Bryan Adams

While I still haven't quite figured narrowed down what the main purpose of this blog will be, I do know it will likely never be a place for me to review music. It's not that I don't love music or need it as a constant in my life, but it's so personal for me, that when (it's never usually a case of 'if') people ridicule me about my taste, I take it too personally. I'm learning to let go, but it's a process. :-)

Here is something I am not afraid to admit: I love Bryan Adams. And since I am secure enough to admit it, I decided to do a concert review. Now, he's been called cheesy and he's been victim to being overplayed (more than once ), but I love him. His lyrics, while they are cheesy and I could get mushy myself in explaining how his music makes me feel, but suffice it to say that I am a huge, unapologetic fan. When the opportunity to see him on his new Bare Bones tour I jumped on it (refreshing my browser about 100 times at 9:59 until the tickets went on sale). It worked because I got 3^rd row, center. Woot!

The view from our seats

I initially invited my brother, but the pull of whisky and the greatest country ever pulled him away. Luckily I have a friend who loves the 80s (maybe a little more than I do) and was willing to join me. Thank you Sheri!!

 

I stole her picture from Facebook, I hope she doesn't mind!

This tour, a compilation of 30 years of music, is an all-acoustic tour called Bare Bones. It is simply Bryan, his guitar, and a look-a-like who occasionally accompanies a song with the piano. There wasn’t anything to distract you from Bryan at all. In fact, you could see the brick wall that was the back of the building. I loved the simplicity.

Singing his heart out

He played 22 songs, then an encore of 6 songs. They were all recognizable (or they should have been for die-hard fans) including Run to You, Cuts Like a Knife, Summer of ’69, and one of my absolute favorite songs, All for Love (too bad Sting and Rod Stewart couldn’t make it). He comes from the old school recording where what you hear on the radio/Cd/cassette tape/ipod/record is exactly as his voice really is. This means his voice is as raspy and perfect as you imagine (or maybe it’s just perfect to me). He played the guitar like he was born with it as an extension on his body.

Rockin' out with the harmonica and guitar.

Not a hair was out of place, and ladies you can appreciate this, but his black, button-up shirt must have come from Barney’s (or some other store I imagine has perfect quality clothes) and his jeans were perfectly tailored to his great legs. The lighting was very dramatic, with either a blue or strong red background, or just a black background with bright lights on him. He has this unbelievable smoldering side-glance that he has obviously perfected over the years. Mix all this with his raspy voice and true-to-life lyrics and the evening was near perfect. (Perfection would have been achieved if he had whisked me away on his private jet to a tiny island only inhabited by us and his guitar.) 

You heard me say sexy and smoldering right?!

He didn’t waste much time between songs, which is what allowed for 28 songs to be sung in 2 hours. The stories he told were short and sweet and he was able to tease the audience a little. Of course, having an audience full of 30+ something hicks made that part easy for him. Without knowing that he’s been doing this for 30 years, it was obvious he is doing what he was meant to do and lucky for him, he enjoys it. 

He has a great smile. *swoon*

Note: I am totally and completely spoiled by my DSLR, so I apologize for the shit quality of the photos. We really weren't supposed to take pictures, but by the time the encore rolled around, everyone had their cameras out. Still, I didn't want to keep using the flash and so I ended up with the shit you see above. The first picture was taken with my iPhone and the others were taken with a Sony Cybershot that is about 100 years old. 

Love & Other Drugs Review

I went to see the new Jake Gyllenhaal/Anne Hathaway movie called Love & Other Drugs today. It was quite the impromptu screening as I had planned on grading papers all day. Given that I am a total sucker for movie invites, I jumped at the chance when a friend invited me. So here's my lowdown of the movie.


First off, it's a bit long. They spend a loooooong time on the buildup of their relationship. It's clear from the previews that Jake plays a drug sales rep who is what you would call a player. He pretends to be an intern during Anne's doctor's visit. She finds out he's not an intern, gets mad at him, he charms the pants off of her (literally), and they hook up. I also think it's clear from the preview that she is sick (so hopefully I am not giving anything away here). I am not sure why they decide to spend so much time trying to convince us that he sleeps around and she keeps everyone at arm's length, we got that pretty quickly. 


