Hotel Transylvania!

Gage was counting down the days until Hotel Transylvania opened....
It is rare that we get Daddy to go to the theater, but we did it! Probably because he'd been in Vegas all week before it opened, so he felt inclined to do what we wanted to do!

So, Gage got to the see Hotel Transylvania on the night it opened. He was so excited! We hit Campisi's for some pizza first, and then enjoyed the movie. I tried to snap a picture of the boys....but the flash was a little bright. Whooops!

Despite the goofy picture, we truly all enjoyed the movie and had a great night together.

:)

Spring Break 2012... Part Two.

Spring Break 2012 brought us some movies!
Now, I can't even remember what all we watched, but yes, Gage and I were some moving watching fools!

Gage...watching a movie and lounging on the upper-bunk...



{Yes, I still can't believe we painted his room camo....but whatever...he loves it. That's what matters, right?}

We went to see The Lorax, which I just LOVED!




We ate ourselves silly on popcorn and candy and soda!
Wooohoooo for Spring Break!

Movie Reviews!

Public Enemies

It was long. It was good, but it was long. There are some shoot-em-up scenes that could have been a lot shorter. I'm just sayin'.... So, it was good, but long.


Sunshine Cleaning

I enjoyed this. I watched it without Hubby b/c I really don't think it would be his cup of tea. But, I enjoyed it. I'd say that I 'liked it', not loved it.


Crank 2

It was okay. Mediocre at best. I enjoyed the first one more than this one.


Deadline

Hubby & I actually watched this right before Brittany Murphy died. (so sad!) Anyway....we enjoyed it. We like creepy thriller type movies. It's a creepy thriller type movie!

The Final Destination
Typical teen-scream type movie with gore. It was okay.

The Hangover

OMG, funny.
LOL funny.
LOVED it.

Four Christmases

Also, LOL funny. LOVED it!!!

Inglourious Bastards

Let me start by saying that Hubby told me that this was a comedy. While Brad Pitt's character may have been comical---nothing about the Holocaust is a comedy to me. This was a very good movie. VERY good. In the end, he agreed with me: comical character, but not really a "comedy."

The Uninvited

Ooooh....bizarro with some creepy twists. I don't remember there being any big hoop-lah about it, but I really enjoyed this one.

The Proposal

Oh, we thought this was very cute. Some VERY very funny moments.
Light-hearted-love-comedy....

Easy Virtue

BOR-ING. didn't finish it. didn't even want to listen to it while I folded laundry. Really. And, maybe I didn't give it enough time...but 30 minutes into it & I just couldn't do it any longer. I had to mail that crap back to Netflix.

Okay....that's it for a while.
:)

What movie is NOT so great for little ones...

Way to go, Hubby.
Yes, he knows---he picked it. Poor choice for a 4 year old.

Let's see....within the first 30 seconds, they zone in on the typed out word "dead." After that, you're staring at a dead man in a coffin.... Yes, we got past that.

We got to the 1st ghost.
When dead-ghost-Marley's jaw broke & his cheeks split open with half of his face flapping about---well, it was time for this crew to go.
It reminded me of this scene from "The Ring":


"Hey, Gage...this movie is almost over. You wanna go play at the mall?"

Hubby has picked 2 movies this month.
We left both of them early.
His movie picking priveleges have been revoked.

So, just a word to the wise---TRUST the PG rating. Gage has been ok with some PG movies in the past...but this one? Not so much.

Now, having said that---Hubby & I would still like to see it. The hard work put into this movie---oh my goodness. It's just so intricate & neat on the screen.

But---does anyone wonder (because I do)---would Charles Dickens be offended that his work has been made into a cartoon? I know that this is not the first cartoon version of this story, but it just made me wonder if he would like it or be offended...

Ok, that's all I've got for now!

Saturday...11/7/9

Well, I had an early Saturday home visit....after that, Gage & I went to the movies!

Thanks to Zephra, who told me about Hollywood theater being a dollar movie place now...I decided to take Gage for a cheap-o afternoon movie.


My goodness...I remember being a child when this movie theater was brand new. The coolest things were the pizza place inside & the talking trash can. It's crazy what we remember, isn't it?
Well....they don't have stadium seating. It was built during the pre-stadium seating days.
But, it's the way to go when you aren't exactly sure that you're child will sit through an entire movie. This way we were only out $2 instead of $20!

