Category: Movies

Sydney Quotes the Movies – Limitless

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle11 Comments

What if a pill could make you rich and powerful?

Good tag line = Good movie. Great actor (Bradley Cooper is totally underrated), Great visuals (I love time lapse photography used in a movie) and Great use of light (on the drug; bright and clear, off the drug; dark and dull) = Great movie.

Limitless was visually an awesome movie.  And the lines, oh the lines. Such great lines. Here we go . .

“You see that guy? That was me not so long ago. What kind of guy without a drug or alcohol problems looks this way? Only a writer.” Opening line of the movies. Bradley Cooper plays a guy name Eddie who is a struggling writer. He has a book deal already, which is annoying, but turns out the book was in his head, he just needed help getting it out. As a writer, I can related.

“Time someone shook up the free world and got things done.” Eddie is offered a drug to help him tap into the full capacity of his brain. He sees what he wants and puts a plan together to achieve it. We can all take a lesson from that — you know, minus the drugs.

“I don’t have delusions of grandeur, I have an actual recipe for grandeur.” Eddie is trying to get in on the financial world, after writing his book in four days (hate him). He has to talk his way into his new career. It works.

“My capacity for self sabotage wasn’t boundless after all.” Eddie was trying to get his girl back. She dumped him because he was such a loser. Self deprecating charm worked, they got back together.

“Don’t wear the same coat and suit. This isn’t The Matrix.” Eddie finds himself in danger and hires a couple of bodyguards. In his directions to them, he references one of my favorite movies. It was a funny line in the circumstance.

“You should really be glad about this, because you know me working for you, you’d end up being my bitch.” DeNiro’s character was the experienced business man who had paid his dues and got to the top and although he didn’t want to give in to this brass new young hot shot, he had no choice. He wanted the deal. Turns out he still tries to keep the upper hand over Eddie, but once again, our Eddie proves to be “50 moves ahead.”

Another star of this movie was the city of New York itself. Really makes me miss NYC.
Good suspense filled action movie with a gorgeous star, acting royalty veteran, shot in the greatest city in the world. You can’t go wrong.

Sydney Quotes the Movies – The Dark Knight Rises

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle4 Comments

The Dark Knight Rises is the third installment in the Chris Nolan Batman Trilogy.  I was a good ending to a saga that began 7 years ago, in my life.  I have always enjoyed super heros movies;  Superman, Spiderman, Ironman, Hulk  and all the other Avenger greats.  I even enjoyed the Keaton, Kilmer and, dare I say, Clooney Batman Movies.  But, they had the comic book feel, which made the movies fun and enjoyable.   They were colorful, whimsical, and funny.  They were a good escape.  But, Chris Nolan’s Batman was different.  It was real.  It was dark, sexy, cruel, clever, complex and tragic at times. This last movie did its job.  It tide up the loose ends and concluded the trilogy brilliantly.

But, I had a few issues with the movie on its own. One issue I had was it just didn’t have the typical Batman'”swagger’ of the other two movies.  The first, Batman Begins, told you how it all started and the second, The Dark Knight was all about the Joker and  the greatness that was Heath Ledger (r.i.p.). In both films, Bruce Wayne’s persona was so radically different from The Batman.  It made sense and it was familiar.

This movie, Bruce Wayne was a little sad.  He was in pain for most of the movie, he didn’t dominate the fights, he didn’t have the coolest toys.  He was angry, but he didn’t know how to use it to his advantage.

The second issue I had was it didn’t have enough gadgets.  Lucious only showed us a couple of cool new things.  One was a new aircraft called the Bat.  It looked more like a small version of the alien ship in The Battleship Movie; not slick and ominous like the batmobile.  There was one scene where Bruce Wayne was walking the red carpet at a charity event and he used an electromagnetic pulse to shut off the paparazzi’s cameras.  That was pretty cool.  Nice dig at the paparazzi. Good one Mr. Nolan.

Nevertheless, I am a stickler for patterns and they didn’t show up in this one.  But, I enjoyed it for what is was.  The end of a story and an end of an era.  Now for the quotes:

Bane:  We are introduced to the evil Bane from the beginning scenes.  Is it just me or does he sound like Sean Connery?  Read the quotes with that voice in mind.  
 
“Gotham, take control . .  take control of your city.  Behold, the instrument of your liberatation! Identify yourself to the world!”
 
“No one cared who I was, until I put on the mask.” The mask was a character itself. 
 
“Calm down, Doctor!  Now’s not the time for fear. That comes later.”
 
“When Gotham is ashes, you have my permission to die.”
 
Captain Jones:  “I’ll die before I talk.”
Bane:  “I’m on your schedule, captain.” Bane was actually pretty clever.  
 
Roland Daggett:  “You’re pure evil!”
Bane: ” I’m necessary evil.”  Bane was one evil bad ass.
 
Seline Kyle (Catwomen):  Anne Hathaway was a good catwomen.  She was helped by the outfit and the stunt coordinator, but she had the right attitude and her voice when she delivering the lines was really cool. 
 
