MOVIE REVIEW: Bridget Jones’ Baby

October 6, 2016October 6, 2016 by Karen, posted in Marriage, movies, relationships

My husband was hoping for a quiet house the other night, so I obliged him by going to the movies.

😀

I’ve seen and enjoyed the two prior Bridget Jones movies, so I was looking forward to this one. And it was great! Except for one thing.*

I loved all the characters, the returning ones and the new ones (especially Miranda, Bridget’s new BFF).
This movie is FUNNY! I laughed out loud unexpectedly several times.
I went by myself, so no one was elbowing me in the ribs, saying, “Mom! Stop! Stop laughing so loud!”
There were many sweet, moving moments, that had me tearing up without warning. (Note to self: You are spending way too much time alone in tears this week.)
There were so many great songs in this movie! Check out #9 on the list by Lily Allen. Whoa!
Emma Thompson was perfect as the obstetrician who never makes eye contact with her patient. strangely, she delivered the baby with no staff. Hello? Everyone knows it’s the nurses who deliver the babies!

So my recommendation is this: If you want to see this movie, go see it! Lukewarm reviews be damned! Don’t bother trying to bring any kill-joys with you who don’t share your Bridget enthusiasm. Go by yourself. Get your popcorn the way you want it (no extra butter!). Smuggle in your bottle of water in your pocket. Live a little (the scene where Patrick Dempsey strips off his shirt to dive into the pool is worth the price of admission, even after you factor in the aforementioned popcorn).

Also, pay attention to the end. There is a set up for a possible fourth Bridget Jones movie. Can I get a ‘Hell, yeah!’ for this?

Here’s the trailer for your viewing pleasure:

**Rene Zellweger’s (presumed) facial surgery was a bit distracting, but this is the only not-positive thing I have to say (#disappointed).

Leisure time: top 10 activities

October 30, 2014 by Karen, posted in books, local fun, movies, NaNoWriMo, the beach, writing, yoga

I have the next few days off and am thinking of fun ways to spend it:

Go bowling
Go to the movies: I want to see St Vincent, The Judge, and that Steve Carell movie about the terrible, very bad day.
Get up early and go to yoga
Go see the ocean!
Check out the Craft Show at the JHS
Work on my plan for NaNoWriMo beginning 11/1
Attend a memoir writing class (if I can just get in my registration under the wire….)
Start my next knitting project
Read one of the hundred or so books I have in piles waiting for me
Go to the Health and Wellness Expo in Portland

Of course, I may just lay on the couch and watch The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network.

At the movies (or, Hell is other people)

September 26, 2014September 26, 2014 by Karen, posted in local fun, Party for one

I was done with trying to align the planets so that I could go see a movie with my husband. I decided that, if I wanted to see This is Where I Leave You at the theater, I would have to go by myself. I rarely will cough up the cash to sit in a theater to watch a movie, but for this one, I wanted to make the effort (Hello? You had me at Tina Fey. And Kathryn Hahn).
I was lucky enough to find a niche of time in which no work schedules, carpooling, medical appointments, or householder responsibilities encroached…so I went for it.
I entered the darkened theater and took my favorite seat on the left in the last row. As my eyes adjusted, I realized that there were four others in there with me: three women and a man. (HINT: This is where the Hell part comes in).
One of the women hacked and coughed continuously, to the point that I almost regretted declining that Whooping Cough shot earlier this week…almost. The other two women talked non-stop. The man was silent…until he wasn’t.
What was great, though, was that it was worth it. The movie was mostly absorbing and funny (reference: Tina Fey) and loud enough to drown out much of the talking. I think the best part, though, was that I could laugh out loud and tear up at will, without worrying about embarrassing various family members that might have accompanied me to the show. So yes. I laughed. I cried. So there.

Best line (that I can remember) from the movie:
“Cut yourself some slack…Anything can happen. Anything happens all the time.”

Still becoming

January 5, 2014 by Karen, posted in Adult children, Angels, family, good grief, Midlife Crisis, movies, no fear, relationships

When my mother was 51, she was busy getting ready to die, but she didn’t know this yet. Well, maybe she did know it on some level, but she never talked about it with me pre-diagnosis so I really can’t be sure. Certainly none of us, her children, her husband, knew it yet.

I’m 51. At 51, I feel like I am still becoming who I am. At 51, her life was drawing to a close.

Seeing The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has me thinking about things like this today. Walter Mitty is about many things. It’s about living your life, but also it’s about how you live it. You can spend it offsides, thinking about what you wish you were doing or imagining all that you’d like to (someday) do. Or, you can, at any time, decide to actually do the thing(s) that you thought you could not ever do.

