It's late, and I should be going to bed, but I felt like writing a quick update before heading to the land of counting sheep. (That... didn't make much sense.)
Admittedly, it's not really that late, but I've got an early(ish) call time tomorrow so I need to get some sleep!
That's right. Early call time. As in, Katherine needs to get on a set to ACT tomorrow! Granted, the set is a random field on USC's campus, the film is for an introduction to film class, and I won't be speaking anything in this silent film, but who cares? I can't complain.
That's a lie. I'll complain a little. But only that the call time is 9am. Which really isn't that early, but on a Saturday morning, it's rather unfortunate. My roommate told me that I'd be getting karma points for doing the film.
I said I didn't want karma points, I'd rather have sleep.
But despite my whining, I really am excited. I'm going to be a goth girl, which should be fun. Also means I need to go through my closet before I go to sleep and find my black clothes. Which are all CLEAN!
Yes. It's true. Five weeks into her last semester in college, Katherine did her first load of laundry of the year. Yep. I'm not what that means about me--I never thought I had that many clothes, but clearly I was wrong. I put it off for as long as humanly possible, but it got to the point where I literally had nothing to wear. But now I do.
Guess what other annoying task I completed today? That's right, grocery shopping. This I've had to do multiple times this year--I'm not quite as skilled at putting off this particular task--but I'll say it's because I eat food far more often than I change clothes. Which is true. I change twice a day minimum, while I eat... actually, I don't know exactly how many times in a day. Two/three meals (though usually I skip breakfast) and oodles of snacks. And now I have food to eat! I love food. I'd die without it. (Literally.)
Also had an audition for a dance-company today, which was definitely an experience. I've never auditioned for a show without doing any sort of speaking, but we were silent. It was actually an interesting little learning experience. Right now, I'm treating each audition as a chance to learn a little more. Doing auditions that aren't for school but are for other things is refreshing. Don't see the same people, don't worry about having repeated material, and learning from each experience. It's fun! And if I get a callback, awesome. If not, I'm not sweating it.
(It's true! For once, I'm not checking the phone every ten seconds to see if they call. Mostly because I don't feel like I was a good fit, and I don't see myself fitting into the styles that these various shows are looking for. For once, I'm looking at what they're looking for and starting to be able to see objectively whether I'd be the right type for each particular project. I'm not sure I was able to make these kinds of judgments a year ago.)
Then tonight, I joined my roommate in watching the third season of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. I've never seen the show before but heard it was good. And I enjoyed it! Clearly, since we managed to finish the entire season in one evening. (OK, OK--the season's only 8 episodes long. And they're 24-minute episodes. Your point??) It was fun and clever and cute and a teeny-bit scandalous (and by teeny-bit, I mean a LOT bit), and it was nice to hang out and just relax. I feel like it's been a while since I've been able to do that.
And I won't be able to in the next few days either. Tomorrow's filming the student film, and an audition in the evening. Sunday I'm spending the day watching the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice for Valentine's Day, and maybe finishing the filming if we don't finish it Saturday. And I have a sonnet to analyze and learn for Shakespeare class, a play to read for class, a scene to read over and work on for another friend's film, need to work on finding a place to print/retouch headshots, reading for two other science-based classes, and I just got some new Netflix DVDs that I want to see (RED and the first 4 episodes of Castle, season 1).
Actually, maybe it's a good thing I have an early call time tomorrow. Means I'll probably be able to get more done!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Movie Review Post
I've been watching a lot of movies lately. Now, let me quickly mention that my definition of "a lot of movies" is significantly different than the normal's person's definition. Please note: I'm the girl who's never seen Godfather. Avatar. Fight Club. Citizen Kane. The list goes on and on. So for me, having seen four movies within the span of a week is something rather noteworthy.
So last week I watched The Time Traveler's Wife, which I already mentioned in the last blog post. I loved that film--I thought it was incredibly sweet and romantic, without resorting to any of those obnoxious cliches that are so abundant in chick flicks. It had an element of artsy-ness, but it wasn't simply artsy for the sake of being artsy. Instead, it was absolutely beautiful. I thought it actually did a better job explaining the premise of a time-traveler better than the book did, possibly because it's easier to see the time-traveling than it is to read about it. But it's been years since I've read the book, and I didn't particularly care for the book when I read it. I feel like I might enjoy it better now, since I'm older and have a better appreciation for these kinds of stories.
Last night I watched Shakespeare Behind Bars, a documentary about a drama program at Kentucky's maximum-security Luther Luckett Correctional Complex. I didn't know what to expect when I popped it into my computer: I figured I'd be watching a lot of punks mess around with Shakespeare. But I was so wrong. I watched these people struggle to find the truth of Shakespeare's characters. They were performing The Tempest, a play that deals a lot with redemption and forgiveness. Appropriate for this group of actors, no?
It was fascinating to see these men struggle with the kinds of issues that "real" actors struggle with, especially since these men aren't actors--most of these men looked like normal people! The real eye-opener for me was the parts of the interviews where the prisoners discussed why they had been put into prison to begin with: truly horrible things, heinous crimes. Yet they spoke and acted like normal people. It made me realize how complex people are, how there truly is no such thing as black and white... I am still constantly amazed at how little I understand the human condition. I sometimes tend to see people as either good or bad, even though I know that isn't the case. Watching this documentary in some ways was a struggle, because I wanted to believe they were good people. Then I learned what they did, and that information changed my mind--for a bit. But at the end of the film, I still wanted to believe they were good people. So all in all, very very fascinating film.
