Movie review: The Half of It

This one had intrigued me a bit and today I got around to watching it. It was decent/I liked it, but it wasn't spectacular. A particular scene at the end (the climax of the plot, I suppose) seemed a bit contrived.

The premise is that a high-school student ghostwrites love letters for a football player to a girl that they both like. The letter-ghostwriting intrigued me, though as a whole I think I prefer the movie "Her," even though the letter-ghostwriting has a smaller role in the plot there. 

I think I generally prefer movies that are either a bit more intense and/or profound in some way. Ones with a bit more depth somehow. This one was... relatively light, all things considered. Which is reasonable, it's just not necessarily my thing. 

I'm not generally too keen on movies set during high school/portraying high school students (or at least where the fact that they're in high school is a prominent aspect of the plot), so that also may have been a slight factor in my thoughts here. 

It could've been interesting if the movie developed the character of Ellie's father a bit more; I think there was a bit of a missed opportunity there. 

Oddly I don't have a ton more to say here. I think overall I'd say this movie was just a bit above mediocre, but I just wasn't particularly thrilled with it. Regardless, if the premise interests you, I think it's worth a watch.  

Movie review: An Education

Well, I finally watched this one! What a concept! It certainly has been quite some time since I initially wanted to watch it. It's back on Netflix this month and I've got loads of free time, so I figured why not. It has Peter Sarsgaard in it, which is why I decided to watch it. 

It takes place in the 1960s in Britain and is about a 16-year-old girl's love affair with an older man. In general, the movie wasn't bad, though I think it could've had a bit more depth to it -- as it stands, it seemed a bit superficial. It just didn't quite have the amount of substance that it theoretically could've had -- I was curious to know more specifically about the man's motivations for having the affair; the movie really left that unspecified. 

I actually don't really have a ton to say about it; it was... decent, though not particularly remarkable. Peter Sarsgaard seemed to be able to do a pretty passable British accent, though that's just from my American perspective. 

Watch this movie if you're for some reason interested in it, but don't expect a ton of depth. I suppose that's okay though; not every movie will necessarily be particularly deep or thought-provoking or that sort of thing. I guess I just sort of like my movies with a bit more of an edge to them, and/or a bit more substance to them. This one didn't quite hit the mark on that front. Maybe that was the point though; maybe we're meant to come away from it thinking the relationship portrayed in the movie was ultimately/inherently superficial... 

Postsecret review 21

For the month of August...

"The boy I love told me that he murdered someone. It doesn't bother me at all." (there's an illustration of some sort of Aztec human sacrifice ritual or something, cut and pasted)

Oh, how fascinating to think about! I really wonder more about the context of this one -- who got murdered, what the circumstances and motivation for it was, all that... I wonder how I might react if I met someone and then eventually they told me that they'd murdered someone... 

"If you betray me again, I will tell your family, your friends, your boss, and the IRS EVERYTHING."

Sounds like something out of a show like Ozark (which I never finished watching...) or that sort of thing. The intrigue and money laundering and all that!

"Fuck that! I'm not paying my ambulance fees!" (over the outside of an envelope which appears to be a medical/ambulance bill; postage is from Canada and the envelope says "The Scarborough Hospital")

Well, this is sort of a clever/unique way of avoiding paying ambulance fees. I wonder if it worked?

"I lost my respect for the U.S.M.C. when they tried to coax my fiance to re-enlist through BRIBERY, BLACKMAIL, & THREATS." 

This one is unique; I wonder if this is a common practice? And I wonder what exactly the bribery, blackmail and threats entailed. And I guess it sort of relates to my wonders about what motivates people to join the military in general, in the first place. 

Postsecret review 20

Another one, finally. Here goes.

"Sometimes I think about all of the money I'd have if my parents died." Materialistic much?

[over a postcard photo that says "Philadelphia]
"We grew up together. He's a cop now. He told about how he let a woman suffer an overdose without stepping in to help her. 'That's not a life worth saving,' he said. Even his mom was horrified. He wasn't always like this."
In light of recent events, I assume. I think the narrative of this secret is interesting.

[over a photo of an average-sized woman who is nude] "I think my dad loves me less because I'm getting fatter"
In general, I'd say this is a shallow thing to love a family member less for. There are at least some legitimate reasons to love one's family members less for, but this... doesn't quite seem like one of them. Though I suppose it depends on how fatter exactly the person is getting -- up into the My 600-lb Life territory, it seems a bit more understandable...

"None of my skills are worth anything
I'll work until I die"
It makes me wonder what this person's skills are that apparently aren't worth anything. And/or if they have ever tried or wanted to learn new skills that would be worth something if their current ones aren't.

