The latest in kids flicks

I took Kennedy to both the Bee Movie and Enchanted.

The Bee Movie is a great kids flicks. No parents are killed violently, no one is an orphan, it's just good clean adventursome fun (ala Toy Story or A Bugs Life). Seriously, if someone could please explain the benefits to me of showing a mother getting killed in a cartoon movie (ala Finding Nemo), I would love to hear it!! It's so hard to find movies that do not have that.

So this one is good and it's got some cute lines in it for the parents too!

We also saw Enchanted. This is the princess movie with Patrick Dempsey in it. Ok, whoever created this one KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. Make a princess movie for the little girls and put a gorgeous 40-something guy in it so that all the moms will be glad to take their daughters to see it 5 times. BRILLIANT!! And it was just plain fun, well done and original, if you can believe that!

American Gangster

Nathan and I actually found time to go to this one together (amazing, happens once a year!). But I knew he would love it. And we both did.

It's great for many reasons...it has two fabulous actors in the gritty roles they do best. It's a true story that is amazing. It's well written and produced. It's not gory and bloody like The Departed. The story is about the thin and often blurry line between good and bad. It's like the Sopranos, how you start to like Tony and forget that he's a killer.

The only thing I was disappointed by was that Denzel and Russell didn't have more onscreen scenes together (not that I would change the movie, I just love seeing them act together). The entire movie is about their lives working toward each other. It's only in the end that they are onscreen together and it is amazing. The dialogue and interaction just sizzles. They just look like they're having fun and you want to be there!

Great flick! Make sure you see it!

Dan In Real Life

This is a really wonderful movie. The title says it all...it's about real life and how messy it can be but yet how great it can be. I laughed and I cried, but it was a good cry.

The characters are so human, they could be (and probably are) your friends, relatives, neighbors.

Steve Carrell is so funny and sweet. Juliette Binoche is naturally beautiful and smart.

I won't give you a synopsis, you can find that on Moviefone.com. I'll just say that this is not the usual Steve Carrell dorky comedy. It's a beautifully written family drama/comedy that is perfect for the holiday season!

Best Cable shows

One of my favorite new shows of the season actually started this summer on the Cable network AMC. It is called Mad Men. It's about complex, interesting people (so few shows are). They all happen to work in an advertising agency in Manhattan in the 60s. This isn't why I like it but it does provide an awesome view of life back then. (As a woman it really makes you appreciate how "easy" we now have it!)

The show is a fascinating history lesson done in the sexiest way possible! It's a great way to learn about life in the 60s without reading about it in a dreary text book.

The show wrapped season 1 today so if you missed it, either wait for the DVD series or watch for them to rerun it from the beginning!

Please watch this show!

The best show you aren't watching is 30 Rock. Please please tune in and help this little show that could. It is so smart and so funny. The season premiere hilariously used Jerry Seinfeld. I thought I was going to die of laughter. If you haven't given this a first or second shot, please do. You'll be pleasantly surprised, I promise! It's on Thursday nights!!

New Fall TV shows

I'd like to start this entry by saying that it's my job to watch TV. I have to know what the smart new shows are on TV so I can advise my clients on them. So stop thinking I'm a loser for watching so much TV!

Actually thank goodness for Tivo (oops, don't tell anyone that I don't watch the commercials) or I'd never have the time.

So I've tried to watch at least a few episodes of as many of the new shows as I can fit in. Here are some of my thoughts...

BIONIC WOMAN
I told you earlier that this would be a good one. And after two episodes, I do still like it. As I forewarned, it's very similar to Alias. Maybe so much that I'm a little let down because it just isn't as good. They're trying to keep it a little more "dumbed down" than Alias so the mass audiences will watch it. But it suffers because of that. The plots have been pretty see-through but I do like the characters so far. So I'm going to give it a few more weeks.

