Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz

& Thai as Rosie the Elephant

April 22, 2011

Being a huge fan of the book I have been looking forward to seeing this movie since I heard they were making it. But along with that came a huge worry about how they would make this into as great a film as great as the book was. I had such a clear picture in my head on how the story played out and how the characters look. That is what is great about reading, and leaving things to the imagination...you can run wild with it. With films that are made from books, Hollywood kind of steals that image from you.

When I found out that Robert Pattinson was playing the character of Jacob my heart dropped. The only things I had seen him in, was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and (I regret to say - Twilight). Not only was he not even close to what I pictured Jacob to look like, he was the last actor I would have wanted to play him. But, I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong. He was surprisingly great in the role.

I also didn't picture Reese Witherspoon as Marlena and although I enjoyed her in the role and thought she did a good job, she wasn't excellent.

Now, onto Christoph Waltz (August), who after seeing him in Inglorious Basterds and now this, I have to say the man plays a great villain! When his character was charming, you loved him, and when he was not, you hated him.

The best character / actor in the whole film was by far Thai, who played Rosie the Elephant. She was so great as an elephant and so adorable and sometimes amusing, and heartbreaking and poignant. As you all know I'm obsessed with elephants, and she is the most magnificent elephant ever.

I loved the movie. They did cut out all of the nursing home storyline, just mentioning the home at the beginning and very end. They made the Tiger with no teeth a Lion with no teeth, and didn't have the monkey. The most important change, was the ending. They tweaked it a bit and changed it around a little...but I kind of liked the way they did it. So I'm not too annoyed. All in all it was pretty close to the storyline of the book.

I highly recommend it and give this movie 5 stars.

Spotlight: Barbossa and Bobo

Bobo

181 West 10th Street

I went here with Tammi a week or two ago. You have to go down from the street to enter. It's pretty funky downstairs, but from the picture the upstairs is a bit more classy. It's in this great townhouse. I had the burger. Fantastic. Tammi had a bobo salad and loved it. The perfect combination of cheese and nuts is what she said ( I didn't mean to reference The Office.. though remember when that show was good?)






Barbossa

232 Elizabeth Street

I went here a few weeks ago with Lexi and Licks.
I had never been. I had the steak. It was good. I liked the atmosphere and I encourage everyone to check out the unisex bathroom (with the phallic soap... yes I said phallic).

Licks recommends the brunch.

Hanna

Hanna

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett & Eric Bana

April 15, 2011

After seeing Screa4m I saw this film 'Hanna' about a girl who was raised in the woods by her father, training to fight for her life. As the poster says 'Adapt or Die'.

From the previews I knew this film would be an action packed edge of your seat kind of movie. I was right. Saoirse was phenomenal as the lead and title character HANNA. It was a departure from her previous role in the movie The Lovely Bones, and if this is the track she's on in her career, than I look forward to seeing more and more movies with her in them.

In one scene of the movie, Hanna meets this young girl and her brother, and ends up spending time with them. I don't know the girl is who played her new found friend, but she was so funny and needs to be in more films.

I can't say too much about this film, as it would give things away, but I highly enjoyed it and the performances by all actors. I'm not the hugest fan of Cate Blanchett or Eric Bana, but both played excellent characters.

I do wish that they went more into Cate Blanchett's - Marisa Woeggler's (sp?) character as there were one or two scenes when we saw into her emotions but didn't fully understand why she was feeling those emotions.

Due to that and only that I give this film 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

Scre4m

Scream 4:
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts & Hayden Panattiere
April 15, 2011

Finally it was out, the much MUCH anticipated Scream 4. Who would have thought that Sydney Prescott could get into more trouble with Ghost Face? After ten years of silence and no murders by that masked villain that is always someone different, and is always after Syd, Ghost Face is back and full force! What did Sydney do in a past life to make so many people hate her and want her dead?


Whatever it is, I'm grateful because these movies have always been my favorite.

I do love that Wes Craven, and the originals (Neve, Courteney & David) waited ten years for the fourth film to be released. I believe that if they had done it right after Scream 3 it would have been a disaster. With these ten years away from our favorites, Sydney, Gale Weathers and Dewey, it gave the writers and crew time to perfect this franchise.

