Danielle Blog

Pete’s Dragon: High-Flying edition

I have the best of intentions about posting about vacation and the start of the school year soon, really I do!

In the meantime, how many of you remember Pete’s Dragon?  I know it was one of Texas Seestor’s favorites.  I have very fond memories of it too.

Disney is releasing a new edition of it that includes an hour of additional material.  I will be particularly interested in seeing the behind-the-scenes info on animation and the new song.   This is kind of what happened with Mary Poppins a (few?) years ago; there was a 45th anniversary special addition and I found that I loved all of the bonus material (it had an extra song too).

You can read a good blog post about all of the features at Reviews. For the Love of God.  There is also a contest to win a free copy.

Thanks to Jenski for pointing this out on her blog!

Feelin’ good

Remember that list of things I was hoping to do over these 4 days? Well, I was a bit derailed by my head.

I ended up with migraines on Thurs and Friday. At first on Thurs, I thought it was just a headache and it would get better. But just before I needed to go to the salon, it really intensified. I still went – I just wore earplugs and didn’t talk to anyone. And when I got home, I took my super-strong medication and rested, and tah-dah, it went away. But when that happens, I’m pretty much house-bound with reading and minimal computing.
Then the same headachey feeling came back on Friday!? This reminded me of what happened a month or so ago when I stopped using my humidifier (because it needed to be cleaned). This time, I’d stopped using it, because I couldn’t seem to get it working. However, HB came to the rescue. Before he left for work Friday morning, he got it working.

Today, after sleeping with my humidifier again, I’m headache free.

I usually don’t like to talk about my health, but this whole humidifier thing has been rather eye-opening. Minnesota must be particularly dry or something. It is odd, though, because I don’t have this problem in TX when I visit there (and don’t use one). Puzzling, I say.

Anyway, yesterday, I went ahead to the movie theater and saw Earth. It was really good. They did a really nice job of starting in the Arctic in January and then progressing through the year and the globe and ending up again in the Arctic in December. It had its usual sad predator-prey moments, and another sad moment (I won’t say, in case you watch it), but it had a joyous ending. I got chills watching parts of it. Some of the shots that they got of migrations were just incredible. I don’t know how they manage to be up in the air at just the right time and place to film them – particularly the birds. They had some shots of birds trying to migrate over the Himalayas that were just spectacular.

As for my other plans, today, I may or may not weed. I don’t want to stir up my allergies. I need to have a clear head and throat to sing that mini-solo in church tomorrow.

I did call the garden center and they said that the official last frost date is around May 20. And she said not to plant anything before Sunday, because someone there had told her that there was a frost warning between now and then. So, my annuals will wait a little longer. That’s okay. I’ll have them soon enough.

That is pretty much my excitement. I just finished the last book in a Fantasy fiction series that my friend from my post-doc got me started on. It is the Summoning series by Robin D. Owens. It was good.

This week, my copy of Hearts and Bones arrived and so did the Spymaster’s Lady. I might read my library books first, though, and save them for later, since my library books have due dates. We’ll see.

I’ll keep you posted on how they turn out.

Good movies are on cable this time of year

As you can see from the subject I’ve been watching movies on cable.  This is a good time of year for movies on cable, because it is when they finally release all of the movies that were up for Oscar’s and such.  Here is my take on some of the movies that I’ve been watching.

Juno:  VERY well written.  Incredibly dialogue.  However, I’m not exactly sure where all of the hype came from.  I remember most of it being about the racey (racy?) topic of having a teen be pregnant, carry the pregnancy to term, and give birth.  I thought it was good.  But not one I’d watch again.  This is my yardstick of sorts for how well I like a movie.

Atonement:  Disappointing.  I thought the plot was good up until he leaves and goes to war.  Then it felt like it meandered a lot. However, it was interesting to see the depiction of war.  And of course, being a fan of love stories, I didn’t like the ending.  I _did_ however, get introduced to James McAvoy.  Well, not technically, because he was also in Narnia as Mr. Tumnus, the faun.  And I remember being impressed with him then.  I’d watch the beginning of Atonement again, just to see him in it.  Then I’d stop watching.  I’m actually wanting to see Narnia again too, just to see him in it.

