Movie Night

Daniel and I spent the weekend consumed with a minor home improvement project. We were painting, repairing furniture, installing newly built furniture, and so on. Oh, who am I kidding?! Daniel was painting, repairing furniture and installing newly built furniture. I was busy telling him how and where to do those things. I'll excuse my bossiness because it was my office that he was working in. But, really, I'm just a bossy person.

Anyways, the kids were left without the usual fun family time we have on the weekends, so we improvised and made Monday night a family movie night. Yes, we made a mess of popcorn in the living room floor and the kids were in bed late on a school night. Oh, well! We had a great time.





Nevermind Daniel's expression. He was really into "Night at the Museum." Ha! I think it was the sitting on the floor that he wasn't into. He didn't last long before heading to the couch to enjoy the rest of the flick. But, we were all there, snuggled up together by the end of the movie.

Movie Monday - Frost/Nixon

I am a political junkie so I loved this movie. The setting is post Watergate and a British talk show host conducts a series of TV interviews with Richard Nixon. If that sentence doesn't intrigue you as much as it did me, don't rent this film. However, if you crave politics, get it. 

Daniel was bored throughout the film and didn't enjoy one bit of it, but I thought it was a great movie. Now, I want to find a way to see a copy of the actual interviews with Frost and Nixon. 

One thought I had at the end of the film is, "Where did political corruption begin?" My politically-current and politically-cynical mind thinks that politics can not exist without corruption. But, this movie made me consider that there was a time when the two did not go hand in hand. Whether it started with Nixon or someone before him, I think Nixon is the reason people like me think that every politician is somehow corrupt. That's an unfortunate legacy for someone who rose to the position of President of the United States.

Movie Monday - He's Just Not That Into You

This movie was the absolute chick flick I had been hoping for when I rented Revolutionary Road last week. In case you've been living under a rock the past few years, author Greg Behrends wrote a best selling novel a few years ago to tell women that when a guy doesn't call or ask you her out, he's not into you. He parlayed the book success into a daytime talk show, but it must not have been as good, because it's no longer on. However, the screenplay adapted from the book is a real winner!

There are enough different story lines throughout the movie, that I didn't get bored with any of them. And, it's all so relevant! I wish every dating woman could see this movie! The theory is that the lie little girls are told, "Little Timmy pulled your hair because he likes you," is the cause of 25 year-old women who can't stop calling or stalking a guy because there is obviously some reason he didn't call her back after getting her number or going on a first date or meeting at a party. If you weren't one of those women, you knew one of them, or five of them. Women make up all kinds of excuses. He's intimidated by me. He lost my number. He must be busy with work. He might have gone out of town. Not matter what the excuses are, this movie squashes all of them. 

It was so entertaining that I'll probably rent it again. And, I think I'll get it again when Daniel's home. I called it a chick flick, but I think he'll be just as entertained by He's Just That Into You. 

Movie Monday - Revolutionary Road

I thought I was getting an award winning chick flick with this one. WRONG. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio? Why would I think anything else? Titanic was probably the cheesiest award winning chick flick ever. The thought never crossed my mind that they would come back together and star as man and wife who hate each other, or love each other but just don't like each other, I still haven't figured that out. 

This movie was one of the darkest movies I've ever seen. Especially considering that the couple had two children, the misery of their homelife left me uncomfortable rather than entertained. 

The screenplay was adapted by a book published in 1961, and I think I would enjoy the book. I can take, and even enjoy, dark literature much better than on screen. It's considered one of the best English-language books since 1923, so I may be adding it to my stack of books to read. As for the movie...

I'm not sure if it's a bad movie or just not what I was looking for that night. I don't know. I just know I won't be seeing it again. Ever.

Movie Monday - Doubt

I'm not quite sure what to say about this flick. Although it wasn't awful, I wouldn't recommend it. The acting was superb, but the plot was a bit boring. I love Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Meryl Streep, so I expected more entertainment from this group. But, I don't think the screenplay gave them much to work with. 

In short, the film takes place in a Catholic school where Meryl is the headmaster and Amy is a young teacher. Phillip is the priest of the church where the school is located. True to Catholic schoolteacher stereotyping, Meryl is cold and mean and directs that towards the priest when she suspects him of priestly behavior. And, in thinking about that actual plot, I think I've figured out why I didn't like the movie. That was all of the plot! I'm not leaving anything out. That was it. So, I think it was the lack of story that left me wanting a better movie. 

You may want to rent it if you need to wind down and are having trouble sleeping.

