I was at home one evening and I was actually looking for something funny to watch, and decided it was time for me to stop being such a sissy and watch something kind of scary whilst being home alone. I won’t even lie to you - I fast-forwarded through a few moments but not enough to miss anything worthwhile. I love Milla Jovavich and she is so convincing as a gun-wielding badass.
All in all, totally entertaining and beautiful cinematography. Watch out for the zombies!
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- -------- AUTHOR: c TITLE: P.S. I Love You STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: br CATEGORY: movies DATE: 07/07/2008 01:46:00 PM ----- BODY:
I pretty much cried through this whole movie. I don’t even like Hilary Swank that much but I really liked her in this and Gerard Butler? Delicious. The whole thing was sentimental and sad but really, really sweet. It’s also a beautiful movie. The cinematography was really nicely done and the set design and wardrobe were phenomenal.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- -------- AUTHOR: c TITLE: Love In The Time Of Cholera STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: br CATEGORY: movies DATE: 04/05/2008 04:03:00 PM ----- BODY:
Love In The Time of Cholera
I wept. A LOT. So did my husband (shhh! Don’t tell him I told you). It is the only movie that has the distinction of being one that I wished had been in Spanish with subtitles. Totally beautiful.
Platoon
Beautiful and sad. I’m kind of surprised I hadn’t seen it yet.
Cougar Club
My husband made me for real. I was mildly entertained though.
Man About Town
There were a few good moments in this and I really like Rebecca Romijn, definitely a rental only.
Live Free or Die Hard
I love action movies and this was no exception. I am also strangely attracted to Bruce Willis.
Rush Hour 3
The humor was super low-brow, but it was funny and I was entertained.
The Business of Being Born
This will make you think about childbirth in a whole new way. Absolutely beautiful and well-done.
Better than twelve, not as good as eleven.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- -------- AUTHOR: c TITLE: watching STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: br CATEGORY: movies DATE: 03/02/2008 04:49:00 PM ----- BODY:Waitress
The best movie I’ve seen in a really long time. It was charming and sweet and I think I have a girl crush on Keri Russell
I Think I Love My Wife
I think it was about 40 minutes too long but kind of intriguing all the same.
The Bourne Ultimatum
Took me about 20 minutes to really “get it” even though I saw the others. After that - I liked it a lot.
Katt Williams: Live
I laughed a lot. A LOT.
El Cantante
I thought it dragged in parts and was a bit frenetic - but tragically sad/beautiful. I also love Jennifer Lopez so I’m biased.
There’s something about having a baby that seems to be all-consuming. I mean, take a look around the internet and see all of the mommybloggers. These are people dedicated to talking about one subject and one subject only - their kids.
I suppose when (or if) I become a parent, I will develop this tunnel vision as well and only tell stories of projectile vomit and poop-filled diapers. For now, I just talk about how much I love cheese.
I laughed out loud a lot while reading this, and there were really tender moments when I wanted to cry. It reads like journal excerpts, written by someone who is hopeful about this new life and yet who is quite realistic. I loved it.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- -------- AUTHOR: c TITLE: Watching STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: br CATEGORY: movies DATE: 01/06/2008 10:26:39 PM ----- BODY:Knocked Up
Hysterical. I think I dislike Katherine Heigel in real life, but this movie was funny. Ha - in real life, like we’re friends.
It took me forever to read this book and it wasn’t because it wasn’t good. Simple premise: girl’s mother kills herself and the novel follows her life a year and a day after this (obviously) traumatic event. I also think it’s so interesting to read about teenagers. They have so much angst and hormones and all the other stuff in-between, it’s kind of fascinating.
I couldn’t possibly say enough about the beauty of this book. It’s written almost like someone’s intimate journals and it’s so poetic, but not the point of it being overdone.
The Ex
Had a few good moments, but mostly a waste and y’all know I love me some Zach Braff.
Dirty Sexy Money
This show is like dysfunctional family crack.
300
Why do they make movies so long these days? I admit this was fantasticly beautiful and interesting but about 45 minutes too long for my taste.
I despise when books are made into movies and then they change the covers. Just a little fyi.
Little Children is kind of like reading about every messed up thing you think happens in Caucasian suburbia. That is to say there are the mommy-cliques, adultery, pornography and a child molester.
