...In which our heroine finds the danger in dreams.

My dreams have always been incredibly vivid. One of my earliest memories comes from a nightmare I had, and I remember the exact way the teeth of the wolves looked on the side of my crib. When I was around five, my mom took me to the doctor because night terrors were keeping me up nights. The most violent of those involved a very angry Mad Hatter who liked to chase me with an axe.

As I've gotten older, my dreams have gotten no less vivid or detailed, but I've come to accept them as a part of who I am. Instead of waking up screaming from the violent night terrors, I wake up paralyzed for a few minutes until I realize that I am in fact, not dying. Over break, one particularly jarring dream led me to a film idea, so they aren't all bad. 

The interpretations of said dreams also fascinate me. This summer, I dreamed that one friend was a vampire and the interpretation from Dream Moods was spot on: "It may depict someone in your waking life whose charm may ultimately prove harmful. Deep down inside you know that this person is bad for you, yet you are still drawn to it...The vampire may also be symbolic for someone who is addicted to drugs or someone in an obsessive relationship."

The most common dream for me of late has been me trying to go back to high school and then realizing I've graduated and have no classes to take. Two people in particular have been recent guests. One is someone I miss quite a bit and don't get to see very often - these dreams always leave me happy upon waking.

The other guest...well, bet you can guess who that is. (Not the vampire from above.) Naps always lead me to dream in very peculiar ways and today was just a blast. I've removed him from my life, yet literally, and cheesily, he still haunts my dreams. I was really disoriented and in a wretched mood when I woke up. It was great.

The visions I see behind the wall of sleep are both beautifully inspiring and completely terrifying. I know that I can't have one without the other, and honestly, I would have it no other way. The bad dreams are really bad, but even the really violent ones have become a part my psyche. I talked to one of my professors last semester about them, and she reminded me how many great ideas come from dreams. So I'll take what I can get. 

...In which our heroine goes back to school.

Classes start today, but not for me. In fact, I don't have class until 6:30 tomorrow evening, giving me a full four days off in the week. It looks a little something like this:

M:

T: Popular and Contemporary Music (with Ben), 6:30-9:30

W: Oral Expression (the stupid mandatory public speaking class) 3:30-6:30

R: Production I, 8:30-12:20 and Screenwriting I (with Kathleen and Kelsey), 3:30-6:30

F: Production I, 8:30-12:20

All in all, a pretty nice schedule, despite the early class on Friday. I'm excited to get back to school, because, well you know how our heroine likes the school work. 

The boys got a new roommate and he is pretty cool. No wait, if I was fourteen he would be pretty cool. At this point, he's just a racist, immature, jerk who generally cannot care for himself. He's already gotten so drunk that he puked all over their bathroom and didn't clean it up, which is just special. The whole Bugs-Emily-Lane-Kate-Ben thing is hurting from the new addition, at least so far. Let's hope he makes his own friends...

I watched The Reader yesterday and was not generally impressed. I don't think it should be up for Best Picture over The Dark Knight or The Wrestler. Kate Winslet is far better in Revolutionary Road, and all in all, the film is pretty mediocre. Enough with the Holocaust movies please. However, I watched Wall-E and again and found that I enjoyed it far more on a second viewing. 

The trailer for Mary and Max, the opening night Claymation film from Sundance, is quite adorable:

These posts are getting increasingly random and with no real theme. That is simply how the brain of Katydid works, a seemingly random assortment of ideas that go together, at the very least, in my own brain.  

...In which our heroine is glad to be back.

I've been back in Chicago since Wednesday afternoon and in large part, it feels like I never left. I got lucky with the weather, and it hasn't been too frigid. But I missed the city and certain inhabitants quite a bit, and it's so lovely to be back.

The mono is lessened somewhat, I guess. I've been able to do more without getting as tired and haven't been feeling quite so bad. Still, things like going to the grocery store yesterday were quite the task.

My thoughts on the Oscar nominations:

-Bruce Springsteen getting snubbed for his song "The Wrestler" is a complete travesty.

-The Dark Knight deserved at least one big nomination, either Best Picture, Director, or Screenplay.

-With Kate Winslet not being a double nominee for The Reader and Revolutionary Road, the Best Actress race is closer to call than ever.

-Nice to see smaller actors get nominations: Richard Jenkins, Melissa Leo, Viola Davis, and Michael Shannon from Revolutionary Road, who gave I thought, the best performance in the film.

-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button did not deserve its 13 nominations at all. It is a decent film, and that's about it. It isn't nearly as good as either Se7en or Fight Club. Honestly, I was more entertained by Pineapple Express. 

-I'm rooting for Mickey Rourke, Kate Winslet, and Slumdog Millionaire for all the big prizes.

Enjoy some Kings of Leon for your Friday with "Sex on Fire." What an awesome rock n' roll song title--it's sex, and it's ON FIRE.

...In which our heroine is disappointed.

