Mini Movie Review: Catching Fire

I'm so slow at doing these reviews. I went to see this almost two weeks ago and am just starting this now. I also realized it's hard to review this movie without giving anything away. I figure most people have probably read the book, but if you haven't (shame on you); I'll try my best but prepare for possible spoilers.

Katniss Everdeen has returned home safely after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way, Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.

I didn't reread the book before watching the movie this time, which I think was probably a good thing. I either would have gotten annoyed at the movie while watching, or I would have just annoyed Josh. There was only one or two things I remember from the book that wasn't in the movie, but from what I remember (honestly not much) and discussing with other people it seems to be on par with the book.

For the most part, it was super depressing. I mean what can you expect when the premise of the book is to have 24 kids locked in an arena trying to kill each other, but the movie was about much more than that. Katniss is inadvertently starting a rebellion and is being forced to try and stop it, all the while trying to keep herself and her family alive. I think Jennifer Lawrence did a phenomenal job once again as Katniss.

I enjoyed the movie, it kept me interested and engaged. I liked being the one to have to explain something to Josh for a change (as opposed to all the Marvel movies...). I will be buying this when it comes out, and I can't wait for Mockingjay Part 1 (November 2014).

Upcoming December Movie Releases

It's that time again. Time to start listing off the releases for next month.

First up are releases in theatres, starting with The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug on December 13.

Bilbo Baggins continues his journey with the Wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, on an epic quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. Having survived the beginning of their unexpected journey, the Company continues East, encountering along the way the skin-changer Beorn and a swarm of giant Spiders in the treacherous forest of Mirkwood. After escaping capture by the dangerous Wood-elves, the Dwarves journey to Lake-town, and finally to the Lonely Mountain itself, where they must face the greatest danger of all-a creature more terrifying than any other; one which will test not only the depth of their courage but the limits of their friendship and the wisdom of the journey itself-the Dragon Smaug.

I have to say I'm not a huge LOTR/Hobbit fan, and was even a little unsure about watching the first movie. I was pleasantly surprised and ended up enjoying it, so I decided I'd give the rest of the trilogy a chance. It also doesn't hurt that Martin Freeman is awesome, Smaug is voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, and Legolas is back! Haha. I'm such a dork.


The second and final movie I'm interested in that's coming to theatres is Saving Mr Banks on December 20.

Walt Disney spent twenty years in pursuit of the film rights to P.L. Travers' popular novel, "Mary Poppins," a quest he began in the 1940s as a promise to his two daughters. When Travers travels from London to Hollywood in 1961 to finally discuss Disney's desire to bring her beloved character to the motion picture screen, Disney meets a prim, uncompromising sexagenarian not only suspect of the impresario's concept for the film, but a woman struggling with her own past. During her stay in California, Travers reflects on her childhood in 1906 Australia, a trying time for her family that not only molded her aspirations to write, but one that also inspired the characters in her 1934 book. None more so than the one person whom she loved and admired more than any other-her caring father, Travers Goff, a tormented banker who, before his untimely death that same year, instills the youngster with both affection and enlightenment (and who would be the muse for the story's patriarch, Mr. Banks, the sole character that the famous nanny comes to aid). While reluctant to grant Disney the film rights, Travers comes to realize that the acclaimed Hollywood storyteller has his own motives for wanting to make the film-which, like the author's, hint at the relationship he shared with his own father.

I just recently saw a trailer for this so I haven't heard too much about it yet. But it's based on Disney so it seems like it could be interesting.

DVD releases this month start with 2 releases on December 3. First is The Smurfs 2

In this sequel to the hybrid live action/animated family blockbuster comedy The Smurfs, the evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants, and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world's greatest sorcerer. It's up to Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, and Vanity to return to our world, reunite with their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow, and rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties Vexy and Hackus ¬ or will the Smurfs convince her that their love for her is True Blue? Returning cast includes Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Sofia Vegara, Hank Azaria as Gargamel and Katy Perry as Smurfette. Brendan Gleeson joins the cast as Victor Winslow.

Unfortunately I have yet to see this movie, I never got the chance this summer. However, it's The Smurfs, I liked the first one, so I will definitely be watching this soon.

Second movie being released on December 3 is The Wolverine 

Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world he will face a host of unexpected and deadly opponents in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality.

I have not seen this one either. Josh will likely at some point be getting it so I'll probably just wait until then.

Being released on December 10 is Despicable Me 2

Now that the ever-entrepreneurial Gru has left behind a life of super-crime to raise Margo, Edith and Agnes, he, Dr. Nefario and the Minions have some free time on their hands. But as he starts to adjust to his role as a suburban family man, an ultra-secret organization dedicated to fighting evil around the globe comes knocking. Now, it's up to Gru and his new partner Lucy Wilde to discover who is responsible for a spectacular crime and bring him to justice. After all, it takes the world's greatest ex-villain to catch the one vying to take his place.

This movie was awesome!! I loved it just as much as the first one. You can read my review for it here. I don't care if it's meant for 10 year olds, it's a really funny movie. And I'm pretty sure I'm getting it for Christmas and I can't wait!

Also coming out on December 10 is Fast 6, which is weird since it was released in May...

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of all-stars as the global blockbuster franchise built on speed races to its next continent in Fast & Furious 6. Reuniting for their most high-stakes adventure yet, fan favorites Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Elsa Pataky are joined by badass series newcomers Luke Evans and Gina Carano. Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian’s (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin’s empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete. Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. Payment? Full pardons for all of them so they can return home and make their families whole again.

I don't understand why synopses need to be so long. This movie was pretty good. You can find my review here. I'm probably not going to be buying this, Josh has the rest of the series so he will probably get it sooner or later. I'm not in a rush to watch it again.

So, those are the movies I'm looking forward to for December. Anything else you want to see?

Mini Movie Review: Thor: The Dark World

This past Tuesday my boyfriend Josh, and I got to finally see Thor: The Dark World. I wasn't super thrilled about having to go see it in 3D, but I figured since Catching Fire has taken over our little theatre I wouldn't get to see it in 2D.

First up, the poster and synopsis.

Marvel's Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel's Thor and Marvel's The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

I'm just going to start off by saying this movie was hilarious. Slightly upsetting (and a little confusing for me) at some points, but I spent most of it laughing. It was mostly little stupid things that amused me, but Darcy (played by Kat Dennings) cracked me up every time she was on screen.

