You can find a complete article and list here.
Here you will just find my opinions about Fan voting opened yesterday so you can have an opinion, too.
Movie of the Year
» "Bridesmaids"
» "The Hunger Games" This would be my choice to win. From this post and this post, you already know my thoughts on this movie, good, bad, or otherwise. Was it the best movie of the year? No. But this is MTV. The criteria is different. The Help won the fancy award already. Hunger Games deserves to win based on hype and popularity alone. » "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" (I should at least admit I didn't see this)
» "The Help"
» "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1"
Best Male Performance
» Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" Didn't see
» Ryan Gosling, "Drive" He is always a winner for hotness but this movie bored me to death, even on an airplane.
» Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "50/50" Didn't see
» Josh Hutcherson, "The Hunger Games" Based on the fact that this is the only movie I saw to completion, Josh has to get my vote. I do appreciate that he loved the Hunger Games books prior to being cast so I have a soft spot in my heart for him in the role. I'm a little shocked in this category, though. I see a lot of movies, how am I so ignorant in this area?
» Channing Tatum, "The Vow" Didn't see
Best Female Performance
» Jennifer Lawrence, "The Hunger Games"
» Kristin Wiig, "Bridesmaids"
» Emma Stone, "Crazy, Stupid, Love" I liked this performance the most. And I'm far more qualified here, having seen all but one movie in this category.
» Emma Watson, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2"
» Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"Even though it wasn't my favorite and I actually am still haunted by it, I do think Mara deserves the award most. Probably because I am still haunted by it. This movie had THE MOST graphic rape scene I have ever seen. I actually detested it and don't think movies should get that graphic; it's not needed. But because it was in there and she acted through some really horrific stuff, she should win.
Best Comedic Performance
» Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids" There are a lot of great candidates in this category and I actually saw ALL of these movies. This is a close one because Wiig and Jonah Hill are both really worthy, too. However, if I had to choose just one, which is the way these things work, I have to give it to McCarthy for the bathroom scene and puppy stealing. She really made this movie shine as her small gestures and comments and ambiguous sexuality added something to every scene she was in.
» Kristen Wiig, "Bridesmaids"
» Zach Galifianakis, "The Hangover Part II"
» Jonah Hill, "21 Jump Street" For the record, this was one of the best movies of the year and I don't think it got enough hype, except from people who saw it and loved it. Even my mother laughed her way through this one and she probably didn't get half of the references and was super offended at the end.
» Oliver Cooper, "Project X" Also for the record, this movie should not even be categorized as a comedy. Me and hubby went to see it one night because it was pitched as funny and, more so, because it was playing at the Premium Cinema and we could get free soda and popcorn. I felt like ripping out my uterus after this movie. Immediately, my number one priority in life became making sure my 14 year old nephew never saw this movie. The whole thing is about kids throwing a big party but it's not the fun teen party of 90's movies like Can't Hardly Wait or that one with Freddy Prinze Jr. This one has lots of naked underage breasts and violence. Bottom line: it was icky.
Breakthrough Performance
» Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
» Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"Again, I didn't like this movie much because of the rape scene but this girl acted her pants off. Literally. Admittedly, I did not see Super 8 or The Descendants (although the latter is on my list) but of the other three, Mara did the most actual acting and was more of a "break through" than the other two, who had roles at least some people knew about before.
» Liam Hemsworth, "The Hunger Games"
» Elle Fanning, "Super 8"
» Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants"
Best Cast
» "Bridesmaids"
» "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2"
» "The Hunger Games"
» "21 Jump Street"Again, this one is close. The Bridesmaids ladies were a great team and the ladies of The Help were the most talented but as it's the MTV awards, we can give street cred points and 21 Jump Street was oozing with that. Not just Jonah Hill who is funny and Channing Tatum who is yummy, but all the additional appearances are what rounded this cast out. The guest appearances by original cast were fun highlights.
» "The Help"
Best On-Screen Transformation
» Elizabeth Banks, "The Hunger Games"
» Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
» Johnny Depp, "21 Jump Street"
» Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"
» Colin Farrell, "Horrible Bosses" To take such a ruggedly attractive man and make him into a greasy creeper is a feat. This transformation should win for it's makeunderness. And let's just compare: Banks just had a wig and some makeup, which she is used to for other roles, just less extreme. Mara had fake piercings. Depp dresses up all the time to be a pirate. Williams is already blond. Farrell's normal hotness was turned into a balding, ugly older man with bad habits. Win.
Best Fight
» Daniel Radcliffe vs. Ralph Fiennes, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2"
» Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson vs. Alexander Ludwig, "The Hunger Games"
» Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill vs. Kid Gang, "21 Jump Street"
» Tom Hardy vs. Joel Edgerton, "Warrior" I didn't see this one but I still want to vote for it because I wanted to see it SOOO bad. The only other two I saw were HG and JS and neither one of those fight scenes blew my mind. I'm sure this would have. This just makes me mad at Redbox for not having it anymore and at Netflix for only putting tv shows on instant watch. Grrr. Btw, where do Redbox movies go when they are not in the boxes anymore???
» Tom Cruise vs. Michelle Nyqvist, "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"
Best Kiss
» Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, "Crazy, Stupid, Love"I'm going to give this one my vote because any kiss, really, involving the draw joppingly hot Gosling and the charmingly humble Stone is magical. 96% of women in the US would cause a loved one bodily injury in order to kiss Ryan Gosling. That's a scientifically derived statistic. And Emma Stone is so relateable. Hands down winner.
» Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2"
» Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, "The Hunger Games" This kiss was weak. Don't give credit where it's not due just because when you were reading the books, you pictured a way hotter kiss.
» Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, "The Vow"
» Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1"This is another series I really like, embarrassingly enough. This whole movie was about them trying to have "safe sex" so there was a lot of kissing. But the wedding kiss wasn't hot. I guess I'd have to know exactly which kiss they were referencing in order to make an informed decision.
Best Gut-Wrenching Performance
» "Bridesmaids" (Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McClendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) If they mean gut wrenching in reference to pooping in the street, this one wins.
» "The Help" (Bryce Dallas Howard) But if they mean gut wrenching in bringing the audience through a range of emotion, feeling happy, sad, raw, thoughtul and moved, then The Help has to win. Really amazing.
» "21 Jump Street" (Jonah Hill and Rob Riggle)
» "Drive" (Ryan Gosling)
» "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" (Tom Cruise)
Best On-Screen Dirtbag
» Bryce Dallas Howard, "The Help"
» Jon Hamm, "Bridesmaids"
» Jennifer Aniston, "Horrible Bosses"
» Colin Farrell, "Horrible Bosses"
» Oliver Cooper, "Project X" I don't think any of these dirtbags were the most horrible. I guess my vote has to land here because this movie was just dirt, overall.
Best Music
» "Party Rock Anthem," LMFAO ("21 Jump Street") Who can help themselves when they hear this song? And with the commercial with the hamsters, to boot? Also, I saw a really tall, solemn, white cop bust out to this at a wedding and my life has never been the same since.
» "A Real Hero," College & Electric Youth ("Drive")
» "The Devil Is in the Details," Chemical Brothers ("Hanna")
» "Impossible," Figurine ("Like Crazy")
» "Pursuit of Happiness," Kid Cudi (Steve Aoki remix) ("Project X")
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
My Hunger Games Movie Review: Part 2
After listing all the things I thought could have been done better in the Hunger Games movie, I felt a little bad. It's not a fair representation to list only the criticism. I guess I embrace the nay-saying comments more strongly because so many people really loved the movie and I don't feel it is deserving of such strong praise. But to balance out my gloomy Gus-ness of yesterday, today I will put a Pollyanna spin on the movie and list the things that were done really well.
1. Behind the scene of the Games. Hands down, this is what the movie did the best. Even better than the book, really, although maybe that's just my imagination's fault. I knew the games themselves were ripe for development on the big screen but was extra impressed with the communication of how the gamemakers manipulated the environment. The creation of the muttations was a highlight for me.
2. The Violence of the Games. A lot of people had opinions about this matter, especially curiosity before the movie was released. How do you show kids dying on screen in a tasteful way? They nailed this. The chaotic music, the screams, the blank eyes and yet only one image that sticks out in my mind as graphic. This was a tough one to balance and I think a middle ground was perfectly struck.
3. Peeta's camouflage. This detail, alone, might be enough rationale to make books into movies and balances out at least half of my negative comments from yesterday's post. The richness of the visual is what movies are all about and on screen this detail really came alive for me.
4. Katniss's dress. Another visual detail that only the big screen can really make you wrap your head around. I appreciated that it was not over the top.
5. Lenny Kravitz. He was just so good to look at. Enough said.
6. Stanley Tucci. His look, his smile, his interviews. It just all felt right. In fact, I think he was way stronger than either of the leads when it came to the interviews. I absolutely adored when he appeared in the woods in Katniss's hallucination; it was so Willy Wonka-esque. He was over the top in the right way.
As a final note, I can't add Jennifer Lawrence to either list and I think that's noteworthy. Going into the movie theater, I had a lot of doubts about her as Katniss. Having seen her at the premiere and on magazine covers, she didn't appeal to me as an actress as the person to play such a pared down, humble character. She dresses and presents herself as more sexy than I would like a young adult female lead to model for the target demographic. Admittedly, I like the Twilight books and movies, too and feel I have been spoiled by the fact that Kristen Stewart and her character Bella seem relatively interchangeable. But when all was said and done, Lawrence did a decent job with the role and it's not part of her job to appear a certain way outside of filming.
I'd love to hear your opinions about the goods, the bads, and the Capital fashions!
1. Behind the scene of the Games. Hands down, this is what the movie did the best. Even better than the book, really, although maybe that's just my imagination's fault. I knew the games themselves were ripe for development on the big screen but was extra impressed with the communication of how the gamemakers manipulated the environment. The creation of the muttations was a highlight for me.
2. The Violence of the Games. A lot of people had opinions about this matter, especially curiosity before the movie was released. How do you show kids dying on screen in a tasteful way? They nailed this. The chaotic music, the screams, the blank eyes and yet only one image that sticks out in my mind as graphic. This was a tough one to balance and I think a middle ground was perfectly struck.
3. Peeta's camouflage. This detail, alone, might be enough rationale to make books into movies and balances out at least half of my negative comments from yesterday's post. The richness of the visual is what movies are all about and on screen this detail really came alive for me.
4. Katniss's dress. Another visual detail that only the big screen can really make you wrap your head around. I appreciated that it was not over the top.
5. Lenny Kravitz. He was just so good to look at. Enough said.
 |
| Photo credit to Lionsgate |
6. Stanley Tucci. His look, his smile, his interviews. It just all felt right. In fact, I think he was way stronger than either of the leads when it came to the interviews. I absolutely adored when he appeared in the woods in Katniss's hallucination; it was so Willy Wonka-esque. He was over the top in the right way.
