Dinner and a Movie

The Vow

2012-02-09T21:37:00.000-08:00

I took Leanne with me last night to see The Vow. I loved it. We got to the theater 2, yes t-w-o, hours early and it’s a good thing we did. The line got long quick. I hope it does as well this weekend. This was another pre-screening so I’m going to try not to ruin it for you.

This is the story of Paige and Leo, a young, married couple who are in a car accident. Paige is put in a coma and when she wakes up she has no memory of her life with Leo. Despite the obstacles, Leo is determined to make Paige fall in love with him all over again. Does he succeed? Not tellin’.

I love the actors who were chosen to portray Paige and Leo. I’ve been a big Rachel McAdams fan for years. I have yet to see her in a movie in which I didn’t like her. And to say that I like Channing Tatum is a bit of an understatement. They really do need to be in more movies together. They are so believable as a couple.

Leanne said she thought The Vow was kind of cheesy but admitted shortly after that she’s not really a romantic person. Well…that would do it. The audience as a whole seemed to enjoy it. There was even a scene in which Paige did something that a lot of people didn’t want her to do and several of the men in the audience yelled, “NO!” Not the women…the men! Too funny.

I believe The Vow earned its PG-13 rating. Actually, I was kind of impressed that it got that instead of PG considering how lax the whole system seems to be lately. But, I won’t get in to that…again. Let’s see what could be behind that rating.

Sex/Nudity – you know they’re going to have sex but you don’t see it happen. There is also full backal (I made a new word) nudity. And it’s Channing. He’s pretty. This is probably one of the big reasons for the 13 after the PG. I’m just guessing.

Cussing – Yes. There wasn’t a lot but the word of choice was $#!+ and I didn’t hear the big ones.

Drinking/Drugs – Yes to drinking. No to drugs. Unless chocolate is a drug then yes.

Violence – Someone gets punched. He really did deserve it though.

Intense Scenes – Yes. The car accident. And, just a warning, they play it in slow-motion.

If you have even a teensy tinesy romantic bone in your body – like even a pinkie toe-sized bone – you might want to give this a try. And it’s Valentine weekend. The powers that be obviously thought out the release date. Take your sweetie to see The Vow. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll – more than likely – hold hands and snuggle. Perfect!

Note to my future husband wherever you are: Be a Leo. He’s pretty awesome.

Jubilee Market Bakery & Boutique

2012-02-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

Mom was in town this weekend and she and my aunt spent a lot of time visiting with my grandparents. But! When they weren't with the g-rents, they were shopping and during one of their outings stopped at Jubilee Market Bakery & Boutique at 835 SW 119th Street in the Market Place Shopping Center. Now, if you know anything about me, you know I tend to shy away from anything that screams, "GIRLIE!!!!" but mom assured me this place has really good food. And she was right.

Sadly, I didn't think to get a picture of the front of the B&B. I'll try to remember next time I go because I will be going back. I decided to try the chicken salad. They serve it on tomato basil bread. Yum! I wasn't incredibly hungry and thought this would be plenty but when they brought the plate out it came with a decent-sized bowl of fruit. Yum again! I had already eaten half of my sandwich before I remembered to take a picture. Oops.

And then, because that's just how we roll, mom shared a bite of her quiche with me and she tried a bite of my sandwich. So good! I want to go back and take someone with me who's never been so they can say, "Holy crap! This place is awesome! I must come back again and again!" Or something equally encouraging.

As we were wrapping up our meal - finishing, not taking it with us because there was nothing left to take - mom asked if I wanted a cookie. Well...yeah. Even though I was already stuffed. I mean, how can you say, "No!" to cookies? I'm pretty sure it hurts their feelings. Anyway! She got us both the peanut butter chocolate chip. I wouldn't say these are the best cookies in the world but they were pretty darn tasty. They also had several trays of cupcakes but I knew I was headed down a dangerous path if I got one of those. Cupcakes. Not trays. Just so we understand each other.

The little boutique is kinda cute too (I'm not a shopper so it takes quite a bit to excite me on that score). If you go to the web site it shows a couple things they sell. The baby/toddler clothes were just all kinds of cute. We looked around while waiting for our food which didn't take long. At.All.

So, if you're looking for a place with light (for the most part) but filling fare you should check this out. If you're not then go for the cupcakes and other desserts. They looked so good! According to their web site the bakery/boutique hours are from 9 - 6 Monday through Friday and 9 - 5 Saturday and lunch is served Monday through Saturday from 11 - 2. Bon appetite!

Movie List - January 2012

2012-02-01T16:14:00.000-08:00

Looks like things have picked back up again on the movie scene. I figured it would because of the weather but, as most of you know, it hasn’t really been that bad. I wish it was though. I love snow!!!

Here’s the January line-up. I don’t think February will come anywhere close. So much to do and the month has just started.

1) Gnomeo and Juliet
2) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – I did NOT like this. I want that five hours back. What’s that? It didn’t last five hours? Boy, it sure felt like it.
3) Tangled – this was the first time I’d seen this. Loved it!
4) Arthur – I don’t much care for Russell Brand usually but I really really liked him during the serious scenes.
5) Bridesmaids – Why did this get such rave reviews? I have no problem with a little bit of immature humor but this went above and beyond that “little bit”.
6) Water for Elephants – So good!
7) 27 Dresses
8) Miss Congeniality
9) A Father’s Choice
10)Something Borrowed
11)From Justin to Kelly – Hey! Don’t judge me! I needed brainless entertainment and this certainly fit the bill. I would have liked it more if they hadn’t obviously stolen major scenes from Grease and Dance With Me (and probably others but I stopped trying to pick things out after a while).
12)Man on a Ledge
13)Charlie St. Cloud – Liked it but it was pretty predictable. Spoiler: I still have a question about the implied intimacy. If she wasn’t really there….???
14)The Social Network – Liked it a LOT more than I thought I would
15)The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
16)Contraband
17)Underworld: Awakening
18)Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
19)The Runaways – The Twilight Series is still the only thing I can stand to watch Kristen Stewart in. Maybe the new Snow White movie will fare better.
20)The Grey
21)Mystery, Alaska

Movie List - December 2011

2012-01-28T20:45:00.000-08:00

Okay so, what with all the drama in my life from the past month, I'm just now getting around to my December movie list and also wrapping up the totals for the year.

1) Annie
2) The Family Stone
3) Burlesque
4) Melancholia - Really good but somewhat confusing film I saw at the OKC Museum of Art
5) We Bought a Zoo
6) Breaking Dawn
7) The Help

And going from my posted movie lists I only watched 205 movies last year. I would have thought it was more than that. But, I guess not. Needing sleep, money and sunshine probably put a damper on my movie time.

So, that's my 2011 wrap-up. Hopefully 2012 will be much better in so many ways.

The Grey

2012-01-24T20:30:00.001-08:00

Why? Why? WHY did I go see this movie? Don’t get me wrong. It was good but my muscles are so sore from the incredibly intense scenes. I don’t know what I expected. Judging by the trailer I should have known what was coming. I was hoping there would be a little more to it. There was but only just. Oh! I remember now why I went to see this. Two reasons. It was free. And Liam Neeson. Enough said. I took my cousin, Leann, with me this time. I’m still waiting for the day I ask her to go to a pre-screening and she just laughs and hangs up on me.

This film is about a group of oil drillers in Alaska whose plane crashes in the middle of nowhere and those who survive not only have to find their way out but have to do so while being stalked by highly territorial wolves. That’s it. There’s not much else. I guess I should mention the poignant walk down memory lane that the men take while sitting around the fire. Other than that it’s wolf city, baby.

I’d like to give a big shout out to the writers of this film. It must have been extremely difficult to find other words to use as filler between expletives. I just discovered that this was based on a short story called “Ghost Walker”. It would have to be a short story because no one could stand over a hundred pages of F this and F that. Yeah, there was a LOT of craziness going on but come on people. Save the good words for when times are really trying (to put it mildly).

If you’ve seen the trailer you’ve seen most of the movie. If you haven’t seen it and think you might want to watch The Grey then skip the trailer altogether. To say this was intense is a bit of an understatement. We were completely unprepared for most of the bad parts. There were way too many jump-out-at-you scenes, a.k.a. cheap scares. Leann was a bit embarrassed about this but I’m still going to mention that at one point she screamed. I can tell on her because I know that I at least squeaked a couple times. If the people next to us hadn’t talked through the entire movie they might have laughed at our responses. It couldn’t be helped though. These film makers are evil. Evil I tell ya!

I can’t fault any of the men in this film as far as doing their acting job goes. I can, however, fault some of the characters. Two in particular ticked me off early on and I was actually hoping bad things would happen to them. I got my wish with one of them. I was really angry about the second. I’m gonna ruin part of the movie for you and say that this guy just gives up. He just sits down and tells the guys to leave him. He’d hurt his knee earlier and didn’t feel like he could go on. Why was I so mad about this? Had he stayed with them he could have slowed the wolves down a little bit. What is one of the main truths about surviving in the wilderness? You don’t necessarily have to outrun whatever is chasing you. You just have to outrun whoever you’re with.

I’m having a really hard time writing this as I don’t want to give too much away. I’ll just go ahead and break it down although it’s really unnecessary. Please keep the kiddos away from this movie. It's way too eeeewy!

Sex/Nudity – Ummm…no. They’re in Alaska in the freezing cold. Leann kept getting frustrated with Liam's character. As mentioned before, it's freezing cold. He was wearing this nice, thick coat and would NOT put the hood up. Just wouldn't. Crazy.

Cussing – Yes. It made up about 90% of the script.

Drinking/Drugs – Yes to drinking but I didn’t notice any drugs. There was a bar scene at the beginning in which this might be possible but that would be it.

Violence – YES! And it’s not pretty either. You’re mixing people with angry, hungry wolves. You know it’s gonna get messy. There is a lot of blood and it’s free-flowing in a couple instances. Gross. Spoiler Alert…Here is where one of the big rules of scary movies comes in to play. Do NOT, under any circumstances, take a pee when you’re all by yourself and something bad is after you. Just don’t. Nothing good can come of it.

Intense scenes – Definitely. Even after typing all this I haven’t been able to loosen up. I had to force myself to relax during the relatively tame scenes but it got to the point, with so many in-your-face scares, that I just couldn’t chill completely.

I’m not quite sure who to recommend this to. I will never see it again because of the cheap scares alone but I do have to admit that it was well-made. The landscapes were breathtaking and the director knew just what angle to use to get the biggest jumps out of the audience. So rude. Leann said to say that if you enjoy movies like The Poseidon Adventure, Alive, Towering Inferno, etc. then you’ll like this. I’m going with the stereotype and say that this is a man’s movie. If you want to sit around and watch what happens happen and then grunt about how you would have done things differently then this is the movie for you.

We did not stay through the credits. We were cold. We were sore and we had had enough. I think I’m going to take Leann’s advice and take a muscle relaxer or five and jump in a hot bath.

Underworld: Awakening

2012-01-23T17:55:00.000-08:00

“When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrioress Selene leads the battle against humankind.“ Summary from IMDB. Warrioress. Tee-hee. That makes me giggle. No idea why.

This review is going to be short and well, not so sweet. It’s about murderous vampires and werewolves. Go see Twilight if you want sweet. If you’ve liked all the other movies in this series you’ll, more than likely, like this one. There was lots more action than talking this time around and they catch you up pretty quickly instead of bogging you down with back-story. If you haven’t seen any of the previous Underworld movies, you might want to skip this review and watch them if you like Blade-type vampire films. If you don’t like vampire films at all, even the cute, huggable vampires, then this movie is most definitely not for you. “Run away! Run Away!”

The trailer for Underworld: Awakening is missing an important element. Yea! And I’m not going to share it with you either. Speaking of missing, Michael - not to be confused with my ex-husband - makes only a very brief appearance, dang it! I like Michael. When he’s not all vampiry/wolfy he’s all kinds of cute. The end of the film sets things up for yet another Underworld. Wahoo! Hopefully we’ll see more of Michael in that one.

This is rated R for a reason. These are not shiny, happy vampires and lovesick werewolves. These are I’d-just-as-soon-rip-out-your-throat-as-shake-your-hand critters. Even Selene. Especially Selene. I do not recommend this for children. Period. Exclamation point.

I actually stayed through the credits this time. Nothing happens. You’re welcome.

Contraband

2012-01-23T17:34:00.001-08:00

“To protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord, a former smuggler heads to Panama to score millions of dollars in counterfeit bills.” So says IMDB. And so say I. I do like that this summary is missing something though. Am I going to tell you what? Nope.

My expectations for Contraband were a tad low so I can appreciate the fact that I ended up liking it. Granted, it’s a no-brain-required action/crime/thriller. It’s nice to not have to think every once in a while. I did guess who all was with the bad guys early on so be warned; the predictability is somewhat high. Fortunately, the oh-so-kind movie folks actually left some details out of the trailer. I love it when they do that. No sarcasm intended.

The acting was okay save for a couple of characters. Giovanni Ribisi as the drug lord, Tim Briggs, was so incredibly annoying. Minus the guns and bodyguards I don’t think I would ever take someone like him seriously; which begs the question, how did Tim get his position of power in the first place? He really is not the sharpest tool in the shed. The other two characters/actors who annoyed me were Andy (the brother-in-law), played by Caleb Landry Jones and Danny, played by Lukas Haas. The former was an idiot who should have talked things over with someone else instead of making his own decisions. The latter was a big whiner.

I did like Kate Beckinsale’s character, Kate Farraday. She does attempt to stand up for herself. Unfortunately, she’s going head to head with guys who are stronger than she is. I loved that she refused to put herself and her children in a car whose driver had been drinking. Thank you for that PSA in the middle of the film.

This film is rated R for good reason but here comes the breakdown anyway. Sorta.

Sex/Nudity – I don’t think so but I honestly don’t remember. Sad but true.

Cussing – Most definitely.

Drinking/Drugs – Yes, to the drinking and of course, to the drugs. The story involves a drug lord.

Violence – Yes. People get shot or beat up. Kate gets smacked around.

If you like action/crime/thriller-type movies you’ll probably like this. If you like Mark Wahlberg movies you’ll probably like this. If you like Kate Beckinsale movies you’ll probably like this but you’ll probably want to jump on-screen and smack the bad guys. I’m just sayin’.

I didn’t stick around to see if there was anything during/after the credits. I had yet another movie to watch.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2012-01-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

I meant to read the book and watch the original movie before I saw the American adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo but neither of those things have happened yet and I really wanted to see this on the big screen. So I did. And I liked it. Most of it. I see now why this is such a popular book/film.

The movie opens to Led Zeppelin’s “The Immigrant Song”. Don’t be too impressed that I knew the name of the song. I had to ask Spike. I tried asking him what the name of the song is that contains the line “Valhalla, I am coming!” Didn’t ring any bells. Then I sang the battle cry. He knew exactly what I meant. Fortunately he’s used to me bursting in to song so this didn’t phase him at all. But, I digress. This music is played over what I thought were some really cool computer generated scenes but they became more and more disturbing as the song progressed. Still, considering the movie, it totally fit.

This is the story of Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist who has just been found guilty of libel and ordered to pay a hefty sum which diminishes his life savings to almost nothing. Soon after, he is officially hired by Henrick Vanger, the patriarch of a well-to-do family, to write his (Henrick’s) memoirs. He is unofficially hired by Henrick to investigate the 40-year-old murder of his niece, Harriet.

This is also the story of Lisbeth Salander, ruled legally incompetent as a child, who is now a ward of the state (due to circumstances we discover during the film) and whose guardian has just had a stroke, forcing him to give up his guardianship. Lisbeth is now at the mercy of the state and the man who takes over as her guardian. Despite her upbringing, and possibly because of it, she is a talented investigator and is able to stomach evidence that many people couldn’t. Mikael needs an assistant so he hires the person who dug up all the information on him for Henrick. Lisbeth.

From the descriptions above it doesn’t sound too terribly exciting and certainly not close to 3 hours of exciting but it held my attention from the very beginning. There are some twists and turns and, though I hate to admit it, I did not figure out who killed Harriet before they were revealed.

The two things I absolutely did NOT like about this film were the three, yes three, rape scenes and what happened to Katt. Had those been left out I would recommend this to more people.

Once again, I liked pretty much all the actors. Daniel Craig (Mikael) stayed true to his contract (I made this up in a previous blog). We get to see him in only his unders. Come to think of it, we may have gotten to see him in his altogether from the back side. How on earth could I have forgotten that? Anyway… I don’t think I’ve seen Rooney Mara (Lisbeth) in anything else. I take that back. I looked her up on IMDB. I just saw The Social Network the other day and she plays the part of Erica Albright, the girl who dumps the main character at the beginning of the movie prompting the tirade on his blog about what a not very nice person she is. So there. In Dragon Tattoo she was completely convincing as the misunderstood private investigator with a horrible past. You get to see all of her in this film. I think the rating needs to be bumped up a bit. Christopher Plummer plays the part of Henrick Vanger. Is he becoming popular again? I think he’s been in several recent movies. Thank goodness the movie Priest didn’t ruin things for him.

I hated/loathed/despised Nils Bjurman, played by Yorick van Wageningen. I feel about him the way my dad feels about Nurse Ratched, played by Louise Fletcher, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. He mentioned one time that he can’t watch anything with Louise in it without thinking about her character in Cuckoo. I saw it. I completely understand. I will, more than likely, never be able to see Yorick in anything else without thinking about Nils. There is a special place in the underworld (no, not Kate Beckinsale’s) for people like him. Was I pleased with what happened to him? Oh yeah. And then some. Did I want to see it? Not especially.

Children should absolutely NOT watch this movie but I’ll go ahead with the breakdown anyway.

Sex/Nudity – A resounding YES to both. And adultery seems to be okay with everyone. I found it very odd how this was portrayed.

Cussing – Oh yeah.

Drugs/Drinking/Smoking – Yes. Yes. And…Yes.

Violence – Definitely. The rape scenes and a couple other scenes including violently (I probably didn’t need that adjective but you get the point) graphic crime scene photos. What Lisbeth does to the murderer is kinda gross too. Okay, no kinda about it. It was gross. All of these scenes were hard to take but the one that made me lose it in the theater happened to an animal. No, I didn’t hurl but I was so glad the closest people around were about 10 rows in front of me.

If you can overlook the rape scenes (I really don’t feel right even typing that) and you like a good thriller then this is the movie for you. If you are 17 or younger (I’d actually say under 21 at least but I don’t get to make the rules regarding ratings) or you’re one of my relatives (or most of them anyway), I wouldn’t recommend this. Despite what I said in the first sentence of this paragraph you might want to consider reading the book first; although my imagination does tend to be a bit more inventive than what I see in most movies. If you do decide to brave it and would like a heads up regarding the rape scenes so that you can either excuse yourself or hide your eyes and plug your ears for a minute or two send me an e-mail and I’ll let you know when to run for cover. I wish I’d had a warning.

I have no idea if anything happened during/after the credits. I had to hustle my tuckus to the next movie.

P.S. I did a little extra research on the author of the trilogy, Stieg Larsson, and found that the books were published posthumously. The reason for the graphic descriptions of violence against women in the tomes was due to guilt over Stieg witnessing a gang rape when he was 15 but doing nothing to stop it. The girl’s name was Lisbeth and when he tried to apologize for not coming to her aid she refused it. It has been said that these books are his way of apologizing.

P.P.S. And on a lighter note, this movie was brought to you by Coca-Cola, Marlboro cigarettes, Wikipedia, Google, Purell and, most especially, McDonald’s. I like trying to catch brand placement in movies. Ramen may be in there too but I don’t remember actually seeing the bag.

Man on a Ledge

2012-01-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

Man on a Ledge was another free pre-screening that I would not have minded paying for. I took Spike with me this time and thank goodness it wasn't one on which we felt the need to walk out. I'd have never heard the end of it. Trust me. Ask him about the coffee pot I inadvertently made him miss out on.

Let's see what IMDB has to say about it:
"As a police psychologist works to talk down an ex-con who is threatening to jump from a Manhattan hotel rooftop, the biggest diamond heist ever committed is in motion..."

Well, yeah. For the most part anyway. If by "biggest diamond heist ever" they meant "biggest diamond" heist then it's probably true. Neither knowing how big the diamond in the movie is nor how big the real biggest diamond in the world is I have no way of judging. But it's a pretty big honkin' diamond. Does the size of the diamond have any relevance to this movie? Possibly. And I just caught another mistake in the summary. If by ex-con they mean guy who just escaped from prison then yes, yes he is. If that was a typo and they meant ex cop then they were right on the money. Oh! And it's not the rooftop. It was the 21st floor. Did they even watch the movie?

I can't say a lot about this film without giving anything away. I will say, though, if you haven't seen the trailer, don't watch it before you see the movie. Please, please, please. I managed to avoid the trailer on this one and then came home and watched it after. So glad I did. Why do they give so much away? I just don't get it.

There wasn't a whole lot of action in Man on a Ledge but it didn't really need it. It kept my attention most of the time. The only reason I can't say "all of the time" is because, once again, I chose the seats by all the people who needed to make comments during the show. In all fairness to me, we got there early enough that when we sat down no one else was anywhere near us. And in all fairness to them, they really weren't all that bad. At least it wasn't constant.

I'm not going to go into character descriptions as I liked pretty much all of them. I do have to mention that Ed Harris does play a good bad guy. And I totally sympathize with the girlfriend. I don't think I'd ever love anyone enough to go in to that vent. No way. No how. But, maybe I just haven't met the right guy yet. And speaking of the girlfriend, let me just say that the men out there are gonna like her...a lot. Especially in one certain scene. There's no nudity but knowing how guy's minds work, there doesn't need to be.

Let's head to the break-down, shall we?

Sex/Nudity - None.

Drinking/Drugs - Definitely drinking. I didn't notice any drugs.

Cussing - Yes. In English AND Spanish.

Violence - Yes but not gross. A man gets shot in the chest and you see the blood on his shirt a little bit later and there are some fist fights but that's about it.

Bull hockey moments - A few. I can't lie. There were a couple scenes in which the audience didn't quite believe that would/could ever happen. But once you get past that it's still a good movie.

Intense scenes - Well, yeah. Sorta. That's what kept us in the theater. Especially watching him walk back and forth on that ledge. Knowing the klutz I am, I would've fallen the minute I set foot outside the window. Would've made for a very boring movie.

The one damper I have to put on this film is that it is highly predictable. Spike is usually HORRIBLE about figuring out whodunnit in movies even though he's a very intelligent person. He had this one sorted out relatively quickly. Okay, two dampers. They left us with a few unanswered questions. And the techs did NOT sweep the entire room for prints. They didn't check the one area he neglected to clean. Despite that I still liked it. The only people I wouldn't recommend this to are young kids because of the rating and the things mentioned in the breakdown. I will see this again.

P.S. I have no idea if there was anything during or after the credits. We got swept up in the tide of people leaving and I didn't get to see. Sorry.

Goodbye, Bobo

2012-01-11T19:43:00.000-08:00

On December 27th, the greatest fur-baby known to man passed away. You were my friend, my confidant, my woobie, my comforter. You slept in my hair, along my back (sometimes wedged between me and the back of a chair or the sofa), on my belly, curled around my arm. Not all at once, mind you. When I was at home you spent most of the time near me. If I was watching TV and sitting on the couch at least one paw had to be touching me. When I got home from work you nagged me. And nagged me. And nagged me. When you wanted food you nagged me. When you wanted to be picked up you nagged me. When you wanted to go outside you nagged me. Now you're gone and it's too quiet.

Dad used to tease me about squeezin' the stuffin's out of you. It's true. If I was sad you'd stick your slimy nose in my face to show that you were there for me. If I was excited about something you'd look at me as if I'd lost my mind then shake your head and leave the room. If I was happy you'd sit next to me and purr your quiet little purr. When I talked to you you'd talk back. When I got on to you (you know you really really liked to walk under my feet as much as possible) you'd go hide but come back a few minutes later to make amends. You liked to ride around on my shoulders. I think it made you feel tall. You hated all men except my dad. You looked like Elvis because you walked around with your lip raised. (He was missing one of his top fangs so his bottom one pushed his lip up. Very entertaining for people but sometimes very painful for him. The men thing and the tooth thing had something in common. But I won't get in to that.) You hated it when I went out of town and did everything you could to prevent it. You seemed to forget each time that I could easily lift you out of the suitcase. And you voiced your anger upon my return at being left but forgave me quickly. I hate that I only had you for a couple hours after returning from this last trip. You cuddled in my lap for a little while and then I left you to go see a movie. I just didn't know what I had accidentally set in motion.

We went through so much together. You jumping out of the third floor window when you were just 3 months old. I'm not saying you tried to end things right then and there but jumping out a window right after losing your manhood did make me wonder. Riding across the ocean in an airplane. Riding in an even smaller airplane and making everyone listen to you voice your opinion from the cargo hold. Several moves across the country. Living with Chance, the stupid cat who tripped me while I was walking downstairs. I truly believe he was in cahoots with "the man". A divorce. Living in a teensy tinesy apartment with absolutely no room to move. A niece (mine) who was too small to hold you but did it anyway. Thunderstorms (you hid under the bed until you realized that I'd protect you). Snowstorms (you loved these because the really good ones meant I'd be staying home). Earthquakes (who thought I'd ever be able to say that?). Your buddy,Gizmo, setting his own tail on fire. (Don't ask.) He's not the brightest of critters.

This house just isn't the same without you. No one grouses at me while I'm cooking in the hopes that I'll give in and share my food. No one leaves a perfectly good tiled kitchen to throw up on the living room carpet almost every morning after scarfing down their food. No one scratches on the door while I'm trying to relax and take a bath. No one shreds my arms when they're only trying to show that they're content or my legs when they're sitting in my lap and something startles them. The only thing I really minded was the puke. That was just gross. All of these things could be trying at times but without them your absence is so much more obvious (that's not the word I was looking for but it's the best I can do).

Words will never be able to express all that you meant to me. You couldn't quite make the loneliness go away but you sure did put a big dent in it. One of the books I'm reading contained the following description. “A cat that you’ve shared a bed with, until the feel of that fur, that small body is like your pillows, or your sheets, just a part of a safe night’s sleep.” I think that author must have met you at some point in time because that description is most definitely you. I loved you so much and let you down at the very end. I am so sorry for your pain but I thank you for letting me say goodbye. I'm also sorry that you died having to listen to my spaz crying. That is so not the way to go. I would've sung to you but for some reason my singing always made you leave the room. So rude.

No fur-baby will ever be able to take your place. You were one in a million and I am so thankful for the sweet lady in Belgium who found you for me. To say you will be missed is the understatement of the century but I know you'd understand. Goodbye my friend and thank you.

P.S. To those of you who read my blog I promise I'll return to our regularly scheduled programming soon.
P.P.S. I'm really not a bad singer. At least that's what Gizmo tells me.

We Bought a Zoo

2011-12-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

Lions and tigers and bears oh my! Go see this movie!!! I went with my mom, dad and PT and we all loved it. I've been unable to go to the theater this month (except one visit to the OKCMOA) so I'm so glad I enjoyed the one mainstream movie I was finally able to see.

If you haven't heard about this movie yet it's based on the true story of a man (Benjamin Mee) who decides to move out of his neighborhood after his son, Dylan, is expelled from school. He and his daughter, Rosie, spend hours looking for a new home and both fall in love with the same house as soon as they see it. Unfortunately, the house shares the land with a zoo. Benjamin decides to give it a chance and the adventure begins. If you have heard of it already, the description is still the same.

Matt Damon plays the part of Benjamin, a man who lost his wife six months ago and is trying to be the best dad he can. Matt needs to be a dad in more movies. I am in love with his character. For today anyway. I'll love someone else tomorrow. My dad is doing some reading about the real Mee family and has just informed me that the mom died of a brain tumor three months after they bought the zoo. Sad.

Scarlett Johansson plays the part of Kelly, the zookeeper. I didn't much care for Scarlett in the first few of her movies that I saw but I've liked her more and more as her career has progressed. She is sweet and serious and funny in this film. Even though my heart broke when she had to stand up to Benjamin regarding one of the animals I still loved her for it.

The children are played by Colin Ford (Dylan) and Maggie Elizabeth Jones (Rosie). Dylan is 14 and was forced to grow up too fast when he watched his mom struggle through her illness. He's sad, sullen and in major need of a good talking to. You know it's gonna happen. It's just a matter of when. Rosie is 7 and is a little ray of sunshine through the entire movie. I was so glad we never had to see her cry. I don't think I could've taken it. Unfortunately, sweet little Rosie says one of a few bad words in the movie. I kinda wonder, though, if the real little Mee said the same thing and that's why it was included.

I pretty much liked all of the characters in We Bought a Zoo except for the guy who had to inspect the zoo before it could re-open. He was a jerk and a pig. But that was the point. Rosie's one bad word was aimed at him.

At times during the movie the animals stole the scene. Buster, the bear and Spar, the tiger were my favorites. And Crystal, the Capuchin was so sweet. I want to own a zoo.

And now for the breakdown..

Cussing - Yes. This is one of the only things that bothered me since this is a family film. $#!+ is the favorite and both kids use bad words. I'm not condoning what Dylan said but I'm really not surprised he said it.
Drinking/Drugs - No drugs but quite a bit of drinking.
Sex/Nudity - None at all.
Violence - Nope.
Intense scenes - Just two. I won't tell you what happens but one involves snakes and the other involves a lion, a busted lock and a man inside the lion enclosure. This second scene includes PT's favorite line of the film, "I'm full of Scotch, bitterness and impure thoughts." She has said this repeatedly since we left the theater.

Who would I recommend this to? Pretty much anyone but with the warning to parents regarding the cussing and drinking. It is such a good family movie if not for that. I will definitely buy the Blu-Ray/DVD when it comes out and might just go see it at the theater again. Mainly to help their standing at the box office. And ladies, if you're having trouble getting your guy to go with you because he thinks it's a chick flick you can assure them that the mush is kept to a minimum.

Finally, I just wanted to mention that the final scene is now one of my favorite movie endings and the reason I'm now in love with Matt Damon. Go see this!

P.S. If you like animals as much as I (and pretty much all my family) do you may need Kleen-Ex. PT commented as we were leaving that she noticed I had cried. A few minutes later she admitted to doing the same after mom said that she had cried too. But, rest assured that this doesn't last long. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll leave happy.

Movie List - November 2011

2011-12-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

It was a bad month for movies apparently. But I got a lot of other things accomplished. I think.

1) Immortals
2) Jack and Jill
3) G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra
4) White Christmas (It's a tradition that the girls in the family watch this on Thanksgiving or at least Thanksgiving weekend. Mom and I were the only ones to carry it on this year. PT and Armat had other things to do. Oh well.)
5) Hugo
6) Thor (I showed PT the Conan O'Brien Thor trailer right before we watched the movie. We spent the whole movie doing the lines the way Conan did. And giggled the entire time. I love that girl.)
7) Young Adult

Young Adult

2011-12-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

This does NOT seem to be the season for good movies. I saw Hugo last week and liked it and will be posting on it this weekend but other than that the last few films have not been kind. I thought Jack and Jill was bad but at least part of it was funny. This movie was just plain awful. Let me try to sum it up for you.

Mavis Gary is a lonely, washed-up young adult book author who decides to go back to her hometown in Podunk, MN. That’s not really the town’s name but you already knew that, didn’t you? Her plan is to track down her old boyfriend, Buddy, who now has a wife and brand spanking new baby girl and break up their marriage because he is so obviously unhappy. Along the way she runs into the guy who had the locker next to hers in high school. He was brutally attacked back in the good ol’ days and now walks with a cane. We get to hear a LOT about his crooked…ahem…member that was also victim to the attack. Mavis calls him Hate Crime Matt. She’s so sweet. Mavis tells Matt her plan. Matt tries to stop her…repeatedly. Mavis calls Buddy. They meet at a local sports pub. Buddy invites Mavis to come hear his wife’s band and after the gig Mavis drives Buddy home because he’s drunk and Beth (his wife) wants to hang with her band mates some more. Mavis and Buddy kiss. Buddy calls Mavis the next day and invites her to the baby naming ceremony. She shows up, asks him to speak in private and then tries to kiss him and get him to run away with her. He is having none of it. He not only stops her kiss but he blocks it with his hand and pushes her away then asks her to leave. When she’s out in the yard with all the other party goers she tells Beth she needs a real drink. Beth gets a pitcher of what looks like sangria and turns around too quickly. She bumps in to Mavis and dumps red drink all over her. Mavis flips (not literally), cusses Beth out and makes a general fool of herself. Buddy comes out and basically tells her that Beth made him invite her and that she’s the town joke. Ouch! She goes to Hate Crime Matt’s house and has relations with him. At this point the audience was strongly expressing their disgust. The next morning she extracts herself from Matt's embrace and sneaks out. She goes to the kitchen and helps herself to some coffee and conversation with Matt’s sister. The sister tells Mavis that she’s the best thing that happened to that town. Mavis, of course, agrees. She leaves, picks up her dog, who has been neglected in the hotel room through the whole movie, and then she heads home learning not much at all from her experience. Oh, and did I mention that Mavis is drunk through most of the movie? No? Well, she was.

There. Now you know what it’s about so you don’t need to waste your time or money. I was hoping this was going to be along the lines of My Best Friend’s Wedding. It wasn’t. And then some.

