30. Watch 101 new movies (49/101) (more info)
Rating ****1/2
I loved The Invention of Lying (2009)! In a world where everyone tells the truth – and just about anything they’re thinking, Mark Bellison isn’t happy. He is a screenwriter, about to be fired. He’s short and chunky with a flat nose – a genetic pool that means he won’t get to first base with Anna, the woman he loves. When faced with eviction, he comes up with something that has never crossed any one else’s mind – lying. This leads to more problems than answers and as we see why lying can be a necessity and when it can be a pain.
I laughed, I teared up, and I throughly enjoyed this movie. I highly recommend it (unless you are easily offended by religious themes). *** I’m including slight spoilers after the trailer to explain why I loved it and it offended so many people. ***
*** SPOILERS ***
Mark’s mother becomes ill and is frightened while dying because of the eternity of nothingness awaiting her. So Mark, now able to lie, tells her about life after death. The hospital staff overhear his version of “Heaven” and want to know more. Word spreads and soon Mark is inventing religion. I didn’t realize this was overly offensive… until I was talking to a girl at work about it and it caused quite the argument (mostly because she called me a bad person because I’m not Christian — long story). So if you would be offended by this, you shouldn’t bother watching the movie. Although I don’t believe it’s the point of the movie. I think it’s more of a “if religion was created now” kind of funny.
30. Watch 101 new movies (48/101) (more info)
Rating ****1/2
I had heard such great things about The Hurt Locker (2008) and it lived up to all of them! The movie takes place in Iraq and follows a group that disarms bombs. It was extremely action-packed and will make you cringe. It was really hard to watch knowing guys that are over there or heading back soon. You will laugh and bite your nails with fear. I highly recommend this movie!!
30. Watch 101 new movies (47/101) (more info)
Rating **1/2
You may be asking why I watched this. You should be. My reason (excuse) is that it was on TV and I was too lazy to change the channel. I liked the first Bring It On. However, the 4th(?) just felt like a very, very bad rip=off. The acting was TERRIBLE. The cheer-vocab is beyond old and the cheering scenes weren’t even entertaining. But I didn’t change the channel so I guess I have to give it at least a two and a half, right?
30. Watch 101 new movies (46/101) (more info)
Rating **
I expected a lot more out of this. Shane and I watched Terminator: Salvation (2009) thinking at the very least it would be entertaining. I can’t say I was entertained. I like where they took the story. I like Eric Bana. However, it was so predictable that it wasn’t even fun to watch. Here’s the IMDB summary and trailer.
It’s the early stages of the war between man and machines. And the savior John Conner is doing everything he can to make sure man survives. He thinks he’s found a way to ensure that, and he also learns that the machines have targeted the man who’s suppose to father him, Kyle Reese, so he tries to find him. One of Conner’s soldiers meets a man named Marcus Wright who has no knowledge of Judgment Day. When they reach the base they discover Wright is part machine and suspect that he was sent by Skynet but Wright claims that’s not true.
30. Watch 101 new movies (44/101) (more info)
Rating ***1/2
A few nights ago my husband, best friend, and I went to see The Road (2009). I had been waiting to see this since I finished reading the book in June of this year (find my review of the book here). I guess I should have paid more attention to when it came out because it seems to have been released a few months ago. All of us liked it. Myself and my husband liked it more than Alex.
The film/book tell the story of a man and his son traveling to the coast in a post-apocalyptic United States. We don’t know what happened. We don’t even know their names. The movie did take some liberties and added more of a back story with the wife. This didn’t take away from the book and I think helped keep the movie from being too slow. The movie is very gray and depressing just like the book. They did not shy away from gruesome scenes. The acting was excellent. Viggo Mortensen looks and acts like a starved father holding on to the little faith and hope he has left.
Overall the movie is slow moving (which I expected). Don’t expect a ton of action. However, be prepared to feel tense and depressed and possibly tear up. The ending is just like the book, which some found to be extremely anti-climatic almost to the point of not really having “an ending”. I would highly recommend this movie if you loved the book, otherwise I’d say watch it at home when it comes out on DVD.
The trailer includes a version of my favorite quote from the book : When your dreams are of some world that never was or of some world that never will be and you are happy again then you will have given up.
