Hurry!

I don't know how much longer Tangled is in the theaters, but I strongly suggest that you go! See it in 3D if you can, too! Emilie called me on New Years Day and asked if I wanted to join the Wagner family for some movie time. When she called, I was still in my pajamas, had a kitchen and house full of dirty dishes from a dinner party the night before and was fully committed to lounging on the couch all day. I'm glad I decided to go!

I don't think I've been to a 3D movie in the theaters before. If I have, I don't remember what it was. You get these really funny glasses, and the movie really is better when part of the action is right in front of your face.
I've always been a fan of Disney and Pixar movies. I'm impressed by the amount of animation work it takes to make things look so realistic. This movie is no exception. The story was really cute, but I oooh'd and aaah'd throughout the movie at the beautiful images.
Don't these all look so realistic? This last one was my favorite. Imagine all these lanterns floating right by your head. Then, pretend that you are a small child and reach out to touch them! :)
Quick! Go look up your movie listings. For those of you in town, I've already done the hard work for you. Just click HERE. Let me know what you think after you go.

Run, don't walk

This afternoon, Mom and I went to the Glenwood Theater to see Slumdog Millionaire! I always love to go to the Glenwood because they show the small, indie films, the theaters are small and the seats are the most comfortable in town. They took them from the old theater at 91st and Metcalf and they lean back and have soft seats, which I like.

The only thing that is bad about the comfy seats and non-stadium style seats is the close proximity to the other movie watchers. Mom missed it, but I was constantly annoyed by Mr. & Mrs. Chatty McLoudersons sitting right behind us. They felt the need to provide commentary for the movie that EVERYONE IS SEEING AT THE SAME TIME! "Oh Look! There's the bad guy!" "Is he going to die?" "What is he doing with that money?" "Watch out!" "I know the answer to that question!" I tried to turn around a few times to let them know that there were other people there to WATCH the movie, but they didn't seem to get it. They finally stopped when the credits were rolling (stay for them if you go).




A few people had told me how great Slumdog was, and I'm happy we went today. The movie is about two hours long, but goes very quickly! I think this is the only one of the movies that is up for a bunch of Oscars that I've actually seen.

For those of you that haven't heard much about the film, here is the plot summary from imdb:
A Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while being interrogated, events from his life history are shown which explain why he knows the answers.
The movie is so much better than you would think. It gets better and better as the flash-backs go on. It is funny, it is sad, it is full of suspense, and the film has a lot of heart.


The other part of the movie that I thought was amazing was the beautiful scenery. Not all of the settings were beautiful in a conventional way. Much of the movie was set in the slums of Mumbai like this photo and the aerial shots were amazing! Scenes also took place in the landfills, city streets, markets & even in front of the Taj Mahal (which of course was beautiful)!


You all should run, don't walk, to go see Slumdog! If you are in Kansas City, here is a site that shows where and when it is playing, but of course, I recommend the Glenwood! Let me know your thoughts if you go now, or if you've already been!

Quit whistling at me!

I about turned the debate off tonight when McCain's whistling started giving me a headache.

I knew his speech issue was reminding me of some cartoon characters and sure enough ... lookie what I found!

The Beaver in The Lady and the Tramp:
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Someone else must have been thinking the same thing that I was ... only they were crafty enough to put these clips together into one video.

The Gopher in Winnie the Pooh:
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Anyone else know what I'm talking about??? Is it annoying to just me?

Are dogs allowed into movie theaters?

When we saw the preview of this movie, Jill leaned over to me and said, "You're totally going to see that!" How does she know me so well?

Here's the preview for Beverly Hills Chihuahua:
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I'm not sure where Jill got the idea that I would like a movie like this ... .. .








Do you have a guess??

Sex and the City, The Movie ... TOTALLY worth the wait!

Well, I have spoken pretty unfavorably about the hype and press of this movie before today.

I take it all back. Okay ... most of it!

I just walked in from seeing THE movie, and I can tell you that it was VERY worth the wait! I was waiting to see it ... for things to die down a bit, for the crowds to be smaller, for a good time to go, and for a few other friends to go with. Molly, Michelle, and her friend Molly and I met up tonight at Town Center. Molly and I got to the theater about 30 minutes before it started, and we didn't get there a moment too soon! The theater had to be sold out, and I was glad that we managed to find what were probably the last 4 seats together in the small theater! There were groups of girlfriends (really that was the whole theater ... only 1 poor man who checked his e-mail the whole movie) that were split up all over the place!

You could tell that everyone was decked out to see the movie: cute clothes, cute shoes, LOTS of perfume, and it was so loud before the movie, we could hardly hear each other!

So ... the movie!

It really was better than I thought it was going to be. The first 10 minutes are sort of a re-cap of what led the girls to where they are today. I started crying at the very beginning and didn't stop ... shocking, I know!

Sarah Jessica Parker had something amazing like 84 wardrobe changes, and each one was better than the last! Michelle and I literally gasped out loud at some of the beautiful clothes! I'm not going to give any spoilers away, but if you have seen it, and want to chat about it ... let me know. I'm even willing to go again just to see what else I can pick up on the second time around!

