And we're rolling...again.

It's that time again--another movie review post! I'm going to dive right in:

The Tourist


I didn't get this one. And that doesn't mean I didn't get the storyline--because I did--but I didn't understand why this movie came to be in the first place. The plot was a bit too far fetched to be that cool, and although I love Johnny Depp, he had absolutely no chemistry with Angelina Jolie. What a weird couple...and lukewarm action comedy.

Super 8


I liked this one quite a bit. Did you like the Goonies growing up? You'll probably like this one. It has that same feel, and while it is a bit goofy during the sentimental parts, it just makes you feel good. Plus, the special effects lend to being a little jumpy--but not too freaked out, which is excellent.

Red


Maybe I didn't give this one a fair shot, since I was feeling really sick and headachey when I watched it. However, I didn't make it halfway through. It's not that it was bad, really...just boring. Kudos to John Malkovich, though, as his character was pretty decent.

Contagion


Want a movie to make you feel even worse about life and more freaked out about your own illness? Watch Contagion. In all fairness, I was in a crappy mood while I watched this one as well, and it's not exactly slated as a pick-me-up. I will say this: I enjoyed the way it was put together, I felt they brought in some good developments and I thought the ending was powerful and poignant. (Is it bad that I'm still partial to Outbreak, though?)


Puncture

So I don't watch a lot of rated-R movies. My personal choice is that I have to think the movie merits overlooking the crassness in the film. That being said, and although there were a few minor sketchy scenes and a ton of language, I thought this movie was worth it. The story was and is an important one, and I thought they portrayed it well. Gripping...and hauntingly sad as well. Good job, Chris Evans. Although, if you want to see an actor really go through withdrawl symptoms in a horribly realistic way, watch The Basketball Diaries. Leonardo Dicaprio was amazing. And yes, he actually is a good actor--once you take away that horrible role he had in Titanic.

Mr. Popper's Penguins


Even as I rented this, I thought it was a mistake. I think the only reason I watched it the entire way through was because of the penguins. I remain firm on my stance that with a penguin and a basset hound, I'd be set. This movie, however, was trite, obvious and ...just not very good. It's like Jim Carey is suspended between his Ace Ventura days and his breakthrough roles like in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Man on the Moon. It's just not believable, and makes you wonder why you should care.

Just Go With It


I actually was quite pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this movie. Was it like all the other Adam Sandler romantic comedies? Yes. Were the jokes just the same? Of course. But I can't help it. I still laugh at his humor. And the love story that developed was cute. Sure, you could pretty much replace it with 50 First Dates. But I like that one as well, so I don't mind.

Chasing Liberty


I had this one in a four-pack I bought awhile ago and for some reason, thought I watched it. I swear there is another movie out there that is very similar with Katie Holmes. But anyway. What can I say about this movie? It was your typical "no way would that ever happen yet I'm going to fall for it in the end because he's cute and I want life to be perfect" sort of movie. And that's that.


I'm stoked because my law professor is going to lend me some seasons of Numbers to watch, since I'm running out of excitement for movies. I've also been going through my Big Bang Theory seasons and Burn Notice as well...and I decided that Parks and Recreation is my new favorite comedy, along with New Girl.

Maybe I should work harder on sleeping.

What do you all think? Any of these you loved? Hated? Recommendations?

Leaving behind all sense of reality...

I've gotten way caught up in this Harry Potter thing. I loved the first few, and as I kept reading I kept falling deeper in love. The Order of the Phoenix only took me about a week or so, and The Half-Blood Prince took me roughly two days. I'm a little concerned, as I only have one book left, and for some reason, was expecting The Deathly Hallows to be longer than it is.

I can honestly say, Harry Potter is getting me through this healing process. It's the fact that you can completely leave reality and get so caught up in something else that is nothing like your own, and it's satisfying, blissful, and a saving grace.

Of course, now I keep seeing Harry Potter references all over. Last week at church I told the girl next to me that one of the guys up front looked like Cedric. I keep wanting to say "muggles". And I laugh a lot at things like this:

That's all right though, isn't it?

Deliciousness revealed!

I have found and perfected a recipe to make the best banana chocolate chip muffins ever. And I'm going to share it all with you. Yes, that's right. I think the world needs more banana chocolate chip muffins.

