What We've Been Watching

The Mr. and I love to watch movies and TV series together on Netflix. It's something nice we can do after work with a glass of wine to unwind and reconnect.

We do however occasionally make it to the theater to catch a new movie.

Like this past weekend I (somehow) got the Mr. to see Bridesmaids with me.


It was so nice of him to go with me because this was SUCH a "girl movie" but he tolerated it and even had a few laughs. It was pretty funny, but not amazing. I'd give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

It definitely wasn't as good as some of the Academy Award nominated movies we've been watching on Netflix Lately.

We recently rented The Social Network, The Kings Speech, The Fighter, and Blue Valentine.


We LOVED The Social Network. For me, this should have won Best Picture. Great acting, great music, and a socially relevant story line. I give it 5 stars out a 5.

The King's Speech was very good. Fantastic acting. I still give it 5 stars out 5, I just don't think the subject matter was a relevant to our society as the Social Network.

The Fighter was good. It was pretty much the same as every other movie about boxing/sports/bad neighborhoods in Massachusetts/dysfunctional families ever made, but we liked it a lot. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Note: We've now seen 9/10 of the Best Picture Nominees from 2010. Not bad!

Finally, Blue Valentine. I had such high hopes for this movie. I'd heard it was poignant and superbly acted. Well, The Mr. quit watching at about the 40 minute mark. I soldiered on and in the end wished I had not. The movie was depressing, disturbing, and left me with nothing to take away from it. I give it 1.5 stars out a 5 (redeemed only by some good acting ).

We've recently also been watching some older TV Shows on Netflix: Rome, Twin Peaks, and Nip/Tuck.


Rome is fantastic! Great acting. Great history (esp. if you're a history geek like me).

Twin Peaks is a early 1990s show. It's a thriller/mystery filled with quirky, funny characters. We really enjoyed Season 1. But now Season 2 is disappointing us.

Nip/Tuck was also good for the first couple of seasons, but now that we're several seasons in, it's kind of jumped the shark. I think we may quit watching it.


Have you seen any of these movies or TV shows? What did you think? What have you been watching lately?

2nd Annual Newlywed Thanksgiving Pilgrimage to Oregon

When I first started my blog a year ago, one of my first posts was about Thanksgiving in Oregon.

Well, here we are again!


Although this is my second Thanksgiving in Oregon as a Newlywed, it's actually my fourth Thanksgiving with the Mr's family up there and I'm really starting to feel like a part of "the crew".

There are several great Thanksgiving traditions that we do every year.


Tradition #1. Thanksgiving Day (duh)

Lots and lots of eating amazing food prepared by my Mother in Law. As well as drinking delicious wine that the Mr. and I provide.


Playing games together.

(That's the Mr. and his three younger brothers. Aren't they so cute!? Attention ladies, they are ALL single.)

More eating.

And watching a movie at home as a family.


This year's movie was Julie & Julia which I was so happy about because we usually just see "guy" movies. I really liked it, especially since I'm a blogger.


Tradition #2: Christmas Tree

Every year we head out to a giant Christmas Tree farm to pick a tree.


Then we chop it down, bring it home, and decorate it!

I always laugh and say that we could just get a tree from someone's yard, because there are millions of pine trees in Oregon, unlike Southern California where we actually need Christmas tree lots and farms.



Tradition #3: Movie

Every year my in-laws treat us all to new release in the theater that we see as a family.

This year we saw Fantastic Mr. Fox. I loved it! Such a fun, quirky, and insightful little movie. It is really great for all ages.


How was your Thanksgiving? Any special traditions that you do every year?

Movies, Movies, Movies, Movies

(The title of this post should be sung, like that old Starz commercial that was to the tune of "Ode to Joy." Remember that one? Anyway...)

In the past week I've see three great films!

District 9
(Newlywed Next Door Rating: 4/5 Stars)


This movie is thrilling, fun, sad, funny, ironic, suspenseful, and fascinating. The back story of aliens alone warrants it own movie. And beneath the surface this movie is a powerful allegory of apartheid. There will definitely be a sequel.


The Time Traveler's Wife
(Newlywed Next Door Rating: 3/5 Stars)


You all know I was super excited to see this movie. It was pretty good, but not great. I think if I had not read and loved the book I would have been kind of lost as to why Claire loved Henry and probably wouldn't have liked the movie so much. Rachel McAdams was cute as ever, but Eric Bana came off as kind of cold.


The Business of Being Born
(Newlywed Next Door Rating: 5/5 Stars)


I rented this amazing documentary. Ricki Lake, after her own natural home birth, decided to take a serious look at America's maternity care system and created this film to shed light on how America views the birthing process. Although I've never been pregnant nor am I currently pregnant, this movie definitely made me examine my own pre-conceived (no pum intended) notions about birthing (wanting epidurals, c-sections, etc.). Seriously worth a watch!


Up next...
I'm now re-reading The Lovely Bones (I read it back in 2003) because the movie comes out in December! I'm so excited! I'm a little bit worried because it's pretty hard to depict heaven without being cheesy, but if anyone can do a good film interpretation, Peter Jackson can.


