I heard the people sing

I feel as though I failed all five (I flatter myself) of you who might actually be reading this. I know you have all been sitting, waiting anxiously to hear what I thought about the movie adaptation of Les Miserables. Well, wait no longer because I am here to let you know what I thought!

Contrary to what most theatre-fan type people are saying, I actually liked it. I mean, it definitely had it's faults, but . For one, Russell Crowe wasn't a the best choice for Javert. When the announcement was made that he would be playing this iconic part, I had my doubts. I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised, but my doubts unfortunately were confirmed. His singing was...okay, and okay just isn't good enough when everyone else is great, and in some cases incredible. I felt as though his mediocre singing made him a less than effective villain.
Hugh Jackman was a wonderful Jean Valjean, Anne Hathaway's Fantine was emotional and raw, Amanda Seyfried pulled her own as Cosette, and Eddie Redmayne didn't make me hate Marius, like, hardly at all. Samantha Barks was just as wonderful as Eponine on the big screen as she was in the 25th anniversary concert. However, I am still having a hard time with the placement of everyone's favorite song of unrequited love: On My Own. I just feel that without the scenes that surround the song in it's original context, Eponine's character was not portrayed in quite the same way. The film makes her seem less lovelorn, and more masochistic. Instead of dying because of her loyalty and devotion to Marius, she dies from a self-inflicted wound stemming from an ill-fated attempt to get Marius's attention. Tragic.
And then there's Aaron. Enjolras. My favorite. He was wonderful, of course. Perfect, really. He led those hipster school boys to, well, to their deaths...but his heart was in the right place, and when he dangled out that window, he dangled for freedom!
Les Mis is just such a touching story, told through beautiful music (which, if you haven't heard, was sung live on camera. By the actors. Which is apparently a big deal even though theatre actors do this for eight shows a week.)
By the end of the movie I was in tears, and judging by the amount of sniffling in the theatre, I wasn't the only one. But, in order to add a little light heartedness to what can be a pretty weighty and heavy story, I give you a bit of humor:

Chick Flicks and Disney Heroes!

This weekend I had a good old fashioned slumber party with some friends! We ended up watching Love, Actually (which is one chick flick I actually love!) and I really do feel like I should share the following paraphrased conversation...

KM: Wow, I never noticed before, but that guy is like the real-life version of Aladdin, maybe that's why I've always thought he was cute...because I love Aladdin!!

H: Oh my gosh, you're right...he is totally Aladdin!!

L: Aladdin is really cute for a cartoon character...but is it weird that the cartoon I always had a crush on was Robin Hood?

K: Yeah...I can see that!

H: Wait...wasn't he a fox?

L: Yeah he was!

(Then K high-fives L for her awesome taste in cartoon crushes!)

Then after much giggling and talking about boys we went to sleep.

After we woke up, lounged in jammies and finally got ready for the day we ended up going to see New Years Eve (aka the movie that every actor EVER has a part in)

It was pretty cute...the only part I really didn't like was the part where the rude teenagers sitting next to us were talking and not even trying to whisper.

One of my favorite actors, Matthew Broderick, had a tiny little cameo...which was made even better by the fact that his character's name was 'Mr. Buellerton'!!! Lea Michele (Glee) sang her little tush off, Ashton Kutcher played a version of himself, and there was a plot twist that I almost didn't see coming...

And the best part: Zefron!! I don't care how old I get, Zac Efron will always be dreamy!!

Where East meets West

I can't believe it's been almost four years since I went to Turkey. It was such an incredible experience. The 'following in St. Paul's footsteps' of it, and the 'ancient meets modern of it'. Being somewhere with such a rich history, and such friendly people. I was there for two weeks, and it wasn't enough. Just 17 students, a college professor, Turkish guide fluent in English and our bus driver Mustafa (I'm not even kidding, that was his name.) I ate real Turkish delight, and delicious baklava with apple tea. I saw gorgeous mosaics with so much detail they looked like paintings, beautiful mosques, bazaars that were like a scene right out of Aladdin, and ancient temples in various states of ruin. I absolutely LOVED the experiences I had in Turkey.

And now my TV is taunting me. Showing Turkey tourism commercials when there is no way I could afford to go or even have the time off from work to do so is just plain mean. I am itching to go somewhere. Anywhere. I vowed when I got my passport that I was going to get as much use out of it as possible before it expired and it has been collecting dust for the past 4 years. While part of me would be perfectly okay never leaving my apartment except to visit my parents every once in a while, another part of me just wants to be a nomad and go EVERYWHERE...

But I have no money and too many responsibilities so I'm here.

Me (with long hair) in front of the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul