#rewatching saw 2004. feeling absolutely sick

[asmidge]

something about Adam being doomed by the narrative,, something about how it's HIS saw that breaks not Lawrence's when they try to cut through their chains

[the-rewatch-rewind]

A day late and a little scratchy but we got there.

Script below the break

Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind! My name is Jane, and this is the podcast in which I count down my top 40 most frequently rewatched movies in 20 years. If you’re a regular listener, you may have noticed that this week’s episode is a day later than usual, and that’s partly because as you can probably tell I’m a bit sick, so I was trying to wait until my voice sounded better to record, and partly because it felt appropriate to release this episode on a Friday instead of the usual Thursday. So welcome to my late and somewhat scratchy-voiced discussion of number 24 on my list: Disney’s 2003 fantasy comedy Freaky Friday, directed by Mark Waters, written by Heather Hach and Leslie Dixon based on the novel by Mary Rodgers, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.

Teenaged musician Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) and her widowed therapist mother Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) seem to be in constant conflict, fueled partly by their generation gap and partly by Anna’s reluctance to accept Tess’s relationship with her fiancé Ryan (Mark Harmon). Anna’s band is offered an audition that conflicts with Tess and Ryan’s rehearsal dinner, which leads to a heated argument between Anna and Tess at a Chinese restaurant. Overhearing this, the restaurant proprietor’s mother (Lucille Soong) gives them fortune cookies with identical fortunes, causing an earthquake that only the two of them can feel. When they wake up the following morning, Anna and Tess have switched bodies. In trying to live each other’s lives, each finally begins to understand the other.

I feel like I might have seen this movie in theaters, but I don’t actually remember. I do know that it was one of the first DVDs my family got, and I have lots of memories of playing around with the interactive menu and watching the bloopers over and over. I saw the movie once in 2003, so that may have been in a theater, then four times in 2004 and three times in 2005, back when we didn’t own many other DVDs. Then I saw it once each in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2019, and twice each in 2020 and 2022.

I’ve only seen the 1976 version of Freaky Friday once, and that was in 2006, so I don’t remember much about it. From what I do recall, it’s a very silly, broad comedy, which is not a bad thing by any means, but one of the main things that I particularly appreciate about the 2003 version is that despite its wacky premise, it feels grounded. The characters feel like real people. Even the body-switching is almost believable. And that is almost entirely due to the phenomenal acting by the two main stars. Lindsay Lohan had already demonstrated her ability to play multiple characters in the same movie five years earlier in The Parent Trap (which unfortunately just barely missed my top 40 with 14 rewatches while I was keeping track), and she is thoroughly convincing as both a teenager and her mother here. Jamie Lee Curtis got arguably the more fun role and absolutely nailed it in every possible way, which is extraordinarily impressive given that she was only cast a few days before filming started. Originally the part was offered to Jodie Foster, who had played the daughter in the 1976 version, which she declined because she didn’t want stunt casting to become the main focus of the film. So Annette Bening was cast, but dropped out at basically the last minute and was replaced by Curtis, who proceeded to give one of my favorite performances of all time. She is the perfect blend of fun and serious, entirely believable as both Tess and Anna in Tess’s body. Neither Lohan nor Curtis seems to be trying to do an impression of the other, which potentially could have made the swap even more believable, but personally I’m glad they didn’t get hung up on trying to mimic each other’s mannerisms and instead focused on capturing the attitude of each other’s character. The movie isn’t about how Jamie Lee Curtis would act in Lindsay Lohan’s body or vice versa. It’s about people who are exasperated with each other learning that the other’s life is more complicated and difficult than they realized. And that could not have possibly been more perfectly portrayed.

