Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Juno



I've sort of been putting this off all day because I'm not really sure what to say that will do this movie justice. Except that I loved it.


I'd never even seen a preview for it, just the picture of a very pregnant Juno and her friend sitting in the trophy case eating lunch. I knew what it was about, and I'd heard how much people liked it. And of course, the Oscar noms. (Best Picture, Best Actress.)
I thought I would like it for being different, quirky. I did. But I LOVED it for making me so emotionally involved. That's what makes me love a movie, by the way. If it makes me feel.
I loved Ellen Page, who of course, stole the whole movie. She's gorgeous, the natural kind of gorgeous, even though Juno could care less about her looks. (Her wardrobe is awesome. Very thrift store chic.) She was amazing at playing a quirky, care-free teenager who didn't care what anyone thought of her, but still showed that underneath it all, she did care. About a lot.
I loved that I had no idea going into it that there was any sort of romance involved. The sweet love story between her and the father (her best friend) made my heart ache. The scene in the hospital after she gave birth will be forever on my list of all-time favorite movie scenes.
I loved that Paulie (Bleeker, the father), was a great guy desperately in love, masquerading as a geeky kid that no one took seriously.
I loved the crazy vocabulary and hilarious one-liners of mainly Juno, but also her step-mom and some other supporting characters. I was going to post my favorites, but there are WAY too many and they aren't all appropriate for my G-rated blog.
I loved that the movie showed how wonderful adoption can be and the emotions involved.
I could go on and on, and I really want to, but I don't want to rob anyone else of their viewing experience. This is one movie you have to experience first-hand.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

So after reading this, I had to Google myself. I could not believe what I found.



SOMEONE IS WRITING A NOVEL ABOUT ME!!!


Okay, maybe not actually about me, but about a girl with my EXACT NAME (pre-marriage), spelling and everything. I know it isn't that uncommon of a name, but it's still freaky.



BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT FREAKED ME OUT.



Not only is this novel about a girl with my exact name, but, minus a few details, this story could be about me (or at least, the high school me). I mean, the description of the person. Not the physical description, the personality. Click here to see what I'm talking about.



STILL NOT WHAT FREAKED ME OUT.


I came across another chapter of the book (this one had some F-Bombs, so I'm not going to link to it. If you really want to read it you can go searching.) and couldn't believe my eyes. Except for the juvenile dialogue and horrible writing skills, this chapter seriously could have been a near-replica of a chapter I wrote last week for my novel. (If any of you do go searching, please, PLEASE know that my writing is a whole.lot.better.)

I WAS FLOORED.


I think the only thing that could have shocked me more when Googling my own name would have been to see my face as a child on a milk carton and find out I'd been kidnapped long ago and the people that raised me weren't really my parents. But this was by far a close second.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Snow Day

CHURCH IS CANCELLED DUE TO
MASS AMOUNTS OF SNOW
What to do?








Maybe not the best Sabbath Day Activity, but when you spent close to $50 on snow clothes a month ago and feared they would never get used, you sort of jump at the chance to send your kids out into the snow.
I AM LOVING ALL THE SNOW!!!

Friday, January 25, 2008

I Smell Rotten Tomatoes

I've made it! I'm a true, honest to goodness movie critic. Complete with angry backlash from the public and everything! Karen and Nicole, you can try and disguise your voices all you want, but I know those death threat phone calls came from you guys.

I just had a few things to say to back myself up and maybe help explain my dislike of the movie that was previously discussed:

1. I am not a crier. Never have been, never will be. I have cried in a movie maybe three times in my entire life, and we're talking a solitary tear making its lonely way down my cheek. I don't get all warm and fuzzy when I see puppies and I absolutely despise those forwards with the teddy bear's arms wide open saying "You've been hugged." I am a deeply emotional person, but at things that I find real. Things that I can relate to. In real life, if something moves me, I fight back the tears. On the big screen (or little), with actors that I know are playing a role, not real life, me no cry. I may get a little emotional if it happens to touch a personal nerve with me, but that's as far as it gets. For someone who suffers from depression/anxiety, real-life tears are plentiful enough without crying over fictional things. I'd be constantly dehydrated.

