For my Teaching Literacy to Adolescents class, I have to read so many young adult books, it kind of makes my head spin. I just read the first one, though.

It's called Speak by Aurie Halse Anderson and if you haven't read it, I really think you should. It'll take about two hours of your time and this book is amazing. It's so subtle as it starts out and you meet the newly made social outcast Melinda. Throughout the book, you track how so she changes through the school year as she deals what happened over the summer.

I called her tragedy before I was even half-way through the book but still. Wow. The way the book deals with such a sensitive subject is amazing.

In between homework sessions, I've been trying to watch "certain" movies that I've downloaded. The "gay-interest" ones. Because this makes me happy. So far, I've only made it through two of them because I couldn't stand the acting in Open Cam and Sideline Secrets.

But I did watch Shelter (a 2007 movie) and it was, frankly, amazing. A great deal of gay-themed movies are really horrid in their acting, plot, costuming, or other but this movie? Toned down and realistic with a happy ending. I love it. Coming of age story, basically, about Zach, a wannabe art student turned graffitist, who feels trapped in his low-class life, watching his childhood friend Gabe live the fratboy party dream while he works shifts as a fry cook, watching over his nephew Cody and Jean, his needy sister who has horrible taste in men. After Gabe leaves for school, Zach's polishing the surf board he left at Gabe's upper class house when he once again meets Shaun, Gabe's older brother. Shawn's in town for the next month, fresh from a break-up and looking to work on the follow-up to the book he published three years ago. He just also happens to be gay and Zach's relationship with his on-again, off-again girlfriend Tori is on the rocks once more. Zach's drawn to Shaun while struggling to reconcile his own desires with the needs of his family. 5/5

Also watched Forgive and Forget, a British film which I seriously didn't like. ~_~ David and Theo are best friends, working at a construction site. Only David's got a secret and Theo's moving in with his girlfriend Hannah. It's got a sadly brutal ending. ;_; And David's kind of creepy. 2/5

Edit: Just watched The Raven. Extremely cheesey. EXTREMELY. Gay slasher flick using Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven. Also manages to drag out a sex scene about nearly 10 minutes using only *5* minutes of actual footage. xD Every guy gets a sex scene before he dies. The only character that doesn't is the poor chick that halfway through the scene realized she wasn't going to get any threesome action with the gay boys and left. Poor girl. Very, very vague plot. Hope you weren't looking for one. 1.5/5 (what? Some of the guys were hot!)

Oh. Went to see the new Mummy. Seriously, dudes? Do NOT waste your money! The actress they picked up to play Evy is HORRIBLE for the role, Alex looks like he's THIRTY, and did you want your movie with extra contrived plots and a good dose of heavy-handed FAMILY VALUES? No? 'Cause that's what you get.

And, of COURSE, since Evy knows all about ancient Egypt, of COURSE she would know ancient CHINESE, right? RIGHT? 'Cause, you know, Egypt and China are VERY closely related, you know. ...'Cause they're...ancient. And stuff.

Seriously, besides Jonathan screaming "spank my ass" to Rick or where Rick says "SAME mummy. ...TWICE," there is NOTHING good about this movie. And the first one's extremely debatable, only because there was nothing else. o.o Though that General Ming's a hottie.

Brenden Fraser slept through most of the movie, put into a position of second fiddle by an actress who is NOT Rachel Weisz. >_<

And a 3-headed WESTERN dragon? Seriously?

:)  Just saw the new Indiana Jones.  Fucking loved it.  Adored it.  Now want to write a fic (though sadly not Indiana Jones--regardless of Entropy's feelings on the matter, I'm not too into incest...)  And I love Shia LeBouf.  Seriously  He is now one of my favorite actors.  He's all wanna-be James Dean in this movie--trying to be a tough guy greaser and constantly checking his hair.  I love this kid (kid.  I think he's my age. 0_0 )

The stunts are AMAZING (I don't expect nor WANT realism when I watch Indiana Jones) and I didn't look away for a moment (okay, except during the grisly parts, but that's a different story).


And I'm totally in love with the kid's bike.  :)  Anyway.  Now off to try and write.  Hee.

You know what's absolutely beautiful?  Driving down the highway at night--at a perfecly legal speed, mind you--looking at the headlights in your rearview mirror.  Then you start rounding the only bend in the incredibly straight road you're on and see the headlights split into 10 sets--all the people you left in the dust.

Saw Speed Racer yesterday.  Went in expecting shit and was blown away.  I LOVE the colors and the characters and the way time just flows back and forth.  Good movie.

Just damn ironic that after I got out of that movie, NOBODY wanted to go fast.  Seriously.  30-40 in the 45 and 50 in the 55.  What the HELL?  I was passing people left and right by doing the SPEED LIMIT.

But anyway, that movie?  It reminds me of Disney's Lazy Town.  Anyone seen that?  I've flipped by it before.  But that's what the movie's like--real life people moving around in a colorful and surreal little world.   Except minus the puppets.  Though Speed does, of course, have Chim Chim.

...Is it horrible of me that I spent the entire movie trying to slash Racer X  and Taejo Togokahn (the asian driver played by Rain)?  And Entropy spent it trying to slash Racer X and Speed???

In other news, I also applied to another bar on Wednesday.  I'm hoping, HOPING, that they'll call me back.  I need another job if I'm going to make my bills.  The current boss is nice and all, he just can't afford all my time.

Yeah, this movie? It sucked. Like ( big time )

I tell you what, dudes, I am so fucking pissed.

Last night, I was in the mood for a movie. Not just any movie--a good movie. A slashy movie. Sci-fi, fantasy, scary, whatever. I just wanted it fantasical with deliciously slashy overtones.

Near the end of the night, I was even willing to drop the 'slashy overtones' requirement.

The Sci-fi channel has all their 'sci-fi original' movies. You ever watch these pieces of shit? Same fucking movie over and over and it's not even a particularly good movie.

But I saw previews for this mummy movie. And you know what? It looked good. Bunch of guys riding around in a jeep being chased by a friggin' huge mummy. I was like, "Cool! I'll watch that!"

( So I started watching it. )

Watched Sin City last night. ( Hated it. )

That said, life is too short to listen to sucky music.

Now, I tend to absolutely hate movies. I can't watch them without disecting them--as a writer and an actress. Stilted dialogue, bad characterizations, and cliched plots are all pointed out without mercy, as well as bad acting, lack of emoting, etc. When I watch bad movies like that (that aren't so awesomely bad they're good), I can only think "I could do it better" and elaborate on the ways the movie could be made bearable.

( That done, rent Finding Neverland. )