weekend movie review

WARNING: If you want to see 'New Moon' or '2012' and have not seen them, I'd stop reading now if I were you because I'm gonna give stuff away so if you keep reading anyway, don't be mad at me because I'm warning you now. 

 

I have not been to the movies in forever and this weekend I saw 2 movies!  I know, I left the house on Saturday and Sunday – clearly, the world is ending LOL

Actually we had hockey games on both days so I had to leave the house anyway but still…

 

Saturday TGC, a friend of mine and her 2 boys – one of which is TGC's good friend – went to see 'New Moon'.  The younger of the boys wanted to see the werewolves and the older one was bored at home and just came along for the ride.   Admittedly I was kinda along for the ride too as I am not exactly what you'd call a huge Twilight fan.  Before this movie, I had absolutely no allegiance to "team Edward" or "team Jacob" nor did I give a crap.  TGC and my friend and fellow hockey mom were firmly placed on the side of team Edward….until TGC got a look at Jacob (Taylor Lautner) sans shirt.  I look over at her and saw her mouth hanging open so I lean over to ask "still team Edward??"  LOL  She realized she he was totally hot but she was trying very hard to stay loyal to team Edward, I give her credit there.  Me, I have eyes so I made the obvious choice – Team Jacob it is!  It took TGC a little longer but by the time Jacob showed back up with the shorter hair and totally ripped bod, TGC was sold.  LOL  She likes vampires and all that but anyone with eyes can see that Jacob is smoking hot and Edward is pale, puny and simply not attractive.  Easy.  The movie itself was decent… I was pleasantly surprised.  I have not – and will not – read the books so I have no idea if it followed the book or not nor do I care.  I had to stifle laughter when Edward "sparkled"… (vampires sparkling…. REALLY??)  I find Bella to be painfully annoying but I hear Kristen Stewart plays the character very well so I won't blame her for poor acting… I'll just chalk it up to the actual character being annoying.  (putting on my helmet now so the rocks that get thrown at me just bounce off LOL)  So Bella and Jacob come really close several times to making a "love connection" but something always gets in the way… then Alice shows up when she thinks Bella is dead after doing a series of reckless, retarded things to try to keep "seeing" Edward.  Alice "sees" that Edward is gonna go see the Vampire Grand Poobahs in Italy to kill himself cuz he thinks Bella is dead, blah blah blah… Alice & Bella go to Italy… yadda yadda yadda… Bella gets there just in time (of course… hello?  New Moon is the 2^nd book…there's 3 or 4 of these things so you KNOW he's not gonna die…duh) Then they all go before the Grand Poobahs and turns out the Grand Daddy Vampire or whatever the hell he is cant read Bella's thoughts either (oooh aaah) soooo in order for them all to live – or maybe it was in order for Edward to live?  Who knows – Edward has to agree to turn Bella into a vampire.  He wont…but Alice will!  For those of you who have read all the books, you know what is gonna happen later so no need for me to go there.  Yes, I know because I asked someone.  No way am I reading all those damn books.  Oh and btw Eclipse comes out 6/30/10.  The very end Edward agrees to "turn" Bella on one condition…. That she marry him.  Gag me….with a spoon even. 

 

My final words on this:  Decent movie even for the people who aren't big into the Twilight thing; however, I will take Vampire Diaries and/or True Blood over this ANY DAY. 

 

Sunday the movie of choice was '2012'.  Special effects – very cool.  Downside – the movie is THREE HOURS LONG.  The first hour or so is kinda slow and could've been scaled back a bit to where it still gave adequate setup/historical info – er "historical" info – and brought the movie back closer to the 2 hour mark and still been a good movie.  Woody Harrelson is GREAT in this movie.  The kids were all kinda fidgety the first half or so of the movie but when stuff started cracking, falling apart, etc… they all got really still & quiet really quick.  LOL  John Cusack is in this movie and I love him!!!  But I don't know that I loved him in this movie as much as I've loved him in other movies he's done.  If you like realistic, plausible movies – this one isn't for you.  If you like movies that stretch the imagination and have cool special effects, you'll enjoy it most likely if you are willing to take in the attempt at a morality lesson near the end. 

 

Final words – 'Day After Tomorrow' was better and shorter (yes I know the story is totally different)!  Special effects are really cool but its just too long and the attempted morality lesson misses the boat (I made a funny!) as it is still just about all elitists on board the "ships". 