2. I was born a movie critic. I LOVE movies, but so do the movie critics that are constantly slamming flicks, right and left. It's because we love movies so much that we truly appreciate the good ones and have very strong feelings about the ones that just don't feel right to us. Okay, I'm going to drop the plural, because I feel really stupid grouping myself in with actual movie critics. I am such a natural movie critic that even in my very favorite movies there is stuff I don't like, that bugs me. (Case in point: Titanic. Still one of my all-time favorites. However, when Leonardo and Kate are in the elevator and yell "Shut Up!" in sync, it's the equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard and someone chewing loudly in your ear to me.) I believe this is why I can't nail down one favorite movie. I guess what I'm saying is, there are certain things in movies that I personally can't stand, no matter what movie it is. So if I'm watching a movie and it has these things, I know instantly it will never be in Alicia's Movie Hall of Fame.

To get to the point, and bring my last two points together, I'll say my last words on P.S. I Love You. You all were absolutely right: I did go into it expecting much, much more. BUT that is not at all why I didn't like it. I have thought through this carefully (as every good critic should) and pictured what I think would have happened if I'd gone to it expecting nothing, or even a crap movie. My opinion may have been slightly better, but I still would not have left liking it because of the two things I said above: I am just not that kind of girl that tears up at these romances. Having said that, if it was (in my humble opinion) a good, real, relate-able romance that I really felt to the core, I probably would have been bawling like a baby. So I stand by my review (as all good critics should) and state that I maintain my opinion (because of course that's all this is) that it could have been better done with some better writing and actors.

Now, to finish, I'll say that we are all entitled to our opinions. I LOVE the feedback I have gotten and the discussion that ensued because of my review. Those of you who loved this movie have every right to love it, and that's great. I don't, and there's no "right" or "wrong" here. Just personal taste. I will continue to do my movie reviews, good and bad, and hopefully we'll have more discussions just like this because people, MOVIES ROCK!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

P.S. I Love You


WARNING: IF YOU LOVED THIS MOVIE AND CRIED THROUGH IT, OR IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET AND DON'T WANT TO BE TAINTED, STOP READING NOW. MAJOR SPOILERS AND STRONG OPINIONS TO FOLLOW.



As I walked out of the theater last night with two of my very favorite people in the world (thanks gals, had a blast!!), I felt a little ill. Not because I ate an entire box of Buncha Crunch with my Cherry Coke, but because I had no idea how I could come home and do a review for this movie today, feeling the way I did about it. Everyone I have talked to has LOVED this movie, and I, well....not so much. But my girls convinced me to go ahead with my review. After all, movie critics don't just review the movies they love, and honestly, I've been wanting to do a review of a movie that I didn't really like, you know, to test out my "critic" abilities and even things out after all the four star reviews. So out come the claws.


For those of you who haven't seen it yet, the storyline is this: A young widow (Hilary Swank, who is an amazing actress in everything but this movie...and The Next Karate Kid), devastated by the loss of her recently deceased husband (Gerard Butler), begins receiving letters from him that he wrote before he died, knowing the end was near (he died of a brain tumor.) Cue sappy music, grab the Kleenex. The idea is sweet and had possibility, but the filmmakers had no shame in doing whatever they could think of to tug on those heartstrings. I felt like they wanted me to cry so badly, that the rebel in me refused. Not a tear shed from this gal. Okay, maybe one.

I didn't completely hate the movie for one reason: Gerard Butler. I fell in love with him as the Phantom and was a little too excited to watch him in something where his face wasn't either half-covered by a mask or horribly disfigured. He was the movie's only redeeming quality. He could have stood there in head-to-toe plaid polyester and not said a word the entire time and still been the best part of the movie (hello, the face) but then you add his fun, goofy, chronically happy personality and that divine Irish accent and....well, you got me sitting impatiently through the scenes he's not in.

Hilary Swank, however, seemed horribly miscast. She just didn't seem right for this part and I kept putting other actresses in her place that I thought would have been much better. It didn't help that I really didn't like her character very much. Once again there was a stupid girl who had no earthly business being with the perfect, amazing guy that she had and totally didn't appreciate. At all. What is Hollywood's obsession with this? It makes me crazy. The whole movie I sat there trying to figure out what would have made Gerry (Gerard) love Holly (Hilary) so much. I never did figure it out.

