It's not the power of the curse - it's the power you give the curse.

This evening, I saw Penelope, which stars Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara and Reese Witherspoon. Lets plot it out. Christina plays Penelope, a wealthy girl who is born cursed with a pig nose and ears. To get rid of the pig nose and end the curse, she needs to be loved by one of her own. Her mother (Catherine O'Hara) keeps her locked up her whole life, embarrassed by her nose. Finally, after meeting Max (McAvoy) and having her heart broken, she sets out on her own, hiding her deformity by a scarf. On her adventures, she meets a feisty girl (Witherspoon) and then unveils herself to the world.
Witherspoon is very cute in her spunky role, bu I feel like she was kinda wasted in it, it was so small. I'm mixed on her getting more screen time though. This movie was definitely not about her or her character, so I'm glad we didn't see her too much, but I think because I thought she'd be in the movie more, I was surprised by the littleness of the role. This movie is very charming, I really liked it. Ricci is perfect in her role, everything from her facial expressions to her voice was just perfect. The story line is short, concise and to the point, I love when that happens. It's not slow or dragging, so you're not checking your watch the whole time, waiting for it to be over. Be cautious when seeing this though, if you like a quiet movie theater. With it being a PG movie, there were families aplenty. PJ made a friend with the little girls sitting next to us, that was nice. Catherine O'Hara is funny in her role, which was enjoyable, and James McAvoy was of course delightful, even though he had an American accent and not his trademark British accent. Oh, and as a side note-the movie took place in only what I can describe as a hybrid of America and Britain. I'll call it Ameritain. There were people with both American accents and British accents, and I'm not sure when it's supposed to take place, it had an old-time feel to it. All in all, I recommend this movie, it's a great way to spend an hour and a half.

Tiny Troop

This has been a sad week for my little Trooper. For those of you who don’t know, Trooper is my dog. She is my favorite little animal ever. Her breeding is unknown. She’s a mix of her mom, another dog I have, who is a miniature Alaskan Husky/Pomeranian mix, and her “father” is the dog that lived in the house next door. As you can see from the picture, she is black and brown and is pretty small. I've also included Troop as a tiny baby, because I think the picture with her and the bear is too cute. You're welcome. She is quite devoted to me, she follows me around the house, she sits on the couch with me whenever I am watching TV, and when I’m eating, she sits at my feet, waiting for her turn to have some delicious food. And, although I know it’s bad to give a dog people food, I usually give her some of mine. She loves bread and otter pops and milk. I’m not sure why, but hey, I find it adorable. And most people find her little scratching at you for your food annoying, I just think it’s cute, and I laugh at it. I treat her like she’s a tiny person, and during Christmas time, I dress her up. Usually as Santa or an elf, and even though she hates it, she doesn’t gnaw it off like our other dog does. I guess you can say I probably love my tiny Troop more than I love most people.
This past Monday, Troop had apparently jumped up on the bed (all this happened while I was at work, so I don’t know every detail, I just know what I’ve heard) and mom was having none of it. So she kicked Troop off the bed (literally, she kicked her) and when she fell off the giant bed (really, this bed is like 2-3 feet off the ground) she landed wrong and hurt her leg! So for the last few days, the poor thing has been limping around the house on her three legs. It’s the left rear leg she hurt, just in case you were wondering. Right now her trying to get up off the ground is sadly funny, when she’s been sitting or lying there. Because she can’t really use the leg, she struggles to get up and while I find it so sad, it’s really kinda funny to watch. I guess I have a dark sense of humor regarding such things. To help her out during this time, I’ve been carrying her around the house on my hip, like a baby. She is getting better, slowly. At least after the first couple of days, she puts her foot on the ground to test it out every once in a while. And while it’s not good yet, soon it will be, and she will be able to run and jump around like she used to be able to do. But for now, she’s just taking it easy. And I’m wondering, does anyone know where I can find a doggy stroller?

Where everybody knows your name...

