And The Oscar Goes To...

I know...the Oscars were months ago. You know who took home the gold bald dudes. Being a Mom, I did not get a chance to go to the local megaplex to see the movies that were up for Oscar. So, I waited for them on DVD. You probably have seen them by this point. In case you haven't...or you just like my reviews...see below.

Disclaimer...not all the Oscar contenders were watched by the blogger. Additionally, the blogger reserves the right to add in other movies she has seen that did not come close to getting even an Oscar nod for best costume design, sound editing or special effects.

Slumdog Millionaire - I really wanted to see this one because it sweeped like every award show in the known universe. The basic plot is that a "slumdog" who has lived a very hard life makes his way onto India's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. He didn't get on the show to win the money. He went on the show so that the woman he loves...has always loved...will see him and find a way to find him. To the chagrin of the show organizers, he does very well. Since he is just a boy from the slums...aka slumdog...they think there is no way he could know all the answers so they have him thrown in jail for cheating. The story unfolds in the jail. He tells the jailer bits and pieces of his life story because those bits and pieces are the reasons he knew the answers. New comers Dev Patel and Freida Pinto are wonderful as the leads...as are the kids that play them in the flashbacks. It is a powerful story and one I would highly recommend. I only have two issues and I will share them because they don't give the story away. First, the director chose to end the movie with what looks a lot like a dance scene from High School Musical. Two hours of bad things happening to people in Mumbai and then jazz hands! Just weird. Second, it makes me really not want to go to India which I thought I would enjoy visiting some day in the future when I am rich. Of course, I probably don't have to worry about the rich part so who cares. All that aside, watch it. It deserved the Oscars it got!

The Reader - Funny bit of trivia before I type about this one. Kate Winslet had been nominated for like 100 Oscars before the nod for The Reader. A couple of years ago she did a skit on a SNL type British show. During her skit she ranted that she guessed she would have to make a movie about the Holocaust because the people that do Holocaust movies have Oscars coming out their arses! Well, she was right! Fast forward a couple of years and good old Kate makes The Reader. It is about a woman in her mid-thirties in post WWII Germany. She meets a teenage boy in a chance encounter and helps him when he becomes ill. After he recovers, he seeks her out to thank her. Well, let's just say that he ends up thanking her on a fairly regular basis. She asks him to read to her and he does...then he usually thanks her again. She ends up leaving and it crushes the boy. A couple of years later, while he is a law student, he sees his love on trial for Nazi war crimes. Seems his love was working for the Nazi as a guard back during the war. There are some parts that I don't want to give away but she ends up in prison. The story is well done and Ralph Fines does a great job as the boy grown up looking back on the effect this older woman had on his life. I would recommend this one too. Just be aware that the love scenes between Kate and the teenager are a bit graphic. Oh...and Kate got her Oscar for this Holocaust movie!

Milk - Didn't see it...don't plan to. Why? Mostly Sean Penn...

Bride Wars - I know, this one had no chance at Oscar but I saw it so I am going to type about it! Two best friends. One shared dream. A wedding at The Plaza. As fate (or movie magic) would have it, they both end up engaged and begin planning their dream weddings at the same time. They book the most exclusive wedding planner in NYC and both get dates for The Plaza. Not long after, the wedding planner calls them in to inform them of a terrible mistake. The bookings got mixed up and they are booked for the same day at The Plaza. What to do? Well, one of them will just have to cancel her dream Plaza wedding and find a new venue. Not so much. These two friends end up fighting almost to the death over these weddings. They do some really horrible things to each other...OK, they are funny to us watching but are terrible if they happened to you sorta thing. I will not spoil the ending for you but it has some unexpected twists. This movie should be a warning to all men. If we, as women, would treat our best friend like this over a wedding, imagine what terrors we can inflict upon you! Something to think about...

More later...LOST is coming on tonight and I have to go unpack my action figures so I can act out the show. KIDDING! I wouldn't dare take those action figures out of their boxes. It would ruin their value!

Fairy Tales In 2009...

OK...so I have seriously slacked on my blogging duties. I am really only doing it now to avoid ironing clothes so you all should feel really sorry for me and my sad life.

Anyway, I am here to weave a fairy tale about Miss California, Perez Hilton and how Donald Trump got to be the moral compass of our fair land. So, here we go...