Here are just some of the other things that rubbed me the wrong way:

~Were they in Ireland? Were they in New York? It only took me halfway through the movie (after mass confusion) to figure this out, thanks to some help from my viewing buddies.

~Um, what the heck kind of funeral was that? Besides a few tears from the widow, it seemed more like a birthday party. I sat there waiting for a twist, that it actually wasn't his funeral. No. It was.

~Harry Connick Jr. I don't even know what to say here. Just...weird.

~The supporting characters were very much "characters". Not believable, not relate-able. Besides a couple of laughs from Lisa Kudrow, there wasn't much else there. Especially Holly's very weird, badly-dyed-blonde sister. What was she on?

~Holly's family showed up to her apartment a week after the funeral to find her rotting in her misery, then proceed to chastise her for not being over it yet. She continues to get flack from different people throughout the movie for not having moved on yet. Um, seriously? You gotta be kidding me.

Okay, because I want to end on a positive note, here is what I liked about the movie:

~ Mr. Butler (duh)

~ the fact that it was a movie about a married couple...how rare is that? It really did make me appreciate my husband more.

~ Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who didn't do all that much for me on Grey's Anatomy, was gorgeous and actually believable as an Irishman. (I am wary of fake accents and he actually had us all wondering if he is really from Ireland. Nope. Seattle!)

~ the hospital scene after Holly's karaoke mishap. Each time the camera got closer and revealed another wound, we laughed harder and louder. We were still laughing five minutes later.

So was this long enough? I seriously could have made it ten times longer (what does that say about me, that my negative reviews come so much easier to me? hmmm...) but I'm sure you were all ready for me to shut up about three minutes ago.

To sum up: Great company, great night, great friends, not-so-great movie.

(Is anyone else having serious problems drafting and publishing posts?)







Wednesday, January 23, 2008

GIRLS' NIGHT OUT!!

I know this is short notice, the three day weekend threw me off, but I am going to see P.S. I Love You tonight, the 9:35 showing, at the mall, and I would LOVE as much company as possible.
COME and watch a good, sappy romance with some gal pals!
You know you need a night out. I do.
Let me know if you wanna come, or just show up!
Hope to see you there!


Monday, January 21, 2008

D-Qwon's Dance Grooves

*This is not a set-up in any way. I had hidden the camera, he had no idea he was being recorded. Ignore the messy family room, and don't laugh at my toes.



Saturday, January 19, 2008

Reality Check

Do you ever have those moments that are so real you know you'll never forget them? The kind that bring you down out of the clouds and suck you away from your own private little world, reminding you that not everything is about you?

What's even more grounding is when that moment is a realization that your parents are human. That they have feelings, fears, trials, just like you do. They're not just "Mom" or "Grandma" anymore, but suddenly they're someone's daughter, too, or even just their own person. When the table is turned and you're the shoulder to cry on instead of the other way around, it's a very strange combination of feeling like a grown-up but also a scared, small little child at the same time.

It's unbelievably humbling and just what I needed to put things in perspective. Nothing helps you forget your problems like hearing those of others. I am grateful for the reality check I had tonight.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Catchin' Up

Sorry it's been a few days since I've updated. I swear it wasn't so that I could watch the numbers rise in my comments of my last post (although I won't deny that was freakin' awesome.) It's purely because I have had the WORST HEADACHE for the last three days that I cannot get rid of. And by the time I'm done reading all my favorite blogs, my head hurts so bad that I can't justify sitting and concentrating on a new post. My head still hurts, but I can't not post any longer. So here is a compilation of all the posts I would have done the last several days. Enjoy.

~ How much do I love Google Reader? It has completely revolutionized my blogging world. Before, I was lucky if I got to the first three blogs in my favorites. Now, I go to one place that tells me who has updated, and the time has been CUT IN HALF. I am once again the blogging maniac that I was a year ago. You know, back when there were only three blogs to read. Bottom line: If you aren't using Google Reader, crawl out from under your rock and sign up.

