Theater Thursday

The summer movie season is about to swing into full gear. For me (and lots and lots of aimless teenagers) that means there will be plenty of interesting movies to choose from. Ironman 2, Letters to Juliet, Robin Hood, Shrek Forever After, Sex and the City 2, Prince of Persia... And these are just the May releases that I want to see. There are a ton more in June (Eclipse anyone?) July and into August.

The list is pretty long but a couple of them stand out for me. Macgruber is being released in May. I've only seen the SNL sketch once or twice but I thought it was hilarious. I might have to drag Zilla to this one for the sheer enjoyment of watching him watch the movie. I do not think he will appreciate the humor. I also think he'll point out to me every time they employ some scientific principle that couldn't possibly exist. So much fun.

There is even a movie called Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead. I'm not entirely sure what it's about but I loved Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I'm thinking maybe it's the movie version of Sense and Sensibilities and Sea Monsters. Might have to check it out for sheer intrigue.

In preparation for the new marathon movie season, I've spent the last few weeks trying to catch up on the movies that I wanted to see in the theater but missed. My problem is that half the time I rent a movie and then don't end up watching it. I don't know how many times I've kept one for 3 or 4 days only to decide I'm not going to make the time and just take it back. The Men Who Stare At Goats, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Blind Side. On more than one occasion I've found myself purchasing a movie from pay per view that I'd had from the video store the week before but never watched. Am I the only person who does this?

What movies are you looking forward to seeing? Caught any good flicks lately? I enjoyed The Young Victoria (although it put Zilla to sleep) and The Blind Side.

Instigator

Theater Thursday

Some of you might not know this about me, but I am a drama queen. And no, I do not mean that in the sense of Angel's child or my own melodramatic five year old. I started doing community theater when I was ten and continued right up until shortly after I got married. I loved it! I met lots of people, got over my fear of public speaking and gradually advanced in my roles until I was playing female leads. I went so far as taking on the role of president for one of our local community theater groups. I even started college on a drama scholarship (we won't talk about why I didn't graduate on the drama scholarship).

Zilla got into the act as well. In fact, during one of the last plays I did we played love interests. We had just gotten engaged and I had a habit of putting my hand on his rear whenever we stood together. The director go so tired of telling me not to do that on stage! It was kind of funny...and embarrassing. But it was so fun to share that experience with him.

So what does this have to do with Theater Thursday? Well, for one I thought it might be fun to actually talk about theater. And for another I've been fighting back the urge to audition for months. I haven't done a show in years. I miss it. The problem is that it takes over your life for at least two months. I just don't have the time.

But I feel the itch. I've even started looking at getting Baby Girl involved. I got my start at our local children's theater and I honestly think Baby Girl would love it (and fit right in. Have I mentioned the time I caught her practicing her expressions in the mirror at 3?) The problem is, if I don't have the time to be at practice late into the night three days a week for the next two months then I really don't have the time to take her either.

So I've been suppressing the urge. I'm just not sure how much longer I can do it. Oh well, I will be able to get my fix when I take the girls to a local show. One of our high schools will be staging Beauty and the Beast in the next couple weeks. I hope they love it...and I don't come away from the show grasping for the paper and looking for auditions.

Have you ever done theater? Were you the green bean in the kindergarten school play? Or do you just love to be an audience member?

Instigator

P.S. I'll be blogging today over at the Blaze Author's blog talking about our guinea pig infestation. Stop by and say hi! :-)

Theater Thursday

Considering the advertisements for this movie have been plastered everywhere for weeks, I couldn't resist the opportunity to talk about Alice in Wonderland this month. It looks creepy. I'm intrigued.

They've been hawking this movie for months. The ad for the movie was all over the Olympics and when I went to B&N today the entire front of the store was plastered with posters, window clings, paraphernalia, and book displays. The problem with that kind of hard sell is if the movie doesn't live up to the hype it's gonna be bad.

Sweet Pea has definitely fallen for the marketing ploy. She's been begging me to see it for weeks. This is definitely one movie where I'm gonna have to see it first before I let her anywhere near it. While I think it might be interesting, there's definitely the possibility that it could freak her out. Heck, it could freak me out. Have you seen the movie poster with the tweedle twins? Seriously creepy.

