ashkiryn

Yeah, I'm going to be keeping this very brief, as I really don't have that much to say about this movie, and, like...none of it good.

I re-watched this movie just a while ago for the first time in many, many years, and now I will probably never watch it again for as long as I can help it. I gave it another chance, but guess what? I still hated this movie pretty much as I always have.

Why? Well, for one thing, I just can't stand things that are non-sensical purely for the sake of being non-sensical (or illogical, absurdist, acid trip-y, what have you). It annoys the fuck out of me. Also, Alice is a whiny, snobby brat, who gets exactly what she wished for and is then annoying about it and never acknowledges the fact that "HEY, I FUCKED UP, I SHOULD HAVE BEEN CAREFUL OF WHAT I WISHED FOR, I MADE A BAD DECISION, AND NOW AT THE END OF EVERYTHING, I'LL ACTUALLY LEARN SOMETHING." Nope! Instead, she just whines, and says that she just should have listened to her own advice, which---YOU IDIOT, THAT'S WHY YOU'RE IN FUCKING TROUBLE, IT'S BECAUSE YOU GOT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED!!!! And do we get any kind of resolution to whatever character arc she may have had going for her? Double nope! Alice is also ridiculously rude and pretentious, and as a result, everything in her subconscious, aka Wonderland, is also rude and etc. BASICALLY, EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING IS ANNOYING AS ALL HELL, AND IT ANNOYS ME.

Also, this movie is creepy as fuck. Just sayin'.

If I had to like a character, it'd be Dinah. Though, speaking of---Alice, you dumbfuck, it's your cat that you're worried about getting back to?! What the fuck about your family, eh?!

Ugh. God, I swear, I'm one of the few people on this earth who can't stand Alice in Wonderland. But whatever. I WANT NO PART OF YOUR NONSENSE.

And now, I AM SO DONE WITH THIS MOVIE.

DONE.

Here's to Netflix, which finally offers some Disney movies on Instant! Not a lot, granted, but some is more than there was before, so yay for effort! It's got a few more, some of which that I personally don't have (as if I would ever stoop to owning James and the Giant Peach. *shudders*), so it's a definite help! And who knows, they may eventually add to their line up. :)

So anyway, I watched Dumbo tonight (as you can obviously tell from the title of this post), which I haven't seen in...God, over ten years, but a little less than 15? Like, seriously, I barely remembered this movie at all, and the little amount of scenes that I did recall were ones that I'd seen from, like, commercials, or on reviews discussing the fuckery that is "Pink Elephants on Parade" or the heartbreaking-ness of "Baby Mine".

Honestly, it may be a bit sad, but the Dumbo ride at Disneyland has more significance to me than the actual movie does. *sheepish smile* (For the record, my mom maintained in my childhood that a trip to Disneyland was not complete without going on that ride. She was absolute on this point.)

So, my reactions this time around are below the cut. Um...just a bit of a warning, but my inner feminist was stirred into life by this movie, and surprisingly deep thinky thoughts went through my mind while watching it. Believe me, I was taken aback as well. I actually have something to say this time around, wtf. :P

( This movie doesn't really have any good quotes. Which I suppose is what you get when your titular character never speaks. )

There are tons of entries that I really need to get my ass in gear and finish---the review for Princess Tutu, a Lilo & Stitch one, the odds and ends of various others---but I just have to get this one out. Special Disney movie is special.

Anyway, so, yesterday night, an infrequent event occured in my house---my mom, Lys, and I actually all sat down in the living room, ate dinner together, and watched a movie. As you'll see below, it was almost like our ye olden times. That movie, in case you couldn't guess, was 101 Dalmatians; the Disney animated version.

This movie was like the bible in our house. Not really in the sense of "this is the blueprint to live your life by" kind of way, but more like a "first story you will ever hear" way, back when you're a baby and you can barely even understand what a story is. That sort of bible.

(Then again, I never grew up with an actual Bible in my family, so what the hell do I know about it, I suppose. To this day, I think the only bible that's in our house is one that Lys has---one of those mini ones that people on street corners pass out, and in this case apparently came from one of our neighbors---and possibly an old copy that my mom doesn't remember what happened to. But anyway, I'm digressing. In short, my family ain't religious, and whatever I know about bibles of any kind are gleaned from an outside, and possibly misinformed, perspective and observations of their significance to other people.)

Anyway. The point is that, while it may not have been the first, first, story I'd ever known, but it's pretty damn close to being so. You know that one toy/teddy bear that was your favorite when you were a baby, and that in all of the things you're likely to keep from your infancy, this thing is one of the most likely (apart from your blankie, of course)? Mine was a stuffed Rolly. Still got him, too, though he's a bit...well-loved, shall we say. Before I could walk, I loved playing in the box that this Rolly came in. Even when I honestly probably couldn't understand it, I would still sit quietly and watch the movie---over and over and over and over again.

And then when Lys came along, it only got worse.

Our favorite pretend/imagination games often centered around 101 Dalmatians. We had a huge 'family' of stuffed dalmatian toys. Had themed birthday parties. Colored spots all over our bodies and pretended that we were actual Dalmatians, colored spots all over our bedroom (the walls, the beds, the windows....my mom was pretty pissed about that episode, let me tell you). Watched every single Dalmatian movie/TV show/thing ever.

