Cold Mountain and Peter Pan
Christmas was just lovely, thought not quite as good as last year's when the WHOLE family was in town. But the food was awesome (Go Mom!) and Santa was most kind, bringing - among other gifts - the extended edition of The Two Towers, in all its four-disc glory! After Christmas dinner, a bunch of us went to see Cold Mountain; it was pretty good, nothing terribly memorable or emotionally effective (I probably should have been crying at the end, but I didn't even get choked up). Jude Law was awesome, so was Renee Zellegger and the host of minor, supporting characters. But the characters failed to foster emotional attachment, and the film suffered in the credibility department. One of the contributors to Ain't It Cool News.com sums it up really well here . Today, though, my girl cousins and I went to go see Peter Pan - also a cinematic adaptation of a book - and it was totally awesome! Fabulous visuals and cinematography (same guy who did Moulin Rouge), and terrific acting from very young actors (especially Jeremy Sumpter, who plays the title character)! Plus, Jason Isaacs is awesome as Captain Hook! The characters were so vivid and true, and this film surprisingly had more emotion than Cold Mountain. The New York Times has a good review of it here. The movie is memorable and fun and lively, and perfect for this time of year. But then, I suffer from chronic "Peter Pan Syndrome", so I might be a bit biased in my opinion of film :)
- posted by Nicole @ 4:09 PM

 
Return of the King
Even though I went to the midnight showing on Tuesday (err . . . Wednesday), it is not until today - the day after my second viewing of this incredible film - that I can actually find words to describe its brilliance. Because it's nothing short of amazing, and if you haven't seen it yet, I suggest that you drop whatever you're doing (including reading my wonderful Blog . . hehehe) and go see it. But make sure you grab tissues on the way out. I definitely cried - nay, sobbed - for the last 2 hours of the movie. And at the end, I was so emotionally exhausted, I felt like I had carried the Ring to Mordor! It's a brilliant, emotional, exciting, heart-wreching, epic film with mind boggling imagery and incredible acting; Sean Astin as Sam is so amazing - I basically burst into tears everytime he came onto the screen. His love and devotion to Frodo is displayed with more purity and sincerity in this film than in the other two combined. He's amazing. And so are the other three hobbits - especially Merry and Pippin who have much bigger roles in this one. And the transformation in Frodo is downright terrifying. In addition to making me cry like no other movie (with the possible exception of Moulin Rouge, as far as quantity of tears, but ROTK wins in terms of duration), it is also hysterically funny at times. The characters have developed over the course of the three films, and in this final one, they are so real it is shocking to think that they are merely figments of someone's imagination. This movie is so moving and beautiful and effective, that words don't even come close to describing it: GO SEE IT! If you only see one more movie as long as you live, make it this one. It will be so fullfilling, that all future films will be rendered superfluous. It is perfect.
- posted by Nicole @ 3:18 PM

 
Quote of the Day
My suitemate Ankita (who is from Kuwait) in regards to the snow: "I want to go home where there's sand."
- posted by Nicole @ 3:35 PM

 
*Sigh of Relief*
I literally thought it would never end. No, really. I was actually convinced that my exams and all the studying and all the work would never be over. BUT I WAS WRONG, CUZ NOW I'M DONE!!!!!! Nothing to do but Christmas shopping and Return of the King!!!!!!! I am so ridiculously excited for this film, it's consuming. By several accounts, its the best one of the trilogy. I have no doubts!! And I will be at the midnight showing tomorrow night and on my way home the next morning :)

- posted by Nicole @ 6:39 PM

 
And then there was rain . . .
So here it is, just about a week after we got slammed with snow, when suddenly it became monsoon season - completely disgusting (albeit, conducive to studying). "Hey ho, the wind and the rain, lalalalala" - isn't that a song or something. Well, I was definitely singing it today . . .

. . . When I wasn't laughing at the American government, anyway. The latest whoops? Just hours after the Pentagon released a list of countries to be excluded from winning contracts for Iraqi reconstruction, W. asked those same countries to aid the reconstruction by forgiving Iraqi debts. Can't imagine that went over too well with Jacques and Gerard. Talk about a wee bit o' miscommunication . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 10:32 PM

 
AGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
The hampster is running out of breath . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 2:37 PM

 
OH MY GOD!!!!
All I have to say is that errant, random internet surfing sometimes pays off (rather than just serving to distract you from your work . . . ). BECAUSE, when I was errantly and randoming surfing last night, I learned that Howard Shore (composer of the score for the Lord of the Rings films) had just premiered a six movement symphony in New Zealand based on the music from all three films. Thoroughly jealous of the New Zealanders, I continued to read and discovered that Shore would be conducting the symphony in the US and Canada as well, and I thought: "Gee, wouldn't it be cool to go to one of those concerts. Then I thought: "GEE, WOULDN'T IT BE COOL TO GO TO ONE OF THOSE CONCERTS!!!!!!!!" Two hours of fervid googling finally informed me that on February 23, Howard Shore will be conducting his symphony in Montreal, which happens to be 2 hours from my fellow-suitemate-and-LOTR's-maniac's house. We bought our tickets this morning.
- posted by Nicole @ 6:29 PM

 
The Nutcracker
Ok, I know I've said this a lot - but for real this time: last night was one of the best nights of my entire life. First of all, it snowed. And even though I've lived in a place where it does basically nothing else from October to April, I never cease to be enchanted by the first snowfall of the season; it redeuces me to my inner 5-year-old. Plus, I was in NYC. And it was snowing. I went with three of the nicest guys in JE, and first we went to Times Square just to hang out and because Howard had never been to NYC before. Then we went uptown and met the Master of JE and his wife at, like, the nicest restaurant in the world and had an AMAZING dinner, complete with wine and chocolate mousse (which was incredible). Then the night really started. We walked over to the Stage Theater at Lincoln Center to see the New York City Ballet perform the Nutcracker, which was nothing short of magical (plus, we had amazing seats). The experience nearly defies words, and the whole evening was at JE's expense. It was so special, and I am totally in the Christmas spirit now! Oh, and we came back and the campus was completely covered in fluffy white snow - it's sooooooo Harry Potter!!
- posted by Nicole @ 2:45 PM

 
I'm Back!
Did you miss me? Probably not, since I was with all the people who read my blog (with the exception of Leah, of course). Thanksgiving was amazing and wonderful and everything I needed it to be: restful, filling, happy, productive, and fun. And now it's nose to the grindestone for the next two weeks!!! I don't know if I'll make it. . .

But the good news is that, for some inexplicable reason, the guys at Yale spent THEIR Thanksgiving break getting hotter! It's a phenomenon, and I'm not the only one who's noticed it. My awareness of it was heightened by the fact that I ate lunch today with 5 Turks and an Irish kid who must have been exceptionally busy over the past week. . .

Oh! And perhaps the best news of all: they're showing a preview screening of The Last Samurai (Tom Cruise's new movie) here on Thursday night. Which means, not only will I be seeing it a day before everyone else, I'll also be seeing it free of charge!!!!!!
- posted by Nicole @ 4:07 PM