"Movies aren't a Slice of Life, They're a Slice of Cake"-My Love for Hitchcock

Introduction

I watched my very first Hitchcock movie, North by Northwest, purely by accident.  After hearing all about the man at Universal Studios dozens of time, I always pictured him directing dark, horror, and creepy movies in Hollywood.  I was young, and I judged hard.  When my high school orchestra teacher decided that we were going to play movie music (famous themes and such) for our spring concert, he assigned us (the students) movies to watch at home in order to "get the feel".  In this list included many of the Spielberg classics (Jurassic Park, E.T., etc), some Star Wars, and one movie I've never heard of before.  This was North by Northwest.

One of my habits before and after I watch a movie is that I do HEAVY research.  This includes looking up the year of the movie, general summaries (not ruining the ending, of course), stories while the movie was being filmed, interviews with casts, original trailers, looking up casts, etc.  I absolutely love movies, and I always get super excited when a familiar actor from the cast or music score composer pops up.  But, in this case and for some odd reason, I failed to look up the director.  If I had, I would have definitely avoided this film as it was a Hitchcock, a director I told myself I would forever avoid.  Little did I know, that mistake would change my view of movies and my former dislike for the infamous director.

North by Northwest: At the time, attracted only by Cary Grant

After Tasting Hitchcock

 Let me just say, Hitchcock is remarkable.  I now understand why Hollywood was (and is to this very day) so ga-ga/fangirling over him.  He has the capability to captivate his audience in his films from beginning to the end so deeply.  With amazing storylines and cinematography, the British director is simply phenomenal.  Additionally, he still manages to keep the Hollywood-esque aspect of romance despite all the drama in his films, always having attractive and talented actors and actresses. 

Ever since, I have been a huge fan, and I don't regret it any bit.  I have dug so much into Hitchcock, my list of watched Hitchcock movies is slowly starting to even out with the list of unwatched ones.  Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, Dial M for Murder, The Birds...each one is alike yet so different in every way.  Each one tells a remarkable story that I can assure you will be forever engrained in your minds, pondering the same question, "How did Hitchcock do it?"  Hollywood is still asking the same question currently as the famous man remains as the most influential artists of film of all time.



Just a handful of Hitchcock's films



Last Words

I have been continuing my exploration into Hitchcock and am proud to say my favorite movie genre is psychological thrillers.  I will always have a heart for light romantic comedy and Disney, for good fun, as I am still a child at heart.  (You can never beat those silly sing-a-longs)  But, a more mature side to me has found peace with darker genres as I continue to find more interesting films.  Although I am far from trying horror, I hope to acquire enough stamina and mental brainpower to venture into that industry as well as it's so popular.  But at the current moment, I'll stick with my treasured 1980s and 1950s classics, Hitchcock, and psychological thrillers.

 

Rise of Universal Studios: Expansions and More

Overview

When I decided to get annual passes for Universal Studios for me, my sister, and my best friend last year, I didn't expect much of the park as having lived in Los Angeles my entire life, I knew all of it by heart.  Universal Studios, to be honest, was a last resort to celebrate my sister's way as it was a whole lot cheaper than purchasing annual passes for Disneyland.  Plus, my school discount was very nice.  Thus, the visits I made this past year have definitely been a treat, and I'm surprised how much has changed since I was young.

Advanced Technology

First of all, most of the Universal attractions are gone.  I'm quite serious!  Universal has been known for their amazing classics (classic horrors in the 1940s and classic sci-fis in the 1980s), and knowing this, the park has always kept their attractions like this as well.  Thus, E.T. the Ride, Backdraft (behind the scenes attraction), Back to the Future Ride, and Terminator 3D have always been there.  But, it seems that higher-ups of Universal had some sort of reality check, recently.  

Instead of these classic rides, the new attractions of Universal have boasted some great special effects and technology advances that are just astounding!  The Mummy roller coaster has taken over E.T. the Ride and some pretty unique advancements as so much movie decor is spread throughout the ride and lines, and the roller coaster goes backwards.  

Revenge of the Mummy: opened in 2004

The Back to the Future (BTTF) Ride has now been replaced by the Simpsons ride.  It's practically the same thing with cars and a huge screen for its simulator, but instead of jerky moves like before in BTTF, the ride is slick and has awesome special effects as a virtual roller coaster.  It's quite popular with the younglings as well as the ride originates from a popular TV show rather than a 1985 classic that is popular with the adults.  

Simpson the Ride: opened in 2007

Backdraft has been replaced with the awesome Transformers ride, my personal favorite of the changes, which has the latest and greatest technological advances I've seen in rides.  Not only is it a simulator, there are multiple screens instead of a simple single one and guests are put into cars and experience actual flying as you help the Autobots in a quest.  Talking to workers at this ride, they are all pretty stunned as well by the advancements in the ride, claiming that guests can hardly feel that they are actually swirling around a 2-story building!

Transformers the Ride: opened in 2011

Being a movie freak, the Tram ride has always been my ultimate favorite.  Able to see behind-the-scenes backdrops and learning neat facts about the movie industry, this ride is great as it is filled with so many goodies at a live studio.  That being said, the King Kong 3D is definitely one-of-its kind, boasting the largest 3D screen in the world with a 360 screen and surround sound.  I have personally been on this more than half of a dozen times, and I have never felt disappointed.  Rather, I always feel awed by how awesome this attraction is.  Directed and planned by Peter Jackson himself, you can feel yourself in the jungle with King Kong, swinging on the branches and whatnot.  It will never feel old.

