Movie Round Up: What's Good

I have another movie review round up for you.  The only one available on Netflix streaming is really bad.  Sorry about that, but I included a really good Netflix documentary to make up for it.

The Age of Adeline
I love everything about Blake Lively in the role of Adeline.  Her hair.  Her wardrobe, especially that gorgeous black evening gown with the open back.  The way she spoke.  I even feel in love with the name.  Adeline.  So old fashioned, but so beautiful.  It actually makes me wish I had something to name just so I could use the name and call her Addy for short.  I might have to get a new doll.  Anyway, the move was incredible.  The cinematography was beautiful.  San Francisco is an extra character in the movie and was portrayed beautifully as well.  See this movie if you haven't. 5 STARS

The Martian
This one is not on DVD yet.  MJ is extremely picky when it comes to move and he gave it an A- so you know it has to be good. Matt Damon spent most of the film acting solo, and he did it with such humor and candor that I didn't even notice that most of his scenes were monologues.  Space is the stuff of nightmares for me.  Fascinating, yes-but I can't believe that people willingly go to a place millions of miles away that has no oxygen.  No oxygen.  It's just as scary as being 50 feet in the ocean and I want no part of either.  Without spoiling it let's just say I liked the ending of this movie better than Gravity. 5 STARS

John Wick
I really didn't know Keanu Reaves had this kind of role in him.  He was pretty bad ass in The Matrix, but in this movie he was a straight up, hard core hit-man killer.  Movies with a lot of killing tend to have really complicated plots, but this one was simple.  Russian mob guy's snot nosed son messes with the wrong guy and he will not rest until he seeks retribution. I don't think Keanu Reeves is a bad actor, but in every film there is something very wooden about his speech and mannerisms.  This was no exception.  There was a lot of killing, but at the same time a really quiet and calm feel to the entire movie. The body count piled up and all the characters remained calm, cool and collected.  Good movie. 3 STARS

Unfriended
So. Bad.  I felt like I had been duped after watching it and would have been really angry if I had seen it in a movie theatre.  The entire thing played out from behind a computer screen and was entirely based around the internet.  Definitely a sign of the times, but not a good one.  1  STAR

San Andreas
This movie had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.  It had action.  It had romance.  It had heart.  It had everything.  I'm a big fan of The Rock.  4  STARS

Dark Places
I'm kind of mad 'cause MJ wouldn't watch this one with me and he would have really like it.  I'm a big Charlize Theron fan and an added bonus was Chloe Grace Moretz.  Charlize portrays Libby Day, the sole survivor of the murder of her entire family for which her brother was accused of and serving jail time for 28 years.  It had an excellent plot twist and kept me guessing the entire time.  4 STARS

Little Accidents
I don't know how I stumbled upon this one, but it turned out to be a really good Indie flick.  The story follows the only survivor of a coal mining accident and the unrest that follows.  Then, a coal mining executive's son goes missing and things get even more complicated.  Elizabeth Banks is excellent as usual.  4  STARS 

127 Hours
I can't believe we finally watched this.  It has has been sitting in our queue for five years.  There wasn't really much else I wanted to see so I finally pushed it to the top.  I admit I only watched it out of pure fascination about how a guy could cut off his own arm, and there really isn't much to the movie but it was good. 3 STARS

6 Years (Taissa Farmiga-Netflix streaming)
This was a collection of scenes chronicling an extremely dysfunctional relationship mish mashed together to loosely resemble a story line and a plot.  I only watched it because of Farmiga.  There was no flow.  No cohesion.  No depth. The girlfriend was a total train wreck and the boyfriend was no prince, but it was obvious that the girl drove him to it.  Don't watch this movie. 1 STAR

Twinsters (Netflix streaming)
I have always had a fascination with twins.  I used to be mad at my mom for not making me a twin, which is ridiculous, but I was 10.  Identical twins separated at birth and adopted out to different countries find each other by chance and a beautiful love story between sisters begins.  It was so cute to watch these girls take such delight in not only having a blood sibling but one that looks exactly like them.  I don't see how anyone could not like this documentary.  5  STARS

More movie watching ideas here and here.

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Movie Reviews and Quotes

This post is made up of a bunch of movies I watched over a six week period.  I no longer remember which six period because it has been sitting in my drafts for so long.  These movies may be old news by now, but I will not let this post go wasted any longer.  I have a thing for movies and words. Each movie had a quote that really spoke to me.  I watch a lot of movies and like doing reviews so I made a handy dandy graphic with my grading scale and have another movie review post not far behind, that has also been sitting in my drafts for a little too long.

Imitation Game
Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.
That quote left me breathless.  This movie was AMAZING.  It was so, so good.  The story was a different side of World War II that I had never seen before.  I love Kiera Knightly-and she was amazing as always.  The story line was captivating, triumphant, inspirational and sad all at once.  A must see. *5 STARS

About Time
We're all traveling through time together everyday of our lives. All we can do is our best to relish this remarkable ride.
All I have to say is that it was about time I saw this movie.  It was so good and totally different than what I expected.  For some reason I thought it was going to be about star crossed lovers who couldn't be together because one of them was a time traveler.  I probably had this move mixed up with something else because it was not about that at all.  Instead it was the story of a man who is a time traveler, and wants more than anything to find his one true love.  I love this guys family and if I'm being honest, I kind of love this guy.  I love the relationship he had with his family, the relationship he had with his wife and the kind of father that he became.  I kept waiting for something terrible to happen to create a plot twist, but it just wasn't that kind of movie.  It was genuine and funny.  It really was about time...and love. *5 STARS

Laggies
A lot of the math they're teaching you that they swear you'll use in your life, you won't.  You're never gonna need parabolas and you really, really don't need to know shapes that have more than eight fuckin' sides.  You can't keep putting aside what you want for some imaginary future.  You've got to suck it up and go with your gut.
This was the story of a girl in her late twenties who refuses to grow up and randomly befriends a teenager outside of a liquor store one night.  I really like both lead actors, Kiera Knightly and Chloe Grace Moritz so I was drawn to this movie for that reason alone and they did not disappoint me.  I loved watching the relationship between unlikely friends grow.  All the characters were so chill.  I liked them all.  Definitely a good one to watch. *5 STARS