First off, I grew up in big city Orem, which, according to Wikipedia is the sixth largest city in Utah. How about that? I always liked the size, never had any issues as a small kid with it. I don't think as a youngster I even realized what the difference would be. Anyway, as I was watching a movie today about a small town, I couldn't help but think how cool it would be to live in a small town. I'm sure would I move there now, it'd be quite a culture shock as first, but after a while, I'd settle comfortably into the groove. I'm sure things aren't always as they're presented in movies, but these little towns seem so fun. I'd love to live in a Stars Hollow, where my wacky friends and neighbors are always there for me. I'd love to live in a place where everyone knows my name, where I'd walk down a street and wave at everyone, and they would wave and smile back. In a place where your high school is like 300 hundred people would be awesome. I'd love to have a diner I went to every day, and I know the owner, and he knows what I get every time. And I love the names of the (fictional, that I've only heard in movies) towns. Jupiter Hollow, Stars Hollow, (whats with the Hollows?) they just sound fun.
On the flip side, would you really want everyone in town to know your business? Would you want only like, ten kids to date, and by the time you're grown up to marry, you're marrying the same guy you've been dating since you were like, 13? I know a lot of people do this, and they end up happily, but I don't know how I'd feel about this. And anything you do, you'll be haunted with forever. Your pants fall off when you were ten years old? Yeah, someone will tell that story at your wedding. Get drunk and end up doing something dumb? You'll hear about that forever, too. And they don't have that many stores in these towns, as I've learned, and I don't know how I feel about that. Its not that I'm a shopaholic, far from it, but pretty much every weekend, you can find me at some store. (I'm not always buying something, just fyi. I like to look at the sales and the like, in case I find something) Plus, in these towns, as I understand it, not every movie come there, so I would miss a lot of stuff! There are a lot being here that we don't get, and I have to wait for, and I don't want to have to do this for every movie!
I guess I'm undecided on the issue of being in a small town, I have pros and cons. I think the things I would love about it is I just want to know everyone around me. I think it'd be great to walk everywhere you wanted to be (like they do on the Gilmore's) and have a favorite table at your local diner. And maybe I'd pick a place thats somewhat near a big city, just in case I needed to escape for a weekend. I'd have a house with a white-picket fence, and a tree I could climb with a tree house in it. Maybe my problem isn't that I need to be in a small town, maybe my issue is that I'm in the wrong decade. I think the place I'm thinking of only existed in the 50's. In either case, this is where I'd want to be.

Definitely, Maybe? Probably Not

Ah, Definitely, Maybe. I’ll keep this spoiler-free. I so badly wanted to like this movie. The trailer looked so good, and it stars so many people I love. Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz…I think that’s it. The others I don’t really care for. Let’s plot it out. This movie is like a romantic comedy mystery. A father (Reynolds) is telling the story of how he met his wife to their daughter (Abigail Breslin) with fake names so she can guess who her mother is. Sounds like a good idea right? And it kinda is, but it’s poorly executed here. Ryan Reynolds, although very charming usually, is really kinda bland here. He’s playing someone who is working in politics-which I find pretty boring. Especially here, the story is told starting in 1992, so we get politics from back then. One of my issues with movies/stories in the past twenty years or so, is you’ll always get a dumb joke, one that a character will say something innocent enough, but because we know how that history worked out, we know to laugh now, wink wink. Ugh. Will leaves his college sweetheart behind in Wisconsin to pursue his dream of working for the Clinton administration (in New York) in some capacity, telling her they’ll still be together. Of course, a few weeks in (I think, I can’t really tell how time flows in this movie) they break up, and he moves on to date other women. The movie then goes on to describe his other girlfriends, with a lot more detail than I think I’d be telling my daughter. In any story I tell, I don’t think I’m describing stuff as much as he clearly is, but more on that later. I found this movie pretty boring. You’d think it wouldn’t be, with all the star power and things that are going on, but it moves very slowly, and sadly, I couldn’t stay focused. The loyalties between the women shift suddenly, I found a lot of stuff in the movie unnecessary, and I kept thinking of questions during the movie. Why did his daughter not already know the details of how they met? And the thing that helps the daughter find out who her mother is is such a detailed thing, and why was he detailing the story this much? Nobody tells a story, describing every little thing that happened then, where hands were, etc. Why don’t any of these people dress like its 1992? And when the end of the movie comes, I just didn’t care anymore who the mom was. (Although, I found it pretty easy to deduce who the mother was, maybe you might be able to also.) My favorite person in this is Isla Fisher, who I find adorable. Her acting is really good, and she fleshes her character out, whereas the other girls are happy with their one-note performances. She was my one bright spot in the movie. So, essentially, the movie isn’t all that good, despite a few strong performances. (Sorry, Ryan, this does not include you) It’s slow, and sort of boring in bits, and, although it’s a romantic comedy, it didn’t give me that warm fuzzy feeling at the end of the movie, just a feeling of sadness for the 2 hours I just wasted here. I’d give this a thumbs down, and say definitely, not maybe, go see a different movie.

Who let those white kids in here?!

This evening, I caught a showing of Step Up 2 The Streets. I enjoyed this movie! It wasn't a really good movie, plot-wise, but I did like. The movie has a bunch of white kids, trying to act black with the dancing, and doing a pretty good job at it. I don't know who of you have seen the first Step Up, which I really liked, and the second one...has nothing to do with it. I think the way they tie it together is having super McHottie Channing Tatum make a cameo in this. Which, I'm not complaining, because just looking at him is like a present, right to me.
Ok, lets do a little plotting. Movie opens with Andie, a white girl in Maryland who can dance it as well as the next person. To avoid being sent to her aunt's house in Texas, she auditions (and somehow makes it into) the Maryland School of Arts. She immediately hits it off with a weird looking fella, all the while teasing the popular hot kid, while he teases her right back. Of course, they deny anything is going on between them, while the eyes tell everything. She gets kicked out of her crew for being a part of the MSA, and decides to make a new crew with kids in the school. After some humiliations, some dancing, and some tears, they make it to a dance-off of sorts, where they get to represent their skills. And boy, do they. Well played, white rich kids from Maryland. Way to stick it to the black kids.
This movie is way fun to watch, and the music and dancing will get you moving. As soon as it was over, I wished I was on a dance crew. You know, I just might start my own! If you're interested, give me a shout out, and be prepared for a dance-off!

