What I love! | Peaches Prattlings

{February 18, 2013} Today

What did I do today? Well, it was nice and low key…iHop for breakfast, farmers market, Walmart, FaceTime and bad TV movies.

DCM and I decided on iHop, took a chance as the last few times we went, not so good. It was yummy,they have new melts, roasted peppers and spinache, who would have thought at iHop!

Next was Walmart to look for a birthday present for DCM’s granddaughter LB (well, LB is her nickname, her real name is LRS, but we call her LB). Her new favorite movie is Brave, or as she calls it, Merida, after the main character who has long red hair. LB has red hair, but as she’s almost 2, not as long. We found a Merida doll, that came with the three bears, that she will love and some Brave stickers, which her parents will probably not love, as they will probably end up on the car windows and a Merida card that opens to reveal a poster of Merida on a horse.

Then on to the farmer’s market, DCM’s first, hopefully not his last. I got my veggies for the week so I can juice, it’s been a few days and I’m not happy.

When we got back to the house, it was time to FaceTime with LB! LB is DCM’s first grandchild, she and her mommy, CS, DCM’s second oldest, moved to Las Vegas after she got married last year. She was talking with DCM and asked for me, JJ, that’s what DCM started calling me, so I have a title! And as soon as she realized I was there, she said “Cookie Monster, JJ?”.

So…the backstory…when CS and LB still lived in GA, DCM and I would FaceTime (video chat via the iPad for those of you not ‘in the know’) and to entertain LB, I would pick up this tissue box I have that had Cookie Monster, Elmo, Big Bird and Ernie. So, the second she sees me on FaceTime, she asks for Elmo or Cookie Monster, I put the box in front of my face and start talking like them, it’s exhausting! But funny! Today…I couldn’t find the tissue box! Oh no! So, I had to improvise, I was able to pull pictures of Cookie Monster and Elmo up on my iPad to show her.

We had fun chatting with them today, as much as a 2 year olds attention span will allow! I know DCM misses his LB, but it’s fantastic that they get to see each other as often as they can via the iPad and sometime soon, I’m working on it, we’ll go visit! (They’ll be back in GA in a few months as LB is about to have a cousin and DCM is going to be a granddad again!) more babies to spoil!

Then there was cross stitching, WOW (DCM, not me), pizza and bad tv and movies. We watched I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, a wonderfully bad B blaxploitation movie from the late 80’s that I absolutely love! It’s a Keenan Ivory Wayans movie about Jack, a soldier in the army who comes home to find his brother has OG’d, died from over gold! Drugs are not what is killing the kids, it’s too many gold chains! Mr T gone wild! There’s fighting, romance, thugs, lost loves, prosthetics, pimps, great cameos, pms, Kung Fu fighting and theme music, because every good hero should have their own theme music!

Next was this awfully wonderful series that I had to share with DCM and the movie it was based on. The tv series had only 12 episodes and it starred Rue McLanahan, Olivia Newton John, Bonnie Bedelia, Leslie Jordan, as a Tammy Wynette wanna be drag queen, and so many others that some of you will recognize and some you won’t but it made me laugh from start to finish! The description n Netflix: “Head on down to the trashy side of Texas that follows the warped antics of Peggy Ingram and her various and honorary offspring.” I think that about sums it up, rednecks, white trash, bible thumpers, drunks, gays, lesbians, theater and guns, what more could your want! The movie was not as good as the TV show, but they had time to perfect it! It was a wonderful, horrible cheesy show that I honestly believe was written to be like that and I could not pull my eyes away, I loved it! If you have to choose, choose the show, 12 episodes, 22 minutes each, but be forewarned, there are cliff hangers at the end of the TV show, we’ll never know what happens to Ty and Jacob, Bitsy Mae and Glyndora, Brother Boy or the rest of the nut cases! Do I care? Nope!

You’re probably as beat as I am now, so, I will leave you to say good night…good night.

{February 17, 2013} Beautiful Creatures

Tonight I saw a new movie, Beautiful Creatures.

