Part 2...
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So, in my glorious randomness, I was thinking through movies I wanted to watch on Netflix last night. And I ran across Chicago, which is pretty much one of my favorite movies of all time. This is not really useful information if a) you realize that the movie came out in 2002 or b) you've already seen the movie. (Disclaimer: This is not a review. More like a fannish squee.)

Anyway. It's an awesome movie. First of all, you have Richard Gere doing a striptease, a tap dance, and a puppet show with a live doll. (Actually, you just have Richard Gere, period. The man is incredibly good-looking. Mmm.) And then you have Catherine Zeta-Jones, who has to be one of the most gorgeous people on the planet. She depresses ordinary women because we know we'll never look like that, but she also gives us hope that somebody can look like that. It's kind of a weird dichotomy.

I really like Renee Zellweger, mostly because she's capable of handling difficult roles with aplomb. I hate her character, because Roxie has to be the whiniest, most annoying woman to ever aspire to show business. I alternate between wanting to kick her complaining ass all the way to Detroit and back and reluctantly admiring the fact that she never loses track of the most important thing in her life: herself.

But the best thing in the entire film (Gere's striped boxers notwithstanding) has to be Queen Latifah as Mama. Not only can she belt showtunes like nobody's business, she's got the sass, the attitude, and the cheerful larceny that makes her character so entirely delightful. Mama doesn't take anything off of anybody...unless it's something she wanted in the first place. It's so damn awesome.

I'm not even going to talk about the courtroom scenes, in which there is more drama than in All My Children and Days of Our Lives combined. Or sweet, pathetic Amos, whom John C. Reilly imbues with incredibly frustrating amounts of pathos. Or the songs, all of which are incredible. Or the fact that you can practically taste the sensation-mad atmosphere of Chicago in the '20s and '30s, the vibrating rebellion of speakeasies and flasks and getting away with murder.

It's glamorous. It's glittering. It's hypnotizing. It's just...well, Chicago.

So. Maybe doing this whole first post thing after a full rich day of laundry, homework, and insufficient napping time is a bad idea. But it's happening anyway.

I will admit that I mainly joined LJ because of the really awesome TVD fanfic archived here. I'm in love with The Vampire Diaries. Completely, utterly, head-over-heels in love. And I'm so very glad it's finally off hiatus.

I'm in love with other things too. Chocolate is a big one. Coffee as well. Black-and-white photographs. Traveling, especially in Europe. I also have this weird thing for metros. I could spend all day riding the metro in whatever city I happen to be in. It's a little strange.

I also love cheesy chick flicks, mostly because they make me feel better when the day's not going well. I don't pretend to have good taste in films. I don't have that much tolerance for being miserable.

I hate a few things too. The NRA. Horror movies (especially the ones with demons or possession--those tend to stay with me for weeks on end). People who never use turn signals. Math. I loathe math. And mornings. I realize mornings are necessary, but I don't have to be awake to appreciate that fact.

But yeah. That's more than enough for now. I don't plan to have a rhyme or reason to this LJ thing. Friend me if you want, ignore me if you feel like it. After all, my motto is from Alice in Wonderland, which is proof that I'm not all that seriously minded.

And I'm totally okay with that. :)