Category Archives: Movies

Confessions of a Tourist: I am a Geek

I think I have reached Sci-Fi Maximum. For a geek like me, I once thought that was impossible.

Earlier today, after I came back from my run, I was sitting at my computer uploading the data from my Garmin. I heard a rumbling. It became gradually louder. My first thought was “OMG, is that a Dalek?” A Dalek is the ultimate bad guy from Doctor Who. They look like a salt shaker with a plunger and whisk sticking out of it. If they land here, chances are the entire human race will be annihilated without the help of The Doctor.

Domestic Darlek

Domestic Darlek (Photo credit: Bitterjug)

As the sound grew louder, it began to fill the air in my living room. My next thought was, “Holy Hell, are those Reavers?” Reavers are a group of humans living on the edge of civilized space. They are mindless savages that will stop at nothing in their paths. They are non-discriminative in their destruct, much like the Dalek. They only thing that could save me would be Mal and his Firefly crew.reaverupclose

My heart started that irregular beat that is associated with fear. Then I was thinking that sound must be the Smoke Monster, last seen in Lost. What the hell was I going to do? No Hurley, no Jack and sadly, no Sawyer to save me. Although I am as kickass awesome as Kate or Juliette…still, the Smoke Monster would be bad news.smoke-monster

AS I looked out my window, I could see only the stray snowflake float to the ground. The air was still and the skies were empty. I glanced over at the TV and noticed it was not Sci-Fi at all, but the opening sequence for Les Miserables and there was Jackman sans his claws. What? How is it possible that Wolverine was able to be angry and now expose himself for what he really is?

That was when I realized, too much Sci-Fi is not necessarily a good thing. The last 13 days has been filled with Hobbits and Goblins, Daleks and Cybermen, Others and Smoke-monsters, Evil Queens and Rumpelstiltskin, Borg and Romulins, R.O.U.S and Sicilians,Dementors and Deatheaters, Captains and Doctors. I remember things that I cannot possibly remember and yet I do. Details from movies that are so obscure for civilians are second nature to me I can banter on facebook rambling lines from movies, and know the responses. Yet I cannot remember terminology crucial to my academic career. Things I need to be able to recall at a moments notice are lost. My Pinterest Geek Board has more pins than all my other boards combined. This tells me I need to change focus.

Now that the weekend is over, so is the Sci-Fi obsession. Time to hit the books again. My course load is extreme and my reward for conquering the upcoming topics on Strategic Planning and Transitions? I will be finished in time for Star Trek 2: Into Darkness. Because once a geek, always a geek.

 

 

 

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Fifty Fifty Me: Wild

I guess I am behind. Guess what? Not caring that much. Guess why? Schooooooooooools out for Summa! Schooooooooooools out for ev-va! Okay not really, I have one more day of classes with my lovelies. I feel teary-eyed over the whole affair. I let a river monster sit in my lap and cry. I have to admit I kind of liked it. Not the crying part, the river monster was distraught, but the cuddle part.I shall think of him often wondering how he is doing as I also think about children of my past *cough* 24 years. I always think it is not possible to love the next round as much as this round because there is a lot of fear and apprehension that comes with September. This September is no exception. In fact I may be experiencing more fear than usual. Because of all of this accumulated chaos, I have not been up on my reading. I have hours and hours to catch up so I am sure I will meet my 50 book totals by December 31, 2012. I am hoping for 52. Currently I sit at 25. Exactly half-way. My record for a summer reading program is 15 books. We shall see how that goes!

The Book

I read Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I already talked about this book and the fear here. There was more to this book than just fear and reflection. Strayed was nearing rock-bottom when she set out for a trip up the Pacific Crest Trail. As a travel book, this story is enough for ME to want to hike the trail and I think of camping as incarceration. I have done t, loved it at one time, enjoy it occasionally, but prefer a 5 star resort now. There is something quite delicious about camping in the woods alone. That really appeals to me. I love to be alone with my thoughts and my imagination. I prefer not to talk but I can keep up with the best of them! Reflective is a word that describes me best. Or Self-reflective might be a better fit. There is a big long line of skills I am not perfect in or situations I could have handled better but like Strayed, I realize that those choices were important at the time. Learning things from mistakes and challenges is far more impact than by being awesome all the time. Sure I tell people I am awesome all the time, but the truth is – I am learning just like they are. The more I learn the less I know. I feel a real sense of kinship with Strayed. We both have come the same distance on a journey we had no idea how would turn out. I stepped into a crossroads and am ready to follow the path ahead of me after months of fear and indecision. I admit to being scared, but I also admit to it not holding me back any more.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Read it, loved it but it was not Pride and Prejudice. I love how her characters make me feel. It was a great read for those of you who can plow through books that are 200 years old. It’s not for everyone. But it IS for me. It is now official, I have read ALL of Jane Austen’s books. For those Jane fans out there, Netflix has a mini-series called Lost in Austen. If you know the story of Pride and Prejudice and loved it, this is for YOU! I loved it – all four hours of it. It was funny and if you are a Mr. Darcy fan (who isn’t!!!) then delighting in this fantasy is fantastic!

