Week 1: Mission Complete

So after successfully going to bed at 10 at night last night, I'm making up for it by staying up 'til 2 tonight. I think I deserve it for what overall has been a successful week.

So just to follow up, we managed to get five applications total, which is fine by me; five applications will provide plenty of supplemental reading to my wonderful textbook and lab manual. Interviews on Wednesday, and I'm psyched.

So to wrap up the week, I tagged along with Maricar and James to go see Big Fish. Thought it was a pretty good movie. Reminded me a lot of Forrest Gump, with the innocent hero in bizarre situations. The movie ran a little slow, but I don't mind as long as characters and visuals are interesting (unlike Cold Mountain, which was a yawner the whole way through). I especially enjoyed the performances of Albert Finney (playing old Edward Bloom), Steve Buscemi (playing Norther Winslow), and Danny DeVito (playing Amos Calloway). Ewan McGregor (playing young Edward Bloom) and Helena Bonham Carter (playing Jenny and Witch) both did their jobs, but they are definitely capable of stronger performances. I don't think that this was a case of a lack of effort, but rather that their characters could have been written better. Even though Big Fish is a movie about tall tales, I felt that the events needed to be even more bizarre and grander to better contrast Ewan McGregor's home-grown, straight-shooting, I-can-do-anything-that-I-put-my-mind-to American hero. Forrest Gump did a better job in this aspect, which is why Forrest Gump is a superior movie. I also felt that Billy Cudrup's character (Will) was especially weak at the beginning and developed to just adequate toward the end. As a son who's frustrated with his dad telling these fabricated stories instead of the "truth", Cudrup could have done a much better job conveying that frustration at the beginning, to allow more of his character to develop toward the end, and thus better develop the central relationship between his character and his character's father (played to perfection by Finney). Overall, I felt its nominations for Best Picture in the Golden Globes and Oscars were deserved, but at the same time, a few abrupt scene cuts, some weak performances, and more dynamic environments kept this movie from award-winning status.

On a sort-of-related note, while I enjoy going to the movies with friends, when I go with a couple, I wonder if I'm making three's a crowd. Sure, I was invited, but I also understand the time that a couple needs to spend together (which is what I don't make time for, and hence, am single), and let's face it, unless all three relationships are similar in status, one relationship is going to dominate over the others, making a 3rd party feel left out. I'll bring that up the next time I end up making a threesome.

So Saturday looks to be filled with food, alumni, and performances, with the Community Programs Office Alumni Day and the Luau held by the Hawai'i Club. And it's way past 2, so it's time to go.