FLORIDA BEACH TRIP, "P.S. I LOVE YOU" REVIEW, I LOVE "LOST."

Ahhh life! You name it, I'm doing it. I have classes, therapy clients, work, church callings, AND I'm working on my thesis. Fortunately there is fun to be had amidst it all. Like...FLORIDA!

From left: Tiffany, me, Michelle, Caitlynn, Dave.

BEACH TRIP, JELLYFISH ATTACK, COPULATING COUPLE

Caitlynn and I

When Bono meets Jono.

So I went with my friends Dave, Michelle, Tiffany, and Caitlynn on a day trip to Pensacola, Florida on Saturday. It's about a four hour drive, but it was worth it. Among the highlights, I got stung three times by jellyfish! The current brought them in by the hundreds. Fortunately, there was a good 3 hours of quality time in the water before those little nasties showed up, and it was fantastic. White sands, clear water, outside temperature of about 90 degrees and ocean temperature of about 70-75!

It was a paradise. At least one couple thought so, because they were definitely inspired by the beauty of the location to just go ahead and have sex in the water! I'm serious! Didn't even care that there were hundreds of people around. "Um, guys?" I said to my friends, "let's go swim far, far away!"


Anyway, Krispy Kremes and Waffle House were eaten, skin was bronzed (or cooked), and we rocked out in the car. Lotsa laughs. Good friends, good times.

Tanning while eating Sun Chips. What a life!

DVD REVIEW: "P.S. I LOVE YOU"

Hillary Swank (Million Dollar Baby, Freedom Writers) and Gerard Butler (300, The Phantom of the Opera) star in this romantic marriage dramedy about...well, do I really want to tell you? If you've seen the trailer, you know its plot, and if you haven't, I won't spoil it. I will say its definitely worth the watch. I don't know if I'm just a sucker for this type of movie, but both this and No Reservations got lukewarm reviews, but I really liked em.' Perhaps film critics in general are just too cynical, but I thought this was a great movie. The leads are engaging and have wonderful chemistry, the supporting cast is fun. It's sentimental and sappy, and you know what? I liked it! It was touching. It made me want to be a better man. It shows a passionate marriage that was imperfect but real, with actual commitment, sacrifice, and love. It's well-acted, its funny. The only bothersome aspect for me is a scene condoning premarital "comfort sex." If you can get past that, this movie has a lot of good things to say about love, marriage, family, adversity, and friendship, and has fun doing so. Hilary Swank is a fine lead, hitting an impressive range of acting beats (silly to sweet to dramatic), and Gerard Butler is also showing his range, having personified battlefield machismo in 300, seductive menace in Phantom, and goofy charm here. Lisa Kudrow is a riot, as is Harry Connick Jr. as a man with no personal conversation filter. Kathy Bates is solid, as always. **** (out of five). Rated PG-13 for moderate language, a handful of innuendos, sweet, funny and non-raunchy foreplay between a married couple, and a brief shot of male rear nudity (it's a fast-forwardable scene). WATCH THE TRAILER HERE (contains plot spoilers): http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/psiloveyou/trailer1/

I LOVE "LOST"


ABC's Lost just finished its fourth season, AKA "the Season of Answers," and definitely its best season since the first. This is a big moment for me, but I must admit that if it continues this level of quality for its two remaining seasons, it will claim the title for Best TV Show Ever (24 has to re-earn my affections this year. I still love it, but I'm putting it in the corner with a dunce cap, for now, due to its poopy past season). If you haven't gotten into Lost, or fell away during the slower middle seasons, now is the time to give it a chance/come back. With an established finish line (2010), it's now focused not on filler episodes but on telling its amazing story as efficiently as possible. Not only is it entertaining on so many levels (drama, laughs, action, mythology, mystery, fantasy, suspense), it has fantastic, nonstatic characters and wonderful moral and philosophical themes. It plays with time in an ingenious way that's often heady but never confusing. It has the best villain on TV right now. It's plot-driven and character driven. And last week's season finale kicked my trash in all the right ways. Seriously, jump on board!

MOVIE PREVIEW: "THE ERRAND OF ANGELS"




I love my faith. I love movies. Naturally, I'm intrigued by the melding of the two, though more often then not I've been dissappointed with the type of drivel LDS Cinema has provided. However, there have been a handful of exceptions, ranging from good to excellent, and anytime I get wind of something that seems well-made, I get genuinely excited. Such is the case with The Errand of Angels, a film about sister missionaries in Austria that looks like a companion movie to the wonderful The Best Two Years. Produced by Excell Entertainment (the more dependable of the two major Mormon Cinema studios), it looks solid, and has beautiful scenery (and no, I'm not just talking about the redheaded sister, hahaha). After several movies about male missionaries, it's good to see a story from the other half's perspective.
http://www.errandofangelsmovie.com/