Skeleton Twins 
The rest of us are just walking around trying not to be disappointed with the way that our lives turned out.
I love Kristen Wiig as an actress and I usually love the characters that she plays because they are so flawed, endearing and real.  This movie was kind of morbid because it addresses suicide which may turn some people off but not me. I'm a ravenous movie watcher and not one to avoid a movie based on subject matter.  If it looks good, I'm going to watch it and even if I find out it sucks there is a good chance I'll finish watching it anyway.  This movie was mainly about the complicated relationship between two siblings and how it grew and changed over time. *4 STARS

Wild
My mother used to say something that drove me nuts. There is a sunrise and a sunset every day and you can choose to be there for it. You can put yourself in the way of beauty.
This was based on the true story of a woman in the midst of sabotaging her life after losing her mother.  She decides to set off alone to hike the Pacific Crest Trail which runs from the Mexico Border all the way up to Canada and typically takes about 3 months.  Crazy!  I'm way too chicken and hate being dirty way too much to do this, but it was interesting to watch the story of someone else with the guts to do it.  Alone no less.  Reese Witherspoon went au natural for the filming.  No make up, no deodorant and no razors.  She still looked good and I really liked her in this movie.  *4 STARS

Adult World
Not everybody can grow up to be Beyonce or the President.  Not everybody's talented okay? And fame doesn't meat shit.
A recent college graduate who wants to be a writer, tried to figure out what to do with her life.  I liked it.  I like Emma Roberts and I have liked John Cusack since The Sure Thing so that was the draw for me.  Not the most captivating, but good.  I don't regret spending the time watching it.
*3 STARS

Cake (Netflix Streaming)
Tell me a story where everything works out in the end for the evil witch.
A woman dealing with chronic pain investigates the suicide of a member of her support group.  I have never seen Jennifer Anniston look so rough.  She usually plays an it girl glossy character so it was interesting to see her in this role and nice to see that she has range as an actor and can do more than Rom Com's or comedy.  The movie takes its time answering a lot of the questions that you inevitably have as you watch which, keeps it interesting. *4 STARS

Endless Love
My first love was everything all at once  The kind that you never fall back from never try to never want to. A love so big so strong it never dies, never fades,  never loses it's electricity.  The kind of love you fight for.  The kind of boy you fight for.
First of all the Gabriella Wild who plays the lead character Jade Butterfield is gorgeous, and a really good actress.  I've not seen her in anything else and can only wonder why she isn't getting more work.  Her IMBD only has eight credits, none of which are anything I've really heard of.  I am a sucker for true love and romance so I loved this movie.  I loved how new intense young love was shown in contrast to her parent's lackluster and fading marriage. *4 STARS

The Duff
Yeah, I'm somebody's Duff, but guess what so are you, so is everybody.  There's always going to be somebody prettier, or more  talented or richer than you.   That shouldn't affect how you see yourself...I wouldn't want to be anybody else and I realize now that none of this matters to me, but it does to you.  It's your dream, and I totally support that but just don't tear me down for not giving a shit about your labels because in the end they're meaningless.
Do you know what DUFF stands for?  It's not nice.  I was not aware of that acronym until I heard about this movie.  It's a formula that has been repeated a million times over but people like it and it's entertaining, so here it is again.  Nerdy girl seeks out make over to get the guy and all the cliche characters in between including the mean popular girl and the hot football hunk.  It was slightly different in that the girl was not a total loser outcast and the make over bit was not overly dramatized.  I love coming of age stories and I always root for the underdog so I was very happy with the ending.  *3 STARS

Magic in The Moonlight
This movie was good but kind of boring if that makes any sense whatsoever.  I was attracted to it because of Emma Stone and I liked the story but I can't really rave about it that much.  It was just okay.  There was a lot of dialogue which is fine for me, but the movie just felt a little flat for me.  I would say skip it. *1 STAR

 
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Movies and Gloom

It's been a gray May.  Rain off and on (not enough considering the drought), misty, and mostly in the 60's.  Very unusual for San Diego.  I feel like I know what it's like to live in the Pacific NW.  Well, probably not quite, because even though it feels like it's been forever we probably haven't even touched the gloom that goes on there.  Day after day of consecutive gray skies without any sign of the sun is just slightly unsettling to me.  And gloomy.  I feel really bad for all those vacationers who came here expecting blue skies and sun.  I promise it's usually perfect this time of year; we're not just making it up.

Nothing to do with movies but it's the only pic I took all weekend AND my favorite snack lately

I didn't even realize it was a long weekend until a few days before and I'm actually glad I didn't have plans for the long weekend because if I did I probably would have been bummed.  I'm already a homebody by nature, and when the weather is chilly and gray and MJ is out of town, I retreat even more.  The weather definitely affects my mood and I'm just not as excited about doing things when it's gloomy.  I only left the house all weekend to pick up food (twice) and exercise (once).  I didn't even have to go grocery shopping; which was really odd, but greatly appreciated.  Other than that my weekend consisted of cleaning house, a lot of movies and a lot of You Tube videos.  I'm going through this phase where I obsessively watch ballet videos and documentaries on You Tube.  I got hooked on this City Ballet Series and now I totally regret my decision not purse a career as a ballerina and audition for the School of American Ballet in New York City.  Twice in one week, I dreamed I was a dancer on on pointe wearing a black leotard and pink tights.  I was long, lean and oh so graceful. It felt amazing, and then I woke up.

So about those movies.  Netflix sent us four instead of three for reason unknown (love it when they do that) so I had plenty to choose from.

Annie
I'm not usually the biggest fan of musicals but the second I saw the trailer for this I couldn't wait to see it.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE those classic Annie songs.  I broke out in goose bumps during Hard Knock Life, Tomorrow and Maybe.  It's not even just the songs themselves.  I love the songs, but it's also that I associate Annie with little girls having their dreams come true performing it on Broadway.  It is the quintessential plum role for a little girl to play on Broadway.  This is definitely one movie I'm better off watching alone because I sang the songs and danced, very badly so it was nice that there was no one there to judge me for it.  There were some cheesy parts, and other parts where the singing and dancing was a bit awkward, but what do you expect?  It's Annie; but I loved the modern spin on an old classic.

You're Not You
This one is available on Neflix for streaming. This was another movie that it's a good thing I watched alone because at the end I was sobbing.  Chest heaving, loud sobbing; the whole bit.  The ending was just so so painfully sad.  If you get emotional on movies there is no way that you won't cry watching this and if you NEVER cry on movies I dare you to see if you can get through this one without a tear.  Hilary Swank did an amazing job playing a character suffering from ALS.   What a terrible, horrible disease.  I ended up having to watch it on my laptop because as per usual whenever MJ leaves the technology in our house quits working and I couldn't get into Netflix on our TV.  

