Breaking Up IS hard to do

NAY

Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn (a romantic couple off the big screen) are playing an onscreen duo at the brink of breaking up.

So it starts off with glamour shots of the two in their “moments of happiness” together: with friends, with family, unwrapping Xmas gifts, having drinks, eating dinner, and of course lots and lots of kissing. And you would think that the premise of the movie is to maybe bring these portraits to life so that we could feel it all happening around us. To tell a story of how they met, why they fit, what went wrong, and why it’s unfixable. To show us these two strangers getting together and then slowly falling apart. Point: So that we care enough to build some kind of emotional connection with these characters. So that when the whole thing comes to an end, we feel it ending for us too.

Fed up with Vaughn's petty bullshit, Aniston decides to call it off to show him what he’d be missing out on. (See, I don't even care enough to remember their character names!) He wants things done his way even though she wants to play by her own rules. It’s such a toss up that you as the audience don’t even know which side makes sense to side on. Oh and why is this funny? It’s just as uncomfortable as actually being in the same room when a couple argues.

Yes, most of us have been there before. Arguing over the littlest things, bad habits, different interests, too much time, too little time, not enough help, expenses, ex-lovers, the list goes on and on. For whatever reason, a relationship would hit its breaking point. Run its course, if you will, only to come down to the obvious point that two people are causing more harm to each other than good and the need to break up is inevitable.

Put the audience in a real situation. Create a moment; a reason why a couple is meant for each other and then give an even stronger example of why they should not pursue it any further. Make us feel that pull for him, her, any of them! To continue to watch with eagerness. Otherwise, it’s all simply a waste of time, film, money, and above all purpose.

9/11 in 102 Minutes

"102 Minutes" by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn just literally made my jaw drop. The real-life stories of people trying to survive the direct aftermath of 9/11 in the twin towers, what they were doing beforehand, what they did to escape...those that made it and those that didn't make it. It's like a movie that hasn't been made yet and there it is playing in your head even when you don't dare to watch any further. The strengths, the lies, the truth. It's not that books haven't been written about this sort of stuff before, but it's as if they didn't even have to write this one in particular that astounds me. All they had to do was listen to what REALLY happened period.

Tales from the Bed

It's been a long time since I picked up a book and read it from beginning to end... intentionally. It's always been a school thing so when that whole phase in my life was over well...I stopped really reading. It's not like I never read a single thing since my college days, but I somehow found it difficult to choose a piece of literature that striked my interest to the point when I just couldn't put it down. I mean, with a genuine desire to want to see what happens as I turn each page. It seems silly, I know. Kinda corny? Maybe. But shit, it's the damn truth.

So there I was at Borders in Santa Monica. After walking through the mall and onto the pier, my boyfriend and I decided to see what was new at the bookstore. I usually go to check out the stationary or some overly-priced journal on display while he browses through the actual books. But this time, I happened to glance at the lil' wooden table down front. A picture of a single, white bed with two pillows caught my eye. Big, bold letters above it read, "Tales from the Bed." Hmmm...

A National Bestseller. Wow. A memoir. Interesting.

And no girls it's not one of those kind of stories where you'll need to run to the bathroom everytime to change your underwear! Jenifer is diagnosed with ALS (a fatal disease that effects your motor neurons), basically your brain will slowly lose its ability to communicate with your muscles. And although this is a serious condition with an unknown cure, Jenifer told it in a way that really draws the reader in. The minute you pick it up and read the first few lines, it seems as though you're just hearing about her crazy morning run about the city. You don't feel sympathy for a poor, lonely person who is sick and tired of being runned-down. It doesn't even get to the heavy stuff at all in the beginning. Jenifer simply introduces herself to you. She talks about music, food, her bond with her sisters, work, going to the gym, just everyday stuff. Even The Muffin Shop was given life through her words.

You feel her character living and breathing inside of you.

It is just so exquisitely charming and interestingly put together that I just sat on the floor, in the corner of the bookstore and read the first 50 pages as if I've always been reading for fun. And it feels wonderful to be inspired again.