As a final note, I can't add Jennifer Lawrence to either list and I think that's noteworthy. Going into the movie theater, I had a lot of doubts about her as Katniss. Having seen her at the premiere and on magazine covers, she didn't appeal to me as an actress as the person to play such a pared down, humble character. She dresses and presents herself as more sexy than I would like a young adult female lead to model for the target demographic. Admittedly, I like the Twilight books and movies, too and feel I have been spoiled by the fact that Kristen Stewart and her character Bella seem relatively interchangeable. But when all was said and done, Lawrence did a decent job with the role and it's not part of her job to appear a certain way outside of filming.
I'd love to hear your opinions about the goods, the bads, and the Capital fashions!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
My Hunger Games Movie Review: Part 1
What did Siskel and Ebert call their movie reviews? Because it feels pretty lame-o to title this blog post "Hunger Games Movie Review". So uncool that I smiled and it felt hipster cool. Funny how that works.
But let's get down to the meat of things since this review is already nearly a month after the movie's release date. To people who read the series, the movie is still relevant even if it's a few weeks old so I still feel within my limits to rant about it.
The best way I can sum up my feelings about the movie is to say that I loved it the way that you love an alcoholic parent; it's all you've got so you cling to it. The Hunger Games trilogy of books were some of my favorites ever. Classical literature? Perhaps not. But compulsively readable? Totally! I legit locked myself in a spare room with snacks so I could totally focus (and keep my energy up) for hours at a time. I remember finishing one of them at like 2 am and instead of finally going to sleep, I went downstairs to retrieve the next one and start in on that. The point is I loved those books, the storyline, the characters... and I was pumped to see it come to the big screen.
I saw the movie three times. First, I took a day off from work and went with my cousin who had also read the books. We talked about book/movie comparisons enough to get shushed by the old lady in front of us. I almost threw down but I didn't want to miss any of the movie. My first impression was mostly positive because I really wanted to like it. The second time I went with a friend who had also already seen the movie. It was playing in the 21+ theater that includes popcorn and soda and we were hungry and thirsty and seeking some escapism. It was then that I started to dislike the movie. The third time I went with my husband who did NOT read the books and I wanted to see if he understood the flow or if he would want to read the books after. There were some pretty big gaps in the relationship development and I wanted to see how he perceived it all. I also wanted to see if he jumped when the muttations came out of the woods. He was a wonderful test subject and didn't disappoint on any of the test variables.
So what's so hard to love about this movie? This requires a list.
1. Katniss and Peeta's young love. Let's just start with the biggest. The development of this relationship is pretty essential to the whole series so to mess that up feels like a big deal to me. I felt like the movie didn't make Katniss's ambivalence clear enough or explain it enough. In the book, it's much more clear that she is playing up the romance based on Haymitch's advice but that gets really glossed over in the movie.
2. Rue and Katniss's relationship. To be fair, the movie did a good job conveying the grief Katniss felt about Rue. I think this issue was more about time; the inevitable lack of time a movie has to get across so many nuances. There wasn't enough time in the movie to give a lot of air to create more depth to this relationship. However, it could have been more spelled out that Rue reminded Katniss of her sister.
3. Haymitch's air time. Woody makes a great Haymitch, don't get me wrong. While I read it, I pictured more of a Robert Downey, Jr, to be honest but I was not disappointed with the casting choice. Nor can I justifiably complain about how he played the role or developed the character. There were just a few more details that felt important to me while reading the book that were omitted. Again, I recognize that the movie had quite an undertaking to capture the whole story and edits were needed. That being said, Haymitch falling off the stage and then when Peeta put him to bed so Katniss didn't have to felt like they would have been easy enough additions. Especially the putting to bed part because it helped develop the relationship between Peeta and Katniss.
4. The reaping. Two things about this, one of which is partially resolved. The clothing and setting seemed very antiquated. A futuristic setting was not translated. Even in a really poor community, I would think the hand-me-down clothing would be more from our current day and age than what appeared to be from the 50's. And the black and white pictures?? This is the one that is partially resolved for me, though, because my husband hypothesized that simple, handmade clothing would be cheaper as would non-colored photography so that was what I was seeing. I'll take it.
The one that is not yet resolved for me is when Katniss volunteers in the book, Effie makes a bigger statement about participation in the games being an honor and that she didn't want her sister to steal the glory. A little detail, a simple scripted line, but it really drove home the Capital's lack of understanding the population, an especially valuable point in relating the Capital to our own government and times when the collective "we" don't feel we are represented.
5. Gale and Katniss. Well, Gale at all. He was good to look at but we didn't see much of him. And for my taste, the feeling that the two were romantically involved was more strong than I took away from the book. This relationship will also be key in subsequent movies so I am curious as to how it will be handled.
6. President Snow. He was a villian in this movie in a clearer way than I felt when reading the book. And so many of those conversations didn't actually happen. To be honest, I don't know totally why some of them were added to the movie. Some, I know, were added to move the plot along but others could have been omitted to make more room for some of the things I listed above.
Ok, so this is really long and I haven't told you the positives yet. I'm just being a Negative Nancy and that's not fair because, overall, I am still really grateful for the movie. I enjoyed the hype and will still be super excited for #2. Despite the myriad of evidence in this post to the contrary, I'm not mad at how the movie came out, overall. Which makes me think that tomorrow's post will tell you all the things I enjoyed about the movie. Because I'm a glass half full kind of gal and want to leave you on a high note:)
But let's get down to the meat of things since this review is already nearly a month after the movie's release date. To people who read the series, the movie is still relevant even if it's a few weeks old so I still feel within my limits to rant about it.
