Archive for the 'Movie Queue' Category

July 22, 2008 | Life in General, Movie Queue, The 4-1-1 on Me, Weekend Wrap-Up

From Friday to Sunday, I was in the movie theater. I did a little shopping, but when I wasn’t trying to tame my dirty laundry, I was seeing movies. Friday night, my BF and I went to see MAMMA MIA! I was disappointed. I was expecting something along the lines of Grease or Hairspray. The highlights:

~ The lead, Amanda Seyfried, has a good singing voice. I’ve seen her in something else, but she has this angelic, free-spiritedness vibe goin’ on.

~ I had no idea Meryl Streep could sing, so that was a nice surprise. As is the fact that for her age, she had no problem with the choreography. It looked like she was having fun the whole time.

~ Christine Baranski and Julie Walters, as Meryl Streep’s partners in crime, were great. They provided the comic relief in the movie and were able to keep up with the choreography as well, despite their ages.

~ Pierce Brosnan

~ It was filmed on an island somewhere in Greece and once again reinforced my need to visit that country. The hotel they ran was practically falling down around their ears, but it was a beautiful place, perched there like it was on the side of a mountain.

~ All the ABBA songs.

~ The little concert at the end. Meryl Streep and her friends were in an all-girl band called Donna and the Dynamos. They’re outfits were reminiscent of KISS (knee-high platform boots included), but with more sparkle. Totally. Hysterical.

~ The wedding dress she wore, as well as the bridesmaid dresses, were beautiful in their simplicity.

The lowlights:

~ Pierce. Brosnan. Cannot. Sing. I could’ve gone the rest of my life, happy in the knowledge that he used to be Remington Steele and James Bond, without hearing him sing. Every time he opened his mouth, I cringed. I wanted to fast forward the scene or put it on Mute. And he was in such good shape when he was playing Bond. Now, he’s let himself go a little bit.

~ Some of the choreography was really lame. There was a beach scene involving Christine Baranksi and a bunch of guys. I forgot the song she was singing (ABBA, of course), but the dance routine the guys were doing was really stupid. And involved flippers. Yeah, I know. Lame.

~ The little concert at the end. The young couple and the three main guys got up there and joined the ladies. In the same KISS outfits. And they were singing ‘Waterloo’. It hurt my eyes to see these older men stuffed in these sparkly 80’s outfits and platform boots. Even though it looked like they were having a blast, they could’ve left that on the cutting room floor.

Saturday, I went to see JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH with Brendan Fraser. This movie was advertised as 3-D, but I wasn’t given any glasses when I went to see it. There were some obvious scenes where it looked like the action was coming off the screen and it would’ve been nice to get the full effect, but…it was all right. Nothing to jump up and shout about. I’m looking forward to seeing him in 3rd Mummy movie.

Sunday, the hubby and I checked out THE DARK KNIGHT (the second time for him) with another couple. My opinions are probably going to be the same as everybody else’s, so I’m not going to say much. Heath Ledger was fabulous. If he gets an Oscar nod for this performance, it’ll be a miracle. But I’m not holding my breath. Comic books turned into movies don’t recognized by the Academy. My hubby said that his version of the Joker would’ve been a nice addition to the Batman franchise and I have to agree with him. If they make another Batman and use the Joker again, the actor will be filling a big pair of shoes. Heath just killed it. He was better than Jack Nicholson and nobody will ever be able to match that.

The special effects for Harvey Dent/Two-Face were amazing. Tommy Lee’s make-up looked like a cartoon version compared to this one. It looked very real, like what a burn victim looks like when they don’t get skin grafts. If it was CGI, it was very well done. The hubby was impressed. The whole Rachel thing was quite unexpected. I was a bit stunned. Loved the motorcycle thing. I was amazed at how he was able to control that thing. And even though Val Kilmer will always be my favorite version of Batman, Christian Bale runs a close second. The only thing I didn’t like was the way he talked when he was in Batman-mode. It was like he was trying too hard to change his voice, to make it deeper and rougher. With Val, it was effortless and smooth, even sexy. Maybe it was the lips. Val has great lips.

Anyhow, I thought the movie was fab all the way around. Very dark, very gritty, very edgy. I watched LITTLE WOMEN Sunday night and had forgotten that Christian was in that movie as well. It was interesting to see how young he was then. He’s in his 30’s now, I think. That movie was made in 1994, so he must’ve been in his early 20’s at the time. Quite a handsome man and I love the accent.

