The Adventures of Logan

 

The Adventures of Logan

Prologue:

Logan was a normal girl like everyone else. Yes, a girl. Her mother died when she was less than a day old from complications. Her father Troy, barely an adult himself, chose the name Logan because Wolverine was one of his favorite movie characters. (It was also one of his wife’s favorite movies. Troy was a sentimental kind of a guy but didn’t like to show it.) Logan was a normal girl.

Logan thrived in school, went to a University, graduated with honors and moved back home. With a degree in Journalism, she knew her choices for jobs right out of college were slim to none and began looking for a full-time job that could give her that “real world” experience everyone kept talking about. And so Logan got a job as a recruiter.

After two years, Logan was feeling the itch to move on from her “big kid” job. And that’s when it all started to change.

 

Chapter One: Rain Is A Good Thing

Four o’clock. The worst time of day for any 9 to 5 worker. One hour til freedom. One hour of servitude left. Logan sat at her desk trying to seem like she was still working as hard as she had been at 2, but in reality she hadn’t worked that hard at 2. If her boss would leave, she could wait around for a little bit more and leave just early enough to miss most of the weekend traffic. Although, she thought, that was part of the fun of driving home. It was like human Tetris and she loved to beat the game.

     Logan was doodling on her notebook about the concert she had just been to the weekend before, thinking about sending her work in to a website online that featured local events. She had been sending in her work more frequently as her best friend’s uncle’s stepdaughter was one of the editors. “Gotta love connections…” she murmured.

     Logan really wanted to leave work because for the first time tonight she was allowing herself to be set up on a date. Her dating life wasn’t dead per se, but its heartbeat was close to flat lining. Her best friend, Nina, had finally convinced Logan to start being set up and she had finally caved and agreed to drinks and the potential for dinner.

Like most girls who have their minds preoccupied with thoughts of an upcoming date, Logan didn’t check the weather that morning. She also didn’t check it at lunch. She didn’t even bother to look outside in fact. This is important.

After closing down her computer in the slowest way possible, Logan shoved her computer in her bag, grabbed her coat, and was out the office door by 4:57. Into the elevator she went, tapping her foot to some internal beat.

CRACK! The sky is illuminated with lightning as she walks out the front door right into the torrential downpour that had been taking place for the last hour. Frozen, not helping the matter, she glances down to realize that her shirt is almost completely see-thru almost immediately. “Classic.”

 

 

 

 

 

TV/Film: A Haiku

 

 

 

 

 

why must I grow up

no one understands this love

it is in my blood

Great Expectations

Have you ever been waiting for something to happen with so much excitement that when it finally happens, there is a sense of loss because it wasn't as great as you anticipated it being?

As I sat in line for the new Star Trek movie, this thought crossed my mind. I sit in those lines, breathless with anticipation, assuming the movies will be worth every minute. But what happens when it doesn't meet the standard of everything I hoped it would be?

Star Trek Into Darkness was a fantastic film filled with eye-popping special effects and the acting bar raised beyond measure. I gave it an A- in my post-movie blog. Why not an A? Well, I just missed the easy one-liners that the first film had so easily mixed in with the action and storytelling. Not that there weren't funny moments; the film just has a darker tone and the comedy would have lightened the mood where the film meant to take you to a dark place.

Expectations. They can make or break a film.

 I saw The Big Wedding when it first came out solely because I like the ensemble of actors that were in the movie, not because I had an over-whelming desire to see what would happen. I already knew what was going to happen. The movie was fairly predictable but here's the thing: I loved it. The performances were so nuanced and mixed in with other characters storylines that you didn't have to time to sigh that you've already seen this movie. There is nothing like the feeling of leaving a movie more than pleasantly surprised at how much you liked it.

Maybe that's part of the problem: predictability. Most movies, big and small, are fairly predictable. At least to me they are. I am pretty good at predicting what is going to happen before it does. Scratch that- I predict plot points in movies better than anyone else I know, and I have some pretty intelligent friends who can do this very well. The "twists" in the new Star Trek were not mind-blowing but fairly easy to figure out. The director and writers laid out the hints of the audiences like breadcrumbs, basically asking us to come to the conclusion before we even see it happen on screen.