But---he sat through the previews & the entire movie. What a hit!!!
We saw: Aliens in the Attic
It was cute. Funny. But, I will have to say that I've entered this new part of parenting that will include me sitting through a bunch of kid movies that I don't really want to see. Would I have chosen to see that? No. Was I ready for it to end when we still had about 30 minutes left? Yes. But, alas, it is part of my parenting duty, and he had a good time. That's what matters, right?

Friday Night Fun...

Saturday, 11/7 is our 6 year anniversary.
So, the celebrating started on Friday when I got flowers at work.


After I ***RUSHED*** home to get changed, we headed to dinner at this place: Kyoto Steakhouse for Hibachi! Mmmmmm!

Review: the drinks are strong, or mine was anyway....like alarmingly strong. The food was good. The lobster---okay, but not worth their price. The shrimp was delicious, and the hibachi steak was PERFECT!

What was next?
A trip to the movie theater...
Why, a movie review? From me?
Okay! Surely I can give you what you wants!

The movie: Paranormal something-or-other.
My take: I'd have had more fun setting fire to $30 in cash & watching it burn. Not to mention the fact that I wouldn't have had a headache behind my eyeballs & feel queasy after watching the money burn.
Yeah----I saw about 10...maybe 15 minutes of this movie---shot in that bullsh*t-home-video-unsteady kind of way before I was about ready to vomit right there in the theater.
But hey---way back when---the Blair Witch Project got rave reviews, so if you liked THAT {piece of crap} movie, then maybe you'll be able to tolerate this style of film.
Now----I might also add that the movie content may have been stellar. I have no idea. The unsteady camera let me know that the program was NOT for me.

After that----picked up Gage & headed home.
I was so tired.
Hubby rented some movie about hijacking a subway train. Stars John Travolta & Denzel Washington. The first 15-20 minutes of it were great. But, resistance against sleep at that point was futile. I was wiped out from my day. Hubby finished the movie & said it was good.

:)
That was our Fun Friday!

Movie Reviews!

Okay, really...who's been missing these!???

Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail

Um...there could have been less external story line, and more Madea. I'm just sayin'. And FYI: she's not in jail that long.
Madea parts were funny---the drama parts just made me want to fast forward.

Still watching:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Is there anyone out there who loved this movie?
I'm having a hard time getting through it.
That's why it was started one night about 2 weeks ago, and I haven't finished it yet. {not much of a review, now is it?}

The Last House on the Left

Oh my gosh, watch this. There are some pretty graphic scenes that I couldn't watch...but....just---watch the rest of it. The only thing: the head exploding in a microwave {spoiler, yes, I know} is stupid. Now, I could be wrong---but (1) who has a microwave that works with the door open?, and (2) really??? How long would you have to microwave someone's head to make it explode? I mean, blow-up-explode???
But, surely there are people out there who can tinker with a microwave & get it to work with the door open...

....moving on....

New In Town

BOR-ING.
I mailed it back before I finished it.
I just couldn't get into it.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Love it. Loved it. Loved it.

Okay, that's about all I've got for now.
I'll try to be better about doing my movie reviews.
:)

Sunday's Lagniappe

Today is Sunday.
I've been on call all weekend at work. Got 3 calls, all today. Still, didn't have to go INTO work, so that's good.

I have a paper due on Wednesday.
Did that today.
Ahead of time!!!

I have a group project due on Wednesday. It'll be a snap to add my info in at the last minute, and the other group members have to get their stuff together first...so there you have it.

Washed dishes today.
Washed some laundry today.
Put away 1.5 baskets of just my clothes that Hubby folded for me.
Ironed 4 shirts for him to wear this week.

AND---Leslie took Sadie to the circus today, and she exchanged the passes that our neighbor gave us for the circus. So very excited! And really---how nice was that. She's a single gal & got them for free. Knew she wouldn't use them, and knew that Gage would love it---so, she gave them to us. We are very excited. We looked online at the seats we got---they're freaking $95 a seat. It leads me to believe that we've got great seats, but what I really can't believe is that they even charge $95 for a circus ticket!

