Bride Wars

'Bride Wars' is a chick flick. That's it. I have nothing else to say about this movie. But if you're of the female persuasion-see it! Don't let some dumpy critic tell you not to. Because he's a man and he's dumb!

If you haven't heard the premise by now, the movie is about two girls, Liv and Emma who are best friends and since childhood have planned every detail of their respective weddings. At the top of their bridal "must have" list: a ceremony at New York's ultimate bridal destination, the Plaza Hotel. Now, at age 26, they're both about to get married; they're about to realize their dreams; and they're about to live happily ever after. The hilarity starts when the dates gets rolled into one and well, let the competition begin!

Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson are just hysterical as the two brides running each other over for the room and trying to hate each other along the way. You didn't expect Kristen Johnston to be in there for Emma, but she pulled it off in a weird sort of way which made the whole thing even more farcical. And Candice Bergen lent an air of diplomacy where it was badly needed.

As I said in the beginning, go see this, if you haven't already because it's just cute.

Me? Next, it's either 'Taken' or 'Inkheart', we need some violence now!

Cheers!

Nice Job Captain Sullenberger!

I was one of many who read the amazing story of how Pilot Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III saved his 80 ton Airbus from certain disaster by landing the huge airliner in the Hudson River.

To say that was a mild job would be a huge understatement on my part and I think that not only I but many of the passengers would agree with me that if it were not for Captain Sullenberer's fine talent, many of those people would not be alive tonight.

I myself have accepted that I have had my share of flying. When we were younger we flew to Florida a few times and I enjoyed it immensely! I even fell asleep through a lot of turbulence. We had taken off from Orlando and landed in Atlanta and hubby was totally shocked that I slept through the whole thing! I'm afraid I would be a white knuckler nowadays.

Back to the passengers of Flight 1549. I was so glad to see them safe and sound and on dry land. I could only imagine what it was like while they were out there waiting to be rescued on the wing of the plane. I read plenty of articles about it, and can only give you my take on things. I know that Airbus Flight 1549 took off from LaGuardia Airport (originally bound for Charlotte, NC) and within minutes the plane hit some birds which caused both engines to fail. The pilot attempted to turn the Airbus back to LaGuardia but was unable to. He then glided the dead plane into the Hudson River. I was listening to the news and stayed up afterwards and watched a little of David Letterman and he commented that hopefully this is a great beginning to 2009!

Let's all hope so!

Cheers!

Ted Levine from 'MONK'

I had read about Tony Shalhoub and had even seen him in several movies and TV shows, but I thought it was interesting when I started seeing Ted Levine's name pop up elsewhere. So here's what I found on Wikipedia. Ted Levine was born in Parma, Ohio.

In the mid-1970s, he attended Marlboro College and the University of Chicago. He became a fixture in the Chicago theatre scene and joined the Remains Theatre which was co-founded by Gary Cole and William L. Petersen. After his stage experience, Levine began to devote most of his energy during the 1980s toward finding roles in film and television such as a minor part in Charlie's Angels. He also managed to get a tiny part in Rambo: First Blood Part II, as one of the men getting the P.O.W's off the helicopter.

After his breakout role in The Silence of the Lambs, there was a period where he was typecast in villainous roles. Levine avoided this by playing more protagonists, such as a member of Al Pacino's police unit in Heat, astronaut Alan Shepard in the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon, and Paul Walker's police superior Sergeant Tanner in The Fast and the Furious. In the drama Georgia, he played Mare Winningham's husband, one of his most sympathetic characters.
His résumé also includes an uncredited role as the voice of the sociopathic trucker "Rusty Nail" in 2001's Joy Ride, and his performance as Detective Sam Nico in the 2003 film Wonderland, based on the gruesome murders in Los Angeles Wonderland District. Since 2002, he has co-starred in his role as Captain Leland Stottlemeyer on USA Network's detective series 'Monk', starring Tony Shalhoub.
Levine also provided the voice of the supervillain Sinestro in Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. Most recently, Levine appeared as a patriarch whose family takes a turn for the worse in the remake of The Hills Have Eyes (2006). In 2007, he portrayed local Sheriff James Timberlake in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and appeared in Ridley Scott's American Gangster, alongside Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.
In a January 12, 2006 interview on The Late Late Show (CBS), actor Seth Green credited Levine as the inspiration for the voice of his character Chris Griffin on Family Guy.

Now, I ask you, is there such a man so talented? Well, there is Hugh Laurie...

Cheers!

'Superstars of Dance'

There's a new kid on the block and I intend on watching it. Tonight NBC will be airing 'Superstars of Dance' hosted by Lord of the Dance star, Michael Flatley and well known actress, Susie Castillo. Now although the network is a little bit late to the dancing-show party, it is hoping that its entry into the genre makes up for its tardiness with the sheer skill that will be on display.

Superstars of Dance, will bring together some of the best professional dancers from eight countries for a competition that will try to determine which nation can step lively. It's the brainchild of Nigel Lythgoe, the former American Idol executive producer who also oversees FOX's So You Think You Can Dance.