Surprisingly enough, I really am excited to see this. I'm not a huge fan of Alice movies. The story has just never been one of my favorites. But anytime I can see Johnny Deep covered in white make-up with orange clown hair I'm in. I didn't think he could get any weirder than Willy Wonka. I was wrong. Pair him with Helena Bonham Carter and it's gotta be gold. The cast is pretty stacked.

Contrary to what the production company of Alice wants you to believe, there are a few other movies coming out this month too. Actually, there are a couple I really want to see.

Remember Me (yes, with Robert Pattinson) is set for release the end of the month. The previews look amazing. The relationship between Rob's character and Emilie De Raven (of Lost fame) looks steaming hot. However, I have recently learned that the ending of the movie might be hard for me to see. I definitely would have been upset if I'd gone into the movie not knowing. At least now I'll be able to make an informed decision. If you've been eyeing this movie (and don't mind a spoiler) you might want to do a google search before heading out. I still think I'll see this one...just might wait to do it in the comfort of my own couch.

Another one I've been waiting months for is How to Train Your Dragon. This looks sooooo cute!!! As a mommy half my movie hours are usually dedicated to cartoons. Most of the time I go to see the movie because I think the girls will like it (and they beg me repeatedly). I'm actually the one who told them about this one. While they want to see it, I think I'm more excited. I think it's going to be so good...it can't be any worse than Chipmunks the Squeakquel.

There are some other big name movies coming out. Green Zone (which Zilla is excited about), Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Clash of the Titans, The Last Song. March really does look like a good movie month. I just hope I have enough time to get to the theater and see all of the ones I want to.

Any movies coming up that you're excited about? Are you going to see Alice?

Instigator

Theater Thursday

Award show season has begun. We've already had the Golden Globes, the SAGs and the Grammys. Just this week the nominees for the Academy Awards were announced. I love this time of year.

I love the fashion. I love the wacky special numbers. I love the failed attempts at humorous intros. I love the crazy pairings they usually bring out for musical numbers. I love it all.

What I don't like are the acceptance speeches. Does that make me a bad human? Seriously. I was excited to see Jeff Bridges with the Golden Globe but I really don't care who he wants to thank. I don't need to hear a list of people I don't know, don't care to know and/or never will hear anything about again. I have no desire to hear you praise God, your director, producer or anyone else for that matter. I don't want to see your teary eyed spouse in the audience. I understand that this is the most important night of your life...but it isn't mine.

I know. I suck. But it's just so dang boring. I'm an instant gratification girl. If you put all those acceptance speeches together that's probably at least an hour of my life I'll never get back. Rarely, very rarely, there's a funny one that I'll enjoy. But for the most part I flip to another channel during the speeches and would miss it even if everyone was freakin' hilarious.

So while I'm very excited to watch the Academy Awards, I'm hoping there's something else interesting on TV that night so I can avoid those painfully boring minutes.

Do you watch award shows? Which is your favorite? What's your stance on acceptance speeches? Are you pulling for anyone specific this year?

Instigator

P.S. Every year I promise myself I'm going to watch all the Best Picture nominees. I never do. This year there are 10 - count 'em - 10. There's no way. I don't think I've seen a single one of them either.

Theater Thursday

It's sort of a tradition in our family to go to the movies during Christmas break. I think it began when my mother had 4 kids home from school for 3 weeks and needed a couple of hours to catch up on her sleep...in the dark theater. However, I've carried on the tradition, loosely though it might be.

This year I managed to fit 2 shows into the week I took off of work - one with Zilla and one with the girls, my sister, BIL and their 2 boys. I bet you can't guess which one I preferred. :-)

Zilla and I took a date night and went to see Sherlock Holmes. This is an unusual occurrence. Not the date night, but that we could both agree on which movie we actually wanted to see. Usually one of us just ends up saying, "I'll go see it but only because you want to." This is how he drags me to shoot 'em up films and I finagle my way into chick flicks. However, this one has something for everyone. Action, adventure, gun shots, a mystery, a bad guy, a beautiful woman and a romantic history that threw a monkey wrench into everything. Overall, I'd have to say it was good. Not my absolutely favorite but well worth the money we spent to go see it. And if you can find a movie theater near you that has a 21 and over only section, a bar and allows you to take an appletini in to watch...I say definitely go see it. Besides, Robert Downey Jr. is half naked at one point...need I say more?

