Holdouttrout

Okay, so this is a movie that I wish I had seen so many years ago. It's so delightful, it's so cheesy, it has ridiculousy overt messages, but I didn't care because for just about the ONLY time I can remember there was more than one fat girl on screen, and one of them was the main character with good friends and a guy who liked her and who got to have a story that was affected but not defined by her weight.

I honestly can't tell you how much it meant to me.

 atomicheavybike:

holdouttrout:

I decided today was the day to watch While You Were Sleeping. I have a VHS but didn’t really want to get out my VCR (stop laughing) but thankfully, it’s on Netflix!

I’m feeling Lucy more than ever this year–I mean, I really am happy to be single, but I really identified with her speech about how she thought her life would be different–you know, family, house, kids, etc, etc. I’m not even sure I want all that right now, but I definitely have had to adjust my expectations some. :-)

But honestly, I love this movie. I love how the family feels like a family, how they talk over each other, how it really balances the romance with getting to know all the characters, and I’m always surprised by how the whole thing manages to just avoid creepy lady stalker. 

This might be my favourite ever traditional rom-com. I mean, apart from Imagine Me And You, but that’s a whole other thing and WYWS is probably actually a better movie. Lucy’s loneliness is incredibly relatable. Also I love the fact that the guy she thinks she wants is the one a lot of other rom-coms would pair her with - the cad who supposedly only needs a woman to tame in. You know, the kind of character Mel Gibson would have played. Whereas the guy she ends up with is usually the also ran - the nice guy with small ambitions who’s by far the better person. 

Yes! I love that this movie makes that guy, the nice guy, the one with small ambitions, the one that the main character would normally start out with and reject for the Big Romance–this movie makes that guy look like the absolutely right choice, and not just because he’s a nice guy.

Plus, the wedding scene is one of the most hilarious scenes of all time. From her terrible dress to forgetting to take off the coat to al the objections, to “Not that one, that one,” to Elsie snapping photos, to the people who aren’t family just sitting there with expressions like, “Oh my gosh this is going to be the best wedding story EVER.” So great. 

That. Was. Awesome.

I just got home and I was so wired that I literally ran around my apartment for a few minutes.

Hobbits are going to kill me with their pipes and their food and their love of home and hearth and their inability to stay out of trouble when trouble needs them.

Men are stupid.

Aragorn, you really need to learn what the term “leading her on” means. Sheesh. Also. Since when does it make sense for Arwen to be dying Right This Second?

Oh, yeah. The spider. Ew ew ew ew ew.

Why didn’t I start this movie an hour sooner?

SAM.

Men, especially Stewards of Gondor who have gone mad, are really stupid.

SAM. Seriously. SAM.

Dude. Your son, like Frodo, is not dead! Burning him alive is a bit premature.

Eowyn is no man.

So many endings.

Random thoughts:

Boy, all the elves look younger in this one than in the Hobbit. Darn actors and their normal aging!

This movie is very long.

I need to use the word “whence” more often.

SAM. SAM. SAM. MY HEART.

Legolas keeps forgetting he doesn’t like dwarves, especially that Gimli fellow. No, really. Dwarves are terrible. Really. (Be my best friend.)

Holy crap. How is Aragorn so incredibly filthy–like, gross filthy, and dripping wet, and blood-smeared–how is he THAT filthy, and also incredibly hot? Take me. Take me now.

SAM.

That is all (for now).

First, I just finished an eight-week running program that is, theoretically, a Couch to 5K program. However, it's all done by time, and I am slow, so I just ran a little over 2 miles in 35 minutes.

The important part here is that I. Ran. For. Thirty-Five. Minutes. Straight.

Me.

I felt so good I ALMOST thought that it might be fun to keep running. :-)

I hesitate to put this out there, but I feel like it might be useful or encouraging knowledge for someone: I haven't lost a pound since I started running--and no, I wasn't trying to lose any weight. I haven't changed my eating habits and I haven't gone up or down a size, either. It's certainly possible that I am eating more calories, but I haven't felt like I'm eating a ton more than I was before. I DO feel much stronger and way more fit--it's constantly surprising to me how much MORE I can do without feeling out of breath. Anyway, there's some anecdotal evidence for you to use as you see fit.

... and now for the Sharks!

I wasn't able to actually watch Sharknado, but I almost don't care. People's tweets last night made me happy, and I have a few links to keep here for maximum joy:

(All of these have spoilers.)

