The Graveyard Book: book review

I got to see Neil Gaiman in Austin recently, and I could not have been more excited. In order to receive his infinite wisdom and clever witticisms I prepared by reading more of his books, including The Graveyard Book.

He mentioned The Graveyard Book during his lecture, and compared it to The Jungle Book. Instead of a child being raised by animals in a jungle, he is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. The comparison made me laugh because I couldn't believe I hadn't already made that connection.

First of all, I love British graveyards. The best ones are next to really old little churches, and have headstones with old Latin poems and phrases. I could totally see a kid running around those places, playing with ghosts and learning history.

Also, this kid's name is Nobody because he looks like nobody but himself. I suppose once you've been dead a while, you get tired of names.

Baby, Baby, Baby: Movie Review

I saw this film at the Austin Film Festival, and was very impressed by it. This film shows a couple falling in and out of love, a story that's been told a thousand times. But this story captured the details and emotional vulnerability of a relationship.

There are always little habits and behaviors in a relationship that not only define the combined personalities, but also define the breaking point. No one wants to feel under appreciated or ignored, especially not by someone you love and trust. In a relationship, you can go in with certain expectations, but when your expectations begin to change and the relationship itself does not, it can create tension.

Initially, Sydney and Sunny are both invested in their relationship. Sydney is a struggling actor, Sunny is a struggling artist. They support each other and encourage each other in their art. Then Sunny becomes more successful with her art and begins forming friendships and connections with other artists. Naturally, Sydney gets jealous and insecure.

The interesting thing is, the more insecure Sydney gets, the more Sunny pulls away from him. She never lies to him about who she is, calling herself "horrible" because she is an only child. He clings to her with the determination of a whiny child.

It's easy to feel sorry for both of them. I feel sorry for Sydney, because he is failing at something he's been working towards his whole life. Meanwhile, his girlfriend no longer has time for him. But mostly I feel sorry for Sunny. She never pretends to enjoy coddling Sydney. She clearly does not want to be someone's cheerleader, and no matter how much Sydney complains about her, she doesn't go easy on him. It's hard when one person in the relationship is busy with their art and the other is not. It can lead any sane person to become a sniveling mess. Being an adult is difficult and I love how this film shows the hardships of adulthood and relationships.

Saving Mr. Banks: Movie Review

This movie makes me love Mary Poppins even more and find connections behind the Disney movie and its backstory. There is so much that an author puts into stories. Using personal experiences or first hand observations can help give that kind of emotion readers connect with.

Walt's exuberant and optimistic displays and Travers' hesitance to change her ideal of the past show the love and innovation used in beloved Disney stories. What I love is how she reimagines and recreates her past to make her father into the hero she always wanted him to be. She gave him another chance to be kind. That is an amazing gift from a daughter who was put through the unstable antics of a dreamer.

Walt takes her creation and makes it brighter. He sees her vision, though it takes quite a bit of work, and makes it into a Disney spectacle. She may fight him every step of the way, but when she goes home she takes a giant Mickey Mouse with her.

We all want to cling to a bit of magic now and then.

She clings to the magic of her childhood, and fixing the problems that her parents could not. He clings to his dream of the magical world of Disney and what it means to create.

This movie not only explores the delightful product of Disney, but shows the process of creation as well. For me, that's the best part. I love knowing how a movie is pushed into existence. It's not enough to know the story, I need the backstory too. I love that she creates Mary Poppins as a way to change her childhood. She fixes her father and makes him a hero, as shown by the title, she saves Mr. Banks.

Howl's Moving Castle: Movie Review

This movie is magical. There is so much going on; including, but not limited to a traveling castle, a funny fire demon, and a sweet girl who is a bossy grandma at heart. And then there's Howl, the famous heart-devouring wizard. So, yeah. Lots to love.

One of my favorite parts about Sophie is she loves being an old lady. Somehow, that temporary exterior gives her the confidence to be as grumpy and ridiculous as she wants. After all, old people can get away with anything. She bosses Calcifer around, teases Markl, and snaps at Howl to shape up and get over himself.

She takes charge of that flying castle.

