Bulletin Board of the Brain » Film

The List 2011

Kj — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:30:13 +0000

It’s my annual list of films & shows I watched! For ye who have not read the lists from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010, here’s a lil rundown. My lists are based only on what I watched in 2011, which accounts for the presence of 2010 films I didn’t see in the theatre until 2011 and the absence of spectacular films from 2011 that I’ve yet to see. My “Favorites” are based on the overall experience of the film- what impacted or enchanted me, not always objectively on what I think were the most quality films. My “Disappointments” have to do with unmet expectations, which is why bad movies I knew would be bad aren’t on the list. Brackets [ ] mean films seen in the theatre.

New: This year I logged the hours of all films and non-first-run TV shows I watched. If I didn’t finish a film or series, I didn’t count it, nor did I count currently-airing shows I watch weekly on Hulu. Rather than just list the hours as a big, fat number, I calculated the sum as 40 hours-a-week, since watching stuff is basically my fourth part-time job. Not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed by the “work week” total of my viewings, but it satisfies my enjoyment of statistics.

Enjoy! Tell me some of your Faves & Dissapointments

Favorites of 2011
The Muppets
Tangled
Thor
Jane Eyre
The King’s Speech

Most Disappointing of 2011
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Super 8
Hanna
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Tempest

Favorite TV-on-DVD Discoveries
Lark Rise to Candleford
Misfits
The IT Crowd
Garrow’s Law
Being Human (BBC) *And yes, ALL of these are BBC shows

Total Films: 267

Total Television Series: 69

Films Viewed in Theatre: 34

Harry Potter film viewings: 22 (.42 per week)

Watched 3 Times
Harry Potter: Order of The Phoenix
Tangled
Thor
Nanny McPhee
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring

Watched 4 Times
Harry Potter: Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 1

Most Watched Film of 2011 (5 times)
Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2

Repeat in-Theatre Viewings
Thor (2)
X-Men: First Class (2)
Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2 (4)

