My Bucket List: To Be Pursued Passionately and Enthusiastically

Life is short.

I've only just really come to this realization, if I'm being honest. I'd place myself in the category of young people who consider themselves immortal for all intents and purposes, and I've never really thought much about the possibility of simply not being alive anymore. I mean, yeah, because of my religious beliefs I'm decently confident in a life after death, but that's besides the point. I'm talking about the now.

Two incidents have caused me to think about the relative shortness of a human life. One has been gradually creeping upon me, and that is my impending senior year of high school. Oh, you say, you're that young? You're already thinking about death and life and all the gray area in between? The answer is yes, I'm that young, seventeen to be exact, and yes, I'm already thinking about all that kind of stuff. I'm sure many teens like me have as well. After high school is college, and after college is "real life", and after "real life" is a most certainly real death. It's all so linear, and it's all happening so quickly. I've come to realize that yes, I am young, and that's exactly why I need to live now.

The second incident is a little more somber. I only recently attended my first wake. It wasn't even a funeral--I've never been to one of those, either. In this regard, I consider myself lucky. To have not lost someone so close to me for so long is a rare blessing. But still, this wake, which I attended for a total of twenty-seven minutes, sort of slapped me in the face. I stared at the eerily peaceful body of a family friend I'd known forever, who had died far before his time, and it just sort of hit me. He probably had stuff he wanted to do. Maybe he had wanted to travel, or do something reckless, or do something over-the-top for his wife that would make her laugh it was so cheesy and romantic. He wouldn't get the chance, ever. I'm young, though. And while I don't know when I'll die, I do know that I can live life passionately and enthusiastically now.

And so, without further ado, I give you Lacey's Bucket List (So Far):

• Swim with dolphins
• Watch a full sunrise
• Travel to my top 5 countries (which, as of right now, are--in no specific order--Italy, France, New Zealand, Ireland, and England)
• Go to a drive-in movie
• Learn to drive a stick shift
• Stand on the Equator
• Get a small, meaningful tattoo
• Kiss someone on top of a Ferris wheel
• Be an extra in a TV show or a movie
• Pay for a stranger's groceries, coffee, or dinner
• Shower under a waterfall
• Ride in a hot air balloon
• Publish a novel
• Learn another language fluently
• Wear colored contacts
• Meet a celebrity (preferably Taylor Swift, Matthew Gray Gubler, J.K. Rowling, or Ian Somerhalder, but I won't be too picky)

This is just what I have come up with so far. If I ever achieve any of these, I'll write a little experience post. If I add more, I'll let you know. Until next time!

~ Lacey :)

A Night at the Cinema: The Host

I'm not going to lie. I was a little disappointed.

The Host, the film adaptation of the popular Stephenie Meyer novel by the same name, is about a post-apocalyptic future in which an alien race has populated the earth and occupied most of the human inhabitants. These "souls" attach to their hosts and seek to perfect whichever world they inhabit. The story revolves around Wanderer (AKA Wanda), who is a soul implanted into the body of a captured member of the remaining human resistance, Melanie Stryder. But Melanie resists the occupation, and the two embark on a journey of love, truth, humanity, and survival.

Unlike in her underwhelming Twilight Saga, Meyer truly shocked me in the Host. In my opinion, it was a highly entertaining, thought-provoking, and very incredibly written book. In the novel, I was completely consumed with the story. I'm pretty sure I didn't put it down until it was finished. So when I heard there was going to be a film adaptation, you can be assured I was nothing less than ecstatic.

In the movie's defense, I think it was just a difficult book to translate on screen. A good chunk of the novel is the interaction between Wanda and Melanie, all of which takes place inside of their minds. In the movie, this was achieved through the use of a voice-over, which at times worked and at others just seemed...cheesy? I don't know if that's the word I'm looking for. Perhaps I mean awkward. Either way, it was didn't seem to work perfectly, although I don't think there was any other way it could have been accomplished. The cast wasn't awful either. Saoirse Ronan is a gem, Diane Kruger is totally badass, and Max Irons and Jake Abel...well, more on them next.