The best way I can sum up my feelings about the movie is to say that I loved it the way that you love an alcoholic parent; it's all you've got so you cling to it. The Hunger Games trilogy of books were some of my favorites ever. Classical literature? Perhaps not. But compulsively readable? Totally! I legit locked myself in a spare room with snacks so I could totally focus (and keep my energy up) for hours at a time. I remember finishing one of them at like 2 am and instead of finally going to sleep, I went downstairs to retrieve the next one and start in on that. The point is I loved those books, the storyline, the characters... and I was pumped to see it come to the big screen.
 |
| Image from IMDB |
I saw the movie three times. First, I took a day off from work and went with my cousin who had also read the books. We talked about book/movie comparisons enough to get shushed by the old lady in front of us. I almost threw down but I didn't want to miss any of the movie. My first impression was mostly positive because I really wanted to like it. The second time I went with a friend who had also already seen the movie. It was playing in the 21+ theater that includes popcorn and soda and we were hungry and thirsty and seeking some escapism. It was then that I started to dislike the movie. The third time I went with my husband who did NOT read the books and I wanted to see if he understood the flow or if he would want to read the books after. There were some pretty big gaps in the relationship development and I wanted to see how he perceived it all. I also wanted to see if he jumped when the muttations came out of the woods. He was a wonderful test subject and didn't disappoint on any of the test variables.
So what's so hard to love about this movie? This requires a list.
1. Katniss and Peeta's young love. Let's just start with the biggest. The development of this relationship is pretty essential to the whole series so to mess that up feels like a big deal to me. I felt like the movie didn't make Katniss's ambivalence clear enough or explain it enough. In the book, it's much more clear that she is playing up the romance based on Haymitch's advice but that gets really glossed over in the movie.
2. Rue and Katniss's relationship. To be fair, the movie did a good job conveying the grief Katniss felt about Rue. I think this issue was more about time; the inevitable lack of time a movie has to get across so many nuances. There wasn't enough time in the movie to give a lot of air to create more depth to this relationship. However, it could have been more spelled out that Rue reminded Katniss of her sister.
3. Haymitch's air time. Woody makes a great Haymitch, don't get me wrong. While I read it, I pictured more of a Robert Downey, Jr, to be honest but I was not disappointed with the casting choice. Nor can I justifiably complain about how he played the role or developed the character. There were just a few more details that felt important to me while reading the book that were omitted. Again, I recognize that the movie had quite an undertaking to capture the whole story and edits were needed. That being said, Haymitch falling off the stage and then when Peeta put him to bed so Katniss didn't have to felt like they would have been easy enough additions. Especially the putting to bed part because it helped develop the relationship between Peeta and Katniss.
4. The reaping. Two things about this, one of which is partially resolved. The clothing and setting seemed very antiquated. A futuristic setting was not translated. Even in a really poor community, I would think the hand-me-down clothing would be more from our current day and age than what appeared to be from the 50's. And the black and white pictures?? This is the one that is partially resolved for me, though, because my husband hypothesized that simple, handmade clothing would be cheaper as would non-colored photography so that was what I was seeing. I'll take it.
The one that is not yet resolved for me is when Katniss volunteers in the book, Effie makes a bigger statement about participation in the games being an honor and that she didn't want her sister to steal the glory. A little detail, a simple scripted line, but it really drove home the Capital's lack of understanding the population, an especially valuable point in relating the Capital to our own government and times when the collective "we" don't feel we are represented.
5. Gale and Katniss. Well, Gale at all. He was good to look at but we didn't see much of him. And for my taste, the feeling that the two were romantically involved was more strong than I took away from the book. This relationship will also be key in subsequent movies so I am curious as to how it will be handled.
6. President Snow. He was a villian in this movie in a clearer way than I felt when reading the book. And so many of those conversations didn't actually happen. To be honest, I don't know totally why some of them were added to the movie. Some, I know, were added to move the plot along but others could have been omitted to make more room for some of the things I listed above.
Ok, so this is really long and I haven't told you the positives yet. I'm just being a Negative Nancy and that's not fair because, overall, I am still really grateful for the movie. I enjoyed the hype and will still be super excited for #2. Despite the myriad of evidence in this post to the contrary, I'm not mad at how the movie came out, overall. Which makes me think that tomorrow's post will tell you all the things I enjoyed about the movie. Because I'm a glass half full kind of gal and want to leave you on a high note:)
Monday, April 9, 2012
Catching up...I seem to need to do this a lot
I haven't written a post in forever but it's not for lack of thinking about it!
First, I spent a week in Paris. I don't like to publicize my trips before I go just for home security and such so I couldn't share all of my excitement leading up to what I considered the trip of a lifetime. I had been dreaming about all that Paris would be since middle school. Well, it wasn't all that I dreamed it would be. It was different than I expected but once I let that settle in, Paris was certainly charming and I am looking forward to sharing pictures and writing much more about which sites I think you could bypass and which excursions are not to be missed.
When I first returned home from my trip, I was hit with some challenging news that would impact family finances. So another big trip may not be in the cards for 2012....although I won't rule anything out yet!
Then I started writing a review of the Hunger Games movies. And even though it will be stunningly outdated by the time I post it, I still plan to. It brought up a lot of feelings for me as I looooved the book series and was so curious to see how it would translate on screen.
But I am finally here now and as superficial as this post may be, it's my entry back into blogging. Just laying the ground work to start sharing my thoughts again......
