DICHOTOMIES or in other words, WHAT?????

I have some questions about some things in America that are contradictory besides the obvious such as "we park on a driveway and drive on a parkway."

Why is it, if we think of something bad it happens almost immediately, and what we want to happen never happens? Oh, I did drop a jelly bread that landed jelly side UP once.

Why can't most Americans understand accents from the British Isles when the British actually speak English?

Then again, in Leap Year, Matthew Goode spoke with an Irish accent and Amy Adams--"Anna from Boston"--spoke with her Californian accent and didn't even try to put on a Boston accent?

Speaking of accents, what about those actors using foreign accents to simlate a foreign language? If they were really speaking their own languages would they have accents? Why couldn't they just talk normally and let us assume they're speaking in their own languages? (Or speak in that language and use subtitles? (More movies are doing that. And why don't Americans learn second languages? Spanish in elementary, French in mid-school, German in high-school, and a choice in college? Maybe I should mention British, but that's supposed to be English. (Oh yeah, I forgot, they invented English.)

Exception: In The Man in the Iron Mask it was refreshing to see the three musketeers played by John Malkovich who spoke with his Chicago accent, Gérard Depardieu who spoke with his French accent and that other guy (Jeremy Irons) who had an English accent. The fourth musketeer d'Artagnan had a generic American accent (if there is such a thing.) It might have been embarrassing, but it was realistic. Bravo to the producer who allowed it. (Who knows? He might have given up. And if they were speaking in British accents, who would understand them?)

What's with a fourth musketeer in movie about the three musketeers anyway?

Why is it, too, that when you are married you have to fend off admirers, and when you're single and lonely there's nobody to be found?

Why is it when you're young you haven't got a clue about life and when you get wisdom and know how to use your brains you're too old to do anything with it? (Well, you can write blogs nobody reads.)

Why is it when you're young and start writing you don't have any experiences to write about and no writing knowledge, and when you're good at writing you can't remember which characters are which and what they said (or their eye color?) (I think it was Tony Hillerman who admitted he forgot a complete character.)

Why is it when you're working you have the money to do things and when you're not working you're broke? And when you're working you have plenty of time to do things, and when you're working you're too damn tired to do anything, let alone have time?

Why is it when you're young you don't appreciate your parents and when you realize they were pretty great they're dead? Same goes for your kids, not dead, but no longer sweet little babies you can lavish with love anymore?

What was that silly saying? "You don't miss the water til the river runs dry." Of course not. How can you "miss" something you still have? It should say, "You don't appreciate the water til the river runs dry." That must apply to everything.

How come you don't appreciate how thin you were when you first started thinking you were fat? When you're really get fat, oops, too late...

What's that saying, "You get what you deserve" only applies when something bad happens to you? To get good things you have to work hard and earn it?

I am so glad that when I order a ham and swiss sandwich with mayo on rye bread, I actually get ham and swiss with mayo on rye.

See my Movie Opinions Blog at www.sandy-schairer.blogspot.com

Leap Year The Movie -- Did They Do "It"? I say YES

Leap Year. Yes or No? YES. My reasons for thinking they did have sex/make love are below. (These are not in chronological order according to the events in the movie. I wrote them down as I thought of them.