I was so completely disappointed in Charlize Theron. What on earth was she thinking? And what were the writers, director, producers, crew members, catering companies, etc. thinking? Did they really all sit there and watch as this was being filmed and think, “Wow! I see an Oscar in our future!”? They couldn’t have. I can’t believe this even made the big screen. This is another film I strongly considered walking out during but I stayed. For you. Because that’s how I roll.

I took Leanne with me and kept looking at her during to see if she was as pained as I was. Pretty much. I have a feeling she’s going to stop going to movies with me. Even if they ARE free. I felt dirty after. I needed a shower. And to reformat my brain. Well, I’ve probably needed that for years. I’ve decided that not only do they need to reimburse us the money it took to drive to the theater, they also need to send me two blank pieces of paper and replenish the ink used to print the passes. From hearing the people who sat around us we weren’t the only ones feeling this way.

I absolutely do not recommend this to anyone. Period. I refuse to even break down the cussing, sex, etc. Just don’t go see this. If more people read my blog I’d feel bad about saying all this but only a few people do so I won’t be affecting much of the box office take. I would like to say, “Thank you!!!” to those of you who do read this. It’s nice to know I’m not just talking to myself. Again. Oh, and speaking of not recommending this movie I’d like to give a big shout out to the intelligent life forms who brought their young children to this film. WHAT.WERE.YOU.THINKING?!!! It’s rated R for goodness sake!

P.S. I got my wish and Elizabeth Reaser (Esme from Twilight) had a bigger role in a movie. Finally. She doesn’t get to talk much, though, and she looks horrible. Be careful what you wish for.

P.P.S. There is absolutely no need to stay through the movie much less the credits. Unless you want to see who to blame.

Immortals

2011-11-19T13:15:00.000-08:00

The gods have declared they will not become involved in the conflicts of man unless the Titans are released. Good thinking. For those of you who have managed not to see any previews for Immortals, the Titans fought against the gods, lost and were imprisoned; supposedly for eternity. You see where this is headed, don’t you? If you don’t see, you’ll probably love this movie and all it’s unpredictability. If you do see, you’ll spend most of the film as I did; just waiting for it to happen.

I have yet to see a friendly review of this film. Sadly, I feel compelled to join them. This is yet another movie about which Spike would yell at me, “It’s not real!!!” I know this and I knew this going in yet I can’t help but point out some of the really idiotic decisions made by the characters; more to the point…the gods. First, you (the gods) already know the Titans are tough sons of guns or their threat wouldn’t have been such to require eternal restraint. But knowing this you imprison them where? Somewhere on Mt. Olympus so that they can be guarded by the gods themselves? Nooooo! You imprison them inside Mt. Tartaros…on Earth. Well done, you.

Next, you know for a fact that something exists which can release the Titans. The Bow of Epirus. And where is the Bow of Epirus? It’s trapped in a rock formation, in a shrine, on the outskirts of a small village. On Olympus? You would think that but no. It’s on Earth too. It HAS to be on the other side of the planet, far far away from the Titans though. It just has to. Oh now why make it that hard for the bad guys? Let’s put it so close that you probably don’t even need to change horses to get between the two places. But, of course, the gods are going to make it darn near impossible to break through the rock formation in the shrine, on the outskirts of a small village, close to the Titans, on Earth, right? Ummm…okay. If you believe that please go back to the first paragraph. Read it again. Enjoy the show.

Third, let’s prove to man that you’re not going to step in and help them…ever. King Hyperion wasn’t completely stupid. He knew what he could get away with. Pretty much anything he wanted. And he was correct. Who ended up stopping Hyperion? Not the gods.

Finally, you said you would not become involved in the conflicts of man unless the Titans were released. How about becoming involved just before. You know, wait until there is no shadow of a doubt what is about to happen and then stop it. Instead, you choose to wait until the Titans, who you obviously fear, are set free and then step in. And when you do finally saddle up you’re going to bring hundreds of gods with you to turn the tide, correct? How about just four? Good idea. Then be surprised when the Titans overpower you. Being Greek gods and all you’d think you’d know the meaning of the word hubris and why it’s not a good thing to have.

I wanted to completely like this movie. A friend on Facebook said that “IMMORTALS is epically awful.” While I don’t think it was that bad it wasn’t far off. They wanted so badly for this movie to be like 300. They even went so far as to use the old make-them-come-through-a-small-space-so-we-don’t-have-to-fight-them-all-at-once ploy which was a big hit in that film. Unfortunately that didn’t work for very long in 300. And we all know how that ended. It does seem to have fared a little better in Immortals. What I really liked (insert sarcasm font here) was when the good guy (Theseus) was running down the tunnel, fighting bad guys as he went along, and we get to see little tableaus of other fighters in windows along the sides. I feel the need to point out yet another really bad decision. Why on earth would you build a tunnel so deep and with a gate that is impenetrable – unless someone is wielding the Bow of Epirus – and put rooms just inside the gate with stairs that lead to the rest of the keep? Maybe entrances from the keep side and not the OUTside would have been a wiser choice?

Enough of all that. Let’s discuss the acting, I mean, filler that kept this from being just one big action scene. I guess we did need some back story. I actually liked these parts the best. Well, some of them. Henry Cavill did a good enough job as Theseus but I think he was chosen more for his body than his acting. Not that I’m complaining. He is not difficult to watch. They also included Stephen Dorff. He would so be on my freebie list if I had such a thing and condoned having one. I guess Henry can be added to that also. But I think I’d need more than five. If you don’t know what I’m talking about you probably never watched Friends which is probably a good thing. One person in this film who would NOT make that list is Mickey Rourke. He was very believable to me as Mad King Hyperion. Mainly because I didn’t like him in the first place. Mickey…not the king. Okay, the king too. I have no idea why I don’t like him. He just gives me the creeps. Maybe that is his publicist’s goal. If so…mission accomplished.

I liked pretty much all of the gods but, then again, that’s what they wanted us to do. They were beautiful. Yes, even the men. None of them really got to talk much except for Zeus and Athena so I can’t really comment on their acting. I can, however, comment on their head gear. Seriously? What were you thinking? How threatening can you be with gold twigs and seashells sitting atop your noggin? I do have to say a big, “Yea for you!” to Kellan Lutz. You have this AND Breaking Dawn out at the same time. Talk about exposure. And speaking of exposure, the skirts the male gods were wearing covered all the naughty parts….just. The costume designers had a lot and a little to do in this movie.

I loved some of the background scenes in Immortals. The four statues holding up Mt. Tartaros from the inside? So neat! I liked what we could see of Mt. Olympus. I guess they didn’t have a big enough budget for all the marble that would be needed to show more. The walls running alongside Mt. Tartaros made me think of LOTR and now I want to watch those movies again. The little village was kind of neat too. The entire place was tucked in to the side of a mountain. I really liked the shrine except for the fact that it was a big maze. I guess they only wanted the faithful to be able to get in or out. I questioned why Theseus cut his leg before he went in but it didn’t take me long to figure out that he was marking the way with his bloody footprints. Gross!…and cool! I would like to know how he found his way to the center in the first place.

This film was rated R for one reason and one reason only. The violence. The nudity was limited to a derriere (my mom doesn’t like me to say “butt”) shot and a side view of a woman’s breast. Well, unless you count all the statues. If you do then there was a LOT of nudity. One of the reviews I read mentioned the diaphanous clothing of the Oracle. I didn’t notice but, then again, I wasn’t looking that hard either. The one sex scene in the entire film was limited to implied sex. There wasn’t much cursing and I don’t recall any drinking at all. We do get to watch Mickey Rourke eat which invoked a different kind of violence all on it’s own. Why do they always make the bad guys eat like that? Were they never taught table manners? Ewwww! Now back to the violence. It wasn’t just people beating each other up and killing each other. It was a literal blood bath. There was spewage, if you will. I was so glad I didn’t watch the 3-D version. What made it worse was these scenes were in slow-motion. Yuck! One of the Titans is cleaved in two and we get to see his insides quivering. This is definitely not a movie for young children, my mom or anyone with a weak stomach.

Would I recommend this movie to anyone? I really don’t know the answer to that question. I would almost say that if you liked 300 you’ll like Immortals but this was just lacking…something. I was mad about several things that happened so I don’t want to encourage anyone else to have to experience the same. While I disagree that this movie was epically awful it definitely wasn’t epically great either. It was epically meh! which, I’m sure, is not what the producers were going for.

P.S. The only reason to stay through the credits is because of the names. I challenge you to accurately pronounce them all. It was Greek to me.

P.P.S. The ending seemed to be setting up the chance for a sequel. I really hope not.

P.P.P.S. Orlando Bloom and Luke Evans (Zeus) need to be related to each other in some way, shape or form in a movie. I'm just sayin'.

Jack and Jill

2011-11-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

I should probably start this with a warning. This is going to be short and not very nice. I promise. To say this movie was bad doesn't do justice to the word. It was below awful. It was painful to watch. I took Leanne with me and was almost embarrassed for her. She didn't sound too thrilled when I asked her to go but she was a trooper and went anyway. She should not have had to sit through that. The good news though is that we didn't expect much and we certainly got what we expected...or didn't. Whatever.

Maybe we just don't appreciate Adam Sandler the way other people would. Except that I really do like some of his movies. So that can't be it. I have to hear the Turkey Song at lease once around Thanksgiving. And Christmas just isn't Christmas without Hannukah. Work that one out if you can. My point is, he CAN be funny. Just not in this.

I'd like to shout out a big, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!!!" to all the people who had cameos in this. In no particular order...Regis Philbin, Dana Carvey, David Spade (Who am I kidding? This was right up his alley. He plays a woman. Yuck.), Shaquille O'Neal, Drew Cary, Jared from Subway, John McEnroe, Christie Brinkley, Michael Irvin, Bill Romanowski, Billy Blanks and Bruce Jenner. I might have missed one or two. Come on guys...and Christie. If someone was calling in a favor they should consider you paid in full! I can't believe I almost forgot the worst one. Al Pacino. How the mighty have fallen.

I'm gonna move on to the breakdown since I can't think of anything nice to say about the movie.

Sex/Nudity - None. Thank goodness!
Alcohol/Drugs - Lots of drinking. Even the used-as-a-joke-five-too-many-times bird gets drunk.
Violence - A little but it's meant to be funny.
Cussing - I have no idea. I'm serious. I even called Leanne to see if she remembered. There had to be. Right?

To say that I would recommend this to anyone would be a huge stretch but if I absolutely had to I'd say that anyone who loves every Adam Sandler movie ever made or is related to the guy who sat next to Leanne will love this movie. My IQ was cut in half just watching it so I have no idea if that sentence even made sense. I think you get the point. Please, for the love of all that's good and right in the world, don't go see Jack and Jill.

P.S. I just remembered a positive about the experience. We didn't have to pay for the tickets. Wahoo!

P.P.S. If you do go see this you'll probably stay through the credits anyway because it's a bunch of twins being "funny". Once that stops you can go ahead and drag yourself to the nearest exit because there's nothing else to see. Not even a teaser about a sequel. Oh! Another positive!

Movie List - October 2011

2011-11-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be my month of scary movies. Let's see how that turned out, shall we?

1) Dolphin Tale
2) Dream House
3) Real Steel
4) The Stratton Story
5) Smokin’ Aces
6) Footloose (2011)
7) Footloose (1984)
8) Top Gun
9) She’s the Man – PT loved this. I ended up buying it for her while she was in town visiting.
10) The Three Musketeers (2011) - I promise I'll post on this soon.
11) The Three Musketeers (1993)
12) 127 Hours
13) Anonymous
14) Paranormal Activity 3
15) Saw
16) 1408 – A good portion of it anyway. The DVR wasn’t working correctly.
17) Halloween

So, all in all, there was only one movie that necessitated my hiding behind my hands because of scary scenes. I did hide behind my hands for a couple parts of Saw but only because they were gross. The toilet scene about did me in. Blech!

Paranormal Activity 3

2011-10-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

It is the month of October – though it is almost over – and that means that I’m watching more scary movies than usual. Or that was my intention anyway. I think I’m going to have to let scary movie month ooze over, so to speak, in to November. A little bit anyway.

A couple nights ago I went, by myself, to see Paranormal Activity 3. Why did I go by myself? Don’t ask. I wasn’t supposed to but that’s what ended up happening. So, I got to the theater and climbed to my normal spot – back row, center – and prepared to be skeered. While sitting there wondering what on earth on I was thinking I took a moment to look around. Not only did I go to the movie by myself but I was in the theater BY. MY. SELF!!! Yup. That’s right. All by my lonesome. The back corner seats were looking mighty cozy. The only way any critter could get at me there was from the front and I’d see them coming long before they got there. And don’t think I wouldn’t have been able to make it to the foot of the stairs without ever touching the floor. I have talents, man. Now, you may think I’m making this up as I type but these thoughts really and truly were running through my mind as I sat there…”in the night…in the dark”. Anyone besides Leann, name that movie. Why then was I even watching this in the first place? I have absolutely no idea. Scary movies are scary. Imagine that. Maybe it’s the cheap thrill in relative safety. Yeah. I’ll go with that.

If you’ve seen the first two movies in this series then you already know whether or not you’re going to like the prequel. And whether or not you’re going to be scared. This contained the same jump-out-at-you type scares that were in the first two. And they even came up with a way to not make people sick while watching. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who tossed her popcorn during the first movie. This time they used an oscillating fan. They attached the video camera to the base so that it would film while sweeping back and forth from the front entry and living room to the kitchen. This little set-up did NOT make me happy. I was just waiting for it to sweep from one room to the other and instead of seeing the room I’d see a big, scary face. I’m not saying whether this happened or not but I was definitely worried it would.

Let’s pause for a moment to discuss the trailers for PA3, shall we? Let me tell you exactly what was in both the trailers AND the movie. Pretty much NOTHING! How rude is that? It’s one thing to have a teaser trailer that doesn’t quite give you the story and leaves you guessing but this was a complete and total falsehood. I protest! If you were looking forward, as I was, to seeing some of those scenes on the big screen the only thing I can say is you’d better find someone with a hugantic TV and watch the trailer at their house because that’s as close as you’re gonna get.

Now back to our program. Be warned. This next part may ruin the movie for you. Read on…if you dare. I expected the prequel to answer questions that arose from the first two movies. The only thing it really answered is what happened to Julie and Dennis (the mom and mom’s live-in boyfriend). That’s it. So, basically this movie was for scares only. Not surprising really but still…

There’s no way to say much more without just flat out telling you everything that happened so I’m gonna just skip to the breakdown. Oh wait. No, I’m not. If you think it’s okay to take your child to a movie like this then nothing I say is going to stop you. All I can tell you is enjoy the nightmares. Not yours. Your kids. Okay, I’m finished proselytizing. For now.

Would I recommend this movie to anyone? Crap, no! Unless you’re a big goober like me who likes to safely scare the daylights out of herself on occasion. Or unless you just happen to like scary movies and aren’t the big baby that I am. Some of you may think this is downright tame. I’d like to hear from those of you in that camp. Mainly so I’ll know who to take with me next time.

P.S. Do NOT cover your eyes during the scene in which Katie is crying at the foot of the stairs. I did and I totally missed what happened. And keep ‘em open when grandma walks in after Dennis gets knocked down soon after the deal with Katie. If you don't, you’ll wonder what on earth went on there. If you go see this and avoid hiding behind your hands please tell me what I missed. I’d appreciate it because I will NOT be seeing this movie again.

P.P.S. If you want a heads up regarding the scary scenes feel free to contact me. I won’t tell you what scary things happen but I’ll let you know what leads up to them so you’ll be prepared.

P.P.P.S. I ended up not being alone in the theater. Several more people came in including the three adults who sat in front of me and threw their concessions in the air during one particularly startling scene. Broke the tension a bit for me. Thank you, whoever you are.

P.P.P.P.S. Last one. I promise. Mainly because my hands are freezing. Even though I thought that maybe the director of this film was going to be cute and throw something startling in to the credits somewhere, I stayed through them. You won’t need to. Oh, the things I do for you.

Anonymous

2011-10-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

"You may have betrayed me but you will never betray my words."

To say I enjoyed Anonymous is a bit of an understatement. Except for a few moments in which the audience responded to something that happened on the screen I completely forgot I was in a theater. I had been transported to early 17th century England. I did miss you while I was there. Leann, her daughter Aspirin and Aspirin's boyfriend (I haven't come up with a secret identity for him yet) went with me and they all said they liked it so you don't have to just take my word for it. Then again, you never have to take my word for it. I'm just putting that out there.

For those of you who have neither seen the trailers nor read any reviews for Anonymous, this is a speculation of who really wrote William Shakespeare's plays, poems, etc. They told the story so well that I couldn't stand good ol' Will by the end. We found out, as far as the film goes, who wrote those famous lines and why he didn't receive credit for them. Fortunately for him he was happy with the applause even though the people thought they were lauding someone else.

The actors were wonderful. I loved that they used a mother and daughter - Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson - to play the part of Queen Elizabeth at different ages. And the actor who played the Earl of Oxford was so different than any character I've ever seen him portray. Had I known at the time that he was the man who played the part of the gross roommate in one of my favorite movies and the compulsive gambler/football player in another I might have had a hard time getting in to his character in Anonymous. I was determined that he was one of the Fiennes boys. I was obviously wrong. He needs to be nominated for a Golden Globe at the very least. If you figure out who he is while you're watching the movie let me know. I will be very impressed.

The scenery and costumes were gorgeous. The men looked dashing and the women looked...uncomfortable. There appeared to be a few close calls due to daring décolletages but everything stayed where it should have. And all of the manors, castles, etc. were stunning. I would love to return to England in hopes that I could capture pictures of the fog shrouding the countryside and the beautiful edifices early in the morning. Is it possible to be homesick for a place you only lived for a year-and-a-half?

The breakdown for this is fairly simple. There was minimal cursing because apparently their adjectives were less vulgar than what is used today. At least in this movie anyway. Men are shot and one man is beheaded - it showed right up to the swing of the axe - but it is not bloody or gory. A lot of ale is consumed. There is no nudity except for a figure on a tavern sign and the sex scenes were implied. Sadly, I couldn’t remember whether or not the second intimate scene was implied so I had to call Aspirin to be sure. They really were very small parts of the film.

I highly recommend this movie unless you're strictly an action movie type fan and even then I'd suggest giving this a go. And despite the relatively tame descriptions in the breakdown I would still question taking PT to see this and she'll be 14 next month. I don't know if many kids her age or younger would be interested in it. I hope they would be but you never can tell.

I will be buying Anonymous when it comes out on DVD and I hope to see it among the nominees for the Academy Awards. In several categories. It definitely deserves it.

P.S. No need to stay through the credits.

P.P.S. Kudos to you if you can figure out - while watching the movie - what actor played the part of the Earl of Southampton. I knew I knew who he was but I just couldn't quite place him. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I had to look him up when I got home. Almost.

Footloose (2011)

2011-10-11T23:20:00.000-07:00

“Let’s dance!!!”

This evening I dragged Leann kicking and screaming to the pre-screening of Footloose. She is loyal to her original Footloose and wanted nothing to do with the remake. She was adamant. She was not going. I told her I’d bake apple pies for her for the rest of her life if she’d go with me. OR! I asked her last week if she wanted to go with me and she said something along the lines of, “Sure! But I don’t want to like it.” I’ll let you choose whichever scenario you want to believe. But I do agree with what she said. I was determined that there was no way this was going to be as good as the original. So maybe I was wrong in some ways. A little. It does happen on occasion.

I’m going to go ahead and assume that you two or three people who read my little blog have seen the original movie. Okay? Okay. Did you know that this is loosely based on events that happened in Elmore City, OK? I didn’t either until, before the movie started, a local DJ shared that tidbit and then introduced us to a couple of the people in the audience about whom the movie was, once again, loosely based. Cool, huh? Well, it was interesting anyway. What I don’t get is why, if it was based on an Oklahoma city, the movies are set in Utah and Georgia.

Anyway, since you’ve already seen the original (again…assumptions) I’m going to use this post to compare the two movies. Let’s begin shall we? And, if I make any mistakes, feel free to correct me. I did watch the original for 100th time a few months ago and I still could be missing a few things. It does happen on occasion. Just a warning…this is completely filled with spoilers for the new movie.

1984 – Ren moves with his mom from Chicago to Bomont, UT.
2011 – Ren moves from Boston to Bomont, GA to live with his aunt and uncle because his mother has died from Leukemia.

1984 – We hear about kids having been killed playing car tag on the way home from a party. One of the kids killed is the main female character’s (Ariel) brother.
2011 – We see kids driving home from a party lose control of the car and run in to a semi. All five kids are killed. The driver of the car is Ariel’s brother. The little girl sitting in front of us turned to her mom and in a very loud voice asked, “Are they dead now?” Totally broke up the tension of the scene.

1984 – Ren and Chuck play chicken while driving a couple of tractors. Ren wins but only because his shoelace gets caught on one of the tractor pedals and he can’t jump.
2011 – Ren and Chuck race buses in a figure eight and end up in a game of chicken when Ren’s brakes fail.

1984 – Ariel’s act of daring-do is balancing on the window sills (are they called that?) of a car and truck while they’re driving down the road and a semi is headed towards them. She jumps in to the truck at the last second.
2011 – Ariel’s act of daring-do is sitting on the window sill of a race car (with her legs inside) while her boyfriend Chuck drives it around the track. This scares her best friend for some reason who then cries and tells Ariel to find her own way home. Why on earth would this scare anyone?

1984 – Rev. Shaw changes his mind about the dance after stopping a book burning rally.
2011 – Rev. Shaw changes his mind about the dance after Ren comes to talk to him.

1984 – The music. What can I say? Who didn’t love the Soundtrack? You didn’t? Well, besides you.
2011 – The music was good and they remade a couple of the old songs but I like the original tunes better. I wonder if I would’ve felt the same if I’d seen the remake first. I liked the new version of “I Need a Hero” but I agree with Leann in that it wasn’t as good as the 1984 version. It was country instead of rock.

1984 – Ren dances in the abandoned warehouse to “Never” by Moving Pictures. At the beginning of the scene he has flashbacks to different bad things that have happened since he moved to Bomont.
2011 – Ren dances in the abandoned warehouse to a song I’ve never heard of and didn’t much like. At the beginning of the scene he yells at a room full of nobody. It’s everything he wanted to say when he is talked down to throughout the first few scenes.

1984 – Ren brings his yellow VW Bug with him to Bomont.
2011 – Uncle Wes tells Ren he can have his yellow VW Bug if he can fix it.

1984 – Ren is pulled over and given a $25 ticket for blasting “Bang Your Head (Metal Health)”.
2011 – Ren is pulled over and ordered to appear in court for blasting “Bang Your Head (Metal Health)”.

1984 – The uncle is a jerk.
2011 – The uncle is very supportive.

1984 – Ren is on the gymnastics team (squad?).
2011 – Ren was a gymnast at his old school but is now on the football team.

1984 Ren (Kevin Bacon) – A guy who has a bit of a spastic style of dance and not much of an accent to speak of (no pun intended).
2011 Ren (Kenny Wormald) – A guy who has a bit of a spastic style of dance and has a thick Boston accent. And! Sorry Kevin…he’s way cuter than the original Ren. It was somewhat painful watching both of these guys dance. Says the person who couldn’t dance if you lit a fire under her.

1984 Willard (Chris Penn) – Goofy good ol’ boy befriends Ren who ends up teaching him to “dance”.
2011 Willard – (Miles Teller) – Goofy good ol’ boy befriends Ren who ends up teaching him to dance. As with Ren, I liked the new Willard better. He was hilarious. I think I might have known a couple of this Willard in high school. And I like the way he dances much better than I liked original Willard.

1984 Ariel (Lori Singer) – Rebellious PK who gets in as much trouble as possible just to get her daddy’s attention. Not a bad dancer.
2011 Ariel (Julianne Hough) – Same as above except better dancer. At least I think so. Both of them get in to a fight with Chuck after they break up with him.

1984 Rusty (Sarah Jessica Parker) – Ariel’s best friend. I liked this Rusty better than the remake. She’s more outgoing and funny.
2011 Rusty (Ziah Colon) – Still Ariel’s best friend. Her and Willard’s relationship just sort of springs out of nowhere.

1984 Chuck (Jim Youngs) – Ariel’s boyfriend. He’s a jerk in both movies and I can’t decide in which movie I like him better. We’ll call it a tie.
2011 Chuck (Patrick John Flueger) – Still Ariel’s boyfriend. I think he totally looks like Patrick Swayze.

This could go on and on and on but it’s way past my bed time. Oh who am I kidding? It’s not 2 a.m. yet. Let’s break it down.

Cussing – Yes there was with the favorite being $#!+.

Sex/Nudity – We have/get to see Ariel take her shirt off and use it as a flag. She is wearing a bra. We know someone is about to have sex but we don’t see it happen. The original shows guys behinds. Not so in the remake.

Drinking/Drugs – Yes. Quite a bit of beer and one joint.

Violence – Two-and-a-half fight scenes. One between Chuck and Ariel. One between Ren and Willard and Chuck and his friends. Half between Willard and a guy from a dance club. I say half because Willard gets knocked out with the first punch.

I wanted to be able to tell you that the remake totally stunk and you should just save your money but I can’t do that. I really really liked it. Except for the music. No one can replace Kenny Loggins, Deniece Williams and Bonnie Tyler. For Footloose anyway. I can’t remember if I saw the 1984 version at the theater when it came out. I’ll have to ask my parents. I was only 2 at the time. The only reason I’d say this isn’t for kids is because of the cussing. I don’t think young children would understand what is happening in the we-know-they’re-about-to-do-it scene. The kissing did bother the little girl that sat in front of us though. She cracked up everyone around her when she yelled, “Eeeewwwwww! Gross!”

We got to see this movie for free but I wouldn’t have minded paying to see it. I will definitely own this and would recommend it for anyone who liked the original and for those who never saw it. If you never saw the original you should rent it before you see the remake. Watching the remake first will, more than likely, ruin the 1984 version for you. And since it’s 1 a.m. and I’m still wide awake I think I’ll put in the original movie and try to go to sleep.

P.S. There are plenty of names to make fun of in the credits but other than that there is no reason to stick around.

Sports

2011-10-09T15:59:00.001-07:00

Following is the list of my favorite sports movies. I know it’s probably shy a few really good ones but these are films that have stuck in my head and I’ve watched a time or twenty. For some reason I keep wanting to add The Natural to the list but in all honesty I only saw it once and though I remember liking it the only things I remember are that it starred Robert Redford and it was about baseball. I’m pretty sure that doesn’t qualify it as a favorite. Feel free to chime in with some of your own favorites or even question some of mine. We’re all entitled to our own opinions. I’d like to hear some of yours. I assure you that not all of the movies will have a long-winded reason for my favor. I’ll try to keep it to a minimum. Now, in no particular order…

1) The Stratton Story (1949) - I just watched this again about an hour ago. If ever there was a come-back story this one is it. And if you’re a baseball fan and have never seen this movie you should. Forget that. Everyone should see this movie. So there. Jimmy Stewart plays the role of Monty Stratton, a farm boy who plays 5 years for the Chicago White Sox. His career is prematurely interrupted when a hunting accident necessitates the amputation of his right leg. But Monty doesn’t stay down. He never got back to his pre-injury talent but he still played. Despite cheap bunts by opposing teams. And this is back before sports prosthetics. We’re talking the 1940s here people. I promise this movie makes for good watching.

2) Miracle (2004) - I grew up watching the Oklahoma City Stars play hockey. My dad was still in school and this was a relatively cheap entertainment that my whole family could enjoy. Despite a love of the sport I was completely oblivious, at the mature age of 8, to the fact that the US defeated Russia in hockey. Why was this match such a big deal? The Russians had been training for years. The US team? Months. The Russian team was a hockey power house. They had taken Olympic gold 6 years running. They had veteran players. The average age of players on the US team? 21 years. Several of the men on the Russian team had played together for 15 years. And finally, President Jimmy Carter announced that the US would be boycotting the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. I find it amazing that Brezhnev didn’t reply in kind regarding the Winter Olympics in New York. Had he done so this game would never have taken place and there is a pretty good chance Russia would have continued on as the ultimate team to beat. As it was, the US got to change the history of hockey…in a big way. I get that I didn’t say a lot about the movie itself but I’m hoping just the basic facts will pique your interest. I love sports films based on true stories. This is definitely one to watch.

3) Mystery, Alaska (1999) - Yes, another hockey movie. A small town team in Alaska is chosen to play against the New York Rangers in a televised event. I first watched this because it’s about hockey but also because it stars Russell Crowe. Two very good reasons if I do say so myself. This is a fun movie to watch. I especially like the scene in which the player gets knocked out with a snow shovel. He so had it coming.

4) The Replacements (2000) – “Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory…lasts forever.” The best line in the whole stinkin’ movie. Yes. This is a comedy/come-back type of sports movie but it’s good just the same. And it stars Keanu Reeves who, I am not ashamed to admit, is just all kinds of cute. Please don’t let they sway your opinion of my little movie/dinner site. Oh! And if you have a weak stomach I highly recommend fast-fowarding through the scene just after the player eats the eggs. I know I do.

5) Blue Skies Again (1983) – “What did you say?” You heard me. I know a lot of you have probably never heard of this movie. My sister and I discovered it on HBO (I think that was the channel) and watched it nearly every time it came on. It’s a baseball movie. “So what?” you ask? It’s a baseball movie starring Robyn Barto as the female…yes, you read that correctly…who tries out for a minor-league baseball team. This movie never won any awards and was virtually unheard of but we didn’t care. We got to see the obstacles she had to overcome just to get the try-out and when she did make the team (sorry to ruin it for you) the other team refused to even pitch to her. But everything came out in the wash. This is a good girl-power movie. I just wish I could find it on DVD.

6) Without Limits (1998) – This is another based-on-a-true-story movie. Steve Prefontaine was a track star in the early ‘70s who still holds unbeaten world records to this day. As I have never in my entire life enjoyed running and I was just a month or two old when Pre raced in the Munich Olympics, I hadn’t heard of this film before I ran across it in a friend’s movie collection. Did it motivate me to get out there and run? No. But I still liked the movie.

7) Moneyball (2011) – See? I told you it made my list. See my post to get the 411.

8) Ice Castles (1978/2010) – Seriously? You’re darn tootin’! Ice skating is a sport. If you’ve never heard of this movie or its remake you’re either a guy (wow, that was sexist!) or you just didn’t feel like watching a film about ice skating. The main song, “Through The Eyes of Love”, is uber-famous. This is the story of Lexie Winston, a small-town ice skater with no formal training who catches the eye of a competitive skating coach. She is destined for greatness when an accident causes her to lose her sight. Despite this fact she works her way back to the competitive skating world. My favorite line? “We forgot about the roses.” Just a warning. The original movie drops the F-bomb…a lot!

9) A League of Their Own (1992) – I love this movie. It’s got girls playing baseball when the boys go off to fight a war. What’s not to love?

10) Goal! The Dream Begins (2005) – This is the story of Santiago, a kid who dreams of becoming a professional soccer player…pardon me…footballer. I believe this was set up to be a trilogy and I own the first two films but haven’t heard anything yet about the third. I hope it gets made because they kinda left us hanging.

11) -16) The Rocky Movies – Yup. All of ‘em. I can’t help it. I’m addicted.

17) Stick It (2006) – Well. That was rude. Ha! This is a gymnastics movie. But! Not your typical gymnastics movie. Haley Graham is forced to enroll in an elite gymnastics program. Unfortunately, it happens to be a program upon which the snooty competition judges look down their noses. Because of this the gymnasts are given lower scores than they should have been. In one instance a point is deducted because the girl’s bra strap was showing. But it’s not just their team that is suffering. The girls’ scores are based more on popularity than skill. Yes. They do have to be somewhat good but little things are overlooked if they’re beloved. “That would only happen in the movies,” you say? Really? Have you paid attention to an Olympic sport in which judges are necessary? It’s not always fair and you know it. Haley sets out to change the rules. There is some cussing but it’s a cute movie nonetheless. I especially like the mall scene. And anyone who thinks gymnastics is not a sport needs to pay close attention to Haley’s solo training scene. Yikes! No thank you very much.

18) Wimbledon (2004) – Ask me what I know about tennis and I will tell you…Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Björn Borg. What? I know the very basics of the game but couldn’t even begin to explain it to anyone. Why did I watch this movie? Paul Bettany. Enough said.

I could probably go on and on but I think 18 is a pretty good list, don’t you? What are some of your favorites?

P.S. Judging by my responses on FB I missed quite a few. Looks like I'm going to have to break down and separate out the different sports. Consider this my first draft.

Real Steel

2011-10-08T20:43:00.001-07:00

If you know me…and, well most of you don’t…you know I like boxing. Watching. Not participating. Although there are days I wouldn’t mind going a round or two. I get that it can be a violent sport but there’s just something about it. It’s not just two guys slugging it out in front of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people. It’s being able to read your opponent. It’s fighting ‘til you just can’t fight any more. It’s the grand-standing. It’s the entrance music. It’s the excitement of the crowd. It’s the build-up to the main event. It’s being able to walk away once the fight is over and leave it in the ring. Okay. Not always. Sometimes the trash talk continues after the bout but that’s all part of the fun. Couple all that with Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo and a robot who just won’t quit and you’ve got Real Steel. I know that’s more than a couple but you know what I mean. All that was missing was Michael Buffer booming, “LLLLLET’S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLLLE!”

