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The Introspective Salon
Around my teenage years, I gained an interest in weird movies. It all started when my friend lent me The Royal Tenenbaums. I remember when I started dating my husband, his parents began referring to weird movies as "Trish movies." My husband likes to rag on me for not seeing classics that he grew up on, but I didn't have time for those movies. I was too busy watching "weird" movies! Now, "weird" is an incredibly subjective term. I don't think most of the movies I watch are weird as much as they are quirky. Quirky is a subjective term, too, I suppose, but it seems like a term that could be more widely agreed upon than weird, so that's what I'm going with. Enjoy these tracks from my most favorite quirky movies! all links are merely for convenience 12 Great Songs From Quirky Movies: 1. History of the Universe by Andy Hull and Robert McDowell, featuring Daniel Radcliffe - from the soundtrack of Swiss Army Man -Okay, I said I don't think most of the movies I watch are truly weird, but this one is an exception. It was weird and infuriating, however, the soundtrack was really fun. The music doesn't quite match the mood of the movie, which for me was wtf in the worst way. Although, I suppose that's what the writers were going for, and I would have let it slide had it not been for the ending. 2. From Winter to Spring by Vincent Courtois - from the soundtrack of Ernest & Celestine - This animated movie, which is based on a picture book, is such a lovely exploration of friendship. There is minimal dialogue, so it's easy to fully appreciate the beautiful art and music. And when Ernest or Celestine do talk, it's freaking adorable. 3. Over and Done With by The Proclaimers - from the soundtrack of Bottle Rocket - After seeing The Royal Tenenbaums I made it a mission to see all other Wes Anderson films. In High School, one of my friends had a movie marathon with me in which most of the films chosen where Wes Anderson's. I have to say, I will never do a movie marathon again, it makes it difficult to appreciate each film when you're spending hours on hours sitting on the couch. I've since watched this film outside of a movie marathon situation, and found I liked it much better in isolation. 4. Hey Jude by Friday Night at the Movies - from the soundtrack of The Royal Tenenbaums - This Beatle's cover is in the beginning of the film, and I always think of the scene where young Richie releases Mordecai and the song reaches its peak NA NA NA NA NA NA NA (that's a perfect textual representation of that song right there). 5. s'Rothe Zäuerli by Öse Schuppel - from the soundtrack of The Grand Budapest Hotel - I might as well keep all the Wes Anderson film songs together. This was the second Anderson film I got to see in theatres and I remember my friend and I were about the only people in the theatre just cracking up. I guess it takes a fan to get the humor in this one. 6. Our House by Phantom Planet - from the soundtrack of The Chumscrubber - I'm one of those people who have to read or watch things several times before I pick up on all the nuances and clever details. It's probably why I love rewatching movies and binging reruns so much! I can always find something new. Chumscrubber is a movie I've only watched once, so I don't have much to say about it. I remember it was dark, and edgy, and I liked it. I think I bought this one on sale at FYE. They had an "Indie" movie section which I loved to check out (weird to speak in the past tense, but I don't think the modern FYE stores probably have the same vast array of DVDs that they used to). 7. Amari Szi Amari by Csókolom - from the soundtrack of Everything is Illuminated - This movie, while an independent film (aka quirky) has the well known actor Elijah Wood. Like many good films, this one is based of the book of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer. The film narrows its focus, but otherwise follows the narrative of the book quite well. What I love about this story is the search for family identity. 8. Reach by Andrew Belle - from the soundtrack of Bella - This is such a touching movie that beautifully explores the impact and importance of relationships, especially post-trauma. 9. Through the Roof 'n' Underground by Gogol Bordello - from the soundtrack of The Wristcutters - The original format of this story is in the form of a novella Kneller's Happy Campers by Etgar Keret, and this is one of the few times I can say I like the film version better. For reasons of not wanting to spoil either form of the insightful narrative, I won't say why I like the film better. Both are great, but the film has the advantage of AMAZING music. But then, the book isn't even 100 pages so it would be a quick afternoon read that you could follow up with an evening movie! 10. Close to You by Burt Bacharach - from the soundtrack of Mirrormask - This film introduced me to the ever famous Neil Gaiman who worked on the script. The movie is pretty hard-core quirky and one of the most mesmerizing movies from all angles. The film style, the narrative, and the music are all so immersive. The setting is both our world, and some bizarre place of dreams. 11. Exploration by The Piano Kid - from the soundtrack of Coraline - I love this movie so much. Neil Gaiman wrote the book that inspired the film, and was probably my first experience with Gaiman as a novelist. I have such appreciation for any story that has a strong emphasis on what family means. It just touches my heart. And my tear ducts. 12. Belleville Rendez-Vous by Beatrice Bonifassi - from the soundtrack of The Triplets of Belleville - The same friend who let me borrow The Royal Tenenbaums let me borrow this film. She was (and I hope still is!) a huge movie buff. There is no dialogue in this cute little film, just some grunts or barks from the dogs. Although there's no talking, the film is heavily focused on action, which is amplified through the up-beat music. That's it for this month's playlist! If you check it out, I'd love to know if you've seen any of these movies and what your favorite quirky film is!
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I really didn't come up with any favorites this month. April went by super fast. I think this is because I set a tough personal goal for myself and I largely avoided making any significant progress on it. So, because this goal went so untouched it seems like the month got away from me. I'm feeling alright about it though, because when I set the goal I knew that it would require more than a month. I'm thinking about last month as the primer, I was readying myself to approach the goal, if you will. Anyway, as I'm not going to divulge what the goal was I'm going stop rambling about that now. Since April went by so fast, I couldn't think of anything I'd want to include as a Favorite, so instead I thought I'd make a list of things I don't like. Just generally, not only from the month, but as a whole. While I'm not going to reflect on why I don't like these things here in the post, the list is not meant to be simply a bitch list. On my own, I want to consider what it is that gets me about the following items and challenge myself to overcome the irritation or distress, if need be. Ok, so obviously there are some things that get to me that are a little silly, like crumpled up pieces of paper. My husband loves to tease me with this one, when we go to restaurants he crumples up the straw wrappers and puts it in front of me. I hate looking at it. I can't explain what bothers me about it but I just know I absolutely hate it. And you know what, I have a crumpled tissue sitting in front of me right now and I'm not bothered, it's just when it's small . . . I guess? I don't even get it myself. Then, there are other things like adults who take themselves too seriously or people who are rude to waiters, those I'm not too concerned about challenging. The issue with those irritants is to ensure that I still have compassion or at least try to understand the other person's perspective. Even for the dude with spiky hair. Alright, go forth, will you, and challenge the things that cause you the utmost bother. |
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