a beautiful sea.

This past Saturday was one of my favorite Saturdays in a while. A few months ago, Drew and I made a day date out of driving up to Salt Lake City to see a double feature at the Broadway, an independent film theater that is part of the Salt Lake Film Society (SLFS). We are big supporters of the SLFS and love that we get the treat to see some great indie flicks that don't always make it down to Provo. We figured we'd have to do it again once all of the Sundance favorites began trickling into select theaters. So on Saturday, we did just that! The day started with Sing Street, then we tried out the new Nordstrom Grill for dinner, finishing off with a late night viewing of Swiss Army Man. I'm still thinking about both movies, so I felt the need to share the goodness over here!

Sing Street is officially my new favorite movie of 2016. It's the kind of movie I could watch over and over again, and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy it. It's the perfect amount of happy sad. The characters are lovable and hilarious: teenage boys without the teenage angst, who would do anything for their ~art~. And don't even get me started on the music here. When we discussed the movie over dinner, Drew said that it was exactly the kind of movie he wants to make one day. He's always said that if (when!!) he makes a movie, he wants it to be either set in the 80's, or have a score of all 80's music. I've been listening to the soundtrack non-stop since Saturday. The songs that weren't originally written for the movie (all of which are brilliant and incredibly catchy) include the hits of Duran Duran, A-ha, The Cure, and more. What's not to love?? I can't rave about this movie enough! So go watch it now!

"Maybe you're living in my world. I'm not living in yours. You're just material for my songs." 

-Cosmo

 "The problem is, you're not being happy sad. That's what love is, Cosmo. Happy sad." -Raphina

Swiss Army Man was a totally different story. I hesitate to recommend this to everyone because it caused quite the stir at the Sundance premiere, with several people actually walking out of the theater throughout the movie. So yes, it's weird. It's downright disgusting at times. But it's also tender, beautiful, and magical. In summary, Daniel Radcliffe's lifeless body brings Paul Dano's character, a suicidal castaway, back to life. It's unlike anything I've ever seen, and most people agree that it's impossible to categorize. It's a heartwarming story of life and friendship, told in the most imaginative, demented, and visionary way possible. Again, the music is what's really selling it to me! The story dips in tandem with the phenomenal compositions by Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull and Robert McDowell, with Paul and Daniel helping along with the sound effects in the most hilarious ways. It's the kind of movie that you still think about and talk about with those who watched it with you. So please, if you do venture to see this, let's discuss!

Manny: "You want to go home so you can have love, but you ran away because nobody loves you."

Hank: "Shut up! You can't just say everything that comes into your head, that's bad talking!"

"Before the Internet every girl was a lot more special." -Hank

"If my best friend hides his farts from me then what else is he hiding from me, and why does that make me feel so alone?" -Manny

^^the kind of disturbing yet real questions that really make you think !

Both soundtracks are now on Spotify so I recommend that you 1. Go watch both movies and then 2. Proceed to listen to the soundtracks for a good time! 

I love movies and I love the SLFS so much. I owe it to the fact that I married a huge film buff who has given me an even greater appreciation for the art of filmmaking. I'm trying to make this a thing to write more movie reviews on here, so we'll see how it goes!

films, fangirling, & furs

DAY 1-Park City: 

     Sundance Film Festival 2014 is winding down in Utah this year as it approaches the end of its 10 days of movie premieres, concerts, celebrity panels and parties. I was lucky enough to go three different days, at three of the four locations of the festival (Park City, SLC, and Ogden). Last Saturday me, my roommates and our good friend Ethan ventured to Sundance in Park City. After seeing just how many celebs flew in on Friday and would be there opening weekend, we decided to go up and make a day out of stalking celebrities and roaming all of the fun shops and restaurants that Park City Main Street has to offer.