DCM and I went to Discover Mills mall to see Beautiful Creatures in the smallest theater we have ever been in! We may have been the oldest people in the theater, possibly with the exception of the man snoring in the back.

The cast was impressive, Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson were the big heavies, leading a wonderful cast of well known faces and talented newcomers.

The movie takes place in Gatlin, NC. As described by Ethan, the main boy character, Gatlin is too far from Charlotte to have a Starbucks! The one movie theater gets movies after they are already on DVD and always get the name wrong (Interception, Finale Destination).

The town is very religious and wary of anything they don’t know or is different and they have ideas about the Ravenwoods, the recluse family that has been in the town for centuries and the new girl Lena Duchannes (Ravenwood) is shunned by the popular kids, they all said she was a witch.

There was a fight over Lena…was she going to be light or dark (I’m not giving anything away, just watch a trailer)… What is going to happen to Ethan? Will they be together? Will there be a happy ending?

One of the things I liked about the movie was that even though it had a teen feel/theme, it didn’t feel like it was being marketed towards teens, it was a movie that could transcend the generations. It was about family, loyalty, love, respect, hate, confusion and the power to make your own decisions.

There were some great one liners, fun effects, spells, magic, confusion and great lessons. The greatest lesson? Love is the strongest magic there is.

So go…make your way in the world, be true to yourself, love and allow yourself to be loved and you won’t go wrong.

{February 14, 2013} die hard… again

Today I did something that was a lot of fun, I went to a movie marathon.

Every once in a while, when a new movie comes out, if it’s part of a series, they will do a movie marathon. I did this several years ago for the last Harry Potter movies, they showed the last 2 movies before they premier the new one, I did the same last May for The Avengers movie, it was Iron Man, the Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and then the Avengers, it was 15 hours of movies!

today with the Die Hard marathon it started at noon, with Die Hard, Die Hard 2, the 3rd, Die Hard With a Vengeance, the 4th, Live Free or Die Hard, and finally A Good Day to Die Hard.

The great thing about the movie marathons is you get a discounted price for your entire movie collection, today’s deal was $20 for 5 movies you can’t beat that!

Now anybody who’s at least in my age range even younger, has seen Die Hard, we love it! it’s the original, yippie ka-yay mother blank! There is no greater villain than Hans Gruber, he set the precedent for a long line of badasses, there’s been nothing like him since and many have tried to imitate him none have succeeded.

So how many times have you seen Die Hard? Can you quote it, I can! Then we have Die Hard 2, it was a great movie a little silly but still a lot of fun, both have become Christmas classics for some! As I was watching these movies everything came flooding back that was the cool part and those of us who were in the theater, and they were very few, we were all quoting different lines and cheering when we heard our favorite yippie ka-yay!

I hadn’t seen the other to Die Hard movies, I don’t know why I just didn’t. In my mind the first to are classics and the other 2 just didn’t quite catch my eye. Well this being a new one coming out, and there was an opportunity for a marathon, I thought why not. I went with my friend BG and met his friend MF.

The cool thing was, in between each movie, we had about 30 minutes so a bunch of us would stand outside the theater and discuss the merits of what we thought of each film.

I enjoyed the third one, it was is a lot of fun, and it took place in my hometown of NYC so I was a little nostalgic. I like Samuel Jackson he was a lot of fun, and I really like Jeremy Irons as a villain, but he was a little bit lame, I just didn’t feel it it…was kind of awkward.

The fourth one was interesting because there was a lot a techno stuff, it was definitely coming up more in terms of new technology which was very cool, I like Justin Long, he plays a good geek, and I love Kevin Smith, although, it’s always a little odd to see Silent Bob talk in a movie. I wasn’t as big a fan of the villain in the fourth, he seemed like he was about to cry at every turn. I also thought this one had a little too much violence and destruction, didn’t like seeing that. I’m all for gratuitous violence and laughter in a movie, but there has to come a point when you say, really?