Movie Monday - The Caller

I'm now wondering why I'm reviewing this. I guess it's because I haven't written a Movie Monday entry in quite a few weeks and this is the only movie we've seen in that time. I wish I had something better to offer you. This movie was terrible. 

Daniel went to sleep and I was wishing I had done the same. It was one of those films that I just kept thinking... "It's going to get better any minute..." because surely no one would make a movie this horrible. But, I was wrong. Someone made a horrible movie.

It was boring, lacked a plot, Elliott Gould was poorly cast and bugged me the entire movie, the soundtrack lulled us to sleep, etc... In other words, don't see this movie. 

Movie Monday: Australia

We used our free movie code last Monday to see Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in Australia, though we almost didn't see all of it. It was stinkin' long and we both struggled to keep our eyes open until the end! Every time I thought it was wrapping up, a whole new plot would begin and it started back up. I think it could be split up into three different movies and not be almost three hours long all at once. 

Also, I had some problems understanding the aboriginies' thick accents at many times, especially during the opening sequence. But, I got past that and thoroughly enjoyed the aboriginal boy who, in my opinion, was the lead character. If it hadn't been for him, there wouldn't have been a movie. 

Despite the length, it was a good film. I wasn't expecting much from it since it flopped at the theater, but it was a good movie. And, it doesn't hurt that Hugh Jackman takes his shirt off a few times. I didn't like it as much as I loved Baz Luhrmann's earlier film, Moulin Rouge, but he still made a very pretty movie -- again.

Movie Monday: Catch-Up

It's been a few weeks since I posted a review, so I'll use this to catch up on our movie viewing. Since we've had so many days off work around here in the past three weeks, we've had quite a run of trips to the Red Box and I've got several to review. In fact, Wednesday night will be the first time Daniel and I have both been at work since March 18.  So you could say we've been having a staycation of sorts, and we can't spend every evening playing Cribbage, reading, working Sudoku puzzles or discussing current affairs. Hence, the list of flicks we've seen in the past three weeks...

Hitch: This movie stunk to high heaven. I would much rather have watched an entire season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air than sat through two hours of continuous one-liners and cheesy scenes. Ugh... It's not a recent release, so it's probably too late to save you from this movie, but I wish you had saved me from it.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Interesting, depressing and surprise ending are the three thoughts I have about this movie. It was adapted from a book that I would probably have enjoyed more than the movie, but it certainly wasn't a waste of my evening. I'm sure it would be great for anyone who enjoys dramatic or historical flicks.

Slumdog Millionaire: I had been itching to rent this as soon as it was released, but Daniel had no interest in seeing it. Fortunately, he thoroughly enjoyed it as much as I did! (He thought it was going to be a liberal view of the children of India, which I think was an assumption based on only on the knowledge that it featured actors from India and won a bunch of awards in Hollywood. I think that means Daniel doesn't think very highly of Hollywood opinions, but this time they were right.) It's a great screenplay and an overall wonderful movie!

Bedtime Stories: I mentioned that we watched this Saturday night with the kids when we created our substitute pancake feed. (Abigail's school had a pancake supper fundraiser on Friday night which we did not want to attend, and offered up a substitute movie/waffle night to appease her disappointment.) Of course, the brinner was successfully yummy, but the movie was also surprisingly enjoyable and entertaining for all four of us. It's a cute flick.

 

Seven Pounds: After seeing Hitch, I was leery of Will Smith, but this was an interesting movie and not at all of the same lame genre. I wasn't sure what to think about the movie until the end, and finally decided that I liked it. It was at least refreshingly different and kept my attention. 

Movie Monday - Henry Poole is Here

I had not even heard of this movie when we rented it last night, but I almost always love Luke Wilson, and he is from Austin... My investment in the local product paid off, because it was a very entertaining flick.

It was quirky, funny, romantic and even taught a lesson in faith. Huh? I know. I was thinking the same thing, but it really did. 

Luke Wilson's character is a man who has been told he has weeks to live. He buys a house and moves in without any belongings and wants to die alone. But, the neighborhood is very nosy and won't leave him alone. I won't give away the plot, but will encourage you to see it if you're interested in heartwarming but quirky movies. 

Yea! We finally liked a movie that wasn't animated or featured animals with human voice overs. Success... at last.

Movie Monday - Rachel Getting Married

Daniel is working nights right now so I had the chance last week to see a chick flick that I wouldn't normally make him sit through. I didn't know anything about this movie other than Anne Hathaway got really good reviews and, I think, a Golden Globe for her performance. I really liked her in The Devil Wears Prada, and the thought of a girly wedding movie sounded nice. Think again...

