The Best Movie You Never Saw: Speed Racer

A while ago I mentioned that I wanted to do a series of posts about some of the things I've seen or listened to or done or whatever that I think many of you either overlooked or just don't know about. Well it's your lucky day! Here is the first post of this nature - and it's all about the movie Speed Racer.

Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking. "Speed Racer? Seriously?" Yes, I'm serious. I LOVED this movie. And so did Jonathan. We bought it because we liked it so much. Did I see Speed Racer in the movie theater? No, absolutely not. I remember that cartoon being on tv when I was little and how much the Japanese animation used to drive me nuts. When I saw they were making a movie about it, I rolled my eyes and decided I would not be seeing it. End of story.

But then...Jonathan saw it with some of his brothers and dad and told me that he actually really liked it. One night we were bored so we borrowed it from Ang and Guta. It wasn't long into it before I decided that I really liked it.

This movie is about so much more than car racing. I would go so far as to say it's a movie that uses car racing as a background to a story about families and relationships. And that's why I liked it. Let me use some stills from the film to explain this.

The movie starts off showing Speed as a young kid who dreams of being a race car driver just like his older brother, Rex. I loved the relationship between the two of them. This picture does a pretty good job of showing the admiration Speed has for Rex. Gotta love a film with a great brotherly bond.

There aren't many movies out today that show a whole family (with two married parents, imagine that), living together, working together, and supporting each other. I loved the family interaction in this movie. The Racer family own a racing company and garage in which everyone helps out. Their sons (Rex and later Speed) race for the company. A major part of the plot is that a big racing tycoon tries to recruit Speed and his family to join forces and have Speed race for them. While the decision is up to Speed, he realizes that it's really not - his whole family is involved, and he can't just think about himself. And when things get tight, the entire family is there to help out.

Another huge part of this movie is the relationship that Speed has with both his mother and his father. He goes to them for help and advice. They share his triumphs and his hurt. And ultimately, they let him make his own decisions - but he knows they will support him in whatever it is he decides. Both the parents and the kids make mistakes. They are not perfect. But they forgive and trust each other, and it shows how strong their relationships become.

Another thing I loved about this movie was the interaction between Speed and his girlfriend, Trixie. I found their relationship to be so much more realistic than in most films, and it was quite refreshing. You meet Trixie early on in the film, when she and Speed are little kids, and their relationship is quite humorous and adorable. And later you can see that they really have a best-friend-like relationship. They talk things over, support each other, laugh together. And you know what? The film doesn't even need a make out scene to show how much they 'love' each other. Amazing, right? Oh, and Trixie is my kind of girl.

Well, okay, there is one kiss. But don't worry, Speed's little brother comes on just before to warn all of the "cootie sensitive" viewers. And the kiss is sweet. Definitely family-friendly. ;)

I found something to love in each of the main characters. Racer X especially. Racer X is a rogue just fighting for a cause. He has something to accomplish, but he can't do it alone. So he enlists Speed's help. Along the way, Racer X becomes Speed's mentor. And who better? This guy is a first-class racer, fiercely dedicated to a good cause, and not willing to compromise. His backstory makes his presence in the movie even more fascinating and heart-wrenching. You'll love Racer X.

Last of all, I thought Emile Hirsch did a FANTASTIC job as Speed. He captured this character better than I think anyone could. You cannot help but fall in love with him. I loved the way his character developed over the course of the movie. You get to see him in all kinds of situations, and see how and why he makes his decisions. Speed holds onto his values and doesn't back down. you will be cheering for him the whole movie. And he won't let you down.

In addition to the characters and their interactions and the overall storyline, I thought the special effects and some of the racing scenes were just incredible. Really amazing. And a lot of fun to watch. (*Disclaimer: If you have a hard time watching lots of bright colors and flashing lights...you might not like the racing scenes so much!) And I also loved that, while everything was updated and extremely high-tech, the directors (the Wachowski brothers, who also did The Matrix movies) tried to keep the vintage feel of the 1960s, when the cartoon originally aired. The clothes and especially the Racer's house reflected that time period - an interesting and entertaining contrast.

