Friday Favourites

 

 

fallllll, by m

It’s fall! I work a lot. I haven’t been posting…my B.

Update: I’ve been working mornings M-F teaching kindergarten (one kid has already puked in class, another tells me different jokes every day that end, without fail, with the punchline “…and then the cow said, ‘WHO CUT THE CHEESE?!’”). Three afternoons a week I work with Canada’s leading classical theatre company for kids. I’ll be facilitating pre- and post-show talk-backs for Canadian Stage Company this fall as well. Evenings and weekends I work at Sephora. The latter came about after I decided that waiting tables would be a good idea, before I realize it was a very bad idea. [Just when you think it can’t get worse than tips that are proportional to the amount of cleavage you show, you wait on an elderly, wealthy man with a gray ponytail who decides he can kiss you ON THE LIPS because the $30 tip he left you entitles him to slobber on your face.] FML…lesson learned: working nights pouring shots and then waking up at six to mold the minds of the future is very confusing and can make you feel like you’re living a double life.

I am reallllly looking forward to Saturday; heading to London for the day to see the family. Shout out to book club: sorry I’m missing Friday 😦

In movie news, I saw Crazy, Stupid Love last night and it was cute. How to Make an American Quilt was on t.v. a week or two ago and I was in heaven. Dark Girls at TIFF was a very cool experience; very eye-opening. It taught me about colourism and was controversial even within the audience in our own theatre.

P.S., it’s fall! And fall means sweaterrrrrs

Also…I love the new Zooey Deschenel show. Anybody?

The New Girl

And, I did my nails…like a leopard:

Rawr.

Sleepy Time, by j

I’m trying my hardest to do some work…it’s difficult, especially when I’m surfing for random vids.

Have we posted this yet?

OMG this kid is adorbz.

Enjoy on a Sunday afternoon:

Holy crap it’s almost October, by j

Well hello again.

For those you who have been wondering where I’ve been, you can relax.  I haven’t forgotten about you all, I just started graduate school.

So shall we do the recap of stuff I’ve missed blogging about?

1. TIFF – the three sisters and the mother of the three sisters attended the Toronto International Film Festival (very swanky) and saw the documentary “Dark Girls”.  Hopefully a Weyward Sister will give you a slammin’ review.

2. Gas prices – since I’m driving to school out of my area three times a week suddenly gas prices are a whole lot more important to me.  $1.19 a liter?  Ok!  (Although I was told by a certain father that “It should be $1 even.”)

3. Big Brother – it ended and my favourite vet won (yes you read that right, I L-O-V-E Rachel)

4. Provincial election – are we following this shizz??  Hudak wants to make a sex offender registry public?  WTH?

5. Dance Moms – have you seen this reality show?  It is messed up.  A old, dance teacher who yells at little children so that she “toughens them up”.  Insane.

6. No longer going to patronize the Trails End Market.  The owner of the market told a vendor that she was not able to return unless she stopped sending a transgendered employee to work her candle booth.  Because it’s a “family establishment”.

Here’s there number for you to call and tell them why you will no longer be spending your cash at the market:

1 (519) 268-3840

And after 2 weeks of grad school I feel as though I am an expert.  Here is what I have learned so far:

1. Reading.  Lots of reading.

2. Be super psyched and super social work-y (including using social work-y language {“ideology”, “discourse”, “inclusive”}, eat social work-y food {salads, quinoa, almonds, tap water}, talk about social work-y topics {oppressed children, oppressed women, oppressed immigrants…basically anyone/thing that is oppressed}).

3. I’m horrible. 😉

Friday Favourites

Friday Favourites

Horror Review: Case 39, by j

It is a little known fact that I love (LOVE) horror films.  The creepier the better.  Gory I don’t need, blood I can do in small doses…but scare me?  Yes!

And horror movies in the movie theater is even better, the dark lighting, really high volume and craziness that is being terrified in a theater with your closest friend.

Currently I am in love with Netflix, and considering that they have a a “horror” section I am getting the crap scared out of me on a regular basis.

I don’t know why I love the scary flicks, but I can genuinely say that I’ve never been disappointed by a horror film.  If it’s good, it scares the day lights out of me.  And if it’s bad is effing HILARIOUS.

(Case in point: the horror flick “Prom Night”.  Thanks for the laughs Brittany Snow.)

Last night I decided to watch the 2010 film “Case 39” starring Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper.

I wanted to watch it for a couple of reasons.

First off, Renee’s character “Emily Jenkins” is a social worker.  And since this is to be my future (not a child protection worker, that’s insanity – sorry Anna!), I was curious about what they were doing with the lead character’s occupation of choice.

