The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

Ben Stiller directs and stars in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, James Thurber’s classic story of a day-dreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined. source

With a movie like this, it is guaranteed to warm your heart.

My friends aggressively convinced me to watch this movie for weeks on end, but I never really had the time. I mean, I had time, but it was the wrong time. I know this is a great film, I trust my friends’ judgment. But I didn’t feel like it. You know, those times when you just don’t feel like watching a good movie, or reading a good book? You just want to lie in your bed, thinking about nothing at all.

Anyway, I know it might be rude not to say anything about the film, because well, this is similar to a movie review, and it has to state some of the facts or some synopsis. But ya’ll can always go to IMDB or rotten tomatoes for the plot/summary. What I want to convey, through this post, is my feelings, because, come on, what better kind of persuasion there is than your feelings? I mean really? No really. I’m kidding. Sorry technical geeks.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty accurately portrayed that we are all made of flaws, and we all have imperfections, that sometimes we wish we were someone else, that we wish we were some place else doing something more interesting than what we usually do. Things don’t go our way, and we have to accept that. We fall on our backs sometimes, even on our fronts, if that even makes sense. Walter isn’t an interesting guy, believe me. He works in a normal job, with a life that screams, “Boring!” He likes a girl in the office and imagines himself the knight in shining armor in a couple of times in his daydreaming time. It’s not just about a person looking for a photo, (spoilers) it’s about how he triumphs all the obstacles he was faced with. It’s more than just retrieving a lost photo that he was assigned for, it’s about the mundane experiences that we fail to recognize, which are, by the way, of the littlest importance, but rather makes a difference in our lives.

Life is short. And oftentimes we forget to stop and just, feel the moment. Be the moment. It’s amazing how life takes us to this extraordinary journey, how we are all connected, how we are all gazing at the same moon at night. Times may come in our lives when we feel like everything is meant in its place, and we’re safe nestled in our little nests. But one day, we will feel like we’re slowly dying. Merely being alive is not living.

I know a movie might not affect our way of living, maybe not as much as experiencing life itself, but somehow, through this very minimalistic and amazingly crafted movie, it’s better to live life when you’re watching someone else’s, I think.

*I know you might cringe at the sight of feel-good, heart-warming, and all those hyphenated movies in the universe. But believe me, this is one of the most beautiful movies of the decade. You just have to look closer.

Advertisements

About Time (2013)

In Cornwall, Time Lake lives a pleasant life with his family, but he is awkward with the girls and unlucky in love. At the age of twenty one, his father discloses a family secret to him, telling that the men in his family have the ability to travel in time. The skeptic Tim finds that his father is telling the truth and when he moves to London to work as a lawyer, he falls in love with Mary and seduces her fixing his mistakes in the relationship. During his life, Time uses his gift to fix not only his errors, but also in the lives of his relatives and friends. source

 

 

 

 

I tried putting as little information and pictures as possible for you guys not to be spoiled or anything. It was hard. Dammit. I was so eager to put every detail of the movie into the post. But my head won. Eventually. It’s amazing how a movie can inspire you so much in different ways, this movie is definitely about time. Hence, the title. Bill Weasley and Regina George look so great together, you’d want them to end up together in real life. But of course, Fleur will be very angry. How come Rachel McAdams does this rom-com movie so beautifully? It’s like she’s meant to be the rom-com queen or something. And Domhnall, oh, I can’t even pronounce his name, but he is so amazing. It’s amazing how he acts in such a funny manner, but is very sincere and romantic at the same time.  These two people really know how to make a funny-romantic movie and not overdo it. Do you get what I mean? It has the humor, the sarcasm and saying things at the right time and at the right place. And the family connection is just wonderful. You’d think any family is as normal as theirs. But the director shows us an entirely different way to change our perspective about love, life and time. Good God, after watching this movie for the 5th time in a week, I want to watch it again and again and cry and sob beautifully, if i can. I’ve used far too many adjectives in this post, I’m afraid. But I don’t regret it, because this movie is worth all the adjectives and adverbs and applause in the world, even though some people think it’s cliche or lacks thoughtfulness or some crap. (I’m looking at you rotten tomatoes.) Okay, so seriously, I love this movie. Ya’ll should watch it.

Human Noise

“I could hear my heart beating. I could hear everyone’s heart. I could hear the human noise we sat there making, not one of us moving, not even when the room went dark. And I think that’s what writing is, it’s listening for that beating heart.” – Stuck In Love (2012)

The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)

When Henry DeTamble meets Clare Abshire in a Chicago library they both understand that he is a time traveller, but she she knows much more than this about him as he has not yet been to the times and places where they have met before. He falls in love with her, as she has already with him, but his continuing unavoidable absences time travelling – and then returning with increasing knowledge of their future – makes things ever more difficult for Clare.  source

Imagine yourself vanishing not knowing when or where you’ll be, that really sucks. And it’s kind of difficult to concentrate on a movie with two very attractive people on it — Regina George and Hector of Troy. But they do it both so well. This movie I could describe it with two words — sweet and raw. And I don’t know why. There’s this cerain rawness in their chemistry that just makes it so real. Although time traveling may not be, but still. Clare and Henry’s lives are just plain unpredictable. Despite all the problems, they still find themselves crazy for each other in the end. And I really love that. I guess that’s what love is all about, not the knight in shining armor saving the damsel in distress, but lost soul mates, who were just sitting in the corners, waiting for fate to happen. And it did.

