Midday Movie Mondays-Shrek!

Thanks to a poll over on my tumblr, today's movie was Shrek!

"Not the gumdrop buttons!"

Okay, so, this is somewhat embarrassing to admit, but I haven't watched the original Shrek in...well, it's been a long time. So, watching this movie was really nostalgic for me, as it probably would be for most people. For those of you who, somehow, don't know the story of Shrek, here's the IMDB short plot synopsis:

"An ogre, in order to regain his swamp, travels along with an annoying donkey in order to bring a princess to a scheming lord, wishing himself King."

It's a great movie, full of laughs and touching moments with a surprisingly relevant message behind it. At least, the message I gleaned from this movie was relevant. The whole "not judging people before you get to know them" is a pretty timeless theme, if I say so myself.

For me, the most surprising thing was realizing how, for lack of a better word, adult this movie was. I'm pretty sure I caught a few ass's and damn's and I was sort of blown away at how much I missed. Not to mention Shrek's comment about Lord Farquad compensating for something with his rather large *ahem* castle and the part in the info song in which they almost say ass, which I'd definitely noticed before. Throughout watching it, I kept asking myself how this only had a PG rating.

Of course, after the movie, I had to go find the Shrek Karaoke in the Swamp to watch, simply for the nostalgia factor. Singing and dancing along to that is definitely something I remember doing when I was a kid in front of my TV, so it was a must to do so today.

If you can't tell my opinion, it's that I absolutely adore this movie. It's combines hilarious moments with sweet moments with awesome songs. It gets a big fat recommend to every one I know.
-Morgan

PS: I feel it should be mentioned, but I also love the second Shrek. I used to say it was my favorite, but after rewatching the first one, I might have to rethink that...Which one is your guys' favorite?

Oh, hey, did I mention I have a vlog?

So, I haven't made a video on my vlog in awhile, but I made one today and I wanted to share it with you guys. Show you guys what I look like and sound like and stuff. It's about my book shelf here at college.

I hope you guys enjoy!
-Morgan

PS: I'm still trying to figure out what all kinds of things I want to do with my vlog, similar with my blog. What do you guys think I should make a video about?

Midday Movie Mondays: Iron man

This week's movie, by popular vote on my tumblr, was Iron Man!

*obligatory Ozzy song*

So, I actually haven't seen this movie in probably a year? I was in the mood to watch a Marvel movie anyway, though, because I saw Captain America: The First Avenger last night. Also, I saw Iron Man 3 last Friday, so this was a fun way to go back to the beginning.

Now, what can I say about this movie? Only that it is absolutely amazing! The action is awesome, the acting is phenomenal, and the all of the effects and cinematography, for what little I know about that stuff, was pretty rockin'. It was really interesting to see this movie again, after so long and after seeing The Avengers and Iron Man 3, in that it was interesting to see Tony back at the beginning. Right from the beginning he looked different to me, if only somewhat younger. I enjoyed seeing Tony back where he started, especially with seeing Yensin again. Also, I really miss the deep, intimidating voice he had in this movie while wearing the suit. Why exactly did they get rid of that?

Overall, this movie was top notch, of course, and I loved watching it again right after seeing the third in the series. If you're ever in the mood to see an action-packed, gritty comic book movie, I would definitely put this one at the top of the recommends pile.
-Morgan

PS: For those of you who've seen all three of the Iron Mans, which did you like the best? Personally, I think Iron Man 3 is at the top, with Iron Man close behind in second and Iron Man 2 rounding out the herd.

First Relay for Life!

Last night I participated in my first ever Relay for Life, and I had a quite enjoyable time. I was there for about two and a half hours and I, admittedly, spent most of that time standing by my team's (my campus's radio station, since I'm a DJ there) tent, attempting to help sell CD's for a dollar a piece (5 of which I bought; I mean, 5 CD's for $5? Yes, please!). I walked a few laps and danced a bit to the music playing while I stood by the tent. So, I didn't do much, but I don't believe the evening to be a waste. On the contrary! I met a couple other DJ's, the station manager's sister and the station's adviser, who were all pretty cool people. I enviously watched people get balloon animals (the station was right across from us!), particularly when they got octopus hats.

Most of all, though, I reflected. I was lucky to be there when they had the Luminaria service, listen to our college's women's choir, hear a few people tell their stories of how cancer had touched their lives, and walk a couple laps with everyone with the lights down low and the bags all aglow. It was at this time that I really recalled how cancer had affected my life.

My aunt (actually, my mom's cousin, but whatever) is a survivor of breast cancer, if I recall correctly. I say that because, at the time she was going through this, nobody really told me. I remember when she didn't have any hair for a bit and it was then that I realized she also looked much skinnier than usual, and I realized she might have cancer. Now a days, I've seen her wearing breast cancer awareness shirts, which leads me to believe that is what she went through (though I am definitely going to have to ask my mom for a confirmation).

More saddingly, my former high school English teacher somewhat recently passed away from breast cancer. She was diagnosed back when I was still in high school and seemed to be doing well. Then, suddenly, April 3rd I got a call from my boyfriend (who went to the same high school) to inform me that the night before she had passed away. It was so sudden and surprising that I could not believe it at first. It was one of the saddest events in my life. She was a wonderful, amazing person. Everyone who had a class with her knew that she was a wonderfully, hilarious person who genuinely cared about her students. I'm glad that I was able to have a class with her and get to know her as well as I did.