“Work Weeks” spent viewing: 26.9 = Half a year

The List 2011: Films

LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
LOTR: The Two Towers
LOTR: The Return of the King
Holiday (1938)
Secret of the Kells
Harold and Maude
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Persuasion (1995)
The Muppet Movie
The Great Muppet Caper
[ ] Tangled
[ ] The Tempest
Waking Sleeping Beauty
Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day
Sense & Sensibility
Atonement
[ ] Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 1
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Version
MST3K: The Final Sacrifice
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Evening Primrose (1966)
In and Out
Marx Brothers: The Big Store
Becoming Jane
The Last Station
Bright Young Things
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Young Victoria
Star Trek (2009)
Walt: The Man Behind the Myth
[ ] Somewhere
The Pillars of the Earth
Mrs. Brown
The Two Towers: Extended Edition
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
The Princess and the Frog
Annie Hall
[ ] The King’s Speech
Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Castor Et Pollux (2008)
Harry Potter: Half-Blood Prince
Fantasia
An Ideal Husband
Peter Pan (1953)
The Way We Live Now
The Color of Magic
Chariots of Fire
Gosford Park
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
Fairy Tale: A True Story
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Wuthering Heights (2009)
The Last Unicorn
The Return of the King: Extended Edition
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Return to Oz
Practical Magic
Please Give
The Virgin Queen
Agora
The World According to Sesame Street
Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition
Galaxy Quest
Lord of the Rings (1978)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Friends with Money
Nanny McPhee Returns
[ ] Red Riding Hood
The Spiderwick Chronicles
The Trouble With Angels
To the Ends of the Earth
[ ] The Adjustment Bureau
Never Let Me Go
How to Train Your Dragon
Billy Elliot
Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day
Peter Pan (2003)
Boy A
The Social Network
L.A. Story
The Sword in the Stone
[ ] Jane Eyre (2011)
Jane Eyre (2006)
Matthew Bourne’s “Swan Lake”
Jane Eyre (1997)
[ ] Sucker Punch
Ballet Shoes
Les Miserables (1998)
When Harry Met Sally
Swan Lake (ABT 2005)
Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix
Wild Target
[ ] Modern Times (1936)
Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet (Bolshoi 1989)
Tron (1982)
Wonders Are Many: The Making of Doctor -
- Atomic
[ ] Hanna
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Nanny McPhee
Country Strong
Paper Heart
Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About
Bright Star
Whip It
Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Easy A
Black Swan
The Breakfast Club
Tout Près Des Étoiles
Center Stage
Youth in Revolt
Dancer’s Dream–The Great Ballets of Rudolf Nureyev: Sleeping Beauty
Paul Taylor: Dancemaker
Ballerina
In the Shadow of the Stars
Every Little Step
[ ] Thor
Blood on the Flat Track: Rise of the Rat City Rollergirls
Tron: Legacy
Anywhere But Here
[ ] Thor
Gnomeo & Juliet
Monsters Inc.
[ ] Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Jesus Christ Superstar
Peter Pan (2003)
Scoop
City Island
[ ] X-Men: First Class
Gulliver’s Travels
Nanny McPhee
Born to Be Wild: The Leading Men of ABT
Marie Antoinette
Tangled
Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter: Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 1
[ ] Super 8
17 Again
[ ] Company (2011)
Shakespeare Retold: Macbeth
Shakespeare Retold: Much Ado About-
- Nothing
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning
- Thief
Star Trek (2009)
The Narnia Code
Cloverfield
Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire
Cranford
Ru Guo · Ai
The Karate Kid
The Notebook
The Princess Diaries
Letters to Juliet
Under the Tuscan Sun
Imagine Me & You
Leap Year
Someone Like You
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
[ ] X-Men: First Class
Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets
Ella Enchanted
Mean Girls
The Island
Paper Heart
No Strings Attached
The Incredibles
[ ] Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2
Chéri
Snow White (1937)
Walt & El Grupo
[ ] Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Men Who Stare at Goats
Pirate Radio
Nanny McPhee
A Single Man
The Kids Are All Right
Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix
Push
[ ] Crazy, Stupid, Love
[ ] Captain America: The First Avenger
[ ] Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2
Dr. Strangelove
Transamerica
District 9
Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban
Adventureland
Nora
[ ] Cowboys & Aliens
I Am Number Four
Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 1
The Eagle
Sleepless in Seattle
French Kiss
You’ve Got Mail
Kate & Leopold
Twilight
Sunshine (2007)
Beastly
The Beaver
[ ] Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2
Jane Eyre (1943)
Hamlet (RSC 2008)
Funny People
South Riding
[ ] Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Other Woman
John Adams
Catfish
Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets
Space Camp
Back to the Future
Back to the Future 2
Inception
Cry-Baby
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
The Swan Princess
The Chipmunk Adventure
[ ] 50/50
[ ] The Royal Tennenbaums
The Adjustment Bureau
[ ] Anonymous
Labyrinth
The Last Starfighter
Pete’s Dragon
[ ] In Time
Back to the Future III
My Boy Jack
Tootsie
X-Men
Sleeping Beauty
Jane Eyre (2011)
Blue Valentine
Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Thor
Monster’s Inc.
[ ] The Dark Crystal
Harry Potter: Half-Blood Prince
Breakfast with Scot
Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban
Låt Den Rätte Komma In
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Le Hussard Sur Le Toit
The Pixar Story
[ ] Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Bridesmaids
[ ] Hugo
Harry Potter: Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 1
Bridget Jones’ Diary
Elf
[ ] Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows
The Help
Harry Potter: Half-Blood Prince
Love Actually
Tangled
A Christmas Story
Santa Claus: The Movie
Rory O’Shea Was Here
Beginners
Nativity!
Sherlock Holmes
White Christmas
Little Women
[ ] The Muppets

The List 2011: Television Series

Dae Jang Geum: 3
Community:1
Shameless (BBC): 1
Vicar of Dibley: 2
The Catherine Tate Show: 2
Miranda: 1
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: 2
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: 1
Parks & Recreation: 1
The Big Bang Theory: 2
Kings: 1
Vicar of Dibley: 3
Lark Rise to Candleford: 1
Dr Who: The Daleks (1963)
Dr Who: The Edge of Destruction (1963)
Dr Who: Genesis of the Daleks (1974)
Lark Rise to Candlford: 2
Dr Who: The Caves of Androzani (1984)
Parks & Recreation: 2
In Treatment: 2
Clatterford: 1
Clatterford: 2
Clatterford: 3
Vicar of Dibley: Anniversary Specials
Ballykissangel: 1
Being Human (BBC): 1
Planet Earth: 1
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: 3
Monday, Monday: 1
Ballykissangel: 2
Mad Men: 3
The IT Crowd: 1
Miranda: 2
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia: 4
Slings & Arrows: 1
The IT Crowd: 2
Lark Rise to Candleford: 3
Slings & Arrows: 2
Torchwood: 2
The IT Crowd: 3
The IT Crowd: 4
The Forsyte Saga: 1
Long Way Down: 1
Slings & Arrows: 3
Lark Rise to Candleford: 4
Misfits: 1
Star Trek The Next Generation: 1
True Blood: 3
Being Human(BBC): 2
Big Love: 4
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 3
Garrow’s Law: 1
Deadwood: 2
Grandma’s House: 1
Star Trek The Next Generation: 2
Desperate Romantics: 1
Deadwood: 3
Fringe: 3
Misfits: 2
The West Wing: 2
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia: 5
Star Trek: The Next Generation: 3
Bored to Death: 2
Northern Exposure: 6
The West Wing: 3
Garrow’s Law: 2
The Comeback: 1
Star Trek the Next Generation: 4