What I don’t get in some movies is why the character has to have marital and family strife in every single picture. I know, I know it adds to the depth of the character, an inner turmoil, well bully for character, can we just have a happy ending?

Here we are the fifth movie, A Good Day To Die Hard. It took a little bit to get into, it dragged in a lot of places, there were a lot of twists and turns, but overall it didn’t quite keep my attention as evident by the fact that I dozed off twice during the movie. from what I remember there were a lot of plot twist and turns and you never really knew the bad guy was, which is kind of cool.

All in all I had a great time, good company and fun movies, what a great way to spend the afternoon. There was a 30 minute break in between each movie, but you’re still sitting for about 12 hours.

On the way home, so I had the seat warmers on, I am going to sleep on my side, because my rump is sore!

so dear friends, I leave you with this..Yippie Ka-yay!

{February 2, 2013} Butter

Today, I watched an interesting, albeit, odd movie, Butter.

It was about, as you might have guessed, butter, or more accurately butter sculpting and butter sculpting competitions. It stars Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, Olivia Wilde, Ty Burrell, Alicia Silverstone, Rob Corddry and Yara Shahidi as Destiny, the charming little girl who not only starred but narrated the story, it was sort of her story.

Butter sculpting and the competition are real, just in case you didn’t know. Check out the link from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_State_Fair

Yara plays Destiny, a young girl who has been passed from foster parents to foster family and she has watched Jennifer Garner and Ty Burrell on tv, Ty Burrell plays the champion butter sculptor, 15 years running. When Ty’s character retires, his wife decides she is going to carry on the family tradition and compete.

Here comes Destiny, who didn’t think she was good at anything and found her passion and what was good at, butter sculpting. Her sculptures were thoughtful, thought provoking, sweet and tender and flat out, wow! I mean, it’s butter, why not!

There were laughs, tears, some oddly foul language that I never thought I’d hear in a movie like this, but that added to the indie film feel.

All in all, I started watching because I thought, “why not”, there were a few moments of train wreck (you can’t look away), then I just had to know who won, did Destiny get adopted and was there a happy ending.

So, all in all. I say, go for it! Watch Butter, it won’t go to your waistline!

{January 16, 2011} Day 116/14 – RadioCult

Saturday night, after I went to see a hockey game with friends, I went to a bar to see a band, Radio Cult.

I am lucky enough to be friends with the drummer and unfortunately, for me, they play out of state often, so I haven’t had the opportunity to see/hear them play. Well, tonight was the night and away I went. I hadn’t heard of the bar, but my phone GPS did and I wasn’t far away.

I got there and met up with my friend as the band was waiting and waiting and waiting for the Falcons-Greenbay game to end so they could get started. The bar didn’t want to turn off the game, that’s why most everyone was there and of course, they were hoping that people would stay after the game ended to listen to the band. Most did and they were not disappointed.

The band definitely puts on a show, they are dressed as a punk band from the 80s, most definitely. Lots of black and white and red, stripes and checkers were the order of the day, with some plaid thrown in.

The drummer, Jay-Jay, is decked out in plaid pants, black shirt, black & white striped tie with a skeleton on it and his signature red plaid cap.

Ricky Zero on Bass and Vocals is tall and lean, which is amplified by his black & white striped shirt and red leather pants, exactly what a young punk rocker should be! The long hair, round glasses and serious mutton chops complete the ensemble.

Aldo, on Guitar, rockin’ the Van Dyke facial hair and licks on his axe, more subdued in his attire than his band mates, that night, but definitely standing out and making a statement.

The band is rounded out by Bambi Lynn on Keys, Guitar and Vocals and is definitely a show stopper. She is wearing a white button down shirt with a micro mini plaid skirt, many a man’s fantasy, black & white striped thigh-highs and red furry leg covers, all I wanted to know was what muppet had to die for those things! Pony tails with fuzzies completed the ensemble and she got the crowd to rock.

