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    • Month: December 2009

    Monday Movie – The Blind Side

    Posted on by lizjohnson

    the-blind-side

    It was Friday, November 20, and Amy and our friends Johanna and Tim decided we needed to see The Blind Side on opening night. As evidenced on this very blog, I’ve been eagerly awaiting its release, so I was stoked to get to go.

    We arrived about 35 minutes early with pre-purchased tickets, and it was still hard to find 4 seats together. It sold out really fast, but fortunately we got to sit together about 3 rows from the back, which was interesting because we could hear the projector … umm … projecting the whole movie. Kind of strange.

    Anyway, as previously noted, The Blind Side is the story of Michael Oher, the homeless Memphis teen, and the wealthy Touhy family who took him in, gave him a home, and made him part of their family. I confess that I thought I’d cry the whole movie (I even brought a wad of tissue in my purse), but truthfully I was so engrossed in the story and the acting (you can’t help but believe Sandra Bullock as Momma Touhy) that I didn’t have time to turn on the waterworks.

    A phenomonal story about loving what the New Testament calls “the least of these,” The Blind Side comes with my highest recommendation for anyone. For those who are worried that it’ll be too much about football, I read that there are only 6 minutes of football in the whole movie. It’s not a sports movie. It’s a heart movie. Take your family to see this movie, and see if you aren’t moved to reach out to those in need in your community.

    As a fun side note, the following Sunday I was watching the NFL, and the Colts (my team) were playing the Ravens (the team that Michael Oher plays for). It was so cool to see number 74 Michael Oher on the field. He really is one of the best in his position. And you’ll probably have even more respect for this guy if you watch the movie. Pretty cool story.

    Christmas Movie Countdown – Number 4

    Posted on by lizjohnson

    Welcome back to the Christmas Movie Countdown. If you missed the introduction last week, I’ll recap for you quickly. I’m counting down my top five favorite made for TV Christmas movies, and today is my number 4 pick!

    eves-christmasEve’s Christmas came out in 2004 and is the story of Eve Simon (played by Elisa Donovan), a successful business associate in New York City. But as Christmas approaches and her skeezy boss hits on her, Eve wonders if years ago she made the right decision to leave her fiancee at the altar and take the internship that has made her the business mogul she always longed to be.

    On the streets of NYC, Eve meets a mysterious man–not surprisingly an angel–who sends her back in time. When Eve wakes up the next morning, she’s back living in her parent’s home and still planning her Christmas wedding to Scott.

    But as Eve gets to relive her life, she is faced with the same decision that she already made once–badly. So what will she do?

    I think one of the reasons I love this movie is that the ending really surprised me. You think she’ll go with the guy just because it’s a sweet Christmas movie, but it doesn’t play out like every other rom com. We get to see her be great at what she’s great at while still being in love with a really cute boy. I also really love Eve’s relationship with her mom. It’s so sweet. It makes me want to go home and bake cookies with my mom.

    Catch it on Lifetime this Christmas season, and be sure to let it pull you into the holiday spirit.

    Have you ever had to choose between a man and the job that you love? What’d you do? What would you do if you were confronted with that question?

    And Katie says:
    so I’d only seen this movie once-i guess the year it was new-and never made a point to watch it again so that’ll tell you something…but for the sake of the blog i subjected myself to it a second time – and i have to tell you – my initials impressions still stand. in theory i think the idea of the movie is good – girl gets second chance at righting a wrong in her past (by traveling back in time of course! this is a tv movie after all!) and in the end makes the right decisions that lead to a great life with the man she loves. but the truth is, i just don’t like eve and i don’t care if she chooses the guy or the job or gets stuck in the past or with her crappy reality or jumps off a cliff (too far?). needless to say, this one wouldn’t make my top 5. sorry liz!

    Steph says:
    I love made for television movies. Made for television Christmas movies are especially wonderful. This was the first time I had seen Eve’s Christmas and, though not my favorite, it did not disappoint. When referring to our last movie, Holiday in Handcuffs, Katie said that one of the must-have qualities of a made for tv Christmas movie is a “completely implausible storyline.” Eve’s Christmas has plenty: wishes upon the Christmas Star, guardian angels, and time travel! Will Eve make the right decision the second time around?

    Daddy Daughter Bonding – Part 2

    Posted on by lizjohnson

    Well, as I mentioned yesterday, my dad and I like to watch movies together. And nearly every time I go back to Arizona for a visit, we take time to go see a movie together, just the two of us. We ususally pick a flick that my mom doesn’t want to see.

    Earlier this year we saw Public Enemies with Johnny Depp, and we saw one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies together too.

    I’m headed for a visit to Arizona over the Christmas break. So what should my dad and I go see? I’m leaning toward suggesting Sherlock Holmes, because … well, Robert Downey Jr. is a great actor, Jude Law is quite the handsome man, and … oh, yeah … it looks wicked awesome!

    So should we see Sherlock? Or something else? What do you think we should see this year?

    Daddy Daughter Bonding – Part 1

    Posted on by lizjohnson

    I love my dad. I mean, I wish that was a normal response for everyone, but it’s not. So I know how really blessed I am. My dad is pretty cool. He cares about people more than anyone else I’ve ever met, and he’s smart, too … which comes in handy when I need a hand updating my resume or have a business question to ask. And I can always count on my dad to be up at 3a.m. on Black Friday to stand in lines with my brother to get the sales. You’ll never find me out there, but that’s one of the cool things about my dad. Plus, we pretty much share the same sense of humor.

    That’s a good thing for us. Not so much for my mom. 🙂

    So earlier this year, I visited my family back in Arizona. My mom had to work a couple nights that I was home, so my dad and I decided we’d watch a movie together at home. But what were we up for?

    We finally settled on Back to the Future. It’s been ages since I’ve seen any of the three flicks. We had a good laugh and figured we’d watch the Back to the Futher III the next night. It was awesome! I forgot how much I enjoyed those movies. (Not the 2nd so much, but hey … they can’t all be winners.)

    When I stumbled on this video of Tom Wilson, who plays Biff, I figured I’d offer this video in honor of my dad. Enjoy!

    What do you and your dad like to do together?

    Teaser Tuesday – Fools Rush In

    Posted on by lizjohnson

    teaser_tuesdays1MizB of Should Be Reading hosts the Teaser Tuesdays weekly event

    Here are the rules:
    * Grab your current read
    * Let the book fall open to a random page
    * Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12
    *You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
    * Please avoid spoilers!

    This week’s teaser is:
    “It took sevearl nuns and a very patient priest to convince her that she could hear Mass just as well from a different pew. And then there was that episode with the dry cleaner. Sure, they’d accidentally given her favorite blouse to another customer, but … picketing the store? Petitioning the neighbors to do the same?”
    pg. 91 – Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson

    – This is a really cute book, and I’ve barely been able to poke my nose into it yet, but I have a great feeling about it. What are you reading right now? Love it? Hate it? Why? Any recommendations?

    fools-rush-in