Movie Review - Elizabethtown

I bought this movie yesterday. Why buy it instead of renting it, especially with the dreadful reviews it got? Because it stars Orlando Bloom. I figured if it was a real turkey, we could always mute the sound and just enjoy the eye candy. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I know a lot of fans and critics alike didn't like this movie. While I agree that it's not Oscar material, I feel it wasn't as bad as people made it out to be.

Elizabethtown is a funny little look at life's ups and downs, successes and failures, and how we deal with them (or don't deal with them, whichever the case may be).

Drew (Orlando Bloom) has cost his employer close to One Billion Dollars. As a result, he's lost his job (in a great, flaming, public display), his girlfriend and his will to live. His attempted suicide is interrupted by a phone call from his sister. She bears the sad news that their father has passed away. Drew now has to put his planned death on hold to travel from Oregon to Kentucky to retrieve the body. Along the way, he meets up with the quirky, perpetually happy flight attendant named Claire (Kirsten Dunst).

While I admit that I'm not a huge Kirsten Dunst fan (she annoys me, actually), I have to say that there are few actresses who could have pulled off this flighty, slightly eccentric role the way she did. Orlando Bloom did an admirable job of adopting an American accent, and his emotion (which was especially important in the road trip scenes) came though loud and clear. Susan Sarandon was her usual, lovely, talented self. She portrayed Drew's mother.

The plot moves quite slowly throughout the film, but that's ok. It's supposed to be a slow, meandering tale, just like life itself in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The movie was never intended to be a blockbuster, a mile-a-minute action flick, or a torrid love story. It's thoughtful, sweet, poignent, with a great soundtrack and plenty of belly laugh moments (especially for those of us who can identify with a large, disfunctional family).

I highly recommend this movie for anyone who is looking for something quiet and mellow to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's rated PG, so you can watch it while the kids are playing in the next room, and you don't have to worry about what scenes they might walk in on. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being a total bomb, 10 being the most fantastic thing I've seen in years), I'd give this movie a 7 1/2.

A 6 Year Old's View On Retirement

Here's a conversation I just had with my 6 year old son over lunch. It was so funny, I just had to share:

Son: When I grow up, I'm gonna be an artist.

Mom: Really? Well, you know, there are all kinds of artists in the world. See that car show they're talking about on TV? Well, they need artists to draw those new cars before they can start building them. Isn't that cool?

Son: Yeah, but they'll already have their artists by the time I'm grown up, so I'll have to be a different kind of artist.

Mom: Don't worry. There will be plenty of jobs for you when you grow up. By the time you're a grown-up, all the people who are working now will be retired, so the companies will have to find new people to replace them.

Son: Yeah, like me, 'cause I'm never retired. I have lots of energy so I'll be working all the time.

Out of the mouths of babes, huh? :D

No Day Like A Snow Day!

Here we are on day two of school bus cancellations due to bad weather conditions here in south-central Ontario. Actually, I didn't even have to check the news or the internet to know that the busses were cancelled the morning. The wind and thunder that woke me up at 5:30am had already told me.

Today's weather brings the added joys of warmer weather in the morning with sudden and severe drops later on, giving rise to possible flash freezing. Those of us who lived through the Ice Storm of '98 in southern Quebec all cringed in unison when the weather man uttered those fateful words. You know it's bad when they shut down not only the busses, but also some secondary highways in the area. Heck, even the dog didn't want to go out for her morning pee.

Of course, the real challenge is going to be keeping the kids entertained for the second day in a row.

So, batten down the hatches, maties. Looks like we're in for one heck of a ride.

Potter - Reviewed

I'm very excited today. My son's school is hosting a viewing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire this coming Friday as part of a fund raiser for their Kids Creating a Cure initiative. I'm a huge fan of the Harry Potter series of books. I'll probably cry a river when I finish reading Book 7, since I know that will be the end of the Harry saga. The movies, on the other hand, have me quite torn.

Movie #1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Considering this was the first movie in the installment, and the actors were quite young and green, they did a very admirable job with it. My only beef was the need to change the name of the US release to "Sorcerer's Stone". Why?

Movie #2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - The actors matured a little here, chronologically as well as professionally. Overall, a pretty good movie.

Movie #3: Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban - What were they thinking?! I quite understand the need to deviate from the book when turning it into a film. This movie took it too far. It wasn't a matter of editing for time or changing some aspects of the plot to allow the movie to flow better. This director felt the need to butcher every aspect for the sake of "Hollywood-izing" the movie. I mean, come on, he moved Hagrid's house! Put it on the edge of a cliff! Since when is Hagrid's house on the edge of a cliff? It's supposed to be on the edge of a forest! And what was with that were-wolf? I thought people were supposed to have a hard time distinguishing them from real wolves (according to Hermione, it has a slightly longer snout, etc...). This were-wolf looked more alien than lupine. I'm still trying to figure out the purpose of the shrunken heads. Ugh! OK, so I bought the DVD only to complete my collection, but you can bet it will be the least-viewed of the set.

Movie #4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Now here's a truly great adaptation. What a brilliant idea, to hire an English director to help depict life in an English boarding school. Bravo, Mr. Newell! Yes, they changed a lot of aspects and deviated from the book quite a bit, but it made sense this time. It worked. Every minute of it held me completely captivated. The actors performed exceptionally well in this movie, too. No doubt thanks again to Mr. Newell's directing prowess. I'm counting the minutes until it's released on DVD (March 7th, 2006), at which point I'll have to buy two copies since the first one will probably melt from over-viewing.

I can't wait to see how the new director (David Yates) handles Movie #5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. You've got quite the act to follow, Mr. Yates!

Are You Sure??

How many of you get annoyed whenever you try to delete a file and your computer asks you to confirm your intentions five times? Do you find yourself yelling at your monitor? "Yes, I'm sure, darn it! If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have clicked on 'delete', now would I?!" That used to be me. That is, until I became a mother.

I've figured it out, folks. The great mystery of computing. Why do developers insists on asking that inane question, "are you sure?". It's not because of the computer illiterate. It's to safeguard us mothers. It's to protect our computers and the priceless information they contain from the marauding hands of two-year-olds.

That's why I spend so much time at my computer (sure, it is, honey). I have to be here to guard it from Trouble (with the Capital T - remember him?). Shut it down, you say? He's learned how to turn it back on - no mean feat, since this is a laptop with the hidden slidey button on the side. Lock it away? You don't know Trouble the way I know Trouble. To keep it safe from him, I'd need a bank vault accessible only via a Batman-esque hidden wall. Even at that, I'm pretty sure he'd find it, and would probably crack the vault's security code, too.

No, I'll just have to keep my lonely vigil here, blogging and reading and constantly looking over my shoulder. What? Oh, hi sweety. What are you doing ... no, don't touch that button! I'm not ready to publish my post yet! Wait! Oh, darn it! Why didn't Blogger put in the "are you sure" safeguard?!

Moms (a little Friday Funny)

I received this joke in an e-mail today (thanks, Mal!), and thought it was really cute. Send the link to all the wonderful Moms you know. I hope you enjoy it!

Answers given by 2nd grade school kids to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He Just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother & not some other mom?
1.We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did Mom need to know about Dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats alot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.