Jane gets to visit Asgard in this movie, which was interesting to see her in Asgardian clothes and meeting Thor's family. Loved the part when she punches Loki. She has to help Thor, his friends and Loki defeat the Dark Elves and save the Nine Realms.

Since I don't know a whole lot about what's supposed to happen in the Thor/Marvel universe (which amuses Josh immensely) I can't tell you how accurate it was. Josh seemed happy with it, so I'm gonna guess they did ok. Even though I don't know much about it, and I'm not a super huge Marvel fan, it was still enjoyable. So if you happen to have a boyfriend who loves these movies, be nice and go see it with him, he will thank you and you will enjoy it.

Also, make sure you stay to the very, very end. We didn't and I found out later that there are 2 scenes in the credits. Guess that just means I'll have to buy it when it comes out :) haha.

Toronto Adventures Part One: Book Buzz

On Thursday November 7th, my sister Kaley of Books Etc. helped to plan and host Book Buzz Toronto. I was fortunate enough to have time off from work, and my mom took some time off as well, and we headed on a big city adventure.

Book Buzz was an event started in NYC, but Kaley and a few authors decided to bring it north of the border. The event is a mix and mingle with authors of women's fiction, books for sale and the opportunity to get them signed. Each of the authors had at least one of their books for sale, for $10 each, so it was a great opportunity to pick up some Christmas presents (I know Kaley did).

Look at all the books!

The event took place at a bar in Toronto called The Crest and had a great turnout. There were the authors, of course, as well as bloggers and other people in the industry, and just general book lovers. There were quite a few men there as well!

There were hors d'oeuvres passed around, I didn't have any (picky eater) but they seemed to be getting grabbed off the trays. Their was also a free signature drink offered, we got a ticket as soon as we got in the door. The Pink Stiletto's were pink lemonade and vodka, rimmed with pink sugar and had a raspberry garnish. I drank half (not a big drinker either), licked the sugar off and gave the rest to Kaley :) haha.

Pink Stiletto

Being the only non author, Kaley got the job of introducing all the lovely ladies involved in the event. Even though I know she was super nervous, she did a fabulous job. Must have been all those pink stilettos :P haha.

Back from left: Meredith, Heather, Chantel, Kate, Kaley, Lydia, Romi
Front from left: Cat, Samantha, Samantha

I was "hired" as the unofficial photographer, and I had a pretty good time taking pictures. If you would like to see more, you can check out the Book Buzz pinterest board.

It was great to see my sister, and I'm so proud of her for putting this event together. She was so excited to be a part of this and to meet all these great and talented women who write the books she loves.

Hopefully they can do it again next year, and I can be the photographer again. If you're interested in hearing more about the event, most of the authors have blog posts up, including Kaley.

Upcoming November Movie Releases

It's that time again. What movies are coming out next month you ask? I'm here to tell you.

About Time released November 1.

Alright, so I was going to put the synopsis, but it's massive, so I'm just going to summarize it.

Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) finds out that all the men in his life have the ability to travel through time. He then meets Mary (Rachel McAdams), they fall in love and then due to an unfortunate time travelling incident it's like they've never met at all. They meet again and again, and he uses his time travelling to win her heart. He uses his ability to fix his life (perfect proposal, stop awful best man speeches at his wedding...) but finds out that his ability can't stop him from experiencing the same ups and downs as normal people, and that it could be dangerous too.

I thought it looked kind of cute, it's a different sort of movie than most that are being released nowadays. Fun fact that I learned while looking this movie up, Tim plays Bill Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (also Mad Eye's son :) haha). I'm not sure if I'll end up making it to theatres to see this, I don't think I want to drag my boyfriend to it, but if he's interested or I find a girl friend to go see it with then perhaps I will. On a Tuesday. :)

Next up is Thor: The Dark World released on November 8

Marvel's Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel's Thor and Marvel's The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Thor. Enough said. I have seen all, and own almost all of the Marvel franchise and am actually excited to watch the new ones. I've been hearing from some people that they're not as excited about this one as they were for the others. But since I don't really know much about what's "right" or "wrong" about the adaptations, it doesn't really bother me. I won't be going to see this opening night, but once it dies down a bit I will definitely be checking it out.

Being released on November 22 is Catching Fire

Ok fine, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. If people need to be told it's part of the Hunger Games trilogy, they shouldn't be watching it.

Here's the synopsis

Katniss Everdeen has returned home safely after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way, Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.

If I remember correctly (it's been a while) the first movie was fairly well done in relation to the book, so I'm hoping the second one will be the same.


Last but not least, Frozen is being released on November 27

Fearless optimist Anna sets off on an epic journey-teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven-to find her sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom.

This one I haven't really heard or seen much about. But it's Disney, so I will be watching it. From what I have seen, the snowman and the reindeer seem pretty hilarious. Apparently my favourite parts of kids movies are the animals...


Next up are the DVD releases

November 5 is White House Down

Capitol Policeman John Cale (Channing Tatum) has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation’s government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.

I never actually got a chance to see this in theatres, and I've heard that it was not the greatest movie, so I will not be buying it. However I will somehow find a way to watch it because, duh, Channing Tatum. Fun fact I learned when I was looking up the synopsis, it was filmed in Montreal! Woot! Haha


On November 12 it's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Man of Steel

Ok I know that's not the saying, but who cares.

Clark Kent/Kal-El (Henry Cavill) is a young man who feels alienated from others because he has powers beyond anyone's imagination. Clark, who was transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, struggles with the ultimate question – "Why am I here?" Raised by his adoptive parents Martha (Diane Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), Clark is shaped by their values and soon discovers that having super abilities means making very difficult decisions. When the world comes under attack, can Clark's abilities be used to maintain peace or will they ultimately be used to divide and conquer? Clark has to become the hero known as "Superman," not only to protect his loved ones but to take his place as the world's last beacon of hope.

This one I did see and very much enjoyed. You can find my full review here. I will be buying this at some point, just probably not right away (I'm being cheap these days) or I may just add it to my Christmas list.

So those are the November movies I'm looking forward to. How about you? Did I miss any of your favourites?

CIBC Run for the Cure Update

I've been wanting to write this post for a while now, basically since the run, but I've been waiting for the website to update with fundraising totals. 3 weeks later and it's still not up, so I'm just going ahead and writing the post.

