Pink Polka Dot Thoughts

I Heart Netflix

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Netflix? Really! I absolutely LOVE getting movies in the mail, but I love it even more that I can stream my instant queue through the Wii! It's much better than watching on my laptop, for sure.

Of course it took a lesson from The Boy to teach me how to do it, but now I'm a pro. It kind of reminded me of the episode of Modern Family where the mom couldn't figure out how to work the remote, but now I feel like I've caught up to this century.

I love that they have so many TV series on instant queue! We don't have any of the movie channels, so I'm catching up on some Showtime and HBO series. Right now, I'm stuck on Weeds. OMG, I love this show!

At least I have something to watch while I'm waiting on Glee to return. I really need some Glee in my life to get me through the summer.

Some things are better viewed alone

I really like Julianne Moore. I've been a fan since way back when she played "twin cousins" on As the World Turns many, many years ago. (Yeah, I admit I watch soaps, so what?) I usually catch all of her movies, so when I saw Chloe show up on my Netflix "recommended titles" I added it to my queue.

When the mailman dropped it off, The Boy asked if he could watch it. Yes, it was rated R, but this is a kid who doesn't flinch at slasher movies and he is 14. As luck would have it, he became engrossed with playing Rock Band on X-Box Live, so I decided to watch it by myself.

All I can say is that I am SO glad I watched it by myself. Had I watched it with the Boy, I am afraid we both would have been scarred for life. To say the movie had some racy scenes is putting it mildly! While I was watching it, I recalled some stories last year about a film she'd made and how it was a little controversial for lack of a better word.

I liked the movie ok, but I am so very relieved I didn't watch it with my son. There are some things that moms and sons should never share and this movie was one of them...

Razzles - For Real!

One of my favorite movies is 13 Going on 30. I love Jennifer Garner. It doesn't hurt that she's a hometown girl--but I just love the movie. Once in a while, we need a feel-good, fun movie and 13 Going on 30 certainly fits that!

A few years ago a dear friend gave me the movie for my birthday, but somehow, in our moves, I'd lost it. Then, a few weeks ago, in the mail, my movie appeared. The same friend sent me another copy! I was so happy! I'd resorted to watching it on TV with commercials because I was convinced I would find my copy even though it had been a few years!

I love the movie so much, but I guess I lived a sheltered life. I'd never had a Razzle. I actually didn't realize that Razzles were real candies! I mean, "first it's a candy. Then it's a gum." I'd never heard that! As a kid, it was Pop Rocks and Sweet Tarts for me.

So then imagine my surprise when Razzles showed up in my mailbox the other day. Oh yum! They really are real. A candy. A Gum...which is it? They're all gone now(and this isn't my photo above because I didn't think to take a picture of the package) and now I think I'll have to buy more.

I've led a sheltered life. No Razzles and I didn't know Sephora was a real store for the longest time either. I thought they were only online. Ha...go figure!

Good friends and yummy candy. What could be more fun?

Love Happens, but apparently without WiFi

After finishing up my taxes tonight, I decided I needed a break. I'm behind with my Netflix movies, so I decided to watch LOVE HAPPENS which arrived about 2 weeks ago now. I keep forgetting it. Oops. I've probably pissed someone off who is waiting on it. I bet it says "long wait" in their queue!

This isn't a review of the movie though. Probably everything you need to know is in the trailer. Just so you know, I watch all Jennifer Aniston movies, just because. I love her and I'll watch a movie with her in it no matter what. Still, this one was not so great. It was so-so, but could have been a LOT better.

There was something about it that bugged me though. When movies aren't that great(and sometimes even when they are) I'll find one little detail that will distract me throughout the rest of the movie. That happened with this one.

Jen and the leading man had this deal where they were sending  long, obscure words back and forth. What was strange to me is that when he saw the first word, he had to go to a bookstore(yes, I realize it is Seattle) to find a dictionary and look up the word. This is the same guy who was nerdy enough to have a video of his wife on his cell phone, but he couldn't just dial up Google or Dictionary.com from his Blackberry or laptop to find out what these words meant?