Godzilla
I fell asleep on this at the drive in when we went to see it because I am not capable of staying up for the second movie.  At the drive in you get two for the price of one but if we go to the night showing there is a good chance I'm only seeing one. MJ however, did not fall asleep so I specifically waited until he was gone to rent this one. 

Best of Me
This was a typical Nicholas Sparks movie.  Very sappy and full of the romantic angst that only star crossed lovers can produce but also very good.  I didn't cry until the very, very end. 

Big Eyes
I really like Amy Adams so I was excited to see this one.  I despised her scheming swindling husband and what he did to Amy Adam's character, but I loved everything else.  Interesting insight into the origins of Keane paintings, which I realize I've seen before but didn't really know anything about them.

Mad Max Fury Road
I'm throwing this one in there because we went to see this last weekend as our last date night for a while and it was AMAZING.  At first I was thinking, eh I don't know about this movie, but then it picked up.  Charlize Theron was outstanding.  Shaved hair, dirty, one armed, strong and beautiful.  She kicked some serious butt.  All the women were bad ass.  Just for kicks we watched the original Mad Max a while ago when we heard about the remake.  I'd seen it before and remember it being this ground breaking movie.  Watching it for the second time.  Well, it was just weird.  So weird.  And I guess that was ground breaking for that time.  I just don't remember it being that out there and actually kind of pointless.  Well, the remake was shiny and chrome.  You'll know what I'm talking about after you watch it, but you still won't understand what that actually means.  It was new yet still paid homage to the original Mad Max weirdness with on the road desert fighting scenes and strange characters.  The traveling battle guitarist has got to go.  That was just a little bit too much; but even still I have to say it fit.    

And that concludes my weekend recap.  

 
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About Walking Dead, Just Wondering

Is there anyone else still completely obsessed with The Walking Dead?  Dumb question.  The show has beat Sunday night football in ratings for three weeks in a row.  I can't even glance at Twitter until after I've watched it or else it's spoil alert city.  If that's not a hit show I don't know what is and if you aren't watching it yet you're missing out.

Spoiler alert: If you have not watched the episode from two weeks ago (Season 5, episode 5) you may not wish to continue reading.

Five seasons in and I'm still completely fascinated with this show.  The zombies, the plot twists, the raw exposure of human nature at it's worst.  The characters are so complex.  Some I've wished would die five episodes before they finally did.  I vowed I would quit watching the show if Herschel or Andrea died.  That was a lie of course, because there is no way I'm not watching this show.  Bob was a love hate character.  I hated him when he couldn't put down the bottle but he redeemed himself.  I still can't believe nobody cared about Bob as much as I did.  I'm the only one I know who cried for him and if anybody deserved tears it was him.  Seriously, that was a really bad way to go.  The worst.  How could you not cry for Bob?  Daryl was a love hate for me too.  I hated him almost as much as I hated his evil brother but now I think he is one of the most beloved characters on the show.  Now that I think about it, I've also love hated Herschel (may he rest in peace), Rick and Carl at different times.  Even sweet Beth was driving me nut at some point.  It's the kind of show where you don't know whether to pull your hair out or cover your eyes.  I know anything can happen, but it's really nice that they have gotten so efficient at zombie killing so I'm not terrified that everyone is going to die anymore.  Well, everyone except Eugene also known as liar liar pants on fire who needs to learn how to start taking care of himself now that the cat's out of the bag. I will shed no tears over his death.

This show has it all, but season after season I find myself asking some of the same questions, none of which have been answered to my satisfaction. 

+How are the women of Zombie Apocalypse land handling that time of the month?  It has to be dealt with. 

+It's obvious that they wear the same clothes every day, but are they wearing the same underwear everyday too?  I remember one episode last season when Beth found a sweater and looked clean for about half a second before a zombie killing ruined it.  The dirt, blood spatter, and vagabond lifestyle have to make cleanliness impossible.

+How bad is the body odor?  Between their rugged, outdoorsy active lifestyle, lack of deodorant, soap and toothpaste it must be pretty bad.  I'm assuming that even if they still had those things at one time they have to have run out by now.  I'm sure they can pillage some of them stuff on their runs but it has got to be hit and miss.

+How sexy can sexy time be at a time like this?  It's not happening a lot, but people are doing it and it seems a little awkward what with the lack of privacy, hygiene considerations and dead people running around.  Lori and Shane were the worst in season 1.  They had no shelter whatsoever at that time.  The apocalypse had just happened and she ended up pregnant.

+What are the men using to shave?  Rick is looking pretty scraggly lately, but I've seen people on Naked and Afraid with beards bushier then his after 21 days.  Glenn is smooth as a baby's butt and how does Abraham keep his mustache so nicely shaped?  I wouldn't know this type of man thing.  I suspect you can make a knife work, although it would be really tough without shaving cream. 

+I imagine Carol must be resorting to a knife to maintain that pixie cut.  It's also, not entirely unreasonable to think she may have scissors.

+How have they not wasted away to nothing?  Their entire life is one big giant work out that never ends what with all the keeping watch, miles of walking and zombie killing.  Their calorie expenditure cannot possibly be met with whatever squirrels and canned foods they find along the way and carry with them.

+Is baby Judith eating squirrels too?  She's a big girl now.  Surely, she has run out of powdered Milk by now.  What are they doing about diapers?

This is an example of the randomness that runs through my mind anytime I watch an apocalypse, on the run, war, type movie.  I'm a 1-2 shower a day kind of person, who is scared of spiders, very picky about food and feels anxious when my house is dirty.  Tent camping is hard core for me.  I am the definition of wimp and I already know that I would not manage well under those conditions and would have probably died or wanted to not to long after this whole thing broke out.  I don't even like eating meat off a bone so I don't know if I could bring myself to eat roadkill.  I'd like to think that I'd be as bad ass as all the girls on the show have become out of pure instinct for survival but I'm not so sure.  

More questions:
+How long has it been since all hell broke loose?  I haven't seen much of a change in weather conditions but that may or may not be that obvious in Atlanta.  Look at Carl.  I almost forgot that he was just a little boy when the show started.   His voice has changed and he looks so much older.  With everything that's happened and the size of Judith it's got to be at least two years.  Maybe more.  If it doesn't wrap up soon Chandler Riggs may age himself out of the role.  

