Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
The Oscars – Play by Play
Movies – you can’t read this blog without knowing that I LOVE movies! I enjoy being entertained – I love to laugh – I appreciate a good cry – I am energized by being kept on the edge of my seat! The ultimate awards show is the Academy Awards (Oscar). Tonight is Oscar night! I’m watching the Oscars – although I am not really sure why! It is usually the one awards show I look forward to over all others! But, this year, there is only a couple movies up for the major awards that I even saw. Here is a “play by play”, of sorts – I am not going to write about every award or every acceptance speech or all the clothes – but I will touch on the major ones and other parts that caught my attention as the night goes on – and, of course, my never-to-be-humble opinions!
First, before I get started (in case you are visiting to get a movie review) — no movie review this weekend! I didn’t go to the theater to see anything cause I’ve seen everything I am interested in that is playing in Sanford. I thought about Slumdog Millionaire, but it just doesn’t interest me enough to spend the time and money on – I’ll catch it on Netflix in a couple months! I looked at Southern Pines and Cary and The Reader was the only one at either that made me think twice – but I just didn’t think it would be worth the drive! So – no movie this weekend!
And the Oscar Goes To:
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I have to say that I really enjoyed Hugh Jackman’s opening production – it was fun and entertaining!
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Most of the women on the red carpet actually looked amazing (unlike recent years past where they looked like they got their outfits from Goodwill)!
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The first award went to Penelope Cruz for Best Supporting Actress! Penelope was stunning in an amazing vintage gown and minimal, very tasteful jewels. She wins my award for best depiction of Hollywood Glamour! I can’t offer an opinion on her performance in this film – I didn’t see it – but she usually does an excellent job! I saw three of the other nominees in this category – Amy Adams and Viola Davis in Doubt and Taraji P. Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I thought Amy and Taraji were very good in their roles!! But, Viola had such a small part (lasted just a couple minutes) that was only memorable because she played a mother who was willing to overlook her son’s possible abuse in order to keep him in a school she felt was good for his future – I’m not sure why she was nominated…..
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Jennifer Aniston did a segment with Jack Black for the animation awards. They had her standing where Brad Pitt and Anjelina Jolie were seated right in the front row! How awkward was that? BUT – her dress was lovely and she looked very pretty – eat your heart out, Brad! Her hair was a mess, though — why do some of these women wear gowns and jewels worth a fortune and don’t take the time to have their hair done to compliment their clothes????
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Sarah Jessica Parker is always touted as a fashionista! I usually disagree and don’t like her outfits (with some exceptions). But, tonight, I must say that she looked lovely – very Princessy and glamorous!
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Hugh Jackman is yummy, as usual…
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OMG – LOL – Ben Stiller is doing a hysterical impersonation of Joaquin Phoenix’s visit to David Letterman earlier this week…
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Jessica Biel’s dress is awful — it looks like she took a satin sheet and wrapped herself in it and tucked all the excess material into the top!
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I’m not sure why they give Academy Awards to short films – the one that just won was a 14 minute film….????
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I love big musical production numbers — the tribute to musicals featuring Hugh Jackman and Beyonce Knowles is a fun example!! And between the opening number and this one, I am convinced Hugh Jackman needs to do a musical — he’s quite the singer and dancer!!! (and did I mention how yummy he looks tonight???)
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So far, as usual, there isn’t a lot to talk about specifically related to awards! The reason for that is they put all the “who really cares” awards in the first couple of hours! They tease us with the Best Supporting Actress as the first award and then fill in with the sleepers….
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To show you how much I am stretching for something to say here: I just saw a commercial for Sandra Bullock’s upcoming movie – The Proposal – that looks really cute! I like her movies!
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Best Supporting Actor – the only performance in this category that I saw was Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt – he always does an amazing job in any role he takes on and this role was no exception! But – the Oscar went to Heath Ledger — come on!!! I didn’t see it, so I can not give a direct opinion on his performance, which may very well have been well deserved — but I can’t help but wonder if he would have gotten the nod for playing a demonic Joker if he was still alive….don’t know – I’m just wondering, here…
- Visual Effects went to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button!!!! I’m pleased! This usually goes to a big action film with lots of flash – and usually rightfully so! I am very happy to see that it went to this movie because I found it to be amazing to watch the way the age reversal was portrayed! Very good choice!!!