My mom is actually famous for making banana chocolate chip muffins, but although they were delicious when they came out of the oven, I found that they were lacking and dry the next day--or even when frozen and reheated. So, with a large bunch of frozen black bananas, I set off to find a solution. After a few alterations, I have it. These babies are moist and delightful even the second (or third) day around--that's if you can keep them that long, since I and my friends have been nearly inhaling them in one or two sittings.

Here's what you need to know to make the magic happen:

1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (although I just take the salt shaker and do two quick shakes)
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 tsp vanilla (I always put in a little more, though)
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (or more, just follow your heart--I used about three or four)
3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Mix all the ingredients (don't bother with order, I never do. I mixed everything except the last two, added the bananas and blended, and then stirred in the chocolate chips.) Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 22-25 minutes (and again, eyeball it. I'm in a high elevation so I never bother with timers. I just do a toothpick test to see if it comes out clean.)

Voila! Get ready to taste amazing. P.S. I found that the mini chocolate chips were not only cheaper than the regular size, but also spread the chocolate much better than their larger counterpart. And if the world needs something else, it's more chocolate.

And let me know what you think if you try this recipe out!

Lights, Camera...Really?

"Yes, movies ! Look at them? All of those glamorous people - having adventures--hogging it all, gobbling the whole thing up! You know what happens? People go to the movies instead of moving! Hollywood characters are supposed to have all the adventures for everybody in America, while everybody in America sits in a dark room and watches them have them!"  -Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie




 Yeah, well...I still am watching a ton of movies lately. For the current time, I am okay with watching other people have adventures. Provided they are good. Here's what I've been watching lately: 

How Do You Know?


This movie was truly horrible. It was so boring that I stopped approximately halfway through. I honestly didn't even find Paul Rudd redeeming in this movie. For shame, Reese Witherspoon. For shame.

The Kids Are All Right


This was another disappointing movie. Although I appreciated the emotion shown between Benning and Moore as they navigated through the rocky waters of marriage, how did watching so many sex scenes help me understand its complexity? Also: why is lesbianism so cool? It's nearly hipster. I don't get it.

 Midnight in Paris


I am not generally a fan of Woody Allen movies, but this one was delightful. In fact, I'd call it whimsical. That's right, whimsical. I thought Owen Wilson was a perfect fit, and loved this take on a person escaping--and then returning to a reality better suited to himself.

Something Borrowed

I'm getting sick of how every romantic comedy revolves around transgressions. People actually do fall in love without cheating on their partner. And Kate Hudson's character was absolutely abrasive. (P.S.: If you've seen Bride Wars, you know her character, and vise versa. It saves you the trouble.)  However, Jim is so lovable...and I couldn't help but be charmed by the romance budding. Even though parts brought back painful parallels...I've seen it three times. Sigh.

 The Help


This movie was incredible. One of my friends told me that she had never laughed and cried so much in the same movie, and I'm willing to second her on that opinion. Watch it. Watch it now.

The Switch


I feel that romantic comedies are hitting a low point where there are no new ideas, and the only ideas that get regurgitated are the bad ones. That being said, this was fairly decent. I really enjoyed watching the relationship between father and son.

Captain America

I'll admit it: I watched this movie purely to watch Chris Evans. And I'll say this: it was your typical superhero movie. It engaged me when it was on, and now it's done and I don't feel the need to watch it again. Side note: I've noticed that the X-Men movies are an exception to this. Why is that?

Crazy Stupid Love


Welcome to another of my new favorite movies. Witty, touching and absolutely hilarious. I love it when the climax makes you laugh so hard that you can't stop. And another note: is Emma Stone not the prettiest, funniest actress to come out on the scene? I just love her. 

True Grit


You know how a good movie will stick with you for awhile after you watch it? When the message and emotion resonates with you, it's something good. However, I'll be up front right now and come clean that I didn't watch the original. For all you John Wayne fans: how did this version fare compared with the original? 








That's all for now, folks. More is on the way, as I continue to plow through other movies on my list. What do you all think? Did you love or hate any of these? 

An Apple a day?

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, what do you do when your Apple product needs the doctor?

