[18!!!] The Upcoming Adult Presents: My Life in 18 Movies

When you read this, I will be celebrating and hopefully having a great time, and I will be 18 years old. 

I could spend my time talking about life, the lessons I learned, the ups and downs I went through, my plans for the future and other stuff that has been said enough in this world. Some may argue that you can't talk about it often enough, and that people need to continue thinking about it. Life. 

Truth is though, I don't want to analyze life too much anymore. Perhaps I will read some philosophic books - always been wanting to check out Nietzsche - and I will certainly watch some philosophic movies, because you never know when you're going to watch one. But I don't want to... I don't want to think about philosophy too much anymore. I want philosophy to just happen and to let it happen instead of trying to control it and put it into every single part of my life. 

Because life's not only philosophy - it's also survival, reasonless happiness and reasonless sadness. Nothing ever happens the way you planned it - and once you realize that, you're happy. At least that's what I think. And that's what I know from my own 18 years of life. I'm not praising passiveness or just-going-with-the-flow-ness here, not even mainstream - so many people don't have the job they want, don't date the people they want to date and don't watch the movies they want to watch. While some of these things can just kind of happen once in a while, we have the power to change them. You've got to fight for the things you care about - but don't try to control the things you can't control, because it will make you unhappy when they don't turn out like you "planned", because in fact, you never planned them.

Did it again - perhaps I can't let go of philosophy. Nevertheless, perhaps I just want to approach philosophy in a different way - a curious, natural, easy way - instead of trying to account for and explain all the things I do and think. 

I may blog on, I may stop blogging. I may become a journalist, a biologist or an actress - but why ruin my youth trying to figure that out, when there's no point in figuring something out that is just going to happen? If I find that I chose the wrong thing, I can just choose  something else, right? It's never too late for anything I think.

And therefore, let's raise our glasses to a year full of laissez-faire, without pressure or bondages as far as that's possible. Cheers!

So, this is my life. My life in 18 movies.

[17] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Male Movie Crushes

Sharing 18 of my top female movie crushes in my last post, I saved the real goodies for this one. Because let's face it - attractive actors are still one of the important reasons I watch movies. And one of the things I talk most about when I talk about movies with people that aren't very interested in movies. 

Nevertheless, I think that actors are getting too much attention and too much room in movies on a general plan, or at least male characters. Do you remember the last time you watched a movie which had a) one male character only, b) more than one male character, but they don't talk to each other or c) more than one male character, but they only talk about women? I'm referring to the Bechdel test, also known as the "sexist" test for movies - and you know, there are thousands of "acclaimed", successful and "important" movies out there that don't even get a yes for question one, "Is there more than one woman in the movie?". Most movies out there are sexist, and I really want that to change. 

So that we can both enjoy the best-looking men on screen, and the most talented women talking to each other on screen, about something else than a man.

Until then, let's enjoy 18 of my male movie crushes in no particular order...

[16] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Female Movie Crushes

The two last lists before my life retrospect are going to be shallow. But in a way they're also going to be the most profound lists in this blogathon. 

What makes us fall in love with a movie character (not to be mixed up with the actor him/ herself)? It's both the looks and the writing - but mainly, it's the acting, isn't it? The actors bring their looks, and their talent, and they become the perfect vessel for our dreams and expectations to both ourselves and other people. A movie character, just like a character in a book or a song, can be everything you want - perfect - in contrary to real people (and actors, as we should remember). 

Although I'm neither a dude nor homosexually orientated, I have often fallen in love with female characters in movies, and it was really hard to choose only 18 of them - I could've chosen about 180. But here they are, 18 of my female movie crushes in no particular order...

[15] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Favourite Character Introductions

Getting into a movie is the hardest part about watching a movie I'd say - and it's also the reason why a lot of people (including most of my friends and acquaintances) choose tv shows over the demanding task of watching movies. A good way to escape the "intro trap" is a solid, either very surprising or very cool character introduction. That way, you have the audience's attention right from the beginning and their curiosity for the character and story will shorten the complicated intro phase.

Even I can have problems beginning new movies, especially when I haven't been in the watching-habit for a while, and I have found entertaining introductions - kind of like a cliffhanger at the beginning of a movie - to be especially effective when it comes to really "stepping into" the movie.

