Movie Review: Moonrise Kingdom

Last night, I took myself to a movie.  Anyone who knows me in the real world is aware that I have absolutely no problem going for dinner or drinks, going on vacation, or going to movies all by myself.  I’ve been in a funk lately and wanted a couple of hours to just escape the real world for a bit so thought the $13 it would take to see a movie and get some popcorn and a soda were well worth the splurge.

There are a number of movies out right now that I would love to see but since I knew I wanted to escape, I figured the new Wes Anderson film, Moonrise Kingdom, was perfect.  And I was right.

If you've never been a Wes Anderson fan, you probably won't even want to see this movie.  As a writer and director, he's incredibly polarizing so I am probably one of the only people I know who simply "likes" Wes Anderson.  I don't love him and I don't hate him.  I've liked things about his movies but there are plenty of things I didn't like - and not just because I didn't "get" them.

All of that being said, Moonrise Kingdom was one of the best films I've seen in a long time.  It's the story of two young "lovers" - neither of whom are accepted by their peers or families - who decide to run away together on their small New England island.  The story follows their love story as the various parties search for them.

The film is nostalgia at its best.  Set in the 1960's, it harkens back to a day where young people's greatest fears include being stabbed with left-handed scissors.  It lives in a time where things like movie theater massacres just don't happen.  These children run away from home because they are misunderstood - she as a "disturbed" pre-teen and he as an orphan without a real family - and have found a little bit of happiness in each other.  At one point, the young boy Sam states that "something changed in them" when they met in the field to run away.  I think we've all had moments like that in our teenage years.

For me, Moonrise Kingdom was exactly what I needed to pretend I was someone else for a few hours.  Mostly, it was what I needed to remember what I used to be.  I can completely relate to being a 12 year old girl who would rather stick her nose in a book than interact with the real world.  Somedays, I can relate to being a 27 year old girl who wants the same thing.

This movie is a must see for anyone who has:
~ Ever been a 12 year old girl who has lamented that women in stories are so incredibly weak and desperately wanted strong female leads in the stories they immersed themselves in
~ Ever been "in love" as an adolescent
~ Ever been misunderstood by family or friends
~ Needed an escape after a bad day
~ Ever even remotely liked as Wes Anderson film

I don't purchase many films anymore but I cannot wait to buy this and watch it on rainy, cranky Sundays.  It reminds me of how I felt the first time I saw Garden State, minus the annoyance that was Natalie Portman.

Movie Review: Dear Frankie

If you didn't know, I have a not so secret obsession with films that have unique and mind-provoking story lines.  Ok, I have a not so secret obsession with movies in general (see my post on Battleship from a few weeks ago) but I really do like a good story.

I had the pleasure of spending last Sunday with my grandmother.  This grandma loves movies as much as I do.  She also has impeccable taste in attractive actors.  (When I was in middle school, I received her copy of People's Most Beautiful People issue in the mail, complete with post-it notes marking her favorites as well as mine.  She's a hoot.)  Her current favorite is Gerard Butler so to kill a few hours Sunday afternoon, we put in a favorite movie of hers starring her current favorite actor which I had never seen.

Dear Frankie is the story of a young, deaf boy who lives with him mother and grandmother.  While his father is not part of the family, the story is narrated by Frankie's letters to his "Da."  You learn early on that his Da is not really receiving the letters.  Instead, his mother has created an elaborate lie regarding why his father is not involved and is reply to the letters herself.

The story that follows is of a mother who is trying desperately to give her son the best possible life and a young boy who truly wants his mother to be happy.  Gerard Butler plays a stranger that the mother hires to act as Frankie's father.  The interaction between characters is heart-warming at its highs and heart-wrenching at its lows.  The movie is loaded with strong emotions and keeps you wrapped up in the story from the very beginning.

Dear Frankie is a simple film in that it focuses on a very short time period in a very small family's life together.  But the story that is woven for the audience is complex and (I thought) unpredictable.

The next cold and rainy day you have (it may be June but the weather has been beyond unpredictable), go out and rent Dear Frankie.  Curl up on the couch under a warm blanket, make a mug of cocoa, and prepare to have your heart warmed.

Movie Review: Battleship

Ok, say what you will about cheesy summer blockbusters.  If you don't like watching things explode, awesome special effects and hot men running around saving the planet, and you don't want to eat lots of buttery popcorn (which afterward spilled all over my car so I will probably stink like said buttery popcorn tomorrow) in an air conditioned theater while it's over 80 degrees out, then don't even bother reading my review.  You aren't the intended audience.

However, if you like even one of those things, continue.

Let me sum Battleship up in one word:  AWESOME.  Seriously.  