My iMac has been acting up for the past couple of months. It will randomly shut down, which is especially annoying if I'm working on something. I took it into the Genius Bar last week, where they kept it for three days and replaced the power supply. The next day, it shut down again on me.

I realize that people are just people and mistakes will be made. However, it's a definite disappointment to me when the lines of communication get crossed so that a consumer will get a different answer with each employee she talks to. It went from an easy fix to a hard one, from Friday to Sunday and from the power supply to the motherboard and then back to the power supply. To top it all off, the Apple store is now so crammed that the employees will sometimes continually pawn you off on other employees, which just means that customers try innovative ways of getting their attention (read: jumping in front of them and stealing the show from their next customer.)

Apple is not impressing me at the current moment. When did it become about churning and burning people in and out instead of decent customer contact and care?

The good: I called Apple Support to ask what I should do now. The person on the other end of the phone was hilarious and understanding, which eased the situation a bit.

The bad: Upon calling SimplyMac in Orem, I was unable to talk to someone. Please explain to me why you have an automated system with numbers to connect you to different departments when the system will not recognize you pressing any of the options.

Interesting. I sense a story in this.

Day Three: A taste of the northeast.

Today I drove from my hotel room in PA to the Boston temple...and then to another hotel room in NJ. If you don't know geography very well, go ahead and look it up on Google maps. That's right, I drove all that today--to attend the temple.

I feel at this point, now that my insanity has been established (and will continue to be, as this blog grows) to explain that when I got my very first (limited use) temple recommend, I set a goal to visit all the temples in the world. There are 134 operating temples currently, with 10 under construction and another 13 announced. This number will only grow, so if you're following along, this project will keep me busy for the rest of my life. At least I won't be bored, right?

The Boston temple was my 41st temple. I'm trying! My rules are simple: I have to do work inside the temple for me to be able to count going (standing outside is not enough.) I take pictures, and collect a temple schedule at each one I visit. I have them all on a wall in my bedroom. To be honest, sometimes when I need a reprieve, I'll sit and look at the ones I have left and plans trip to go there. Also: no matter how many I've gone to, or how long I've been doing this (five years at the current time,) I still get excited each and every time I see one. It's a feeling of familiarity and elation and awe that never seems to lessen...and I hope it never does.

The temple was incredibly beautiful, not that I expected anything less than that. I actually thought to myself, "I wouldn't mind getting married here." Yes, it's that pretty.

As I was driving back to NJ, a friend of mine convinced me to stop in Hartford for dinner. Brian took me out to seafood and I had the "true Connecticut experience" of lobster bisque and stuffed shrimp. (He still insists that the true experience of seafood is in Boston, but coming from a girl in a land-locked state, I'll take everything I can get.) Since we both love to talk, I didn't leave until after 11...which leads me to now, and no sleep. I think, however, if I had to do it again, I'd do almost the same thing.

Day Two: The craziness begins...

Today I left Columbia and drove up to Kensington, MD to visit the Washington D.C. temple. Entering Virgina, it started to snow, and continued throughout the rest of the night. I entered D.C. right about rush hour time, due to the weather pushing back my arrival by a good hour. Enter stage left of the craziest drivers I've ever seen--and I used to live in Chicago. They'd honky, they'd swerve, they'd tailgate, they'd slam on their brakes, they'd wave fingers at you that didn't quite mean "peace." All in rush-hour, "you-aren't-going-anywhere-so-why-bother" traffic. Needless to say, I was pretty stressed by the time I got to the temple. Luckily, the sight alone was enough to make me forget about the near-death experiences I recently took part in.

The temple was gorgeous. And I mean gorgeous. Gorgeous in the huge, awe-inspiring, "ta-DAH!" way. There were Christmas lights all arou

nd the temple grounds and visitor's center, and the nativity display included an audio recording of Luke 2.

The astonishment didn't stop upon entering the temple. After getting past the recommend desk, I entered a walkway with floor-to-ceiling windows on either side, and was met with a huge mural at the end of the hall. And it just kept getting prettier from there. To say the least, it got incredibly prettier from there.

Now I'm in my hotel room (three hours after the temple--and yes, I know I'm crazy for driving that far) attempting to get some sleep before heading out in the morning for Boston.