Someone on IMBD says Real Steel is, “Set in the near future, where robot boxing is a top sport, a struggling promoter feels he's found a champion in a discarded robot. During his hopeful rise to the top, he discovers he has an 11-year-old son who wants to know his father.”

Wow! Did you even see the movie? Despite the fact that I put that summary in my post you can pretty much ignore it. There are 5 truths in the above statement. Real Steel is set in the near future. Robot boxing is a top sport. And it’s a story about a robot, a struggling promoter and an 11-year-old boy.

Charlie is the main character; a down on his luck gambler and robot boxing promoter. He’s so washed up that in the opening scene we find he’s scheduled a bout between his robot and a bull. What? Yup. You heard (read?) correctly. A bull. I wanted to be completely appalled by this but the idea was just so silly I wasn’t really bothered at all. But still. A bull? Moving on… Charlie has the brains and boxing talent that should shoot him to the top in the robot boxing world but he’s got a really bad case of arrogance to go along with it and it destroys everything he sets out to accomplish.

In steps Max, Charlie’s son, who shows him that there are still things in the world worth fighting for. And Max himself is definitely a fighter. Add ten years and a hundred pounds to this kid and you’ll have yourself a contender. He’s got the heart. He’s got the mind. I love this kid. And I love the scene where he tries to protect his dad. It happens quickly but it’s there.

Max is actually the one who “finds” the robot (Atom). Actually, Atom sort of finds him. Max wants to put Atom in the ring but Charlie keeps insisting that the robot will end any fights in pieces. Max is determined and apparently what Max wants, Max gets. I tell ya. The kid’s a scrapper.

Charlie is played by Hugh Jackman. That fact alone would make me go see this movie. It didn’t hurt that he put in his typical performance. Typical in that it was super awesome! Sorry. Just seeing if you were paying attention. He did such a good job that there were several scenes in which I wanted to smack him. Get over yourself, dude! You are so not all that! This is another teddy-bear-behind-the-gruff-exterior movie. At the end of the film you’ll almost have forgotten what a bum he was at the beginning. Unless you’re writing a blog. Then it’s kind of important that you remember. One of my favorite lines from the film shows he’s finally thinking of someone besides himself. “You deserve better than me!” Oh Charlie. Sniffle.

Dakota Goyo plays the part of Max. Get ready for some cheese. This kid grabbed my heart from the beginning and didn’t let go. Cheese over. Yeah, his life pretty much sucks but he didn’t pout about it much. Like I said. He’s a fighter. Dakota was so much fun to watch. I hope he makes it way past being a child star. I think he stands a fighting chance. Get it? Fighting. Okay. I’m done. Their relationship sorta (and I’m stretching a bit here) reminds me of the relationship between Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) and Michael Cutler (David Mendenhall who, by the way, is way cute now!) in the movie Over the Top. Except the acting is better and there is a lot less mumbling. And robot boxing is way cooler than arm wrestling. You know it’s true.

Evangeline Lilly plays Charlie’s love interest, Bailey. If/when you see this you’ll get a glimpse of what I act like during a boxing match. That and she and I look a lot alike. I mean we could be sisters. Stop laughing. Keep reading. This was the first time I’d ever seen Evangeline so I had no biases one way or the other regarding her talent. No. I never saw an episode of Lost. Don’t look so surprised. She is yet another fighter in this movie. She believes in Charlie even when he’s down on his luck. Two more favorite lines in Real Steel? Baily: “1200 miles for a kiss?” Charlie: “Worth it.”

And to wrap up, so to speak, the actors I leave you with Kevin Durand. I strongly disliked him in Real Steel. He is a jerk and a bully and a coward. How can a bully be a coward? Because most bullies are. Kevin plays the part of Ricky, a big-mouthed Texan who, years ago, beat Charlie boxing. We don’t see this happen, thank goodness. We just get to hear about it. Ricky tells Charlie that he’s going to beat him to within an inch of his life if he doesn’t settle up on a bet. And when the whoopin’ takes place it’s not just Ricky doing the beat down. He brings two thugs along with him. And one of them is carrying a bat! C-O-W-A-R-D!!! We know Ricky gets his own at the end but we don’t get to see it happen. Dang. I like Kevin but the accent was a tad thick. He’s one of at least 3 Canadian actors in this film. Just curious, Kevin. Have you ever even been to Texas? Maybe I just haven’t run in to a stereotypical Texan yet.

I can’t move on to the break-down without talking about Atom. I want an Atom. Even though most every other robot in the movie had way more flash I still like the looks of Atom best. He’s very basic. And he’s more than just an inanimate object. We are led to believe that he is cognizant but we don’t really get to see much of that fact except a couple of times in the final fight. And not in the way I was hoping. But, seeing as how the producers came up with a much better fight than I wanted I guess I’m okay with that. Was the final score of the bout fair? You betcha. If you disagree then you definitely need to watch a few real fights.

Now for the break-down.

Sex/Nudity – None. Not even a you-know-it’s-gonna-happen scene

Drinking/Drugs – The movie starts with Charlie knocking over a bottle of beer and other bottles are in the background. And there is at least one other scene in which alcohol is present. I didn’t see any drugs at all. Yea!

Cussing – Yes. And a few of the words came out of Max’s mouth. Seriously? I don’t care that this is supposed to be the boxing world. Was that really necessary Shawn Levy (director) and John Gatins (screenplay)? Is it okay to hope that your kids talk like that in public (or private even)? No. I know it’s not.

Violence – Yes. And I’m not talking about the robots. I refer you to the afore-mentioned butt-whoopin’ scene. Yeah. The robots do beat the stuffin’s out of each other but it’s not the same as watching it happen to people. Charlie even talks about this in the movie.

I just talked to PT and she said she thought it was AWESOME! She said that she (and a lot of the people around her) was on the edge of her seat during the final fight scene. I have to admit that I was too. On the edge of my seat. Not hers. We wouldn’t both fit.

I would recommend this to pretty much anybody. Unless you’re totally hooked on Masterpiece Theater type movies. Because this is not. Parents please see the break-down above when you consider taking your kids to see it. I will say that I sat next to several very fidgety kids who seemed to love it.

I will definitely buy this when it comes out on DVD. I may even have to go to the theater to see it again. Television (okay MY television) just won’t give the robots the magnitude they deserve. I also want the soundtrack. Loved the music!!!

P.S. One thing I really loved about Real Steel is that none of the fight scenes had the hug fests that tend to occur in a lot of human boxing matches. Get a room, guys!

P.P.S. I still think they should have used Michael Buffer in this film.

P. P.P.S. No need to stick around. Nothing to see here but credits. Move along folks.

Dream House

2011-10-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

If you’ve seen the previews for Dream House and you thought what happens is what I thought would happen then you are so wrong. I went to this thinking it would be a good way to kick off my month of scary movies. I chose the wrong movie for that.

According to IMDB: “Soon after moving into their seemingly idyllic new home, a family learns of a brutal crime committed against former residents of the dwelling.”

Kudos to whoever produced the trailer and also to whoever wrote the summary above. You totally set us up to believe something that was completely untrue. I love it!

Because this just came out Friday I’ll try not to give too much away. I will say that the husband and wife are totally dedicated to and love each other. I was worried about this at one point. I was wrong. I don’t know if Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig were already dating when they filmed Dream House but if they weren’t they did an excellent job of seeming as if they were in love.

There are so many things I liked about this movie but I can’t talk about them without giving away important information. Let’s just talk about the characters. Daniel plays book editor Will Atenton, a man who has been married to his job for years and has decided to leave it all to spend more time with his family. Until close to the end of the movie I never questioned his loyalty to his family. He loves his wife and adores his daughters. Well played, Daniel. Oh ! And his contract stipulation in which he bares his chest at least once held up yet again. We get to see his torso at least three times in the film. Woohoo!

Rachel plays Will’s wife, Libby. I’m assuming by the little we know about her that she’s an artist/interior decorator. I so want the plaid chair, by the way. She knows her husband. And by that I mean she really KNOWS her husband. She pays attention. He and their girls are her world. She can tell just by looking at him that he’s worried or possibly keeping something from her even when he’s trying to hide both emotions. Is this typical in most marriages? Sadly, I wouldn’t know. It wasn’t in mine. But that’s beside the point. I wish Rachel and Daniel the same kind of relationship in their real marriage as they had in the movie. Minus the few obstacles.

Libby and Will’s daughters, Trish and Dee Dee, are played by real-life sisters, Taylor and Claire Geare. I would love to be able to sit in on a movie set in which some of the actors are the same age as these girls. I wonder how many takes there were for any scene in which they were involved. I can imagine an adult having the complete attention of a child when it’s just one on one but these girls had to contend with not just their “parents” but also the film crew, probably their real parents and who knows what other distractions. I don’t know that I could do it. Oh wait. I do too. No. I couldn’t. These girls were great in their roles and I hope to see them in other movies.

And as for the title character of the movie… I want that house. Or the way it was at the beginning anyway. So nice. And I want my kids (when I have them) to have secret rooms off their bedrooms. That would be so cool. And I want someone to come decorate it for me because I really do have absolutely no sense of style.

Now on to other important matters. This movie was “Rated PG-13 for violence, terror, some sexuality and brief strong language”. Yup. That about sums it up. I’ll still break it down a little more.

Sex/Nudity – We know sex was had. We just don’t see it happen. The only nudity we see is Daniel’s bare chest.

Drinking/Drugs – There is champagne at the very beginning to celebrate Will’s going away but that’s it. We don’t see much eating or drinking at all during the movie.

Cussing – Yes. And it’s not surprising. You’d cuss too.

Violence – Yes. But not as much as I thought there’d be. The stitched up wound on the back of a character’s head was kinda gross but there’s very little blood and no gore.

Terror – I wouldn’t state it that dramatically. There was one part that made me jump but they show it in the previews so I was ready for it.

I think because of some of the movies PT has already seen that she would probably be okay this one. There was a family at the showing I was at who had children under 10 years of age, one of which looked to be under 5. I most definitely wouldn’t have taken them based solely on the previews and even if they did have all the facts I still think it should have been too much for kids their age. Maybe I should start fighting for theaters to actually enforce the ratings ages. If you’re under 13 you can’t go see PG-13 movies. If you’re under 17 you can’t see anything rated R. Whether you’re accompanied by an adult or not. I’m betting that wouldn’t go over too well with some parents.

Despite the rant above I would totally recommend this to anyone who likes a good thriller. If you’re like me and want to see something scary…not so much. Just get out of that mind set and you’ll probably like it. I did.

P.S. There is no reason to hang around through the credits unless you just want to.

Dolphin Tale

2011-10-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

Unless you are completely against feel-good type movies you really need to go see Dolphin Tale. I was drawn in to this movie from the beginning and was so disappointed when the credits started rolling. I wanted to see more.

Dolphin Tale is the [inspired by the] true story of Winter, a bottlenose dolphin who was injured when she became caught in a crab trap, and the boy (Sawyer) who helped rescue her. Going solely by the title of the movie this is just about Winter but it’s really about so much more. This story has many other personal triumphs too. Sawyer is a seemingly shy, closed-off boy who finds something to speak up for. Kyle is his cousin who is encouraged to carry on and find new dreams. Dr. Clay is the marine biologist who overcomes personal tragedy to help Winter survive. Dr. McCarthy is a prosthetic doctor who, while working to give Winter a tail, revolutionizes the prosthetic industry. And! The evil hotel tycoon isn’t really what he seems.

I’m really only going to focus on one actor/character this time. Nathan Gamble. He played the part of Sawyer Nelson, champion to stranded dolphins and fire beneath wayward cousins. Comparatively speaking, he didn’t have a lot of lines in this movie but when he did say something things happened. He fought to be able to take care of Winter. His mom listened. He yelled at his cousin to wake up (metaphorically speaking) and he did. He wanted to raise awareness and money for Winter and the entire town came together. Although Nathan didn’t get to say that much he was easy to believe as the loner kid who just needed something special to bring him in to his own. He needs to be in more movies. And he needs being a celebrity to not affect him.

There are some sad scenes in this movie but you pretty much know that going in to it. I was so glad I wore a long-sleeved shirt as I cried a little during the sad parts and a little more during the happy ones. Big baby. Let me tell you though, it is SO not easy to dry your eyes on the cuff of your shirt when you’re reaching under regular glasses and 3D glasses. Speaking of 3D…the opening scene is so cool.

This is definitely a movie for kids. I don’t recall hearing any cussing. There is a little blood on Winter’s tail and mouth but it’s just for a second and it’s not gory. There is no alcohol and no sex/nudity. I really do think this movie is for pretty much anybody. I do recommend researching the true story ahead of time if you don’t already know it. I didn’t know a thing about it and checked it out after I got home. They definitely Hollywood-ized it. But it’s still an inspiring story.

Movie List - September 2011

2011-10-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

Wow! this month's list of movies is really sad. Either I forgot to write down a few or I've been too busy for movies. Too busy for movies??? Well, that's just un-American, is what that is!

1) Moneyball
2) Straw Dogs
3) Colombiana
4) Shark Night 3D - I considered blogging about this but decided that since all I could think of to say was, "WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!" I refrained from posting anything. This is so bad that it's not even teen slumber party worthy. I was a tad upset with the family that was close to me in the theater . This was the after 10:00 p.m. showing and the entire family was in attendance. Including at least three kids who were way under 10 years of age. What on Earth were the parents thinking?
5) I Don't Know How She Does It - I didn't post on this one either. Not because I hated it but because I forgot to. Oops. But those of you who know me know that this movie might as well be the story of my life. Okay now. When you're finished laughing hysterically...

Colombiana

2011-09-29T21:39:00.001-07:00

Of the three movies I watched the night of my “people in dire straits” marathon I liked this one the best. I really like Zoe Saldana. She’s living proof of why you don’t mess with little women.

Anonymous summed up the movie on IMDB as “A young woman grows up to be a stone-cold assassin after witnessing her parents' murder as a child in Bogota. She works for her uncle as a hitman by day, but her personal time is spent engaging in vigilante murders that she hopes will lead her to her ultimate target - the mobster responsible for her parents' death.”

I am so going to bag on whoever wrote this. I hope it’s none of the three or four people who claim to read my blog. This person very obviously missed the Movie Summation 101 class in which everyone learned that if someone is one thing by day they must be something else by night. And that should be hit person. Just kidding. Sorta. And I so so so so love the use of “stone-cold” as an oft-used adjective for film characters. Insert sarcasm font here.

And now for how Anonymous was wrong. Cataleya (Zoe) is a hit man/person/woman but the people she’s “hitting” are the ones who played a part (even if it was teensy tinesy) in her parents’ murder. The only thing she does that is not condoned by her uncle is she leaves a calling card of sorts. She decorates the “victims’” bodies with the flower after which she’s named. Yeah. Not so smart.

How was the acting in this film? Not too bad for what it was. What on earth does that mean? It’s an action-y film. No one expects the acting to be Oscar worthy. Well, they don’t. Okay, I don’t. I have no idea what you expect.

I loved young Cataleya. This girl was one tough cookie. I wish she’d been in the movie longer. And I loved how the movie peeps didn’t make her “stone cold” at the beginning. Sure, she held it together during her escape but cries it out when she’s safe in the arms of her uncle. Awwwww! And older Cataleya isn’t as stone cold as Anonymous would like you to believe. She loves her grandma and her uncle and seems to really care for her boyfriend/lover/whatever (so romantic, no?).

Some of the scenes left me scratching my head (figuratively) or giggling at the blatant irony. At the beginning of the movie when the bad guys are coming to kill the family, Cataleya’s dad leaves her sitting at the dining table while he and the Mrs. go to face the intruders at the front of the house. But wait! There’s more! Not only is she left sitting in plain sight, he’s also just given her something important that she needs to see safely in to the hands of someone at the American embassy. He hasn’t exactly set things up so that this can be done easily. Nice planning, dad. It’s not ruining anything to let you know that she escaped. If she didn’t this would be a very short movie.

Another scene shows Cataleya going to “hit” one of the bad guys who just happens to have a glass-covered shark pool on his patio. Even if you haven’t seen the movie yet you pretty much know where this is going, don’t you? If you know that someone is in your home to harm you DO NOT GO ANYWHERE NEAR THE SHARK POOL! And certainly don’t stand in the middle of the glass. This is good to remember if you’re ever in that situation. I’m just sayin’.

This is another movie in which foreshadowing occurred that I was really really really hoping wasn’t foreshadowing. It involves her family. I’ll leave it at that.

Colombiana is “Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, intense sequences of action, sexuality and brief strong language”. I would’ve rated it R just because I wouldn’t want PT or anyone around her age to watch something like this.

The breakdown is simple: Sex/Nudity (partial), Drinking, Cussing, Violence? Yes, to all. IMDB lets people comment in the “Parents Guide” about each topic. The following was said about the cussing. “At least 1 F-word (9 in the international version), 1 not fully enunciated F-word, 13 scatological terms (1 mild), 2 anatomical terms, 6 mild obscenities, name-calling (stupid, crazy, idiot, bad apple), 1 religious profanity, 8 religious exclamations.” I am SO going to use “scatological” in a sentence some day.

I would recommend this movie if you’re wanting to watch an action/revenge/romance type movie and you’re over 17. Otherwise…not so much.

Straw Dogs

2011-09-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

What can I say about this movie? Let’s see. I guess the question I should actually ask is, “What can I say nice about this movie?” The answer is…not much. This wasn’t at the top of my I-really-want-to-see-this list but I was determined to have myself a little movie marathon and this is what was showing. The other two movies I saw that night were Colombiana and Shark Night 3D. Nope. It was not a good night for a marathon. Unless you’re talking about running…and we’re not.

Let’s hear from IMDB:

” L.A. screenwriter David Sumner relocates with his wife to her hometown in the deep South. There, while tensions build between them, a brewing conflict with locals becomes a threat to them both.”

Seriously. Do the people who write these summaries actually watch the movies? The first statement is correct. The rest is most definitely reversed. And don’t get me started on the trailer. Gah!!!

This came out a few weeks ago so, once again, I’m hoping that everyone who is going to see this has because I’m going to totally ruin it for those of you who haven’t. Following is my attempt to sum up better than the IMDB person did.

David does move himself and his wife to her hometown of Blackwater, Mississippi so that he can work on a screenplay. Soon after arriving, David hires Amy’s ex-boyfriend, Charlie, and some of his friends to fix the roof of Amy’s late dad’s barn. Are you still with me? David doesn’t quite hit it off with the townsfolk in that he thinks they’re simple and they think he’s a snob. When Charlie and the gang go beyond just taunting David, Amy labels him a coward. The couple later come to the aid of the town pariah thus inciting an attack by the boys and a local ex-football coach/drunk/bully.

Yeah, so mine had a few more words anyway.

Let’s talk about why I didn’t like this movie. It’s ridiculous! We’ll start with Amy. We find out a ways in that something bad happened to her when she was dating Charlie but we never really find out what. I’m figuring she was raped. Whatever it was, she very obviously never mentioned this to David. First, I think I would definitely include that in the “need to know” information packet before I left home. Second, I most definitely wouldn’t return to the town if the same people involved still live there! Then! She taunts the men who are constantly leering at her by undressing in front of them. Good decision!!! I don’t believe that women who are raped are “asking for it” because of the way they’re dressed, or undressed as the case may be, but come on! And then after we see her get raped she doesn’t say anything to David or anyone else for that matter. Get these guys in jail for the love of Pete! And she does call David a coward because he won’t stand up to these guys. These four strappin’ guys with power tools and guns.

Now for David. Amy does have the teeniest bit of a point. He does allow some things that a lot of people normally wouldn’t. One of the crew walks in to David and Amy’s house and helps himself to a beer from the fridge and then stands there and chats up David. I’m sorry. I don’t give a fig for local custom. Get.Out.Of.My.House! You keep your door unlocked all you want. I’ll use the dead bolt, thank you very much. And I’m guessing the tag line, “Everyone has a breaking point” is supposed to apply to him. I just don’t believe he came to a breaking point. He was defending his home and his wife. He never seemed out of his mind. In fact, he made some very intelligent moves in that defense. I’m not real crazy about how Charlie dies but David most definitely used what was handy.

And now for the part I hated the most but so saw coming. They killed the cat!!! Rude.

The acting is really not worth discussing. It wasn’t the worst I’ve seen but nowhere near the best. In all fairness, though, to the movie itself and the acting, I had had a really REALLY bad day and thought that seeing movies in which people were in dire straits (not the rock band) would help me put things in perspective. Unfortunately, a couple paid $8 per ticket so that they could sit down the row from me and talk. Through the entire movie. You think I exaggerate. While that is true on occasion, this time I did not. And they were using their outside voices. I did finally get fed up and politely asked them to stop talking. They had a few choice words for me from which I couldn’t walk away. Right? Right? Hello? So. I was frustrated going in and angry during. Just not a good combination. Did you need to know all that? I think so. Will I see this again when I’m in a calmer frame of mind. No. Despite the negativity on my part at that particular time I still don’t think I’d like this movie.

Now let’s talk about the rating. This was “Rated R for strong brutal violence including a sexual attack, menace, some sexual content, and pervasive language.” Amen to that. There is absolutely no reason a child should be brought to this movie. None. I will go ahead and break it down though.

Sex/Nudity. Partial nudity, sexual innuendo and a rape scene.

Drinking/Drugs. Lots and LOTS of drinking. I don’t recall drugs but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any.

Cussing. Oh crap yeah. And then some.

Violence. Please see answer above.

If you’ve seen the original film with Dustin Hoffman or have read the book (The Siege of Trencher’s Farm) I might recommend this version just to see how it adds up. If you haven’t done either of those things then I suggest almost anything else. Almost. I’m considering reading the book just to see if it’s any better. It’s got to be.

Moneyball

2011-09-14T22:43:00.000-07:00

Omigosh! I officially have a new movie to add to my favorite sports movie list. I'll try to remember to post that list soon. Leann and I went to see Moneyball and it is so so so so good. And did I mention...? Since we went to the pre-screening I'm not going to ruin it any more than life or the trailers did.

Leann mentioned that she had just recently heard about Moneyball whereas I've seen the trailer many MANY times since I am a movie freak and go to the theater more often. This is one I'd been anxiously awaiting and I definitely would not have minded paying for it. I guess that makes it that much better since it was free. Wahoo!

I should mention that I'm a baseball fan. Let me rephrase. I like to watch baseball. Let's try again. I like to watch certain teams and I tend to not care about any others. So! If you aren't playing the Rockies or the Redhawks you are not on my radar. I tell you this to say that I had no idea how this movie was going to turn out. Was I happy with how it ended? Not gonna tell ya. Oh! And I also need to mention that while I am a fan of baseball I enjoy it purely for the fun of watching. Do not ask me for stats. I won't be able to answer with even a teensy tinesy shred of confidence. It just won't happen. It's true.

This movie was all about the stats. Let's hear for a sec from IMDB:

"The story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players."

Yup. That pretty much sums it up. They went completely by the numbers and not by popularity. I think I said that right. It's almost like the baseball version of The Replacements in that these were players that pretty much no team wanted. Some had knee injuries. One had a real weird, but effective, way of pitching (I need to see if he still plays. I would love to watch one of his games). Some were getting on up there in age. I hate that last sentence because the player I'm talking about was 36. But that's OLD in sports. One was a catcher who got turned in to a first baseman. Craziness! Why did the Oakland A's or, more to the point, Billy Beane want these guys? Because they could get on base. And that's way important in baseball. Yeah. I knew you knew that. I was just sayin'.

I could go on and on about the movie itself but I won't. I'll just give you the down low (yeah, I said it) on a few of the actors. Let's begin with Robin Wright. Why on earth did she get top billing? She's in the movie for about 5 minutes. Big woo! Moving on. Brad Pitt was great as Billy Beane. I say that knowing nothing about Billy but I'm guessing that he had some say in how he was portrayed. Not only did we get to see what a good GM he turned out to be but we got to see what a great dad he was as well. The music store scene about did me in.

Jonah Hill played the Assistant GM, Peter Brand. I haven't really liked him in other movies but I did in this one. Peter is basically the man behind the madness. He's the analyst who gets "recruited" by Billy. His figures decided who was going to be on the team. And he was loyal. Holy cow was he loyal! Once again, not knowing the real person I think Jonah was really good in this role. I hope he gets more roles like this and less stupid comedy.

Kerris Dorsey plays the part of Billy's daughter, Casey. I really REALLY want to know if that was actually her singing in the movie. It was so good! And I loved her rapport with Brad Pitt. I could totally believe them as father and daughter. I hope she is in many many more movies.

And finally, Philip Seymour Hoffman. In Twister he was annoying but somewhat likeable. In several other films he was just kind of meh (or so so if you will). The movie Capote is the reason I've had trouble watching him in anything else. I saw only an hour of it and it was one of the most emotionally painful hours of my life. Okay, that was a tad dramatic. I've had far more emotionally painful hours but that's the way it felt at the time. I was determined that I was going to like Moneyball despite him. I didn't have to. I liked him. Yea! I didn't like his character much at first but he was entertaining to watch. He is expected to take the new system on faith and he just doesn't do it. I can totally see his side of the argument but, of course, I was rooting for Billy and Pete.

Since a lot of you haven't seen this yet I'm going to jump on to the break down.

Cussing? Yup. There was. And the big ones too. It was mostly in the first half of the movie. The main reason I even noticed is because I saw two very young children a couple rows in front of me before the movie started. This movie is rated PG-13 and they were nowhere near this age. Grrr!!!

Sex/Nudity? Nope.

Drinking/Drugs? Drinking. No drugs but marijuana is mentioned.

Violence/Blood/Gore? Billy gets really angry and throws things but that's the worst that happens.

Whether you like baseball or not I recommend this movie. I think it'll be interesting and fun for most anyone. I will definitely buy the DVD when it comes out. Go see this if you have the chance. It's a good way to spend a couple hours. And I'm thinking at least one Oscar. Maybe?

P.S. There is no reason to sit through the credits unless you just happen to be sitting right in front of the projector and decide you want to make bunny rabbit shadow puppets on the screen. But I don't know anyone who would do anything so unmature (as one of my relatives has been heard to say).

Movie List - August 2011

2011-09-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

I have completely slacked on my blog this month. I did see 5 movies at the theater and only blogged on one. Shame shame. I'll give really REALLY brief comments in my list.

1) Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2) Rio
3) The Help - if you haven't seen this, you should. Very, very, very good movie. Some cussing with GD and $#!+ leading the way. I noticed it more because P.T. was sitting right next to me. Went with mom, Armat and P.T. We all laughed. We all cried. Mom clapped. I love going to the movies with her. That was NOT sarcasm.
4) Fright Night - this was SO 80s. This may sound a tad irresponsible considering the cussing and violence but I would totally recommend this for teenage slumber parties. If you grew up in the 80s you know what I'm talking about. This ranks right up (down???) there with the Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th films. Violent cheese.
5) Conan: The Barbarian - Good effects. Very sexist. Men will LOVE this movie. Especially the ending. Much nudity. Much violence. Not a movie for kids.
6) One Day - Anne Hathaway stayed clothed...for the most part. She does go skinny dipping but you can't see anything. This movie was painful to watch. It was a combination of When Harry Met Sally and (a little bit of) City of Angels. Was very angry at the end. If you haven't seen this...don't.
7) The Last of the Mohicans
8) The American President
9) The Last Airbender - I didn't see this in the theater but I'm going to comment anyway. I think I'm one of the few people who liked this. A little bit anyway. The acting wasn't great and I have a feeling that a lot of the people who didn't like it have actually watched the cartoon...er, pardon me...anime' and it didn't measure up. What really stinks is that they set it up to have sequels. Apparently the producers thought it was going to do way better than it did. Bummer.
10) Twilight
11) New Moon
12) Eclipse
13) The Lake House
14) Tombstone
15) Wyatt Earp
16) Moulin Rouge
17) Mulan
18) Sweet Home Alabama

Gumbo with Chicken and Andouille Sausage

2011-08-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

Spike and I have only made this two or three times since we’ve known each other and I’m not sure why we don’t make it more often. Because I.Love.It!!! This recipe calls for 3 cups of okra and Spike likes to use his home grown veggies. Usually we have plenty to choose from but this being Oklahoma you just never know. By this time of year for the past few years (I think that makes sense) Spike’s okra has been taller than he is and he is NOT a short fella. Right now his plants come up to my knees. Height-wise. Not in the creepy, crawly, they’re about to take me down sense. So, since there’s not much hope for a bountiful crop and he didn’t want what he’d already cut to go bad he asked if I wanted Gumbo. Uh…yeah!

Oh! And I should mention that Spike found this recipe on the Razzle Dazzle Recipe site. I looked it up so I could make sure I give you the correct ingredients and found that they credit Rachael Ray. Our (read “My”) changes are in brackets []so you’ll know what we (I) did. I tend lately to just glance at recipes and then do my own thing. This frustrates Spike. Poor Spike. In fact, he just walked in and is mumbling about that very thing.

And before we get started, Spike wanted me to take a picture of his cooktop. He loves his cooktop. It's usually the cleanest part of his kitchen.

And without further ado:

Gumbo with Chicken and Andouille Sausage

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 pound chicken breast tenders, diced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced (or use 2 pounds chicken breast tenders, diced)
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 1/2 pounds andouille sausage, casings removed and diced [we used 2 andouille and one mystery sausage from the freezer that Spike thinks might have been boudin]
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ribs celery from the heart of the stalk, chopped
2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried [oops…we forgot to add this]
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup hot cayenne pepper sauce (for mild to moderate heat) [no mild or moderate for Spike. He should buy stock in the cayenne pepper company]
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart chicken stock or broth
3 cups chopped okra, fresh or defrosted frozen [Spike says that frozen just does NOT do the trick]
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, in puree
3 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme leaves, several sprigs [Spike’s thyme plant kicked the bucket so we had to used dried. It’s just not the same]
8 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
2 1/2 cups white enriched rice prepared to package directions
[Most of you would call this rice. I call it how I annoy Spike by using liquid indredient measuring cups to measure dry goods. Engineers are so fun to cook with]

Preheat a large heavy-bottomed [this makes me giggle] pot over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil, one turn of the pan, [I did not turn the pan. For that matter, I didn’t add the oil either. Spike was not happy. He added the oil soon after the chicken went in and made me segregate them until the oil heated up] and 1 pound of the diced chicken. Season with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of poultry seasoning [Spike had me do this before I put it in the skillet]. Brown on all sides, about 2 or 3 minutes.

Chop your veggies while it's cooking [Spike chopped veggies while I cooked the chicken and sausage and took pictures of him chopping veggies].

Add half the andouille to the pan and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer chicken and sausage to a dish and repeat with remaining chicken and sausage, remembering to season the diced chicken as you go [or before].

Return pan to heat and add butter. When the butter melts, add chopped celery, peppers, onion and bay leaves. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce.

[Let me take a minute to tell you how much I strongly dislike chopping onions. I would say that I hate it but, come on people! You shouldn’t hate. I was very glad Spike took this task to hand. And what a fine job he did.]

Cook 3 to 5 minutes to begin to soften veggies. [Before and After. Pretty either way]

Add flour and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly stir in the broth and bring liquid up to a boil [this looked gross so I deleted the pics instead of sharing]. Add okra, chicken and sausage to the boiling broth,

then stir in tomatoes and half of the fresh thyme.

Bring back up to a bubble, reduce to simmer [look at all the colors!].

Simmer for 5 minutes to combine flavors and adjust your seasonings. Serve gumbo with chopped thyme and scallions [Blech! But Spike put some on his] to garnish.

[This is the thyme we had to use instead of the fresh stuff. So, I guess you could say Spike has Thyme in a bottle. Thank you! I'll be here all night!]

Scoop cooked white rice into the center of bowlfuls of gumbo using an ice cream scoop [or just a big spoon]. Serves 8 to 10. The rest of the comments are all me so no more brackets.

The perfect bite! Doesn’t that look all kinds of delicious?

This is what my bowl looked like when I was finished.

This is what Spike’s bowl looked like when I was finished and made him dump what I had left in to his bowl. What?

And this is what was left after we each had one helping and Spike had seconds (not a full helping). This skillet is ginormous!

If you've got a big family this recipe is perfect for you. If it's just for two of you be prepared for leftovers. Spike has no problem with leftovers and this is another meal I don't mind reheating.

Spike has just informed me that okra is used in Gumbo as a veggie AND a thickener. Who knew? So, if you're like me and can't stand slimy okra (which it wasn't this time) use it anyway and then pick it out. Seriously though. I can't stand onions or non-fried okra (it's a texture thing) but I left them both in. There're so many different flavors going on you'll never even notice. If you're adamant about not having okra in your Gumbo (but what is Gumbo without it?) then use file'. Spike said that is sassafrass leaves or something like that. I think he just likes saying sassafrass. Or I do. Sassafrass!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

2011-08-05T01:34:00.000-07:00

When I was a young child, (yes, PT, I was young once. I have pictures to prove it.) I watched the original Planet of the Apes. Not all at once, mind you. Even as someone who loved movies that tended to be a tad cheesy, I couldn’t make it all the way through. I still don’t recall whether or not I’ve seen the ending. This was another film (such as Flash Gordon and Logan’s Run) that was played often on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Any time it was on I’d try to make it through. I ended up only watching bits and pieces. I just couldn’t take it. I had no such problems with Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

I went to the midnight showing (shocking, I know). I wasn’t able to come home after work and take a nap this time. I just wasn’t tired. Then. I also wasn’t feeling one hundred percent. And I very nearly decided to stay home and just catch the movie tomorrow (well, today now) afternoon. By the time I got settled in my seat at the theater I was getting kinda sleepy. I wondered before it even started whether or not I’d be able to stay awake. That wasn’t even an issue. They had me from hello.

