Sweet Home, Alabama

Me putting together the wall of a house

 Now that Spring Break is over I can get back to my normal blogging schedule (or as normal as I make it, when I have time in my busy schedule). I will say that I had a great time exploring the southern United States. I got to cross two more states off my "to visit" list (I want to visit all 50 before I turn 50). I spent a week in Alabama with a quick stop in Knoxville, Tennessee on the way down to cut down the drive. From my University in New York the trip was 12 hours, not including stops for gas and bathroom breaks.
Alabama was more urban than I expected it to be. We were in Fairfield which is about 30 minutes from the city of Birmingham. I spent the week helping begin one house by putting up siding and walls and finishing another house with paint and stain. After all these builds I think I am getting better at using a hammer, but I am still a bit slow. Putting the walls together was hard work, we had to follow the plans which were not always correct and we had to build one wall three times. Staining was easier, but tedious. And it kept raining which caused some problems. Overall, the week went really well. It never really seems like work when you are volunteering with Habitat because you know it is for a good cause. We also had a day off to check out the local flavor at Dreamland BBQ, where I had some of the best ribs of all time. We also went to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute which I really enjoyed.

A deserving family with keys to their new home

The best part of the trip however took place on Friday morning. After touching up the house for two days, we got to see the house we were working on and two others given to their new owners. There are no words to describe the feeling of seeing a person getting the keys to their new home for the first time. The families were overjoyed and so proud to show off their new properties. I felt proud too, having taken part in such an event.
Planning a trip for 18 other people was stressful to say the least, but it was all worth it seeing the smiling families and the other people on the trip experiencing the joy of volunteering for the first time. Habitat is something that will definitely be a part of my life for a long time and I hope I can convince others of what a worthwhile cause it can be.

I Think You Should Know Thursday

This Thursday I think you should know Kina Grannis. I first discovered this lovely California songstress in 2007 during the Super Bowl. Doritos had sponsored a contest called "Crash the Super Bowl" which allowed the viewer to create their own commercial. The only thing I remember seeing was a girl with long, curly brown hair sitting on the roof with a guitar singing with an utterly beautiful voice. I instantly went out and bought the song.
And while winning the contest did not launch Grannis into stardom, she has been steadily making music and touring with some of her songs appearing on television shows. She may not be the most famous artist, but I still think she is someone you should know.
I like Grannis for her upbeat and bubbly sound. To me, she sounds honest and real-like a friend you may know. Her voice may not be the strongest, but at the same time it is pure and her music makes you feel good. Her songs are about love and happiness, two things we need more of in this world.
"Message from Your Heart" is the fateful song from the Doritos commercial that made me want to listen to more of her music. I really like the lyrics and the imagery that it evokes of the heart and the meaning of love.

"This is a message from your heart

Your most devoted body part

Taking blood and making art

This is a message from your heart

Pounding away into the dark

You can thank me for the start"

"In Your Arms" is from Grannis' new album "Stairwells" (2011). The video is really cool and her voice and songwriting skills seem to have grown over time. The song is a little less upbeat but has a soft beauty all the same. 

"Anything we have known, anything we've forgotten

In the rain, in the dark we'll lay

In your arms, in your arms I'll stay

Anything we have known, anything we've forgotten

In the rain, in the dark we'll lay

In your arms, in your arms I'll stay"

We Interrupt Your Normally Scheduled Broadcast

Me with a nail gun building houses in New Orleans summer 2011.
Like a bauss

I usually don't get too personal on here or talk about things not involving popular culture, but this is an exception. Tomorrow I am leaving for my Spring Break trip to Birmingham, Alabama with Habitat for Humanity. I will be there for ten days, hence my absence in blogging (I may blog from my friend's computer, but I'm not making any promises).
Habitat is an organization that is very dear to my heart because it literally saved my life. Three years ago, (wow was it really that long ago?) I was a shy, scared freshman and joining habitat was one of the few things that brought me out of my shell. I went from regular member to treasurer to vice president which is the current position that I hold. I will most likely become the president of the club next year. I never imagined that this would happen. Habitat was something I just joined on a whim because I wanted to do it in high school, but mine did not have one. Now it has become a major part of my life.
 I have met so many incredible people through the club and done things I never believed possible. Doing habit has helped me prove to myself that I am a capable person and that I can make a difference in the world.
So for ten days I will travel to new places, make new friends, get dirty and sweaty and wear my hair in nothing but a ponytail and have a great time. I promise I will update later on what happens because as much as cinema is a part of my life, Habitat for Humanity is too.