PS: This is my favorite song from the movie.

Everything Must Go (2010)

After Nick is fired from his sales job, mostly because of his penchant for alcohol, he comes home and finds that his wife has kicked him and all of his stuff out of the house and onto the front lawn. He is pretty intent on just sitting in his chair, drinking beer, on the lawn. His cop friend, Frank Garcia, thinks he should at least pretend to have a yard sale to make it legal. He slowly starts making friends with a neighborhood kid who needs something to do, and a pregnant wife who has just moved in across the street, and Nick finds himself moving on and selling all his stuff. source

A Will Ferrell movie will never disappoint me. And indeed I proved that again. And it ain’t a comedy movie, folks. Skeptical as I seemed to be, the movie started monotonous with Nick (Will Ferrell) getting fired from his job, and his wife leaving him and his things literally out of their house. I have never seen Will Ferrell in a movie so serious, so full of doubt and yet, delivers  well. He lives his life one day at a time, and with a friend, sells his “useless” things. Personally, this movie is underrated. It shows a lot about reality and dealing with it. How he moves on with his life isn’t easy, with no money left and no shelter to sleep in, barely eats and yet he manages to finish everything just as we would’ve done ( I think so). It’s a serious movie, so don’t be expecting some Will Ferrell jokes and screaming all the time. But this one definitely proved that Will Ferrell can act, without his funny bone.

The Family Stone (2005)

The Stones gather for Christmas. Dad’s a professor in a Connecticut town; mom has a secret; there’s a gay, deaf son and his lover; a pregnant daughter and her child; a daughter who’s judgmental and acerbic, like her mother; and a laid-back observant brother. Everett is the eldest, bringing his fiancée Meredith to meet the family and, probably, to ask for grandma’s ring to give her. She’s self centered, uptight, and talks too much. Instantly, almost all give her a hard time. She calls her sister to come and help. Meredith, her sister, the Stones, and the family stone conflate. What does Everett see in Meredith, and doesn’t she deserve someone to love her for who she is? source

To be honest here, I admit, I thought this story was going to be cliche, or boring. Yet it totally did the opposite to me. This was no ordinary movie. As I’ve mentioned in my other movie reviews before, I had cried a lot. But this movie, this movie just can’t make me stop crying. From half until the end, I was sobbing like a little baby. I was more freaked out when I saw my face in the mirror looking like a nocturnal bee. It was a mess. But still, the movie is definitely going on my favorites. Basing from the synopsis above, the girlfriend is trying to keep up with the whole Stone family, doing her best to make them like her. But then, endless twists and fate playing its tricks, things got complicated. Personally, I think the girlfriend introduction was just a part of the movie, I believe the whole thing was about family. Families always have issues, problems, may it be individual or as a whole, but then in the end, they’re always there for you. They may not show it the way you wanted them to, or demonstrate the kind of care you so aspire them to give. That gave me such a big lesson in my life, you see, I’m not the demonstrative type of person, and I’m still working on expressing how I truly appreciate my family, in simple ways. The last picture there, was the most painful. It may look calm, but that was the most emotionally captivating part. That was also the part when I  cried the hardest. People always come and go into our lives. Sometimes they leave  footprints, sometimes they just quickly fade away. But what’s important in living our lives is the people who are always there for us, even at our worst.

Love and Other Impossible Pursuits aka The Other Woman (2011)

Natalie Portman lights up the screen in this frank, funny, and heart-wrenching adaptation of bestselling author Ayelet Waldman’s novel about life, loss, and family. Emilia (Portman) is a Harvard law school graduate and a newlywed, having just married Jack (Scott Cohen), a high-powered New York lawyer, who was her boss – and married – when she began working at his law firm. Unfortunately, her life takes an unexpected turn when Jack and Emilia lose their newborn daughter. Emilia struggles through her grief to connect with her new stepson William (Charlie Tahan), while also trying to overcome a long-standing rift in her relationship with her father caused by his own infidelity. But perhaps the most difficult obstacle of all for Emilia is trying to cope with the constant interferences of her husband’s angry, jealous ex-wife, Carolyn (Lisa Kudrow). Ultimately, Emilia’s and Charlie’s playful and sometimes tender exchanges help Emilia to open her heart. Can Emilia rediscover her own capacity for love in time to salvage her failing marriage, mend fences with her parents and build a family from the wreckage? Directed by Don Roos from his own screenplay, this tearful, terrific tale proves that even with a pursuit like love, nothing is impossible…  source

Oh, I know what you’re thinking. It definitely has a familiar “ring” to it, right? That’s probably one of the things that inclined me to watch the movie. But then again, it was far different from the one similar. Natalie Portman crying in a movie is like watching a morning drizzle. It’s beautiful, yet it’s heart-breaking. I didn’t even expect to even watch the movie but then I was so bored and had nothing to do, so I just stayed and watched. And because the title was interesting. Although, I had no knowledge if what the movie was about, “Love and Other Impossible Pursuits” in my opinion, is a movie about different people dealing with life, family, grief and acceptance. It was well-played by the actors, even though some said the plot lacked “meat”. Personally, from what the movie showed me, I learned three things. One is, you can’t expect things to go your way because that’s reality. And two, whatever happens, no matter how good or bad it is, there’s always a purpose to it. And three, you’re not alone in this life. And eventually, things will go your way.