+Why has Maggie never once mentioned Beth?  When Glenn was lost, she risked life and limb to find him even though she had no idea if he was alive or dead.  Not a peep about her sister Beth.

+Is it really that swift and easy to slice through bone to brains when you are stabbing someone in the head? I don't think I really want to know the answer to this one.

+I'll probably never find out if they are brushing their teeth, but what I really need to understand is what was so terrible about living in the hospital that Beth would rather jump down an elevator shaft into a basement of dead bodies to escape?  She was safe.  Outside she has to sleep in the dirt with one eye open to avoid being eaten by zombies.  That police lady (and her henchmen) seems a little off and they have to work to earn their keep but clean sheets and edible food sounds a lot better than the alternative for this clean freak.

I do realize that most of my questions, specifically those related to hygiene are completely non essential to the story line, which is pretty outrageous on it's own, but I can't help wondering.

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16 Good Movies You've Never Heard Of

I'm a movie lover.  I've had a movie by mail delivery service since Blockbuster's heyday back in 2004. I loved them until they made me mad and I had to quit them for Netflix.  Then they went out of business and I like to think I had something to do with it.  Independent films are hit and miss.  Some are just really really bad.  Some did everything right but something about it didn't quite come together.  Some are so good it's a shame they didn't get more attention and those are the ones I love to find.   Between being off work for three weeks and MJ being gone I had the opportunity to do a lot of movie watching.  Here are some Netflix diamonds in the rough that I found recently.  These are all movies that you may have never heard of and are available in the streaming section of Netflix.  Grab a bowl of popcorn and enjoy!!

Dirty girl

I was initially attracted to this because Juno Temple is in it.  I really liked her in Killer Joe (another must see).  She's a really good actress who plays a lot of really interesting characters.  She doesn't seem to go for the blockbuster movies and I really like that.  Once it started I realized that Milla Jovovich was in it and I love her so it was win win after that.  The movie is filled with awesome hits from the 80's so if you love 80's music that alone will pull you in.  The two lead characters are really deep and layered.  They are thrown together and it was really interesting to watch their relationship evolve.  I watched this one night in bed on my ipad.  I was already crying and then when Don't Cry Out Loud came on I pretty much lost it.  I was just crying alone in my bed like some crazy woman.  If you watch nothing else on my list watch this one!!

Stuck in love

I've loved Jennifer Connelly since Labryinth.  It also has Lily Collins, Greg Kinnear and Kristen Bell.  It has a coming of age story kind of feel spread across three totally different age brackets.  If you enjoy writing or want to be a writer this might inspire you a little bit.  My favorite quote is when Bill Borgens (played by Greg Kinnear) says:  A writer is the sum of their experiences. Get some.  I think all of us as bloggers can relate to that one.

Bachelorette

This movie was okay.  I guess I just expected it to be better.  I wasn't the biggest fan of Kirsten Dunst's character.  She was just too, TOO if that makes any sense.  I found myself getting really tired of hearing her speak towards the end and I ended up kind of despising the other three girls too.  They were all just so selfish.  Rebel Wilson was the nice girl in the movie.  She's normally typecast to be really rough around the edges so it was nice to see her play a different character even though she swung the other way and was way too nice that it was annoying.  

The Good Doctor

This one had a really dark ending.  The lead character played by Orlando Bloom was obviously very messed up in the head as you find out as the movie goes on.  He was a good doctor but he does something that totally violates that hippocratic oath that all doctors are sworn to.

The Details

This movie was quirky, cooky and very good.  Jeff (Tobey Maguire) makes one mistake after another as his life spins out of control and it's like watching a train wreck by the end of it.  It was over the top but just enough so that it made the movie stand out as something different and not something totally stupid.  I really like Elizabeth Banks, Tobey Maguire and Ray Liotta.

And While We Were Here

It's very character driven as opposed to story line driven and that can make a movie kind of slow at times.  I like Kate Bosworth so decided to give it a chance and see it through to the end anyway. 

Adore

I love Robin Wright Penn and Naomi Watts.  These ladies are in their mid-late 40's and they still have amazing bikini bodies.  It was perfectly cast as it was realistic to think that both of them could hook the interest of younger men in such a bizarre love square.  Yes, love square.  It's not exactly a triangle.

The Place Beyond The Pines

The story line started out one way and then half way through totally changed focus.  I liked seeing Eva Mendes play such a complex interesting character.  Most people like Ryan Gosling but I like Bradley Cooper more and they are both in it.  MJ is a very tough movie critic and even he liked this one. It's the only one on the list that I did not watch alone.

Meet Bill

This movie was very real.   I totally related to Bill as he struggled to figure out how he fit into his own life.  His character was grounded in reality so even though he was a 40 something male I found that I could still relate to him.  My favorite quote from the whole movie is when Bill says, Working sucks. No matter what you do you make sure you make a lot of money doing it. Because it all sucks.  Elizabeth Banks again!  Love her.  (I don't know if this is in Netflix anymore.  I couldn't find it listed.)

How I live Now

I've liked Saoirse Ronan since I first saw her in Atonement.  This movie definitely had an odd sort of indy feel to it.  There were parts that I wasn't really sure what to make of but the acting was really good.  The storyline was typical in that it was the whole end of the world thing but it had a different vibe that set it apart from others like it.

Contracted

This movie was gross because of what happens to the lead character.  She contracts some horrible disease and the changes that she goes through are disgusting.  Some of the acting wasn't the greatest but it had me really intrigued and wanting to know more all the way up until the end when they did something I hate in a movie.  I was really mad but at the same time I still felt it was a unique enough movie to add to the list.

We Are What We Are

I consider myself a hardcore horror movie lover and if that is not your thing then this movie might be a little much for you.  There is cannibalism involved.  I really liked it but this kind of movie is not for everyone so proceed with caution.  I would also put Chained in this category.  Deeply disturbing and definitely not for everyone.

Compliance

It's basically a prank call gone way too far that ultimately results in a criminal arrest.  As I was watching the movie I couldn't believe what these people were doing just because someone on the phone told them to.  It seems like something that could never happen but apparently it's loosely based on a true story.  It's pretty disturbing to think of the power that an authority figure can have over people pushing them to do things that they know is wrong.  I have never heard of any of the actors in this movie.

Trishna

This one had a really shocking ending and left me wondering WHY but it was a really good movie.  If you liked Frieda Pinto from Slumdog Millionaire she's the female lead in this one.  If you haven't seen that movie I don't know where you've been! It was great.  Trishna follows the story of a girl growing up poor in rural India and follows her journey as she works to help support her family and falls in love with a rich boy from the upper class.