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

― Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life

In the movie, it was a fine line. Walter Mitty crossed it. I don’t think that my mother ever crossed it. I am wondering if I have crossed it.

Interwoven throughout Mitty are images of his past that are meaningful to him. They are there to let him know that a) he is on the right track and that b) both of his parents, his dad who had died when he was 17, and his mother who was still alive and baking clementine cakes for him, were there supporting him every step of the way.

For me, the real message of this movie is this: No matter what, we are always our parents’ child.

Mirror Mirror

April 22, 2012April 22, 2012 by Karen, posted in family, friends, local fun, movies

I took my daughter and her friend to see Mirror Mirror today. I have to admit that I was disappointed that Julia Roberts was in the movie. I have a love-hate relationship with Julia: I love the movies she is in but I hate her. Okay, maybe that’s overstating it, but you get the idea.

I put this aside because I love the story of Snow White. Lily Collins (who is my new girl crush) plays Snow and she is perfect in this role. She makes Snow into a strong female who takes no crap from anyone. She learns how to defend herself. She doesn’t fall for the Prince’s lines. She gets him on her own terms. Just like in Tangled, this is a woman who saves her man. And herself. And her dad. And her kingdom.

The dwarves are a riot, like a peanut gallery. Or a Greek Chorus. They have a running dialogue that sometimes is off camera but hey, pay attention to their comments because they are hysterical.

The only thing I didn’t like was the sequence at the beginning. While Julia narrates the back story, a series of animated characters are shown that look like mannequins. I thought they were kind of creepy and could have done without them.

When the movie ends, stay put. There is a musical number at the end sung bySnow White: I believe (In Love)’. It’s worth watching. Full disclosure: I liked it so much that I found it on YouTube and watched it about a hundred more times after I got home.

Sometimes I get obsessed when I really like something.

The Hunger Games

April 16, 2012April 16, 2012 by Karen, posted in family, friends, local fun, movies

I went to see The Hunger Games last Saturday night with my daughter and her friend. I did not read any of the books in the trilogy (really) and didn’t have any clue about what to expect. My daughter had read some of the book and her friend had read all of it (actually, her friend had read all of the trilogy). Most of the women I know had read at least the first book.

I really had no interest in them, and I am a reader, so my family and friends were very surprised. But hey, it’s not like it’s the Twilight Series (yes, have read all of those books and seen all of those movies; go Edward!).

So, if there is anyone out there besides me who hasn’t been initiated, The Hunger Games is pretty disturbing. It’s kind of like Survivor, except that the losers all get killed. The beginning of the movie reminded me of the Ray Bradbury story, The Lottery. Remember that? The town’s folk all come out to see who wins the lottery, and the winner gets stoned to death by the crowd.

In The Hunger Games, the crowd usually gets to watch all but one of the 24 contestants get killed on Prime Time TV; it’s an annual event. Grossed out yet? One good thing: the blood and gore (knife slashings, neck breakings, and the like) are distorted by a trick of the camera, so you know what’s happening, but you don’t get the full brutal effect. My son (who works at The Wells Five Star Cinema) enlightened me about this: it’s so the movie can get its PG-13 rating. Works for me.

There were more adults in the theater than kids, so clearly these stories appeal to adults. The verdict? We three (a 49 year old and two 13 year olds) all liked it…so we gave it Three Thumbs Up!

Go see it!

Movie free association

February 28, 2012February 28, 2012 by Karen, posted in friends, Midlife Crisis, movies, yoga

I was in yoga class (small group, all women) last week and someone (okay, it was me) started talking about how Sleepless in Seattle had been on TV the night before.

Soon, everyone was mentioning their “go-to” movies, the ones that you have to watch whenever they are on TV, even if you have the DVD already, and even if it’s on Netflix.

Here’s the master chick-flick list:

Sleepless in Seattle
You’ve Got Mail
It Could Happen to You
The Wedding Planner
Must Love Dogs
The Bridges of Madison County
Something’s Got to Give
While You Were Sleeping
When Harry Met Sally
Say Anything

The men: George Clooney, Jack Black, Hugh Jackman, Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack…

Who’s YOUR favorite?

What are the movies that you have to watch whenever they come on TV (even if you already own the dvd/blu ray/video)?

Expand your horizons

February 11, 2012 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, friends, local fun, movies, quest for the best, tweens

Looking for something fun to do with your kids this weekend? How about a movie and a cupcake? That’s what my daughter and I did today and we had a great afternoon.

