Toy Story 3

Following the downer of Blue Valentine I thought we'd watch an uplifting/funny movie so I picked Toy Story 3 that we got for Christmas. Little did I know how sad this one was!! It is so clever, as they have all been, and so well done but boy oh boy there were some really sad parts to this one. The overall story is a great one and the animation is amazing. I am glad we own this one and can't wait until Cohen is old enough for these movies...then again he'll only get half of it as so much of it is adult humor anyway! Way to go Pixar another great one!

GREAT Ken clip here which must be an extra but here is a great one from the movie here

Overall Rating A

Blue Valentine

My uncle babysat for us for a night out. We were able to go for a great dinner and then to see Blue Valentine. It was a really good movie, again like Social Network I am not sure it is best picture worthy but I can say Ryan Gosling was robbed not being nominated for his role! He had such a great character and did such a great job in the role. Michelle Williams was also very good. It is quite a sad story, so real which is what makes it so sad. The ending is heartbreaking but realistic. I would definitely recommend this movie as it will have you both laughing and crying.

My favorite scene in the movie is the main one here in the trailer while he plays/sings and she dances: watch it here

Overall Rating A-

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Not sure how I ended up with another book about being kidnapped but that is what this one is. This is interesting because it is told from the viewpoint of the lady that was kidnapped AFTER she escaped. It is her struggle of getting back into life and moving on from all that happened to her. It is well written and has a few good twists in the story. It was a very quick read (read it in one night because I couldn't put it down).

Overall Rating A-

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

I read this book for my other book club. It is a long book, so a bit of an undertaking (600+ pages) but overall quite good. Many of the gals in the book club had a hard time getting into the book and really had to read for over 200 pages before they really got into it so keep that in mind if you decide to read it. It is the story of many doctors and some of the scenes are quite graphic and hard to read but very well written. The main story is the story of twin brothers and their journey through life. The author does a great job of weaving all of the lives in the novel together in many different ways. It was a good discussion in our group and brought up many outside ideas/discussions as well.

Overall Rating B

The Social Network

Sam and I finally saw The Social Network after hearing the hype for months. I thought the movie was great but am baffled by the fact that it is winning and nominated for all kinds of awards. Looking at past films in the same category I just don't see how it competes. The music for the movie is amazing and should be winning awards, but best picture? I just don't see it. Jesse Eisenberg did a great job in the role and I can understand his nomination as well. However, best screenplay, or director, or best picture no. It is a great look into the life of Facebook and an overall very entertaining film. I would watch it again. I would also really like to read the Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires as well to see how they compare as I know his book Bringing Down the House was not quite like the film 21.

My favorite two clips in the film:

Checking your math

Attention

Overall I would give the film an A- (but not all of the awards it has received)

Next to Normal- Broadway Show

We went to see Next to Normal here in Denver. It is directed by the same director that did Rent and was nominated for and won many Tony awards as well as the Pulitzer Prize for drama. All that said I would have to say it didn't even compare to Rent! It will be hard for any show to ever compete with Rent in my mind but I didn't find this show to be as amazing as it was hyped up to be. The lead actress, who won a Tony for her performance, just did not seem to me to mesh well with the rest of the cast. She had a tough role to play and did a good job but overall I found her hard to understand when she was singing. Overall the show was good, not great, and not one I would need to see again.

Overall I would give the show a C-

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

My book club read Still Alice by Lisa Genova. We had a GREAT discussion on this book. It is quite powerful writing and really makes you think. The book is about a mother/wife/professor who gets early onset Alzheimers as told by her. The author is a Harvard professor who has obviously done vast amounts of research on the topic. It is well written and would be a great book club book for any other groups looking for a good discussion.

I give the book an A

Room by Emma Donoghue

WOW!!! This book was amazing! It is the story of a girl who is kidnapped and forced to live in this room that her kidnapper has built and while there she has a son. The story is told by the 5 year old son, from his viewpoint. It took a few pages to get used to the way the story was being told but once into it it is hard to put down. It is on the list for my book club's 10 this year so I am excited to get to discuss it in book club. I will post again after our discussion.

Overall Rating A

Step Up 3

Well add this to the should not have gotten at Redbox while on vacation list. While this was better than Charlie St. Cloud it is nothing like the first one which I love. That could be because it is not Channing Tatum in it or because the plot is definitely lacking a bit. It was entertaining and I am a sucker for dance flicks (Save the Last Dance, Honey, Step Up...) but this is definitely not one to add to my collection.

Overall Rating C-

Charlie St. Cloud

Well this blog won't leave anything out...the good, the bad, and the HORRIBLE. While this movie wasn't horrible it wasn't good either. While on vacation I found a Redbox and got this movie that I'd been wanting to see. The overall concept is pretty cheesy and the ending is REALLY cheesy which I am usually ok with cheesy but this was a bit too much. Don't think I need to ever see this one again.

Overall Rating D

Hunger Games, Catching Fire & Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Well this set truly kicked off the new year as I stayed up just past midnight on New Year's Eve finishing Hunger Games. The concept of this book is like nothing I have ever read. They are considered young adult books but are quite complex and have many levels to them. I couldn't put Hunger Games down, really liked Catching Fire and was disappointed with Mockingjay. The build up of the first two and the ending of the 3rd reminded me a lot of a John Grisham novel...build build build and then end. However, with that said I would still highly recommend that people read them. They are quick reads and just suck you in.

I am going to rate each book on its own since I think they are very different:

Hunger Games A

Catching Fire B+

Mockingjay C-

This Year...

I have decided to keep a blog about our year of entertainment. I will write about movies, books, shows, concerts or anything else we do for entertainment.

So...without further ado here we GO!!!