Overall, Speed Racer gets an A+ in my book. This movie had it all. I'm sorry I missed it in the theaters - it would've definitely been worth my money. I'll post the trailer below...I don't think it quite does the movie justice, but it gives you a general idea. Do yourself a favor and go rent or borrow this one and watch it. And then come back and tell me what you thought. I hope you like it as much as Jonathan and I did!

**See if you can spot Speed's classic racing outfit...**

Reunion

I wish I had more time to write on here. Life has been crazy. But, as Jonathan keeps asking me everyday if I have updated, I thought I would appease him with at least a short post about something I did in the last couple weeks.

Since school started, some of my old friends are back at school or, in Alex's case, back from a mission. We decided it was about time for a Paris study abroad reunion. We got gelato at a local place and reminisced about our adventures in France, caught up on each other's lives, and planned our next reunion when two of our other friends get back from their missions. Here's the rundown on the group:

Melissa is my friend and decided to go to Paris with me. We were roommates together at our crazy host family's house for 2 months. So many stories about that place alone. Let's just say we were pretty glad to get out of there at the end of the trip! Melissa got married in August 2008 after her missionary, Dan (my other good friend) got home. They are expecting their first baby, a girl, in November.

Alex is from California and is a convert to the church. She came to BYU and then on study abroad. She is the life of the party. We laughed with her so much. Her sense of humor cracks me up. :) She went on a mission to Texas, recently returned, and now is back at BYU.

Melanie was Alex's roommate on the trip. They didn't know each other before, but they hit it off immediately and are still great friends. Melanie graduated from BYU the same time I did, but now she's back at BYU for grad school and is even teaching some undergrad classes.

Then:

(Left to Right: Evan, Christine, Kylie, Ben, Me, Alex, Melissa, Melanie - taken in the kitchen of mine and Melissa's host family)

And now!

(Melanie, Melissa, Alex, Me)

It's nice to have them close by again. We can't wait until Christine and Evan get back from their missions so we can see them again as well! It's funny how just being back with them brought back sooooo many memories from our trip together. I had such a blast. Can't wait to take Jonathan back there someday. Hopefully sooner than later. :)

PS - I am thinking about doing a series of posts about France and some of the things I did, things I learned, people I met, etc. What do you think? Would you find that interesting? Or boring? Your vote will decide...

Catching Up

There have been a number of things I've been meaning to post about, but for some reason I just haven't had time...

So, this is my effort to quickly catch up on some things that happened this last month.

1st, we had a bunch of friends over for J-Baum's 22nd birthday! We were finally able to get most of our friends all in one place in one night. Many of us hadn't seen each other for over 2 years! We are all connected in one way or another. I'll try to explain some of our connections. It gets pretty complicated. Here are some pictures from the night:

Some of Jessica's favorites - diet coke, chocolate covered raisins, and confetti cake.

Angie and Minh (Angie became my roommate after Freshman year at the request of my friend - her brother - Jesse, who I met my freshman year at BYU. Angie and Minh have been together for years now, so he's pretty much part of the family. :))

Lionel and his girlfriend, Ashley (I met Lionel freshman year as well - he was roommates with Chad. I also went to high school with Ashley.)

Sandy, Melissa, her future baby, and her husband Dan (Sandy more or less took my place in our apartment after I got married. She grew up with my roommate KaRynn and my friend Deveny. Dan I met freshman year. He was roommates with Jesse and lived down the hall from Chad and Lionel. Before he left on his mission, Jessica and I convinced his girlfriend at the time, Melissa, to transfer to BYU and live with us. Melissa and I also went on study abroad to Paris together.)

Chad and Jesse. (Chad and I have been friends since high school. As mentioned, Jesse lived down the hall from Chad. The four boys - Lionel, Chad, Dan, and Jesse - always hung out at our apartment freshman year.)