My Birthday Movies

Kj — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 07:19:52 +0000

A tradition began my first fall living in New York City. I’d forgotten that much of the east coast still gives Columbus Day as a holiday, and I found myself with a free day to myself. I’m pretty sure that’s when I went to see my first movie in NYC. It was Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation.” It entrenched itself so deeply and atmospherically in my soul, that not only did I start eating almost exclusively from Japanese restaurants and spent tons of money in Asian markets, I of course went to see it three times. At least one of those times was right around my birthday.

From that year on, once October hit, I started subconsciously then consciously paying attention to what movie might be coming out right around my birthday. Generally, they were quiet, character rather than plot-driven, aesthetically creative, independent films. Every year I await the next in my series of…

Birthday Movies

Here’s my list. There’s only one year that I had to break my pattern.
Can you tell which?

2003 Lost in Translation
Written & Directed by Sofia Coppola

2004 I Heart Huckabees
Written & Directed by David O. Russel

2005 Everything is Illuminated
Written & Directed by Liev Schreiber, Based on Jonathan Safran Foer’s book

2006 Marie Antoinette
Written & Directed by Sofia Coppola

2007 The Darjeeling Limited
Written & Directed by Wes Anderson

2008 The Duchess
Written by Jeffrey Hatcher, Anders Thomas Jensen, Directed by Saul Dibb

2009 Where the Wild Things Are
Written & Directed by Spike Jonze, Based on Maurice Sendak’s book

2010 Nowhere Boy
Written by Matt Greenhalgh, Directed by Sam Taylor-Wood

2011 50/50
Written by Will Reiser, Directed by Jonathan Levine

What Yankee Candle Means to Harry Potter: Additions

Kj — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 09:08:08 +0000

Done with the first and second batch, but am happy to take requests and add them here. Here’s the Dursleys.

Mr Vernon Dursely
Strawberry Buttercream:
Yum … an absolutely luscious treat of plump, sweet strawberries buried in rich whipped cream.

Mrs Petunia Dursley
Bahama Breeze:
There’s cool summer refreshment in this tropical blend of pineapple, grapefruit and mango.

Dudley Dursley
Cinnamon Roll:
So hard to resist … the deliciously perfect blend of creamy rich frosting and spicy cinnamon.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry

For the House Candles, they had to fit the House colors, evoke an essence of the House Founder, but mostly, fit the atmostphere of the common rooms. (Yes, Ravenclaw is a Hanukkah candle, but I think the scent is perfect).

Gryffindor
Mulled Wine:
A seasonal favorite the inviting aroma of Fruit with a touch of clove and other spices warms the spirit.

Hufflepuff
Golden Spiced Pear:
A savory blend of warm pears, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla bean.

Ravenclaw
Festival of Lights:
A blend of savory spices, rich cinnamon and sweet potpourri to celebrate the season.

Slytherin
Rainforest:
Fresh, slightly moist air with hints of exotic flowers and greenery.

Argus Filch
Moonlight Harvest:
Hints of pumpkin and spice from the kitchen window float on the cool breeze of an autumn night.

Madame Poppy Pomfrey
Country Linen:
Imagine a weekend at a cozy bed and breakfast with warm sunshine, crisp cotton sheets, and the sweet scent of spring flowers.

Professor Pomona Sprout
Beautiful Day:
Life is good with this happily enchanting mix of sunny fruits, pretty flowers and spicy herbs.

Cedric Diggory
Sun and Sand:
A tropical beach breeze of sweet orange flower, lemony citrus, fresh lavender and powdery musk.