Let’s see what IMDB has to say:

“An origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.”

That’s mostly true. You’ll see at the end of the movie how they kinda missed the mark. What they managed to leave out of the description above – and all the trailers I saw – was why the scientist was adamant about creating this drug. And I’m not going to tell you either.

I am completely against animal testing so I was on the side of the chimpanzees from the get go. I understand the good scientists reasoning but I still can’t condone it. How else would we test medicines if not on animals, you ask? I have no idea. I certainly don’t want to be that guinea pig, so to speak. And I kept expecting to be forced to side with the humans at some point. It never happened.

This is usually the point in which I start talking about how good the actors/characters were but they all paled in comparison to Caesar, the main ape, played by Andy Serkis. If Andy’s name doesn’t sound familiar, it should. He played Gollum in the LOTR movies. And did a very creepy job of it if I may say so. Caesar is, without a doubt, the star of this film. There was never a point in which I didn’t like him. There were times when his features appeared almost too human but since I am incapable of creating special effects on a large scale, (or at all for that matter) who am I to complain? I did like that you see how intelligent he is. All the other apes are zombies compared to him. At first.

Speaking of Special Effects…Oh.My.Goodness! This has to win some type of award. I guess if it doesn’t I can make one up for them. It’d be a golden TV tray or theater seat or something like that.

I was left with a few questions but I guess I can forgive them for that. For instance, why didn’t the guys tell anyone why Bright Eyes went ape? Tee hee. Sorry about that. Couldn’t help myself. And when the money man told the scientist that he’d get him whatever he needed to further his studies, why didn’t said scientist ask for Caesar? I know, I know. Things wouldn’t have ended the way they did. If that’s the case, though, they should have left that line out. I should totally be a film editor. I’m just sayin’.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

Cursing – I’m ashamed to admit that I have no idea. I was so completely wrapped up in the movie that I didn’t notice. There were a couple parts in the climactic scene where you’d think there would have been a word or twenty but it didn’t happen. I really do think they kept it clean.

Sex/Nudity – Only the apes are naked and no one has sex. That we see or hear. Or assume.

Drinking/Drugs – We see beer but we don’t see anyone drinking it.

Violence – Yes. And lots of it. The blood is kept to a minimum, though, and it wasn’t gory.

Intense scenes – Yes again. The apes are treated poorly in the “sanctuary”. Okay, poorly is putting it nicely. They are abused. During the fight at the end several people are killed.

We know from the original films that the apes eventually take over but I didn’t really want to see that happen. And I didn’t want to see Caesar kill anyone. I didn’t want to see any of the apes kill anyone. It does happen though. Yet still I was rooting for Caesar. I even teared up a couple times as did another woman in the theater. She was about halfway up the section and I was at the very top and I could hear her crying. But I understood.

And let me just add real quick the ending I had playing in my head during the climactic scene. Will, the scientist, who still loves his friend Caesar, is determined to protect him. When the policeman in the helicopter lines up to fire at Caesar, Will jumps in front of him and is shot instead. As Will dies in Caesar's arms we see the hatred grow on Caesar's face. Instead of leaving the humans to their own devices, thus begins the war between apes and humans. Is this what happens? Again...I'm not telling.

I was going to say that I recommend this for pretty much anyone. I think Transformers was much more violent and had worse language (that I noticed). The only difference is the apes are much more believable to a young child than robots in disguise would be. I mean really. How many real robots who turn in to cars have your children seen compared to the number of chimps, orangutans, etc.? I thought so. But I believe it is a judgment call on the part of parents/guardians/relatives/whatever. Will I go see this again? Yes and yes and yes. I loved it. Maybe now I can go back and finish the original movies. Ummmm...I don't think so.

P.S. The only “extra” thing happens at the very beginning of the credits. Once the yellow lines are finished you may go home. You have my permission.

P.P.S. Does anyone besides me find it funny that the puppeteer who “played” the young Caesar goes by the name of Richard Darwin? No? Just me? Okay.

P.P.P.S. (Sorry about all the last minute thoughts) As much as I liked this movie I really hope they don't create a sequel. There's just no way to avoid the cheese factor.

Movie List - July 2011

2011-08-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

I could have sworn I saw more movies this month if for no other reason than to escape the heat. I did manage to see all but 2 movies that were listed as showing last week at my local theater. No, I didn't watch them all last week. They were showing last...nevermind...you get the point.

1) Monte Carlo
2) Whip It (the 2nd half anyway)
3) Zookeeper
4) Friends with Benefits
5) H.P. and the D.H.: Part 2
6) LOTR:ROTK (if you need a translation then you're just not cool like me)
7) The Proposal
8) Beastly (Got if for my birthday!)
9) Horrible Bosses
10) Bad Teacher
11) Winnie the Pooh
12) Space Camp
13) Captain America: The First Avenger
14) Cowboys & Aliens
15) Crazy, Stupid, Love

Pesto with Chicken and Fettuccine

2011-07-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

I have been craving chicken lately. A LOT!!! So Spike humored me and we made Pesto w/ Chicken and Fettuccine tonight. Yum! Since Spike was involved in the process I actually have exact measurements for you this time. What can I say? He’s an engineer.

Cast of Characters:

2 C. fresh basil leaves, packed
¼ C. parmesan cheese
½ C. olive oil
3 T. pine nuts or walnuts (I prefer pine nuts but he didn’t have any so walnuts it was)
3 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 chicken breasts
Season (whatever you prefer)
Fettuccine

First of all, plant basil in the Spring and wait for it to get big, dark green leaves. Then, if you’re having the kind of summer Oklahoma is enjoying, try to find decent, unwithered leaves to use in your pesto. If you don’t have basil plants or yours have withered away in to nothingness you can go to the store and get “fresh” basil. Let me warn you though. It’ll cost you unless you just happen to know where to get a lot…cheap. I know of no such place so straight to the back yard we go.

Second, toast your nuts (insert witty comment here). Spike usually burns these because he tries to work on other things at the same time but he stayed put tonight and they turned out just fine.

Put about 1/3 of your basil in a food processor and chop until you have teensy tinesy pieces. Add 1/3 of the garlic and nuts, blend again. Add 1/3 of the cheese (Spike didn't have parm so we used romano instead) and blend while slowly adding 1/3 of the olive oil.

That last bit is what the recipe says to do. Spike just stops the processor and adds the oil. I don’t think it matters either way. Stop on occasion to scrape down the sides of the container. Blend until you have a thick, smooth paste.

Repeat until all ingredients, minus the chicken, seasoning and fettuccine, have been added.

Set aside while you cook your pasta and chicken.

I wasn’t going to take pictures of the pasta but I guess I was beginning to annoy Spike by sticking the camera right in front of what he was working on and he decided to be cute. “Are you gonna take a picture of the water boiling?” Why yes…yes, I am.

And the pasta in the boiling water too.

So there. Ha! I sure showed him.

While your pasta is boiling go ahead and cook your chicken. I like mine just a little golden on the outside.

I also like to sneak a couple pieces while Spike is in his back yard cutting more basil. This is the seasoning I used on the chicken. It was pretty tasty.

Add a tablespoon or two of the pesto mixture to your pasta and chicken once they're in the individual pasta bowls. Or add more. It's all a matter of taste. If you like, you can top it with more cheese. This may not look very appetizing to some of you but I assure you it is delicious!

And this is what your bowl should look like at the end of the meal. Happy eating!

Oh! Just a warning…don’t fix this for a date unless you’re to the "comfortable with each other" stage. Nothing says, “There’s no chance on God’s green earth I’m kissing you any time soon,” like green bits in your teeth. I would mention garlic breath but if you’re both eating it then who cares?

Cowboys & Aliens

2011-07-29T02:07:00.000-07:00

Question…Why is it more believable for aliens to attack Earth in modern times than for them to have attacked during the days of the Wild, Wild West? Could they not have had the technology back then? Did we learn nothing from Transformers? Get past the whole unbelievability and you might actually enjoy Cowboys & Aliens.

I am at the midnight showing with about 14 other people. So sad. I’m hoping, once again, that it’s the theater location that is keeping away the masses and not the movie itself. Maybe Quail Springs did a lot better.

It appears that the critics are divided regarding Cowboys & Aliens. At least one of them used some very rude words to describe his loathing. After watching the movie myself I’ve decided he must have gone in with the mind set that he was going to hate it. Another critic said that he bases his like/dislike for a movie on whether or not he felt immersed in it. You know, when a movie is so good you completely forget what is going on around you? He didn’t feel immersed in the film. Well, too bad. Because I did. For the most part. There were people in the theater who apparently forgot they were in public. But, what can you do?

Following is the IMDB description:

“The Old West.. where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world. 1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It's a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been...” Written by Universal Pictures

It’s sort of right. This person took some literary license. I wonder if this was written by the same person who summed up Priest. They seem to work on the throw-more-adjectives-at-people-and-they’ll-go-see-this theory.

Daniel Craig is good as the gunslinger (Jake Lonergan) who loses his memory because of alien mind-control and becomes a better person for it. Hey! I don’t make this stuff up. I just report it. Actually, there is a lot of this throughout the film. People start out mean or gruff but by the end are big ol’ teddy bears. Actually, we never really see that Jake was ever mean. He just robbed coaches. Is a man’s personality defined by his actions? It is? Okay. Because of the “bracelet” he’s been stuck with - that just happens to shoot down UFOs - he becomes the leader of the Earthlings who go off to fight the big, bad aliens. And does a fine job of it too. And, not that I mind, but is it part of all Daniel’s contracts that he must take his shirt off in every movie in which he’s involved? Just curious.

Harrison Ford plays the part of Woodrow Dolarhyde (pronounced Dollarhide). That name made me groan. His Indian name must be He Who Owns Everything As Far As The Eye Can See. But, if this is going to be one of just a few complaints about this movie then I’m okay with that. Woodrow is one of the characters who you dislike at the beginning but change your mind about by the end. He’s just misunderstood. As much as I like Harrison it still made me giggle that his version of a domineering cattle baron is someone who just frowns a lot and talks like he’s been smoking for the past 40 years. Or maybe he was just channeling Clint Eastwood. I’m going to give away part of the movie here because I feel like sharing. If you don’t want to know, don’t read the rest of this paragraph. At one point in the movie I was pretty sure good ol’ Woodrow was not going to make it to the credits. It seemed like some major foreshadowing. I was wrong. He does make it. And with flying colors. Yea Harrison!

Olivia Wilde plays the part of Ella Swenson, a woman who looks to Jake for assistance in avenging her people. I don’t know what it is about movies lately but it appears that the days of the damsel in distress are no more. While this is probably a good thing I do hope movies are still made in which a woman can use the support of a man. What? I’m a romantic! I am misleading you a bit, though. There is a scene in which she has to completely put herself in to Jake’s keeping but only because she’s been injured. But men were helping injured men throughout the film so this instance doesn’t really count. Her character is strong yet sensitive. Sort of like Demi Moore in G.I. Jane. One of my favorite girl-power movies. Just to keep you from thinking that this movie completely strayed from the sexist Wild West attitude I offer you the following line muttered by the pastor as the posse is riding out to track the aliens: “Got a kid and a dog. Why not a woman?” Jerk.

I liked so many of the actors in Cowboys & Aliens that to mention all of them would take up way too much space. I do want to mention a couple of my favorite lines from the movie though. When coming upon a steamboat that isn’t where it should be and is definitely not right side up we hear, “I don’t know much about boats but that one’s upside down.” Thank you King Obvious! And when one of the outlaws tells Jake he wants the gold that was kept from him, Jake informs him, “Demons took your gold. When you get to Hell you can ask for it back.” Every Western needs a line like that. There was another line that I loved but it contained a word I don’t feel like typing on a somewhat family-friendly blog. If you watch the movie it’s in the scene in which the pastor is teaching the doctor/bartender how to shoot.

And now for the breakdown:

Cussing? Yes. At least one of each but, strange enough, hardly any of it was during the battle scenes.

Sex/Nudity? No sex. Ella is nude in one scene but we only know this because we see her nekkid back and part of her tuckus. That is it. Oh, and Jake is shirtless in one scene.

Drinking/Drugs? Definitely drinking but no drugs. There’re also a few scenes in which people smoke cigarettes but you just can’t have a good Western without smokers somewhere in it, right?

Violence? Oh yeah. And quite a bit of it is icky.

Disturbing scenes? At the very beginning we see men with scalps looped around their saddle horn. And not just the hair part either. We get to see the nasty skin part. Yuck! We see a decimated herd of cattle. Blood spatter on a window. Indians throw a corpse on a fire (I didn’t like it because of who it was). A woman is slowly disintegrated by the aliens. The aliens stab people with their long, nasty claws. And so on and so forth. And there are a couple of “jump out at you” scenes, darn them. Fortunately, you pretty much know there’s a good chance of it happening. You just don’t know exactly when. Also, horses get thrown around and are blown up. I’m not sure whether I should be worried that this bothered me just a little more than the people getting blown up. Maybe it’s just because the animals didn’t choose to be in that situation.

My only other complaint besides Harrison Ford’s character name is that the movie left us with some unanswered questions. I really hate that. To put my questions here would ruin more of the movie and that’s just not how I roll. For the most part.

This movie was “Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of western and sci-fi action and violence, some partial nudity and a brief crude reference” - IMDB. There were actually a few crude references but I have a feeling the one they are talking about is the one I won’t mention. I completely agree with the rating. The violence is just too intense in some scenes. I, yet again, appeal to your protective nature (I’m just assuming here) to go see this before you take your kids. Other than that, I would recommend this for anyone who likes sci-fi action movies. I would say I recommend it for people who like Westerns but that’s really just a setting and not the be all end all of this film. I think that makes sense. Basically, it’s an aliens vs. humans movie using guns, spears and arrows (and one really cool “bracelet”) instead of M-16s and nukes.

P.S. No need to stay through the credits for anything other than to see who worked on the film and hear the music. Speaking of music, I LOVED the opening score. Wild West music on electric guitar! Wahoo!

P.P.S. I want a dog like the one in Cowboys & Aliens.

P.P.P.S. I didn’t originally intend to leave this as my final thought but I wanted to mention that the writers managed to squeeze in a few Christian moments. The pastor doesn’t just sew people up/teach people how to shoot and send them on their way. He actually witnesses to them too. I’m not sure how that was kept off the cutting room floor but I’m glad it was.

Horrible Bosses

2011-07-27T23:22:00.001-07:00

I would really like to know if any of you have seen Horrible Bosses and what you thought of it. I only paid $4 to see this movie and I strongly believe that was $4 too much. Anyone who really knows me knows that I tend to have a teensy tinesy bit of an immature sense of humor but this just didn’t do anything for me. I had every intention of saying that only boys would like this but a woman in the theater ruined that for me. She was cracking up through the whole thing. I will admit that there were some funny parts. They are called Out takes (is that one word or two?). My next post will be about Bad Teacher and I didn’t care for it either. Maybe it was an off day.

What does IMDB have to say about it?

“Three friends conspire to murder their awful bosses when they realize they are standing in the way of their happiness.”

Yup. That pretty much sums it up.

For what it was I guess you could say the acting was okay. My respect for Jennifer Aniston has hit an all-time low. Is she so desperate for roles that she won’t pass on the “chance” to play a sexual harasser? Considering her last few movies that may be the case. Her scenes are just so eeewie.

I don’t care much at all for Colin Farrell and his skin-crawling performance pretty much sealed that opinion. I think I’ve only liked him in the movie Dare Devil. He did a good job as the villain in that. In HB he was just slime. And it wasn’t even a good portrayal of slime.

I did like Kevin Spacey but I’ve had a crush on him since Outbreak. He did a great job in HB with what he had to work with. He was very convincing as the type of boss anyone would want to kill.

As for the three conpirators? So so so so so so bad. Jason Bateman was the only one with any redeemable qualities. I still want to see him in other movies. The other two? Not so much. Jason seems to be pulling a John Travolta in that he gets better looking the older he gets. Well, it’s true.

Let’s break it down:

Cussing? Oh yeah. And then some.

Drinking/Drugs? Lots

Sex/Nudity? Implied sex. We also get to see Jennifer in nothing but her dentist coat and panties. Later on we get to see her in just her bra and unders. Wahoo. The boys’ll love it.

Violence? Yes. One scene. Someone gets shot.

Should children be allowed to see this film? Seriously? Adults shouldn’t be allowed to see this. I absolutely will not watch this again.

As mentioned at the beginning of this post, I would like to know what other people thought. Maybe I just really wasn’t in the mood for this brand of humor…Nah!

P.S. When the main characters break in to Harken’s house, beware. The same cat jumps out at them several times. I hate that!!!

Captain America: The First Avenger

2011-07-27T22:54:00.001-07:00

This is another movie I was going to go to the midnight showing of but this time it happened during my last night at my parents’ house and I hung out with my mom instead. Aren’t I special?

I liked nearly everything about Captain America. And I liked the movie too. Thank you! I’ll be here all night! The main thing I didn’t like was the ending. Am I going to tell you why? Nope. Because some of you may not have seen it yet. Besides the ending there are only two things that I didn’t really care for and I’ll talk about them throughout the post.

This seems to be the year of the superhero and I am loving every minute of it! We had X-Men (not great but still…), Thor (sigh), Green Lantern (big sigh), The Green Hornet (meh!) and now Captain America. If I missed one someone shout it out. Oh wait! Transformers! How could I forget them? Bumblebee…I heart you!

Chris Evans played the part of Steve Rogers/Captain America. He did a great job but I question whether or not he should have gotten the role. This is gripe number one. I feel that a petition should go around stating that no actor should get to play more than one super character. If you can’t recall what other character he plays go watch one of the Fantastic Four movies. Same goes for Ryan Reynolds. I’m sorry dude but you played a super villain in the Wolverine movie. It’s one or the other, man. If I had to choose it would definitely be Green Lantern. Who’s with me? But back to Chris. He either totally beefed up to play the part of Capt. A or someone did some major touch-ups after filming. He is a hugantic stud muffin! And he’s got that whole pouty lip thing going on. The action may draw in the boys for this movie but Chris alone will bring in the women. And if the choice regarding which role he’d play relied solely on me? Fantastic Four would be looking for a new Johnny Storm/Human Torch.

Hayley Atwell plays the female lead, Peggy Carter. I didn’t think I’d seen her in any other movies so I went to, yup, you guess it…IMDB to see what I could find out. I have seen her in something else. The Duchess. I will never ever ever never watch that movie again. The ending made me so mad I could spit. What is the point of a film that leaves you agitated? I protest! But! Hayley does a great job as Peggy. Talk about girl power. Soon after we meet her she knocks a guy on his tuckus! Trust me. He deserved it. And when she thinks she’s been wronged, the person doing the wronging knows it. But she’s a softie too. And super loyal. And a champion for the underdog. And… I want her to have this same personality in other movies.

The villain, Johann Schmidt/Red Skull, was played by Hugo Weaving. I.LOVE.HUGO.WEAVING! Here goes my second gripe. He is NOT in this movie enough. He’s almost an after-thought. They were going along showing how wonderful Chris is when someone suddenly remembered, “Huh! Isn’t there supposed to be a bad guy in here somewhere?” Usually I don’t like my favorite actors to play bad guys but he does it so good. I can’t see him without thinking, “Mr. Anderson.” Name that movie. He really really really needs to be in a romantic comedy. And no, Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert, does not count.

To wrap up the discussion of the actors, we just have to talk about another one of my favorites. Tommy Lee Jones. I don’t know what it is about him… Whatever it is, I like it. Judging by this post and the previous one for Harry Potter, I seem to have a thing for older men. But don’t worry Vin, Dwayne, Jason, Josh, Ryan and Chris. I still love you too. Tommy plays the part of Colonel Chester Phillips. He’s supposed to come across as impatient, uncaring and overbearing but we know the truth. He’s really a big ol’ teddy bear. I would say that he needs to be in more movies but Hollywood already loves him. He’ll be there.

I’ve heard some people complain that this should have been set in modern times. It’s set in 1942. To those people I say, “No!” He wouldn’t have had the same affect in the present. And I was going to quote the synopsis from IMDB but it gives away the entire movie. If you want to know…go there. I love the costumes for this. And the backgrounds. And the cars. And the “technology”. And Chris Evans. I’m just sayin’.

Now for the breakdown:

Cussing: Yes. It’s a war movie for goodness’ sake. That and the movie makers don’t seem to care that this is yet another super hero movie which is going to draw in what?... CHILDREN!

Sex/Nudity: No sex. We got to see a bunch of shirtless men and in one scene Captain America gets mooned by one of the soldiers. That’s it.

Drinking/Drugs: Quite a bit of alcohol but no drugs.

Violence: Yup. It’s not super bloody but I did have a bit of a problem with people being completely disintegrated. And I actually sorta like that that still bothers me. Oh! A man gets thrown through the propeller of a plane. Fortunately, you don’t see parts when this happens. Unfortunately, you will see blood spray.

Frightening/Intense Scenes: Red Skull is kinda creepy when we first see what he really is. I am, once again, not going to rant about kids becoming numb to things like this. Or maybe I will a little.

Since I know that kids are going to watch this anyway, I would recommend this for anyone. Mom would have to cover her eyes during a couple scenes but I think she would like the rest of it. Dad and PT definitely need to go see this one together.

P.S. Stay through the credits. Yes, all of them.

P.P.S. I found out recently that some of the people I went to MHS with actually read my blog. And I didn’t force them to. But that’s beside the point. If any of you have children and would like to say a word or two about how these movies affect your kids I would love to hear it. As a non-parent, I have no idea what may be discussed before or after to ease any fears.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

2011-07-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

Most of you who wanted to see this movie more than likely already have. Those of you who didn’t want to….didn’t. But! Since I saw it in a theater, I’m gonna talk about it despite the fact that it probably won’t help in any decision making.

I wanted to go to the midnight showing of Harry Potter but I was leaving that same day to go visit my family. The five of us ended up seeing it together on the 16th of July. Am I sorry I waited? Not really. I got to see my mom get so in to the movie that after a pivotal moment she started clapping. I love when she does that. When we went to see Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and all the ghosts came off the boat she clapped so hard that everyone else in the theater quickly followed suit. If you haven’t seen LOTR:ROTK then I just ruined a major part of the movie for you. But my question is…why haven’t you seen it?

Okay, so, back to Harry. If the series had to end this was a good way to do it. I’ve read all the books and watched all the movies and would love to meet and chat with J.K. Rowling. It must be fun to be in her imagination. But I’d have to meet her more than once because I do NOT make a good first impression. I tend to be a bit of a dork. It’s true. Ask Armat. Oh wait. She’ll say I’m a dork most of the time. Never mind. But I digress.

Though the film didn’t stay true to the book the story was still good. One of the big changes from the book was that in the movie they flashed back and told more of the story of Snape and the reasons for some of the things he did. I loved it!!! Even though the books and movies lead you to dislike him I just couldn’t totally do it. He is played by Alan Rickman who I have thought for years is a very attractive hunka hunka man. He first came on my radar in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. My favorite line of his from that film? ”Because it’s dull, you twit! It’ll hurt more!” It’s playing through my head with a heavy British accent. I know I usually only laud the stars of the movies but I just had to talk about Alan first. Sadly, he’s not in this film as much as I’d like. He should be in more movies. Please?

If you’ve seen any of the seven previous H.P. movies then there is no need for me to go in to detail about the main actors. They are about the same in this movie as they were in the rest. Daniel Radcliffe does a good job as Harry. Emma Watson is still ever so cute as Hermione and Rupert Grint is still the lovable dork, Ron. Who were my favorite characters? Draco (yes, you read that correctly), Luna and Neville. Draco seems to finally be outgrowing some of the things he was taught as a child by his dad. Yes, he does do a couple bad things but by the end you see the man he has the chance of becoming. At least I did, anyway. Yea, Draco! Neville has been one of my favorites since the very first movie/book. You just know that things are going to work out for him. He caused the clapping mentioned earlier. Just an FYI. And I had to have been one of Luna’s biggest supporters. She’s odd and none of her peers really get her but she’s super likable too.

I sort of hated that the books had to get darker as they progressed but considering the subject matter it couldn’t have been all lollipops and rainbows. It does eventually lighten up but not until the very end. In this movie/book we lose several friends and experience the heartbreak with their families. Okay, maybe you didn’t but I tend to be a big softie when it comes to stuff like that. Even if it isn’t real. I wanted to climb in the screen with them and start hugging. And I was close to joining mom during her celebrations. What were my favorite scenes? I’ll try to sum up without giving much away. First, I love love loved the scene in which Mrs. Weasley protects her daughter, Jenny. That’s all I’ll say about that except that I just about came undone. This is one of those instances I’ve actually wanted to shout with laughter. How often can you say you’ve done that? Not much, I’m willing to wager. My second favorite is the big scene involving Neville. If you’ve seen the movie you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t seen the movie but are going to, you’ll know as soon as it happens.

I felt about this series the way I felt about Lord of the Rings. I didn’t want to see either of them end. Is anything greatly missing in my life because there won’t be more? Nope. Because I own the DVDs!!!

The breakdown isn’t going to be very informative this time because I watched the movie with the person for whom I write this blog. Any chance of protecting her went out the window with the opening credits. But I’ll give it a shot anyway.

Cussing: There had to be at least a “bloody hell!” in there since Ron says it in several of the movies. Other than that I don’t recall there being much, if any.

Sex/Nudity: Ummmm…no. Even though there is violence it’s still aimed at younger generations.

Drinking/Drugs: Butter beer. Is that even alcoholic? I’m guessing not since they drink it as young children. Unless kids start drinking early at Hogwarts.

Violence: Definitely. It’s the most violent of all the H.P. movies. You do see blood but it’s not gory.

Frightening/Intense Scenes: There are a few. Or at least there should be for children. I won’t go on my rant in this post but if you want to know my views on movies that would/should scare children, please go here.

As stated earlier, this was a very good end to the series. I started to think that it would be nice to have a movie about H.P. and his friends as adults but Ms. Rowling pretty much wrapped that up for us. Anything further at this point would probably be a tad disappointing. I would recommend this movie for anyone who’s seen all the other movies. Don’t start with this one. Pleeeeease?

P.S. To those of you who refuse to watch the H.P. movies but have seen all the LOTR movies I, ever so politely, roll my eyes. There is wizardry and evil in both series and evil is eventually overcome at the end. The other similarity? I could have done without the ginormous spiders. Seriously!

Friends with Benefits

2011-07-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

This is another pre-screening movie. I wouldn’t have minded paying for it, though. Let me just say from the get-go that this is, most definitely, not a movie for children. I would say it’s not for teenagers either but knowing what I already knew when I was a teenager it seems kinda hypocritical. Not first hand, mind you (just in case my parents decide to read this). It’s not for young teenagers. Like P.T.’s age. And any age she’ll ever be. …What?

From just the name of this movie, you know what it’s about. A similar movie (No Strings Attached) came out a month or two before this but I didn’t see it. Natalie Portman is in it and I was still mad at her because of Black Swan. Yes, I can hold a grudge, thank you very much. As you can imagine, there are a LOT of intimate scenes in Friends with Benefits. The funniest (yes, I said funniest) was the first one. I won’t go in to detail. You’ll have to watch for yourself. Unless you’re a minor. Then you’ll have to wait. Ha!

This is what my favorite movie site (IMDB) has to say about it.

“While trying to avoid the clichés of Hollywood romantic comedies, Dylan (Timberlake) and Jamie (Kunis) soon discover however that adding the act of sex to their friendship does lead to complications.”

Nice grammar. Other than that it’s basically right.

The only movie, other than this, that I have to judge Justin Timberlake (Dylan) on is Bad Teacher. That’s a few posts away. I’ll mention it now and will probably forget and mention it then too. There is NO WAY Justin got this part based on his acting in Bad Teacher. I refuse to believe differently. But that’s for another time. He was so much better in this movie. I might actually watch something else he’s in if he makes any more films. He’s funny and smart and cute and, based on this, I understand what some of the women he’s dated in real life might see in him. If that’s what he’s possibly really like.

Mila Kunis (Jamie) did a great job as the other half of the Benefits. I liked her in That 70s Show. She’s come a long way since then. I hope she does more movies but that she actually gets to do a few that don’t involve sex. Yes, they do still make those. In Friends with Benefits she’s very smart, funny and tender-hearted. And doesn’t take any crap from the boys.

This movie was not all sex, sex, sex. It did have subplots to go along with it. I loved the story of Dylan’s family. It was so sweet. I didn’t much care for Jamie’s mom. She reminded me of Sally Field’s character in Where the Heart Is and I didn’t care much for her either.

I definitely recommend this for couples. I’m not going to waste your time or mine with the breakdown. There is no violence and no frightening scenes unless you have a fear of falling off the Hollywood sign. As for the sex, cussing and drinking? Yes, there is. Will I see this again? Definitely.

P.S. Stick around for the credits. There are a couple of outtakes.

P.P.S. No, I didn’t forget that Mila is in Black Swan. She didn’t play the victim so I didn’t dislike her as much as I did Natalie.

P.P.P.S. Oh man! I totally forgot about the flash mobs. There were two in FWB and they were so cool. I say that because I can't dance. At all. The end.

Zookeeper

2011-07-25T21:54:00.001-07:00

I got to go to the pre-screening of Zookeeper and took my cousin, Leann, along for the ride. I think I decided early on that the producers of this film had absolutely no idea who their target audience is.

What does good ol’ IMDB have to say?

“A group of zoo animals decide to break their code of silence in order to help their lovable zookeeper find love -- without opting to leave his current job for something more illustrious.”

Well, yeah. That’s it in a nutshell. What’s missing is the fact that the animals are trying to fix him up with the woman who dumps him at the beginning of the movie. They can talk but apparently they can’t reason why this is definitely not a good idea. Zookeeper is predictable, for the most part, but with this kind of movie that’s to be expected.

Kevin James plays the part of the Zookeeper, Griffin. Has he ever played a serious role? Oh wait. I’m on IMDB. I’ll go check. I’m back. And the answer is…maybe. It shows that he played the role of Nitro Man on the TV show Martial Law. That doesn’t sound like a comedy to me. Griffin is very easy to like in this movie but his humor leans toward inane. Some of the things he does just wouldn’t happen. Or I hope they wouldn’t happen. Somewhere out there Spike is rolling his eyes about the reality of movies.

Leslie Bibb plays the part of Griffin’s ex-girlfriend, Stephanie. At no point in Zookeeper did I like her character. She did a really good job of playing the gold-digger. Her one goal throughout is to change Griffin so that he’ll take a better paying/better sounding job therefore increasing the amount of money he can spend on her and lowering her embarrassment quotient. She has no redeeming qualities at all. Sure, she’s super nice to him when he does what she wants but otherwise, not so much. Who really wants someone they have to change, anyway? Let’s be honest here.

Rosario Dawson plays Griffin’s co-worker, Kate. If you don’t know how things are going to end up with these two then you’ve never seen a romantic movie…ever! I like Rosario. She’s not on my list of favorite actors but I won’t not watch a movie that she’s in. She does a good job here of being the best bud for Griffin. I so want to go on a rant about guys and their best bud female friends but I won’t. Because I’m cool like that.

The rest of the actors were okay but, as I’m trying to keep this short, aren’t going to be mentioned. So there.

The previous part of this post was for the adults. The next part is for the kids. The talking animals are the only reason children will like this movie. Everything else that happens just won’t mean that much to them. Not that I’m underestimating children at all. I just think if you’re going to have talking animals it should be set up like a Dr. Doolittle-type movie. There was so much more in Dr. Doolittle to keep their attention. I can’t believe more kids in the theater didn’t get restless. My favorite part of the movie was trying to figure out which actor was the voice for each animal. I got most of them but totally missed on Cher. Until the end when she sings. Who doesn’t know that voice?

I really should have posted about this movie right away because I’ve forgotten a lot of the important parts of the breakdown. Following is the breakdown from IMDB. I’d be surprised if there wasn’t more cussing then is mentioned. I’ll have to ask Leann if she remembers.

Sex & Nudity
Main theme of movie is trying to win a girl back. Some suggestive and crude humor. A few kisses.

Violence & Gore
Some comical violence, like falling, running into walls, crashing into people. Nothing bad.
Profanity

"Freaking" and "hell" are used a few times each. Also, "sucks", "oh, crap" and "damn" are used.

Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking
Some drinking by adults.

Frightening/Intense Scenes
In one scene, a man gets a needle stuck in the side of his face.

Regarding the violence and gore, it was total pratfalls straight from the book o’ Chevy Chase.

I have no idea who I would recommend this movie for. So sad. I will not be watching it again. If you do go see this, stick around for the credits. There’s singing.

