REELING STONE.

So I'm back with another little video for all of you lovely readers :) But I might quickly review some of the movies I've seen as of late.

Well I've seen a few movies and whatnot - my friends and I went to see The Great Gatsby. I found it really frustrating, though, how Baz's interpretation relied so heavily on visual splendour and didn't let the narrative do anything. The book is witty, insightful and the story should just flow by itself, carrying the plot and characters nicely. Instead, the visuals were lovely and lavish but at the expense of the story development. Honestly, all the characters felt the same at the end. I knew the plot well yet I found sections dragging on and on and on - at least it had a bit of suspense for me. My friends either loved it (the soundtrack was fantastic) or thought it was terrible (it lacked drive, slugged along and was way too long for the meagre plot - we were checking our watches often). I continually asked myself when the movie would end, and when I was revving myself up with excitement for the big bang at the end, all the excitement just fizzled out.
Gatsby had a spectacular soundtrack (I even liked the Lana song! Holy moly!) and the acting wasn't too shabby either - Leo did a splendid job of portraying the naïve, illusioned Gatsby, and Toby Maguire's casting was pretty spot on for me. Carey Mulligan was a bit too 'wafty' for me - Daisy was a girl with her head in the clouds, yes, but she knew that she was really just leading Gatsby along. Jordan Baker could've been explored more but otherwise she was well cast too.
So I guess I can say it wasn't too bad a movie but it went for such a long time that I can't help but feel it was a bit of a waste of two hours and twenty minutes. Three stars out of five.

I also went to watch Monsters University and I didn't find it too bad either. However, it lacked a clear message that the first movie had - part of the original's beauty was its painful parallels drawn with the real world. This movie still had poignant moments, although at least in the original parents and children both got deep lessons from the film. This new film feels much more kid orientated (well, it is a kid's movie. I mean that it doesn't offer any mature insights, just the boring old recycled Pixar fable stuff.)
It had a sappy, but cute short film preceding it - The Blue Umbrella. The cinematography was lovely and the mood was conveyed well. It had nothing to do with the movie and I quickly forgot it.
Monsters University wasn't boring, but it didn't seem too different from all those new cartoons out there. It was wonderful seeing Mike and Sully again (and I do hope to see them again) but they need to work on the old charm the movie lacked. Three out of five.

Now here is a short film that I found on an Avant Card postcard - I collect postcards and stick them up on my wardrobe door.
'I Have Your Heart' is a bumbling tale that's probably promoting equality (which I am still quite iffy about. Let's ignore that for a sec.) The illustrations and setting are deliciously dark yet the accordion does get pretty annoying by the end of the film.
It's only four minutes so here we have 'I Have Your Heart'. The lady is beautiful though - those lips and THAT HAIR ah and I also have a thing for open heart surgery. And the lyrics are just adorable - I have your heart, it beats inside, it's only three inches wide, I have your heart I have your heart I have your heart. ahhhhhhh cuteness overload

There we have this Reeling Stone. K bye.

OOH AND THANKYOU I HAVE HIT 2000 PAGEVIEWS I KNOW IT'S NOT A LOT BUT IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME MWAH THANKS DEARIES

REELING STONE #1.

So I came across this diagram that sums up everything I am:


and I realised that I'm a bit of a geek. Not hipster. Geek.

I also remembered what I left out in my Bubble and Squeak post from Monday - my favourite YouTubers. I might cover them in separate posts - I have Songs of the Week, Music Hauls, Cover Fests, Bubble and Squeaks and now Reeling Stones! Whew. I might have a Tube post soon - remind me by sending out a hot air balloon with my favourite actors and musicians in it and a Great Gatsby sweater. Also, my favourite lollies are Peaches and Cream and those banana things. They're pure deliciousness omnomnomnom I actually don't make that sound when I eat.

So my Reeling Stone posts (yes, it's a terrible pun. Neigh the horse be with you.) will be about some great flicks that I've seen. It's not really a movie review, but more like a movie rambling. Basically I'll talk about some fun films I've seen while you point and laugh.