Spring Break 2011 in Rocky Mount, NC

Facebook 30 Day Movie Challenge

With the coming to the end of what I would like to call hell week, it is time to go back to the Facebook 30 day movie challenge. And with with the hullabaloo about book to movie translations with the release of The Hunger Games, I figured it was time for day 11.

Day 11: Favorite Book Adaptation- Interview With the Vampire

Interview With the Vampire is one of those rare movies that I watched before reading the book. I first read Anne Rice's stunning vampire thriller last year as part of my quest to devour any novel that had to do with the city of New Orleans. I was immediately sucked in (pun intended) to the dark and mesmerizing world of Louis and Lestat. I had previously watched the movie while I was actually in New Orleans building houses with Habitat for Humanity.

These vampires don't sparkle.

From the second that I opened the novel, I felt that Neil Jordan had completely captured the essence of the novel with his film. These were real vampires, seductive and cunning, but also brooding and lonely with their ever immortal lives. Jordan does a great job in playing the two different sides of vampire life off of each other. The ability to live forever and do whatever you want represented by Lestat and the depression and anxiety of damnation as shown through Louis. At first I, like Anne Rice before me, was worried about the casting of Tom Crusie and Brad Pitt to play these characters. Even with my love for Brad Pitt they seemed too safe and pretty, not nearly sexy enough to play vampires. How wrong I was. Both men completely embody the roles. I found Cruise's turn as the silky but dangerous Lestast was particularly good. I could not look away and was completely convinced at his character. Pitt was great (as always) as the existential vampire Louis. I felt that he captured the internal battle that the reader gets in the novel very well as Louis struggles with the darkness inside of himself and trying to figure out what to trust and who to believe. A  young Kirsten Dunst also captures the passion, anger, and fragility that comes with being trapped forever in a child's body. The trio need few supporters and work well as a whole and individually. While reading I would have never thought of them in the roles, but after seeing the film I could not imagine another cast.

I think the reason I liked the film so much was the way that it allowed me to really visualize the events in the book. I think that is why everyone likes seeing their favorite movies on the big screen: you are finally able to see the what the movie looks like in a place outside your head. Seeing the costumes and decadence of late eighteenth century New Orleans and later Paris was fantastic and really helped me get a feeling for the time period. The lavish, bright interior sets contrasted well with the dark and depraved streets where the vampires looked for their prey. The city of New Orleans provides a beautiful backdrop for this haunting story. 

Overall, besides being a great movie adaptation, Interview With the Vampire is a plain old great film. It has everything one could hope for, romance, murder, and eternal friendship. If you want to know what vampires are really like read this book, then watch the film.

Honorable mentions go to The Hunger Games (yes, I really liked it that much), The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (especially Fincher's version), Atonement, and The Social Network. 

Still have to see: The Help.

"Games" ON!

The midnight showing of the film I have been waiting for since the last Harry Potter just ended and I can say that it did not disappoint. The Hunger Games was everything I wanted it to be; sure they left some stuff out and on further viewing I may have some problems, but initial feeling is satisfaction.

"I do not want to lose the boy with the bread."

Even though I knew what was going to happen, my heart was in my stomach the entire film. I love the suspense that was created and I think Gary Ross did an incredible job. Thinking back on the film, I can honestly say the thing that I enjoyed the most was the camera work. I thought it worked amazingly well with the style of the movie and put the viewer right into the action. It also provided just the right amount of cover for the death scenes, which I would have liked to see a bit more clearly. But other than that I thought making the camera show Katniss' point of view was very unique and gave the film the edge it needed. 

Jennifer Lawrence has once again proved her acting abilities. Whether she was speaking or silently starring off into the woods, I thought she completely embodied Katniss. She is a heroine for females anyone to look up to because of her courage, intelligence, and willingness to do what is necessary to protect the ones she loves. I also thought Josh Hucherson was perfectly cast as Peeta. He comes across slightly dopey, but also this darker side that is slowly revealed. The only one of the "trio" I did not like was Gale. To me he was too pretty, I could not look past the fact that he was Thor's brother. Plus, he and Jen did not get much screen time together so it was hard to think about how I felt about their relationship. The rest of the cast was terrific and I especially enjoyed Stanley Tucci and Wes Bently as Caesar Flickerman and Seneca Crane respectively. Woody Harrelson also got in some good scenes as Haymitch despite the fact that the film toned down his relationship with Katniss. 