Enough about fashion, let’s talk about music. I am a big fan of 80s music, even though I wasn’t crazy about it when I lived through it, now, as an “adult” I love it and I loved this band! When they get ready to play, you are expecting to hear maybe some Dead Kennedys, Dead Milkmen, not The Commodores, Rick Springfield, Gloria Gaynor, the list goes on. What a treat! Don’t get me wrong, I love the DKs, DMs, but this was great. The music was on, the vocals were tight, the band put on a show and that show was fantastic! Bambi Lynn was great, as she ran around the bar playing and singing to everyone.

Unfortunately for me, I am allergic to smoke, so I didn’t get to see the entire set, but I will definitely see the full show sometime soon! I assure you, dear readers, that I will be making an effort to go out and see them again.

Rock on Radio Cult!

http://www.radiocult.com/

{January 15, 2011} Day 115/13 – The Green Hornet

Well, all I can say is if Seth Rogen wasn’t in it, it might have been better, but he wrote it…

There were definitely pluses and minuses to the movie, but unfortunately for me, the big minus was Seth Rogen, but since he wrote it, I guess it was logical that he was in it, right? There were some bright shining moments though.

Kato, I want one! Jay Chou, who is one very musically talented man, can play piano, guitar, cello, Chinese flute, Chinese zither and jazz drum, and is one of the most popular pop singers in Taiwan and also in Chinese-speaking region. Not only is he yummy to look at, his character was funny, sarcastic and incredibly talented. He could make an amazing cup of cappuccino, build a bullet proof car, upgrade said car with amazing weaponry, fight like the dickens, and drive like a demon; a well rounded individual I would say.

Black Beauty, the car, GET ME ONE! It was a star in its own right, so it gets its own paragraph! And I really enjoyed the soundtrack, with one of the last songs by Jay Chou himself.

I’m still out to lunch on some of the additional casting; I wasn’t impressed with Cameron Diaz’s character, not sure what the point was. Edward J Olmos didn’t seem like a good fit for such a small role, Edward Furlong was in the movie, didn’t even realize it was him until I saw the credits, James Franco was good for his brief moment on the big screen. Tom Wilkinson was good as the tyrannical dad and Christopher Waltz was good as the lead bad dude, Chudnofsky, definitely ruthless, but on the goofy side. He was bothered by the fact that he didn’t look scary or intimidating, he wanted his name to instill fear in those who heard it, but he went about it the wrong way. For those of you not familiar with Christopher Waltz’s name, he was Col. Hans Landa, the lead bad-dude Nazi in Inglorious Bastards.

I am all for turning a comic book or radio serial into a modern day super hero movie, LOVED Iron Man, something went wrong here… I think Seth Rogen was trying too hard to emulate Iron Man, but it didn’t work. I like a good comic book movie, but no matter how out there it is, I still like a little reality stuck in my fantasy, this went beyond. There were a few scenes that bugged me and I am going to share one with you, this will not be giving the movie away.

They drive the car, Black Beauty, into a building, of course, then into an elevator… “Get into the front seat”. Up they went. “Will it still drive?” “Front wheel drive” and then they drove out of the elevator, do i have to continue?

All in all, even though it was a hit at the box office, I believe this movie will be on DVD very shortly and at that point, it will be worth the $1 RedBox rental fee.

{January 14, 2011} Day 114/12 – How I watch movies.

I love movies. I think you may have figured that out by now, but if you haven’t, let me put it out there, I don’t just like, I love movies.

Everyone looks at movies differently and each persons reactions are solely their own. We may enjoy the same movie, or not, we might have some of the same responses for why we think its great or not, but no matter what, movies affect us each individually. I know that for me, when I watch a movie, I really get into a movie, get a feel for the movie. If the movie is top notch, I won’t notice any flaws or at least very few flaws in the movie, if it’s not so great, my eagle eye comes out and I won’t be able to get past certain things.