This is the weekend's box office chart:

1. Paul Blart: Mall Cop          $33.8 mil

2. Gran Torino                          $22.2 mil

3. My Bloody Valentine in 3-D $21.9 mil

4. Notorious $21.5 mil

5. Hotel for Dogs $17.7 mil

America, you upset me. These, with the exception of Gran Torino, are totally abysmal choices. WHY would you pay $10 to see any of the rest of these films, especially when money is becoming more hard won. I don't know about you, but nothing about this screams quality, hilarity, or originality:

As much of a film snob as I fear I am turning into, staying away from this shit is not being elitist, it's being sane.

...In which our heroine informs.

Sundance is this week. Needless to say, I wish I was there. But I did stumble across the red-band trailer for The Informers from the fest. It is the fourth adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis novel, after American Psycho, Less than Zero, and The Rules of Attraction. The Informers is by far the weakest Ellis novel I've read but the movie looks interesting, and certainly has a solid cast. It's pure NSFW 80s cheese, but then again, I'm all about the 80s cheese.



Also, if you should happen to find yourself with copious amounts of time like our heroine, head over to Watch-Movies.net and well, watch movies. For free. I know it isn't legal, but I'm a broke college student.

...In which our heroine presents 2008 in Film.

I still feel pretty terrible, and thus why the lack of updates. So far, mono is like a hangover (because I saw what that was like in a movie once)--exhausted, headaches, periods of nausea. 

I should've written this post a long time ago, earlier in the month but I had a couple more films that needed seeing. So, without further ado, here are my favorite films of the year, in some kind of order.

10/9. Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express

My two favorite comedies of the summer share a spot because while they were both hilarious, there were certainly flaws to each as well. Thunder is a lovely send-up of Hollywood conventions, and Express made stoners look, dare I say it, just a little bit smart. Nothing serious here, but lots of fun.

8. Burn After Reading

This is admittedly, not the best Coen Brothers film, or even close to the brilliance of last year's No Country for Old Men but it's still a whole lot of fun. Mix the typical Coen Brothers hijinks with the CIA, sex, murder, and gym rats, along with excellent performances by Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand especially, and this is certainly an enjoyable film.

7. Iron Man

Any other year and this would have been tops in the comic genre. (We'll be getting to that in a moment.) But still, Downey Jr. does great service to the role of Tony Stark and takes a totally believable plot and makes it thrilling, funny, and visually compelling. It was hard to buy El Duderino as a super villain, but I am quite looking forward to Iron Man 2.

6. Milk

There is not a damn thing wrong with this film--well-acted, well-shot, and well-scripted. But that's the problem, it is simply too typical for my tastes. I kept waiting for the convention to lessen and it didn't. But otherwise, this is a very good, topical film. Much is being made about Sean Penn's performance, but I think that he's overshadowed by the wonderful supporting cast. 

5. Revolutionary Road 

My, how this one stung. This was a tough watch, but Kate and Leo were absolutely outstanding. She deserves the Oscar for this, and I don't know why Leo's name isn't being thrown out more in all the awards talk. The sense of entrapment in 1950s life is palpable with Roger Deakins' cinematography and use of color. A really, really good character study of relationships, just don't watch it with your significant other.

4. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

Okay, so this is a documentary and probably shouldn't be on the list, but no film affected me so profoundly emotionally this year. I absolutely sobbed at several points throughout and the end. I won't spoil the plot much because the less you know, the better. This is a wonderful documentary, an amazing assemblage of footage and editing. Basically, filmmaker Kurt Kuenne's childhood friend gets murdered by his girlfriend--who happens to be pregnant with his child. Kuenne then decides to make a film for the child, Zachary, about his father. Find this film and watch it. 

3. The Dark Knight

I got nothin.' Reinvention of the superhero mythology. Pitch black. Heath Ledger's Joker is beyond good. It's all been said. I love my Batman, and this is the best form I've ever seen him in. You better complete the trilogy, Nolan. 

2. The Wrestler 

I'll be rooting hard for Mickey Rourke on Oscar night. Robert Downey Jr. had a sizable comeback this year, but it was nothing compared to the pain that Rourke brings to Randy "The Ram" Robinson. I certainly don't care about the world of professional wrestling, but the character study of Randy created by Darren Aronofsky must be seen. Pathetically glorious is how I like to think of it. Rourke will absolutely break your heart.

And finally...

1. Slumdog Millionaire 

After seeing this film a second time, the choice was clear. In terms of overall filmmaking--from script to score to editing to performance, this is the best film of the year. I fell in love with Danny Boyle's vision of modern India, and the story is very Dickens. Most of the other films on this list are depressing, but Slumdog is inspiring and uplifting. It makes me cry to, but out of sheer joy. My favorite aspect of the film is the beautifully written script by Simon Beaufoy, and thus everything else falls into place. I'm really hoping that the Oscar buzz stays for this all the way to Best Picture, and just maybe even rewards Danny Boyle for his ever-improving body of work.

The honorable mentions: Wall-E (too preachy), Let the Right One In (too cheesy at times), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (too nice).

...In which our heroine is sick.

Sick indeed. I'm finally going to the doctor tomorrow but am pretty much 100% sure it is mono. Which fucking sucks, and thus the lack of updates.

No more work, no going to see Ben on Tuesday. I'm pissed to say the least. I feel so bad that he's stuck in Chicago all by himself and now I can't even go see him. 

I hate being sick. I'm apparently in it for the long haul too, so awesome. 

Ugh.