Monte Carlo (seen 1 July 2011)

2011-07-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

I seem to have gotten a tad behind in my blogging. I’ve decided to make up for it all at once. Yea you! I know you’re about to turn cartwheels from all the excitement! And to make it worse, I’ve managed to lose my movie notebook. Great! If you happen to be a friend or loved one (still) who’s listened to me babble incessantly about a movie lately and it’s not one of the ones mentioned tonight please let me know which one I missed.

I used my AMC Rewards to watch this movie and I’m kinda glad I did instead of actually paying for it. I never in a million, bazillion years thought that music could ruin a movie but it very nearly did for Monte Carlo. If you’ve ever seen any movies from the 60s or 70s in which the car is driving along a country road or down a long windy (that’s “winding” minus the “ing” and adding a “y”. Just so you know.) road next to the ocean then you know the kind of music that was used for this film. If you’ve never seen any of those movies then watch Monte Carlo and you’ll know. Don’t get me wrong. I used to watch those movies all the time and the music didn’t bother me one bit. It just didn’t fit this movie AT ALL!!! It totally took me out of the current time and not in a good way. So frustrating! Oh! And despite what the previews make you think, Selena’s song, “Who Says,” does NOT play during the whole dressing/make-up/hair doing scene. It’s saved for the credits. Grrr!!!!!

Okay, now that that’s over, let’s carry on. Following is how IMDB describes Monte Carlo. Yes, I will be mocking it shortly after.

“A young woman, her uptight step sister and her best friend use their savings for a long anticipated dream trip to Paris, which turns out to be a big disappointment. When they decide to take a break from their lousy tour and duck into the lobby of a luxury hotel, one of them is mistaken for a spoiled British heiress. Before they get the chance to reveal their true identities they are wrapped up in misadventures during a vacation to Monte Carlo instead.”

Let’s start with the first sentence, shall we? The young woman and her friend use their savings? The uptight sister has her trip paid for by their parents who want her to be a chaperone. Now, if I were miss Young Woman I would be a tad peeved. She saved up for years to go on this trip and miss Uptight gets everything paid for. So. Not. Fair.!!! And that’s not even mentioned. At the very least the parents should have paid for her ticket also and let her use her savings as spending money. I’m just saying. I just read the synopsis from Wikipedia and whoever wrote it said that the parents pay for all three tickets. Either I missed that little tidbit in the movie and have completely wasted a perfectly good rant or the Wiki person is wrong. I choose “B”. Now back to mocking…And the ladies don’t take a break from their lousy tour. They get left behind. Not that that’s a bad thing. And there is no “before they get the chance to reveal” anything! They choose to keep it quiet. Well, for the most part anyway.

Okay, now it’s time to ask, “Why on earth did you watch this movie? It’s so obviously aimed at teeny-boppers!” Well, lemme tell ya. I love the Disney Channel. Love it! It’s my escape from the world and serious/adult (not that kind of adult) movies/books. And my absolute favorite show on Disney is Wizards of Waverly Place. The parents are goofballs, the brothers (Justin and Max) are what I’m assuming are typical brothers (I don’t have any so I have to make assumptions here) and the sister, Alex (played by Selena Gomez) is hilarious. I wish I had been more like her in school. But with better grades. Anywho, Selena is the star of Monte Carlo. If you read my blog about The Last Song with Miley Cyrus you know how I felt about Miley being thrown in to mainstream drama-type movies too soon. Selena is allowed, in Monte Carlo, to take the baby steps that Miley should have been forced (I mean allowed) to use.

Selena does a really good job as Young Woman (also know as Grace) and does a pretty decent job as Grace’s doppelganger Cordelia Winthrop Scott (accent and all). Cordelia is about as snotty as they come. You really really REALLY want something to happen to knock her down a peg or two. Just to clue you in…it doesn’t. Or at least not that they show us anyway. I hope, if she continues to make movies, that Selena will stick with this type of film for a while before taking on more mature roles. I can totally see her as a star years from now instead of being relegated to the, “she was just a child star,” category. Omigosh, I’m rambling and this is just the first movie of the night.

The other two travelers are Emma, (friend to Grace) played by Katie Cassidy and Meg (Uptight Sister) played by Leighton Meester. I liked Emma at the beginning and end of the movie but not so much in the middle. She comes off as a bit of a hoochie-mama. I didn’t like Meg at all at the beginning but she totally changes by the end and, I think, comes close to stealing the movie from Selena. Almost…but not quite. One thing I really liked about this movie is that the animosity that is shared towards Meg at the beginning is completely gone by the end. Come on. You had to know that was going to happen without even watching the movie.

The boys in Monte Carlo are played by Pierre Boulanger (Theo), Corey Monteith (Owen) and Luke Bracey (Riley). These three guys are my dream men. You know what I mean. These guys fall for their girls and fall hard and know that anyone worth loving is worth fighting for (take notes guys). Well, two of them do anyway. One of them has to work his way around to it. But I still liked him. The jerk boy is played by Giulio Berruti. He’s all kinds of cute but all kinds of arrogant and stereo-typically upper class. He is the reason that we get to see a kinder side of Emma, though, so he’s got one thing going for him. Or not.

I think my favorite adult actor in this film was Aunt Alicia Winthrop Scott, played by Catherine Tate. You’re so set up to not like her and then she surprises you. I am all kinds of spoiling this movie. I guess I figured that most people who wanted to see this movie already have and to those who haven’t…so sorry.

So, their trip begins in Paris then moves to Monte Carlo where craziness ensues. I loved the polo match. The only thing I would have changed about this movie would be to make it more of a Prince and The Pauper situation. I would have had the two girls meet and choose to switch places. But then the final hotel scene wouldn’t have happened and I don’t know how I would have changed that. I bet I could figure something out. Or leave it just the way it is.

Breakdown
Cussing: None. I thought I heard one word but I’m not quite positive. I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. I jumped over to IMDB again and read that it is rated PG for mild language and mentions that A$$ is the worst that you hear. I must have missed that one.

Alcohol/Drugs: Seriously? It’s a teeny-bopper movie. The adults might be imbibing in champagne at some point but the attention is drawn away from them.

Sex/Nudity: Ummm…no.

Violence: A guy gets slapped. Ouch.

Frightening/Intense Scenes: I have to laugh at this one. This is straight from IMDB. "The main characters are almost arrested for lying, stealing and impersonating someone." Wow! I must have forgotten how terrifying that scene was. Sorry. That was rude. Maybe that was a real nail-biter for some folks.

I would definitely recommend this for teenaged girls, teenaged boys who like Selena Gomez and adults who need a nice, decent movie escape every once in a while. Just try to tune out the tunes.

P.S. The girl who plays Emma is David Cassidy’s daughter. What? You don’t know who David Cassidy is? I think I’ll cry.

P.P.S. No need to stay through the credits unless you just want to hear, "Who Says."

Guilty Pleasures

2011-07-03T23:47:00.000-07:00

I’ve decided to start a new kind of list. I would say these will be Top Ten lists but some may be more or less. And they will be all about my favorites or least favorites depending on my mood. Today’s list is all about my guilty pleasure movies. These are movies I will watch over and over and over but will, more than likely, not watch with anyone else due to the embarrassment factor. So, basically, this entire list is hypocritical. Don’t judge. You know you have the exact same kind of list of something in your life.

1) Dirty Dancing – I know this one is on many guilty pleasure lists. How do I know this? It was mentioned in a radio contest as the number one movie people love to watch but are embarrassed to admit that they do. The acting is horrible but the entire movie is a train wreck. You just can’t look away.

2) Xanadu – I made my little cousin (we’ll call her Aspirin) watch this and there was a lot of major eye-rolling throughout. I don’t think we finished watching it. I just don’t think she knows good theater when she sees it.

3) The Last Dragon – I have no explanation. See the “train wreck” comment above.

4) G.I. Jane – I.Love.This.Movie. It’s got Demi Moore doing a really bad job of looking angry and acting tough. But she breaks a guy’s nose! And we all know at least one guy who needs that. I watch this when I'm really angry with some guy. I haven't actually watched it in a long time. I thought though that I was going to wear out the DVD after my ex-husband and I split. I'm just sayin'.

5) Clueless – So so so so bad but I’m addicted.

6) 16 Candles – This is another that I know other people like. One of my bosses breaks out in random 16 Candles quotes. It’s hilarious! Would never have expected that from someone like him.

7)– 12) Rocky thru Rocky Balboa – The first couple weren’t so bad but they slowly get worse and worse. Why didn’t I stop watching? I just don’t know. If I had to pick a favorite it would be Rocky IV. I was in love with Ivan Drago. Hey! I still wanted Rocky to win.

13) Rocky Horror Picture Show – Okay, I will watch this with other people only because it’s such a cult classic and you definitely need other people singing along.

I’m sure this list could go on and on but I need to get started on the work I’ve been avoiding for a few hours. Feel free to comment on your guilty pleasure movies. I know I’m not alone in this. Admit it.

Movie List - June 2011

2011-07-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

Oops. I seem to be a couple days late on this one. I'm sure you've been holding your breath. Anywho...

1) Grease 2 (I had forgotten how bad this is)
2) X-Men: First Class
3) Red (Loved it!!!)
4) The Expendables (The violence was a tad much)
5) Super 8
6) New In Town
7) Catch That Kid
8) The Green Hornet
9) Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief
10) The Game Plan
11) Empire of the Sun (Why have I never watched this before? So so so so good!)
12) Swept from the Sea
13) Perfect Stranger
14) The Phantom
15) Green Zone
16) The Green Lantern (lots of Green movies this month)
17) The Brave One
18) Evening
19) Transformers

P.S. Thank goodness for movie theater air conditioning!!!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

2011-06-29T00:24:00.000-07:00

This just in! Manhattan does not get blown up in this movie. I repeat. Manhattan does NOT get blown up in this movie!

If you’re in to extra-terrestrial beings that can turn in to pretty much any electronic device, things exploding, and lots and lots and LOTS of action then this is the movie for you. Let’s take a look at what IMDB has to say:

“The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets.”

Well…yes and no. Let’s just say that someone already knows the secret. And there is no race. The Decepticons totally live up to their name in this film.

I was all set to really enjoy this movie. I liked, and will definitely watch, it again; most likely during a Transformers movie marathon. But! It was also very disappointing. I walked out (okay drove out) on Battle: LA a few weeks ago because it was nothing but action, action, action. There really wasn’t much of a plot except “aliens attack and then humans must fight to save earth”. Kinda basic. Apparently basic did well for them. I know a lot of people who loved that movie. If so, you’ll probably love this too. The 2nd half of Transformers was non-stop action. I’m not quite sure what I expected though. A battle of some sort had to take place or the movie would have stopped short and left a lot of people very confused.

Since I know absolutely nothing about how Special Effects (I finally looked it up) are done I was impressed by how they made it look like the actors were really in the same room and talking to the Transformers. And, as was mentioned at the beginning of this diatribe, Manhattan does not get blown up. Chicago does. I love how they make the buildings explode or fall over or slowly get torn apart by the ginormous plumbing snake. I also love how they added little things like the steps of the Lincoln Memorial falling away as Megatron walks up them. Well done!

They brought back some of my favorite actors from the other Transformers films including Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson. And I just checked IMDB again and was reminded that Hugo Weaving is the voice for Megatron. He’s so cool. Hugo…not Megatron. Also, I thought I recognized the voice of Sentinel Prime but couldn’t quite get it to click. I’m totally blaming lack of sleep for the fact that I missed that it was Leonard Nimoy. Yes, Shia is back as the main character, Sam, and he did a good job but I have to agree with his movie mom about one thing. His ability to get such hot girlfriends. What on earth? It’s not like he’s a rock star or anything. Yeah, he’s cute but, seriously people, if he weren’t famous would he really have a chance at girls like that in the real world? Yes, I do get how shallow that just sounded but we have to deal in reality at some point. Don’t we? Oh wait! This entire movie is unrealistic. In that case…it could totally happen.

And speaking of Sam’s mom, fortunately we only have to see his parents in a couple of scenes. They’re not so bad for the most part. Their matching outfits and p.j.’s are kinda funny. They lost me though when Inappropriate Mom showed up again. She said something so not cool in the first movie and a very young P.T. asked me what that word meant. I did what any good American aunt would do. I told her to ask her mother. Inappropriate Mom says the same sort of thing in this movie as she did in the first. Why? Are 12-year-olds writing the script? I really do think so.

The girlfriend (Carly) is played by Rosie Huntington-Whitely. Please count to ten with me so that I won’t run full steam in to commenting on that name. Stereotypical country clubs. That’s all I’m saying. Rosie does a decent job of playing the sugar mama/office arm candy/co-hero but I don’t see any awards in her future. Not even the MTV “Best Kiss” award. Sorry, Rosie. And!!! I have to get this rant over as soon as possible so I can get on to other things. Costume and make-up department…what on earth were you thinking? Yes, I know that the pretty girl needs to stay pretty but COME ON!!! Not only does Carly slide down the side of a building and land in a mess of glass, things blow up around her. She falls and is caught at the last minute by Sam; the act of which should probably have dislocated both their shoulders (just one shoulder…each person). She rubs up against dirty vehicles and scurries through a bus as it’s getting cut into by a Decepticon. She runs through piles of rubble and leans against very not clean things and walks out of it all fresh as a daisy. Any guess what she’s wearing through all this? A white cardi and (I’m assuming) tank top, skinny jeans and…wait for it…high heels. Look closely though. Every once in a while the heels turn in to flats. Nice job, editing department. I thought for sure that cardi was done for but I was wrong. And THERE.IS.NOT.A.SCRATCH.ON.HER!!! Actually, when it came to personal injury of the overall cast the characters were either dead or clean as a whistle. I think Sam had a little boo boo on his forehead at the end but other than that…

At this point in the story Spike would be rolling his eyes and telling me that “IT’S NOT REAL!” I’m guessing he doesn’t like it when I nit pick this type of movie. I can’t help it. It’s genetic.

There were some funny scenes but not enough for my taste and we didn’t get to see Bumble Bee enough. I will admit that there was one scene involving Bee that almost caused me to tear up a bit. What? Bee is my absolute favorite (No, I’m not 8. Why do you ask?) followed closely by Optimus. And I wish there were girl Transformers like they had in the second movie. Oh well.

The breakdown, this time, is going to take up a lot more room than usual. This is the part where we discuss the 12-year-old boys who wrote the movie. Let’s start with language. If I remember correctly, the first phrase out of Sam’s mouth contains the F-word. If you watch the movie and discover it’s NOT the first phrase then I apologize. But it’s up front somewhere. You will hear that word several times throughout the movie. The most being piled up in one scene in which the building Sam’s in is falling over. Although not surprising in that situation, is it really necessary? He screams in another scene. Why can’t he do that here? And no, that is not the only profane word in the film. At least they kept the testicle references to a minimum this time. I guess they wore those out (the references) in the 2nd movie.

Violence. Yes, we expected it but since a big part of this film’s viewers will be young children I believe it should have been toned down a bit. There is lots and lots of shooting and a chase scene on a highway in which cars get all kinds of thrown around. While I do live in reality and get that this was just a movie I couldn’t help thinking of all the people who, if Autobots and Dececpticons truly were fighting on a highway, would have been killed in that scene alone. I guess it’s okay since we don’t actually see any of the people in the cars. That last sentence will be typed with sarcasm font as soon as that’s invented. In another scene we see people getting killed by the Decepticons. Please, allow me to take away the sugar coating from that last statement. People get blown to pieces. I’m not saying that as a way to exaggerate what happened. You actually get to see the pieces fly. One minute they’re there, the next minute they’re pretty much everywhere.

Sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. Okay, so leaving rock out of this… There was no sex or nudity at all. I think the most skin we see is when Carly is walking up stairs in a shirt and her unders and then later on we see her back as she’s putting on her dress. And she’s got unders on there too. Sorry boys. The closest thing to sexual innuendo comes from Inappropriate Mom. There is a little drinking. No drugs that I recall. I don’t even remember if smoking occurred. I don’t think it did.

Should this movie scare or, at the very least, bother your child? I believe it should. Will it? Probably not. The two young children sitting a couple rows in front of me didn’t seem to be affected at all. This is another please-go-see-it-before-you-take-your-kids kind of film.

Oh! And I’d like to quickly give a shout out to the people who put together the trailer. Take a tip or five from Super 8. That trailer gave away virtually nothing. I will give even remotely intelligent people the benefit of the doubt that you will be able to figure out what really happened in a pivotal scene but if you saw the trailer, no intelligence is required. Just a somewhat functional memory.

Judging by the things I’ve said it sounds like I didn’t like this movie but I really did. Would I have enjoyed it as much if I’d gone with a young child? I hope not. If Hollywood is going to turn afternoon cartoons in to movies they really need to consider who is going to go see them.

P.S. There is no need to stay through the credits but don’t make a mad dash for the door either. There is one little extra at the beginning.

P.P.S. Just a little bit of trivia straight from IMDB. The guy who does the voice for Optimus Prime in the movie also does his voice for the cartoon. But wait! There’s more! He’s also the voice of Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh and he does the vocals for the alien predator in Predator. How cool is that!

P.P.P.S. I think writing this so late at night (early in the morning) makes it more critical (no comments from the peanut gallery) and way more lengthier (haha) than it normally would be. I think I’ll start saving these for when I’ve had more sleep. Or not. Whatever.

Green Lantern

2011-06-17T02:03:00.000-07:00

“In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship evil's might,
Beware my power... Green Lantern's light!”

If you don’t recognize these words then you’ve neither picked up a Green Lantern comic book…ever…nor have you been around my dad lately. He’s been quoting these lines the last few weeks any time the Green Lantern is mentioned. Why? Why not?

IMDB sums up Green Lantern as follows:

“A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe.”

Straight and to the point. I like it.

I, once again, decided that being fully awake while at work isn’t altogether necessary and went to the midnight showing. Was it worth it? Oh yeah. This was yet another movie that I highly anticipated. There have been several instances in which I was so psyched about seeing a movie and then was left feeling disappointed. X-Men: First Class would be a good example. I had no such problem with Green Lantern.

First of all, Hal Jordan/Green Lantern is played by Ryan Reynolds. Enough said. One of my male co-workers mentioned a few weeks ago that he has a man-crush on Ryan. That’s how hot he is. Ryan, that is. But enough of that. He really was a good choice for the character of Hal. They needed someone with a good body to fit in that skin-tight suit. Check. They needed someone handsome because, for some reason, you just can’t have a plain-looking hero. Check. They needed someone who comes across as cocky. Check. Sorry, Ryan, but it’s true. The list could go on but I do need to get at least a little sleep tonight. Ryan Reynolds. Good choice. Period. Exclamation point!

Second, there's actually a lesson to be learned from this film. It's okay to be afraid as long as you don't let that fear control your life. Mark Twain wrote, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward it is not a compliment to say it is brave." Every man (and woman) fears something but not all of us push past that fear to find the person we each have the possiblity of being. Or something like that.

Blake Lively did a pretty good job as Hal’s love interest, Carol Ferris. Once again we have a woman who can stand up for herself. Yea! I am curious, though, about whether or not she has something written in to her contact stating that if she shows a facial wrinkle at any time during the movie she has to forfeit some of her pay. She barely moves her mouth in any of her movie/TV appearances and her forehead is never creased. Heaven forbid! Is Botox involved or is she just unable to show emotion? You be the judge.

The bad guy (Hector Hammond) is portrayed by Peter Sarsgaard and while attractive in real life they made him so not attractive in this movie. I’d like to know where it was written that bad guys must be ugly. Yes, I realize that in some movies this is not the case but for the most part they are either ugly to begin with or they become ugly as their villainy grows. Hector, as we first see him, would be classified in today’s world as nerdy looking. The more evil he becomes the uglier he gets. Why? Could he not be a bad guy if he were good looking? Could Hal Jordan not be as effective if he were plain or unattractive? Hmmm. Peter did a good job with the part he was given. He didn’t really do a lot of talking. It was mostly yelling and throwing things around with his mind. Sorry, Peter, but an Oscar is not in your future for this film.

There was violence in this movie but not really any blood or gore. The main villain (not Peter) was kind of hokey. Yes, he would scare me if we met in person but, seeing him from the safety of my theater seat, I was more amused than scared. There was cussing but I think I recall only two or three words and I don’t think the big one was used at all. And they still managed to write an entire movie. Gasp! Alcohol was imbibed in a scene or two but there were no drugs. I noticed, while sitting through the credits, that a blurb was included stating that no one was paid for endorsing tobacco products in this movie. I found this amusing for some reason. There is absolutely no nudity or sex. If you were hoping to see Ryan in all his glory…sorry. You’ll just have to make do with The Proposal.

I will most definitely see this again and will buy it when it comes out on DVD. I see no reason why children can’t watch it other than I’m hoping the main villain would scare them. As mentioned ad nauseam throughout my blog, I don’t want children to not be scared of creepy monster-type villains in movies. I’m worried for our world if they aren’t. If your child watches movies like Transformers or Thor or It (Just kidding. Please tell me you haven’t let you child watch It.) then this movie should be fine for them. I think P.T. will love this. I can’t wait to hear what she thinks.

P.S. Stay through the first part of the credits. After what happens…happens…you can go home. There’s nothing else but credits and super hero music.

P.P.S. I sat on the top row during the movie but then moved down front during the credits and it seemed more 3D-y down there. Does anyone know whether or not where you sit in the theater matters or am I imagining things?

Calzone...or Stromboli...or Whatever

2011-06-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

My family calls this calzone. Most normal people call it stromboli. I call it Fred. Okay, not really. It hates to be called that. Whatever it's name, this is another of my favorite comfort foods. And it's also another I-don't-mind-reheating-this-later-on recipes. I am so NOT all about leftovers.

And so...Calzone. Starring:

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. Italian sausage (whichever strength you prefer)
Italian seasoning
5 cheese blend (Italian) Just an FYI...the actual recipe calls for equal parts parmesan, mozzarella and provolone. I like these but solid provolone (to be grated) is a pain in the tuckus to find. I'll stick with the bagged cheeses until I find a place close by that sells what I need.
1 egg (minus the yolk)
2 loaves of frozen Rhodes bread dough (or your own bread recipe if you'd like)
1 jar of your choice pasta sauce (I forgot to include my choice in the picture below. It'll show up later)

I was informed by someone near and dear that just looking at raw meat can make some people nauseated so it's in disguise. Cute sunglasses are an accessory no girl should be without.

Before you get started on your cooking you'll need to thaw the dough. It's going to rise some. Or it should. After it thaws, roll it out long and wide enough that you'll be able to fit half the meat mixture in each one.

First! Brown the ground beef and Italian sausage. There's no picture of this due to the afore-mentioned gagging possibility. You can toss in whatever spices/seasonings you like. I prefer Italian seasoning and occasionaly I'll throw in some garlic salt. Yum! Be sure to drain the grease off. It's healthier and won't leave your bread soggy.

This is another of those recipes for which I did once have exact measures for the ingredients but have since done away with those and use whatever amounts suit my mood at the time. The cheese is definitely one of "those" ingredients. Just slap on however much you want. Put a layer of cheese on your rolled out bread then add some more seasoning. Next add half of the meat mixture topped with another layer of cheese. I forgot to take a picture of the cheesiness. Use your imagination.

Here is where your egg white comes in to play. Pull over one side of the bread and using your fingers or a food paint brush thingy (technical term) rub the egg on to the bread and pull the other side until it overlaps. The egg'll help it stick. It matters not whether you tuck in the ends and then work on the sides or leave the ends til last. As long as the filling stays in, you're good to go. Repeat on other loaf.

Turn both loaves right side up on a cookie sheet and rub them down with more of the egg white. It helps make the bread a nice, golden brown.

Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes. I go with the time prescribed on the bread package. While the baking thing is happening go ahead and heat up your pasta sauce using the directions on the jar. When I make this for me and Spike we only use about half a jar of sauce so you may want to consider before dumping the entire thing in to the pot.

Remove calzone from oven and go, "Ooooo! Aaaahhhh!" It smells loverly! And looks tasty too!

Is it just me or does anyone else see a face on the upper loaf? Let's add a hat so everyone can enjoy my strange imaginings.

If you prefer your calzone to be faceless make sure you cover your loaf completely with the egg white. I missed a few spots.

Finally, cut in to whatever lengths you want and cover with sauce. As mentioned before, this makes great leftovers. Just pop in the nukerowave for a bit and you're set.

Super 8

2011-06-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

My cousin (we’ll call her Leann) and I just went to the screening of Super 8. It was hi-larious…but a tad violent. Let me go ahead and put this out there. Moms, if you’re thinking of taking your child to see this movie please go see it without them first.

Now, having said that, I loved this movie. The blood did kind of gross me out but it only lasted for a few seconds and didn’t ruin the rest of the film for me. The movie trailers did a nice job for once of not giving away the entire movie. And I promise I won’t either.

It is described on IMDB as follows:

“In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.”

Sorry. I’m going to make fun of a description again. I’m kind of curious about how many non-catastrophic train wrecks there have been. Even if they’re minor, something gets damaged. And the friends didn’t “soon suspect”. I think the person who wrote that got up to use the bathroom right before the train wreck. And the part about the local deputy? Puh-leaze! We see him do a little investigating but it’s the kids who take matters in to their own hands to try to find out what’s going on. I would recommend that I write the synopses for movies but I can’t seem to be bothered to sum up anything. I tend to babble.

The kids in Super 8 should all be in other films together. They could be the new Brat Pack. Okay…maybe not. But they do work well together. Elle Fanning played the only girl in the group and she was so good. She definitely needs to be in more movies. And each of the guys, in their own way, made the movie. But I did like the main character best. I didn’t see who cast Super 8 but whoever it was, they need a raise. Ya hear that, Hollywood?

Some parts of the movie are confusing at first but you find out the answers later on. There are times, though, that I wished they’d explained things much, much sooner. There is so much more that I want to talk about but since this movie hasn’t been released yet and the trailer didn’t give away the important stuff I don’t want to spoil anything. I think the writers need raises too. Leann and I were cracking up through most of it. When bad things are happening in a neighborhood and the kids are trying to wake a stoner up so that he can run away, one of the kids is heard crying, “Drugs are so bad!!!” So, it doesn’t sound as funny when it’s typed out but I’m pretty sure you’ll laugh at it in the theater.

Now for the important stuff (SPOILER ALERT) (sorta). There was most definitely violence. It didn’t last long when it did happen but it is very memorable. And there is blood splatter in one scene…big time. In another scene we got to see the thing chowing down on someone’s leg. It was detached though. Not that that makes things any better. There were also a couple of jump-out-at-you scares. I didn’t much appreciate them at the time but I did have a few giggles at my own expense soon after. There was absolutely no sex and/or nudity. There was definitely alcohol and drugs. The girl’s dad is seen drinking and the stoner was smoking a joint. And, of course, there was a LOT of cussing. And it was so unnecessary! As mentioned before I can completely understand during scary situations. If someone doesn’t curse while going through some of what was happening then they are far better people than I am. Most of the language was from the boys while they were filming their zombie movie. The word of choice in this film was $#!+. The big words were used too. We couldn’t expect them to leave those out, could we?

I will definitely see the movie again. I really, really liked it. At this point, though, I wouldn’t recommend it for P.T. or anyone her age (13) and younger. I did notice before the movie started that there were a lot of very young children there and no one screamed or cried during or looked upset after so maybe I’m being hyper-sensitive about it. I really don’t think so though. The lady next to me climbed up in to her seat during one of the scenes. So funny. So please, go see this and make a fact-based decision before allowing your young kids to go.

P.S. Don’t get up when the credits start. You get to see the zombie movie the kids were working on. After that ends you don’t need to stick around. The rest is just credits.

P.P.S. Armat and P.T. saw this today. Now that I've talked to a mom AND a kid about it I'm sticking to my review. Except in this instance, P.T. (my niece, in case you didn't already know) did fine and Armat (my sister) was the one covering her eyes (her own...not P.T.'s). In fact, P.T. spent a good portion of the time watching Armat jump so she probably thought it was funnier than everyone else did. They both liked it, though. Wahoo!

X-Men: First Class

2011-06-03T01:32:00.000-07:00

I went to the 12:01 a.m. showing of this movie and it is now 3:09 a.m. and I have to work tomorrow so this review will be short. While this was a good movie, I wouldn't say it's the best in the series. It did answer a few questions though. And raised several others.

I liked pretty much all of the actors. No "excepts". I figured most of them would be relatively unheard of based on the previews but quite a few well-known people showed up here and there. Kevin Bacon plays the villain in this film. I don't like it when Kevin plays the bad guy. Not that he doesn't do a good job. I just don't want to see him evil.

Okay, I know I haven't written much but I am exhausted. I'll give you the basics real quick and then wrap it up for now. Was there violence? Yes. A lot of it. None of it was terribly bloody but I did NOT care for how the bad guy dies (it shouldn't be surprising that he dies if you pay any attention throughout the movie) nor for his appearance as he's being removed from the submarine. I also didn't care for how the bad guy made Magneto angry at the beginning. These scenes might be integral to the story but I don't think they're okay for young children. I don't even want P.T. to see how the bad guy dies but I don't get to make that decision. Moving on...was there sex and/or nudity? Nope. There is a scene with several women walking around in their unders but that's the worst of it. Was there alcohol or drugs? Yes to alcohol. No to drugs. Cussing? Yes. But that's not really surprising, is it?

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes this series. I would also recommend that parents either watch this before they take their children or if you have a friend who has seen the film and knows your kids, get their opinion. I will watch this movie again. And probably again and again. That's just how I roll.

P.S. You don't need to stay through the credits unless you just like reading all the names. There is no teaser on this one. The other theater-goers were not too pleased about that.

P.S.S. I think the next X-film should be about Storm. I'm just sayin'.

Movie List - May 2011

2011-05-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling these lists are going to get longer and longer the hotter it gets outside. Following are the movies I watched in May. Let me know if you want to know more about any of them and I’ll do my best.

1) Fever Pitch
2) Away From Her
3) Hope Springs
4) Original Sin
5) Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
6) A Secret Affair
7) Thor
8) Burlesque
9) Something Borrowed
10) The Back-Up Plan
11) Fast Five
12) Jumping the Broom
13) Love and Other Drugs
14) Life As We Know It
15) End of the Spear
16) The Hiding Place
17) Twilight
18) New Moon
19) Eclipse
20) Priest
21) X-Men
22) X2
23) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
24) She’s All That
25) A Cinderella Story
26) Hitch
27) Our Family Wedding
28) The Mistress of Spices
29) Something New

Priest

2011-05-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

I didn’t bother looking at the weekend box-office numbers for Priest because I didn't want it to sway my opinion one way or the other. I discovered right before the movie started that this must not have done well at all. There were only three other people in the theater. At 7:30. I would give it the benefit of the doubt and say that many people who might have been there probably had other things going on but I think that’s a bit of a stretch. Though it’s definitely NOT going to make any nice top 10 lists it did go by rather quickly. Thank goodness for that.

Let’s see what IMDB had to say about it.

“PRIEST, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, is set in an alternate world -- one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. The story revolves around a legendary Warrior Priest from the last Vampire War who now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on a quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his niece's boyfriend, a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess who possesses otherworldly fighting skills.”

Wow! That’s a mouth-full of adjectives, isn’t it? And who doesn’t just love to be able to describe something as post-apocalyptic? I know I do. But yes, that is how it was set up. Not only that. It was post-apocalyptic wild west. Yee-Haw! And I’m really glad they mentioned that the vampires were murderous because otherwise I would have thought this was Twilight all over again. Oh wait. I’m supposed to be talking about the movie and not the description, aren’t I?

Believe it or not you’ve seen this movie before. Or at least bits and pieces of it in many different movies. And parts of it in real life. Let’s make a list of all the types of movies they borrowed from, shall we? Let’s see…Cathedral City is from pretty much every post-apocalyptic (there…I got to use it) metropolis you’ve ever seen. The Wastelands can be seen in any of the Mad Max movies along with several wild west films. The main vampire is Wild West Clint Eastwood. No, not THE Clint Eastwood. But he was trying really hard to be. At one point I thought we were going to hear the cliché gunfight music. You know what I mean. Doo-ee-oo-ee-oo. Wah wah wah. The vampires’ guardian reminded me of the ginormous monster in Thor. The vampires themselves made a clicking noise like aliens in some movie I know I’ve seen but can’t remember at this time. If you do go see this movie please tell me what that sound reminds you of. It’s going to really bug me. This film had gunfights, explosions, blood, grody monsters, heroes in tight clothing, small-town peddlers, pod “people”, romance (but not much), cool motorcycles and Matrix-like fight scenes. This movie had it all. Crammed right in there together.

As to the way it reflects real life…the Priests are trained for one thing and one thing only. To fight to protect citizens from the vampires. Once the vampires are supposedly locked away in reservations the Priests are no longer needed and their Orders are disbanded. They are thrust in to the world they were taught to protect and cannot find decent work because what they were trained to do isn’t needed in that world. If you don’t understand how this is similar to real life then you have neither been nor been related to a soldier trained specifically for war. And Cathedral City had shades of Hitler roaming throughout. Kinda creepy.

