REEL REVIEWS

Cliff Notes on the remaining films:

RACHAEL GETTING MARRIED
This was a twisted film. Imagine every dysfunctional family you know and then put a camera on their worst days. This is the movie. It was a great part for Anne Hathaway. I certainly see why she agreed to be in the movie. There is NO doubt--this one is WAY depressing. The AA meeting Anne’s character attended was almost the same scene as her film sister’s wedding rehearsal dinner. This movie is only for the diehards of the film industry.

CADILLAC RECORDS
Depressing. Typical music industry drugs and alcohol. The movie is filmed in so much darkness that you can’t see the actors. Music history worth missing.

MILK
Some people have mentioned they didn’t want to see this film because of the controversial lifestyle portrayed. I have to say, Sean Penn softens the edge and is remarkable in this film. A friend of mine can tell you exactly where she was that fateful day in San Francisco when she heard Milk was killed. It made that much of an impact in her life then and now. I’m not sure I would see this film again. I will state again, Penn was amazing in this film.

In a rush I’ll say you have to see THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES. A chick flick positively worth seeing. Dakota Fanning is charming. I can’t wait to see her in more films.

More films I’ve seen:
EAGLE EYE
THE THIEF LORD
QUANTUM SOLACE

I’ve been doing a LOT of reading lately and have put films on the back burner for a while, hence the slow blog entries. There are a few in the theater I would like to see. I’m looking forward to the summer blockbusters!

REEL REVIEWS

These are the movies I’ve seen these past few weeks:
Australia
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Cadillac Records
High School Musical 3
La Vie en Rose
Milk
Rachael Getting Married
The Secret Life of Bees

I don’t have time to write reviews for all of them. Some of them aren’t really worthy of reviews. They were just for fun. I’ll say this---The only one I would definitely see again is The Secret Life of Bees. That was by far my favorite. Here are some quick notes on a few:

Beverly Hills Chihuahua and High School Musical were both watchable (is that a word?). Chihuahua is a little long for the little ones. Even I thought it was getting too long and slow. High School Musical was actually pretty good. I had to finish the trilogy. This one was better than the second one in the series. It reminded me a lot of the movie Grease. Good luck to the Disney kids moving on. They really are all grown up now.

Australia is hard to review. I really liked the story line, but wasn’t crazy about the way it was portrayed in the film. Sometimes I felt as if I was watching the old movie set inside a warehouse. I didn’t know if they were doing that purposely because of the timeline or not?? Regrettably, I got caught up in the hair and makeup. I really couldn’t get past Nicole Kidman’s wig! See looked very botoxed in this film too—couldn’t get past that either. Hugh Jackman was delightful. He is definitely one of my favorites in any film. I doubt I would watch this one again, but I’m glad I saw it once. It is lonnngggg. Actually, it kind of reminded me of Out of Africa, but not anywhere near as good.

I’m beginning to realize, the more I review films, the less tolerant I am of mediocrity. I’m also beginning to realize I’m old enough to recognize remakes and knock-offs----that’s scary.

More later…..

THE BIG DIG

The pool digging has begun! We are WAY behind in schedule.....but we are finally to the point where the machines were out today. The digging is done and tomorrow the re-bar will be in place. They tell us it will be 5-6 weeks before it is finished and we can jump in. It will be just in time for summer. Yippeee!

DUCHESS RETURN

We finally fixed the computer issue, or I should say Pops finally fixed the computer issue. I feel like I’m way behind in telling my story. I have lots to update on the blog. Most importantly, I have 5 film reviews I need to write!! I can’t promise I’ll finish all of them…

The exciting news is that this week the DVD releases are going to be great with more to come later this month. That could potentially put me further behind in writing reviews—if I’m watching instead of writing.

I can’t decide where to start….I’m just going to start writing and see what comes up first.

p.s. I guess by now everyone knows that FB changed their minds about trying out their new policy. I'm glad they're listening.

NO COMPUTER, NO FUN

I was doing SO well keeping up with my posts...and then...the internet connection went wrong. We're still in the middle of computer glitches. I'll post regularly as soon as I can. I may have to visit the local coffee shop for a 'hot spot' connection. Issues!

NEW INTERNET LAW??

I’m watching ‘The View’ this morning. They are talking about the new Facebook ‘terms’ in which Facebook takes every right from each of their members who have an account with them—now and forever more (even when you remove your page). ‘The View’ ladies said Facebook now has the right to use your photos, words, ANYTHING you post belongs to them. As in, it’s their property to do with whatever they wish…sell, use for their purposes, reproduce, etc.

I’ve been reading blogs where ladies are upset their work is being copied, infringed upon, etc. However, in this instance, you are basically GIVING FB everything you post. It’s in the legal fine print. So even if your friend posts a picture of you (you don’t post it yourself) it belongs to FB. If you post a poem, it belongs to FB if they so choose….on and on…

The scary thing is: As of their posting, Facebook is creating their own internet law, and enforcing it to each of their members—who by the way, are most likely under the age of 18. Parents beware!! Especially if they are planning on running for political office, or planning any sort of media related profession.

Is it better for them to tell us they own everything, or is it better to post and take your chances of someone taking your posted items without permission? Either way, legal proceedings to protect your rights will be costly.

I’ll say this—When you are deciding what to post, keep the cherished items close to your heart. Otherwise, you may lose them to someone you don’t know.

Duchess note: I haven’t personally read the new terms. I only heard what ‘The View’ read from the documents they had printed for the segment this morning. If you have more information, please share! I will modify my post accordingly.

REEL REVIEW

“CHIIIICCCKK FLIIIICCCKK” most definitely. Ladies, no need to let any man you know see this one. He will most likely think it’s cheesy, predictable, and will most certainly tease you about it for days. Men don’t understand why women like these films---it’s that Mars and Venus thing. He may enjoy it, but I wouldn’t chance it—just enjoy the film.

It’s a fairly common story about accidental love. There’s a sweet peek inside a great relationship shared between two long time friends. You’ll also gaze into the difficult work of healing relationships. Critics complained that Gere and Lane don’t quite heat up the screen on this one. Well, they’re right, maybe 20 and 30 somethings won’t be very excited about the simple love scenes between ‘older’ stars. Still, they create a charming, sweet, romantic relationship together. Despite what the critics had to say, Gere and Lane are two of my favorites, so I wasn’t going to miss it. And—who doesn’t like a love story by the beach??

It’s a great movie for those nights when you’re looking to watch something simple (as in no brainer, not simple subject matter). It’s the perfect film for that spontaneous ladies night with your friends---when the men aren’t around---and you get to share a few glasses of wine or tea, a little gossip and a low-maintenance movie. Definitely have the Kleenex box out for all to share!

*duchess*