Along the way, she changes her life and saves both Howl and Calcifer. Also the country, but you know. Sophie is adorable and heartfelt, a true heroine. She makes Howl a better person, and going on an adventure forces her to embrace herself and be a hero.

Good Omens Book Review

Good Omens is hilarious. Honestly, I read the first chapter and I laughed so hard. It shows the angel and snake chatting after the angel drove Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden. But the angel felt bad, so he gave them the flaming sword and then discusses good and evil with the snake.

Genius. Pure genius.

The run down is an Anti-Christ is placed on the Earth, destined to lead the world to an Apocalypse. Unfortunately, the Satanist Nuns misplace him and he ends up in a normal family, uneducated on good and evil. Crowley, a demon, and Aziraphale, an angel, are best friends. They have lived on the Earth a long time and it has distanced them from their coworkers. So they hang out. And they are supposed to be keeping tabs on the Anti-Christ, but it takes them 11 years to figure out they've got the wrong kid; which mildly pisses off their bosses.

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet wrote this book together, and it feels like they were trying to outdo each other with quirky humor. I know that Crowley is loosely based on Gaiman, and it makes me wonder if Aziraphale is somewhat similar to Pratchet. Crowley and Aziraphale are the main plot, giving the reader a careless and ironic approach to a very religious topic.

This book has religion in it, it deals with angels and demons, but it's not religious. It isn't moralistic, it's casually satirical and witty. I love the randomness and clever witticisms.

Red Rising: Book Review

Red Rising is a dystopian novel by Pierce Brown that separates classes by color, red being the lowest. I found it interesting that everything in each class was just one color. If you're a red, you have red hair, eyes, and clothing. If you're a gold (the top class), you pretty much just glow.

This book was intense, to put it mildly. Darrow, a lowly red, discovers everything he knew about his life is a lie and is given the opportunity to infiltrate the government as a gold. His process of transforming into a gold, physically and mentally, and being put in a deadly test shows the survivor instinct of human nature. People fight for what they believe in, especially the ones who no one expects to succeed.

The complexity of the plot kept me constantly surprised...and at times very confused. It's heavier science fiction than I usually read, and took a little getting used to. It's not a relaxing read, that's for sure. But it's engaging and fresh.

I loved the exploration of human nature. What drives us to help people? What truly motivates our actions? Darrow thinks he is motivated by revenge, but I think he is motivated by hope. He hopes for a better world, and is willing to put himself through the darkest corners of his mind to give the reds a chance at happiness. Or at least a better meal.

How I Met Your Mother review

If you want to find out how Ted meets the mother of his children, don't watch this show.

But that's the title! So misleading, right? You'd think the whole show would be about how a young couple fell in love. It's not.

How I Met Your Mother is the perfect show for any young adult who just wants to hear a bunch of random stories that may or may not have a point to them. This series has nine seasons. It's the show that would never end. But honestly, isn't that what what your 20s are? The decade that would never end? Most people make huge life decisions and change the most between the ages of 20 and 30. There are some great stories in this series. It's a constant montage of young adult life... just slightly over dramatized. 

I love this series, it's my go to show and most watched item in my Netflix favorites list. I love the way the characters tell their stories. The number of glimpses into the past and future make the stories a little confusing and highly entertaining. The number of inside jokes, dorky habits, and slap bets are what keep me going.

So by the end of it, I honestly did not care who Ted's wife was. I just wanted to hear a good story.

Top 5 episodes:

Season 2 Episode 9 Slap Bet
We are introduced to both Robin Sparkles and the slap bet, both amazing.

Season 2 Episode 5 World's Greatest Couple
Lily moves in with Barney and they pretend to be married. It's seriously adorable.

Season 4, Episode 8 Woooo!
Robin turns into a wooo girl. Also, Barney goes on some delightful monologues.

Season 4 Episode 21 Three Days Rule
Barney and Marshall prank Ted with their seduction skills.

Season 5 Episode 17 Of Course
Robin sicks a crazy lady on Barney as payback.

Easy A review

It took me a few years before I watched Easy A. I don’t even remember why I ended up watching it, I just remember being completely blown away by the dialogue. You know what movies don’t have anymore? Clever dialogue. Olive throws around snappy comebacks laced with SAT words and I immediately want to be her friend.

