"Accepted"

So overall, definitely a funny movie, but what was it that struck me most about this movie??  Well, how about the fact that Bethany, my parents and I saw one of this films supporting actors play the part of Shylock in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" this summer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  Yes...the actor (Anthony Heald) playing uptight and overbearing Dean Van Horne of Harmon College has a background in Shakespeare.  And believe me....he is much better as Shylock!  (Perhaps better because it's Shakespeare, or maybe because we saw him live.)  But I digress...What was it about this film that I liked?  I think I just appreciate the fact that this movie thumbs its nose at the status quo, and dares it's main characters to do something a little more outside of the box.  Oh yea...and it's totally hilarious.  By the end of this film, I want to carve an African fertility god, jump a motorcycle into a pool....and possibly learn how to blow things up with my mind!  So what were some things I didn't like?  I suppose "Accepted" is a relatively  predictable movie, with alot of cheesy one liners, yet at the same time, I found that those cheesy one liners seem to make you laugh out loud!  I like this movie alot.  I am pretty sure that this was one of those $5.00 impulse buys from target, and I can say with confidence that it was  $5.00 well spent.

-David

Accepted. While this is not the first time I have seen this comedy, it is a film that I find myself yet enjoying, again and again, with clever witty one-liners, such as when Sherman Schrader says before entering an old and broken down mental institution, "Great, I've always wanted to catch hepatitis."

Accepted. A film that is meant to entertain, but also perhaps to ask the deeper question, what is the purpose of college? Is it to get a job? Follow a family tradition? To deepen one's intellect? As a college graduate, and a current college student pursuing my Masters in Teaching, I think back to my college experience, which consisted of two years at community college, two at a private university, and now almost 2 more years where I will soon be the one teaching young minds. I really did enjoy my college experience, and still am, what with the diversity of students' and thought, new ways of looking at old ideas, discovering passions, establishing relationships...of course there was always a class or two where I didn't quite get as much out of it as I had wished, or maybe the instructor just didn't have it together. No college education is perfect. And college may not be for everyone. But for me, having the opportunity to learn, to meet new people, and to look at the ever antagonizing question, "What are you going to do with your life?" has helped mold and grow me into who I am today. And I'm definitely not done growing. Not by a long shot.

The only other thought I want to add is how the idea behind this fictional college, established by the main character out of desperation, reminded me of how a Montessori school might run. The idea to let students choose what they want to learn, choose how much time they want to spend on a certain subject... And as a future teacher I have been introduced to the Constructivist style of learning, where students learn by doing, and teachers are encouraged to let students find their own way in solving problems or in having choices when completing assignments. Now, I don't know very much about Montessori, and I believe it is quite different from the Constructivist perspective. But we are at a place in our education where we need to find that balance, between giving guidance, establishing boundaries, even giving direct instruction, yet not stifling student creativity...Anyway, just some ramblings...who knew watching Accepted could result in such deep thought. :)

-Bethany

One couple's attempt to watch every movie they own from A to Z.

For many years, movies have been a large part of the backbone of American Culture.  Now before I go any further, let it be known that I am not an expert on movies, American culture, or Backbones, so I write completely from a layman's perspective.  At the end of this journey however, I expect that I will be at least be somewhat more knowledgeable when it comes to movies, and may have even developed a finer sense for this culture we live in that loves to love and sometimes loves to hate film .  (I may even learn a thing or two about backbones!)  The next months and probably years will expose me to movies that I have mostly (although not in all cases) seen before...over 200 of them.  All movies that my wife and I have amassed both before we were married, as gifts to each other, and as impulse purchases from the $5.00 rack at Target.  The two of us will offer what will often probably be a differing perspective on what we have seen, and just tell you how the movie made us feel.  I guarantee that there will be films she loves that I will love to hate...and visa-versa.  Now to some, this may sound like a complete waste of time, but I like to think of it as cultivating the creative process...all from the comfort of my own couch. 

-David

You sit down in that big overstuffed, yet amazingly comfortable easy-chair. An over sized bowl of popcorn and soda pop by your side. Or maybe some Ice-cream. And M'M's. And Reese pieces. But I'm getting off track. Movies. They can make us laugh, they can make us cry, they can make us jump out of our seats, or pace with nervous energy as the intensity unfolds. Movies can be a great way to escape from reality, or can cause us to look at an issue differently than we had before. David and I have been married for 3 1/2 years. Over that time, and including those brought from before we we're married, we have accumulated more than 200 movies. While we do share similar tastes most of the time, there are those genre's that one desires more than the other. David loves the historical war movies, where seeing Braveheart once is enough for me. I enjoy those lighthearted chick flicks, such as Mamma Mia, where for him, seeing it once was more than enough. Looking through all our movies we realize that there are movies we own, that one or the other has never seen. Or even those that both of us have never seen!

At times we have trouble picking out just the right movie to watch for the evening. So, this idea came about as a way to watch all the movies we own, in alphabetical order, and while doing so, we will write our thoughts about the film; whether we enjoyed it, or not, any messages we we're particularly struck by, and who know what else. Our goal is to watch at least 2 movies a week from our list, so this will take quite a while. But we're both looking forward to exercising our blogging skills and perhaps seeing some old movies in new ways.

-Bethany