~ My son is channeling Napoleon Dynamite, and I have to say, I'm a little scared for him. The new "It" movie at our house right now is Meet the Robinsons. The song at the end of the movie is a fun, upbeat, techno-sounding song called "The Future Has Arrived" by the All-American Rejects. This is Payson's absolute new favorite song, and this is how he lets the world know it: as soon as the credits start to roll and the song begins, he drops whatever he is doing, jumps up, runs and grabs his snow boots, puts them on in five seconds flat, and starts dancing around the family room, eh, flamboyantly. Let it be known that he will not do this without his snow boots on. I've convinced myself there was a switch in the N.I.C.U. four and a half years ago. Somewhere there's a Vegas Showgirl with a four year old boy sitting and playing with dinosaurs. Bottom line: Maybe we've watched High School Musical one too many times at our house.

~ I have been on a music kick lately and I guess I have to tell you why. Please don't judge me. So I have a fabulous cousin who shares my affinity for all things Twilight. (I just went to her blog to get her address for the link and had to laugh at the post that everyone will see if they link to her blog.) She was into Twilight long before I was, and when I first finished the books and lamented over missing my daily Edward fix, she suggested doing what she had done....make a Twilight playlist: Put all the songs that make you think of Twilight in a playlist, and then you can listen to it all day and think about the books. Confession: When she told me this, I had one word in mind: "psycho." I made a mental note to seek help if I ever went that far. Back then I was only slightly obsessed. Well, I've crossed over to the dark side since then and three days ago I found myself searching my music library for any songs that made me think of any of the three books. (This was after I cross-referenced Stephanie Meyer's Playlists that she herself has made for each book to see which songs of hers I have in my library. Okay, why are you people friends with me?) But it was so much fun! I can't believe how many songs seem like they were written for these books. Anyway, as embarrassing as the motive was, it still got me pumped about music that I haven't listened to in a long time and new music that rocks. So, for the first time in.....a really long time, I have added music to my blog. Introducing.......my Twilight Playlist.
*Stay tuned for my New Moon and Eclipse Playlists. Bottom line: I need help.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Speak, And Ye Shall Be Heard

Is it just me, or does anyone else have this problem? It seems like my fan base ebbs and flows with the tide. I read a lot of blogs, and it seems to me like no matter what the post is about, the number of comments made stays pretty level. Whereas on my blog....not so much.

I think I sort of screw myself over whenever I happen to write something that people find funny. My comment box is overflowing with comments and suddenly blogging is my favorite thing in the world. However, my next post...well, I can't keep up the funny constantly, people, I'm not a machine. I'm not always funny and I don't always feel humorous. So if I happen to follow a laugh-fest with a ho-hum post about, oh, I don't know, fun family moments, it's like I can hear the crickets chirping. I know blogging isn't about getting comments, but....isn't it? I mean, if we're being honest.

Is it just me? Are my non-funny posts seriously unworthy of comments? Not even an "oh."? or an "um, neat, Alicia."? I'd accept that. That would be acceptable.

Of course, don't comment if you don't want to. I don't want you to strain yourself. I know Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is nothing to laugh about.

And on that note, I want to invite (is there a stronger word for invite, like, perhaps, require?) any Silent Bloggers (doesn't that sound nicer than Blog Stalkers?) to come forward and comment. And not just on my blog, but on any blogs. But mostly mine. And not just so that I can have more comments, but because I love to know who is reading it. It fascinates me. And because I will get more comments. (If we're being honest...) I'm even beginning to miss Anonymous...remember Anonymous, my blog stalker that I scared away by yelling at every time they commented? Maybe I was a little hasty in my dismissal of Anonymous.....

So, comment, I mean, if you want to.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Called To Serve

I realized today that I've never mentioned my new calling on here. I can't seem to tell people what it is without smiling. I don't know why, it just makes me laugh. Never in a million years did I dream that I would be called as the WARD HISTORIAN. But you know what? I'm super pumped about it. This is what I love about my church. It totally keeps up with the times. I am the ward historian for the 21st century. Besides the age old responsibilities of keeping track of all ward events and reporting a year-end summary to the stake, I am also the ward website coordinator. (Yes, it was at this point that I learned we had ward websites.) I make sure it stays current and informative, has all the meetings and events on it, and, (this is what I'm most excited about) keep the ward directory current with pictures of each family and an accompanying bio. So every Sunday I get to take my digital camera to church and walk around harassing people to take their picture. I'm pretty sure I'll be the most hated person at church, but I'll be having fun! It will be so nice to put faces to every name and for once be able to know everyone in our ward. Especially in a newly reorganized ward with people coming from three different wards.