The Truth about emanuel
This one was pretty good too.  Jessica Biel plays one of the lead characters.  It's about a girl dealing with the death of her mother who meets someone who is also dealing with a death.  They have a connection and help each other in a way they probably never expected.

NOW IS GOOD
I've been a Dakota Fanning fan since she stole the show with Sean Penn in I Am Sam.  She was amazing as a little girl and still is.  Her sister Elle Fanning is the same.  I guess they were born for it.  This is your typical girl dying of a terminal disease falls in love with boy story.  I've seen it a million times and there is another one that just came out called Fault in Our Stars.  Such a sad, sad storyline but people like it so they keep making them.  Dakota works an English accent in this one and had me in tears at the end.  If a movie like this doesn't make you cry they did it wrong.

Don't waste your time on Slightly Single in LA.  It's just off.  Lacy Chabert of Party of Five fame must be getting hard up for roles. Drinking Buddies was not so great either.  It was just so dry.  Olivia Wilde what were you thinking? Anna Kendrick you can do better.  I'm thinking these are both movies that could have and should have been better but something about them fell flat.  It happens.

Other DVD's that I've watched recently (not available on Netflix streaming):
The Book Thief is a very special movie and is definitely a must see.  The story, the acting, the emotion.  It was all good.  I cried and cried at the end.  A super scary one is Evil Dead.  If you have a taste for chilling horror flicks this is a good one.  It even had me covering my eyes.  I also liked  People Like Us (more Elizabeth Banks). 

Yes.  I watch A LOT of movies!  If you have already seen these or end up watching any of them I'd love to know what you think.

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Walter Mitty and Chocolate Cake

Saturday was date night.  We went to Cineopolis to see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  I loved it.  It's one of those feel good movies that makes me feel enlightened and enriched in some way just from having watched it.  It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  I'm surprised I didn't cry. 

Walter Mitty is your average Joe like anyone else.  He's been working in the basement level of Life Magazine for 16 years in the negative assets department and stresses out about keeping the bills paid.  Life Magazine is transitioning from the print version of to Life Magazine Online.  He is the timid, worker bee who hope that he still has a job when it's all said and done who is belittled by the hot shot jerk of a younger guy in charge of overseeing the transition.  Day to day life is pretty mundane except when he goes into one of his trances and thinks of all the things he wishes he had the guts to say or the super human abilities to do.  I think we all kind of do that.  What if.  If only.  One day.  I wish.  Then suddenly he finds himself going to places and doing those things that he only dreamed about before.  He goes from underdog to trailblazer and with it comes a confidence that he didn't have before. 

In the movie the Life Magazine mission statement is: “To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”  The words are vague and broad and yet so universally specific at the same time.  I think we can all find meaning in it.

One of my favorite quotes from the movie is when one of the characters says, "Beautiful things don't ask for attention."  This really stood out for me in it's simplicity.  In this day and age of me, me, me and the non stop social media attention seeking frenzy it's a really refreshing way to look at things.  What makes you beautiful?  Your great smile or 100 likes on Instagram?  Just be. Do beautiful things and be your beautiful self without regard to who's watching and what everyone thinks about it.  That in and of itself is beautiful.

The movie definitely raises some questions in terms of how realistic it is.  Is there really a Papa John's in Greenland?  Is it really possible to get cell phone reception in Iceland?  Is e Harmony really $500 per year?  But it's a movie.  I loved the storyline so much that I really didn't care about the actual reality of such things.  The acting was great, the characters were touching and I loved the story and there was even a little bit of romance.  I give it a thumbs up.

After the movie MJ was in the mood for chocolate so we went over to this really cute restaurant called D Bar.  We sat at the dessert bar so we got to see the chef's putting together all of these tasty looking desserts.  This three layer chocolate cake was really good and it came with a vanilla shake.  How adorable is this presentation?  They really pay attention to detail there.  The couple next to us had Bacon Macaroni and Cheese that looked really good so we will be going back and that's definitely what I'll be getting. 

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I Watch Too Much TV

I admit it.  I watch a hell of a lot of TV.  Or do I really?  It sure looks that way based on this looooong list of shows that I've been watching or plan to watch.  Is it any surprise that most of the TV watching I do is made up of non scripted shows?  And don't you just love this whole scripted vs non scripted distinction?  It's funny to think that there is a generation of children who don't know a day before reality TV and Reality TV "stars" existed.  I'm really picky about adding any new shows to my lineup because it's already so full.  Reality TV has taken over and I let it happen.  Oh goodness.  What am I doing with my life?

OVER 
Naked and Afraid
This show is nuts! Somehow I came across it on the Discovery Channel.  The title alone piqued my curiosity.  I tried to convince myself that I wasn't really watching it by not scheduling it to record in my DVR.  I recorded it episode by episode on my Direct TV app.  But who was I kidding?  I was hooked.  And I watched every single episode.  They take two people; a man and a woman with specialized survivalist skills and drop them into the middle of nowhere totally naked with only one survival item each for 21 days.  The camera crew is not to intervene unless there is a medical emergency. These people are hard core to even think about doing this if you asked me.  The swamps of the Bayou and the jungles of Panama are just two dreadful examples of places these people have been dumped.  There are snakes, alligators and leeches among other horrible creatures lurking all around them.  The couple in the Bayou were basically living in a swamp. Every person on the show has lost at least 18 lbs from near starvation and dehydration.  Talk about a crazy crash diet.  I would die! I'm afraid of any and all bugs.  I'm even afraid of fish.  I would not last a minute. They are casting for the next season if anyone is crazy enough or has a death wish.


ON NOW
Breaking Amish: LA
I watched Breaking Amish: Brave New World when they went to NYC too.  That title.  How dramatic can you get?  Well the shenanigans on that show definitely lived up to it.  There was so much ridiculous drama that I'm convinced it has to be fake.  It's like they were purposefully acting like jerks just so they would have stuff to fight about.  The only person I could tolerate by the end of the season was Kate; and they all seemed to gang up on her just for kicks.  LA is more of the same.  They get on a plane, experience electricity and running water for the first time.  Then they wear "English" clothes for the first time.  Once they step out of those farm clothes the madness begins.  This season is even worse.  There is already a bonafide witch and a lesbian sex scandal.  

