First Day back after Spring Break...

I am in the first class, on the first day back after my Spring Break. Just so everyone knows, an advertisement does not create a Contract. You can't hold the business to give you what they advertised. Wow, I am so glad I learned that.

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Yes, I am writing this in class. This issue has really been done to death, but that is the quintessential law school experience. Wait, the prof just said you could hold the store to their advertisement. So is it a contract? I am so confused. I will have to consult my other books at home and figure this out. Contacts class is a waste of time. I think I am doing pretty well though going on 2 and a half hours of sleep. I couldn't sleep because I have been staying up late and sleeping really late. Today is the day to realign my schedule.

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48 minutes left of class... I went on a movie binge yesterday. In an effort to make my boring class time more exciting, I will list these movies and my critique of them below:

SAVING FACE - This movie was a surprisingly terrific. Usually when I get a gay or lesbian movie, I prepare myself for the worst. The acting was very good, with the exception of the main character. She was attempting to get the message across that her character was anxiety ridden. She got the message across, but she did do a little to much indication. What I mean by indication is that she was forcing body language into her actions that was unnatural for what the average person would do in her situation. Her shoulders were tense and around her ears the whole time. I thought she could have done a little more with her movements and less with the shoulder tension.

The story is about a Chinese American, 20-something woman raised in Queens, New York. She is a surgeon and her mother is constantly trying to fix her up the a Chinese husband. The conflict comes in because she is gay. Of course, she is closeted because of her culture and family pressures. She meets another Chinese American woman who is a dancer and gay. They fall in love but this girl is not in the closet and gets really frustrated with the main character - Wilhemina (Wil). The movie is actually way better than it sounds. Wil's relationship with her mother transcends culture, and is a powerful vignette. I think the mother/daughter relationship is really the main theme of the movie and not the love story.

It isn't until the mother has her own problems that make her an outcast in their community that she finally comes to accept her daughter.

MILLIONS - great movie. The story is about a boy whose mom died. He becomes obsessed with the idea of saints, thinking hi mother has become a saint. He knows all the saints and sees and talks to them all the time. People think the kid is a little loony. I bag shows up filled with money. He tries to give it to the poor, but he lives in a wealthy area in England and he can't find many poor people. The kid is really adorable. He takes the people asking for donations for the homeless to Pizza Hut for lunch. This group of Mormons say they don't have material things so he gives them thousands of dollars anonymously. They go out and buy a big screen tv

The story takes place a few days before the British Pound turns into the Euro. The boy and his brother have to find a way to convert all the money into Euros without anyone being suspicious, otherwise all the money will be worthless.

The bad guy is the man who stole the money. He knows the boys found his money and he wants it back. He threatens the kid and follows him around all the time.

Cute movie - Some of the kid's obsession with saints reminds me of the movie WIDE AWAKE. Also the money change craziness is the same as it was portrayed in GOODBYE LENIN. Both of those are better movies than this, but this is still a good and heartwarming story with a lesson that money is just paper in the end.

ZOOM: ACADEMY OF SUPERHEROES - I know. I know. I like kids' movies ok? That said, stay away from this one. The story is completely unoriginal and stolen from other movies. Tim Allen is annoying and his acting was really mediocre and lacking depth. He just seemed exhausted. Courteney Cox does a pretty good job. The bottom line is that the movie is just horribly written and shouldn't have been made.

HALF NELSON - Go out and rent this movie right now! Phenomenal acting! I am a big loser at remembering characters names. The main character - the teacher, is a junkie. He is a functional junkie but he is teetering on the edge. He is an inspiring teacher for his students. He throws the curriculum out the window and teaches them as though they were in college. In one scene he talks about yin and yang and how good and evil must exist together. I think this is the theme for the whole movie.

The teacher is spiraling downward fast, and one of his students finds him smoking crack in the bathroom. She knows what he is doing because her brother is in jail for selling drugs. The movie goes into the development of their friendship. Her friendship helps him want to do better, but he is just a mess. Ultimately, it is his friendship with her that changes the girls fate in becoming a drug dealer just like her brother.

FLUSHED AWAY - if you are in the mood for a kids' cartoon movie, this isn't bad. The best thing about it I can say is that the voices and animation are top notch. The story is pretty weak, the moral being that it is better to have people in your life than be alone, or something like that. You can do better though if you are looking for a kids' cartoon. Go rent ROBOTS

A GOOD YEAR - this movie is worth renting just for the gorgeous setting. Russell Crowe can act. The spell the movie cast over me was broken when Russell Crowe and his love interest, Fanny something, said they had met when they were kids. HE IS SO OBVIOUSLY 20 YEARS OLDER THAN HER. I could slap the casting director. They show them as kids spending the summer together and they look the same age as kids.

If you try to overlook this ridiculous lie and poor judgment on the part of the CSA, it is a much better film than I expected. And the theme is one of my favorites - choosing to live and enjoy your life and all the relationships in it over being a workaholic and asshole.

MAN OF THE YEAR - I am totally biased in my assessment of this film. Robin Williams play a comedian (what a stretch) who runs for president. He accidentally actually becomes president, and tries to do the right thing. The right thing would be to give up his office because he was elected by mistake. A tough decision to make. I say I am biased because all of the politics the comedian espouses are exactly my political views 100%. AS far as the comedy, it was only so-so

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Whew! I think that's all the movies I saw. If anyone has seen, or rents any of the above let me know what you think.

1 minute of class left...