While this movie is a comedy and has many very funny moments, the climax always makes me cry. After all their fighting and misunderstandings, it is so satisfying and beautiful to see Tess and Anna finally learn to feel and display the selfless love required to change them back. The series of beautiful moments starts when Anna’s friends show up at the rehearsal dinner to take Anna to their audition. Anna in Tess’s body explains the situation to Ryan, commenting that she knows he doesn’t care because Anna’s just some kid in a stupid rock band, and then Mark Harmon, who has spent most of the movie being politely confused, gets his big moment, when Ryan tells Anna (who is of course really Tess) to go to the audition, and then goes off on Tess (who is really Anna), saying he doesn’t intend to be an uncaring step-father, he very much does care about Tess’s children and wants to be part of their family, and encouraging Tess to go watch Anna’s audition. Jamie Lee Curtis perfectly conveys Anna’s realization that she has underestimated Ryan before rushing off to the concert, where she is desperately needed because Tess has no idea how to perform in a band. Side note: it would have been completely understandable for this teenage band to just be okay, but they are legitimately awesome, and their song slaps so much harder than it needed to for the purposes of this movie and I absolutely love that. Anyway, when they start to perform, Anna sees that Tess is petrified and makes her way backstage, reassures her mom that she just needs to fake it, and then Anna in Tess’s body plays her epic guitar solo offstage. That shot of Lindsay Lohan’s face when the solo starts and she turns in shock still gives me chills. That “Holy moly, my daughter is super talented, how did I not realize that until now?” look. Ugh, it’s so good. And then when the band finishes slaying, they both return to the rehearsal dinner, and Tess tells Anna to explain to Ryan that they need to postpone the wedding. Instead, Anna starts a toast about how even though she still misses her dad, she’s willing to welcome Ryan into their family because of how happy he makes her mom, and it’s in the middle of this that another earthquake hits and they switch back, and I just cannot even begin to explain how perfect it is. And of course, the only reason this pays off so well is because of how meticulously and realistically their relationship and individual objectives have been set up throughout the movie. We know that Anna cares about her music while Tess merely tolerates it, and we know that Tess is in love with Ryan while Anna only reluctantly accepts that he’s going to marry her mom. And seeing these two people who are so focused on their own objectives finally understand and acknowledge that the other’s are equally important is so thrilling to me because I desperately wish things like that would happen more in real life.

I admit to often finding it difficult to understand other people’s perspectives and motivations, no matter how much I want to. And in some ways this movie doesn’t really help because it implies that the only way to overcome that barrier is to literally switch bodies with someone else, which as far as I know is impossible. But I think that at least in Tess and Anna’s case, they could have reached a similar understanding without the magic if they’d just listened to each other. Early in the movie, Tess thinks Anna is being ridiculous when she says that certain people are out to get her, like her former best friend Stacey Hinkhouse (played by Julie Gonzalo) and her English teacher Mr. Bates (played by Stephen Tobolowsky, and apparently named in reference to the character who killed Jamie Lee Curtis’s mother Janet Leigh’s character in the movie Psycho). But once Tess attends school as Anna she learns that Stacey really is very mean to Anna, for no apparent reason, and that Mr. Bates really is grading her unfairly because he’s still bitter that Tess wouldn’t go to their high school prom with him. If Tess had taken Anna seriously to begin with, she wouldn’t have needed to literally live her life to learn that. So that’s the lesson I’ve tried to take from Freaky Friday: listen to people, give them the benefit of the doubt, and bear in mind that their lives are probably more difficult and complicated than they appear to you.

