Love Happens
This film worked as a study in grief. The characters were sensitive, tried real hard, and worked through some heavy stuff. The idea of a bestselling author/speaker running seminars on grief when he had a few not-so-hidden bones rattling around in his closet was very intriguing. And I really liked the way it all played out.
What didn't work for me was the Eloise (Aniston)/Burke (Eckhart) romance aspect. I didn't understand why, in the midst of his struggle/depression, he became so passionately fascinated with her. I also didn't understand much of their relationship overall and why there was such interest on both sides. Many of their moments together just felt painful.
There was no sex but there were a few token comments. Overall pretty clean with some moderate language. If you like introspective relationships or exploring the fascinating world of mourning, or Eckhart or Aniston you might like it. I'd suggest a rental first if you are unsure.Did You Hear About the Morgans.
This
film is a solid three-star, middle-of-the-road film. Adequately entertaining, charming and amusing in some spots and predictable and annoying in others.
I viewed it with four twenty-something girls. They all liked it better than I did and thought it was funny and sweet and all thought that the negative reviews were overdone.
The negative reviews I've heard were mostly about the lack of spark between the Morgans, Paul and Meryl. I thought Grant (Paul) and Parker (Meryl) did okay with the subject matter. Not great, but okay. For starters, this isn't a cutesy chick-flick where boy meets girl, they fall in love, one of them does something stupid or misreads the other followed by the sweet scene that pulls them back together when they discover they can't live without each other. This is a film that deals with a very broken marriage with some pretty hefty issues. The lack of spark was understandable the first half or so of the film. The issue for me was the quick resolution and some roller coaster emotional backlash. Didn't quite make sense and the challenges faced by the couple kind of sucked the funny potential out of it.
Beyond the relationship issues is a life and death plot and the secondary characters. Neither made the film a must see either. Again there are moments of attention grabbing or humor, but moments of blah to frustrating, too.
The film was pretty clean, with a few curse words and a bit of sexual conversation. Mild stuff for the most part. If you love one or the other of the actors, you will probably want to see it. I'd recommend a Red Box rental before buying. If you need a fun chick-movie, this one could scratch some itches, but again, you might want to give it a rent before buying.
Goal accomplished.
30 days of Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred later I'm reporting results. For the record, I did not follow any sort of diet or dieting rules and didn't go to her website. If I wanted something I pretty much ate or nibbled or shared it, including a small Blizzard and some boneless buffalo wings. Of course, on the flip side I often ate low-fat yogurt, oatmeal or Cheerios for supper or lunch. But that was because that's what I wanted at the time. Also, I didn't follow any other exercise program or add additional workouts to Shred. Any "success" is likely from doing Shred alone.
Shred kicked my booty on several different levels. An exercise buddy and I committed to doing it all 30 days with each of the three levels lasting ten days. We just methodically did them and when it was time to move on, we did, whether we were afraid or ready or whatever.
My buddy didn't do all the days so I'm just going to report my results. I lost 2 inches off my hips, 2 inches off my waist and an inch from my chest. Not only did the tape measure report that, I feel it in my clothes. Now. As I've discussed this with others and we laughed about Jillian's level 3 comment "You should be seeing that six-pack right about now." we've decided that under the "bubble wrap" I've got hanging around, that there is definite change and toning in those abdominal muscles. I can feel them move. My core is much stronger and the moves have gotten easier to do.
Definition and strength clearly happened in my arms, legs and behind as well. Overall I lost 3.3 pounds. Not significant, but not awful either. I'm not trying to break weight loss speed records, just get in better shape and working on becoming healthier. So I'm very pleased with that for 30 days of 20 minute work-outs. Now.
Here's the nitty gritty. I hated listening to Jillian's explanation every day. You can't cut to the chase, you have to go through her 2-3 minute intro. Annoying. Sometimes the comments got a little annoying as well. The visual was nice because the camera hit mostly full body and traveled from the high-intensity model to the lower-intensity model during each move while Jillian explained what was going on and why. I loved that Jillian explained why some exercises were Level 3 and how they worked the muscles, and what was being accomplished etc. The music was a little annoying, too, but I was able to ignore it most of the time. I would've liked to see some different cool-downs because the warm-ups were different for each level.
Many of the exercises are high intensity and I felt a lot of them in my knees both during and after. Level 3 is really high intensity with plyometrics (explosive movements, i.e. jumping) like jump squats, rock stars, sumo squats, jumping jacks with weights, mountain climbers, jumping lunges. In the 10 days we did this level I was not able to do the entire session at the higher level intensity. My body got used to it and my knees aren't barking anymore but be warned. I had a shoulder that yelled at me the first few days I did Level 1 but it hasn't bothered me since. I really felt the squats and other intense moves in my rear-end. So much so that the only relief I got in Day 3 of Level 3 was to do Shred for the day. The ab workouts were mostly painful and did their job, covering every stinking muscle (according to my complaining abs anyway).
I loved, loved, loved that this is an intense 20 minute workout and it's a keeper. I can always put in 20 minutes. No excuses. I am going to give Jillian's Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD a shot. It's 40 minutes and I'd like to see the difference in results.
In honor of 23's soon departure to Chile, I thought I'd share this link with you.
I'm pretty sure she's safe from this horror though. She is packing her own roll of T.P. though.
I loved this film.
Why? Because I left the theater feeling encouraged. Blind Side shows that there is hope, even in the roughest of places, and that a different life is just a few choices away. And it manages to do it without uber-cheese and contrived emotional set-ups.
Michael spends his nights at the mercy of people, and if he finds no mercy he makes do. That's just what his life is, the hand he has been dealt. Leigh Anne is a wealthy electrically-charged wife, mother, business owner who doesn't listen to excuses or consider anything contrary to what she wants as a final answer.
When Leigh Anne finds Michael headed toward the high school gym on a night where there was no mercy available, she takes him home and into her family. Day by day, realization by realization, each of them are changed and their lives meld together.
There are tearful moments and ones filled with laughter and often both at the same time. The fact that this story is based on a true one makes it all the more uplifting.
Parents need to be aware of a little language and some rough scenes in Michael's old neighborhood.
Blind Side was so much better than I expected it to be and I had really high hopes.
(Part of me hesitates to post this just because I don't want to even think about it. But.)
Learn about effective ways to keep your children safe from harm and find out what you can do to help stop crimes against kids on Friday February 19th at 11-12 CST on Kitchen Chat.
Margaret McSweeney will interview Marc Klaas, father of Polly Klaas who was kidnapped and murdered in 1993. As a legacy to his daughter, Marc founded KlaasKids Foundation to help stop crimes against children. Please tune in to Kitchen Chat with Margaret McSweeney Friday at 11:00 am CST!