Pros of this movie:

• Max Irons (left) and Jake Abel (right) have both reached levels of attractiveness that I did not think was possible. Especially you, Mr. Irons. Not gonna lie, their faces and Irons' half naked body kept this from nosediving any further in the box offices.

              

• I think Saoirse Ronan was a fantastic Melanie/Wanda, all things considered. Plus she has a super cool name that poses an eternal pronunciation problem for me.

• Jaime was adorable.

Cons:

• There were only two problems with this movie: poor novel-to-big-screen adaptability, and occasionally overwhelmingly cheesy dialogue.

• Also, the cave scene with Kyle was totally disappointing. That was a huge turning point in the book. In the film, it wasn't intense or scary at all, and you didn't get the sense that it had much weight at all. This scene, along with many others, made the film just feel a bit rushed.

• PS: Wanda at the end... totally unexpected and I'm still sorting out how exactly I feel about it... I won't say any more for fear of spoiling.

All this being said, if you take this movie for what it is -- an adaptation of a book it will never be better than, as is the norm for most book to movie translations -- you'll probably have a good time watching and be at least a little entertained.

MPAA RATING: PG-13 (for violence, brief harsh language, and some sexual scenarios)

MY PERSONAL SUGGESTED AGE: 14

MY PERSONAL RATING: 6.5/10 stars

 

Happy viewing!

~ Lacey :)

A Night at the Cinema: Silver Linings Playbook

It's that time of year again, my fellow movie lovers. The Academy Awards, more commonly referred to as the Oscars, is rapidly approaching. In honor of this famed night, I've been trying to see as many movies that have been nominated for Best Picture as I can. So far, I've accomplished Les Miserables (see previous rave), Argo (a brilliant, brilliant move which I haven't found the words to express in a review yet), and now this, Silver Linings Playbook.

 

This wonderful film stars Bradley Cooper as Pat and Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany, two lost and unstable souls who meet via mutual friends and begin to form a refreshingly original, hilarious, heartbreaking, and truly unique friendship. Pat is coming out of a recent stint at a mental institution, where he was landed after channeling his inner Chuck Norris when he saw his wife cheating on him with a coworker, and Tiffany has deadened the sorrow of her husband Tommy's sudden death by sleeping with basically anyone who offers. By way of a dance competition and a fierce family rivalry, these two form a dysfunctionally functional relationship, and we get to see that unfurl within the movie.

When I first saw the preview for the movie, my initial reaction was that it looked entertaining, but never in my life would I have guessed that it would be Oscar worthy. But in my opinion, it really is. The Oscars is always filled with deep, emotional, beautifully poignant dramas or period dramas or action films that are enriched with deep ulterior meanings. To me, at least, it seems as though there are always very few lighthearted and yet moving films, which are truly my favorite kind. Silver Linings Playbook really fits the bill.

Things I really liked:

• We'll start with the obvious: the cast. Bradley Cooper is just a fantastic actor, and the fact that he can make any girl of any age swoon doesn't hurt. The Hunger Games' Jennifer Lawrence is my personal girl crush of the moment--she's stunning, she's real, she's hysterical, and she is a dang good actress. And then we have the timeless Robert DeNiro partnered with Jacki Weaver...just honestly a genius ensemble.
• Something about this movie was very raw. The actions, the dialogue, the setting, the emotions...it all felt very uncut and unedited, and not in a dirty Spartacus kind of way. It felt very real, and those are the movies I like best.
• The plot was alluring to me. Who doesn't love a good romantic comedy that isn't actually full of pure stupidity?

Altogether, I recommend you give this movie a go. I don't know if it's going to win Best Picture, but honestly if you asked me right now I couldn't choose the best one out of the three nominees I've seen. So go watch it, and I doubt you'll be disappointed.

MPAA RATING: R (for harsh language and extremely brief nudity--a woman's backside shown through a thin shower curtain for a second or two)

MY PERSONAL SUGGESTED AGE: 15

MY PERSONAL RATING: 8.5/10 stars

 

Happy viewing!

~ Lacey :)

Reading Rendezvous: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Reading has been, and always will be, one of my top three favorite things to do, along with watching TV and writing (I wasn't kidding when I said I'm a couch potato). But I've been out of practice for a while. In case you weren't aware, high school is just one big mess of coffee, no sleep, headaches, drama, and of course, schoolwork.