One of the things I found amusing was that a couple of the actors who played humans in this movie are well known for their roles as vampires. If any of you have ever seen the HBO series True Blood then you know who Stephen Moyer is. He plays one of the main, somewhat good, vampires in the series. If any of you have ever seen Twilight then you know who Cam Gigandet is. He plays the vampire tracker James. Let me rephrase. He plays the vampire who is also a tracker. And he’s one of the bad guys. In this film they both play humans. Stephen plays the part of the dad and Cam plays the part of the vampire hunter. Phrased correctly that time.

Stephen isn’t in the movie for very long at all but Cam is. He does a good enough job for the most part but at one point you just want to smack him. Didn’t I smack someone in my last review? Oh well. Sometimes they just need it. Cam plays Hicks, the boyfriend of the Priest’s niece, Lucy. Confused? No? Good. As mentioned earlier, Lucy is kidnapped by not just vampires but murderous vampires. Hicks and Priest set out to rescue her and in one scene they discuss the possibility that she could have been infected already. At this point Hicks tells Priest that even if she is infected he will do ANYTHING to stop Priest from killing her. Really? I’m sorry, Lucy, but if I were riding alongside Priest and you show up sporting fangs? You’re history. Enough said.

Paul Bettany plays the part of Priest. I’ve liked him since A Knight's Tale. I never really pictured him as an action star but he definitely changed my mind in Priest. Although, it does seem kind of type cast for him. Or he for it. Whatever. I can’t imagine him in muscle type action films though. Sorry Paul. He definitely fits the picture of a priest but then he starts to kick tuckus and it’s equally believable. Well, as believable as a vampire movie can be. I just found out that he’s married to Jennifer Connelly. Who knew? They probably did...but who else?

Lily Collins plays the part of Lucy. If you’ve ever seen the movie The Blind Side then you’ve seen her before. She plays the part of…ummm…Collins. Funny how that worked out. Lily has that “doe-eyed dear” look about her that could put her dangerously close to Natalie Portman territory. So far, though, she doesn’t appear to be just a whiny victim. Yea! She even attempts to kick some vampire tuckus in this movie. Stick to your guns, Lily, and maybe take a “damsel in distress” role or two but please please please hold out for the girl power movies.

The other strong female role is played by Maggie Q. She plays the part of…wait for it…Priestess. I know what you’re thinking. The writers must have been up night after night trying to come up with fitting names for these characters. Three of the other priests are named Brave Priest, Strong Priest and Bold Priest. There’s even a Flashback Priest (whose real name happens to be Austin Priester. Ha!). I just don’t know how they do it. Anyway, Priestess doesn’t just attempt to kick some major tuckus. She succeeds. I especially like the motorcycle scene. You go girl.

I’m still not 100% on board the 3D express but I really liked it in parts of this movie. I can’t tell you which parts because it would just take too long to describe and ruin parts of the movie for you. And parts is parts. I have a feeling the producers of Priest thought it would do well based on special effects alone. Judging by attendance this evening, they were wrong. Some of the effects were pretty darn cool and some just completely missed the mark. And yet again we have a movie full of cheese. One of these days I’m going to post a list of movie lines that make me just cringe. And they’re in movies that I love so I either have to fast forward past those lines or just plow through.

Now let’s break it down. Violence? Yes and lots of it. And, in some cases, graphic. Sex and nudity? None. This is one priest who sticks to his vow of celibacy. Don’t think he isn’t tempted though. Cursing? Yes. We even get the F-word just because. Drinking and drugs? I didn’t see any drugs. One of the bishops drinks something out of a can but you’ll just have to assume one way or another. Priest received the following rating:

“Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, disturbing images and brief strong language.”

Despite its rating I am positive that Armat and PaPa would think twice before taking P.T. to this film. Since this does have its origins from a graphic novel she’d probably want to see it anyway. I did like the effects enough that I would probably watch this again but I’m weird like that. I would like to warn you that just about the time you think things are really getting started, the movie ends. And I’m not sure I could stand a sequel. I’m not sure they’d be able to make a sequel. Oh, of course they could. It would just require lots of action and really bad lines.

P.S. You don’t need to stay through the credits. You almost don’t need to stay through the film.

Fast Five

2011-05-09T00:30:00.000-07:00

I think this was, quite possibly, the best movie of the entire Fast and Furious franchise. I say "quite possibly" because, for some reason, I haven't yet seen Tokyo Drift. I definitely liked this movie because of the action but there were three other big reasons:

1) Dwayne Johnson – do you really need a list?
2) Vin Diesel – cute, bald, with a voice I could listen to for hours
3) Paul Walker – even on the lam he comes across as the boy next door

The action scenes were fun, though not always believable. The dialog had some major cheese factors and sadly most of the cheddar was delivered by Dwayne Johnson. Such as these gems:

Member of team: “I have good news and bad news”
Dwayne: “You know I like dessert first”
Member of team: Gives him the good news
Dwayne: “Now give me the veggies”

There were more but these were some of the first that were heard. A couple of lines that I thought were hi-larious were as follows:

“When are you gonna give Martin Luther King his car back.”
“The same time you give Rick James his jacket back.”

Hardy har har.

Other than the cheese this was a good movie. I will definitely go see this again. I don’t think I’d recommend this to P.T. or other kids her age (13). There is quite a lot of violence with the worst of the blood contained to one scene. We even get to hear a couple of necks snapped. Yuck! As you can imagine there is quite a bit of cussing. There is no sex or nudity unless you count the girls’ booties hanging below their dress lines in the race car scenes. Note I didn’t say “race scenes” because this was just a teaser. We got to see all the people checking out each others’ cars before but we didn’t actually get to see the race itself. Don’t be discouraged though. There were a couple other race scenes. As far as alcohol and drugs, there was a lot of beer drinking by pretty much everyone except the person who shouldn’t have been.

The one thing that I really wanted to see in this film I think they went to great lengths to avoid. We never see Vin & Dwayne standing next to each other. I wanted to see which man is bigger. They do have a fight scene in which they beat the stuffings out of each other (and the marks miraculously disappear) but you still can’t get a good idea. I think the movie folks were intentionally trying to make Dwayne the biggest person in the film. They gave him a shirt that was obviously too small while Vin got shirts that were too big. Sorry, Paul, but you don’t even rate in this competition. And you’ve got to already know that.

If you like action flicks and/or you like the rest of this franchise I would definitely recommend it.

P.S. Stay through the credits.

P.P.S. I got my answer regarding which man is bigger. I went to IMDB and found a still pic from the movie. Dwayne wins. But Vin is not too far behind. And Dwayne is 4 inches taller. I think that must count for something.

Something Borrowed

2011-05-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

I read this book a couple years ago and was happily surprised to hear they had turned it in to a movie. Here’s the storyline straight from IMDB:

“Friendships are tested and secrets come to the surface when terminally single Rachel falls for Dex, her best friend Darcy's fiancé.”

If you haven’t read the book yet this little blurb will have you on Darcy’s side before you even walk in to the theater. You will quickly change your mind soon after the movie begins. Unless you are a Darcy. Then you won’t understand it at all. I’m just saying. We very quickly discover that the world revolves around Darcy and that Rachel and well, pretty much everyone else, are just tiny little planets basking in her glory. Wow! That sounded mean. Even to me. But I’m sticking by it.

I loved the scenery throughout the movie. Loved loved loved Rachel’s apartment. She must be a pretty good lawyer to have a space that big. No, it’s not huge but it’s not teensy either. Hated Darcy’s apartment. It was an homage to Darcy. Blech! Love the house in the Hamptons. Actually, the things I loved most about it were the porch and the beach. Gorgeous! One of my favorite lines in the movie mentioned the Hamptons being “A zombie movie directed by Ralph Lauren.” Ha! And New York was apparently thoroughly scrubbed down before filming because there was only prettiness to be seen. And there was a burger stand that was heavily endorsed in the film. It’s called the Shake Shack and I think I had previously heard about it on the Food Network. Kudos to you for the major publicity. I swear the movie had nothing to do with my wanting to go there when I visit New York.

This movie hit close to home because a few of the characters were so much like people I know. Let’s begin with Rachel. Actually, I know several Rachels. Ginnifer Goodwin did an excellent job as Rachel. She is almost exactly what I pictured from the book. She is the fresh-faced good girl counter-acting Darcy’s sometimes haggard looking (yes, I said it) party girl. Rachel is the best friend, foil, bearer of burdens, etc. for Darcy. She knows Darcy so well that all the bad stuff is not noticed – for the most part – because she knows about the good too. She seems to have always easily pushed aside any negatives and enjoyed the positives. Yes, most people would consider her and people like her to be a doormat. Sad, but true. If this turns you off going to see this film then think again. I promise it gets better. At one point in the movie she says, “I want to be someone’s first choice.” You said it, sister! And on a side note. I want Ginnifer Goodwin’s hands. Not in a box or anything. Let me rephrase. I would like to have hands like Ginnifer Goodwin. So pretty.

I most definitely know a Darcy. I am actually related to a Darcy. She is not in my immediate family so Armat, you shouldn’t be offended. Her narcissistic tendencies are screamed at you through the entire film. Darcy must be the center of attention. At. All. Times. Even if it’s one on one time with a friend or fiance’. If someone pays attention to anyone other than her she fights to gain control. The movie opens on a surprise party that Darcy has thrown for Rachel but which is quickly turned in to a Darcy Fest. By Darcy. And she big time schmoozes those she considers “the better people”. Rachel does have Darcy’s “attention” part of the time. Until someone else shows up. I did really enjoy the Darcy/Rachel slumber party scene. It’s about the only time in the movie we get to see them as equals. Sorta. And young Armat would LOVE the quilt in this scene. Kate Hudson did a great job as Darcy but if I were a guy…and I’m not…I would definitely pick Ginnifer’s Rachel over Kate’s Darcy.

Omigosh this is becoming a very long review and I’m only a few characters in to it. I’ll try to make the rest short.

Colin Egglesfield plays the part of Dex, Darcy’s fiance’. He’s awful cute (and has beautiful eyes) but he’s so stinkin’ wishy washy you just want to smack him. Especially when he starts to cry and you just know what he’s about to say. Smack smack smack! Despite that, Darcy did NOT deserve him. On occasion we saw the Dex we were rooting for and even more so when he grew a back bone. When he said, “You are home for me.” I didn’t want to smack him so much.

John Krasinksi plays the part of Ethan, Rachel’s male friend. I would say he was Rachel’s other best friend but Darcy would never have allowed it. In fact, Darcy is down-right hateful to Ethan and I have a feeling the main reason for it is that Rachel likes both Darcy and Ethan and that just shouldn’t be done. I want to marry Ethan. He is Rachel’s confidante but also, to some extent, her defender. He does eventually reach his limit and, even though I wouldn’t want his ire aimed at me, I liked him all the more for it. And he knows how to say, “I’m sorry.” Boys…take note.

There are two main supporting characters in this film. Does that even make sense? One I loved and want to see in many many other movies. One I wouldn’t mind never seeing again. Ashley Williams plays the part of Claire. She is head over heels for Ethan and shows it in very odd ways. She is the comedy part of this Rom-Com. Ultimately her craziness is the catalyst for Rachel bucking up. I love love love Claire. I would be Claire if I weren’t such a shy baby. I’ve had the feelings but never acted on them the way she does. She definitely needs to be in more Rom-Coms.

The second “character” is Steve Howey. I knew I recognized him but couldn’t remember from where. He played the son-in-law on the TV show Reba. I liked him way better on TV. Steve plays the part of Marcus. I have most assuredly known a Marcus. And the Marcus I know…we’ll call him J…probably wouldn’t see himself as a Marcus. Go figure. Anywho, Marcus thinks he’s a ladies man. He’s rude, lude and socially unacceptable. And the ladies…they do NOT love him. He’s so immature you want to throw him in day care so the kids there might teach him how to grow up. For now I never ever never want to see him in another movie. Unless he plays a more mature, sane person. Then I might give him a chance. It’s not you, Steve. It’s the character. I promise. I hope. I felt the same way about Christian Bale in The Fighter.

Now for the extras. Cussing. There was a little and Kate did drop the F-bomb. I’ve decided she must have that written in to all her movie contracts. “Kate must be allowed to be profane in at least one scene”. Sex. Yes, there is sex, or rather, implied sex. You see them head there and you see them after but you don’t see the “during”. HOWEVER…you do get to hear Darcy having sex. For longer than necessary. Nudity. Not really but only thanks to a well-placed blanket. And since the character was moving so quickly I did look to see if maybe there wasn’t a quick peek somewhere. There didn’t seem to be. Drinking and drugs. Lots of drinking and at one point Marcus pulls out a joint. Violence. None. Unless you count my stomach’s reaction to Marcus.

This is going to sound funny after all the character bashing but I really did like this movie and will watch it again. Just never when I’m in the middle of a mood swing. That won’t be pretty for anyone. I definitely do NOT recommend this for children. I wouldn’t even recommend it for P.T. or “kids” her age. As I said before, I read and liked the book and the movie certainly did it justice. Only a few things were left out and they were minor. It ended the way the book did so I was happy about that. If you’re in to Romantic Comedies I would recommend this movie. If you’re not then I wouldn’t.

P.S. Stay through the beginning of the credits. There’s no reason to stay through them all because the only thing you see happens halfway through.

P.P.S. Real people do NOT wake up beautiful in the morning after what we’re assuming was a very good night. And, considering how much they’d been drinking, they definitely cannot safely talk face to face without cringing from monster morning breath. Not in my world anyway.

Thor

2011-05-06T01:57:00.000-07:00

Many moons ago when I was just a young pup I read Thor "comics" and just knew that one day I would grow up and marry him. Who cares that he was just the product of ink and paper. He would be mine. Oh yes. He would be mine.

As you can probably guess I've been a little excited waiting for this movie to come out. P.T. has been every bit as excited but she never had the "history" that Thor and I did. I was worried, though, that maybe...just maybe...the movie wouldn't live up to my expectations. It very much did.

I went home from work yesterday and slept a couple of hours so I could get up and out to Quail Springs for the 12:01 a.m. showing. And as I sit here looking at the time I'm thinking, "I hope I make it through the rest of the day without falling asleep." Will it have been worth it? Definitely. Fortunately I bought my ticket ahead of time so I was able to just walk on in. I had to stand in line outside the theater for just a little bit but was soon able to head in and straight to my favorite place to sit. Top center. I sat there for an hour listening to all the other nerdlets around me who were just as excited as I was. It was so nice to be among my people.

Judging from what you've read so far you probably get that I liked this movie a little. There was one thing I didn't much care for. Why on earth would the movie peeps put things in the trailer that aren't in the movie? I don't get it. Other than that I was happy.

The Asgard set was absolutely stunning. I want to live there. And be tall, skinny and pretty. What? The Earth set was Earth. Nothing too exciting there. Except for the fact that a "tornado" ran through the middle of town and all of the buildings survived. Neat trick.

Since this just came out and most of you haven't seen it yet I'll keep talk of the movie itself to a minimum and focus on the actors. Chris Hemsworth is all kinds of pretty anyway but add the Thor costume and he's just one big hunk of man. I love to check out imdb to see what else these actors have been in and I just discovered that Chris is the actor who played George Kirk in the latest Star Trek film. Huh! Too bad they killed him off early on. In Star Trek...not Thor. And if you haven't seen Star Trek yet then oopsy. Chris did a great job as Thor. I have to admit that I liked him better when he got knocked down a peg or two but he did play arrogant well. Does he remind anyone else of Heath Ledger in A Knight's Tale? No? Okay then.

I like Natalie Portman again. Yea! I don't think I could have handled it (well, yes I could) if she'd been the whiny victim she plays in most of her movies. But! She didn't! She actually had some back bone. I think she and Thor fell in love too quickly but who am I to judge? I would have said that was a spoiler alert but if you saw the previews you already knew. And if you didn't...sorry. Thank you, Natalie, for not being a big baby. It was quite a relief after Black Swan.

I have liked Anthony Hopkins for years. He's played characters ranging from the English butler to the psycho cannibal and played them well. He was just so cool as the super hero and king of Asgard, Odin. And he was ginormous! Rene Russo played the part of Odin's wife and Thor's mom, Frigga. She was beautiful as always but also a force to be reckoned with. Do NOT mess with her man!

This movie was definitely about strong men but it was also very much about strong women. Case in point is Jaimie Alexander who played Sif, a female Asgardian warrior. She kicks some serious tuckus in this movie. And she's pretty too. It does bother me that she can take part in these major battles and when she's finished not a hair is out of place. There's something very not right about that. Jaimie seems to have been in quite a few TV shows but not many movies. Hopefully the casting directors will take note.

These were all my favorite characters. I'm sure you'll have your own favorites. The rating is PG-13 and I sort of agree with that but not whole-heartedly. Yes, there are battle scenes with lots of violence but really very little blood. Nothing graphic by any means. There were a few cuss words but not the major ones. I only actually took note of one cuss word but I'm pretty sure there had to be more. Maybe? There are no sex scenes or any nudity unless you count Chris with his shirt off which, as you know, I do. There is one drinking scene and they drink beer and Boiler Makers and I’m not quite sure what those are exactly.

I have no problem whatsoever with parents taking their kids to see Thor if they already take them to see movies like Transformers, etc. Not that it matters if I have a problem with it or not. I'm just sayin'. I would like to point out that I didn't see any children at this showing. They could have been there but they weren't around the area in which I sat. Yea for responsible parents!

I will definitely see this movie again. Probably at the theater. And then I'll buy it when it comes out on DVD and wish I had a big screen TV so I could get the full affect. I mentioned at the very beginning that I was in love with Thor when I was young. That still holds true except now I'm too old for him. And he's fictional. But other than that...

P.S. Enjoy the songs during the credits and stick around after. There's more.

P.P.S. I was informed today that I missed a funny. Pay attention to what's on the water tower. Ha ha ha.

Audition

2011-05-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

Spike is big on Japanese suspense and/or horror films so we watched "Audition" this past weekend. To put it mildly...I did NOT like this movie.

Following is the description as was posted on www.imdb.com:

"Widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all..."

Now for the list of reasons for my dislike:

1) The acting is not good. At all. Period.

2) In several scenes you notice a cute little beagle (whose translated-to-English name is Gang) running around inside the main character's house. Even without watching the film do I really need to tell you what happens to said puppy?

3) The girl who is chosen is just creepy looking. Even Spike thought so. We thought she'd be this beautiful woman a man couldn't help falling in love with but...not so much.

4) I think the producers realized that nothing very scary or confusing had happened in the first 7/8 of the movie so they decided to make up for it in the last 15 minutes. I only had to cover my eyes during one part of the movie. Give me a break! It looked like she was sticking long pins in to the eyes of the main character. Ouch! Turns out I was wrong. She was only sticking them in to the flesh underneath his eyes. So much better. Or not. One part even had a "Misery" feel to it.

And the plot went completely haywire. We just couldn't keep up. I still am a tad confused about how the movie actually ended.

I'm sure there were a lot more reasons than that but isn't that enough? I do NOT recommend this movie to anyone. Okay, if I had to choose I would recommend it to confusing Japanese movie loving types. That's the best I can do. And just because I mention this in other posts...Nudity...yes, there is some. Cussing...there might be but it's not translated to English. I guarantee that if I were having my foot sawn off with a wire I would let loose a phrase or two. Violence...well, yeah. Please don't ask if children should be allowed to see this movie. Adults shouldn't be allowed to see this movie.

Movie List - April 2011

2011-05-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, I did see one of the movies twice but the second time was because it was one of the three movies showing opening night at the drive-in.

1) Soul Surfer
2) Insidious
3) Cadet Kelly
4) Her Best Move
5) H.P and the D.H. part One
6) Tron: Legacy
7) In the Cut
8) Driving Lessons
9) Hop
10) Soul Surfer
11) Battle: Los Angeles (well…half of it anyway)
12) Audition

Soul Surfer

2011-04-08T23:17:00.000-07:00

The first movie I saw tonight was "Soul Surfer". It's the true story of Bethany Hamilton who was attacked by a shark while resting a bit during training for a surf competition. This was a really good movie. And it became quickly apparent that I didn't pay attention to any news of the things she did after the attack.

Okay, let's be honest here. How many of us would want to carry on with our ho hum day to day lives after something like that? I know I'd be hard pressed to get out of bed each morning. Not only did she get out of bed but just three weeks after the attack she was surfing again. Three weeks!!!

I didn't know ahead of time that this film has a Christian theme. Had I known I definitely would have seen it but this was a good surprise. This was yet another example of someone overcoming enormous obstacles with help from Above.

Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt did a great job playing Bethany's parents. AnnaSophia Robb played the part of Bethany. I've seen her in "Because of Winn Dixie" and "Bridge to Terabithia" and liked her in both. She doesn't disappoint in "Soul Surfer" either. Then there's Carrie Underwood. She's a really good singer.

There was no cussing and no nudity in this film. The girls wear skimpy bikinis in different parts of the movie but they're surfers. What do you expect? I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone. Just a warning though. The shark attack scene isn't graphic but they do show blood in the water and also soaking through the shirt that one of the guys used as a make-shift bandage. That's the worst it gets.

I hope you'll go see this. It's worth a couple hours of your time.

Insidious

2011-04-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

I saw two movies tonight and I'm going to begin with the second one. "Insidious". I saw this movie because my sister told me to so she could live vicariously through me. So...I get to blame her. Remember how I mentioned that I can't stand jump-out-at-you movies? That's all this was. If things weren't constantly surprising you it wouldn't be scary at all.

I read some reviews before I saw it and they mentioned that there aren't any fake scares. You know the ones. The girl hears something in her apartment and when she goes to check it out (and you think she's about to get axed) a cat jumps out at her causing both of you to scream and amuses the movie watchers around you. The reviews were correct. There wasn't one fake scare in the entire movie.

There was, however, predictability. You pretty much know who's going to die and who's going to be possessed. Those were the only things that weren't surprising. And I would really like to know who decided that violins were scary. Fortunately the symphony sensed when something bad was going to happen or were completely on top of things when something startling happened. They are very observant.

Amazingly enough the cussing was kept to a minimum. Yes, the F-bomb was used but only a couple times. Considering what all happened in the movie I expected much more. I mean if you're sitting at the dining table talking to your son and you see a nightmare over his shoulder I expect it to be like a night at the Osbournes. I don't cuss but I guarantee I'd make a sailor blush if something like that happened in real life. You know? And! There was absolutely no nudity. Not even close.

While I was trying to hide from the screen I noticed some of the couples around me and had a few giggles. The couple in front of me almost squished together so much during the scary scenes that they were dangerously close to becoming one person. The couple next to me had the man sitting on the edge of his seat and the woman so bothered by the movie that she couldn't sit still. And she couldn't get any further on to her seat than she already was. I think she'd have been through the wall given the choice. As for myself I was wishing I had gone with someone else. Then they could have told me what was happening and I could have hidden more often.

If you choose to go to a movie just to be scared then this is the film for you. If you seriously need to ask whether it's okay for children to see then you haven't been paying attention. The answer is NO!!! NO! NO! NO! And did I mention...NO!

Am I glad I saw this movie? Ummm...not really. Will I watch it again? Crap no! Would I recommend it to anyone? Only super horror freaks or guys who want their dates sitting in their lap through most of the movie. I'm telling my sister about it now and she's laughing at me. I pretty much knew she would. She's mean like that.

Restaurant Review - J & W Grill

2011-04-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

Spike and I got up at 4:45 in the morning yesterday to drive out to the Wichita Mountains for sunrise pictures. Yes, there are mountains in Oklahoma. And yes, there are two 4:45s in a day. Anyway, when I dragged my sleepy tuckus out of bed all I ate for breakfast was a little bit of yogurt. Later on in the day I had a banana. As you can probably guess I was nigh unto famished by mid-afternoon. Spike had eaten a real breakfast...I think...and had also eaten a banana and apple in the truck. He wasn't hungry at all, dang him.

We passed up several chain restaurants in Anadarko because my tummy just wasn't in the mood for them. When we got to Chickasha we were driving down the main street and came upon J & W Grill. I commented that it looked like a place that has really good food. I apologize to J & W for the following description but I need to explain my reasoning. Have you ever noticed that some of the most not-so-attractive restaurants have some of the best food? No? You don't frequent those types of restaurants? Well...you should. Spike didn't think it looked like much but said he'd stop if I wanted to. It was more my tummy's decision so we stopped.

From the outside it looked like a dive. One of those places where you wonder how they are still in business. From the inside it looked a little worse. It's a very thin building with one, count them one, table. The rest of the diners sit in short stools along a counter. My stool apparently didn't want me to sit on it as it kept trying to throw me. And poor Spike. He's 6'4" and was probably feeling a bit like Alice after she ate the magic mushroom. As for me, I was feeling a bit like Goldilocks. Minus the blond hair.

When we first walked in we were hit with the smells. Oh. My. Goodness!!! The smells!!! If you aren't already hungry when you walk in you will be soon after. My stomach is growling right now just thinking about it. The second thing we noticed was the feeling of being the stranger who walks in to the saloon in the wild west movies. Apparently this is a "local" eatery and we were so not locals. Everyone turned and stared and watched as we took our seats..ahem...stools. However, we bellied up to the bar and while Spike expected okay food I expected more. I won.

The first thing Spike did was ask if I wanted to share an order of fries. I said that was fine with me. I hadn't looked around much so I didn't understand why he didn't want his own order. The man loves food. The only time he wants to share is when we each get our own meal and we want to try what the other is having. In this case, he had seen something I hadn't. The quantity of fries. Nice! This picture doesn't do justice to the size of this basket o' fries.

Just a warning...these fries are super greasy. Spike had to sop up some of the grease with a napkin before he'd eat any fries. I had no such qualms.

We also ordered coneys. Spike got the coney with everything. I did not as I am allergic to healthy food. Okay, maybe not but slaw and onions on a coney did not sound appetizing to me...at all!

(Please excuse the blurriness of the picture. No matter what I did I couldn't get my phone to take a clear pic.)

I should have had them only hold the onions. Spike forced (okay, asked) me to try the slaw. It was so good! I have no idea what was in it but if we ever go back I'm getting it.

These coneys were on the small side but teamed up with the fries I was plenty full when we left.

Two men came in shortly after we got our food and they each ordered double double cheeseburgers. I wish now I had taken pictures so you could see what they got. Two things kept me from doing so. One, I didn't want to be rude/obvious and two, I am a tad shy when talking to strangers and I couldn't summon the gumption to ask if I could. Oh well. These burgers though...oh my! Spike and I decided that there must have been four patties on each one. A double double. We didn't actually pay attention to the putting together of the burgers, despite the fact that the grill was right across from us, but when they were delivered there was a LOT of meat. If anyone else has eaten there and actually knows what all goes on a double double please share.

Our bill came out to be a little over $8.00 for two coneys, two drinks (with free refills, of which Spike had several) and an order of fries. Not bad at all. And they definitely do not skimp on ingredients. You should have seen the amount of onions in those burgers. Yuck!!! And the people who worked there were very nice despite being very busy.

So, while it's definitely not haute cuisine it's also not a place you should pass by. Stop on in. You'll be glad you did.

Movie List - March 2011

2011-03-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

Apparently, March was a tad busier than February. That and I did a lot of reading this month. But here are the movies I snuck in in between books.

1) Zodiac
2) Molly
3) Frozen
4) Beastly
5) Inception
6) Red Riding Hood
7) Morning Glory
8) Sucker Punch
9) The Sound of Music
10) She’s Out of My League
11) The American

Sucker Punch (Rated PG-13)

2011-03-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

I went to see "Sucker Punch" today despite it's horrible reviews. It was directed by Zack Snyder who also directed "300" and "Watchmen". Both of those movies received better reviews than this film. Let's try to figure out why, shall we?

- "300" has lots of violence and killing AND a lot of blood and gore. "Sucker Punch", while having lots of violence and killing kept the b & g to a minimum. A very minimum. And most of the killing happens to non-humans.
- "Watchmen" has one very VERY bad sex scene. "Sucker Punch" doesn't have any.
- "300" shows lots and lots of half-naked men and naked women. "Sucker Punch" shows midriffs and cleavage.
- "Watchmen" has characters dressed in Marvelesque costumes that have, for some reason, shrunk as the characters have aged. "Sucker Punch" dresses their heroines in school girl/steam punk outfits. Okay, not so great but at least they fit.
- "300" has a very basic plot. Beat the enemy. "Sucker Punch" also has a basic plot. Escape from the mental facility.
- "Watchmen" has Carla Gugino as a washed-out superhero. "Sucker Punch" has Carla Gugino as a psychotherapist/dance instructor.
- "300" has male action heroes. "Sucker Punch" has female action heroes.
- I've run out of "Watchmen"/"Sucker Punch" comparisons for now.
- "300" has Gerard Butler. "Sucker Punch" has Scott Glen. Oh wait. Okay, so in that case, "300" is way better.

Of the three movies, I think "300" was truly the best. But! Of the remaining two, "Sucker Punch" blew "Watchmen" out of the water. I had to force myself to finish watching "Watchmen". It was painful!

I've decided that the reason critics didn't like "Sucker Punch" as much as "300" is because it's more believable for men to kick tuckus and take names. Right? Ummm...no. I will have to admit that it's pretty amazing that none of the women had a scratch on them after very closely escaping death. Neat trick.

Some critics mentioned that this film is full of eroticism. I have a feeling some of them must have been on a short fuse the day they saw this. "Sucker Punch" alludes to the main character's erotic dancing...alot...but we never really see it. It also alludes to forced prostitution but we never see that either...thank goodness. Yes, "Sucker Punch" is a tad fetishistic (is that even a word?) but I didn't spend the entire movie thinking "If only I liked short skirts and leather." If I did, "300" would have another vote in it's favor. I'm just sayin'. Maybe the critics think that the bustiers were enough to label it erotic. Who knows?

Other critics mentioned that the action scenes dragged on way longer than they should. I LOVED the action scenes. Well, most of them. I did NOT love the dragon scene. I was so not rooting for the good guys in that one. I would really really really like to have the imagination that brought about those scenes. I would also really really really like to have a synonym for the word "scene".

I would like to mention that there is a bit of a cheese factor in this. It would have come only dangerously close to the line without one character but Scott Glenn managed to throw it over that precipice all by himself. "You've got stand for something or you'll fall for anything." Wow! Poignant. Who needs Yoda when you've got this guy?

Yes, I did like this movie but I also have a few questions. How on earth did she manage to do what she did at the beginning of the movie? Why can't this director EVER end movies the way most audiences would want him to? He's just mean that way. Why are there no marks on the main character at the end? Very confused. Why was the orderly crying? It was his fault!!! Why don't they answer these questions?

If "Sucker Punch" hadn't ended the way it did I would watch this movie again. With it's strong message of girl power through most of the film it still ends with the statement that no matter what they did the men win. Grrr!!! I did, however, enjoy the opening song and it's connection to the mental facility. You sneaky dogs, you.

I was told that P.T. wants to watch this movie because the heroines dress anime-ish. I would definitely not recommend this movie for her. Even though, as previously mentioned, there is very little blood & gore there is still lots and lots and lots and lots of killing and violence. I also think she's smart enough to connect the dots regarding the prostitution allusions. And finally, I wouldn't want her to see it because of what happens to the heroine at the end. It made me mad when it happened in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and it made me mad here. Oh, and there is some cussing. Just thought I'd throw that in.

Just an FYI...if you stay for the credits there is a sort of music video. If you don't want to see that there is nothing else worth staying for. This is not one of those movies with the extra scene at the end.

P.S. I will definitely be getting the soundtrack.

Beastly

2011-03-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

This modern day version of Beauty and the Beast, while a bit over the top at times, still brings across the same tried and true lesson. It's not what's on the outside that counts. It's what's on the inside. This post is more me just talking than encouraging P.T. one way or another as she saw this movie several hours before I did. I asked her if she liked it and she gave the typical response most people get from me and her mom regarding movies. "It was good but it was sad when they died in the end." I strongly believe she was told to say that.

I loved how they brought this story to today. How many times in high school did we see the not so attractive people get picked on and do nothing? And how many times did we watch the pretty people get away with everything under the sun? Alex Pettyfer plays the part of Kyle/Beast, a rich beautiful person who has a not so fun home life so he takes it out on people he considers lesser than him. Vanessa Hudgens plays the part of Lindy/Beauty, a beautiful person inside and out. And Mary-Kate Olsen did a really good job as the "witch". Kyle was horrible to her because she was ugly. What I don't get, though, is why she was chosen for the part (based on looks) or why they didn't ugly her up any? The worst they did was give her tattoos on her face and some funky hair-dos. She was different but not ugly. Who knows?

What I liked most about this version of the story is that you get to see that Kyle cares for more than just himself and his lady love. At one point he begs for things for other people without putting himself first. It was one of my favorite parts of the whole movie. The "witch" tells him that she will take care of those other people if he succeeds in making the girl fall in love with him. So now it's not only about saving himself but helping others too. So cool!

The main thing that bothered me about this movie is that, yes, Kyle became a better person but what about all the people who encouraged him when he was a jerk? You'll see their reactions when he walks into the school while he's ugly. Maybe the director is letting us assume that Kyle's change will cause a trickle-down affect throughout the school. Yeah. I'm going to go with that theory.

Oh, and major kudos to the make-up artists. I didn't notice any major differences in Kyle's deformities throughout the film. You know what I mean. Where there's a mole on one side of his face in one scene but on the other side in the next. Nice attention to detail. For all I know they have some stencil they lay over his face every day but I choose to just be impressed and leave it at that.

