Monday, December 12, 2016

Monday, December 12, 2016

Monday, December 12, 2016

 What the Beck???


Happy Birthday Ruthanne!!!

Secret Santa Gifts

December 11th clue:   For a cold night



December 12th clue: If you didn't eat it all, these will help.


Are you ready?  Do you have an answer??






December 11th gift: Tortilla soup and a box of Holiday Wheat Thins.
First of all, Wheat Thins are my favorite.
All you add to the soup is a can of diced tomatoes and some water and wa la - soup's on!!
I can't wait to try it.





December 12th gift: Rubbermaid containers.
This will come in handy as there is no
possible way that I can eat all of that soup in one setting.


Bucket List Update
Academy Award Nominated Movies


2010     Black Swan        
starring:  Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara                        Hershey, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied, Ksenia Solo,                Kristina Anapau
plot –    Natalie Portman plays Nina, a ballerina, who obsessively                      strives for perfection. Nina gets the lead in Swan Lake                    but has major competition from Lily, who will use                        whatever it takes to get the role away from her “so-                      called” friend.
Not being a big ballet fan, it took me awhile to get into this one. The competition between the two was what drew me into the movie. Nina’s thoughts and hallucinations were disturbing.


2010     The Fighter
starring:  Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo,                     Mickey O’Keefe
plot –     Mickey Ward wants to be a great fighter like his older                         brother, Dickey. His mother is the manager for both              boys until Dickey’s fame goes to his head, and he              decreases his training time. Mickey does the opposite                   and rises to a great contender.
This was a surprising movie for me to like at all. It had a lot of boxing, which I usually do not like, but the acting and storyline drew me in to the film. The family dynamics and reactions are outrageous, but interesting to watch.


2010     Inception
starring:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom                  Hardy, Ken Watanabe
plot –    DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb who can get into people’s minds                   and steal secrets. This film is about a challenge for him                 to actually plant an idea in a brain, rather than discover                 one they already have imbedded. The enemy figures out                 what he will try to do.
This was an interesting idea, but I wasn’t a big fan. The movie is an action film, but it didn’t hold up for me.


2010     The Social Network
starring:  Jesse Eisenberg, Rooney Mara, Bryan Barter, Dustin                          Fitzsimmons, Joseph Mazzello
plot –    This is a film about Mark Zuckerberg, and how he created                     Facebook for university students. He stole the idea, and                 made it tremendously popular. Zuckerberg was sued by                 the men he stole the idea from, and lost his only friend                 in the world.
This was bothersome to me. I thought Zuckerberg must have been a great guy, but discovered through this movie that he was pretty much a snake with little or no people skills. I was really angry when he turned on the friend who helped him rise to the top.


2010     Toy Story 3
starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles,                Michael Keaton
plot –   Andy is all grown up and going to college, and the toys are                    going to be stored in the attic. Unfortunately, the toys                  end up being donated to a day-care center, and it is                      rough. The group plans an escape.
I had actually viewed the first Toy Story movie when my niece, Rachel, lived with me. I liked the original the first time I saw it but tired of it after the tenth viewing. Rachel truly loved this movie. I liked this third movie, too.


2010     Winter’s Bone
starring:  Jennifer Lawrence, Isaiah Stone, Ashlee Thompson, Valerie                   Richards, Shelley Waggener
plot –     Ree Dolly is a teenager who is in charge of her ill mother and                 younger siblings. She hunts for her father who is going                   to lose their home to the bail bondsman. She gets in a                   lot of trouble when everyone wants her to cease looking                 for what happened to her Dad.
This was an amazing movie. Jennifer Lawrence is outstanding as Ree. The movie was quite intense, but I loved the entire movie from beginning to end.


2011     Hugo
starring: Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield, Chloe                      Grace Moretz, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer
plot –    Hugo lived in the walls of the Paris train station where his                     father tended the clocks prior to his death. His Dad was                 also great at building machines. His Dad created a metal                 man called an automan.
I really liked this movie because I had read the book when I was still teaching. The actors did a great job! I really enjoyed the acting of the policeman.


2011     Midnight in Paris
starring:  Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy,                   Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates
plot –    Owen Wilson plays Gil Pender, a writer for movies and books.                 He and his girlfriend are in Paris on boring tours with a                 know-it-all. Wilson goes out at night and time travels                     back to the 20’s in Paris. He meets all the biggies and                     loves old Paris. He struggles with the differences              between the past and present.
This was a really good movie. I was really sucked into Wilson’s struggle. He did a fabulous job in this role, and was very believable. I liked the story line a lot.





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