So happy day after Easter! And we will be conversing again soon!
First, I spent a week in Paris. I don't like to publicize my trips before I go just for home security and such so I couldn't share all of my excitement leading up to what I considered the trip of a lifetime. I had been dreaming about all that Paris would be since middle school. Well, it wasn't all that I dreamed it would be. It was different than I expected but once I let that settle in, Paris was certainly charming and I am looking forward to sharing pictures and writing much more about which sites I think you could bypass and which excursions are not to be missed.
When I first returned home from my trip, I was hit with some challenging news that would impact family finances. So another big trip may not be in the cards for 2012....although I won't rule anything out yet!
Then I started writing a review of the Hunger Games movies. And even though it will be stunningly outdated by the time I post it, I still plan to. It brought up a lot of feelings for me as I looooved the book series and was so curious to see how it would translate on screen.
But I am finally here now and as superficial as this post may be, it's my entry back into blogging. Just laying the ground work to start sharing my thoughts again......
So happy day after Easter! And we will be conversing again soon!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Today's recommendations
In line with my decision to deviate from my mold of themed blog posts, today I bring you a medley of my thoughts.
- A coworker loaned me a copy of The Immortal life of HEnrietta LAcks. Although I just finished a book I had been sluggishly wading through for months and was really excited to start the newest release from Philippa Gregory about the War of the Roses, I had this one with me while I had to wait at the hair salon the other day and it sucked me in. Pretty much every other chapter is the more science focused information and some of that can be skimmed over a bit, in my opinion. It's interesting but I don't want to get bogged down in all the names and every little detail and new invention. The part I am loving is learning about who Henrietta Lacks was and about her family. Actually, I'm probably even more drawn to the broader racial points the book notes, especially they way races were still separated and people liked it that way, even during my lifetime! I had a similar realization with The Help as I talked with an older woman who grew up in New England and said her experience of racial conflict in that time frame was very different than it was described in the book, which, of course, took place in the South. However, this book is not fiction. It just awes me to draw the parallels in the time frames being discussed of what was happening in the lives of my mother or my siblings or, like I said, even myself as the story moves into the 90's. It's truly almost hard to imagine that life could have been so different in two different places, not so far apart, within the same country. If you are interested, here is a link to Amazon to read more about the book.
- Yesterday was one of those Dr. Suess days. A terrible, no good day. From feeling sick to finding lots of money missing from my bank account to my car needing to go into the shop and not being able to make it to work, I felt a bit doomed. However, like trials usually do, it helped me appreciate the things that worked well. I was so grateful for my community yesterday. Proud to be a townie!! To mend the money mystery, I talked to people at my local credit union who were super helpful and supportive. It was definitely one of those incidents that, had I been working with a more corporate, big name bank, I would have had a much harder time. Then in dealing with my sick car, I went to my local mechanic, who I adore. When I walk in, I feel like I'm at Cheers. Everyone knows me and I really trust them. How many people can say that about their mechanic? We worked out a deal to get the problem fixed on Monday when they would have a loaner car for me to use. As I drove away, the problem made itself known, loud and clear, that it was not interested in waiting until Monday. While they didn't have a car for me to use to get to work, the patriarch of the company got in his truck and drove me home. Talk about amazing service! And, as a side note, when I paid my bill with them this morning, I used a gift certificate I bought through my town's rotary auction. How's that for tying it all together with a shiny, locally made, red bow?
- Fianlly, just because I don't think bullet points should be allowed to be used unless there are at least three items, I will conclude with kudos for the Muppets movie. I was not a huge Muppets person growing up, I admit. Sure, I knew about Miss Piggy and Kermit's romance but I couldn't name all the other characters. At one point during the movie I asked my husband where Oscar the Grouch was and he was close to shunning me as he told me I was confusing the Muppets with Sesame Street. Oops. All that being said, even a non-follower like me loved the movie. It had a surprising amount of humor that was beyond the kid level. The songs were a little too catchy, even. Ultimately, it was the kind of movie that just makes you smile. A lot. We left the theater and I kind of felt like I should skip to the car. Hubby definitely vetoed skipping but I think the inclination sums up the good feeling vibe the movie created. I recommend it!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Summer Lovin'
Tuesday marked the official start of summer, thank goodness! Of course, in the Northeast, that means the lovely weather left town and was replaced with rain. Mother Nature knows we are sarcastic in New England so she likes to play little jokes on us like that.
The start of summer apparently inspired the Dirty Dancing page on Facebook, which in turn inspired me! They posted something about summer love/first love, asking readers about their experiences with it. If you think about it, there are a ton of movies that have this as a theme. The most obvious, from the title of this post, is Grease but for some reason I am also conjuring up Uncle Buck. So random!!
So did you ever have a summer love? A crush that only lasted as long as the warm temperatures?
Let me entice you to share with an embarrassing story about myself.......
When I was like 10 I went to Lake George, NY with my best friend and my family to visit an amazing amusement park they had there, The Great Escape, and to hit the beach. Me and my friend, clearly inspired by Dirty Dancing (only about 3 years old at that time) and the like, MADE UP boyfriends who we named Ricky and Richie. PS-they were supposed to be brothers. See the problem there? Ricky and Richie are both nicknames for the SAME NAME. Of course, being 10, we didn't think of things like that. I think it only occurred to me about a year ago as we laughed at the memory.
Ok, your turn!