BIG SHOTS
Speaking of Alias, I have two words: Michael Vartan. I really wanted to like this show because I really loved him from Alias. But this show is painful to watch. Parts of it are funny and parts of it are serious and parts are just plain stupid. They have an identity crisis...which are you? I can't handle all the personality switches so I'm done. But I'm begging them to please find a decent vehicle for Michael Vartan on his own!!

K-VILLE
It's a cop show set in New Orleans. They film it there and are therefore pumping money into the economy. That alone sold me. But the two lead characters are fabulous and they have smart writing. And with the situation in New Orleans now, they can come up with some interesting new plot twists in the oldest genre. Tune in, it's a great show! And it gets the male vote, my husband likes it.

JOURNEYMAN
A married man randomly travels back in time to help people. He has no control over his own comings and goings. He finds out his old girlfriend, who supposedly died, is also a time-traveler. This is great new territory. The lead actor is great. The writing is really smart. And it has a great reveal quality to it where each week you learn a little more. They assume you have a brain and can remember what happened. Thumbs up!

PUSHING DAISIES
This is so original and so fun! The setting is a "cartooney" world (think Dick Tracy or Batman) where the main character has a magical power to bring people back to life by touching them. But when he touches them again they die. So he uses the ability to help solve crimes. And to bring his childhood sweetheard back to life after she is killed. The lead characters are adorable. They're madly in love but cannot touch each other. It's different and its smartly written. Even my husband liked it, which says alot. I thought he'd think it was too fluffy but he liked it because it was so different.

PRIVATE PRACTICE
I am a huge Grey's Anatomy fan. I really want to like this show but so far it's just whiny and annoying. These are wickedly smart people (supposedly) but they do not know how to deal with the most basic real life issues in their own personal lives. And the great chemistry they had shown in the pilot between Tim Daly and Kate Walsh has not been revived. In fact there isn't really any chemistry between any of the characters. Help!! I can only sit through a few more episodes before I will be forced to make a decision they clearly could not, which is to erase it from my DVR cue!!

DIRTY SEXY MONEY
This had been lauded as a great show. I only saw one episode but I couldn't watch anymore. Like Private Practice, it was just a bunch of whiny, miserable people. No thank you. I usually like to give things two episodes, because the pilots must pack a lot in. But I just couldn't do it here. And I haven't read to see how the show is being received. This will probably be the one that becomes a wild hit and I missed out! Oh well I'll just rent the DVDs later!

The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien

I have been wanting to read this book about the Vietnam War for some time, and have actually checked out and returned to the library at least two times. This week, I finally had the opportunity to sit down and read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.

O'Brien originally from Worthington, MN has written multiple books on his experiences in Vietnam, this book however is his most celebrated, being nominated for both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award in 1990.

The Things They Carried tells of O'Brien's experiences while in Vietnam, it really is a cathartic journey though key moments of his journey. The title reflects on the items soldiers bring to war and the significance those items have to the men and their survival. The first chapter of the book details the things they carried, after you get a feel for who these men, rather boys, are O'Brien begins his story.

The book gives such an accurate, graphic at times, depiction and lets you feel that you are really there in a foxhole waiting and waiting. Honestly, my only other exposure to the Vietnam War has been through movies (Born on the 4th of July, Platoon), however with this book I was able to visualize what it was like to be there. O'Brien explains his feelings in the simplest of terms and you truly see what a struggle it was for him and his fellow soldiers.

I have done a bit of research since finishing the book on who O'Brien is (a Creative Writing professor) and the impact this book has had since published 17 years ago. I found that the book is often taught in high school/college classes either in its entirety or chapters. At first I felt this was a bit too graphic/gritty, but after giving it thought I feel it is perfect for people this age, because O'Brien was in fact closer to their age when he went to war. I remember reading All Quiet On the Western Front and The Red Badge of Courage, so it really is no different.

I know the Vietnam War may not be the most uplifting topic, but it is part of our history. I appreciated this book for what it is - a comprehensive glimpse into a complex moment of this man's life.

4.5 out of 5