Project Happiness Part 4

Project Happiness part 4: Sit back and watch an old musical

I've always loved old musicals. They always bring sunshine to my soul. Some of my favorites are Calamity Jane, Singin' in the Rain, Hello Dolly, The Sound of Music, and Funny Girl. Funny Girl came on tv today, which reminded me how much I really do love old musicals. Funny Girl is hilarious. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. Barbra Streishand is a hoot. I'm a fan. So watch an old musical and happiness will very quickly follow. Mmm hmm. It will.

Movies, oh how I love you.

I love movies.

Yes I do.

Probably more than I should.

But who wouldn't love the idea of escaping for just those short 2-3 hours and being part of a whole other world?

I love all kinds of movies.

Romance

Action

Thriller

Drama

They're all so great.

I love it when a movie makes me cry, because that movie did more for me than just entertain for a short time. It moved me. It made me feel something more.

Extreme happiness.

Sadness

Perhaps it brought back memories of a situation I've been in.

Maybe it inspired me.

Movies like this are always put close to the top, if not at the top, of my list of favorites. Movies such as

Braveheart (my all time favorite)

Gladiator

The Last Samurai

La Vita É Bella

La Vie En Rose

The Secret Life of Bees

Hotel Rwanda

And then there are those films that just make you want to fall in love and smile or just get up and dance. Movies such as

Pride and Prejudice

The Notebook

Return to Me

Singin' in the Rain

Calamity Jane

And then there are those that you may not cry in, or you may not get that warm fuzzy feeling, but they are just plain great. Such as

Forrest Gump

Charlotte Gray

Man From Snowy River

V for Vendetta

Blood Diamond

Get Smart

My Fair Lady

In honor of all the great movies out there (because there are so many more than just those that I have listed) I have written this post. And with it (because I think that a huge reason that movies can be so great is because of the music in them), have found songs and quotes from as many great movies as I could find.

The Magic of Movies.

Let's hope they stay magic, inspiring, uplifting, and just plain awesome, and hope they don't sink along with the values of those that tend to make them! :)

My Movie Greats Playlist that you are now hearing:

1. "The Braveheart Theme"

2. The Freedom Speech from Braveheart

3. "Now We are Free" from Gladiator

4. Music from the "Honor Him" scene in Gladiator (I cry every time...)

5. "My name is Gladiator" from Gladiator

6. "Main Title" from The Notebook

7. "I'll Be Seeing You" by Billie Holiday. From the road dancing scene in The Notebook

8. "Top of the World" from Pride and Prejudice

9. "Darcy's Letter" from Pride and Prejudice

10. "Mrs. Darcy" from Pride and Prejudice

11. The theme song of La Vita É Bella

12. Music from The Last Samurai

13. "Singin' in the Rain" by Gene Kelly

14. "Secret Love" by Doris Day in Calamity Jane

15. "Black Hills of Dakota" from Calamity Jane

16. "The Power of Ideas" quote from V for Vendetta

17. "Jessica's Theme" from Man From Snowy River

18. "Non, Je ne Regrette Rien" from La Vie en Rose

19. "Forrest Gump Theme"

A bit of this and a bit of that

First off, I went to the midnight premiere of Angels & Demons last night. I must admit, I was slightly disappointed. It was very different from the book and in my opinion, they left out some of the most important stuff. Such as the important link between science and religion that was very very prominent in the book. And a lot of the characters were way different, and things surprised me because they were so different from the book. But overall, I think they did a pretty good job. Everyone should still go see it, despite my slight disappointment. But be sure to read the book because, of course, it is WAY better than the movie.

Second, I'm way excited to go to the Taylor Swift concert in two weeks. She is one of the few country singers I like. And Bug showed me this music video the other day and I thought it was so great, so I'm sharing with you all. :) (bad news is that the column in my blog is not wide enough for this video, to see it at full size go here)

Third, I love summer. 'nuf said.

Yes, it is true...

So, I watched the Hannah Montana movie.

I loved it!

Yes, I am just finishing my freshman year of college, and I enjoyed the Hannah Montana movie.

There was so much good music in it, and better acting than normal from that Miley girl...

It was great!

Nat, take your girls if you can. They'll love it.

Tam, take Preslee if you can. I'm sure you'll both love all the music and dancing in it too.

And I bought the soundtrack... it was too hard to resist. :)

Finals start tomorrow! I have a few reviews today and then I think I'll take a final each day so I don't feel rushed in studying. I thought that would be the best way. Wish me luck one and all!