Way to speak up!

I guess the other ladies of Sex and the City decided to speak up about the previous movie posters featuring only Sarah Jessica Parker.

This is the latest poster!

Bad Move, SJP

For those of you that are Sex and the City fans (yes, Julie, I'm talking to YOU!) you know that the SATC Movie is coming out on May 30th. It was a difficult process to get all four ladies to agree to do the movie because there has been a major rift between them since the HBO series ended.

Sarah Jessica Parker is one of the producers, so she has a major say in the show and movie. Because of that, she also gets a MUCH bigger paycheck than the other ladies, and she wrote into her contract that she would get to keep the set wardrobes for all the characters. I think I also read that she gets a bigger cut of the royalties from the DVD sales and from the show now being on TBS. I don't really think is fair.

Then, I saw this movie poster:
This poster is completely biased and if I were Kim, Kristin or Cynthia I would be pissed! Why doesn't the poster have a picture of all 4 girls. The show was really about all 4 of them, not just Carrie. Without the other 3, there wouldn't have been a show!

Even though I think this is shady, I'm sure I'll go see the movie when it comes out. Who wants to go with me??

St. Patty's Day is Overrated

I feel the same way about today's holiday as I do New Year's Eve!

You spend so much time trying to figure out what is the coolest thing to do and the best place to go and the right thing to wear and the fanciest thing to drink.

LAME!

We spent so much time talking about what we wanted to do today, that I was sick of the holiday before it even started at midnight. We ended up going to see Be Kind, Rewind ,which I recommend, and sitting around NOT wanting to be in the rain.

I'll be happy when it is a new day and we don't have a holiday for quite some time.

"Juno what?"

"What?"

"You should definitely go see Juno!"

I went to go see Juno this afternoon with Jill, Adam and Adam's brother, Josh. It was a fantastic movie ... so great I told Molly I'd go see it again with her if Erik didn't want to go. The theater wasn't all that full since we went to the $5 weekday afternoon time (yeah for not paying and arm & a leg to see a movie), but the obnoxious group of 5 loud boys DID choose to sit right behind us. They talked the entire time and laughed too hard at things that really weren't supposed to be funny. There were so many great one-liners in this movie ... it shows how well written it was!

Ellen Page was fantastic and the duo of Jason Bateman and Michael Cera on screen again (for all you Arrested Development fans) was nice! We never see them together, but just the idea of them both acting together again is enough for me. I am, however, wondering if Jennifer Garner can play a different character for once. They all are seeming to run together.

Oh yeah ... for all you Office fans, Rainn Wilson is in this movie, too. Even though his part is only about 5 minutes ... it's hilarious!

Okay. Off to bed. I've got a snoring dog next to me and a messy room to clean up before I get back to school.

Inspiration to Get Back in My Classroom!

Just turned on my TV to see Lean on Me on. It's a GREAT movie, if you haven't seen it. Morgan Freeman plays the role of Joe Clark in this true story. He is very inspirational and even though the kids and staff want to run him out in the beginning, they love him and support him in the end.

Some of my other favorite "teacher" movies??? There are so many, but here are a few:

• School of Rock
• For obvious reasons, but mostly because Jack Black is so lovable! "I've got a hangover, does anyone know what that means?" "Does it mean you're drunk?" "No, it means I was drunk yesterday!" He's the bee's knees!
  
• Spellbound
• If you haven't seen this documentary, run out to get it! I love the kids in this film and have had some like each one of them every year!
  
• I don't know how to upload a video yet, but please go watch the trailer for this documentary. I love Harry!
• Freedom Writers
• I've seen it only once, but it's a good one. I bought it on sale a while ago and this reminds me that I need to watch it again!
  
• Finding Forrester
• Who wouldn't love a movie that has both Sean Connery AND Busta Rhymes in the cast?!?
  
• Dangerous Minds
• This movie is now the running joke at my school since my friend, Michelle Phifer, came to teach at our school. We keep talking about how she did her student teaching in a inner city school and the kids tried to run her out! I still love the Coolio song from this movie. In fact, it was one of the trivia questions at Xtreme Team Trivia last week!
• Summer School
• The best part of this movie is the chainsaw massacre that the kids put on at the end. It's classic!
  
• Pay It Forward
• I know, I know ... it's cheesy, but I still like it! Just the idea that I might be giving one of my students an idea to change the world is uplifting! :)
  
• Mona Lisa Smile
• Not only is this movie centered around art history, which I love, but it has some great actresses in it. I love when Julia was asked how she felt about trying to compete with all these younger actresses, she simply said, "You can't out-kitten kittens!" Love it!
  
• Akeelah and the Bee
• Another great spelling bee movie. It is interesting to compare this movie to the documentary of Spellbound. Both movies are a great reminder that someday I'm going to have one of these kids in my room and I will need to learn how to appropriately challenge them when it comes to their spelling!
  

Okay ... I think that's it for now. Off to throw the Spellbound DVD in! What are YOUR favorite teacher movies?!?!?