30. Watch 101 new movies (43/101) (more info)
Rating *1/2
I am not sure I want to waste the time it would take to review Year One (2009). So instead I’ll just include the IMDB summary and say that all the funny parts are in the preview.
Zed, a prehistoric would-be hunter, eats from a tree of forbidden fruit and is banished from his tribe, accompanied by Oh, a shy gatherer. On their travels, they meet Cain and Abel on a fateful day, stop Abraham from killing Isaac, become slaves, and reach the city of Sodom where their tribe is now enslaved. Zed and Oh are determined to rescue the women they love, Maya and Eema. Standing in their way is Sodom’s high priest and the omnipresent Cain. Zed tries to form an alliance with Princess Innana, which may backfire. Can an inept hunter and a smart but slender and diffident gatherer become heroes and make a difference?
50. Try 2 new recipes a month (8/33)
I’ve been wanting to make gyros at home for a looooong time, but haven’t come across gyro meat. Today I found a new store that I think I love. It’s basically a SAM’s Club with no membership fees (and less of a selection). So I picked up 10 pitas (that you keep in the freezer and pop in the oven for 7 minutes) and 400 slices of pre-cooked frozen gyro meat all for around $10!! Now all I needed was cucumber sauce and I couldn’t find it (or a mix) at the grocery store, so I made my own. It was a little runny (but I think I know how to fix that) and it was a little too pickley (so I won’t add the dill next time). I halved this and it was still more than enough for each Shane and I to have 2 gyros. — Sorry I forgot to take a picture.
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2/3 cup peeled and grated cucumber
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
- 1/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
I mixed it all together in my mini-blender, however, next time I think I’ll mix all of it BUT only half of the sour cream and then stir in the rest of the sour cream to thicken it back up a little.
30. Watch 101 new movies (45/101) (more info)
Rating ****1/2
(I’m reviewing movies out of order because I have to get this up right now.)
I went to see Daybreakers (2009) with my good friend Angie tonight and LOVED it! I’ve been waiting for this to come out and was not disappointed. In a time when it seems like all vampire movies are romances that don’t actually include real vampires, this movie jumps out as a kick-ass “real” vampire movie.
In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind. – IMDB
Ethan Hawke plays a hematologist named Edward with the task of finding a blood substitute in the face of the extinction of the human race. In this movie vampires cannot go out into the sun, do not have a reflection, die when staked through the heart, AND turn into some crazy bat-human thing when deprived of blood. Edward doesn’t believe in farming humans for blood and only works for a place that does so in the hopes of finding a substitute. When he comes across a group of rouge humans that may have found a cure, he is drawn into the heart of the war.
This movie is full of humor, gore, action, and emotion. I laughed. I teared up. I jumped out of my seat. I also had to cover my eyes for some parts. I really didn’t want it to end. If you can’t guess… I’m highly recommending this movie to those who like vampire movies OR action movies. I will be taking Shane to see this.
30. Watch 101 new movies (42/101) (more info)
Rating **1/2
When this first came out I really wanted to see it… and then I forgot about it. Alex had us watch Funny People (2009) while recovering from New Years.
George is a very successful stand up comedian who learns that he has an untreatable blood disorder and is given less than a year to live. Ira is a struggling up-and-coming stand up comedian who works at a deli and has yet to figure out his onstage persona. One night, these two perform at the same club and George takes notice of Ira. George hires Ira to be his semi-personal assistant as well as his friend. – from IMDB
It was OK. I laughed, but not a ton. I would recommend watching this if you have just laying around with nothing better to do.
82. Learn 2 new French words and 1 French idiom a week (28/143) (more info)
83. Learn 2 new ASL signs a week (28/143) (more info)
French Vocab:
café (n. m) – coffee : I need coffee in the morning. – J’ai besoin du café dans la matinée.
lait (n. m)– give: I should drink more milk. – Je devrais boire plus de lait.
French Idiom:
à tout prix – at all costs
ASL vocab:
coffee – Two S-hands, one over top of the other move in a grinding motion with the bottom hand remaining stationary. (video)
milk –Both S-hands make a pulling motion downward. (video)