Here are some of my favourites...

[14] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Movies That Make Me Wanna Move to New York

Ever had a place you dreamed of all the time although you had never been there? That's what New York is to me. I don't know whether I'll like New York, whether it will like me and whether it would be just as Woody Allen, Friends and HIMYM make me imagine it. Until I get there and find out, at least I can watch movies. 

Here's what pleased me most of the grand selection until now...

[13] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Most Surprising Peformances

Let me explain this: I honestly thought it was an ingenious idea to list 18 most surprising performances instead of the usual male, female, child and so on. Surprising is a positive word, but a less used one than "favourite" or "best" - at least in the blogging world. So off I went, opened Google, typed "most surprising performances" to get some input - and you can imagine what I found.

Just to make this very clear in case some people looking for something... else... this is simply a list of the most surprising acting performances I've seen. Actors or actresses that have surprised me with a performance of a character that was very different from what I had seen of their work, and what I had prejudiced them to be capable of....

[12] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Favourite Movie Theatre Experiences

"The theatre. That's what movies are made for", says a German ad that has been trying to get people away from streaming movies on their sofas into the actual movie theaters for years now. I have no idea whether it's working, but it's widely known that we don't go to the movie theatre as often as people did back in the industries beginnings. 

There are some good reasons for that - we have television (actually we have foreign tv shows on the internet - German tv truly sucks), we have DVDs, we have iTunes and various more or less illegal ways to watch movies. Why go to the cinema?

I've been trying to go to the cinema more often since I started getting more interested in movies, and it has worked out well so far. Nevertheless, watching movies on the silver screen is insultingly expensive, unless you go to the repertory which only shows two different movies a week... so if you want to watch the latest big movie, you have to go to the multiplex. Which is pretty big where I live, but also pretty much sucks because a) it's expensive and b) they don't show many of the movies I want to see. C) counts for both cinemas in my town: the movies are dubbed. 

But all of this doesn't stop my going to the cinema at least once a month, preferably once a week or once every fortnight. Because watching a movie on the silver screen is not comparable to even watching it on a good beamer. So it's still true: the theatre. That's what movies are made for!

Here's a selection of my favourite experiences of film in its natural habitat:

[11] The Upcoming Adult: 18 Movies That Make You Wanna Start...

I think that all movies leave something good with you. Something helpful, something that can guide you or inspire you in one way or another. Sometimes it's just "I really don't think splatter movies are my piece of cake" or "The Academy f*cked up this year", while other times movies can truly inspire you to make a change in your life. 

Today I want to share some movies that offer various ideas - defined ones - for things to do with your life. Some of these ideas remain dreams to me (New York City is the best example) others I chose because they did have an influence on my own life. 

Here are 18 Movies That Make You Wanna Start...

[9] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Favourite Awww Moments in Movies

So you thought my last list was cheesy? In that case I'm happy to prove you wrong with this one. While the list of my favourite SQUEAK moments in movies featured scenes that made me - if not literally squeak - jump up and down out with enthusiasm.

AWWW moments are a very different species however. These moments make you melt in your armchair, bed or wherever you're sitting - so they're basically SQUEAK moments that are so intense you can't even squeak. That intensity required for some more than just flat images, so if you think this list looks like a tumblr page I can't argue.

Here we go, as always in no particular order.

[8] The Upcoming Adults Presents: 18 Favourite Squeak Moments in Movies

We're getting to the real dirty stuff now, so if any guys did somehow, eventually, press the "view" button, they probably shouldn't press the "read more" button following this short introduction. 

Admittedly, dirty is too much said - there are many, many... well, "worse" scenes to find in movies. But then again, I guess the scenes I'm referring to wouldn't be considered especially bad by... anybody. The scenes I am referring to in this list however, do include a huge portion of corniness, female mystery and... attractive actors.

Sure, there are two or three "normally enjoyable" scenes here, so if you can tolerate the rest, stay with us, read on. As for the ladies, I know I don't have to convince you to read about...

[7] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Favourite Nostalgia Movies

How nostalgic you can become once the end of your days is in sight... Childhood days in my case, but it's tragic either way. Yes, nostalgia has entered my world and filled every single corner of it, dripping from the windows like rain after a stormy night and overshadowing my heart like death itself.