[in lovely cursive handwriting over a photo of a woman wearing a dress with duct tape over her chest and hands covering her face/mouth]
"I think I fell in love with you... because you were always so gentle when you took the duct tape off. Thank you. for everything."
I think this secret is really interesting partly because of the handwriting, but the content of the secret as well. It's so idiosyncratic. And sort of sweet in a way. I do wonder about the duct tape though -- I assume some sort of BDSM thing? Or is there some other/different context?

"Hallmark is like CRACK for me." I can relate to this one, sort of. At least when I find cards that suit my preferences. All those overly-sappy cards can get lost.

"I still blame you for letting my cat out the day she was killed." Without more context, I suppose I can understand still blaming/resenting someone for this. 

"I recognized your handwriting on a Sunday secret and wanted to say... it'll all be OK. I swear."
This sort of thing is interesting to me; I wonder about how many people out there have read a secret and definitively recognized the handwriting and/or were able to realize the secret was about them based on details/content of the secret and/or the postcard design (some include photos, that sort of thing). I don't think I'd necessarily be able to recognize a secret just based on the handwriting; I'm familiar with the handwriting of some of the people I know, but it's very possible that other people out there have similar handwriting. I can't recall if I've ever noticed handwriting on a secret that looked particularly similar to handwriting I know. If the handwriting and content of a secret both seemed to fit (and if a postmark were visible, if that fit as well) a person I knew, then I could be at least sort of sure, but perhaps still not completely.

Postsecret review 19

And another one.
The current week's secrets are Mother's Day themed.
I don't quite feel like getting to reviewing them right now, but maybe I will later in the week.

Last week's secrets (belated!)
"My biggest fear of becoming a lawyer is becoming a REPUBLICAN"
This is an interesting thought; it complements the subsequent secret about the public radio employee's political beliefs.

"I've been out of the closet for years, but I have to keep my boyfriend a secret because he's a BYU student." (secret is in the Postsecret logo font and BYU is shown on a hoodie, sort of like a collage)
Secrets regarding Mormonism are always interesting.

"I'll be graduating from college soon... without having even been kissed. I feel inhuman."
This is sort of a superficial thing to obsess over and feel inhuman about, in the grand scheme of things. It's not really that big of a deal. Or at least it shouldn't be.

"Sometimes when you came over to our house we pretended we weren't home. Now you are gone and I miss you."
I thought this was an interesting and somewhat unique secret; it makes me wonder what the relationship was between the secret writer and the person the secret is about.

"My public radio job tells me not to admit I'm a dedicated LIBERAL"
I wonder which station the secret writer works for.

"My WEIGHT LOSS secret is Heroin!" (with cartoon faces and speech bubbles drawn around. The speech bubbles say "you look so good!" "God, you're sexy," "Wow! How much weight have you lost?" "What's your secret?")
This is an interesting one. As you know, the concept of drug addiction is sort of morbidly fascinating to me. I wonder how many people have resorted to heroin specifically for the purpose of trying to lose weight.

"I hope I die before I have to worry about retirement"
Morbid, but somewhat understandable, in a way. Live fast, die young, leave a beautiful corpse...

Postsecret review 18

I eat dinner on salad plates now too.

Just a couple secrets from this week seemed interesting enough to comment on. I thought that all the others were boring/mundane.

1) (over a background of an old-fashioned looking map, in black ballpoint ink, all caps handwriting) "In the past 15 years, I have lived and worked all over the world. Everyone thinks my life is glamorous... but the truth is that every time I plan another move, I pray that someone will love me enough to ask me not to go."

I liked the rawness and honesty of this one, and I think it touches on a sense of loneliness that feels fitting right now.

2) "I consider myself
A war criminal
For having served here" (typed text over a postcard-esque image depicting an eagle, American flag, the words "Freedom is not free," "Operation Enduring Freedom" and "Afghanistan.")
This one is interesting to me because sentiments like this about the military are fascinating to me. People who regret having been in the military, that sort of thing. The experience of being in the military is a completely foreign concept to me personally, so I wonder about it.

Postsecret review: coma

Just one secret for now, but I thought it was particularly interesting.

"The brain damage was so bad, I had the option of letting you die. Months later, when they said you'd never again be the person I loved, part of me wished I'd said 'Yes.'"

The concept of being in a coma fascinates me and I wonder what it would be like to be in a coma. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to go out of my way to try and be in a coma so I can find out, but I am curious. If I were to be in a coma, I'd hope that it didn't turn me into a vegetable and that I would eventually be able to return to how I was prior to the coma.

This secret makes me wonder how I might react if I were placed in a situation like the person who wrote the secret. Would I choose to let my significant other die, or would I have them continue living, but with severe brain damage? A very interesting rhetorical question.