The same with her. He sent one back and instead of sitting down at the computer which was clearly visible, she raced to a bookcase and pulled out a 100 pound dictionary to find the definition.

HELLO! This is 2010. Use some technology! We could watch you scrolling through  screens as easily as turning the pages of the dictionary. I like books as much as the next guy, but this was just odd--especially after seeing the video on his phone. Maybe it was supposed to add romance, but all it did was annoy and distract me!

Or perhaps I'm just such a techie that I didn't realize people even owned dictionaries anymore...I know I don't!

Whip It.... GOOD!

Whip It finally showed up in my mailbox the other day. I love Drew Barrymore, so I was anxious to see this one.

To put it simply, I loved it! Ellen Page was great. The whole cast was great. It was a cute, funny movie and I'm sorry we didn't see it at the theater.

It wasn't a blockbuster movie, but one of those movies that had a real story and characters you easily cared about. It was easy to root for the girls and the characters. You just wanted it all to end well, but the movie had a "real" quality to it that so many movies just don't.

I also learned quite a bit about Roller Derby! I loved the sequence in the movie that explained the rules. If you were going to be a Roller Derby Girl, what would your name be? I have to think on that...I'm probably not tough enough!

Inspired by Julia

I watched Julie and Julia the other night and I can't get the food out of my head. It's become an obsession. I want to try some of these recipes.

I've just spent the past hour searching on the web and have rounded up a few to try. I'm trying to work up the guts to try Julia Child's famous boeuf bourguignon even though it scares me to death. My only problem is that I know I don't have a covered casserole. Reason being, I never used it and I got rid of it in the last move. I'll have to figure something out! 

I'm definitely going to be trying the bruschetta from the movie. I don't see an exact recipe, but I think the secret to this is to pan fry the bread in butter. Oh yes, butter. I don't think I'll be using that "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" SPRAY on crap for this.

So if you don't see me for a while, it's either because I ate too much or the recipe overwhelmed me and I'm lost somewhere...

If all works out, I'll share my results! (And yeah, I'm wondering why I can't come up with such a fab idea for a blog like the Julie and Julia Project!)

Paranormal Activity - A Review

I love a good horror flick. I don't mean a slasher movie. I mean a good, old-fashioned creepy scary movie. I don't want to watch Freddy vs. Jason or any of those disgusting Saw movies. I just want to be SCARED! I don't need to want to puke from blood and gore, thank you very much!

That's why when I saw the trailer for Paranormal Activity, I was very excited. I love creepy movies and I'm addicted to shows like Ghost Hunters, Paranormal State, and Ghost Adventures. I can't get enough of those shows! So last weekend, I grabbed The Boy and we went to see it. (The boy is very into the aforementioned slasher flicks. ICK!)

I'm not going to give anything away about this movie except to say that if you go in expecting to be terrified and have the look on your face like the people in the trailer above, you're going to be extremely disappointed. If you expect a fright like you had with The Exorcist you won't get it.

If you go in looking for a little bit of fun and creepiness, this movie does deliver. It's a slow start, and the "scariest" part is the end, but the storyline isn't bad and the actors are ok. I was never truly bored and if I was, the folks behind us in the theater kept me entertained because they were scared of everything it seems--before anything even happened.

I have to admit, however, that I was a little distracted by the underlying theme of the movie. The relationship between the two main characters--actually really the only characters--is a storyline unto itself. I was a bit put out by Micah and the way he made light of the whole situation. I suppose it could be because I know how my own husband would act in such a situation and I'd want to strangle him. At any rate, I found myself wanting to slap him a few times over the course of the movie because he didn't seem to take his girlfriend's fears seriously. I'm sure it made the film more interesting, but it bothered me, personally, a lot.

I've read many reviews online of the movie, both before and after seeing it for myself. They all confuse me because I'm not sure why people have been so frightened by this movie. It was a bit creepy in spots, but I've seen scarier stuff on TV. For real.

Am I sorry I saw the movie? No. I liked the movie. It was entertaining and certainly a whole lot better than The Blair Witch Project which Paranormal Activity has been compared to quite frequently. Do I think it was scary? Absolutely not. You're not going to freak out after this movie unless you think what you're seeing is real.

It's not.