Movie Review – Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Before I get into what I thought about his movie, I thought I would talk about an unusual experience I had during the movie. About 15 or 20 minutes into the film, there were some bright flashing lights on the side walls, the projector cut off, and the house lights came up……we could hear a faint beeping and announcement over a PA system out in the hallways (but couldn’t hear what it was saying inside the theater). We decided it must be a fire alarm, so we started out of the theater. When we got in the hallway, we could hear the announcement indicating that there may be a fire, to leave the building in an orderly manner, and don’t return until told to do so. The theater employees were standing at the place where they take your tickets and tell you which theater your movie is showing in. They told us to just stay where we are because it was just some burnt popcorn and everything would be fine and the movies would resume shortly. So, we all went back in and sat down. About 15 or 20 minutes later, the flashing lights stopped and the movie started again right where it left off. The flashing lights were pretty irritating, though — I had to put my hands over my eyes after a while to block it out – I think it was starting to trigger a migraine cause I was starting to get some early warning signs – one girl left cause she was concerned it would trigger a seizure!!! I think covering my eyes when I did helped stop the migraine — the girl came back in and seemed to be fine, too. I had never been in a theater when a fire alarm went off — it was an interesting experience!!!

Now for my opinion of Forgetting Sarah Marshall — I saw it today — it is the story of a composer (Peter) who has been dating a popular TV star (Sarah) for 5 years when she breaks up with him for a younger rock star who isn’t very good and super full of himself! Peter doesn’t take it well and needs to get away from constant reminders of his love of Sarah. So, he decides to take a vacation in Hawaii. When he gets there, he finds out that Sarah and her new boyfriend are also vacationing in Hawaii — in the SAME resort! What are the odds??? ha-ha During his visit, he keeps running into Sarah and her new beau and gets to know the staff and other vacationers – most of which are either really strange or total idiots!!!! He becomes close with Rachael, the girl at the front desk, who seems to be the nicest, most level headed person at the resort — that is, until she runs into her ex-boyfriend and turns into a foul mouthed wild woman!!!!

The story is cute and most of the scenes are funny — but, all the bazaar characters and the fact that everyone has sex like rabbits gets in the way of the story. It would have been much better if they left more to the imagination and focused more on the awkward situation of them all being in the same resort. Instead, a lot of the story got lost in translation and the jokes often fell flat. I also thought the nudity was a little much — I am not a prude, by any means, but I didn’t think it was necessary to have several full frontal shots of Peter in all his glory – and I’m not talking quick flash shots, either……..

I don’t think it was a total loss and I did find it to be funny, for the most part — but, I would have been happier if I had waiting until it came out on cable and I didn’t have to pay for it. I give it a neutral rating of C+ and only recommend it for those of you who like that bazaar brand of humor and I DON’T recommend it for young children without their parents seeing it first to decide if they want them to see it or not.

Movie Review – 88 Minutes

I went to see 88 Minutes today — it stars Al Pacino — ’nuff said — no other explanation of why this is a sure bet is necessary!!!!

Seriously, though — I first saw a trailer for this movie back in January when I was at another movie here in Sanford. It got me all excited about seeing it! But, I hadn’t seen anything else on it until just recently when the ads started promoting it. I immediately renewed my anticipation! Quite often when I get that excited about a movie that is coming out, I end up with such high expectations that I am actually disappointed when I get to see it — not the case this time! I was definitely NOT disappointed!

Pacino plays a forensic psychiatrist who specialized in serial murderers and taught forensic psychiatry at the university. The convicted murderer from one of his most famous cases is scheduled for execution on the day that the story takes place. He starts his day by finding out that there is a copy-cat out there shedding doubt on the murderer’s guilt. Before long a series of phone calls come counting down the time before he will die – the first states that he has 88 minutes to live. Over the course of the next 88 minutes, he frantically tries to find out who is making the calls while more women are murdered, he begins to doubt everyone around him, the murderer gets a stay of execution, and he is implicated in the murders. It all comes to an intense climax! The one who did it all was one I guessed, but to be fair, I had a couple of guesses and that was just one of them.

I found this movie intriguing and intense. I give it a big thumbs up (A-) and highly recommend it!