     Our celebrity sightings this year were significantly more impressive than last year. But aside from going in the hopes of meeting celebrities, Sundance is easily one of the best events to go to people-watch. So. Many. Fur. Coats. I will admit that I do eventually want to own a fur vest, and Sundance is one of the few places it is socially acceptable to wear one. So now I just want one even more. But seriously, the get-ups at Sundance are like none other. You see some of the most stylish and hip-looking people, but then you also see half-naked girls sitting on top of cars with massive wigs resembling ice cream on top of their heads. I spotted the following A-D list celebrities along Main Street, and I even shook hands with Mark Ruffalo as he walked by! 

Zoe Saldana

Mark Ruffalo

Zach Braff

Matthew Gray Gubler

Joe Maginello

Naveen Andrews

Alex Ebert

Richard Ayoade

Melissa Benoist

Rhett & Link

I may or may not have crept on Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana through
a glass door until they were done with an interview outside on the balcony.
 they had to come inside at some point, right? hehe

one big, happy, polyg family (it's okay, we can joke about it because we're mormon. what?)

AirBNB Haus. this fun little lodge/cafe looked pretty cool from the outside, so I ventured inside to
a). use the bathroom
b). get a closer look at the vintage/country/cabin-inspired décor

Olive & Tweed. suuuper cute clothing store along Main Street.
it's like an anthropologie/francesca's mash-up of wonder.

oh yeah, and then we stumbled upon some of Banksy's artwork too.

DAY 2-Salt Lake City: 

     When the announcement of the Sundance line-up and schedule came out, I was prepared to do whatever it took to buy tickets for at least one movie. After many stressful minutes on my work computer and panicking with Abby on the phone while the site repeatedly crashed on us, I bought four tickets for "Happy Christmas," a movie directed by Joe Swanberg starring two of my favorite female celebs: Lena Dunham and Anna Kendrick. Let me tell you, it certainly did not disappoint! Joe's movies typically do not have much of a script, so a lot of what you see is totally improv, which makes it that much funnier. All of the actors were so hilarious and candid and I loved every second of it. Best part of the evening? After the movie, Joe Swanberg himself came onstage to answer questions from the audience and afterwards, we bolted out of the theater in the hopes of meeting him. AND WE DID. He was so friendly and humbled that we even knew who he was, much less asked for pictures with him. Cori was brave enough to ask him a question and she did so quite eloquently. You could totally tell he was impressed because she actually knew what she was talking about. Go Cori! Also, shout-out to Abby for introducing us to Joe Swanberg in the first place. She has been trying to get us to watch another one of his movies, "Drinking Buddies" and has been raving about his work and the mumblecore genre as a whole for months now. We continued fangirling on the ride home and it was totally worth having to wake up four hours later for work the next morning. It was the perfect ending to my MLK weekend.

necessary 

illegal spy pics in the theater

Q&A with Joe 

OMG [JOE SWANBERG] I LOVE YOUR WORK.
(10 points to gryffindor if you can name that quote with the correct celeb)

roommates that obsess over indie films together, stay together

DAY 3-Ogden:
Sadly, tomorrow is the last day of the festival, but last night me, John, Desireé, and Garrett were able to go for one last screening and saw "Mitt," a documentary about Mitt Romney. After watching the trailer (five times), I was so excited that I snagged tickets to watch it at Sundance. But don't fret, it's now streaming on Netflix and I advise everyone to go watch it. It was such an intimate look at his life during the 2008 and 2012 elections, and shows how brutal a presidential campaign (much less TWO) is on the candidate as well as his family. At certain parts I felt as though I was re-living the election, so I became sad all over again. I loved the scenes that showed the Romney family talking and joking with each other, and there are several scenes of them praying together. The documentary has been said to have a 'humanizing' effect on Mitt Romney, and one friend of mine even said "if I watched this movie before the election, I might have voted for him." I loved it and I wouldn't be surprised if future candidates release their own documentaries before election night.

Sorry for the novel, but I had such a wonderful week at Sundance and I feel so lucky that I attend BYU and I can go every winter. My goal for next year is to meet Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I am determined to do so before I graduate/leave Utah. I had such a fun time with friends and I loved having the opportunity to watch these amazing films and see the talent of everyone involved in them. I just love movies a lot. Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your weekend!