my movies of the year.

(IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

1. Shutter Island. I was fortunate enough to see this movie before it came out in theaters (thanks to d.w.), which means I was able to form my own opinion of it before I read any reviews. I think people who had the ending spoiled for them liked it less than I did. I headed into the movie not really knowing what the movie was about, but I was completely enthralled in the story and totally did not predict the ending. Some of Leo’s finest acting comes along in a scene towards the end of the movie. I won’t say which scene, in case some of you haven’t seen it, but it’s brilliant. When you see it, you’ll know.

2. Alice In Wonderland. I suppose I’m sort of predisposed to love this movie, with Johnny Depp being one of my favorite actors, Tim Burton being one of my favorite directors, and the original cartoon Alice In Wonderland being my favorite movie. Aside from all that, I just thought it was a really great take on a story that’s so well known and that has been done so many times before. There were some silly parts, yes, but overall I thought it was original and fun and great acting. Rumors are that Tim Burton is set to direct a live-action “Sleeping Beauty” that will be centered around Maleficent (and who is rumored to play Maleficent? Angelina Jolie. I die.). If that ever happens, I will be in heaven.

3. How to Train Your Dragon. For nothing else other than that adorable dragon named “Toothless”. His face just kills me.

4. Date Night. I can’t believe that Liz Lemon is in a movie with Michael Scott. It’s like Hollywood is getting all of my letters and taking all of my advice. There were just so many funny scenes in this movie, plus… shirtless Mark Wahlberg, can’t argue with that. I am pretty sure I peed a little when I saw this in the theater. Sorry, Cinemark.

5. Toy Story 3. Duh. I always get worried with sequel movies, even when Disney is involved. I mean, Toy Story 2 was great as was The Rescuers Down Under, but does anyone remember the many Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Aladdin, and Air Buddies sequels? Yikes. Having said that, this movie was perfect. Disney has a brilliant way of making cartoon movies with characters and story lines that are relevant in our own lives. I cried (out loud) on three separate occasions, and if you didn’t, you’re probably strawberry scented and stuffed with fluff.

6. Despicable Me. Either I am regressing in age and getting younger, or cartoons are now better made than “grown up” movies (I think it’s the latter). This movie was amazing. I think it was my favorite of the cartoons this year. And kudos to the writers for avoiding the “annoying sidekick” curse with the minions. They could have gone either way, but I loved them.


7. Inception. While I didn’t love this like everyone else did, it was still an incredibly directed, well-written action movie. With Leo in it. So really, win-win.


8. Ramona and Beezus. Loved loved loved this one. This was another tear fest for me. While potentially disastrous, the script was way good, the acting was great, and the little girl who played Ramona didn’t annoy me at all. Success!

9. The Other Guys. Please put Mark Wahlberg in more comedies. That is all.

10. Scott Pilgrim vs The World. This was a really clever love story disguised as an action movie. Plus, I love Michael Cera.

11. Easy A. I’m pretty sure this is the closest we’re going to ever get to a John Hughes comedy.

12. The Social Network. This is my movie of the year, and Jesse Eisenberg wins my performance of the year. I loved this movie. This has all of the elements that make up a great movie: great writing, perfect direction, beautiful soundtrack, and brilliant performances from everyone involved.

13. It’s Kind of A Funny Story. The book was better (when is it not?), but this movie is worth seeing for Zach Galifinakis’ performance. It was subtly brilliant.

14. Due Date. Thank you, Robert Downey, Jr for making movies. He has recently become one of my favorites thanks to performances like this.

15. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part I. These movies are as close to being as good as the books as we’re ever going to get, I’m afraid. They’re just so well executed. Great acting, great soundtrack, aesthetically pleasing, etc. I am not ready for this franchise to be finished.

16. The Tourist. Don’t hate me, but I thought this movie was good. I really enjoyed the writing, my only complaint is that there wasn’t enough of it. I think Angie and Johnny are really great together. I went in with low expectations and came out pleased, so maybe that’s the way to go about it. I figured worse case scenario I end up watching two pretty people be pretty in Venice for two hours. They both have the acting talent to back up their looks, so there’s another plus.

17. The Fighter. Christian Bale is incredible. I am hoping that he will finally get nominated and win the academy award this year. He is unrecognizable in this film. I wasn’t expecting to like this movie much, I really only saw it for Bale’s performance (I have a low tolerance for amy adams so that was a bit of a turn-off), but I ended up loving it so much. If you are not standing up and cheering at the end of this movie, you are probably strawberry scented and stuffed with fluff.

18. True Grit. Well played, Coens. You made me love a western.

One more thing...

Best Performance by an Actor and Actress in a Lead Role (according to me):
Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network and Natalie Portman in Black Swan.

Best Performance by an Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role (according to me):
Christian Bale in The Fighter and Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit.

year in pictures.

JANUARY.

this photo was taken in front of the wiltern theater in los angeles. dw and i went there to for nick jonas' solo tour. okay, so that is why i went there. dw went because she is a kind soul and an angel in sheep's clothing. it was way fun, we stayed at the roosevelt hotel, which is this old "haunted" hollywood hotel. supposedly marilyn monroe haunts it, but personally i think that if she were to haunt anything it would be the kennedy's grandchildren or something. the concert was really fun and it was my biggest celebrity sighting thus far in my life. not "biggest", but definitely the most at one time. i still say my biggest and most important celeb sighting was the time my family and i saw paul mccartney at disneyland. take that, jennifer lopez.

