100 Movies in 2009

1. Disaster Movie <*
2. The Wackness ***
3. Netherbeast, Incorporated *1/2
4. The Family That Preys **1/2
5. My Best Friend's Girl **
6. College *1/2
7. Lakeview Terrace ***
8. Secret Life of Bees ***
9. RENT: Live on Broadway ***1/2
10. Hello, Dolly! ****
11. Zack and Miri ***1/2
12. Madea Goes to Jail ***
13. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People ***
14. Choke ***1/2
15. Return to Sleepaway Camp *** (good in the WORST way)
16. Still Waiting <*
17. Sex Drive ***
18. What Just Happened *
19. Swing Vote ***
20. Minghags *
21. Words and Music **
22. Can't Hardly Wait **1/2
23. Role Models **
24. Milk ***1/2
25. Madea Goes to Jail **
26. Rachel Getting Married ***
27. I Love You, Man ***
28. Bolt *
29. Soldier's Girl ***1/2
30. The Fall ****
31. Doubt **
32. Yes, Man **1/2
33. Bedroom Stories ***
34. Changeling ***
35. The Gray Man **
36. Bride Wars *
37. Hotel for Dogs **1/2
38. Dear Me *1/2
39. Last Chance Harvey ****
40. Paul Blart: Mall Cop **
41. Vicky Cristina Barcelona *1/2
42. Divine Trash **1/2
43. Ghost Town **1/2
44. New in Town **
45. Revolutionary Road ***
46. The Spirit ***
47. Fanboys ***1/2
48. The Hangover ****
49. Chicago **1/2
50. Confessions of a Shopaholic *
51. Kentucky Fried Movie *1/2
52. Princess Protection Program **
53. Madagascar 2 **1/2
54. Away We Go ***1/2
55. Sabrina ***
56. The Great Buck Howard ***
57. Coraline ***1/2
58. Paris When it Sizzles ****
59. Bruno ***1/2
60. Spiderwick Chronicles **1/2
61. The Uninvited *
62. Funny People **
63. The Haunting in Connecticut **
64. 17 Again **1/2
65. Woodstock ***1/2
66. Alice's Restaurant **1/2
67. High Society ***1/2
68. Sunshine Cleaning **1/2
69. Adventureland ***
70. Taking Woodstock ***1/2
71. Inglorious Basterds ****
72. Welcome to the Dollhouse **
73. Dance Flick **
74. I Love You, Beth Cooper **1/2
75. Grey Gardens **1/2
76. Observe and Report *
77. Happy Endings **1/2
78. Zombieland ****
79. Harold *
80. Couple's Retreat **
81. Where the Wild Things Are ***1/2
82. Orphan ***
83. Space Chimps *1/2
84. Pirate Radio **1/2
85. A Fish Called Wanda **1/2
86. The Proposal **1/2
87. New Moon ***
88. Up ***1/2
89. The Family Stone **
90. Tommy ***1/2
91. Julie & Julia ***1/2
92. The Kids Are Alright ***
93. Night at the Museum 2 *1/2
94. 500 Days of Summer ***

100 Movies in 2008

Since 2008, I've decided to keep the lists of movies I've seen throughout the year. Instead of having them disappear in my blog on IJ, I thought I'd transfer them over here so I may see them. I like to reference them once in awhile, so there's no way I'm just completely deleting them. Any questions, comments, suggestions, go ahead and leave a post!

