Abigail M. Schilling

My life has been really (really) busy for the last few weeks and I feel like I'm back in college or something. Oh college, with your no sleep and three jobs and silly degree completion, I do not miss you. So, what's happened in my micro-world of entertainment during this time vortex?

1. The Writer's Strike
It's over! Wooo! While the deal is still in the ratification process, the writers did vote to return to work and most networks have announced the return of shows before the season ends! Yay! The Office starts back up on April 10 and Grey's Anatomy will be back the end of April. A lot of the other shows I watch are coming back too but I've been to busy to find exact dates. Besides, I've got time.

2. Wicked
I saw it last week and I have been singing it, dancing it, humming it, whistling it, AND NONSTOP TALKING ABOUT IT every since. In fact, we've already decided when we're going again (April Fifth!) and I'm totally becoming one of those people that is like... a... what are they called? Broadway Geeks? Wickedheads? I don't know. But I am so borderline right now. I knew a bunch of girls like that in high school and they were otherwise totally normal, but they were OBSESSED with musicals. And they would go to New York and see like four musicals in a weekend and be all glowing and shit. Anyway, we also rented Rent which I saw in the theaters but hadn't seen since. Still love it. Love the music too. AND you should all rent it because it's a two-disc special edition and it comes with a documentary that is beautiful, and heartbreaking, and so very informative.

3. The Oscar's
Things were a bit touch and go for a few weeks there when the Globes got canceled and the whole industry was freaking out because no Oscars means no industry, but the negotiators pulled it together and saved the day. Hurrah. In a few short days, a cute boy named Jon Stewart will be making (hopefully good) jokes and people will be getting prizes. I haven't seen most of the movies that are related to the nominations because I have been really busy (and buying tickets for Definitely, Maybe instead of No Country for Old Men so sue me) so I'm not allowed to have opinions on them.

But I have opinions anyway.

I saw Atonement because, duh, Knightley and McAvoy and H!A! kept sending me articles about how their on-screen chemistry was melting movie theaters. I liked it. I thought it was a very moving and dramatic love story that was actually about something else and I thought it was well done and the music thing they did with type writers was very cool. But did they really have to shove cinematography down my throat like that? It was as though I was being held at gunpoint and they were like, "You there, you watcher of high-grossing, low-star-getting films, appreciate THIS or we will kill you." And while they were busy making me appreciate the art of a spoon hitting china, I was slowly dying because the plot? The plot was paused. It was like TiVo: "No excuses, Schilling, here, we'll pause the interesting story line just so you don't get distracted, so we can make you educated in the arts, dammit."

And that other movie, "THERE WILL BE BLOOD"? WTF? That is what I would assign the term "Oscar vehicle" to. I mean everyone is all, "Daniel Day Lewis, brilliant" or whatever, but isn't that his thing? He's like, I will only be movies that are made to win awards? And so then he gets hired for them? Big fish, small pond is what I'm saying. And the trailer is very WTF and I just wish that the Academy would not take themselves so seriously for once. The end, rant over.

4. Definitely, Maybe
I was really excited about it because they kept saying, "From the makers of Love Actually!" which is my favorite movie (although I found it weird that the titles were practically the same). Also, I like movies that get all concept-y on me and have timelines and different girls and narrators. I really did like it. Which is why I feel free to talk about my grievances.

a) If the majority of the movie took place in THE 90s then why did everyone look like they were in 2008? I mean, it is not hard to embrace 90s fashion. We were all there, it's all still around, this isn't some period piece where costumes need to be recreated from oil paintings. Rachel Weisz's cute glasses in 1994? PISSED ME OFF. I wore glasses in 1994 and I know that glasses like hers were not considered cute and ALSO were not for sale.

b) [spoilers] At the end of the movie, when the daughter is all sad that her parents are getting divorced and she realizes that they will never love each other again she says, "Daddy, I just want you to be happy." BULL. SHIT. No child whose parents have JUST gotten divorced, who is 10, who has cried about it the whole movie is going to turn around and be like, "It's okay, Dad, I just want you to love somebody." And when you realize ALL ON YOUR OWN that maybe you should start things back up again with that one girl, DON'T BRING YOUR DAUGHTER WITH YOU. Geez. (P.S. Dear Abigail Breslin, please play a new character. Thanks.)

Other that those two wrinkles, I really did like it, I swear. I loved Ryan Reynolds, I loved the way it portrayed love. I thought it was mostly honest and straightforward. And it's sweet.