The Saturday before the run I had to work and woke up feeling like absolute crap. I'm not normally one to call in or go home sick, but that day was an exception. I didn't want to feel even worse on the Sunday so I went home early. Good thing I did because I was feeling a little bit better (very early) Sunday morning.

I unfortunately had to be there for 8am to drop off my offline donations, my team captain wasn't going to be there until 8:30, and the race didn't start until 10. After I dropped off my donations it started drizzling, so I just hid in my car for the next half hour.

I didn't actually know my team captain, hadn't met her before, so I wasn't even sure who I was looking for come 8:30. I saw someone carrying what looked like a tent, and thought it could be her, and when I saw it starting to go up, I saw Blue Mountain, and went over to help. Getting that tent up was no easy feat. If anyone had been watching us they probably would've thought we were ridiculous, but we got it put up and waited for the rest of our team to show up.

There were thirteen members on our team.

Back Row: Helen, Kevin, Taylar, Karen, Travis, Me, Chris, Amy, Dave, Alan
Front Row: Keaton, Heather, Blaire

I was proud of myself that I was not the last person on our team to finish. Not that it was really a race, but I was happy. Kevin unfortunately couldn't run due to an injury but he still came to support us and take pictures of us finishing. Travis was actually the first one to finish over all, which was pretty cool. I ran 4 out of the 5 km, so I was proud of that since I didn't think I'd be able to run any because of being sick, and according to the running app on my phone I finished in just under 36 minutes. I really wish I could have ran all of it, but there's always next year.

That's a really awful picture, but it's me almost at the finish line! Woohoo! And then I got a pretty carnation when I finished. Which lived for a surprisingly long time haha.

I managed to raise a total of $400.00, a big thank you goes out to everyone who donated (and bought cupcakes :) haha) I really appreciate it.

So that's my experience at the 2013 Run for the Cure, and once the numbers are up on the website I'll add them here.

Cupcake Bouquet

A while ago while browsing Pinterest, I came across something called a cupcake bouquet. Basically it's a bunch of cupcakes decorated like flowers in a flower pot. Hey, seems easy enough, and if you're gonna get a bouquet that's not going to last, might as well get one that you can eat.

So in September I had two birthdays that I thought I could make these for. My boyfriend's mom and my best friend. I made one for Gerry (boyfriend's mom) because she likes flowers, and I honestly had no idea what else I could get her. I made one for Amberella (my BFF) because she basically told me she would disown me as a friend if I did not make her cupcakes for her birthday.

Gerry's bouquet

 

 

I looked up some tutorials on how to make it, and then just decided to wing it. Some of the tutorials said to get plastic cups to sit the cupcakes in to make sure they don't slide and flip off the bouquet. Turns out the cups I got weren't the right size and I didn't need them anyways, so now I just have a bunch of plastic cups haha.

Amberella's bouquet

I got the pots from the dollar store. They worked pretty well and held 9 cupcakes. I also got foam blocks from the dollar store to stuff in the bottom to fill the pot and have something for the skewers to stick in. The skewers were from the grocery store, I had to cut them a bit so they wouldn't stick out the top of the cupcake. The butterfly things are also from the dollar store, not sure what they're supposed to be used for but I thought they were cute.

Make cupcakes as usual, and to ice them use a Wilton 2D icing tip. Start piping the icing in the middle of the cupcake and work yourself in a circle towards the outside of the cake. I found it easier to ice the cupcakes once they were already in the pot, that way I didn't have to risk getting icing everywhere to put them in. 

These are not the easiest thing in the world to transport. I would like to come up with a way to deliver them that does not involve a passenger holding it. Though I must say thank you to my boyfriend for helping me deliver them :).

I think if I were to do this again and have more time I would get some fake leaves or something to stick in the gaps between the cupcakes, make it look a little better. Other than that I'm happy with how they turned out, and I think the recipients were too.

Brief Book Review: We Bought a Zoo

I finally finished We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee. Finally being the key word because I think I started it in May. Every time I say the title of this book I always think of how the little girl says it in the movie.

This is the movie covered book that I own

This is the original cover that I wish I owned

In the market for a house and an adventure, Benjamin Mee moved his family to an unlikely new home: a dilapidated zoo in the English countryside. Mee had a dream to refurbish the zoo and run it as a family business. His friends and colleagues thought he was crazy.

But in 2006, Mee and his wife with their two children, his brother, and his 76-year-old mother moved into the Dartmoor Wildlife Park. Their extended family now included: Solomon, an African lion and scourge of the local golf course; Zak, the rickety Alpha wolf, a broadly benevolent dictator clinging to power; Ronnie, a Brazilian tapir, easily capable of killing a man, but hopelessly soppy; and Sovereign, a jaguar and would-be ninja, who has devised a long term escape plan and implemented it.

Nothing was easy, given the family's lack of experience as zookeepers, and what follows is a magical exploration of the mysteries of the animal kingdom, the power of family, and the triumph of hope over tragedy. We Bought a Zoo is a profoundly moving portrait of an unforgettable family living in the most extraordinary circumstances.

I'm not really sure what took me so long to read this book as I did enjoy it. I think part of it was that I just haven't wanted to read much lately, part was that it was non fiction, and part was that I kept comparing it to the movie. Apparently I compare either way, watching or reading first.

Wow, ok so apparently this blog post is taking me almost as long to write as it did to read the book. Pretty sure I finished it around mid-September and it is now the beginning of October. I suck.

There was a fair amount of in depth information about the animals and running the zoo that I found a little boring, and I felt like there were a few parts that just seemed to ramble on. I'm sure there are some people who would find all the information interesting, I was not one of them. I did, however, learn a fun fact that peacocks are the pretty coloured ones and the peahens (females) are more of a boring brown colour.

I did find myself actually laughing out loud at some points, one of which was talking about otters and ferrets. The kids apparently loved the otters, which apparently make "ridiculous squeaky toy noises" and the ferrets, Fidget and Wiggle (I'm serious, those are the names), with their "dinky little ferret harnesses". Benjamin also has a bit of a confrontation with a porcupine, "I stood up and laughed with new esteem for this pint-sized animal pincushion. I had been totally trounced by what is technically an elaborate rodent. Mr. Porcupine, one; Mr. Zoo Director, nil. Respect."

All in all I did enjoy this book, as tough as it was with comparing it to the movie. It was pretty cool to read about the Mee family's adventures with the zoo. And I apologize for this being a crappy review. Since it's been so long since I read it I kind of forget what happens.

