Blast from the Past

Tonight, we watched the movie Bohemian Rhapsody about the life and times of Queen front man, Freddie Mercury...

OMG, what a great movie!! It brought back all kinds of memories for me, because I grew up in that time, so I remember all the music, the stories in the news, and the concerts. And while I never got the opportunity to see Queen live, I truly did love most of their music, and do remember watching Live Aid on TV. I remember when he issued the statement that he had Aids, and then only a day or two later, passed away. The movie was done well, and I thought that it showcased his talent. Well worth seeing, regardless if you are a Queen fan or not.

MCU

MCU = Marvel Comic Universe
Didn't think I knew that, did you? Turns out, I am a bit of a fan. Not obsessive or anything, but a fan. I've seen all the movies, or have I? We recently watched "The Avengers: Infinity War", and there were so many side comments and references to the other films, that I decided I wanted to watch them all in order. So, I Googled it. This is not the order in which the movies were released, it's the order in which you are supposed to watch them...

Captain America: The First Avenger
Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk (with Ed Norton)
Iron Man 2
Thor
The Avengers
Iron Man 3
Thor: The Dark World
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant Man
Captain America: Civil War
Doctor Strange
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Thor: Ragnarok
Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Captain Marvel
Avengers 4

The last 3 haven't been released on DVD yet (or aren't even in theatres yet). And it turns out, I've seen more than I thought I had -- I'm only missing 2 1/2 (I only watch 1/2 of Ant Man). Maybe when I'm on vacation, I'll watch one a day.

They did what?

They remade Dirty Dancing. Seriously.

First, I don't even want to know why someone decided that was a good idea. But, I thought I would give it a try and see what all the fuss was about. After all, everyone knows what a cult following that movie has, and the remake must be really good, right?

Wrong! So, wrong!
The acting was mediocre, the dancing was shit, and they changed the story just a bit, adding some scenes and changing up the dialogue in others. It was boring, with no spark between the main characters, and it felt like they were just going through the motions. Overall it was a horrible movie, with none of the emotions of the first one. I didn't even actually make it through the whole movie, watching only bits and pieces of it over the night.

The Twitter-verse slammed it from the beginning. And I haven't read one thing online yet that says this was a good thing.

The end of spring break

For the last two weeks, all the school kids have been on Spring Break. What does that mean to me? No huge traffic jams to and from work! And lots of parking at the office, because all the parents are off of work too!
Tomorrow that all ends. We are back to long commutes, and not getting to park right in front of the office.
Today, I made myself some buttermilk pancakes for breakfast to make myself feel better. They turned out REALLY good!
Meanwhile, one of my favourite movies is now on Netflix.

"Stranger than Fiction" is such a quirky, unusual, and wonderfully acted dark comedy. Not to mention that it was released on my birthday (some years ago). So, I am going to spend the evening playing couch potato and watching the movie.

Me Before You

Last summer, I read the book, Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. And this week, the movie version was On Demand on my cable package, so I watched it.

The movie was actually pretty good. Very similar to the book. And I am actually surprised by the performance of Emilia Clarke. For Game of Throne fans, she plays Daenerys Targaryen. But, she looks so much different as a brunette, and plays such a different role, you would be excused if you didn't recognize her.

books and movies

I'm doing things a little backwards. Usually, I buy a book, read it, and then see the movie. But I recently watched the movie "Brooklyn".

I fell in love with the movie. It was romantic, and sad, and heartwarming, and easy to get caught up in the characters. So, when I needed to use a $10 gift card for Chapters, I went and bought the book...

Normally, I read the book first. But, this will be the one of the few times I will read the book after I've seen the movie. The only time that really didn't work out for me was with "Under the Tuscan Sun". The movie (which I had seen numerous times) was nothing like the book, and the book was surprisingly bad and boring compared to the movie.

Oscars 2016

We watched part of the Oscars last night. Sorry to say, I wasn't impressed. I kept thinking that if I took a drink every time they said the word "black" on the show, well I would be completely drunk in the first 1/2 hour. I did keep tuned in (somewhat) in order to see Leo win his first Oscar though.

And all that talk about the movie - well, I decided to start reading The Revenant before we see the movie. I did that with The Martian, and I'm glad I did. While the movie was great, the book was infinitely better.

Star Wars

Today, we went to see the new Star Wars movie!

We saw it in 3D, although it didn't really need to be in 3D to enjoy it. It was a real throw back to the older first 3 Star Wars movies, so I really enjoyed it.

Halloween Hangover

I haven't been this hungover in a very long time. Maybe it was the flu bug, or maybe it was the drinks, or maybe it was a bit of both. But, I'm so glad all we planned on doing this Halloween night was to stay home and watch movies. Because I didn't feel much like doing anything else.
I watched the 4th James Bond flick today Thunderball.

And then watched Hotel Transylvania on Netflix.

Bond, James Bond

I bought a collection of James Bond movies from iTunes this week.

Today, I watched Dr. No - the first movie with Sean Connery. I don't think I had ever seen it before. And I didn't realize that the first 3 or 4 movies were actually made and released before I was born!

Chick Flicks

My favourite line in my favourite chick flick...

"Happiness isn't happiness without a violin playing goat."