I think when you watch a movie for the second, third or even fiftieth time, it’s amazing how that movie makes you feel and why you would watch it two, three, fifty times. I know, for myself, if I love a movie and I am going to watch it multiple times, it must have had a profound effect on me. I am one of those people who, if I’ve seen a movie a few times, can put it on in the background and not even watch it, it’s just on and I know, just by some of the dialog or music what point of the movie it is, what scene. I can even play the scene in my head without even thinking, I might be able to recite the dialog for you [I have really, really tried to stop doing that, I know some people find it amazingly annoying! but if you encourage me, it’s your own fault!]

I was watching the Star Wars Trilogy the other day and it was on in the background while I was getting some work done and there are certain moments when I have to stop what I am doing and watch the movie. It doesn’t matter how many times I have seen it, when I hear that sound of the lever going down because the Death Star is about to fire its primary weapon on the Rebel base and Luke turns his computer off and is going to use the force to fire his final shot and destroy the Death Star, I still sit on the edge of my seat and keep my fingers crossed. When Lea kisses Luke for the first time because Han has pushed her buttons, when Darth Vader asks Luke to take off his helmet so he can see his son with his own eyes, I still look at these scenes with wonder.

When I watch other adventure movies, I have the same reaction, a comedy, I know the parts I want to watch and they still make me laugh until I snort, the love stories that I still cry at the same spot when I think they might miss each other and it might not happen for them or when they finally do find each other, I am balling and need more than one tissue… When I watch Pride and Prejudice, the Kiera Nightly version, when Mr. Darcy proposes for the second time, when they meet at dawn, I always hold my breath and wonder when that will happen for me, when someone will say something that profound to me and I will just know, when I watch the movie Invincible and it’s towards the end of the movie, the Eagles season opener against the New York Giants, I am rooting for the Eagles in this one, you have to, they are the underdog and I still sit on the edge of my seat as he makes his famous move that started it all, retrieves the ball and heads towards the end zone and I am on the edge of my seat “He’s at the 40, he’s at the 30” that still gives me chills and I just watched it the day before.

We all have our own way of watching movies and I know how much I love them by my reaction, body language and just the way I feel while I am viewing a favorite. I may have just finished a movie and I might start it all over again after its finished.

{January 10, 2011} Day 111/9 – Salvador Dali- The man behind the mustache

I had the pleasure of seeing the Salvadore Dali exhibit at the museum today and it was fantastic. I saw techniques and styles I did not know that Dali created in and with. Did you know that he designed jewelry? I didn’t, but it was exotic and inventive and sparkly, the best part. come on, I’m a girl, we like the spark-lies!

Of course, one of his most famous, or I should say, his most famous because it is the one piece that everyone knows, Persistence of Memory. The story behind the creation of the painting… Dali was painting a landscape and looked over to see some Camembert cheese he had on a plate starting to melt and voila… he then asked his wife, Gala, what she thought of the painting when it was completed, she said no one would ever forget it after seeing it, and that’s how it came to be named. the interesting thing about this painting, like the Mona Lisa, every time we see it represented in a movie, it’s enormous and, like the Mona Lisa, it’s tiny, relatively speaking, and difficult to get close to to view, always has a crowd around it.

But, I must admit, what I am most fascinated by and I know I am not alone in this… his mustache! It takes some serious skill to grow a mustache like that and I admire him for it! I think that it was a toss up as to what he is more famous, most remembered for, his artwork or his mustache. The opening of the exhibit had quotes from a conversation between Dali and photographer, Philip Halsman and throughout their lives and friendship, Halsman photographed Dali in many settings and situations, some humorous and many on the bizarre side. One of the photos that kind of got to me was Dali being suspended from a helicopter by his mustache, ugh!

This may be one of my shortest entries…

{January 8, 2011} Day 110/8 – James Hance – Relentlessly Cheerful Art

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a show opening at the Cornbred Gallery in Atlanta. James Hance, self proclaimed Relentlessly Cheerful Art and I must say, it’s all true!

I have been a fan of James Hance for quite some time, once my friend CM introduced me to his work and I was hooked. He has such a vivid and charming imagination with things that I love, Winnie the Pooh, Star Wars, The Muppets and The Beatles, just to name a few and for anyone who knows me really well, knows that I am huge into ALL those things! Combining Winnie the Pooh with Star Wars… Wookie the Chew, how incredibly clever.