An Explanation+Holi!

I'm going through an old movies/music phase at the present time.

Much to the displeasure of my roommates.

I know Victoria secretly loved when I made her watch my favorite scenes from "Hello Dolly" and "Calamity Jane" on Friday night.

She seemed drawn to my lap top screen this morning as we were getting ready for church and I was watching "From Here to Eternity" in the process.

I love old movies. And music.

Hence my playlist.

If you don't like it, deal with it. :)

Second:

I went to the Hare Krishna Festival of Colors at the Hindu temple in Spanish Fork last night. I was so so excited and me and Rachael planned to go out and join thousands in throwing colors in this magnificent pagan holiday celebration. However, after it took us a while to get on our way and being stuck in traffic for quite some time, we missed the throwing of the colors. Very sad. I know. Who knew it would be such a huge ordeal?! Traffic was crazy and there were so so many people going. It was madness. However, I ran into my friend Mindy who was present at the color throwing and insisted I take a picture of her just to show you all what I missed out on... haha. But me and Rach had a great drive down. We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful country air and cruisin' with the windows down. It was fun anyway. There's always next year I guess. :)

My friend Mindy. Everyone walking out of there looked like this, if not worse! Crazy craze.

The Hindu temple in Spanish Fork. See it up there on the hill top?

Rach and I still had a great fun time. :)

La Vie En Rose! "Non, je ne regrette rien!"

I just wanted to make a quick post about a film I recently saw and really really loved:

Loved it. It's the life story of the French singer Edith Piaf. Marion Cotillard won the Oscar for Best Actress for this movie last year, and I must say it was more than well deserved. She was amazing in it. It's a french film, so if you have the patience for subtitles and are up for a fabulous flick, I highly suggest it. I even posted one of my favorite songs from the movie on my playlist for your enjoyment, "Non, Je ne Regrette Rien" - "No, I Do Not Regret Anything."

Rent it. Watch it. Love it. As I did. :)

Also: I HEART MATT GIRAUD.

Vote for him on American Idol. :)

And Allison Iraheta...

Coming soon: Pictures from Hare Krishna Holi:the Festival of Colors. I'm leaving right now! :)

Two Films

This past couple of weeks I found some time to watch two great movies that I highly recommend!

If you are in need of a good laugh, and are a fan of the one and only Dwight Schrute, you MUST see "The Rocker." Hilarious! It's about this drummer for a band in the 80s. His band, Vesuvius, was offered a record deal but were told they had to get rid of the drummer "Fish", so they do. 20 years later, Vesuvius is the biggest band in the world and Fish is still hung up on it. His nephew asks him to be the drummer for his band for a gig at the prom so he agrees. Then it goes on to show how he carried them to the top. It is so so funny. Watch it!

The second film I found totally awesome is "Charlotte Gray". Lately I've become a huge fan of Cate Blanchett. She is definitely one of the best actresses of this day and age. The other day I was reading a list of her movies and this one struck me as something I would love. I've always loved books and movies about WW II.

In this movie Cate Blanchett plays Charlotte Gray, a Scottish woman living in London. She speaks fluent French and has been approached about possibly going undercover in France to help the resistance. When she hears her pilot boyfriend's plane was shot down in France but he made contact saying he was alive, she decides to become an agent and go to France to try and find him. She is placed in a small French town that is in an area of France that has not yet been taken over by the Germans. She meets Julian, the son of a farmer who is also a leader of the resistance. She stays on his father's farm and helps take care of two Jewish children whose parents were arrested. One day she is waiting for a train to Jillais, which is a city that her contact told her her pilot was in. As her train pulls up, loads of Germans unload the train. She then decides to stay and help Julian and the resistance stand up to the Germans. And it goes on and on. I love this movie so so so much! It is definitely now up close to the top on my list. And Cate Blanchett is just amazing. Go rent it! You'll love it. :)

Random bits

First random thing: I found an apartment! Yay! They are way nice and I'm excited to live there next year.

Party on.

Second: I love music. And I bring this up because I'm watching the Grammy's. I heart Jennifer Hudson. And Justin Timberlake. And Carrie Underwood. And Beyoncé. I think they are all performing.

Yes.

Third: I watched "The Secret Life of Bees" last night. It is now one of my favorite movies.

Phenomenal.

Fourth: I have an obsession with Veronica Mars. If you have never seen an episode, I highly suggest you do. I wish I were as clever and witty as that teenaged P.I.

Awesome.

That's all I have to say for now.

Ciao.