1. He’s a guy and she’s an American. And this was in 2010 not 1910.
2. I ask myself what I would do if I were 20-something.
3. What did the characters say that also meant something else?
4. Numerous facial expressions throughout that say something else than what is actually said.
5. What he said when he came into the room to tell her he would drive her to Dublin. Highly suggestive and foreshadowing? "Come on. Let's do it. But only because you're desperate."6.
6. Declan telling the legend about the castle. What was that all about?
7. Why did Declan say "no peeking?" He wanted her to peek. After all, he peeked at her. It's like saying:(Try not to think about an elephant,right?)
8. Anna bumped into the door when leaving the room. She was looking back at him...dazzled by the sight of him with a towel around his waist. Naked muscles.
9. Frank saying at dinner: “You’re young, married, in love, anyone can see that.”
10. Them “faking” a kiss at the dining table and their reaction to it. Definately a serious communication that surprised them both.(Did you notice Anna how leaned into the kiss? He break it off. They looked into each others eyes and then went back to the charade. Immediately serious and embarrased. That was a real kiss. If you ask me that sealed their fate.
11. What do the words "chancers" and "cheats" refer to, used more than once?(see below.) Was he possibly thinking Anna was similar to Kaleigh. He was probably reluctant to be the one to make the first real move because he'd got burned once with Kaleigh.
12. Watch for the recurring elements that were used to indicate things from earlier scenes relating to what happened later. Also numerous facial or verbal expressions. i.e.: "You know I don't like surprises" and then "You just surprised me. You keep doing that." He told her to "shut up" when he was feeling bad, then when they were driving off at the end, she told him to "shut up" in a humerous way.
13. Declan's facial expressions after Anna says: “Fine, if it’s all about money to you, 675 Euros it is.” Was it? He frowned and thought it over. If he made it all about money, he wouldn't be able to make it about something else, would he? I don't think he wanted to be in bed with a girl and asking for money.
14. They looked at each other when they were both "secretly" turned on and quickly turned away. They were attracted, I surmise, not just in a state of lust. And do you think that was the end of it? The scene ended so we don't know for sure what happened after that, do we? Of course they made love.
15. Back to the time they were in the bed and breakfast deciding who'd sleep in the bed. Declan wanted to win that coin toss either way--heads or tails. He wanted to be in that bed with her regardless. Later in the hotel they were "saying" so much more than they really said. The tone of their voices was intimate. He said asking for the one bob in hushed tones after he glanced around to make sure no one was listening, "The one we flipped for the bed." (Why did she say "Liar" when she gave him the coin? What was she referring to? Maybe the fact of him getting into the bed regardless.
16. When he woke up in the morning and gently removed his hand from her shoulder, he looked at her and gave the tiniest of smiles. Don't miss it. He also looked not just at her face to make sure she was still asleep, but like he felt sure of her or what they had expressed in the night.
17. She has this look on her face when she wakes up. Did she look sort of thoughtful? Like feeling guilty maybe. Or knowing she was in love with him and what was she going to do now--it didn't fit into her plans.
18. When they were downstairs again and Anna was on the phone, Declan brings her breakfast he made for her as if it were a gift, a way to show his joy towards her. His tender enthusiasm turns to disappointment when he hears her on the phone with Jeremy. (Also, offering food is a symbol of offering love.)
19. I think Declan’s expression when Frank asks, “Did you sleep well, lovebirds” and winks. Did Frank perhaps hear something? Declan realized Frank knew. Declan didn't even answer him just turns away keeping his face devoid of expression.
20. Declan continually referring to diddly-eye...meaning “foolish” in Irish slang, implying she was "dancing" her way through life as a shallow person? Didn't he sound a little bitter about diddly-eye a couple of times he said it?
21. The whole thing at the bus station, facial expressions and what is said and not said. Affection, attachment? She saw he was disappointed she left on the bus, or he thinks so, and being happy when he realized she didn't. At that time she knew he cared for her and she was pleased.
22. The look on his face in the bus (contemplation)and him being comfortable with her head on his shoulder.
23. Declan gradually sharing his feelings from the beginning of the movie to the end. By the time they were on the bridge he was opening up to her. It intimate to share your deep feelings with someone. Bonding. But they were also holding back, wary of taking their feelings to the next level.
24. Declan’s tone of voice softening up throughout the movie. He revealed his sensitivity or whatever it's called. In real life men don't do that. Why is it the man I want doesn't exist?
25. Him saying, “You never let your hair down, woman,” and the look that went with it. He was teasing, but did he know she did let her hair down? Watch his face and eyes.
26. His reaction to her agreeing to dance at the wedding and the way he watched her dance. He looked happy instead in misery (about his broken heart over Kaliegh.)
27. On the beach after the wedding. Body language. She leaned against him several times torso to torso connecting. She looked comfortable doing that.
28. When she puked on his shoes and he mutters, “Now that’s romantic.” Having had sex the night before he felt it was romantic not just a free fuck.
29. The way they continually held back from declaring their feelings for each other. Waiting for a sign that the other really took it all seriously. It was obvious they were falling in love but each had a reason they didn't want to make it real by bringing out in the open.
30. One of the biggest plot tricks in romance writing and cinematography -- skipping ahead in the narrative/scene to further developments without actually showing them, i.e. leaving things entirely to the imagination. It my opinion that after the scene cuts to darkness, it was not the end of the action.
31. Matthew Goode’s remarks about it in one interview regarding his daughter being able to see the movie when she's older i.e., that there was nothing sexual, at least not on the screen. He obviously thought sex was implied off camera. Why else was the movie nearly given a PG-13 instead of PG? (Later I listed to his interview and that part had been cut.
32. Typical romance genre formula, sex is a given, even if it's not shown or mentioned. One romance writer said in an article: Some romance writers like to write the sexy love scenes in detail. Other others like to let their characters make love on the blank space between chapter." I paraphrase. (What do I know? I never finished writing my romance book.)
33. When Declan says, “I thought me and Kaleigh were mad for each other," and then added “Apparently not,” and the questioning look he gives Anna. This is my favorite scene, melted my heart. I think he was trying to ask her if it was the same way with her.
34. Asking for only “the one bob.” What did "bob" come to mean? Watch all the facial facial expressions and body language when they talked in the hotel lobby.
35. Jeremy asks if Anna "tipped" Declan and Declan says, “She paid me.” Related to what he said at the end, “It’s going to cost you,” What did she "pay" him with.
36. Oh. Anna was obviously flustered when Jeremy asks Declan “Did she take care of you?” Then Anna if she tipped Declan. Why was she so flustered? This scene makes absolutely no sense unless the answer to this subject is "yes." When Declan says, "She paid me," is he talking about money? And when Declan tells her at the end "It'll cost you," I don't think he meant money since money/payment mean something else to them. And why is he still calling her “bob” when they go on the honeymoon. Did "bob" come to mean something else to them? This is a very subtle word-play.
37. After she accepts his proposal, they kiss; dos that look like a first kiss?!?
38. Would they really get engaged on the basis of only one faked kiss?