- Make Up and Art Direction also went to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button!!!! Again, I thought it was well deserved!
- Jerry Lewis received the Humanitarian Award — long over due! (even though he did publically riducule Sanford, NC a couple years ago without bothering to find out the whole story) It was very sad to see someone who has always been so energetic struggling to stand there and get the words out….. ;(
- Alicia Keys’ lavender gown is gorgeous and she looks amazing in it!
- The Memorials…..always tears me up! Tonight – Queen Latifah looked stunning in a beautiful blue gown and sang “I’ll Be Seeing You” to the collage of clips of those we lost since the last Oscar night….excuse me, I need to get some tissue…..
- I usually love what Reece Witherspoon wears – she always looks classy! I am not liking what she is wearing tonight, though — it is kinda pretty, but I think it would have been a LOT prettier without the black straps that looked out of place and other black accents — looked like someone was trying to use up extra material scraps they had laying around….
- Now for the top awards:
- Slumdog Millionaire was honored with the Best Director. Ever notice, the more major the award, the more bazaar the acceptance speeches???? Slumdog’s Director came up bouncing like Tigger!!! Hhhmmm….
- The prevous Best Actress winners they chose to announce the nominees for this category are all amazing and look fabulous! It was especially moving to see Sophia Loren – she is still such a classic beauty! Her gown was so glamorous! She is hard to top!!! And it was fitting that she be the one to talk about Meryl Streep!
- Kate Winslet won Best Actress— she was the odds on favorite! I didn’t see her performance, but heard a lot about it. Her gown is very elegant and her hair looks very “old Hollywood”. Her jewelry is elegant and stunning, as well – diamond earrings and bracelet. The only one in this category I saw was Meryl Streep in Doubt – she was excellent in that role, but I wasn’t sure it was Oscar worthy…..
- WOW – the men they chose as the past Best Actor winners to announce this year’s nominees in this category are incredible, as well!!! To see Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Anthony Hopkins, and Ben Kingsley together on one stage — WOW!!! And Adrian Brody is definitely a nice touch, too — but that hair!!! It looks like he dumped a whole bottle of Wesson oil on it just before coming on stage – what a mess!!!!
- Sean Penn is Best Actor!!! I think he is an amazing actor and have very much enjoyed most, if not all, of his performances — I didn’t see Milk, but from what I have seen and heard, I am surprised this role got him the Oscar….I would have bet on Frank Langella for this category!! But, then again, the Academy usually goes for political statements in films. While Frost/Nixon was a political movie, Milk was more of a political statement!
- Slumdog Millionaire is Best Picture!!! This was no surprise after I heard the Best Director winner — typically, the film that wins in the Director category also takes the Best Picture category! The only film in this category I saw was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, so I don’t have an opinion…..I’ll have to see the other nominees to see if I agree!
- One last thought — what in the world was with Mickey Rourke??? What was he even doing there??? He used to be so cool — but he trashed his life and we haven’t seen anything of him in decades!!! So, he comes out of the woodwork to make a come back movie….and he gets an Oscar nomination???? And comes to the most glamorous night of the year looking like a bum off the street that dug through the trash to find a dirty, wrinkled, mismatched suit and apparently didn’t even take the time to take a shower or wash (or comb, for that matter) his hair….give me a break!!!
So — what movies took home the most awards??? If my count is right:
- Slumdog Millionaire = 8 total
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button = 3 total
- Milk = 2 total
- The Dark Knight = 2 total
Good night — see you at the movies!!!