The Last King of Scotland:  Interesting.  Oddly enough, has James McAvoy in it.  I wonder how he managed to do so many projects so quickly.  Striking while the iron was hot?  Very interesting story, but we got near the end and had to turn it off.  I still don’t know how it ended.  We assume badly (for him).  If someone knows and can just tell me, I’d appreciate it.

Becoming Jane:  Ah, now here was a diamond in the rough.  I remember being fascinated with the idea of learning about Jane Austen’s life when it came out.  The trailer is particularly enticing.  And guess who is the male love interest?!  James McAvoy!  Now, this one I would watch again.  And maybe again.  Great dialogue.  Great characters.  Of course, I’m a sucker for period movies.  And since I already roughly knew how it might end, I wasn’t disappointed.

I think I’m in lust with James McAvoy.  He really is a good actor.  I hope he continues to be cast in great movies.

There are about 3 other movies On Demand that I’m interested in. We’ll see if we can get our stupid On Demand working so that I can watch them.  The weekends are usually my time to see movies.  But for some reason, I haven’t found much that is good on TV on some of the weeknights this year, so movies during the week aren’t out of the question.

And of course, the new James Bond movie is out in theaters right now.  We had planned on seeing it this weekend, but it had to be put off. And soon, Twilight comes out.  Later, there is an interesting Tom Cruise movie where he is one of Hitler’s military people who tries to asassinate him (based on a true story).

Have you seen any good movies lately?  Or do you know how The Last King of Scotland ends?

Dreamgirls

In lieu of typical TV shows, I watched Dreamgirls last night on HBO On Demand. This is another movie that I highly recommend. I’ve always been a fan of groups like the Supremes and the Temptations. There is just something so classy about the way they danced and sang as a group. And of course, they had beautiful harmonies. I should probably buy a Supremes greatest hits album.

Anyway, the movie is wonderfully cast. I had no idea Eddie Murphy could sing the way he does, but he is perfect for this James Brown type of character. And the Dreams – Beyonce was awesome. She has such a terrific voice. And she does a really great job acting in this movie. Jennifer Hudson was impressive in her singing and acting, but I have to say that I like her acting better than her singing. She is one of those singers who does a lot of ad libbing, where the notes waver and waffle up and down in this attempt to be dramatic. But I’m not into dramatic singing with a lot of ad libbing. She has a great voice, but I’d be more into her singing if she stayed on the note more and did a little less dramatic variation. That said, she really pulls off her character.

It was particularly fun to feel like I was getting this backstage look into the music business. It was enlightening to see how R&B musicians had issues with white pop groups stealing their music, and how difficult it was for them to cross over into the realm of pop.

I do have a wee story to tell that popped into my head when I was watching this. So when I was in Texas, we turned on the Sound of Music while it was in progress. It just so happened to be on the scene where Maria comes back to Captain Von Trapp after she had run away to the Abbey, and they are in the gazebo. Maria and he have this duet, but we happened to be on the part where she is singing at him for an extended period of time and he is standing there listening. At that moment, Trainwreck says to Texas Seestor something along the lines of, “If you ever feel the need to stand and sing at me for an extended period of time, please warn me.” I’m not sure I’m getting it exactly right, but the way he said it was quite funny.
And as it turns out, Dreamgirls has a similar scene. Except in the case of Dreamgirls, the song goes on for this really long time and the guy just stands there looking concerned for most of it while she is emoting and putting her hands on his shoulders and basically in his face while singing this really dramatic song. That scene made me smile, because if Trainwreck thought the scene with Maria and the Captain was bad, I’d love to see his reaction to this one.

All in all though, I highly recommend this one if you are into girl-group music. Even if you are not, you’d probably still enjoy it. The music is excellent, the acting is top notch, the choreography is captivating, and the costumes are just amazing.

