Looking for Alaska
By John Green
After years of reading school-assigned literature and some classics on my own, I decided to take a break and try, gasp, a teen novel. I hadn’t read one since 6th grade; I stopped because it got too trashy. And the same thing happened with Looking for Alaska.
Why did I choose Looking for Alaska out of the over-capacitated breadth of pointless teen readings you say? Well first of all, the intriguing title caught my eyes, and an online synopsis said that the main character, a junior named Miles, was trying to find his “Great Purpose” at a new boarding school.. K, seems legit. Some illicit activities mentioned, but k. I’m mature, right.
It turns that Miles (“Pudge”) was more, uh, teenage than the sophisticated protagonist I hoped for (see: Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger). Although he has a remarkable and admirable obsession with notable people’s dying words, he almost felt like a character pulled from Fictionpress or something- someone who inspected physical features a little too much. Also, he tried to fit in with these group of people who were exceptionally and equally accomplished at both academics and drinking.. Alcohol. And smoking.. Cigarettes. In fact, most of the action of the plot revolves around illegal activities.
However, if you look beyond the trashiness of the surface of the book, there actually is something meaningful that lies underneath it: the protagonist’s relationship with this sophisticated, charming, and self-destructive girl. Actually, the entire book is literally based on this girl…I can’t really say anything more that, or I’ll give too much away.
I don’t recommend reading Looking for Alaska unless you’re willing to critically analyze it. It’ll be easy to get caught up in the exterior and ignore the inner premises.
The Hangover
I’ve never planned on watching ANYTHING with the word “hangover” in its title, but my sister said it was extremely funny, so I gave in.
She was right.
It’s hirarious.
Firstly, I must applaud the writers of The Hangover for creating a comedy that flows and makes sense, plot-wise. For a film this insane and random, it’s easy to fall in the gaping cracks (see: The Epic Movie). I hate it when storylines/scripts/characters don’t flow, and The Hangover did an exceptional job of avoiding my hatred. The only part that made my inner critic question, was where Steve wanted to keep seeing the hooker.
Speaking of hookers, there’s also a lot of explicit content (needless to say).
But honestly, if you’re mature enough to be seeing an R-rated comedy titled “THE HANGOVER”, then I say hop into the stolen cop car and be prepared for one heck of a sick ride (both definitions).
3 comments:
i've been dying to see the hangover for ages :P
You totally should! Pirate it!
its an incredible movie, pure comical genius. I would have liked the humor to be a little more sophisticated, but with guys who are all drunk/stoned out of their mind/broke, it actually turned out well.
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