1.Smiley Face **1/2
2.Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ****
3.Homeless to Harvard ***
4.Good Luck Chuck **
5.Suburban Girl *1/2
6.Paris, Je t'aime *
7.Wedding Daze **1/2
8.Sydney White ***
9.The Gameplan **
10.Blazing Saddles *1/2 (though the ending was fucking brilliant)
11.This Filthy World ****
12.Adrift in Manhattan *1/2
13.The Comebacks *
14.Little Manhattan ***
15.King of California ***
16.Moving McAllister *1/2
17.Candy **1/2
18.High Anxiety *** (Madeline Kahn and Cloris Leachman are women masters in comedy)
19.Desperate Living ***
20.The Amateurs ****
21.The Ten ***1/2
22.Sarah Silverman-Jesus is Magic *
23.A Dirty Shame *1/2
24.After Sex **
25.No Reservations ***
26.Conversation(s) With Other Women **1/2
27.I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With * (amazing cast, but that's about it)
28.Pecker ***
29.Death at a Funeral **1/2
30.Martian Child ***1/2
31.The Darjeeling Limited ***
32.Torch Song Trilogy ***
33.Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium **
34.My Kid Could Paint That ***
35.Dan in Real Life **1/2
36.Bee Movie ***
37.Scoop ***
38.Meet Market *1/2
39.Wristcutters: A Love Story **1/2
40.Cecil B. Demented ***
41.Alvin & the Chipmunks ***
42.Empire Records ****
43.Walk Hard *** (this immediately got pushed up to 3 only because of their portayal of the Beatles, okay?)
44.Lars and the Real Girl ***1/2
45.Prom Night *1/2
46.Forgetting Sarah Marshall **1/2
47.Election ***
48.27 Dresses ***
49.The Jerk **
50.Baby Mama *1/2
51.I Really Hate My Job *
52.P.S. I Love You **1/2
53.Adam and Steve ***
54.Senior Skip Day **1/2
55.Angels in America ****
56.National Treasure 2:Book of Secrets ***1/2
57.First Sunday **1/2
58.Strange Wilderness *
59.Chronicles of Narnia ***
60.Be My Baby **
61.The Fortune Cookie ***
62.Meet The Spartans *** (I still love gay jokes, please don't hurt me!)
63.Onion Movie **
64.Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show **1/2
65.Bucket List ****
66.Me And You And Everyone We Know **
67.Be Kind, Rewind ***1/2
68.Semi-Pro *1/2
69.Blind Dating ***
70.Love & Other Disasters **1/2
71.Super High Me ***1/2
72.My Mom's New Boyfriend ***
73.Charlie Bartlett ****
74.Mad Money **
75.Definitely, Maybe ***1/2
76.Careless *
77.Partner(s) *1/2
78.Drillbit Taylor ***
79.Three Amigos ***
80.Vantage Point **1/2
81.You Don't Mess With the Zohan ***
82.The Saddest Music in the World ****
83.Tracey Fragments *
84.Mr. Mom **
85.Unaccompanied Minors **1/2
86.Stop-Loss ****
87.Dungeon Girl **1/2
88.Superhero Movie *1/2
89.Dick ***
90.Why Did I Get Married? ***1/2
91.Shutter **1/2
92.Penelope **1/2
93.Bill ***
94.Coffee & Cigarettes *
95.Whitecoats **1/2
96.Dreamgirls **1/2
97.21 ***
98.Mamma Mia! ***1/2
99.Chaos Theory **1/2
100.Airplane! ****
101.Meet The Browns ***
102.Wrong Guy ***
103.Dog Park **1/2
104.Never Back Down *1/2
105.Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay ***
106.Diary of a Mad Black Woman **1/2
107.Madea's Family Reunion ***1/2
108.Queen Sized ***
109.Nim's Island ***1/2
110.Miss Conception **1/2
111.Fool's Gold ***1/2
112.Smart People ***
113.Pineapple Express ****
114.Mama's Boy *1/2
115.American Mall **1/2
116.Get Real ***1/2
117.Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants **
118.An American Crime ***1/2
119.Camp Rock **
120.Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day ***1/2
121.What Happens in Vegas *
122.House Bunny **
123.Brain Candy **
124.Itty Bitty Titty Committee ****
125.Hamlet 2 ***1/2
126.Heckler **1/2
127.Tropic Thunder **1/2
128.Made of Honor **
129.Finding Amanda ***
130.Leatherheads ***
131.Romance & Cigarettes ***
132.Sex and the City ****
133.Another Cinderella Story *
134.Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist ****
135.An Affair to Remember ***
136.Kit Kittredge ***1/2
137.Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour **
138.All She Wants for Christmas **1/2
139.A New Wave **
140.Wall-E ***1/2
141.Hancock ***1/2
142.Four Christmases ***
143.Step Brothers *1/2
144.Wanted ***
145.In the Land of Women **1/2
146.The Dark Knight ** (Just not my kind of movie; really only watched it for the Joker.)
147.Horton Hears a Who **
148.Fierce People **1/2 (talk about seriously FUCKED UP)
149.Another Gay Sequel *** (I'm in love with Scott Thompson, all right?)
150.This Christmas ***
151.Burn After Reading *1/2
152.American Teen **

Ska Music

It's rare that I ever post my own writings for people to read, but I think I've gotten somewhat big-headed that I've become proud of my work. So here's a short I started writing quite a few months ago, and just finished :)