TGC

Yeah so I'm reading a book called 'Reviving Ophelia' about girls, puberty and the difficulty of the whole situation.  First, I wish I would have read this book YEARS ago.  Second, if you are a daughter, have a daughter or even know a female in the remote range of puberty – stop what you are doing and read this book.  Since I am now the mother of a young girl going through puberty, soooo many things take on an entirely different meaning for me.  I do not recall much about my own experience with this so my point of reference is basically non-existent.  However, the more I see changing in my own daughter the more I am reaching out to other moms, reading books like 'Reviving Ophelia' and basically looking for any points of information for others who have gone through what we are going through now and almost every single mom I've asked so far has reported the exact same stuff with their daughters but it seems to be a secret club almost as I do not see or hear too many of them discussing any of these issues unless specifically asked.  Maybe it is too personal to discuss?  I don't know but what I do know is that puberty has the potential to turn your one day happy-go-lucky tomboy without a care in the world into a withdrawn young girl with plummeting self-esteem, overly cautious about her looks and into the depths of depression.  I guess I have just finally come to the same point that many other parents before me have to come to with their daughters and that is to simply hope that she will somehow see in herself what I see in her.  I do not hold any specific hopes for TGC because I want her to be what SHE wants, not what I want.  I do not push her to be "girly" or to not be "girly".  She's more into sports than cheerleading and that is totally fine with me…and if that changes that is fine with me as well.  I want her to be happy, healthy and safe – those are my hopes for her.  She has gone through a growth spurt before most of her friends so she's feeling awkward (more so than normal) because she's taller than most everyone and has started the whole "why don't any boys like me" thing.  Ummm she's 11.  That seems way too young to be worried about this kind of stuff but apparently not.  I want her to be capable of healthy relationships and able to love herself as well as others but never feel like she must like or be liked by some boy to be a full/worthy person. Ugh I could go on and on about this but I wont.   She's a beautiful girl who has so much to offer the world… I just wish SHE could see that but I guess most 11/12 year old girls don't see that in themselves which is sad. 

 

I thought I could pretty much deal with anything considering all the storms I've weathered in my lifetime but watching your child go through phases of deep depression when the value of life is questioned is without a doubt, a sucker punch I was not prepared for… we will get through it because we can tackle anything that is flung our way but it is certainly a difficult battle with an opponent I clearly underestimated. 

Ok kids…time for a hockey post.

For those of you (all 2 of you LOL) who read my old blog, you are likely surprised it has taken me this long to write a hockey post.  For those of you who may stumble upon this blog, I shall warn you now – I love hockey and I am extremely passionate (opinionated) about it.  I will try to keep the hockey talk to a minimum as I do realize that not everyone loves hockey as much as I do – I don't understand it but I realize it  (haha) 

 

Alrighty then… as I watched Chris Drury get concussed – again – Saturday evening by that dirtbag Glencross I got a little fed up with the state of the NHL right now …all the big hockey bloggin boys are talking about it….but you haven't read MY take on it and God knows the world deserves my take on just about everything *wink* -- especially hockey. 

 

First, I believe the NHL we are experiencing this season is actually the NHL of some bizarro parallel universe.  Why?  Let me point you first to the Western Conference standings:

 

1	San Jose Sharks
2	Colorado Avalanche
3	Columbus Blue Jackets
4	Los Angeles Kings
5	Calgary Flames
6	Phoenix Coyotes
7	Dallas Stars
8	Vancouver Canucks
9	Chicago Blackhawks
10	Detroit Red Wings
11	Edmonton Oilers
12	Nashville Predators
13	Anaheim Ducks
14	St Louis Blues
15	Minnesota Wild

 

In case the list does not explain it, I will – Colorado, LA and PHX finished in the bottom of the Western Conference last year.  They are currently in spots 2, 4 and 6.  The two teams who played in the conference finals are in spots 9 and 10 – not that it doesn't make me giddy like a school girl that Detroit is sucking ass this year cuz it totally does but still, you get the point.

 

I won't post the entire Eastern standings because all I really have to say to prove my point in regards to the East is this:  Tampa Bay is in 7^th and Boston is in 10^th.   I'll just let that sink in a moment.  Go on, let it simmer.  Need more?  The Islanders are in 8^th.  Oooh yeah, ok see that solidified things for ya, didn't it?  Yep, thought so. 