This first Reeling Stone is on the short film Scenes from the Suburbs. It's quite a cool number from Arcade Fire - their concept album The Suburbs had a music video for their lead single 'The Suburbs' relating to this short film. Look, director Spike Jonze hooked up with Arcade Fire and they made a short film to go with the great album, with the album as the soundtrack.

It's a really good film about life in the suburbs, only if you lived in a world where suburbs were like countries - militant and segregated. There's a bunch of teens growing up there and behaving like good little morons like they should. It focuses on protagonist Kyle (he's a bit of a dork)'s interactions with his group of friends, including best friend Winter. Things start to unfurl and fall apart when Winter's brother comes home from a different suburb and this changes Winter until Kyle just doesn't know who he is anymore.

Scenes from the Suburbs is a really great coming-of-age piece, giving an insightful lookout into the cultures in society and just peering into a random teenager's life. Only he lives in a mobilized system and has a crumbling social group.


I absolutely adore the charaacters - Kyle is so relatable through his inaccessibility and the processes and experiences he has. And the cast perfectly pull off that casual disregard for authority that teens have, yet when it comes to crunch time their sensitivity is turned on and you can see their young vulnerability. Kyle is amazing. Winter was pretty cool at the end of the film but at the horrific diner scene I wanted to bash him up with a chair. And the party scene when they all just looked at each other made me want to cry. WHY CAN'T THEY JUST FORGET WINTER actually it's an extremely accurate representation of teenagers.

Here it is. Oh yeah. I watch some of my films on my phone so you should be able to watch these for free on your computer/PC/Mac/phone/iPad/iPod/newfangled gadget.


Scenes from the Suburbs (Short Film) from rocket science shorts on Vimeo.
Arcade Fire presents Scenes from the Suburbs, I posted this video intended only for viewing purposes. I do not own any part of this work.

WEBSITE: http://www.arcadefire.com/sfts/


So yeah. I don't own anything and I will report copyright to the nearest responsible adult. Whatever.

This is a short film (30 mins) but look out for the soundtrack - Arcade Fire's warbling is exquisite. Listen for the song 'Suburban War' - it's brilliant.

I know that you guys probably don't have too much time to just watch these movies so I won't post them often - maybe some weekends and holidays. I just want to share these really cool flicks with you all :)

enjoy.

WISH LIST

Okay. So I've just finished most of my assessments and now it's that weird period of downtime right before the holidays.
I've just been browsing the internet, watching YouTube vids and messing around on Instagram (follow meeeeeee @girlwhosenameisntnaomie) when I should be watching the new episode of Doctor Who (!!!) or Suits or Homeland or engaging in conspiracy theories with the rest of the Sherlock fandom...

Given my annoying brattiness and narcissism, I've made a list of stuff that I seriously want. Obviously some of this is going to be impossible, but as the irritating kid that I am, I don't care.

1. These Docs.

Aren't they to die for?!

These are amazing. Continue.

 

2. To read the books and watch the Harry Potter films.

I haven't actually ever watched or seen any Harry stuff, and my friends are all hardcore Potter fans. I've seen half an hour of Goblet of Fire...? Seeing people's reaction when I tell them that I've never watched them is like telling them I have an extra belly button, or that I'm descended from Moses.

 

3. To meet Asa Butterfield.

Asa Butterfield is the German boy from The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Hugo in Hugo, Ender in Ender's Game and a pretty awesome fellow.

Excuse my fangirling. Ahem.

 



4. Grab a Kombi Van and go to every music festival I can get to.

This kind of speaks for itself. I love music, festivals and Kombi Vans. Yay peace.

5. For this blog to actually go somewhere.

I think I'm writing this to myself, really. In twenty years time, I'll see that the only pageviews were me desperately checking to see if anyone ever saw this. This will also look really stupid in twenty years time. That is if I haven't blown up the world yet.

 

So I guess there's the five things I'd love to have or be or whatever. I'll probably add to it every now and then. If I even return to this blog. Sigh.