Cleolinda compiles everything she knows about Sharknado
The writer of Sharknado answers some very serious questions
A beautiful review of a beautiful movie
The fact that this happened means that there will always be hope for humanity

That's the $10 question, isn't it? I keep hearing how people really liked it, and then read reviews that pretty much tell me that I'm not going to enjoy it all that much.

(If you're wondering, I didn't much care for the first one for various reasons, the smallest and pettiest of which was the plethora of miniskirts for no logical reason. Honestly, at this point, I'm not sure I really remember most of the specifics of the other reasons.)

(The pettiest reason I am not too thrilled about this movie? THE LACK OF THE COLON IN THE TITLE.)

Maybe instead of Star Trek, I should go see Iron Man 3 again.

I was initially just tickled at the idea of the Hulk REVIEWING MOVIES, but then I saw that there was a link where the Hulk explains Mulholland Drive, which I admit I saw and did not even come close to understanding, even though I would have said that it was an intensely compelling experience.

I read the whole 11,000 word explanation (which is in ALL CAPS, because HULK), thinking to myself how amazing simple it really was and how I could possibly have missed it... but it was the part at the very end that made me write this entry.

The Hulk was defending that there's room for a complex movie like Mulholland Drive to exist, and he made the point that he watches all movies while asking the same questions about character motivations and theme and imagery that Mulholland Drive demands. Sometimes this means that uncomfortable questions about "popcorn" movies come up. I can't tell you the number of times I've been told that I need to "just enjoy" the movie, and not think about everything that is wrong about it. To that idea, the Hulk says this:

THERE IS NO REAL VALIDITY TO "TURNING YOUR BRAIN OFF" ARGUMENT. THAT'S PURELY AN EXCUSE TO GIVE A PASS TO SOMETHING ONE KNOWS IS BAD. AND IT'S AN EVEN BIGGER LIE BECAUSE THE BEST POPCORN MOVIES CAN ACTUALLY TURN YOUR BRAIN ON.

That.

:-)

Every time I post these days I feel like I need to apologize profusely and come bearing fic--but I am not going to jinx anything by actually talking about fic here. Shhh.

I don't even want to know how long it has been. I suspect longer than I have been pet-sitting, or I would use that as an excuse. So here's some things that have happened recently:

1. Fall meetings are starting up again. This is both happy and a little scary. I will have at least one fewer night at home from now until December.

2. My laptop battery... well, it didn't quite blow up, but it did do alarming things that suggest I should probably not use it for the time being. As in, ever again. So that's fun.

3. I caught up on the teamy, wonderful, awesome goodness of Leverage! Oh, so much fun. I'm with Parker--Nate's getting creepier, but I kinda like him that way. And I also think the whole Nate/Sophie thing is cute, ridiculous, and going to blow up in their faces.

4. I have also seen a couple of eps of Necessary Roughness, which is cute, and Misfits, which is anything but, but is very interesting.

5. Awkward fannish question time! Way back in the day, one of the shows I didn't watch but secretly wanted to* was Lexx. Turns out it's available on hulu, so I watched eps 1 and 2... does it get any better? Because I'm kinda intrigued but... well, honestly, I'm a little bored.

6. I saw the new Jane Eyre movie and LOVED IT. I love Jane, and this movie made me remember why. The quips! The naivete! Her firmness in pursuing her own happiness! Plus, I love moody atmospheric things. Still don't quite know what to think about Rochester, but I think I liked him a bit better this time around.


*Most anything with hints of sex/sexual tension fell into this category--I blame it on my conservative upbringing.

This weekend was really, really nice: Saturday for errands and housework, and Sunday for relaxing with wonderful friends, playing leisurely card games in the sunny backyard while their chickens hunted bugs in the corner.

Sometimes I even realize I have a great life.

Today, I finally got around to reading Walked Right out of the Machinery by rydra_wong. I know, I know, I'm terribly late. BUT. It's truly fabulous. GAH.

I also read Like a Body Wholly Body, by troyswann, which is a follow-up snippet to Operator, an AU SG-1/Matrix crossover. (Jack/Daniel) SG-1 and the Matrix--what could be better?

I also watched Repo! The Genetic Opera, and all I have to say is... WTF?

Finally, the saddest Darth Vader you'll ever see.