Watch this trailer and tell me this isn't going to be just about the best stupid summer movie since Transformers came out.

No, I didn't have any drunken moments jumping out of my chair and yelling "Holy shit, it's Optimus Prime" in a theater completely packed full of people (yes, that actually happened).  But I did have a lot of laughs, a lot of jumps in my chair as evil robots were hurtled toward the screen, and I will be buying this movie to watch over and over again.

Here's what else this move had (complete with Transformer correlations because I can't resist):

• The aforementioned, requisite eye candy.  Hot butt kicking blonde (in this case) for those who prefer the female variety (she even talks sorta like Megan Fox in that annoying whiny breathy sorta way) and hot military men for those who can't resist a sweaty man saving the world one explosion at a time.  (See: Taylor Kitsch - you may not know him now ladies, but you'll want to, Alexander Skarsgard - way hotter here than as a vampire, and Liam Neeson just to name a few.)
• It's worth mention the military men again for two reasons.  One, this movie does for the Navy what Transformers did for the Air Force.  But two, it also - somewhat humorously - pays reverence to those who have fought before and does some pretty cool - if not chuckle inducing - things with veterans.
• Kick ass evil robots who want to take over our planet.  They even click like the Transformers as they are building themselves.
• Incredible special effects.  I couldn't believe how far we've come since the first Transformers movie.  They just keep getting bigger and better and louder and faster.. all the things you absolutely must have in a summer movie if you want anyone like me to watch it.
• Witty humor that will be hilarious every time you decide to watch this movie drunk in the future.  Anyone remember the IMAX only scene in Transformers with the lady in the shop with the machine gun?  Anyone?  Only me?  Oh well... This movie is full of those moments.

So basically Battleship is a mash up of Alien, an awesome game of Halo (I watched far too many games of Halo in college not to see the connection), a good old fashioned game of Battleship (the references where so eye roll inducing that they are part of what gives this movie its charm) and Transformers.  All it was missing was a little Josh Duhamel and a Linkin Park song and it could have been another notch on the Transformer awesomeness belt.

If you saw it and didn't like it, we can agree to disagree.  But I highly recommend spending the $10 to go if you like these kinds of movies.

Next on the docket, The Avengers.  Just haven't had time yet...


And just because this movie was only missing two things which incidentally are two of my favorite things on the planet, here's a little of both.

 

 

Also, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is on tv right now.  Too bad it's the worst of the series.  I'm going to watch it anyway.

My random thoughts for the night (or week...)

I'm only posting this here instead of on Facebook so that people can choose whether or not they want a little insight into my brain.  If you didn't really mean to step into the random-ness, I suggest you leave now...








Still here?  Ok.

Someone please explain to me why this commercial needs a disclaimer at :06 that this is just a dramatization.  You mean that the breath mint container doesn't actually turn into a minty ice cube that puts out fire in real life?!  Really???  And then it doesn't become a spinning vortex of non-heartburn, fresh breath?  Crap. 

(I hope the picture you're seeing before you click the link also has the Dramatization disclaimer and the spinning vortex like mine does.  Because that makes me extra happy.)



The other random thought for the day has to do with this...

I have a couple of (ranting) thoughts about this calendar which I could have purchased through a "daily deal" email I receive.

Do people really pay $50 for calendars?  I mean, the real question is did anyone purchase this calendar when it was full price?  $125 for a calendar!  You have got to be kidding me!  I have a hard time spending $125 on dresses or coats or shoes or just about anything that you can use for more than a few months.  In fact, I think I only spent $125 on my freaking couch!

Don't even get me started on the fact that it's already April 9 and this calendar is expected to ship sometime between April 27 & May 3.  So you're spending $50 on a calendar that you will use for approximately 6 months.  Good thing it's more than half off....  They better have specially trained monks hand lettering the calendar with gold leaf pens or something ridiculous. 

(For the friends I shared this with this morning, it's obviously still bothering me...)







Still with me?  Really?  You deserve a gold star!

Also, I'm a bit grouchy tonight.  Sorry folks.

First Book Review in Forever!

I recently read two books that make such a delightful contrast that I have decided to write my first book review in a very long time.

The selection for my book club*  a few months ago was Stealing Mona Lisa.  The book is about the theft of the Mona Lisa (duh) and the conspiracy surrounding the events. The Mona Lisa really was stolen in 1911 and the book tells the story of what could have happened - or what did happen, according to some skeptical sources - and is a somewhat wild ride through the Paris art scene, underground art dealing, and forgery.  I enjoyed the book, although I was admittedly a little bored and had a very hard time keeping up with the all of the characters as they all had Parisian / Italian names that sounded the same.