Now that I've finished the book and the review, I can re watch the movie. Every time I wanted to watch a movie I would look at it on my shelf but knew it would confuse me even more.

If this post did nothing to make you want to read the book, at the very least watch the movie. It's a great story with an awesome cast. And usually I'm the one saying "the book was better"...

Upcoming October Movie Releases

Apparently I'm not on the ball. Didn't think about the fact that September was almost over and I'd need to do one of these posts for October.

It appears as though there are no good movies coming out in theatres this month. Again. Kind of disappointing.

And there are only 2 movies coming out on DVD that I'm looking forward to.

Much Ado About Nothing is released October 8th.

Leonato the governor of Messina, is visited by his friend Don Pedro who is returning from a victorious campaign against his rebellious brother Don John. Accompanying Don Pedro are two of his officers: Benedick and Claudio. While in Messina, Claudio falls for Leonato's daughter Hero, while Benedick verbally spars with Beatrice, the governor's niece. The budding love between Claudio and Hero prompts Don Pedro to arrange with Leonato for a marriage. In the days leading up to the ceremony, Don Pedro, with the help of Leonato, Claudio and Hero, attempts to sport with Benedick and Beatrice in an effort to trick the two into falling in love. Meanwhile, the villainous Don John, with the help of his allies Conrade and Borachio plots against the happy couple, using his own form of trickery to try to destroy the marriage before it begins. A series of comic and tragic events may continue to keep the two couples from truly finding happiness, but then again perhaps love may prevail.

I haven't actually seen this movie, apparently it wasn't popular enough to come to any theatres near me. It's a modern retelling of Shakespeare, which usually tend to be pretty interesting (much more than the original stuff). It's directed by Joss Whedon, and Nathan Fillion (whom I love) is in it as well. I'm not sure when I'll be seeing this, just because I'm not too fond of buying movies that I haven't seen yet and unfortunately there's no places to rent movies around anymore.

The second movie I'm looking forward to is Monster's University, out on October 29th.

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. “Monsters University” unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.

Can't wait to watch this movie again. My review of this movie is here.

Hopefully next month is a little bit more exciting for movies. And as always, stay tuned for more misadventures.

 

CIBC Run for the Cure

On Sunday October 6th I'm going to be participating in the Canadian Breast Cancer Society's CIBC Run for the Cure. It's a run dedicated to raising funds to find a cure for breast cancer.

I've wanted to participate in the run for the past 4 years or so, but I never knew where I was going to be come October and last year I figured I was going to be working. This year I decided that I was just going to do it.

I don't have a "real" reason for doing the run, no one in my family has been diagnosed, I've just always felt drawn to the breast cancer fundraising. I've always loved October when the Think Pink collection comes out. Basically I'm just running for a cure.

I'm running as a part of the Blue Mountain team, so far there's 12 of us on the team. We don't have an official team name yet, I think that'll be decided by tomorrow. As of today we have 18 days left until the day of the run.

My problem with raising money for things like this is that I hate asking people to donate. I also feel like I should have signed up for the run earlier so I would have more time to raise money, not that I'm sure that would help any. I'm planning on bringing cupcakes to work and getting people to donate a dollar if they would like one.

If you would like to donate you can go to the run website here, and I will be greatly appreciative.

I will do an update post after the run to let you know how it went and how much I and the team raised.

Brief Book Review: A Brewing Storm

Full disclosure, I have not been reading much lately. I have been trying to read We Bought a Zoo all summer and have yet to finish it. However, this past Thursday at work was absolutely dead and of course I forgot my book, so I downloaded the Kobo app onto my phone and started reading A Brewing Storm by Richard Castle. Yes the character from the TV show Castle (which is an awesome show btw and if you haven't yet, you should watch it :) haha).

It's a really short book, a novella? I guess. I don't know book terms (my sister would but she's currently driving herself from St Catharine's so perhaps when she gets here I'll ask her). I also don't know exactly how long the book is, because the Kobo only tells you pages in chapters. All I know is it was short (and I was bad and stayed up late reading it). And my sister has arrived and I was right, it's a novella.

So here's the description from Chapters (it's only available as an ebook).

When Derrick Storm needed to leave the CIA, he couldn't just retire. He had to fake his own death. So when his former boss calls in an old favor that will bring Storm out of early retirement and back to Washington to investigate a high-profile kidnapping, he knows there must be more at stake than the life of a senator's son. Working alongside, but not exactly with, bombshell FBI investigator April Showers, Storm must make sense of a confusing flurry of ransom notes and a complicated web of personal relationships and international politics. He'll get to the bottom of the kidnapping, but the storm is still brewing . . .

I was pretty excited to finally get to read about Derrick Storm, since they talked about the books so much in the show. Like I said it was a pretty short book, but it was still pretty good (minus a few grammatical and continuity errors that I noticed because I'm weird like that). The story ends with a bit of a cliff hanger, which I find weird because I think if they weren't going to wrap up the story in this novella, they might as well just made it one big novel.

Throughout the book you see little things that help you figure out the case. I managed to figure out half of it before the end of the book (and they still don't really tell you the other half before it finishes). I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I actually think it's kind of fun when they give you enough that you can actually try and solve the case before they do.

I thought the characters were alright, we didn't learn too much about Derrick's past or why he "died", but they also seemed to have some really weird names. The plot seemed to move well, but still managed to get everything in that needed to be there.

All in all I enjoyed this book, if you like a short crime story definitely check it out. If you like Castle you should definitely check it out as well, and his other Nikki Heat books (Heat Wave, Naked Heat, Heat Rises, Frozen Heat, and coming out September 17th is Deadly Heat). There are two more shorts in this trilogy, A Raging Storm (which I actually just started reading today) and A Bloody Storm as well as a full length novel Storm Front.

So stay tuned for my review of the rest of the Storm books, and more misadventures.

Uneventful Summer

Labour Day tends to signify the end of summer. I don't care if it doesn't technically end until the 21st, summer is over when the kiddies go back to school. As the title of this post states, my summer was pretty damn uneventful. I may even go as far as saying this summer was disappointing. Don't get me wrong, I loved my job and had tons of fun at work, but that's pretty much all I did.