“There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne.  You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.”
 
 
 
Jim Gordon:  He was always one of my favorite characters because he loved his city of Gotham and no one said “The Batman” better then him.  
 
“We were in this together, and then you were gone.  Now this evil . . rises. The Batman has to come back.”
 
Bruce Wayne (Batman):  Like I said, he was a little sad at times in this film.  He switched between, being a hero, to focusing on the greater good, to cocky savior.  It was a little confusing.  
 
“This city needs me.”
 
“I need you to get me back in the game.”
 
“Tell me where the trigger is.  Then . . . you have my permission to die!”
 
 
Lucious Fox:  Another one of my all time favorites.  Lucious had the morals and the toys.  
 
“I call him The Bat, and yes Mr. Wayne it does come in black.”
 

What did you think of the The Dark Knight Rises?  Did it meet your expectations?  What was your favorite quote?  

My Weekly Update – Interview, Interesting and I’m Going to Camp

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle6 Comments
This is Interesting.

Interview

Last week, an interview that I conducted a couple of months ago was posted on My First Book.  It was a really great interview and I am happy it is out there because the interview is so me.  If that makes sense.  And, it surprised me just how different things where just 2 month ago.  Two months ago I had not finished my first draft of ‘I’m Coming Home’. Two months ago, I didn’t have an outline for another story and ready to tackle another challenge (Campnano starts in 3 days). And, 2 months ago, I didn’t really have a clue how writing would become so much a part of my life the way it has.  I enjoy conducting interviews because I can learn so much from other, but I had no idea in doing an interview, I would learn so much about myself.

Thanks so much Misha.

Interesting

A couple of items I found interesting this week:

In the last two week, I had two days with huge numbers on my site. I like to think it was because of my brilliant content, but part of it is what I am calling the ‘Stumble Upon Effect’.  I have a Stumble Upon tribe in Triberr and all we are required to do is Stumble each others post and I am happy to see that it has increased my site hits.  And, the most popular page viewed on those two days – Tattoo Tuesday.  If you want to gain some exposure, submit your tattoo stories.  I would love to feature you on Tattoo Tuesday.

Another Triberr related item of interest, my blog friend Fel at The Peasant Revolt shared her thoughts on SEO.  I admit I am clueless about why this is so important to grow your blog traffic and she clears it up a bit. She also shares a fun webinar by one of the Triberr creators Dino Dogan on the this topic.  Great stuff.

Another great post I came across was over at Pensuasion called A Modern Make-Over:  The Classics Retold. As someone who loves movies, old and new, I found it interesting her take on how well these modern make overs retold the classics we know and love.

I’m Going to Camp

That’s right people.  I am going to camp.  I have once again signed up for a 50,000 words in 31 days challenge and this time it is called CampNaNo.  I am basically testing out my theory that I brought up last month about whether my first writing experience in JuNoWriMo ruined me.  All things came together in June, which allowed me to write a good and complete first draft.  So, the real test is, can I do it again.

I am on track with finishing my outline, character and scene sketches.  The more I get into this story the excited I am to tell it.  You can follow my progress with daily update under the Sydney Aaliyah Writes tab at the top.  Wish me luck!

New Followers – thanks so much to my new followers, you guys and gals are awesome.

Karen from Charron’s Chatter
Julie from Word Flows
The Star Chasers
Susan Moffat from Writing Glimmers
Turkischland
Chris Stocking from Write to Perfect
Kelly from This is Helenora
Poetic Parfait
Carrie at dare I eat a peach?
Deena the Digital Diva from Digital eBook Building and Formatting

Next Weeks Schedule

Tuesday – Tattoo Tuesday
Wednesday – Insecure Writer’s Support Group & First day of Campnano
Friday – Blog Post – I am prepared this week
Sunday – My Weekly Update

Sydney Quotes the Movies – The Ides of March

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle4 Comments

I watched Ides of March today. Written, directed and starring Mr. George Clooney, rarely does he disappoint, and the lovely Mr. Ryan Gosling who can do no wrong.

I was excited about this movie because of the cast (Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright) and the concept. By, I think my expectations were to high.

When ever I think of political drama, election drama, dialogue driven drama, I think of Aaron Sorkin. Well, this movie was no Aaron Sorkin drama. But, if I measure it alone, it was a pretty good movie. Great story and great message. It is becoming the oldest story in the book.

Young idealistic and “media smart” Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is quite the patriot.  “I’m not a Christian. I’m not an Atheist. I’m not Jewish. I’m not Muslim. My religion, what I believe in is called the Constitution of United States of America.”

He feels like he has finally found a presidential candidate in Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) that can and will change America.

Even the media love him.  – “All the reporters love you. Even the reporters that hate you still love you.”

Morris is dedicated to running a clean campaign, no mudslinging, no negative campaign ads and no offering cabinet positions to people he doesn’t respect in order to get votes.