It does follow a predictable path (see A Love Story or A Walk to Remember if you need a memory boost): Boy can't love one woman, boy suddenly falls in love with girl who doesn't want him, sick girl falls in love with said boy, big dramatic ending where we don't get to see "happily ever after". So the story line has been done, though this movie offers plenty of shots of naked Jake and naked Anne (loads of Anne breast if you are into that sort of thing)! There are some very funny scenes, though they were all noticeably given to the men, still funny though. Watch for Jake getting punched in the stomach and for any scene with his brother or his boss. 


The casting was great. Jake and Anne can clearly act, so I applaud them both on that (see Brothers or Rachel Getting Married if you want further proof). Also, being so, uselessly, in tune with who's screwing who in Hollywood these days, it was nice to see a pair of actors on screen who didn't hook up in real life, but had really good chemistry in the movie. I think those two would make an overly adorable couple in real life, but that could just be their awesome acting. :-) Jake's brother, played by Josh Gad, and Oliver Platt provide the comic relief (the scene where Oliver just keeps repeating pussy was *awesome*). Hank Azaria managed *not* to be the comic relief, which personally I found to be a nice change (though I do think he is funny). Gabriel Macht should come with some sort of warning label: Do not look directly at this person for you may go blind from their utter gorgeousness. 


This movie was set in 1997. As my friend pointed out, some of the music doesn't match the year, but I think they may have been trying to push the decade rather than the year. Still fun to see the old phones, you know, the ones that didn't have access to the internet or text messaging, etc. 


So, in sum, movie took too long to build up, story line was blah, casting was great, and there is lots of nakedness from the two main characters. My recommendation is to watch it, though you don't necessarily need to run right out to do so. 

Mini Break is now over

Sad face. But no really, it was totally amazing and exactly what I needed, so I have no complaints at all. I was planning on leaving the hotel around 11, but everyone in the hotel was pretty eager for the free breakfast so I woke up a little earlier. Once I had showered and packed it was around 10, so I just got on the road. I knew the sooner I left, the more likely I would be to be able to see the girls. And as fate would have it, I arrived at Joe and Tanya's in plenty of time to hang out with the girls for several hours. Yay!!!! It was the perfect way to end the break.

Oh wait. Actually, after dropping the rental (a Toyota Corolla for the win!) mom told me she had a Christmas present for me but she wasn't sure if she was going to give it to me or if I would like it. I'm not a huge fan of playing games like this so I just tried to forget about it, but she couldn't. It was apparently eating away at her. So, she gave me a blu-ray player!!!! Yes, you read that right. I am SUPER excited! So yeah, perfect ending to a wonderful trip.

I think I will start this as my new Thanksgiving tradition. Now I need to decide if I want to stick with that hotel or find another cozy location. Well, I have a year to think about it.

Hope you all had a safe and wonderful holiday!

Mini Break Day 3

Day 3 started off with me missing the free breakfast. Of course, I really didn't mind. I missed it because I was sleeping. :-) Ahh, vacation. I check out at 11 tomorrow and make the drive home, with a potential stop over in Columbus to see my girls. I haven't managed to watch any of the movies I brought with me, but I did manage to get a ton of reading in. I've also eaten my own weight in junk food, but that's typical for Thanksgiving right? That's what I'm telling myself anyway. So overall, it's been magical so far. I feel a tradition starting. :-) 

Here are some pictures from the trip so far. This is the view from my balcony.

I told you there were llamas!

It's very rustic here. I love it!

And of course, the mountain/lake view (at sunset).

Mini breaks for the win!