I loved Wild. It was the right book at the right time for me. I recommend it to everyone. I hope they glean something amazing from it too.

The Movie

I have only been able to see a couple of movies, It’s a Funny Kind of Story and Avengers. Obviously Avengers wins hands down as my favorite but It’s a Funny Kind of Story if on Netflix and is quite amazing! It is about a boy – teen rather – who tries to commits suicide and his parents discover him and get mad and his poor choices. He then checks himself into a mental ward at the hospital. He meets the best characters. This movie is like One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest – but with a happier ending. My daughter said it was a great book too. This is worth a look.

But Avengers…. BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE EVER! I hated the Hulk in previous TV shows and movies, but Mark Ruffalo is AWESOME. Shwarma steals the show. Because I am not objective, I have no idea if this is a good movie because I am a superhero geek or because it was a good movie. Not caring…loved it, want it and will own it when it comes out. That’s all I have to say about that. Since this is the second time I wrote about this movie…obviously I love it.

Next week I will read Under the Tuscan Sun – I hear it is awful. But the people who say it is awful loved Shades of Grey. Now THAT book is terrible… I suspect I will love random thoughts of a middle-aged woman’s mind, because after all that is what this blog is all about – that and other stuff.

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Fifty Fifty Me: The Shadow Wife

So I missed a week of 50/50 me. Reading The Management of Nonprofit and Charitable Organizations in Canada by Vic Murray and Effectively Managing Human Services Organizations by Ralph Brody apparently don’t count. I don’t find it dry reading, I quite enjoy it and find it enlightening. However, it doesn’t fit the criteria for the challenge. First of all, you need to read it cover to cover – who does that with text books? Secondly, these aren’t the books I read for fun. They are work. Fun is different. Although making the effort to expand my genre exploration hasn’t always been fun. Science Fiction isn’t very fun for me, nor is fantasy. I need to put effort into it so I am able to follow the story line. My preference is the ability to be LOST in a book. When I say LOST, I mean the story sweeps me away and I can’t wait to spend time with the characters. I do not mean LOST as in “WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?”Hello Lord of the Rings…

The book I read this week brought me back to my favorite genre. I love family relationship stories. I love a strong female lead. I love reading about places with such detail that I figure I could go there on vacation and find my way around.

I watched 6 movies over the past 2 weeks… I know 6!!! When I was suppose to be sleeping or writing papers. I no longer watch TV, I just don’t have the attention span for interest right now. But a movie? Now that is something I like to get lost in. But enough with the musings… let’s get on with it shall we?

The Book

The Shadow Wife by Diane Chamberlain was gobbled up by me in a couple of days. I read it over lunch at work and every spare moment at home. I was reading reviews on Goodreads by my friends and discovered this author through them. They love her…I can see why. This book was about two main characters intertwined through separate stories. They meet and their story connects. I became very involved in one story, then it stopped and started with the second character’s story. It would frustrate me because I never wanted to end and pick up the next story line. This is common for the books I prefer to read. Maeve Binchy is a master at it character development. I devour strong character building.

This story began with The lead’s parents in a commune in Big Sur. It reminded at first of a Barbara Delinsky novel called the Coast Road (also a good read). I like the whole hippy concept except the filth part, and the camping life part, and the lack of wealth part…okay in THEORY I like hippies, but I like to read about them and have coffee with them and learn about their life. I do not wish to be a hippy. Been there, done that to the best of my ability. I can peel logs, can food, grow food, identify edible plants in the wild, fish, and build a fire without the use of paper or fire starter. Trust me, I’d rather read about these adventures the relive them myself.

As this baby of the hippies grew up, her life changed into what I can identify with professionally. There was a twist at the end that blew my head off. The entire time I was reading this book I was thinking I like this book a lot, not sure I love it. By the end, with me not seeing the twist coming, I LOVED this book! I knew this writer always places twists into her books but there was no hint of it in this. I loved that – and now have ruined it for everyone because I am awesome like that.