Here's another interesting item...regarding symbols in the movie... Declan is always eating apples. The symbols for an apple is, of course, forbidden fruit as well as love, beauty, youth and happiness, according to the internet. It's interesting that he keeps biting into apples and tossing them away half finished. After the disappointment about the breakfast he'd made for Anna, he grabs up another apple. When he tosses the apple half eaten into the trash can, what do you think that means? Think about it.
_________________________________________________________
Definition of CHANCER British: a scheming opportunist
1. a two-faced chancer, he doesn't hesitate to dump people when they are no longer of any use; 2. betrayed by a chancer who, he mistakenly thought, was his friend

Definition of CHEAT: 1. to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud, 2. to influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice

Do you think Declan was trying to determine if Anna was a chancer or cheat? Why would he even want to find that out? Based on what?

So let me know if anyone reads this and what you think about it.

Leap Year the movie

I have fallen in love with a movie and a movie character. Of course I love Amy Adams. I have been watching her movies so much lately I feel as if she's my new best friend. My BFF? She's always good. I love her acting. However, I am talking about her co-star "Declan O'Callaghan."

I admit I am a bit obsessive compulsive but the movie I am fascinated with is Leap Year. You might say I am addicted to it since I watched it on HBO every time it was on, then bought the DVD and have been watching it ever since. I'm getting' my money's worth out of that DVD, diddly-eye.