My Thankful Post

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to take a minute or two out of my super busy vacation to make a list of what I am thankful for. A few years ago, mom and I were driving to my brother's house for Thanksgiving and came upon a wreck that had just happened. Luckily everyone was OK, but we spent the rest of the trip listing out things we were thankful for and a tradition was born. I think many people will agree that we are thankful for family, friends, health, and work (although I think most of those come with age). I also wanted to get a little more specific.

I'm thankful:

• That N always starts her sentences with "Excuse me" in the cutest little almost-4-years-old voice.
• That C thinks to call and tell me Happy Thanksgiving because she *genuinely* wants me to have a great day.
• That A is still trying to finish a book we bought together several months ago (she's just like her aunt that way :-) ). 
• That my family didn't give me any hell for taking off during a holiday. Their respect and understanding of me wanting to get away from life and my obsession with traveling (even if it's only 5 hours away) allows me to enjoy each experience. 
• For the beautiful weather today and the ability to sit outside and soak it all up.
• For the men and women who have allowed me to live in a free country and who have fought and died for my rights to live.
• For friends who understand that I am a prickly bitch on a good day and a grumpy ogre on an even better day, and they still stick around. 
• That the grey cloud has disappeared and I feel normal again. 
• That my advisor doesn't call me, ever, and gives me free reign to learn at my pace, my way, and of course, for letting me be away from school for long periods without giving me crap. 

To be honest, I live a very privileged life and for that I will always be thankful.

Mini Break Day 1

The room has a balcony (first floor so maybe it's just a porch?) that overlooks a lake (after you look at the parking lot), mountains in the background, and yes, I did see the llamas. It also has some chair lifts that have been permanently fixed into the ground right next to the llama pen and they are overlooking the lake with the mountains in the background (noticing a pattern?). The room has a refrigerator (should have shopped a little better) and a couch and coffee table. So yeah, just forward my mail here. I'll see if I can't get a job as the llama spit collector or something of the sort.

I packed 5 books, 10 movies, and enough junk food to make anybody sick. So here goes the break...starting off beautifully. :-)

Mini Break Packing List

As I was mentally making my packing list for my mini break (sweat pants, bubble bath, pillow, cuddly blanket), it occurred to me that for Christmas last year the girls bought me a heart covered, fleece blanket. It is one of those super soft delights that you just want to wrap around you and never take off. You know what I'm talking about. I keep it in a plastic container under my bed so that it doesn't get covered in dog hair. If you are a pet owner, you know the consequences of owning anything fleecy. Well, I got so excited at the thought of packing it because 1. it's *super* comfortable and warm, and 2. I will be thinking of my girls while I am in a blissful, stress-free state of mind. This mini break keeps getting better and I haven't even left yet. :-)

This is what vacation should be

Thanksgiving is this week and I'm giving thanks for mini-breaks. :-) I've never been a big fan of Thanksgiving so I thought now was a good time to get away for a little while. There is a particular hotel in Tennessee that I've stayed at a couple times and for some reason, I love it. It's probably the llamas in the parking lot (no joke!). I've never stayed longer than about 8 hours, so I am looking forward to enjoying my mountain view, king size bed, sofa, and 32" flat screen. Add 3 days of bubble baths, reading, and sleeping and I may never come home. In fact, if it snows over the lake, you know, the one the hotel overlooks ( I know!!), and you will have to forward my mail to Caryville.

I'll keep you updated.

Season 5 of Doctor Who

We made it half way through season 5 of Doctor Who last night. I am, at this point, referring to the Matt Smith series. Once we watch the other half, we will be caught up in time to watch the Christmas Special and then start up with the new season in February. This makes me deliriously happy! We started watching this 'new' series (starting in 2005) back in July/August this year.

Here are my thoughts on the doctors so far:
Christopher Eccleston (Ninth Doctor): It took me awhile to like him. In fact, I wasn't sure it was going to happen. But by the end of his season I just knew I was going to miss him, and I was right. In his defense, I was also trying to get used to this very new show. I mean, Doctor Who is not like anything else I've ever seen on TV. It has some of the most original story lines, both creepy and just plain awesome, and that is something that I am not used to. I didn't grow up watching it, so this was all new to me. Now, I look back on Chris' time with fondness. I need to rewatch his season to see how I feel from the beginning this time.

