Great Expectations, 1998 - movie
I finally decided I'm going to start writing this blog I started like a year ago and never posted to. Here we go. I'm thirty now, so it's important to be - uhh - to, erff, umm - I dunno. My friends are all so interesting; I'm just trying to keep up.
So, it's a well-known fact that Dickens is long-winded and dull, but I'm trying to brush up on my classics because I think it's important to be well-read to be smart, and I like to try to be smart. To warm up the idea of reading Dickens (first "to read" on the Dickens List: Bleak House), I decided to Netflix the Ethan Hawke/Gwyneth Paltrow movie "Great Expectations" from 1998. I liked it then because Tori Amos was on the sountrack. I liked it now because it's good.
One thing I really love about myself, if I may, is that I'm hopelessly romantic, and this is just a painfully romantic movie. Gwyny is so beautiful and morose, and Ethan is so WT and youthish, and there's all the color and the music and the wet wet rain...I have a real thing for pretty, and this movie does it, while somehow inspiring hope and validating bitter hopeless ambition all at once. How perfect - thank you Alfonso Cuaron.
So I enjoyed the movie, and it was a good inspirer. Once I'm done with my Wilma Mankiller autobiography, I'll pick up Bleak House.
One note for those of you that know last year was The Year of Kerouc (those who don't, I'm sure there will be more about this): I picked this copy of Bleak House up at Haslam's, visiting Lo in St. Pete last Fall. Fascinating, yes?
posted by jade @ 6:15 PM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
i havent seen that movie...but your making me want to netflix it, seems like a good chick flick. and actually cory might be interested as well. i am totally a hopeless romantic, cory was just counting all the awful hugh grant movies i have insisted on seeing. i need to be more dedicated to reading like you are. i like to read before bed, but i rarely get anywhere because im tired.
You made a blog! I like! I like!
I think I saw that movie in high school? I remember liking it. I do love all things Gwyneth Paltrow. She's a hottie.
Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging. I love it now that I have a laptop and can watch TV and compute. :)
Last year was the year of W. Somerset Maugham for me (recall my obsession with The Painted Veil). I think you would really like the book The Razor's Edge. It's not hopelessly romantic but it's complicated and intense. Just add it to the growing list of titles I keep recommending to you. And don't mind my hypocrisy at recommending more reading when I am currently going through a reading block myself (like Kelly I try to read before bed but since boot camp started I wind up passing out in 5 minutes). My brain is probably too tired from all the tv-on-DVD I'm watching. I do sneak in the hopelessly romantic flicks when possible, though, especially the period pieces.
Looking forward to reading your blog blog blog!
Brother points out that I had my settings such that he couldn't post without creating an account, which he didn't want to do. I changed that. We'll see how it goes.
He wanted to remind me about Robert de Niro, and chastise me for leaving him out of this post. A good point - this is Brother's favorite character in the movie, and with good reason.
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