Everyone around him had “drunk the kool aid” and even his wife was in on it. That was the part that really threw me because they have this really great scene with him and his wife riding in a car. She is resting her head on his shoulder while he is making notes on a speech. She looks at him in her best “My husband is the greatest man in the world” look and then begins to try and convince him to make a deal with someone he doesn’t like in order to win the election. Using the same argument that his campaign managers made on him earlier. He refuses to make the deal and refrains from telling her off. Just gives her an uncomfortable giggle and then kisses her on her forehead.

Big spoiler alert, Clooney’s character isn’t what he appears. He breaks the cardinal rule that all presidents since Clinton must adhere to, DON’T SLEEP WITH AN INTERN! Anyway, the intern gets pregnant. And, she ends up either accidentally or on purpose, od’ing on pills and dies.

The young idealist finds he has to turn into what he hates in order to save his own ass and perhaps the election as well. He orchestrates it pretty brilliantly.

At the beginning of this movie you really like everyone. All the characters seem like good people. But, by the end of the movie, everyone one seems a little seedy. Even the young intern.

While the writing wasn’t what I was expecting, two lines stood out to me and really made me enjoy this movie.

“We’re going to be fine. We have to do it and it’s the right thing to do. And, nothing bad happens when your doing the right thing.” – Ryan Gosling in Ides of March – While he still feels like they can concur the world because they are the good guys.

Then, . . .

“Cause you broke the only rule in politics. You want to be president? You can start a war, you can lie, you can cheat, you can bankrupt the country. But you can’t fuck the interns.” – Ryan Gosling – Really great line and it was delivered by Ryan Gosling’s character beautifully. Needless to say by this time, his idealism has been shaken.

If you like these actors, they will live up to your expectations as actors, but in comparison to other political dramas, it misses the mark.

Sydney Quotes the Movies – Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle2 Comments

I really enjoy movies about people who are searching for something, both figuratively and literally.  This movie contains both.  Young Oskar lost his father in 9/11.  In search of a way to stay connected to his father, he goes on a systematic quest for the lock that fits a key he found in his father’s belongings.  As you can imagine, the quotes that stood out to me, perfectly convey the emotion of someone desperate to find sense in a situation that didn’t make sense.   Tom Hanks (Thomas) as the father, Sandra Bullock as the mother (Linda) and introducing Thomas Horn (Oskar) elevate the words to another level of emotion that you feel throughout the movie.

The flash backs of his father instilling in Oskar the need to find answers and solutions was his way of getting Oskar to interact with people, something that early on you see is very difficult for young Oskar.
“If things were easy to find, the wouldn’t be worth finding.” – Thomas
And encouraging Oskar not to get discouraged when it gets difficult.
“Another way of looking at it is, how can you ever be wrong?” – Thomas
Gives Oskar all the tools he needs to for the journey is about to embark on.
Many people encourage Oskar along the way:
“You never know what a key is going to fit. There are a million possibilities. That’s what I like about keys.  They all open something.” – Lock Smith
No one is going to get in his way.
“Nothing was going to stop me.  Not even me.” – Oskar
Some, appear to discourage him:
“It’s never going to make scene because it doesn’t.” – Linda
You get glimpse of just how difficult this journey is for Oskar by several rants throughout the movie. This was the most compelling and showed what he had to do to find the answer to this question:
“I count there are 472 people with the last name Black. There are 216 addresses. Some of the blacks live together, obviously. I calculated that if I go to 2 every Saturday plus holidays, minus my hamlet school plays, my minerals, coins, and comic convention, it’s going to take me 3 years to go through all of them. But that’s what I’m going to do! Go to every single person named black and find out what the key fits and see what dad needed me to find. I made the very best possible plan but using the last four digits of each phone number, I divide the people by zones. I had to tell my mother another lie, because she wouldn’t understand how I need to go out and find what the key fits and help me make sense of things that don’t even make sense like him being killed in the building by people that didn’t even know him at all! And I see some people who don’t speak English, who are hiding, one black said that she spoke to God. If she spoke to god how come she didn’t tell him not to kill her son or not to let people fly planes into buildings and maybe she spoke to a different god than them! And I met a man who was a woman who a man who was a woman all at the same time and he didn’t want to get hurt because he/she was scared that she/he was so different. And I still wonder if she/he ever beat up himself, but what does it matter?” – Oskar
Others along Oskar’s journey learned some valuable lessons as well and father son relationships are central to the plots in the movie for several characters:
“He wrote about all the things he wanted to do but didn’t and all the things he did do but, didn’t want to.” – William Black
In the end, whether he finds what he is looking for or not, Oskar and his mother become closer and realize that they can help each other remember what they lost.
“I miss his voice telling me he loves me.” – Linda “Me, too.” – Oskar

I really enjoyed the complexity of this movie, from the sub-plots, to the conflicting journey’s for the different characters and at the center is this little boy who desperately wants to stay connected to his father. It is a 9/11 movie, but the events that take place after “the worst day” are relatable to anyone who has lost someone.

Based on a novel by Jonathan Safran Foer
Screenplay by Eric Roth