Two movies that sucked much less than I thought they would

I realize this post begs the question – why are you watching movies you think are going to suck?

To quote Lorelai Gilmore, I like movies “good, bad, and indifferent.” As long as it’s not too serious, long, scary, or bloody I am up for watching it.

And I had two pleasant surprises lately, which just goes to show…something. That low standards can sometimes pay off, perhaps.

First was My Life in Ruins.

This has the woman from My Big Fat Greek Wedding as an American working as a tour guide in Greece. She’s unhappy, she doesn’t like her job, etc. We watch one tour and she finds the meaning of life…falls in love…etc.

I think I remember reading that this was cheesy, which it totally is, but it has some funny parts and nice scenery.

Last night I watched I Love You, Beth Cooper which I think was supposed to be horrible.

I actually thought it was pretty funny and entertaining.

Typical coming of age movie with craziness and teenage hormones, which I always enjoy.

So…don’t judge a book by it’s cover or a movie by its reviews. That’s today’s moral.

Yay! Random British TV

I love the Brits and their television, despite the somewhat cringey-ness. I randomly got the first season of Gavin and Stacey from Netflix and heartily enjoyed it.

It’s the story of two people who have been talking on the phone through work and decide to meet and fall madly in love and immediately get engaged, you know…as you do.

The two writers are also in the series as their friends and are very funny.

It has the added benefit as being a nice glimpse into a different culture. Lots of British slang and jokes about people from Wales that I didn’t get at all.

Go...watch...enjoy.

A Christmas movie I hadn’t seen? Shocking.

But true – the other night I watched Holiday Affair with Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum.

I love 40’s movies pretty much across the board. They’re so fun and cozy I just want to crawl into my TV and live there. Plus I love the clothes. And this one was no exception.

Not overly Christmas-y, except that it takes place during the holidays, but a cute little love story.

So go and watch it. They’re playing it on TCM so check your Tivo.

'Tis the Season (sort of)

It’s officially the Christmas season (although my decorations have been up for a couple of weeks now – don’t judge me!)


So in that vein, I present:

Leisure Girl’s 5 Favorite Christmas Movies of All Time (and I watch them all)

1. White Christmas

My number one classic. I watch this one every year, along with Holiday Inn, which is remarkably similar. I love it, except for some of the extended dance numbers that I fast forward through. But the songs! “Snow” and “White Christmas”! And Bing! It’s a winner

2. Elf

I think this is the very best newer holiday movie. Just odd enough to be fun. My husband and I spend an oddly large amount of time repeating “Santa! I know him!” to each other.

3. Christmas in Connecticut

Another classic, although not nearly well known enough. Star crossed lovers, secrets, possible kidnappings, a cow, this movie has it all.

4. Charlie Brown Christmas

I have blogged before on the oddness of the Charlie Brown universe, and this one is no exception. But I love it when they all dance, and the magical tiny Christmas tree. And Linus, of course.

5. The Santa Clause

The top four are the ones I love, and I waffled over the fifth. It could also have been Miracle on 34th Street or Chevy Chase Christmas Vacation. But The Santa Clause is a fun concept and I love watching him turn into Santa for some reason.

So there they are - I can't wait to go another round with them before the holiday!

I'm hooked on e - well, actually on E!

I somehow had managed to go almost 30 years without watching E! (the entertainment television channel).  And then I had a baby.  And I had a LOT of time laying around, napping, nursing, etc.  And it was winter.  And my husband was working.  And I don't get Tivo up in my bedroom.

And somehow all of these factors led to me watching every season of The Girls Next Door on DVD. 

I figured my son was already seeing a lot of boob action, so a few (hundred) more couldn't hurt.

It's not that the show is good, exactly, it's just that it's fascinating.  Like a nature documentary - except instead of chimps it's very young girls who cannot keep their clothes on and a very very old man who should really know better.

I was hooked, and am in fact watching the current season now, which is much worse and the new girls are a lot less interesting.  Although grown twins who still dress alike and sleep in the same bed is odd enough to be intriguing.