Also, I'll add this--in the past, I've never been particularly interested in the justice system. I'm not sure why--it just never sparked my interest. But in seeing the film, I'm definitely a little more curious. Also, before watching the film I'd only been interested in theatre in education as a tool for youth, but seeing how Shakespeare effected these fully-grown men, I'm starting to rethink that thought.
Today, I saw two movies. The first was No Strings Attached, starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. It was a romantic comedy, and I loved it! It was cute and funny and sweet! And unlike most romantic comedies that I've seen, it didn't seem to have an excessive number of cringe-worthy moments. That's why I usually am skeptical of romantic comedies: they're ridiculous, the main characters act foolish, and the situations are so ludicrous that it makes me roll my eyes. But this movie? Not so much. I thought it was hilarious and it just made me happy! The main characters had excellent chemistry and a fun bantering way about them, which I love in movies. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not as thought-provoking as Shakespeare Behind Bars, but way more fun.
The second movie I saw was Life After Tomorrow, a documentary about girls who have played Annie or Orphans in Annie on Broadway or in the National Touring Casts. I thought this was going to be really interesting, but it failed to capture my attention after a while. It consisted of a bunch of interviews with various actresses. They talked about their experiences performing in the show, about growing up as an actor, about stage-moms, coming home after the show... It was all interesting information, but it was rather dry. There were some clips from the original productions, which were probably my favorite part. But other than that, it mostly consisted of a bunch of talking heads. It probably could have worked just as well as a book.
And that concludes the movies I've seen this week! Two romantic films, two documentaries. All enjoyable, but only one (maybe two) that I'll go out and purchase.
So last week I watched The Time Traveler's Wife, which I already mentioned in the last blog post. I loved that film--I thought it was incredibly sweet and romantic, without resorting to any of those obnoxious cliches that are so abundant in chick flicks. It had an element of artsy-ness, but it wasn't simply artsy for the sake of being artsy. Instead, it was absolutely beautiful. I thought it actually did a better job explaining the premise of a time-traveler better than the book did, possibly because it's easier to see the time-traveling than it is to read about it. But it's been years since I've read the book, and I didn't particularly care for the book when I read it. I feel like I might enjoy it better now, since I'm older and have a better appreciation for these kinds of stories.
Last night I watched Shakespeare Behind Bars, a documentary about a drama program at Kentucky's maximum-security Luther Luckett Correctional Complex. I didn't know what to expect when I popped it into my computer: I figured I'd be watching a lot of punks mess around with Shakespeare. But I was so wrong. I watched these people struggle to find the truth of Shakespeare's characters. They were performing The Tempest, a play that deals a lot with redemption and forgiveness. Appropriate for this group of actors, no?
It was fascinating to see these men struggle with the kinds of issues that "real" actors struggle with, especially since these men aren't actors--most of these men looked like normal people! The real eye-opener for me was the parts of the interviews where the prisoners discussed why they had been put into prison to begin with: truly horrible things, heinous crimes. Yet they spoke and acted like normal people. It made me realize how complex people are, how there truly is no such thing as black and white... I am still constantly amazed at how little I understand the human condition. I sometimes tend to see people as either good or bad, even though I know that isn't the case. Watching this documentary in some ways was a struggle, because I wanted to believe they were good people. Then I learned what they did, and that information changed my mind--for a bit. But at the end of the film, I still wanted to believe they were good people. So all in all, very very fascinating film.
Also, I'll add this--in the past, I've never been particularly interested in the justice system. I'm not sure why--it just never sparked my interest. But in seeing the film, I'm definitely a little more curious. Also, before watching the film I'd only been interested in theatre in education as a tool for youth, but seeing how Shakespeare effected these fully-grown men, I'm starting to rethink that thought.
Today, I saw two movies. The first was No Strings Attached, starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. It was a romantic comedy, and I loved it! It was cute and funny and sweet! And unlike most romantic comedies that I've seen, it didn't seem to have an excessive number of cringe-worthy moments. That's why I usually am skeptical of romantic comedies: they're ridiculous, the main characters act foolish, and the situations are so ludicrous that it makes me roll my eyes. But this movie? Not so much. I thought it was hilarious and it just made me happy! The main characters had excellent chemistry and a fun bantering way about them, which I love in movies. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not as thought-provoking as Shakespeare Behind Bars, but way more fun.
The second movie I saw was Life After Tomorrow, a documentary about girls who have played Annie or Orphans in Annie on Broadway or in the National Touring Casts. I thought this was going to be really interesting, but it failed to capture my attention after a while. It consisted of a bunch of interviews with various actresses. They talked about their experiences performing in the show, about growing up as an actor, about stage-moms, coming home after the show... It was all interesting information, but it was rather dry. There were some clips from the original productions, which were probably my favorite part. But other than that, it mostly consisted of a bunch of talking heads. It probably could have worked just as well as a book.
And that concludes the movies I've seen this week! Two romantic films, two documentaries. All enjoyable, but only one (maybe two) that I'll go out and purchase.
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