David "Ten Inch" Tennant (Tenth Doctor): My favorite so far, but he was around for the longest so far. He was a perfect mix of crazy, fun, smart, and Doctorish. I loved his energy and his compassion. I may have put him on a Christ-like pedestal a few times, but overall, he was a total blast to watch.

Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor): He's not my favorite. That is not to say I don't like him, but he's a little more abrasive with the people around him. He is constantly telling his companion Amy Pond, to shut up. And I don't like that. Also, I feel like he is sometimes playing David's part and not bringing Matt to the part. Both Chris and Matt brought something unique to the character and so far I haven't seen Matt bring anything different. I am only halfway through his season, so I am keeping an open mind. He had big shoes to fill, so I will reserve full-on judgment until later.

Now on to the companions:
Rose Tyler (Billie Piper; Ninth & Tenth Doctors): I love Rose. It's probably a girl crush, but I don't care. I really liked her. She brought with her a compassion and calm to the people/aliens they met along the way that the Doctor, especially Season 1, was missing. I was terribly sad to see her go and I always look forward to her cameo appearances. I'm glad they gave her a doctor of her own since that was the only time I saw chemistry develop between the Doctor and a companion, mutually.

Martha Jones-Smith (Freema Agyeman; Tenth Doctor): I really wish she had married Mulligan because I wasn't a fan of whiny Ricky/Mickey. That aside, she was awesome. She had certainly had the unrequited love thing going on with the doctor, which made me a little embarrassed and sad for her at times, but overall she was pretty badass. She was not afraid to just jump in, without a lot of questions, and just get to it. Again, she had loads of compassion (supposedly that's the companion's job since they are all women) but she also had guts to make sure the job got done.

Donna Noble (Catherine Tate; Tenth Doctor): I was hesitant about her at first. She is a comedienne and this show isn't (always) a comedy. She also has this habit of screeching, which can get annoying, and there was always the "we're not together" with the Doctor that got annoying. But it didn't take long for her to win me over. She had the biggest heart of them all and was able to ingest humor. I loved the friendship they developed and I think she was a total asset to the show.

Amelia "Amy" Pond (Karen Gillan; Eleventh Doctor): So far she's just OK for me. Her skirts are too short, she tried to molest the Doctor and then asks her fiance to join them on their trips, and she doesn't do much all show until they give her a bright idea at the end (something usually saved for the Doctor). But she's willing to investigate and get dirty, which I can appreciate. So right now, I'm just 'meh' about her. There's still time.

There is a plan to catch up on ALL the old Doctor Who, no matter how crazy people think we are, and I will write my thoughts on those as I get to them.

Big Day (of 3) Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the first day of my qualification exam. It qualifies me to be a candidate for PhD. Every graduate program has a different method, and in some cases a different name, for administering the exam. Some get questions and a week to answer, while others have to do assessments and write-ups on patients. The exam I start tomorrow spans three days. Day 1 and day 2, though not necessarily consecutive, involve the writing portion and day 3 is the oral defense. At 8 am, I will receive questions surrounding two of four previously chosen and researched topics. I do not get to know which topics those are. I will have from 8 a.m. until noon to prepare my answers. Then after a 30 minute lunch I will go to a closed-off, secure room and write out my answers until 5 p.m. or until I am finished, whichever comes first. Now, I don't necessarily have to take the full 4 hours in the morning. I do this process twice. Two full days of writing. Ugh! Then no sooner than two weeks later, I sit in a room with my committee and they grill me about my answers. Double ugh!

