Ever since I did my post on superhero movies I’ve been wanting to make a post explaining a little bit more about me and my likes and dislikes. Hopefully this will give my reviews some context and help them make a little more sense.
1. If someone asks me what my favorite movie is my go to answer is Up. To me it is perfect. In fact I like it so much I had this cake made for my birthday party/open house
2. My favorite book is North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.
3. My favorite modern book is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
In general I do not love YA novels and in particular could do away with vampires, warewolves and dystopian novels for the rest of my life and be a happy girl. I try to be open minded but I generally like memoirs about interesting people and the classics the best.
4. I am Mormon and served a mission for my church from 2003-2005 so for the most part if a movie came out during those years I haven’t seen it.
5. A follow up to the previous item I tend to enjoy Christian based films with positive messages or films with those values and there are a wide range of films I will not see because of content including all Scorsese films except for Hugo and all the Tarantino films. I take films on a case-by-case basis because I think the MPAA is a complete joke. I don’t think I am the biggest prude in the world but I will not be seeing The Wolf of Wall Street with 508 f words anytime soon…
6. I do not like to be scared. I know others enjoy the sensation and I respect that, I do not. Even movies which are overly grim and cynical do not appeal to me.
7. The first movie I remember going to see in the theaters and really loving was Little Mermaid.
8. The worst movie I saw as a kid was Return to Oz. The scene with the all the heads scarred me for life. It’s so dark and unpleasant and not in a good way.
Another prime candidate would be The Rescuers. The idea of a girl getting kidnapped by a mean lady and getting forced down into a tiny cave still gives me the creeps.
9. As a teen my passion was theater and less movies with Les Miserables being my obsession. I knew every line and saw it when I was 14 on Broadway and it blew me away. Just saw it a few weeks ago and it still has that power.
10. 2 movies I’ve walked out of in the theater are
Drop Dead Gorgeous (will always be my least favorite movie of all time)
And Superstar
11. The movie which made me laugh the hardest first was Home Alone and it still makes me laugh.
12. What I used to watch with my siblings- The Simpsons. Still watch it every Sunday.
13. I love scenes in movies where characters fly! So if it is in there I am going to be kinder to it than I might otherwise be.
14. I hate what I call ‘wink wink’ humor meant for adults in kids movies. Just be funny for both kids and adults.
15. In college I majored in political science with an emphasis on political philosophy so I love movies which dive a little deeper into human behavior and why we do what we do.
16. My family talks incessantly about Sherlock Holmes- how great Benedict is, how we hate the Downy versions, love the old Jeremy Brett, reading and discussing the stories. It’s kind of strange actually.
17. My favorite show growing up aside from the Simpsons was Boy Meets World.
18. My literary muse is Nora Ephron. I love her writing so much.
19. One of my heroes is Julia Child for daring to start over in her life and graduating from Le Cordon Blu when she was nearly 40. She inspires me daily.
20. I love action adventure stories that don’t take themselves too seriously.
21. I love movies about work. Why we work? When do we overwork? What do we accomplish from work? What is too much to sacrifice for work etc? Most of my favorite movies involve that in some way.
22. I love a good romantic comedy when it is done right. I highly resent the term ‘chick flick’
23. I love being in the water especially the Ocean and especially Hawaii. One of my biggest hobbies is open water swimming in the summer and I love being out in nature and swimming, so any movie that involves that I am going to be predisposed to like it.
24. I quit a job I was miserable at in 2007 and started blogging as part of my healing process in 2008. Check out my regular blog which is more personal and occasionally religious at http://smilingldsgirl.com.
25. I’m a reality TV game show fan particularly Survivor and Amazing Race although haven’t watched the Race this season.
26. I’m a pretty staunch Republican particularly Libertarian causes and issues and I believe the arts can be a tool to teach and promote empathy and understanding amongst all people no matter their viewpoints.
27. I consider myself a feminist when it comes to equal pay and a positive representation in the media but not on most politically charged issues.
28. In general am not a huge fantasy fan and enjoy things more grounded in characters I can relate to and worlds I understand but there are exceptions
29. Most of my friends are not big movie watchers hence my need to blog my thoughts and talk about them with all of you!
30. Things I think are boring (bc everyone’s definition differs so wildly) Contact, Dinner with Andre, Star Wars prequels, Dinosaur, Harry Potter 7 pt 1, The English Patient, Transformers 4, American Beauty, Last Airbender, Life of Pi, Terms of Endearment but for the most part movies that others think are boring I don’t mind.
31. I have a lazy eye and have had surgery twice on it in recent years. This is why I tend to not see 3D and do not play video games.
32. I love stories about redemption and think Christmas Carol is the best story ever written.
33. I’m from a family of 6 of kids and my Mom was pregnant when I went to college. Have siblings 16 and 18 years younger than me.
My nutso family
34. If I had to pick British loves I’d go with Austen and Dickens over Tolkien and Rowling.
35. I do not like violence in movies. It sticks in my head in a way it doesn’t seem to for others. Movies that most find harmless bother me.
Sorry Quentin can’t go with you on this one. I know you are very talented but your movies aren’t for me!
36. I do not watch Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Newsroom, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Dexter or whatever R rated drama is the current rage. I do watch Once Upon a Time, Sherlock and Downton Abby though!
37. Current favorite scripted TV shows are The Goldbergs, Hindsight, Mindy Project and The Middle.
38. I hate the recent fairytale retelling trend but we’ll see if Cinderella changes my mind.
39. I loved How I Met Your Mother. After the Simpsons it is my second favorite series ever but hated the finale so much there are not words to express. Hard for me to watch episodes because I know how it ended. Darn you Carter Bays and Craig Thomas!
40. As far as music goes I love Josh Groban, Michael Buble, Norah Jones, Ingrid Michaelson, and Sara Barielles. But I like a wide variety with everything from jazz to hip-hop to classical to broadway on my playlists. And Disney soundtracks of course!
That’s probably enough for the moment. Hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about me. Tell me a little bit more about you!