Two weeks ago, I downloaded Telling Lies for free on my Kindle.  Unfortunately, it's not free anymore but for anyone looking for a good book club book, I highly recommend it.  This book is similar to Stealing Mona Lisa in that it deals with the art world - underground, secret, and complex.  The story focuses on a lovable (if not unbelievably stupid) woman named Laurel who, while vacationing with her boyfriend in Italy, bumps into a man who is believed to have died in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11.  At the time of his "death," the man was brokering the sale of a  priceless masterpiece between a CEO (who did indeed die in 9/11) and a billionaire Japanese man who wants his money.  Add in a private detective who gets herself into plenty of trouble, the Isreali Mossad, and all sorts of family drama and you get yourself a good read.

Prior to these books, I was never overly interested in books about the art world.  I have a hard time keeping up since I don't know much about art, artists, or museums.  However, both of these books peaked my interest.  They were similar enough for me to compare them but had nothing in common at the same time - different masterpieces, different time periods, completely different writing styles.  But both made me think.  What do we really know about the so-called masterpieces - there are so many questions about what is original, who actually created them, etc - both in creative arts and writing (think Shakespeare!)?  Add in a bit of espionage, mistaken or changed identity, and a decent writer and you have the stuff fit for a good flight... with all the traveling, that's where I've been doing my reading at least!

Honestly, they'd make good movies.  Too bad I'm not doing the film thing anymore.

*Any of you ladies in a book club?  If you aren't, you should be.  Ours meets once a month and we spend more time eating food and drinking wine than talking about the books.  But still.  It's one of the best nights of my month - even if my friends think that makes me sound like I'm 95 years old!

March Madness (Not the Basketball Kind)

I have been MIA for the last two weeks and I vowed not to do that now that I was writing again, but fear not.  I have not forgotten all of my (5 or so) faithful readers.

The last month has been insanely busy.  I was in Indianapolis less than a month ago for work, followed by a weekend in Louisville, a week of work, a few days in Chicago, a weekend in Wisconsin, a few long days of work, and then 3.5 days sick in bed.  Which leads me to today.  And I head off to New York City tomorrow for another work trip (although I'm sure I will find time to see some sights while I'm in town as well).  March went very quickly, to say the least.

As I mentioned the last few days have found me sick in bed.  I spent Thursday and Friday sleeping for most of the day but yesterday I read a few (not worth reviewing) books - mostly trashy, free downloads off Amazon. 

My DVR is almost cleaned out and I discovered that I only have 3 episodes left of Cold Case.  A bit sad as that means I've seen (almost) every episode of that show ever aired and I will have to find a new show to watch start to finish.  Any suggestions?  I'll watch almost anything, although at one time Netflix described my "preferred genre" as something along the lines of dark police procedural dramas and I think they nailed that right on the head.  Nip / Tuck (not police-based but still totally twisted), Dexter (which I'm behind on but have to pay to watch so that won't work), Criminal Minds, Cold Case... My latest new show is Awake.  Yep, definitely into the dark police procedural dramas.  I'm also watching Grimm and Once Upon a Time so I guess I've jumped on the fairy tale train. 

Ok, so back the question.  Any suggestions on new series?

This is, quite frankly, the most boring blog post I've written in a very long time.  Not that any of them are exciting.  I mean, when an "adventurous day" in my weekend involves a Target run, getting a pedicure, grabbing FroYo with a girl friend, and making a second Target run, you can't expect me to inspire a particularly exciting blog post.

I just wanted to touch base.  

And now one last little insight into my world.

Charlie is clearly obsessed with sparkles.  As my mom put it, she thinks of my fancy purses as giant sparkle balls.  

Lady Bug is much more laid back.  She followed my stack of blue jeans around all night.

And "mommy" obviously has a shoe problem.











We aren't a girly house at all, are we?

Top 10 Signs I've Been a Little Too Busy Lately...

10.  There are 3 suitcases in my bedroom / living room, all which are leftover from trips I have already taken, and none which are being prepared for trips in the upcoming weeks.

9.  Charlie is a permanent fixture on my lap whenever I am home.  In fact, right now she is shoved between the computer and my stomach, which her head propped on my arm.

8.  Lady Bug has been sulking for the last 6 hours.  Apparently she's over this whole "Mommy never being home" thing.

7.  My to-do list for work just keeps getting bigger and bigger, while my to do list for home is about 5 pages long.  Thank god I had time to do two loads of laundry Friday night.  Not that it's been put away but at least I have clean clothes for this week.

6.  My DVR is 45% full, which wouldn't be so bad if it was just the Cold Case reruns that I record for when nothing else is on.  But instead, it's 4 weeks of Criminal Minds (a show I never miss for this reason), 2 weeks of Project Runway, and numerous Bravo shows.