As soon as other people find out we have a ward website, it'll ROCK! (To get on your ward website you need your membership number and confirmation date, which you can get from your ward clerk. If you've already put this info into
LDS.org before, you should be able to log right in and go to your ward website.)

Thursday, January 10, 2008

I'll Give 'Em Something To Write About


I don't know how I have been so out of the loop on anything involving the entertainment industry, but somehow I just learned about the writers' strike a few days ago. Suddenly there's an explanation for the prolonged absence of all the shows! I was sitting here the other night and it suddenly occurred to me that I usually spend my nights parked in front of my t.v. watching one of my many shows. I began to wonder what ever happened to said shows? They had their usual "Fall Finales" which led into the seasonal "dead air" as I like to think of it, which is when I stop bothering to turn on the t.v. But they just never...came...back. I heard about the writers' strike and it all made sense. Oh well, I thought, they'll get it together soon. I mean, really, how long can they not air any of the good t.v. shows? And then I heard the news. The Golden Globes aren't happening. OH NO YOU D'INT! And now the Oscars are at risk, too? Okay, the wrath of Alicia is about to be unleashed, and people, it ain't pretty. Nobody messes with my awards shows, NOBODY. Maybe they can get away with the Golden Globes, but the Oscars? Apparently someone down south's craving a little @$$ whooping. All I know is there better be some Office, some Lost, some Heroes and some Grey's on my t.v. screen soon, and, come March, some over-dressed, cleavage-bearing celebrities giving over-dramatic, long-winded speeches. Then I can be truly happy.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Foto Fun

I rarely post pictures anymore, so I thought I'd do a picture post. Here are just some fun ones from the past month or so:

our new "time out" spot (j/k)

Payson decked out in his construction gear
he got for Christmas
Macy spent an hour out in the cold snow
building this snowman by herself. She was
so proud (and numb) when she finished
Daddy and kids looking down through the skylight while
hanging up the Christmas lights
Happy Wednesday!

Monday, January 7, 2008

Maybe I'll Name It "Discretion." (The book, not the baby)

Okay, okay, so I can only guess that my cryptic, conflicting comments about procreating are being received as nothing less than annoying. For that I apologize. Let's just say that I got overly excited about proclaiming my near-readiness to have another baby. That, mixed with the opportunity for a great rhyme, and, well, you have me announcing things I soon regret. I new it would cause somewhat of a stir, I just had no idea how much, and I grossly underestimated the added anxiety and pressure it would put on me. I know it doesn't matter what anyone else says or thinks, but suddenly I felt like I'd carved it in stone and I wanted it back up in the air where it belonged. It doesn't change at all the probability of me getting pregnant this year, it was just me panicking to relieve some of the pressure I was feeling. Somehow, in my quest to lessen my anxiety about having another baby, I managed to bring more upon myself. I think only I could do that.
Oh, but I really am going to write a novel. Not kidding.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Debbie Downer

Ugh. I hate post-Christmas winter, especially in my small corner of the world where it never snows. Without Christmas or snow, what is the point of winter? All you have left is cold, gray, ugly brown scenery, and if you're lucky like me and you live in fabulous P-Town, RAIN. I have tried to cheer myself up by imagining I lived in Forks, WA: (This is just what it would be like. This is where Edward would live!) But then I just get more depressed as the realization sets in that I need to be LOCKED UP IN A PADDED ROOM AND HIT UPSIDE THE HEAD.

Why does post-Christmas winter have to coincide with the New Year? Every year I have glorious, grand intentions and dreams of success as I excitedly make my list of resolutions, ready to ring in the New Year. This year will be different. I've never felt this motivated before, surely. But every time that ball drops, I drop the ball. Every December as the New Year nears, I have this distorted vision that with it will come the new me. Of course I'll be able to eat healthy. Why wouldn't I wake up at 6:00 every morning to exercise? It'll be 2008! And yet every January 1st I wake up so confused as I head for the Cocoa Puffs. What exactly went wrong?