FEBRUARY.

this is the sole picture that i have from february. how that is even possible, i'll never know. my little cousin ella had given me a glitter heart for valentine's day. i made good use of it.

MARCH AND APRIL.

so i am assuming that something happened in those months, because i know that i existed. but i have not one picture to prove i existed. there's a line from a format song that i love which says, "pictures only prove you can't convince". i guess i'll have to do alot of convincing, because i've got nothing. i had a birthday, i think. got a cute side bag.

MAY.

in may my family went to disneyland for the ben folds concert. my dad, dw and i are the ones who went to the concert and it was kind of funny to see two old people at a concert. they were bugged that it was a standing concert and not a sitting one. despite the fact that we stood for hours, we still went to disneyland with the family the next day and had a blast. at the concert, a girl named kate miller-heidke opened up for ben folds and she was really awesome. i met her, bought one of her cds, and she signed it. pretty groovy. dw, connor, and i stayed at disneyland until midnight that saturday which was totally fun. our last ride was splash mountain which, for some reason, always scares the crap out of me and i always end up looking like i am giving birth in the photo they take on the ride. makes it easier for me to decide that there will be no cameras present at the birth of any of my children.

JUNE.

in june we took a fun vacation to coronado. it was so beautiful and so fun there. everytime i go to california i want to move there. why oh why does it have to cost so much to live there. if i didn't have such a good job here, i would pack up my stuff and move there in a second. this photo was taken at the tide pools. i like it because stefan and connor are in it. and my dress is cool, not gonna lie. oh and that is the cool side bag that i got for my birthday, just in case any of you were dying to know what it looks like. on that trip i got a killer pair of marc jacobs sunglasses.

JULY.

in july i read an incredible book called "anthropology of an american girl". this is just a picture i took back then of all the stuff that i had hilighted on the pages. it seems like that entire book is hilighted. it is my favourite book ever, i read it twice in a row. i actually got to know the author through a little thing called facebook, which is incredible. many annoying things happen because of that site, but i guess some great things happen too. she's an amazing person and she's been such a good source for me to turn to for ideas on writing and life in general. i love her, and her story is amazing. you should read it.

AUGUST.

in august i went to disneyland with my friend jessica. i got to see the world of color, which was so fun and beautiful. i chose this picture because ever since i was like, four years old, i've said that i want to live in the alice in wonderland ride when i grow up. so that would make this my actual cup of tea. i look quite comfy in there, no? almost like i belong there. on the way home, i had the worst flight of my life, getting stuck in the air in a storm for four hours while a little kid kicked the back of my chair the whole way. i wore my sunglasses the entire flight because i just sat and cried. i really thought it was curtains for me. my mom asked why i didn't just ask the kid to stop kicking my chair, but i knew if i turned around and opened my mouth that i wouldn't be able to control what came out. there was no calm way for me to speak at that point. then i would be the person on the plane who exploded at some kid and had to be escorted off by security. i'm just not prepared to have that be my legacy. i also went to the john mayer concert and had amazing seats and got some amazing pictures. i really do love that man, and he is incredible live. if you ever have the chance to go see him, take it.

SEPTEMBER.

i don't know what it is about mad men, but whenever i watch it, i end up cutting my own bangs. i have a horrible cowlick, so i can't really trust anyone else to cut my bangs, as they always end up crooked. but this is my pictorial proof that "boredom leads to bangs". i'm not as sad as i look in this photo, i just never know how to "pose" for a picture that i am taking of myself. any way i do it, i seem conceited. it's more awkwardness than sadness that causes this face. it's my "meh" face.

OCTOBER.

another disney trip, and one of the most lame we've ever had. it was beyond crowded which was a huge disappointment. we waited fifty minutes for pirates of the caribbean, which i have never ever done in my life. the really great part about that trip though, was the elecTRONica dance party that took place in the california adventure backlot. that totally made up for the ridiculous lines that we waited in during the day. this is a photo taken by stefan of me on the teacups. i've always wanted a great teacup action shot, and i really do love this one. i feel like i haven't had a good teacup picture since i was about three. i made new friends in october, which has been a new adventure. i went to a halloween party for the first time in four years, dressed as liz lemon from 30 rock. it was a pretty awesome costume, if i do say so myself.

NOVEMBER.

this photograph is proof of my new friendships. ha. we were ice blocking and i was trying to organize some "circle of friends" photo, and this is what became of it. we eventually got it right, but the pictures where we didn't are more fun.

DECEMBER.

it's hard to "reflect" on a month that happened just last week, so i won't. but i will say that this is a fine picture taken at an adorable restaraunt called ruffler's rooste. i know it has been around forever, but i had never been so it was new to me. my hair is long, guys! my goal was to not cut more than a quarter of an inch every eight weeks. it has taken forever to get where it is, but i am going to continue to grow it over the next year as well. i don't love long hair, but i've never had it. and frankly, i am growing tired of wearing pillow cases and panty hose on my head around the house. i also recently made the decision to grow my bangs out. that will last me until july when mad men comes on again which, i presume, will encourage me to snip them off. good thing i know what i am doing in the fringe department. if nothing else, at least i have that.