When I read the twist, I was at work in the lunch room and yelled out “NO WAY!” That to me is the sign of a fun read. What more can you ask for? Surprise, independent strong females, family legacy, and beautiful scenery? Great summertime read!

This week  am tackling Oprah’s new book club – that’s right people she is back with an on-line book club! Wild by Cheryl Strayed. This book is uncomfortable for me at times. It is very relevant to me, but I am enjoying it immensely! I will let you know how it goes. This book places me halfway to the challenge of 50 books in a year. YAY! I have loved this challenge! It has brough me out of my comfort zone and into books I love. I never would have read Stephen King, The Room, or a multitude of other genres and storylines that have scared me in the past.

The Movie

I watched these movies over the past two weeks :

  1. Avengers
  2. Factory Girl
  3. Being Elmo
  4. Every Little Step
  5. Schindler’s List
  6. If Lucy Fell

Factory Girl was about Andy Warhol’s iconic Factory girl and the person she was in real life. All this movie did for me was make me see what a wingnut Warhol was and wondered how he paid for things. I love his art, but wow…

If Lucy Fell was an old school Sarah Jessica Parker movie – Boring….

Every little Step was a documentary of  the Chorus Line revival. I loved this. Pain, rejection, excitement all rolled into one. I have always fantasized about being on Broadway but I don’t have the strength it takes (nor the talent) to face rejection on a daily basis. Wow these people are amazing!

Being Elmo… Behind the scenes of being a Muppeteer? Are you freaking kidding me??? THIS WAS AMAZING and I cried. I loved seeing the Jim Henson Empire. I will watch this documentary over and over.

Schindler’s list. I was the only person left in the world who hadn’t seen this. It is now part of the Grade 12 curriculum in Alberta’s High Schools. Wow what a powerful movie. I found it interesting how he made enough money to save these people and then just before the war ended, so did the money. Divine intervention obviously played a hand.  4000 Jews live in Poland now, but 4 generations of Schindler’s Jews make up over 6500. Doing the right thing is never easy, but so important. If you haven’t watched this – you must. AND I can cross it off my 100 AFI list!

Then my favorite movie of the year. It is no surprise people. you all know how much I love superheroes and fancy myself as one. The Avengers was FREAKING AWESOME! Is it out on Blu-ray yet? I want it for Christmas Santa!! Please do yourself a favor, watch all the other movies first. This will help with the maximized enjoyment of the Avenger movie. Stan Lee I heart you.

This week movies? I have no idea. I have watched 42 on the year. I am in the mood for Brave but that isn’t until the 22. I want to see something that will make me laugh. Life has been hard this week, so laughter is in order!

Suggestions?

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Fifty Fiftly Me: Shopgirl

Participating in the 50/50 me project, (you can read more about it here) was difficult this week. I was POISONED and didn’t die. However that left me with little time to feel like reading. I had read one book and havent felt like reading since. Truthfully, I haven’t had the time. I am busy finishing up projects for my University Class. While be sick in be and loving the Netflix app on my ipad, I was able to watch a couple of movies this week. I watch Never Let Me Go and An Education. Moving on with the words first…

The Book

I read Steve Martin’s Shopgirl last weekend. I have always been a fan of Martin’s dry wit and humors look on life. I never considered him a writer so when Shopgirl appeared several years ago, it was aff my radar. While reading my first foray into Martin’s work, I realized I could hear his voice as he stood to the side narrating the story for his readers. I’ve always been a huge fan of his but never gave credibility to his talent as a writer. I found his style to be delicious, and his words that were strung together like a beautiful sonnet. I could identify with the main character and felt her pain, yet was removed enough to see the reason for it. I am surprised the female character was so likable aside from her sexual attributes, typically male writers miss the mark for me when it comes to female character development. Martin’s dry wit showed through the story and I smiled with pleasure. I am so pleased I decided to give this book a try. I liked it enough that I downloaded two more of Martin’s books with hopes of reading The Pleasure of My Company this week. I must be honest and say, I don’t think I will get much reading for pleasure done in the month of June. I shall keep my fingers crossed though!

The Movie

I was able to watch Never Let Me Go and An Education. Both movies starring Carey Mulligan. I am finding myself

Cover of "An Education"

Cover of An Education

becoming a huge fan of hers! I watched Never Let me Go because I read the book last week and am always curious how the movie translates onto the screen. This particular movie was fairly close to the book. Tommy is less awkward in the movie and Ruth is less of a jerk, but for the most part, I wished it had more narration to go along with the story. It needed more insight into Kathy’s feelings and thoughts. However, this movie didn’t even come close to how much I enjoyed An Education!