Surprisingly, an aspect of this movie that I think works remarkably well is the romance. This is unexpected both because of how much time I spend complaining that there is too much romance in movies in general, and because in this particular movie the two main characters aren’t who their love interests think they are for most of the story. Anna has a crush on Jake (played by Chad Michael Murray), but they’ve never spoken until the day before the switch. They have one kind of cute conversation that is interrupted by Mr. Bates, and then the next time they meet, Anna is Tess. Jake doesn’t like this version of Anna, but he runs into the real Anna (in Tess’s body) at the coffee shop where he works, and they have a great conversation about music. As someone who does not experience sexual or romantic attraction but does understand compatibility, watching people bond over shared music taste makes way more sense to me than watching people make out. This is a type of romance I can wrap my head around. Maybe it should seem a bit creepy for a middle-aged adult and a teenager to be flirting with each other, but the audience so thoroughly believes that Jamie Lee Curtis is Anna that it doesn’t come across as weird at all. Later, when Tess as Anna kisses Jake to try to get him to leave the person he believes is Tess alone, he says, “You’re beautiful, but you’re not her,” and it is so wonderful to see this deviation from the stereotype that teenaged boys just want to sleep with every girl they can get. Jake really likes Anna for who she is, and that makes so much more sense to me than something like Anna’s initial crush on Jake before they’ve even met. My brain needs there to be a reason why people like each other beyond “they’re attractive,” and “we have the exact same taste in music” fits that. So I support Anna and Jake’s romance, and I hope they’re happy together. And of course, I already mentioned that I love when Ryan makes it clear that he’s marrying Tess not only because he wants to be with her, but also because he wants to be part of her children’s lives. Given Disney’s typically negative portrayal of step-parents, this is huge. Ryan recognizes that this is a difficult situation for Anna and her brother Harry, and he’s doing his best to make the transition easier for them, and it���s so nice to see that. I feel like I can easily picture what Tess and Ryan’s life together will look like, which is more than I can say about a lot of couples who get married at the end of movies. I realize that romantic films are intended to be about the wooing and falling in love parts, but often I find it hard to believe that romantic leads will actually have a functional relationship going forward, so I appreciate that this movie doesn’t have that problem.

And of course I also appreciate that this movie heavily focuses on non-romantic relationships in the midst of romance. The main relationship is between Tess and Anna, but there are several side relationships that mirror this, including the conflicts between Pei-Pei (Rosalind Chao) and her mom (Lucille Soong) and between Anna’s brother Harry (Ryan Malgarini) and their grandpa (Harold Gould). I wish Pei-Pei and her mom were better developed characters, and the one aspect of this movie that doesn’t quite sit well with me is the whole fortune cookie thing. I appreciate that the filmmakers were trying to find a creative mechanism to initiate the switch, and maybe it would have worked better if the rest of the cast was more diverse, but something about the only Asian characters in the movie having mystical powers feels uncomfortably close to racist stereotypes of “exotic foreigners”. So I wish that had been portrayed differently. But I do like that there’s a mother-daughter conflict between Pei-Pei and her mom about how or whether to resolve the mother-daughter conflict between Tess and Anna. Pei-Pei wants her mom to stay out of it, but her mom can’t seem to help herself. Meanwhile, Harry and his grandpa are constantly teasing and misunderstanding each other throughout the movie, so at the wedding at the end, Pei-Pei’s mom offers them cookies. Three different endings of the movie were shot, two of which imply that Grandpa and Harry are about to switch bodies, but the one that made it to the final cut has Pei-Pei tackling them and successfully retrieving the unopened cookies before they have a chance to wreak more havoc. I hope this means that Harry and Grandpa (and for that matter Pei-Pei and her mother) will find a way to resolve their differences without magic.

The fact that a movie with this ridiculous of a premise manages to have characters that feel real enough that I care what happens to them after the events of the film is exactly what I love about it. If you’re a frequent listener of this podcast, you may have noticed that a lot of my favorite movies are based on ideas that don’t sound like they should work, but somehow turn out much more enjoyable than they have any right to be. In Freaky Friday’s case, the incredible writing and acting turned what could have been a mildly entertaining but forgettable romp into a moving, powerful crash course in empathy that I cannot stop revisiting.

Thank you for listening to my analysis of another of my most frequently rewatched films. Next week I will be returning to obscure Old Hollywood to discuss another movie with a ridiculous premise, which coincidentally also involves an adult pretending to be a child, although under very different circumstances than Freaky Friday. So follow or subscribe to stay tuned for that, and as always I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “You should be very glad I’m not 12. I was a very straightforward child. I used to spit.”

