What A Catch, Donnie.

I've got troubled thoughts, and the self-esteem to match. What a catch...

When I first heard Fall Out Boy were going on indefinite hiatus, this song just seemed like the perfect farewell. At the end, a bunch of people (Elvis Costello, Brendan Urie, etc) came and sang a couple lines from some Fall Out Boy songs while the chorus is looped over by Patrick, and it's really cool.

I always thought that quote summed me up to a T. Troubled thoughts, minimal self-esteem. I know that's it's not true. My life's only a mess when I do stuff I haven't thought through properly. When I actually think, my thoughts are pretty clear, and pretty sound. I am a smart person, I just don't use my smartness for some reason. I want to.

I was talking to a friend last night, and he asked me what kind of person I wanted to be. I thought about it for a bit, and I realised I wanted to be brave, kind and smart. It's totally doable. I think I am quite brave, especially when it comes to just approaching new people, not being nervous, and just talking to them. I am kind, when I remember that there's more to life that just what I'm doing. I can be smart, when I actually think about what I'm doing.

I do have self-esteem. I'm not the best person in the world - I'd be mad to think that - but I have definite positive features about my personality.

When I was younger, after I'd broken up with my first ever non-playground boyfriend (after treating him like crap and eventually calling it quits), I thought that somebody like me never really deserved to be with anyone genuinely good, someone who was kind and generous and loving, because I didn't know how to treat them properly. If I deserved anything, it would be someone who treated me badly and made me feel sad, in the way I made other people sad sometimes. I know that's not true. Everyone deserves a bit of happiness, I think.

I am a single person! Thus, another chapter of my life begins. Hopefully it'll be distinctly different from the ones I had before. I want something different this time round, I think. Sex is good, movies are too, but I think I want something more than just that.

...

There's so much I want to say. But, it's not the right time for it. I don't know if there will ever be a right time for it. Of course, you can spend your whole life not saying things that might change everything, because it's "not quite the right time", and then nothing ever really happens to you. Fortune favours the brave; history is made by those who show up; if you don't ask, you can't ever get an answer. I just have to try to be smart, and work out when the best time is, and be brave, and just say it.

It's like the end of When Harry Met Sally, when Sally's at a New Year's party dateless, and once Harry realises he's in love with her, he plucks up the courage to run to the party from his apartment to tell her. She says to him that he can't just show up and tell her he loves her and that'll fix everything, because it doesn't work that way. Before she can walk away, Harry grabs her and tells her various things that he loves about her (including the fact that he loves that it takes her an hour and half to order a sandwich.) He then finishes by saying:

I came here tonight because when you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

Hopefully I'll be brave enough to tell them how I feel before someone else finds out how amazing they are. Another perfect quote from this (totally amazing!) movie:

All I'm saying is that somewhere out there is the man you are supposed to marry. And if you don't get him first, somebody else will, and you'll have to spend the rest of your life knowing that somebody else is married to your husband.

Kennedy-fail.

Ted Kennedy had life fail a couple of days ago. This made me feel a little bit sad.

It wasn't because of his seniority in the Senate, or all the good work he did in his career, or the end of an era of Kennedy presence in American politics. Oh no.

My first thought was the movie When Harry Met Sally. I was thinking of the bit just after "Baby fish mouth!" when Harry and Sally are talking to Jess and Marie respectively about the dates they brought to the little gathering. And, Harry's dating someone quite a bit younger than him. And he says to Jess, "I asked her where she was when Kennedy was shot, and she said, 'Ted Kennedy was shot?'" which causes Jess to giggle.

And, that was my very first thought when I heard that Ted Kennedy had died.

Dreamworks vs Pixar, encore

I've just seen a trailer for a new Dreamworks offering.

It looks like a merge of The Incredibles and Monsters, Inc., both of which are two of my favourite Pixar films. Ha.

However I am willing to give it a chance... maybe. :p

Pixar are my homeboys.

Like quite a few people, I have noticed the whole Dreamworks/Pixar rivalry going on. [For the sake of my / key, I will call Disney, Pixar and Disney/Pixar just "Pixar".] Comparing the different movies each company have brought out, and realising the shocking similarities in some cases.