The start of summer apparently inspired the Dirty Dancing page on Facebook, which in turn inspired me! They posted something about summer love/first love, asking readers about their experiences with it. If you think about it, there are a ton of movies that have this as a theme. The most obvious, from the title of this post, is Grease but for some reason I am also conjuring up Uncle Buck. So random!!
So did you ever have a summer love? A crush that only lasted as long as the warm temperatures?
Let me entice you to share with an embarrassing story about myself.......
When I was like 10 I went to Lake George, NY with my best friend and my family to visit an amazing amusement park they had there, The Great Escape, and to hit the beach. Me and my friend, clearly inspired by Dirty Dancing (only about 3 years old at that time) and the like, MADE UP boyfriends who we named Ricky and Richie. PS-they were supposed to be brothers. See the problem there? Ricky and Richie are both nicknames for the SAME NAME. Of course, being 10, we didn't think of things like that. I think it only occurred to me about a year ago as we laughed at the memory.
Ok, your turn!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
A weekend by the Sea
The weather on Cape Cod was amazing this weekend! After experiencing 4 days of rain on Magaluf beach in Mallorca, Spain a couple weeks ago, I was not encouraged Friday night when it started pouring on my first night in Dennisport. Me and my soon-to-be-married friend (from elementary school! hooray for deep roots!) sat in a quintessential seafood shack sipping clam chowder (yes, pronounced chowda in these parts) and munching some very yummy onion rings while it just dumped down rain. Thankfully, Saturday we woke to clear skies and moderate temps. Our very affordable hotel had a private beach that we chilled on all day and it was lovely.
Have you ever read the Bernstein Bears book "too much birthday"? That's kind of how I felt last night. Too much sun + too much fun and I was down for the count last night. It afforded me the opportunity to see the movie the Bucket List, though. Have you ever seen it? I super enjoyed it-great lessons on living your life to the fullest and seeing the world. It was a bit of a silly scene, though, as the bachelorette slept and I cried, watching the end of the movie in a hotel room.
I really think it should be June in Massachusetts at all times! The windows are open, the birds are chirping, there's not an ounce of humidity in the air, and we ate dinner on the deck.
I hope you all had as relaxing and glorious a weekend as I did!
Have you ever read the Bernstein Bears book "too much birthday"? That's kind of how I felt last night. Too much sun + too much fun and I was down for the count last night. It afforded me the opportunity to see the movie the Bucket List, though. Have you ever seen it? I super enjoyed it-great lessons on living your life to the fullest and seeing the world. It was a bit of a silly scene, though, as the bachelorette slept and I cried, watching the end of the movie in a hotel room.
I really think it should be June in Massachusetts at all times! The windows are open, the birds are chirping, there's not an ounce of humidity in the air, and we ate dinner on the deck.
I hope you all had as relaxing and glorious a weekend as I did!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Just a minor setback...
Just a minor setback in the stress-less initiative, that is. Although I wrote about stressing less yesterday, it has actually been an unnamed resolution in my life for a few weeks. Therefore, it's actually less bad to have a set back today than it seems. It's not like I just came up with the plan to be less stressed yesterday and here I go, the next day, failing. I guess from the tone of this intro, though, that you can sense that failure. I'm kind of manic.
My pants are too tight today so I'm feeling a little less sassy. My hair is too flat. It's a stunning day outside and I'm locked at my desk, watching people in bathing suits at the water park through my window. Surely, it's just minutes until the ice cream man shows up to rub salt in my wound. Clients at work decided to burst forth with creative problems yesterday, spilling into today. I have to work a 12 hour day. I feel pretty guilty about eating Chinese food three days this week. Peking ravioli are kind of my new obsession.
Here's the good news: Last night I went to a comedy show and laughed until I cried. I particularly recommend a young comedian from Providence, Rhode Island named Daniel Martin. This weekend I am going to the Cape, aka Cape Cod, for a girl's weekend/mini bachelorette party for one of my best friends. That is something fabulous to look forward to. So, hopefully today's setback is just for the day. As my favorite leading lady, Scarlett O'Hara would say, "After all, tomorrow IS another day".
My pants are too tight today so I'm feeling a little less sassy. My hair is too flat. It's a stunning day outside and I'm locked at my desk, watching people in bathing suits at the water park through my window. Surely, it's just minutes until the ice cream man shows up to rub salt in my wound. Clients at work decided to burst forth with creative problems yesterday, spilling into today. I have to work a 12 hour day. I feel pretty guilty about eating Chinese food three days this week. Peking ravioli are kind of my new obsession.
Here's the good news: Last night I went to a comedy show and laughed until I cried. I particularly recommend a young comedian from Providence, Rhode Island named Daniel Martin. This weekend I am going to the Cape, aka Cape Cod, for a girl's weekend/mini bachelorette party for one of my best friends. That is something fabulous to look forward to. So, hopefully today's setback is just for the day. As my favorite leading lady, Scarlett O'Hara would say, "After all, tomorrow IS another day".
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Fast Five or Mob Wives?
Which passion makes me more laughable?
As I thought of what to write about, I realized that when my work life is extra crazy I have a harder time writing. I think it's because what takes up most of my mind those days is stuff that's confidential and can't be written about. I can say that I went to a round table today that presented a really interesting case on stalking via technology. And to sum it up: wow, some people are crazy!
So to escape the hard stuff, I try to keep life light the rest of the time. Sooooo, tonight I went to the Premium Cinema to see Fast Five.