Second, there is a creepy kid in it.  Rule #1 of the horror film: if there is an “evil” kid or scary child in the movie it instantly increases the creep factor times 10.

So last night at 10:30pm in the basement on my own I selected “Case 39”.

SPOILER ALERT *** IF YOU WANT TO CHECK OUT THIS CRAZY HORROR FILM STOP READING ***

(sidenote: I don’t think knowing the end of horror movies ruins them.  That is the beauty of the horror film)

The film starts off with endearing the audience to Emily, our hard working, burnt out social worker.  She’s got a caseload of 38 (title alert!), has a quasi-flirtatious relationship with Doug (Cooper), a child psychologist and is obviously damaged (her mom died very mysteriously).  We meet her boss (who wears Hugo Boss suits to work…um, what?), and her equally harried co-workers.  The we see Emily get her 39th case, Lillith Sullivan.  A ten year old who has the saddest little photo in her file.

After a visit to the Sullivan household all the red flags are there for a violent father (uber controlling, scary and not afraid of authority).  But fear not: this film does a good job at quashing the belief that a controlling man is bad (by the end you know he HAD to be controlling!).

Emily has a bad feeling.  But that’s all, just a feeling.  Her Hugo Boss wearing boss won’t let her intervene after no evidence is found (she’s just extremely sad and potentially neglected) for fear of a lawsuit (yeah, ok).  Emily pleads for one last shot.  First inaccuracy of the film follows as Emily ambushes little Lily at the water cooler while her parents are talking to the boss.  Literally this is the convo:

Emily: What’s going on at home, Lily?

Lily: (twitchy, nervous)

Emily: I can help you.  Tell me what they’re doing to you!

WHAT?! Are you kidding me?  You can’t ambush a 10 year old while she’s waiting for her parents to finish a private meeting.  Shady, Emily.

After that Emily is not convinced.  So she does the second shady thing.  She shows up at Lily’s school.  This is the convo that ensues:

Emily: Lily!

(Lily runs to hug Emily, sad looking)

Emily: I just wanted to stop by and let you know know that I’ve been thinking about you.  And I’m still working on getting you out of that house.

Lily: I should go.

(Lily runs off, Emily runs after her)

Emily: Here’s my home phone number. Call me if you need me.

Holy hell.  Who wrote this?  Do people actually think that you can do this?

It was probably a good idea that Emily gave Lily her number, as that night her parents try to put her in the oven.  Finally!  We have our evidence and Lily is shoved into a “state home” or “an orphanage”.  Even though there are no such thing.

But Lily pleads with Emily to let her move in with her.  And we get a glimpse of Emily damaged heart:

Emily: I’m just not mom material.

Which is totally counter to everything we’ve already learned about Emily.

Later on we see Emily pleading with a group of people (I think in a school gym?) and makes her case to take Lily home.  What!?!?!  Come ON.

Then the body count starts.

And I will say that this takes a while.  Too long for my liking.

All of a sudden Emily’s friends start dropping like flies (including Doug, after a creepy interaction with Lily…which I’m pretty sure happened at 10pm at night…random).

Then the pieces start to fall into place.  Emily’s suspicious of Lily and does not quite believe her sweet voice and innocent smile.

Unfortunately, Emily ends up looking like a creep.  After consultation with Lily’s family in the MENTAL INSTITUTION, Emily and Mr. Sullivan hatch the plan to kill the kid.

(Wait, aren’t these meetings taped, supervised, anything?).

And here’s where the movie gets unbelievable (yes I said unbelievable).

The ending is thoroughly ridiculous and ends it with a completely open ending for a sequel (which is rule #2 of horror flicks).  The only unfortunate thing is that this movie won’t have a sequel as it was not that great.

As well, this is the film where the Renee and Bradley met and started their love affair (which sadly, was doomed much like the film).

All in all the film was worth the watch, and probably would have been marginally better in the theater.

Just don’t watch it for it’s depiction of what a social worker should do. Ever.

J’s Fright Scale: 5/10

Moral of the movie: If a kid is unwanted and abused, there’s probably a reason.

“Case 39”

Where the Wild Things Are, by m

This summer I embarked on a blast-from-the-past journey when I bought the novelization of the children’s book and movie “Where the Wild Things Are”.

 

I’m a little obsessed. I loved the book when I was a kid, and learned about the making of the movie during my Set Design for Film course last year at Ryerson.
If you teach English to little ones, the novel would be an AMAZING read. After reading the novel, I watched the movie, which was gorgeous; you get the idea from the preview (which features Canadian musicians Arcarde Fire…I love this song):

An amazing jewelry designer, Pamela Love, collaborated with a clothing line called Opening Ceremony and made some Wild Things stuff I want. Gimme it:

And, just for good measure…

Friday Favourites