I can see me watching this movie many times in the future. I liked it that much. As to whether or not young children should see it, I'll leave that up to you. There is a scene with violence. A man is shot and killed. You don't see it happen but you hear the shots and see the aftermath. I didn't notice any drugs but the party scenes made me think that alcohol was being imbibed though you never actually see anything being poured so you can choose what you want to believe it is they're drinking. There was no nudity. You get to see Alex's chest several times and Vanessa's cleavage but other than that people stayed clothed. Now, as far as cussing goes, there was plenty of that. The word of choice for this movie was b!+@# followed closely by b.s. with a couple a$$es thrown in for good measure. So glad Hollywood feels this is necessary for pretty much every movie nowadays. Next thing you know the Teletubbies will be incorporating that into their baby talk.

I wish we lived in a world where inner beauty is more important to everyone but sadly, it's not. I am glad to know that in more than a handful of relationships this is the case. I'm still hoping to find the fella who will get to know ME despite my shell. This movie makes me feel it just might be possible. Yea!

Movie List - February 2011

2011-03-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

I only saw one movie at an actual theater this month. Who knew February could be so busy?!!! So here is the list of movies I watched while continuing my role as Night Owl. Please excuse all the Disney Channel movies. I couldn't help it.

1) The Blind Side
2) Made of Honor
3) Aspen Extreme
4) Because I Said So
5) With a Song In My Heart
6) Taken
7) The Last Song
8) Cow Belles
9) Dorian Gray
10) Transylmania (so so so so stewpid!!!)
11) Beauty & the Briefcase
12) Princess Protection Program
13) Uncommon Valor
14) Starstruck
15) Read It and Weep
16) Wizards of Waverly Place
17) Trapped
18) Jennifer’s Body
19) To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (only made it through half of it but only because I fell asleep. Have seen this before.)
20) Stick It
21) The Nanny Diaries
22) I Am Number Four (my one and only theater movie of the month)
23) Dragonball Evolution
24) Revolutionary Road
25) Repo Men
26) Whiteout
27) Saved!
28) Tea With Mussolini
29) Fantastic 4
30) Alice in Wonderland

AMC, Shame On You!!!

2011-02-27T16:33:00.000-08:00

A woman I grew up with sent me the following picture of a notice she saw posted at the Quail Springs Mall AMC movie theater. For those of you who don't know where this is, it's in northern Oklahoma City.

There are so many things wrong with this sign. Let's start with the small problems. Nice grammar. I'm wondering if the powers that be did it intentionally so that people would think someone low on the totem pole posted this sign.

Second, it's usually not the children but the adults who are so distracting. The people who leave their cell phones on and have long conversations IN THE THEATER if someone calls them. The people who text in the middle of the movie. Yes, your light is distracting. The people who decide to take forever getting their candy out of the plastic wrapper because they're trying to be quiet. You're not! Rip it open and let us get back to the movie! The people who want to discuss the movie during the movie using their outside voices. I vote that we have ushers who escort any of these people out if it happens more than once during a film.

Third, they mention a 6:00 cut off. You can't imagine how many times I've been to the movies after 10:00 p.m. and seen people there with young children, some even school age...on school nights!!! Teachers, if you ever wonder why Johnny or Janey can't pay attention in class and has trouble staying awake you might want to check out the local theater the night before. I strongly believe the theaters should take some initiative in protecting these kids from their not-so-bright parents. If the movie a child is taken to will be showing after 8:00 p.m. no children should be allowed. I know this wouldn't be popular with some parents but it's one thing to mess up your own mind. Give your children a chance to develop theirs.

Fourth, please note the following paragraph borrowed from the Motion Picture Association of America website:

R — Restricted. Children Under 17 Require Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian. An R-rated motion picture, in the view of the Rating Board, contains some adult material. An R-rated motion picture may include adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements, so that parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously. Children under 17 are not allowed to attend R-rated motion pictures unaccompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Parents are strongly urged to find out more about R-rated motion pictures in determining their suitability for their children. Generally, it is not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to R-rated motion pictures.

If the people who rate the movies feel that they are not appropriate for a child 17 or under then why should being accompanied by an adult make a difference? What on earth do they think the adult is going to be able to do if the movie terrorizes said child and gives them nightmares. I can see how you'd sit back and say, "That's the responsibility of the parents. If they allow it, they can deal with it." What ever happened to protecting our children!!! It's bad enough that children go behind their parents' back, like I did, and read violent/scary/sexually explicit books and watch the same type movies. We don't need theaters encouraging the furthering of that type of "education". I will be the first to say that these affected my way of thinking. And I have a cousin who, as a pre-teen/teenager got so in to movies he watched they sometimes carried over in to real life for him. They just took over his way of thinking for a while. Do you really want to encourage that? I do NOT want any generation of children to grow up numb to violence, horror, cursing and sex. And, let's be honest here. How many theaters actually card teenagers who try to get in to R-Rated movies?

I made the mistake of showing P.T. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video before she was ready to see things like that. It stuck with her for a long time after and she had nightmares because of it. I know some of you may think this is crazy because you feel the video isn't so bad. It isn't crazy if her parent had protected her from the TV shows/movies that would have gotten her used to that kind of video. I could have kicked myself for scaring her like that but I was thrilled to discover that it did, indeed, scare her. I think that makes sense. And yes, it did get turned off the minute she voiced her discomfort. And yes, my sister had a word or two to say to me for scaring P.T. Good for her!

And fifth and finally, what kind of irresponsible parent/movie theater is allowing children 6 years old and younger in R-rated movies?!!! Do you not get that the first few years are the most important for a child? These are the years that begin to shape who they are. Anyone who has young children knows that they are little tape recorders. They remember EVERYTHING they see and hear. EVERYTHING!!! Don't believe me? Say something bad within their hearing about an adult they know then sit back and watch the fun. It will be mentioned at some point in time to that adult or someone close to them. No, the child is not repeating things out of malice. They're repeating things because their parent said it so it must be okay.

In case you were wondering, no, I don't have children. Then why I am arguing so vehemently for them? Because it would break my heart if the child of someone I know was affected by the numbness these movies/TV shows cause. There are enough people in the world who don't think twice about maiming/raping/murdering someone without adding to those numbers. You think I'm overreacting? Go talk to the parents of children who've intentionally killed other children. I've noticed that in a lot of the interviews the parent was completely shocked that their child had been planning these deeds for a long time. Why? Why weren't you there? Why didn't you know? What happened in their lives that made them okay with hurting other people?

So no, AMC (or any other theater for that matter), you cannot control what happens outside your business but you darn well can control what happens inside. Shame on you for hurting our children and encouraging their reckless parents. Go home and hug your kids and pray they get through another night with only good, innocent dreams. Let them wait until they're much older to decide whether or not to allow anything worse in. You owe it to them.

I Am Number Four

2011-02-20T22:24:00.000-08:00

I just got home from watching "I Am Number Four" and this was one of many times I wish I could have had the theater all to myself. This was a good movie but not good enough to keep my attention amidst all the distractions, i.e. the cell phone that kept ringing, the man and woman who not only brought the smell of smoke (not the good kind) in with them but talked through the entire show and finally the man who needed to shake his popcorn. I'm guessing all these people thought they actually had the theater to themselves. I have no other explanation for their behavior.

But, enough of that. I spent most of this movie thinking it would be a really good cartoon...pardon me...anime film. I had to look it up when I got home to see if maybe it already is. It's not. It is, however, based on a novel that I am definitely going to read. In most cases I believe that movies won't be able to live up to books. I have a feeling this is just such a case.

If you haven't heard of this movie yet, you're just not paying attention. I avoid television as much as possible and even I heard of this. The basic plot is about a teen alien who came to earth as a young child after his planet, Lorien, is destroyed. He is one of nine kids who escaped and is now being hunted down by the Mogadorians. I'm sorry but that name just cracks me up. Not sure why. The Mogadorians are the ones who destroyed his planet and now want earth. All that stands in their way are the nine Loriens. The movie begins with the third of the nine being killed. Stupid Mogadorians!

The acting, while not Oscar-worthy, is good. I would watch any of these actors, on purpose, in other movies. The lead character, John, is played by Alex Pettyfer. I like him. He made me feel for John. I especially loved that he stood up for the underdog. Except for being an alien he is pretty much the cute boy next door. I will definitely watch other movies in which he plays. P.T. and I are waiting for his movie "Beastly" to come out in March. Yea!

Playing the role of John's guardian is Timothy Olyphant. I already liked him from "Catch and Release". And I just read that he's married with children and has managed to keep them out of the spotlight. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult that would be. Oh! And I've decided that he's going to be one of those guys who just gets better looking with age. He's got the whole salt and pepper thing going on in this movie and he's all kinds of cute. Anywho, he does a good job of playing the nagging guardian of an alien teenager.

Callan McAuliffe plays the part of John's trusty side-kick, Sam. He gets picked on by the bullies at school and John stands up for him. I haven't seen Callan in any other movies so I just have this one to go on. If he doesn't get any other decent rolls then Hollywood isn't paying attention. The one thing I wish had happened in this movie but didn't is that John didn't knock Sam's step-father down a peg or two. Poor Sam was being bullied at home and at school. He could have been a gunman-in-the-clock tower waiting to happen but turned out all-right despite the people who were determined to make his life miserable.

And for the romance portion of this movie we have Dianna Agron playing the part of Sarah Hart (groan), John's girlfriend. Why do they give them names like that? Her part came dangerously close to cheese territory but never quite fell over the edge, thank goodness. And she didn't play the helpless/clueless lady love either. Sarah is intelligent and can stand up for herself. Okay, maybe not against Mogadorians so much. But you get the point.

The other good alien, Number Six, is played by Teresa Palmer. I didn't think I'd seen her in any other movies but it turns out she played the female lead in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". So there. I liked her in both films but wish she'd had more screen time in this one. You pretty much know who she is throughout the movie but don't really get to meet her until the end.

And finally, playing the Mogadorian commander was Kevin Durand. During the film I couldn't quite figure out who was playing the part though he did look very familiar. For a while I thought it was Jake Busey and having looked at both their pictures, they look nothing alike. Oh well. Most of you probably remember Kevin as Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I've also seen him in "Robin Hood" with Russell Crowe and "Mystery, Alaska"...with Russell Crowe. Even though he seemed to have difficulty talking around his villainous pointy teeth I was still glad that he didn't play the part of the foil in the movie.

There is violence in the movie but not a lot of gore. Close to the end of the film one of the monsters bites into the neck of another monster and while bloody it's not gag me bloody. And that's about as bad as it gets. There was also some cussing with s#!+ being the word of choice. You have to consider though what you would say if you were being chased and shot at by evil aliens. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be asking if they want a spot of tea. There is absolutely no nudity. Sorry boys. I saw several young kids in the theater and they didn't seem upset by anything that happened. I can't decide if it's because the "scary" scenes weren't that scary (they won’t bother most adults) or if kids today have just become numb to violence. I'm hoping it's the former and not the latter. Oh! And besides the Haunted Hayride scene where you sort of expect things to jump out there is only one jump-out-at-you scene and it’s at the very beginning. I tell you this because I am not a big fan of jump-out-at-you scenes. They are the reason I cover my eyes during scary movies.

I will watch this movie again and don't really see any reason why P.T. shouldn't be able to see it. It's a good get-away-for-a-bit movie. I didn't feel like sitting at home tonight so I decided to see this instead. I'm glad I did. Now…back to reality.

P.S. I so want a dog like the one in this movie. I'm just sayin'.

The Last Song

2011-02-12T22:52:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching "The Last Song" starring Miley Cyrus as Ronnie Miller, Bobby Coleman as her little brother, Jonah, Greg Kinnear as her dad, Steve and Liam Hemson as her boyfried, Will. While it was great in concept I found the finished product lacking. Being a Nicholas Sparks novel we automatically know that someone is going to die. I feel so sorry for the characters in his books. I mean, you know they're just sitting there thinking, "Oh crap. Which one of us is the expendable crew member?" And although I will admit to shedding a tear or three I guarantee I cried more in all of the rest of the films made from his books. Why? Sorry to say it...Miley Cyrus.

I get that the casting director probably thought since Miley is so popular she'd bring in the crowds. Unfortunately, I think the crowds that she would bring in are too young to have to deal with this kind of movie. Yes, it deals in reality but when you're the age of most of her fans shouldn't we, as adults, protect them from that reality as long as we can? Life, and in some cases, death, is going to hit them soon enough. Once again using P.T. as an example, I would love to be able to protect her from every harsh reality of life. Can I? Nope. First of all, I live over 700 miles away from her. Second, even if I lived in the same house I wouldn't be able to. Life happens. But I refuse to encourage her to soak in this part of life before she absolutely has to.

Wow! Got off on a HUGE tangent there. Where was I? Oh yes. Miley Cyrus. While her rainbows and lollipops acting/singing is great for The Disney Channel/Radio I felt it fell short here. Way short. Crawling the last mile to the finish line short. There are so many other actresses that could have played the part. And played it well. Amanda Seyfried would have been a great choice. Oh wait. She already was. It's so sad that "Dear John" came out around the same time. It really must suck to have that comparison out there. I will admit that I've seen several episodes of Hannah Montana. It's a great way to get a big dose of silliness. I imagine, though, that Miley doesn't want to always be known as Hannah Montana. Maybe this was supposed to be a stepping stone. Maybe baby steps are what's needed here.

I really like Greg Kinnear and thought he was great in this movie until the last few scenes he was in. Once again, something was just missing. And Kelly Preston...why has she just been relegated to the rarely seen mom lately? I don't get it.

I would really love to see more of Liam Hemsworth. No. Not THAT way. But then again... Take a moment with me. I picture a movie starring Liam, Chris Klein, Josh Hartnett and Channing Tatum. And for some reason they go everywhere without their shirts. Even restaurants let them in topless. But they have to wear shoes in the restaurant because that would just be gross. And there should be a pivotal scene in the movie involving Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel and Jason Statham. Also shirtless. Just take a second and imagine it with me. Okay I'm back. Sigh.

There were times I really like Liam in this film then other times, not so much. But he did really well with what he had to work with. I would love love love to see him in another movie with Bobby Coleman. I could so easily picture them as brothers. Actually, thinking back on it, Bobby seemed to bring out the best in the actors with which he shared scenes. I even liked the scenes Miley was in with him. And don't get me started on the scenes in which he cried. I was a mess. He must give his parents a run for their money.

This was a good one-time watch for me. Had different actors been involved I might have liked it enough to watch it again. I wouldn't recommend it for young teens. Enjoy life before you start depressing yourself. Being a teenager is hard enough as it is without adding bummer movies to the mix. Maybe wait and watch after you fall in love for the first time. It would be perfect to add to all the other drama going on. It's a good older teenager, just had a fight with your boyfriend, sitting on the couch wallowing with a pint of ice cream and a bag of Twizzlers kind of movie. Then go and get on with your life. It gets better. At least that's what I'm told.

Seven-Layer Cookies

2011-02-01T13:06:00.001-08:00

I think more people would put this in the "bar" category but since we've always called them cookies in my family that's how they'll stay. I think these are best right out of the oven with a glass of milk. Chewy, gooey, goodness!

And today's line-up is:

1/4 C. Oleo (butter for you youngsters out there)
1 C. Graham Cracker crumbs
1 12 oz. pkg. Chocolate Chips
1 12 oz. pkg. Butterscotch Chips
Coconut
1 Can Eagle Brand
1/2 C. Pecans (Chopped)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter and pour over the (inside) bottom of a 9 X 13 pan.

Next, crunch up your Graham Crackers. I usually use just regular Graham's but this time I accidentally grabbed the cinnamon ones. They are just as good!!! I've found that one of the easiest ways to crunch up the Grahams is to put them in a Ziploc, get a drinking glass and pound away. This time though, they tried to escape. Oh no! Please note the pot holder underneath the escapees. P.T. made that especially for me. Wasn't that sweet?

Pour your crunched Grahams over the butter and completely cover bottom of pan.

Next, cover the Grahams with the chocolate chips. You might have too many so feel free to grab a few to snack on.

The butterscotch chips are next. Yum! As mentioned before feel free to snack away! Isn't this a cool little "pan"? I found it at the Antiques Barn in Castle Rock, CO. I love it!

On top of the butterscotch goes the coconut. Add as little or as much as you like. I LOVE LOVE LOVE coconut so I went a little overboard. Except for one little corner. I made these cookies to take to work and my office mate can't stand coconut. How un-American! But because I'm nice I left one corner coconut free. She was very happy.

Next comes the Eagle Brand. Pour the entire contents of the can right over everything. Doesn't that look healthy? And if you have cats you might share a dollop or two. And if you're a vet please act like I didn't just type that. Thank you.

Finally, add your chopped pecans. The recipe calls for 1/2 C. but as with the coconut it's really a matter of preference. I just chopped up a bunch and threw them on top.

My mom has had this type of pecan chopper (yes, I know it can chop other things) for years and I always enjoyed being the one who got to use it. I found this one at a garage sale and grabbed it up. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing. And, as you can see, I was watching TV while baking. Ghost Hunters cracks me up!

Bake for 30 minutes then enjoy the melty, yummy, goodness.

These are the only two I ate. That day.

And now since I'm hungry and bored because Oklahoma is snowed in today and I have plenty of milk I really want to go make some more of these. I think I will.

Movie List - January 2011

2011-01-31T19:15:00.000-08:00

I've decided, just for grins, to list the movies I've watched each month. If you see anything you want to know about leave a comment and I'll do my best. Yes, I know you can always go to imdb but where's the fun in that?

1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
3) Tron: Legacy
4) Christmas Unwrapped (technically not a movie but I'm counting it anyway. so there)
5) The Ultimate Gift
6) Next
7) Christmas In Connecticut
8) Just Wright
9) A League of Their Own
10) The Punisher
11) Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
12) Sex & The City 2 (I have no excuse for this)
13) Twilight
14) New Moon
15) Ice Castles (2009)
16) Robin Hood (2010)
17) Runaway Bride
18) Mortal Kombat
19) Mamma Mia
20) Killers
21) Letters to Juliet
22) The Karate Kid (2010)
23) Hellboy
24) Hellboy 2
25) Eclipse
26) Requiem for a Dream
27) Center Stage: Turn It Up
28) Perfectly Prudence
29) G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
30) Idiots and Angels
31) Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
32) The Fighter
33) Black Swan
34) The Mechanic
35) The King’s Speech

The King's Speech

2011-01-29T23:09:00.000-08:00

This was the fourth and final movie I saw yesterday and I'm so glad I saved it for last. It was well written and had one of my favorite actors in it. I will definitely watch this one again and again.

I don't think I've ever heard much about King George VI except as an aside for the story of Queen Elizabeth's ascension to the throne. Having never seen or heard King George VI I can only assume that Colin Firth did an excellent job portraying him in the movie. I was genuinely hurt and embarrassed for him several times and was nearly brought to tears by his successes. I first noticed Colin when he played Lord Henry Dashwood in "What a Girl Wants". No, not one of the most intellectually stimulating movies ever filmed but still a nice little escape every once in a while. I've seen him in several movies since and he just keeps getting better and better.

Helena Bonham Carter played the part of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. I haven't cared much for her acting in many movies since I saw her in the 1985 film "A Room With a View". She did well as one of many villains in the Harry Potter movies but I think "The King's Speech" is now my favorite for her. I would like to know if Queen Elizabeth was really like that. She was played as strong and supportive with a lovely sense of humor. If she was portrayed as she lived then she truly made King George the man he was. She married him despite the fact that he was a Royal and, according to the movie, because he stammered when he spoke. It was one of my favorite lines in the entire film.

Geoffrey Rush did an excellent job as Lionel Logue, speech therapist and friend to King George. He's been such an inconsequential (boy that sounded snobbish) actor on my movie radar that after seeing this I feel I need to go back and watch some of his movies again. Other than the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series. I've seen enough of those, thank you very much. And there's still another coming out. Yikes! He and Colin Firth play well off each other. I would love to see them in another movie together.

I would recommend this movie to just about anyone. I say "just about" because of the amount of cussing and I don't want parents to sit their children in front of this thinking that it's perfectly all-right. The F-word, S-word and others are used quite a lot but not in a profane manner. You'll have to see it to understand because if I tell you about it I'll totally ruin one of the scenes for you and it's a good, fun scene.

I would love to have met these people. I, myself, am terrified to speak in public and I can't even begin to imagine doing so with a speech impediment. Kudos to you King George. What I'd really enjoy is to watch this film with today's British royalty and find out how true to life it really is. I'm sure I'll receive my invitation any day now.

The Mechanic

2011-01-29T22:33:00.000-08:00

The third movie I watched today (well, yesterday now as it's after midnight) was "The Mechanic". This was an action movie with several explosions, lots of killing and a couple attempts at morality.

I like Jason Statham - he's so pretty - but it appears that he is NEVER going to play a different role...ever! If he already has and I just haven't seen those movies then I beg your pardon. In this movie he is...yup, you guessed it...an assassin. But with a heart of gold. I really would love to see him in a different type of movie. By the way, ladies, there is a really good Jason Statham butt shot scene in this film. And if you aren't using a "stunt" bottom, Jason, then well done, you. I could definitely picture him in a romantic comedy. I'm just saying.

I was really hoping for a totally different ending for this movie. I just knew it was going to end my way. It didn't. I was hoping that someone who died at the beginning really hadn't and he was going to show up later on and everything would be hunky dory. I have no idea what that means but I use it a lot. Anywho, I think my version may be a tad more girly than the producers had in mind. That's probably why they didn't ask me. That must be it.

I will more than likely watch this again as I love a good action flick. Or because Jason's in it. Whatever.

Update (01/31/2011): I was sleepy when I wrote this review and it just dawned on me that I didn't say whether or not I would recommend it for younger type people. The answer is, "No!" As you can imagine there is lots and lots of violence, there is a nude/sex scene, as previously mentioned, and I'm sure there was cursing but I slacked on this one and didn't pay as good attention as I should have.

Black Swan

2011-01-29T21:50:00.000-08:00

The second movie I saw today was "Black Swan" starring Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers. I must make it known right away that this post should probably be rated PG-18. I didn't say PG-13 because I wouldn't want to give the idea that I would be okay with my niece reading this. One of the main reasons for these movie reviews is to give readers an idea of what they'll be walking in to. Like all those poor saps who had no idea about "that scene" in "The Crying Game" or the love story in "Brokeback Mountain". Please be aware that there are spoilers throughout this post. I'm just warning you now. If you are a young person reading this blog please please please skip to my next post. I stand by my opinion but that doesn't mean you need to read it.

Despite the fact that "Black Swan" is a movie about a ballerina it became apparent that the demographic for the film was immature males. This movie is perfect if they are in the mood to enhance their masturbatory fantasies (I'm going to hear from my mom about that statement). Not only did it have Natalie Portman, who many men have informed me is very hot, but it had Natalie Portman diddling herself a couple of times and then later on Natalie Portman being diddled by another woman. Then, of course, we have suspense and murder. Lovely!

I have defended Natalie Portman to Spike repeatedly as he does not share the opinions of the masses mentioned in the previous paragraph. That stops now. I'm hoping that by the end of "Black Swan" they were trying to portray her as something other than the naive (word for the day apparently) waif she typically plays. The change was great while it lasted but it didn't last long enough. I completely agreed with the character of the ballet director in that he couldn't stand her constant display of cowardice and fragility. I tend to be a tad introverted myself but this was ridiculous.

I was almost sorry for the mom, played by Barbara Hershey, by the end of the movie. It sort of seemed as if the film-makers were partially blaming her for the downfall of her daughter. While, yes, she was a tad over-dramatic at times (the cake scene) I don't think it was enough to push someone over the edge. I mean, good grief, if you are an adult who can't stand being controlled by your parents then move out. Problem solved.

And then there were the unanswered questions. I get the fact that the role in the ballet completely took over Nina's life - who out there didn't hear about what led to Heath Ledger's demise? - but it seems as if important parts of the movie were cut that might have explained a little more of that. And she got so in to her role that she thought she was turning in to a swan??? I can totally work with the thought that an actor may get uber-involved in his character as a madman but a bird? Really??? It's like she got the role then immediately went crazy. And then there's the mystery of what happened to Beth. Now, if you've seen the movie and have read my blog before, you know it kills me to say that I am curious about this character. Unfortunately, I didn't go to imdb.com to check out the different actors in this film ahead of time. They managed to sneak Winona in on me again. Why????? And finally, did the producers really think Nina (or anyone for that matter) would be able to finish a ballet after getting stabbed in the belly? I mean, come on. This may be aimed at infantile men but give them at least a little credit.

I'm not going to break down the reasons why this would not be a good movie for children due to violence, sex, etc. I'm just going to put it this way. This is NOT a movie children should be allowed to see. Period. Exclamation point!

While this was okay for a one-time watch I will not be viewing this movie again. Good luck at the Oscars, "Black Swan". I don't think you should win much of anything but you'll probably end up taking home every award for which you received a nod. Kinda makes me question the powers that be.

P.S. As most of you know, "Black Swan" only took home one Oscar and that was for Best Actress. I didn't see the other movies in that category but it must have been a really sad year if this was the best you could find. I think I'll watch the other four movies and let you know what I think.

The Fighter

2011-01-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

When I do remember to blog it's usually just one per day but today you get the great honor/pleasure/joy (you choose) of having four. Wahoo! Despite the fact that it was an absolutely gorgeous, warm day in January I decided to spend it inside watching movies. Don't worry though. I'm waking up at 0-dark-30 to take pictures of the sunrise. Makes me sleepy just thinking about it.

The first movie I saw today was "The Fighter" supposedly starring Mark Wahlberg. I was prepared to see a movie about a very good boxer but instead it seemed to be more about his older brother, Dicky Eklund with Micky Ward (Wahlberg) as a side story. Despite the fact that the producers seemed to be confused about who was the star of the movie I still really liked it.

I heard this past week that "The Fighter" received several Oscar nominations including Best Supporting Actor for Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actress for Amy Adams, Best Supporting Actress for Melissa Leo, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay and finally Best Movie. As mentioned on the radio as I was driving home from work, you'll notice that none of these include Best Actor. You might ask why but I've seen the movie. I know why. If the character Mark played was true to life then he didn't have a lot to work with. I know that sounds harsh but give me a second to redeem myself. Every person in his life was so dominating. He seemed to be the peacemaker (yes, peacemaker) in the middle of a bunch of people who so obviously believe they are right. All.The.Time! So, if the real Micky Ward was always in the background of all the drama then why wouldn't the actor who portrayed him be also? Having seen a few of Micky's fights I was rooting for Mark to do well. I really was.

Let me start this next bit by telling you how much I adore (but in a totally non-stalker way) Christian Bale. He had me since the song "Santa Fe" in the movie "Newsies". I was in college and he was dreamy. I believe Christian did a very good job portraying Dicky Eklund if Dicky truly was the brash, annoying, must-have-all-the-attention-all-the-time person this film shows him to be. I couldn't stand him. And I couldn't stand that Micky needed him. Christian did a tremendous job but I never want to see him in this kind of role again...ever.

I can't believe Micky Ward survived the women in his life. It wasn't bad enough that he had all those loud-mouthed sisters but he had to be the middle man in the battle royale between his mom and his girlfriend. Fun! Melissa Leo played the part of Micky and Dicky's mom, Alice. Now, we all know that parents aren't supposed to have favorites and if they do they would be smart to keep it to themselves but according to "The Fighter" Alice so obviously put Dicky above anyone and everything else. It was painful to watch. He ends up in jail for goodness' sake and he's still the golden child. If I just ruined part of the movie for you then you apparently didn't see any of the previews. Sorry about that. Amends are made somewhat close to the end of the movie but not enough for my taste. Hopefully there was more to that story than what was shown.

The other "large" woman in Micky's life was Charlene played by Amy Adams. I've enjoyed her movies since I saw her in "The Wedding Date". Her character then was so over-the-top naive that you just had to love her despite her stupidity. The naivete is apparent in this movie also. What kind of person thinks she's going to waltz into the overbearing estrogen zone that was Micky's mom and sisters and think she was going to tell them how it's gonna be? I absolutely cannot believe she wasn't flattened. Once again, there was probably more to that story also. I do like that she stuck to her convictions but was able to bend when it was Micky's happiness at stake. Way to go, Charlene!

I am highly likely to watch this movie again and perhaps even buy it but I wish DVD's came with a bleeped version. The only person I've heard use the F-word as much as the Ward/Eklund clan did is my ex. Not only as an expletive but also as an adjective. Use your words, people!!! Would definitely NOT recommend this to P.T. even though she's 13 now. I know she's heard the words before but this was overkill. So, if you're not my niece, you're okay with profanity and you like a good underdog story, I definitely recommend this movie.

Update (02 February 2011): I was reading through this post again and realized that I have seen movies in which one character used the F-bomb so many times that a script almost wasn't needed. Wesley Snipes in Passenger 57 and pretty much any movie (except "Star Wars") starring Samuel L. Jackson. OH! And the HBO series, "The Wire". I barely made it through the first episode. I would love to get hold of that script. It must read, "Say the F-word a lot and then add a few other words to make it seem as if there's a plot." I'm just guessing. Maybe it's changed since the first season. Let me know if it has and I'll give it a second chance.

P.S. Christian Bale won the Oscar for his role as Dicky Eklund. I really really wanted Geoffrey Rush to win. And to make matters worse, Christian seemed to have forgotten his wife's name in his acceptance speech. Oopsy. I wonder how many Oscar winners end up sleeping on the couch the same night they receive their award.

Green Chile Casserole (and a Christmas present)

2011-01-18T20:16:00.000-08:00

Before I share this super yummy seems-like-a-winter-type-food-but-I-love-to-eat-year-round recipe I wanted to show you what I got for Christmas.

Ta-daaaaaaaaaa!

To say that I'm super (that seems to be my word for the day) excited about this is an understatement. I had this on my Christmas list but never expected to get it. Not because I thought no one would want to get it for me but because it's a tad big to carry on an airplane. You see, my family decided for some reason that moving to a state with a more temperate climate and usually way whiter Christmas than Oklahoma was a good idea. So, in order to spend Christmas with them I must fly. And boy are my arms tired. Thank you! I'll be here all night! Don't forget to tip your waitress! But I digress. I got this nifty little studio and was actually able to fit most of it in my luggage and my lovely parents mailed the pieces that couldn't go with me on the plane. Yes, my parents do rock. Thank you for asking.

Then! Because I lost poor Crocky in a car unloading accident and happened upon a good sale at Wally World, I got myself this:

Wahoo!

It was cheap and seems to work. Two of my favorite things.

So, now I'm set to blog to my heart's content. Let me just say now that I hope, dream, pray that the pictures will start getting a LOT better. And what better way to start than with one of my favorite health hazards...I mean meals...on the planet. I give you GREEN CHILE CASSEROLE!!!!

Starring:

1 lb. Ground beef
2 cans Cream of Chicken or Cream of Mushroom Soup. OR! Something I discovered while shopping for this recipe...Cream of Chicken AND Mushroom. Who knew?
1 1/2 to 2 soup cans full of milk. Depends on how juicy or thick you want your casserole
1 small can Green chiles
Tortillas torn in four parts
Grated Cheese
(Preheat oven to 350 (degrees...in case you were wondering))

First, brown your ground beef. I added a little Italian Seasoning and Garlic Powder. Yum! But that's totally up to you.

Dump hamburger bits in to a sieve to get as much grease out as possible. We're already going to clog our arteries enough without the extra fat to digest. Blech! While that is draining, heat your soup, milk and chiles in a medium-sized sauce pan. Or a small one if you don't care if it gets really full. Or a large one if that's all you have. Once again, it's up to you. Aren't I helpful? Make sure you stir this while it's heating or it'll burn and you'll have little charcoal tasting bits in your casserole and this is NOT a dish to be ruined!

(What I love most about my choice of utensil here is that my mom can't roll her eyes or groan about it. Why? Because she got it for me! Bwahahahaha!)

Okay, once your mixture is nice and hot, add your browned ground and stir. Keep stirring while at the same time covering the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan with the tortillas. You may need three hands for this. Or go back and forth between the two. Whatever.

Pour half of your soup/chile/cooked cow mixture over the tortillas. Add another layer of tortillas then pour the rest of the mixture over that.

This still looks a little too healthy. Let's take care of that right now.

Do you hear that? It's your cardiologist rubbing his hands together and laughing while he tries to decide whether to buy new golf clubs or take a big vacation. He's not a nice man, you know.

Stick in oven (the casserole...not your doctor) until cheese is nice and melted. If this were a video you could watch the bubbling, yummy goodness of it all.

When that's done I like to set it on the stove top for a few minutes to thicken. If you like it hot and juicy right out of the oven then go for it!

I'm not usually a "left-over" food type person but I have no problems noshing on this for dinner for a few days. Just pop it in the microwave for a minute or two and you're good to go.

The end!

Paranormal Activity 2

2010-10-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

Despite the puke fest that was Paranormal Activity I've decided to see how I manage with the sequel. Wish me luck. And you might send some luck to the Warren Theater ushers too. I'm just sayin...

Pork Roast

2010-09-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

This was my second attempt at slow-cooking a pork roast and it turned out pretty good for the most part. We'll just ignore the fact that it was still a little pink when dinner time rolled around.

