November 20th, 2008
Steven Spielberg
Short Response #11 – Film

I've never been a big fan of war movies. I've simply thought them to be unnecessary for me to see, never enjoyable; they rarely have uplifting plotlines, and I can't say that I prefer watching soldiers losing their arms to doubling over in laughter at a Will Ferrell monologue. But surprise, Steven Spielberg has managed to change my mind about movies once again and taught me to appreciate a movie outside of my genres of choice with Saving Private Ryan.
It was unquestionably the opening scene that did it for me. I have to say that it took me a few minutes to get into it; I had seen Forrest Gump a few days before watching this film, and I had a hard time imaging Tom Hanks with anything but that classic accent, speaking unforgettable one-liners (specifically, "Me and Jenny goes together like peas and carrots"). In fact, I may have been "that girl" to giggle during the beginning of Saving Private Ryan (for which I will be eternally embarrassed). But then the booms and bangs and dozens of other onomatopoeias shouted from my television, and I closed my eyes and the goosebumps came, and then the shivers began, and my eyes began to water, and then there was that extreme close-up of Tom Hanks' eyes and that's when I felt an inexplicable sadness, something that I'm not ready to delve into, but something that made me feel more patriotic than I've ever felt, actually profoundly, genuinely, cheesily proud to be an American.

this isn't about reva.

read this, because he buys his own lightbulbs, because his mom grows multiple gardens, but mostly, because he's adam duritz for the eyes: creezle.blogspot.com

also, how i felt tonight in the car:



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Now playing: Envy On The Coast - The Gift Of Paralysis

steven spielberg: still hot at 61

i'm in a spielberg class, and we have to write weekly responses to various spielberg films/writings/whatevs. here are some to entertain you.

Like many children, I had frightening dreams about Jurassic Park for the majority of my childhood. Although, or perhaps because, the movie scared me for a long time, I am often reminded of a scene of the film while going about my daily activities. For instance, every time I see a Jeep Wrangler on the road, my first instinct is to stay away, as there might be a dinosaur nearby. As I pass through the oatmeal aisle in Publix, I always take a moment to stare fondly at the Dinosaur Eggs Maple and Brown Sugar Quaker oatmeal box and reminisce of the days when I used to eat that oatmeal only because it made me feel like I was actually in Jurassic Park. During a thunderstorm, I am often struck with the image of Sam Neill and two children hiding in a tree in the woods. Slightly frustrating is the fact that whenever I see Jeff Goldblum in a different acting role, I can’t help but giggle and picture him as a crazy mathematician dressed in black and acting like a rock star.
My very favorite “I love Jurassic Park” story goes like this: In middle school, I was a member of a softball team called “Velocity.” Always better cheerleaders than softball players, my two best friends from the team and I had a dance that consisted of us hopping around with our hands in the form of claws, saying, “Velociraptors, raah!” I don’t think any of the three of us ever scored a run in a single game that season, but we sure had a good time acting like vicious dinosaurs. (WORD UP, JESSIE CARR.)

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Now playing: Incubus - Just a Phase