It is indeed a kind of death and no matter how hard I try to forget and to live in the now, my mind keeps wandering back to the days when I didn't have to saddle my lasagne before I could eat it, to the days when summer meant strawberries and winter meant snow. 

The days before everybody tweeted a movie instead of watching it, the days when Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicolson seemed in the least attractive to me and aging was a matter of dignity.

... Oh wait, all these things happened before I came to this planet? Who cares, I like nostalgia, once in a while. Here's my favourite movies to celebrate that melancholic feeling with, in no particular order:

[6] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Alarmingly Violent Favourite Movies

Ah, the Oscars. A great excuse to skip school... to sleep after that long, long night. But here I am back, all fresh and excited about the diversity of the 85th Academy Awards - no movie really stood out and that's just great. Nevertheless, let's get back to the celebration of my shortly ending youth, shall we?

In the sixth list of this blogathon, I'll share one of my worst kept secrets - my fascination with violent movies. It's not that I'm a fan of splatter movies, not at all, but well-choreographed, elegant action scenes never fail to take my breath away. That being said, I'm not a violent person, perhaps because I have no talent whatsoever when it comes to stuff like that... I guess. Well, I actually once punched my then best male friend really hard in the face because he wanted me to, so he could laugh at me... he laughed at his own stupidity in the end. Who knows, perhaps I might be the next Hanna some day?

 - But why would I? There's really nothing cool about being good at fighting, nothing at all kids (if any kids are reading this). 

Just read this list, enjoy and do not try any of the stunts at home.

[5] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Surprisingly Disappointing Movies

It's time to get sentimental and remember all those disappointed expectations... All those times I opened the DVD box/ internet browser/ my wallet to pay for the theatre ticket, expecting a night/ afternoon/ morning full of joy and blissful movie awesomeness. Oh well... makes me cry to remember.

Here are 18 of my hugest movie disappointments and my thoughts/ expressions when I watched them/ when I was done watching them (in no particular order): 

[4] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Favourite Picturizations

Every year, one of the most discussed topics in the filmosphere is whether this or that movie lived up to this or that novel - or more rarely, short story or play. 

Most of the time, the general opinions tends to declaring the original "thing" to be the best. And I often agree. But that doesn't mean the movie is bad, and I know a lot of movies that brought something new to its source. A different medium can give a story a whole new perspective, and to know and accept that, I think, is a sign maturity.

[3] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Favourite Villains

Although this blogathon is already killing me - literally - I continue it with a celebration of the coolest bad guys in film history. Or at least the part of film history I'm acquainted with. 

Once you've seen enough movies, you'll know that villains or at least grey-ish characters can easily steal the scene from an all-through good guy. While the anti-hero might be my all time favourite kind of character, the villain is just one step behind. 

Some of the characters I chose here are not actual villains in the truest sense of the word, but they are all close enough to be mentioned here - so enjoy their cruelty and arrogance in the following list!

[2] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Favourite Movie Titles

Your soon-to-be adult blogger continues her celebration of childishness and innocence with 18 of her favourite movie titles. 

To be honest, many of my favourite movies don't have very special or great titles - mainly the movie title business is about preciseness and "less is more". However, even with little space to work with, it's amazing what some people's fantastic minds have produced in these little more than 100 years of film art. 

In this list creativity and the surprise/ curiosity factor are most important. I've seen all of the movies, but had also heard about them before seeing them, and the titles were often part of what made me watch them in the end. So, let's start the party!

[1] The Upcoming Adult Presents: 18 Favourite School Movies

Editor's note: In 18 days from now - which means on the 9th of March - the creator of Lime Reviews and Strawberry Confessions, Mette, will become an adult. Technically, that is. Having spent exactly 18 years on this planet then, she will be allowed to do a lot of things she wasn't allowed to do before (and of course didn't), but she will also have a lot more duties.

This is why Mette decided to celebrate the last 18 days of her childhood (ahem) with a little blogathon-thingy in which she will present 18 lists consisting of 18 entries. Most of these list are of a very childish or at least teenager-ish nature, so beware if you're looking for some serious Yoda wisdom. Mette is not going to restrain her most immature thoughts and opinions in the following two and a half weeks. 

So go on and read her first list - if you're ready. And now, Mette has the word.