"She sat in the passenger seat, nodding her head silently along to the radio. The song that was playing didn’t interest her in the least, however she feared turning it off and facing the ever more awkward silence between her and the man sitting in the driver’s seat. This was the first time they had ever been alone; on top of that, they were stuck together in a tiny 4-door sedan on the highway. She found herself roped into a road trip with him to Alabama, where he currently resided. She didn’t think of the repercussions; it was the first time she ever acted on a whim. Boy was she paying for it now. After two years of texting back and forth night after night, their relationship seemed pretty solid. However, being face-to-face with him was proving the difficulty of reality after an almost-anonymous relationship. They hadn’t spoken in what felt like hours. The excitement of meeting in person after the two-year hiatus had worn off. Now, she faced the toughest challenge yet- the decision to retire listening to the radio and attempt meaningless conversation. Stiffly, she picked her arm up and moved her hand so her fingers pushed against the button on the radio and the music shut off immediately. She sat back in her seat, eyes shifting back and forth. Inconspicuously, she eyed the man (let’s give him a name…) Marcus and took in his physical attributions- his muscular arms, short brown hair, beautiful brown puppy-dog eyes hiding underneath his glasses resting on his small, pug nose, and the tiny bit of stubble on his chin, growing in after this morning’s shave. She also took in how he gripped the steering wheel with his left hand, his right resting on his thigh. He sat in a somewhat laid back, comfortable position despite the awkward tension in the car. His eyes never left the road, not even as she moved for the first time in what felt like hours. She cleared her throat, as she often did in quiet situations, and let out a loud exhale. She opted to stare out the window, but what was there to look at? Vast empty fields the stretched for miles and miles; is this what Alabama looked like? Great, she found something else to regret about this trip. Behind her, she heard the whir of the CD player, and whipped her head around to see Marcus inserting a CD with a smile on his face. She couldn’t understand how this didn’t feel just as awkward for him as it did for her; sure, he was MUCH more happy-go-lucky than her, but there had to be things that bothered him as well. The stifling silence in the far too small car must be making SOME impact on his mood. But oh, no. She scowled behind her blonde hair at him for his chipperness, wishing she could feel the same.
Then, it began. The CD he inserted began to play with a loud introduction of trumpets and trombones, leading into a sick guitar riff. The girl couldn’t contain the smile the stretched across her face; this band…this music always seemed to break her out of any funk she found herself falling into. She turned her head over to face the boy, who had an equally wide grin on his face, glancing away from the road for a moment to lock eyes with her. Marcus’ hand was beating on his knee to the song, and the girl couldn’t help but tap her feet along. Simultaneously, the boy and the girl found themselves joined in harmony, singing the lyrics along to the song as loudly and proudly as they could. In that instant, the girl forgot all about her anxiety she had built up in the car and allowed herself to let go, grinning ear-to-ear and losing herself in the music. It was the music, the Ska music; it always brought the boy and the girl closer together. In that instant, her eyes finding the boy’s once more in the tiny car, cruising 80 miles an hour down the highway, heading to and unfamiliar destination; having the music to always bind them, she knew that it was going to be all right."

Celebrity Playlist

Due to my boredom and obsession with music/playlists, I decided to make my own "celebrity playlist". Really, this does just prove how pathetic my life is haha

1) Dancing the Whole Way Home- Miss Li

I just loved her whole album, but this has become one of my more favorite songs. It's bouncy and bubbly, and really starts your day off nicely when you hear it :) She's not as widely known in the US, but she deserves a fair chance- her music is just awesome ♥

2) Pick Me Up- Sue and the Unicorn

This is my own little secret for the most part; I've been listening to it more and more lately, because I can actually for the first time identify with it haha. If someone knows where I can dl Sue & the Unicorn songs, please let me know :( I have to rely on watching the vid 854358 times a day, but I wanna be able to have it on repeat for hours on my iPod. It's just a cute and adorable song, and sometimes those are okay to have.

3) Telephone-Lady GaGa & Beyonce

Yeah...I know most of you know I'm not a GaGa fan..AT ALL, but the more I watch this vid, the more I've been digging the song. (I think I like the video a little more than I rightfully should...).

4) Romeo & Juliet- Dire Straits

Just another beautiful song with great lyrics by an awesome band. Hell yeah, I'm all about the adjectives haha. I'm not a fan of the whole Romeo & Juliet thing, but I can dig this song for some reason. Maybe cause it focuses on the love more than anything, and it's just so damn pretty.

5) White Rabbit- Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

The ONLY song I liked off of the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack, and the ONLY acceptable cover of such a fantastic song. and OMFG if she doesn't look like Busy Phillips- holy shit.

6) Cuddle Fuddle-Passion Pit

Of course, I have to give props to for turning me on to this song, cause this has become one of my favorites. I just love the lyrics and the style of music that goes with them...it just sounds good all over.