My favorite scenes from Easy A were the family ones. Putting Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci together was a genius move. The quirky banter and casual, “Give ‘em hell” kind of lines are my favorite moments in this movie. The constant humor, random comments, and playful attitude balances out Olive’s monumental journey as the esteemed “school slut”. It definitely has an impact on her life…or at least her wardrobe.  

Most people hear a rumor about them and fight it with every ounce of their being. Not Olive. Olive has the delightful reaction of blowing the rumor out of proportion and running with it. This is shown the most in the memorable “Sexy Silk” scene portraying Olive in her first sexy outfit of pieced together lingerie. She shoves that rumor back in everyone’s faces and looks amazing while she’s at it (and continues to only find an intellectual equal in her parents and her English teacher).

That’s the dream, right?

How I watch TV

So I come from a very athletic family. Learning how to play basketball is kind of a rite of passage for us. We usually just watch basketball and football at my house, but there is always a game on. Consequently, I learned how to watch TV by watching sports (and cartoons, but that's besides the point). It is impossible to watch sports quietly. Honestly, it's really fun to yell at people and the best place to do that is in a stadium. But houses work too. There is something really satisfying in yelling your opinion at the top of your lungs.

This fun little habit has leaked over to my normal TV watching. I find myself watching sitcoms and yelling at the actors for bad acting choices, then ragging on the writers for making the characters do something that goes completely against the character's development. The dialogue sucks, the actor was chosen for his abs and not his emotional capacity, the writers are bored, the drama will never end, and so on.

It doesn't make sense. It wouldn't happen, not realistically anyway.

I promise I'm not the random person in movie theatres that feels the need to comment on everything throughout the movie. I respect the theatre, I know how to behave. But at home, on my couch...I make no promises.

Anna Karenina: Book Review

First of all, Anna Karenina is NOT a love story. I know, right? Kiera Knightly lied to me!

As I read this book, I became increasingly fascinated by Anna. Okay, so the book is called Anna Karenina. Karenina is her married name, which is significant because it shows how she never actually severs ties with her husband. She moves out and lives with her hot lover, but she remains married. After she leaves her husband, people start referring to her by her maiden name but her divorce never technically happens.

That being said, this whole story is about trying to find perfect happiness. This theme is common in Russian literature, as expressed in works by Pushkin, as well as other stories by Tolstoy. Anna just wants to be happy. Who doesn’t? Isn’t a desire for happiness the primary driving force behind all recklessness? Anna certainly seems to think so.

In the beginning of the book, Anna has every reason to be happy. She has power and influence in society, an endless supply of the latest fashions, a beautiful home, a son whom she loves, and adoring crowds of admirers. She is always the belle of the ball, the height of fashion, the queen bee. Her charisma alone could get her anywhere.

But her happiness is incomplete.

Anna’s marriage was purely political. She and her husband aren’t friends, much less loving. They hardly know each other, they just share a home and son. So the question is, if true love is the last thing to make Anna completely happy, then is giving up every other aspect of happiness in her life worth the risk?

Can we be content with true love being the ONLY form of love in our life? Is that enough?

Anna chooses to run away with Vronsky, taking a chance on true love. She leaves behind her son, husband, friends, home, and any right to show her face in society. She is a fallen woman now, deemed unsuitable and disgraceful. Anna creates her own cage, locked in a house with only Vronsky for company.

Wouldn’t that drive you crazy? I mean, they love each other but could anyone be truly content with only their spouse/lover for company?

Anna realizes how much she gave up, and she can’t be happy with her decision. She blames Vronsky for her unhappiness, further poisoning their love. She needs more than him. She needs adoring crowds, attention, parties and social events. Anna needs multiple forms of love, and Vronsky can’t give her that.

So what makes us happy? And is love the only thing we need in order to be completely, fully, perfectly happy? 

Me, Eloise

My name is Rachel and I am an avid reader and movie goer. I plan to use this blog to share my thoughts on movies, novels, short stories, and (if I feel inclined) life.