There a lot of great movies coming out this year and I can barely contain my excitement. The only thing that would make it better would be if I could find a movie theater that would sell Red Vines instead of Twizzlers. So here we go---a preview at the amazing things coming to a theater new year (hopefully in order)
The Hunger Games. (March) To all those that don't know much about Hunger Games here is the most important thing you need to know: IT IS NOT THE NEW TWILIGHT. Twilight is not good. Twilight is a lot like getting addicted to Sno Balls. They aren't that good and yet you somehow feel compelled to eat them.
Anyways...The Hunger Games. The books are phenomenal and I hope that the movies stand out on there own. As everyone knows, the movies are never as good as the books--but that's not important. The movies should be good on all their own. I already have my midnight ticket to this one and there is no one else I'd rather see it with other Paige (although if Sage could be here that would be awesome).
Titanic. (April) Oh yes. I'm not including a trailer. It's Titanic---everyone knows it.
Dark Shadows (May) Based on an old soap opera involving a vampire. I don't much about this one but what I do know is that it's a Tim Burton with Johnny---and that's enough for me
MIB 3 (May) I can't imagine this being bad. The second one wasn't great but a lot of time has passed and Will Smith doesn't need this movie. Therefore I assume if it's good enough for him to agree--it's good enough for me.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. (June) You read that right. Abraham Lincoln--Vampire Hunter. It's Time Burton without (gasp) Johnny Depp or Helena Bonham Carter!
Dark Knight Rise (July) Nothing really needs to be said about this one.
Frankenweenie (October) As a Tim Burton girl---I'm already familiar with this movie, I've seen the short and it was cute and demented.
A little over a month ago my uncle was put in the hospital for what seemed to be something to not cause too much worry. Four weeks later I was speaking to a huge, packed out church standing over my uncle's casket. I'm not going to go into the emotions that my family experienced and are still experiencing--it's unexplainable and impossible to emphasize with because each loved one lost is a different experience to everyone. What I do want to go into are the things that God has revealed to me through this tragedy.
Life is short. No matter how long you live--life is still short. I've spent so much time saying "I'll do this eventually when I can. What I can afford to. When I loose weight;" the excuses are endless. So I'm trimming the fat in my life.
I'm no longer going to surround myself with people mindlessly. I know who my best friends are. The ones who called me. The ones who cried with me. The ones who know me inside out. Those are the ones that I'll keep close. I like all my friends, but my heart can only be open to a select few.
My family is everything to me. I cherish every moment I spend with them and I'm happiest with them. It's time to make them a top priority.
There is a reason I haven't found a church in Raleigh. I already have a church. That I love. That I intend to become more involved with as things start falling into place soon.
God has revealed a new life to me. A life that I ignored and decided against when I moved to Raleigh. It's time to change.
"It's a short movie. It's less than an hour and 30 minutes"
"Well, some movies are better shorter than long and drawn out. Take Breaking Dawn for example, it should have been only 30 minutes."
And as my brother and I discovered, an hour and 23 minutes was the perfect amount of time for Chronicle. Later I discovered that an hour and 35 minutes was also the perfect amount of time for Woman in Black. It was refreshing sitting through a short and sweet movie---even though both Chronicle and Woman in Black were far from being "sweet" films. Of course, not every movie should be short. I fully expect my butt to be numb after I watch The Hobbit---each minute of that movie is bound to be glorious and well deserved.
Cameron loved Chronicle. When we left the theater he raved and raved about it--long enough for me to realize that he was not being sarcastic. Not that I thought it was horrible---I just didn't think it was fantastic. I had low expectations for it to begin with and while it exceeded my expectations it's still not a movie that was remarkable or something I would watch again.
The movie centers abound three--high school? college?--kids who find a stone type thing that gives them telepathic abilities. As almost anyone will tell you--not everyone should be granted with powers. Because one emo kid will ruin the fun for everybody. You easily sympathize with Andrew, the abused, poor, misfit, emo kid. But you also enjoy the other two confident, easily popular kids as well. It's extremely well done. The effects are well done. It's just a little to predictable for me. But it as fun movie to watch.
