Movies

As I like from time to time, to pretend to be a movie critic, here's a somewhat lengthy list of movies I've watched recently that I enjoyed and you might too.

Belle 

I had seen a trailer for this movie and it had interested me, and I finally got the chance to watch it. It was so good! If you are a fan of anything Jane Austen or Downton Abbey this one will be right up your alley. 

"Belle is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Captain. Raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield and his wife, Belle's lineage affords her certain privileges, yet the color of her skin prevents her from fully participating in the traditions of her social standing. Left to wonder if she will ever find love, Belle falls for an idealistic young vicar's son bent on change who, with her help, shapes Lord Mansfield's role as Lord Chief Justice to end slavery in England."

Into the Woods

Jess and I went and saw this one snow day when school was canceled and it thankfully coincided with me having the day off. If you are not really familiar with the story line, fair warning, it's not exactly the perfectly perfect fairy tales Disney has painted in most of our minds. It's definitely the rough and dirty, not always so pleasant Grimm Fairy Tale versions. So there was some mature themes, and parts that I wish they had left out, almost as much as I wish they had left out Johnny Depp, but overall, if you are looking for a good, more comical replacement to Les Mes, this is it. Additionally, the director was determined to use as little CGI as possible and it certainly shows, all the filming locations are absolutely gorgeous. A feast for your eyes and your ears. Plus, Chris Pine.

"Into the Woods is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales in a musical format that follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel-all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch who has put a curse on them." 

The Interview

I'll keep this one brief as I have no doubt everyone has heard plenty about this movie... But we, like many others, did our civic duty on Christmas Eve and watched this movie. It was pretty funny, not the funniest movie I have ever seen, but funny. Dave, on the other hand, said he laughed so hard he thought he was going to pass out because he wasn't breathing. Yeah, he was laughing quite hard. Good times. P.S. This is also now on Netflix so you really have no excuse.

What If

This was one I originally didn't have much interest in, but heard a lot good things about it, so I decided to give it a shot. It was a pain to track down at Red Box, it seemed to be always sold out, but I finally got my hands on it! It was funny and cute and I loved loved loved the ending. And bravo to Radcliffe for playing a role where I didn't think about Harry Potter the entire time. 

The Giver

I had my doubts with this movie, as the trailers did not look all that enticing to me and I am generally not a fan of dystopian type stories. But I was a huge fan and it really touched me. I found myself in tears (happy tears) a few times, and I can't wait to read the book which is now high on my to-read list. I just kept thinking about how grateful I am for this whole wonderful world that our Heavenly Father blessed us with and these wonderful lives we get to lead and all the emotion, both pain and joy we get to feel. It was definitely one of those story lines that I kept thinking about for days after having watched the movie. 

"In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world."

Interstellar

I watched this one quite a while ago, so it's not really a new movie, but I don't think I ever posted my review. This is another one that I kept thinking about and pondering on, particularly because supposedly in certain aspects of it, the science was accurate, which makes it all the more crazy. A bit on the long side, but very interesting.

And saving the best for last..

American Sniper

Dave has been a bit Chris Kyle obsessed since he read his book about a year ago. I have yet to read the book as it's not exactly one that I stomach well, but after seeing the movie I think I will have to just read it. The movie was very powerful, telling the true, tragic story of a true, modern day American Hero. Bradley Cooper did an amazing job, he really did a great job of getting into character and not seeming like himself at all. He put on 40 pounds of muscle and sported a slight gut to look more like Kyle. Which personally I thought looked great on him as I am a fan of a burly man. lol - Also, Mr.Cooper, please keep the beard, always. I was probably the youngest person in the theater, it was filled with older veterans. When the movie ended the entire theater was so somber and quiet. The sadness and respect in the room was absolutely tangible. A must see. RIP Chris Kyle. 

Florida Trip Part II

Read Part I Here

The next morning we visited some potential places for Dave's family to move into and then stopped by the beach. The beach was even more dreamy than I had expected. The sand was white and soft as flour, and the water was incredibly clear and beautiful. I don't know if we will even care to visit Virginia Beach now, haha. I knew Florida had some nice beaches, but it was even better then I had imagined. Stunning. This is Anna Maria Island. 

The weather was a bit gloomy, so we didn't swim, we just hung out and enjoyed the view. We saw a couple stingrays swim back and forth just a few feet out from where we were standing. Crazy! 

My collection from our little time walking on the beach

We went to a seafood place near our hotel for dinner. I actually wasn't a huge fan of it, but it was decent seafood at a fair price so I can't complain too much. We spent the evening watching a football game with the family at the hotel.

The next morning mom and dad did some more home hunting and Dave, Josh and I went to the beach. 

Taken by Dave, as spotted on the drive to the beach. 
You know you are in Florida when...

We went to one of the more touristy beaches - mistake, the sand wasn't quite as nice, the water was more on the murky side, and by noon it was packed with people - but it was still a good time.

I spent 90% of my time combing for seashells. Didn't find too many. When I was in the water I heard a splashing noise to my left, and looked down to see a stingray swim right past my leg! Scary!! Cool, but a little too close for my liking! (nervous laughter)

As it got later in the day the clouds cleared and we finally got to enjoy some sun! 

