Taken: The Perfect Storm of a Movie

I had seen the previews, I had read the reviews, I had heard the buzz, but even then I was not prepared for the awesomeness that was...TAKEN!
Now, my mother could tell you: I LOVE LIAM NEESON. He is just wonderful, I mean...

Qui-Gon Jinn

Rob Roy

Oskar Schindler

Yes.
But none of these men is quite as intense as Bryan Mills, this guy is looking down the barrel of a gun the whole movie.

Do you recognize this girl?

How about now?

OK, now...that's right, Shannon! (In the voise of Sayid yelling)

This review sums it up...

"The most thrilling movie I've seen in a long time. Neeson is what we would fear if James Bond went to hell and came back for revenge... I loved Jason Bourne; but where Bourne is confused for half the movie, Neeson is looking down a barrel of a pistol 3/4 of the time. In a three way spy battle, I would put Neeson edging out Bourne, who would be a step ahead of Bond."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0936501/usercomments

Kungfu Panda

Kung Fu Panda, I have to admit, I didn't have a lot of faith in this movie when I first saw the previews. It looked just a little too silly for me. So when Karl and I went to the dollar theater not expecting much, we were pleasantly surprised.

The Characters were wonderful!
To Begin with there is Po, the Panda. Son of a Duck who serves noodles. Jack black voices this character and lets face it...who doesn't love a Jack Black movie? OK so there are many people who are unable to appreciate some of his work, but I think he is like Will Ferrel in a lot of ways: always funny, just not appropriate sometimes...a lot of the time. This is the Jack Black we know and love from School of Rock. So to all you parents out there, no worries, your babies are safe. Po is hilarious and can only be motivated by food.Yummy...dumplings. This fact is exploited in one of the funniest scenes in the movie where Dustin Hoffman's character, Shifu, the Kung Fu Master of the group, teaches Po about fighting like a Samurai.I am not sure what kind of animal Shifu is. A little one. That is one of the things that make his interactions with the Panda so funny. He has super strength and total control as a little guy.
This brings us to my favorite character in the movie: Oogway. He is the old Kung Fu Master.

He is full of eastern wisdom, and teaches the power of the experienced and the wisdom of the elderly. He is slow, and wise, yet you know he could kick your butt. My favorite line in the movie is something that I have heard before, but rand true again when Oogway said it:

"The past is history, Tomorrows a mystery, and today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

This is another theme of the movie, don't let our sadness over past mistakes haunt us, and our worries about tomorrows problems over take us, live today! It is what we have.

Then there is the bad guy: Tai Lung. He is AWESOME. So bad, but so freaking cool.
One of the most action packed amazing scenes of the movie is where Tai Lung (Played by Ian McShane) breaks out of Prison. Amazing. I mean just look at this guy!
And what would a really great bad guy be with out a really great group of good guys. The cast in this movie was astonishing. I couldn't believe that there were so many big names working on one picture:
The Furious Five: Starting on the Left and Circling up and to the right

Tigress: Yes, Angelina Joli. I didn't even realize until the credits so I was saved from hating it for that reason alone. Don't worry, she is fully clothed through the whole thing, and her character is drawn modestly, no worries there. Tigress is a hot headed, Kung Fu master who could have been the next big thing, if Po hadn't shown up.

Viper: Lucy Liu. She is a kind character. One of the only people who will give Po a chance when he first arrives.

Crane: Any one who loved Arrested Development as much as us will appreciate David Cross in this movie. Very funny.

Manits: Seth Rogan. Size doesn't matter...of course Seth Rogan.

Monkey: Jackie Chan. Proving that even as an animated character, I can't understand anything that lovely man says.
This was a WONDERFUL movie. For you, me, everybody. The perfect underdog made hero story. It is a story that kids will love. This is a story that all people will love. Watch it, rent it, own it.

The Secret Life of Bees

As part of a goal to make myself an intellectual I have decided to read a book a month. I talked to everyone I know, got a list together, and looked at stores. I was in Costco looking at their book section I found The Secret Life of Bees. My mom, Wendy just happen to recommended the book later that night so I figured that it must be a good book coming as a recommendation from a woman that reads over 1000 pages a week, maybe more maybe less. ; ) . I was not totally wrong in my assumption and yet, I was kind of wrong.

Summary of the Book
Potential Spoiler Alert!

Lilly Owen lives on a peach farm with her father T Ray. She accidentally shot and killed her mother when she was 4. Her father is emotionally and physically abusive, and he can't forgive Lilly for her mothers death, and can forgive himself for driving her away before the accident. Set in South Carolina during the Civil Rights moment, we are mixed up in the turmoil of blacks registering to vote and Jim Crow segregation. Lilly runs away following clues left behind by her dead mother with her nearly beaten to death house keeper. They find themselves in the Boatwright home, or the "calendar sisters" home. August, June, and May are African American, and the book uses all kinds of period "n" words. It is really racially charged. Unlawful arrests and white people protesting integration. No sit ins but there was a break out. Crazy southern, Baptist, Catholic religious craziness. Inter racial coupling and suicide. Of course what would a book that is, from the title about secrets that bees keep, there are of course bees, honey, and so on.

I will spare the ending, just in case you are intrigued. What I don't know is where Sue Monk Kidd got this stuff. A white, apparently affluent woman, how does she know about this culture. So I looked her up on Wikipedia. She is from the south, worked as a nurse for many years before writing. She participates in "contemplative Christianity," and wrote a book about feminist theology. The more I read about her the more I can see how she wrote this book.

My Opinion of the Book

7/10 Stars

It was just really sad. I was really sad when we lost characters, and Lilly's guilt, POOR Lilly. She killed her mother, and had to live with that guilt her who life. She had nothing but awful memories and guilt. The unfairness, and inequality. Then the deaths. It just made me so sad.

And yet, I felt like I learned about a new culture, a way of life that has never been mine. There is a "Mary, mother in chains," African slave sub culture where they spend time in a morphed religion. I liked it.

I loved August, I am June, and I heart May.

The Movie

Super well cast. Queen Latifah was a PERFECT August. Jennifer Hudson was hilarious as Rosaleen. And Dakota Fanning: she grew up before my eyes.


Seriously, all I could think of was...when did she get BOOBS??!! This is just like when my littlest sister got them. It is weird, and I don't like it. Yet, I can't help noticing how pretty she is now, getting all grown up. I am excited to see what she does next. (Please don't turn into Lindsay Lohan, Please don't turn into Lindsay Lohan, Please don't turn into Lindsay Lohan!)

For someone who liked the book, I can say that it was surprisingly true to the story. Mary Day was cut out, the ending was different, and they kept T Ray in the story more than the book. They totally dropped Zach's arrest and turned it into a kidnapping. They gave Lilly more responsibility for the tragedy that happen in the pink house. Still, I think that I might have liked the movie more than the book. Which reminds me of t the last time I said that. I was in in the 10th grade and, Mrs. Rice's English Class, the book/movie, What Dreams May Come. I saw that one with my mom and we both bawled our eyeballs out. My teacher said that I was "Just getting too excited about the special effects." This time though, I mean it. Or maybe, I like the movie better after reading the book.

Read it, watch it, get the tissue box ready.

To Start with

This blog is my, Allie's, brain child. Yet I know Karl is going to get into it because he love to talk about what he thinks about stuff. Lets face it, for anyone who knows us, we both do. So for two opinionated people like us this blog will be an outlet for our thoughts and frustrations of the media, people, and things we come in contact with.