District 12 looked like it came straight from a Dorothea Lange photo. I loved the costumes and cast, even just of extras because they all looked like the belonged to a community. The same can be said for all the districts which we actually got a chance to see. The Capital was also crazy without being too over the top and I really liked the juxtaposition of the excess and frivolity of the Capital and the way they treat the games compared to the other districts.

Ross made some good decisions in choosing what to leave out. I thought that everything in the film was necessary and he worked well with the amount of time and numerous characters he was given. I loved the flashbacks to the all important bread scene which showed its significance without hitting you over the head with it. And my all time favorite line (as I like to call it, the "always" of The Hunger Games), "she came here with me," was delivered with such earnestness by Hutcherson that it made my toes curl with happiness. 

One of my few complaints with the film is that I wished they developed Peeta and Katniss' relationship more; I felt like something was missing though I cannot think of what it is. I also could have used a little more actual gore. I loved Ross' filming, but at times I feel like he used it as a curtain to cover up the action and appease the "young-adult" audience. 

What I think I liked so much about The Hunger Games was the fact that it functioned as a film. I believe that it can stand alone from the book and that even people who have never read it will enjoy it (like my dad). Ross made the movie exactly the way an adaptation should be: good for the fans and the causal movie go-er. The Hunger Games manages to have romance, murder, suspense, and political undertones. all at once. Also, the ending sets the viewer up nicely for the sequel, Catching Fire. 

Review: No milk needed 

Facebook 30 Day Movie Challenge

Yay, double digits!
Day 10: Favorite Foreign Film-A Bout de Souffle (Breathless) 

I first watched Jean-Luc Goddard's A Bout de Souffle (1960) in my introduction to cinema class sophomore year and instantly fell in love. There is just something about French cinema that I (and I feel many others) hold in a higher regard than any other country. There is just something so elegant about the French people and their language and culture that makes their films so enjoyable to watch. Also, the French seem to understand that cinema is an art form and they take their movies very seriously.
What I like so much about A Bout de Souffle is that it is so different from any other movie I've seen. I believe that its innovation still holds up today. Goddard's use of jump cuts and breaking the forth wall are used expertly and really makes for a new film experience. I love the homages to Hollywood films and actors, especially the reverence to Humphrey Bogart.

Perfection.

Jean Seberg is fantastic as the American in Paris. She is beautiful, self-deprecating, and confident all at the same time. Her gorgeous features make her seem as if she belongs in France and I want every single outfit she wears in the film.
Jean-Paul Belmondo is a man who can only exist in France. He is equal parts charming, cunning, and debonair. He is also a bit hapless and reckless at times, but it all works. He plays the character Michel with perfection, making you both smack your head at his stupidity and cheer on his "plans" for the sake of wanting to see them work.
The story of A Bout de Souffle itself is also great. It meanders and loses focus without becoming uninteresting. At times it is completely irreverent, but that comes with the nature of French New Wave. It is a genre that I definitely would like to see more films from.
Honorable mentions go to Pan's Labyrinth, a Spanish film which is another country I like films from for their use of magical realism, Amelie because who doesn't love the adorable French girl just looking for love, and Raise the Red Lantern, a film that is both haunting and beautiful.

I Think You Should Know Thursday

This Thursday I bring to you the folksy, punky Englishman, Frank Turner. He has gained more recent popularity with his 2011 album "England Keep My Bones" and in opening for The Dropkick Murphys and previously Green Day. I really like Turner's sound, it's all about the power of his strumming and catchy hooks. Some may say the instrumentation of his songs sounds occasionally like Mumford & Sons, but I personally think he has a sound all his own. Some criticize Turner for his atheist lyrics, but if you can past that he is just a scruffy man who just loves to play music.
"If I Ever Stray" from "England Keep My Bones" is a song that my boyfriend showed me and first put me on Frank Turner's radar. I love the jaunty guitar and sing-a-long lyrics. It is song that you can't help tap your toes to, it has a great beat.

"'Cause love is free and life is cheap

And as long as I've got me a place to sleep

Clothes on my back and some food to eat

I can't ask for anything more"

"Photosynthesis" is perhaps my favorite song purely because of the lyrics. Turner has a lot of songs that make for great chants; lyrics that probably sound great yelled by a big crowd at a concert. This song is no exception. It is about the fears of growing up, but it is not too serious, there is still that Frank Turner rhythm and that powerful guitar. Plus, the video is adorable.  

"And I won't sit down

And I won't shut up

And most of all I won't grow up"