[slashertalks]

I rewatched Saw tonight

Now, as it’s finals week and I am both 1) very tired and 2) sick of writing for any extended amount of time, good lord, fuck writing essays, I don’t imagine this’ll be longer than a couple paragraphs. BUT I wanted to throw something at the wall.

See, while trawling through some Saw-related tag (no, I won’t say which one), I saw someone’s post about being annoyed that people passed the Saw franchise off as just torture porn. I think that’s a valid stance to have— I can’t speak for the sequels, as I’m not much invested beyond Lawrence and Adam (I don’t feel enough sympathy or interest in John himself to warrant watching the sequels, thanks much), but I certainly recognize that there’s more to the first saw than gore. In fact, I’d argue there’s relatively little gore in the first film. Sure, there’s plenty of blood, but we don’t actually see Lawrence in the end phases of severing his foot. The other victims are shown in quick flashes— Amanda’s facial wounds are far from brutal, and John’s supposed corpse is shown mostly from a distance. It feels like another instance of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, where people remember it being worse than it actually was.

I find that interesting, that these two films have fallen into such similar traps (har har). See, when people expect something from a film, they really expect it— things have to be perfect; not too much (over-the-top cheesy), not too little (disappointingly dry). Everyone remembers the first Texas Chain Saw as a gorefest, which it undeniably was not. Yet, what follows? The absolutely buckwild sequel, in which we see a corpse puppet, a literal face mask, a man take a chainsaw to the ass and Bubba develop his first crush. It’s a lot to take in. I’m loathe to say the Saw films haven’t reached that level of over-the-top without a more solid background in the sequels, but the first film is certainly subtler than Saw 3D’s “surprise, that pompous and slightly douchy but otherwise genuinely caring doctor you all like is actually a disciple of jigsaw.” I’d really rather not feel like I’m watching a daytime soap opera during my horror viewings, you know?

At the end of the day, my feelings for both movies are similar: I love them! Genuinely and wholeheartedly! Saw may not hold anywhere near the same place in my heart as the very first Texas Chain Saw, but it’s still an ingenious little film, full of twists and delightful characters going through an equally delightful little hell. It’s fun! It’s twisted! It’s.... rather mild, really. And there’s not a damn thing wrong with that. The fact that Saw (2004) kicked off such a disgusting series of gore-drenched flicks with so few guts itself is a testament to the strength of the script and the talent of everyone involved. Director, screenwriter, actors and costumers, prop and SFX designers— it’s clear there was a lot of passion poured into this film, and whether you like the Saw franchise or not you have to respect the sheer power of its very first film. It’s fun, it’s emotionally draining to watch and god, it is beautiful in a very twisted way (the mechanics of the reverse bear trap? absolutely stunning), and though the franchise may have dipped into the absurd it’s hard to look at this movie and say “no, it never deserved a sequel.” Maybe it should’ve remained a singular passion project, but hindsight is 20/20. Had I seen Saw (2004) in the theater, I know I would’ve been clamoring for more.

[aspiecrow]

@heartsyhawk​ tagged me to give me top 10 favourite movies. Luckily, I already compiled a list of them a while back, so getting them wasn’t so hard. Writing about why they’re my favourites, on the other hand, was a bit harder, so forgive me if I only give brief thoughts on any.

With the exception of the #1 pick, may change somewhat from time to time.

Let the Right One In (2008): I remember first seeing the DVD for Let the Right One In at a local HMV (which has now shut down), and the review quote on it compared it to Twilight. Being in the middle of my “Twilight sucks and I hate everything about it” phase, I’m legitimately surprised I picked it up, but damn am I glad I did, because I love this movie! It’s gorgeous, its story is great, and I make sure to watch it at least once a year! I read the book very shortly afterwards, and loved it just as much! Wish I could say the same for the American remake, but unfortunately, it’s nowhere near as good (mostly because it completely misses the point of the story)

Halloween (1978)/Jaws (1975): I can’t pick between these two, so they both get the #2 spot! I’ve been lucky enough to see both of these movies in the cinema in special events, and it was well worth it!

