Life and Other Movies

My UW planner has weekly words and quotes, and the quotes are generally your usual cookie-cutter wisdom, but this was a quote from Katharine Hepburn a few weeks ago:
"Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don't do that by sitting around wondering about yourself."
So Hepburn's advice isn't all that profound, but it's brusque, and it hit a nerve with me because I've always been more drawn to the life of the mind, and I love wondering (and blogging) about myself. But I'm going to take Kate's advice, and try to live my life a little bit more.

And I hope that being a librarian will be an interesting and enjoyable way to support myself. Someone commented somewhere on Facebook that those who loved law school hate practicing law and vice versa. Maybe this bleeds over to library school, and I'll love being a librarian (because I do not care for this grad school thing). This quarter is rough mostly because I don't like any of my classes, and they all require a lot of work. Also, my part-time job splits my day right up the middle, so that's hard too. But enough bitching--I'm just looking forward to spring quarter.

I have managed to sneak in a few movies when I should be soaking up cataloging theory, but ... well, honestly, which would you prefer? I just saw The King's Speech today which is the leading contender for Best Picture. I think it's a really well-made, if traditional film, that is very Oscar friendly. I laughed, a lot, and I was touched. It is the definition of a feel-good film. We all applauded at the end. I am still rooting for The Social Network to take home the big prize though. (I also think Natalie's going to take home the Oscar for a well-deserved performance, but I'm actually rooting for The Bening.)

I also saw Blue Valentine which was quite good, in a very understated way. It's a travesty that Ryan Gosling wasn't even nominated for Best Actor because he's amazing. Maybe it just wasn't showy enough for the Academy. Anyway, if you're looking for a bruising love story, this is the film for you.

I also saw The Fighter which I thought was fine. It's also traditional Oscar fare--a boxing movie (based on a true story)--but it's done in an excellent way breathing in some fresh air. Amy Adams plays against type as a working class bartender who has let opportunities pass her by. Melissa Leo was excellent as Alice, the larger-than-life mother. Christian Bale does crazy things to his body. And almost no one is talking about Mark Wahlberg, but I think he gives the best performance of the film (and of his career). It's to O. Russell's credit that he gets such a diverse range of performances that somehow all work together.

Moving now to stuff on DVD. I saw the Joan River's documentary A Piece of Work. It's fascinating, funny, and real. It's an in-depth look at Joan Rivers, warts and all, and a revealing look at the business we call show.

The Town is really good heist movie, and who know Ben Affleck was still doing things? I didn't. Jeremy Renner is superb, playing a wild card with a short fuse. I also really like Rebecca Hall who I think is beautiful in a fresh sort of way and also quite good.

Animal Kingdom. Wow. I wasn't sure I was going to like this gritty, menacing film about an Australian crime family. But it's a mesmerizing film--you can't look away even when you want to, and it's very well-paced. Ben Mendelsohn is terrifying, and Jackie Weaver is superb, especially in the second half, as the sociopathic matriarch of the family.

The Ghostwriter was good little thriller from Roman Polanski that came out very early last year. Ewan McGregor is ghosting the British primer minister's memoirs and soon gets in over his head. Olivia Williams (Adelle DeWitt) steals the show.

Finally Winter's Bone is a faithful adaptation of Daniel Woodrell's slim novel about a tenacious teenager who must protect her family in the Ozarks. And now I'm going to watch the brilliant Tilda Swinton in the operatic I Am Love. I'll let you know how it is.

Good luck to everyone with school and life--and go see a movie!