Just saw The Village last night... Actually ever since the very, very first trailer I made the decision that I would NOT watch this film. Then I made a pact with Richard that when we do watch this film, we will sit near the back, in aisle seats, so if I need to leave the movie (say during a certain scene) then I could without bothering the entire theater.
He tricked me. We went to go see it at the Bridge in one of those auditoriums where the entrance is in the front, not the back, so there are really no convenient seats to leave the theater unless you want to sit in the 2nd row.
Well first of all, if you haven't seen the movie, I suggest you stop reading after this paragraph and do not read or listen to any reviews or critiques about the movie. Just go in without any expectations and you will enjoy it much better. (Even you Ai- if I can sit through the entire movie, you can too)
I think it's a shame that M. Night Shyamalan put his name all over this movie. Most people went in expecting another Sixth Sense and waited for the plot twist. Also, the trailer yields the expectation that this will be the scariest movie of the summer. Well, it is neither. To give Shyamalan credit, there were definitely eerie scenes (even the opening credits in the beginning) that gave me shudders: well this guy is a genius with building suspense through the soundtrack! Luckily for me, most of these scenes were short enough that I didn't have the urge to leave the auditorium. Also, I thought the acting was amazing, especially Adrien Brody and the girl who played Ivy.
In terms of the storyline or plot, again I don't want to give away too much, I guess you can only appreciate its entirety after you've watched the whole movie. There were small idiosyncrasies during the movie which I dismissed as "mistakes" but made sense in the end. But also, I walked out of the theater amazed at how all the little details in the story turned into a complex set of events that intricately weaved together at the end. Yes, there are a couple of plot twists, and in the end you will appreciate Shyamalan's ingenious story and it's message.
Unless of course you are like Richard who expected the scariest movie of the summer and left disappointed.
***SPOILERS (Don't read until after you've watched the movie)
Some things I noticed during the movie, that of course didn't make sense until the end:
- During the wedding where Ivy is talking to the elder, she says that her sister did not live past her 23rd birthday as she was attacked by a group of a men in an alley. I was thinking "What? There are alleys in the mid-1800's???"
- The perimeter around the village had torches and wooden pillars with yellow flags. Those flags had really smooth fabric that were immaculately seamed around the edges. I remember thinking they should have used older looking, period flags to make it more believeable. ^.^
- The creatures were wearing identical cloaks to the villagers, but in red. Come on. Creatures in cloaks?
- The scene that Mr. Shyamalan is in (why hasn't his acting improved??), he was reading the paper that said "7-year-old boy found after missing for 3 days"... did this have anything to do with the 7-year-old boy that died in the beginning of the movie? Seemed like too much of a coincidence.
- My favorite scene was when Ivy held her hand out in the doorway during the attack and at the last minute Lucius swoops in and takes her hand and they run to shelter. This scene kept replaying in my mind in my sleep. Awww so sweet :) Also again, at the wedding when there was chaos and Ivy held her hand out as she was walking.
So I went to Pilates. Yup, I actually walked the 50 steps across the street to a Pilates mat class. It's been so long since I've been that I forgot how grueling and intense this "low-intensity, calorie-burning" workout is. And moreover, today's class was a more advanced one, so it was especially tough for someone as out of shape as I am.
Previously we had the normal Ionic Breeze and it died after Moley chewed a hole in the cable. (While it was on, leaving an ugly black mark on one of his back teeth after a huge shock. Well, at least Moley doesn't chew on cables anymore) It was still under warranty so I just took it back to get a new one, and found that it wasn't much more to upgrade to the one with ultraviolet germicidal protection. I got a black one. (Of course, color is what matters most :-P) Anyways, I've been without the ionic breeze for so long that an hour after I turned this on I felt such a difference. The air is cleaner, crisper, and no more odors. And of course, I can't really prove whether or not the bacteria-killing GP works, but I sleep better at night with the ultraviolet on :-)
Yay! It's time to change my wishlist! Let's just say this vacuum meets my expectations and goes beyond. I actually got the new "Full Kit" which is Blue and Purple and comes with all of the accessories. I tested it by vacuuming the living room with another vacuum then tried it again with the Dyson and I canNOT believe how much it picked up. Almost half of the canister was full of dust and pet hair. No, no, I'm not gross, it's just that the old bag vacuum that I had before didn't pick up any pet hair or dust even though I vacuumed once a week. Anyways this vacuum is amazing and even though Richard and I were very hesitant to purchase it before because of the price, I now believe it is worth every penny. I can breathe easy at home now... Not to mention Costco's lifetime return policy.. better than any extended warranty out there ;-).
Found these cute running shoes at the Nike Goddess at the Grove. Was hesitant at first (It's hard to part with my money when I'm purchasing something at retail price) so I went home first. Found out they sell for 60% MORE on eBay and it's sold out at niketown.com and in other niketown stores so I rushed back to the store to buy 'em. I'm happy now. Let's walk. (Cos God forbid if I run in these shoes I might dirty 'em. Just kidding.)
I love the Shopaholic series. They're just fun, quick reads. Not to mention hilarious. So I was browsing Amazon, and I found out that there's a 4th book in the series, but it hasn't been released in the US yet: only the UK. The American version isn't coming out until Sept 2004. So I looked for it on eBay, and sure enough there were several UK sellers selling the book. I found only one US seller who had the book but with shipping and all the book was selling for a little over retail. But I got one anyway. It came in the mail yesterday afternoon and I finished it by dinnertime. I'm so sad that it's over :oP.But I won't give you any spoilers. You're going to have to buy it over-retail yourself.