Dance Mom's
Yep.  Still watching.  Abby is so critical.  She plays favorites and intentionally tries to pit the girls against each other.  She would adopt Maddie if Melissa would let her and she makes no secret of her distaste for Chloe, Brooke and Paige.  All the mom's do is yell and argue.  They basically seem to hate each other.  They  introduce new mom's into the mix just hoping for a fight and it usually happens.  Some of the mom's are so immature it's ridiculous.  They cuss, call each other names and get up in each others faces.  It's really bad!  The most refreshing thing about this show is how much the girls genuinely seem care about one another even when Abby is obviously trying to play one against the other.  The hugs and the kisses and words of encouragement that they give each other takes a backseat to all the drama but I can tell these girls are close in spite of all the drama.  I love watching them dance.  They are so talented.  Mj and I usually watch this together but it's really "my" show so he'll just have to miss out or catch up.  Which he won't, so I'll just tell him what happened.

Breaking Pointe
This is a Summer show and is only about 6 weeks long.  It came on last Summer and I deleted it from my DVR because I didn't think it would ever come on again.  I'm so glad I didn't miss it.  This is a behind the scenes drama filled look at Ballet West out of Salt Lake City, UT.  I'm totally intrigued my the concept of being a professional ballerina and I love Ballet so even though I really wish there was more ballet and more about ballet life then just drama I really enjoy watching the show.

America's Next Top Model
This show has been around for 10 years!! And I kid you not.  I have watched every single episode.  Every one!!! Even before I had DVR.  I love watching the girls compete and I love watching someone's dream come true at the end.  And it really does.  You don't even have to win the show to end up being a working model.  If you aren't a die hard fan of the show you may not notice it but I spot ANTM discoveries all over the place.  They fired all the original judges last season with I wasn't too thrilled about.  This season they are changing it up again by allowing Men to compete for the first time ever.  I wasn't too thrilled about that at all.  I just wasn't interested in  watching men model but a few episodes in and it turns out it's not so bad.  The men cry just like the girls when they get eliminated. 

So You Think You Can Dance
So you'd think I'd be watching this show since I love Dance but it turns out that I just couldn't do it.  I watched the first part of the season where they were still doing auditions and trying to make it to the audience vote portion.  I really liked watching the stories behind each dancer.  I even watched the first top 20 elimination show and then I remembered why I can't watch.  It's too damn long!!  I know I'm a TV junkie and all but even with the fast forwarding I cannot commit to watching a show that is 2 hours long every single week.  It's ridiculous.  Every week people get cut and yet the show is still 2 hours long! The dancers are positively amazing and talented.  I am so impressed with the beautiful things they can do with their bodies but I see it as a big time commitment and I just can't do it.  

COMING SOON
Cheer Perfection
I wasn't so sure if this would be back for another season either.  The mom's on this show; one in particular are outrageous.  I used to be a cheerleader so I have to watch it.  Really, I have no choice.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Teen Mom 3
Time for some fresh meat.  I wasn't sure that this show would be back again but the stars have been chosen and even though I kinda don't want to I will be watching.  Why are the girls always from the South or the Midwest?  I'm pretty sure there are teen mom's on the West Coast too.  I'm thinking it might be the last group of Teen Mom's.

Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition
I watched the first season and I'm so glad it's coming back.  They compete each week and one girl wins a dance scholarship to a prestigious ballet company and lots of money.  There will be tons of cat fights and drama of course.  And I love watching the girls dance.  This year the girls look a bit older.

As far as "scripted' shows go we both watch Breaking Bad and have just started getting into Orange is the New Black.  I have this weird prison fascination so that show is perfect for me.  I'm being a good wife and not watching either one until Mj gets back.  If anyone spoils the Breaking Bad season finale for me I'm going to be pissed! We also watch Modern Family which starts up again next month.  House Hunters and Property Virgins seems to be on hiatus at the moment but I'm still watching those too.  We also watch Son's of Anarchy.  A season that we missed is currently piling up in our DVR.  I can't believe I only watch 4 non reality TV shows.  And notice how none of them are shows that I watch all on my own?

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Life Lessons From The Office

The people on The Office are weird.  Only three of them are normal.  Pam, Jim and Darryl.  Okay, and maybe Erin when she's not being so dense.  There is nothing outwardly desirable or interesting about their life.  Their clothes are blah.  Their jobs are blah.  Their lives are one big blah.  They are working 9-5 stiffs at a paper company.  Could there be anything more boring then paper?  In a boring town that nobody would ever really want to visit.  And their office parties are terrible.  

 

People don't want to see that.  They like watching young beautiful people who look like they fell out of a magazine working at glamorous jobs, wearing the latest fashions and doing trendy things.

Except maybe that's not always the case.  Maybe sometimes people get tired of all that high gloss perfection.  Sometimes we just want to see normal people doing ordinary things.  Well, actually there is nothing normal about Dwight and Kevin or about Andy crapping on the hood of a car but still.  In general, they are just regular people.  Like me.  They are flawed.  Goofy.  They are not Forever 21 and they don't always make sense.  They go to work in a colorless office building, sit in the same desk and see the same people every day.  They go to meetings in the conference room.  They joke around.  They meet up for happy hour.  They become friends.  The months turn into years.  I can relate.  I get to do really fun things and I savor my weekends off but by and large because it happens five out of seven days of the week the day to day is about going to work.  It's a normal every day sometimes hum drum life and I liked seeing it on TV In all of it's embarrassingly awkward yet funny yet what the hell just happened glory.  It's way more exciting then what goes on in my office but at the same time so real. And really bizarre.

The Office figured out a way to make ordinary interesting and there is nothing ordinary about how interesting these ordinary characters could be and how they kept people wanting more for 9 seasons.  

When my husband was getting ready to delete the very last episode from our DVR I made him stop.

Why?  Because.  I just wasn't ready to let it go yet.  I have a thing for words.  I love words that make me feel something inside.  The quotes at the end of the show were so moving.  I guess I just wanted to hear them said one more time.  And I didn't want to forget.

