Security

Is it just me or do you love the security words that Blogger asks you to type in when you comment on someone's blog? They almost seem like real words. I like to use them in sentences and pretend that I am speaking my own language. I like pretending...

Steven Spielberg

I've already said it, but I love Spielberg! This video was amazing.

A Little Late...

A little late, but here are some photos of our ranch trip this Christmas. We had a great time!

Most beautiful place on earth

So handsome

So sneaky

Brynn loved this princess backpack

Changes

Lindsay and I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 last night for the first time since the theater. I remember really enjoying the film (I did rank it my number 1), but I also remember some things that bothered me. So after watching it for the second time, here is my list of things I would change about the film--surprisingly, the changes would only be made in the last 30 minutes of the film. If you haven't read the books or seen the film, skip over these spoilers!

1. When Harry is brought back to Hogwarts by Hagrid, Neville needs to kill Nagini right away. His whole speech about going on without Harry was awful. Voldemort would not have let him talk--he would have avada kadavra'd his ass right there. Kill the snake, start the final battle.
2. I also didn't like the whole Voldemort and his Death Eaters making their laughing remarks and everyone else being all sad. The direction just didn't work very well.
3.  Harry leading Voldemort on a wild chase through the castle was no good. I didn't like them falling off the tower and flying through the air. It was akward.
4. When Mrs. Weasley is fighting Bellatrix, she shows fear and falls back. She shouldn't show fear to Bellatrix. She is full of rage and remorse. Her attack needed more power.
5. The visuals were fantastic, but I didn't like Harry and Voldemort having their final duel all alone in the courtyard. Everyone else needed to be out in the courtyard supporting Harry.
6. Harry needed to fix his wand with the Elder Wand! Why couldn't they have thrown this in there? It would have been so easy to do, and it was a HUGE part of the book! Kills me.

I think that was about it. Glaring mistakes in my opinion. It almost seems like they got a bit tired at the end or something. I still think the movie is fantastic, but there are always going to be things that don't work in a book adaptation. It almost makes me scared to read The Hobbit again. I am reading it with Kam before the movie comes out this Christmas.

Pretty Funny

I got a good laugh at this:

Best Film of 2011

#1-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, directed by David Yates. I am a fan of the epic film genre. Dances with Wolves, Forrest Gump, obviously Lord of the Rings, and this Harry Potter conclusion. I was thoroughly happy with the final installment of this amazing series. I posted in 2011 my thoughts and feelings about this movie. Alan Rickman was genius, the three mains captured the sadness and desperation that I felt from the books, and the visuals were just stunning! There were things I didn't like, but you are always going to get that from a book adaptation. Overall, probably my favorite film in the series.

Honorable mentions:
The Lincoln Lawyer
Fast Five 
Thor
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil


And I'm already calling my favorite film of 2012:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Best Films of 2011 continued...

#3-Moneyball, directed by Bennett Miller. I have always been a sucker for good sports movies, especially ones about baseball (my favorite movie is Field of Dreams). I loved this film! Brad Pitt gives just about his finest performance (right behind Fight Club) and the tension that is built up at the end was debilitating. My heart almost stopped. And Jonah Hill...Wow! Who knew? If you haven't seen this one, you need to. It's a gem!

#2-Super 8, directed by J.J. Abrams. The kids in this movie are some of the best I have EVER seen in film. Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning were outstanding! Their honesty and innocence were perfectly captured. I have loved just about everything J.J. Abrams has touched. The man is a Spielberg protege. It gives me hope for the future of cinema.

Best Films of 2011

It's a little late, but I need to share my top five films of 2011. There are still quite a few films I haven't seen that were released this year, but I have to say that this year was less than stellar on the film front. I really enjoyed the five I will be sharing with you over the next few days, though. They include action, sports, animals and a certain boy wizard...

#5-War Horse, directed by Steven Spielberg. The more I have thought about this film, the more I seem to like it. The performances were fabulous, the setting and landscape was just breathtaking (I want to live on the boy's farm) and it just swept me up.

#4-Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol, directed by Brad Bird. Wow! This movie was just awesome! Tom Cruise is a true movie star. HE gave 100% to this film and made it so much fun to watch. The action was non-stop, the story was a lot of fun, and the characters were multi-layered. Doesn't get much better.

More Disneyland

My sister in-law just asked for some help planning a Disneyland trip and it made me all envious. Here is a short video of our family from February 2010.

Missing Disneyland

I have been missing Disneyland lately. Our family is able to go about once a year and I know there are so many places to see in this world (I have a bucket list of places to go), but there's a special place in my heart for Disneyland. I have so many great memories there and Walt was able to create a place that is truly unique. Trust me--Lagoon just doesn't cut it.

On our last couple of trips we took some great HD home video that I'll pop in every now and then. I was wrestling with Max the other day and watching the video from Feb 2010. I need my Main Street, U.S.A. fix soon.

Stupid

Just when I thought I was making a little bit of headway in updating my wardrobe and looking somewhat decent, Ryan Gosling shows up in Crazy Stupid Love and throws everything out of whack! I've got a loooong way to go.

War Horse

Fabulous! Every actor was brilliant, the horse was beautiful and the direction/cinematography was just about perfect. We took Kam and Adam and I was caught up in the film the entire time. HUGE improvement from our previous film experience!

Dragon Tattoo

Do not ever see this movie. There is nothing redeeming about it. Thought we could handle it because of reading the books and really enjoying them, but the film just jacks you up! Don't be a sinner like me.