Faves

Some of our favorite TV shows are ending for the summer and we've already resorted to watching reruns on Netflix.  Have I ever mentioned how much we love Netflix?  Particularly the instant streaming version. We get it through our DVD player in the family room and also through the Wii in the game room.  And two people can be watching different shows/movies in different rooms at the same time.  It's awesome.  But not as awesome as this show.... we love Psych!  Here's a clip from one of our favorite episodes... Enjoy!

A Few Faves

In keeping with the writing prompts from the Facebook challenge, I’m grouping 4 together that all fall in the same kind of theme. 

My favorite band/musician:  I don’t really have a favorite band, but this is my current favorite CD.  I could listen to it over and over again… and Rachel even does a great job with the Carpenter’s song remake.  And I hate the Carpenters.  I bought the newest Christmas CD (volume 2) and it’s good, but not as good as the first one.  Many of the songs on this CD were sung in the Glee Christmas episode from last year (season 2, I think?)  It was my all time favorite episode of Glee ever.  Rachel trying to win back Finn’s attentions by taking him to a Christmas Tree Farm and singing “Last Christmas” by Wham.  And the Glee Club collecting donations for homeless kids, but losing them to Sue (the grinch…)  It was a great episode with great music.

My favorite TV show:  This was tough.  It was a 3 way tie between Bones, Castle and Psych.  But if I had to choose just one, right now it would have to be Psych.   I’ve decided in most TV shows it takes a male/female duo to make engaging chemistry on TV.  But not so with Psych.  The best friends from childhood duo, Shawn and Gus and hilarious.  And as a child in the 80’s I get most of Shawn’s “obscure 80’s references”.  In a nutshell, Pysch is about Shawn Spencer, who pretends to be a pyschic detective.  Why psychic?  Because he’s incredibly observant and has a photographic memory and when he tries to help the Santa Barbara PD solve a case, they think he most be invovled with it because he’s knows so much about it.  Thus, the “pyschic” charade is born.  It just gets funnier and funnier, the more you watch.

Here are two quotes from various episodes I lifted off IMDB:

Carlton Lassiter: Now I need to know your process.
Shawn Spencer: Do you really want to know my process?
Carlton Lassiter: Absolutely.
Shawn Spencer: Well, it starts with a holla! and ends with a Creamsicle.
Burton 'Gus' Guster: And if there's time in between? ThunderCats. Ho-oh!

 

********

Burton 'Gus' Guster: I'm not going out there.
Shawn Spencer: You cannot sit here in a dark car all alone. You'll be picked up for mopery.
Burton 'Gus' Guster: Mopery?
Shawn Spencer: With intent to creep. Trust me, you don't want that. It'll put a big hole in your future.

My Celebrity Crush:  Colin Firth, also known as Mr. Darcy 

      

Here he is on the left as Mr. Darcy in 1995.  On the right, doing a photo shoot for The King’s Speech.  He sure has aged well, hasn’t he?  I am DYING to see that movie, so if anyone gets their hands on an edited copy, please invite me over to watch it.  I’ll be eternally grateful! 

My Favorite Movie:  I have a lot of favorite movies, and it was a a close one between this and Star Trek (the newest movie).  In the end, this one beat out Star Trek because of the amazing music.  Plus, it has Colin Firth.  I am very excited that they are making another Star Trek movie, though. 

So there you have 4 of my favorite things.  I’m sure there will be plenty more posts like this to come!

My Favorite Little Kid Show

This was tough.  I had lots of favorites as a kid… The Smurfs, CareBears, Looney Tunes…. my brother also got me watching He-Man, GI Joe, TMNT (the original cartoon), and Transformers.  (My boys are always shocked at my knowledge base of boy friendly cartoons.)

The other day, the radio program I was listening to played the theme song from The Muppet Show.  Do you remember it?  LOVED it!  It was definitely a family favorite in my house growing up.  My parents were in town last week (hence the gap in my return to blogging) and we went to see it together.   My plan was to go with mom and dad while the kids were in school, because none of my kids are big Muppet fans.  (One of my biggest failings as a parent.  Sigh.)  But then I realized that Ian and Brayden had a half day on the afternoon set aside for the movie excursion.  So I bribed them.  I didn’t really have to bribe Ian, but I promised him lunch on the way to the theater.  Brayden was a much harder sell, so I also promised him lunch and that he could have his own soda cup in the movie.  SOLD!  (Good thing our movie theater has cups with $1 refills!)

    So we all went to see the Muppets last Thursday and I loved it.  Yes, it was silly and cheesy, but it was classic Muppets.  I laughed a lot.  I cried a lot, too!  Jason Segal was so cute as the big brother to Walter, the newest addition to the Muppet crew (and admittedly, the Muppets #1 Fan.)  Amy Adams was adorable, as JS’s girlfriend of 10 years who is getting tired of waiting around for JS to propose.  Chris Cooper nailed the villainous Oil Tycoon out to destroy the Muppets.  And yes, there is a performance of the classic song, “The Rainbow Connection”.  And even though Brayden promised me in advance he wasn’t going to like this movie, I caught him laughing on more than one occasion, especially when Fozzie walks out on the stage with whoopie cushion shoes.  Classic!