An Education is based on an autobiographical article for the Granta by Lynn Barber. I loved the character. She was an intellectual caught up in the fun and fantasy of being the girlfriend of a rich older man. I saw a parallel with my life except for the rich part of the older man. Her choices were better and I found myself admiring her tenaciousness. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t like about this movie. Fashion from music to writing and mishaps, all were fun to watch. I was disappointed with her choices but she righted them in the end and went on to learn from them. This is what we all hope to do but some of us are more successful at it than others. I need to place this movie in my top 10 of all time. I know I will watch it again and again. There is something so sexy about the male characters who turn out to be such disappointments in the end. This is a definite chick movie for smart gals who long to be swept off our feet because of brains not just looks.

Next week brings Avengers, the superhero loves of my life and possibly a book to finish reading…I hope.

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Fifty Fifty Me: Never Let Me Go

This weeks effort to participate in the 50/50 me project,(you can read more about it here) I finished one book and shocked that it took me 2 weeks to read a single book with 400 pages. Seriously? I had these grandiose ideas that I would read copious amounts on the plane on the way to California. I slept instead. Obviously I needed to sleep. I am reaching full on burnout. Then I figured I would watch a movie or two. Westjet now charges you for movies. WTF? Air Canada doesn’t. So I sulked and read instead. That left me with time for just one and one book in two weeks. Oh well. The movie was disturbing and the book was … not sure how to describe it. Let’s get on with that shall we?

The Book

Cover of "Never Let Me Go"

Cover of Never Let Me Go

I read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Many reviews on this book were stellar. This book is even on the Time 100 best books of the 20th century. The book was a good read for me. But I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on my goodreads book list. First of all it is Science Fiction. I love watching Sci-Fi! Those are some of my most favorite movies and tv shows. As a book genre? Not so much. When I read, I want my book to be plausible. There are books out there – Harry Potter for example – that I love in spite of the plausible aspect. However, I find the characters real end genuine. That is important. They can be involved in kooky adventures that we can only dream of but their character must be realistic. I found the characters in Never Let Me Go to be stupid – literally.

There was a time in the book where I gasped out loud because these characters we not the physical beings I thought them to be. Then the story became very predictable after that. I kept waiting for the author to drop a bomb, something that would shock me to my core. It never happened. What was shocking was the way these characters accepted their fate without question. Who does that? This is why I did not find them believable. I want people to fight for justice. Fight for what their heart wants. Fight for their values. I do not expect them to get what they want, but I want them to try. This is what makes characters real for me. Perhaps there are people in this world that just plod along not reaching for the brass ring, not questioning the way things are done. This is not me. I could not relate to these people.

There were parts of this book I quite enjoyed, but I always felt I had to keep reading it just to complete it, not because I loved it.

Meanwhile, I am still reading Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Mrs. Dashwood infuriates me and I have to put it down because I get so mad. This is what I enjoy about Austen’s books. Her characters make you feel.

As an easy read for the week, I pulled out British Chicklit. I’m feeling Jane Green and her bumbling heroines, I could easily be one of them. They make me laugh and I don’t need to think or be offended at the stupidity of the female leads. They are smart and usually successful. They just make bad choices I can laugh at because “Been there, Done That”.

The Movie

My children both read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas in grade 7. I never had. It was a long time before I could bring myself to watch or read anything in regards to Nazi Germany. I had lived with stories from grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, and uncles about their experience with WWII. It was just too close to home for me. I feel deeply and could not imagine the pain and heart-break associated with camps all over Europe. Nor could I understand how a human being could do these things to another. Since my various trips to Europe, I have been able to slowly learn more. I find it painful, shocking and disturbing, yet I cannot stop looking.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is about a German boy whose father is in charge of a camp in Poland. Behind his house is the camp. He goes exploring and finds the walls of the camp. He sees a boy, the same age as himself and they strike up a friendship. You get a sense of the ending while watching this. What struck me was the attitude of the father, the Nazi Commander. He said Jews aren’t people. For all the atrocities that happened, this is what disturbed me the most. Karma plays a hand in the end and the emotion is raw. Give this movie a look. I don’t think I could read the book knowing the emotion involved. I feel to deeply. Empathy is a great gift, but in these circumstances it is painful.

My next movie of choice will be Never Let Me Go, The Avengers and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Fifty Fifty Me: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

This week in an effort to participate in the 50/50 me project,(you can read more about it here) I finished one book and started two others. Who does that? Who reads more than one book at a time that aren’t text books? I guess I do. I am reading Sense and sensibility by Jane Austen and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I only watched 2 movies, I must be busy or something. I finished Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. I didn’t think I would get through it but look at me! I did it! Anyways…. on with the words!