I had all these things that I wanted to do, go to the Toronto Zoo, go to Canada's Wonderland, go to the beach, go to the drive in, start running, take more pictures, blog more. Some of these things didn't happen just because I'm lazy, I didn't blog much because I didn't do anything else, but others were lack of time off and having no one in my life with a normal job and time off at the same time. 

I suppose I did do a few things, went to Scenic Caves...with work, rode segways...at work, went to the Thornbury pier...with people from work, pool party...with people from work, went to a few movies, played soccer and Fan Expo. 

I just hate feeling disappointed. I suppose I still have time to go to the zoo or wonderland before they close, but somehow I doubt that will happen, unfortunately. 

Overall, uneventful summer filled with work, but unfortunately not full of saving money. Here's to hoping next summer will be better I guess. 

Upcoming September Movie Releases

Unfortunately there are no movies coming to theatres in September that I want to see. However there are quite a few DVD releases and TV show premieres this month.

Now You See Me is released on DVD September 3. So I guess, today haha.

NOW YOU SEE ME pits an elite FBI squad in a game of cat and mouse against "the Four Horsemen", a super-team of the world's greatest illusionists. "The Four Horsemen" pull off a series of daring heists against corrupt business leaders during their performances, showering the stolen profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.

Now You See Me was a pretty good movie. You can see my review of it here. I probably won't be buying it, but if you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend checking it out.

Star Trek into Darkness comes out on September 10.

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving the world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As the heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

My review can be found here. This movie I will be buying, though I'm trying to decide if I want to buy it when it comes out or later when it's a little cheaper.

Also being released on September 10 are Season 5 of Castle, and Season 1 of Chicago Fire.

The last DVD that I'm excited about being released in September is Iron Man 3 on September 24.

Brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) is pitted against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to a question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

My review of Iron Man 3 can be found here. This one I also plan on buying, but am still deciding whether it's going to be when it's released or in a few months.

Hawaii Five-0 Season 3 is also being released on September 24.

The end of the month also signifies TV premiere time. Castle is again on Monday nights, starting on September 23. Tuesday the 24 is apparently a very popular day this year with NCIS, Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. (both unfortunately at 8pm, so I don't know if I'll be getting to watch S.H.E.I.L.D.), NCIS: Los Angeles, Chicago Fire and Person of Interest (since the last two are both on at 10pm, and I only usually watch PoI with my mom, Chicago Fire will probably win). Elementary premieres Thursday September 26, and Hawaii Five-0 has moved days and starts Friday September 27.

That's my wrap up of what's coming on in September. What shows are you looking forward to?

Fan Expo 2013

This past Saturday my friend Amber and I got to go to Fan Expo in Toronto. It's basically a small scale version of Comic-con. As soon as we heard Nathan Fillion was going to be there we knew we had to go. Unfortunately we didn't actually get to meet him because we learned after the fact that autographs and photo ops are stupid expensive.

We left Midland at 7am, and I managed to make it to Yorkdale without any meltdowns or getting lost. Which is kind of a big deal for me, I hate Toronto traffic. We then got on the subway, we were a little worried we might end up on the wrong one, but no mishaps there either. I felt like a little kid going on a field trip. After we got to Union station, we got above ground and didn't really know where we were going. We then realized; just follow the costumes. We followed a rather scantily clad Joker until we saw the giant lineups of even more costumed expo goers.

We got in the line up, behind a totally adorable little Tenth Doctor. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of him, he was that cute. We mostly people watched while standing in line, checking out all the people in costumes. Finally we got inside the building, only to join another line up to get into the actual expo.

We looked around at some of the things for sale, bought a few things, and then wandered over to where the celebs were signing autographs. We were then stopped before we could cross an aisle, and about 7 or 8 people walked past is, most of them looked like body guard types, and we realized that they were guarding Norman Reedus from Walking Dead. Then we realized that he kind of looks like a giant tool. 

When we finally got to pass the aisle, WE GOT TO SEE NATHAN FILLION!!  Haha. Unfortunately we couldn't take a picture of him because there was some angry fan expo guy yelling at everyone who took out their cameras. That was about as close as we got to him, which is kind of sad, but nothing we could really do about it. 

We wandered around a little bit more, then we made our way to the second part of the building. That part of the building was more things to buy. There was an artists alley where there were a bunch of artists at booths selling pictures, drawings, jewellery, sculptures, all kinds of stuff. This is where I think we spent the most money. We actually got to buy a drawing from someone we went to high school with, so that was pretty cool. 

I didn't take too many pictures, which is kind of disappointing but there wasn't a whole lot I wanted to take pictures of, and I didn't really feel like asking people in costumes to take their pictures. We also didn't spend too long at the expo, saw pretty much all we wanted to see and were getting kind of tired. We saw a few storm troopers walking around and I said that I just really wanted to see a line of them marching down a hallway, and before we left we actually saw a group of them marching down a hallway, it was kind of awesome. 

All in all it was a pretty decent day. Would love to go back again, but next year it's on labour day long weekend so I likely won't be able to. 

Huronia Soccer Club 2013 Champions!

This past Saturday I competed in the final tournament for my soccer league. I've been playing soccer (all the way home in Midland) every Thursday since around the end of May and our season has just come to an end.

I used to love soccer, played all the way from grade 6 to 12 in school and 9 to 12 in a summer league. Then after I graduated high school and moved away to college, I never really got an opportunity to play again. I decided that this year, no matter what, I was playing soccer. 

Looking back I do wish I had managed to join a league in Collingwood instead of Midland, just because I wouldn't have been so stressed about my work schedule conflicting with my games. But hindsight is 20/20, so nothing I can do about that now. 

We had a pretty good team all season, though we didn't always have a full team. Somehow I think we managed to have the smallest team to start with, plus the most players who didn't show up. Regardless of that, we still managed to win almost all our regular season games. Not that they even counted. 

The last Thursday we played was the start of the tournament, and we actually had one sub! We won the game, which wasn't exactly surprising because I'm not sure the team we played won any games all season. Our first game on Saturday we played really well, until the other team started to dig at our team. It threw all of us off and we ended up losing. We needed to win our next game or we were out of the finals. 

We played great, and ended up scoring with about 10 minutes left to win the game. So we were off to the finals to play against the team we had already lost against. We knew we were the better team, and we played like it. We were down one goal with less than five minutes to go, when we made a spectacular play and tied the game. No overtime, just straight to the shoot out. We had a phenomenal goalie, and some pretty great kickers so we knew we could pull it off. And we did.

