One night, two movies and a lot of thought

Some people eat comfort food to feel better (chocolate, ice cream, etc.)... Me? I watch romantic movies. It (almost) never fails.

The movies of tonight were "TiMER" and "The Answer Man", both provided by the awesome Netflix stream service through my Wii. Both were classified by Netflix as Indie Romantic, which was a good sign to me.

TiMER

I must confess the reason why I select this movie was because it has Emma Caulfield as leading actress, and seen her reminded me of Buffy. The movie itself was just ok, but the intriguing part was the premise of the movie: how would your life change if you had a device (timer) that could tell you exactly when you would meet your soulmate?

Now the fine print: your timer only start working when your soul mate get his/her own timer (which is something like a chip in your wrist). Then it will tell you exactly how many days, hours, minutes are left until the day when you will meet your soulmate, when both your timers will then beep to show that you found each other. Neat, uh?

Not really, because as you can image, knowing isn't always a good thing. What if it tells that you will have to wait a few decades until you find your other half? What if you already are in a relationship, both of you get your timers and find out you are not made for each other?

Not knowing is just as bad, as you have to wait until your yet-to-be-found other half get his/her own timer, so anyone that already has a device is out of question.

As you can see, this simple premise adds a lot of conflict (and conflict is always in the core of a good story). This made me think about what I would choose if this device did exist. As much as I like to think that I would be brave enough to not have a device like this, I know myself to well to acknowledge that the finding-your-soulmate-thing has always been a big deal for me. And as much as the "comfort" of knowing when you will meet your soulmate is tempting, it would be pretty scary to live your life with absolute confidence that this very interesting girl you just met is definitely not your soulmate. It would be kinda depressing, to tell you the truth.

What do you think? Would you implant such device or not? Why?


"The Answer Man"

This movie got me for two reasons. Number 1: Jeff Daniels (he is a nice guy and I usually like his movies). Number 2 (and main reason): Lauren Graham. I absolutely love her since Gilmore Girls and still totally fall for her in Parenthood. I really don't know why, but she has that effect on me that wants to be with her, take care of her, laugh with her... weird, but pure gut feeling. Who knows?

Now, going back to the movie, it is a really good film. It tells the story of three different people that are trying to find their way in life through their many fears: the self-help all-time-bestseller-author-with-a-screwed-up-life (Jeff Daniels), the single mom (Lauren Graham) starting a new life while trying to take care of her little boy and the recovering alcoholic (Lou Taylor Pucci) who is trying to restart his life while having to deal with an alcoholic father at home and a bookstore about to close.

Tying it all together is Jeff Daniels' character, the bestseller author who in theory gets answers straight from God, but can't deal with his own life which results in a very frustrated life (and some of the best comic relief moments in the movie).

Great movie, with some very interesting points in the script and a very good cast. It is definitely worth the time to seat through and watch it.

Now, if you had a direct line to the almighty, what would you ask?

That's it for today. :)

Top 5 Filmes de Natal

Ok, eu sei que essa lista está um "pouco" atrasada, mas por que não manter o espírito natalino o ano inteiro? :)

- Milagre na Rua 34 (Miracle on 34th Street): tanto a versão antiga quanto a versão nova são capazes de aquecer o mais frio dos corações e despertar o espírito natalino.

- Um Homem de Família (The Family Man): a primeira vez que vi esse filme foi no dia de Natal, assim que ele foi lançado. Filme para ter em casa, ver, se emocionar e refletir sobre sua própria vida e escolhas.

- A Felicidade Não Se Compra (It's a Wonderful Life): da época em que ainda se faziam filmes sobre valores, sobre caráter, sobre fazer o que é certo mesmo que seja o mais difícil. Para ver, refletir e discutir. Será eternamente um clássico.

- Os Fantasmas Contra-Atacam (Scrooged): excelente e muito bem-humorada adaptação do clássico-dos-clássicos natalinos, "Um Conto de Natal" de Charles Dickens. O papel principal cabe ao sempre-ótimo Bill Murray.

- Esqueceram de Mim (Home Alone): esse dispensa comentários, pois marcou a infância de praticamente todo mundo que nasceu entre o final da década de 70 e início da década de 80.

Top 5 Fictional Speeches

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - the Remember Cedric Diggory speech, because I believe that although it's about a fictional evil on a fictional story, its message is deep, thoughtful and can be applied to general life. These are my two fave parts:

"I say to you all, once again -- in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided."