I had to drag myself to go see Woman in Black. In fact is Ashley hadn't been persistent I probably would never have gone to see it. Not that it looked bad--I just don't handle scary movies well. This episode from Boy Meets World still freaks me out:
Well, to be honest, I can't give the best review of the movie considering I spent a considerable amount of time with my eyes closed, fingers in my ears. Or doubled over in my seat so I couldn't see the screen. Or with my hands over my face, leaving a small enough gap in between my fingers to see Daniel Radcliffe's face. But from what I did see, I thought it was well done. It's not revolutionary but it's a scary movie with secretive British people and a freaky marsh.
Daniel Radcliffe's character has to travel to this town to got through the paperwork in an old house---in the middle of a marsh. Conveniently, you're stranded at the house often because when the tide comes in on the marsh and the road is in accessible. Perfect setting for scary crap to happen. So many warning signs for his character to get the heck out of dodge. The people in the village want him gone, the house is in the middle of a marsh causing you to be stuck at the marsh except when the tide is low, and the house looks like this:
Um. Yeah. I would never have even stepped foot in that house. But he does....because he's Harry Freaking Potter (you're a legend man to us all---oh AVPS).
It was great seeing Daniel Radcliffe in a different on screen role and he did great. All in all it was a jumpy, scary movie that will keep your heart racing.
As you may recall, I challenged my friend AJ to write a devotion last week. I also challenged myself to complete my character profiles--I did not do this. But in my defense, I'm in crisis mode with my family and my mind is not fully devoted to anything besides prayer and family. However, AJ completed the challenge. And here is her wonderful devotional:
Today I want to talk about the F word. Oh yeah, I’m going there. It’s the ugliest four letter word you can
think of. Okay, ready? Here it goes…
FEAR.
At some point, we’ve all been scared of something. As children we are scared of monsters under
the bed, the boogeyman in the closet, or in the case of one of my nieces…the
tooth fairy. J But as we grow, fear begins to take on a more
real form in our lives.
Have you ever let the fear of failing keep you from going
after something you wanted? Maybe it’s a
new job, or trying to reach your goal weight (boy have I failed at this one a
time or two…or ten), or maybe you’ve been holding off on dating someone new
because you are fearful of what a new relationship could bring.
We often let it {fear} paralyze us from pursing our goals
because we have a fear of failing. I
look back on my life so far and already I see many times where I have let the
fear of failing stop me. I didn’t try
out for the dance team for the first 3 years of high school because I was scared. Scared of what? I was hesitant to even tell
people that I was thinking of starting a side business because I was scared of
it failing. If we let fear stop us from
everything, nothing in our lives will ever get accomplished!
But not after
today. No more. Yeah, I know…easier
said than done, right?
But friends, today I have great news. There’s someone who wants to take all our
fears and worry away! He wants us to
completely and utterly TRUST in Him. To
not even worry about that new job, that diet, or that new relationship. Know why?
Because He already knows how it turns out. J He has a plan
for you, for me, and He doesn’t want our FEAR of failure to stop us from
pursuing His will for us. Oh yeah, by
now you know who I’m talking about…God.
No more will fear stop us.
After today I want you to take the F word, FEAR, out of your
vocabulary. Two verses I leave with you
today:
Jeremiah 29:11- For I
know the plans I have you, says the Lord.
Plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
(NLT)
Mark 11:24- I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve
received it, it will be yours. (NLT)
I don’t know what fear you’re battling with today friend,
but I know that if you truly give it up to God and trust in Him and His will,
you will be blessed. I encourage you to replace
the word fear with another F word. You’ve
probably heard it a time or two…
Last night as I stood with some of my family in the ICU waiting room and listened to our voices reaching out to God for healing I was filled with happiness and love. Despite everything around me--not one dark thought was able to enter my mind.
Afterward while we talked about how my uncle has a family filled with fierce love for one another, my uncle Glenn said something that has stuck with me:
(for reference purposes, my uncle Glenn is married into the family. As is my uncle Mike.)
"This family loves one another. It's shocking. When I first met this family I was shocked by the amount of people who said 'I love you' to another and how many hugs were exchanged. It took time for me to get used to it. My family didn't do that. This family says it every chance they get. And that's special."
I tell people I love them as often as possible, including my close friends. It's natural. It's normal. I need them to know. I want them to know. But as I've gotten older I have noticed that it throws people for a shock. I dated someone once whose family hardly ever exchanging hugs, compliments, or much less "I love you." They just didn't do it.
I don't know how many families and friends exchange these words on a daily basis. Of course, just saying them isn't enough--you have to mean it. I know that my family loves me without pause. I have floods of memories with my family that are entrenched with love. And when I speak to my family and see them, I am 100% happier than I was the moment before.