Me and our trophy

 

We didn't get anything exciting for winning other than the trophy. Which I believe may be going to the office of our sponsor, who also happened to be a player on our team. We did get t-shirts though, which say play off champions on the back, so that's kind of fun.

Mini Movie Review: Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

I was super excited to use my new Scene Visa card at the movies, and I finally got my chance this week. We were originally going to go see The Wolverine, but then I found out that and Smurfs 2 were going to be at the drive in this weekend, we changed our plans so hopefully going to see those tomorrow night and saw Percy Jackson on Wednesday.

To save their world, young demigod Percy Jackson and his friends must find the fabled and magical Golden Fleece. Embarking on a treacherous odyssey into the uncharted waters of the Sea of Monsters (known to humans as the Bermuda Triangle), they battle terrifying creatures, an army of zombies and the ultimate Evil.

I haven't read the Percy books, so I can't tell you how the adaptation was, and that's probably a good thing haha.

Percy and his friends have to go find the magic fleece, because Talia's tree (which forms the protective barrier around camp half blood) has been poisoned. They travel to the Bermuda Triangle, which is apparently outside of Poseidon's domain so Percy's powers are useless. In the Sea of Monsters there is an island that is home to a cyclops who likes to eat half bloods, and he is in possession of the magic fleece.

It sort of felt like most of the movie was just them getting to the Sea of Monsters in various different ways. They make a pit stop to see Hermes at the Olympus Postal Service (the UPS store) to try and find his son that they're chasing. They also take a cab ride with 3 eyeless cab drivers, which seemed kind of random and ridiculous.

The movie was definitely entertaining and had some pretty funny parts to it, but also a few more serious parts as well. It's definitely a movie that adults or kids could enjoy, as I believe are the books. I occasionally found it a little hard to follow with the different gods and children and all the mythical names, but it wasn't too bad that it distracted from the movie. All in all a decent movie, though I probably will not be adding it to my collection.

Stay tuned, there should hopefully be reviews for Smurfs 2 and The Wolverine coming soon, as long as we get to the drive in.

Watermelon Nails

The other day I had painted my nails with a purpley colour and added black polka dots and while looking at them I realized they kind of looked like watermelon. Then I got excited when I realized I could actually paint my nails to look like watermelons.

 

I also realized I didn't have enough patience to do all my fingers, hence the plain pink and green fingers.

 

All I did was paint my thumb nail green, waited for that to dry and then painted 2 coats of the pink leaving a bit of green exposed at the bottom of my nail. I then dipped a toothpick into white nail polish and painted the "rind" of the watermelon (that part is a little wobbly). I added the "seeds" with a black nail polish pen, but it could also be done with a toothpick.

 

All in all, pretty happy with how it turned out. Looking at them just makes me happy because they're bright and summery.

 

I even had a couple little girls at work tell me they liked my nails.

 

Hopefully you enjoyed them, and as always, stay tuned for more misadventures.

August Movie Disappointment

Normally about this time I would be writing a post about all the movies I want to see coming up in the next month. August is a disappointment. There are no movies coming out in theatres that I really want to see.

I *may* end up seeing Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters but that will only really be because my boyfriend wants to go see it. I wasn't super in love with the first movie (and to be honest haven't had an interest in reading the books), but the mythical creatures are kind of cool. Nathan Fillion is also in the movie which is incentive for me to go.

In DVD releases, there is Olympus Has Fallen on August 13. If you are interested in my thoughts on the movie, my review is here. I likely won't be buying this right after its release, but I definitely wouldn't mind watching it again.

Two of my favourite TV shows are coming out on DVD in August. NCIS (Season 10) and NCIS: Los Angeles (Season 4) are both being released on August 20. Elementary is releasing it's first season August 27.

More Nail Painting Attempts

I'm going to start off by admitting that I actually painted these nails ages ago, and then thought I posted about them, realized I hadn't, and promptly forgot to do it again.

This is another design I've seen while on Pinterest. It's following the ombre trend.

It's not the best, but it's also not super difficult to do either. All you need is 2 different shades of the same coloured nail polish and a make up sponge. I just used cheap ones from the dollar store, I didn't see the point in totally destroying an expensive one.

I started by painting my nail with the lighter purple. I'm really not sure what my thing is with purple lately, just seems like that's the colour I have the most nail polishes of. Next I just dabbed the darker purple polish onto the sponge. Then, starting about a third of the way up the nail, started sponging it on all the way to the tip. Continued with all 10 nails and then let dry. Dabbed more nail polish on the sponge, and this time about two thirds of the way up the nail, started sponging it on. And voila, pretty purple nails.

I've also seen this with the varying shades painted on the sponge and then pressed on the nail, so that might be my next attempt at ombre nail design.

Have you tried any cool nail designs lately? What were they? Let me know, and as always, stay tuned for more misadventures.

Mini Movie Review: Despicable Me 2

I was so excited to see this movie, I paid full price on a Saturday to go see it. Shocking, I know. I had wanted to go see it Friday night, but it was only playing in 2D at 4:00 and my boyfriend was still working at 4, so that didn't happen. Saturday it was only playing at 12:45 or something ridiculous like that but we decided to go anyways. I was also really excited to buy the Despicable Me kids combo but they didn't have any left and I was super disappointed. That's what I get for not buying it when we went last week.

I'll give you the synopsis for the movie, and then my thoughts.

Now that the ever-entrepreneurial Gru has left behind a life of super-crime to raise Margo, Edith and Agnes, he, Dr. Nefario and the Minions have some free time on their hands. But as he starts to adjust to his role as a suburban family man, an ultra-secret organization dedicated to fighting evil around the globe comes knocking. Now, it's up to Gru and his new partner Lucy Wilde to discover who is responsible for a spectacular crime and bring him to justice. After all, it takes the world's greatest ex-villain to catch the one vying to take his place.

This one was just as ridiculous and hilarious as the first movie. It's really funny watching Gru trying to be a single dad (with the help of the minions, of course) but the girls (especially Agnes) still really want a mom. So part of the movie is them trying to set him up and trying to convince him to go on dates.

Gru and his partner Lucy have to go undercover at the mall, and their shop was called Bake My Day, and it was a cupcake shop. I was kind of excited about that. You meet a few different shop owners who are real characters, and you have to try and figure out along with Gru which one's the bad guy. 