This is not a girly movie. I was surprised by how it was not anything I every expected. And, I'm still wondering why they didn't write a plot into the script. The writer must have spent quite a long while developing great characters (although he could have left out the unnecessary language), so I don't know why he didn't take the tie to insert a plot into the lives of the characters. 

Oh, well. I didn't have anything else to do that night so it wasn't a complete loss of time. But, I wouldn't recommend the movie to anyone. It wasn't terrible, but not entertaining either. 

Movie Monday - Beverly Hills Chihuahua

I'm usually not into the kids' movies with them, but this was actually pretty cute. We all watched it together Saturday night, and I think everyone was at least slightly entertained. (The kids had more than earned their own movie night after spending all day traipsing through Sam's Club and Wal-Mart for price checks on all grocery items we buy.)

I was surprised it wasn't animated, but was live action. I mean, talking dogs? Wouldn't you be surprised? Of course, it was a silly plot and ridiculous acting was thrown in, but there were some cute lines by the dog voiceovers. I don't think we'll be adding it to our movie collection just yet, but maybe in a year or so when it's a cheapie. 

Movie Monday - The Bucket List

We're a bit late in the game on seeing this flick, but bear with me... 

We spent the weekend painting the master bedroom. It was our first foray into painting in this new home, and we're hoping to tackle one room per month, but this one wore us out. By Sunday night, we were ready to relax, so we popped this show in. 

Daniel was actually asleep before we knew Morgan Freeman's character was sick, and even before Jack Nicholson's character had made an appearance. Thus, I watched it alone. 

It was slow moving from the beginning and not as good as I had expected. I'm sure you've all seen it so I won't go into the details, but it did make me think about my own Bucket List. I don't like the idea of making one. I do set goals for myself, but they are typically short-term, spanning a quarter or at most, a year. I've thought about it further today, and still don't see myself making a list of things to do before I die. 

I'll just continue to praise God for each day he grants me with my family, and have the mind-set that every day is  a blessing from God. I am proud of what I've done with my life, and I wouldn't like the idea of feeling as if I were cheated or God didn't give me enough time to do what I wanted to do. I'll keep doing what He calls me to do and assume that He'll know when I'm done. That seems more peaceful than feeling as if I haven't accomplished enough. 

UPDATE: I've heard the same song over and over today and it finally hit me that this post needed an update. Maybe we could flip the idea in the movie around and instead make a list of things we're going to do in heaven.

Movie Monday - Swing Vote

Daniel and I were grasping for a cheap rental from our favorite Red Box vending machine and could only agree on mild interest in Swing Vote. We weren't expecting much, and it delivered just a bit more than our expectations hoped for. A pleasant surprise...

I do find it difficult to be entertained by horrible parents, even when it's just a movie, but once I got past Kevin Costner's character's terrible fatherhood, I was pleasantly entertained.

The end of the movie led into the obvious discussion of what's happened to Kevin Costner. A few days later the question was answered by a local radio DJ. Apparently he's attempting to develop a music career with his band, Modern West, and recently released a new CD, Untold Truths. The DJ claimed the music is good, but I've yet to hear it myself. 

Don't we all wish we had careers that had been so lucrative that we could take time off and make a go of turning our hobby into another lucrative career? Ehhh... Oh, well. Anyways, in Swing Vote, Costner convinced me that he was a worthless, dirt bag father, so I hope that means he's perfected his first career of acting and he's actually a nice guy in reality. 

Movie Monday - Mamma Mia!

Man, oh, man. I was on such a roll with my blogging. And, then... PTA happened. I am in charge of the yearbook committee, rather, I am the yearbook committee for Abigail's school this year. My first deadline of 32 pages is due to the publisher this week and I've been filling every spare second I can get at the computer with page layout and proofing over the past week. Aack! I have another 32 pages to do by mid-March, and I'll be oh, so excited when this project has been put to bed. I will then unvolunteer myself for ever doing the yearbook again. I don't even think it's appropriate for an elementary school to have a yearbook. And, why did I ever believe that silly PTA board president when she told me there was very little work involved with this responsibility?!

Anyways, I think I'm back on track to return to blogging just in time for Movie Monday. This week I actually have a non-children's genre movie to gab about! I know, it's shocking. Unfortunately, it's not a good review.

I finally got a chance to see Mamma Mia!.

I've been wanting to see this since it was released, but never dared to request that Daniel see it with me. He would probably have nicely obliged me, but I would have felt very guilty. And, now that I've seen it, I would have felt remorse for making him sit through it.