Jessica, Kate and her husband Peter. (Jessica and I have been friends since high school. Kate went to high school with us and was our roommate for a while. Kate and Peter got married this last summer.)

Eh...

The whole lot. It was a little crowded...

Singing to J-Baum. Don't we sound lovely? It was a lovely party and a good time was had by all. I loved having all of my old friends back together again. We sure laughed a lot at all the memories. :)

In other catch-up business, this photo was from a combined service project that the YW/YM did for an elderly man in our ward. We weeded around his yard and helped him organize a room in his house. We ended up having a lot of the youth come, and they all had a great time. We might just have to plan more service projects if we get that kind of turnout!

Jonathan put together a panorama of the land we are dreaming of buying. This kind of gives you a better idea of what it looks like. Sigh. Someday. Hopefully if you click on it you can see it bigger.

I went back through some of my old posts that I never finished and deleted most of them. But there was one that I finally finished. It was supposed to be a birthday post for my friend Erin, but I was lame and didn't finish it until now. If you want, you can read all about my darling friend Erin here.

I've decided that I am going to start a series of posts called "The Best (Movie or Song or whatever) You've Never (Seen or Heard or whatever)." This will be a once in a while thing, kind of like my mailbox posts. I tend to find things that I get really excited about and want to share with everyone, and this seems like a good place to do it. I already know what my first post will be. Stay tuned. It's gonna be great.

Women, Education, and the Law

Last week the Women's Law Forum put together an event - "The Importance of Education for LDS Women: How a Law Degree Prepares Women to Contribute in the Church, Family, and the Community." Elder John Carmack, the Executive Director of the Perpetual Education Fund spoke, and then a panel of 5 women attorneys answered questions. I took some notes and thought I'd share them with you all.

Elder Carmack

(Named to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1984, President of the Idaho Boise Mission, went to the UCLA School of Law, married with six children)

- Education...

is not just a safeguard against divorce, death, etc.

is important for men and women in the church.

can help women fulfill their life roll.

makes people more likely to fulfill their duty as citizens.

gives people a sense of self-worth and self-reliance

- 51% of the recipients of the PEF are women

- He shared a story from President Hinckley. After one of his sons graduation, a man said to Pres. Hinckley, "My, your sons sure are smart!" And he replied, "Yes, my sons are smarter than me - but not smarter than their mother!"

- Quote from Pres. Hinckley: "You must get all of the education that you possibly can. Life has become so complex and competitive. You cannot assume that you have entitlements due you. You will be expected to put forth great effort and to use your best talents to make your way to the most wonderful future of which you are capable. Sacrifice a car; sacrifice anything that is needed to be sacrificed to qualify yourselves to do the work of the world. That world will in large measure pay you what it thinks you are worth, and your worth will increase as you gain education and proficiency in your chosen field."

- The Lord expects men and women to fulfill their talents.

- There is great power in discipline.

- Education gives you more time to devote to and skill to fulfill church callings.

- Education is necessary for fulfilling life's purposes.

- Every person will apply their education differently.

- The children of educated parents are generally better prepared for school and participate in extra cirricular activites.

- Women aren't doing as well as they should as far as education goes - they can do better.

Nancy Stevenson Van Slooten

(Chair-elect of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, first female on the JRCLS Board, first female recipient of the J. Reuben Clark Law School's Honored Alumni Award, married and has adopted 6 children from Russia, CA, and Ukraine)

- A legal education gives you confidence that you can do anything - that you are on par with everyone.

- Pray about each step you take, so you can ensure that your decisions are confirmed and you have no regrets.

RonNell Anderson Jones

(Professor at BYU Law, clerked for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the Supreme Court and Judge William A. Fletcher on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, married with two kids)

- BYU has a culture of dedication to family that makes it easier for women to attend law school.

- Be on par with your spouse and make decisions together.

