Oops! BEDA 4/31

Well, as you can see I missed a day. HOWEVER, I am COMMITTED to blogging for 31 days. I know I say that every single BEDA, but I mean it this time. I'm doing a lot of interesting things right now with this redecorating project and I actually have things to blog about. So I am DOING IT! I fully intended to blog last night after my weekly movie date with my grandmother, if for no other reason than to discuss my feelings about the movie: Mirror, Mirror. But here's the thing...I was kind of underwhelmed. It wasn't BAD, but I didn't think it was GREAT either. I suppose I just expected a little bit more from a fairy tale retelling. In my opinion the characters were kind of flat and I didn't really care what happened to any of them. It didn't help that E spoiled a MAJOR part of the ending, so even then big *GASP* moment was kind of ruined. Alas, this was no Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix* level of disappointment, but I will probably not be rewatching this film. I didn't even think Julia Roberts was convincing as a villain. Nathan Lane, however, was AMAZING and well up to his usual standard. And of course the small appearance of Sean Bean** warmed my tiny fangirl heart! All in all, if you like fairy tale retellings, check this out. If you like AMAZING fairy tale retellings, read Jackson Pearce's books.




*OotP is arguably the worst movie I've ever seen. I can't think of another movie that I've EVER been more disappointed in, so much so that had I paid for my own ticket I would have written to Warner Bros and requested a refund. I was SO disappointed in that movie and it has become the yardstick I use to measure other disappointing movies.
**Although, I did remark to my dad that I was astounded that he was not viciously killed at some point because that seems to be his MO.

Thursday Ten: Christmas Movies I Love

One of my favorite things about Christmas is being able to enjoy Christmas movies. Starting in November I will occasionally watch something Christmas related, but once Thanksgiving is over and we are eating our way through leftovers it becomes Official Christmas Season at my house. Christmas movies are played each night, some more than once. Without further ado, here is my Top Ten list of Favorite Christmas Movies

1. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
2. White Christmas
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Animated)
4. Nutcracker
5. Most any version of A Christmas Carol
6. Here Comes Santa Claus
7. I'll Be Home for Christmas
8. The Santa Clause
9. The Year Without Christmas
10. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Live Action Version)

What Christmas (or any holiday) movies do YOU love?

In Which Chelle Watches the Lord of the Rings Movies

Okay, Nerd Girl confession. Until last week I had never seen the LOTR movies. *cringes* I know! It really doesn't help my nerd cred. To make it even worse, I haven't read the books. Well, that isn't exactly true...I read The Hobbit when I was in high school, and then again the on one of my summer breaks during college. I started the Lord of the Rings series then as well and I read The Fellowship of the Ring as well as part of Two Towers. However, due to a full time college load, work every weekend, and trying to maintain a (doomed) relationship and a GPA that would get me into grad school, the LOTR (and all pleasure reading) fell by the wayside. I've always wanted to read the entire series and see the movies, but I'm one of those strange book people who are always hesitant to watch movies based on books, because usually I don't enjoy them. However, in an effort to convince my male cousins (ages 13 and 10) that I really am cool (even if I am a girl) I have embarked on a journey through film. It started last summer when the younger one told me about this really cool movie he had seen. The conversation went like this:

Him: It's about this dude who like history and stuff and had that guy from Even Stevens, ya know

Me: Indiana Jones? Yeah I love Indy!

Him: Um, Chelle, you're a girl

Me: Yeah...

Him: You watched that movie?

Me: Yeah, I've seen all of them, my favorite one is Raiders.

Him: ...uh...are you kidding me?

Me: No, I own all three of the original ones, wanna stay here Friday night and watch one?

Him: Sure...

So from there we have been watching many different "guy" movies. I still have my girlie nights with the two girl cousins, but more often we have action/adventure movie nights. We recently finished the X-Men trilogy and I suggested that we watch both the LOTR trilogy and the Star Wars saga (all six movies) and they agreed. So last weekend we began our nine hour journey through Middle Earth,and thanks to snow days we were able to watch them in a week. I was bombarded with questions throughout the movies such as "why are wizards so old," "why did a hobbit have to carry the ring," and "how did the ring even end up in the shire?" After telling them that they should read a book once in a while I answered their questions as best I could. From my grandmother, love her heart, I got "do you ever watch normal movies? None of this makes any sense!" She is not a fan of fantasy. I loved the movies. I love the fact that it gives me a chance to be with the people I love most. I'm aware that most twenty-six year old girls don't spend their weekends at home with their grandmother and four kids under the age of fourteen, but I love it. I love sharing something I love, epic fantasy, with them. True, three of the four of them will probably never read the books, they don't share my intense love of literature, but we still get to share the experience. They are reminded that I like the things they like, that I will hang with them whenever, and that we love each other dearly (without being super mushy.) They get to laugh at me for becoming way too emotionally involved-they love the fact that I cried during each of the movies. We get to argue about who is the best character (I remain torn between Strider/Aragorn and Legolas, but maintain that Samwise Gamgee is the person we should all admire the most), which fight scene was most epic, and how creepy Gollum is. I spent the entire second movie yelling at Eowyn to back up off of Aragorn, they spent the second movie laughing at me. All in all, it is an experience that I always enjoy.

