New Star Treck - Next Summer

I think I even like the new Star Treck better than the old ones.

Movie Day

I went to see the new Clive Owens Movie "The International" this afternoon. It was excellent. Owen's character takes on a bank involved with arms dealing and ruthlessly eliminates all those who would oppose them. I found it exciting and interesting. The Trailer is below. I recommend it.

Then this evening I finished watching my Netflix DVD of HBO's John Adams. It is based on the book by David McCullough.

McCullough is a National Treasure and I recommend that you read this book as well as his other books. Truman being my favorite. He won the Pulitzer Prize for both Truman and John Adams.

The Series was in seven parts and I have now watched all seven hours of them. They were marvelous and I was surprised to find that Tom Hanks is the executive producer of the series. I have not been a fan of Hanks but watching him discuss the film and seeing his enthusiasm for the project and for history and having seen him in several films I may have to reassess my feelings. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO ANGELS AND DEMONS due out May 15. The trailer for the series is also below.




I will say this that I try not to get to the theater anymore much before the start time of the film. I really don't like to watch the thinly disguised advertisements before the previews. It is enough for me to see the previews and I am looking forward to two films I saw advertised. Another Clive Owens film (This time with the lovely Julia Roberts) called Duplicity and there is a film coming out on Earth Day. It is a Walt Disney Nature film, Earth and it is about life on earth. I used to watch the Disney Nature shows and am glad to see them doing this again. The life on this planet is very worthy of documentation. The current generation needs to be made more aware of the rich diversity of life on this planet.

I also discovered a site which gives Movie Release Dates and have bookmarked it. You can find out more about the movies coming out by visiting there.

So that was my day. Oh yes, I also held the cat, got licked and took a nap. Very relaxing day. And I didn't really accomplish much of anything. Thanks for stopping by. ARTYAL. Hugs, j

Two Movies

This is a big Movie Week-end. Both Mamma Mia and The Dark Knight opened. I saw lines at the Theater for both movies. I went to Mamma Mia yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was hard not to get up and dance in the aisles.

Today I went to see The Dark Knight and the only criticism I have was that it was a tad too long. At almost three hours I got a little tired of The Joker continually escaping and Batman having to deal with him again.

This was Heath Ledger's last movie and in spite of the despicable character which he played I rather liked him. He did a wonderful job with the character and it is so obvious what an enormous talent he had.

The other actors were all good and it was a very enjoyable afternoon. (Except for having to sit in the third row and I now have a crick in my neck. I recommend both movies but if I only had one to see I would choose Mamma Mia. I am now waiting for it to come out on DVD. There was a woman in the line before me at the theater today. She and her friend were going to see Mamma Mia. I told her not to dance in the ailes. She said that she had done that at the Civic Center in Des Moines. She had gone three times in one week. I'll bet she sees the movie again before it leaves. We both agreed that Pierce Brosnan was not a great singer but she said "At least he is pretty." We decided that was why he got the part. Review here.

It will be interesting to see what the Box Office reports tell us about this weekens receipts. I would bet that Dark Knight may beat out Mamma this weekend but over the long haul I predict that Mamma Mia will win.

ARTYAL, answer your e-mail, tell somone you care and catch a big HUG! jcs

Oscar

If you are a movie buff (as I am) you will enjoy this short clip advertising Turner Classic Movies. Yesterday I watched Gigi and An American in Paris. Both classic, both wonderful and no commercials. See how many of these movies you can identify.



And here is Gene Kelly dancing. He was my favorite dancer in the movies. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday - Jane Russell

Gosh - 86 years old. They don't make movies (or women) like this any more!

Shooter and Books to Borrow

I went to see "Shooter" tonight with Mark Walberg. He has developed into a fine actor over the years. They are calling him the new Bruce Willis. Personally I like him better. Good action flick with an interesting premise.

By the way if anyone wants to borrow "Napoleon's Pyramids" or "Jesus for the Non Religious" drop me an e-mail and I will get it to you. I also have Craig Ferguson's "Between the Bridge and the River" Funny book from a funny man. Have a Happy Easter tomorrow. j

Finally

I finally got out of the House today. Went to Polk City for supper. It was a fund raiser for Sylvia Koss who is going to China this summer with a school program. Her mother is our OES District Instructor. I like the whole family and Sylvia is a very lucky girl to have a family that will support her in all of the activities she is involved with.

Driving was not fun. Interstate was semi-ok. Speaking of Semi's there were at least three of them in the ditch along with about 25 cars. One of them was upside down. Mostly today the pavement was clear but there were patches of ice and blowing snow. Then when I turned west it was 100 % snow covered. I was glad to have the 4-wheel drive.

I could have skipped going but really wanted to get out of here after being stuck for three days. It is fine in town but outside of town it wasn't as much fun. I haven not seen snow like this since I was in college.

When I got home I stopped at Hollywood Video and rented movies. There is nothing on TV on Saturday nights. i got one with Maggie Smith. I am a real fan of hers. The first movie I remember her in was "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." I fell in love with her and have enjoyed her ever since. This one was called "Keeping Mum" and is about a woman (Maggie) released from prison who had killed and dismembered her husband and his lover. I found it delightful and just in case any of you want to rent it I won't put any spoilers in it but the last scene made me laugh out loud.

Now I have "For Your Consideration" on and am probably not going to finish it. Tomorrow I am going to start watching the HBO series "Rome" I rented all five DVD's so over the next few days I will have a veritable Roman Orgy of HBO. It is a good thing I am retired. HBO does good things. I watched Helen Mirren as Elizabeth I earlier this year. It was on two DVD's and She was excellent.

It is more fun to watch the movies than it is to watch regular TV. I get so sick of the commercials - especially the medical one which spend all their time telling you what the side effects could be. The only side effect from those commercials is nausea. Stay warm. j

By the way to leave a comment just click on comments below and then leave your message.