ROW80 Update and A Quick Movie Review

Let's get the bad news out of the way.  This week I sucked on my goals. Despite my new found organizational skills,  Thursday I looked around at the piles of work on my desk and just set the writing goals aside in an effort to get all caught up.  I had been treading water, slowly getting through the piles, but not as fast as I'd have liked to.  I am not ecstatic about not meeting my writing goals (or my workout goal since I haven't done that in like 3 days) but, there came a point where I had to prioritize.  And I did.

My plan for this week is to finish this upcoming week's homework  and grading, which should be done by tomorrow night, and then Tuesday get back into my regularly scheduled programming ( i.e. working on my WIP(s)--specifically my outline--for at least an hour a day).  I think that is do-able, and it will definitely put me ahead of the game when November 1st comes along. 

So, all that being said, I mentioned a movie review--so here it is.  Last night while I working on my bibliography assignment (oh, what an exciting life I have!), I decided to put on a movie that Netflix kept recommending to me via instant streaming.  It's from 2009 so I may just be late to the party, but it was…in a word…eccentric.  It is called "Malice in Wonderland" and stars Maggie Grace and here is the description from Netflix:

 This intriguing, updated take on Alice in Wonderland is set in modern-day London, where             American law student Alice (Maggie Grace) suffers amnesia after being hit by a taxi and           awakens in a bizarre, gritty netherworld populated by all manner of unsavory characters. With   motor-mouthed cab driver Whitey (Danny Dyer) as her guide, can Alice regain her memory and      make her way back to the real world in one piece?  (Netflix.com)

Just a warning:  This is not a movie for you if you don't like strong language, or if you prefer movies without a small amount of pill popping and pot smoking.  The description calls it "mind bending and sentimental" and it is definitely the former, as well as "bizarre, gritty and intriguing". The characters are a diverse bunch, ranging from sweet and confused to cringe worthy and just plain icky.  (Very technical term I know!) There are flashbacks, and as I said, a little bit of drug use (the Cheshire cat in this modern day re-working was a pot smoking Rastafarian who rhymes everything…did I mention this was a bit bizarre?)  Anyways, these types of movies usually aren't my thing, but the actors did a good job with the material they had, and it's whimsy was contagious.  Think…a little bit like Pushing Daisies with a dark, circus-like twist.  (I say a little bit like Pushing Daisies because I loved that show and it takes a lot to fit into those shoes!)  The underlying story was good, and in the vein of a girl meets boy and despite his faults and eccentricities, falls for him, but has to deal throughout with her short term amnesia.  She was supposed to have been doing something when she hit her head, but she just can't remember what.  Is she in this reality? Or an alternate reality?  Are the people she meets real?  Or just figments of her fragmented and confused mind?   The answer she is looking for is perhaps a bit predictable, but how she gets there, and the people she meets along the way make it….unique.  One thing that had me hooked from the start was the music.  I had to search high and low on the internet for the main song, "Where Are You" sung by Betty Steeles, but thankfully found it on YouTube.  Now just to find a version on iTunes or amazon to download to my mp3 player.  Had I heard the song on its own, I'm not sure I would have liked it, but seeing how it fits into the story of Alice and Whitey, I am hooked.  

The message of the movie, and the answer to the riddle Alice is trying to figure out, is simple but true.  I won’t give it away of course--gotta see the movie to find out!  If you give it a try, let me know what you think.   I'm off to do more homework so I can be ready for the series premiere of "Once Upon a Time" at 8 pm, and the new episode of "the Walking Dead" at 10.  Talk about appointment television!  Good luck and have a great week!