As I mentioned, I do the first day of written tomorrow (Monday, August 9, 2010). Then I take a break for a day, or as I will likely be doing, cramming for the next day of written since I will know what those topics are. Then on August 11, 2010, I will take the second day of written. If you are astute, you will have noticed that August 10th falls in between those two days of the written tests. That is my birthday. My 31st birthday to be exact. And according to the Frisky, because we all know how reliable and extremely important their information is (not!), I will reach my peak (www.thefrisky.com/post/246-women-are-most-appealing-at-age-31/). It doesn't necessarily mean it's all downhill from here, but it is based on a survey that women are still beautiful (read: no wrinkles yet) and we finally know it (took us long enough!).

Now, this would all be great if I wasn't in the throes of a crucial part of my career development. I am hoping this newfound confidence (and matching beauty of course) will still be around on August 24th, the day after my oral defense. That will be just in time for me to start teaching at my new job. :-)

Wish me luck (I'm going to need it)!

Surgery

The term surgery seems so harsh and clinical. I am going to have surgery in the next month or so and I will have to go to a hospital to have it. However, I will be back at work the next day according to the nurse. Not exactly what I was picturing when the term surgery was getting thrown around, but without insurance, it's exactly what I wanted to hear. I get to give my doctor $750 to do the surgery and I get to pay the hospital some unknown amount for use of their facility, and the best part is, I get to pay it all out of pocket. :-/

I would like health insurance soon please. :-(

Peter Donnelly shows how stats fool juries | Video on TED.com

Peter Donnelly shows how stats fool juries | Video on TED.com

Peter Donnelly is my hero. I will incorporate this into one of my classes for sure. This is such important basic stats, and yet we all get it wrong.

Wait, I'm not finished...

Songs/lyrics I'm loving right now:

Ben's Brother - "Let Me Out":

You start to believe it's a curse that you're under

And you're just a doll for a girl who is cruel

With a pin...

I'd rather be wandering hungry and homeless

Than here in the warmth of a silent defeat.

You've gotta be honest with me a be ruthless

'stead of shifting uncomfortably there in you're seat

and your skin

Beth Hart - "Leave a Light on"

The Script - "Before the Worst" and "Talk you Down"

Bad Company - "Shining Star" and "Feel Like Makin Love"

Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah"

Emerson Hart - "If You're Gonna Leave"

We can stand on reason

We can fight about all the things

This isn't forever

This is more than a wedding ring

But do you understand it baby

When you say it's over its done

Maybe I'm not the one

Missy Higgins - "Where I Stood"

See I thought love was black and white

That it was wrong or it was right

But you ain't leaving without a fight

And I think I am just as torn inside...

You meant more to me than anyone I ever loved at all

But you taught me how to trust myself and so I say to you

This is what I have to 

Brandi Carlile - "The Story"

All of these lines across my face

Tell you the story of who I am

So many stories of where I've been

And how I got to where I am

Oh but these stories don't mean anything

When you've got no one to tell them to

The Persishers - "Sway"

It was you who picked the pieces up

When I was a broken soul and then glued them back together

Returned to me what others stole...

I look at you and see a friend

I hope that's what you wanna be...

You gathered my dreams in when they all blew away

And then tricked them back in to me

You saved me

I was almost dead

Ok, so the lyrics don't necessarily reflect my life, but they are powerful none the less. Maybe this will be my last status update...but who knows. ;-)

Quals

I'm supposed to be in the library reading for my qualification exam (quals). But alas, I didn't look at the library hours and they don't open for another couple hours, so I decided to update my blog. It's been awhile. I suppose I could do a status check.

School: I successfully defended my thesis in January and finally managed to post the document in June. So I will officially get my Master's Degree in August/September time frame. The degree will say "Master of Science". I'm pretty excited about that! Technically I could quit and get a job somewhere making pretty decent money, well, enough to live on my own anyway. But that seems silly.

I take the two written tests for my qualification exams on the 9th and 11th of August (yes, they are straddling my birthday). Then I do the oral defense on August 23rd. I'm pretty nervous about them right now, but with everything, I know I will get through it. And then I will be ABD (All But Dissertation), which is an official title for the record. So it's silly to get a job when all I have left to finish is to do my dissertation, see?

