What We Watch 7

Last night I watched a movie called "Vamps."  Most people who know me know that I like supernatural stuff like this, but don't worry, I didn't subject Justin to this silliness.  And silliness it was!  Uh...I just went to describe this movie and I don't really know where to start.  I think I'll let imdb.com do the work for me:  "Two female vampires in modern-day New York City are faced with daunting romantic possibilities."  

So, what did I think of it?  Weeeeelllllll...this is the most ridiculous movie EVER.  I feel pretty confident with that assessment.  I don't think I'm exaggerating even a little bit.  Ridiculous story, ridiculous acting (especially by Sigourney Weaver and Justin Kirk...oh my), and most of all, RIDICULOUS special effects.  I can't emphasize that enough.

To be fair, I knew what I was getting into (to an extent).  This movie isn't trying to be super serious or anything.  Plus, it wasn't boring!  So that's something.  :)  

What We Watch 4-5-6 Catch-Up

Soooo I've gotten a bit behind on these.  But, I blame Justin.  He said he was going to post about Zero Dark Thirty,

but he never did!  I asked him to post about it because he liked it a lot more than I did.  I think it is very well made, and I think it is a very important movie.  (Although too long!  Justin and I agree on that one.)  But, it's just not my thing, really.  It's not what I would choose to watch.

The next night, we watched "The Sessions" starring John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, and William H. Macy and it was just fantastic.  Great great movie!  One thing, though, Helen Hunt has had some scary plastic surgery in her face.  She looks very plastic.

Two nights ago, we attempted watching "Blue Like Jazz," an indie film I found randomly on Netflix.  I say attempted because it was soooo boring, we turned it off.  Didn't even get halfway through it.  I was sad because it sounded very interesting.  Oh well, they can't all be amazing.  :)  There, now I'm caught up, and I'll try to stay that way.

Jude Michael Betts: Best 3-Year-Old on the Planet

We celebrated Jude's 3rd birthday this weekend, and had a lot of fun.  Unfortunately, some of the pictures we took got deleted accidently.  And, I forgot to take the camera to The Jump Zone.  Ugh!  But, here are some recent pictures of our awesome kid.

On Sunday, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Betts' house for cake and presents.  It was a lot of fun because it seems like Jude has become so much more independent almost overnight.  He was playing really well with his cousin, Beckham (who is 2 months younger), which he's never really done.  They were talking to each other and making each other laugh.

I could tell he didn't really like all the attention he was getting while opening presents; he seemed a little nervous.  But, he was excited for the presents he received.  Here he is in the present he got from Grandma and Grandpa Laws:

He makes an adorable Woody.  He also got some cool action figures, bubbles, legos, a race track with cars, and a new movie: Rise of the Guardians.  Spoiled kid!

Then on Monday we went to Jude's favorite place on earth: The Jump Zone.  Like I said, I didn't get pictures and believe me, I'm kicking myself.  He had so much fun and this was the first time Justin or I didn't jump with him.  He was completely fine going out there by himself.  Of course, it was much more fun when his cousins got there.  Jude, Lily (she's a few months older), and Beckham ran around together and had a blast.  

I took Jude to the drinking fountain and the whole way back he was saying "It's my birthday!" to everyone who passed us.  It was awesome.

Jude is growing up so fast and it's a blast!

Hoarders

The other day, as I flipped through channels, I landed on a show called "Hoarders: Buried Alive."  This particular episode was focusing on an elderly woman who literally spends all her time sitting in a pile of stuff in the living room.  She eats there, sleeps there, everything.  The rest of her house is completely taken over by the clutter.

She was very stubborn about changing her ways; she felt she had a right to keep all of her things.  I was shocked when they said that she has been to jail on 5 separate occasions because of health hazard and fire code violations.  They were threatening her with another lockup to try and get her to change.  What world do we live in where we lock someone up because of hoarding?

What We Watch 3

Last night we watched "The Bourne Legacy."

I am a big fan of the "Bourne" franchise.  For the most part they are very enjoyable.  This one followed suit, to an extent.  There was definitely some fun action going on and I thought the story was a good play off of the original trilogy.  Jeremy Renner was satisfactory as super-secret-agent-bad-ass.  

On the other hand, I thought this movie was way too long.  They should have kept it under two hours, for sure, and in my opinion, WELL under two hours.  The chase scenes towards the end (one on foot, as well as one on motorcycles) were not very exciting to watch.  It was just watching people run and drive, with exciting music and fast cuts.

Justin called it "The Boring Legacy."  He is so very clever.  :)

I give this one a very unenthusiastic 3 stars.  It was just...okay....eh...shrug.

Jude!

This kid turns 3 in 5 days!!

Playing In Boxes

Oh, why do we even buy toys for our kids?  They really just want to play in cardboard boxes, wrapping paper, grocery sacks, bubble wrap...

What We Watch 2

Last night I watched "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" while Justin watched the basketball game.