The Book

I didn’t expect to enjoy Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It was on my list of new genres to try and lots of people were talking about it. The creepy pictures caught my eye and I read a blog review that made me bump it higher on my To Read list.

The beginning of this book was riveting. The Grandfather told crazy unbelievable stories just like my Grandpa did. This alone made me love him. As I became hooked, there was a moment when I thought this book might be too scary for me. Old me would have closed it and been scared of “What might have been”. New me sucked it up and kept pressing forward. I learned it wasn’t scary, but peculiar. By the end of the book I was so captivated I couldn’t put it down. I found it to be very exciting in a Harry Potter kind of way.

Don’t get me wrong, this is NOT a Harry Potter knock off, but is had a similar feel as the Potter books – well for me anyways. I enjoyed the quirky nature and time loops. The best part for me was the photographs that showed who the characters were. These wonderful vintage photos of children doing impossible things all through the magic of trick photography…or was it?

This is a great young adult book and I think my children would quite enjoy it. Only they never take my advice anymore.I wish I could be deep and insightful about how it effected me, but it was just a fun read. And it made me miss my Grandpa. Sometimes books should be just fun.

The Movie

I watch two movies this week. One at home snuggled under a blanket and one at the movie theatre with my

The Jane Austen Book Club (film)

The Jane Austen Book Club (film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

daughter. We saw The Lucky One, based on the Nicolas Sparks novel. For the first time, I did not read the book first. It was enough for me to enjoy the beauty that is Zac Efron. His eyes are something else! The story was magical and fate driven. I need that in my life right now. Was it my favorite of the two? Not by a longshot. My favorite was The Jane Austen Book Club.

This movie was everything I needed to see this week. Women having intelligent conversation about well written books, helping each other through various crisis in their lives. I need a book club in my life. Every character’s life resembled one of Austen’s 6 books. They discussed strength of character, doing the right thing and struggles of life. Just like the Austen books themselves. The difference being the movie gave insight into lives down the road. Austen ends her books usually with the marriage…and they lived happily ever after blablabla…but do they? How could you not with Mr. Darcy? But i suppose Elizabeth Bennett found his stories tiresome after 30 years of hearing the same one over and over. So maybe it was just as well they ended when they did. Austen never married herself, so perhaps she did not know what to write having never lived behind those doors. The movie, however, takes you to a happily every after a few years later. That was nice but unneccessary. Life doesn’t have to be happy, and often isn’t. The point is to feel it and be present for it. Most of the movie was just like that. Real. Maybe that is why I liked it so much. It has moved into my top 10 favorite of all time, and it has me reading Sense and sensibility for the first time. I don’t love it like I love Pride and Predjuce…but her writing is exquisite none the less.

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Fifty Fifty Me: Fifty Shades of Grey – Please don’t Judge me!

This week in an effort to participate in the 50/50 me project,(you can read more about it here) I finished one book and started yet another. I watched 3 movies and played taxi driver for my son. So watching Taxi Driver seemed very fitting. As for reading, hmmm. Joining goodreads as been helpful! I invite you to join it as well, and add me as a friend. You can find the link on the left of my WordPress page. I finished 50 Shades of Grey and started Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. I have been so tired this week I have no made much progress with reading, but you will be updated!  Anyways…. on with the words!

Book

I felt the world collective pressure to read 50 shades of Grey by E.L. James. The internet is such a buzz about this book I felt compelled to give it a read. It is the first book in a trilogy and can I just say, I will not be delving into the other two books. This book was for me, like reading a dime store romance with BDSM elements. It apparently was based on fan fiction of Bella and Edward from Twilight. There are stalker elements and controlling behaviour, none of which is done in a healthy light of course, but there is reasons for it and therapy is being sought. This is not great fiction, nor does it pretend to be. What it is…is… well… interesting. I am not the girl who is naive and easily shocked. I understand this book is tame by many BDSM standards. It did take me down a road that I was curious about and did it in a non-threatening way. I think that is why this appeals to so many women, and making so many men happy. It provides insight and tools to spice up a love life that may be less than interesting or stellar.

The rules of this relationship are clear and both parties go into negotiations about hard and soft limits. Speaking up for yourself is the underlying theme. Being your own advocate in situations that make you uncomfortable resonated with me. I have been needing to do that a lot.