Updates and a Couple Reviews
I started to write this several times over the past couple of days and just kept getting side tracked! So here are some updates and a review of Confessions of a Shopaholic and Once on This Island! I have a ton of stuff going on, so here goes:
I went to the Temple Theater Friday night to see Once on This Island – it was really good! The talent was amazing and the story was enjoyable. It took a couple scenes to pick up for me, but was well worth the wait! The two young girls who portrayed Ti were incredible — Camille England as “Little Ti” was adorable and absolutely charming! Taylore Woods as Ti as a young woman is a bundle of talent — what a future that girl has!!!! I also really enjoyed Marcus Zollicoffer as Daniel. That doesn’t discount the talents of everyone in the cast — all were exceptional! This Thursday through Sunday are the last showing of this production! If you haven’t been to see it, you really should!
Saturday was my lazy day — I had a late breakfast at Myra’s and got a pedicure…..that’s it!!! ha-ha I really need to learn to speak up when I go for services and things aren’t going the way I want them to go — I stopped going to one pedicure place a while back because they used a shaver on my heels and it resulted in painful heels for weeks afterwards – I thought about stopping him from doing it, but didn’t say anything!!! This Saturday, I had a couple toe nails starting to ingrow – which was the reason I decided to go get a pedicure! Well, they were really busy and she was rushing through it! I could tell she wasn’t looking close enough to see the need to clip the sides of the nails, but (again) didn’t say anything — so, now one of the toes have festered!!! Uugghh!!!
Sunday was the highlight of the weekend! I met a good friend that I haven’t gotten together with in months – we had brunch at Cafe 121, sat and talked and talked – then we drove around a little talking some more waiting for the movie we decided to see to start! It was such a great day! I really miss her — we used to see each other and talk every day at work, but unfortunately, she no longer works with us, so I miss her and our talks! We’ve tried to get together several times, but it hasn’t worked out until this past Sunday! I had a great time and I think she did, too!
The movie we saw was Confessions of a Shopaholic– what fun that was!!! Isla Fisher is hysterical as Rebecca Bloomwood – a girl who just can’t resist shopping and spends WAY beyond her means – even the mannequins come to life and egg her on by telling her how much she “needs” whatever it is she is looking at. The scenes where she is dodging debt collection agent, Derek Smeath, are gems! Isla was great in Wedding Crashers — she shows us in this movie that she can carry a lead role and make it her own! She’s got what it takes to be a top box office draw in comedic roles! We both really liked the movie – it was fun, funny, entertaining, and unique! It was over all very enjoyable!!! I give it an A-!
Progress
I’m loving the transformation the section of Chatham Street between Carthage and Wicker has made! What an amazing difference from before Progressive Contracting started working their magic to the old abandoned historical buildings!
Here are some shots I took over the past couple of years that show the progress:
The first two shots were taken in October 2007 – the only life the street had was Renalds restaurant – a rose between two thorns, for sure:
This next shot was taken in March 2008 – the work was beginning – Renalds was still the only active business on the street, but it wasn’t the only life – the strip was alive with workers renovating every inch:
The following shots were taken today — the store fronts are all finished and ablaze with colors and character! What was previously Renalds is now Cafe 121 and they are joined by other businesses starting to populate the lovely buildings! Even the old buggy factory on the corner – which looks like it still needs a lot of inside work – is beginning to take on an appealing appearance! Amazing transformation to say the very least – you’d never know it was the same street – what was old and depressing is now alive and beautiful!!! I love it!!!
All About The Girls
It’s been a while since I have totally dedicated a post to the girls. It is definitely NOT that they have been too boring to write about – not by a long shot! But, thankfully, they haven’t been getting into as much trouble – which is what makes for more entertaining posts!
I wanted to brag on them a little, but have been reluctant to do so in case it ended up jinxing everything! But, I think it may have been long enough now, so here goes: It has been over two months since I’ve come home to any major damage in the house!!!! {warding off jinxes by waving arms in the air, doing the spitting pu-pu thing, throwing salt over my shoulder, and doing a voodoo dance} Obviously anyone would be happy to not have to deal with damaged things, but I am especially happy because it has been several years since I have been able to say that!!!
