WHAT I LEARNED FROM MOVIE BINGING

Sooo.. yeah. I've been MIA for almost a week. The reason? I've been catching up on movies. In a span of 7 days I've watched 10 movies - 8 from the comforts of my bed, and 2 in the cinema. To justify this indulgence (that led me to ignoring other facets of my life), I decided to string up a blog post using the lessons and insights I've gained from doing so. See, it's not all useless. I may not have found a new favorite movie in this selection, but at least I got a blog entry. Woot, woot!

Warning: the below post may contain spoilers (although I doubt that these are still considered spoilers since I've watched them way after the premiere, haha!)

Starting off with:

LAGGIES

The truth is, we don't grow the same pace as everyone in our lives. Sometimes our paths even veer off. It's sad but like what Keira Knightley's character said, "I'm a snake that's been dragging my old skin around with me for way too long." It's not a pretty sight and honestly, you end up doing more harm than good to yourself and the people around you. 

TWO NIGHT STAND

Alec (Miles Teller) doesn't exactly win boyfriend of the year but awesome break up line. Sometimes we settle not because we don't want anything else, but for fear that what we want doesn't exist. I second the character's sentiments on this one, "I think it does."

PLAYING IT COOL

Here we see someone (Captain AmericaChris Evans) who doesn't do love, fall head over heels madly in love with a girl. At the end of the day, aren't we all just trying to find and keep our best match? And by best match, I mean someone who not necessarily is perfect but someone who seamlessly complements our quirks coz "he might check off on all boxes, but you can't plan happiness".  

THEY CAME TOGETHER

This is supposed to be a parody of rom-coms. I get it, rom-coms are silly. But I still love them. And I still think that art imitates life and that it is possible to get that epic love story. 

HITMAN AGENT 47

Maybe what I should've gotten from this movie was that we control our destinies.. But the scene when "he loves orchids" became the light bulb moment was just too forced. 

ALOHA

The trailer got me really excited for this one. Sadly, the actual movie wasn't really interesting for me. What I learned though was outside the plot - white washing. It's this thing in Hollywood where they cast a white person for an ethnic role. Case in point, Emma Stone as Allison Ng. Another example, Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily.

SPY

Another important issue tackled in my movie binge was how people of a certain type (gender, size, race, etc) end up actually believing the limitations other people have set upon them. You are not what everybody tells you you are. The best person to define yourself is yourself. Act accordingly.

THE BEST OF ME

This line, from Tuck's letter to Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) really got me weeping. Because, waaah. I felt like he was talking to me. This is your typical Nicholas Sparks movie, tearjerker as hell although the ending was rather predictable if you're had your share of Nicholas Sparks. Why'd this line strike me? Because....

INSIDE OUT

I'm the kind of person who'd rather be happy than sad. That means not dwelling on my hurts, and more often than not, that means shoving pain under the rug. But like Joy's realization, it's when you're sad that people actually help you to be happy again. Sadness is just as valid as joy. It's not any less of an emotion and it's OKAY to feel it!

ENTOURAGE

Time and again, wars have been waged over women. Emily Ratajkowski is Hollywood's Helen of Troy, haha Having a solid group of friends makes wars more bearable and even life more colorful. But importantly, Johnny Drama CAN act! And he won a Golden Globe too! Anything is possible!!! :D Even a big TV show can end up being a flop on the big screen. :|

But really, the biggest lesson I learned is how easy it is to drop aside everything for distraction something you shouldn't really be doing. It's not important but somehow, it becomes top priority not because there's nothing else to do but because you really want to do it. So better do it instead of ignoring the urge and then going all-out. Binge eating after dieting? Chain reading after months of not holding a book? Going on unhealthy TV show marathons? Do it gradually, or else risk the downward spiral. And believe me, it's not all that unlikely especially for someone like me, who enjoys being a hermit and vanishing from the outside world.