So dreary, horrible, snow-free, Christmas-free winter + girl trying yet again to diet and exercise = depressed, frustrated, hopeless girl sneaking leftover Christmas candy. Viva La New Year.

Not to mention the fact that I'm just so tired. I don't know if it's my body's way of refusing to bounce back from vacation, or what, but I swear, someone is doping up my mini-Twixes. All I want to do is sleep, and we all know how that lifts the old spirits. Nothing says joy like not being able to keep your eyes open.

Oh, and I looked up "procreate" in the dictionary. Apparently it means to "have a baby." I thought it meant "write a novel." Oops. My bad.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Enchanted

One of these days I will blog about movies for grown-ups, but for some reason, all I've seen lately are kid movies.

On Monday, Macy and I saw this:


I went into it not sure what to expect. The previews actually had some parts that made me laugh out loud, but it also looked like it could just as easily go the way of cheese. I was happily surprised to find that it was what the previews made it look to be: a hilarious satire of the classic fairytale.

You probably all at least know the premise: It begins like every other Disney Princess movie, a cartoon princess singing in her cottage with her animal friends. But the twist here is that soon each animated character falls down a magic well...into the land of the real people (NYC). I found it interesting to see how each cartoon character looked like the actor who voiced them, and vice versa. In fact, I have to brag a little bit here. There was only one character I didn't already know was in the movie, and judging by his cartoon look and voice, I totally guessed who played him! (And he's not well-known. How good am I?) Anyway, the jokes came right away, as Giselle (Amy Adams) stumbles around New York, lost and confused, trying to find "the castle." Hilarity ensues.

Amy Adams was....wait for it....enchanting. Seriously, I can't think of a better word to describe her. She played the part so perfectly. She managed to portray the typical animated princess, with the over-dramatic hand gestures and sing-songy voice perfectly. I could have watched two hours of only her.

And who knew James Marsden (as the flamboyant prince searching for his princess who would complete his duet) had such comedic skills? He never failed to make me laugh.

Patrick Dempsey, well, let's just say the role didn't stretch his acting muscles all that much. It was like watching McDreamy follow a pretty redhead around New York with a six year old daughter in tow. That's not to say he wasn't charming, of course. And he did supply a few of the laughs.

The music was fun, especially because it was such blatant spoofing. (Giselle sings "Happy Working Song" that parodies Snow White's "Whistle While You Work" as she cleans up McDreamy's apartment with, not her usual woodland creature friends, but with the help of rats, cockroaches, and pigeons.) And when Giselle starts in on one of her spontaneous songs in the middle of Central Park, only to be joined by a nearby reggae band, McDreamy (I honestly can't even remember what his character's name was) looks around, totally baffled, and says, "I've never even heard this song!" Hilarious.

So that's a look at it from a grown-up's view. My six year old daughter seemed to be loving it until about three quarters of the way through when she leaned over and said, "I don't like this movie very much." Shocked, I asked why and she said, "Cause there's lots of bad parts in it." I asked for an example and she said, "Like the scary witch." Okay, I'd give her that one. The witch was scary. She's been asking for the movie on DVD ever since, though, so, overall I think it was a hit.

Fun cameos:
~McDreamy's secretary was the lady who did the voice of Ariel in the Little Mermaid.
~The lady who was the voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast played a soap opera actress
~The singing voice of Pocahontas played a pregnant woman with lots of kids who lives in McDreamy's apartment building

See if you recognize the narrator of the movie, as well. Oh, and Carrie Underwood sings the ending song, Ever Ever After. It's pretty good. Also, Jon McLaughlin performs a song at the ball. That might mean something to you, but I've never heard of him.

So grab a little girl and go see this flick. Or, if you're more secure in your adulthood than I am, go alone or with your spouse.

And they all lived happily ever after....

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year

On My Plate
for 2008:
  • Lose this weight
  • Look/feel great
  • Don't be late
  • Learn to wait
  • Procreate
What are your resolutions?