"What's the Premium Cinema? " you may ask. Well, it is a fabulous place is what it is! It's a 21+ movie theater. You pay more (but I have a free VIP pass, which pretty much makes me the most popular girl in town) but you get free unlimited soda and popcorn. They also have a restaurant and full bar. The seats are leather and plush and have individual pull out tables. But let's be real, the best part is not having to deal with loud teenagers. (Yes, I know that's a granny comment.)
Me and Hubby usually only get one or two nights a week that one of us isn't working so those nights need to feel used up, not squandered. Still, those nights add up so the free movie pass gets a lot of use. Plus, I'm in a competition with a friend who also has one to see which one of us can see more movies this year. It's good to have goals. haha.
All that aside, I really wanted to see Fast Five, which is the fifth installment of the Fast and the Furious movies. In high school, all the guys I hung around fostered in me a great appreciation of cars. And let's not beat around the bush, Vin Diesal is fun to look at. He also makes a very likeable criminal. The Rock also has a big role in this movie. I don't think he had a good line the whole 2 hours, poor thing. Here's a tip if you go see it: make sure you sit through the credits for the follow up scene. Scandalous!!
And to bring it full circle: Mob Wives. It's a good NY/Jersey persona fix in place of Jersey Shore. I'm only two episodes in but I'm already wondering if me and my girls need Mob Wives personas to add to our SATC, Golden Girls, and Jersey Shore personas for our upcoming trip. I recommend you give this show a try and you may just add it to your guilty pleasures list.
As I thought of what to write about, I realized that when my work life is extra crazy I have a harder time writing. I think it's because what takes up most of my mind those days is stuff that's confidential and can't be written about. I can say that I went to a round table today that presented a really interesting case on stalking via technology. And to sum it up: wow, some people are crazy!
So to escape the hard stuff, I try to keep life light the rest of the time. Sooooo, tonight I went to the Premium Cinema to see Fast Five.
"What's the Premium Cinema? " you may ask. Well, it is a fabulous place is what it is! It's a 21+ movie theater. You pay more (but I have a free VIP pass, which pretty much makes me the most popular girl in town) but you get free unlimited soda and popcorn. They also have a restaurant and full bar. The seats are leather and plush and have individual pull out tables. But let's be real, the best part is not having to deal with loud teenagers. (Yes, I know that's a granny comment.)
Me and Hubby usually only get one or two nights a week that one of us isn't working so those nights need to feel used up, not squandered. Still, those nights add up so the free movie pass gets a lot of use. Plus, I'm in a competition with a friend who also has one to see which one of us can see more movies this year. It's good to have goals. haha.
All that aside, I really wanted to see Fast Five, which is the fifth installment of the Fast and the Furious movies. In high school, all the guys I hung around fostered in me a great appreciation of cars. And let's not beat around the bush, Vin Diesal is fun to look at. He also makes a very likeable criminal. The Rock also has a big role in this movie. I don't think he had a good line the whole 2 hours, poor thing. Here's a tip if you go see it: make sure you sit through the credits for the follow up scene. Scandalous!!
And to bring it full circle: Mob Wives. It's a good NY/Jersey persona fix in place of Jersey Shore. I'm only two episodes in but I'm already wondering if me and my girls need Mob Wives personas to add to our SATC, Golden Girls, and Jersey Shore personas for our upcoming trip. I recommend you give this show a try and you may just add it to your guilty pleasures list.
Friday, February 18, 2011
work vs blog
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110216/ap_on_hi_te/us_teacher_suspended_bloghile
while i have mixed feelings about what this teacher actually wrote, this article brings up a big issue for me. the nature of my work in domestic violence is confidential. it makes it really tough sometimes to vent the natural work frustrations that all of us have. last week a woman shared some things that haunted me all weekend but i couldn't really talk about it. i also cant talk much about it publicly in a blog, which is a little challenging since its not just a job i spend 40+ hours at but a way of thinking about the world, relationships, safety, violence, trauma, the way people treat each other and the residual effects. it impacts the way i feel when i go for a run. it informs my interaction with strangers and systems. it makes me a worse friend as i don't have a lot of emotional energy left to listen to problems and sadness outside of work but it simultaneously makes me feel like a better person for the honor of people sharing their lives and stories with me. it makes me laugh at different jokes and feel rubbed the wrong way by others. and its all a big concept that i cant share many specifics about.
so i envy this woman putting it all out there. it probably wasn't a wise career move but i appreciate that she vented somewhere other than to the kids. i guess the trouble is that her blog ended up like molly ringwalds note in 16 candles; it got into the wrong hands.
which reminds me.....to end on a happy note: the movies had nostalgia night this week and showed 16 candles on the big screen. it was glorious!!
while i have mixed feelings about what this teacher actually wrote, this article brings up a big issue for me. the nature of my work in domestic violence is confidential. it makes it really tough sometimes to vent the natural work frustrations that all of us have. last week a woman shared some things that haunted me all weekend but i couldn't really talk about it. i also cant talk much about it publicly in a blog, which is a little challenging since its not just a job i spend 40+ hours at but a way of thinking about the world, relationships, safety, violence, trauma, the way people treat each other and the residual effects. it impacts the way i feel when i go for a run. it informs my interaction with strangers and systems. it makes me a worse friend as i don't have a lot of emotional energy left to listen to problems and sadness outside of work but it simultaneously makes me feel like a better person for the honor of people sharing their lives and stories with me. it makes me laugh at different jokes and feel rubbed the wrong way by others. and its all a big concept that i cant share many specifics about.
so i envy this woman putting it all out there. it probably wasn't a wise career move but i appreciate that she vented somewhere other than to the kids. i guess the trouble is that her blog ended up like molly ringwalds note in 16 candles; it got into the wrong hands.
which reminds me.....to end on a happy note: the movies had nostalgia night this week and showed 16 candles on the big screen. it was glorious!!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Because the picture link hates me, I will tell you about novacaine and Sex and the City 2
Novacaine is such a mixed blessing. I am certain my day would have been infinitely worse if I didn't get any but, as it is, I have been incapacitated for about 4 hours now. I'm hungry but I might eat my own face. I have found a way to keep my sanity by applying lip gloss.