And, sadly, The Girls Next Door was just a gateway show.

I watched the whole season of Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami and just got my first disc of Keeping Up With the Kardashians in the mail.  It's a slippery slope strewn with dumb topless girls.

Dipping my toe into romantic comedies

Leisure Girl almost always enjoys a romantic comedy, and The Proposal was certainly a good time. Cute cast - Sandra Bullock is always fun and I love me some Ryan Reynolds (cause he's tall, and funny, although I worry about the fact that he's married to Scarlett Johanson, who I hate...it makes me think he and I wouldn't really get along...then I try to relax and just enjoy the movie...)

Plus it had Betty White! And Alaska! And Canadian humor! It was fun.

Less fun? Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.

I thought I was going to LOVE this one. I am a huge Jennifer Garner fan and who doesn't love Matthew McConaughey?

Me, apparently.

I know he always plays the cool playboy with the heart of gold, but I kinds think I'm over it. Mainly he seems sleazy. And a little greasy. And not so cute. I ended up feeling like she could do better.

Perhaps it's over for me and Matthew? Only time will tell.

New Moon makes me want to be 15 again

And I am back. Yes, for reals, people. This is me re-committing to this blog. Also me emerging from a baby soaked haze. But he’s old enough that he can enjoy a little leisure of his own (don’t judge me…it’s only the occasional Baby Einstein) which allows me to be able to actually sit and blog.

And what better movie to start with than New Moon.

I was a little too excited to see this. It felt a tad unseemly. But they sucked me in with their hype and endless ads and cute cute boys.

And we all know that I love her books. And anything geared towards teenage girls.

Anyway, I took my over excitement and a purse stuffed with candy to the movie yesterday and it totally lived up to my expectations. I know it’s getting bad reviews, but I am not entirely sure why. It’s true to the book and fun viewing.

It is a little slow? Yes, but so was the book. Is it a little cheesy? Seriously, people, what were you expecting?

All in all, I say it was delightful. And despite that fact that the actor who played him is just baby faced enough to make me feel a little dirty, I love me some Jacob. Not for me the pale and tortured Edward, I say bring on the hot built werewolf.

I'm still here, but does anyone care?

I've been away for ages!

Why?

Had a baby, which results in WAY less leisure time.

But I still manage to read and watch trashy television. So I could still post...if anyone is still interested in my musings...

Is it me or are the Charlie Brown specials oddly trippy?

As an early present to myself, I bought the Peanuts Holiday Collection, which has the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Charlie Brown movies.

These are some of my favorites, and definitely a tradition, but I do find the Thanksgiving one, which I watched last night, to be excessively weird.

First of all, where are these kid's parents? How are they free to wander around alone on Thanksgiving? And, okay, the best meal Charlie Brown can come up with is popcorn, toast, jelly bean and sundaes, but most of that was cooked by a dog, which I find pretty damn impressive. I have two dogs and they would have been absolutely no help, whereas Snoopy not only cooked but also set the table and folded the napkins into little shapes. He's really the unsung hero of this piece.

Every year I watch and every year there are more unanswered questions. It's a holiday mystery.

Looking for love...

I think it takes guts to decide your life is interesting enough to write an autobiography when you're only in your 30s. That said, Bridget Harrison's Tabloid Love is realtively interesting, if somewhat unfinished.

It's the story of the author - a British writer who comes over to work for a New York newspaper and the various romances she has.

I ended up wishing it were a fictionalized account so I could have a more satisfying ending, but it was fun.

Twilight is here!

Yesterday I went and saw "Twilight." I couldn't wait and had to go on opening day.

As I have blogged about before, I really enjoyed the books and the movie did not disappoint.

I thought it stayed very true to the books and was similar to how I pictured things in my head.

The actors and actresses were all pretty and fun to watch, especially Edward, who only makes me wish I was still 13 so I could better justify having a crush on him.

Go and see it, you won't be disappointed.

I admit, everyone else was right

The history of "The Office" and me is this: Several years ago I started watching the British version, which everyone said was so funny, and I absolutely hated it. It was just too awkward and not funny to me.