Katie created some damage when she was a puppy – but that was because she was very ill and the damage was fixed by getting her healthy and replacing the carpeting with wood floors – something I had planned to do anyway, just not quite so soon! She also destroyed every soft stuffed toy she could get her teeth into! So – it started with her – she’ll be 5 in April, but didn’t get frustrating until Megan and Amy moved in…
Megan and Amy are 3 and a half this month! In that time, they have eaten or torn to shreds two couches, three chairs, a love seat, two sets of lawn furniture cushions, a chaise lounge, two dog beds, two ottomans, several sets of mini blinds, and countless bed pillows, accent pillows, stuffed toys, various items of clothing, books, newspapers, rolls of toilet paper, rolls of paper towels, tissue boxes, pens, tooth brushes, plastic and wood utensils, and just about everything and anything else they came into contact with!!!
During the 4th quarter of last year, I put together my current living room set – piece by piece! And it is still intact!!! {again with the waving arms in the air, doing the spitting pu-pu thing, throwing salt over my shoulder, and doing a voodoo dance} In fact, since before the holidays, the only thing I’ve come home to find in shreds all over the living room was a new roll of paper towels about 2 weeks ago!!! They still scrounge for things they might find left too close to the edge of the counter or table – envelopes, magazines, etc….but they do minor shredding and it doesn’t cost me a fortune to replace!!! I have even left the new accent pillows out on the couch accidentally a couple times and was happy when I got home and found them still in one piece!
I think the girls are finally growing up and maturing!!! WOO HOO {again – not taking any chances with the jinx potential — waving arms in the air, doing the spitting pu-pu thing, throwing salt over my shoulder, and doing a voodoo dance}
They have come a long way — I still make it a point to say “be good, don’t eat the couch” as the last thing they hear on my way out the door every time I leave the house, but I am less worried about what I might come home to find!!! My guard is not totally down – before I leave them alone, I go through the house and close all the doors, make sure the mini blinds are up so they can easily see out, push anything on the counters and tables back out of their reach, put up the accent pillows, and pick up anything that might be tempting for them……..but, the big thing is the furniture – I no longer lay the kitchen chairs across the couch cushions and worry about coming home to shredded cushions or holes in arms/legs!!!
“YES” — that is what I now truly believe is the answer to the question I have asked a zillion times in the last few years: “will I ever be able to have nice things again?”
Here’s to the girls — may they continue to bring great joy to my life (and less damage)!!!
Taste of Spring in February
I had to keep checking the calendar this weekend to remind myself that it was, indeed, still February – in fact, early February! Both Saturday and Sunday brought us temperatures in the mid-70s! The gentle breeze, bright sun, and beautiful blue sky all added to the wonderful weather!
Saturday, I went to the movies, got my hair cut, met some friends for dinner, and bummed around the house enjoying the day. Sunday was a little more lazy – I had brunch at Cafe 121, took a nap, and took a drive!
Motorcycles were out all over the place — singles and pairs here and there — large groups cruising through town! I was so tempted to put the top down and drink in the wonderful breeze, but since I wasn’t feeling well earlier in the week, I thought it might not be such a good idea…..
On my drive, I stopped at the Old Gilliam Mill Park and covered bridge and took some pictures – it was a lovely day!
Here’s to many more great Spring-like days to come!
Movie Review – He’s Just Not That Into You
Big hype, all star cast, etc…gotta be a hit, right? That’s what I thought and hoped – I couldn’t wait for this movie to come out! I was picturing it being a cross between “Friends” and “Thirtysomething” with some romantic comedy aspects mixed in! You know, no real plot, but lots of funny situations that are common with the dating scene and just about any group of friends that share their lives and secrets! I was right – sorta….
Well, I have to say that I was disappointed…..I wasn’t sorry I went to see it – it had its moments – it just wasn’t that interesting! In fact, I found it rather boring! And the female characters all acted like desperate, pathetic man stalkers – it was embarrassing the way some of them acted! Yeah, I know, there are women like that out there, but this movie makes it look like ALL women are like that!!! And it also made it look like all men are jerks!!!