So, how was your weekend? See anything good?

Technorati Tags: MAMMA MIA!, Grease, Hairspray, Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Greece, ABBA, KISS, Remington Steele, James Bond, Waterloo, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, Brendan Fraser, THE DARK KNIGHT, Heath Ledger, Batman, Jack Nicholson, Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Val Kilmer, Christian Bale, LITTLE WOMEN

July 15, 2008 | Family Portrait, In the News, Life in General, Movie Queue, Must-See DVD, The 4-1-1 on Me, Weekend Wrap-Up

Saturday morning, I helped my parents out at an event for which they volunteered. The 2008 Backpack Giveaway Event was sponsored by ChildHelp, AZ Rod and Classic Car Club (of which my Dad is a member), M&I Bank and the City of Phoenix Parks and Rec Dept and gave away free backpacks to children of low-income families. They had free food, free water, local music entertainment and a mini-classic car show (my Dad is still looking to sell his ‘33 Ford if there are any SERIOUS takers out there). Several boxes of stuffed animals were donated by Kohl’s and me, my Mom and two other ladies helped pass them out. We were out there for 4 hrs and even though we were under the cover of tents, it was still hotter than Satan’s breath. I went straight home and took a shower.

Saturday night, the hubby and I attended a surprise birthday party for my brother-in-law. He had no idea about the party…until they pulled up to the house and saw all the cars. Duh! My sister said park whereever, but what she should’ve said was park around the corner. Or park in front of other houses. It was funny, truth be told. Eat and run. Typical black folk, y’know? Stay just long enough to exchange a few words (and hugs) with the birthday boy, eat (didn’t even wait for dessert!) and leave. LOL. Maybe it was the fact that my sister didn’t give an actual time they were bringing him home. She told people to come anytime after 3. Some people had probably gotten there right at 3 or 330 (like my BF) and they didn’t bring him around until 5 or 6-something! I shouldn’t have been surprised. My sister never was good at the time thing.

Must-See DVD pick:EASTERN PROMISES with Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. We watched this Saturday night. If you have not seen this movie, rent it or watch it now playing on the movie channel (don’t remember which one). If you don’t like violent movies, then it’s not for you, but Viggo is fabulous in this movie. And he does a great Russian accent.

Sunday, the hubby and I had breakfast at our favorite place (the one we go to looks nothing like this, and is always crowded, but worth the wait) then went to see Hellboy II: The Golden Army. We liked it. It was directed by Guillermo Del Toro and the creatures he created in the Troll World were amazing. If you’ve ever seen Pan’s Labryinth, and then you see this movie, you’ll know what I mean. Oh, and that Prince Nuada dude? Very. Cool. Moves. Movies I’m looking forward to seeing:

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (have you noticed that Brendan Fraser’s hairdo never seems to change in these movies? )

THE DARK KNIGHT - I’ve heard Oscar nomination buzz for Heath’s role and apparently, around the time of his death, director Christopher Nolan wrote a eulogy to him in Newsweek. Did anyone catch that?)

MAMMA MIA - Love me some ABBA

SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2 - seeing the first one made me add Greece to my Places to Travel list.

DEATH RACE - I have a serious love jones for Jason Statham. Sorry babe.

BABYLON A.D. - Oh, how I’ve missed seeing Vin Diesel in an action flick.

THE SPIRIT - If you liked Sin City, then you’ll like this movie, too, because it’s from the same guy, Frank Miller. And it’s the sequel to Sin City.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE -I’m still reserving judgement about Daniel Craig as the new James Bond, but this one looks to be as good as the previous one. I still have no idea what it’s about, but I know it picks up from where Casino Royale left off.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 - yes, dammit, I’m a fan. Shut the hell up.

TWILIGHT - Stephenie Meyer is a hometown favorite–and she’s very nice in person, too. I haven’t read her series, but I’m interested in seeing this one.

So, what about you? How was your weekend? What movies are you looking forward to seeing this year?