The minions are getting kidnapped (minion-napped? Lol) and it's pretty entertaining watching them get nabbed. And when they're all on a random island together eating bananas. 

I'm unfortunately writing this several days later and I'm having difficulty remembering any really good scenes that I liked. So I apologize for that, that's my complete laziness and procrastination. I do remember though that I love Agnes and the minions. They are just absolutely hilarious. At the end of the movie the minions are dancing and (sort of) singing to the YMCA, and come out in costumes like the village people, and I just thought it was funny that most of the kids watching wouldn't understand the outfits. 

All in all I loved the movie, which isn't surprising because I'm clearly still a 5 year old. But my boyfriend said he enjoyed it too, so that says something. Kids and adults of all ages will enjoy this movie. I will definitely be buying it when it comes out on DVD. 

Hope you enjoyed my review and as always, stay tuned for more misadventures. 

Mini Movie Review: Monster's University

Finally got to see Monster's University this past Friday (I was cheap and used scene points :) haha) and it did not disappoint.

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. “Monsters University” unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.

The movie starts with a young Mike Wazowski (so cute!) on a field trip to Monster's Incorporated. This is what fuels his desire to go to MU and become a scarer, even though pretty much everyone tells him he isn't scary enough.

The two monsters met in class, and Mike instantly hated Sulley. Everyone else loved him because he's related to one of the famous Sullivans and that made Mike hate him even more. They competed with each other all semester, and then an accident leads to both of them getting kicked out of the scare school. They spend the rest of the movie trying to get back in and eventually start working together and then become friends.

You're introduced to a variety of different monsters, including Randall from Monster's Inc. Some monsters are the jocky frat boys (one of which is voiced by Nathan Fillion, who I love haha) and some of the monsters are the dorky and not so cool students.

I loved learning about how Mike and Sulley became friends, and the few references to the first movie. It was a really funny movie, and I think kids and adults alike will love it (especially the now adults who were kids when Monster's Inc. came out). I really wish Boo could have been in the movie (she was my favourite), but obviously since it's a prequel that's not possible. Though I do feel like the sorority PNK was a nod to her, because they were pink and purple.

Hope you enjoy this movie as much as I did, and as always stay tuned for more misadventures.

Oh Canada

Happy Canada Day! I unfortunately had to work today (the joys of being in hospitality) but hopefully you had a lovely day off work.

It's one of my co workers birthdays today (Happy Birthday Alexis!) so that in combination with the holiday meant cupcakes at work!

 

I had some issues icing them because it turns out, red and white try and make pink haha. Everyone seemed to enjoy them. I made the mistake of showing them to Alexis when I got there this morning and she wouldn't shut up about them for about an hour until she finally begged me to have one.

I was super festive and painted my nails like a Canadian flag. Kind of excited about how well they turned out, especially on my right hand.

So it appears the quality of these pictures is kind of crappy, apologies. But I even had some random lady tell me she liked my nails, so that was nice.

I was supposed to go to the fireworks at the mountain tonight with another friend from work but she bailed on me, sad, so I may be hanging out with Alexis and some other people for her birthday. We shall see.

Happy Canada Day, and stay tuned for more misadventures!

Upcoming July Movie Releases

The end of June seemed to have snuck up on me. I was planning on writing this before the last day of June but between work and visiting home and playing soccer, I just never got around to it. So here I am writing this with less than 3 hours until July.

There appear to be only 3 movies coming to theatres this month that I want to see. And 1 on DVD, which I'm still debating whether or not I'm going to buy because I haven't seen it yet. And I'm trying to not buy movies without watching them after Bridesmaids (I thought I was going to like it and it was awful and I was so upset that I bought it).

So to start the month off, Despicable Me 2 is being released on July 3.

Now that the ever-entrepreneurial Gru has left behind a life of super-crime to raise Margo, Edith and Agnes, he, Dr. Nefario and the Minions have some free time on their hands. But as he starts to adjust to his role as a suburban family man, an ultra-secret organization dedicated to fighting evil around the globe comes knocking. Now, it's up to Gru and his new partner Lucy Wilde to discover who is responsible for a spectacular crime and bring him to justice. After all, it takes the world's greatest ex-villain to catch the one vying to take his place.

I just really hope this one is as good as the first. I'm a little worried, but from watching the previews it seems like it will be just as hilarious. To be totally honest I had no idea what this movie was actually about, until I found that synopsis haha. I didn't really care I just wanted to see it because of the kids and the minions. I absolutely love the minions. In fact their "ba ba nana" song is my ringtone. If you haven't even seen the first one, I highly recommend it.

Next up is The Wolverine on July 26.

Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world he will face a host of unexpected and deadly opponents in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality.

Part of me is only wanting to go see this because I know my boyfriend is going to want to. Another part of me thinks Hugh Jackman is kind of bad ass as Wolverine and I've gotten into the X-Men universe a little bit. Again, another movie I didn't really know was about until this synopsis. So we'll see how this goes, if I like it or not.

Last movie I'm looking forward to is The Smurfs 2 on July 31

In this sequel to the hybrid live action/animated family blockbuster comedy The Smurfs, the evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants, and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world's greatest sorcerer. It's up to Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, and Vanity to return to our world, reunite with their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow, and rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties Vexy and Hackus ¬ or will the Smurfs convince her that their love for her is True Blue? Returning cast includes Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Sofia Vegara, Hank Azaria as Gargamel and Katy Perry as Smurfette. Brendan Gleeson joins the cast as Victor Winslow.

Oy that's a long synopsis. I need to add that when looking for this I found the French one and I always forget how funny I find the Smurfs in French...Les Schtroumpfs. Now I finally got to watch a trailer for this the other day (and I say finally because my phone was being a pain and wouldn't load it) and I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Obviously I love the Smurfs, but I'm not sure about this premise of stealing Smurfette and she potentially becoming naughty. Again, we will just have to see.

The only DVD release I'm somewhat looking forward to is G.I. Joe: Retaliation on July 30.

Captain Duke Hauser (Channing Tatum) and his G.I. Joe team are set up as traitors and targeted for destruction when the President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce) gives orders to have them terminated, thanks to the influence of Cobra spy Zartan. But the surviving members of the G.I. Joe team join forces with Joe Colton (Bruce Willis) to bring Zartan down and save the world with their top secret black operation, "Second American Revolution."