All in all, this book was not for me. I rate it mediocre. I have moved out of the romance genre in my early 20′s and moved into books about people struggling to find their way in life. I am currently reading a thriller-ish book. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. The grandfather could be my own, so it hooked me from the start. I am not reading this as quickly as I normally whip through books, so I may or may not be finished next week.

The Movie

This week I watched 3 movies. I started out with Taxi Driver and crossed that one off the AFT 100 list. THen I watched Bye Bye Birdie and Ballet Shoes. Could these three movies be any different? I am not sure if Bye Bye Birdie counts. I watched it when I was 7, but never saw it again since. It is no secret that I love musicals, Dick Van Dyke and the 60′s in THAT order. The dance sequences with Ann Margret were spectacular. The white dress with red polka dots and red flats that Janet Leigh wore in her dance sequence was so fabulous!I have only seen her in Psycho where she was a blond. Holy hottness was she stunning as a brunette!  Giving Ann Margret a run for her money. There were some great moments, the romantic leads were meh, and half the music was good. Was this my favorite? No, it came in third and THAt surprised me.

Ballet Shoes was a wonderful movie you should watch with your teenage daughter. It focuses on the importance of goals, strength of character, team work and support. Not one of the dreams was far fetched, and it showed that dreams come true only with hard work. I Loved this movie. It came in second.

Taxi Driver had a film noir feel to it, although I am not sure if it is classified as one. If it is, it need more narration

Cover of "Taxi Driver [Blu-ray]"

from De Niro. Can I just say, that man is AMAZING! I remember the scandal with Jodie Foster, her age and her role playing a prostitute. Let’s just say the times have changed and teen prostitution is no longer a taboo subject – at least in my circles – it is seen as a tragedy and a form of abduction and abuse. I think this may have been the first movie to show the seduction nature of the controlling pimps. Regardless whether it was or not, it sure got people talking about it. The seediness of New York was very fitting for this movie. After I finished it my immediate thought was, huh…wierd. But the inner struggles and character development was fantastic. I enjoyed this movie more the next day after thinking about it, then I did while watching and digesting it. If you haven’t seen it, it is on the AFI 100 for a reason. Simply amazing.

Next week I am looking to fulfill my girl talk need by watching The Jane Austen Book Club. It seems perfect for me and I am wanting to read some Austen, I haven’t read all 6 of her books so I think I might tackle Sense and Sensibility or Mansfield Park. It is only then I can say I have read all her books thoroughly.

Happy Reading and Happy Watching!

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Fifty Fifty. Me.: When God was a Rabbit

This week in an effort to participate in the 50/50 me project,(you can read more about it here) finished one book and started yet another. I watched 2 movies and mostly did copious amounts of homework. My mind is filled with so much information, I chose drivel to read this week. I shouldn’t have done that. Fluff or drivel wounds my soul and makes my brain feel soft. There is a fine line for me to find a book that is a fun read and a book that is fluff. 50 Shades of Grey is pure fluff, and not all that fun to read. Last weeks enjoyment of A Lover’s Dictionary was fun. I think I need to start carefully assessing why I read as opposed to what people say I should read. Suggestions are wonderful, but I need to read from suggestions of people who like the same type of read as I do. Joining goodreads as been helpful! I invite you to join it as well, and add me as a friend. You can find the link on the left of my WordPress page. Anyways…. on with the words!

The Book

I read When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman. This book made me laugh, cry and smile. There was a dark cloud that followed this family yet it didn’t seem to matter, they laughed and lived in spite of it. I think it gave a truer sense into people’s lives when nothing is perfect, yet people live being as happy as they can. I loved following the main character through her life. She didn’t dwell on the painful moments, she moved on. Very british actually, stiff upper lip and all that. She felt emotion but realized life was a series of moments. Each moment builds on another to create the next moment. With that knowledge you can can choose to feel however you want about a situation. I loved that sentiment. I have always felt this way. There is no point in blaming someone else for past crimes against you. Its about taking what we learned and growing from it. The letting go is hard, but in the end worthwhile. This book spoke to me. I hope it speaks to you too.

The Movie

I watched 2 movies this week. Annie Hall by Woody Allen (- this can be crossed of the bucket list!) and the

Film poster for Annie Hall - Copyright 1977, U...

Film poster for Annie Hall - Copyright 1977, United Artists (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Contagion starring Matt Damon on recommendation of my friend Chef. Her delicious blog is here.

Chef is an ex-pat Edmontonian living in Texas and we share a love for all things yummy, heathy and Matt Damon.