Last night was a pretty great night (and not just because I saw Iron Man 3 after Relay) in which I reflected on the thankfully few times cancer has affected my life and I am extremely glad I went. I went into it expecting it to be a fun time, which it was, and a possiblity for me to try doing something good, but I did not expect to at one point feel tears pricking my eyes as I walked around a gym in the middle of a crowd of strangers. It was a good night.
-Morgan

PS-I've decided to make this blog a general blog instead of just the whole picture idea I previously had. I changed the title to something more fitting and I'm excited to go into this new era of blogging! Do you guys have any suggestions of things you want to see me talk about on here, or possibly a movie request for Midday Movie Mondays?

Midday Movie Mondays-50 First Dates

Okay, so today's movie, as you probably figured out from the title, was 50 First Dates!

Admittedly, I love that there are so many jokes about
Adam Sandler's head being shaped like an egg in this movie.

So, I actually had an ulterior motive for watching this movie today as I had to watch it for an assignment in my Abnormal Psychology class. Nonetheless, it's a movie that I have watched and enjoyed before so I was rather looking forward to seeing it again.

For those who haven't seen it, it's about Henry (Adam Sandler) who meets Lucy (Drew Berrymore) and becomes infatuated with her only to learn that she has Goldfield Syndrome (AKA Anterograde Amnesia, which is when someone can't remember any new memories that are created usually after a trauma to the brain). Henry works to explain her accident and make her fall in love with him everyday.

Personally, I rather enjoy this movie. I believe it gives a fairly accurate portrayal of a mental disorder such as Anterograde Amnesia, even if it renames it. It is lovely that he continues to win her affections every day, even knowing that she's going to forget him the next day. It has an extremely bittersweet ending, which my roommate actually cried at (and she didn't even see all of the movie). Overall, I think this movie is charming, funny and an enjoyable movie, though perhaps not my favorite of all time, even in the realm of rom-coms.
AKA, this is a movie that, while I enjoy watching, I'm probably not going to go out and purposefully rent, unless I need to for a class or I am just somehow really in the mood for it.
-Morgan

PS: Any suggestions for a future movie? I watched this one because I had to anyway for a class, but I'm completely undecided on what I'm going to watch next week, so I would love any requests you have to give!

The start of Midday Movie Mondays-Mulan

Hey, guys! I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long.  I've been getting caught up with school and stuff, but I promise I'm back! In fact, I'm beginning a new series of sorts to help keep me on track, so you should, at the very least, hear from me once a week!

So, if you didn't read the title, this new series is called Midday Movie Mondays! The idea was born last week on Wednesday when I watched 27 Dresses in the middle of the day to help me feel better. I realized that this was a thing that really helped to put me in a better mood and I realized that, out of all of the days of the week, Mondays are probably the days I'm most in need of a mood booster. So, I decided to start watching a movie every Monday in the middle of the day because I thought it would fun and help me be in a better mood. At which point I realized, hey, I could talk about this on my blog and people might like that and it would get me posting more often. So, here we are, at the beginning of a wonderful journey that I am thrilled to go on with you guys. Yes, I'm aware of how cheesy that was. Moving on.

To start of Midday Movie Mondays, today I watched......

*Cue dramatic music from when she cuts off her hair*

I'm pretty sure everybody and his/her mother has seen this movie, but if you've somehow been living under a rock for the last fifteen years, this 1998 Disney film shows the story of a young woman who decides to take her father's place in the army because she knows he'd die if he went off to fight.

I haven't seen this movie in awhile, so it was really nice to watch again. It was definitely a nostalgia trip for me and I absolutely loved it. Mulan has always been one of my favorite Disney movies, easily making the top 10, if not top 5. I love the story about a strong woman who defies societal norms and expectations to save her father. Later in the movie she says maybe she didn't even do it for her father, that maybe she did it to prove that she could do something right. Personally, I'm pretty sure it was a combination of both, that she was consciously thinking of her father while doing it, but subconsciously she was driven by the need to prove herself, which, personally, doesn't take away from what she did at all. I definitely think wanting to prove yourself in some way is a totally valid reason for doing what you do, whatever it is.

Admittedly one of my favorite parts is the fact that Mulan and Shang don't obviously end up together. There is no big scene where one of them confesses their undying love to the other and they share the most heartfelt of kisses. This isn't what the movie is about. And, yes, by the end of the film, you're aware that they both have feelings for each other, but, overall, the movie isn't about the romance, it's about Mulan making a difference and really becoming someone she can be proud to be. And I'm one of those people who loves a good love story, so if I'm saying one of my favorite parts is the lack of romance, you know this is a good movie.

Anyway, those are my main thoughts. Let me know what you guys think of the movie and make suggestions for any future Midday Movie Monday movies I should do. Honestly, I don't even know what I'm going to watch next week, so if you make a suggestion, there's probably a good chance I'll take it.

Thanks for reading,
-Morgan

P.S. I know that's not the most well-known or used movie poster, but of the ones I found it was by far my favorite  What do you guys think? Better or worse than the more well-known version?

A Quest with Unexpected Treasure

Yesterday morning, I woke up earlier than I'd have admittedly liked to, especially considering my piano lesson was cancelled, to brave the white blizzard-y streets with my roommate so that she may be able to buy Wreck-It-Ralph, as it came out yesterday. We made it to Walgreens, but they didn't have the movie. We crossed the street to the Jewel Osco and they didn't have it either. The good news with all of this, however, is that, while Jewel did not have Wreck-It-Ralph, they did have bags of knock-off Teddy Grahams for only a dollar a piece! Also, we stopped by the library and got a couple movies to watch this week. Check it out:

It just looks so beautiful....*sniff*.

Yes, we got How To Train Your Dragon, because I've really wanted to see it recently and I haven't seen it before, and Space Jam, because...well, do I really need to put a reason here?

All in all, it was a cold, windy, and slush-filled trip, but it was all worth it. Especially since I got to end it with a nice bowl of hot tomato basil soup and an email from my professor stating that my only class for the day was cancelled. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.
-Morgan