Technorati Tags: 2008 Backpack Giveaway Event, ChildHelp, AZ Rod and Classic Car Club, M&I Bank, City of Phoenix Parks and Rec Dept, Kohl’s, EASTERN PROMISES, Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Guillermo Del Toro, Pan’s Labryinth, Prince Nuada, THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR, Brendan Fraser, THE DARK KNIGHT, Christopher Nolan, Newsweek, MAMMA MIA, ABBA, SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2, Greece, DEATH RACE, Jason Statham, BABYLON A.D, Vin Diesel, THE SPIRIT, Sin City, Frank Miller, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, Daniel Craig, Casino Royale , HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3, TWILIGHT, Stephenie Meyer

July 1, 2008 | Book One, Book Stuff, DA Series, Draven Atreides, Life in General, Miss Snitch Mondays, Movie Queue, The 4-1-1 on Me, Weekend Wrap-Up, writing workshops

Saturday, I attended a writing class taught by former university professor and indie pub owner, Pamela Goodfellow of Goodfellow Publishing. She teaches a 3-Level, 8-week program, Crafting the Character-based Novel out of her home. She likes her classrooms smaller nowadays. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to taking the program and her being my editor. Saturday’s session had to do with scenes. I learned so much that I’ve decided to share the highlights with all you writers out there:

1) Get rid of dialogue attributions. These are the words you tag when your characters are talking: she said, she beamed, she laughed, she cried out, she teased, etc. I had no idea those even had a name until I took her class. Unfortunately, I do that a lot. As I’m sure all you other writers out there do, too. Pam says “If you are writing in character, you do not need to use dialogue attributions because the reader already knows who is talking or thinking. To show the reader this you may use action, reaction or emotional responses. You can also set up gestures and tagged responses for the reader to get to know the style of dialogue for each character. It is not easy to do. The simple thing to do is to use and attribution. But, if you want to write in character you must force yourself to learn by never using them.”

2) The 3 stages of human emotional response are visceral (physical), behavioral (instintive and learned response) and chosen (where the story is)

3) Every scene has to have a hook.

4) Use place holders in your scenes. It’s basically explaining something that the reader should already know. Pam says “You use a place holder because you know the reader will understand it; usually a cliché’s or an explanation of something that had happened earlier in the character’s history. If you recognize this in your own work, when you go back to revise and edit, you can take that place holder out and write a scene to set up what you were trying to explain in the original scene. Then when the reader gets to the original scene he/she will already have the information needed and will feel so very smart to understand the emotions of the character he/she has become attached to. It is really a secret to “showing” and not “telling”.”

4) A character cannot have the same emotional curve at the beginning than they do at the end. Emotional Curve is the name given to describe the emotional development of a character throughout the story. For instance, a character who starts out cynical and untrusting of men at the beginning of a story can’t remain like that by the end. It doesn’t have to be a happy ending, but you have to show the character as growing and changing emotionally. Pam says, “It is the emotional changes that make the story real and relevant to the reader.”

One thing she did tell me was that I’d have to change it from present tense to past tense. That’s going to be a lot of work. Good thing I’m up for the challenge. Clearly, I myself need to grow as an author still–and as we all know, learning to be a better writer is a never-ending process–and I look forward to working with her.

Saturday night, the hubby and I went to see Wanted. Very. Cool. Movie. We loved it. It even had some supernatural undertones to it, which made it even more interesting. I mean, besides the fact that they were a secret society of assassins, they have this…unusual ability. The hero (James McAvoy) thought he was having anxiety attacks, only to find out it was nothing close. The one thing I’ve discovered lately is that–SPOILER AHEAD–I don’t like it when Morgan Freeman plays the bad guy. I haven’t seen his full repetoire of movies, but this is the third movie (Chain Reaction, Lucky Number Slevin being the first two) in which he’s been the bad guy and I don’t like it. I realize actors and actresses need to mix it up a bit, but he doesn’t appear evil to me. I can’t picture him torturing someone or being the mastermind behind a plot to do harm. Some people have it and some people don’t. He’s one of the people that doesn’t.

On Sunday… (more…)

Technorati Tags: Pamela Goodfellow, Goodfellow Publishing., Crafting the Character-based Novel, Wanted., James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Chain Reaction, Lucky Number Slevin

June 24, 2008 | Book One, Book Stuff, DA Series, Draven Atreides, Life in General, Miss Snitch Mondays, Movie Queue, Must-See DVD, The 4-1-1 on Me, Voracious Reader, Weekend Wrap-Up

Saturday morning, my BF and I attended a business mtg. I needed a consult and seeing as how my BF owns 20% of my company (she’s the V.P.), I thought she needed to be “in the know”. Afterwards, we were supposed to hit up a coffee shop and talk more business, but I wasn’t in the mood. So, instead we hit up Ross, where she bought me a most wonderful belated birthday gift: a Buxton Womens Laptop carrying case in Sage

sage.jpg

Isn’t it great? I love it. It’s to replace the one that got destroyed during a PMS moment.