I have never seen Matthew Goode in a movie before this one. Never even heard of him. (In fact, when I saw this movie in the theater it didn't really impress me. Where was I? DUH.) But what I am sure of now is that his acting is absolutely amazing. I am just blow away by his portrayal of Declan O'Callaghan in Leap Year. (I joined NetFlix so I can see all his other movies.)

What makes it even more amazing is that Matthew Goode is completely submerged in the character he creates. Declan is scruffy, quiet, distant and then open with his feelings. Plus those expressive eyes and looks, and the facial expressions!?! OMG. There is just no Matthew Goode showing through the role. Declan is a real and unique person.

I assumed Goode was like other actors--playing a role and bringing a good deal of himself into it. But the character in the movie is absolutely not Matthew Goode! Now that I have seen interviews of Matthew Goode online, seeing how he looks,how he sounds, I simply cannot even imagine that Matthew Goode is underneath the guy that's Declan O'Callaghan. Goode is a master and a genius at creating a film persona. He loses himself and becomes the role. If he keeps it up and they give him some good scripts, he might just be one of the best actors ever.

It's not just good acting, it's a conjuring trick, a feat of magic. I have rarely if ever seen such a thing. For instance, I used to love Gerry Butler movies. I didn't fall in-love with his characters, I fell in love with him. In all his pictures I could still see the actor under the costume and underneath/within the role. In fact, I think he often just pays himself with a different name. Even as different as he was in 300, I still knew it was Gerry. Even when he does Irish, British or American accents instead of using his lovely Scots accent, he is still and actor in a role.

This is so not true with Matthew and Declan. Matthew is in a class by himself. A magnificent actor. I am so going to join Netflix so I can see all his movies. (I assume he is a fabulous actor in all of them.) And he's a cutie. Especially those big blue eyes.

It's still amazing for me to see Leap Year and read all the meanings I find in it (whether they are there or not or it's just me, I don't know. I'm a Gemini. We see meaning in everything even when it's not there.) I think it's absurd that critics criticized Leap Year. What the heck? The fans love it and it has developed a new following from the DVD than there was for the original movie. People are still talking and writing about it. And of course, like me, watching it again and again.

One of the things I like about the movie is technique employed similar to that used in The Sixth Sense: skipping from scene to scene obviously leaving things to the imagination as a way to advance the plot and create some mystery into the story. For example the first time I saw Leap Year on HBO, I assumed, along with other viewers,that Declan and Anna slept in the same bed in the B & B and avoided temptation. That's how it appears.

Later, it dawned on me that they DID do it, and the whole movie became much more understandable. I have written a list of 38 hintsin the movie that prove Declan and Anna, OF COURSE, made love at the B & B. I put these in a more recent blog entry. (Please send comments...even if you want to argue about it.)

Everything after that point in the movie make a huge amount of sense. Look at the eyes, the looks, and the dialog, and you'll see what I mean. (One big reason is that he's a guy. He's a guy. Duh. And she's an American girl. And he wanted to win the coin toss so that he could have the bed, and she would have to get into bed with him. And listen to the words of the song. There are numerous clues, before and after the "event."

Other things in the movie that have double meaning: At the castle, was he or wasn't he hitting on her? He was telling a legend about the original couple that came to that castle and finally consummated their love after a time of not wanting to two-time the man she was betrothed to. I think Declan was admitting how he didn't want to betray the other man in Anna's life, and how much he valued love and the consummating of it.

He also revealed his values and integrity when he said in the garden, "A father is someone you can rely on."

The story might be formula romance (like in the romance novel genre.) Except this story has a few switcheroos. In a romance it is usually the girl that takes sexual relations seriously and feels sad that the guy doesn't. In this story it's Declan that takes the love making seriously and was hurt that Anna didn't seem to take it as seriously.