A long time (like a month) ago in a strange land far away (California) lived a beautiful princess with a crown and everything. One day this beautiful princess was asked a question by the wicked Queen (yep, Perez). The beautiful princess looked deep in her heart and answered the question truthfully (as all good princesses in fairy tales do). Her answer angered the wicked Queen and the Queen threw a black cloud of hate across the land. The Queen went on Larry King and tweeted terrible things. The princess had told the truth but it wasn't what the Queen wanted to hear so the Queen wanted the princess to give back her crown. Even those who lived in her strange land far away began to turn against her...well, at least those in the highly liberal areas like Hollywood and San Francisco. The fate of the beautiful princess was then laid in the hands of the Combover King (you guessed it...Trump). The Combover King had the power to take her crown so she could no longer be a princess. What would the Combover King do? Would he side with the wicked Queen and the liberals from the land of the Govenator or would he grant her safe passage to a kinder land...maybe Tennessee because we don't care for the wicked Queen round these parts. That part of the tale, my dear friends, has yet to be written. If I were to write it, I would have the Combover King just slap the heck out of the wicked Queen and remove the Queen's website, twitter and Facebook priveledges for life....and the princess would live happily ever after as the wife of a SEC football coach where she would be appreciated for her beauty and candor. But, I fear, not all stories are fairy tales...

So kids, what can we learn from the fairy tale? That Perez Hilton is a nasty little fellow? Yes. That our country has become a place where people who speak their mind but don't give the PC answer are scorned and labeled as haters, bigots, homophobes? In some places, yes...but not all places. I am proud to live in a place where believing that marriage should only be between a man and a woman is truth...no further discussion needed.

How did we get here? We, the Christians of this fair land, stood by and said nothing. We allowed the few to get their way simply because they cried about their "rights". This isn't like the civil rights movement where people of color had to fight against racism...although the Queen and court would like you to believe that is the case. This is a fight over what this country really stands on...the foundation laid long ago by those who wrote "In God We Trust" or this minority who screams that the rest of us are just close minded haters who don't get it.

What shall we do? What our ancestors have done for thousands of years...look to the words written by divine inspiration and take our lead from there. Those ancient words hold just as true today as they did two thousand years ago....what was a sin in God's eyes then is still a sin. So, it is sin and they...Queen and court...are sinners. What do we do for them. What we were told from days of old...pray for them that their eyes might not be clouded and they would see The Light!

I know...this was a heavy one. I promise to write about movies next time!

Latest Popcorn Report...

OK...so I haven't written anything in a while. That isn't really true...I just haven't had a chance to write anything on this blog. Since discovering the world of Twitter and Facebook, I have been learning more about those things as my civic duty...I plan on being Secretary of Social Media soon. Obama...you have my number (if not, get it from the FBI).

Anyway, here is the latest and greatest from the popcorn report. I know, you guys have probably seen these on DVD already but here goes nothing...

BOLT - I caught this one at the cheap theater not long ago. Honestly, I had completely overlooked it. My expectations were low. Well, I was pleasantly surprised! Bolt was one of Disney's more entertaining animated features in a long time. The action kept the attention of both 4 years olds and their mother. The plot is simple...girl loves dog, girl is huge TV star with dog that doesn't know it is a TV show, dog thinks girl is in trouble and ends up traveling across the US to rescue the girl. Along the way, he picks up a couple of pals...a cat and a hamster. OK...it is more complicated than that but that is the backbone of the story. I recommend this one to kids and adults alike!

INKHEART - Also saw this one at the cheap theater (it rained a lot one week). This one should have been good. Excellent cast, decent story...it just didn't put it all together. Enough said...

MONSTERS VS ALIENS - Back to animated feature (can you see a pattern...must have something to do with Walker and Texas Ranger). If for no other reason, you should see this one for Seth Rogen's turn (well, only his voice obviously) as B.O.B. He is great. Too bad he doesn't make more movies where his humor shines and is not sprinkled liberally with curse words. The title gives this one away. There are monsters that our government has been hidding for years (picture Area 51 here) and they must bring them out when an alien decides that Earth looks like a nice place to set up shop. So, game on between the monsters and aliens for the fate of the planet. Who wins? Guess...

Well, that is the popcorn report. Hopefully I can get out to a more adult oriented movie and blog about that. Until then, have a blessed Easter and remember that Jesus didn't die on a cross so we could celebrate the easter bunny and give each other candy. Get out to your local church people and think about what the great I AM did for each of us this weekend!!

Amazing Grace...In A New Light...

Read any good books lately? What? Have I? Well, how nice of you to ask. As a matter of fact, I have. I just finished The Shack. You have probably either read this one already or heard about it. It is kinda a big thing right now. Why? Well, it is about a subject as old as time presented in a brand new light.

