Holes and Fires

I actually own the movie book cover.

I don't think most of my friends from college know why it's such a big deal that Holes is one of my favorite movies.  I mean, it's a funny movie, lots of people like it.  It completely makes sense someone my age would like it.  I read the book when my best friend sent it to me for my birthday or Christmas or something, and then my family bought the movie.

And I fell in the movie just as much, despite the changes that were made.  I was nearly fourteen when I watched it, and from the first viewing, I was convinced it was one of the best movies ever.

But there was a several month period when I couldn't bring myself to watch it.  I can't believe it's been seven years since that time period.  I mean, sometimes I forget that time happened.

When I was a junior in high school, I woke up one morning to find out someone had set my school on fire.  I mean, it wasn't really my school because I was being homeschooled in Japan six thousand miles away.  But it was the school where my friends went, where some of the best memories of my life were.  I had most recently attended it the school year before--my sophomore year.  That was a fun year.  Anyway, the good news--if there was any--was that the school didn't burn all the way thanks to the flame retardant carpet.  "Only" two rooms were burnt.

As the full story began to transpire, I don't think I can say I was surprised to find out who set the fire.  The hardest part for me was that one of the guys involved--the guy who actually set the fire--was the younger brother of a guy who I had a crush on.

I remember kneeling next to the heater a lot for most of that day, blinking back tears.  No words could express how I felt that day.  Everything just felt wrong.  I woke up three or four times during the night, unable to sleep for more than a couple hours.

And then, a week and four days later, I wrote the poem:

Nothing is right anymore.

Things shall never be the same.

And old era is gone.  A new is begun.

Much is the same, but some has changed.

Some is the same, but much has changed.

It all depends on who you are,

And how much you know.

I wish life could be good again

That I knew smiles would last.

But every day my mind reminds me

That things have changed forevermore.

But someday things may be right again

Although the scars remain.

Such hope can still last in this world

Although everything seems wrong.

True enough all things have changed,

And they shall never be the same,

But in eternity this just might be

A small trial preparing me.

Who knows what the larger trial shall be.

Only God can see that near or far.

But looking back I then shall see

That through it all, God was preparing me.

Yeah, not my best poetry looking back on it, but it expressed exactly how I felt that day.

Was it a few weeks or a couple months that passed?  I can't remember.  Anyway, of course, a couple of the guys got put in jail or something, including the younger brother of the guy I liked.  I don't remember a ton anymore.  I think I tried to forget at times.  It's still hard for me to talk about.

Well, one day, my other best friend came over to visit, and she wanted to watch Holes because she knew how much I loved it.  I eagerly put it in into my bedroom DVD player that night, excited to share one of my fictional worlds with someone else.  But then, part way through a movie about boys at a prison camp, I couldn't take it anymore.  I went downstairs to my mom in tears, triggered by watching one of the scenes where the guys were shoving each other around.  I got worried something like that would happen to the guy I knew.  Mom prayed with me,and we turned the movie off.

And it stayed off.  For months.  I would look at its case and wish I could watch it again.  I wanted that to happen.  I wanted to move on.  I wanted everything to be normal again, where I could watch Holes and just enjoy it for the movie it is.

And so, a few weeks after this guy was released, we watched Holes.  Before this happened, I read all the way through the book for the eighth time or so, and I made it just fine.  And that day, as we watched Holes, although it wasn't easy still, I made it--no tears.

Every single time I watch it, it gets easier.  After graduating college, I found the movie in the five dollar bin at Walmart and eagerly scooped it up, ecstatic to be able to pick up such a great movie for so cheap.

So where am I at compared to seven years ago?  Sometimes, I can make it through Holes just fine--not even thinking about the experience I went through.  Other times, like today, I go back.  But no more tears, no more fear.  Holes once again is one of my favorite films.  I can quote it with you like crazy and laugh or be emotionally touched by the story of Miss Katherine and Sam:

"Once upon a time, there was a magical place that never rained.  The End."

"But if you forget to come back for Madame Zeroni, your family will be cursed for always and eternity."

"If only if only the woodpecker sighs, the bark on the trees was as soft as the skies..."

"I don't smell anything!"

"I can fix that."

But sometimes, I'll still pull back a bit--there's certain parts that can be especially difficult still--but that's okay.  I'm okay.  I can't let something that didn't even directly involve me hold me down forever and keep me from enjoying what I love.  I'm going to keep moving forward, and although I will probably never forget how I felt during that time, I can't let it define me forever.

The Top 10 Live Action Disney Films (Now 11)

So, a couple years ago, which is probably closer to being three years ago at the present time (Man, time flies even when you're doing nothing!), my friends and I were riding back from church one night, and someone asked what our top five Disney films in both the real life and the animated conversations.  Anyway, apparently when you make these lists, Katrina isn't allowed to count the sequels to her favorite film as separate films but rather must group them as one film.  However, Thomas is totally allowed to declare Where the Red Fern Grows as a Disney film, despite the fact that it's actually made by a tiny insignificant company, and...Yeah, he doesn't care, so why am I even bothering to rant about this?

