1001 Movies to Watch Before you Die

Since I spend so much of my time sitting and waiting for something to do and since Netflix is so easy and actually available to stream at my desk, I started on the list of "1001 Movies to Watch Before you Die" as a little stupid project.

I started it today and my first movie to watch was......

"An Andalusian Dog" which was done by Salvador Dali around 1928.

What an odd film.  It is a short 16 minutes and kind of put into silent film some of the pictures in Dali's head.  He still kind of freaks me out but I have always liked his art.  Black and white and grainy but it starts with the picture of a man slicing into a woman's eyeball with a straight edge razor and is random and strange.  Kind of whimsical and demented at the same time.

I give it 4 stars out of 5 solely for the artistic quality and the fact that it was Dali.

Catching Fire

Took me a day and a half at work to finish this one and again, it was a super book!  My attention never wavered and I was reading as fast as I could to see what would happen next.  I loved how the Tributes banded together from the start to pull off an uprising without even realizing they were part of it.  I knew something was brewing though and was so anxious to find out what it was.  I enjoy seeing Katniss starting to realize that she DOES have very strong feelings for Peeta and seeing the relationship grow into a real one is interesting.  Very good book.  Will start the last one tonight and probably have to stay up all night so I can finish it.

Mockinjay

I started this book with high hopes and then found myself not really liking it.  I can't really say why except that I got tired of Katniss whining so much.  I felt like her character just sort of fizzled out at the end of book two and for the first 2/3 of book three she just played around and spent day after day feeling sorry for herself.  I never saw her as that kind of person.  She had taken on being the provider at home at an early age out of necessity and sitting around feeling sorry for herself would have been a luxury.  Then she was dumped into the arena not once but twice and again, there is no room for whining or moping around there.  Then here is book three and she just cannot get it together and function.  She plays on Gale's sympathy but won't take ownership of her actions and then gets mad at him when he does.  And through it all she refuses to even feel a glimmer of anything nice toward Peeta once they rescue him.  She is mad because he wants to kill her.  Well boo hoo for her!

Now, having said all that, I kept reading and found the story to be pretty good until the end where I had to turn back a page or two more than once.  Katniss finally steps up, leads the rebel sharpshooters and discovers something that shakes her up and changes the entire way she views the war and the players in it.  But, the author seemed to rush into the end.  When Katniss runs to help her sister at the Capitol, it all just sort of runs together.  I had to read the page three times to figure out that she had been hit by the bomb and that Prim was killed.  Then it sort of rushes through the end. She is in her "old" room at the Capitol where she lived while she trained, then she was trying to kill herself, then addicted to Morphling, then not, then not eating, then free and back in 12 and living alone in the house and finally it all wrapped up in a more decently written way.  But, I found myself sad when it ended.  I want to know more.  I want more stories from other Tributes and their time in the arena.  I want to know more of the stories from the other districts.

All in all, I really liked the book and the series was pretty unforgettable.  Glad I read all three.

The Hunger Games

It is rare that a book grabs me from the first page and holds me completely in its grip through the last page. I usually drift and scan pages and skip. But not this one. My oldest daughter read the series and told me it was great. But really? What does my 15 year old know about good books? <cough cough....apologizes to daughter for not trusting her....cough cough>. I loved it. It was creepy in the right places, sad in the right places and had a fast pace that did not make me want to put it down. As a matter of fact, I started it at work yesterday morning and read it off and on all day. Then I picked it up as soon as I got home and read all evening and would not go to bed until I finished it last night. It was super! I loved Katniss and even loved Peeta. Part of me wanted her to go ahead and get rid of him at first but then I really wanted Katniss to open her heart and realized that Peeta loved her. BUT, that being said, Katniss is really in love with Gale deep down in her heart. 

So, I am ready to dig into the 2nd book and see what happens next. Super book!!!!

My epiphany

GOOD MORNING TO ALL MY CRAZY FRIENDS!!!!  It has been a wild morning here and I am JUST now turning my computer on to check mail and start all the junk piled on my desk.  Made a trip to the Courthouse this morning to file on my bad check folks....he he he....I know, I am a grinch!   :)   

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.  I want to share something with you.  Usually I do not do this but for some reason I am feeling sentimental today.

I want you all to do me a favor when you get home today please.  Take a minute and look at your family.  Husband, kids, mom, dad, grandparents, whoever you live with or have at your house or can get on the phone.   I was sitting in church yesterday morning.  I realized that I had snapped at my baby girl as we were getting ready, had not told my oldest how pretty she looked and had completely bypassed my husband and not even spoken to him and he was preaching a lovely sermon about Jesus being our Everlasting Father.    The only one in my family that I had really engaged was my middle child and that was to tell her to hurry up and get to church so we were not late again....(story of my life on Sundays).   Anyway, I felt just awful.  Then I realized I had not talked to my sister in weeks, my mom and I are at odds right now and she was sitting across the building with her feelings hurt, and I had countless friends that I have not spoken to in forever.  Needless to say, I was depressed after church.  BUT, I could fix this stuff.  I told my kids I loved them.  I made sure to apologize to my baby girl for snapping at her and I told my husband good morning.  Then I called my sister and talked to my mom for a  while.  By the time we took our youth group caroling at 2:00 I realized I had repaired a couple of friendships that had cobwebs hanging on them and I thanked God that I had had this epiphany---- What if I never saw any of these people again?  Life is short and so fleeting.   PLEASE go home and hug your family and tell them you love them, even if it means STOPPING what you are doing to make a phone call.  Even if you are arguing with one or two dozen of them....lol.  They are family and you may not get to see them again.  I never want my kids or husband to think I was cross with them or did not love them.  And I don't want my friends to think that either.  So just so you know--- I LOVE YOU GUYS!  You keep me sane and I am so glad to have you in my life.  Hang in there.  Have a wonderful, merry Christmas and while you are out on holiday be safe and careful.  

That is my preaching for the day!   

Allie

Explosive Eighteen

Started this one first thing this morning and just finished it.  I loved it!  It was just a hoot from the start til the end.  I have laughed all day long.  Poor Stephanie gets chased by crazies through the whole thing.  I love how she just started using the stun gun on the two fake FBI agents and how she hit Raz with the wine bottle and dragged him out into the hall.
So the question is still this---- I know Stephanie just "pretended" to be married to Ranger in Hawaii but what really happened? Is he okay with it being something more permanent?  I love that he and Morelli finally tied up and fought it out.  Now Stephanie still just has to choose which one she really wants to be with more.  Personally I am pulling for Ranger....yum.
Super book and I CANNOT wait for June 2012 for the next one even though it won't be a Stephanie book.  I just love all of Evanovich's books.  :)

<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2809736-shelley">View all my reviews</a>

Smokin' Seventeen

I had to pick a book to read today at work and I realized that I had not gotten around to read this one yet.  So I started it and am trying already not to laugh out loud so people wonder what is going on in here.  Cannot wait to get into this one.

Finished it with about 10 minutes to spare before I leave work today.  LOVED IT!  It was funny and had a great storyline.  I love that Stephanie finally hooked up with Ranger again. But I also want her to get back with Morelli too.  And Grandma still makes me laugh.  My favorite part was Lula and the vampire rooster.

Cannot wait to start the 18th one tomorrow.