Movie Reviews

Time for some LTD movie reviews...

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
I don't care what anybody says, I love the X-Men series of movies. In X-Men 2, when Jean dies (oops, sorry if that's a spoiler for anyone), they show Scott crying and Wolverine so upset because he secretly loved her and I get emotional too. I can't handle it when guys cry. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is an amazing character and I think he plays the role so perfectly. This movie was full of action and the awesome mutant special effects typical of the other X-Men movies that have been made. You also see previews of other X-Men characters which James helped to explain to me so shoutout to him. Overall, love all of these movies and this one was great too. Two thumbs up.


Up in the Air
This movie was fantastic. George Clooney plays a guy who works for a company that gets hired to fire people and he spends the majority of his year flying to different locations doing his work. I don't want to say too much else and give anything away, but if you haven't seen this one yet do yourself a favor. It's humorous and sweet in some places and serious and emotional in others and the relationships. Great casting, great story, pick this one up right away. Two thumbs up.


Away We Go
Another rave review from LTD, this movie, though probably not very well known, was awesome. Jim from The Office and Maya Rudolph from SNL play a couple who get pregnant unexpectedly and go on a search to find the perfect place to live and raise their child. Along the way they meet an incredibly hilarious cast of characters, including Maggie Gyllenhaal as an over the top hippie who refuses to buy strollers for her kids. Jim from The Office and Maya Rudolph have great chemistry together and it was great to see Maya Rudolph in a more serious role than what we're used to seeing. The script is witty and clever, yet also emotionally engaging throughout. Love, love, love this movie! Two thumbs up.


Gossip Girl, Seasons 1 and 2
I'm through two seasons of Gossip Girl and this show is pretty good, not gonna lie. I'm not really going to go on and on about it but I'm entertained and I even find myself pulling for a few characters. Blake Lively is too pretty though. I mean honestly, share the wealth girl. Excited to see what season 3 has in store for me.

Book Review: Alice I Have Been

Alice I Have Been
Author: Melanie Benjamin
Genre: Historical fiction
Number of Pages: 400
Where I Got It: Library


First line: "Off with their - legs."

You've read the story (or seen the Disney movie) millions of times, but have you ever wondered who exactly is Alice in Wonderland? Melanie Benjamin tackles that very question, mixing historical facts with fiction to create the character of Alice. As Alice grows from a young girl to a wife and mother and then to an elderly lady, she is constantly haunted by her second identity as Alice in Wonderland and it's an identity she'd rather not be associated with. As she constantly tries to denounce her association with the book and with Charles Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll, she finally realizes that perhaps as much as she tries to fight it, she really is Alice after all.

I can't quite figure out why I liked this book so much, but it was fantastic. Great character development, great storyline, with just a bit of mystery and honestly a creepy undertone throughout the story. Throughout the entire book, you have a feeling that there's something that's just not right when it comes to the relationship Mr. Dodgson has with Alice and her sisters, but Benjamin never outright lays out anything specific that occurs between Mr. Dodgson and Alice. Instead, she depicts their "friendship" through the innocent eyes of Alice whose childhood affection for Mr. Dodgson overshadows any disturbing and inappropriate relationship that might be implied. Yet, you're still left with uncomfortable feelings that something isn't quite right.  It's pretty brilliant.

Secondly, Benjamin stays really close to try facts and historical events and that makes the story even more fascinating. There is a long note at the end of the book that discusses what is fact and what is fiction and that alone made me want to research who Alice was and the life she lived.

Overall, a very creative and well-written story that had me drawn in from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Coming Up Next: A Tree Grow in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The book follows Francie Nolan and her family in Brooklyn in the early 1900s. At the start of the book, Francie is 11 in 1912 and the story continues through her 16th year. Francie's family is poor - her mother is a maid and her father is a singing waiter who works when he is sober enough to get a night's pay. So Francie and her younger brother Neely learn the hard way about just how tough the world is. But they also learn about life's simple pleasures and what beauty lies in the small things.

Book Review: Admission

Admission 
Author: Jean Hanff Korelitz
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 464
Where I Got It: Own it

First line: "The flight from Newark to Hartford took no more than fifty-eight minutes, but she still managed to get her heart broken three times."

Portia Nathan is an admissions officer at Princeton who lives a quiet, ordinary life with her partner of 16 years Mark. She travels to different schools on the East coast, pitching Princeton to students and then sorting through thousands of applications to choose the best of the best. Then she runs into John, a man who remembers her  from when they both attended Dartmouth, and their meeting forces Portia to revisit a part of her past that she has buried deeply.

I kind of hated this book.