Ahem

Moving on…we then moseyed on over to Chandler Fashion Mall to check out this new store called BareEscentuals. I wanted to check out their Bare Minerals line of make-up. All natural make-up. I’m all for natural. Their foundation even has SPF 15! That’s plus when you’re living in It’s-So-Damn-Hot-It-Feels-Like-A-Blow-Dryer, AZ. Seriously, I think they just need to change the name from Phoenix, AZ to Damn Hot, AZ. I just scoped it out, wanted to eyeball the products up close and personal. I didn’t buy anything, but I plan to.

We then hit up my other favorite place…The Body Shop, where I bought some Moringa Body Scrub.

Have you smelled this stuff? It’s absolutely wonderful. I happened to see it online and knew, without even smelling it, that I would like it. When I got a GC to this place for my birthday, I hotfooted it over there and bought the shea body butter. That was the first time I smelled it and I LOVE IT. My BF bought me some Perfume Oil in Sequin Sparkle as another birthday gift

It smells great. A very light floral scent. She thought the name sounded whimsical (my BF is pretty whimsical herself) and ended up liking the way it smelled. The fact that it was on sale for $2 (and I get a 10% discount with my card) was a bonus. Speaking of discounts…we came into the mall through Barnes and Noble. The plan was to hit up Starbucks and then check out that other store.

“As long as I don’t end up in the romance section, I’ll be fine,” I tell her.

We ended up sharing some kind of S’Mores treat (that really wasn’t all that good) and chatting for a little bit.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” she says.

And it was all over but the cryin’. I ended up in the romance section. Had no intention of buying any books because I’d just bought 7 books online at eHarlequin.

Until I saw these

And it was all over but the cryin’. Again.

I’ve read every book in Lynsay Sands’ Argeneau Vampire series except for Book One. I just got finished reading Books 7, 8 & 9. I hadn’t read these two yet. They were on my list. I couldn’t pass them up.

The next thing I know, I’m snapping them off the shelf and beating a hasty retreat to checkout.

“I really need to find my friend-” (lost in the New Age section, BTW) “—and get the hell outta here.”

That night, the hubby and I watched this movie

Breach, with Ryan Phillipe. Have you seen it? Very good movie. It’s based on a true story about an FBI agent wanna-be who was instrumental in getting his boss, Agent Robert Hanssen, convicted for selling secrets to the Soviet Union. Yeah. I know. Deep.

On Sunday, (more…)

Technorati Tags: Ross, Buxton, Chandler Fashion Mall, BareEscentuals, Bare Minerals, The Body Shop, Moringa Body Scrub., Sequin Sparkle, Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, eHarlequin, Lynsay Sands’ , Argeneau Vampire, Breach, Ryan Phillipe

June 17, 2008 | Calendar of Events, Life in General, Movie Queue, The 4-1-1 on Me, Weekend Wrap-Up

CLICK ON THE PHOTOS FOR A BIGGER VIEW

So my big weekend was being a vendor at the Girlfriend Getaway Conference held by TIPofaz. I drove up Friday afternoon and stayed overnight. I sold 8 copies of my books, so the price of the table (which I was supposed to share with another person) was worth it. I made back my half even though I had to foot the hotel room bill myself. I stayed at the Prescott Resort in Prescott, AZ.

Bucky’s Casino is connected to the place, too. I don’t gamble, but I wanted to check it out. Very smokey place. I thought the statue was pretty unique, but I’m not sure of the meaning behind it. My room was fantabulous:

The first two pictures are the sitting area when you first walk in and the couch is a pull-out. My bed was king-sized, wonderfully soft, with 250 thread count sheets. Sweet! And the view from my balcony wasn’t bad, either:

Should you ever want to get married here, they have the perfect venue in front of the hotel, in a quaint area hidden behind some trees in the parking lot:

The views from this site were great, too, and I even found a little Peter Rabbit:

And here are some of the vendors: (more…)

Technorati Tags: Girlfriend Getaway Conference, Prescott Resort