Music and Lyrics

Texas Seestor and I borrowed the DVD for Music and Lyrics from her neighbors and watched it one of the last days I was visiting in Texas. It is a movie starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Hugh Grant’s character, Alex, is a has-been 80’s pop star who hasn’t written a song for 15 years. At this point in his career, he sings (alone, separate from his original band) at amusement parks and high school reunions, for example. One of the funniest parts in the movie is how it opens with an 80’s music video of him in his band. It is reminiscent of something you would see on MTV in the 80’s for Duran Duran. They have the hair, the clothes, the cheesy scenes while singing, and best of all, a trademark dance move. The video is really clever and funny.

Actually, the whole movie has a lot of funny moments, and the dialogue is quite good. I, of course, liked that it was about music. And I was impressed that both Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore did their own singing. At one point, I really thought that they had someone else singing for Hugh Grant, because I didn’t think that some of it sounded like him. But it is just that he has an unexpected singing voice.

The song they created was stuck in my head for about a week, so you can imagine that it is quite good.

All in all, I recommend it when you are looking for something light and funny with some romance thrown in.

Bourne Ultimatum – no spoilers

When I set up my Movies category, I thought that I would be blogging about movies that I’ve watched pretty regularly. However, I really haven’t done that. I’m not sure why. So I was thinking that for the next few days, I might highlight some of the things that I really liked about certain movies that I saw over the holidays. I’ll make every effort not to give anything away, so that if you haven’t seen something, it won’t be spoiled for you.

So, the Bourne Ultimatum.

We saw this movie in the theater and loved it when we saw it then. Now, HB got it for Christmas and we watched it again on Christmas day. MAN, is it GOOD! If you like action movies, I highly highly recommend it. It may have been my favorite movie last year, even beating out Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

I love the complexity of the story. We had re-watched the first 2 Bourne movies before we went and saw this third one in the theater and I’m glad that we did. It builds upon the previous ones. I’m particularly fond of movies and books that are in a series. I think it is because I like how character development gets more complex with each movie or book. And if it is a good story, I’m always so glad to get to see more of it. Not every series improves upon the former one, but the successful ones do, and this is certainly one of those.

The other thing I can say about this movie is that you should really watch the DVD version so that you can see the bonus features. We spent about a while watching how they filmed scenes in the middle of train stations and market places that couldn’t be shut down for filming. They mentioned once that they had to find room for 500 people, plus equipment in each place that they filmed. It is such an international movie, it was fascinating to get more glimpses into these places in the world.

In addition, there was some footage about how they dealt with fight scenes, car chases, and chases on foot. It made me even more impressed with the movie when I saw what kind of work went on behind the scenes to get certain shots.

I hate to hype a movie to the point where your expectations are too high to enjoy it. But I think this one lives up to any hype that I could give it.

If you saw it, what did you think? Are you a fan of action movies?

that’s entertainment

I realized this morning that some of the most interesting stuff in my life lately has been the movies and TV shows that I’ve watched.

We finally watched The Devil Wears Prada. I had my doubts that I would like it, because I thought it was going to be about the fashion industry – and face it – I’m just not into fashion. However, it turned out to be more about working relationships, demanding bosses, adjusting to a new career/job, worrying about your dreams, and how work can affect your personal relationships. It was all very interesting and funny.

The other things of note are that I’ve been watching the Grease – You’re the One that I Want show. Have you? I know many of you like music, and it is very good. They are picking the 2 leads to star in the Broadway production of Grease. The show originally airs on Sundays, but get re-broadcast during the week on Bravo. And it is well worth watching. There are a lot of really talented people on that show.

Finally, we started watching season 1 of 24. I bought it for HB for Christmas and it has taken us this long to be ‘in the mood’ to watch it. But now that we are watching it, I’m completely hooked! We watched 5 episodes on Friday and about 4 on Saturday and one last night. So, we are progressing through the 24 hours pretty well. It definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat, but is also a show that you must watch from the beginning. I don’t think it would make much sense if you tried to begin watching it in the middle of the season.