In that room last night, I felt God's spirit as well as the weight of a family's love in the room. And it's because of that feeling, because of the knowledge that my family's love is true that I know these present circumstances will not stop us. We will continue fighting. My uncle Mike will continue fighting. For his family. For Kelley. For Katie. For Lauren. And for his wife, my aunt Sandra. We don't know why things are what they are--but I pray that we can show the hospital and others that our love for one another is unwavering. And that our love derives from our relationship with Christ. And that it is because of Him that we will survive this.
Hey! Guess what is a great motivator? Accountability. So in my effort to get in shape mentally and physically I've decided to post my efforts---good and bad---here on my blog.
Goals:
Weight Loss: Loose 20 pounds by May 1 (Just in time for Hong Kong!)
Book: Have early character profiles done by the end of this week
Ok. Now let's get this thing on the road.
And to my dear and beloved AJ: I have goal for you....post something by this Sunday. I believe in you and know that you can do it.
And because no blog post is complete without a picture:
A few months ago a coworker recommended a show called Breaking Bad to me. He described it as a show about this middle aged chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and ends up cooking meth so his family will have money once he has passed away. Interesting--maybe I might watch it--if I have time...it didn't really sound all that gripping.
I had no idea how gripping it really was.
Bored one night, I flipped on Netflix and found Breaking Bad and watched the pilot. It was unlike any other show on television. I sped through all four seasons that are out as quick as I could and the plot consumed many of my waking hours.
Walter White
It tells the story of Walter White--a boring, middle aged, chemistry teacher who leads a painfully dull life. Until he's told that he is dying. Then he becomes highly sought after meth cook, and slowly the power, the money, and the ever present hectic and life threatening state being a drug lord can be gets to him--but not in a negative way. If you look closely, and look past his moments of fear, you'll see it. He likes it. No he loves it. He was born for it. The perfect character that you hate but really want to win at the same time.
Jesse Pinkman
And then you have Jesse. He starts out as your typical junkie-but you slowly see his character deepen and through it all you'll find yourself rooting for him--much more than Walter.
But besides all that, the show is fantastic for other reasons. The cinematography is incredibly stunning and the music fits and flows perfectly in every scene. There are so many times that the camera becomes a character of it's own. The use of point of view shots and time lases is beautiful.
Check out this POV montage (no spoilers)
I wish I could fully describe how groundbreaking this show is, but I can't so you'll have to watch it. I also searched for a good clip to share but most them have spoilers--so again, you'll have to watch it :)
Yeah, I've been a little MIA the month of December but here I am :) To celebrate the new year I think a slight 2011 recap is in order.
Kelley and Cameron
Ringing in 2011 the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was a wonderful way to end the dreadful year of 2010 and welcome wonderful 2011. This trip also introduced Cameron and I to the Rockin Roller Coaster and we now have an unforgettable DVD of the experience.
Then came my first taste of a baking craze. Which eventually led to my teeny tiny cupcake business: The Cupcake Pub. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Paige for giving me the push I needed. Right in time for her gorgeous wedding.
Paige and Brian
And of course, weddings come with really fun bacherlorette parties.
Let's not forget that the final Harry Potter move came out this summer. Ahh what a night of fun, tears, and excitement.
I also was introduced to the Very Potter Musical and the Hunger Games this year. Wonderful :)
At the end of a summer filled with Sanford and the beach I bid farewell and good luck to Sage as she made the big move to Kansas. I myself moved back to Raleigh with Ashley and Anna.
Anna
And bought my dream car.
Phoenix
2011 was the year of several road trips, including a couple of trips to Busch Gardens. Trips that filled with roller coasters, scarecrows, hotels, and freezing our butts off.
Ashley, Emily, Kelley
Busch Gardens hit Ashley and I just right. I'm slowly pushing her towards roller coasters--even if I have to drag her kicking and screaming on every ride. She'll learn to love it. I also got to spend a lot of time with Kelley on these trips which I think was wonderful. In fact, this year in general led to many opportunities to grow closer with Kelley and Cameron on road trips.
Cameron
All in all it was a great year. And I look forward to the upcoming year :)
Dark Shadows (May) Based on an old soap opera involving a vampire. I don't much about this one but what I do know is that it's a Tim Burton with Johnny---and that's enough for me
