Sunday, August 29, 2004
More movies!!
Okay ... FINALLY, I have caught up with some of the summer's movies, as well as some older movies. Quick review:
- De-Lovely - I liked it a LOT ... the music was WONDERFUL, and they played Anything Goes only about 50 times. Oh, and Ashley Judd's acting gets better and better with everything she does (and in this one, she even sings a bit!)
- Sixth Sense - Finally, I managed to talk myself into sitting through this movie (I hate horror movies ... they give me nightmares. If you want me to watch a movie, don't advertise it with a kid whispering "I see dead people." Ugh!) Anyway ... the scariness set aside, I thought this was a fabulous movie ... quite reminiscent of A Beautiful Mind.
- The Bourne Supremacy - Every bit as good as the first. Well, except that I didn't see any Mini-Coopers. (sigh...) Can anyone comment on the rumor that they're already talking about making a third? I heard it, but can't find the proof....
- The Notebook - Okay, can you say "SOB"? Because it was impossible to actually LEAVE the theater when the credits rolled because everyone (EVERYONE) in the place was still crying, audibly.
And, have I mentioned that I am quickly becoming a fan of the TV show 24? Well, the concept is that each episode is one hour of a 24-hour time frame, thus the season runs 24 episodes, each consecutive hours within the story. It's a action/adventure/spy sort of thing (I love it!) My friend Kristi got me hooked on it! I have rented and watched all of the first season and about half of the second season. They'll be showing the third season over Labor Day weekend, and I'll tape that and watch it then. The fourth season will start in January. Well, now I'm hooked. Thanks, Kristi!! :-)
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Books & Movies
Yeah, it's been a while since I've blogged. Sorry!!
But, I promised to talk about books and movies, and that is most certainly what I'm going to do now. :-)
First of all, if you know anything about me, you know that I LOVE to keep up with the latest movies. But, alas, I have only seen THREE movies this summer. Here are my thoughts on those three....
- I, Robot - didn't realize it was an Isaac Asimov story until after I saw it. I must say that the biggest draw for me to see that movie was Will Smith. He's awesome (and great-looking, too!!) And, yes, he did have a shower scene. LOL!! Oh, yeah ... back to the movie ... well, it was *okay*. Just *okay*. The effects were very well done, but it seemed to me more fantasy-ish than science-fiction-y. My favorite Isaac Asimov short story is The Last Question. I actually feel like the premise of I, Robot is very similar to that of The Last Question in that machines are programmed to self correct and seek and search and then take over in an ultimate quest to complete their task. Anyway ... Will Smith is AWESOME!! :-)
- The Village - I saw Signs a couple of years ago because (guess why) Mel Gibson was in it (can you say that I often see a movie for the actor that's in it and not the movie? LOL!! Anyway ... I NEVER go to horror movies ... I get nightmares too easily!! But Signs was a GREAT movie. Loved it!! And I was intrigued that M. Night Shyamalan had an acting role in it (he's the writer/director). So ... I thought that I'd try The Village as well. Another very intersting movie. I really like a movie that makes me think ... and this one sure does!! And, again, Mr. Night-S. is in the movie. The only criticism that I would have is that in comparing Signs and The Village, there seems to be a formula that he follows with the "horror" aspect. I won't go into detail here, in case you haven't yet seen the movie. But it's totally worth seeing ... and ought to give you pause for thought. Oh, and Kate - I have finally realized that M. Night Shyamalan did Sixth Sense, too. Duh, me, huh? When are we going to watch THAT?
- The Manchurian Candidate - it looked intriguing in the previews. And ... of course, I'm a big Denzel fan ... of course. :-) Anyway ... I saw an Angela Lansbury interview before this remake came out, and she seemed perturbed that they would remake the movie ... as it was done well enough the first time. I don't think that I've ever seen Angela Lansbury anything other than wonderful and gracious and upbeat in an interview. Interesting! Sooooo ... the movie. WEIRD!! What a strange concept. And what a strange ending. Again, food for thought ... but not half as enjoyable as The Village.
And, on to books. I mentioned that I read Wicked earlier this summer. No need to rehash. Loved it ... you must read it, too!!
Some other books worth mentioning:
- Tony Hillerman's Memoir, Seldom Disappointed. What a delightful book to read. If you're looking for excitement, drama, serious life-trauma ... don't read this book. He comes right out and says that at the very beginning. His life was rather normal and uneventful, and goes on to prove it throughout the book. How refreshing! The title comes from the idea that if you head out with no expectations in particular, you'll seldom be disappointed. The book is all about the wonderful things that have happened to him in his life. He then goes on to talk about living on a farm in a poor family in Oklahoma during the depression, being the youngest son (in a farming family, the youngest son was not to be compelled to fight in WWII) and agreeing with his mother to sign up for the Army and spending a couple of years fighting in Europe, losing the use of one eye, etc. Yet he has a GREAT outlook on life. And, I love his novels about the Navajo Tribal Police in New Mexico. They're my inspiration for my upcoming (I hope!) road trip to the Grand Canyon!!