Megan Gee

(Worked as a corporate lawyer for Texaco, married to a lawyer, has four children, one with autism and another with hydrocephalus and epilepsy. Her and her husband have 'worked successfully to secure fair and appropriate educational opportunities for their disabled children...including prevailing in litigation against the school district in Chapel Hill.'

- Example is the most powerful tool a parent has.

- The three years you put in to law school is absolutely worth the respect you will gain from those around you.

Judge Sheila K. McCleve

(Graduate of the first class of the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Judge on the Third Judicial District Utah State Court for 25 years, Adjunct Professor at BYU Law)

- I was not thrilled about going to law school at first, but it just 'felt right', so I stuck with it.

- The best thing about going to law school is the people I met and the opportunities it gave me to use my education in many aspects of my life, including in church service.

LeAnn Wheeler

(Editor on the Rutgers Law Review, Clerked on the Colorado Supreme Court and for a Wall Street law firm, married with five children - entered law school with 2 children and gave birth to her 3rd and 4th while in law school)

- Make sure you prioritize. Put your family first.

- People have asked her several times, "How can you waste your education by staying at home with your children?" Her reply has always been, "How can you ever waste education? It is invaluable."

Overall the night was really interesting. The room was packed, but it was hard to tell how many of the women there were law students, and how many are just considering law school. Hopefully it encouraged some women to do it. The reason I initially looked int o going to law school was because of an email I received from the Women's Law Forum. It's partly because of them that I am in law school right now. I'm so glad I made the decision to go. And it definitely helps to know that there are women out there who have done this before. :)

In like a lion

This week is fall break at the law school. No classes or meetings all week, however I do have a few big assignments to complete before next Monday. Today, I am taking it slow and easing into the work. After going non-stop for the past 6 weeks, it's nice to be able to relax...a bit. I'm trying really hard not to stress about the things I need to get done this week...oh man. But in between all of my studying and homework, I'm going to try to catch up on some things I've been meaning to blog about, so you might get more posts from me this week than you did the whole month of September.

Recently I have been doing something that I have never in my life done before. Some of you might find this shocking and/or controversial. I know several of my friends have. But I think I have a good reason.

I have been listening to Christmas music.

Do I know it's October? Yes. Do I know Christmas is still months away? Yes. Am I insane? Possibly, but that is irrelevant.

It started one night when Jonathan and I were driving home from his grandparents house in Mapleton. It was a Sunday. It was dark outside. The drive is kind of long. And we were trying to decide what to listen to. Jonathan asked if we had any Christmas music in the car. I didn't hesitate to say yes, and so we put it in. And it was lovely. We quite enjoyed it. It made us happy. Soon after that, the weather turned cold, and it's been quite chilly. As most of you know, I do not like the cold. I really don't. I would rather it be 115* outside that anything below 70. But I have found Christmas music to be quite distracting. Instead of lamenting the cold weather, I am coping with it, and almost embracing it, by listening to Christmas music 2 months early. And you know what? It really helps. I'm actually a little bit excited for the first snow. Listening to Christmas music reminds me of all the reasons there are to love the cold weather. Hot chocolate, cozying up to a fire, pretty lights, sledding, caroling, parties, family and friends, etc. Plus, I need something more to look forward to instead of finals.

And I was thinking about it this morning, and I feel like I'm not alone. It seems like with the economy being how it is, and with the wars, and natural disasters, and relationship breakdowns and whatever else has been happening, the world needs this Christmas feeling. The world needs to slow down and remember what the important things are in life. People need to realize that there are other people with problems bigger than theirs, and that they can do something about it. People need to remember what it feels like to do something nice for someone else, or to take a moment and think about the real reason we celebrate Christmas and what it means to them and to their families. I think if the Christmas season came a little early this year, it wouldn't be such a bad thing. So do yourself a favor, and go listen to your favorite Christmas song.

And to get you into it, here's one of my favorite Christmas albums from one of my favorite bands, Relient K.

Let It Snow Baby...Let It Rein...