We then made our way to a yummy Mexican market for lunch. I looked up a bunch of places before we left home - as I always do - and this place was amazing! We ordered way too much food, but it was all so amazing! The best guacamole we have ever had! A.Maze.Ing!

Since we didn't really feel like going back to the crowded beach, we decided to do a little more swimming at our hotel pool. Around the pool, the chairs, tables and fences were covered in little lizards! So cute! 

The next morning Dave and I (tried to) woke up bright and early and made our way to the beach once again in hopes of finding some seashells. Sadly, there was already a good number of people there before us, we should have gotten there probably an hour earlier, so we didn't get any particularly big ones, but we still got a good share (that I have yet to get a picture of). While we didn't get really nice shells, we did get some really nice pictures...

Isn't that water amazing!?!

This was Bean Point, at the tip of Anna Maria Island

I could seriously spend all morning, every morning hunting for seashells.

Thanks to Bear for the pic.

Again guys, that water! Look! Look how clear it is!!!

We had to get a Geocache before leaving the state!

We then stopped at Anna Maria Donuts which was pure heaven. Warm and fresh, made to order. 

Classic glazed, maple bacon, cinnamon and sugar, white iced, white iced with raspberry, caramel with sea salt (incredible), chocolate and coconut (amazing) and chocolate iced chocolate chip. Heaven in a box.

We brought the delightful donuts back to share with the family. 

We took our car to a local car wash and got all the sand vacuumed out, and then hit a farmers stand to get some fresh produce for the drive home.

Don't be jealous. Despite how they look the strawberries were actually kinda terrible. 

And then we met the family at the Mexican market for one last lunch at our new favorite place before hitting the road.

We should have brought some of that guac home with us! 

And that's pretty much it! All in all it was a wonderful trip! Thanks for reading if you made it the whole way through! Here is a slideshow of all the pictures from the entire trip if you are so interested.

Florida Trip

Dave's parents made the rather last minute and unexpected decision to move to Florida. Since Dad had just had back surgery we decided to make a trip down to help them get settled in. It is about a 14 hour drive so we split it up into two days. 

I've been using Google + for photo backup from my iPhone, and at the end of the trip Google automatically put together this pretty cool animated slideshow showing all the places we stopped using Google Maps. Click here to see that. And then keep scrolling to read more details on the whole trip!

We left bright and early and got on the road by like 6:30am or 7am (yay us!) We stopped at a Bojangles for breakfast. So unhealthy but pretty yummy! We treated our selves with freshly made blueberry biscuits with icing. Nom! 

We made a pit stop after crossing the border into South Carolina for a potty break. As I was sitting on the toilet two women started fighting very very loudly in the bathroom. One was a cleaning lady, the other was a lady trying to bring a small dog into the bathroom as she didn't want to leave the dog in the car. There was a large sign to the entrance detailing the rules, one of them being no dogs, which the cleaning lady was explaining to the woman. It's nearly impossible to explain in writing how heated it got, but it was really quite crazy! Even Dave could hear them in the mens room next door. Welcome to South Carolina! Haha

We stopped in Savannah Georgia for the night. We found a cheap motel on the outskirts of the city. It was a little on the sketchy end of things but it did the job for the night. There were a handful of places in Savannah I wanted to visit but they all closed at 5pm and we got into town at 4:45pm, so we just drove around a little bit and then got dinner and turned in for the night. 

Dave's family wasn't getting to Florida until the evening so we spent the morning in Savannah sight seeing. Since it was so early it was easy to find parking in downtown Savannah. The cobblestone streets were so lovely! It was all so charming and I long for the day when we can make a return trip and spend more time there! 

It was a pretty chilly morning and poor Dave was freezing! 

 There are so many places I would love to check out! And I am sure it's so lovely in the spring. Even thought it was rather cold and windy it was still so lush and we came across a handful of lovely flowers.

Next we made our way over to one of the most famous cemeteries in Savannah, Bonaventure cemetery. 

"Quintessentially Southern Gothic, it has captured the imaginations of writers, poets, naturalists, photographers and filmmakers for more than 150 years. Part natural cathedral, part sculptural garden, Bonaventure transcends time."  

It was equally creepy and beautiful. I am so glad we had the chance to drive through. A photographers dream! 

Again, another place I would die to see in spring as even it being a chilly winter day there were still plenty of lovely flowers to be found throughout the cemetery. 

And next we made our way to Wormsloe Plantation 

"The approach to the site is one of its most famous features - an avenue lined with more than 400 live oaks, dripping with Spanish moss, that arch over the roadway."

It really is almost too pretty to be true. Jaw dropping gorgeous. And more than worth the $10 admission fee. Another photographers dream, another place I am so grateful we had the time to stop at!

A building on the plantation (I can't remember exactly what it was) made out of whatever material they had available. Filled with pieces of shells.

The iconic archway

And that night we arrived in Ellenton, an hour from Tampa, and found a perfect hotel for our three nights in town. The place was better than we expected for how cheap it was. We spoiled ourselves with a King size bed (which we seriously need to buy one of our own!) and the staff was all so friendly! 

Read Part II Here