7) Video Phone- Beyonce & Lady GaGa

Again, NOT a GaGa fan, but I can't help but find myself hopelessly addicted to this song. I think I'm just desperate for dance music, and these seem to be what I fall upon haha.

8) Spit it Out-IAMX

Going through a weird IAMX phase lately, and just can't get enough, especially of this song. Even though his puppet-like features freak me out, doesn't change the fact he's an awesome songwriter/singer.

9) Tight Pants/Body Rolls- Leslie & the LYs

Obviously, I'll never get enough of this. Goddammit. I blame you .

10) Sour Cherry-The Kills

I wanna hate her, I really do...but the music and her voice just fucking kick ass. Plus I found out she was born/lived in Vero Beach...20 minutes away from where I live. How cool is that!?

11) Can't Stop Getting Wasted- RiD

Can't get enough of this song lately...it's weird. I never paid much attention to it before, now it's my newest RiD addiction haha♥

12) Don't Start a Band- Reel Big Fish

This follows my RBF obsession, cause I can't fucking stop listening to them if I tried haha. This has become my favorite of the moment, I think cause I dig the video AND just the power behind the song- it sounds so good. I love watching their videos, cause they're very animated and funny as all hell. I can't wait til I can see them live one day.

13) Upside Down- Paloma Faith

Cute song, cute video, cute Paloma, cute everythinggg. Her music is definitely a kind I never thought I'd be into, but really I dig her whole album. This one just sticks out more since the video only came out about a month ago. I haven't been able to stop listening to it since.

14) Talk Dirty to Me- Reel Big Fish

Never heard the original, but they're seriously masters of their craft. They kick ass with every song they cover; it's so good. This one's just fun to sing along to haha.

You'll always be number one to me.

Why does this relationship stuff seem so much easier for other people, but when it comes to you and me, it's like solving a fucking mathematical equation.

What's wrong with us? We're good people. We treat each other kindly, we don't intentionally hurt others... We've just been ignored so long by our peers of the opposite sex that we haven't a clue what we're doing. Suppose that's our faults though. We just didn't put out enough or go to the right parties or hang out with right kind of people. Who knows what it was. I'm tired of trying to figure that out.

Thinking about having him out of my life hurts me like no one would believe. When I thought that was a possibility...I basically shut down for a couple of days. I found no point into getting out of bed, in going out of the house, in talking to people...in anything.

I hate knowing he's hurting inside and I can't be there for him. I hate actually being happy when he isn't. It's almost like we aren't allowed to be happy simultaneously, which I can't understand, but I know it absolutely isn't FAIR.

It's weird calling him my best friend out loud. Because he isn't; he's so much more than that. People wouldn't understand if I called him my soulmate though. Most people are brainwashed to believe soulmates are for people in love. In our case, that isn't true. He's my other half; he IS me, in male form. Nobody will ever be able to change that. Sure, there will always be an unspoken thing, but that isn't stopping us from moving on with our lives. He's moved on, I'm working on moving on, but we're always there for each other no matter what goes down.

I'm lucky. The guy I dig seems to be cool about having a friend so close. I guess in all fairness, he doesn't know quite HOW close just yet.
HE didn't get lucky, though. He had to pick the rotten apple of the bunch, trying to destroy everything between us due to some jealousy thing that girls get (I'll never understand that). Sick as it is, I felt flattered that she considered me a threat. She needs to learn I will never, ever back down. I would put my life out on the line for him, and I know he'd do the same for me.

I get to see him again. First time in almost two years, we get to see each other face-to-face. I wanna be able to look at him, to gaze at him, knowing I'm the one who makes him smile and laugh and (hopefully) feel so happy inside. I'm hoping after all the years of trying to build him up, he'll finally see how worth it he is; how wonderful and funny and intelligent he is, and how lucky some girl would be to have him. He just needs to find the right one. I know how fortunate I am just to know him. We've barely been friends for 3 years, but I can't even think about what I would do without him in my life right now.

Don't read if you're pro-marriage, or any of that rubbish

What is it in our anatomy that gives us the primal urge to NEED another human being? Not always multiple partners, but we find one specific person to share the rest of our lives with (or for a select few, thats what we hope for).