Aliens (1986): Honestly, this is where the Aliens franchise ends for me. It’s a fine ending to the story, and I do love me a good genre shift. ALso, Newt is one of the first characters I ever felt protective of, which has since blossomed into full-on paternal “Protect All The Babies!” feelings.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980): Always loved Star Wars, and Empire is my favourite of them. Interestingly enough, the first time I ever saw Star Wars was when I was round at a friend’s house and watched the first five minutes of Return of the Jedi towards the end of the visit. I then saw Phantom Menace in the cinema, loved it (before later deciding I hated it for years, and have recently come back around to liking it), and consumed everything Star Wars I could. Star Wars was my first fandom, I think, and will always have a special place in my life.

Jurassic Park (1993): When I was five or six, my dad had rented Jurassic Park while I was home sick. I was so tired that I actually fell asleep during the opening scene. Once I got to see the movie in full, though, I really fell in love with it, and that’s what began my love of dinosaurs, and I’m even one of the few people who like both Lost World and JP3. World I’m a bit more lukewarm about, and I’m not a fan of Fallen Kingdom, but even then, I’ve not been able to outright hate a Jurassic Park movie thus far.

Terminator II: Judgment Day (1991): I actually saw this one before I saw the first, and yeah, it’s still a movie I revisit when I can. Like with Aliens, I also see it as the end of the Terminator franchise, as the only thing I’ve liked from the franchise since then has been Sarah Connor Chronicles, and I just treat that as a fun “What if?” story.

The Breakfast Club (1985): Hoo boy, this movie. I understand that there’s some problems in it (Bender’s treatment of Claire and the casual homophobia are the biggest), but dammit, everything else in it I love. I saw this at exactly the right time in my life, when I was still in high school and being horrifically bullied, so it was a nice little “it’s cool that you’re different” takeaway that didn’t come across as corny. Also, the soundtrack is an absolute banger. Of course, the whole “Allison changes for Andrew” thing at the end rubbed me the wrong way, but I try to kind of ignore that :P

The Incredibles (2004): One of the best superhero movies out there. Violet and Edna remain my favourites, and it’s one of those movies that I spot more stuff about each time I watch it!

Casper (1995): Aah yes, Casper. I was obsessed with this movie when I was a kid, and it still remains a favourite. Also, I will defend the “Can I keep you?” line to the death (it’s not creepy in context).

The Secret Garden (1993): I think this was one of, if not the first movie that I remember thinking was beautiful, and that holds up. It’s also a movie that never fails to make me tear up. Plus, Mary/Dickon was an OTP before I knew about shipping.

Some runners up:

Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm (1993): This is the best Batman movie and I will fight anyone on that.

The Final Girls (2015): Another movie that makes me cry when I watch it. This could have so easily been just a typical by-the-numbers horror parody, but they made it so much more than that and I love it for that.

Bridge to Terabithia (2007): I remember being in a massive state of denial about the last third of this movie for such a long time (and I’ll not lie, I still sometimes go into that place). I also ran a forum RP of it that was essentially an interactive LDD fic. Still pretty proud of it, if I’m honest.

Muppet Treasure Island (1996): Aaah, the movie that kickstarted my love of pirates and Tim Curry. It’s also got a kickass soundtrack and is just one of the better adaptations of the story (same with Muppet Christmas Carol, actually).

Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain (1995): My friends had The Goonies. I had this. I recently rewatched it and remembered how much I loved it. I remember going through a phase where I had quite the crush on Christina Ricci, and this movie was one that I watched because of that, and I’m glad I did. Also kind of ironic, given that Jody and Beth are very clearly baby gays.

So, time to tag some people!