Victor Krum
Siberian Silver Fir:
From snow-covered arctic peaks, discover the unique crisp freshness of pure Siberian silver fir oil.

Seamus Finnegan
Root Beer Float:
The delicious aroma of old-fashioned spicy sweet root beer and creamy rich vanilla ice cream.

What Yankee Candle Means to Harry Potter: 2

Kj — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:12:23 +0000

Harry Potter Characters’ Favorite Yankee Candle Scents (continued)

Mrs Molly Weasley
Kitchen Spice:
This modern blend of sweet orange, clove, ginger and cinnamon is a new take on pantry favorites.

Mr Arthur Weasley:
Orange Dreamsicle:
A favorite childhood summer treat you never outgrow … a cool blend of orange and vanilla ice cream.

Bill Weasley:
Cottage Breeze:
Like a day by the shore with the refreshing scent of cool salt air blowing across the dunes.

Fleur Delacour-Weasley:
Blue Hydrangea:
The enticing scent of beautiful flowers with green notes and hints of hyacinth, lilac and vanilla.

Fred Weasley:
Pumpkin Pie:
Sweet pumpkin, nutmeg, molasses, cinnamon, and a hint of apple in a buttery crust.

George Weasley
Pineapple Cilantro:
A tropical treat … fresh, island pineapple served with a citrus touch of cilantro and sweet coconut.

Lavender Brown
Garden Sweet Pea:
The sweet perfume of delicate blooms accented with hints of pear, peach, freesia and rosewood.

Cho Chang
Mistletoe:
The woody scents of mistletoe, berries, pine boughs, and holly create this holiday tradition.

Dolores Umbridge
Pink Sands:
Transport yourself to a beautiful, serene beach with this citrus, fruity and floral blend.

Rita Skeeter
Black Cherry:
The absolutely delicious sweetness of rich, ripe black cherries.

Bellatrix Lestrange
Midnight Jasmine:
A seductively lush perfume of water jasmine, sweet honeysuckle, neroli, and mandarin blossom.

Lucius Malfoy
Patchouli:
The spicy sweet aroma of exotic patchouli creates a perfectly mellow mood.

Voldemort
Blueberry Scone: The delicious aroma of English quickbread with sweet blueberries, rich cream and a hint of vanilla. [WORST SMELLING CANDLE EVER MADE]

And there’s still more…

What Yankee Candle Means to Harry Potter

Kj — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:52:30 +0000

Earlier tonight, a friendly tweet-mention turned into an unexpected project.

Ideas churned so quickly that I basically didn’t stop until I had this list done.
My method was simply to imagine which Yankee Candle specific characters from the Harry Potter series would be mostly likely to use. There was no purposefull attempt to have the candle names or candle photos symbolize the characters, but following the scent-inspiration, it often worked out.

In considering scent, I thought narratively about when characters had specifically talked about scents or tastes, or sensory moments of significance, or just a gut feeling I had about their personality and how I characterize certain flavor palettes myself.

I chose the higher profile characters, but if a scent made me think of a character or vice versa, I stuck them on the list too. Each character/candle combo includes the Yankee Candle official scent description. They are priceless.

Alright Ian, hope I didn’t steal your thunder. Thanks for the inspiration. (what the hell am I doing with my life?)

Harry Potter Characters’ Favorite Yankee Candle Scents

Harry Potter
Fireside:
Cozy and rustic … the scent of a warm, crackling wood fire.

Hermione Granger
Fresh Mint:
A stirring sensation … the cool, peppery zing of green mint leaves fresh from the garden.

Ron Weasley
Spiced Orange:
This bright, cheery blend of sunny citrus and snappy ginger is the perfect winter warmer.

Ginny Weasley
Nature’s Paintbrush:
A perfect autumn day captured in radiant, aromatic strokes of brisk air, spicy woods and warm musk.

Neville Longbottom
Greenhouse:
Savor the heady perfume of delicate rose blossoms intertwined with spicy green herbs

Luna Lovegood
Lavender Vanilla:
An oasis of tranquility . . . the perfect mix of fresh lavender and warm vanilla with musk and bergamot.

Draco Malfoy
Storm Watch:
A cleansing ocean air before the storm.

Professor Severus Snape
Midsummer’s Night:
An intoxicating and masculine blend of musk, patchouli, sage and mahaognay cologne.

Professor Albus Dumbledore
Sparkling Lemon:
Effervescent sweet Meyer Lemon with notes of energetic citrus lime and bergamot orange.