5.  My refrigerator is full of food, but all of it is really old leftovers that should have been thrown away before I left for Indianapolis last week.  Even the milk is spoiled.

4.  My house is in a constant disarray - shoes everywhere, dishes in the sink, and a bathroom that looks like the recent tornadoes actually hit my house.

3.  I was supposed to have book club on Friday and I still haven't picked up the book.  Good thing it was a) rescheduled and b) couldn't make the new time.

2.  I am yet again ordering pizza for dinner because the thought of doing dishes just to make something simple like mac n cheese is more than I can handle.

1.  The bag under my eyes are big enough to serve as a new purse.


P.S. I am in no way complaining that I've been busy.  It's been an honestly excellent week.  I just could use a life coach / maid / assistant to help get caught up!

P.P.S.  Look who decided to join us...

Saturday mornings

If I have a morning off each week, it is Saturday.  Usually I work on Saturday nights but this week I have a whole day off to do absolutely nothing.

I woke up this morning wanting pancakes.  I don't even like pancakes.  But I am willing to bet I venture out to by eggs so I can attempt to make pancakes before my day is over.

I should spend my only morning off catching up on all of the things that I don't get done during the week.  Since I was traveling, the house isn't awful.  But it could use a thorough spring cleaning before the waves of company invade over the next few weeks.  I think I'll just find time to do that next weekend.

Today, I would like to do a whole lot of nothing.  Maybe make the aforementioned pancakes.  Probably bake butter cake with chocolate frosting later.  Eat leftovers for lunch and maybe cook for dinner - I'm kind of wanting salmon as well.  Just watched some tv chef make salmon on Food Network and it looked delicious.

Sounds like my day is going to revolve around food.  Just so long as it doesn't revolve around laundry, I'm ok.

Really, I'll probably lay in bed for a while yet.  I laid on the couch for hours last night and every time the thought went through my brain that I should get up and get something done, the cats took control and settled in for a long snooze.

 (Notice their coordinating collars.  Souvenirs from my work trip.  Too cute.)

And then this morning, I thought about getting up and starting to move and Charlie snuggled in.  I wouldn't want to disturb her.

I am a terrible blogger / reader / movie watcher lately...

I need some culture in my life.  I mean besides laying on the couch, browsing online, watching Say Yes to the Dress, and making my dad's "secret recipe" scalloped potato and ham on a Friday night.  Don't get me wrong.  It has been a very very very (one more for good measure) very long month.  Work, other work, visitors in town, more work, conference travel... that has been my life for the last month.  Looking forward, it's going to be my life for the next couple of months as well.

I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining.  I'm not.  I'm tired, yes, but it's ok.  It's nice to be busy for once.

I haven't been reading any books or watching any movies lately.  I haven't even watched Nip/Tuck in a few weeks.  I just haven't found anything to keep my interest.  I realized tonight I've had the same dvd from Netflix for 6 weeks.  Thank god for no late fees.  But what a waste of money for it just to sit here.  I'm sending it back without watching it.  Clearly I'm not as interested in Book of Eli as I thought I was.

A few weeks ago, some of my best friends Kyle & Heidi were in town with their sons.  Instead of showing them the finer things in Lexington, we ate at Culver's, watched portions of multiple stupid movies, and ate breakfast at Waffle House.  Oh and I got their car towed.  Wonderful to see them but not exactly exciting.  I have become the worst hostess on the planet.

No, that can't be true.  People keep coming to visit so I can't be all that awful!  In the next 6 weeks, I have 3 different weekends with company in town.  I usually cook for my guests and that's something!

Wow, most boring blog post ever.

Charlie Bucket

It has been a very, very long time since I last sat down to write.  Partly because I haven't really done any reading lately, partly because I haven't even finished a movie this month, partly because I've actually been busy, but mostly because I haven't had anything interesting to say.  Yes, I know this blog is called "A Woman, Her Cat, and Some Books" but I feel like I need to write about things outside of that spectrum and frankly, I haven't had anything to say.

Quick rundown on the last few months of my life.  Since I last wrote I...

went home for Christmas
began a new year
attended a beautiful wedding for a dear friend from college
started a second job
realized again and again that I chose the correct profession
did countless loads of laundry (I say this as there are piles of clothes all over my apartment)
celebrated a Super Bowl win
got knocked on my butt by a cold
tried a few new recipes
took a quick roadtrip to Nashville
added multiple visits from friends and family to my calendar

Perhaps most importantly (most old lady-ish of me)...

I fell in love with this little fluff ball.