What to see? That was tricky. There is a dearth of family movies to choose from at the moment.

Do you like movies about nature? Do you like movies about animals? Do you like National Geographic-type programs?

I don’t, actually. Not much. I usually avoid them at all costs.

Big Miracle is a such a movie, but because it was the only option (and because we missed Glow Bowling) I decided to take my daughter to see it anyway. I brought my knitting, so the afternoon wouldn’t be a total loss. Well, the surprise is this: the movie was great. I loved it, and so did she. It’s a love story, but on many different levels. There was, of course, the usual man-woman relationship love, but also:

The whale parents’ love for their child
A grandfather’s love for his grandson
Everyone’s (eventual) love for the whales

I liked it so much that I was motivated to write this, to persuade you to go see it.

After that, I was in such a good mood that we went to get a cupcake from Somethin’ Sweet. Jen mentioned that she was working on a new cupcake: Peach Cobbler. Hello? It was totally a day for breaking out of my rut, because I almost always will choose a cupcake that has chocolate of some sort in it, but this time I went with the Peach.

It was a good decision. 🙂

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So, see a movie that you wouldn’t normally see. Eat a cupcake that isn’t chocolate. Better yet, share both with your tween!

Not wasting my vacation

January 2, 2012January 2, 2012 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, friends, Holidays, local fun, movies, restaurants, shopping, tweens, yoga

I think that it’s very important to get out of your rut–I mean, routine–on your vacation week. This is especially challenging, of course, if you are taking (yet another) staycation. Having part of your time off fall during the holidays can make it a little easier to break out…as in the “Hel-lo? What day is it?” situation in which I found myself just after Christmas. Still, the gym on Tuesday and Thursday, food shopping on Saturday line up could definitely stand some tweaking.

Sunday: Christmas. ‘Nuf said.

Monday: Clean up the house, rest up from the holiday, dinner at Olive Garden. Happily, I found the $4 off dinner coupon prior to paying and then remembered to use it.

Tuesday: Friends came over to make home-made, authentic egg rolls. Last time we made chicken and shrimp. This year, to change it up some (hey, it is vacation!) we made a third version: spicy pork, which ended up being a hit.

Wednesday: Pirates game (a present for the fam) after dinner at Binga’s Wingas (a present for Dad).

Thursday: Friends day. Lunch with former colleague for our rescheduled gift exchange, then scrapbooking for the first time in a year and a half, with more friends. The understanding kind that are not shocked that, despite your good intentions, you did not remember to organize your stuff and print out the Christmas pictures to use that day. Hey, it’s all about friends, right? UPDATE: This event did not actually happen and will be rescheduled. Instead, I went to Kohl’s and bought some cute things on clearance. Yay!

Friday: Shopping at the mall with my tween with her gift cards. Got an $89.50 fur-lined hoodie at Aeropostle for $10!!! This was followed by eating w/reckless disregard for the future at the Buffet of Gorging and Obscene Excess at the mall. Then we saw We Bought a Zoo at the movies. May I just say: Go. See. It. It was excellent. We both loved it. Movie watching was accompanied by popcorn and Peanut M+Ms (aka “the devil”).

Saturday: New Year’s Eve. Chinese buffet at East and Just Dance 3 on the Wii to work (some of ) it off. Yoga first thing in the morning.

Sunday: New Year’s Day: Pajama day! Read stack of books and magazines that have been piling up. Went for a walk. More Wii. And…let the healthy eating begin!!!! Egg whites, soup, salad were on the menu. Really.

One of the best vacations ever. 🙂

Date night: afternoon movie

June 23, 2011 by Karen, posted in baking, Date night, family, friends, movies, relationships

We haven’t had a babysitter in a while so we decided to watch a movie at home. Next up in the Netflix Queue was The Company Men. We found out about this movie from the preview of another movie (don’t ask me which one). I was surprised to know that it was a relatively recent movie starring Ben Affleck (and several other famous, well-liked actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner). I hadn’t heard a thing about it before seeing the preview.

I was very interested to see this movie because it deals with a topic that is all too familiar to many of us: being “downsized” from a job by a company that is “reorganizing”. I’m not a big fan of Ben Affleck but because the topic interested me (and the Q was getting a little lean) we got it.

Around the same time I was also reading Caitlin Shetterly’s memoir: Made for You and Me. Both the movie and the book are very honest (even raw at times) accounts of what it’s like when life as you know it does a 180 degree turn. The movie follows three men who lose their jobs and the effects (for better, for worse) that it has on them, their families, their friendships. The book also talks about how much having, or not having, a job influences all aspects of life.