@dalekofchaos​, @zexththelordoftime​, @haltraveler​, @whencartoonsruletheworld

No obligation to do this, of course, but if you do, please tag me, ‘cause I’d love to see your picks!

[eldritchsurveys]

887.

5k Survey XIV

651. Do you think that it would be a good idea if people served in the army, navy or air force for a while before they were allowed to vote? >> I don’t think it would be a good idea at all. In fact, I think that’s a terrible idea. Just utterly awful. Absolutely deplorable. Hate it. Next. 652. If you were required to do this to vote, would you? >> Of course not. I’d literally rather just leave the country, as insanely difficult as that is. 653. Do people often give you weird looks? >> I don’t know if people’s looks are meant to be perceived as “weird” or not. I’d prefer people not look at me at all, really. 654. Do you like Japanese cooking? >> I’ve greatly enjoyed what I’ve had of it. There are some things I still haven’t had a chance to try and really want to, like yakisoba and mentaiko. 655. Do you care for stray animals? >> No.

656. Which animated movies have you seen and what did you think of them: A Charlie Brown Christmas: I did not see this. A Garfield Halloween: Or this. The Secret of Nimh: Or this... The Last Unicorn: Okay, I haven’t seen any of them. Next. The original Lord of the Rings cartoons: 657. Are you ambidextrous (equally good at using both hands)? >> No. 658. Do you always say; “bless you” after someone sneezes, or do you hesitate? >> I usually don’t say anything, actually. I don’t understand why I should (”because everyone else does” doesn’t fly with me). 659. If you and your friends could go away for 2 days over Halloween weekend where would you go? >> New Orleans again, probably. It was so much fun last year. 660. Which of these animated movies have you seen and what did you think of them: Watership Down: As the Wind Blows: Grave of the Fireflies: Oh, I’ve seen this! I thought it was lovely. How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Spirited Away: I saw this a long time ago so I don’t remember it so well, but I do remember it being very imaginative. 661. Do you feel that society is male dominated, female dominated, or neutral? >> I don’t know, nor does it particularly concern me at this point. 662. What words offend you? >> Well, the N-word. 663. They’re just words. Can you get over it? >> I don’t see why I should. It’s literally a word meant to cause harm, I think that’s pretty significant. 664. Have you ever looked into different religions? >> Of course, that’s one of my favourite things to do. 665. Which ones have you looked into? >> Multiple forms of Christianity by default, since it’s everywhere anyway. Judaism of course, it’s my fave (particularly Reform, obviously). Buddhism, a bit of Hinduism, Wicca, Satanism, bit of Zoroastrianism, Hellenic Reconstructionism, peeked into the door of African Traditional Religion (strange I didn’t peek harder than that, I know, but feeling alienated from one’s own genetic history is a bitch), various others in passing. 666. What do you think of Satanism as a religion? >> I think it’s neat. 667. Do you like it better when your classes are taught sitting in rows or sitting in a circle? >> --- 668. Have you ever read your own tarot cards? >> Many times. 669. Which ones do you like better, the three old star wars movies or the 2 new ones? >> Damn, remember when there were only five Star Wars movies lmao... 670. If you scream in outer space does it make a sound? >> From what I understand, space is a vacuum, so whether the sound itself is created or not is one thing (that’s like the tree in the forest argument at that point), but you probably wouldn’t hear it as such. Don’t quote me, though, I might have misinterpreted what I learned. 671. If you saw The Queen of the Damned did you want to be a vampire/Goth afterwards? >> I mean, I was already a goth (and I think I was already in the vampyre scene) by the time I saw that movie. 672. If you saw SLC Punk did you want to be punk afterwards? >> No.  673. What is your favorite zombie movie? >> Shaun of the Dead was pretty good. I generally don’t like zombie movies. 