Leslie gave me run-down on $$ for the circus. Hold onto your seats.
Parking: $15
Program: $14
Light up things that all the cool-kids have: $22
Cotton Candy: $12.
TWELVE DOLLARS FOR COTTON CANDY.
Gage, I'll buy you a whole bag of sugar for less than two bucks.

In other news---it's been a movie marathon day around here. Sad, I know, considering the weather outside is fine for playing outdoors.
What have we watched???
Ghostbusters. Three times.
Ghostbusters 2. Three times.

Why?
Well....it all comes down to this....Daddy told Gage that he could have a puppy since we no longer have Bonnie. He's getting a Shih Tzu like Happy, my mother in law's dog. The puppy will be ready around the end of August. I told Gage that we could name the dog as a family. Daddy told Gage that it will be his dog, and he can pick whatever name he wants for the dog.

The top 3 contenders:
1) Ghostbusters.
2) Claude Musselman.
3) Uncle Leo.

Uncle Leo is from Seinfeld, but if anyone can tell me where "Claude Musselman" came from---well, then you are into obscure movie references just like my son! {Colin & Melis---you guys are NOT allowed to answer this because I already told you the answer!}

So, what am I getting at here?
Gage saw Ghostbusters on TV about a month or so ago. He was in love. I went onto Amazon.com & bought him the two movie DVD set. I set it aside for his birthday. Well, he's been so adament about naming the new dog "Ghostbusters," that Hubby & I thought maybe we could go ahead & give him the movies, and let him pick a character's name from the movie. He's having none of it.
Egon? No.
Slimer? No.
Winston? No.
Louis? No.
Oscar? {Susan & David, don't be offended. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?} But alas, he said "No."
Puft or Puffy, after the big Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man? No.
KeyMaster? GateKeeper? {okay, really I didn't suggest those...}

So, I've suggested that maybe his full name could be GhostBusters & we could just call him "Buster." No.
{I think that's what is going to happen!}

Another thing worth mentioning: The OxiClean commercials.
Last night we had company (I'll have to upload & post pics soon), and after they left, Gage got a bath & got ready for bed. He got all snuggled down to watch some cartoons before bedtime, when I hopped into the bathroom for a bath. I heard Gage coming running down the hall to tell me all about Oxiclean. "The next time you go to the store, you have to get some Oxiclean. It gets all the tough stains out. I'm gonna go tell Daddy!" So, he tells Daddy & then gets back in bed to watch his cartoon. I go get in bed. We were watching some tv, and Gage just starts yelling "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" over & over. I jet into his room to make sure everything is okay {hello, he did break a bone before from falling out of bed!}, only to find my energetic son pointing to the tv screen to show me that the Oxiclean commercial is back on. "See! See, Mommy! It gets the TOUGH STAINS OUT!" (at that moment there was some yellow shirt being washed & stains were just being LIFTED away!)
Thank you advertisements & marketers of the world. I had no idea that you'd use my son to peddle your CLEANING products to me. Toys? Well, I expect that....but cleaning products? Not so much.
What I should have said to Gage: "If I buy Oxiclean, will you start doing the laundry?"

...maybe I'll ask him that tomorrow....

Book/Movies. Books to Movies...

Okay, so I have some thoughts to share.
And---spoilers, only because I have thoughts about these things.

We'll start with this book...


I read this years ago. When it was new.
I got caught up in it---thought it was a page turner, and couldn't wait to know the whole story. My mom---not so much. She wasn't that into it.

Now, it's been some years since I read it, and to be perfectly honest, I couldn't remember the ending. So....when I saw the movie in the Video on Demand listings, I decided to give it a whirl.



So, perhaps the movie has a different ending than the book. Like I mentioned, I can't remember.

Something in ME has changed. I have a whole new perspective on this story. I am now the mother to a little boy.
Perhaps in the book, you can shut out the fact that a grown-ass woman is intimately involved with a 15 year old child---but in the movie---there it is. Right there. On the screen. Everything about it felt odd, and wrong, and inappropriate, and sad, and sick. I just wanted to slap & shake Kate Winslet! {not that she did a bad job acting, because the acting was great}....

I just think---if I could change ONE THING about that whole story, I would make the boy 18 or 19 years old. I would just change that one thing & I think I would feel better about the whole thing.

