500 days of summer (2009)

About this movie: a girl named Summer comes as a secretary to a greeting card company in Los Angeles, where Tom works.  Two of them date, Tom falls in love, but Summer doesn't.  What happens in a relationship when two people dream different dreams?

I liked one of the last conversations Tom and Summer had:
  Summer: I woke up one morning and I just knew.
  Tom: Knew what?
  Summer: What I was never sure of with you.

I wonder if Tom was always sure of with Summer.  Perhaps he was.  But one-side relationship ultimately fails, no matter how precious it is for you.  And when the end comes, you'd say "She left.  Just like that.  I don't understand."  This is the time when you need friends who can put you back into reality, but gently and slowly.

I think I'm ready to be Summer this time.

Phantom of the Opera

Most days, Andrew Lloyd Webber songs are very strong for me. I'm more of a breezy, samba person. But today, I felt that I had so many things to say and quite couldn't figure out what I got in my mind. So here, I am drinking Chianti, listening to sophisticated melody of Phantom of the Opera.

I feel that I can connect to the story and the spirit in a deep sense. Wanting to break free, keeping secrets, seeking care, having hopes, facing challenges, ...

O T.S. Eliot T.S. Eliot

In the end is my beginning.

You say I am repeating

Something I have said before. I shall say it again.

Shall I say it again? In order to arrive there,

To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,

You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.

In order to arrive at what you do not know

You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.

In order to possess what you do not possess

You must go by the way of dispossession.

In order to arrive at what you are not

You must go through the way in which you are not.

And what you do not know is the only thing you know

And what you own is what you do not own

And where you are is where you are not.

...

I read a bit of T.S. Eliot this morning, a prose from East Cocker. I felt thirsty for beautiful words and hungry for soft murmuring in my ears. A rainy morning got me poised and light in my heart. I feel I understand the meaning of "In the end is my beginning."

The Princess Bride (1987)

We had another movie night for girls. This movie was so perfect for us with its light mood and fun settings. Come to think of it, we had lots of sweets (baklava, apple pie, chocolate) watching Princess Buttercup. 

My thoughts on the movie: Like in many other movies, people are extremely patient. I wouldn't have been like Princess Buttercup and wait for Westley to come and stop the wedding --- to me, that's not a matter of waiting.  I'd take actions; I'd do something. 

Does this mean that I am not the sleeping beauty type and won't win the prize that is meant for those who can wait?  Life seems too short to wait for a prince charming who will have to go through ten more sessions with a shrink before he can think of saving me. 

Wait, Westley at least promised to come back for his true love. Guess this makes this movie a fairy tale. 

Cleaning the way out

A rainy Thursday evening, I went for Sneak Peek at a theater.

Sunshine Cleaning (2009)

The movie was grotesque at times (bugs and blood, yew!), realistic (with a man who quite promises things but never delivers), exaggerated (with a kid with odd behaviors), and down to earth (a cheerleader single mom Rose, who fails, tries, endures and all).

I liked this part in the movie (transcript from this blog). After confronting the biggest tragedy, Rose comes down to her heart and tells Winston, one-armed man at a local cleaning supply store

"I am good at getting guys to want me. Not date me or marry me, but want me. I’m really good at that. That and cheering. I was really good at cheering."

Winston, a second later replies: "Cheering’s good."
Then goes Rose, "Yeah, but not as lucrative as you’d think."

Sadly I couldn't agree more.

Now I'm looking forward to seeing Little Miss Sunshine (2006).