Work: Well, I am still enjoying teaching, though I would like to make improvements in my knowledge base. But I know that will come with time. It looks like I will be a TA next quarter here for a social psychology research methods course. This might actually be a good thing since I wanted to do social when I first applied to grad schools. My only concern at this point is that the class is 8 hours/week. That's a lot of time to be sitting in a classroom.

I start teaching at UD on Aug. 25th and to say I'm nervous would be an understatement. It's a good nervous though. I'm excited! I get to create my own syllabus and tests and quizzes and attendance policy. It will be my *very own* class. And, it's teaching statistics. So, excited is the word. :-)

Family: Still living with mom. Still *desperately* can't wait to be living on my own again. I'm too much of a loner to enjoy this living situation. I know it's painful for her for me to want to be out of there so badly, so I try not to show it, but my skin is crawling with the need to be free.

The girls are getting huge and it's breaking my heart! Alia is almost up to my shoulder!! Caitlyn starts kindergarten this year and Natalie will be going to preschool. :-( I get to take them school clothes shopping after my written test. That will be a total blast! I really do loving spending time with them. Alia and I will probably go to the bookstore, get some books and spend some time reading. I love that she reads so much. I just hope that she also keeps up with her writing as well. Caitlyn is so sweet and generoous. I hope she never loses that. We will probably go to the mall and ride all the mechanical rides there. She *loves* that. And I love seeing her face when she's riding them. It's like Christmas or something. Natalie of course will want to eat. That's kind of her thing. We will probably go to Qdoba and get guacamole. She is so energetic! I hope when she gets older she can focus that energy into solving the world's problems. :-) Right now they are in Gatlinburg. I wish I could have gone with them, but I really needed to get quals done.

Love life: Well, I am in my 30's (31 in 9 days now!), so everyone wants to know what my love life status is. Am I seeing someone? Well, no. That's the short answer. Remember when I said I had gone through a breakup of sorts? Well, I haven't exactly cut off contact with that person so my heart is still fully invested, even though it's pointless. I've learned a lot from the situation though. Among other important things, I've learned that I need someone who loves me back and is willing to do what it takes to show me that.

I don't feel like trying to find someone permanent right now. 1. I don't think he's here in Dayton. I want to move far, far away and most of the people I meet here don't. 2. I don't have time. Relationships take, and deserve, work. I just don't have that kind of time. So, yes I'm single. And even more importantly, I'm ok with that.

Health: Still no insurance. I decided to go to my 'woman' doctor the other day to get my checkup. You know, the annual exam I haven't had since 2004. Well, it turns out I should have gone much sooner. I am having a procedure tomorrow that I've had twice before and wish to never have to have ever again. That procedure will determine if I have to have a simple surgery procedure. All of this is paid for out of pocket. :-( In the end, I need to find a doctor (once I have insurance) who will just do the hysterectomy and oophorectomy. Then I wouldn't have to worry about all the problems I have compounding on each other like I do now. Other than that, fit as a fiddle.

I haven't been working out recently, but once I am done with quals it's back on. :-) I'm going to start running. I went a couple times last week and I like it. I may even try to do a 5K before the end of the year. But we'll see. :-S

OK, well that was more than anyone wanted to know about me. Good thing no one reads this. :-)

My day today

Be careful of the sound, Pete is so loud.

Iron Man 2

I went to the midnight showing of Iron Man 2 last night. My movie buddy couldn't go with me, so instead of calling a bunch of people I posted my patheticness for the world to see on Twitter and Facebook. No takers. So I went to the movie by myself. It certainly wasn't the first time, but I was severely outnumbered. Enough nonsense - on to the movie review.