The story idea was a good one – the cast was impressive – the ending was cute and gave the movie some redemption! Maybe it was just my mood yesterday, but I left thinking “ok, there was probably something much more worthy of spending the last couple of hours on”…. Since I did really like the ending and there were a few moments that gave me hope the movie would pick up (a very few), I’ll give it a B-. But, I’m thinking I must be feeling generous today!
Groundhog Day and Superbowl Sunday
I have to admit, there are two “holidays” that I just don’t make a lot of sense out of. They are Groundhog Day and Superbowl Sunday! Yeah, I know – Superbowl Sunday is not an official “holiday”, but the way the majority of the country reacts to it, you’d think it was the most important holiday of the year! This year, they just happened to fall of consecutive days – Superbowl Sunday on Feb 1st and Groundhog Day on Feb 2nd. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t have anything against EITHER day and I’m not writing this post to complain about them — just to go through my thoughts on the subjects!
Since Superbowl Sunday came first, let’s start there… I am not a football fan – in fact, with the exception of Baseball (and specifically Yankee’s Baseball), I am not a sports fan! So, it is understandable that I just don’t get how and why Superbowl Sunday has become the huge phenomenon that it is. The entire country comes to a screeching halt- very few people make plans that don’t involve a Superbowl party – businesses that don’t cater to the delivery or sports bar crowd are either closed or on limited staff – all the TV networks that aren’t carrying the game assume no one will be tuning in so they concede the ratings and run reruns or junk programs no one cares about – the marketing Gods come out of the woodwork to exchange billions of dollars to create, air, and reap the benefits of a line up of commercials, some of which may never be seen again – and, Lord help the non-sports fan who has a mental lapse in judgement and calls a sports fan during the game (I learned years ago to not call my brother’s # on ANY Sunday during football season, but especially on Superbowl Sunday – LOL)! So, why does football create such a ruckus? Isn’t baseball the all-American game? The earth doesn’t stop revolving for the World Series! I’m not even sure basketball or March Madness equals the hype of the Superbowl – close, very close – especially here in NC, but not quite! I am amazed, too, about the number of people who don’t follow football all season, but watch the Superbowl just to see the commercials and the half time show! Come on — you can see it all on the internet and every talk and tabloid news show for days afterwards – without suffering through the game! LOL So, what do non-sports fans do on Superbowl Sunday? Well, I – for one – have known for 24 years that I moved to the wrong part of the country, since I don’t follow Nascar, basketball, football, golf….let’s see, what am I missing? LOL So, I took in two movies and found some reruns of shows that I didn’t see the first time around – so, they were new to me! And I caught all the commercials on line – one right after the other – after the game was over (my personal favorite – the “CareerBuilder.com – Hate Work” commercial – priceless)!
Now for Groundhog Day — seriously, now — for the past 120 years, intelligent adults have relied on a rodent to tell them on Feb 2nd that spring is another 6 weeks out???? Think about it — it is Feb 2nd — it doesn’t take much thought to realize that winter is just getting geared up and spring is at LEAST 6 weeks away for most of the country – more in some areas – and the areas that isn’t the case have little or no winter to be concerned with!!! Don’t they know how to subscribe to the Farmer’s Almanac? Not too surprising, Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow on all but 14 years – one of which was last year! But what makes the groundhog the perfect bearer of the bad news? I grew up out in the country in the Northeast – where groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, are prevalent. I saw them everywhere — cute little buggers!!! But, don’t let their adorable, cuddly look fool you – corner one and he will tear you up in a heart beat! And destructive???? Man, they would burrow huge holes through a yard, eat all your grass and gardens – not good! I know – it is all symbolic and cute — a fun way to get over the hump of mid-winter! So, I – like millions of others – will be on the edge of my seat every Feb 2nd waiting to hear if Phil sees his shadow or not!
Happy Groundhog Day and Superbowl Sunday!!!
And now, for the answer to an important question: Why did they tag the most recent generation as “Generation Y”???
Have a good one…..
