The Launch of Theater Thursdays

I was really excited when I got Theater Thursdays for our theme week each month. Not only do I have an innate love of the theater (having been involved with a local theater group when I was younger) but it gives me the opportunity to talk about movies, tv and even concerts. So if there's something that you want to see discussed here please let me know! I'm very open to suggestions.

Since I haven't had a chance to attend a play recently, I'm going to focus on movies this month. This weekend I dragged SP out to see Fame with me. She wasn't overly enthusiastic about the prospect - she wanted to see Zombieland - but she's a great friend and went to the movie I wanted to see. Besides, I don't do blood and gore which includes flesh eating undead even if the dialogue is supposed to be funny.

I have to say I was disappointed. I mean, Fame was a cute, feel good kinda movie but in my mind it didn't compare to the original. Perhaps that's because I'm remembering the original through my adolescent (and ballet crazed) mind. I'll admit that when I was younger I wanted to be a dancer (unfortunately, my body just wasn't cut out for that career) and therefore could really identify with the teenagers struggling for their dream...my dream. This time maybe I was watching them through adult eyes. The eyes of a person who's achieved a dream of her own now and realizes that the struggles just don't end there.

To me the individual story lines just weren't developed enough. While I loved the dance numbers I would have liked more character development. It almost felt like they'd shoved in some dialogue because they had to have something between the soul belting songs and flashy dance numbers. Not to mention that several of those dance numbers seemed pointless to the entire plot of what little storyline was there. It was good. I think it could have been better. But maybe I was just expecting too much.

The girls also went to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs with my mom over the weekend. They absolutely loved the movie. They thought it was cute and talked to me for an hour, giving me the rundown of the entire thing.

I asked my mom for her take on the movie. She said it was cute but that she had a hard time staying awake through it. That might just be her exhaustion from trying to keep up with my rambunctious kids though. She did say that there was an overall message to the story...about overeating I believe. And while in theory I think it's probably a good message I'm not sure how I feel about an entire movie devoted to it. She did say that the message went completely over my girls' heads. I'm okay with that.

I think in the next month or so I'm going to be taking the girls to see Where the Wild Things Are. As much as I'm not sure how they can sustain a 2 hour movie from that short book it was always one of my favorites and I really want to see it on screen. I was also intrigued by a movie called The Men Who Stare at Goats that's coming out in November.

Have you seen either of the movies? What did you think of them? Any others you'd recommend? Any you'd tell us to stay away from? Anything that you want to see me review in the future? One commenter will win a signed copy of Afterburn so be sure and tell me your opinion!

Instigator

P.S. I'm talking about my shoe catastrophe on the Blaze Author blog today. Come over and tell me about your shoe addiction. http://blazeauthors.com/blog/