674. Best kids birthday party: ceramics, chuck-e-cheese, roller rink, bowling, sleep over, movie theater >> --- 675. What were your parties like when you were a kid? >> ...Didn’t have any. 676. Best teen (about 15-16) birthday party: ceramics, chuck-e-cheese, roller rink, bowling, sleep over, movie theater, house party, catered in a hall, restaurant, family trip, concert >> --- 677. What are/were your 15-16 year old parties like? >> ... 678. Best 18th birthday party: ceramics, chuck-e-cheese, roller rink, bowling, sleep over, movie theater, house party, catered in a hall, restaurant, family trip, concert, club, pool hall, college party >> --- 679. If you are 18 what was your party like? >> I don’t even want to think about what turning eighteen was like, thanks. 680. Best 21st birthday party: ceramics, chuck-e-cheese, roller rink, bowling, sleep over, movie theater, house party, catered in a hall, restaurant, family trip, concert, club, pool hall, college party, bar, Atlantic city/Las Vegas trip >> --- 681. If you saw The Craft were you interested in wicca/paganism/magic afterwards? >> No, The Craft wouldn’t have put me on to that. Like, I see how it happened with so many other people, but like... I’m pretty sure that movie didn’t end well, from what little I remember, lmao. 682. What are your top 3 priorities? >> *shrug* 683. If you saw fight club did you want to get into a fistfight afterwards? >> I did see Fight Club, finally, but I wasn’t really interested in the physical violence aspect of it. The bit about Tyler Durden and the Narrator being the same person was way more interesting. 684. What is your favorite smell? >> --- 685. Give everything below a humor rating (1 = laugh your ass off, 2 = lol, 3 = smile, 4 = lame, 5 = not funny, 6 = offensive): People falling I’m not going to do this. Context and delivery are generally what makes things funny to me, no matter what it is, and that’s that. Rape jokes  Sarcastic comments  Blonde jokes  Dirty jokes God/religion jokes  Long-ass jokes  Death jokes  Pain/sickness jokes  Animals doing cute stuff  Bodily functions  Knock jokes  Ethnic jokes  Puns Ironic situations 685. If you saw Cruel Intentions did you want to have lots of meaningless sex afterwards? >> LOL fuck no. I adore that trashy ass movie, though. 686. Do you get at least three hugs per day? >> No thanks. 687. What should someone never say to you/call you if they want to remain on your good side? >> That’s a pretty long list, to be honest. 688. If you saw Trainspotting did you want to do drugs afterwards? >> I don’t think so. I really want to rewatch Trainspotting but I can’t find it on streaming anywhere. It’s so annoying. Maybe I’ll suck it up and rent it (and the sequel) at some point. 689. Do movies have a great influence on you? >> I mean, sure. I’ve seen a lot of movies, and a fair number of them have been emotionally or spiritually or cognitively affecting. 690. Do you have a favorite reality TV show? >> No. 691. Are there certain roles that people are pressured to play in society or can they basically do whatever they want? >> Yes. 692. How does the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake compare to the original movie? >> I don’t know, I haven’t seen either one. 693. Have you ever held a magnifying glass over an insect to burn it? >> I never got to do that. I’m still curious about it, and I swear one day I’m going to try it, lmao. 694. Have you ever pulled the wings off a fly, butterfly or any other insect? >> No. 695. What would you think of a guy (if you’re into guys) or a girl (if you’re into girls) who wanted to take you to the park to feed the birds and look at the turtles and fish in the water on a date? >> I’m fine with going to the park, that sounds like a good time. I love parks. 696. Do you use public pools? >> No. 697. Do you use public bathrooms? >> Sometimes. I usually don’t have to, though. Unless I’m at a bar, lol. 698. Do you use public showers? >> Nooooooo. 699. How old will you be in 17 years? >> 50. 700. Would it effect you at all if you knew that a very large meteor was headed towards earth that would impact in 17 years? >> Of course it would affect me, because I do hope to live past 50. But, hey. Them’s the breaks.