Her name is Charlotte but we call her Charlie.  She's only Charlotte when she's been sassy (which is pretty much all the time!) and she and Lady Bug are the best of friends.

It's funny that having two cats is oftentimes less work than having just one.  I don't feel nearly so bad when I'm gone a lot for work because they're more than content to hang out on their own.


I have made a serious effort to get out of the house more but now that I'm working a few nights a week, my nights at home are actually a nice change of pace.  I couldn't honestly tell you what I've been doing to keep busy lately, I just know that I feel busy.  I mean, I bought a new shower curtain last week but that's hardly news.  I've watched a lot of Nip/Tuck (on season six, but I'm afraid it's lost steam... good thing season six is the last season).  My house is a mess because I have two cats that knock crap over all the time and I have no energy to clean up.   I just really couldn't tell you what I'm doing other than working.  Maybe that's enough.

Now that I've written this, I feel like it was hardly worth my time to finally get around to blogging again.  I'll try to do something interesting this week that people might actually want to read.

Sadly, I think all of those things I listed above would have made great blog entries.  Instead you got a list of them and lots of blabbering.

Alright, back to snuggling on the couch.  The rest of my night will probably look a lot like this...

This Has Been a Wonderful Couple of Book Weeks

So I obviously posted this morning but it wasn't about anything I've read lately.  Honestly, I haven't had time to update in a while because I've been hurrying home to read more.  Fall is officially here (well, back at home winter is officially here but down here in Kentucky, I'm content with fall for now) and I've spent lots of nights laying on the couch with a fire going, a glass of wine in my hand, Lady Bug curled up on my feet and wonderful read spread out in front of me.  I know I mentioned that in one of my last real post but seriously.  I am so incredibly content with my life lately that it was worth mentioning again.

So in my post about The Thirteenth Tale, I went on and on about what a good book it was because I loved reading other people's stories.  That book, combined with some recommendations from friends and family, has gotten me a new genre trend - books about libraries or books.  I read three in a row that fit that bill and I loved each and every one of them. 

The first book after The Thirteenth Tale that I devoured (well, it was really brownies or cookies that I was devouring probably but the book was just as delicious in it's own way) was The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.  Add it to the book club recommendations.  It's about a woman, Nell, and her granddaughter, Cassandra, and their separate journeys to discover who Nell really was.  As a child, Nell was discovered on a boat dock in Australia and brought up by a family that was not her own.  Life, and later death, intervened before she could solve her own mystery so her granddaughter picks up when she left off and ultimately discovers her family heritage after her grandmother's death.  The book does a wonderful job of telling the story from all of the perspectives and time periods involved and conjures up incredible images of stories that are waiting to be deciphered.  One of the only things that Nell has to help solve her mystery is a book of fairy tales that she arrived with in Australia.  The fairy tales themselves are a clue and tell the stories of lost princesses, scary old witches, homely but kind hearted crones... It gives me chills just thinking of how artfully these stories are crafted into this book.

After finishing that book cuddled in my bed on Saturday morning, I opened up The Shadow of the Wind, yet another book that tells the story of a mysterious book.  This story talks about a magical, if not sad, place that I wish really existed - the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.  I want a job someday guarding those books so they are not forgotten.  Seriously.  Anywho, the eerie tale that follows about a boy who "adopts" one of these forgotten books and subsequently goes on a quest to discover why it has all but disappeared is one that will suck you in on a rainy Saturday night and not let you out of its grasp until you reach the end and learn all of the gritty details sometime in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday.  I loved this book.  Very rarely do I read a book and think that I need to own it so that I can pass it along to everyone who is willing to read it, but this is one of those books.


Alright, that was sort of brief but it's 5:30 and I don't want to sit at my desk any longer.  Just wanted to mention a couple of wonderful reads for those of you who are going to be settling for the holidays and want something to read.

Oh yeah!  And I couple of movie recommendations too...

• 27 Dresses - So cute that I went out and bought a copy... 
• Avatar - I've been putting off seeing this because my tv isn't worthy.  Well I watched it last weekend anyway and hello, AMAZING.  I don't care who you are, watch it.  My mom even loved it and my mom is not a movie person.  That was the fastest 2.5 hours I've spent watching a movie in a long time.  Beautiful, political, and heartwarming all rolled into one.
• My Sisters Keeper - Yeah, no.  Not a bad movie if you haven't read the book but I am not surprised that Jodi Picoult hated it so much.  Terrible adaptation of a great story.  Skip the movie and read the book.
• The Queen - How did it take so long for me to see this movie?!  It was so royal, and British, and somehow comforting and uncomfortable all at once.  And I love Helen Mirren.  Wonderful.

Clearly I've been a busy lady lately.  Or a homebody... ha ha

Happy Thanksgiving friends!