What did you think of these movies? What upcoming movies are you looking forward to?

Is anyone else as excited as me...

For this...


I am SO freakin' excited that one of my favorite books is being turned into a movie. I keep watching the preview. Over. And over. I cannot stop.

I've already set a date with one of my best friends to see it when it comes out. We both have minor "girl-crushes" on Rachel McAdams.

If you have not yet read the book go buy and it read it. You have two and 1/2 weeks to read it before the film comes out. Go.

Weekend Recap: Bridal Shower, Angels & Demons, and DIY Screens

Happy Monday! Is it me, or does the weekend never seems to be long enough? But at least next weekend is a three day weekend!

Saturday morning I went to my friend, C's Bridal Shower in Santa Monica. It was beautiful! Right on the beach, delicious food, lots of fun!

Of course I forgot my camera (bad blogger!) But here is pic of her and us Bridesmaids at her other Bridal Shower in West LA:


Then Saturday evening the Mr. and I drove down to Laguna Beach to meet my Dad to have dinner and get my Wedding Dress from him for my Trash the Dress. We had dinner at the amazing Las Brisas Restaurant. Another stunning view from the restaurant. Check it out:

I guess it was Prom in Laguna Beach, because the restaurant was filled with teens all decked out for Prom, which was pretty fun to see.

We also went and saw Angels and Demons with him. The movie was entertaining but there were so many plot holes in it that I just couldn't get past. Kind of a bummer, because I remember enjoying the book when I read it in college. I would give the movie a C- or D+.



Sunday I was supposed to have my Trash The Dress. But my photographer got sick and we had to postpone it. Boo!

So instead the Mr. and I went Costco for some grocery shopping. While I was there I also picked up this little guy:

A new iPod nano in my favorite color! The Mr.'s old iPod mini finally died, so he got my old Nano and I got a new one since I use mine all the time. Isn't he a nice husband?


Speaking of how much I love my husband...

On Sunday we also went to Home Depot where he purchased materials to make our own window screens. Why did we have to make screens?

Our Condo has these beautiful windows that push open like this:

And have no screens.

Now that our kitten, Judah is getting bigger, we needed to screen those windows so he won't jump/fall out of the windows and plummet 10 stories down.

So the Mr., by himself, built screens that we can insert into the windows and remove when we need to close them. Isn't he amazing?! I was very impressed.

Judah, on the other hand was more interested in chewing on the screen building materials, so I had him help me with the laundry. Some help he was....


Oh, and I almost forgot - On Sunday night we capped off the weekend with 4.7 magnitude earthquake centered about 10 miles from where we live. Our building was shaking for what seemed like forever, but thankfully nothing broke. Always exciting living in old shakey town!

Irrelevant Academy Awards?

There are some writers, social critics, and news analysts out there saying that the Academy Awards are becoming increasingly irrelevant because the films featured are critically acclaimed but unpopular (for example, I think "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" has grossed as much as all of the best picture nominated films combined). Also because, in this downward economy, a bunch of stars drenched in diamonds and designers honoring each others seems hopelessly out of touch with actual America.

I'm sad to report that I've seen none of the best picture nominated films this year. I know, I know, I'm lame! But one of the places in our budget we've cut is seeing movies in theater. Instead wait until they come to Blockbuster.com.

I'm still watching the Academy Awards tonight. Why? The outfits.

The 81st Academy Awards -- meaningless or momentous?

Cheating, Marriage, and "He's Just Not That Into You"

This weekend, my good friend M and I went and saw “He’s Just Not That into You”. While I had a great time with her and I was definitely entertained during the movie…

I’m about to say something that might be really unpopular in bloggy-world…

I didn’t love it.

In fact, I found it a tad bit depressing. Also, I really didn’t like its messages about marriage and amount of time it spent focusing on infidelity in marriage.

“He’s Just Not That into You” on Marriage: The movie treats marriage is treated as both a desired outcome and a burden. Women long for it, and men dread it. For example, Ben calls a wedding a "funeral". And even though some of the characters do value marriage, it's not necessarily considered a permanent, sacred commitment to be honored by others.

“He’s Just Not That into You” on cheating: A ton of the film focuses on Anna's affair with Ben. It made me so sad for everyone involved in that horrible triangle. I mean, I get the message it was trying to say, “If he’s cheating on you, he’s just not that into you.” But that aspect just really took me out of the film. I really wish that they hadn’t used a married couple. And Mary trying to tell Anna it’s ok to be perusing a married man in the name of true love made me sick. All I could think was “imagine if that was your husband, your best friend’s husband, or your sister’s husband. You would not say that.”

When the Mr. and I were doing pre-marital mentoring with an awesome older couple from our church they told us that they will not even watch a movie or a TV show with marital infidelity in it. Even if they are mid-movie they just turn. it. off. They said that they don’t like even having the idea of infidelity around their marriage and don’t want to validate how flippant society is about cheating. At first I thought “WHOA… that is crazy.” But now that I’m married, I kind of get it.

I know a lot of people loved it, so please don't hate me for writing this! Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy seeing it, but am I alone in feeling it was a bit depressing?