Secrets of the World Wide Sisterhood

Marley & Me

I just watched Marley & Me.  This was a great movie, but really sad.  I guess it was so sad for me because I have two dogs who are getting up in years.  I love my dogs as if they were people.  Some people have dogs and leave them tied up outside and just ignore them.  My dogs are members of the family who stay in and are by my side almost all the time.  Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson play in this movie and they do an excellent job.  This is one of the most "true to life'" movies I've seen in a long time.  If you love dogs, you would love this move.  Just make sure you have a box of tissues.   

The Wedding Date

If your're looking for a great romantic movie to watch on Valentine's Day, The Wedding Date is really good. Kat, Debra Messing, doesn't want to attend her sister's London wedding, where her ex-boyfriend, who had ceremoniously dumped Kat  close to the altar, will likely be a guest. But she can't miss the wedding wo she must fly in for the torturous affair, which she decides may be more palatable if she seeks companionship of a different sort … that of a male escort , Dermot Mulroney.  You've got to see this one if you haven't already! Add it to your Netflix Queue.  It is pretty much a "Chick Flick" but your significant other will probably like it,too.  

I Could Never Be Your Woman

Just when you start feeling good about being 40'ish, a movie comes out like I Could Never Be Your Woman.  The movie starts out showing women having plastic surgery or should I say "facial rejuvenation" and Mother Nature is talking about how horrible it is that women are trying to preserve their youth.  (It made me feel sort of guilty)  As the movie goes on, it keeps showing all of these younger people talking about older women being hags and just really ragging on us.  Michelle Pfeiffer stars in this movie as a 45-year-old woman who falls for a much younger man. The thing I thought was great, was the fact that MichellePfeiffer looked better than any of the younger women in the movie.  Saiorse Ronan played her daughter, Izzie.  She was really good in this movie.  She played a very believable character.  Overall, I didn't think this was a great movie, or even a movie I would want to see again.  But, after the movie was over, I started thinking, "I like being 43.  I'm glad I'm not in my 20's again.  I like Botox and Chemical Peels and all that stuff I do to look younger. And by the way, I'm using my LED about three times a week. My skin is looking better.  I'm not sure if it is the light, or something else. But....I'm not using a different product or anything.  I find it to be a challenge to look younger (and actually it is fun trying), but I'm happy with who I am on the inside and the person I have become as a 43-year-old woman."     

The Christmas Shoes/The Christmas Blessing

One of my favorite movies to watch during the Christmas season is The Christmas Shoes.  It's one of those movies that makes you cry every time you watch it, so I don't know why I like it so much.  It makes you miserable!!  But, it is such a great story and the acting in the movie is really great.  Kimberly Williams-Paisley is really good in this movie.  She is one of the main characters.  Also, Rob Lowe does a super job, as do Max Morrow who plays the little boy, Nathan, whose mother is dying.  This is a movie that makes you stop and look at your own life and where your priorities lie.  This year my secretary, and good friend, let me borrow her movie The Christmas Blessing.  It is the sequel to The Christmas Shoes.  Nathan (Neil Patrick Harris) is all grown up and is now a doctor.  He meets a woman Megan, played by Rebecca Gayheart, and also a little boy, Charlie, played by Angus T. Jones, who does not have a mother.  He is curious about her because according to the boy's father, she left them when Charlie was little. The red shoes Nathan gave his mother in the first movie, come into play in this movie, also.  Rob Lowe was in the sequel and so was Hugh Thompson who played Nathan's father in the first movie. This movie was good, but I didn't think it was as good as the first one. I didn't cry as much---just a little.  You can get both movies at www.amazon.com.  They are very inexpensive.  Neither are over $10.  This would be a good gift for someone, or a good movie to put away and watch next Christmas.     

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) was my Netflix movie this past weekend.  It is based on Anne Brashare's young-adult novel.  It is about four teenage girls who are best friends.  Before they spend their first summer apart, they go shopping and find a pair of jeans that fit all of them, despite their different sizes.  They believe that they are some kind of magic pants.  The movie shows what happened in the lives of the four girls during the summer.  It is geared toward teenage girls, but I loved it.  I think it is the kind of movie that makes woman our age feel young again.  The actresses are all excellent in this movie.  This is a movie I would watch again.  There are very few movies I can say that about.  I can't wait to get Part 2.  