Movie Reviews – Taken and New In Town
I saw two movies on Sunday – a friend and I went to see “Taken” and then I hung around and saw “New In Town” afterwards. I didn’t feel well most of the weekend – something has been trying to get me down and I spent all day Saturday in bed! I finally felt better on Sunday and just had to get out of the house! So, the movies were an obvious option of choice for me! It might not have been such a good idea, because here I am at 3:00 am – up writing my reviews because I got sick again after I got home from the movies and have been up off and on all night! So — because it is easier to breathe sitting up, here are my reviews:
First was “Taken”… When I started seeing the previews for this movie, I knew it would be intense and it was! I wondered, though, about their decision to put Liam Neeson in the lead role of Brian Mills — I really like Neeson and find he brings incredible definition to any role he plays, but I wondered if his calm, quiet manner would put a damper on the role. I couldn’t have been more wrong! His style and presence made it perfect! The role called for someone who could believably portray someone who was trained to stay very calm and focused despite the situation, risks, and cost – he knew what he had to do and had the skills to get it done! Neeson portrayed the character beautifully!
The story was this: Liam portrayed Brian Mills, a retired government operative – a “preventer” as he called it – someone who prevented bad things from happening. His job kept him away from his family much of the time, so he is estranged from his wife and 17 year old daughter (Kim). His wife is now married to a very rich businessman. Brian retired and moved to where they are living to work on building a relationship with Kim. Against his wishes and very serious concerns, he gives his permission for Kim to go on a vacation to Paris with a 19 year old girl friend, Amanda, to visit museums and stay with some of Amanda’s adult cousins. He soon finds out that the plans are to actually start in Paris and then follow the rock band U2 across Europe to attend all their concert tour dates!!! The ex-wife and step father were aware of the plan – “all the kids are doing it”! Brian is even more concerned for the safety of the two young girls traveling abroad alone! The day they arrive, they start right out doing stupid things – a cute guy starts a conversation with them at the airport and offers to share a cab with them. When he drops them at the home of her cousins, Amanda even tells him that they have the whole big apartment all to themselves (apparently, the cousins are not going to be there after all) and which one it is – she makes plans for him to pick them up later for a party at his home! He, of course, then gets on the phone and tells his colleagues about two young American girls traveling alone. When she doesn’t call Brian to say they arrived, as promised, he calls her and during their conversation she looks out a window across a courtyard into the other part of the apartment and sees her friend being abducted! She tells her Dad that there are people in the apt and they have Amanda. He puts the phone on a recording device and asks her questions about what she sees and tells her to go into another room and get under the bed. He warns her that they WILL take her, but the next few seconds are very important — he tells her to leave the phone laying on the floor under the bed and to yell out everything she sees – hair color, eye color, heights, scars, anything and promises her he will come get her! They do take her and he jumps into action — he uploads the recording to some friends who analyze it and tell him that the kidnappers are a mob from Albania that abduct young women traveling overseas and sell them into slavery and prostitution and that generally there is only about a 96 hour window between a slight chance of finding her and never finding her……The rest of the movie is him going through Paris like a steamroller leaving a path of destruction and dead bodies all over the place looking for his daughter — the mob is smart, but he’s smarter! My friend and I both thought this movie was very good – very intense – with lots of action and an interesting story line. The hour and a half went by quickly as we were kept on the edge of our seats watching the events unfold. I give this movie a A- and highly recommend it for all action flick fans!!!