- Anything written by Jonathan Kellerman - I am currently reading Self Defense, one of his Alex Delaware novels (all murder mystery) ... I am working through the Alex Delaware ones in order. I'm enjoying it, and it's easy reading.
- In my car, I'm currently listening to Stephen Coonts' Hong Kong. I don't really like it. Sorry, Mr. Coonts, it's just too far a stretch with the robo-warfare stuff. You may be wondering, though, why I'm still listening to it rather than popping in my next book (I have two in the queue). Well, the book intrigues me enough in a couple of ways that I want to see it through. First of all, I apparantly know nothing at all about the history/politics of China. The story is set in Hong Kong, but addresses the political climate in China as a whole. It is set after the city is turned over from the British to the mainland Chinese government. That part of the story interests me greatly. Secondly, one of the main characters is fictional (obviously) ... the man who stood in front of the tank in Tiananman Square, whose identity I believe is still unknown (the picture of that still brings tears to my eyes). It's interesting to idealize about this amazingly courageous man who, according to Coonts' novel, is leading the movement in China to overthrow communism. I find that fascinating!
- In the queue, a book by Cynthia Tobias called I Hate School - which will hopefully give me some insights for my own classroom (if I can get beyond the idea that there might actually be kids out there who hate school ... yeah, right!) :-D
Okay ... if you've gotten this far, you need to tell me about YOUR summer movies, books, etc. What've you been entertained by for the past two months!!??
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Nevada!!!
Hey, y'all!! I know ... I've been back East from my trip to Nevada for a week now, but haven't had a chance to catch up on my blog. SOOOoooo... here are the top ten things I did in Nevada:
(10) Had the most AWESOME bison short ribs at a great casino restaurant (Michael's at the Carson Valley Inn). Yes ... I said bison!! The meat was SOOOooo tender and the sauce SOOOooo yummy ... and there was so much that it made for two extra meals. YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!
(9) Went to the Nevada Art Museum in Reno. There was lots of great art, including some wonderful Western US art!! It was great!!
(8) Went to a meeting of my aunt's "mini" quilt guild. Unfortunately I didn't have my own project with me ... but had a great time looking at several ladies' work. Waaayyy cool!!
(7) Drove up to Lake Tahoe one morning ... VERY early. I left my aunt & uncle's house about 4:30-ish, got to Emerald Bay about 5:30, watched the sunrise there, and then drove all the way around the lake ... taking lots and lots of pictures along the way. Got "home" in time for lunch. :-)
(6) Slept next to the window in my uncle's home's "guest wing", with a private view of the Carson Valley. One morning, after the light began to add color to form (ya' know?) ... not yet sunrise ... I saw something ... SOMETHING ... paw across the lanai ... something that was about 40-50 lbs., about 2 feet tall, with a long thin tail, black, looking a LOT like a cat. My uncle says he's never seen one, but that it was probably a panther. A PANTHER!!!!!! Well ... at least I saw the sunrise on the mountains every single morning while I was out there. Things like sunrises make things like mountains change colors. That's an amazing concept to Eastern gals like me!!
(5) Sat in my aunt & uncle's hot tub in their patio room, overlooking the sun setting over the Carson Valley. Awesome!!!!
(4) Took a scenic plane ride over the Carson Valley and Lake Tahoe. My uncle had an unused gift certificate that he had purchased at a silent auction. The flight was about an hour long. Linda Mae was the pilot who took me up, and was wonderful. She flew me over Carson City, Virginia City, we saw Reno in the distance, we flew all over the valley, and then over Tahoe, Emerald Bay, and Desolation Valley. AWESOME!!!
(3) Went to a Basque restaurant, The Overland, which is one of my favorite places to eat in the Carson Valley. There were about 19 folks who came in from out of town to attend my aunt & uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party, and we all ate at The Overland. There was this nasty little incident, after dinner, where two of my cousins won handfuls of quarters at the old fashioned, non-computerized slot machines in the lobby. I have never before gambled ... haven't ever had the desire to do so. But, I thought I'd run a few dollars of quarters through the machine. Nothing. Didn't win on even one pull. I stepped away from the machine ... my mom stepped up ... she put one quarter in, pulled ... and got a LOT of quarters. She put a second quarter in ... and got a LOT more quarters. It was absolutely NOT FAIR!!! Those should have been MY quarters. [sigh...]
(2) My cousin's wife, who is from Thailand, makes the most AWESOME egg rolls around. She came to the house on Saturday morning (the day of the party) and we all messed the kitchen up royally, making a few hundred egg rolls for appetizers. They were absolutely scrumptious!!! YUMMMM!!!!!
(1) Best of all ... I got to spend some time, over two days (Friday and Saturday), with family that I very rarely get to see ... cousins from San Diego (actually Oceanside) and cousins from Seattle (actually Puyallup) ... and, of course, family from the Carson Valley in Nevada. It was absolutely AWESOME!!!
Look forward to Lou Ann reviews of movies and books in the next installment!! :-)