Hump Day Thoughts

I woke up this morning with a sore throat and had a stuffy/runny nose all day — I sure hope it’s just because I forgot to kick the heat on last night and it got down pretty cold – just a reaction to breathing the cold air!!! I hope it is not that I am getting a head cold!!!! I feel pretty tired and stuffy tonight and it is raising cane with my asthma and allergies!!! I’ll be darned if I’ll allow myself to get sick!!! Not gonna happen!!!

I popped in to Myra’s Kitchen tonight and found out they have changed their hours — they aren’t open on Saturday anymore! Apparently, it was their longest day AND their slowest day. So, they decided to change to Monday – Friday……11:00 – 2:30 and 5:00 – 8:00! Myra made an awesome strawberry cobbler for one of the desserts today — YUM!!!

It was an amazing day today — started out with a fairly heavy frost and warmed up quickly — it was sunny, warm, and there was an incredible sky!!!

Well – I think I need to go take some Advil Cold and Sinus and hit the sack!!! Gotta nip this stuffy head in the bud before it takes hold………

Happy Birthday, Katie!!!

My beautiful red-head, Katie, is four years old now!!! Her birthday was actually yesterday — well, if you really want to get down to her “actual” birthday, we don’t really know what that is! We are going on the estimate that she was about 5 months old when we found her. She was left on the side of a country road in the middle of the outer bands of a horrid tropical storm – abandoned, starving, drenched, and with serious health problems. I took in a scruffy little thing and, after working through all her health issues, she turned into a gorgeous, sweet, loving companion. Oh, I won’t hide the early facts – between her health problems and normal high energy puppy shenanigans, it was touch and go for the first year or so she was with me! But she settled down, got healthy, and is the best friend I could possibly ask for!!! I can’t believe she’s four years old already!!! She’s turned into a beautiful, graceful lady!!! She’s my precious Katie!!! Happy Birthday, darlin’…….

To celebrate her birthday, all three girls spent the day in doggie day care at Rae-Zor Grooming, Boarding, and Day Care! Rae Marks and her wonderful staff offered up a day full of play, exercise, and fun for them. They socialized and played with other dogs and had a BLAST!!! They love to go to doggie day care — when we pull into the parking lot and they see those bright red roofs of All Animals and Rae-Zor, they start to get all excited and practically trample me trying to get out of the car – then, they drag me into the building and happily go with the day care staff to get started with their day!!!! But – even with all the fun and games they have, they are happy to see me at the end of the day and excited to get home! When they got home, they did their duty in their own back yard (the first thing they always want to do when they get home), ran through the house making sure every speck of dust was right where they left it (not that my house is dusty, mind you), ate their supper, and zonked out!!!! They were sooooooo wore out from all the play time — I didn’t hear a peep out of them all evening — they are STILL snoring!!!

So – it was a great birthday for my Miss Katie!! To honor her on her fourth birthday, here are some shots of Katie as the cutie she was when she first came to me and the beauty she grew into:

Three

I don’t think I ever mentioned this here, but I have a “thing” about the number 3. Whether it is deliberate or just happens, the number 3 comes up all the time for me! It is my good luck # and I find myself consciously or unconsciously doing or grouping things in 3’s.

Some examples:

  • I always choose the # 3 when I have to select a # for a chance to win something or just for luck – if 3 isn’t available, I look for a number that is comprised of groups of 3 or at least has a 3 in it
  • I think the absolutely most perfect # in the world is 333 — THREE THREE’s!!!
  • when I wash my hands and there is a paper towel dispenser, I always pull off THREE towels to dry my hands
  • same with napkins – I typically take THREE napkins
  • the nick nacks and what-nots on shelves in my house are grouped in sets of THREE – any other combination just doesn’t look right and makes me nervous
  • I strongly believe the “they come in threes” or “where there’s one, there’s three” rule and find is almost always true for sneezes, deaths, babies, pregnancies, and lots of other situations
  • I have THREE letters in my name – K-I-M
  • I have THREE degrees
  • I have THREE dogs (this definitely wasn’t deliberate – I had one, then two, then four and it would have stayed that way if Puddles hadn’t gotten so ill and left me with three)
  • I hit the snooze at least THREE times every morning before I get out of bed
  • I have THREE trees planted across the front of my house
  • My numerology # is 3
  • I even have THREE kidneys — yep, it is true!!! I have the regular two plus a third, separate fully functional, but much smaller, one