You gotta recognize your sedimentary rock formations!

We’re here today to celebrate the passing of a friend. My Tivo. You all know of how I love it, heck, it’s my comfort blanket, when times are tough. During my recent trip to Vegas, I had an upgrade to my Tivo delivered to my house. My thoughtful father, ever helpful, installed the new upgrade for me, even putting the new timers for to record my shows. Sadly, here is where we went wrong. What I didn’t realize about the new upgrade before we installed it, is that they don’t transfer all the info over, like it were on a hard drive (hence the setting of the new timers). The thing I definitely didn’t realize until it was too late is that with the timers being deleted, so would be my beloved saved items on there as well. The things I lost were a part of me. I watched bits of them in times of trouble, of sadness. The thing I think I’ll miss the most is the Justin Timberlake-hosted Saturday Night Live of 2007. There is a skit on there, Hip Hop Kids Episode #42: Yo Yo Yo, how we gonna get out of this mine shaft yo? I’m laughing just thinking about it! It was the perfect thing to make me smile. Find it, watch it, please, and enjoy. If you don’t laugh at it the whole time…well, something is wrong with you, and I’m sorry. PJ and I constantly quote it, and there’s nothing funnier. Some other things I had on there were just other SNL things, but they contained the adventures of the A-Holes. If you haven’t heard of these, oh boy, are you missing a gem. See if you can search for them on google or something, they are freaking hilarious. I also had a movie, High School Musical 2 (I’m not ashamed of this, I love that movie. I would just watch some of the musical numbers, not necessarily the whole movie. Come on, Bet On It has got to be one of the most ridiculous dance sequences ever. You know what I’m talking about)
Things I had on there but hadn’t saved were just a few episodes of things. Lost, from last week was one of them. I’m actually not sad about losing this, because I hate Lost right now, but I keep watching. I figure, I’ve put in three years already, I’m-a see how this show ends. Plus, before every new episode of Lost, they replay last week’s, so I’m ok there. I lost my Eli Stone episode of last week, so I have to either watch it on the internet (which I don’t have time to do) or just have skipped a week, which is looking more like what I’ll be doing. If only I could hook up my computer to my tv, then I could watch as I ran or whatever, but, alas, twas not meant to be. I lost my Psych, the season finale! (Which luckily, I watched most of in Vegas, and it will be replayed on Thursday, thank goodness) and finally, my episode of The Soup. But the E! channel replays every show a flobbity gillion times, so I for sure could catch that again. Other than those, I just lost a few movies I had just recorded. I’m hoping to maybe catch them again or something. But its not like I’m dying to see them. If I were, I would have seen them by Netflix or in the theater before now.
I know that compared to other things, losing the things on my Tivo are trivial, but they had become a part of me. I’ll miss being able to watch these things and laugh at the drop of a hat. And I know I just nerded myself out with this, admitting the saved things on my Tivo, but dear readers, I feel we have grown closer in the short time I’ve had this bloggity blog , and I’m comfortable enough my choices to not care what you think. I’ll rebuild from this; I’ll move on. I’m sure one day, I’ll look back at this and laugh, but for now…I miss my Hip Hop Kids. Keep dancing, guys.

What happens in Vegas...is usually pretty dirty.

That title sounds dirty, but it really isn't meant to be. This past weekend, PJ and I took a trip to Las Vegas. I have never been to Vegas, so we decided it was time to go, and the entire reason we went down there was to hit up the Hard Rock cafe. We have a dream to visit every Hard Rock cafe and buy a T-shirt from there. We have 4 so far, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Denver, and now Las Vegas. As we were eating at the HR this time, there was a sing-along, to YMCA. S couple of employees jumped up on the counters and just went at it. It was so fun! I have pictures of it, but I still can't get my computer and camera to talk to each other, so you won't be blessed with them. We weren't really looking forward to the Vegas part of it, but we went into the weekend with high hopes. Ok, not high hopes, but we weren't dreading it, and thats whats important! We had a pretty low key weekend. We hit up the M&M's store, gambled a little (I didn't come out in the positives, sadly) and walked about a gillion miles. We went to this restaurant, Roxy's, at the Stratosphere. What we didn't realize, of course, is that the Stratosphere is 2.38 miles from our hotel, the Mirage. So when we set out in our flip flops to walk there, it took about an hour, and when we got there, oh man, we were limping. And the walk back...not so good. We definitely learned our lesson about flip-flops. Had it been later, like in the summer, we'd have no problems. We have walked around Disneyland in them, but I guess this time, they got the better of us.
To me, the problem with Vegas is that it just feels dirty. There's porn everywhere, and it reeks like cigarettes, alcohol and desperation. I feel sad for the people who think its the greatest city ever. And for those of you who read this and feel that way...maybe its time to find a new city. Seriously. But, we had a great time, and felt better leaving the city than when we got there. And, as an added bonus, on our last morning, went to the Original Pancake House, and I got some chocolate chip pancakes. And I had been wanting some pancakes all weekend long, this was a great note to go out on!