 

On to one of my favorite NHL topics – Gary Bettman.  In case you've been under a rock for the last few years, he's a lawyer who was GC for the NBA and is now the NHL commish.  The problem?  He's totally ruining hockey.  Decisions are arbitrary and discipline for "incidents" depend almost solely on if you are what ole Gar' thinks is fan favorite/revenue generating. 

 

Example – if you are Sindy Crosby you can basically concuss, rape, pillage and maim anyone at anytime while on the ice and nothing is going to happen.  If you are Steve Ott, Sean Avery or any other "villain" you better not even look like you are going to act naughty or it'll be an automatic 6 game suspension for you and anyone else on your line who was in the general vicinity.  Patrick Kane beat up an old man for 20cents.  Was he ever punished by the NHL?  Sean Avery made an off-color remark that was crass but he didn't beat anyone up and he lost half his season last year.  Anytime someone even falls down near Steve Ott he gets fined plus a 1-2 game suspension to boot.  Drury did not have the puck and got bashed in the noggin Saturday night by Glencross and no penalty was called.  Drury was helped off the ice and from the looks of him, I'm pretty sure he thought he was at home watching cartoons not in Calgary playing hockey after being tagged in the bean.   No penalty called.  Had Avery been near him, he woulda been called for it and they're on the same team!  I thought Torts was gonna stroke out and rightfully so.  Pity Brashear was out or he coulda had a chat with Glencross – or better yet, he coulda just steamrolled Phaneuf.  Why Phaneuf?  I don't like him and it is my blog, that is why. 

 

In the meantime…. GO STARS!  GO FLYERS! 

Ft Hood

Thoughts and prayers to everyone at Ft Hood as well as all military personnel and families. 

and away we go...

This is a bit disconcerting….my anxiety level is up, I know once I start writing I am going to start venting but I am now blogging as myself and not shielded behind a pseudonym so that any problem or imperfection I mention is not directly linked to ME.  I honestly do not think that my hesitation or anxiety come from what people may think of the specific problem(s) I may have but rather that I have problems at all and not able to solve them myself.  Irrational? Yes.  Completely hypocritical?  Yes.  The hypocritical part bothers me but this is not the first or last time I've been irrational. 

 

I am tired.  No, I am beyond tired…I am exhausted.  I'm exhausted and yet I do not have the option to stay home or get away or take a break or whatever.  Fine, I get it.  Not like I have not been in the "responsible chair" for years now but along with this pesky perpetual exhaustion, I have a lingering twinge of anger that just will not go away.  I am fed up.  Like just about everyone else I talk to lately, my job is ridiculously frustrating, financial pressure is something I've never dealt with well, there are very VERY few things that I can even pretend to take joy in anymore and a med change is not the answer because I've tried just about all of them.  I stopped taking the most recent "lets try this one" after almost 3 months because just like all the others, it didn't do anything.  I'm back to bare bones – ADD med, Anxiety med and migraine/mood stabilization med.  Putting anything else on top of those 3 is basically pointless and I am done trying anything else.  I canceled my sleep study appointment because after reviewing the paperwork for the appointment it is all about sleep apnea – which I do not have – and insomnia due to breathing issues – which I also do not have.  They aren't going to address the stuff that keeps me awake or give me good drugs so I am not going to waste my time.  The one drug that actually shut my brain off and allowed me to sleep I cannot take because it is really bad for you and causes all kinds of other issues.  I've been use to sleep deprivation for 20 years, I'll go with what I know as it seems better than insulin resistant diabetes as the result of taking some drug for sleep…but thanks anyway. 

 

I had to stop going to see my therapist.  It was too much for me to have to try to deal with right now on top of all the other BS I am having to try to take care of and it not really giving me any positive results that I could see or feel.  It made me feel worse and again, I have too much other crap going on and people to try to take care of to have to deal with all that crap too. 

 

I don't like feeling like this.  I don't like being angry and not being able to find any happiness in anything but I've managed to dig a hole I cant climb out of and my only options are to just suck it up and figure out how to get up every morning to get to work and manage how to not let it show how freakin exhausted, worn down and essentially hanging by a thread I am although putting this in a blog post isn't exactly hiding it.  Blogging is a way to release some pressure for me though.  Some people talk to friends, I blog.  Until I can ride this out and put on my shiny happy face again, I am just gonna have to vent it out here.  There is nobody to pick me up but me.   Welcome to Jackieville. Population: 1.