And, that is just a few examples…….and the universe seems to agree with me on the importance of the number 3 – for instance:

  • THREE Wise Men brought THREE gifts for Jesus
  • There were THREE blind mice
  • There were THREE Musketeers
  • THREE is more stable – a tricycle, 3 legged stool, tripods, etc.
  • Babe Ruth wore the number THREE
  • In baseball, the # 3 is key: THREE bases, THREE strikes and you’re out, you generally play your best hitter every THIRD batter, nine innings (3×3)
  • There were THREE stooges
  • THREE times a charm
  • Genies grant THREE wishes
  • You count to THREE to synchronize things

And there are many more examples of the importance of the # 3!!!!

Pool Opening, Godspell at the Temple, Dinner with Friends, Etc…

I have had the best time over the past couple of days!!! Here’s how it all went down:

The pool is open for fun:

  • On Friday, I took 1/2 personal day from work to take care of some personal business. Later in the afternoon, I was in the back yard with the girls – just playing around – and noticed how warm it was! The girls were panting and drinking a lot of water! So, I decided to get their pool out for them. I pulled it out of the shed, hosed the cobwebs and dirt off it, and filled it up with fresh, cold water! A little history about the pool: Katie has loved her pool for about 3 summers now. Amy immediately took to it last year after watching Katie enjoy it for about 2 seconds!!! Megan, however, took a while to get the courage to get in it – but, once she did, that was it — she loved it and was in it more than the other two combined!!! So — when I got it all set up this year, it was no surprise that Megan was the first to dive right in and start splashing around! Amy followed soon after. Katie made it clear that she preferred to just lay on the grass and sunbathe!!!! ha-ha She did get in after a while, but mostly just wanted to lay around in the sun…… So – the pool fun is in full swing!!!

Godspell at the Temple Theater:

  • Then, Friday evening, I met some friends at the Temple Theater to see Godspell……..I never saw Godspell on the stage, but did see the movie when it was released in 1973. So, I was expecting to see the production at the Temple to be a bunch of young people dressed like 1960s hippies dancing and preaching love and peace around NY City! WRONG — I understand that this particular play leaves it to the director to decide how it is presented and that it is important to modernize it to reach a new generation. But, it was a little strange seeing the actors dressed like kids do today and the scenery set in a mountain camping theme. But, my disappointment stopped there!!! It quickly became obvious that the director’s choices were right on and the whole thing was totally delightful. The talent was amazing! Lisa, Pennie, and I all loved it and had such a good time. When we left, we made a date to see Ain’t Misbehavin’ – the next show (and the last of the season) at the Temple – I can’t wait!!!!

Basketball Disappointment:

  • I was reading the Sanford Herald this morning and noticed that there was a basketball tournament between Wyeth and Central Carolina Hospital to benefit Relay For Life! Now, please note that I am NOT a basketball fan, but I was intrigued with the idea of going to cheer on the Wyeth teams (a girl team and a guy team)! The “FYI” note and the blurb in the Community Calendar only said when the games were going to start (the girls at 10:30 and the guys at 12:00) and that it was being held at Wicker Gym – no address!!!! It did, however, mention that the use of the Wicker Gym was being donated by the Lee Co Parks and Rec – so, I assumed it was at the old Armory – wrong!!! I drove around for a while checking out all the places I thought it might be – anywhere I knew of that the Parks & Rec had facilities. I couldn’t find it — I called the cell # in the Community Calendar and didn’t get an answer, so I went to the Dairy Bar and had breakfast, instead!!! I got a return call from the lady at the cell # about 12:30 and she told me it was off Vance Street, but it was too late to go – I was into something else by then and the girls were done and the guys were well into the game. Just a quick tip for anyone who sends in a notice for the Community Calendar or an FYI note — please include an address so people that may not know where something is can find you…….