I think musicals are difficult to pull off on the big screen. Grease is one of the rare exceptions to this. Mamma Mia! is just odd on the big screen. It's weird when out of nowhere a character breaks into an ABBA song complete with choreography and 200 back-up singers/dancers that come out of the bushes. It just didn't jive with me. I think I would enjoy seeing this on stage, but it just didn't work as a flick. 

Movie Monday - Suggestions Needed

Sadly, I have no movie to review on this Movie Monday. Thus, I'm taking the opportunity to implore my readers for suggestions. We rarely see movies in the theater, but Abigail has been begging us repeatedly to see a movie. We're very particular when it comes to the movies the kids see, and I haven't found anything I would approve of them seeing without either Daniel or myself seeing first. Has anyone seen any new children's movies that are suitable for young viewers? I've read that Desperaux is dark and creepy and Bolt is violent. Are these true-to-form parental reviews or have you seen otherwise?

And, I'm also looking for rental suggestions for me and Daniel. Has anyone recently rented anything they would recommend? Speaking of that, if you rent movies, I highly suggest seeking out the Red Box vending machines in your area. There are quite a few near our house, and I love the opportunity to get $1 rentals. You can't beat a night of cinema entertainment that doesn't require a babysitter and only takes a buck from the budget!

Ideas...?

Movie Monday - Charlotte's Web

I interrupt this Movie Monday blog entry to show you our Texas Longhorn pride. Hook 'Em Horns!

We're cheering our Longhorns on tonight in the National Championship bowl game, err... I mean, the Fiesta Bowl. The kids had to take baths after the pre-game, but they were still wearing their Longhorn gear, thanks to the blankets from Aunt KellyAnn. 

Back to Movie Monday...

Abigail has been asking to see The Tale of Despereaux for weeks. She was convinced she would see it over Christmas with Aunt KellyAnn. Fortunately, the movie showing times never coincided with their free time. I say "fortunately," because I planned to take the kids to the movie yesterday but I checked out a review at the Christian Spotlight on Entertainment and made the decision not to see Despereaux. The comments from parents that said the dark themes and spookiness of much of the movie caused nightmares for their kids made me balk at exposing the kids to it. Abigail and Cooper neither one have nightmares, that I know of, but I don't want to go to a children's animated movie only to see spookiness. We want laughs and smiles!

I explained the situation to Abigail, and we began talking about the other movies. We contemplated seeing Bedtime Stories, but in the end she took the fiscally responsible choice and asked to purchase Charlotte's Web. 

Since it's the only movie she's ever seen in the theater, I thought it was a great choice. And, at just $10, it was a lot cheaper than going to see a flick at the theater. Even better, we got to watch it in our jammies!

The movie is very close to the Newbury Award-winning book by E.B. White that I grew up with, and I love that it is happy and tells a great story. And, we've recently had to discuss the issue of death (another post for another time), so it was good timing for Abigail to see this story again.

If you're looking for a new video to add to your collection, this one's a winner.

Now... Back to our Horns!

Movie Monday

I'm hoping to give myself a bit more structure on my blog, and am adding a couple of mandatory subjects that will (hopefully) make it easier to post on days when I feel like I have nothing to write. Of course, I have plenty of stories to tell and pictures to show from the holidays. But, I'll have to get to that later in the week. Today, I'm debuting Movie Monday. 

It's been about a month since I saw Ben Stein's Expelled, and I'm still finding ways to tell people it's a "must see" flick. Of course, I'm an uber-fan of Stein's.  He's a former political speech writer (my dream occupation), hosted an entertaining game show (I'm a Game Show Network watcher.), was a frequent guest on Glen Beck's CNN show (the show's demise was tragic for me) and an all-around smart/funny/witty guy. Of course I had to see a movie he made. 

The movie, co-written and narrated by Stein, investigates the idea that educators and scientists are being stigmatized for believing and/or teaching any form of Creationism. What is intriguing to me is that religion plays little part in this movie. The scientific evidence and historical links to the subject are more than interesting. I was most intrigued when Stein ventured into the subject of the Holocaust and discussed how Hitler's view of Darwinism led to the atrocities committed against the Jews. In all my years of history classes, I've never once heard a professor make that connection. Yet, it just makes sense once you hear it. 

If you're at all interested in documentaries or even just another view of the Creationism vs. Darwinism debate, I highly recommend checking out Expelled. Stein isn't giving away his money or looking for Ferris Bueller, but he's entertaining and enlightening.