And another thing....
My Sister's Keeper.
Seen the movie? I haven't. I read the book:

So...if you haven't read the book, I'm warning you---spoilers here in my opinions.
In the end---as parents, you let a person with a KNOWN SEIZURE disorder drive your child around!? As a parent, I just couldn't. I just couldn't risk it. My personal thoughts on it here. Not trying to discriminate against people with seizure disorders...I'm just sayin'....I wouldn't knowingly let Gage ride in a car being driven by someone who has seizures like that.

And....so, Anna's been the victim, and now she's on life support, etc.
Didn't take them long to pull the plug. I'm just sayin'. Countless hours were spent pouring energy & soul into Kate, and they all fought, fought, fought for her to live. Poor Anna. "Oh, she's done. Pull the plug. Harvest her organs, and do it now!"
Just all seemed a little....quick to me.


AAAAND: I hear that the movie ends differently than the book. I hear that they don't kill Anna in the end of the movie.
Hmmmmm.....

Movie Reviews....

The Women

It was good. It wasn't great, but it was good. I think I really expected more... But, it was good. Definitely a CHICK-flick. Hubby never would have sat through all that....AMAZING cast. Really. And, can I have Meg Ryan's hair. It looks good short, long, straight, curly. I.want.her.hair.
***
Shocked by the discovery that their pal Mary's (Meg Ryan) husband is having an affair with a beautiful young shop girl (Eva Mendes), a tight-knit circle of New York socialites comes up with a devious plan to help Mary win back her man. This remake of George Cukor's classic 1939 film boasts an all-star ensemble cast, including Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, Bette Midler and Candice Bergen.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Not really my cup of tea. I don't like the X-Files to begin with. So, I didn't watch this movie. Hubby watched it, and he liked it. He says that the X-Files movies are not so much like the show. He doesn't care for the show, but he liked this movie & the one before it (other X-files movie from 1998).
***
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their trademark roles as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully in this long-awaited sequel to the 1998 hit film The X Files: Fight the Future, based on the phenomenally popular TV series. Amanda Peet ("Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"), Billy Connolly and Xzibit fill out the cast, along with series regular Mitch Pileggi ("Stargate: Atlantis"), who returns as FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner.

House Bunny

blah. whatever. passed the time. no big whoop. not as funny as I thought it would be.
***
When Playboy bunny Shelley Darlington (Anna Faris) gets evicted from the mansion, she is a woman without a country -- that is, until she meets the sisters of Zeta Alpha Zeta, a sorority on the brink of losing its campus chapter. The Zetas need Shelley's makeover expertise so they can attract a new pledge class -- otherwise, their house goes to rivals Phi Iota Mu. But the Zetas have something Shelly needs, too: the confidence to be herself.

Movie Reviews....

Burn After Reading

Loved it. Thought it was soooooo funny!
***
In this dark comedy from Joel and Ethan Coen, ousted CIA official Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) loses his recently penned memoir into the hands of a pair of moronic gym employees (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand, in a Golden Globe-nominated role) who use it to try to turn a profit. George Clooney and Tilda Swinton round out the cast of this irreverent farce, which was nominated for a Best Picture (Comedy) Golden Globe.

Standard Operating Procedure
This movie was so hard to watch. Very graphic, and certainly not for children's eyes. Not even for young teen eyes. I dunno...I couldn't turn it off, but there were times, especially in the sexual abuse parts where I just had to look away.
***
Through captivating interviews and dramatic reenactments, filmmaker Errol Morris documents the scandal that erupted in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, where mistreatment of detainees at the hands of members of the U.S. military was captured on film. What was the psychological state of the soldiers? Why were the pictures taken? These questions and more are explored in detail in this engaging look at one of the Iraq War's most notorious episodes.

Married Life

Whatever. It passed the time. I am so glad that I didn't pay $$ to see this in a theater...Not great if you ask me....and, spoiler alert: the big twist is that when the main character thinks he's poisoned his wife to death, he goes over to see his mistress & finds her in the arms of his best friend. So, in one moment, he thinks he's lost his wife, mistress, and best friend. Oh boo hoo, you big loser.
***
When Harry (Chris Cooper) decides to kill his wife (Patricia Clarkson) to be with his beautiful girlfriend (Rachel McAdams), his best friend and playboy Richard (Pierce Brosnan) tries to talk him out of it. But Richard has his own agenda that soon comes to light. Directed by Ira Sachs, this atmospheric drama set in the 1940s also features David Richmond-Peck and Erin Boyes.

