movie 12

The Haunting

so obviously i am doing VERY BADLY at watching 50 movies this year... so when this was on tv after the mets game ended, i kept it on and figured even if it was awful it would count toward my 50 so i'd win.  The Haunting was awful.  like AWFUL. now maybe you see why i don't watch many movies, i mean the majority of what i'm reviewing here is like.. awful, awful films.

i was a little surprised to be honest.  the movie is from 1999 but the production was like 1980s.  there were major names in the cast: owen wilson, catherine zeta-jones, liam neeson... i mean, did they READ the script?  did they practice their lines? the dialogue was awful.  the acting was awful.  the plot was... well, awful!

i understand this is a remake of a previous film that may or may not have been good.  i won't be finding out any time soon.. this movie was so bad i used the word "awful" 900 times in this review. please don't watch it. please.

book 19

Bookends by Jane Green
358 pages

I read Jemima J last year, so I thought it would be cool to give Jane Green another shot. I enjoyed Bookends.. it was a little slow at first, but as I read, I got more and more into it.  I like that Ms. Green creates characters that come off as real - they aren't little stick figure girls who live a life you can't imagine living.. they are sometimes insecure, they have bad hair, and they are regular sized women.

I had a couple of issues with the book, first of all the language.. like when Lucy talks she is a little annoying, "the lovely James" "young James" "Cath, my love" it's a little over the top. Sometimes Cath goes on and on and repeats herself, and I wish she would get to the point.  And the last 100 pages of the book were EXTREMELY depressing.  I don't think it was meant to be so depressing, but it was, and I didn't like that.

I would still give this book 4 stars, however, because all in all I really enjoyed reading it and am glad I chose it. :)

book 18

Bitter is the New Black
Jennifer Lancaster

Bitter is the New Black was a great read.  Very funny, attention-holding, and full of energy, it kept my attention thoroughly.  I understand that Jen Lancaster has written a couple other memoirs, but I'm not sure I will read them.. seems a little too much for me - like who needs to write three memoirs, really?

Anyway, I digress.

What I really loved about this film was the moral of the story - Lancaster lives this insane lifestyle of spending nonstop, needing to have the best of the best, and when she loses her job and finds herself in a very bad situation, she looks back and thinks "Why did I think buying this stuff was a good idea?"  I can relate to this sentiment.  Though I am quite lucratively employed, I seem to always have financial problems, and when I look around at the stuff I own it's insanely frustrating.

Lancaster has sharp wit and makes keen observations.  Although I can't imagine working with her or for her, or even socializing with her, I enjoyed her book.  I really think I would hate her as a person, but her story was good and I would highly recommend it to people who enjoy laughing or who overspend as a life lesson :)

movies 10 and 11

10 - The Pelican Brief
I watched this because it was on tv when i was in georgia, and everyone else was watching it.  not my type of movie. though parts were thrilling, overall i had a hard time maintaining my attention to it.  i have nothing more to say about that.

11. Dakota Skye
i watched this film in the airport while my flight was delayed and i LOVED it.  i liked the narration that dakota does, i liked her boyfriend even though he was sort of a loser, and i really loved Jonah.  i wish i had the kind of adoration in my life that dakota does.  i am 100% a sucker for romance, especially when there is an intense connection that has sparks and chemistry on screen.

i don't want to give too much away, so i'm going to stop here, but this was one of the best films i've seen in a long time, and i HIGHLY recommend it to saps like myself.