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gogmagogWell, today I saw the third movie to ever make me cry.
As a break from the grad apps, I took my parents to Finding Neverland this afternoon. Oh. My. God, that movie was SO GOOD. Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet were both their usual superb selves, only better, and the kid actors were AMAZING. The writing was good, the cinematography was superb, etc.
What I found the best about it, though, is that the movie thankfully eschewed emotional manipulation. It would have been so easy to cheat and make things easy with a plot like this - a terminally ill widow with four children who are about to become orphans - but it didn't. Every tear was wrung from me honestly, dammit, which makes me feel better (as compared to say, Titanic, which also made me cry but I hated myself for giving in to the emotional manipulation).
Depp showed remarkable restraint, and kept Barrie from going over-the-top in any way. Kate Winslet managed to be stoic and beautiful, but both mature and still possessing a childlike sense of wonder that only Barrie could draw out. And the kid who played Peter - Freddie something - was a natural, and I'm looking forward to seeing him as Charlie alongside Depp as Willy Wonka. Radha Mitchell, as Barrie's estranged wife, was also really good and looked very familiar, and it seems like I should have seen her in something else even though I haven't. The supporting cast was equally good - specifically, Julie Christie made the stern grandmother likable in spots (the clapping! ;_;) and Dustin Hoffmann was completely unrecognizable but good as Barrie's producer (seriously, I didn't know that was him until I looked it up on IMDb).
So, in essence, if you like good movies and don't kick puppies in your spare time, you'll like Neverland and should go see it ASAP if you haven't already.
In other news, diversity workshop went OK - not as big a waste of time as I'd expected, though there were things I'd much rather have done with those NINE HOURS AUGH. I'm looking forward to going back to work and seeing everyone on Monday. Classes, not so much, but I'm getting there. (Break needs to be longer, dammit! Why don't we start after MLK Day, anyway? It seems kind of stupid to go for a week and then get a day off. Better to give us one when we need it, in the middle of the semester!)
Anyway, classes start Monday. Bleah.
Take the first line of the first post in each month of the preceding year. String them together into a paragraph. Post.
(Note: I'm leaving out memes and stuff, just actual posts.)
Well, Happy New Year's all! Welp, it's time for me to start applying to grad schools, or at least deciding on which ones to apply to. Sorry for the radio silence for the past week, but at least I'm finally finished. Well, it seems to be going around the flist at the moment, so... I went to Borders today, and lo and behold, I found that the Suikoden III manga is out! Sorry I've been incognito lately - last weekend my brother came up to visit, and he and my parents chipped in to buy me an early birthday present and replace my PS2. My American History professor is the only person I've ever met who uses "my lands" as an exclamation. I am currently pissed off. I've been reading a lot of Lynn Flewelling lately. Welp, my sister called last night after going to the oncologist. An open letter to anyone who reads this journal entry today: Vote, dammit! Well, my Original Source shipment came Tuesday evening.
Edit: This is interesting, from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
calligrafiti: U.S. military exploring possibility of developing gay-aphrodisiac chemical weapon. XD
Edit 2: Apparently Tokyopop is handling their American comic creators rather unfairly. Hmmmm...
As a break from the grad apps, I took my parents to Finding Neverland this afternoon. Oh. My. God, that movie was SO GOOD. Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet were both their usual superb selves, only better, and the kid actors were AMAZING. The writing was good, the cinematography was superb, etc.
What I found the best about it, though, is that the movie thankfully eschewed emotional manipulation. It would have been so easy to cheat and make things easy with a plot like this - a terminally ill widow with four children who are about to become orphans - but it didn't. Every tear was wrung from me honestly, dammit, which makes me feel better (as compared to say, Titanic, which also made me cry but I hated myself for giving in to the emotional manipulation).
Depp showed remarkable restraint, and kept Barrie from going over-the-top in any way. Kate Winslet managed to be stoic and beautiful, but both mature and still possessing a childlike sense of wonder that only Barrie could draw out. And the kid who played Peter - Freddie something - was a natural, and I'm looking forward to seeing him as Charlie alongside Depp as Willy Wonka. Radha Mitchell, as Barrie's estranged wife, was also really good and looked very familiar, and it seems like I should have seen her in something else even though I haven't. The supporting cast was equally good - specifically, Julie Christie made the stern grandmother likable in spots (the clapping! ;_;) and Dustin Hoffmann was completely unrecognizable but good as Barrie's producer (seriously, I didn't know that was him until I looked it up on IMDb).
So, in essence, if you like good movies and don't kick puppies in your spare time, you'll like Neverland and should go see it ASAP if you haven't already.
In other news, diversity workshop went OK - not as big a waste of time as I'd expected, though there were things I'd much rather have done with those NINE HOURS AUGH. I'm looking forward to going back to work and seeing everyone on Monday. Classes, not so much, but I'm getting there. (Break needs to be longer, dammit! Why don't we start after MLK Day, anyway? It seems kind of stupid to go for a week and then get a day off. Better to give us one when we need it, in the middle of the semester!)
Anyway, classes start Monday. Bleah.
Take the first line of the first post in each month of the preceding year. String them together into a paragraph. Post.
(Note: I'm leaving out memes and stuff, just actual posts.)
Well, Happy New Year's all! Welp, it's time for me to start applying to grad schools, or at least deciding on which ones to apply to. Sorry for the radio silence for the past week, but at least I'm finally finished. Well, it seems to be going around the flist at the moment, so... I went to Borders today, and lo and behold, I found that the Suikoden III manga is out! Sorry I've been incognito lately - last weekend my brother came up to visit, and he and my parents chipped in to buy me an early birthday present and replace my PS2. My American History professor is the only person I've ever met who uses "my lands" as an exclamation. I am currently pissed off. I've been reading a lot of Lynn Flewelling lately. Welp, my sister called last night after going to the oncologist. An open letter to anyone who reads this journal entry today: Vote, dammit! Well, my Original Source shipment came Tuesday evening.
Edit: This is interesting, from
calligrafiti: U.S. military exploring possibility of developing gay-aphrodisiac chemical weapon. XDEdit 2: Apparently Tokyopop is handling their American comic creators rather unfairly. Hmmmm...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-01-09 04:03 pm (UTC)I will see you tomorrow! (At 2:30 I think...I really should have written down my work schedule. Heh.)
(no subject)
Date: 2005-01-09 05:55 pm (UTC)And I will see you tomorrow as well! (Though I don't know when, given that I didn't write my schedule down either. Heh is right.)