To say that Lys and I were obsessed with this movie is a severe understatement. The only reason we never got an actual Dalmatian for a pet was because my mom was too smart to do so (we don't really buy the majority of our pets. Mostly, they just...sort of come to us. The only exceptions were a few rats here and there. But my mom flat out refuses to shell out the money to buy any mostly purebred dog, much less one with the health problems that Dalmatians are plagued with). But still, apart from that, we were really, really, really obsessed with this movie. And while other (Disney) movies (see: The Fox and the Hound) have since risen to the dominate the top of my favorites list, 101 Dalmatians has not diminished a whit in Lys's esteem, and it still holds a very special and dear place in my heart. It's like...my childhood in movie form.

However, if I had an entire selection of Disney movies in front of me to watch on my own, I'm pretty sure that I would never pick this one, unless if it was a choice between this and the movies that I actively despise. That might seem odd, but that's because it's never felt like my movie---it's Lys's movie, and I only like watching it when she's around, because then through our history it becomes our movie, the family movie. And it never feels right to me, watching it without her.

101 Dalmatians is hardly the only movie like this---for instance, watching any of the newer Chronicles of Narnia movies, particularly The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, gets ten times funnier and more enjoyable if I watch it with Lys and my BFF Amanda (and now Amanda says that it's practically boring without us, and that we've ruined her forever XD), and etc. It just means that this is another movie with an added layer of positive nostalgia that increases the enjoyment factor for me. :)

So, below the cut shall be more discussion that, you know, actually pertains to the movie itself. ;)

( "We're going to fool the old mad lady!" )

So, this is where I am at the moment, regarding TV shows: I'm watching Supernatural in real time, with the Marathon with my IRL friends on weekends when we can, so I'm watching at least one episode a week. I've already watched all of the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episodes available on Netflix, and am waiting for the last two DVDs to become available at the library so I can check them out and continue watching.

So, in the mean time, I'll be indulging myself by watching the first season of Once Upon a Time that's on my Netflix, and possibly start consistently keeping up with the second season in real time.

As of this moment, I have watched three episodes: the first episode of season 1, the first episode of season 2, and the episode that appeared last Sunday, Oct 28. Apart from that, I've spoiled myself for bits and pieces of other things, mainly from TV tropes, but also because the season 2 opener came with an hour-long recap of the previous episodes, so while I didn't totally pay attention to that (my mom was watching it, and I only started actively paying attention when a Certain Great Love of Mine showed up), I did absorb a few plot points. So, below my eventual LJ cut, there will be lots of spoilers, and unfortunately, I can't guarantee how spoilery they acutally are, you know what I mean?

Anyway, the purpose of this particular post is just for me to write about some thinky thoughts that I have, that may or may not have much to do with anything.


( Okay. Let's talk about Snow White.  )

Eesh. I watched this movie ages ago, but this is the first chance I've had to really sit down and write this out. As per usual in my life, shit just kept happening---lots of pain, bouts of deeper depression, and then Namine was sick and then died, and Magnet was depressed, and friends, and then it was Lys's birthday....

And now a couple more months have passed, and it's now December, not October anymore. And more stuff has happened. My dog Penny has now been put down, and a friend of my dad's had a heart attack and died in his car, another friend also had a heart attack (thankfully, his was mild and he's been doing better), and....

Ahem. Yeah. Lots and lots of stuff. So, I'm gonna just get on with actually talking about Lilo & Stitch now, yeah? ^^


( "You can't shoot, and you can't be seen. Look at you! You look like a monster! We have to blend in!" )

I'm posting this because I feel bad about how I'm seemingly always dumping my Supernatural raving onto poor R-girl when she probably wants to know nothing about it. *sweatdrop* (I'm truly sorry, and if I'm making you uncomfortable, please tell me to shut up. ^^)

I'm thinking of making some sort of post to chronicle a bit of me and my friends' Supernatural marathon, but I'm still debating that. So for now, as we're done with season 1, and that was the first time I'd rewatched it, you get my Top Five Favorite Episodes of Season 1, along with my Top Three Least Favorites (because I want to be more positive than negative at the moment). After that, I'll probably muse a bit about season 2, what are my current favorite episodes, and then later after we're done see how much my opinions change.

Spoilers will be beneath this cut, obviously, and possibly up through season 6.


( "I hope your apple pie is freaking worth it!" )

Already, and off we go again. Picking up in the Pinocchio world.

(Also, R-girl, I do appreciate the link, but I can't download those videos; plus, the quality of what I'm watching really isn't that bad. But still, thank you! ^^)


( SPOILERS BELOW )

So, in combination to getting excited over my favorite Mark Reads/Watches deciding to start a Mark Plays and stating that he'll be doing Kingdom Hearts, and just knowing that I've got to get my head out of the hole that I'd put it in, I figured I would start watching a walkthrough of KH3D. And when my mind started imploding upon itself in confusion, I decided that it'd be a good idea for me to write down my thoughts and reactions as I watched, so that I can help my brain try to make sense of it all. The person's walkthroughs that I'm watching seem to span 70 videos so far (and I have no idea if it's complete or not), so this is going to be Part 1, and covers the first ten videos. :)


( SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT )

Well, that'll be all for this one. Until next time, I guess. XD