Although all of this sounds like the most disturbing episode of Desperate Housewives, it was actually kind in intriguing and I wasn’t able to put it down.
Some of the charactars in this book will make you want to cry, some of them will make you want to vomit. All of them are richly fascinating.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- -------- AUTHOR: c TITLE: The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: br DATE: 08/27/2007 04:14:36 PM ----- BODY:
I’m one of those weird book people who buys books buy their covers. This time, I bought a book based on the fact that the author’s brother (Zach Braff) stars on the greatest comedy show there ever was, Scrubs.
The best way for me to describe The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green is by saying. Actually, I don’t know what would be the best way for me to describe it.
Told from the vantage point of young Jacob, it is the story of a Jewish boy and his own kind of coming of age but not in the typical sort of way.
His father is a rage-a-holic, his brother is a rebel and Jacob kind of falls somewhere in the middle. You definitely feel for him and the writing is very sharp in that you feel the father’s rage.
That said, I didn’t care much for how it ended but it was still a decent read.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- -------- AUTHOR: c TITLE: The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: br DATE: 08/09/2007 06:19:37 PM ----- BODY:
As I was unpacking boxes today I came across this book that I’d actually forgotten I read. That’s not to say it wasn’t good - it was really intriguing and I found myself getting lost in the character’s worlds.
Long story short it’s the story of a woman who gets struck my lightening and subsuquently how her life is transformed not only by that, but by events that happen as a young girl and some oddly disturbing wishes that have a habit of coming to fruition. Naturally, there is a man - but not just any man - someone who is quite extraordinary. I don’t want to ruin it so that’s all I’m saying. Also, it’s not just about the man. There are a handful of other really great relationships within the pages.
Oddly enough, the book is so riveting that I never noticed that the main character is never given an actual name (I read it online).
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- -------- AUTHOR: c TITLE: watching STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: br CATEGORY: movies DATE: 08/06/2007 10:56:36 PM ----- BODY:Trust The Man
I had super low expectations for this movie and save for a five minute chunk towards the end, I really loved it.
I finished this book about a month ago but I’m just getting around to writing about which is such a disservice because it was so, so good.
You probably vaguely know Guerra as a tv personality or you saw her in the movie Selena. She was happy, bubbly and incredibly beautiful. Under Construction tells the tale of how Guerra came to make a decision about weight loss surgery, the highs and the lows and everything in between.
In a way, it read much more like a memoir - incredibly personal and often quite touching. It’s peppered with quotes which were sometimes apropos, but sometimes unnecessary.
Even if you’re not having weight loss surgery but are just looking for a bit of inspiration or hope, this was a phenomenal and fast read.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- -------- AUTHOR: c TITLE: watching STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: br CATEGORY: movies DATE: 07/29/2007 12:19:38 PM ----- BODY:Shortbus - Might be the most messed-up movie I have ever seen. It was like watching a super low budget porno with a terrible plot.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- -------- AUTHOR: c TITLE: watching STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: br CATEGORY: movies DATE: 07/18/2007 04:29:36 PM ----- BODY:Casino Royale
Honestly, I didn’t mind that Bond was blonde because Daniel Craig is still hot. I liked it a lot but thought it was a little long.
It seems to me that I’m on a trend of picking books that are slightly disturbing this year. I finished this one a few weeks ago, but as per my usual laziness, am just getting around to writing about it.
Jasira is a young girl who after being caught having her genitals shaved by her Mother’s boyfriend is sent to live with her father. I know, it’s weird already. Half Iranian and half Irish, Jasira is often made fun of not just for her race, but for being peculiar in general. Her father is a staunch disciplinarian and Jasira lives in fear of him. All the while she falls in love with and is then molested by her next door neighbor.
What I can say is that the way that Erian tackled child molestation, child abuse, masturbation and the like was done in a way that wasn’t vulgar or lowbrow - but at times kind of funny (I know - it’s weird), a little sad but still engaging. I found myself unable to put it down despite the fact that so few of the characters have any redeeming qualities and that the dialogue isn’t all that sophisticated.