King Kong 360 3D: opened in 2010

Lastly, the most talked about ride out of them all: the Minion Ride!  This ride was vamped after the successful Despicable Me 2, and both children and adults were so excited about this.  The interior design of the ride is unbelievably adorable, which features the factory and Gru's house.  Some of the props are spread through the ride as well.  The Minion Ride takes over the place of the previous Terminator 3D attraction, so it's a huge space for this ride as well.  Another simulator (starting to see a trend here), and even though it's not as exhilarating as Transformers, it does justice.  It's everything the children have hoped for and completely charming.  Additionally, the Super Silly Fun Land is superb next door as it looks just like it did in the original movie.  The original Space Killer game is also there where you can win your own "it's so fluffy!" unicorn!

Minion Mayhem: opened in 2014

Super Silly Fun Land: opened in 2014

Expansions

Universal Studios has been expanding like crazy!!  After the addition of the Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem and Super Silly Fun Land area, the most excitable expansion is the Harry Potter Land opening supposedly in 2016.  This is supposed to be even larger than the original expansion based off of the one in Universal Orlando.  Taking over previous water play areas and the huge Gibson amphitheater, this is one of the expansions that will most likely go down in history.  The area seems quite large, and construction is happening very quickly.  

Harry Potter Land: planned for 2016 opening

The famous tram ride is also expanding.  After huge acclaims about the King Kong 360 3D, a new Fast and Furious additional attraction is coming into the tram ride.  Supposedly, the new attraction is supposed to be similar to King Kong with also 360 3D screens as well as even more action-packed sequences.  

Fast and Furious Tram Attraction: Proposed Plans

Additionally, an actual Springfield (the hometown of the Simpsons) is underway and planned to open in Spring 2015 as well as more tram expansions.  Universal seems to have a lot up their sleeves these days, and fans will surely be excited about them all!

Summary

Overall, I am completely astounded at just how much Universal has grown and become in the last 10 years alone.  In California, especially, any theme park has to face the difficult competition of the Disney parks.  But, Universal has been performing decently with their advancements and expansions.  And with just a few more new items on the plate, guests will be flooding to Universal to fill their stomachs with thrills and more!

http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201404/3960/

Getting Rid of Facebook: The Ups and Downs

The Backstory

So I finally got rid of Facebook.  I remember almost 4 years when I fell succumb to the bandwagon and finally got one.  But addiction didn't really start hitting until college.  By that time, EVERYONE was on Facebook.  Posting, pictures, chatting, candy crush...you name it, everyone was doing it, and one can really see how much the simple social networking website was starting to become a part of us!  People talk about addiction to drugs and alcohol and how bad it is...but wasn't this a sort of addiction as well?  And what if Facebook addiction is actually worse than drugs and alcohol??  At least the other two are only detrimental to us, health wise...but Facebook has been proven to be detrimental for both our mental health and physical health.  Isn't that worse?!

I didn't really start noticing the problems until a few months ago when I got a new phone, my Samsung 5 (which I absolutely LOVE AND ADORE over my aging IPhone 4S).  Downloading all my apps I had originally and downloading new ones, I had to sign in via my Facebook account in order to "connect".  I never really put much thought into ever doing this before as I usually did it without thought, but, I started realizing how much information these apps were getting with a simple login from me.  It's pretty scary.  Thus, I made a promise to myself to "slow down" from Facebook and eventually get rid of it after college, but then I thought..."pfft, why not now?"

My depiction (in my head) of letting Facebook go-it's ok!  Pillows are there to save/help you



The Ups

FREEDOM.  Seriously, I feel like I have ample amounts of free time to do whatever...starting a blog!!, catch up TV shows, actually talk to my friends/family, go out and enjoy nature, etc.  A good 3 hours of scrolling through useless statuses, updates, and pictures of a middle school colleague I may not even talk to anymore now gone, kind of nice.  But definitely, I have ended up with so much more physical time on my hands, it's unbelievable!

Privacy, privacy, privacy.  Like I stated in my backstory, so much is connected via Facebook, it's ridiculous.  Now when I go into my phone games, a Facebook login pops at least half of a dozen times every 10 minutes when I play (even while I'm playing, which really irks me).  I was pretty astounded to get an email as well from Facebook saying that I had this many notifications and this many messages, "calling" me back.  Seriously, leave me alone please, good sir.  I'm slowly starting to delete all my apps/websites/whatever else gadgets Facebook was connected before and managing strictly through my junk email.  Yes, it takes more time, but trust me, no creepers will get to you.  You never know who's staring at your profile halfway across the globe these days.

The Downs

The only major thing I would have to say I miss about Facebook is the lack of communication I have now with my friends.  I do like the fact how easy it was to connect and communicate with people on Facebook since so many people were on.  The late night conversations, group posts, jokes through posting on each other's walls...those I treasure and are now gone.  But alas, things always come with a sacrifice, right?

Summary: All-in-All

So in summary, is keeping your life private and saving time worth getting rid of Facebook?  YES.  But losing track of 100s of friends?  Hmmm...  But then again, think about it this way.  True friends, actual true friends, find each other and will keep in contact in other ways even if a form of contact (in this case Facebook) is now depleted.  Whether it be text, Skype, email, or the traditional of actual phone calling someone, there are other ways (possibly even better ways) to keep in contact with friends.  If that's not even worth it, you may have to consider if he/she is really a friend, bud.

Sources:

HuffingtonPost: 11 Reasons to Quit Facebook in 2014