The second movie I caught was Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squekuel. It was...cute. The girls certainly liked it, although I wasn't surprised since they've practically worn out the DVD of the first one. The music was current so at least I liked the songs that they were singing. My five year old nephew was spell bound. I'll admit that I didn't go into this movie expecting an advanced script and intellectually stimulating dialogue. For what it is, it was...cute. Would I see it again? Only if the girls guilt tripped me into it. Would I want to scratch my eyeballs out while we were there? No.

I'm not sure I'm going to be making it to any more movies in the next month. As much as I'd love to see the Blindside - and, yes, I still haven't made it to that one - I expect to be snowed under...possibly literally.

Did you see any movies over the holidays? Are there any coming up that you're looking forward to?

Instigator

Theater Thursday

Zilla and I have had a gift certificate for a movie and dinner for months now. We just can't seem to get a date night scheduled. Well, that's not quite true. We've had date nights in there but we usually bail on the movie. For one thing, it's hard for us to agree on one that we'd both like to see. For another, we're both home bodies and most often just decide that staying in is a better option. Friday night we even had a babysitter lined up...I ended up working instead. Don't get me wrong, we took advantage of the child free hours. However, what we didn't do is go to a movie. And this gift certificate expires at the end of the month.

We've both agreed - and have babysitters already lined up - that we're going to see Sherlock Holmes the day after Christmas. I have to admit, it looks pretty damn good.

@ Yahoo! Video

There are actually lots of good movies coming out this month...just not ones Zilla and I would both go see. I'm interested in: The Lovely Bones, The Princess and the Frog, The Young Victoria, Did You Hear About the Morgans, Nine (although if it turns out to be anything close to Moulin Rouge I will walk out of the theater), and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (the girls loved the first one!). I still want to see Blind Side, The Men Who Stare at Goats and possibly the Brothers although that one looks pretty intense.

Are there any movies you're looking forward to seeing? Any that you'd recommend?

Instigator

Theater Thursday

This month I'm going to talk about Television on Theater Thursday. A conversation earlier this week has started me thinking about programming, scripts and the current lack of shows that are keeping my interest. I've even stopped tuning in to watch programs that I've been faithfully watching for years...I just don't care anymore. Maybe my suspension of disbelief has been stretched just a little too far. I'm not sure. What I do know is that while I usually have at least 1 or 2 shows I like to watch each night...I only have 1 or 2 each week that can hold my interest right now. Castle, So You Think You Can Dance and The Mentalist are about it. I'm looking forward to the return of Lost as well but that's more because I'm a masochist who can't leave a puzzle unsolved.

Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, Survivor, Top Model...none of these is holding my interest these days. I honestly couldn't care less if Izzy or George survived. How sick am I? Lately, I've found myself watching weird shows on The Discovery Channel, National Geographic and The Food Network rather than Prime Time Television. Ghost Hunters anyone? But even then it's only because I was flipping and thought, "Meh. Why not?"

And don't get me started on The Jay Leno Show. In my opinion, that is a waste of an hour. I've always been a fan of Jay's. I much prefer him to Letterman (however I prefer Letterman to Conan which is saying a lot). What really bothers me about the new show though is that it's taking time from some potentially good programming. I wonder if maybe the lack of 5 hour long shows each week is contributing to the overall lack of good choices.

There were a couple new shows this season that I wanted to like - Three Rivers because I love Alex O'Laughlin and hated what they did to him on Moonlight, Mercy although it looked really intense, Cougar Town because I was a huge Friends fan and Accidentally on Purpose because I liked the premise. Yeah. None of them excites me.

I'm wondering if it's me. If I'm just not in the mood these days to give a new show a chance. Am I overly critical? Are there fantastic shows out there that I'm missing? Or should I spend those hours on my elliptical instead of bemoaning my lack of television time? What do you think?

Instigator

P.S. And for those of you that were sure I'd be talking about the New Moon release set for later this month...here's the trailer for you to watch. :-)

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/