But there was something special about this book, I could tell. So I carved time out of my Friday to read it. I sat in my bed around 8 o'clock at night... and I didn't put it down until I was finished at 1 AM.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, written by Stephen Chbosky, is a coming-of-age novel about Charlie, a fifteen-year-old entering his first year of high school. The book is formatted as a series of letters from Charlie to an anonymous stranger. It's about growing up, finding friends, falling in love, understanding family, experiencing the world, and confronting the past. It's about the interesting relationship between passivity and participation in life.

Charlie absolutely captured my heart. I can't quite put my finger on it, but maybe that's the point. Charlie's outlook on life is so simple, but so emotionally deep and meaningful. He's a wallflower. He looks on at the world from the sidelines, and he understands everything. But with advice from a teacher, Charlie realizes he needs to stop spending all of his life in his thoughts and to start actively participating in life. So he embarks on a journey to do just that.

Be warned. This book covers some very dark and sometimes controversial material, and Charlie's thoughts and struggles to make sense of these things are part of the reason it is so good. Many heavy, emotional topics are discussed or stressed, including drugs, alcohol, sex, mental illness, abortion, homosexuality, sexual assault, and sexual abuse. I'd like to be quite frank with anyone reading this. As a Catholic, I believe certain things and will always uphold those certain beliefs. But the point of the author was not to make the novel revolve around the issues at hand. He's simply telling Charlie's story, and how Charlie reacts and interacts to and with the world. And at the end, they drop a veiled bomb on the reader that suddenly makes you understand why Charlie is the way he is.

This book is happy, and it is sad. It's beautiful, and it is dark. It's uplifting and inspiring, and it is just as equally devastating.

I cried at one point. If you know me, you know that I cry all the time in movies. I guess visually witnessing something prompts tears more effectively for me. But in books, it takes a lot to make me cry. But this book did the trick.

I think my goal in life is to see the world as Charlie does. To understand as he does. If my brain could work like his, I think then I'd really understand how such a mixed up and messed up world could be so dang beautiful.

SUGGESTED AGE OF READER: 15-16 (for some possibly uncomfortable sexual situations and mentions of very controversial issues)
MY PERSONAL RATING: 5/5 stars

~ Lacey :)

Quote of the Day: J. K. Rowling

I'm going to preface this post by saying I have always been and forever will be J. K. Rowling's Number One Fan. I picked up the first Harry Potter book in first grade, inhaled it, and then spent all of second and third grade completing what was then published of the series. And when the sixth and seventh novels were published, I pre-ordered them and read them both within twenty-four hours of them falling into my hands. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I didn't come up for air. I just drowned in the world she had created.

For these reasons and much more, Rowling has been a huge influence and inspiration for a mere literary mortal such as myself. So naturally, many of her words have plucked at my heartstrings and played games with my mind. But this particular quote of hers spoke loudly to me:

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live life so cautiously that you might as well not have lived with all - in which case, you fail by default."

Everyone and their mother has heard a quote or two about how failure is unavoidable and about how failures can be an opportunity to start anew. But none of these other quotes really computed in my head. I think the reason this quote has wormed its way into my mind is because all the other quotes just go along the lines of "failure is normal, pick yourself up off the ground and start again". But Rowling goes even farther to say that if failure is not happening in your life because you are doing everything in your power to avoid such a fate, you are failing. She makes failure seem almost... beautiful. And for someone like me, who is so scared of breaking through my comfort zone, who is so afraid of rejection, who trembles at the very thought of making myself look stupid because I decided to reach for something a little higher than I usually do... that gives me a tremendous hope.

So I guess what Rowling means to say is... failure to fail is failure.

 It's a beautiful paradox, don't you think?

~ Lacey :)

Quote of the Day: Ernest Hemingway

For today's quote I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Ernest Hemingway. He's a renowned author, and although unfortunately I can't tell you I've read any of his books, I can tell you that he comes highly recommended by my book savvy father. Hemingway is actually his favorite author, so my dad probably won't let me graduate high school without reading some of his work.