My lack of blogging has nothing to do with not having anything to write about and everything to with not having time to blog while I'm sitting at my desk during the day.  By 5:00pm, I usually just want to run home.  Considering that I've spent pretty much every night for the last two weeks laying on the couch reading a book or watching movies, with the cat curled up at my feet or on my lap, a fire going in the fireplace, usually with a bowl of popcorn in my lap and a glass of wine or mug of steaming hot cocoa on the coffeetable within arms reach... Well, needless to say, I have plenty of books and movies I should have taken the time to write about.  There just aren't enough hours in the day where I have internet available.

I'm thinking of canceling my cable now too.  Me... who is terrible-television obsessed.  It hasn't been on in almost a week except to watch football, Wheel of Fortune, and the morning news - both which I can watch without cable.

This fast moving city girl, who needs to know that she can go grocery shopping at 2:00am if she wants to (nevermind that I usually grocery shop on Sunday afternoons like civilized people these days), who sometimes wants ice cream at 1:00am on a Tuesday just because (except that I'm too lazy to get out of bed and actually get it now), who still doesn't sleep well (although lately "not getting enough sleep" means I only got 6 hours... which I was lucky to get in 3 nights during college and grad school), is slowing down.  Between the aforementioned fireplace, the cat, the frozen soups in the freezer, and the closet of comfy sweaters that were a requirement for growing up in the Midwest, I could stay home and doze on the couch all winter and not complain about not seeing anyone for weeks.  Seriously, I have turned into an old lady.  Or else the years of running like a chicken with my head cut off have caught up with me and my body is finally catching up on all of that rest I've been skipping since I was 12.

October feels like it was a blur.  Honestly, everything since about July has felt like a blur.  So much has changed in the last few months, even more if we go back a year, and I think I've just been coasting along until I got to a place where I felt comfortable examining my mistakes (honestly examining them, not just glossing over them and moving on), learning from them, and moving forward with my life.  The hours at home alone give me so much time to think and for the first time in my life, I'm not terrified of those thoughts.  In fact, it's been nice to be alone with my thoughts lately - I may be an old lady but I'm certainly not the crazy person that I always thought I was.

And I'm happy.  Sounds simple but we all know that it isn't always as simple as we'd like it to be.

Alright, on to the book and movie reviews.  It's been a while so I know I'll miss a few and these will be brief but it's worth it to share some of the great (and awful) things I've discovered lately.

Books

• "The Lost Symbol" (Dan Brown)
  Finally got around to reading this one.  I loved "The Da Vinci Code"  until I read "Angels & Demons" and I still think A&D is the best one.  The twists aren't twists anymore if they're pretty much the same in every book.  And this one was obvious (at least to me) but I read it in one sitting so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.  I mean, Dan Brown has a style.  If that's what you're looking for, you'll like it.  If it's not your thing, don't bother. Rating: Meh...

• "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" (David Wroblewski)
  Ok, so I'll admit I haven't finished this yet but the fact that it's taken me almost a week to get through is a big thumbs up in itself.  It's not that it's difficult or boring or anything - it's that I want to savor it.  Yes, this book was on Oprah's list and I don't particularly like Oprah (ok, can't stand her) but it's a book about a mute boy growing up in Northern Wisconsin and his family who raises a fictional breed of dog.  As someone who (obviously) loves her pets, I find it truly awesome.  Plus, the fact that he feeds his dogs cheese curds multiple times throughout the book certainly helps me cure homesickness a bit.  It's so touching and so real (although not all at the same time) - perfect for the nights curled up on the couch that have become the norm.
  Rating: LOVE IT
  

Movies

• "In the Bedroom" (2001)
  Truly awful.  I'm sorry, but it was terrible. I waited for weeks to get it from Netflix (for some reason it was always on a wait) and when I got it, it took me three tries to get through it because I kept falling asleep.  Terrible.  Netflix described Sissy Spacek & Tom Wilkinson's performances as "stunning" - bullshit.  They were flat and boring and while I understand that the story of a boy who dies while having a love affair with a single mother isn't supposed to be exciting I do expect some life.  They didn't deliver.  And Marisa Tomei only made it worse.  It got nominated for a number of Academy Awards but I couldn't stand it.  Maybe something is wrong with me.  Whatever - I don't recommend wasting your time.
  Rating: Awful

• "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (2010)
  LOVED IT - If you have children, they will love it.  If you are a parent of children, you will love it.  Even if you just like silly movies that make you feel like you're in 6th grade and incredibly awkward again, you will also love it.  So cute.  So child friendly.  Rent it.  Two child-sized thumbs up.
  Rating: So cute

• "The City of Lost Children" (1995)
  I should have known better than to think a 1990's French "thriller" would be thrilling.  I'll give it this much - the disjointed special effects were enough to throw you off your guard and it creeped me out a bit... but it was just weird.  Again, got great reviews, I just wasn't feeling it.  I think maybe I was just expecting too much and forgot how far cinema has come since 1995.
  Rating: It's 1995 French... what do you expect?