Shopping:

  • After I left the Dairy Bar, I went to the Shops of Steele Street to get a new night shirt – I picked up a cute one that says “As a matter of fact, the world DOES revolve around me!” ha-ha-ha I also got some treats from Amy’s Confection Company while I was there – a pretzel and marshmallows (of course both chocolate covered)!!! I also went through the car wash — not that it will last very long — my red mustang will be covered in green dust again in no time at all……

Saturday Evening:

  • After the pleasant morning of breakfast and shopping, I spent the afternoon at home playing with the girls and enjoying the breezy day! Then, I went to Love Nails and had my nails done and had a pedicure —- hhhmmm – lovely pampering!!! After I was done there, I was going to go to Myra’s Kitchen for a quick dinner, but they were closed. Funny how things work out, though —- I had the bright idea of checking out the new location of Davison’s Steaks (if you didn’t know, they have moved out on Rt 1 near Tramway in the old James’ Seafood Restaurant)! I was very impressed with the way they redecorated the place — very nice!!! I had sat down and just told the waiter that I would have sweet tea to drink and I noticed some friends from work — they insisted that I join them — I didn’t want to intrude, but I’m so glad I did — we sat there for about 2 hours or so just talking and talking and talking — I had the BEST time!!! Dinner with Suzette, Tim, and Tim’s Mom was a ton of fun – I am so happy the evening ended on such a great note!!!

So — that was my weekend, so far — and I’m beat!!! I think Sunday will be devoted to relaxing and lounging around with the girls!!!! I need to recuperate so that I can be ready to take on a whole new week…….

Bread

One of my all time favorite bands from the 70s was Bread – David Gates was the lead singer. They made some amazing music! Just thinking of many of their songs brings back such wonderful memories! Songs like:
  • “Make It With You”
  • “Baby I’m-a Want You”
  • “Aubrey”
  • “It Don’t Matter to Me”
  • “The Guitar Man”
  • “She’s The Only One”
  • And my very favorite song of theirs: “If”

Here are You Tube clips of “If”, “Aubrey”, and a medley of other hits – all by Bread! ENJOY!

That’ll learn me….

I have two things that fall into the category of “that’ll learn me” today!!!

1. I got home from work and began the usual ritual with the girls — they went out to take care of business and then came in for their supper! I was messing with them and egging on their excitement by dancing around with the food dishes and trying to make a game out of it! As I sat each dish down, I solicited cheek kisses from each — Megan gave me a little one (she was much more interested in getting to that dish) — Amy gave me several excited ones (as usual, she was more than willing to forget about her supper in exchange for a love-fest) — then, just as I leaned down to get one from Katie, she jumped back to make room for her dish on the floor and corked me good!!! Her head connected with my bottom lip and smashed it into my top teeth — the blow busted open the inside of my lip! I yelled “OUCH!” and it scared Katie — I hugged her to let her know it was OK and she went about eating her supper. I could taste the blood as I finished getting the girls fed and when they were back outside playing, I went in to the bathroom mirror to check out the damage! It was cracked open and bleeding and there was a nice little lump on the inside and the outside was swollen up!!! I had a busted lip!!! ha-ha-ha That’ll learn me.…..don’t put my face down into an excited dog jumping around – it might get bopped!!!

2. I didn’t sleep good last night – I tossed and turned most of the night and was wide awake for long stretches………..so, I was pretty tired when I got home from work. I curled up on the couch to watch Dancing With The Stars and within seconds – before it even started – I fell sound asleep and didn’t wake up until almost midnight!!! Luckily, through the magic of the internet, I was able to find out who got booted off — just as I predicted — Adam Corolla went home! Yeah, I know – it didn’t take a rocket scientist to predict that one! If he hadn’t gone home tonight, something would have been very wrong!!! BUT – back to the point here – that’ll learn me…….don’t curl up on the couch when I’m tired unless I’m prepared to fall asleep and without setting the recorder in case I do fall asleep!!!

Beauty and Grace All Over Sanford

I had such a nice day today — in addition to going to the movies, I also drove around enjoying all the beauty that spring brings us. The dogwoods, azaleas, and other flowering bushes and trees are out in full force! It is so lovely to drive the colorful, blossom lined streets of Sanford! Here are some pictures to capture some of the joy I had:

These were taken in my yard. The first is of a wild dogwood in my side yard and the second is of a flowering bush in my back yard. I’m not sure what this plant is, but it has these gorgeous dark pink blossoms all over it – this is the only fully opened blossom right now, but there is a bunch of buds that will be open soon!