My family is unique and crazy and wonderful. I love spending time with them and I never take it for granted. There was a large portion of my past when I didn't appreciate what I had, and while I never came close to losing them-because they would never let me go-I did have to suffer a pain that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy to be reminded of how much they all love me. So, maybe I'm not the normal twenty-six year old, but I can promise you that I had more fun Friday night with a 82 year old, two thirteen year olds, a ten year old, and a seven year old than I had in a year of Friday nights when I used to go out.

**DISCLAIMER-Since watching the movie, I've dug out my copy of The Hobbit and ordered the LOTR trilogy, so that I can read them now!

Book-to-Movie Review: Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging

The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series of books by Louise Rennison is one of my favorite YA series. The books are so fun and lighthearted, but they still ring true. I mourned the end of the series (even though I loved how Rennison tied up all the ends) and I occasionally look at my copies of the book and think "soon Gee, you and I will meet again."* Yesterday, the movie Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging played on Nick. As my grandmother and I settled in to watch the film, I hoped that the movie would be as fun and funny as the book series it was based on. Moments in I had plenty of thoughts and feelings**, but no real complaints. The cast was really good. There were a few issues (Tom and Robbie are brothers but Robbie is older, I pictured Wet Lindsey as gawky with long arms and legs, Ellen wasn't clueless enough, Georgia seemed a little young, there was no Sven) but many of the cast was right on. Georgia's mom? Wonderfully cast and acted. My grandmother actually said "well, she has no problem at all letting her boobs hang out," which I thought was a great kudos to the film makers since all Georgia talks about in the books is how her mother has no shame and always wears low cut shirts. I also realized how living with a twenty-six year old has influenced my grandmothers language, but that's another blog post! Slim was also well done (even though she wasn't really in the movie very much.) Robbie was okay and Dave the Laugh was excellent and so dreamy. I thought that the Ace Gang had great chemistry, I could see the four of them sitting in the back of class passing notes and getting into all kinds of trouble. My grandmother loved Angus*** and laughed every time he was on screen. I wish there had been more Dave the Laugh, Libby, and Sven because they are the craziest characters and they always bring the laughs. I wish that the film makers hadn't made Georgia's relationship with her parents all gooey. In the books it is obvious that she loves her parents, but she is always very embarrassed by them. In the movie she is more affectionate and forgiving. Many of my favorite book scenes were well represented, and though there were some deviations all the important stuff was there. I think this movie adaptation was a huge success.

If you haven't read the books what are you waiting for? They are so wonderful. If you are an adult, don't worry. As I read the books I can remember being a fourteen year old girl and I laugh at how caught up I was in life. It is fun to be able to look back and remember how simple things were, even if I thought they would never get more complicated than they were right then. Having to choose between three fantastic guys?**** I wish that was the biggest issue in my life now, but it is so refreshing to read things from Georgia's point of view. She definitely would have been my pal when I was in high school, and she is one of the funniest characters in YA lit today. The books are just full of laughs though. There are plenty of life lessons for teens: first love, lost love, self-discovery, the true meaning of friendship, and many more.

So basically this is my consensus: Read the books! They are fun for everyone of every age. Watch the movie too. I would recommend you do both! If you are a hardcore Georgia fan, don't worry-the movie isn't going to disappoint you. If you have never picked up one of the books the movie will send you to your local library or bookstore looking for them. Either way, you will not be disappointed if you make a date with Georgia Nicolson.

*What? You don't talk to your books?

**Georgia's flat is really nice, Jas is really annoying, LOL olive costumes, *sigh* Dave the Laugh, that kissing scene was kind of gross, "Really Robbie, that's your guitar solo face? Really?," why isn't Rosie Georgia's bff-they make more sense.

***"That's a cat?!?!?! Good Lord what a cat!"

****Three fantastic guys? I have always been Team Dave the Laugh. I thought Robbie was kind of a tool, albeit a dreamy tool, who wanted Georgia to be someone she wasn't. (Girls-you never have to change for a boy! Be who you are and at least you'll like yourself, which is more important that whether others like you. I promise it doesn't always seem like it, but it is true!) Massimo was an idiot with an awesome accent who was way too old for Georgia and cared more about the band than her. D the L was her pal who always liked her, regardless of how she looked or the less than nice way she acted. However, I won't tell you who she picked, because I don't want there to be spoilers!