So when the American version came out and people said this one was great too, I completely ignored it and thought it would be more of the same.

This is despite everyone I know telling me that it was really funny and I would like it if I watched it.

That is, until this weekend.

My husband and I curled up in bed and decided to try a few episodes off of Netflix with their watch now option.

And now I'm in love. All I want to do is lay in bed and watch "The Office". Luckily we have four whole seasons to get through.

So, yes, everyone else was right.

More fun with Lee Nichols

A little bit ago I blogged about a book by Lee Nichols that I had liked. I have since read two more by her and enjoyed both of them.

Wednesday Night Witches is about three women with various girl type problems who also end up having magical powers (and who hasn't been in that situation, after all). It was fun and girly, plus I always enjoy the addition of magic.

I also read Tales of a Drama Queen, which I think is her best known book. It was fun, but like the Shopoholic series you spend the whole book wanting to reach in and slap some sense into the main character as she makes a series of bad choices.

Both were a good time.

Fun for boys of all ages

I feel a strong need to support Brandon Fraiser movies, because he's such a cutie. Unfortunately, many of them are very, very bad.

Journey to the Center of the Earth was not one of those, however. It was a little cheesy (another Fraiser hallmark) but enjoyable enough.

There is apparently a 3-D version available, and I think that one would have been a lot more fun.

Still, even in 2-D it's a good way to spend a couple of hours.

I would like to be Anne Hathaway

Although without the vaguely European, con man boyfriend, obviously.

I just love her and think she's so classy and cute. So I was predisposed to like Get Smart, and it didn't disappoint.

It's not the highest brow humor, but I still enjoyed it and laughed out loud quite a bit.

My only complaint? She and Steve Carell make a totally skeevy couple.

Surprisingly disappointing

I was so excited when I finally got American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld from the library, after waiting for ages. And yet it was such a disappointment.

It is the thinly veiled fictional biography of Laura Bush. Not normally a topic that would interest me, as I am not huge fan of the current first family. Maybe this was what stood between me and liking this book? But I found it slow and just not generally interesting.

I have just loved her other two books, Prep and The Man of My Dreams, so I was sure this would be a winner as well. What happened?

Pretty much the best. show. ever.

For my husband's birthday, I got him season three of How I Met Your Mother.

It is one of my absolutely favorite shows, and it just keeps getting better.

It is so consistently funny and the characters are fabulous. I am completely in love with Neil Patrick Harris, who just makes the show.

Have you not seen it? While I don't know how that I possible, I am almost jealous that someone would have three unwatched seasons stretching before them.

Go, go now!

Celebrity rehab? How did I miss this?

In scanning the channels this weekend, I stumbled onto the VH1 show Celebrity Rehab. I don't know why on Earth I haven't been watching this. I remember hearing that it was good it a trashy, train wreck kind of way, and boy is that true. No one seems to go off the deep end like famous people, probably because they're the only ones with the money to do drugs in really massive quantities. But it's a good time to hear their stories, plus there's the fun of watching Nick Nolte just be completely insane. (Edited to add: Kim was totally right, it's crazy Gary Busie, not Nick Nolte...I find them eerily similar...)

Stupid movies? Often just that.

.

Sometimes I like stupid boy humor movies. Those ones that look so groaningly bad can often be very funny, if a bit of a guilty pleasure (never the ones you want to tell people you spent the weekend watching).

The thing is, these movies are hit or miss. And I have been very much missing lately.

I have watched both The Love Guru with Mike Myers as well as You Don't Mess with the Zohan with Adam Sandler. They were both really not good. Just kind of wincingly not funny.

I know, I have only myself to blame.

Lipstick Jungle = hot boy

I know it's a slightly less good version of Sex in the City, but I do enjoy Lipstick Jungle.

It's a little trashy, and all of the women are queens of making bad (bad!) decisions. But the actor who plays Kirby is too cute, and you get to watch him making out a lot. Plus there are lots of good clothes and jewelry. Definitely worth watching.