The opening of the movie is not at all what I expected, but very cleverly thought out and prosecuted. I especially enjoyed Anna Paquin & Kristen Bell's cameo appearances. They provided one of the humorous aspects of the movie. My favorite thing about the SCREAM franchise is that the movies make fun of themselves. Throughout the films there are constant jabs at the horror genre, which just makes for a really fun film.

From the moment I heard they were making a fourth film, I was ecstatic, and let me tell you, the film did NOT disappoint. I was a little worried that bringing in a new movie so many years later would be a let down, but after leaving the theater I was glad my worries were put to rest. Hayden Panattiere's character Kirby, was the comic relief of the film. I really enjoyed her. Emma Roberts played Sydeny's cousin and as Mark stated -- she's no Julia -- but she still played a great character. Adam Brody and Anthony (forget his last name) were the new 'dumb cops' of the series, as Dewey is now Chief. Rory Culkin also was in this movie, looking all geeky and adorable.

The best part of the film were those original characters we love, like Sydney and Dewey, and that one character we love to hate, Gale Weathers. Well...I mean come on, you know you LOVE HER! :) It was sad to see Courteney & David acting opposite each other, just thinking about their marital problems was very upsetting, but both of them were great. It's amazing that even after ten years away from these characters they can go back to them as if they never were apart. Neve Campbell needs to act in more movies. I forget how much I like her every time I see her in something.

I highly recommend this movie, especially if you're a fan of Scream!
FIVE STARS!

I Wish

I Wish I Could
I Wish I Did
I Wish I Had
I Wish I Didn't
I Wish I Knew
But sometimes people don't
Sometimes it's too late
Or too soon
There aren't unlimited opportunities in life
And then I'm standing on the corner of 59th st waiting for someone
And a blind man nearly walks into me
Asks if I know where such and such a store is
He was very close
I had to guide him because even by telling him how close
He didn't know
He wanted too
He thought he could handle it
But he couldn't see
And it was a perfect spring day
The kind you wait all winter for
The kind you stay in New York City for
And he will never see that
But he gave me something
A stranger
A reminder of what's important

Why...

Why is it that bad things happen to good people...and children! One of my NK Drama kids, Michaela and her family are going through a tough time right now and it makes me question the universe. Michaela, who is in 7th grade, only 12 (or 13 years old), had to have surgery on her back in September. She was home for a little while and hurt it again. She has been up in Boston at a rehabilitation center since around December I think and has been making progress. Just recently she has started walking again, slowly but surely and just found out that she should be coming home this coming weekend.

Because of her being in Boston all this time, her mother and father have had to switch off on being there with her, her mom half the week and her dad the other half. She has a younger sister and a younger brother who are also dealing with this tough time, having to have only one parent home with them at a time. I remember I had bought Michaela the Hunger Games trilogy and brought it to her house for her dad to bring up to her. Her dad was telling me how Donna had just left to go up to Boston and he was going up on the coming Thursday. He said they saw each other for all of five minutes in the switch. That absolutely broke my heart to hear. Nobody should have to go through this, especially not this family, who are all so kind and generous and who deserve so much better.

I offered to watch the kids for Donna so her and her husband could have a date night and I hope she takes me up on that. I wish I could do more. I wish I could take away Michaela's pain and make everything better for all of them. It hurts me to see any of my NKD kids suffering especially so with Michaela, who has had to go through more than any child should ever have to go through.

I pray that she continues to heal, that her pain goes away and that her and her family can get back home all together. I ask you all to keep them in your thoughts.

Time

I fixed my eyes last year

And my head

Took responsibility for everything that I said

And smiled just because

My heart was on the mend

Waited patiently for good to come and

TIME

heals wounds?

gives answers?

settles the ripples?

is a friend to trust?

I looked in the mirror the other day and didn’t recognize myself so much time has passed

Spotlight: San Rocco

The last restaurant that I went to in March was called San Rocco. There was a deal with Village Vines (sign up for free and you get discounted meals throughout the city). My friend Tammi clued me into it and recommended we go, and so off we went.

It's located on 37 West 24th street. The atmosphere and architecture were great. The service was excellent.

I had the Santa carbonara con guanciale. It was some of the best pasta that I've had in a really long time and the price was great even without the discount.

Of all the restaurants I've tried in the month of March, this would be the one I would recommend people try out.