Not So Religious Experiences

Ever take the time to slow down and really examine something. Whether it’s the size of the pores on your face or the way the dirt on your car artfully depicts the Virgin Mary. Life moves so fast that it becomes fascinating what you pick up when you really pay attention. No, I didn’t have a religious experience but I did lift my head out of the clouds long enough to look at the current celebrity headlines. So, I thought I’d write the random thoughts down and let you judge for yourself.

Don’t Cry For Me Iggy

Poor Ellen Degeneres has been a basket case lately. Her plea- Let Iggy go back to his new family. It seems after netting millions of dollars with her charm and business savvy, she forgot to read the fine print when she recently adopted a dog. When the puppy proved to be too much for her, she thoughtfully placed it in the safe home of her hairdresser’s family. The problem came when the adoption agency found out about the switcharoo and promptly removed the dog from the home.

All of this led to Ellen’s impassioned and somewhat blithering meltdown on her show begging for Iggy’s return. While slightly uncomfortable to watch, I believe it was heartfelt. Now the militant animal agency is taking the stance that they won’t be bullied by Ellen. Bullied? Investigate the family’s home and return the damn dog. Why the drama? I know they don’t want their dogs to be discarded or given to unsafe families but quit the drama and return the damn mutt.

Twelve Steps

I’m not an expert of recovery so maybe someone out there can clarify this. My only point of reference is an episode of Sex and the City where Carrie dated a recovering addict. I thought that part of the recovery process was not to enter into new romantic relationships. I probably have this wrong but it kinda makes sense. Enter Lindsey Lohan. Rumor has it the romantically discerning (snicker, snicker) starlet (more snickers) has a new beau and may be engaged. Does this go against the principals of recovery? And what’s up with all of these young girls needing to continuously date a string of men? I guess there is no such thing as getting to know yourself. They subscribe to the Elizabeth Taylor way of dating. But then again, at least she married her men and received extravagant jewelry for her companionship.

Salma Hayek Has My Baby

No, she wasn’t part of an international conspiracy plot to abduct my baby but she did steal my baby names. Granted J vetoed both but in my mind she still has my daughter. Loved Valentina. J turned it down. I thought it was strong yet feminine. Years ago, I introduced the idea of Paloma and was instantly shot down. I thought it was classic and sophisticated. J said anyone named Paloma should be rich and have a maid. And that folks, is how Salma Hayek has my baby.

What’s on your mind today?

Red Heads, Rabbit Feet and other Annoyances

I had an interesting weekend of movies. One with a phenomenal performance and another that deprived me of 90 minutes of my life that I will never get back. I was able to finally see Half Nelson. It was on my Netflix list when it was in theaters. I’ve been a fan of Ryan Gosling since The Believer (Great film. See it) but I wanted to see what gave this budding thespian his first Oscar nod.

Half Nelson tells the story of young educator Dan Dunne (Gosling) as he navigates his drug addiction while motivating inner city kids through his history classes. He forges a friendship with one of his students Drey (Shareeka Epps) after she finds him hittin’ the pipe. Drey is coming to terms with losing her brother to the prison system while his drug dealing friend Frank (Anthony Mackie) tries taking over a brother-like role.

The film is masterful in setting tone and showing the daily lives of these characters. In true independent style, this movie moves at a meandering pace. Kinda like a French movie. You just sit and wait to see where the film takes you. Half Nelson lacks that artificial feeling where the plot drives the character’s actions without cause. The film is soley about Gosling’s performance, charisma and chemistry with his young actors.

He is such an expressive emotional actor. His character was bombed throughout the movie yet he pulled it together for his class. It makes you wonder how many addicts exist on this level. He managed to express this teacher’s joy, inspiration and anguish through a drug-induced haze. Brilliant! There were several scenes that broke my heart with their fragility. Two involved Drey finding Dan high while the other was a torturous trip to Dan’s parent’s wine soaked house.

Epps was outstanding as a junior high student trying to overcome her surroundings. Here foray into the drug culture was tense. She has a real freshness that comes with an acting debut. I enjoyed their interactions. I truly believed this is what a friendship would be like between a young teacher and student. Overall the movie was an in depth look at unlikely friendships and drug addiction. It seemed to be about 10 minutes too long but kept me involved.

I wish the same could be said for the 2006 Lindsey Lohan vehicle Just My Luck. Yes, I watched this 80s-style rip off on Cinemax. Don’t judge me. I like to think I’m diverse in my film selections. All I can say is that this movie was ridiculous from the first scene of Ashley Albright (Lohan) having such great luck that she doesn’t require an umbrella. As her public relations agency boss was stuck in an elevator, lucky Ashley successfully pitched the high-powered record exec. Yeah right. To make things sillier, she is given an office and company credit card. Meanwhile, we meet unlucky Jake Hardin (Chris Pine). This poor guy is so unfortunate that when he finds a five dollar bill it’s smeared with dog poop. Yuck! A chance meeting and kiss reverses their luck.

I’m usually down with the teeny bopper fantasy flicks but this movie didn’t work on several levels. For someone who doesn’t believe in luck, she spends a big chunk of the movies trying to get her mojo back. I also love that making the hunky guy wear big glasses and a huge backpack makes him Urkel. I could see his hotness through the dated frames.

It’s hard to imagine this is the same girl that was in Mean Girls. It’s an uninspired movie and acting. I know you’re supposed to suspend your belief in movies like this but it was close to impossible.

What did you see this weekend?