Monthly Archives: October 2012

7 movies to get in the hallowe’en mood: a guide for scaredy-cats

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I haven’t been brought up as a fan of Hallowe’en. My mum always said, “we always tell kids not to talk to strangers, so why do we send our kids out to knock on strangers doors and ask for things one night of the year?” I see her logic. It’s a strange night.

On the other hand, strange is kind of the point. Weird and freaky and terrifying. All that good stuff. Unless you’re like me and are a total scaredy-cat and wuss. I found I Am Legend scary. I would not advise watching a scary film with me.

Still, Hallowe’en can be fun, and, while some of us have grown out of Trick or Treating, it’s still way too much fun to pass up getting in that mood. It’s a little bit magical.

So, for all the wusses like me, here are some movies for the build up to Hallowe’en, whether that’s a build up to ignoring the whole thing or a build up to blowing your food budget on a costume or a build up to joining the UBC Trick or Eaters or a build up to joining any one of a lot of parties on campus and around Vancouver.

7 MOVIES TO GET IN THE HALLOWE’EN MOOD: A GUIDE FOR SCAREDY-CATS

28 Days Later

28 Days Later Movie Poster

28 Days Later, 2002, Danny Boyle.

I had it my head that this was an incredibly scary film, but I was wrong. It’s just brilliant. If you’re a fan of Danny Boyle’s directing like I am (he directed Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting, Sunshine, and the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, to name a few), you know you’re in for a great movie. Plus, Cillian Murphy (the Batman trillogy, Inception) is incredible (and incredibly pretty) in it.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993, Tim Burton.

Couldn’t make this list without having a Tim Burton movie in the mix, really, could I? This is funny and sweet and wonderful, and I’d recommend it for the post-Hallowe’en blues(/hangover). It’s Hallowe’en-y and Christmas-y!

Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus, 1993, Kenny Ortega.

This was my favourite Hallowe’en film of my youth, and I still think it’s wonderful. It’s Sarah Jessica Parker as a witch! What more do you want?

Halloweentown

Halloweentown, 1998, Duwayne Dunham.

Fun and magic and totally child-proof. Okay, maybe not what you want before going out for a party, but if you’ve got young people to take out Trick or Treating this might be just what you need to get you in the right frame of mind.

Zombieland

Zombieland, 2009, Ruben Fleischer.

Pre-Social Network Jesse Eisenburg and a whole lot of ridiculous zombie laughs. One of the best zombie movies ever.

Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead, 2004, Edgar Wright.

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are my two favourite people in the world, possibly. This film is only the first reason why, but wow. Parody of Dawn of the Dead, but with fake-gore and romance and laughs everywhere. Wonderful ridiculousness.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975, Jim Sharman.

Finally, the musical horror film to kill and bury all other musical horror films. Damnit, Janet, and all that. Pure genius.

32 things i did at ubc that you can totally do too : thing #4

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THING #4: SAW THE SUN RISE FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF NIGHT

Sunrise from my window.

Let me preface this by saying that all-nighters are evil. Sometimes they’re a necessary evil, but evil. All-nighters leave you feeling awful the next day. They are not worth being able to say you’ve pulled one. It’s really not that great.

However, this was not an all-nighter. Not a studying so hard you don’t sleep all-nighter, anyway, and it was pretty brilliant. It being a Sunday when I went to sleep helped.

The night started with drinks in the floor lounge with floormates. I was supposed to be going out, but we made a large sort-of bed with all the couches in the room and I was way too comfy, so I got left behind and ended up crashing a movie night instead! Best decision I think I’ve ever made? Why trek across Vancouver to stand in a line, and then pay $20 to then wait half an hour, to spend another $7 on a drink, when you can laze around with friends and watch a really great movie? (I did say this’d show how lame I can be, didn’t I? I have definitely said that before.)

“I saved Latin, what did you ever do?” – Jason Schwartzman in Wes Anderson’s ‘Rushmore’, 1998.

We watched Rushmore, which is a fantastic movie. Would recommend. Then – and it was about 1am at this point – we heard a rumour of a movie marathon in one of the other Totem houses. We crashed it. It was a Harry Potter marathon. Another best decision ever.

After watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, we headed back to the floor lounge and hung out with the guys who had just got back from Downtown Van. There was pizza and weirdly philosophical meandering talk, and three of us stayed up until five. None of us were tired, and we just talked a load of rubbish (sorry: trash – but, wait, does that even have the same meaning here? Still working on my Canadianisms…) and it was really great.

Then watched the sun rise from my bedroom window before finally sleeping. Sometimes all-nighters are worth it all.

32 things i did at ubc that you can totally do too : thing #3

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THING #3: TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE LONG THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

Polite reminder that turkeys are the most hilarious looking animal ever.

The midterms are rolling on in, the work is getting harder, and the free time you get is just getting less and less free. Must be October.

But then, as though called by a collective moaning of students, magically, a long weekend appears! There is pie to be eaten and turkey to be cooked (and hopefully not burnt) and lazing around to do! It’s fantastic.

This Thanksgiving weekend was my first (and possibly only ever) Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, and I am not alone. In my res there were plenty of people for whom the same was true. Maybe it was their first Thanksgiving, or maybe it was their first Canadian Thanksgiving. For some people it was the first Thanksgiving away from home, or the first Thanksgiving where they’d had to go home to get to it. For a lot of people it was their first Thanksgiving since they became college students. There’s a lot of firsts, is what I’m saying. And I think that’s kinda cool.

Everything is better when there is pie.

There’s also a ton of different things you can do for Thanksgiving. A lot of people on my floor went home for the weekend. I traveled to Vancouver Island and stayed with some relatives I’ve got there – I was spoiled pretty thoroughly and it was wonderful. Other friends took advantage of the extra day off by traveling somewhere for a hike or for some shopping over the border. And a fair few people on my floor stayed at UBC and had a turkey dinner together.

What I’m trying to say is that, well… you don’t get a lot of breaks in the school year, and Thanksgiving weekend is one to really take advantage of. If it’s anything like this year, the weather might even still be good!

32 things i did at ubc that you can totally do too : thing #2

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THING #2: DAY OF THE LONGBOAT

A longboat on Jericho Beach, on the clinic day the Sunday before Day of the Longboat.

There are things I foresaw myself doing while in Canada. Skiing; seeing a bear; going whale watching; eating a whole lot of pancakes. I didn’t foresee myself taking part in a longboat race. It just… it wasn’t something that it occurred to me to imagine. Longboats, I thought, were a Viking thing, maybe. Me, I love How To Train Your Dragon, but I ain’t no Viking.

I signed up anyway. I thought, hey, it’s nice weather we’re having. It could be pretty cool. I hoped I would, at least, manage to not be a dead weight in the boat.

It was the best. thing. ever.

Learning how to Longboat on clinic day.

I’m not lying now. It was so much fun. It was hard, and it was competitive, and my team screamed probably more than we paddled, but wow was it a good day. And my team came third, which was not only respectable but also a total shock to all of us.

My back, my arms, and my right hand still ache, two days later, but it was so much more than worth it. We did good, we paddled hard, and we definitely felt just a little bit like Vikings. It was an epic day. If you didn’t get to do it this year and you’re going to be at UBC again next year, I cannot recommend taking part in Day of the Longboat enough. It’s the best day I’ve had since getting here, and I’ve had some pretty freaking fantastic days.

(Should you come across yourself in one of my pictures and want it taken down, please just say so and I’ll do it ASAP. Cheers.)