It is difficult to get some good shots of the street scenes without having pictures of people’s homes in the shots – which wouldn’t be too nice of me! So, I shot these of St. Thomas Episcopal Church on Steel Street. It is a great example of what a lot of streets in Sanford looked like today – breath taking mix of white, pinks, and reds contrasting against the brick walls and bright green grass. Just lovely!!!

Another icon of Spring that I love are the Wisteria vines you see all over town. Wild wisteria can get unruly and out of control – it is still quite beautiful hanging from trees and buildings, though. BUT – when it is controlled and deliberately planted, it can be exquisite!!! The best example of this is the Van Harris office building on Horner Blvd. It was one of the first things I fell in love with when I moved to Sanford and I look forward to them blooming every year. And the bare vines look great all year round as they drape across the structure even without the gorgeous purple blossoms.

I also stopped by the pond and fountain at Riverbirch Corner to watch the ducks and geese for a few minutes. They were so peaceful swimming around in the rippling water…..that was fun!!!

Movies – Today and To Be…

I went to the movies today and decided to stay for TWO! There were also some good previews shown at the theater and on TV recently. So – here are the movies I saw today and the ones I’m most anxious to see when they get released:

TODAY…

The first one I saw today was Leatherheads – Starring George Clooney and Renee Zellwenger. This was a movie set in the early 1920s before professional football became big and controlled by rules – games were pretty much free for alls. Clooney was a football player and Zellwenger was a tough newspaper reporter. The quips between Clooney and Zellwenger were pretty funny, at times. I’m not a football fan, so the parts related to football were so-so for me. I was mostly interested in the relationship between Clooney and Zellwenger’s characters. It was pretty entertaining, but nothing I would see again or buy the DVD of. All in all, I would give this one a strong C+ or maybe a low B-, but that might be stretching it some. The best parts of the movie was the 1920s era music and tough girl attitude of Zellwenger’s character. It was “OK” – I’m not sorry I went to see it, but I really wouldn’t recommend for or against it.
After the first movie was done, I started to go home, but talked myself into seeing Nim’s Island. I’m glad I did — it was delightful!!!! It is a fantasy story about a young girl named Nim, played by Abigail Breslin, with a wild imagination who fantasizes about an adventure hero in a series of books named Alex Rover, played by Gerard Butler. She lives on a deserted island with her father, a scientist, also played by Gerard Butler. When Nim’s Dad gets stuck out at sea in a storm, she finds herself in touch through email with Alexandria Rover, the author of the Alex Rover novels, played by Jodie Foster, signing the emails with her pen name – Alex Rover. Alexandria leads a reclusive life and is deadly afraid to leave her home. Through their emails, Alexandria realizes she needs to travel to come to Nim’s aid. Her travels and Nim’s adventures during the time she is left alone on the island are hysterical. All the actors do a really nice job of displaying their soles and making the characters real – even though it is an adventure fantasy! The movie is fun, entertaining, and has a happy ending. There is no deep meaning and it is rather silly at times, but very enjoyable! I recommend it for a good family movie! I would rate it a solid B+ – I had a good time watching it!

TO BE…

Here are some movies I’m looking forward to:

Baby Mama, starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sigourney Weaver, and Greg Kinnear – this movie looks like a real riot!!! Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are so funny – I can just imagine how great they will be in this movie. This one is released on April 25th.

Mama Mia is based on the popular Broadway Musical of the same name. It stars the great Meryl Streep and Piece Brosnan. The ABBA music alone should make it enjoyable — but the story sounds like it will be a blast to watch! Mama Mia opens on July 18th — a long time to wait…..but should be worth it!!!

A new Indiana Jones movie is coming out on May 22nd — Indiana Jones and the Kindom of the Crystal Skull – it, of course, stars Harrison Ford. I adore Harrison Ford and really enjoyed the previous Indiana Jones movies. They usually aren’t my type of movies, but they really were entertaining. So, when I heard that Ford was making a comeback with them, I got really excited about it — definitely NOT the reaction I had when Stallone decided to come back as Rambo (that reaction was more like “eeww – yuck – what is he thinking at his age?” – ha-ha).