It took me so long to do so many important things.  It's just hard to accept that I spent so many years being less happy then I could've been.  Be strong.  Trust yourself.  Love yourself.  Conquer your fears.  Just go after what you want and act fast because life just isn't that long.  -Pam

If you film anybody long enough they're going to do something stupid. It's only human natural.  (big goofy smile) -Kevin

When are we all going to be here?  Together again?  -Angela

If you are ever in the area.  You'll have a place to stay.  In my barn.  -Dwight

I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.  Someone should right a song about that. -Andy

You take something ordinary, like a piece of paper.  It's not much. But if you see it in the right way......-Oscar

How did you do it?  How did you capture what it was really like.  How we felt?  How we made each other laugh? And how we got through the day.  How did you do it?  Also, how do cameras work? -Erin

Everyday when I came to work all I wanted to do was leave.  So why in the world does it feel so hard to leave right now? -Darryl

No matter how you get there or where you end up.  Human beings have this miraculous gift to make that place home. -Creed

I worked for a paper company all these years and I never wrote anything down.  -Phyllis

Even if I didn't love every minute of it.  Everything I have I owe to this job.  This stupid, wonderful, boring, amazing job. -Jim

There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things.  Isn't that kind of the point?  -Pam

Who knew those nutty people could be so worldly and wise?  Here's my takeaway from The Office. 

• True love will find a way.  
• There is significant value as human beings in every single one of us.  
• Every person we meet touches our life in some way whether you realize it or not.  
• Don't forget to take delight in the ordinary every day joys of life.  
• Be present and soak it all in.  
• Life is not always perfect or what you expected but it's still yours and it has the potential to be whatever you want it to be so it's up to you to make the best of it. 

Movie Madness Rant

I've been with Blockbuster for the last eight years.  Back in the old days when I was single, living alone in a studio and broke watching movies was the highlight of my week.  Who am I kidding.  It was one of the highlights of my life.  Between in store exchanges and movies by mail I was watching a new movie almost every day and spending a lot less money then it would cost me to rent them individually.  I still remember the day I walked in and found that the supply of VHS tapes was very limited that the movie selections had dwindled.  I was forced to upgrade to a DVD player.

Mj and I both love to watch movies.  When I met him he had a Blockbuster online account too so he cancelled his and we kept mine.  It was fun to still have the option to rent movies the old school way by going to the actual store and picking it out.  We still had the mail movies and there were no due dates so it was all very convenient and cost effective. 

Over the last year the store nearest to my house finally shut down.  It was one of the last to go.  It's a sign of the times and I accepted it and as long as I could still get new release movies conveniently, and I was but apparently those days are over.  The service at Blockbuster pretty much sucks right now.  I've had House at the End of the Street at the top of my queue for months.  It's on Very Long Wait along with everything else we want to see so they keep sending me filler crap from the bottom of my queue.  Everything at the top is either very long wait, long wait or short wait so we're hardly getting any movies that we really want to see.  I don't want to buy it on demand or go to Red Box just so I can finally see the darn movie when I'm paying for a service that's supposed to send it to me.  The turnaround time on receiving movies is excellent; the problem is that I'm not getting the ones I want.

They have some on demand service for TV, tablets, computers or phone that I could look into.  Netflix may be a viable option.  I don't know how their wait list situation is but I think they are more expensive.  They are $7.99 per month with $2 extra per month if I want Blu Ray and that's only for 1 movie out at at a time per month.  I can't even find a price list for any other options.  We already have Netflix streaming but most of the movies are pretty old.  I don't want to do Red Box because I've been spoiled and haven't had a due date on rentals in years and I don't want to start now.  It just feels like a hassle to actually have to drive somewhere to pick it up and bring it back at a certain time.  I have a hard enough time just getting my mail movies out to my mailbox.  I definitely don't want to get movie channels because our cable bill is high enough and they show the same movies over and over.  We DVR what we want during the free weekends.  We could get rid of Blockbuster and just order movies On Demand but at $4.99 per movie Blockbuster is a much better bargain at $18 monthly for 3 movies out at a time unlimited.  When it works.  

I have no idea why Blockbuster won't increase their inventory so that they can meet customer demand.  That's the obvious solution right?  Unless they don't want to spend the money or just don't care.  When I tried to send them an e mail to complain I couldn't even get the darn thing to send.  I just kept getting a stupid circle going round and round saying submitting when that clearly wasn't happening.  So I can't get the movies I want OR complain about it? Sigh.  What's a movie loving girl to do?  Complain here on her blog that's what.  Maybe they will find this post and call me up to offer free service for life with preferential movie access to win back my love.  Not likely, but at least I get to vent.  So that is my rant for the day.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to rectify this problem I'm all ears.

May Update:  I contacted them on twitter a few days after this post was written.  They got  back to me right away which was nice.  They could not get me House at the End of the Street but did give me a one month credit on my account and I very much appreciated it.  However, the problem remains.  We are still only getting movies at the bottom of our list.  Last week my husband signed up for a Netflix free trial.  I put House at the End of the Street at the top and we got it immediately.  I could not get Blockbuster to send me that movie since it got released in January.  That's a long time to have wait for a movie.  Looks like we will be switching.  I don't know why, but I'm sad about it.  I've been with them for so long.  They were the first ones doing this movies in the mail thing so I don't understand why they can't figure this out.  If they can't increase movie availability to serve their customers better I won't be the only one leaving.


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What I'm Not Watching and Why

Reality TV has gotten so out of control. Every single channel from Animal Planet to National Geographic has gotten in on the craze. Some I refuse to watch and others I'm hopelessly addicted to. 

Not Watching:

The Bachelor

It's way too long, way too much drama and nobody ever stays together.  I can't bear to watch the girls crying about how they love him and they don't get to spend enough time with him.  This guy that they just barely met and are somehow falling in love with.  I love it that Trista and Ryan actually met this way and stayed together but they are the exception and not the rule.  I lost hope that it would ever happen again so I stopped watching after the Melissa Rycroft season of The Bachelorette.

Starter Wives Confidential

Ridiculous.  I can't believe they made a show about a bunch of ex wives of famous people.  I don't know much about the show but all it took was one preview for me to say NO WAY!

Gypsy Sister's

I watched My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding but the buck stops here.  It was really interesting finding out about their culture and lifestyle but those sister's are crazy and I just don't feel like getting into their shenanigans.

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo 

I never watched this and never will.  This family is just too much for me.  I'm appalled and very turned off by a lot of the clips I've seen so even though I was curious at first left it alone.

American Idol

The last season I watched was when Ruben Stoddard won but up to that point I watched it religiously.  Sometimes I think about watching but I guess I just lost interest.

The Biggest Loser

Mj and I watched one season of this together.  It was so time consuming!  Two hour long episodes is just too much and I got annoyed that they only focus on exercise when diet accounts for a good 90% of weight loss.  I wish they would show more on what they are eating and the challenges of trying to maintain a healthy diet.  I thought about watching again since Jillian Michaels is back but didn't.

