Several thumbs up...well, ok, just two.

At this point, I'm generally disappointed with most movies I try to watch. Luckily for me, this weekend I found at least three movies that are well worth watching if you are looking for something more entertaining to pay attention to than your usual regimen of reality shows and bad news programs.

The first movie was actually an older movie, Accepted with Justin Long. I think it came out in 2006 or so, but I really enjoyed it. I was worried when I saw that Jonah Hill was in it, but he actually played a decent character. It wasn't over the top with vulgarity and it addressed some very real issues that exist in the world of education. Granted, it did so in a very humorous manner, but still, I got the point. You've got to have some respect for a movie about a group of kids who create their own college, South Harmon Institute of Technology (acronym S.H.I.T.), because they've been rejected from every other college out there. Talk about laughing in the face of adversity! It was great. Justin Long is becoming one of my favorite young actors, having been in such greats as Dodgeball and even Live Free or Die Hard. I think he's got alot going for him and look forward to seeing him in more movies.

The second movie I liked was 27 Dresses. Again, I was worried because the last movie I saw Katherine Heigl in was Knocked Up, and we all know how I felt about that one. This movie was very entertaining and I liked the way it ended. I like that she showed real emotion over the things that were going on and that she addressed the issues even though it was painful. This one is a must see for women! It's empowering!

The third movie I saw this weekend was Music and Lyrics. This movie was very good. Not the type of movie that your husband or boyfriend will watch with you, but the kind that will make you remember what it was like when you first fell in love. Although Drew Barrymore is not one of my favorites, Hugh Grant is and the two of them worked well together. It was believable and even with the cheesy music, I found it to be a very sweet and genuine portrayal of two artists who have lost their confidence, but who find it through working together on a songwriting project. A great chic-flick!

My poor husband, he slept through most of the weekend while I was watching these movies. I put him through so much just to be able to provide you with good movie recommendations. But it's worth it. :)

Until next time...

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Daydreaming...

My sister, my husband and I were brainstorming yesterday about who could play the part of Rona Shively if I were to be able to make this mystery series into a movie. This lead to discussion about who would play Norm and some of the other characters. It was fun to daydream, but we really had a hard time trying to figure out just the right people for the job. What we came up with was this:

For In the Wash:

Rona Shively-Neve Campbell


Norm-Greg Kinnear

Charlie-Jason Bateman









Delvecchio-Sylvester Stallone









For Under Lock and Key:

Trey-John Cena


Jane-Natalie Portman? Still thinking about this one...


Ted McCafferty-Lee Evans


Sally Jacoby-Bridget Fonda



For the newest book, Keeping the Faith (not yet published)

Garrett Shaw-Colin Farrell



Although we haven't really been working towards making a movie, it's fun to dream! Got any ideas on who would make a good Rona Shively Story character? E-mail them to me here and I'll post them on the blog.

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If I Could Turn Back Time...

I wouldn't have watched several of the movies I've watched over the past few months. It is so disappointing to wait through all of the build-up and finally sit down to watch a movie that simply doesn't measure up to the hype. I feel it is my civic duty to take some time to warn you about a few movies...and to complain, in general about the ones we have to choose from.

For starters, there's Juno. I couldn't even bring myself to watch this one because of its cutesy little trailers which I thought, glorified teen pregnancy. Why make a comedy about a pregnant, teenage girl? This movie seems to be making light of a very serious situation. This fact and the irreverant use of the word "shenanigans" were enough to make me boycott the film. Stupid...yes.

Next, there was Good Luck, Chuck. Well, what can I say about this movie except that if I had been in the market to spend a half an hour looking at nothing but Dane Cook's ass, I would have been thrilled. Sadly, the funniest parts of the movie were those which were included in the trailers. If they had tried to assemble a film from just those clips, it might have been fine, but they took it too far and as a result, it was a big disappointment.

The third disappointment I encountered was "Knocked Up." I'm not even sure why this was supposed to be funny, but let's just say that it missed the mark. Once again, irresponsible behavior made into a neat little film that lasts about a half an hour too long. This entire movie was only slightly more entertaining than a Cher video.

How about my fourth pick, Superbad? This one was not only not funny, it was disturbing. Young people, high school age, I guess, talking incessantly about having some sort of sexual encounter. And they weren't using a mild-mannered "Sixteen Candles" sort of dialogue, but in the most raunchy, disgusting language they could possibly use. I was embarrassed to even be watching this one and I'm not easily embarrassed.

I'm not sure what has happened to the film industry over the last five years or so, but whatever it is, I don't like it. Every once in a while, there's a good one, but more often than not it's a real crap shoot. Lest you think I have absolutely nothing good to say, I want to share with you my list of movies that I think everyone should watch at least once. You'll see, I really do have a sense of humor and I'm not just some old prude who likes to give young filmmakers a hard time.

My List...the top 15

Airplane!
Undercover Brother
Ace Ventura, Pet Detective
Caddyshack
Spaceballs
Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery
The Jerk
There's Something About Mary
The Nutty Professor (Eddie Murphy)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Top Secret!
The Three Amigos!
Dodgeball
Friday
Talledega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby

If you haven't seen these, I recommend you check them out when you have some time. They are worth your time. The others, not so much.

Until next time...



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Tomato!

Sorry, I just had to title this post like that. I've noticed, as most everyone else has, that with the big salmonella scare most restaurants have taken tomatoes off of their menu. It made me remember the line from that cheesy movie, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. You know, the one where the narrator says something like, "...the very mention of the word strikes fear in the hearts of many..." and then we see this guy sitting in the middle of a library and he looks around very carefully and smiles before saying, "Tomato!" Ok, I realize that it's probably one of those "you had to be there" kind of things, but I found it quite funny years ago. Actually now, I find it a tad creepy.

My point is, I like tomatoes and I'm terribly upset that we can't have any right now. Well, not terribly, I guess I'm just a little peeved. Mildly inconvenienced. Sadly, these are the things which trouble me. I don't really have anything substantive to add to the conversations that may be going on regarding tomatoes, I really just wanted to share my recollections of the Killer Tomato Movie and to share this with you...

The Clip

Have a great day!


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