So, there is my excitement of late. Feel free to share any movies you’ve watched lately or TV shows you’ve become addicted to in the comments.

that’s entertainment

I realized this morning that some of the most interesting stuff in my life lately has been the movies and TV shows that I’ve watched.

We finally watched The Devil Wears Prada. I had my doubts that I would like it, because I thought it was going to be about the fashion industry – and face it – I’m just not into fashion. However, it turned out to be more about working relationships, demanding bosses, adjusting to a new career/job, worrying about your dreams, and how work can affect your personal relationships. It was all very interesting and funny.

The other things of note are that I’ve been watching the Grease – You’re the One that I Want show. Have you? I know many of you like music, and it is very good. They are picking the 2 leads to star in the Broadway production of Grease. The show originally airs on Sundays, but get re-broadcast during the week on Bravo. And it is well worth watching. There are a lot of really talented people on that show.

Finally, we started watching season 1 of 24. I bought it for HB for Christmas and it has taken us this long to be ‘in the mood’ to watch it. But now that we are watching it, I’m completely hooked! We watched 5 episodes on Friday and about 4 on Saturday and one last night. So, we are progressing through the 24 hours pretty well. It definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat, but is also a show that you must watch from the beginning. I don’t think it would make much sense if you tried to begin watching it in the middle of the season.

So, there is my excitement of late. Feel free to share any movies you’ve watched lately or TV shows you’ve become addicted to in the comments.

Pride and Prejudice

I watched Pride and Prejudice the other week on DVD. Although I have a “movie” category, I almost never put anything in it, because most of the time I feel like I’d be spoiling something to talk about it. In this instance, I think I can talk about the movie without spoiling anything for anyone.

Here’s what has compelled me to blog about this movie, for once I really liked the story! You have to understand, I read a lot of historical romance and historical fiction. In fact, it is almost the only thing I do read. And I’ve read a lot of good love stories. So the story of Elizabeth not liking Mr. Darcy for the duration of the story and then suddenly having this huge change of heart always REALLY bothered me.

I’m naturally drawn to stories where the couple are friends first and have lots of moments of laughter and fun before deciding to date or while dating. After all, that is what happened with every guy I dated, so it is what is believable to me. All of them, we laughed and joked around first and then dated. HB is the epitome of that, because we became SUCH good friends that we each had a fear of ‘ruining’ our friendship by dating (with the fear of a break-up being devasting to our friendship as well). But lucky us! It all worked out. Suffice to say that those are the relationships I understand. And I’ve never understood how Mr. Darcy could have some sort of love for Elizabeth when all she has ever said to him were witty, but rather nasty, things. But in this adaptation of the book, I was finally convinced.

It is interesting too, because I ended up watching it in two parts. When I stopped it, I’d seen too much of her screeching mother and her giggling sisters for comfort. She had turned down the proposal of Mr. Collins. I felt like I’d gotten nowhere in the movie for an entire hour. So, a week passed, because I just wasn’t in the mood to pick it back up again. But the second half! Ohhhhh the second half is far far better than the first. The cinematography seemed better, the music seemed better. Elizabeth’s character finally showed some depth to it. Mr. Darcy’s proclamation of love still seemed really out of place, but by the end of it, you can see how she would grow to be affectionate toward him. Although for me, to hear her say she loved him was still a bit of a stretch.

And the ending scenes were real jewels. The scene where she explained to her father why she wanted to marry Mr. Darcy is probably the scene that clinched the movie for me. Up until that point, I just wasn’t convinced. But in addition to convincing her father, she is convincing the audience of her love. And for once, I was finally convinced. It made the final scenes all the more touching and precious because of that. I really did want the story to keep going. I wanted to see more beautiful scenes and hear more beautiful music. I think the casting of the movie was brilliant. Of course though, ever since I saw Bend It Like Beckham, I’ve been a Keira Knightley fan. So, I was thrilled to see her in the lead role. I really enjoyed it and am glad that we own the DVD, because I probably will want to go back and see it again.