatomy

My littlest sister Julia has a fever too. She's also coughing. She's watching:

* A whole slew of horror movies


* I'm glad we're all different but am also, at the same time, v. convinced that my taste in movies is impeccable - especially in this time of need..  

We never go out of style.

One of my goals this year is to watch more classics. These are my plans.. sort of:

1910-1919
I haven't watched a single film from this period, nor do I feel any need to immediately do so. I'm not a big fan of silent films/black and white and ultimately I watch movies for my own enjoyment..

I want to watch: Daddy-Long-Legs and Jane Eyre. Reasons behind these choices are: 1) I love the book (Daddy Long-Legs) and 2) I've watched three Jane Eyre adaptations so far: 1996, 2006 and 2011.


1920-1929
When I took film history at the university, we watched a few surreal things but other than that I'm as new to the movies of this decade as I am to the previous one.

Favorite: Pandora's Box (I remember liking it, though not why).
I want to watch: Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens and The Phantom of the Opera (So far I've watched the version from 2004, seen the musical performed live and read the book #livingthehighlifeyo!).

1930-1939
I've only watched about three movies from this period and I'd really like to rectify that! Who knows - I might even like more movies from the 30s than I'd originally thought?

Favorite: -
I want to watch: It Happened One Night, My Man Godfrey, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Four Feathers (the Heath Ledger remake was the first movie I owned on DVD) and Heidi.


1940-1949
It's a shame that I haven't watched more than maybe five movies in total from the 40s. Am a bit apprehensive though, because film noir became popular during this decade and I don't really know how I feel about that genre to be honest.. (although I've only seen The Maltese Falcon, so maybe I shouldn't judge?)

Favorite: Ladri di biciclette
I want to watch: It's a Wonderful Life (a book told me to), Christmas in Connecticut, The Big Sleep and Double Indemnity (watched in april)

My dad was born in 1952. This is the house where he grew up.

 

1950-1959
Ooh! I'm approaching the more familiar decades! Have seen quite a lot from the 50s but want to watch more - especially musicals.

Favorite: Singin' in the Rain (one of my all-time favorite films)
I want to watch: An American in Paris, Funny Face, Daddy Long-Legs (in case the 1910 one is bad), Det sjunde inseglet (a rewatch) and High Noon (also a rewatch)


1960-1969
This must be my favorite decade yet. I love The Sound of Music, Charade and 101 dalmatians. It also feels like I've watched plenty from this era, so I'm not that bothered with expanding my horizons here.

Favorite: Breakfast at Tiffany's
I want to watch: My Fair Lady.

All hail BBC

Mama and Julia and I watched the first two episodes of Thirteen last night.

So moving/thrilling/unsettling that I went home with a headache and nightmares.

(Mom even stayed awake for at least 1½ of the episodes = v. V. good content)

This is one of those shows that made me cry quite unexpectedly. Like I did when I watched Schindler's List for the first time: with no conscious thought behind it. 

Just very sudden tears. 

Boom.

We're watching the rest of the episodes tonight. 

 

#Needit

Ask.fm/GandalfTheGrey

The Lord of the Rings

I Need to Get Out More.. (Currently watching)

Yaay! Movie slump semi-over! I've found a new favorite: Jane Wants a Boyfriend. Have watched selected scenes repeatedly for at least a week now. Am also currently about half-way through Grand Budapest Hotel.. I'd forgotten how much I love it!

Other than that, I'm struggling a little with school right now (what else is new?) - we've started work on a paper that requires us to read some of the densest books on analyzing organizations I've EVER read. That naturally makes me prioritize school even more and not procrastinate by watching countless hours of Elementary/youtube.com/booksandlala at all.. See proof below of my adulting capabilities - I am, in fact, not the crazy mess my loved ones think:

Oops. I lied!

(The face of someone who's played Township on her phone for 186 days straight)

12 movies left, yo.

One of my goals this year is to reorganize my movies. I started 2015 with 111 movies and ended the year with 23. This meant that I could give away my storage wallets/binders (good, because I never put any movies back inside) and buy individual cases instead (since I never actually got around to buying the cases, I just sneaked some away from my dad's office).

While I was at it, I also reduced the collection even further and am now down to 12. 12!
This is huge for me. I've always wanted to own every movie I watch but this process is making me more willing to watch things and then let them go. It's awesome!

From the left: Training DVD:s (I'm not counting them), Blood Diamond, The Other Sister, Wild Child, The Host, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Bambi, Singin' in the Rain, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. 

Movie night: Everest

My sister Sara and her fiancé Henrik came to visit this week, so we decided to watch Everest at my sister Hanna's place (after my niece had fallen asleep).  

I spent the majority of the movie being really upset that they seemed to be climbing the mountain for no valid reason whatsoever. If the intention was to make me feel like mountain climbing is the most selfish sport in the world (where you throw your life away for fun) then they succeeded in doing just that. Had I known why they took the risk, I would have been okay with them loosing their legs/fingers/heads due to the cold. Even rooted for them, as they did it..

 Me, attempting a selfie with my sister and her boyfriend's hands in the background. Successful, wasn't I? 

Pet Peeves #1: Givers of the bad kind of goose-bumps

1. Disproportionate reactions to stalking 
Example 1: Someone wakes up with another someone in their bedroom. The appropriate, normal response to this is NOT to proceed to make out with the stalker..
Example 2: Someone follows another someone around for days because they "saw them from afar and got interested", in the hopes of eventually.. I don't know - save their life? Kiss them? Kidnap them (and then make a coat out of their skin?)?

2. Using "whore" as a term for a promiscuous person
To sell one's body, which essentially is what a whore does, isn't something I imagine is easy or joyful to do. Using the term as an insult, therefore, feels very much like kicking a kitten in the face.

Wes: "Don't you hate me?" Bianca: "I'm glad you asked. Yes, I do. But only because you're a dipshit. And a manwhore..".

3. Idolizing female virgins whilst mocking/bullying male virgins
The concept that women shouldn't desire to be sexual creatures while males loose their worth (they end up far down the hierarchy; no girls will want them) if they're not, baffles me to no end. Mostly because that's wrong and also makes no sense. 

Mr. Grey: "You're still a virgin? [...] You've done other things, right?" Anastasia: "No." Mr. Grey: "Where have you been?" Anastasia: "Waiting.".

4. Slut-shaming
The idea that there's a finite number of sexual partners a person (most often a female) can have before they loose their "worth" as a potential partner is disgusting to me. Consequently I have a hard time with the usage of "slut" in TV-shows or movies - regardless if it's used in a comedic context or not.

5. The ugly duckling
I specifically mean those movies where one person is thought of as very plain/odd/weird or socially awkward (and negatively so), until they get a makeover and suddenly become the most well-loved person in school. See She's All That for a female version and Can't Buy Me Love for a male one.

 The animals don't judge each other - why should we? Have sex with whomever you like, I say. As long as it's consensual AND legal!