A Pirate's Life For Me!!

For the first time since the 2nd movie came out, I didn't see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at 12 am opening night. In fact, I didn't see it until over a week after it's debut in theaters. The wait was well worth it. While it wasn't as good as the first in the series, I would rank it higher than the 2nd and 3rd, even though it is missing Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) and Kiera Knightly (Elizabeth Swan).
Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow is back and as funny as ever, and not without his famous surprising entrances. Jack is again joined by the more serious Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). The two play off each other beautifully.
The two captains, along with Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and his daughter, played by Penelope Cruz, travel through mermaid infested waters to find the fountain of youth.
The mermaids reminded me of the vampires from Twilight. They are attractive to get the sailors to fall in love with them, then they attack with their sharp fangs. They are awesomely creepy.
While the ending doesn't match that in the 2nd one, when we find out Barbossa is still alive, it was satisfactory and made room for another movie. Pirates 5?? Who knows; but I can tell you I will be spending the $20 to buy Pirates 4 on DVD when it comes out!!


On this Memorial Day, I would like to thank all the men and women, past and present, who sacrificed and fought to keep our country safe. There are not enough words to show my appreciation!!

Stay Gold!!

Months after reading the book, I finally saw the movie version if S.E. Hinton's classic, "The Outsiders." I was extremely happy that the movie stayed true to the book. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a movie ruins, or doesn't do justice to, the book it was based on. Not to mention the lead actors were not bad to look at. Tom Cruise, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Matt Dillion, and Emilio Estevez. All great actors.
I wish I had read the book and watched the movie in high school. Better late than never.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat!!

I am stronger than I look, but I am under no illusions that I am very strong. So when we went out on a row boat during a field trip to Fairview Lake Camp yesterday, I wasn't sure if I would be strong enough to work the oars. I was even having trouble carrying them down to the lake. Determined to try new things, however, I took the oars when I was offered. I am proud to say I was strong enough. We weren't moving fast, granted, but we were moving. And that was all I can ask for my first time out. The one weird thing was, the person rowing is facing the opposite direction the boat is traveling. I would definitely not go out without someone to navigate for me!!

By the way, if you have never been out on a lake in a row boat, do it!! It is so relaxing. And if you are the one rowing, it is good exercise.

"Wicked" Awesome!!

Everyone has history. A past you can't escape. Even the people of Oz. Yes, that Oz. The Oz that taught us "there is no place like home," and things aren't always what they seem when you take a look behind the curtain.
The musical "Wicked" reveals all the skeletons in Oz's closet, and how it became the Oz Dorothy rode - or should I say fell -in on.
Full of humor, love, and of course wickedness, we see a side of the characters that makes sense of "The Wizard of Oz." In fact, I think it makes the movie that much better.
I used to be scared of "The Wizard of Oz" but I bet if I had seen this play first, I wouldn't have had to close my eyes everytime, I heard the wicked witch cackle, or see the monkeys spread their dark wings.
While I've only seen two plays on Broadway my entire life, this is my favorite. I didn't want it to end and when it did, "Defying Gravity" was stuck in my head-it still is right now-and I wanted to stay for the next show, as if in a movie theatre. Three hours wasn't long enough!!

ps: Hanson's "Give A Little" video made it to #1 on VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown!! Hellz yeah!! Check it out if you haven't seen it and I challenge you not to tap your feet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56VPiS8dPDE