I found myself rooting for Jasira and then wondering if she might be mildly retarded because even for a teenager, she was quite naive. Definitely worth reading though if only to see how these taboo subjects are worked into a novel.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- -------- AUTHOR: c TITLE: watching STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: br CATEGORY: movies DATE: 07/10/2007 09:28:36 PM ----- BODY:Sherrybaby - Totally messed up and yet I couldn’t stop watching it.
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Lolly Winston has an incredible storytelilng talent. She’s the kind of writer that makes you furrow your brow, smile and laugh out loud when the room is quiet.
Happiness Sold Separately is about one woman who finds out that her husband is having an affair, or it’s a story about 6 people, depending on your point of view. How Winston managed to craft a story about 6 people and not make it complicated or contrived I’ll never know but there’s such a beautiful fluidity to her writing that once I started reading, I never really put it down.
This isn’t formulaic chick lit, this is really brilliant writing told in a captivating way.
It took me almost two months to finish this book and I think I needed to say that in full-disclosure. In the time that this book has been gaining celebrity, I’ve never read one bad thing about it. Everyone raves about it as if it were life-altering and for some that may very well be that case - but when I finished reading it, I didn’t suddenly feel fulfilled or as if I wanted to run off and chase a dream.
That’s not to say that the whole thing wasn’t enjoyable because it overwhelmingly was. It’s divided into sections which chronicle Gilbert’s journey to inner peace. The sections that focus on Italy and Bali were beautiful. They flowed well, they were funny - and you really felt what Gilbert was going through. The hardest section to read and the part that caused me to put this book down again and again dealt with her trip to an Ashram in India. I couldn’t help but feel like the whole transcendent peace thing read a bit mawkish and Tom Cruise (read: crazy religious) to me.
All things said, a solid read with some really great parts.
I know chick-lit gets a bad wrap and I suppose in calling it chick-lit it just serves further to diminish the quality of writing by said chick-lit authors. Emily Griffin is a great writer though, and she tells story quite deftly.
Without being all spoilery -Baby Proof is about a woman who falls in love (natch - it is chick-lit) and doesn’t want to have children. Initially her husband doesn’t either, but then he changes his mind - drama ensues.
It’s a fast read that’s not quite predictable and I’m sure there will be some spin-offs from the characters mentioned in the book.
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turkishlover.jpgThis is the third in a series of memoirs from Esmeralda Santiago and is hands down my favorite. Santiago recounts her relationship with Ulvi, an older Turkish man whose affect on Santiago was oppressive.
I think memoirs have a way of being slanted but The Turkish Lover is good, bad and everything in between. Instead of reading like a memoir, it reads like a really fulfilling story of love, heartbreak, triumph and completion.
----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- -------- AUTHOR: c TITLE: Fat Girl by Judith Moore STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 2 CONVERT BREAKS: br DATE: 01/08/2007 05:05:38 PM ----- BODY:
This might be the single most disturbing book I’ve ever read. I bought it because I loved the cover and I love a good story where the fat girl triumphs over all evil but the more I read, the more I thought this is a story about child abuse and not really about being fat. Granted the child abuse did come from a mother who seemed to hate the author because she was fat - but being fat really wasn’t what the whole thing was about.
There are some very shocking stories and events, and the whole thing reads kind of like a therapist’s session you know you shouldn’t be reading about but you can’t help yourself. Shock value aside, it was a fast and interesting read but told from a point of such self-loathing that it’s hard to imagine that someone who still feels this kind of rage would be willing to share thier story.
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TITLE: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
STATUS: Publish
ALLOW COMMENTS: 2
CONVERT BREAKS: br
DATE: 01/08/2007 04:08:37 PM
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Jhumpa Lahiri is a very capable storyteller. The Namesake is the story of a family and particularly a son who struggles with his name as it relates to his identity. You really feel the range of emotions, smell the smells and it feels so vibrant and real. I have nothing else to say because anything else would really be a disservice to Lahiri’s writing.
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AUTHOR: c
TITLE: Conversations With The Fat Girl
STATUS: Publish
ALLOW COMMENTS: 2
CONVERT BREAKS: br
DATE: 03/20/2006 12:15:00 PM
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Another one of those books I keep hearing/reading is so great and then I read it and I’m left totally underwhelmed.
50 Words Or Less
Self-deprecating fat girl with cute friend who used to be fat - finds herself by going to the gym and becoming wise about toxic relationships. Oh, and of course there