It seems there will be three categories, the group category, and then a doubles and also a singles. The scores will be added together and we will get to see who is the lead at the end of tonight's show. Ah, but there's a catch! 'Superstars of Dance' will also be on Monday night as well so some country will be eliminated! Personally, I don't think this bodes well for any good neighbor policy but whatever.

I did look through the album posted on the NBC website for the show just to see if they had any dancers from Scotland and alas there was none. Of course that was the first thing my mom asked me when I called her to ask if she was going to watch the show. 'No mom, there aren't any representatives from Scotland.' Her response was, and rightly so, 'Then why should I watch it?' Hopefully the show goes over well and Michael Flatley will have Highland Dancers next year!

Cheers!

Marley & Me

This afternoon I went with a few friends a went to see the move Marley & Me. Now, if you take the description straight off the movie website, it's about an ambitious young reporter, John Grogan, and his wife, Jenny, who is also a reporter. They move to a Florida, buy a house and adopt a Labrador puppy and name him Marley. Marley quickly becomes a rollicking force of nature in their lives.

But that's only the beginning of the story and I would be ruining the movie if I told more, so why stop there? That's what blogs are for! No, I won't ruin it. But I have come to realize that I really missed out not having a dog for a pet growing up. I know in earlier blogs I've mentioned that I was raised with some sort of phobia about animals. I'm getting over it. I truly loved Marley & Me and the only thing I would change about Marley is that I would call in a real dog trainer, not Kathleen Turner. Did anyone else recognize her???

What we have to do is really commend John Grogan, the author, for his humanity to the simple yet complex creatures around us. There are so many and they come in all sizes; from horses to dogs, and from all manner of bird life to the cats that wish to eat them! There are the beautiful sea creatures like dolphins and porpoises to sea lions and walruses. I can't even begin to cover the land animals in Africa. If you have the opportunity, take a safari. but if you can't do that, find something nearby and travel there. I am still trying to visit the Grand Canyon and its beauty. I've been told about it so many times and seen so many pictures of it, I think I'm homesick.

So, enjoy your day, your world, and the animals around you.

And please have a safe and Happy New Year!

Cheers!

The day after Christmas

If you're like everyone else-or like me, you started shopping for those special gift in September, or before and ran out and got the last one(s) Christmas Day. This was a lean year so we improvised a lot. Home baked cookies went far. The inexpensive Chicago caps that you pick up at Walgreen's was at hit (I was mildly surprised at that one!) and hubby baked an apple pie for our son. We did get regular gifts for others too, but next year hopes to be much better-but I always say that.

The problem is the day after. Last night, after all the gifts had been opened, we sat around with silly grins on our faces and just enjoyed the moment. Now, mind you, there is nothing wrong with that! But as my wise pappy says; "All that fussing and fixing, for just a few moments and then it's gone!" Ah, but what a few moments it was!

So what did we do today? Sadly, not too much of anything. I felt depressed because I felt the holiday was over. Although I shouldn't feel that way. We attended Christmas Eve service along with millions of others and heard a wonderful message that should keep me going, I just forgot it! Sometimes I think about Hanukkah and the festival of lights, then there's Kwanzaa, and Three King's and that's not until January sometime! I think I'm going to keep the decorations up all year because it must be Christmas somewhere in the world in some form.

Don't you think?

I'll end with homage to the wonderful Charles Schultz who had the right idea with a Charlie Brown Christmas. Poor Charlie Brown couldn't get anyone to listen to him when he was trying to direct a simple Christmas pageant. When he finally gave in one last time, Linus, his best friend told him the true meaning and to make up for their bad behavior, the gang asked Charlie Brown to buy a tree. Although he bought the worst tree in the lot, through their love it became a true Christmas tree.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Cheers!

Ice Age 3

I have to admit that I have been negligent in attending to any blogs, I ask your forgiveness. I've been looking for a job. I know, I should have just moved from the job site over to my blog site and that should have been that! My only excuse is that I get real tired after four hours in front of a computer! So, I've decided to write by blog first. The other problem is that while we've been stuck at home the Midwest has been hit with two blizzards within the past week. As I write this, the wind is howling outside my den window. I have decided to find something positive about all of this and since we loved the movie Ice Age, I am looking forward to the July, 2009 opening of 'Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.'

The synopsis goes that the sub-heroes from the worldwide blockbuster 'Ice Age' and 'Ice Age: The Meltdown' are back in an incredible adventure. Scrat is still trying to nab the ever-elusive nut. He even may find true love along the way! But love is fleeting.

Manny and Ellie await the birth of their mini-mammoth and Diego the saber-toothed tiger wonders if he's growing too 'soft' after hanging around with Manny and his pals. And Sid the Sloth gets into trouble when he creates his own makeshift family by hijacking some dinosaur eggs.

On a mission to rescue the hapless Sid, the gang ventures into a mysterious underground world, where they have some close encounters with dinosaurs, battle flora and fauna, run amuck, and meet meet a a relentless, one-eyed, dino-hunting weasel named Buck.

I find this centers all around the animals. I'm just waiting for some human to pop in the story-you know, probably from 'Ice Age'. Now that would be interesting! I loved that kid!

Visit their website at http://www.iceagemovie.com/

Cheers!