"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory"

Remember the Titans - a speech about race, about respect, about overcoming differences to achieve something greater as a group.

"This is where they fought the battle of Gettysburg. Fifty thousand men died right here on this field, fighting the same fight that we are still fighting among ourselves today. This green field right here, painted red, bubblin' with the blood of young boys. Smoke and hot lead pouring right through their bodies. Listen to their souls, men.

'I killed my brother with malice in my heart.'
'Hatred destroyed my family'.

You listen, and you take a lesson from the dead. If we don't come together right now on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed, just like they were. I don't care if you like each other of not, but you will respect each other. And maybe... I don't know, maybe we'll... learn to play this game like men.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 7 - Last Episode: "Chosen") - Buffy's last speech is amazing, but to really really get it you must watch all previous episodes, suffer, laugh, cry, get excited with them and then watch the final episode to hear this speech.

"I hate this. I hate being here. I hate that you have to be here. I hate that there’s evil and that I was chosen to fight it. I wish a whole lot of the time that I hadn’t been. I know a lot of you wish I hadn’t been, either. But this isn’t about wishes. This is about choices. I believe we can beat this evil.

Not when it comes. Not when its army is ready. Now. Tomorrow morning I’m opening the Seal. I’m going down into the Hellmouth and I’m finishing this once and for all.

Right now you’re asking yourselves what makes this different. 'What makes us anything more than a bunch of girls being picked off one by one?' It’s true, none of you have the power that Faith and I do. So here’s the part where you make a choice.

(cut to a lot of thing, until we get back to the speech on a flashback)

So here’s the part where you make a choice. What if you could have that power… now? In every generation one Slayer is born because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men.

(She points at Willow, who smiles nervously.)

This woman is more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power should be our power.

Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny.

From now on, every girl in the world who might be a Slayer, will be a Slayer.

Every girl who could have the power, will have the power.

Can stand up, will stand up.

Slayers… every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?"

Scent of a Woman - the full movie is a gem, but if you want to get just a piece of this amazing movie, watch Al Pacino's final speech about integrity, about doing what is right and not what is easy (same as the HP speech above said). This is just a part of that speech, but it can give you an idea of what I'm talking about (for the full speech, with audio/video, click here):

"As I came in here, I heard those words, 'cradle of leadership'. Well, when the bow breaks, the cradle will fall. And it has fallen here; it has fallen. Makers of men; creators of leaders; be careful what kind of leaders you're producin' here. I don't know if Charlie's silence here today is right or wrong.

I'm not a judge or jury. But I can tell you this: he won't sell anybody out to buy his future!! And that, my friends, is called integrity! That's called courage! Now that's the stuff leaders should be made of. Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew. But I never took it. You know why? It was too damn hard. Now here's Charlie. He's come to the crossroads. He has chosen a path. It's the right path. It's a path made of principle -- that leads to character. Let him continue on his journey.

You hold this boy's future in your hands, committee. It's a valuable future. Believe me. Don't destroy it! Protect it. Embrace it. It's gonna make ya proud one day -- I promise you."

Meet Joe Black - to finish in great style, this is a speech from one of my favorite movies (and this movie has tons of them). It's all about love, about really living your life instead of just watching it passing by. Here it goes:

"Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. If you don't start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. And how do you find him? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I'm not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you'll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven't lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived."

(I couldn't resist adding just another one from this movie)

William Parrish: Trust, responsibility, taking the weight for your choices and feelings, and spending the rest of your life living up to them. And above all, not hurting the object of your love.
Joe Black: So that's what love is according to William Parrish?
William Parrish: Multiply it by infinity, and take it to the depth of forever, and you will still have barely a glimpse of what I'm talking about.

Top 5 relacionamentos "desafiadores"

Buffy-Angel (Buffy, The Vampire Slayer) - além dela ser uma caça-vampiros e ele ser um vampiro, o fato de que ele não pode ter o tal "momento de felicidade verdadeira" (aka sexo-com-a-Buffy) sem tornar-se um chupa-sangue sádico não ajuda em nada.

Chuck-Ned (Pushing Daisies) - imagine não poder sequer encostar no amor da sua vida, pois se você fizer isso ela bate as botas na hora. Não seria muito bacana, não é?

Bella-Edward (Twilight / Crepúsculo) - além de, com um deslize, poder quebrá-la em pedaços por conta de sua superforça, Edward (e sua família vampiresca) ainda são muito mais "sensíveis" à exposição ao sangue do que nosso colega Angel do casal acima (o que é agravado pelo fato de Bella ter uma facilidade inigualável para se machucar). Esse é mais um exemplo de relacionamento de alto risco.