So if you grew up watching the Muppet Show or any of the Muppet movies, go see this.  You won’t be disappointed.  I definitely wasn’t! And since it’s the month of December, if you can get your hands on a copy of A Muppet Christmas Carol, watch that, too.  It’s my favorite movie version of the classic Dickens story.  Michael Caine is awesome as Scrooge.  Kermit is Bob Cratchit and Fozzie is Fezziwig.  And I can say with confidence that it’s perfectly cast because I finally read the original story by Dickens last month, and I’m telling you when Bob Cratchit’s wife is griping about Scrooge, she sounded just like Miss Piggy.  It was uncanny!   I’m disappointed to see that Netflix doesn’t have this one in their stash.  I might have to email them and complain.  Seriously, it’s awesome. 

Thumbs Up!

I took Taylor and Megan to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine today. It was EXCELLENT!

For whatever reason, I had never seen the X-Men movies when they originally came out. The first one I saw was X-Men 3 at Jeff's house. We then found the trilogy on DVD at Best Buy and bought it for $30. We've watched the X-Men movies many times since then and have loved them. I don't know why, but Wolverine was always my favorite character.

Of course, I'm a huge fan of Hugh Jackman. I have Kate and Leopold and The Prestige. Loved both of those movies. I watched the Oscars this year for the first time in several years, just to watch him sing and dance. I want to see Australia... I think I'll rent it from Redbox next week while Eric's out of town. I even picture Hugh Jackman as the main love interest in a book I love, Austenland. If they ever made a movie out of that book, I'd be heartbroken to see anyone cast other than Hugh Jackman. He is Mr. Nobly to me. And, I hear they are already talking about a X-Men sequel to the prequel... if you understood that, you're a true Wolverine fan!

And on a completely unrelated note, the girl in X-Men (can't remember her name) who had diamond skin... that was awesome looking.... Twilight producers... hope you noticed!

The Decade we are Embarrassed of...

Last week when I went to the library with Brayden to check out our weekly selection of Thomas videos, I scanned the video rack as I always do looking for something fun the whole family can enjoy. This trip I stumbled across an old favorite from my childhood (not Eric's)....

Big Trouble in Little China!

Did you ever see this movie? Did you like it? I remember liking it... enough that I thought my kids would enjoy it.

So, we're on the couch and I'm remembering a scene that might scare the younger kids... so I tell Ian to close his eyes and as he's peeking through his fingers, he says to me,

"Mom, this is soooo 80's...." (with that exasperated tone in his voice...)

And so for the rest of the movie, whenever a fake monster would jump out, we'd all say, "it's so 80's, huh, Ian?!?" and laugh and laugh and laugh at how bad the special effects were. And they were BAD!!!!

But it was entertaining to watch and I wondered how we grew up in the 80's... it seemed cool then, but I look back on most of the 80's and wonder...

How did we ever survive before CGI?

Top Ten

Thanks Connie for this great blogging idea!

In honor of Valentine's Day, here's a list of my top ten favorite Romantic Comedies (just in case you can't afford a nice evening out):

10. Much Ado About Nothing (a fun comedy based on Shakespear)

9. 50 First Dates (this movie is just so sweet and cute)

8. The Wedding Singer (I love the 80's flashback)

7. Legally Blonde (great chick flick!)

6. Elf (I know this is a Christmas movie, but I think it's a fun romance, too!)

5. The Holiday (this movie was a pleasant suprise, I really loved it!)

4. Notting Hill (Eric and I both love this movie... Eric's favorite quote is by Spike "chicks dig grey...")

3. Love Affair (I love this movie. It's a modern remake of An Affair to Remember and the chemistry between Anette Benning and Warren Beatty is hard to beat!)

2. You've Got Mail (this used to be my all time favorite romantic comedy, until just a couple months ago...)

1. 27 Dresses (my new all-time favorite! I love that James Marsden finally gets the girl!!!)

"James Bond is Recession Proof"

James Bond movies are good for my marriage. We always get a quality date night out of watching a 007 movie. Eric gets to watch an action packed blockbuster and I get to watch a handsome James Bond in action. Everybody wins! We saw Quantum of Solace on Saturday afternoon. Warning - if you have not seen Casino Royale, don't go see this movie until you do. For the first time that I can remember, the two plots are connected. I haven't seen Casino Royale in a long time and I regretted not watching it again before we went. I found myself trying to remember who everyone was and how they were connected before.