The next movie I saw was “New In Town”. This has been tagged as “Legally Blonde meets Sweet Home Alabama” — well, sorta, I guess, but not really! Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr star in this fun and funny Romantic Comedy — Renee is Lucy Hill, an executive in the Miami headquarters of a big corporation. The corporate office decides to take one of their small manufacturing plants in rural Minnesota and automate it and practically gut it. Lucy is assigned to go there and make the automations and cut headcount by at least 50% as quickly as possible. As soon as she gets there, the workers think she’s a joke and make it their business to make her life miserable! She doesn’t help matters with her “high and mighty, I’m not gonna get personally involved with anyone, I’m just here to do a job” attitude! The only person that seems to be hell-bent on being friends with her is her secretary, who thinks she can convert her and bring out her good side! Harry Connick Jr is Ted Mitchell, the head of the local union. An instant love/hate chemistry sparks between them from day one! During a series of hysterical interactions, she DOES become personally involved with the people and the town and she takes on the corporate offices in an effort to save the plant! This movie is funny and entertaining – wait until you see the rest of the scene from the previews that shows her in insulated coveralls with a stuck zipper – the previews (for once) don’t show the funniest part of the scene and it is hysterical!!! I thought it was cute and a typical romantic comedy – Zellweger and Connick do a good job in their roles and the rest of the supporting cast are a hoot, as well. Was it one that will go down as one of the better romantic comedies – probably not – there isn’t anything really standout special about it – but it is enjoyable! I do recommend it for romantic comedy fans – it’ll give you your money’s worth of entertainment. I rate it a B+…very good, but not great! Oh, poor lonely blog…
I keep getting such wonderful ideas for a post, but second guess them and put too much thought into them and they just don’t get written….I do so much better when I just sit down and start typing and let my fingers fly!!! I get the feeling I’m not the only one…..it is pretty quiet in Sanford blog land! Come on, peeps — I’ll show you my thoughts if you show me your’s…..
Movie Review – Hotel For Dogs
OK, I can’t contain myself – let me start right off with saying that this movie represents my DREAM COME TRUE – it is exactly what I would love to do, if I could!!! I have NEVER had so much FUN in a movie and haven’t laughed so hard, felt so good, and – yes- even cried (both for the couple short sad scenes and out of shear joy) so much in a movie in a long time!!!
OK – I think I can proceed with my review now…..I have contained myself! This movie is about two orphaned siblings – 16 year old Andi and younger brother, Bruce – and their dog, Friday. They live with a pair of really bazaar foster parents, played by Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon. Their social worker is played by Don Cheadle. The kids have been trying to hide their dog for 3 years and it is becoming obvious to them that they really need to find him a new home! But, Friday finds his own new home – a run down, abandoned luxury hotel! They slip in there one night while trying to hide from the police. Friday immediately goes exploring and finds that there are two other dogs living there – a Rottweiler (that they name Lenny) and a Boston Terrier (that they name Georgia). So, they agree to leave Friday with Lenny and Georgia for one night – just until they can figure out what to do! One thing leads to another and they end up banning together with three other kids to make the abandoned hotel a safe haven for every stray dog in the city!!! They make these elaborate activities, feeding operations, and bathroom facilities for about a zillion dogs – all of whom they name and register in the hotel guest book! My favorite activity that they make is an amusement park type ride — it is a bunch of chairs with old car doors with the windows down – they run fans to simulate the wind and a movie that looks like it was filmed from the hood of a car and play the theme from Easy Rider…..the dogs sit in the chairs and stick their heads out the car door windows, the fans blow wind in their faces, and they watch the movie — then after a little bit, the kid running the ride announces “Please be careful as you exit the simulation. Please move quickly to allow the next riders to take their seats.” Then the next bunch get in the chairs and the kid announces “For your safety, please keep your paws inside the ride at all times.” It was hysterical!!!!! Of course, there are ups and downs and lots of antics along the way — and an absolutely FABULOUS ending!!!!
This movie was the “feel good” movie that I had hoped “Marley and Me” would be….it was fun, funny, heartwarming, and wonderful — all wrapped up in about an hour and 40 minutes!!! It went too quickly — I wish it had been longer!!! I laughed, cried, and left feeling so good I wanted to dance to the car!!!! It made me want to go out and save every stray dog I see (oh, wait, I already want to do that —- well, maybe it made me feel just a little more like doing that!!!).
In case it wasn’t clear — I REALLY liked this movie!!!! I can’t wait until it comes out on DVD so I can get it and play it at the house to see if the girls will sit and watch it!!! ha-ha Some friends are thinking about going to see it tonight — if they do, I just may go see it again with them!!!
I rate this movie off the charts — it gets a huge AAA+++ from me!!!! Go see it — you’re bound to enjoy it…….and take the kids, too….
Kim's Thoughts 
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