Real Housewives of Anything

I watched Orange County, New York and a few seasons of Atlanta then I quit.  I got sick of watching these people living their excessive lifestyles.  It was too much fighting, arguing and drama among people that aren't even friends.  If they hated each other so much they wouldn't hang out but they do because they are thrown together for the show and the drama that they will hopefully create.  I can't stand watching spoiled grown women act so immature and petty.

There might be a bunch that I won't watch but I have plenty of guilty pleasures that I can't get enough of.

Watching:

[Photo Source]

Dance Mom's

This is one of my favorites!  I love watching these talented girls perform.  They are so cute.  Chloe is my favorite and she was getting a lot more solos but is now suspended.  Maddie has fallen from grace but seems to be on her way back up after finally getting another solo and winning.  Abby is straight evil.  It's not just being a tough teacher she is down right rude and mean.   The mom's react to it of course and then it's just this terrible yelling match and power struggle.  It's getting harder and harder to watch.  Just when I think it can't get crazier it does.  The moms are upset and screaming, the kids are crying.  I don't know how these girls focus on their dancing with all the drama going on.  There has got to be another dance studio in Pennsylvania that they can go to.   There is so much jaw dropping drama on this show that Mj has even started watching it with me.

Toddlers and Tiara's

I know, I know.  It's so terrible that these little girls are wearing more make-up then I do, fake nails, fake lashes, fake teeth, fake hair, tanning and then being trotted out onto a stage to be judged on their facial beauty.  I removed it from my DVR one season only to manually record a bunch of them and add it back the next season.  I'm fascinated by mom's who spend thousands of dollars on these pageants and the little girls who control them.  There are even a few pageant Dad's that seem to love it.

Cheer Perfection

I used to be a cheerleader.  I can't not watch this show.  I like watching the girls perform at practice and competitions.  This show comes with it's own set of mama drama.  Anne in particular drives me crazy because for some reason I haven't figured out yet she thinks she's way better then everyone else.  How superior can you be if you think that when you go #2 on a coach bus it falls into the street. 

 

Teen Mom 2

Uggg.  I did a whole rant about this one.  You can find it here.  19 year old Leah who is already a mother to twins had a miscarriage which is indeed sad but she was beyond foolish for wanting another baby in the first place.  Chelsea is still having unprotected sex with the father of her child who is an absolute mean jerk.  I mean really.  Haven't these girls learned their lesson?  The new season starts up again next week and according to the previews the drama is a MOTHER and I'll be right there watching it.  As annoyed as I get with these girls I can't help it.

The Face

I will watch any and all modeling reality TV shows because I love modeling.  This is a new one on Oxygen and Nigel Barker who got booted off of the judging panel of America's Next Top Model is the host.  Successful models Karolina Kurkova, Coco Rocha and Naomi Campbell each lead teams in challenges against each other but only one girl will be the face of an Ulta campaign.   I predict lots of drama, cat fights and tears as one by one their modeling dream shatters.  Too bad Oxygen doesn't have an HD channel.

House Hunters

Always!  Mj is way over it but I never get sick of this one.  The only drama on this show is when couples don't agree on if they should live in the city or the suburbs.

We got into Walking Dead, Son's of Anarchy and Breaking Bad on Netflix.  I didn't even want to start watching those.  We also watch Modern Family and The Office together.   Those are my "scripted" shows.  I love how there is now that distinction of scripted vs non scripted since reality TV has taken over.  There are so many good shows I'm not watching and that's fine with me because I don't want to spend time watching them.  The Carrie Diaries looks really cute and Smash looks like my kind of show. Mj's watching The Followers and The Americans but I can't  want get involved.  As much as I love my couch I don't want to spend my life on it watching TV. 

Beyonce Bowl

I'm not a football fan.  Never have been.  I want to be because all of America is so obsessed with it and I tried but I just can't really get into it.  Five years ago I had no clue what a down was or what the hell they were throwing the ball and tumbling all over each other for.   I made it a point to figure it out so I could at least follow along.  It was that year the Patriots won like every game except the super bowl and because Tom Brady kept throwing the ball from down to down it finally clicked for me what was supposed to be happening.  For me Super Bowl Sunday is less about the game and more about watching the commercials, what gathering I'm going to and what food will be there.  Mj and I got invited to my girl friend's house where she had a nice spread of junky party food for me to stuff my face with.  There was that awesome zero calorie margarita mix that I mixed with Tequila.  Yes, zero calorie!  But I ate so many chips that even that couldn't save me.  I'll be paying for it at the gym tonight.  I sat there and watched the whole first half of the game but after that I got distracted.

[Pic Source:  via google images Getty Images/Christopher Polk]

I loved Jennifer Hudson's performance of America the Beautiful and Alicia Keys and her piano definitely did the National Anthem justice.  Beyonce's performance was AMAZING.  I wish I could move like her but all I got is the two step.  She dances and tosses that big hair around like no other.  The way she struts, that fierce look in her eye, that big voice and the way she rocks a leather leotard is mesmerizing.  She is so pretty and so talented that when I'm watching her I kinda wish I could be her for just a second to see what that feels like.  She puts her whole heart into a performance.  I've seem her perform live once and she's incredible.  I thought it was cool that she had Kelly and Michelle perform with her because I'm guessing she really didn't have to share the spotlight with them.  I loved hearing those old Destiny's Child songs and then she did Halo which is one of my all time fav love songs.  All those women stole the show. 

Then the power went out.  After this a lot of the girls at the party checked out.  My friend is totally obsessed with Beyonce.  The only reason she wanted a super bowl party in the first place was so she could watch the half time show with her friends so girls outnumbered the guys.  She made up all these Beyonce themed challenges so we could compete against each other for Mardi Gras beads.  The guys were like, WTF is going on, but I thought it was fun.  We were having a good old time chatting and carrying on for most of the 2nd half.  I understand that the 49ers did a good job of coming back and that it turned out to be a pretty exciting game.  Not that I saw a lot of it.  I was rooting for the Ravens to win because I wanted Ray Lewis to go out with a ring.  It doesn't bother me that he cries a lot before and after the game.  I think it's sexy that a big strong football player isn't afraid to show his emotions like that.  I'm glad they won but what I'll remember most about this superbowl is the awesomeness that is Beyonce and how bizarre it was that the power went out.