Mirkwood Reflections

I thought this was funny, especially #6, 13, 24, 25. Trying out the post-by-email feature, so we shall see how this works out. Movie review coming soon of National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets. Saw it on Sunday morning. (Yes, instead of going to church! Eek! Am I a heathen?) ~~~~~ Did you ever notice that certain things only happen in the movies, but never happen in real life? For example: It is always possible to find a parking spot directly outside or opposite the building you are visiting. When paying for a taxi, don't look at your wallet as you take out a note. Just grab one out at random and hand it over. It will always be the exact fare. Television news bulletins usually contain a story that affects you personally at the precise moment it's aired. Creepy music (or satanic chanting) coming from a graveyard should always be closely investigated. Any lock can be picked with a credit card or paperclip in seconds. UNLESS it's the door to a burning buildin...

[edited 12-30-07 with complete list] I am participating in the Triple 8 Reading Challenge . Anyone care to join me? I only need to read 56 of these books to finish, but I'll try to read all 64 of them. Come on and READ WITH ME in 2008! Books Recommended to me by others Hide – Lisa Gardner (my mom) The Furies of Calderon – Jim Butcher (sister Christy) Vineyard series – Philip Craig (mom) Beauty - Robin McKinley (Marta) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith (sister Janet) Austenland - Shannon Hale (sister Christy) librarian series (Christy) Courting Trouble – Deeanne Gist (Mom) Young Adult Fiction Holes – Louis Sachar ttyl – lauren myracle Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer Spiderweb for Two: A Melendy Maze – Elizabeth Enright Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox - Eoin Colfer Eragon – Christopher Paolini Inkheart - Cornelia Funke Magic by the Lake – Edward Eager Non-fiction Ordering Your Private World – Gordon MacDonald Radar, Hula Hoops, and...

Initially I had not planned to let my kids see Transformers . Although it is a movie based on a series of kids' toys, which obviously interests my boys, I had read that it contained mature themes and it was rated PG-13. But then I talked to several people who had seen it and told me how great it was and that it would be wonderful for my kids. So, I reconsidered. And now I have to say - what in the world are those people thinking? This is really not a kids' movie. We've got swearing, and not just the occasional mild profanity. We've got a very revealingly dressed teenage girl and lingering camera shots highlighting her body. We've got talk of masturbation and pornography. Now, without all that stuff, this would be an awesome movie for kids, but then it'd be rated PG and then sadly none of the adult males who played with Transformers in the 80's would consider seeing it. (Yes, the kids who used to play with Transformers are GROWN UP now. Or at leas...

Just a quick entry about the Sandra Bullock film Premonition . I do enjoy watching Sandra; she seems so down-to-earth in all her films. The premise of this movie intrigued me from the start - she learns her husband is dead, then the next day he is alive. Then he's dead again. Figuring out the timeline was confusing, but thankfully Sandra's character also found it confusing and made a handy chart that cleared everything up! Things that didn't make any sense earlier in the movie become much clearer throughout. I enjoyed seeing the story unfold. All that said, I detested the ending. There was an alternate ending in the deleted scenes. I hated that one too. If I had to do it over, I'd start 10-15 minutes from the end and change everything thereafter. Oh well, I can imagine my own ending, right? IMDB page for Premonition Screenit.com Review of Premonition

300 was not high on my list of movies to be viewed but a co-worker lent it to me after she raved about how much she liked it. I was a bit put-off by the cover (quite gory) and by the comments of another coworker about how the film was filled with "half-naked women". When I told him that wasn't really a problem for me ( lol ), he countered with the statement that there were plenty of "half-naked men" as well. So I began the film with a bit of trepidation, having had such diverse comments beforehand. We had studied the Battle of Thermopylae in our history lessons last year and so I was vaguely familiar with the plot line . I also knew that Gerard Butler was in it, and I had much enjoyed him in Dear Frankie (although not so much in Phantom of the Opera). I think a bit of a history lesson is called for before I give my reactions to the film. "In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC, an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian Empire at the...

I was excited about Bandidas , having read on the internet that Steve Zahn, one of my favorite actors, was in it. However, when I saw it in the store, I was apprehensive about the suitability of the film due to the choice of the picture on the cover – two women dressed in midriff-baring bustiers and modern low-rise Western-style jeans, accessorized with ammunition belts, pistols, and throwing knives. You may have disregarded the movie entirely based on the cover. The old adage does apply here – don't judge this DVD by its cover! The outfits worn by Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz on the DVD cover photo are not actually in the movie. The actresses are fully dressed in period costume throughout most of the movie. (A quick google search shows at least 3 other DVD covers for other countries that are much more appropriate!) Bandidas powered by frazy.com Maria (Penélope Cruz) is the impetuous daughter of a poor Mexican farmer whose farm has just been repossessed illegally. Sara (Salma ...

Someone asked me anonymously for my thoughts on Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby . I had mentioned that I would be watching it and they wondered what I thought. Well. I didn't like it. I already am not a fan of Will Ferrell, although I did enjoy Elf . I don't watch NASCAR. SNL-style humor is not the humor I enjoy. So, why in the world did I rent this movie? It's simply that I have watched the majority of movies available at my local library, and since I do not have Netflix or Blockbuster Online at the present time, I am using the library more and more. All that said, I was truly not expecting the things I saw in this movie. From the blatant and appalling disrespect from children to parents and grandparents (including profanity) to making out on the dining room table with people EATING there and a long man-to-man kiss, this film was full of crass, indecent, and unpalatable incidents. Last but not least, I had no desire at all to see Will Ferrell running ar...