Robert Downey Jr. was born to play the role of Tony Stark. Not only does he have the arrogance and charisma down, but he also seems to connect with the personal demons side that Tony runs into (ok, that all super heros run into during the sequel). I have never been a Gwenyth Paltrow fan. She is *highly* overrated. However, I adore her as Pepper Potts, in both movies. They gave her a much bigger role in this movie and I liked that. I never have been and never will be a fan of Scarlett Johanson and that has not changed. Luckily, she wasn't in it much, though as usual she was either skimpily dressed or dressed in super tight clothes (a clause in ALL of her contracts I'm sure). And once again she keeps the exact same facial expression through every scene she does. Ugh. I personally love Terrence Howard at Rhodey, but Don Cheadle was good.

The story was full of holes or awkwardness, but overall the movie was entertaining as hell. Lots of explosions and cool equipment and of course all the one-liners.

Go see it. Spend the money to see it on the big screen. See it now in fact.

Oscar Movies Part 2

Ok, so it's almost a week late, but here is the latter part of my Oscar movies review.

Let me start with District 9. I had no intention of ever watching that movie from the first preview I saw. I am proud to say that I still have not seen it. So, I can not make a recommendation for this movie.

Up - sweetest damn movie, I swear! Everyone said this movie is sad but I think they may be missing the point of the montage. It was sweet and loving and tender and it makes me seriously reconsider the whole mating for life thing. The animation is phenomenal (although I didn't see it in 3D I can only imagine how much better it would be), but what really carries this movie is the storyline. There are too many themes to list here, but they are all valuable. Don't let anyone tell you it's a kids movie only or that it's sad. Don't think it should have been an Oscar contender, but still a magnificent movie.

The Hurt Locker - powerful and strong. This movie was not quite what I expected, except the part where I was basically on the edge of my seat the whole time. There were few stereotypes of the Iraqi people, which can I get a holla for that one Kathryn - and thank you! They did a great job with character development, though there were only a few main people so that shouldn't have been difficult. This movie was made even better to me when I read somewhere that Kathryn Bigelow (the director) wanted to explore the idea that men can get addicted to going to war. Wha? It's true! Anyway, great movie. Not sure I would have put it in the running of all the movies I've seen this past year, but it should have been in the top 5 of the nominated movies.

A Serious Man - I tried hard to go in with an open mind. It's a Cohen Brothers movie. I get along with Co-Bro movies about as much as Quentin Tarantino movies. I didn't dread it as much as I thought I would, but I was totally unimpressed by it. Nothing of significance to say about it. Should not have gotten any nominations and certainly didn't deserve and Oscar.

An Education - Peter Sarsgaard managing to be creepy AND sweet. Wha? I know! A very creepy-looking 30-something year old seduces a know-it-all 16 year old. It was sweet and the performances were good. Overall it's a good movie. Not sure it should have been in the running, but of all the movies nominated I can see where it fits.

So here is a breakdown of how I would have voted:

10: District 9

9: Inglorious Basterds

8: A Serious Man

7: Avatar

6: Up

5: The Blind Side

4: Precious

3: An Education

2: The Hurt Locker

1: Up in the Air

Oscar Movies Part 1

For the last several years, AMC theaters have been offering a viewing of all Best Picture Nominated movies at some of their locations around the country. Last year my friend CK and I went and had a really good time. It is not for the weak-hearted. You have to be prepared to sit in a theater for a full 13+hours, with limited breaks in between. (It works best if you've seen at least one movie and then you can just skip that one to walk around and get the blood flowing.)

This year was the first year they had 10 movies nominated since sometime in the 1940s. Ugh! Thankfully they split it up between 2 days. The first day was Avatar (in 3D), Up in the Air, Precious, The Blind Side, and Inglorious Basterds. Before I review the movies, I would like to point out that in my opinion, I think that the movie that wins Best Picture should focus mostly on story line. It needs to be original, thought-provoking, and take you through an array of emotions. It should leave you guessing about how it will end and leave you content once you get there. With that being said, here is my review of this past weekend's movie adventure.

