Oscars 2009

So on Saturday I got to see all 5 Best Picture nominees back to back. First let me say how fun this was!! The place was PACKED - sold out completely. Many people come every year and apparently get there really early, as we showed up (pre-purchased tickets) about 1/2 hour early and had to sit in the 8th row. Luckily, it was a stadium theater, so it wasn't too bad. The order of the movies was Milk, The Reader, Benjamin Buttons, Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon. There was about 1/2 hour between each flick (no previews), and few restaurants next door to the theater. Although I mostly ate popcorn and chocolate all day. (hee hee).

I LOVED Milk. It was my favorite of the 5. What an uplifting story..well, except for the end. But really - so great. Sean Penn was AWESOME and COMPLETELY deserved his Oscar last night. He WAS Harvey Milk. I didn't even recognize him as Sean Penn about 20 minutes in. The Reader was very provocative. I don't mean the nudity (of which there was a lot!) - but the story was very intriguing. Benjamin Buttons was a cool story and I would love to see how they did some of the special effects. I did enjoy Slumdog. Really interesting story - and a little something for everyone - romance, mafia, adventure, good vs evil, happy endings. It was my 2nd favorite. I did not like Frost/Nixon. First, I think the timing of the day was bad. It was definitely the driest material - don't save it for last after being in the theater for 12 hours. I fell asleep for a few minutes - which was not all the fault of the film - but it just didn't do anything for me. Frank Langella was great. He really took on the part. But that one I don't need to see again. So my favorites were:

1) Milk
2) Slumdog
3) Reader
4) Benjamin Buttons
5) Frost/Nixon

Then of course I stayed up to watch the Oscars. So I am movied-out right now. But I hope to do it all again next year!

Movie Marathon

On Saturday I am going to spend the whole day at the movies. No really - from 10:30am until about Midnight I will be sitting in an AMC Theater watching all 5 Oscar Nominated Movies. I cannot wait. Since I was a teenager, I always wanted to spend a whole day watching movies. When I saw this promotion, I knew I had to do it. I haven't seen any of the flicks - so it is the perfect opportunity - and only $30 with all the popcorn you can eat!

DH is being the biggest sweetheart and dealing with the children enjoying quality time with his kids for most of the day. We have a babysitter at night so he can catch the last two. A friend from work is coming with me. I can't wait. Am I crazy?

Alive and Kicking

I am still here. I have not died or fallen off the face of the earth. I had a crazy business trip last week, then came down with an annoying cold that took away my will to do much. I still have the cold, but am on the mend. Anyway....

Great thing to recommend - Mama Mia, the movie SING-A-LONG version. I went last Monday with some girlfriends. I can't say I would recommend the film without the sing-a-long part. But with it - it was awesome. SO MUCH FUN. We went to this great local theater that has tables and chairs and full menus (including bar) instead of regular theater seating. It was really a blast. The place was packed and everyone was singing (they put the words on the screen below the movie) and getting into it. A great girls night out - I highly recommend!

Sex and Single Women in the City

I went to see the Sex in the City movie a few weeks ago, and was really disappointed. If you haven't seen it - you may want to stop reading - spoilers ahead!!!




Ok...so I liked the story lines with Charlotte, and Miranda. I thought Samantha could have had a happier ending - maybe her and Smith move back to NY so she can go back to being her? But it was believable. I thought Carrie's storyline was just wrong. I mean, she has been with Big for more than 10 years at this point and she is in her 40s. So when he calls her at the library - I don't think she would react like she did, and she certainly wouldn't have stomped over and bashed him with her flowers. I really don't think she would. My scenario would have been that he makes that call and she says, "Get over yourself buddy, put on your big-boy tuxedo and get your ass in here right now!" And he would have been like, "oh yeah, ok, you're right". I mean seriously, she would have taken that crap from him, I don't think so.

I doubt any of my close friends would ever handle things that way. Now that I am in my 40s, I know what I want, and how I want it, and I think I am pretty good at voicing it. And after being with my husband for 14 years, I would never let him get away with that (not that he would try). I don't think Carrie, in her 40s, and with big exclusively for 10 years, more than that overall, would either.

But I am not single. And none of my close friends are single. I have a few friends from work who are in the 40s or 50s and single. And I had this discussion with one of them last week. She TOTALLY disagreed with me. She loved the movie and thought it was perfect that it happened like that. She said she knows women who have been in long-term relationships that ended in similar fashion. I pointed out that Carrie ends up marrying him in the end (which again, if all the previous had happened, I don't think she would do). And my friend said that was totally believable.

I guess I am lucky to not know. But what do you think?

Movie Review - My Date with Drew

Very cute flick. It’s a documentary about one guy's attempt to get a date with Drew Barrymore. It was shot all with one camera, and it’s easy to get involved with the story. Imagine using your 12 degrees of separation to meet a celebrity. The DVD also includes a short documentary on how they got their film distributed like a major motion picture. I highly recommend.