movie | Semantically driven

Cars 2

July 6, 2011 by Jen

Wednesday, 29 June 2011, Day 218/365.

I’m a member of our local car breakdown authority and get their magazine. In this magazine at least a couple of months ago they advertised movie previews of Cars 2 and because JJ saw it too he expressed an interest in going. Because it was near his birthday and because it sounded like a good idea I agreed.

Unfortunately we couldn’t go to our closest cinema and the one we did go to is a pain to get parking for so we were a little bit rushed and by the time we got in there it was already quite packed but we managed to get two seats not too close to the front.

The ticket price included a drink and some popcorn and I think most of the popcorn was on the floor by the time we arrived, something that JJ also noticed and couldn’t quite believe because why would you waste popcorn when you can eat it?

Unfortunately a kids movie and a large cinema packed with people means quite a bit of noise and I can’t believe how loud some kids were. I swear I could hear a couple of kids that were sitting nowhere near us, quite clearly. And the kids behind us hardly stayed in their seats at all. It would have been okay if they didn’t keep accidentally pulling on my hair when walking around behind us.

I’m pleased to note that my son was very well behaved and whenever he talks at the movies I tell him to be quiet, or quieter. That’s my job as a parent.

All the noise and chaos aside I quite enjoyed the movie even with my son telling me to make sure I watch this bit and that bit because he’d seen it before with out of hours school care. I said more than once that of course I would watch it, I was watching the whole movie.

It was reminiscent of the James Bond movies with the English speaking spy car doing amazing things and the car chases were beyond belief. I wondered more than once why cars have buildings to hang out in like humans do. I even had a stab at rightly guessing who the ‘baddy’ was and at least that’s something that my son didn’t spill the beans on.

Bridesmaids

June 24, 2011 by Jen

Friday, 17 June 2011, Day 206/365.

We were going to see Super 8 but at the 11th hour my significant other suggested we go and see Bridesmaids.

I was surprised he wanted to see it but was quite glad to be a part of it. I thought that after dragging him along to see Sex and the City 2 that he would have sworn off ‘chick flicks’ for life. But Bridesmaids is definitely a unixsex movie I think. The Surfer agrees with that.

I thought it was hilariously funny and I laughed a lot. I laughed so much I snorted more than once but I didn’t care one little bit.

Despite what our Aussie movie critics Margaret and David thought (not much) I thought there was a decent story behind all of that hilarity, with character growth of the main characters. Obviously I don’t mind a bit of potty humour but there is more to it than just potty humour.

Making the most of it

January 9, 2009 by Jen

Yesterday was a day that epitomises being on holiday in my own town. A friend organised a get-together down the coast on a beautiful beach I don’t go to that often, probably because I go to other beautiful beaches in the vicinity. We’re spoilt around here for beautiful beaches.

It wasn’t a really warm day but that didn’t stop the kids going into the water while us adults supervised and chatted amongst ourselves.

It’s a beach that cars are allowed to drive on, for the moment anyway. For the most part, people are fairly sensible with their driving but some went a bit too fast when driving past our group which is just silly when there’s people walking around and kids running back and forth to the beach.

After the beach I dropped JJ at my sister’s place and met a friend to see the movie Slumdog Millionaire. The Director, Danny Boyle, who directed this also did Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and The Beach.

I’d heard lots of good reviews about Slumdog Millionaire and I’d recommend going to see it. It was a bit confronting which it needed to be to be true to the lives of kids growing up in the slums of Mumbai and three people left the cinema during some more confronting bits. The rest of us who stuck through it thoroughly enjoyed it. If you go and see it you might cover your eyes up for some of it but hang in there. It is written.

We enjoyed a Malaysian meal afterwards.

I can certainly say that yesterday was one of the great days I’ve enjoyed these holidays.

Friday’s child

November 28, 2008 by Jen

I started this blog post in my head tonight when I was reading Dr Seuss’s ‘The Big Brag’ to my son tonight. I realised that I was thinking about what I could write here, and reading at the same time. Once I found I was doing this I turned my attention back to the story – which I love – and reading Dr Seuss is a pleasure because it so easily rolls off the tongue.

I could have gone to my work Christmas lunch today but chose not to for various reasons. The main one is that I would have only been able to stay for a couple of hours before I had to leave to do the school pickup. The other one is that my Friday’s are very precious and I don’t want to have to think about work if I can help it.

Because there’s only a couple more Fridays before the school holidays start and then I won’t have a Friday to myself until school goes back in January, I made a date with a girlfriend and we went into town to have lunch – which was really breakfast – at the cafe we chose. They don’t do lunch till midday and we were early!

After lunch we saw a movie (can’t remember the last time I went to a movie without my child) called ‘Burn after Reading‘. I’ve never seen Brad Pitt like it. He wouldn’t have been out of place in our Australian Kath and Kim. Also George Clooney was really convincing as a manic Casanova and Frances McDormand and John Malkovitch were excellent in their characters. I loved Linda’s (McDormand’s) determination to get her surgeries, and it costs her dearly, but it’s funny along the way.

Today, after talking with my girlfriend at lunch, I’m starting to convince myself that my own business might not be such a bad idea after all. Am thinking I need some serious advice about this, but if it ever happens I wouldn’t leave the day job at first – maybe never. I’m also thinking if I write about it it won’t escape out of my mind so easily.

Oh, and the course I was doing, I finished and I came top of the class with my marks. It was like studying a subject at uni with the timeframe and the amount of assignments we had to do which included group work and a presentation – my two most favourite things! That got us 88% and I did a good assignment apparently and there was even an exam. Bloody hell I’m glad it’s finished and it’s made me realise that any longer term study is not for me at the moment. It’s also made me realise that if I do put a couple of hours aside each week to concentrate on something – like my own business – then I can find this time to do something else.

So after I publish this I’m going to sit back and give Crocodile Dundee a big miss on television, but watch some more of Mad Men Season 2. If you ever get to see this show do it. If nothing else, the outfits are fabulous and you’ll see how far women in the workplace, and society, have come.

Oh, and I am Friday’s child and hard luck is not my brother.