Avatar - best to be seen in 3D and I was glad they offered that. The story is overdone. If you just combine Pocahontas, Dances with Wolves, and Ferngully (plus another handful of movies like that) and then sprinkle in a little Matrix, you get the idea. But the visual effects in this movie were phenomenal. The story shouldn't detract from the effects. Yes, it was a BIG budget movie, but it made me happy to see what they were able to create. I do not think it should win for Best Picture. The story was pedestrian. But please, if you haven't seen it, do. Immediately. And preferably in 3D. My movie friend CR and I were joking before we saw it the first time that every movie was coming out in 3D and it was ridiculous. Then after the movie we began questioning why every movie wasn't in 3D. So, that's a big No for Best Picture win, but a big huge Yes for visual effects awards.

Up in the Air - George Clooney doing what he does best. I have to say that I was pretty nervous about this movie. George has had a bad run of movies and I have since become skeptical about anything with his name attached. However, this movie was much different. It was a simple movie about loneliness and work and the tradeoff we make between life and work. There were some other things thrown in there, but think about a business man whose goal in life is to collect as many frequent-flier points as possible. It wasn't romantic-comedy cheesy. I liked the 20-something-need-to-be-married-to-be-happy Anna Kendrick playing the antagonist to the (hot!) 30-something-I've-learned-there's-more-to-life-than-settling-on-what-society-thinks-I-need Vera Farmiga. I also enjoyed George's character's inability to comfort a man who has cold feet on his wedding day because he himself has no idea why you would want to get married. Overall, a very endearing story. Don't expect a sweeping scene where someone is running through the airport to catch the love of their life that they almost let slip by and you won't be disappointed. I think this movie should be a strong contender for the Oscar.

Precious - made me want to cry almost 100 times. This movie is about the abuse one girl suffered at the hands of her parents and how she moved on with her life. Mo'Nique is heart-wrenching and brilliant in this movie. Although I think Gabourey did an amazing job. This story line is not one that most of us can relate to. At least I hope not. Precious is raped and consequently becomes pregnant twice by her father, and she is physically and verbally abused by her mother. She is teased at school and on the streets. Yet, you feel more than just sorry for her. She makes you like her for who she is and who she wants to be, not just for how you want to fix her. This movie was great, but I would have to put in one vote lower than Up in the Air in my Oscar vote. (Still above Avatar though.)

The Blind Side - the comedy of the bunch. This movie was based on a true story. In fact, the story just ended a couple years ago. That's a little weird. Sandra Bullock is nominated for her role in this movie, but it really isn't Oscar quality material. She donned a believable accent, but she's played this strong role before, so... The movie was funny. "Who knew we would ever have a Black son before we met a Democrat." Best line in any movie for a long time. The movie is sweet and it doesn't paint the White people always save the Black people type story we've seen too many times. But I don't think it is really Oscar-worthy. So I am putting this behind Precious, and probably tied with Avatar.

Inglorious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino's latest abomination. Well that should give you an idea of how I feel about this movie. With Quentin I expect bloodshed, which he gave me. I expect ridiculous situations, which he gave me. I expect stupid humor that is hard to not laugh at, not matter how stodgy you are, and he gave me that as well. He also gave me a weak story with WAY too much talking. I am not a fan of his work, which could be attributed to all the buildup around the movies and then the let down when I do finally see them. But this movie was just plain bad. This movie is last on my list of what I think should win.

So the line-up looks something like this (in order of what I think should win):

Up in the Air

Precious

The Blind Side / Avatar

Inglorious Basterds

Next week we will do this all over again, except we will see: Up, The Hurt Locker, A Serious Man, District 9 (which I am boycotting), and An Education. I've already seen Up and An Education. I am looking forward to seeing The Hurt Locker. I am dreading A Serious Man since it's a Cohen brothers movie and they have a worse reputation in my book than Quentin Tarantino. I am boycotting District 9 because, well, to be honest, the previews made my heart ache. I can't watch them abuse the aliens. Maybe that makes me sound stupid, but it hurt my heart to watch. It was like watching someone kick a baby seal. So I refuse to subject myself to the movie and therefore, I will not be rating it next week.

So, for all 0 of my followers actually reading this, look forward to my follow-up next week.