And what did I think of it?  I thought it was great.  Yes, it was violent and gory.  Yes, it was very fantastical. Yes, it makes me cringe a bit that they took a beloved American President and the amazing things he did, and put a supernatural spin on it all.  But, it's all kind of awesome.  Abraham Lincoln kicks vampire ass and I loved every minute of it.  It was FUN TO WATCH.

As a vampire-movie-watcher, I appreciated that the vampires in this movie were blood-thirsty monsters that need to be wiped off the face of the earth.  I've been pretty tired of the "tortured soul" vampire lately, as well as the "handsome/brooding/romantic" vampire.  It was nice to see the "horrific/killer/evil" vampire again.

I know some people are going to roll their eyes at me (Justin) but this movie wasn't "silly" as expected.  (Except maybe the scene with the horses...)  It even managed to incorporate slavery and the Civil War in semi-clever ways.  I give this movie 3 stars.

Foolish Child

Oh what a foolish child I was, thinking that snow days were behind me.  Justin warned me and everything.  But I'm just a sun-loving St. Georgian with a heart full of dreams.

What We Watch 1

I thought it would be fun to post on what movies Justin and I watch, and what we thought of them, starting now!  So, last night we watched a little number called "Killing Them Softly" starring Brad Pitt.

It is about these three idiots who decide to steal from a bunch of scary high-up mob guys at their illegal card game.  Brad Pitt is the professional whom the mob guys hire to eradicate this situation.

I think this movie is definitely a fresh point of view of the "mob movie," as it focuses a lot on the financial side of things.  It is all about the money.  What bothered me about this was that it felt like I was being hit over the head with this theme.  The story takes place during the Obama/McCain election and in nearly every scene there was audio or video of the candidates speaking about the economy, etc.  Pushing way too hard.

However, at the same time, I couldn't really find a logical connection between the Brad Pitt/mob story, and this financial information given through the candidates.  Yes, there is money involved and it is very crucial to the story, but that wasn't enough.  

I asked Justin what he thought of the movie, and this is what he said:

"...Eh.  I would give it 3 stars.  I thought it was okay.  I look at it like Brad Pitt is an allegorical representation of Corporate America.  Like when he says that he doesn't like to kill them up close and see their emotions.  He likes to do it from a distance.  Like Corporate America killing you from a cozy little office.  But it was a little preachy and not incredibly well done."

I think that I would give this movie 2 stars out of 5.  Purely as a mob movie, it was entertaining and I enjoyed many of the characters.  The action scenes and the tension scenes were very well done.  However, this movie was clearly trying to do more than that, and I feel as if it failed in that aspect.

Photo Album

Jude!

Jude claimed my hat for his own the minute he saw it.

 I like this one because it looks like he has a mustache.  He looks like a gangster!

 He's getting great at blowing bubbles on his own.  (Thank goodness!)

Ciaran!

I gave him a strawberry and he went to town sucking and gnawing on it.  Poor kid doesn't have teeth yet.

 It's getting warm(er) on and off now.  We get outside every chance we can.  Only in Utah would you wear shorts and a beanie at the same time.

 He's so freaking cute!  His personality is just beginning to show; I am loving every minute.

Brothers!

The kids in our neighborhood are constantly dragging this toy car from yard to yard.  Jude absolutely loves it, so we claim it when we can.  :)  

Rockin' out to Guster music is one of Jude's weekly (if not daily) activities.  Ciaran really wanted to join in!

Sleeping Habits...

We put Jude to sleep in our bed one night and what did I find when I went to join him??

 Yes, that is Ciaran completely encased in his blankie.  He has grown very attached to it.

Remake:

"to make again or anew" (dictionary.reference.com)
I wish American filmmakers would focus on the "anew" part when remaking foreign films/TV.  (Well, ideally, I wish American filmmakers would just stop it all together, but that's definitely a distant dream.)  I just started watching the British TV show "Being Human" and was only a few episodes into it when I saw that there was an American version on Netflix instant as well.  I was initially excited; I thought, Awesome!  When I'm done watching the British one, I'll have another entire show to watch!  Out of curiosity, I started Episode 1 of the American one.  Well...it isn't "another entire show"...it is the SAME show, with AMERICANS playing the characters, and taking place in AMERICA.  The story line is identical, although granted, the dialogue is different.  The dialogue is decidedly AMERICAN.  By that, I mean more obvious in exploring themes and plot points...more in-your-face, this-is-what-we're-doing-here-you-idiots, just-in-case-you-don't-get-it, we-will-spell-it-out.  So disappointing!

It makes me very sad when people start talking about American movies like "Let Me In" and "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and they have no idea they are remakes of foreign movies.  And they did it right the first time.  Why is it that anytime some foreign film gains success, America can't wait to remake it here?  The character of Sherlock Holmes has been around forever, with many film/TV versions out there.  But for some reason, right after BBC makes "Sherlock," we have to jump on the bandwagon with "Elementary"?

I can't wait for the American version of "Downton Abbey" most likely to be called "L.A. Mansion."

Of Course...

So of course the day after I said I would be writing more, our laptop broke!  It is going to take 2 weeks to fix so no, you won't be hearing from me much.  But I will be back!