The Shack is a work of fiction. I want to get that out of the way first. The story is not a "you won't believe this" true story. It is actually a story thought up by a guy for his kids. He wanted to give his children a better understanding of certain aspects of God and so he wrote them a story. His story got past around a bit and before he knew it, it was a huge hit.

Why is The Shack a huge hit? The best way to describe it without giving you the plot is to say that it is like being in the most spirit-filled church service you can imagine...only it take place on the pages of a book. I laughed and cried. I worshipped like I have not in a long time. I found things about my God that I hadn't thought of and I noticed things in myself that I didn't like. To be honest, reading the book was a profound experience.

Would I recommend The Shack to you? ABSOLUTELY! Don't go in with any preconceived notions of what you are going to find. Let the truth in the book find you right where you are in your life. Maybe you will be like me, a little bitter about religion. If that is the case, you may be like me and turn the last page with a heart filled to the brim. Perhaps you think you have everything you need from the great I AM...who am I to say you don't...but maybe, just maybe you will find a new way to look at God and be better for it.

Usually I talk about movies in this blog...well, wouldn't you know it, they are trying to get this book made into a movie! See how nicely this all ties together! I would recommend that you not wait for the movie but read the book. I think it might change your relationships in ways you can't imagine.

You Speak Prada?

Hubby and I got a night out and we went with some friends to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. This movie is based on the bestselling book by the same title. Although it does have some elements of the book, the screenwriters took many, many liberties with the storyline. In the end, it was a fun movie. It wasn't the book but that was OK. It at least held to the spirit of the book.

The title of this one is fairly self explanatory. The story centers around Rebecca Bloomwood. She is a journalist who is completely obsessed with shopping. So much so, that she runs up thousands and thousands of dollars of debt. It is actually a timely reminder of our times. Many Americans (myself included sometimes) love to get that new "thing". That new thing will make us happy...complete our lives. If we can only buy that new thing, everything will be rosy. Not so much. Rebecca lives her life in this constant cycle of getting the Gucci boots just to be back in another store far too soon to get another "hit" by buying a pair of Louboutin pumps. Don't get me wrong, I too want the Gucci boots and Louboutin pumps...it is just my credit cards would probably self destruct!

This funny tale has Isla Fisher (Rebecca Bloomwood) doing some great physical comedy. The scene where she is trying to flirt with her boss while dancing is hilarious. I will not give this one away but it involves her trying to use a fan while dancing...her efforts are too funny.

So, Rebecca is up to her eyeballs in debt but she always has a plan. Her plans usually are crazy and not at all realistic...such as getting out of debt by winning the lottery...but she works her plans. The result is an often hysterical. In the end, she does come up with a plan to get the debt collector off her heals and save the day...with the help of some very funny Shopaholics Anonymous pals.

Is this the best romantic comedy I have ever seen? Well, no. But it was worth watching. The romance between Rebecca and Luke is sweet and the man even knows how to "speak Prada" which is a sure fire way to Rebecca's heart! Heck...who wouldn't love a man who wasn't gay who could speak the language of high fashion. I am not sure such a man exists outside of Hollywood!

I have to go shopping now...I just know that a Yves Saint Laurent coat can change my life! I had better call my cousin in NYC and tell her I am coming...we all know you can't buy this stuff in KTown!

Social Media And Defiance

Doesn't that title sound like a paper some crazy person would write? Yep...I am that crazy person!

OK...so I am now on Facebook. I resisted as long as possible but finally just gave up and set up an account. Now I have entered the world of Social Media. I can now get a MySpace account, set up a Twitter account and have it all sent to my BlackBerry. I get that I can do all those things, what I don't get is why anyone would give a darn about what I am doing. For those of you who know me, I am not that interesting. Apparently, based on the status updates of most people, they are not that interesting either. If I had something momumental to say...such as..."Beth is about to solve the mystery of the LOST numbers" or "Beth is one step away from discovering the cure for cancer"...these would be interesting. "Beth is mad about Gossip Girl being a rerun" is, well, boring...even for me.

I am thinking this. This social media explosion is just the first step towards the unavoidable show down between the humans and some SkyNet type thing (thanks Terminator). When will the machines take over...and when will they start making my dinner. I mean, come on. They were promising flying cars and those "Auto Chef" type of things back in the 50s. The government should have all the technology from the Area 51 crash figured out by now and I should have my flying car! I am sure that Obama will fix this grievous oversight. Just in case he doesn't, I guess we will all get a glimpse into our future when Terminator Salvation comes out in the summer. Is Christian Bale in everything now or is it just me? He annoys me...right up there with Russell Crowe. He is not sexy and he is annoying...I can find that combo at the local Wally World boys, I don't need to plunk down $40 bucks at the local cinama to see you guys. In addition to not sexy and annoying, did you hear that Bale totally flipped out on this guy that accidently walked through his shot on a movie set? He went nuts and dropped more F-Bombs in the conversation than in a Judd Apatow movie! He was trying to focus people because he can't act! Now he says he is SO sorry...that is such a PR move...trust me on this...I know a PR move when I see one. Enough about Bale...