Remember the scene in Dublin on the bridge? Declan was talking about his feelings (do guys only do this in romance novels and movies?) When he said, "I thought me and Kaleigh were mad for each other." Then he turns to Anna and says, "Apparently not." His face, eyes and demeanor are really saying, "I thought our love making at the B & B meant something. Did it mean anything to you?" He held himself back from speaking his mind frankly to her until he saw she was open to a relationship.

It wasn't his male ego that was hurt, it was his heart that was wounded, maybe his whole life. He didn't want Anna to "fix" him, he just wanted a sign from her that she was becoming a real person, willing to really value things in life like he did, seek true love instead of just romance, willing to be seek something other than material riches.

Diddly-eye ( i.e., dance your way along in life in foolishness? No one is sure what this means. It could be a reference about her way of making plans and being in control of things. In several instances he seems to mean that.) I believe he wanted a sign from her that she was something beyond shallow. He was waiting for an indication from her that she was willing to become sincere, genuine and caring. If she didn't show that, he didn't really want her. That's one reason he walked away when Jeremy proposed to her. She appeared to be still attracted to that big ring and a life of security with a man that she didn't love. Materialistic and a high society life style. He probably felt he couldn't offer her that type of life and wealth.

Read his facial expressions. Remember the scene when Declan's patrons/friends toss in extra money to save the pub from repossession? Declan puts his head down and give a half smile and shakes his head. This, to me, indicates that he was pleased and surprised to see people loved him and he's getting something he wants and needs. (His self-esteem might have been damaged when Kaleigh left him?) So when Anna is speaking to him in the pub near the last scene, and he lowers his head, gives that half smile, and shakes his head, it means the same. Not, "no, I don't want you" or "No, it's too little too late." It means, "I don't believe this. She loves me and I'm getting what I want." When she came back to him with a new appreciation of what life in Ireland with him, it was the sign he had been waiting for that she was ready to be a real person and live a life other than diddly-eyeing. He could then take strong positive action and move forward confidently.

The story is told in the facial expressions. And the key to the story is the recurring themes. The screenplay is great, the acting and direction are great.
Formula romance is pure fantasy, but Leap Year, while fun and funny, has serious,complex, and touching aspects that goes way beyond typical romance. It's a shame that romantic comedy isn't taken very seriously by critics and many viewers (they won't even look at them, dismiss them as "chick flicks." But Leap Year is a good movie not just a good chick flick romantic comedy. The caliber of Amy Adams and Matthew Goode lift this movie way beyond where it could have gone with two other actors.

Oh, another thing I like about this movie, it keeps changing or I notice more every time I see it. I noticed that Anna was the one approaching Declan. I am sure he thought she was a control-freak and was avoiding that. But she leaned into the kiss at the dinner table. She was the one approaching him to talk about personal things like on the bridge asking him about "chancers & cheaters." She was the one that stood in his face and pushed her body up against him on the beach at the wedding and told him what a lovely, lovely lion he was and tried to kiss him (even tho she was drink and puked. She was the one moving towards him and not being "sincere" about it. He was the one disappointed and waiting for her to grow up and wake up and admit she wanted him. So she came back to Ireland and "proposed" to him. It is the reverse of a typical romance where the guy is taking the girl for granted, coming on to her yet keeping his distance and the girl is the one who wants a more serious relationship and is hurting until it unfolds. In this switcheroo it's the guy in that role. Hmmm, clever.

In other words, Leap Year is worth seeing. Do it! And now that I have studied the movie to death, it's time to write my own romance novel. I have to do that while I am single because I plan on getting a new true love one of these days even if he's an old geeZER.

I have found a couple of downsides to watching good romantic comedies: You fall in love with a guy young enough to be your son, and find out again that the man you want doesn't really exist. (SIGH)

Okay, I gotta stop writing for tonight and watch a little Leap Year before bedtime. Declan is whispering in my ear, "Dream a little dream of me..."