[tristala]

My Personal Story with the Incredibles Part 1:

     When The Incredibles hit the theaters in my country on November of 2004 my dad treated us to watch it in the cinema as a family. He was actually the one who was truly looking forward to see it, me and my mom were just going along for the ride. Admittedly, I was only slightly interested about it mainly because I only saw the first trailer with Bob just putting on his super suit, trying to wear his belt and then failing. It was dull humor to me so I didn’t really expect anything from it.

     So imagine the delight of a seven year old girl when she saw a well written and well animated film about the perfect blend of superheroes and family. I was blown away. I couldn’t even describe how euphoric I was when we went out of the theater. I couldn’t stop talking about it to my parents and bless them they were patient and entertained me. By then a lot of merch were already being sold and I still remember getting almost every McDonald’s toy of the film. I even got a keychain of Violet from a cereal box on my first try.

     It’s pretty obvious that Violet was my top favorite. As a kid, I looked up to her and she was like the imperfect big sister that I never knew I wanted. I guess the fact that I also have long black hair made me identify with her a bit so there’s a bit of a bias there. Nonetheless, I watched her grow alongside her family. Even as a kid watching the film for the first time, I completely understood that she wasn’t able to make a force field big enough for the jet. For her whole life she was told to not use her powers then suddenly there they were, in a dire, panic inducing situation. It was a pretty realistic reaction. She had good character development, from a shy girl who felt restricted because of her powers to a brave heroine who doesn’t want to hide any longer. It also doesn’t hurt that she has two to die for superpowers.

     Helen’s the runner up. She’s a great mom and wife with fierce determination, love and loyalty for her family. That whole jet scene really did it for me along with her every other action like the whole part where she was infiltrating the volcano base. Like her daughter I enjoy every scene she was in.

     Bob being the heroic charismatic guy that he is in itself, is pretty neat. Though nearly half the time when he’s helping people, he’s doing it to relive his past. It was selfish, but understandable. People don’t just automatically get over things, especially when those were a big part in their life. He eventually realizes his mistakes and it’s a well done mid-life crisis.

     Lucius is, no pun intended, really cool. I’m not even kidding, I mean have you seen those skills and that wit? The guy has moves. And let’s not forget his banter with Honey.

     Edna is just ICONIC. The “No capes!” line was one of the best I’ve ever heard regarding superhero outfits in my life. Her blunt attitude and headstrong nature is so endearing to me.

     Dash is a fun kid with a dash (HAH) of delinquency. Like his sister, he feels restricted and frustrated that he doesn’t get to use his powers frequently. He’s also quick witted (I am so sorry) and tends to show off. Still, I’m glad that he was able to get 2nd place in the race. It was a perfect win for him.

     Jack Jack blew my mind as a kid. I was like “He has like three superpowers? That’s so cool!” and I got more excited when I watched the short Jack Jack Attack.

     Heck, even Syndrome and Mirage were fun. They were interesting characters with the same love for power but had different values and moral.

     My mom bought me the dvd and I swear, I watched it at any chance I’ve got. Every time the film starts I always feel like watching it for the first time and I always get excited. No film has ever made me feel this way even up to this day.

     I absolutely love how creative it was, the designs, the technology, the fight scenes, everything! It’s such a treat on how animators and creative team incorporated the characters’ powers into their actions.  Also, I don’t know if it’s just me but the conversations between the characters sounded really natural.

     The thing is, I loved it too much that I began to obsessed with the idea of a sequel. When I finally started going online I was still dumb and naive. I easily fell for the fake trailers and news of an Incredibles 2. I remember getting my heart shattered every time I realize that there’s no sign of it ever getting a sequel. In spite of that I still kept watching and after a while I discovered more things that I enjoy. My obsession faded and I stopped watching for a while.

     One time, as a teen I rewatched it because I was craving for nostalgia. Halfway into the film I noticed that I have been reciting most of the lines out loud without realizing it. I watched the film so much that I subconsciously memorized it.

     The Incredibles gave me pure absolute joy while watching it and it still does today. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of it and it will always hold a special place in my heart.