One of our video guys, Joel, was one of the editors on this movie produced by Fuel Clothing. It was a collage of extreme sports from skateboarding, BMX, motorbikes, surfing, snowboarding, etc...I was SO proud of the editing job that Joel did - he's a freshman in high school!!! Kudos, Joel and thanks for signing my copy of the movie!
It never grows old for me...especially now with a 4 1/2 year old and an almost 2 year old. Our home is ready for the holidays. Looking through 14 years of ornaments was amazing...our 1st Christmas, our first home, and my traditional family photo ornament fresh from snapfish today. Another year to celebrate the greatest gift ever given to mankind...another year to be thankful for 14 trees with my hubby.
Todd and I attended a private screening of Fireproof last night in Savannah. I had seen a good bit of this movie at Recreate in February, so I already knew it was gonna be terrific. It was truly outstanding. The storyline was very developed and the contrast between dramatic moments and comedic relief was perfect. I have always been a huge advocate for the church to create culture and for art to come from us to our culture. Not be imitators - be creators. Watching this film has given me continued hope that We as the church can do this and do it with excellence and creativity. Go see this movie and take people with you. The conversation that Todd and I had on the way home about the movie will greatly impact our marriage. Good film does that and creating culture starts new conversations. Thank you, Sherwood Baptist, for being culture creators and for starting conversation that directly affects my life.
The hype was right...Dark Knight exceeded my expectations. It was personally difficult for me to deal with Ledger's character. His daughter, Matilda Rose, was born the fall we moved to NYC. There was a lot of buzz because he and Michelle Williams had moved to the city (Brooklyn) and I just remember seeing pictures and hearing about them a lot. When interviewed, they were so happy to be parents to this little girl and I related so much because Todd and I loved our little girl and living in the city with her. He is an amazing actor and his role as "The Joker" definitely deserves notice regardless of his death this year. However, I hope Matlida sees more of the pictures of her dad with her and holding hands with her mom than she sees "The Joker". That's the Heath Ledger I remember.
I took Sydney last night...it was FANTASTIC! We will be buying it on DVD. Sydney said her favorite part of the movie was "when the little girl talked." I loved Abigail's character and the way she treated her parents and others around her. And it was nice to take my daughter to something G-rated that was not animated!
I went to the premiere of a locally produced short film entitled Nickel Pumpers tonight at Sea Turtle Cinemas in Bluffton. One of the actors, Terri Bleam, and the co-producer and Director of Photography, Brent Nelsen are involved at LowCountry-Bluffton. I am blown away anytime I see creatives actually pull off something unique and see their vision come to fruition. I really enjoyed the film! I talked with Brent afterwards and he told me a little of the backstory of how he met Todd Pringle, the writer and director... Todd was looking for cameras and Brent's company had them - they hooked up and realized that each of their strengths could complement each other to make the film together. Their plan is to take it to short film festivals starting with the Beaufort Film Festival in February.
To read more about the film, click here
We took the kids to see Alvin and the Chipmunks...it was cute...The music industry depiction was hilarious and very accurate! However, I did almost lose my popcorn when Dave (Jason Lee) took his Roland D-50 (which I had one for a season in the mid-90's) and throws it outside and then it rains! So, I'm sure I wasn't the only one that was cringing during that scene. I downloaded some songs for us to listen to at home the next 2 days and I chose the classic version of the Chipmunks "Christmas Song". It is a little weird that my daughter is singing along to the SAME song I sang to about 30 years ago...very cool , but weird.
So I went out tonight with a group of our young professional women from our church and we saw this movie...I knew it would be good because unfortunately, the preview gave the story away! However, if you are a music lover, you will find this film enchanting. It celebrates the music that lies within us all. No matter our circumstances, music can take you away to another place. Robin Williams was fantastic - not alot of dialogue, but as a musician, I truly enjoyed the way it celebrated the power of music...not to mention it was filmed in NYC in the part of town I used to live. It was not an "out of the park" film, but it had a good story that I enjoyed embracing as a mother and a musician.
Todd and I took in a movie this week and I RARELY see anything that is worth telling others about... Christopher Nolan, director of Batman Begins, directed and co-wrote the screenplay for The Prestige with his brother, Jonathan. If you enjoy a great screenplay and strong character development, you will like this film. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale do a terrific job as arch rivals. Nolan does something that few directors will dare to do to their audience or can do - jump around in a timeline with a lot left to the audience to figure out. The editing is fantastic! You have to keep up, but he does not make it so far out of reach and too predictable - a very delicate balance that I feel he achieves perfectly. Go see it!
In spite of the negative reviews of the movie, we saw it last night. Most of the time, I really don't believe reviews because I end up loving a movie that critics hated! Unfortunately, this time, they were right. I did read the book so I know I had some expectations, but it was such a disappointment. I am a huge Hanks fan - probably the worst acting I have ever seen from him. Not only was it slow, the actors lacked emotion and they were not believable. With SUCH a great cast, I was so frustrated with the lack of character development. Paul Bettany as the monk was the most believable. The way it was shot was boring. They revealed things that didn't need to be stated. OK - I could just go on, but I won't. If you enjoyed the novel, rent the movie in a few months. Don't waste your $10. Go see Over the Hedge with your kids - it was great!