Sorry, dude, this is not a Disney film!

Anyway, Top 5 is such a challenge, so I'm going to make my list here a Top 10 so I can talk about more excellent Disney films.

10.  Eight Below--Basically, it's a movie about a dog team of eight dogs who are left behind in Antarctica when their humans have to evacuate due to severe weather.  So, basically, it's about the dogs surviving and the humans trying to raise money to go back and rescue them.  (Spoiler/Warning:  Some of the dogs do die!).  It's just a really cute movie about dogs and stuff.  Plus, I've seen the statue dedicated to the real dogs this happened to (Only they were fifteen of them in real life, and the people who left them behind were Japanese.), so that makes it even cooler.

9.  Treasure Island--Okay, if you know me, you're not surprised that pirate films have made this list--more than once.  Also, if you know me, I'm not really a huge fan of Robert Louis Stevenson's novels.  I mean, the man has incredible plot lines, but his writing style makes me want to stab myself with something.  Seriously, I have tried three times (Treasure Island, The Black Arrow, and Kidnapped), and each time it's been like, "Awesome plot; terrible writing style!"  A thousand English majors are now on their way to set me straight, probably.  Well, I suppose we can have a lovely discussion on Victor Hugo's Les Miserables when they get here, as I'm reading through that.  Better get the tea and scones ready...Oh yeah, back to Disney's Treasure Island film.  Yes, wonderful film involving pirates and stuff.  Basically, this film makes the list solely based on the virtue of having pirates on it.  Well, that and another film I wanted has too much computer animation to count as a live action film.  Also, this film gains bonus points because it was Disney's first full length live action film.

8.  Old Yeller--Confessions of Katrina:  I still haven't cried watching this film.  Still, I mean, it's got the awesome dog and all the animals, and basically this movie is really cool.  Plus, it's a classic.  I mean, like, three or four generations of Disney fans have loved this film by now, even if it doesn't make us cry.  After all, who doesn't like a film about kids who want dogs?  Okay, probably if you have cynophobia you don't, but that relates more to my opinion on weird fears people apparently actually can be diagnosed for, and not to Old Yeller.  Well, hydrophobia relates to the film, but not cynophobia.

7.   Davy Crockett films--I kind of hesitated including this because both Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier and Davy Crockett and the River Pirates were both actually movies chopped up into three and two parts respectively and shown several weeks apart on ABC's Disneyland series.  Nonetheless, nowadays, we view them as two separate films (unless you had the DVD edition my brothers and I did as a teenager which split them into their separate parts and included the parts of Walt Disney talking before and after them), not five parts of a miniseries.  I guess if Pride and Prejudice (1995) as a film, then Davy Crockett counts too.  Anyway, after that long intro, this one also makes it because it's epically cool; it's a fictionalized account of the historical character Davy Crockett; and because it inspired a fashion statement of coonskin caps in children.  Seriously, if you didn't grow up in a world where at least one kid you knew had a coonskin cap, even in the '90s, I'm seriously doubting how cultured you were as a kid because my family lived in Japan, and we kids had a coonskin cap.

6. Swiss Family Robinson--Watching this movie was my own personal reward for finishing the book (The first ever e-book I completed, on my Palm Pilot back in the day.), and, honestly, it is a pretty cool film that fortunately Disney has cancelled the remake of.  Seriously, some remakes just don't need to happen.  Some would say all remakes should be banned, but I cover up my ears like Gollum and mutter, "Not listening! Not listening!" while simultaneously clutching my copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory like it's some precious object that others think is out to destroy the world.  Actually, Gollum himself is a perfect example of why certain remakes need to happen.  Just go look up the original animated Lord of the Rings stuff.  Yeah, now stop dissing Hollywood for doing remakes.  Ahem, anyway, although Swiss Family Robinson does significantly deviate from the book, Disney nonetheless made it into a pretty stinking awesome movie that deserves to be watched over and over.

5.  The Princess Diaries films--Okay, let's see:  To summarize, in her younger days Catwoman, granddaughter of Mary Poppins, was bullied in high school by Rapunzel and eventually dates Captain Kirk.  Oh yeah, and she finds out she's secretly been a princess her whole life, which elicits the appropriate response of, "Shut up!" (which either means she was in shock or that because this is Disney, suddenly all the animals within a fifty foot radius began to speak to her, and she wanted them to stop talking right then and there). Along the way, she gets to paint by popping balloons, mattress surf, find out she can't actually marry Prince William, ends up looking like a moose temporarily, and gets a couple foot-popping kisses.  If you watch these movies (and watch both because Disney actually made a sequel as good as the first film!) and don't laugh at least once, something is wrong with you.  Seriously, these films are absolutely hilarious and quotable.