Rubeus Hagrid
Mountain Lodge:
A luxurious retreat in front of a cozy hearth, warm with the aroma of cedarwood and sage.

Professor Minerva McGonagall
Mountain Lake:
A refreshing treat … the cooling scent of mountain pines and cypress with notes of lily and musk.

Professor Sybill Trelawney
Drift Away:
Cares float away on peaceful, blue waters surrounded by lush woodlands.

Gilderoy Lockart
Vanilla Satin:
Sophisticated. Classic. A smooth blend of rich vanilla, romantic flowers and sensuous sandalwood.

Mad Eye Moody
Lucky Shamrock:
A touch of the Emerald Isle the fresh scent of lush, green hills kissed by a sparkle of sunshine.

Remus Lupin
Early Sunrise:
A new day dawns crisp and fresh in this clean lemony citrus scent with hints of ginger and tea.

Sirius Black
Evening Air:
The crisp breeze of a fall night warmed with notes of clove, geranium, basil, cedarwood and musk.

Dobby
Clean Cotton:
The refreshing scent of just cleaned sheets dried in a gentle breeze.

To be continued….

Time Wasn’t The Only Thing They Stepped In: Beware Mary Poppins The Musical

Kj — Fri, 13 May 2011 07:13:56 +0000

Films of Finding Your Voice (without finding a dude)

Kj — Wed, 04 May 2011 01:45:14 +0000

Once again, a faculty member here at MHGS, soon to be renamed The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, asked me to come up with a list of film recommendations for a class. For this list, the goal was finding films that show a young woman coming into her own voice/coming-of-age. Sounds easy at first until you realize that nearly every coming-of-age story told about a female is actually about her falling in love with a guy. While there are hoards of films about young men stepping into strength of identity without any romantic element, stories that center on a girl’s journey rely almost entirely on linking her self-discovery to being discovered by a male.

Thus, it’s a pretty short list that draws near the hoped-for criteria. Here’s the list & info I sent to the professor. Please submit your suggestions.

Young Women Finding Their Voice/Coming-of-Age Film List

Whale Rider (2002)
Written & Directed by Niki Caro

This is pretty much the pinnacle. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it immediately. It deals with community, faith, tradition and family. The girl’s journey is one of discovery, leadership and living into what she knows to be the truth. Resistance is not necessarily defined as defiance. This is on my list of films that have marked me for life. So beautiful, poetic and visceral.

Whip It (2009)
Written by Shauna Cross, Directed by Drew Barrymore

You* won’t like this movie, but it speaks pretty significantly to the feelings of rebellion that can be helpful in articulating female experience. While the story deals with the culture of women’s rollerderby, which is aggressive and sexualized (in a third-wave feminist kind of way), the film’s victory in my opinion is that it explores issues of rebellion and self-expression in the context of persevering in family relationships, rather than rejecting them. Also, though there is a bit of a romance, it is decidedly not the center of the story.

Girls Rock! (2007)
Directed by Arne Johnston and Shane King

A documentary about a girls-only music camp here in the pacific northwest. I only saw it once a couple years ago, and really liked how it explored the goals for the camp in entering girls’ lives at the critical point where they tend to stop speaking in school and become more reluctant to express themselves. It’s a great documentary (and fun).

The Young Victoria (2009)
Written by Julian Fellows, Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee

This is also in the list of films that have marked me for life. While it is largely about the growing love relationship between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, it’s essence explores a woman’s struggle to learn whom to trust, and from whom to break free. As a woman who had more power than any woman living at the time, it’s still an intimate portrayal of the challenges of making choices as a woman, and in discovering one’s voice.

Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Written by Linda Woolverton, Directed by Tim Burton

I didn’t love this much, (though I liked it in 3D Imax), but it’s a specific re-framing of Alice in Wonderland as a coming of age story for Alice in the midst of constraining cultural roles. It’s a sequel to the original, so here Alice is a teenager, not a little girl. The fantastical elements & some anachronistic issues make the heroine’s journey a bit dismissible, but I’ve heard it had some great impact for young girls who saw it.

The Secret Garden (1993)
Written by Caroline Thompson, Directed by Agnieszka Holland

Beautiful adaptation of the Francis Hodgson Burnett story, where a little girl, whose neglected childhood has made her bitter, is transformed by hope and relationships, gradually blossoming into tenderness and courage.

