Looking at the Past, Focusing on the Future

So another year has gone by, and full of interesting and unexpected things. I will say that to me, 2013 will always be remembered as the year of the weddings, as I had a TON of friends get married this year. It was like every other week was somebody’s wedding.

Anyways, so this is a time to reflect what the past year held for us, the big posts, the planned posts, and what you all seemed to like the most. 😀

1) The Views

According to WordPress I had 9,542 views this year. That’s 7542 more than last year. I would like to thank all of you for being a part of this and giving me your time and attention.

2) #1 Post

Surprisingly, the top post of the year was my Happy Anniversary post in which I celebrated six months of blogging. I have to say I never saw that one coming. Runner ups were Snakes on a Post: Chinese New Year, Fulfilling the List: A Walk to Remember, Grimwood Ghouls’ Gym Teacher: Scooby–Doo and the Ghoul School, A Monster Race: Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant  Werewolf, and Save the Last Dance for Me: Dirty Dancing. 

3) The Followers

I now have 42 followers, that is 28 more than last January. Thank you all who follow and make my blog a part of your life. You are all awesome! 😀

Now for the success and failures of the year.

4) My Favorite Movie Lines Lists

This all started when I did a post on one of the best movie lines ever. I then decided to do my own countdowns and post them once a month. I only did two; My Favorite Movie Lines and It’s BACK!: The Sequel. I planned up to 10 lists but never finished looking for videos to include, so they are just backlogged waiting to be published. I will have to look through them and post them this year.

5) Musical Musings

I also started my musical posts, writing about some of my favorite songs. This year I covered Nothing But a Good Time, Eye of the Tiger, In Rhapsody Over Clint Eastwood,  Jump (For My Love), I’ll Be Alright Without You, and The End which reviewed a bunch of different songs. Look for more of these as I already have a few ideas for more.

6) Romance is in the Air

Fourteen posts about some of my favorite romantic moments in film in honor of Valentines’ Day. I covered Say Anything, He’s Just NOT That Into You, A Walk to Remember, An Officer and a Gentleman, The Wedding Singer, Shrek 2, Enchanted, Runaway Bride, 10 Things I Hate About You, An Affair to Remember, Music and Lyrics, It’s a Wonderful Life. Dirty Dancing, and Northanger Abbey.

7) One Day Holiday Posts

 Instead of doing a post everyday like with Romance is in the Air or Horrorfest, I did a couple of holiday posts in which I reviewed the films or books that applied in one post on one day. This is can be easier and fit for the holidays chosen; Snakes on a Post: Chinese New Year, Pot O’ Gold: Saint Patrick’s Day, and the 25 Films of Christmas. 

8) Painted Portrayals

For Easter I did something a little different from my other holiday posts. I discussed art that featured Christ, discussing the history and advancements of the pieces.  These posts were The Last Supper, The Betrayal of Christ, and Good Friday. I mean I have to use my Art History skills for something.

9) Pride and Prejudice Summer

So this was a failure. I had planned to spend a majority of my summer posting about Pride and Prejudice as it had just turned 200, but unfortunately my plans went awry. However, I did get a few done and I am going to complete this quest this year, so I can move on to another book. The posts that I completed as part of this goal are the following: Happy Birthday Pride & Prejudice, It is a Truth Universally Acknowledged, The 12 Men of Christmas, Parental Favoritism, and Definitely Not Mr. Darcy.

10) Horrorfest II

Now Horrorfest II wasn’t a complete failure, but it didn’t turn out how I originally planned. I wanted to do 31 days, but it was far too much work and only did 16. I didn’t get everything I wished to accomplish, but I think it turned out well. I covered the films; The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Warm Bodies, The Mummy (1932), The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Crucible, Ringu, The Beast of Yucca Flats, Double, Double, Toil, and Trouble, Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Jurassic Park III, and Children of the Corn. I also did the episodes “A River of Candy Corn Runs Through It” from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, “Night of the Day of the Dead” from Lizzie McGuire, and “Midnight Madness” from Are You Afraid of the Dark. I also discussed an artist who mixed horror films with Disney, Disnified Horror.

Of course there are plenty of other things that went on this year, but this finishes our review of the year.

On ending note I found this on Pinterest in the spring:

and wanted to do it, but I thought it would be better if I waited for the new year to partake in this. I think that it is a fun idea and I encourage everyone of you to do it as well.

So Happy New Year, I hope it is the better than last year! And I can’t wait to see what posts come up this year. 😀

Carried Away: An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

Romantic Moment #4

An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

Now, I saw this movie a long time ago, and I loved Richard Gere as the very handsome Navy officer, (truth be told I love Navy uniforms).

Zachary “Zack” Mayo (Richard Gere) is heading out to Aviation Officer Candidate School. He’s had a hard life with the death of his mother, his father alcoholism and cruelty; but is determined to work hard and succeed.

Things don’t get much better as the Drill Sergeant Emil Foley really has it in for Zach.

He meets Paula Pokrifki (Debra Winger), a factory worker, at a Navy Ball and the two begin dating. His friend Sid Worley starts dating a fellow factory worker, Lynette Pomeroy.

Zach meets Paula’s family, but her stepfather doesn’t like him. He discovers that it is because when Paula’s mother was younger, she dated an AOC who took off when he found out she was pregnant.

Meanwhile, it turns out Sid has a serious girlfriend back home. However, Lynette keeps hinting that she is pregnant.

Sid, after having an anxiety attack, decides to leave the program realizing it is not for him. He goes to Lynette to ask her to marry him, but when she finds out he will not be in the Navy she refuses. It turned out that she was lying about being pregnant just to catch him, and doesn’t want anyone who wasn’t a Navy officer.

Zach becomes disheartened and upset about all that happens. He turns away from Paula and questions whether he should continue himself, or drop out as well.

Most Romantic Moment: You Are What I Really Want

My favorite part of the movie, and also being the most romantic, is in the end. Zach has achieved his dream of becoming an officer. All is right. Or is it?

Now that he his dream, he realizes that it pales in comparison to something else. That there is something more, something missing; Paula.

So he goes after her and  carries her out of the factory she works in. Determined to marry her and make all her dreams come true.

I love this scene.

So romantic

Gotta love a man in uniform!

In fact this scene was so romantic that they copied it in Reba. When Van wanted to prove to Cheyenne that he really loved, that he married her not because she was pregnant but for love; he reenacts this scene.

I love it.

To start Romance is in the Air from the beginning, go to Boom Box of Love: Say Anything (1989)

For the previous post, go to Fulfilling the List: A Walk to Remember (2002)

For more on Richard Gere, go We’re Buying This Dress: Runaway Bride (1999)

For more ’80s films, go to You May Screw Up, But You’re Not a Screw Up: Mystic Pizza (1988)