I grew up watching 007. I don't remember too much about the Sean Connery days, but I've faithfully followed 4 James Bonds in my time. Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and now Daniel Craig. My parents owned a Laser Disc machine way back when I was a teenager. This was the predecessor to CD's and eventually DVD's. It was a record size CD that contained a movie on it... but the format was so large, that you had to "flip" the disc halfway through the movie and finish it on the reverse side. Here's a fun picture from wikipedia:

(Side Note: when I run into old friends from the growing up days, and we talk about the things we used to do as kids, they almost always mention the fact that my parents had that cool movie player!) Okay... back to Bond....

Here's the Roger Moore I remember... he was considered "hot" in the 80's right?

Timothy Dalton only did 2 Bond Films, but I liked them. I thought he did a good job, but Eric says he was the wimpiest Bond of the bunch. Probably true....

Then we had Pierce Brosnan who already had a reputation for Hotness growing up in my household.... (my mom was a faithful watcher of Remington Steele!) Can't remember how many Bond movies he did.... four... five??? (I could look it up, but I'm too lazy!) My favorite was Die Another Day.

Then, they decided to give Brosnan the shaft and bring in Daniel Craig. Good Call. At the time, I was skeptical, especially with his blond hair, but by the end of Casino Royal, I was converted! Eric loves Daniel Craig as Bond. (He thinks Brosnan is getting to old and is too soft.) A direct quote from Eric as we left the theater... "Daniel Craig is totally ripped!" I can't argue with that, can I? (I picked the above photo just so I could verify Eric's assessment!)

So, ladies, don't miss out on a great movie just because you think it's just for guys... James Bond is for you too! And I went to see this movie on opening weekend without even seeing a trailer or knowing anything about it.... that' s how much we like James Bond around here!

The Golden Ticket

The ULTIMATE Girls Night Out....


I can't WAIT!!!

Five Stars

Eric and I went to see "The Dark Knight" today. Normally I won't go to a movie on opening weekend because I hate the crowds (and lines that form at least an hour before hand), but we made an exception for this one. We both LOVED Batman Begins and have been anxious to see the sequel. It did not dissapoint! Can a sequel be better than the original? Not very often, but in this case DEFINATELY! The casting on this movie was flawless... even the "new" Rachel was better than the original (sorry Katie....) The acting was supurb and the excitement was non-stop.

That being said, if you have kids that like Batman, be VERY cautious in taking them to see this movie. We did not take any of our kids (including teenage boy who really wants to see it) and I'm glad we didn't. It's extremely intense and not just in a "comic book violence" kind of way. I now understand why Heath Ledger needed sleeping pills to get any rest at night. His character was creepy, insane and ruthless. A radio interview I heard with a well known movie critic said not to take kids under 10 to see this. I would say 13. It's that intense... there are many very disturbing scenes that kids and even teens would be upset by (including a gunpoint hostage scene involving a child).

But, if you are a mature adult and love Batman, drop what you are doing and go see this movie. You WILL LOVE it!

Movies VS. Books

I love to read... I love to watch movies, too. What do you do when they botch the movie of your favorite book? This happened to me when they made The Prisoner of Azkaban. It's my favorite Harry Potter book of the whole series and they RUINED the movie. They took out really critical and important information that they could have put in and it took me MANY viewings to get accustomed to the NEW Hogwarts and the filming style. Even though it's grown on me enough that I no longer hate it, I still silently moan about it... it could have been SOOO MUCH BETTER!

I learned a valuable lesson when I went to the theater to see that movie. Never again would I see a movie about a book that I'd just barely read. When the book is still fresh in my mind, I will sit through the movie and nitpick every little discrepency. I did it with Harry Potter... I did it with The DaVinci Code. I did it with Ella Enchanted. And even though I tried not to... I did it with Eragon too.

Tonight I took Megan and Ian to see Prince Caspian. I have read the first 4 books in the Narnia series, but it's been a really long time (like a couple years), so I just don't remember all the specifics. Even though I was sorely tempted, I didn't re-read the book before seeing the movie. I didn't want the movie experience to be ruined because of it. And I'm so glad I resisted temptation! The movie was wonderful - I enjoyed every minute of it. On the way home, Megan decided her reading project for the summer will be the Narnia series. I challenged her to read all seven books in her eight week summer vacation. I think she can do it... it's almost 800 pages of reading, so that means 100 pages a week. Maybe when she's done, I'll go back and read the whole Narnia series again... and finish it this time! I know some people think this is cheating, but I really enjoy reading the books AFTER I've seen the movie. I read the Lord of the Rings books after I saw all 3 movies, and I'm telling you... I'd have never made it through to the end without the visual imagry the movie provided. My imagination just isn't equipped to visualize the worlds he created without the help of Peter Jackson and gorgeous New Zealand!

I know a lot of you are with me on this one... I'm crossing my fingers about the Twilight movie. If they ruin it, I'll be sooo upset! A couple friends and I have already decided that if they offer midnight showings the night before the opening day, we are going to go! Anyone else want to come... Sheri, come on I know you want to!