Grand Opening of Children's Services, January 2007

This is a film clip of the Grand Opening of the Children's Services area in the renovated Main Library, January 2007. Very cool!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6qZsISRTZM&feature=related

Harry Potter book party opening, 7/07

This is the opening of the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows release party at the Main Library, July 2007. Fun!!! :)

The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux
Directors: Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen
Voices of: Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, Tracey Ullman, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Ciaran Hinds, Frank Langella, Christopher Lloyd

Despereaux is a heroic mouse in a world of jittery creatures. Roscuro is a rat with a brave and noble heart. Miggery Sow is a young girl who dreams of being a princess, and Princess Pea dreams of having her mother back and her father happy again.

This movie is based on the children's book by the same name, and features the voices of many famous actors. Mom and I chose this as our Christmas day movie, and we were not disappointed. The animation is superb, especially in its details of tufts of hair and wet noses. The story is marvelous. This is completely a feel-good movie. It does not have a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, but you smile almost all the way through and leave the theatre just feeling happy. Definitely a thumbs up and a see again show.


First seen: December 25, 2008

Frost/Nixon

Frost/Nixon
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon, Matthew Macfayden

This movie details the meeting between playboy talk-show host David Frost and former US president Richard Nixon after Nixon left office due to the Watergate scandal.

I saw this in the full-price theatre with Mom and Kevin. It was a very good movie, paced pretty well though it did feel long when it was done. Frank Langella was great as Nixon. I really didn't think there were any physical similarities but at times in the film there was a striking resemblance that I feel was due more to Langella's acting than to any actual common features. Langella moved the right way and stood the right way and really embodied Nixon well. I felt that he made Nixon sympathetic without making him sympathetic. You got a sense of the man inside and what drove him without really feeling sorry for him, which was pretty cool. Definitely worth seeing, thouigh if you're not a fan of evenly-paced films with no car chases or explosions, you might want to rent rather than pay theatre prices. Thumbs up.

First time seen: January 2009

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Director: Steve Carr
Starring: Kevin James, Keir O'Donnell

Paul Blart is lonely living with his mother and daughter and failing to become a state trooper because of (if I recall correctly) low blood sugar fits that cause him to fall asleep without warning. When the mall is taken over by some skateboarding and mountain bike riding thugs, it is up to Paul, the only remaining mall cop in the building, to save the day. Which he does. Come on, this is a feel good movie.

Kevin and I saw this movie together and enjoyed it thoroughly. It is not high comedy. It is silly. It advertises itself as silly, so we were happily ensconced for the course of the film. We saw this at the regular price theatre and laughed ourselves into happiness on a rather dreary winter day. Definitely worth seeing at a dollar theatre or renting. Thumbs up.

First seen: January 2009

Coraline

Coraline
Director: Henry Selick
Voices of: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders

Based on a young adult book, Coraline tells the story of a girl who crawls through a door in her home to find her second family, who loves her and makes her dinner and creates a special garden just for her. It is a world of wonder that turns creepy when her second mother says the only way she can stay forever is to sew buttons in place of her eyes. Oops!

I saw this movie in the regular price theatre with my mother in 3D, which was kind of cool but not as cool as I expected it to be. It gave the film more depth back from the screen than things coming toward you from the screen.

I did enjoy the film, though it started to drag toward the end. The visuals were terrific and engrossing, but overall I would say this is a movie that could be best enjoyed at a dollar theatre - full screen, but not full price.

Also - this is not for little ones. They'll be terrified.

First seen: February 2009

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire
Directors: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan

Jamal is a young man who loves Latika and always has. The movie starts with Jamal being interrogated at a police station because he has been winning on an Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire (or as the host says, which I love and just can't get out of my brain, "Who wants to be a milinair?") and they suspect him of fraud because how could some kid from the slums be able to answer the questions? The movie unfolds as he explains, in flashbacks to his childhood, how he knew each answer. He is on the show to begin with because he knows Latika watches it and he hopes she will see him and they will be reunited (not that they were ever really together).

I saw this movie today (February 22, 2009) with Edith at the full-price theatre, and I have to give it an enthusiastic thumbs up. It is a feel-good movie, though it is gritty and Jamal's past is not a pretty one. I was reminded of Romeo and Juliet in that Jamal is idealistic and romantic and Latika is realistic and pragmatic, but I won't tell you if the ending is the same or not. I loved the soundtrack and the nifty tribute to Bollywood musicals during the end credits. Dev Patel really shines and is so adorable you just want to give him a big hug. This is a movie I would go to see again in the theatre.

First seen: February 22, 2009

Mom's Brilliant Idea

After the Demented Debacle of December 2006, my house was a wreck and full of many bad vibes. I stayed with a friend for a couple of weeks, partly to make sure Moron was actually gone for good and not going to make a repeat performance, and partly to start working through my qualms about living in the house after everything that had happened. I also had no idea how I was going to clean everything by myself, because a lot needed to be done. It was all quite depressing.

That is when my mom had her brilliant idea. She suggested having a cleansing party where friends and family coould come over and help me clean. We would make a day of it and people could come and go as they were able. I would have food and beverages and at the end of the day people could stay the night with me to help keep the heebie jeebies away.

It worked splendidly. My mom, Kevin, Annette, Charlene, Judy, Janet, Chelle, and Edith were able to make it at various times during the day and we cleaned our little hearts out. Marilynn also donated a bag of good-vibe-spreading items. Many things were trashed, washed, sorted, scrubbed, dusted, vacuumed, rewired, and fixed. At the end of the day Chelle and Edith stayed the night and we had a bonfire in the back yard and burned paper remnants and other debris, and waved sparklers of independence.

Sincere thanks to everyone who helped make my home into a happy place again. I love you guys!!!