A Murder of Crows

Hubby & I both really enjoyed this movie. Suspense movie, and it was fun to try & figure it out along the way...
***
Disbarred lawyer Lawson Russell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) buys himself trouble when he passes off another man's true-life crime book as his own. As the tome climbs the best-seller list, Lawson gets arrested for the killings recounted in the book. He then must convince judge and jury that he's innocent, even though he's destroyed all evidence to the contrary.

Crank

I really liked this movie. I found it to be funny & entertaining. I'm not sure about any reviews for it, or if others really cared for it....but I thought it was funny.
***
Hit man Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) tears through the streets of Los Angeles in a race to save his own life and his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart) in this ticking time bomb of a thriller. The freelance killer is poisoned when a mob job goes wrong, and the clock starts ticking when Chelios learns he can elude death if he keeps his adrenaline pumping. With no time to waste, Chelios rampages through the city hoping to save Eve and find an antidote.

Okay...so there are a few for now.
:)
You know---I do like to watch movies!!!!

Holiday Movies...

Well, we're what, 5 days into December, & so far we as a family have already enjoyed our fair share of holiday movies!

Around here, we LOVE Christmas movies!

So far this season we've watched....

Elf


Fred Claus


Christmas with the Kranks


The Polar Express


How The Grinch Stole Christmas


Christmas Vacation (our favorite....)


Deck the Halls


...and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

...except, we didn't really get to watch that one. It scared Gage's pants off! He was not having ANY of it....

So, I'd say, not bad for only being 5 days into the holiday season!

Of course, the list is not complete yet...I still have to watch "A Christmas Story" at least once, and "The Ref".
:)

Thursday....

Well, it's Thursday.

Gin updated that Emory is doing MUCH better.
:)



They estimate the repairs on my car to be completed 10/8.
That means only 6 more days in the Impala. Thank GOODNESS!

Movie Reviews!

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Enjoyed it. Not a whole lotta thinkin' to do with this one...just a funny little movie. But---I will have to say this with regard to the nudity: I could have really done without all of it....but, if you're going to throw naked shots in a movie, at least this one has about equal screen time for naked guy bits & naked girl bits. Now, I could have gone my whole life without seeing that guy naked....but, now that I've seen it, I can't unsee it.

moving on...

The Prize Winner of Defiance,OH

Can I tell you how much I loved this movie?
I loved it. I watched it by myself snuggled up on my bed, and I just loved it. What a tale of perserverence & motherhood & wife-hood (is that a word?). Anyway...I loved it. Parts of it were sad...and frustrating....but the optimism that this woman had was just remarkable.

Shipping News

Um...I have no idea how good this movie is. At the part where the mother SELLS her baby (well, little girl...6yo to be exact), well, I turned it off. That flick is just not for me.

What Happens In Vegas

We (Hubby & I) both thought this was sooooo funny!

Then She Found Me

Oh, I watched it start to finish. Main character is adopted as a baby, and now she's an adult. Her birth mother finds her. Main character is OBSESSED with getting pregnant. She doesn't want to adopt. She wants the whole pregnancy experience. I can appreciate that. What I can't appreciate in this movie: she (main character) says that she will forgive her birth mother for giving her up, if her birth mother will pay for her to have in-vitro. So, she puts a dollar amount on her forgiveness? I will forgive you...if you buy me a baby....... I dunno. I just didn't like that part. I understand her wanting to be a mom & wanting to experience pregnancy. I don't understand her putting a price on her forgiveness....that's weird to me.

Charlie Bartlett

It was okay.
This comedy follows the exploits of Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin), a miserable high school student who finds a novel way to fit in with his classmates: by pretending to be the school psychiatrist, dispensing advice and the occasional prescription medicine. Charlie's sympathetic ear and ready access to drugs make him popular with the students, but his activities soon attract the unwelcome attention of the school principal (Robert Downey Jr.).
It was just okay. Not great.

88 Minutes

We both liked it. Hubby had it figured out within the first 10 minutes. Me, not so much. Some of the different events in the movie were cliche, but it was good in the end. I wouldn't say that I loved it, but it was entertaining, and you certainly wanted to see to the end to see how it all turned out. The ending really was the best part!


That's all for now.
Holla!