More Movie Reviews

National Treasure: This movie with Nicolas Cage was interesting. The movie trailers that we had seen in the theater made it look more exciting than it was. Typically, it took some conspiracy theories about the founding fathers of the United States and tied them in with some action/adventure. It was an ok movie, but rather derivative.

Anna Karenina: Sigh. Tragic Russian romance. Need I say more? Anna gave up everything for Vronsky--her marriage, her son, her life--but he couldn't give up his social position for her. Sigh.

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie: This was not nearly as hilarious as I thought it would be. In fact, I was disappointed. Being a Spongebob fan from way back, I expected the movie to be as droll as the cartoon series, but it wasn't. See it if you like Spongebob.

Movie Review--Chicago

Who knew Richard Gere could sing, or dance, or act!?

Although Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones got all the accolades for this movie musical, Richard Gere deserved some kind of an award for his tap-dance routine during the trial scenes.

Last night, after the amazing 2-hour season finale of "Lost," I flipped on Starz! and caught "Chicago." Now, I don't generally like modern musicals because they don't seem to fit in this time period (for instance, "Moulin Rouge": I'm still wondering what all the fuss was about). The movie is about Roxie Hart, a chorus singer/dancer who kills her lover. (I missed the first fifteen minutes so I'm not sure if she killed him because he was attacking her or accidentally. I think she was attacked.) She tries to have her husband take the rap, but he realizes she was cheating on him, and so she goes to jail instead. Once inside the clink, Roxie meets other notorious female killers like double-murderer Velma Kelly, also a chanteuse, who protest their innocence. With the help of Momma (Queen Latifah), the prison matron, Velma has kept her name in the papers, partly to help her case, and partly for her own need to be famous.

Roxie eventually steals Velma's spotlight and lawyer Billy Flynn (Gere). She gets her day in court, but balks at the things Flynn wants her to do. But then she sees one of the female killers go to the gallows after exhausting all appeals, and she quickly agrees to appearing demure in court.

I can't say I really liked this movie. It was like watching a train wreck. What sexy costumes would the characters appear in next? How many times would we see the women's garters? Perhaps if I had seen "Chicago" in a stage production, I would feel differently. See it if you like musicals or sexy women.

Misinformation that can kill you

Last night, I was watching "60 Minutes" and this segment came on about abstinence-only sex education.

Silver Ring Thing is an organization that goes around the country, promoting abstinence. You listen to their propaganda, then take a pledge of abstinence. The silver ring you wear reminds you of your pledge, and then when you are married, you give the ring to your spouse, symbolizing that the spouse was important enough to wait for.

I have nothing against abstinence. Go for it, if that's what you want to do. I think that some teens take the pledge very seriously; others don't.

I do have something against abstinence-only education that talks about only the failure rate of condoms, rather than the success rate. In fact, as I watched the segment, I got very annoyed. Condoms have a failure rate of less than 1% if used correctly every time. The teachers are not supposed to say anything about that. They are also not allowed to say how condoms can prevent disease. Granted, condoms don't protect against all STD's but I think that AIDS would be a good reason to wear a condom, don't you?

The leader of Silver Ring Thing said that he would not advise his son or daughter to use condoms, EVEN IF THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE SEX.

That is just plain ignorant.

Some teens will have sex. Give them the information they need to protect themselves. I believe that in the future, abstinence-only programs will be shown to have failed in their mission.

I would rather know that my daughter is protecting herself than listening to the misinformation these programs spread. Sex education should begin at home, anyway. Again, it's a case of something the schools have stepped in to educate because parents don't talk about it in the home.

No glove, no love.


*Added: I'm not the only one who gets annoyed by the continuing misinformation. Check out this parent's blog entry about her daughter's health education.

Movie Review--Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith

I finally geeked out and went to see the movie this past weekend.

In the first five minutes, I said "wow" about ten times. The special effects were amazing. Except in a few instances later on in the film, I could tell that nothing was digitally animated. I think that Yoda had the best characterization in the film. The actors appeared wooden at times, but I chalk that up to bad dialogue.

One thing I did not like about the film was that Padmé basically dies of a broken heart. That is crap. She had been such a strong character in the first two films that I highly doubt she'd give up the will to live just because her lover turned out to be a monster. She'd go kick his ass!

I think that there were almost too many characters, and since fans liked them all, the moviemakers wanted them all to get some screen time.

It was a satisfying ending to a mythic series, and the best part was that it was light-years better than "Menace" and "Attack of the Clones," thank the gods. Those two movies were not very good plotwise.

See it if you like "Star Wars." If you don't like "SW," then don't bother.

The Devil Card

Today's tarot reading from Christin was the Devil Card:

Today's Card: The Devil

This card warns of the dangers of obsessive thoughts and prisons ofthe mind. Often we become so caught up in what we "think" we want or need, that when we don't get it we feel abandoned or betrayed by God/the Universe. The truth is all experiences, even the painful ones, have something positive to be taken from them, and in all circumstances there is always at least one thing we can feel gratitude for, even in our darkest moments.