I don't think the institution of marriage is dying. I think it's still a built up tradition that men and women follow by instinct.
But why? Why do we feel that love needs to be sealed into a binding contract? I mean, that's all it is isn't it? Sure, you have a nice ceremony in a church or on a beach, costing you ridiculous amounts of money, with family members you never bother keeping in contact with and creating a few lasting memories. You can do the same thing by going to a family reunion and you wouldn't lose that much money.
Sure, divorce rates are higher, but I also think that's due to the number of marriages still growing, not dwindling. There are women who are always going to confused love with marriage, or the other way around. I can get into a rant about how movies and TV commercial are to blame, but that's a whole other discussion by itself.
Sure, you can call me bitter. But figure this: I can't think of one experience anyone close to me has had/will have with this. My parents are divorced, I watched a couple of my friends rush into it like it was no big thing, secretly leading me to believe they just wanted their last names changed. My mother's best friend just went through a MESSY divorce after forcing a piece of shit to marry her. My grandparents are stuck in a loveless marriage, bitter and stubborn and yelling at each other every chance they get, and I even believe my own brother is being forced into it. I keep wanting to ask him- if she hadn't practically threatened you (you may see it as a way of love, I just see it as a threat and blackmail), then when or WOULD you have ever proposed?
I'm all for love. If that's your cup of tea, then go for it. What I can't stand is these women (a great deal my age) who are so frightened to be single that they search, constantly search for a partner. I don't think anyone wants to grow old and die alone, but what's wrong with enjoying part of your life being single? It's almost as if the '30's and '40's never happened, and while women have jobs equal to men and can vote, they're still being set back decades with this wife, baby, and homemaker shit.
Maybe because I've never had it, I don't understand the great illusion of love and all the "mysteries" (what ever the fuck those are) that come with it, but all I know is that I'm happy and I'm comfortable being single, and if I never meet anybody and fall into the cliche that I loathe so dearly, then that is just all right with me.

Favorite Albums of 2009

I know this is about a month late, but it really did take me this long to think about the subject. I'm not really much of an album person. It's rare that I will like every single song on an album. I have this year though, but with older albums (examples: Robots in Disguise- We're in the Music Biz, Elton John- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, CKY- Volume 1 & Infiltrate.Destroy.Rebuild, & Less Than Jake- Anthem). I'm also more of a fan of Soundtracks, I think due to my obsession with mixed tapes/CDs. However, as I said, after long consideration, I've realized that there are in fact, a few albums released in 2009 that struck my fancy. So here they are below:

Best Albums of 2009:



Miss Li- Dancing the Whole Way Home

I first heard the song "Bourgeois Shangri-la" on the iPod Nano Video commercial and the more I saw the commercial and heard the song, the more I wanted to find out who sang it and listen to more. I was glad I did, because all of her music has such an interesting sound to it; it's very bubbly and upbeat, though it seems the lyrics aren't always. She sings a lot about love, which is adorable, considering her voice. I find she seems to be underrated in the States; I haven't really met anyone else who has heard of her, so to me, that makes it all the more special when I listen to and enjoy her music.

Song to listen to/download: Bourgeois Shangri-La <---it's a good starting place to get a grasp of her music.




Vampire Weekend- Contra

I've recently become a fan and I have to say, I am blown away by their music. In the past I have heard of them, but now I'm kicking myself for not jumping on the bandwagon sooner. I find their music fascinating and just like their first album (which I just recently listened to), they have such a mixture of music, it's almost like a mixed tape. I also just read an incredibly interesting article on them in Rolling Stone, so go pick that up and check it out! It really gives insight into them as more than artists, so it literally upped my respect for them quite a bit.

Song to listen to/download Cousins <---Watch the video, too. It's pretty ace.

Best Soundtracks of 2009:



(500) Days of Summer

Okay, this was definitely not my favorite movie of 2009 (as much as I wanted it to be), but what made it worth even finishing was the soundtrack. It even helped me enjoy a Smiths song for the first time! (Smiths lovers, step away) It had such a random collection of music yet it somehow all fit together perfectly, and that made it remind me of my own mixes. I can definitely say not only because of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's cuteness, but this soundtrack actually makes the movie worth seeing, so check it out if you get a chance!

Song to listen to/Download Hero- Regina Spektor <---Beautiful, just beautiful.




Jennifer's Body

This movie wasn't NEARLY as bad as I thought it was going to be; really, I enjoyed it a lot. The music in it seemed to compliment every single scene: the morose students in school after the death of some of their classmates, the hard rock playing before something bad's going to happen. What is even better is that the music is very modern, so if you're looking for a good soundtrack with a mixture of indie, screamo, and hard rock that could very well pertain to your own life in high school, then go for this.

Song to listen to/download Teenagers- Hayley Williams.