I worry about that time when I'll find movies, especially the ones I wait in line for hours to see, utterly predictable and no longer have that same sense of excitement. The only place I find originality is in B-movies and indie films, and there you have to sift through all the riff-offs of the A-list movie that it was inspired by.

The same can be said for television. I watch more than 80 hours of TV a week and 95% of the time I know what is going to happen before it does. This isn't a negative commentary on the shows, more that I just had the training to be able to do this. I believe this ability stems from watching soap operas since I was about 5, anything that can and could happen does on those shows. I've seen a character die 5 times, have 2 alternate personalities, and a secret twin. Those shows showed me how predictability is it's greatest ally: people want to see these characters happy and then destroyed. It's the way of life on a soap.

Movies and television think that shocking has to be dealt in blood baths, deaths, and surprise babies. These can be exciting and great ratings for the shows, but in all honesty they just delay the slow turn back to predictability. The most "original" shows on TV right now utilize violence and that is a sad commentary on our society. I know how hard it is to be original, I have to come up with these blogs and my own show ideas are little bits of other shows that influenced me.

I guess my really worry is that someday, I won't be able to have the moment of pure delight when a movie or television show is able to pull one over on me. I really don't want to know what will happen then.

Iron Man 3: Movie Review

Heeeeeere's Summer! (Midnight Movie Edition)

This was written yesterday so I had the appropriate time to get all my thoughts out. You're welcome.

As I sit here writing this, in approximately 24 hours, I will be starting my personal Summer Movie Season which from here on will be referred to in future blogs as SMS for short. As I have been counting down towards the starting line, thoughts about myself, the movies themselves, the theater that I inhabit like a second home, and the friends that join/mock me in my endeavors deserve an explanation. I feel compelled to explain the complex nature of my movie-going experience and, because you find my neurosis entertaining on some level and I like to express my opinions to the world, you now have the immense pleasure of hearing some of them.

(This is like my version of a thesis, hence the verbiage and hoity-toity attitude. You'll survive.)

First and foremost, I know many of you are thinking, "Hey Kate, how do you keep track of all the movies that you want to see?" and if you weren't, well shame on you for failing the most basic requirements of reading my blog. (To agree with everything I say and always wanting my opinion. Duh.) Well readers, I'm glad you asked! My fellow movie-going partners and I were waiting for a movie to start a couple months back and we went through a list of all the movies slated to come out in the year 2013. From that we made a list of all the movies we (or at times, one of us) was interested in seeing. (If you are interested in what my list consists of, just ask!) Quite simple, even you can do it!

You all know that I like to get to places early. (Understatement of the century, I know.) Well, I'll explain that a little bit. I have some mild OCD tendencies and one of those tendencies is being early, to most events. There is the occasional time where I am late or not as on time as I'd like to be but for the most part you can always count on me to be somewhere early. I began, as most of you know, with the last Harry Potter movie and from there has taken on a life of it's own. I am known at my movie theater, mostly by name if not by sight by most of the employees. (They did hire a bunch of new people so I now have to train them and get them to help me out with insider scoop but it's all part of the fun.) For most people the movie starts only minutes before the actual film hits the screen; for me, depending on the popularity of the movie, the waiting time begins 24 hours or more beforehand.

Earlier today, I felt the familiar clutch in the chest that signals a midnight movie premiere. I begin planning my getting to the theater, what I need to bring, who I need to remind about the movie, and other miscellaneous thoughts that zoom through my already crowded mind. On days where it is essential for me to get there as early as possible, I can usually leave work early. This take the pressure off of my chest, and yes I do mean the literal pressure of the early of a panic attack that I make a lesser deal by calling it anxiety. I know most of you are now actually concerned for my well-being. 'Kate, this is not normal. You really need to get on some kind of medication or relaxer for that.' Relax, guys. I'm used it. You know that it actually benefits you for me to get there early. So you never actually do anything about it anyways. You're forgiven.