The Devil speaks of all manners of self-sabotage and entrapment. Negative emotions like anger, guilt, remorse, and fear - all of these can keep us from living life to its fullest potential. This cardreminds us that it is necessary to work to free ourselves from these life-robbing forces. We hold the key to any of these prisons withinourselves through the empowering gift of choice/free will. We can't always choose our circumstances, but we can choose ourbeliefs/behaviors/actions etc.

This card also reminds us not to jump to conclusions; proceed withcaution and be open to alternatives. Sometimes we become "stuck" inold habits/ways of operating and that causes us to miss opportunities.

This card calls you to reflect on any way that you might hold yourselfback, and look deeply to the reasons why so that reform can happen. This is the card of all self-limitation fear, addiction, obsession, procrastination etc and although it looks scary, this card is actually very liberating when we use it as a reminder to empower ourselves.


I have been holding myself back by my own negative thoughts and behaviors. It's good to have a little wake-up call now and then--I just wish that I didn't feel so overwhelmed sometimes.

A Couple More Movies

Chinese Box: Jeremy Irons is a photojournalist in Hong Kong, right before the switchover from British rule to Chinese rule in 1997. He suffers from unrequited love for Vivian (Gong Li), a Chinese woman involved with another man. He also suffers from leukemia, with only a few months left to live. He decides to do a story on this girl named Jean he sees on the street (Maggie Cheung), wondering how the switchover will affect her life. She spins him a wild story, but it turns out, she was just a suicidal girl who fell in love with a British boy whose parents didn't approve. They sent him away and she tried to kill herself.

Meanwhile, Gong Li's boyfriend, a fine upstanding businessman, won't marry her. Turns out, he pimped her out when they first fled the mainland because they were broke, and now she's not good enough to marry him and be a proper Chinese wife.

Strange movie about culture clash. I'd say don't bother unless you like Jeremy Irons or Gong Li, or Hong Kong. The cinematography was excellent.


Nemesis Game: This movie stars Carly Pope and Adrian Paul as a couple of people who like to solve riddles, and by solving enough of them, they will get to see the Design. The Design is supposed to be the secret of life. It is apparently why a woman in the film named Emily Gray tried to drown a young boy named Dennis Reveni. But what is never explained is the Design itself. Will Sara (Carly Pope) see the Design? Will she learn why her mother died seemingly pointlessly in a car accident?

The movie held my attention until the end, and then I was disappointed. I also didn't like the scientist's dumb daughter approach when Sara explained to Vern (Adrian Paul) about a monk in India nicknamed Nemesis who liked to solve riddles. Rent it if you have nothing better to do for 92 minutes.

Copyright Protection

My new Boss CD uses special technology called DUALDISC (pdf file). I can't play it on my computer. I haven't tried it in my DVD player or my other stereo CD system. I am QUITE annoyed!!!!!!

This new technology allows a DVD to be burned on one side, and CD on the other. However, it seems that not all computers/cd/dvd players can play the discs. It is also supposed to help crack down on the piracy of songs.

I like to listen to music while I'm surfing the internet, and since I can't play the Boss, it's irritating. I do have an older computer, but still... I paid good money for the CD and it's unplayable. I will have to try it in the DVD player and see if that works. If it doesn't work in any of the players I own, I'll be writing Sony a letter.

P.S. I found a cool Boss news site while I was surfing. Check it out, especially the links page if you're a fan.

50 million--Someone's making some money

Livestrong bracelets approaching 50 million strong

The ubiquitous Livestrong bracelet is everywhere. Even the local gas station attendant was wearing one. I think the fad has jumped the shark.

Florida is more than just old people and lunatics

My mom just got back from visiting my grandmother in Florida. On her trip, she visited the John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. It only costs $10 to get in, and you can tour the house, museum, and grounds, including a lovely rose garden. She brought back some literature on the place, and it's AMAZING. Very decadent Roaring '20s, if you're into that sort of thing.

They "gathered important works by Cranach, Rubens, Poussin, Hals, Van Dyck, Pietro da Cortona, Guercino and other major artists who worked primarily from 1500 to about 1750. The Old Master collection, now including approximately 750 paintings, is the most important area of the Museum's holdings and within it, Italian paintings that are among the rarest and most celebrated in the country. The Museum's art collection now consists of over 10,000 objects that include a wide variety of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, photographs and decorative arts from ancient through contemporary periods and from throughout the world."

Later, an entire Italian Baroque theatre interior was importerd from Italy in the 1950s and reinstalled on the grounds.

Definitely check it out if you get a chance!

Just One Song

Starbucks has decided not to sell Bruce Springsteen's latest album, "Devils and Dust," due to the explicit lyrics of one of the songs, titled "Reno," according to this NYT article. One song, out of the entire album.