So, I'm going to write about movies. Mostly Pixar's rise to seemingly endless praise, and Dreamworks, when I can be bothered.

Toys are alive...!

Toy Story was the first full-length Pixar film, and has not failed to disappoint in either the original movie or its sequel. The first clearly had a few problems; being made over 10 years means that looking back on it the CGI work wasn't fantastic. But the storyline, the clashes, the subtle humour, and the songwriting just tied it all into a big hit. Now normally, a sequel is disappointing, and it's neither good nor bad, just an obvious excuse to sell more toys. But Toy Story 2 was original and just plain good. The scene where Jessie tells us about her previous ownership with "When She Loved Me" makes me tear up every single time.

Ants and Antz

This is Antz vs A Bug's Life. I give this one to Antz and Dreamworks hits back with what it does best, with its ability to hit a slightly blue note where Disney would fear to tread. Woody Allen is someone I adore and love, and I want to see what else he's done. The humour on Antz is sharp and funny at times, adult enough to keep me amused, with enough simple gags to keep kids laughing while enjoying the talking ants. A Bug's Life just didn't cut it for me, although I loved the ladybug stuff. And - purple ants? What the fuck.

Shrek

Shrek blew me away, and quite a lot of the movie industry hailed the use of the new computer technology that Dreamworks had developed for Antz and utilised and stretched to fit Shrek's needs. Beer flowed, swamps were swam in, fur was stroked, grass blew softly in the wind, and people looked like people. Add in the fact that this movie was a send up of most things Disney [movie stereotypes and theme park parodies], it's just a great hour and a half. The sequels were mediocre though. It lacked the sheer originality that the first Shrek had. The novelty of the idea had faded, and nothing outstanding had been offered. Shrek the Third was just... meh. I didn't want to watch it immediately again, which is really the sign of a killer movie.

Boo!

Monsters Inc., although flawed in plotlines, is always an enduring favourite. Boo is freakin' adorable. I just... want to eat her alive, she's so sweet. Every time I watch that movie, I just want 192 children, little Boo-clones. So cute. And, Billy Crystal is just hilarious. "Me and you, you and me, both of us together!"

Fishie, fishie, fishie, fish!

I always think of Sharky and George when I think of Finding Nemo, despite the fact they're totally different things. Finding Nemo was, again, an enjoyable Pixar hit. They killed the mother, the father's neurotic, Nemo is a cute little kiddy fish with a "lucky fin" and we just feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Plus, it features one of my favourite women, Ellen Degerenes [or Ellen Degenenerate, as her schoolmates called her sometimes]. Dory makes this movie. I am Dory. She is me!

Superhero-tastic

I don't have a lot to say about the Incredibles. Not to say it wasn't good, but... meh. It was good! CGI work was fabolous. Some beautiful visuals. I'm not a huge fan of superheroes. Although there were some killer moments.

Ratatouille

When I first saw this, I was surprised at how much I liked it. I'd heard a lot about it, how this kid's movie appeals to adults just as much, and I was sceptical, and I don't know why. It was awesome. I loved the story, and the rat, and the ginger kid and his hot girlfriend and... it was all good. I would watch it so much more if Disney/Pixar DVDs were ever put in the sale section.

WALL-E

Omigosh, this little boxy robot is so cute. David has already expressed his dislike of this movie ("Robots do not feel.") but I loved it! The LGBT community sprang on it, saying "This is any pairing you want. WALL-E is butch, EVE is femme. Two lesbian robots, falling in love in space. Or, one cute little boy robot, one sleek girl robot. Whatever." No matter what, this was a really cute story, with a "Don't fuck the planet, corporations" message tattooed on the side.

Pandas kick butt

Dreamworks kicks back with a movie I watched kind of by chance. If I hadn't drunk my own body weight in spirits and subsequently thrown up in front of a cute girl on the train, I wouldn't have ended up at my ex's house, eating pasta and watching this movie. It was quite funny, actually.

~~~

This post has made me realise that Pixar should totally pay me for the massive positive PR I've done for them. Ah well. Pixar are awesome guys. I know they will eventually disappoint me, but I hope that that day never comes.