We're in Vegas, making good on our pact to stay out of San Diego for New Year's Eve whenever possible. So far we're on Year 2 of the plan and if we can keep our string of super fun NYE's intact, it would count as an achievement. Currently I'm camped out in the hotel room because that's what I do in Vegas. Smoke indoors, lust for buffets, keep the Wifi pumping, and wait to be dragged out into playland.
Overall 2011 sucked. I couldn't point to any specific suckiness but I think everything regressed all around. Then again, I've said that for a few years running now, which may point to a general decline. Actually, that's not true. 2009 was good, great even. So it's just been downhill for a little bit. 2012 though, whew, that's going to be the year. Things are going to be so good in 2012!
I'm trying to work on my optimism. It's not a resolution, just a half hearted attempt at being less negative. Although being negative is probably one of my finer traits. So really, why mess with a defining trait? My highlight of 2011: Celtics game, duh.
This article about conjoined twins who share sensory inputs is pretty fascinating. It makes me think of Tomax and Xamot, the evil twins from GI Joe who both get hurt if one of them get punched. They were also mirror images of each other, which is something that cannot be discounted. Plus they spoke in horrible Eurotrash accents.
There has to be a great story out there somewhere about twins who are fated to be enemies but yet can't kill each other because they would both die, right? Actually this last point may be a little too Harry Potter and Voldemort. I was upset when Harry survived the end of the series. What's the point of him being the last horcrux if he didn't actually have to sacrifice himself?
It's the rare movie I want a happy ending to happen. But I just watched one where I was desperate that the two leads end up together. Characters who emotionally withdrawn for no good reason are just as annoying as characters who fall in love too quickly. "She's perfect for you, how could you let her go?" The movie actually wasn't about their relationship that much, but more about the protagonist's relationship with his dad. The whole thing was really great actually, like what Garden State and Greenberg should have been, but I can't share the name of the film because I'd ruin it for you. It's probably better you stumble upon it yourself.
Plus, when I met up with a friend the other day, we touched upon the subject of being tainted by reviews before and after things. I used to read a ton of reviews about a film before diving in. Blessed with a short memory, I'm able to completely forget plot details as soon as I read them. What doesn't leave however, is the opinions of the people I've read. Invariably, this taints my perspective on a movie. Over the past year or two, I've tried to cut out as many pre-viewing reviews as possible but haven't done a thing about firing up websites immediately after watching something.
Concerned with what critics think, or what they noticed that I didn't, I'm usually already checking movie reviews as we're stepping out of the theater. I'll look up the director's previous works, who wrote the script, what an actor or actress had been in, and then hit up other people's opinions. It all contributes to my overall feeling for the film.
It also makes me feel like I have no backbone because one negative sentence from someone I respect is enough to make me re-evaluate things. Not whether I liked it or not -- that never changes -- but how "good" it was. That's the way it was with this movie. I loved it, and immediately messaged a friend I knew had loved it too, but there were too many polarizing opinions around to pass a recommendation on. There's just no way to know if somebody else would experience the film like I did. Sometimes that possible positive shared experience just isn't worth the risk.
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