The parts where the admissions process is described was really fascinating.  To get an inside look at this exclusive process and the thoughts that go through someone in Portia's position was really interesting and even motivates me to read more about that.

Then there was the rest of the book. Just when I thought we were getting into something good, it fizzled out. There was too much self-reflection and inner monologue.  Too much of Portia analyzing the system of admissions, the system of admissions at Princeton, the meeting with John, the repercussions of that meeting... the overanalysis just seemed to make the story drag so much.

The final big reveal was a letdown as well - a bit too unbelievable for my taste. Overall, I just didn't enjoy this book.

Final Rating: 2 out of 5


Coming Up Next: Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
Blending fact with fiction, Melanie Benjamin weaves together the story of who is Alice from Alice in Wonderland. Born into a Victorian family of privilege, free-spirited Alice catches the attention of family friend Dodgson and serves as the muse for both his photography and writing. Their bond, however, is misunderstood by Alice's family, and though she is forced to sever their friendship, she is forever haunted by their connection as her life becomes something of a chain of heartbreaks. As an adult, Alice tries to escape her past, but it is only when she finally embraces it that she truly finds the happiness that eluded her. Focusing on three eras in Alice's life, Benjamin offers a finely wrought portrait of Alice that seamlessly blends fact with fiction.

Replacing Reeg

That would be Regis Philbin, the host of Live with Regis and Kelly who announced he will be retiring at the end of this season after 28 years with the show. This is pretty epic. This is up there with Bob Barker leaving Price is Right, Larry King leaving his show and Simon Cowell leaving American Idol.

So now the search is on for someone to replace him and our good friends at People Magazine and Entertainment Weekly have released a list of 10 names, plus a secondary "silly" list, of potentials.

Of course, I hate pretty much all of these names. So let's break them down, shall we?

Ryan Seacrest: NO. Heeeeeeell no. Ryan Seacrest is already involved in way too many projects. Does he really need a morning TV show to go along with a morning radio show, American Idol, and executive producing and hosting on E? How will he ever have time then to be in another Kardashian Christmas card? Seacrest overload. No thank you.

Jeff Probst, host of Survivor: I've never really watched Survivor so I don't know how mad crazy his hosting skills might be, but I'm not sure if he would be able to be a celebrity interviewer after being the Survivor host. Telling contestants that they will be standing on a wooden plank in the ocean for as long as they can to receive a quarter ounce of peanut butter as a reward isn't the same as asking Robert Pattinson just how he gets his locks to look so luscious. I'd still rather see him than Seacrest.

Mario Lopez: Another resounding heeeeeell no from LTD. Kelly Ripa is already the pretty and buff host of the show. Seriously, have you seen her arms? Mario Lopez is slowly ruining his awesome rep as the one and only AC Slater. Being on Dancing with the Stars was fine but now he's all over Extra and hosting the Miss America pageants and I don't like it one bit.

Chris Harrison, host of The Bachelor: Now here's a pick I can get on board with. Chris Harrison is the man. The Bachelor/Bachelorette is like a car accident for me - I can't look but I can't look away - and I have the ultimate love-hate relationship with that show. But my absolute favorite moment of every show is when he comes out right before the final rose is going to be given and says "Ladies. Brad. The final rose." and then walks back offset. On second thought, I don't even want him as a cohost anymore. Can he just be waiting in the wings to come out and say "Kelly. New Regis. Justin Bieber." and then walk away? Still if it's between him, Slater or Seacrest, my vote is with Chris Harrison right now.

Chris Cuomo from 20/20: So I don't watch 20/20 so I don't know who this is. But isn't this kind of a career downgrade to go from 20/20 to Live with (insert name here) and Kelly? He just did a yearlong investigation on troubled teens and getting homeless youth off the street. You know what they do on Live with Regis and Kelly? This:



Don't do it Chris Cuomo. You've worked with Barbara Walters.

Anderson Cooper: The Silver Fox himself. This could be an okay choice. Like Chris Cuomo, he's a pretty legit investigative journalist, but I think he'd have a good rapport with celebs and be able to ask really good questions. Plus he's just serious enough to counter when Kelly Ripa turns into a huge ditz on the show - which is all the time. He has my vote too, although the EW article says he's trying to start his own daytime talk show. On second thought he does strike me as the type to fly solo. He is probably a bigger diva than Kelly.

Billy Bush: This guy is like Seacrest Jr. but not as good as the original (as much as it pains me to say it, Seacrest is good at what he does). He's from Access Hollywood I think and he's just a tool and a much less talented one at that.