One of his little drops of wisdom rang particularly true for me:

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

The thing about this quote is that it is just so, so, so true. I love writing. In fact, it is above all the number one thing that I know I have some degree of talent in that I wouldn't mind doing for the rest of my life. But writing involves a certain self-sacrifice. It doesn't matter whether it's fiction or non-fiction or poetry or whatever. True writing is emptying the contents of your soul onto a blank page and then veiling that unadulterated emotion behind words so that you don't scar your readers with the pure intensity of what's in your heart. Love, pain, hate, anger, joy....they're all a part of the human experience, a part of each and every one of us. Writing conveys that. Writing connects the author and the reader and it lets them know they're not alone. Writing, by this rationale, might possibly the most personal and intimate form of communication that the world has to offer.

And also, I think it'd be really, really cool to have a typewriter.

Food for thought.

~ Lacey

A Night at the Cinema: Les Miserables

You've probably heard all the die-hard fans out there raving and exulting and informing everyone they know about this movie, but I figured it was time for some input from someone who had no prior knowledge about the movie whatsoever. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. On Christmas Day, my best friend and I hopped in the car and took off for the nearest movie theater just in time to catch the 3:30 showing of Les Miserables (keep in mind I am far too lazy to put the proper accents on the appropriate letters of the title).

In case you're like me and you entered the theater with no earthly idea as to what was happening, here's a quick backstory:


The movie contains many subplots, but the main thread is the story of ex-convict Jean Valjean, who becomes a force of good in the world after getting a second chance at life. But he cannot escape his dark past, which surfaces in the form of Javert, a member of the French police who is determined to carry out his lawful duty to arrest Valjean for skipping parole and something else (which is vital to the plot and would be a potential spoiler if I told you). The movie, adopted from the musical adaptation of the original novel, follows Valjean's journey to do good and all of the roadblocks along the way.

 

So my initial reaction to the first five minutes of the movie was: Oh no. Are they going to be singing the ENTIRE time?

It was in fact a pure musical, with intermittent moments where characters spoke, but most often they were singing. And I'm not one for musicals usually, but let me tell you... once you get past the initial shock that they're seriously not going to stop singing... it's absolutely fantastic. (WARNING: These songs WILL get superglued to your brain. You will NOT get them out of your head. It's been a little over a week and I'm still bursting out into song).

Here's a list of things that made the movie so fantastic:

• Just take one look at the star-studded cast. In my opinion, Hugh Jackman was PERFECT for Valjean. Russel Crowe made for an intimidating Javert. Anne Hathaway made me cry with her stunning, flawless performance as the heartbreaking Fantine (certainly Oscar-worthy). Did anyone else know she could sing so beautifully? Because I surely didn't. And then there's Amanda Seyfried, who while doing nothing particularly extraordinary is perfect as sweet and innocent adult Cosette. Of course, I couldn't forget Helena Bonham Carter, who actually made me laugh out loud a couple times as the devious and eccentric Madame Thenardier.

          Oh, and the eye candy award goes to the one and only Aaron Tveit.

 

 

'NUFF SAID :-D

• The storyline was just so beautiful. I love a good redemption story, and Jean Valjean has the perfect tale of doing something good and righteous with your second chance. I was completely enamored with the entire plot, which was beautifully displayed in musical form. Truly, truly breathtaking. I won't lie, I cried. The movie was so good, in fact, that the original novel form of Les Miserables written by Victor Hugo is now on my Must-Read list. However, it's 1,500 pages long, so it's definitely a summer project.

• The attention to historical detail was unparalleled. Throughout the entire movie I really felt as if I had been transported back to the time of the French Revolution, and not the glorified version that you come up with in your brain when you read about it in textbooks. You really see the destitution, the depravity, and the hopelessness that many people endured. Honestly, it was a culture shock.

 

I have few to no bad things to say about this movie, other than that Javert's obsession with arresting Valjean never made complete sense with me. This could be a viewer's error; I might have missed an important piece of dialogue or something just didn't translate perfectly for me. But other than this small thing, I truly thought the film was amazing. Go see it.

 

MPAA RATING: PG-13

MY PERSONAL SUGGESTED AGE: 14-15

MY PERSONAL RATING: 9.5/10 stars

 

Happy viewing!

 

~ Lacey :)