• "The Changeling" (1980)
  So I didn't expect much from this movie.  "Horror" movies from the 1980's don't usually turn out quite the way I planned - they're usually so terribly made that I end up laughing instead of shuddering.  Not so much with this film.  It genuinely freaked me out a little.  I mean, it was bad 80's acting and not great cinematography BUT they followed the number one rule of horror movies (at least my number one rule) and didn't really show the "ghost."  The only time you saw a figure at all was when they showed how the boy died.  Otherwise, it was just eerie things happening and that freaks me out more than some shadowy figure.  So glad I took a chance on this one.  I think my aunt recommended it - if she happens to read this, thanks.  Well done!
  Rating: Pleasantly surprised

 
So there you have it friends.  The life according to me... lately at least.

I'm Over Simplifying the Horror Tonight...

I read a book a few weeks ago that I just realized last night I never wrote about.  Since it's stuck with me this long and I'm still thinking about it, it's worth writing about.

While not a light read by any means, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood certainly makes you think.  It was published in 1985 but takes place in the "near future" - although while reading the book there are times when one thinks the book is set either in the past or in a third-world country.  The basic premise is that an extremist group overthrows the US government and forces women to take a lesser place in society - well, those in power claim they are protecting the woman and all that jazz, but being taken away from your husband and child and forced to serve as a concubine in hopes that a man in power can bring more off-spring into this world doesn't sound like "protection" to me.

It freaked me out a little bit.  Not that a modern day society could look at women in such a backward light, because that's happening all over the world as we speak.  But that such an extreme viewpoint could so easily take over!  There's a passage in the book that describes times during the woman's "past life" and she talks about how everyone purchased goods using an electronic banking system that was controlled by the government.  When the extremists got some power, they basically turned off female's ability to use their electronic accounts, thereby rendering them powerless in a capitalist driven society.  I'm over simplifying it but it's disturbing - and I write that I as think about how many times I'm casually swiped my debit card this month.  I don't have a man who could control my finances.  I would be swooped up as a concubine, or some equally ridiculous position, immediately for sure.  I pity the man that tried to tell me that I was only good for bearing children.

I don't know that I really have a point here.  I just think it's worth a read if you want to think about where society is heading and how fragile our lives as we know it are.  Again, there are people all over the world that understand this already.  But for some reason, most Americans are remarkably resilient.  What if something so catastrophic happened that as a culture we were not able to bounce back?  I think it'll stick with me the way that the movie Children of Men has.  I mean, that wasn't even that good of a movie but it gets stuck in my brain on a regular basis and I start thinking "what if life were really like that?"  That would really suck.


LITTLE SIDE NOTE:
The Wikipedia description of this book is hilarious!  I'm pretty sure radical feminists wrote the whole thing.  The whole point of the book is that it's a white, rich, male-dominated society and women, children, minorities, and anyone else not fitting the norm have been stripped of all power - I think most of you got that from my rather lame-o description above.  It's rather unnecessary to describe the new government  as "founded by a racist, male chauvinist, nativist, theocratic-organized military coup as an ideologically-driven response to the pervasive ecological, physical and social degradation of the country."  I think we get the point.  I mean, that's just my opinion and maybe I'd feel differently if the only way I knew anything about this book was through the Wikipedia page.  But I like books.  I'd rather read the book and find that out for myself than read it on Wikipedia.  Seriously.  Chill out people.  This book is disturbing but it's a work of fiction.

Monday, 5:44pm, Exhausted

I tried so hard to rest of this weekend knowing that it was going to be another long week this week.  I thought I had rested up but then last night I barely slept so that threw a huge wrench in the getting ahead on my sleep plan.  Suffice it to say that I tossed and turned all night because men are frustrating (yes, I know women are worse but whatever) and every time I moved, Lady attacked my feet.  Not cool, cat.  Not cool.

I did have some time to read two wonderful books this weekend.

I happened upon a novella of sorts last week at the library called The Builders.  It was a delightfully complex but seemingly simple story by Maeve Binchy, whose work I have so enjoyed listening to through a public radio podcast I download to listen to in the car while taking long drives.  The book was published as part of an adult literacy program called Open Doors so it was short and simplistic in nature but the story was still complex enough to make you think.  All in all, it took about 30 minutes to read - if that - and I thoroughly enjoyed those 30 minutes on my balcony with my feet on a chair and a beer in my hand.  Delightful.