Neil Patrick Harris: The one. The only. NPH. My vote all the way. NPH would be perfect for this gig. He's witty, he's well-known, he's not obnoxious. He would make me want to watch this show. Do it ABC. Pick NPH. I'm totally drinking the Kool Aid on this one.

Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs and also Ford and possibly jean commercials: This guy is pretty funny but he's the Dirty Jobs guy! He can't be sitting next to Kelly Ripa in a chair in a suit asking Kate Gosselin about her new hairdo. He needs to be out shoveling fish guts from the bottom of a boat or something. He's too manly for this show.

So those are the main contenders according to EW. Additionally there is a secondary list with names that are too "silly" to place next to the top 10 up there. And by silly I think they'd rather be saying "the worst ideas ever, yes even worse than Seacrest."

Nick Jonas: This has to be a joke. He is the youngest of the Jo Bros. He's like 17. I'm not even going to comment further on this.

Bryant Gumbel, Glenn Beck: These two get lumped in together because to me they are both old guys who seem like they're just fine doing what they do currently. If either of these made any kind of cut, I would be stunned.

Tom Bergeron: Bergeron is hysterical. His one liners on Dancing with the Stars are about the only thing that show has going for it anymore to be honest. He should actually be up with the top 10 because I wouldn't mind seeing him get this gig.

Larry King: I'm sorry. Didn't Larry King just retire? Isn't he also just as old and senile if not oldER and MORE senile than Regis Philbin? Why would we swap out one for the other? This is a terrible idea.

My top choices are NPH, Chris Harrison and Tom Bergeron. Fun fact though, when they picked Kelly Ripa rumors like this started floating around too and her name wasn't mentioned ever. Not one single time. So going off of that, I bet they pick someone like Matt Lauer just to keep us all guessing.

Video of the Day 1/24/11 - Double Dream Hands Edition

Ellen has been showing this on her talk show all week long and so far, it hasn't gotten old yet. It really gets going at around 50 seconds. Double dream hands baby.

KINDLE Review: Outlander

Outlander
Author: Diana Gabaldon

In the first book of a seven-book series, Claire Beauchamp is vacationing in 1940s Scotland with her husband when a mysterious chasm in a rock whisks her back in time to Scotland in the 1700s. Once Claire realizes what has happened, she desperately tries to keep her origins a secret all while trying to find a way back to her husband and modern times. That is, until she meets Jamie Fraser.

I had heard a lot of hype surrounding this book and series so imagine my surprise and delight when it was offered for free for the Kindle. I downloaded it to see what the fuss was all about and although I don't really see what there is to rave about, I will say that I greatly enjoyed this book and want to see what's up next for Claire and Jamie.

These two made the book fly by for me. I really admired Claire's character as she is a super strong, opinionated woman who has no problem standing up for what she believes in.  Jamie complemented her well throughout the book as he has just as much passion and emotion as she does. He's also been through a lot of really horrible situations throughout his life and Diana Gabaldon does an excellent job of turning him into a character that you could really connect with.

On the other hand, some parts of the book were a little chick lit-ish and unbelievable for me. The whole concept of time travel and (spoiler alert here) Claire's decision to just never return to her husband and the 1940s was really hard for me to get. So she just falls off the face of the earth essentially and just decides "meh, I'm gonna take my chances here in 1700s Scotland"? I just felt that her struggle with whether or not to stay or try to get back to her husband could have been more of a prominent theme. Maybe that inner struggle could have been explored more in place of all the sex scenes...

Because there were a lot of them. It got a little repetitive and made the book drag on a bit.  Reading this on my Kindle I didn't realize how many pages it was, but according to reviews and Amazon it tops out at about 800 pages. Yikes.

Like I said though, I am interested to find out where this series go and I have the next one, Dragonfly in Amber, on my Kindle now thanks to a gift card from my boss for Christmas. Overall I was entertained and the book was an easy read with a good mix of action, adventure, and romance. Well maybe a little too much romance.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (I get it, they're sooooo in love)


Coming Up Next: World Without End by Ken Follett
I'm taking a break from Jamie and Claire (after one book, I know) and venturing into England in the 1300s. This is the follow up to "Pillars of the Earth" which stands as one of my all-time favorites and I can't wait to see what this has in store. Set in the same city of Kingsbridge but two centuries later, this book follows four children who meet in a forest and see two men killed. As adults, their lives will become intertwined yet again. They will follow very different paths but will always live under the shadow of the unexplained killing they witnessed as kids.

Video of the Day 1/18/11 - I Love College Sports Edition

Maybe I'm biased, but this video is the reason that I love college sports. Shoutout to my friend Chris who posted this on his Facebook but I didn't watch it until today...