4.  The Chronicles of Narnia films--Ooh, look, MORE evidence that remakes should happen.  Honestly, go back and watch the original BBC stuff, and just agree with me that Disney did a good job of remaking it.  Now if they would just FINISH the project before Peter starts going gray, that would be cool.  Plus, the epic Liam Neeson voices Aslan.  Really, Disney, finish what you've started.  I'm waiting.  Plus, your soundtracks are awesome!  I mean, you do lose a couple points for the whole Susan-Caspian romance thing (Need I remind you she's hundreds of years older than him?) and adding plot elements to Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but oh well.  Further awesomeness was rewarded, though, because the films are based on books by C.S. Lewis, who is pretty much cooler than almost any other Christian fiction writer in the history of Christian fiction, except for John Bunyan (although Pilgrim's Progress, being an allegory, I'm not quite sure how to categorize).  Also, although these film contains certain amounts of computer animation to them, I feel they basically function as live action films with computer animation added where needed (Unlike Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which was sadly cut from this list due to too much computer animation. *sniff sniff *tries not to cry; cries a lot)

3.  101 Dalmatians--Oops, yeah, sorry, we've got two remakes in a row here.  Wait, I'm not sorry.  At all.  This is the remake, which, although it deviates even further from the books than Disney's original animated version, that proves that some remakes can happen.  I intend absolutely no dis to the original animated version at all.  It's just that, since I was little, if you gave me a choice between the animated and live action versions, I was totally choosing live action.  The live action version is ten times funnier.  Like, seriously, if you haven't seen it, go out and find it and watch it.  There is a sequel known as 102 Dalmatians, but that's not really necessary to life.  I mean, it's cute to watch once or twice, but it's just not as good (like most Disney sequels).

2.  National Treasure films--And the history nerd side of Katrina strikes and glows like the bombs bursting in air at Fort McHenry the night the first verse of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was penned.  Yeah, no one who knows my history side should be surprised to see that this film is my #2.  I mean, just the cleverness of how it was all pieced together (with a couple slight historical improbabilities in the first one and a bunch in the second one) connecting all the clues.  It makes history into a scavenger hunt.  Plus, come on, Sean Bean doesn't die!  He gets arrested, but he doesn't die!  That's got to count for something!  Anyway, my recommendation for this film is that if you are not a history person, do not watch this film for the first time with a history person in the room.  Make sure no one in the room is a history person first and then hit play.  Because we will correct the film's mistakes verbally without the help of IMDb.  And even despite that, we'll still be all, "This is so awesome!" at the end.

1.  Pirates of the Caribbean quadrilogy (to become a pentalogy in 2015)--Okay, you all knew this was coming, so don't act surprised.  PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN IS THE BEST MOVIE SERIES EVER!  It's my ringtone; it's the origin of my love of Johnny Depp (Incidentally, the only reason The Lone Ranger is not on this list is because I haven't seen it yet, and if you spoil it, you are in so much trouble.); it's the reason I love movies and documentaries about pirates.  PIRATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  No, my obsession with this film is not logical in the least.  In fact, one could contend it is highly illogical because no human being should be getting this excited about movies that she knows aren't as good as the original.  However, I would like to point out that it is the highest grossing Disney movie franchise*, so it's not like my love is completely misplaced.  So, yeah, there's never another like good ol' Captain Jack, savvy?  Plus, come on, the first time I ever cried from a movie was when Jack got eaten by the kraken in Dead Man's Chest.  And then about five minutes later I was screaming because of the surprise twist and how I couldn't wait a year for the next film.  And then I had to wait four years after that film for On Stranger Tides to come out.  Seriously, I should be handling the Sherlock thing much better after how long I waited for a fourth pirates film and how long I'm waiting for a fifth (Yes, it's happening!).  I mean, between three and four coming out, at least I occupied by time by reading the books, but Disney isn't publishing as many Pirates books anymore, so that's out.  So, yeah, if you can't tell by the end of this paragraph what Katrina's absolute favorite live action Disney film (actually film series because Thomas wouldn't let me make it my top four spaces!) is, you really don't know me.  Because all you have to say is "Pirates" or "Jack Sparrow" or "Black Pearl," and I turn into this hyperactive crazy thing for between several minutes and a couple hours.  Yeah, you can tell me that I have issues...but "sticks and stones, love."  Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!

"I can go like this" is the perfect response for if anyone asks me if I can do anything else but wait for Pirates 5 to come out

*not counting Marvel or Star Wars, both of which Disney owns now, as I see those as completely different things, especially since Disney hasn't actually made any Star Wars films yet and that anything Disney's doing with Marvel is a continuation of what was going on when they bought it

Oh, and finally, to end with:

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY TO PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN!  Thank you to Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Johnny Depp, and the rest of the cast and crew for an amazing adventure.  Seriously, without all the effort and madness you put into this film, our lives would be much sadder.  So, thank you, for everything you have done, even though you will probably never read this

AND, TO ALL THE HATERS:

ETA:  So, I feel like an idiot because I just realized I didn't rank Holes, which is sitting right in the same room as me and which is most definitely one of my absolute favorite Disney films, ranking at #3, which then reranks everything else and knocks Eight Below off the list.  I have no idea why I forgot it, but, yeah, I love Holes, both book and movie.  I feel the movie did a FABULOUS job at portraying the book.  It's got awesome multiple plot lines that end up intertwining at the end.  So, yeah, I guess this list is now 11 movies long, but, oh well.  I can't believe I forgot Holes!