To combat the slimy feeling I received from the man book I tried to read last week, I went searching for some intimacy.  What I came home with was lesbian lit but it was so wonderful that I don't even care.  The story, Pages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg, was about a college girl who falls for her (female) graduate teaching assistant.  Take out the girl on girl aspect and it could have been a heartbreaking story about any relationship that ended much too quickly.  In short, I loved it.  I'm sure some people would be put off just by the subject matter but it wasn't pornographic in the least.  In fact, I've read many a Nora Roberts romance that made my blush many, many more times than this story.  Like I said, I was looking for intimacy, for not-mushy romance, for something to take my brain off of my own situation, and I found it.  This story was about two people in love - who gives a hoot about their gender. 



Alright friends, it's not 5:55pm and I need to go home.  Or need to run work errands and then go home and do some more work.  But the office has been too chaotic to get anything done lately and I needed a few moments of solitude to relax before I left.  I think tonight I'll go home, warm up some of the delicious soup that I made over the weekend, and put in tonight's Netflix DVD, Where the Wild Things Are, while I write letters to my fundraising prospects.  Sounds wonderful.

Oh, that reminds me.  Saw Inception last night.  Not sold... I mean, it was good.  See it.  But if anyone out there wants to discuss what they saw, let me know.

No Books Today... But a Curiously Good Movie

I had a very bad day on Monday.  I mean, I didn't feel at the time like it was that bad and nothing really happened to make it bad, but my boss called me after work to make sure I was ok because I apparently seemed off at work and suddenly I realized that no, I wasn't ok.  I don't know what was wrong but I just didn't want to be in my life at that moment.  So I took the night off.

By about 8:00pm I had closed all the curtains (mostly so I couldn't exactly see that it was still light out), popped a big bowl of popcorn covered in melted butter (it makes me hungry just thinking about it), and put a DVD in my tiny little computer that only sort of works.  I could have watched it on the old television set I have in my living room but Lady Bug was curled up on the bed and kept begging me (or something like that) to come and cuddle.  So I curled up in my bed in some comfy pjs, devoured that popcorn, and watching a surprisingly delightful movie.

I had yet to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button because a) I don't really like Brad Pitt and b) it just looked kind of lame.  But the great thing about Netflix is that you can see all of these movies that you "should" see without having to spend a fortune at Blockbuster.  I really am glad that I saw it.  Somehow they made a movie about a person aging backwards seem not only plausible, but also likeable.  It wasn't nearly as ridiculous as I thought it would be (ok, except maybe the part at the end where he's a baby again).  Rather I fell in love with this man who was struggling to find his place through life.  I haven't read the story yet but it's been added to my list.  And the movie comes highly recommended - not to mention that Brad Pitt, who as I mentioned is by far not my favorite actor, looks really, really good.

Revolutionary Boring

Ok, let me take a minute to remind you that I'll read anything.  Well, almost anything.  I especially love books that get good reviews or who have stood the test of time, even if they sound terribly boring.  I think I need to start following my gut and stop reading them just because someone else said they were worth my time.  I guess if I have to listen to someone else to convince my something is wroth my energy, I should know better than to think they are right.

I recently read Revolutionary Road, the "critically acclaimed" book that was made into a movie not long ago.  The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and considering I've been crushing on him since middle school, I figured I'd read the book and then get the movie through Netflix. 

Now, I'm sure there are people out there who disagree but I found that book incredibly boring.  Maybe I just don't get it but I thought it was pretty rotten.  It had its moments but I had no trouble putting it down for long stretches of time and only finished it because I have a hard time not finishing books once I've started them.  I got the Netflix dvd earlier this week and unfortunately I feel the same way about the movie.  Actually, I think the movie might be worse.  At least the book was well written even if the characters were pretty flat.  I turned the movie off half way through.  I'll finish it eventually, but considering that it's Netflix so its not due back any time soon, I'll get to it when I get to it.

I'm taking a long weekend this week and I don't want to muck it up with boring movies or books.  I'm in the middle of another boring but praised book, Still Alice, and I refuse to even bring it with me.  Still Alice has an interesting plot - it's about a world-renowned psychologist who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's - but again, I just knew before I started it that I wouldn't be interested.  I understand why I should read it and like I said, the topic is interesting, but the book is just a pile of mud waiting for me to get through and I'm afraid my emotional and psychological waders just can't hold up.

Maybe I should start trusting my gut before I pick up a book.  I'm sick of getting muck in my boots.  Actually, I'm sick of dealing with muck in my life.  Maybe I should trust me gut when it comes to more than boring books.