When I can't leave early from work, a whole new level of anxiety takes over. Part pride, part crazy, part OCD, and part for the fun of it, I love to be first in line. Scratch that; love isn't a strong enough word for the pulsing desire that runs through my veins as I drive to the theater. (Get your head out of the gutter Jake. Sheesh.) My pulse races as I park and like an old pro of the theater executing a costume change, I whip out of my car all the while grabbing my essentials and power-walking like it's an Olympic event. ( I think it might actually be, and if not it one day might be.) I throw open the door and walk a righteous purpose to the second set of doors and get my first glimpse of the waiting area: empty. Triumph, and still some agitation, wash over me as the attendant rips my ticket and I finally breathe an easy breath as I claim the first spot in line.

 

(The Beginning- I laid underneath the benches at the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 midnight premiere.)

Now I know I have lost most of you; you truly think I am insane. Honestly? I don't care. I am passionate about the movies and the movie-going experience. Too often we find ourselves with a careless attitude towards something that we once had a fierce passion for and now are lacking.

At this point in the experience, I may or may not be joined by some of my friends. Some are newer than others, some come because they enjoy the movies, some come because they enjoy the overall experience, and some come because I ask them. I am known for making friends at the most random of occasions but I can easily say that some of the friendships that have been forged by attending the movies the way I do has truly allowed me to meet some of my favorite people. I am so glad that some people share my movie-crazy.

Depending on the movie event, several things may happen next: I may get some solitary time and do some reading, writing, or just general relaxing before the (often non-existent) horde of amateurs show up in line. Sometimes I make a t-shirt that is dedicated to the movie itself, and since my amazingly traced Mockingjay Pin for  The Hunger Games, I have been determined to one-up the previous design. Some succeed, some fail epically. If I have company we may watch previous movies in the series, look at timely magazines, talk about the next midnight movie, and just generally fangirl out. It's the greatest.

I know you all thought the anxiety ended once I got in line; wrong! It starts up again as the time to enter the theater draws near. Usually we have some idea of when they will let us into the theater; sometimes it's because I'm psychic (or I just have been to so many movies that I know when the previous movie ends and how long the theater takes to be cleaned) or because the wonderful theater workers tell us. As that time approaches, the line is usually starting to get antsy and walk in front of the designated area. I gently (or sometimes quite frighteningly) explain that the lines starts behind us and the other people milling in the designated area that is ROPED OFF. This is what I don't get: if you see a group of people waiting behind a roped off area, what makes you think that you get to just walk in front of them and go in before? I don't care if you are elderly, injured, or just plain filled with a sense of entitlement: GO TO THE BACK OF THE LINE!! There is movie theater etiquette and you make me look and feel like a stupid person when I have to explain this to you.

Now that you know to never cross me when I am in a line, I'll get back to the point. The anticipation of the attendant coming over and lifting the rope fills me with another round of anxiety. I have only made one mistake in my storied history of line waiting (Rookie Mistake!!) and I am lucky enough that my movie theater workers know the importance of me getting into the theater first. Once the rope is lifted, I move like The Flash. This is a superhero reference in case you didn't understand. Maybe Tasmanian Devil is more appropriate and relatable. I digress. Our group of movie goers have permanent dibs on a specific section (that I am not going to tell you in case any of you decide that it would be hilarious to see the look of horror on my face if you took them) and I speedily walk (read: sometimes am forced to run) to them and flip up the arms rest like my life depended on it. And in that moment: it does. Once all the seats have been accounted for and counted through twice, I secure my middle seat (dead center with the screen of course) and sit down and watch the rest of the attendees stroll in and claim the lame leftover seats.

And the end game begins, we wait. The anticipation of the movie is at it's highest once I am in the physical seat and now I can move with ease about the theater. I usually take a stroll and peruse upcoming movie posters, go the bathroom, or just get up and walk around to ease the remaining adrenaline. As the clock ticks closer to start time, a healthy excitement replaces the early anxiety. The screen goes black. As the previews roll across the screen, I can sometimes be seen leaning forward to fully experience the trailers as if I were physically there. This can be said for the actual movie as well, depending on the scene.

Now that you have had a play by play description of a normal midnight movie premiere event for myself and my friends, you may understand my crazy a bit better.

Or you may believe that I am certifiably insane.

You might be right. I guess, we'll never know.

(Unless you get me tested.)

Gearing up for the kick-off for Summer Midnight Movie Premieres!