I thought this movie might be too much for my Howard Hughes like obsession with hand sanitizer. It does justify my freaky feeling about clean hands, but it was as scary as I thought it could have been. Although people do die at an alarming rate. Famous people kept dropping like flies. Did this help? Meh… So this was not my favorite of the bunch.

I did love Annie Hall. I love Diane Keaton. I loved how innocent she was and her fella Woody Allen encouraged her to give personal growth a try and lo and behold, she out grew him. A very common theme amongst my peers of late.  I do not get the sex appeal of Woody Allen, but I do understand his intellectual appeal. I loved the dialogue. I am coming to realize that Woody Allan movies are definitely for me. Conversation, discussion, and possibilities without a clear cut happy ending. It certainly is not an escape genre, but it fulfills a need in me. Loved this one!

 

This week I am finishing up 50 Shades of Grey and am NOT going to read the other 2 in the trilogy any time soon. I have two books on my list that interest me, Under the Tuscan Sun and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Can you find two vastly different books? I think not. one thing this challenge has done for me is open my mind up to knew genres that I would normally not have considered before. We shall see how I feel after 50 shades, that will determine my next choice.

As for Movies? I am in a De Niro kind of head space. I think I will watch Taxi Driver and cross that off the AFI 100 list. Perhaps there is a movie that my teens wish to watch too. Let’s see what the week brings, shall we?


 

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Fifty/Fifty.Me: The Lover’s Dictionary

This week in an effort to participate in the 50/50 me project,(you can read more about it here) I read one book and watched 4 movies. I have a sneaky feeling I will finish the movie portion long before the books. I have watched 7 movies in 2 weeks and will likely watch a couple more this weekend. I wish The Avengers was out. May 4 needs to hurry up.

The Book

I was reading some book reviews here on WordPress and stumbled onto a review about a little book called The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan of 10 things I hate about you fame. After reading some heavy books of late, this was like a sorbet between courses.

This story was from the male’s point of view. I wasn’t a love story, but a relationship story. It wasn’t all romance, wine and candles. It was real. I could relate with the couple on several levels and was captivated with their story.

Because the book format was very unique,it was dictionary format spanning the alphabet from A-Z focusing on a key word that describes the moment in time that pertained to the relationship, the reader was never let into their couples lives on a daily basis. We we allowed to see snipets the dictionary definitions let us see. This chapter or definition under U:

unabashedly, adv.

We were walking home late from a bar- and the term walking is used loosely here, because you were doing something between a skip and a stumble – and suddenly you started singing out your love for me. My name and everything, loud enough to reach the top floors of all the buildings. I should have told you to stop, but I didn’t want you to stop. I didn’t mind if your love for me woke people up. I didn’t mind if it somehow sneaked into their sleep.

You grabbed my hand and twirled me around, two sidewalk sweethearts. Then very earnestly, you stopped, leaned over, and whispered, “you know, I’d get a tattoo with your name on it. Only I want you to have the freedom to change your name if you want to.”

I thanked you, and you resumed your song.

I liked it for its quick read factor. It was a lovely change of pace from the more intense, emotional reads I have been absorbed in. I did find myself wondering about the characters themselves and wishing I had more information about them. Then I realized I may not like the heroine as much. I was surprised by the emotions generated by the man. That was something I did not expect but did appreciate.

Each word and definition was it’s own chapter, so the book moved forward quite quickly. I recommend this book for two reasons, It is likely the most unique format you will ever read and it is interesting. If a book is not interesting I will not keep reading it. Case in point, The Hunger Games. I have read the first Chapter and have no desire to finish it in spite of the hoards of people telling me to keep it up, it gets better. It is not better NOW, that is the difficult part for me. I read so much for university, when I read for fun – I need it to be at least fun, interesting, relatable or riveting.

I was going to read Night Circus, but I read the first page and realized I was not in a Circus Mood. I flipped through the 145 books I have on my eReader waiting for me to dive in and I had a difficult time deciding. I need an easy read. I have a ton of research to plow through and a bit of fluff is what I am needing to turn my brain off. There are a bunch of gals in my reading group that rave about the Fifty Shades trilogy. With THAT said, my next book is 50 Shades of Grey. I understand it to be a Twilight type series for Adults without the stalker bits, vampires and werewolves. I do know it is erotica and not romance, something I havent read since pre-mommy days. I am NOT a romance type gal, so if it turns out to be sappy – I will be outta there! 2 chapters in and I have a feeling this will be … interesting. I may learn a thing or two to spice up my sex life in the process (Hi Mom! Hi Granny!) I will report back once I know.