*meaning the specific person I was sending this to. You the reader will probably enjoy this film. I did!

Block-Busted

Kj — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 06:47:29 +0000

Only a few weeks ago, I stepped out of the Closing Sale of the Lower Queen Anne Blockbuster holding the copy of Jane Campion’s Bright Star I’d just purchased for $5.99, and found myself facing the closed movie theater across the street where I had seen the film one year ago. Both businesses now bereft of life…and movies.

Not that I feel much sadness over the loss of a Blockbuster, but my neighborhood-away-from-home seems to just keep going bust. The Blockbuster is officially closed now. They spent over a month in closing sale, lowereing prices by $1 each week. Naturally, I found more and more used DVDs to purchase as the prices sank. What I passed up at $6, I took home at $4.

What will take over the Blockbuster storefront? What will they do with the fake marquee? This marqee facade that faces a real, 85 year old marquee, also empty until it’s hopefully rescued by another movie theater company.

While I ponder these sad notions and wander the movie-less block of Queen Anne Blvd between Mercer & Republican, I am “comforted” by the expansion of my own film collection. Welcome, new friends. Your arrival bears sad tidings elsewhere.

For Unto Us A Hobbit Is Given

Kj — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:39:07 +0000

It’s an amazing day to be alive. It’s as if Father Christmas made it possible to relive all your favorite Christmases past, only you’d be reliving them in the present and receiving all new gifts. It’s as if, when walking out your front door this morning you discovered, instead of being in your cul de sac, that you were in Narnia, and thus would be both filled with joy at knowing Narnia was real, but also would feel like you’re returning to the Narnia you had always known so well through story.

This past December and January, I re-read The Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time in ten years. (I remember reading The Two Towers for hours in the baggage check line the first time I was in an airport after the attacks of 9/11). Following my reading, I set about watching the extended versions of the films, multiple times with different commentaries. As I listened to Peter, Fran and Phillipa talk about what we would see “when Two Towers comes out,” I remembered all the longing and anticiaption that came with the years of waiting for each film to arrive, and later, the indescribable feeling of delight, inclusion and pride we ALL felt listening to the cast and crew talk about their experiences making the films for two or more years straight. We felt like we were there with them.

But listening to the commentaries now, I mostly felt sad that so much time had passed from those years where every December brought some new treasure from Peter Jackson’s Tolkien masterpiece. I was aghast when I realized that this December would mark the 10 year anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring being released. TEN YEARS?? I wanted to crawl back into my early twenties and dream about marrying Elijah Wood and playing RISK with the other Hobbits and of accidentally running into Dominic Monaghan in LA and finding out that we were meant to be best friends. I wanted to beam myself back to a time when listening to the cast commentaries, I could still feel assured that they were all friends and would stay that way forever. Now I mostly wonder, where’s Orlando Blooom got to? The separation of their Fellowship in the film, in the shooting of the film and ending of all the press tours, and now the passing of years, becomes a separation of the Fellowship for the fans, no matter what form that fandom takes.

My fandom is mostly expressed by a deep commitment to metaphor. I don’t go to conventions or stalk online info or write fan fiction or even fan blog. My fandom is the lived-out story of how my life intersects with the film’s story and where the films have been present in my story. It’s the friendships where I’m Frodo and they are Sam, or vice versa, but where we’re also elves and also Aragorn and it’s the different US states I viewed the films in as they were released, and it’s how I survived my own crawl up Mt Doom, (more than once) and was never alone. My fandom is one I think Tolkein would approve- it’s the mythopoeic Secondary World that has enriched and added meaning to my daily life.

So why is today an amazing day to be alive? Because Peter Jackson just released the first behind-the-scenes footage from the set of The Hobbit, the prequel story to the Lord of the Rings, which is being shot using much of the same cast, crew and set as the films of 10 years ago. It’s happening again, only better because we were just beginning to accept life would never be as rich as it was when we were all living in Middle Earth together. It’s real again. It’s like we are Sam, seeing Gandlaf ALIVE and saying, “Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happenned to the world?” Can we really have MORE of what we love so?

Peter Jackson promises yes.

And like Sam, I reply, “How do i feel? Well, I don’t know how to say it. I feel…I feel like spring after winter, and sun on leaves; and like trumpets and harps and all the songs I ever heard.”

Waiting has never felt so good. Again.

“What Yankee Candle Means to Me” Episode 4

Kj — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:02:39 +0000