Titanic: the best movie of all time

Hunched over my laptop at 9:28 on a Sunday night, I'm far from in the mood to blog. Two minutes ago my sister and I finished watching Titanic, a movie that never stays the same each time I watch it. Every time, I cry at precisely the same parts, which is actually rare even though I am an emotional person in general. It takes a lot for a movie to make me cry, and I have never understood why almost every girl my age says they cry at certain parts during The Notebook every time they see it. Yes, I love that movie. Yes, I love the story. But yes, I do believe it takes more than a good plot line and good acting to make a movie truly magical.

Part of the reason I find Titanic to be so moving is because of the music. The credits alone bring on a fresh surge of tears because of the theme song: "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. Similar motifs run throughout the movie, characterizing certain moments and linking connections. As I think more and more about it, the music is probably the most influential piece in creating the right mood. Good acting is great, but without the right background the moment is never the same.

Furthermore, the camera angles and shots made each scene come alive on screen. From the moment the people on board are waving goodbye to those on the shore to the very end when you see the Statue of Liberty from Rose's point of view in the boat, Titanic was filmed to perfection. Lack of technology didn't matter in the least because moments where that would have enhanced the movie were few. For example, the moment when Jack is looking at the dolphins down in the water. Now, those may not have been the most realistic looking dolphins, but the point was made and there were no corny close up shots that would have taken away from the realistic approach of the story.

Finally, Titanic's many sided theme set made it's length perfectly acceptable and gave the viewer's mind busy throughout the film. What is true love? Does it even exist? Security or passion? How far should a daughter go for the honor of her family? Who comes first: love of family or relationship love (if that makes sense)? All these questions are answered on some level, even if the answer comes only through interpretation by the individual. The various elements of the story itself make Titanic a movie that is incomparable to any other.

The combination of music, theme, and direction can arguably make Titanic the best movie of all time.

*Note: Because this month has been extremely busy, Angela and I have not visited a restaurant for December. Reviews will resume in January.*

"Steph, if you do my paper, I'll read your book and take notes on it," my brother says to me as I'm propped up on the couch trying to concentrate on reading four hundred something pages in one day. Interested, I look up.

"So you would rather read my ENTIRE book complete with notes than spend two hours doing your own work?"

"yeah," and for a second I consider taking advantage of this opportunity before deciding that that would be overly abusive of my powers as older sister. The funny thing is, I completely believe him- I know the feeling of preferring just about anything over what I need to do for myself- even if it costs more time and a lot more energy. Why is this, I ask myself, and accept the fact that I will have to run upstairs and grab my laptop to blog about it.

I am certainly not an expert on this, but I would think that this mechanism comes from the nature of stressing over something just enough to put it off till the last second: ah, procrastination. I would hesitate to call it compassion for the other person. But this whole question leads me to thinking of new years resolutions, as this time of year calls for. I could just stop procrastinating altogether, but that would simply be a lie, (I've done plenty of those kinds of resolutions before). Striving to make learning fun may be possible, however. No, there is no way to change the assignment, but fancy pens, a cute notebook, and a cup of raspberry tea may make a day of reading about globalization more enjoyable. Paint your desk a wacky color! Give yourself a reward if you do something ahead of time. This kind of simple happiness would make doing homework more enjoyable, and leave less room for brain-listing all the torturous things you'd rather be doing. Yes, I think this will be my new year's resolution: learning to love to learn.

*PS- Mr. Vohden I know it's January 1st but can you count this one as December?:)*