Now…on to the movies!

The Movie

When I read that I hear ‘Let’s go to the mooooovies, Lets go see the staaaaaaars” from Annie the Musical. I did not go to any theatre this week, all my movies I watched were via streaming.

  1. The Other Woman – mediocre – I hated the kid in the beginning but liked him in the end. I hated his dad too, so this wasn’t a stellar movie for me.
  2. Hugo – How did this win best movie? Are you kidding me? It was too long, too boring and too slow. But it was pretty. The highlight of the movie was the mechanical man. He was in the middle not even the climactic end. Was there a climatic end? I can think of a billion other movies that should have won before this one…snore.
  3. Water for Elephants – Book was better. This was too romancy and not enough of the circus adventure. Meh.
  4. Cabaret – This would be my favorite of the 4. It is also on my top 100 of the 20th century bucket list movies I want to watch. I didn’t think I would like Joel Grey as the Emcee. I had seen Allan Cummings on the tony Awards and on The Rosie Show where he performed parts of his Tony Award wining role. I loved his raunchiness. Joel Grey was goofy. Both very different both excellent. I would have rather watched the Cabaret part instead of having to sit through Sally Bowles weird life. Liza Minnelli is NOT her mother. However, she has great pipes too and I could listen to he perform all night. Singing is her strength – not acting. The story was meh, the music was amazing! I loves me a good musical! With THAT said…let the flaming begin.

The next movie I plan to watch? Hmmm.   I think I will try Annie Hall. I have a had a hard time streaming it. I will keep trying. I LOVE Diane Keaton. I need to see this one. It is also on the AFI 100. That would bring me up to 55 on that list. I think Extremely loud and Incredibly Close is one I want to see especially now that i have read the book. Contagion is another movie that I really want to see. Although with my  Howard Hughes freakiness when it comes to germs, this may have me quitting my job as a preschool teacher. Too many wet orifices that leak. The plus side is Matt Damon is in it. Since I saw him run forever in The Adjustment Bureau, I have fallen deeply for him. He is a close second to my future ex husband George.

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50/50.Me: Extremly Loud and Incredibly Close

Cover of "Extremely Loud and Incredibly C...

Cover of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

This week in an effort to participate in the 50/50 me project, I read one book and watched 3 movies. I have a sneaky feeling I will finish the movie portion long before the books.

The Book

I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I think I liked it. I wanted to read it and finish it, so it had me interested. I did find the story line confusing. I had hoped the movie would provide more clarity, I have never seen it but a friend has and she responded with “no, the movie is confusing too” Huh…

The book switched voices as you progressed. Each Chapter was a different voice. Once I figured out WHO and WHEN this was happening, it made perfect sense. I am not one to read chapter titles, but clearly this would have been a huge benefit on my part.

The main Character is Oskar. His father was in one of the World Trade Towers on September 11 – THAT DAY, and of coursed died. Oskar’s Dad Thomas would often leave clues for Oskar to solve. It was a game they always played. The ultimate game was when Oskar discovered a key that belonged to his father. But what was the key for?

I found myself understanding the way Oskar thinks. He can’t let things rest and needs to know WHY. That is me. I am never satisfied until I know all the details. Learning to live with unanswered questions is incredibly difficult, and friendships have been strained because of this. Perhaps this is why I liked reading about Oskar. I could related to him. The other fascinating part for me was this story took you through all 5 boroughs in New York with the story of the 6th one. I loved the backdrop. It had me at Central Park, and I went from there. The story itself encompasses 5 family members and how they deal with grief. This fascinated me and gave a great insight to the way people handle events differently. A great lesson in empathy.

The Movie

The Iron Lady (film)

The Iron Lady (film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I watched 3 movies this week, Mirror Mirror – funny! New Years Eve – good! The Iron Lady – interesting!

Of the 3 I think I prefered the iron Lady the best. Meryl Streep was fantastic! I never thought about her as an actress, to me she was Margaret Thatcher. I hadn’t realized all the history that surrounded Thatcher and her rise to Prime Minister. She was often the only female in the House. I have a feeling it glamorize her family life and failed to show the heart ache of her children and husband. None the less, it was enjoyable.

Clearly I need to work on my skills as a reviewer, I’m sure it will progress.

This week i have started Peony in Love by Lisa See. I think it is a chick book. I started Hunger Games and just couldn’t keep my head in it. The gals at work rave about Lisa See so I will give it a try. As for the movie, I am planing on watching Hugo. My daughter raves about it, so I thought it might be a good family night movie.

What are you reading? Seen any good movies lately?