His work takes so many subjects and changes them ever so slightly and combines them with something equally as wonderful to create something clever and unexpected. Fraggle Rock characters or the boys from The Lost Boys as The Beatles: Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Taking Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” and modifying it slightly, with Jim Henson as g-d and all the Muppets surrounding him with Kermit as Adam, Boba Fet as the Fonze “Boba Fonzerelli”, the list goes on and on, just incredibly smart, innovative, clever and fun.

I had the opportunity to meet the artist, it was great fun that evening. JL, CM, TS, JB were with me that evening, all excited to view the exhibit and meet the artist and we did. He was very laid back and an enjoyable chap, seemingly like his art, relentlessly cheerful. There was Beatles music playing all evening, a great start, wouldn’t you say? Ok, stop, they all said I was gushing, maybe I was, it was cool! He had Beatles lyrics tattooed on his arms and had a great way about him, easily approachable and very personable, didn’t hurt that he’s cute, can’t help it, no matter what, I’m still a girl! We talked about movies, music and his work, very charming.

The first thing I saw when I walked into the gallery I was in love with and it was sold… It was a canvas, painted yellow, with Kermit the Frog looking down at his banjo, something I would love to have commissioned, who knows… then I turned around and wham! Wookie the Chew walking hand in hand with R2D2 down a snow laden path, I wanted it and while I was debating buy art/pay mortgage/buy art/pay mortgage… someone purchased it, who knows what the future holds! I did get to purchase a piece that I am excited to pick up, on a piece of tree, from Wookie the Chew, Elevensies [check out the link for the image] it’s terrific!

I purchased a few prints and his book, Wookie the Chew, he’s working on two more books based on the other movies. Looking forward to them coming out! We had a great time, will be going back later in the month, to pick up my purchase and possibly see some new pieces on the walls.

If you have the opportunity and live in Atlanta, I would recommend going to the Cornbred Gallery and seeing the work of James Hance, a delight.

http://www.jameshance.com

{January 3, 2011} Day 105/3 – Red

RED… stands for Retired, Extremely Dangerous. LOVED this movie!

The movie stars some amazing actors: Bruce Willis, still YUMMY, Morgan Freeman, I will always think of him from the Electric Company no matter what, John Malkovich, crazy as ever and Helen Mirren, one tough cookie! They play retired CIA agents who are targeted for elimination. [full synopsis & cast: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1245526/%5D

Bruce Willis is the first to be targeted and while his character is definitely a bad ass, as he has been known to play, once or twice, he was a nice guy who was retired, interested in a girl, Mary-Louise Parker, and is hoping for a normal life, while at the same time, kicking a little you know what. Morgan Freeman is amiable, living in a retirement home, but still has connections, John Malkovich is just bizarre, the usual “afraid of what the government is putting in his head” kind of nutter, but handy with a handgun. Helen Mirren rounds out the group as an expert marks-woman, I have amazing respect for her and her abilities! Of course, it’s hard not to remember her in Calendar Girls ‘I think we’re going to need considerably bigger buns”.

They have each been retired and Frank Moses, Bruce Willis, brings them out of retirement to find out who wants to kill them. The cast is rounded out with Brian Cox, who you might remember as Col Stryker from X-Men, Richard Dryfus and Ernest Borgnine! I have to admit, when I saw his name in the opening credits, I didn’t know he was still alive! He was charming.

This movie is terrific! There is action, adventure, romance, first love, gunfire, explosives, explosions, fist fights, double crossing, espionage, breaking into the CIA, the usual. The dialog was great, very clever, the movie was fast paced, kept moving, and was engaging until the very end and the end was just plain funny, well, a lot of the movie was just plain funny.

It was almost as if they pulled all the action stars from an old age home, without them being old! It was so worth the wait and the money, go see this movie, it’s one that’s worth buying and watching over and over again!

5 RED stars I give it!

Email Subscription

What was I thinking?