I bet Hubby wishes he were coaching a game tonight so he could take advantage of my limited capacity to speak. As it is, I have all sorts of interesting converstaions to have and I guess it's making me a better listener but it's killing my inner chatter box!!
While I wait to eat and talk, I am watching Sex and the City 2 for the first time. In terms of cinemetography and class, this ranks extremely low. The characters, which I only became familiar with via TBS, are clearly charicatures now. It does, however, bring up some interesting questions especiallly related to the middle place between dating and children, as well as the concept of "strong women".
Beyond the deep thoughts, it made me think of my upcoming 4 girl travel posse and inpsired me to write the following email to my companions:
I bet Hubby wishes he were coaching a game tonight so he could take advantage of my limited capacity to speak. As it is, I have all sorts of interesting converstaions to have and I guess it's making me a better listener but it's killing my inner chatter box!!
While I wait to eat and talk, I am watching Sex and the City 2 for the first time. In terms of cinemetography and class, this ranks extremely low. The characters, which I only became familiar with via TBS, are clearly charicatures now. It does, however, bring up some interesting questions especiallly related to the middle place between dating and children, as well as the concept of "strong women".
Beyond the deep thoughts, it made me think of my upcoming 4 girl travel posse and inpsired me to write the following email to my companions:
im watching sex and the city 2 for the first time. when i saw their terrace, it reminded me of the view c sent out last week. as a result, i have decided we, in addition to jersey shore personas, need to adopt sex and the city roles. d has no choice but to be samantha, as the most single sexin' it up one. unfortunately, i think i might have to be miranda or charlotte. ok, i will admit i hate charlotte but i think i am neurotic and puritanical enough to fit the bill. id be happy to be voted into a different role, though. s is super smart so she could be the non ginger miranda. c, as the leader of the gang, you get to be the lovely ms carrie bradshaw! thoughts?
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Country Strong
Ok, this should be a quick post but I had to comment on seeing Country Strong tonight. I have a good friend who gave me the greatest gift ever-a VIP pass to the local movie theater. Me + 1 can see a free movie every two hours all year. I hope your jaw dropped at that because it continues to blow my mind! The ultimate point is that I see far more movies than a normal human and am now happy to have a place to talk about them. That's where you come in.
So, back to Country Strong.....I loved it! Please note that one thing I DO NOT like is country music. But I love me a little drama, a little love connection, a troubled lead character. Alcoholism may ruin a life but it enhances a movie, in my opinion. This movie is a quote book keeper's dream, too. I wish I had something with me to jot down the one liners because there were a few gems. One I remember because I repeated it over in my head to hang on to. Gwyneth's character admonishes Leighton Meester's character ( probably just botched that spelling pretty horrendously, I know) to "Fall in love with as many things as you can" or at least something very, very close to that. What a great concept! It's like the saying, "If you do something, do it passionately", only a new, improved version.
I consider myself a pretty passionate person. I love some things so thoroughly that I am forever linked in people's minds with certain things (see favorite things column as some of those fall into that category) and I treasure that. It's my legacy. I have a coworker who is super pretty and thin and funny and kind and one day she brought bugels to a meeting. Do you remember bugels? The corn chip things that are shaped like cornucopeias? It's such an odd thing to link with this pretty extrarodinary female but when I was in Target tonight, living the dream, I saw bugels in the dollar bins and instantly thought of her. That will make her infamous long after our days of working together and that's pretty cool. Infamy via Bugels.
On a final note, Leighton's eye makeup throughout the movie is so stunning that it's almost distracting. And for a non-country fan, by the end of the movie I was having fantasies of singing karaoke duets with my husband. I call that success for that film.
So, back to Country Strong.....I loved it! Please note that one thing I DO NOT like is country music. But I love me a little drama, a little love connection, a troubled lead character. Alcoholism may ruin a life but it enhances a movie, in my opinion. This movie is a quote book keeper's dream, too. I wish I had something with me to jot down the one liners because there were a few gems. One I remember because I repeated it over in my head to hang on to. Gwyneth's character admonishes Leighton Meester's character ( probably just botched that spelling pretty horrendously, I know) to "Fall in love with as many things as you can" or at least something very, very close to that. What a great concept! It's like the saying, "If you do something, do it passionately", only a new, improved version.
I consider myself a pretty passionate person. I love some things so thoroughly that I am forever linked in people's minds with certain things (see favorite things column as some of those fall into that category) and I treasure that. It's my legacy. I have a coworker who is super pretty and thin and funny and kind and one day she brought bugels to a meeting. Do you remember bugels? The corn chip things that are shaped like cornucopeias? It's such an odd thing to link with this pretty extrarodinary female but when I was in Target tonight, living the dream, I saw bugels in the dollar bins and instantly thought of her. That will make her infamous long after our days of working together and that's pretty cool. Infamy via Bugels.
On a final note, Leighton's eye makeup throughout the movie is so stunning that it's almost distracting. And for a non-country fan, by the end of the movie I was having fantasies of singing karaoke duets with my husband. I call that success for that film.
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