I used a two pound pork roast, carrots cut in quarter inch sections, sweet onion cut in huge chunks so I could easily pick it out, red potatoes cut in medium-sized chunks with the skin and a can of hominy (juice included).

The hominy went in first, followed closely by the pork roast then rounded off with the veggies. I did this without a recipe and was informed later by Spike that the vegetables should have gone in first. Well...phooey.

The yummy, colorful mess cooked in the crock pot for about 8 hours on high. And despite the pinkness of parts of the roast, Spike went back for seconds. I tell myself it's because I'm such a good cook and not because he's a living garbage disposal. It's what gets me through the day.

And by the way, the hominy juice really did make a huge difference. Made things even tastier. By the way, Mom, if you're reading this...No, I did NOT eat the carrots. They were quickly transferred to Spike's plate when he left the room to get napkins. I'm sneaky like that.

As you've probably noticed, I actually made it through a meal without drama. However, I would like to take a moment to say goodbye to an old friend. When I was removing "Crocky"...he liked it when I called him that...from the car he quickly fell to his demise. Poor Crocky. He never stood a chance. Some day I'll remember that small hands should not carry big things one-handed.

Do you think it's too soon to mention that I want one of these now?

I'll miss you Crocky but I've just gotta move on!

Chicken Pot Pie

2010-09-05T02:48:00.000-07:00

This is the first of what I know will be many blogs on comfort food. The outside temps are starting to drop, it’s football season and Fall is in the air. It’s definitely time to start thinking hibernation. Unfortunately, I’ve got the required hibernation blubber. I may have to share more of these than I consume. That’s okay, though. I have more fun in the preparation anyway. And I have no idea why we call this pie. We just always have. So…on with the show.

Starring:

Chicken breast, frozen veggies, cream of chicken soup, Grand’s flaky biscuits, milk

First cut the chicken into chunks and boil it. You could also buy the pre-cooked chicken at Wal-Mart…you know, the kind in the little warming oven thingie close to the front of the store…and tear it in to tiny chunks. Either way works well.

While the chicken is boiling, heat 2 cans of cream of chicken soup and then realize that you’ve forgotten whether or not the recipe calls for milk. Call your mom and disturb her while she’s in the check-out line at the store (oops). She will tell you that it calls for equal parts soup and milk. So, heat the soup AND milk. Then, if you’re like me, step away from the stove to load the dishwasher and do other things that take your attention away from the meal. Wanna take a guess at what happens if you don’t stir your soup/milk concoction every once in a while? Oh well. They're not your dishes. Okay, maybe they are yours but in this instance...they weren't mine.

At this point Spike will walk in and gripe about how hot it is in the kitchen. (I was making this meal at Spike’s house and his kitchen is the bane of my existence. It was built for tall people and I am not tall people.) You will need to point out to him that if you were the giant he is you would have turned on the fan. Maybe you should talk him in to putting a longer chain on it. Then he’d hit it with his head every time he walked under it. But! That's his problem. He will turn the fan on, go back outside to finish mowing the lawn and all will be right with the world.

Once the chicken is cooked you’ll need to cut it in to smaller, bite-sized pieces. I like chunky chicken so these weren’t very small.

Pour the soup/milk in to a 9 X 13 dish. Add the veggies and mix well. Oh! Look at all the colors!

Next, mix in the chicken. Finally, stretch a hole in the middle of each biscuit and place on top of the soup/milk/veggie/chicken mixture.

If you get the mixture completely covered and THEN realize you haven’t torn holes in the biscuits and decide that it doesn’t need holes and you’re going to bake it as is, think again! The biscuits MUST have holes. Otherwise they won’t cook as well and you’ll end up with burnt biscuit tops and super soggy biscuit bottoms. And no one wants a soggy bottom. Bake according to the instructions on the biscuit cans. You might want it to cook a little bit longer judging on how cooked the biscuits look. You might also have a couple or 4 biscuits left in the can. You can either cook these along with the pot pie or eat them raw. I’m a big fan of the latter.

While waiting for your meal to bake, decide that you need to go ahead and document some of the witty remarks running through your head to be added to your blog. Grab your keys and run out to your car where you, for some silly reason, have a notebook or two. As you get close to your car, realize that something doesn’t look quite right with your passenger window. Calm the slight increase in your heart rate and then walk to the backyard to have a chat with Spike.

Walk back to the front yard and await Spike’s arrival. Feel really, super bad for Spike because you see how awful he feels when he deduces that his weed whacker must have kicked up a rock. And he had been so careful to make sure nothing like that happened. Drive your car around to the driveway so he can use his shop vac to clean up the mess. Grab a few things like a hammer, screwdriver and trash bag for Spike and head back in to the house to check on dinner.

It looks and smells almost done but one side of the biscuits is darker than the other. Reach in to the too high for you oven and turn the dish around. At this point, wish that you could create smells on the computer so you can share just how yummy is the aroma emitting from the oven.

Let cook a few more minutes if needed. Tell Spike that dinner is ready and go ahead and serve. Enjoy the fact that Spike went back for seconds.

P.S. Spike fixed my car window himself. And! while he was working on my car, I got to drive his truck so I used it to go pick up the bird bath I bought from my grandma when she moved in to a retirement home. Bonus! The bird bath…not the fact that grandma moved in to a Home.

Paranormal Activity

2009-11-03T21:59:00.000-08:00

I would love to be able to give you a full review of this movie but sadly, I missed a good portion of it. Seems I was coming down with a stomach virus and it didn't really kick in until about 15 minutes in to the movie. Was feeling fine and then all of the sudden.... I would like to take a moment to give a couple "attaboys!" to the ushers at the Warren Theater in Moore. I didn't quite make it to the bathroom before I lost the popcorn and lemonade I had previously consumed. In fact, I didn't make it to the bathroom at all. I made it to the hallway halfway in between the theater and the bathroom. Nice! Neither of these guys made an "oh-my-gosh-she-just-puked-in-the-hallway" face nor did they gag or make me feel worse than I already did. Thank you thank you thank you. I did offer to clean it up but they said it would be taken care of. Yuck! I went back in to the theater after cleaning myself up and within 10 minutes went back outside for round two. Made it to the bathroom that time. After the first round the usher asked what movie I was watching and when I told him he acted like that wasn't surprising. I found out today that several people have hurled during this movie. Who knew?

Now that that's out of my system...so to speak...on with the movie. Maybe the hurling was such a humiliating experience that the movie didn't affect me as it should have. I laughed more than I gasped. This might have had a little to do with the men who were screaming. Big babies! I will admit to not watching the very last of the movie. I admit it. I'm a chicken! The only reason I was even watching this movie is because it was Halloween and that's what I do on Halloween. Usually I watch the scary movies at Spike's house but he was too good for that this year. This year he had to go to the OU/K-State game instead. Not that I wouldn't have, given the opportunity. I had to ask Poodle (the girl I went with) how the movie ended because she actually watched it. Oh, and Spike's team lost. Ha ha!

I'm going to have to wait to give a real review of this movie. I think I'm going to have to go back and see it all the way through just to redeem myself. Or not. Anyone else want to pipe in with their opinion? Lemme know! I did appreciate that there wasn't a lot of "jump out at you" scares in the movie. I really hate those. It was almost complete suspense. The "crawling-up-on-your-seat-or-on-to-your-dates-lap-because-something-is-about-to-happen" kind of suspense. Sometimes I like that. Sometimes...not so much.

Goodbye Jack

2009-07-15T10:15:00.001-07:00

You were loving and loved. You never met a person you didn't like. You licked my tears when I was sad. You cuddled with me on cold winter nights and even sometimes when it was hot outside. You waggled your tail and ran to greet me with your ears flapping in the wind when I came home. You made me laugh by howling at noon every Saturday when the sirens sounded. You flopped over on your back when I was near so I could rub your belly. You fell asleep in my arms while we were watching movies. You loved to sit in my lap when we went for rides in the car. You bounced impatiently for me to put new straw in your house and jumped in to get it settled before I was finished. You slept beneath the rosebushes with the sun shining on you. You didn't complain when you got sick. You still wagged your tail and tried to show you loved me when I got home to take care of you. You let me say "Goodbye". I love you for that even though it hurt. I will miss you, my sweet Jackie.

My Sister's Keeper

2009-07-08T10:50:00.001-07:00

What would you do to save the life of your child? If you are like most parents your answer would be, "Anything!!!" But, what if, to save this child you affected the life of another of your children. Is there a line you shouldn't cross? How far is too far? And what makes the life of one child more important than that of the others? These are just a few of the questions brought up in "My Sister's Keeper".

I usually take notes during the movies so I'll remember what I might want to use in my blog but I got so caught up in MSK that I hardly wrote anything at all. This was a very thought provoking movie. At times I wanted to question the sanity of the whole deal. Ponder this...one of your children is dying of Cancer so you genetically engineer another child for spare parts. It's kind of scary to think about.

Sara, the mom, played by Cameron Diaz, gained my sympathy because of her devotion to her terminally ill daughter Kate, while at the same time earning my loathing because of her treatment of her younger daughter, Anna (the spare part kid). She doesn't show any kind of affection toward Anna until the end of the movie. It leads me to wonder, if this were reality, would Anna ever be able to forgive Sara for not only creating her for a specific purpose but then, on top of everything else, making it so painfully obvious that she is not the cherished one? When Sara slaps Anna I was so wanting someone to step in but it never happened.

I usually go on and on about the different actors at this point but I don't want to stray too far from the film itself. I'll make it quick. I want to see Joan Cusack in more dramas/dramedies. I really hurt for her in this film. Jason Patric did a really good job as the dad. I especially liked him in the beach scene. The actors who played the siblings, Abigail Breslin (Anna), Sofia Vassilieva (Kate) and Evan Ellingson (Jesse) were incredibly believable. And I believe that everyone should have a Taylor (played by Thomas Dekker) in their life.

I would suggest against parents taking young children to this movie. Not only is there quite a bit of cussing but it's just too mature a subject for them. I agree with the PG-13 rating in most instances. PT is only 11 but Armat took her to see MSK. Do I disagree with her decision? Not at all. She knows what her daughter can handle and wouldn't have taken her if it would have affected her more than you would normally expect. I think that makes sense. I would like to add that it felt like things were missing from this movie. At one point it's mentioned that the brother turns his life around but we never saw him do anything really bad except come home late. He seemed to ride public transportation a lot but we never see where he goes.

I'm not quite sure how to recommend this movie. Is it a good idea for a date? Sure, if you don't mind blubbering all over your partner for the evening. I went by myself, as usual, and was glad I did. I came really close to being a complete mess. It did make me question, though, what I would do. Could I love a child so much that I would bring another into this world just to save them? Would I be okay with consigning the "spare part" child to a half-life in which a lot of their decisions/actions would have to be weighed as to how is would affect the beloved child? Could I really love a child I saw as the salvation of their sibling and still let/make them give up any chance at a normal childhood? I wanted so badly to judge the mom in this movie but how can I? I don't have children of my own and until I do I have no real idea the extent to which I, as a mother, might go. I do know what I would do for PT and that tells me a lot.

Carol Sue

2009-07-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

Her middle name isn't really Sue but her first name is Carol. She is one of my friends from work, she has a wicked sense of humor, she is very kind and she loves loves LOVES to make cool looking cakes and cupcakes. I got on the super decorated food kick a little after she did. The difference is she actually does something about it. I mainly sit back and partake.

I won't be posting many blogs with food that other people have made but I couldn't pass this up. Carol Sue made this cake for our boss's birthday and it turned out wicked cool, man. I believe she said that it's a chocolate/chocolate chip cake. Yummy. I forgot to ask what kind of icing she used. My bad. She was, however, freaking out on the phone last night when I called her. Apparently she had a little difficulty dying the candy coating black. Can you tell? I think not. And now, for the unveiling. Drum roll please....

Sweet!

The Proposal

2009-07-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

I'm curious as to whether the director and writer of this movie ever saw another Sandra Bullock film called "While You Were Sleeping" and if not, why she herself didn't mention that she'd already played the I-lost-my-family-and-now-I'm-touched-because-yours-is-welcoming-me-with-open-arms role. I guess it just didn't come up. Aside from this obvious lack in forethought and the fact that at times it felt like something was missing this is still a pretty good movie. I would definitely recommend it for a date night. There's a little something for everyone.

It's basically about an overbearing (and that is way under-exaggerated) boss who is going to be deported back to Canada so she forces her assistant to marry her. As you can imagine everything goes downhill from there. It's fun and painful to watch the story unfold. I only had one complete ewwwwwwwww! moment when the stripper showed up (in the movie, not the theater). I've seen that guy in something else but I can't think of what. Oh wait. I just looked him up on imdb. He was on Reno 911! I cringed through the entire strip scene. To any of my friends who even consider getting me a stripper if I ever manage to get married again...please please please let him be in much MUCH better shape than this guy was. Please? Oh, and...don't get me a stripper. Thank you.

Because the ending is pretty much a no-brainer even if you've only seen the previews I feel safe saying that I am just NOT a firm believer in people falling in love in JUST 3 DAYS!!! I mean, come on people! I could possibly see it from his point of view since he'd been her assistant for 3 years. He knew almost everything about her especially the fact that she is a complete and total jerk. Then of course she mellows out around his family so he gets to see her softer side - in more ways than one - so he falls in love. I'm cool with that. But her? Give me a break!

Now, as far as the actors go I LOVE Sandra Bullock. She is pretty, she is funny and she's talented. Darn her. She plays hateful well. I especially liked her scenes with the dog. And that whole full-frontal thing they keep mentioning? All the important parts stay covered. The film crew got to see way more than we do. Same goes for Ryan Reynolds who I am free to love being as I'm a girl and all. As I mentioned in my "Wolverine" review I think he is just a pretty pretty man. And I mean that in the most masculine way possible. It still cracks me up that he strips down while he's standing on his balcony. I want a house by the water in the middle of nowhere so I can do that. Oh wait. I probably still wouldn't do that. There are some things nature just does not need to see. Anyway, back to Ryan. Sigh. Enough said.

Playing Ryan's parents are Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson. Kudos again to the casting director. The only thing I didn't like was that Craig's character was not very nice. I've liked him since he was on "Coach". And Betty White was a wonderful Gammy. If you don't guess what she's doing during the airplane scene you need to stop and wonder a few things about yourself. Of course, if you read this before you see it you'll figure it out a lot quicker (more quickly? most quickest?).

It did earn it's PG-13 rating so parents may want to consider before taking their kids to see it. While the full-frontal isn't really it doesn't leave much to the imagination. We did discover that both Ryan and Sandra are in REALLY good shape. I tend to like Sandra Bullock movies - except "Forces of Nature" - so it's not surprising I liked this one too. And, if you're like me, you'll want to punch Mr. Gilbertson in the face during the wedding scene. You'll see what I mean.

Oh, and another shout out to three women who need to borrow a clue. Believe it or not you were NOT the only people in the theater last night. Not all of us wanted to share your conversation throughout the movie. Neither did we want to listen to your foot stomping when something was funny nor the constant crinkling when you were getting in to whatever you were eating. And I would especially like to thank you for the view of your backsides when you stood up. No, they didn't moon me. There was just too much of them and too little clothing. I promise I'll do better from now on about being cranky regarding other theater patrons. Or I'll just keep it to myself. Probably the wiser choice.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

2009-06-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

I liked this movie. Almost as much as I'd hoped I would. The list of animators was about a mile long and they earned every penny they made. I hope they earned a lot of pennies. I saw the first Transformers movie with Popcorn Toes and we couldn't stop talking about it for the longest time. Of course, part of that was due to the fact that she is a kid and easily more impressed than most adults would be. I really enjoy watching movies with her. Mainly so I can see or hear the myriad of reactions she displays. That is a show in and of itself.

But enough about PT. We're hear to talk cars. Talking cars. Transforming cars. Cars that totally kick Decepticon butt! Did I mention cars? Just checking. This starts in 14,000 B.C. and shows humans fighting the original Transformers. Those savage transformers are just cool. Sadly, some of them are also the bad guys. Dang. But, you can't have a kick butt action movie without a few bad guys. It just doesn't make sense for the good guys to be fighting each other all the time. Gets confusing. My two favorite bad guys were Megatron and Fallen. I just found out that Hugo Weaving did the voice for Megatron. Let me just tell what a huge fan of his I am. Okay, maybe not. I don't have that much time. I'll just leave you with this...The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, V for Vendetta. OMG!!!

Now, as for the good guys. I like 'em all. Even the Twins (Mudflap and Skids). They were hi-larious!!! And I thought the girl motorcycles were cool too (Arcee). Bumblebee and Optimus Prime were my all-around favorites, though. Optimus rocks! He was cool at beginning of the movie but when he gets stuff added on (I don't want to ruin it for you) he is "Awesome baby, with a capital A!" I want one! And a Bumblebee too. I like people who talk using songs. I myself tend to do that on occasion. I wonder what the insurance would run me on these two guys/cars. Yikes! I can't say too much else about them without major spoilers so I'll just say that they are awesome and you need to see this movie. So there.

The F/X were so cool. It always amazes me that they can blow up cities and aircraft carriers and such and none of it is really real. I think that makes sense. Poor Paris got picked on again. Not Paris Hilton...Paris, France. Pick on the former all you want. I don't mind. In how many movies does Paris get blown up? Manhattan is another favorite to be destroyed, it seems. Have you ever noticed that small cities almost never get blown up? Why? Because no one would care. But, that's not important right now.

As amazing as the F/X were I am so disappointed in the editor and whoever else should have been paying attention. I mean, if I can pick out the mistakes you'd think the person whose job it is to fix said mistakes would notice them also. Hollywood seems to love their characters coming through ordeals unscathed. In this movie alone our main characters are dropped from a few stories high while they are in a car and walk away with no injuries. Yes, they had airbags but how many of you out there who've had their airbags deployed walked away without at least a burn or two? Hmmm? Hmmm? And later, two of these characters are being chased around busted up homes in Egypt and end up falling off the second floor of a home and have stuff flying around them and they get up without a scratch. And before they fell they were running along the tops of houses while things were blowing up around them. At one point the dust and debris is so thick you can barely see them. Any cuts this time? Nope! SPOILER ALERT!!! The only marks we see are when one of the characters almost dies because of an explosion. They get burned and cut and even limp a little after. But! They don't act hurt when people run up and hug on them. Come on now!!! Oh and the little bit where a windshield gets majorly busted but in a shot a few seconds later there are just a couple of holes? I need a job in Hollywood. I think I could do better. I'm just saying...

As for the parts I could have done without. There was a bit of cussing that could have been left out altogether. I understand when you're getting blown up that you might let something fly but otherwise...use your words, people!!! I also could have done without all the testicle references. This movie was definitely made by boys. Women just don't find the need to mention that particular body part very often. And what I really, REALLY could have done without was seeing John Turturro's butt. Was that necessary? Eminem, I feel your pain. Well almost. It wasn't actually in my face so there is a bit of a difference.

I would like to shake the hand of the casting director. Good job, you! Shia LaBeouf was excellent again as the main character. He should have felt right at home as this was an Indiana Jones meets Independence Day meets Herbie kind of movie. Yes, I know he wasn't in the other two. Work with me here, people! Megan Fox returns as his girlfriend Mikaela. Why has she only been in two movies? If I were a guy I'd think she's hot! Okay, I'm a girl and I think she's hot. You got a problem wit dat? I still don't think that Shia's character would ever end up with Megan's character. I mean, he's not a rock star or anything. And many, many, MANY thanks to the casting director for including Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson. The women of the world (or at least America) thank you.

Aside from the mush scenes that were obviously added to draw in the female audience - which is stupid because a lot of women will watch an action movie just for the...well, action - I really like this movie. Now, as for the movie experience...the man behind me FELL ASLEEP!!! Dude, if you're that tired stay home and go to bed. Things are exploding and this man is snoring!!! And not softly either. People from several rows around us were getting annoyed. And, I went to the 9:00 P.M. showing and there were quite a few kids there. First, don't bring your kids to late movies. They need to be in bed. Second, this really should be a watch-before-you-let-your-kids-see-it kind of movie (mainly for the language and testicle references). And finally, a big shout out goes to the two...ahem...lovely people who stayed for the credits (as did I) and then talked at the top of their voices through all the music. Oh, and they moved down a couple of seats away from me to do it. What is the point? Go home and talk! I don't usually stay through the credits but I just had to this time. The music was awesome! I am so getting the soundtrack!

Repo! The Genetic Opera (Rated R)

2009-06-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

If you're in to twisted movies AND musicals then this is the film for you! I saw the synopsis for it on Netflix and then saw the preview before another movie I rented and it looked kind of interesting. In a creepy sort of way. The closest thing I can compare it to is "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and that doesn't hold a candle to "Repo!"

"In the year 2056 - the not so distant future - an epidemic of organ failures devastates the planet." (Lionsgate on imdb) A company called GeneCo emerges offering organ transplants. GeneCo is ever so kind in allowing people to set up payment plans for the organs. But! If even one payment is missed Repo Men are sent out to bring back the organs. The other part of the story is about a girl named Shiloh who is suffering from a mysterious disease for which she is trying to find the cure.

As I've mentioned before, I am NOT a big fan of horror/slasher flicks. This one didn't affect me as strongly as other horror films have. I think the surrealism of hearing people sing while they rip peoples innards out helped with the gag factor. And they show you the innards too. You don't just get to imagine what is happening. Blech!

Spoiler Alert!!! One thing that bothered me about this movie (when so much more should have) is that the "good" guy never finds out that he wasn't the one who poisoned his wife. In most movies, if the good guy thinks he did something that the bad guy really did, at some point he finds out. This is usually where the good guy beats the stuffing out of the bad guy. Not so in this movie, dang it.

I really liked the costuming and scenery in this. Spike liked the Genterns uniforms. A lot! But then, he is a boy, so this is to be expected. The city reminded me of the computer game "Syndicate". The attention to detail was amazing. And even though the lyrics in some instances are a tad...off shall we say, I wouldn't mind getting the soundtrack for this. As an ex music major it's so impressive to hear some of the things composers come up with. My favorite is when two characters are singing at each other and it's just like a regular conversation where both people are talking at the same time. That's just cool.

I only didn't like two actors in this movie. The first isn't an actor at all. She is Paris Hilton and no one really knows how to classify her. Oh wait. Yes, I do. But I choose not to be that mean. For now. I still have no idea why she's famous. The other is Bill Moseley who plays the part of Luigi Largo. All he does is yell a lot. He was more annoying than entertaining.

Alexa Vega plays the main character, Shiloh. I though she looked familiar but I just couldn't place her. So, when the movie was over I imdb'd her. She is the girl from Spy Kids. I found out that she sings some of the songs for the Spy Kids movies and she does her own singing for Repo! Actually, I think everyone did which was not always fortunate. Not only is Alexa a good actor but she's got a good set of pipes too.

Anthony Stewart Head (or Tony Stew Head as I like to call him) plays Shiloh's dad. I've come to like him as the librarian/vampire slayer trainer on the Buffy series. When I saw the previews for Repo! he was the main reason I wanted to see the movie. He's so uptight in Buffy that I thought it would be cool to see him otherwise. He's still a bit uptight in Repo! but he does it to music! And the man can sing!!!

There are several other characters I could talk about but this would end up being too long. I thought Grave-Robber was pretty good looking in an odd sort of way but the other character that I really liked was Blind Mag. This part was played by Sarah Brightman. If you don't know who she is, well I'm sorry. She was the original Christine in "Phantom of the Opera". She's got several albums out and has an amazing voice. In Repo! she has an eye transplant but these aren't ordinary eyes. They're way cooler than that. They project holograms. I'm kind of curious how she gets them to do this. Does it show her memories? Are they preprogrammed? I need to know!!!

If you can stomach (no pun intended) organs being ripped out of bodies and syringes being stuck up corpses noses (to pull out a drug called Zydrate) and enjoy a good musical then you should give Repo! The Genetic Opera a try. I think it's one of the best Rock Operas. But parents, I would strongly recommend against letting your children see it. Yikes!

Seafood Pasta Salad

2009-05-27T11:23:00.001-07:00

Finally! A meal to go with your movies. This is one of my favorite summer meals. Spike and I have made it on several occasions. He found the recipe in one of his cookbooks and sticks to the exact measurements. I stuck to the measurements the first time and then decided I liked doing it better my way. Spike does not appreciate this. But now, without further ado...Seafood Pasta Salad!
Starring:

Imitation krab meat, grated cheddar cheese, colorful twist pasta, bell peppers, celery and ranch dressing

You can wait until your pasta is cooking to cut up your veggies which is what I usually do but last night I cut them while the water was boiling. I used 1/2 red, 1/2 orange and 1/2 yellow bell pepper along with one large celery stalk. You can use just one type of pepper if you want. I just really like the different colors.

And since my veggies were already cut before the water had even started to boil I had some time on my hands. You can do whatever you'd like during this time - read a book, make some phone calls, paint your nails - or you can do what I did. First, you can empty the dishwasher. Then, you can go out to the garage to get your little green portable fan to set on the counter while you're cooking because you don't want to turn your a/c on yet and it's stinkin' hot in the kitchen right now. When you go out to the garage to get said fan you can hear your puppy dog's tail hitting the side of his house because he knows you're right on the other side of the door and that makes him happy. You can remember that you need to change out the straw in his house so you stop to do that. Please pet him while you're out there. He needs a little attention. So, you put the straw in his house and he jumps over the side and settles in before you put the top back on. He's so cute that you have to go get your camera and take a picture (I forgot to use the red eye remover...forgive me). Oh man! I just noticed the weeds in the background. Please pretend that my back yard is beautifully manicured. I will feel much better.

Then you put the top back on his house and go back inside. Please wash your hands because dog hair and straw probably don't go well with Seafood Pasta Salad. The water should be boiling now so go ahead and dump in the bag of pasta. The pasta doesn't necessarily have to be the colored kind but I'm all about bright, happy food. You now have ten minutes to waste. At this point you can go out to the garage to get your little green portable fan to set on the counter while you're cooking because you don't want to turn your a/c on yet and it's stinkin' hot in the kitchen right now. Apparently the puppy dog got you sidetracked earlier. It's a vicious cycle. This is why it takes me forever to clean my house. Sad, but true.

Drain the pasta and go ahead and run some cold water over it. This won't hurt anything as you're going to put it in the fridge (or freezer if you're hungry and don't feel like waiting) for a while. Trust me, come midsummer you'll want cold pasta as opposed to it's warmer cousin, Fred.

Put the pasta in your serving bowl and add the ranch dressing. Boy, doesn't that look healthy. I used 1 cup for this recipe because I like it to just coat the noodles. If you'd like yours a tad creamier then add more. I won't judge.

Next comes the cheese. Can you feel your arteries hardening? I put in 1 1/2 cups using my cool new measuring cup from Pier 1. You can see it in the first pic. I like it a lot. I'm a cheese freak so you can tone it down or add more. It's up to you. Mix all this together and then add your veggies and imitation krab meat (I used 1 lb.). I wonder where imitation krab comes from. Any ideas? Oh, I guess I should recommend cutting up the krab. Unless you like big chunks. Then leave it. When you're finished you should have something resembling this (minus the creepy hand). This makes about 8 servings.

Enjoy!

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

2009-05-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

A baby is screaming. The gentleman in front of me actually stopped his car and got out to make sure he left me plenty of room to lower the tailgate if I so choose. A couple of cars over some teenagers are acting like Beavis and Butthead. Kids are playing football in the aisles. People are sitting on lawn chairs, on top of vehicles or, like me, on a mattress in the bed of my friend's pick-up. Someone just pulled a futon mattress out the back of their sports car so they could lean part of it against the back of the car and still have plenty to sit on comfortably. Such is an evening at the drive-in.

I eagerly await the opening of Winchester Drive-In every Spring. I found out today that it's one of only seven drive-ins in Oklahoma and the only one in OKC. Why are drive-ins dying out? Where else can you pay $6 per person ($3 for kids, 2 and under free) to watch up to 3 movies? I went to a really cool drive-in in Denver a couple years ago with my parents but it has since closed. How sad. I wonder if the people next to me realize their parking lights are on? Oh wait...they figured it out. By the way, please ignore the tin-foil wrapped radio antenna. My radio/CD player may be new but apparently it's still old school.

It's the perfect night for a movie or three. Just a few wisps of clouds float in the sky. I laid directly under the big dipper. Spike would appreciate the humor in that. As for the rest of you it's just a wasted inside joke. There are only a couple of things I don't like about drive-ins...bugs and airplanes. Oh, I forgot....smokers. Gag! Right before the second movie a couple of geniuses decided to back their car in to the spot caddy-corner from me. This normally wouldn't catch my attention but the passenger, instead of getting out and directing the driver that way, decided to open his door and hang out of the car to give instructions. It wouldn't have been quite so funny if the goober wasn't having so much trouble staying in the car and keeping the door from swinging all the way open while he was doing it. Intelligence at it's best ladies and germs.

I went to the drive-in to watch two movies...Night at the Museum and Wolverine (again). Night at the Museum was okay. It definitely wasn't as good as the original but I still wouldn't mind seeing it a second time. In how many other movies can you see Custer, Amelia Earhart, Teddy Roosevelt, The Thinker, Einstein, Darth Vader, Oscar the Grouch, Ivan the Terrible (properly translated in his country as Ivan the Awesome), Napoleon, Al Capone, Abraham Lincoln, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Wright Brothers, American Gothic couple, Attila the Hun, George Foreman, etc...?

I loved the special affects (effects?). I think it's especially cool when they make normal-sized people look really tiny. Owen Wilson's character Jedediah Smith was seen climbing through a small rust hole, was later seen on the swing of a bird cage and finally ended up stuffed in to an hourglass. But, I think my most favoritest effect (affect?) was the giant doggie balloon animal that was bouncing all over the place. I want one!!!

My favorite actors in this are Hank Azaria as Kahmunrah (half god, once removed, on his mother's side) and Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart. I would see pretty much any movie either of them are in so it helped that this movie was also worth watching. I would recommend going to the theater to see this only because the affects (effects?) just aren't as good on a TV. Well, unless your TV is wall sized.

Okay, I just found out on imdb that Hank also played The Thinker and Abe Lincoln in this movie. See why I like him? He's so versatile. A lot of the jokes are aimed at adults but there are a few funnies for the kids too. I just didn't hear a lot of the kids around me laughing during the movie. Maybe they were otherwise occupied. Who knows?

I've decided to do away with my breakdown of the movies. I'll still let you know about the cussing, violence, etc. but I'll string it throughout the posts. I think the only thing in this movie that would possibly scare small children is the octopus but you find out later that it's actually nice so you can reassure your kids early on. Oh! And I promise to figure out which is correct...effects or affects. I've always had trouble with those two.

Twilight - Take Two

2009-05-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

So, Armat broke down this weekend and let PT watch Twilight. Armat had neither read the book nor seen the movie so she kept asking PT questions about what she knew from reading the book. Thus, she missed important parts of the movie. Goob. I say that with love. Or laughter. Take your pick. Following is Armat's opinion of the movie. I'll add PT's later. So without further ado....

I have not read the book, nor was I a fan to begin with. I only watched in order to make sure it was okay for my daughter, PT. Why is Bella so depressed/depressing? I know her family is split, but come on now. Can't we turn that frown upside down? Did the writers really put in all the huffing and puffing she does at the beginning of every single line? The entire first half of this movie made me think of Kirk's debut film on Gilmore Girls. The lines are short and almost matter of fact. "Do you wear contacts?" "No." He leaves. Come on now. I know they are trying to hide they're feelings, but it's just too simple. All the spoken lines are very abrupt, but then the scenes with the music playing and they are talking, they are chatting up a storm. Must be a vampire thing that they can only open up and talk when music is covering up all the words. Overall it's a cute movie. Reality is not so real. First of all it's vampires, second she trusts him completely with what little she knows of him, and third he has total self control. The third one is the kicker. One last bashing of the movie before I move on to what stuck in my mind. How did James get her cell number? Is that his vampire ability, to know everyone's numbers? Hmmm.

Okay, the good stuff. Even though I think it's funny they portray a 17-year-old dude to have full control of his desires, I do like the sweet sincerety of him revealing he's watched her sleep for 2 months. Considering her trust in him and the whole freakish abilities of vampires which should scare her to death, it was an "Aww!" moment that he did adore her and wouldn't hurt her even when she was out cold and had not a clue. And the final scene when he so gently kissed her (I knew that was coming). How stinking cute!

Will I read the books now? Yes, even though I already know what happens because I've asked everyone whose read the books to tell me all the details. Did I ask my daughter questions throughout the entire movie? Yes and she didn't mind. She even loved it that, due to my vocal box being warmed up ready for another question, one part of the movie made me scream. Am I hooked on yet another tween fad? Absolutely. I think we all like when the bad, mysterious boy turns out to be the good guy only we know about.

PT asked me who I thought was cute in the movie. I think Edward nailed the whole bad boy thing, with a cute humorous twist. PT has posters of him on her wall and I don't think he's physically cute, but I think his character really did it for me.

Do I give it a grade now? My adult mind says "I guess I'll give it a B." My remembering my tween years mind says, "Like, oh my gosh, he was so cute and I loved it and I just can't wait 'til the next one comes out. A-."