Goodbye Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Love Love Love

Bring it on. That's what I say to you 2013 (who was pointed out to me as an ominous sounding year). Ominous or not, I choose to conquer thee with lots of love, happiness and determination as I set new year goals that are, more than likely, overly ambitious and were probably my goals in 2012 and will be again in 2014. What I won't do, however, is tell you what said goals are because in all honesty...I don't want or need you to judge whether or not my year as an artist or as a person is or was a success. Setting unrealistic goals and not reaching them is not failure IF you tried. Maybe all of our goals should be unattainable; this way we never stop trying. I don't want to sit down at the end of the day and say that all my goals in life are complete. If all your dreams came true, what would you dream about? Most (all?) artists are dreamers; it's what allows us to always be working on bettering ourselves.

In the mean time, some things I dug into over the holiday season:

Les Miserables

I have read numerous people’s feelings/opinions/reviews on this film, some raving and generous, some hateful an uneducated and some straight down the line. I enjoyed it. I am not going to sit here and pick out the flaws that are obvious to some and not to others. But if you are curious-- go see it and make your own opinions. I for one can't wait to read the book after seeing this, I think it will shed new light on the performers choices, and the composers creativity.

Gone Girl

I heard about this novel from a store clerk in Coles who raved about it. After reading it, I am not sure how I feel about this novel. While many people believe it to be one of the best novels they read in 2012, I cannot attest to that. This is a mystery/thriller novel that has chapters that alternate between the husband and wife's voice. It is about a relationship and a wife that goes missing. I can't tell you more because it pretty much would give the whole thing away. This novel is a good novel but I am not sure if I liked it. The characters are difficult to love and for this reason I give Flynn props for being able to create characters that are not always likeable, and yet you want to continue with the novel none-the-less.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

This is a gem of a film. Who doesn't like Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. This film hit a sweet spot for me as the acting was wonderful, the story was charming and of course the backdrop of India is irresistible to someone who clings to the memories of a trip that seems so long ago. No wonder it has a few Golden Globe nominations!

Life of Pi

The more I think about this film, the more I like it. My first reaction was that the story makes for a better book than movie, but ironically this is exactly what the movie wants you to think about -- story telling. I do not think you can realize how clever this film is without having read the book first. The storybook frame, and postmodern twists are what make this film smart but I must tip my hat off to Ang Lee for making this film stunning. Yes, at times I felt that it was a more humorous take on the infamous Cast Away, and natural animal behavior is sometimes difficult to watch, but overall a stunning and clever film.


So, 2013, we are off with a few new projects to look forward to doing (A Chorus Line, Lovelash, Auditions...etc) and a lot more story's, be it books or movies, to dig into...so I can't complain!