So, I saw Defiance. It was an amazing true story of four Jewish brothers who banded together during the height of WWII to save about 1,200 fellow Jews from the Nazi. Daniel Craig does a great job as does Liev Schreiber. Of course, as with any movie involving Jews during WWII in or near Germany, bad things happen. If only Indiana Jones could have gotten all those Nazi but, oh no, he had to go off looking for those stupid stones in the second movie before he got back to kicking Nazi butt in The Last Crusade. I know, I shouldn't lay it all off on Indy but that movie with the stones just sucked!

Where was I, oh...that's right...rambling on aimlessly...

Anyway, Defiance is a good movie but don't let them fool you into believing that these guys are going to win against the Nazi force. They only win by staying alive and outlasting the Hitler following crazies.

I plan on going to see Confessions of a Shopaholic this weekend. It looks like good fun. After reading the book and seeing the previews, it does seem that they took some major liberties with the story line but it still looks cute. We are going to see it with a friend and she picked it for her birthday. I would rather see people killing each other for a good cause, but, it isn't MY birthday yet. Guess I will just have to pop in that Wanted DVD for my "guy movie" fix.

The Popcorn Report on Confessions of a Shopaholic will be coming soon. If I am too lazy to write one, you can always look it up on EW.com. Don't get mad...I may have more important things to do like post on Facebook how "Beth is trying to make sure the fridge light really does go out when she shuts the door".

Snow Day...The Sequel

Here we sit again in the house. Another snow day. Don't get me wrong, I love snow days. It is just the fact that the roads are completely clear and there is no real reason for a snow day that annoys me. OK...that and the fact that hubby and I had to tag team our work today so that neither of us really got much done on the work front.

That being said, yesterday was more of the snow day that I enjoy. Seeing the trees and ground covered with the white stuff while even more big, fat flakes fall. Now that is what I call a snow day! Walker, Texas Ranger and myself even built a darn good snowman out front. We felt we needed to set the standard in snowman making for our neighborhood...someone has to lead the way in this most traditional of snow day endeavors.

The sledding in the back yard was lacking. It mostly involved me running as fast as I could pulling the sled along behind me. Not nearly as fun as when I was a kid. My brother and I would climb a steep hill (not kidding on that one...I lived on 55 acres and we had some great hills) and hurtle ourselves toward the creek just to turn (mostly) at the last minute. Unlike my children, we did not own ski bibs and fancy snow boots. We usually dressed in a hodge podge of clothing that involved layers. Instead of those fancy snow boots, my mother took a page out of my grandmother's book and she would have us put empty bread bags over our shoes and then rubber band them around our ankles. Those plastic bags were quite the fashion statement...good thing our closest neighbor wasn't even within shouting distance let alone viewing distance! So, dressed in jeans with a pair of oversized sweatpants pulled over the jeans, three shirts, a scarf, gloves, hat, two pairs of socks, tennis shoes and bread bags, we would head off for snowy slopes and a day full of fun. Of course, it had to take a whole day because Mom wouldn't let us back in the house until we had really "enjoyed" the outdoors...and she was capable of not harming us due to our constant fighting.

What great memories of childhood. I will never forget the best sledding we ever had. The snow was the perfect texture and density. This time we didn't head for the hills but instead used the driveway (about a tenth of a mile long) as our sled run. We would take off and hit the first hill then bank hard left and level out for a minute before heading down the final hill. It was like our own private rollar coaster...except for the walk back up. Looking back, I realize that I was lazy even then.

Snapping out of my fond memories, I often wonder why we don't have as much snow today as we did when I was a kid. Perhaps that Al Gore is right with his fancy slideshow turned Oscar winning documentary. Who knows, his world wide web thing has seemed to work out well.

I am now going to be the perfect mother and bake some cookies. Are they going to be from scratch? How rude of you to ask! Of course they are not but that doesn't make me a bad mother. It also doesn't make me a bad mother that I didn't even buy the cookie "log"....my mother did. What it does is makes her the perfect grandmother...which she most definately is...just ask Walker or TR! (Don't ask them about me....they will just lie about me yelling at them during a "Mommy snapping moment".)