Susan Parrish-Joe Black (Meet Joe Black / Encontro Marcado) - namorar com a Morte é um negócio arriscado, porque o mínimo que pode ocorrer é a Morte apaixonar-se por você e querer te levar para o lado de lá.

Julieta-Romeu (Romeo and Juliet / Romeu e Julieta) - simplesmente porque sem esses dois provavelmente nenhum outro casal dessa lista teria existido.

Top 5 filmes com "twist"

Não dá para entrar em muitos detalhes com essa lista por risco de estragar o filme, mas se você já assistiu algum filme da lista, então sabe do que estou falando.


Os Suspeitos (The Usual Suspects) - de quebra ainda leva uma atuação soberba do Kevin Spacey, no filme que alavancou sua carreira

Vidas em Jogo (The Game) - não vou dizer nada sobre esse, assista e depois venha aqui comentar se gostou ou não (e aposto que você vai gostar)

As Duas Faces de um Crime (Primal Fear) - primeiro filme em que notei o Edward Norton, que desde cedo adorava personagens atormentados

O Sexto Sentido (The Sixth Sense) - até conheço gente que sacou o twist do filme antes que ele ocorresse, mas eu mesmo nem cogitei essa hipótese

Um Sonho de Liberdade (The Shawshank Redemption) - uma surpresa ainda maior desse aqui é ele ser baseado em uma história do Stephen King :)


Tem algum filme com "twist" que deveria estar nessa lista mas não está? É só comentar (e agradeço desde já, porque com certeza vou querer assistir se ainda não tiver visto... rs).

Top 5 personagens cantando

Jack Black cantando "Let's Get It On" (High Fidelity)

Tom Cruise cantando "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" (Top Gun)

Julia Roberts cantando "Kiss" na banheira (Pretty Woman)

Rupert Everett começando o coral "I Say a Little Prayer" (My Best Friend's Wedding)

Heath Ledger cantando "Can´t Take My Eyes Of You" (10 Things I Hate About You)

Top 5 músicos atores

Sebastian Bach em "Gilmore Girls"

Mick Jagger em "Freejack"

David Bowie em "Labyrinth"

Sting em "Dune"

Steve Vai em "Crossroads"

Top 5 High Fidelity quotes

"What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns or watching violent videos afraid that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands, of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery, and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?" (from the movie)

"One moment they weren't there, not in any form that interested us, anyway, and the next you couldn't miss them; they were everywhere, all over the place." (from the book, talking about girls)

"Sometimes I got so bored of trying to touch her breasts that I would try to touch her between her legs, a gesture that had a sort of self-parodying wit about it: it was like trying to borrow a fiver, getting turned down, and asking to borrow fifty quid instead." (from the book)

"'Have you got any soul?' a woman asks the next afternoon. That depends, I feel like saying; some days yes, some days no. A few days ago I was right out; now I've got loads, too much, more than I can handle. I wish I could spread it a bit more evenly, I want to tell her, get a better balance, but I can't seem to get it sorted. I can see she wouldn't be interested in my internal stock control problems though, so I simply point to where I keep the soul I have, right by the exit, just next to the blues." (from the book)

"I really dig how she walks around. It's like she doesn't care how she looks or what she projects and it's not that she doesn't care it's just, she's not affected I guess, and that gives her grace. And five; she does this thing in bed when she can't get to sleep, she kinda half moans and then rubs her feet together an equal number of times... it just kills me. Believe me, I mean, I could do a top five things about her that drive me crazy but it's just your garden variety women you know, schizo stuff and that's the kind of thing that got me here." (from the book, talking about Laura)

Top 5 filmes para se acabar de tanto chorar

• Doce Novembro (Sweet November)


• Cidade dos Anjos (City of Angels)


• Quando Um Homem Ama Uma Mulher (When a Man Loves a Woman)


• Outono em Nova York (Autumn in New York)


• Uma Carta de Amor (Message in a Bottle)

Top 5 Empregos que ninguém quer

Promotor público de Gotham City (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight)

Professor de Defesa Contra Arte das Trevas em Hogwarts (Harry Potter)

Diretor do Sunnydale High (Buffy a Caça Vampiros)

Agente de Comunicações da UCT (24 Horas)

Bond Girls (007)