Julia Roberts in Notting Hill

Movies

I recently watched 2 movies...
First there was Whiplash

I did not want to see this one. I don't like humiliation (or psychological torture) in any form, and that is what the main storyline is about. And some of the scenes were difficult to watch. I kept thinking if I were that kid, I would just up and walk out of there. But, the movie was really well done. The performances were extraordinary, and it was one of the better movies that we have seen in a while.
Then there was Birdman.

I had high hopes for this one. I'm not a big Michael Keaton fan, but I heard good things, and the rating on iTunes was 90%. But I was disappointed. It was a dis-jointed, mish-mash of emotional outbursts, good acting, bad story lines, and weird characters who you never really got to know, understand or care about.
Both are currently on Netflix in Canada.

Gone Girl the Movie

I mentioned to my girlfriend at lunch today that I recently read The Girl on the Train, and recommend she read it too. She told me that she heard it was similar to Gone Girl. She had watched the movie, but not read the book Gone Girl, but said that the movie was really good. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that when I got home from work and logged on to Netflix, they were now playing Gone Girl. For free. Gotta love it!
So, I watched it.

While it was kind of similar to The Girl on the Train, it was a different story, with a different ending, and different characters. I actually enjoyed the movie. Although, I have to admit, after the last week or so or reading and watching characters who all have questionable motives, messed-up relationships, and strange habits... well, I'm thankful for my somewhat boring predictable life with my "normal" husband.

House of Cards, Season 3

So, we started watching House of Cards, Season 3 on Netflix recently. There are 13 episodes in the new season, and we thought that we would watch 1 episode a night for 2 weeks. But, 6 days later, and we are done. All 13 episodes.

It was good. Not as good as the first or second season, but still entertaining. Although, I really don't like Doug anymore.

Date Day

Today, my husband and I had "Date Day" and went to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes...

In 3D -- Note: this was my very first 3D movie. I was so excited!

And to make things even better, we went to the VIP theater... big seats, lots of leg room, food delivered directly to your seat, it was quite an indulgence!

I had fun! The movie itself was "Ok". It was a little predictable, but still very entertaining. The special effects were great... the apes looked so real!
I had a great time! And I can finally cross "See a 3D Movie" off of my bucket list!

movie

We watch a lot of movies on Netflix.
One of the ones we watched recently is Cowboys and Aliens.

If you haven't seen it yet, don't bother. It was pretty bad.
Which begs the question... how can so many good actors be in one really bad movie?

movies

This weekend, hubby signed up for netflix.

We get it free for a month, then we pay $7.99 a month after that. We can watch as many movies and TV shows as we want, as many times as we want, on 2 devices at the same time. We get Netflix through our Apple TV, Ipad, Ipod and computer. Sounds great, right?
Well, the only issue I have is the limited selection that Netflix Canada has. For the first couple of months, I'm sure we can find all kinds of movies and TV shows to watch. But, in a few months, I can honestly say that we will likely get bored with the selection.
In the meantime, we've watched 2 movies now, and I've started watching Mad Men.

Movies

Hubby was sick last week. (He's feeling better now, and thank goodness I did not catch the flu from him!). But, on Saturday night this past weekend, we were going through our "wish list" of movies that we wanted to watch. I had added "Life of Pi" to the list at one point, knowing full well, that I would likely have to rent it for myself one weekend when he was off doing other things. It's not really hubby's kind of movie.
Imagine my surprise then when he asked me if I wanted to rent it on Saturday night. My first thought was, "No, he doesn't really want to watch this. He's just got a fever and is delirious!" Then I thought... "Why not! Who cares if he is delirious, here is my chance!"
So, we watched it.

I didn't know much about the storyline or the movie before we got into it. Although, I can now say I know why it was nominated for a bunch of Academy Awards. And Ang Lee won for best director, right? Well, I know why. The cinematography and direction in the movie was fantastic. Actually, overall, I quite enjoyed it. I think hubby did too. Or maybe that was just the Nyquil.

Skyfall - Movie Review

On the weekend, we watched "Skyfall", the new James Bond Movie. I loved it. But, then I love James Bond movies. Especially the ones with Daniel Craig. Sean Connery used to be my favourite Bond, but now Craig is. Hubby didn't think the movie was that good. He said it dragged for the first half. But, I thought he was nuts. It was non-stop action from the beginning. Typical James Bond action.

My only issue with the movie was Javier Bardem. That guy just FREAKS ME OUT! Really. Ever since I saw him in "No Country for Old Men", I haven't been able to even look at the guy without totally FREAKING OUT! I'm sure he's a nice guy in real life. But, he didn't play one in this movie. He just FREAKED ME OUT all over again. Even seeing him in "Vicky Christina Barcelona", and "Eat Pray Love" has done nothing to make me look at him differently.
The best part of the movie though has to be the classic vintage Aston Martin. If I ever win the lottery, I'm going to buy me one of those.

Singing in the Rain

Yesterday was the first time it rained here in a few weeks.
Yesterday also would have been Gene Kelly's 100th birthday. So, TCM was playing a lot of Gene Kelly movies last night.
After work, I cuddled on the couch with hubby, and we sat and watched "Singing in the Rain". It was the first time I had seen the movie from beginning to end.

Of course, we supplemented the evening by reading trivia about the movie on the internet while watching it.

I can't believe how young Debbie Reynolds was in the movie! And did you know, that the dancing in the rain sequence was mostly ad-libbed by Kelly, and done in ONE take! Amazing.