Of course, they probably wouldn't have sold any of his other albums either, including the ones with songs about murder ("41 Shots," "Nebraska," "Johnny 99") or the sad case of Vietnam vets who sacrifice everything for their country, only to come back to bitterness and hatred ("Born in the USA"), or perhaps infidelity and betrayal (songs on "Human Touch," "Tunnel of Love," and "Lucky Town"), not to mention songs of leaving town and never looking back ("Thunder Road," Darlington County," "No Surrender"). "Streets of Philadelphia" (an Oscar-winning song, btw) is about struggling and living with AIDS. Do they think that "Dancing in the Dark" means actual dancing? What about "Secret Garden" or "I'm on Fire"? All of those songs are about SEXXXXXX!

Get a clue, people. The man sings about real life.

That's fine by me. There are no Starbucks around here, although I hear there might be a few soon. Good thing I don't like coffee. I bought my copy of "Devils and Dust" at my local record store anyway. Support your local record stores!

National Scrapbooking Day

Do you like to take pictures? What do you do with all the photos you have sitting in boxes, waiting to be organized? Scrapbooking is an exciting hobby, and the whole family can get in on the fun.

If you are a family historian like myself, keeping journals and photos of every possible event (and non-event!) in your life, scrapbooking these memories is a valuable legacy to your descendants, and to yourself as well.

You don't even have to put your photos in albums. You can put photos on everyday items and decorate your home with them.

There are tons of websites on scrapbooking. There is no time like the present to get started, so get those photos out today!

More Movie Reviews

Anaconda: Search for the Blood Orchid: Hmmm... not scary, not even a little bit--unless you are afraid of snakes. I don't like snakes, but this movie was so predictable! I suppose the gargantuan anacondas were a little too fakey for me to be afraid of them. I'd seen this plot a thousand times before in other movies: scientists discover rare plant that only grows in one place; need money to finance expedition; drug company ponies up the money; explorers go to heart of darkest continent (in this case, the jungles of Borneo) to retrieve plant; trip goes awry when boat sinks (plane crashes, car dies, etc.); scary monster starts stalking group; people die; crazed lunatic in group gets too greedy and strikes out on his/her own... etc. etc.

Mercury Rising: Older Bruce Willis flick in which he plays a renegade FBI agent responsible for protecting an autistic child. Willis does have a great screen chemistry with children, and he was good in this movie. I was watching this on the USA network, so there were too many commercials, but it was a decent movie to waste some time watching on a boring Thursday night.

12 Monkeys: Another Bruce Willis flick from 1995 in which he plays a time traveler named James Cole sent to the past to try to stop a deadly virus from spreading over the planet and wiping out 5 billion people. In his future, people are forced to live underground, and he is some kind of criminal forced to take on this mission. He gets sent back to 1990 where is locked in a mental hospital. He meets Jeffrey Goins (Brad Pitt), the son of a virologist.

Brad Pitt is a brilliant actor! See him in this movie, and you will be convinced. I never really thought of him as a great actor before, but he is here.

So, after much back-and-forthing through time, Cole (Willis) becomes convinced that he is insane, and that the "scientists" who control the time machine are just parts of his brain. However, his psychiatrist from 1990, Dr. Railly (Madeleine Stowe), realizes he's telling the truth. But alas, at the end, you don't know how it's really going to turn out--will the virus be released? Will the drama play out again? This movie is about perceptions of reality, the fluidity of time, and déja-vu. I liked this movie. See it if you like post-apocalyptic films, Bruce Willis, or Brad Pitt. You won't be disappointed.

Bell, Book, and Candle: Ok, this Jimmy Stewart/Kim Novak vehicle was on the Turner Classic Movie channel and I had to see it because it was supposedly about witches in Manhattan. Now the movie was made in 1958, and was in 1954 when Gerald Gardner (the father of Gardnerian tradition witchcraft) published his book "Witchcraft Today." I certainly didn't expect to see the "truth" of what the Craft really is, but I was having a hard time keeping from laughing. Kim Novak was convincing; however, she was made to be this sexpot anthropologist from a family of witches (who supposedly were not "human") out to snare poor hapless Jimmy Stewart. In fact, she was ensnaring him because of his fiancée, whom she held a grudge against. Of course, Novak got more than she bargained for.

Seeing Jack Lemmon mumble a few words and make a few gestures to cause a car horn to go off was quite amusing. In this film, male witches were called warlocks, which, as anyone knows, is totally not the case. Male witches are male witches. "Warlock" means "oath-breaker," and anyone styling themselves as such would just be silly, unless they want to be known as an oath-breaker.

Did you know that a "real" witch can't cry and will float if shoved into a body of water? She will stop being a witch if she falls in true love. Uh, yeah, right.

Jimmy Stewart was 50 years old when this movie was made; Kim Novak who was 25. After this movie, he played family men. I guess he'd had enough of the romantic male lead roles.