Diary of a Mad Black Woman

I just got Diary of a Mad Black Woman from Netflix.  I thought this movie was supposed to be a comedy.  It was a comedy during some parts of the movie.  Parts of this movie was hilarious.  But, this movie had just about every emotion in it and a couple of different plots.  It was a more of a love story than a comedy.  But it also had violence (a little), drug addictions, religion....you name it.  I did like this movie.  It had a lot of unexpected twists.  In the movie, Kimberly Elise, who played the lead role as Helen, had gorgeous clothes and jewelry, and their home was unbelievable.  It was a fun movie to watch.    

The Secret

My Netflix movie for the weekend was The Secret.  This movie was produced in 2007.  It was really a different sort of movie.  I was about a woman who dies in an accident and takes the body of her daughter (also in the accident).  She lives life in her daughter's body for awhile and finds out the true life her rebellious daughter has been living.  Her husband is the only who knows the truth about who she is.  I think the movie was o.k.  It wasn't a movie I walked away saying, "Wow, that was great!"  In fact, it was probably a movie I could have missed and really not cared.  It was an interesting concept for a movie, I guess.  And, it was sad at the end.  Get it, if you can't find anything else to get.  But otherwise, you may want to skip this one.   

Invincible

I just watched the movie Invincible.  It was produced in 2006, but I had never heard of this movie.  It was suggested by Netflix as a movie I would like.  When it came in, it seemed to be a movie my husband would like, instead of a movie I would like.  It is based upon a true story.  The setting is Philadelphia in 1976, and it is a football movie about Vince Papale, a former Philadelphia Eagles player. I liked it because I was in 6th grade during this time period and I remember a lot of the songs from the movie. I loved this era as far as music goes and watching it brought back a lot of childhood memories.  I thought the cars looked a little old, but I guess some people still drove cars from the 60's during the mid-seventies. It was really funny seeing the way we used to dress!  You could pretty much guess what the outcome of the movie would be, but it was still a very good movie.  One of the great things about Netflix, is that they suggest movies for you, many of which you would probably never have seen if you had to choose them on your own.  I suggest this movie for the whole family.        

Hairspray

My Netflix movie this week was Hairspray.  I wanted to see this movie to see what all the buzz was about.  I wasn't sure what it was about when I ordered it.  I just knew it was a musical and John Travolta was in it, playing the part of a woman. Truthfully, I think that is why I wanted to see this movie.  I couldn't imagine John Travolta playing a woman, or WHY he would be playing a woman.  After watching this movie, I still wonder WHY is was cast in this movie as a woman.  I thought  maybe they needed someone who could dance really well. But actually, Travolta didn't dance a lot.   He, or should I say, She, was really freaky.  He was the mother of Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) the star of the movie. He was just weird. His voice, his teeth, his eyes, everything.  However, parts of the movie were really funny. And I loved the dancing. I thought the movie was o.k. Definitely not one of the best I've seen.    

The Ultimate Gift

This movie is a must see.  It is about a young man who loses his rich grandfather and expects to get a huge inheritance. But, instead he must complete a series of tasks before he gets any money.  He meets a little girl (Abigail Breslin) who teaches this spoiled, self-centered man a valuable lesson about life. Make sure you have plenty of tissues ready when you watch this.  I got this from Netflix and kept it for a couple of weeks. That is the great thing about Netflix. You can keep it as long as you like.  Netflix is so convenient. If you don't use it, you should give it a try.  You can go on their site and choose from hundreds of movies.  There are ratings for all the movies and a short narrative about the movie.  You can read what others say about the movie and even see clips from the movie.  Then just add it to your Queue. That is your list of movies you have chosen to see. They even suggest movies you might like according to what you've added to your Queue. Netflix tries to send the movie that is at the top of your list, but if it isn't available they send the next one.  I will get a movie, watch it,send it back, and have another one within 2 days.  All with free shipping. You really need to check it out!