Harry Potter 7.2!!!!

OK, so I may or may not spend all day on YouTube watching clips in preparation for the midnight opening of HP 7.2. That's right, the conclusion of the Harry Potter movie series.

I know I have a lot of very conservative friends who visit me here. If you're not into the whole Harry series, I respect that. Just don't hate on me for my excitement (please?).

Over the last few months, I've kept my eye on the trailers, and the "final" one .... is by far the best.


I'm pretty sure Erik will be glad this all ends tonight, because when I see one of these, I literally stand on my seat and emit an obscenely high pitched squeal. The dog's attention is rapt every time. ;)

Things I'm looking forward to in this movie:

1) Escape from Gringott's. I've seen a few previews and clips, and I think it's gonna stinkin' rock.
2) Battle between Bellatrix + Mrs. Weasley. It was one of my favorite parts of the book ... and I'm ready.
3) The conclusion with Snape. For anyone who hasn't read these, I won't spoil.

I have one tiny concern, however ... there's a clip in many of the previews where Harry and the Big V jump over a big cliff together ... I'm hoping that's part of a dream/nightmare sequence, because I might be disappointed if it's not. We'll see.

Erik and I were talking .... and I think starting at #5 I started attending midnight showings. I've been to 2 here in Salina and I'm ready for tonight's! :) Due to lack of time/mental energy, I probably won't be decking out in costume ... I'm usually in the land of Nod at the witching hour, so I'll likely go to bed early, then drag my bag of bones out of bed about 10:30 to go get in line.

See you on the other side! :)

#113 — Take a spring/summer trip to the Drive-In. Have an old fashioned good time. :)

HOLLLLLLA!!!!!!


One week ago, this is what we were doing. :)


And this.


And this.

Ahhh, it'd been 12 years since I've been to any Drive In. Much longer for Erik.

The Kanopolis Drive In is about 45 minutes from our house, but worth the trip! :)


Someone getting in the way of the old-school commercials.


Last one.

Movie — Babies

When we're off, Erik and I are admittedly couch potatoes. We like to decompress and just vege (sp?) out.

Last year, I remember seeing some chatter about the movie "Babies" and thought it sounded like an interesting flick (see trailer below):



We watched it Sunday night, and while it was not exactly what I expected, it was pretty cute.

It wasn't what I "expected" because other documentary type movies I've seen have had commentaries or voice over. Some narrator weaving things together. With this, there wasn't any of that. Nope. Nada. Zip. Just the babies, some music and ambient noise. Which wasn't bad, just not what I expected.

There were some times where I really wish they would have explained what was going on. For example:

Karen: "I wonder what's going on. Is this a family ritual? A birthday party?"
Erik: "I wonder if that kid is chewing on a Wheat Thin or Triscuit?" (I'm not making this line up)

Anyhow, it was pretty cute. Babies are universal.

There was one scene where the baby in Africa was falling asleep sitting up and kept waking himself up because he was falling over in an attempt to fall asleep. Pretty cute.

One note, though: obviously this is about babies and there are a bunch of rural scenes, so there's plenty of nudity (but not distasteful or anything) ... just so you know before you bust this out with small kids or anything.

Oh so close!

Three weeks.

THREE WEEKS.

Those of you who know what I'm talking about KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

HARRY POTTER MOVIE 1, PART 1!!!!!!!

I've been eyeballing the trailers on YouTube, but today saw one of TV for the first time and squealed.

One of those ear-splitting squeals. Louder than Jonas Brothers and Justin Bieber fans COMBINED. Ok, let's be honest. If you wanted to throw in New Kids on the Block fans, too, I was probably STILL louder than all three of those fan bases screaming and squealing all at once.

No joke.



I'm not a late night person, but on Nov. 18/19, I'll be making an exception. I'll take an afternoon nap so I can be awake for the midnight showing. :)

I think I'm going to go with a client here in town who's also a BIG fan .... if anyone else wants to join us, hollar, because I'd love to have others geek out with me! :)

But for the time being, I think it's safe to start COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS!!!!

WWII movies

The other night, Erik and I rented "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas."

Wow.Seriously.Powerful.

SUMMARY: An 8-year-old boy (son of an officer) befriends a boy in a concentration camp. Riveting story about the friendship between these two boys. The thing that struck me about this was the INNOCENCE of the main character. Seriously. You are seeing the Holocaust unfold from a completely innocent perspective.

You can head over to your nearest RedBox and pick it up. Oh, and because I love pinching pennies, keep an eye HERE for a free promo code to get a RedBox rental. :)

DISCLAIMER: This movie really hit me like a ton of bricks. If you have kids, especially little ones, it might be awfully hard to watch.


An oldie but goodie is The Scarlet and the Black.

An Irish priest heads up an organization to hide escaped prisoners in Rome.


Life is Beautiful is a STUNNING Italian movie (read: there will be subtitles) about a father/son who are in a concentration camp. The dad tells his son it's a game to make the experience less horrific for him.

I LOVE this movie!!!!!


Lastly, I'll talk about The Pianist. It's about a pianist and is just haunting .... there are LARGE portions of this movie w/o dialogue, but they're just SO POWERFUL.

Movie Mania!

It's true. I'm a movie junkie. If there were a 12-step group, I'd probably have to join. ;) But here's the goofy thing: I don't really know many of the movie stars names. If you asked me what movies Jake Gyllenhaal has been in, I would struggle to list just ONE. But if you said "that guy from Zodiac" I would know exactly who you were talking about. Strange, huh?

Erik and I were talking, and we think it'd be super-fun to get a group together sometime this spring/summer to go to the Drive In in Wichita. Anyone game???? It's $10/car! Anyone want to play sardines????

For more information, check out the Starlite Drive In's site HERE. And feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment below if you're interested in our group drive-in night. :)

Also, for anyone who is willing to drive to Salina .... they show classic movies at the Stiefel Theatre here in town. :) It's most Thursday nights at 7 p.m. .... $5 admission. For more info and a show listing, please CLICK HERE

Quantum good time

Yesterday, Erik and I went to see the newest James Bond flick.



I've been looking forward to this for MONTHS ... and the icing on the cake for us was in Salina, the early movie is only $5! Hot dog! Awesome-ness!

I have to say I LOVED it ... but as Casino Royale, the first 15-20 minutes was completely EXHAUSTING! I get worn out watching those first minutes .. and there was so much action, I totally need to see it again to catch all of the nuances.

While we were waiting for the movie to start, E and I were talking about James Bonds past.

E says Daniel Craig is awfully scrappy ...


... a la Sean Connery.


E says Pierce Brosnan is more suave/GQ ... a la


... well, I don't know the other guy, but I"m sure E will leave a comment and tell us which Bond past Brosnan is like.

Movie night!

Erik and I headed to see Eagle Eye this week.

WOW!

Loved it! If you haven't seen it, DO!



Sort of an interesting backstory ... Steven Spielberg wrote this script a dozen years ago, but never got around to making it.

Entertainment story is HERE. It's all action ... not too bloody and isn't a skin snow either.