As I mentioned before I'm a little hesitant about buying this movie before watching it. Surprise, surprise, part of why I want to watch it is because of Channing Tatum. Even though my boyfriend says he dies really early on in the movie. I don't know if I can believe him though because he always tells me things that supposedly happen and then don't. Hopefully I do get to see it though.

I'm behind on movies now, I still need to see Monster's University and White House Down and then The Smurfs is coming out this Friday! Hopefully I can catch up before the end of the month. I'm going home to Midland on Thursday so I'm hoping that I have enough points and Monster's University is in 2D then I think I'll be going to see that.

Stay tuned for more movie reviews, and more misadventures.

Segway Adventure

I work at Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood, and this week was Staff Appreciation week. We got a little punch pass thing and got to try out different attractions on the resort for free. Some of the things included were the ropes courses (where I work), the gondola (works kind of like a ski lift, you're in a little box kind of thing and go up or down the mountain haha), extra % off something at one of the stores in the village, free drink at Starbucks, and the Segways.

Segways were the one thing I think pretty much everyone wanted to try. 1, because they're awesome and 2, because they're kind of expensive to do any other time. In case you are wondering what a Segway is, here is a picture of me riding one.

I kind of look like a huge dork, but it's kind of hard not to riding one. A work friend and I made an afternoon of it this past Monday and had so much fun on the Segway tour.

They're sort of hard to control, you have to use your body weight and balance to go forward or back and the front stick thing to turn. They also use a lot more muscle than you think. My feet were super sore when I got home and my legs were pretty tense the next day. And if you hit anything that's more than like half the height of the wheels, you will stop and fall off. There was a guy on our tour who did indeed fall. He was one of the 2 of 8 that were not staff (4 of those staff were from ropes :) haha) and he was also kind of arrogant and thought he was awesome. We will not say we wanted to laugh when he fell...

I really want to do this again, we didn't get the whole trail tour because said gentleman who fell off couldn't handle the trails which kind of sucks. I think we get 50% off as staff, which makes it a bit more reasonable, so we'll see if I get another chance.

If you ever happen to be at Blue Mountain I definitely recommend checking out the Segway tour. Also the Timber Challenge ropes course :) it's super fun.

Hope you enjoy the long weekend, and as always, stay tuned for more misadventures.

Mini Movie Review: Man of Steel

Another Tuesday, means another movie night. I was planning on wearing my Superman shirt and new belt buckle when I went, but I totally forgot and my shirt was still in Collingwood. Super disappointing.

Here's the synopsis of Man of Steel:

A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this earth. As a young man, he makes a journey to discover where he came from and find out what he was sent here to do. Eventually, the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

I have to start out by saying I didn't love this movie. That's not to say I didn't like it, it just wasn't as awesome as I was hoping it was going to be.

It's incredibly awkward having a movie start with someone giving birth. And that's how this one started, with baby Kal-El being born. Then there's a fight, his dad dies, he gets shipped off to earth, and then he's a grown up on a fishing boat. It bothered me that they didn't start with his childhood. They didn't need to go through Jonathan and Martha finding him and him growing up, but even showing him right off in school panicking because he doesn't know what's happening to him might have been nice. It was shown, but as flashbacks.

I'd say the first, half or so, of the movie seemed a little...disjointed and rushed, I guess would be the best way to describe it. It was like they were trying to fit all his back story in so they could get to him becoming Superman (which they only actually call him once). There seemed to be a lot of flashbacks to him as a kid discovering his powers, and that he's not actually from earth, and then there was one where Jonathan dies. I was devastated when they showed that, and totally started crying. My boyfriend laughed at me, but I don't care it was so sad.

All in all, I really thought Henry Cavill did a good job as Superman. Amy Adams was an alright Lois. There was enough comic relief (I thought) that made it not super serious, which I liked.

I will be buying this movie, but perhaps not until it goes on sale a little cheaper. And I look forward to seeing if there will be a sequel.

The next movie I'm hoping to go see will be Monster's University. Unfortunately I work all week so I will be in Collingwood and will not have my boyfriend to go see it with, and am hoping it will come into 2D. So we'll see when I get to go.

Hope you're enjoying this summer's blockbusters, and as always, stay tuned for more misadventures.

Mini Movie Review: Now You See Me

Last night I went to see Now You See Me. I originally wasn't really looking forward to seeing this movie that much, but I figured I had dragged my boyfriend to enough of the movies I want to see, he could pick the movie.
I'll give you the synopsis and then tell you what I thought about the movie.

NOW YOU SEE ME pits an elite FBI squad in a game of cat and mouse against "the Four Horsemen", a super-team of the world's greatest illusionists. "The Four Horsemen" pull off a series of daring heists against corrupt business leaders during their performances, showering the stolen profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.

 Like I said, I wasn't super psyched to go see this movie. I was, however, pleasantly surprised. I ended up actually really enjoying the movie. There were definitely some funny parts, and the magic was pretty cool.
I can't really go too much into what happens because it's all kind of interconnected and there are definitely a few twists to the plot. I even got a wee bit confused at a couple points, but that's not overly surprising haha. And I just figured out something from the movie this evening while eating dinner...
All in all I would say this was a good movie and would recommend it. It has enough going on that you don't get too bored, but not too much that you're overwhelmed with information.
That's my review, stay tuned for more misadventures.

Cupcakes!

It was a friend at work's birthday last week and I wanted to make her cupcakes but I didn't think of it in time for the weekend following her birthday (we only work weekends). So I just decided I was going to make them for her the following weekend, and spread out the birthday fun.

Really this was just an excuse to make cupcakes. I love baking cupcakes, and I love giving them away. Don't get me wrong I like eating them too, but after I eat like 4 I'm pretty much over it.

I tried to be a little creative with the icing and as such, a picture has ended up on several social media platforms, none of which because of me haha, so I decided I'd add to that and put one on here. I brought some cupcakes to work and gave them to a couple of the girls (including the birthday girl, of course) and they all just about lost it when they saw the icing. Which I think is kind of hilarious, because it's not that hard to do.

Fun pink and purple cupcakes

One of the girls is having a work pool party this week and now I really want to make cupcakes to bring to that, since even the people who didn't get cupcakes, wanted them. The only problem is, I'm here and my cupcake tools are at home. Which means I'm sorely tempted to go buy myself a new icing tip and colour :) because you can never have too many haha.

Update: I did go get myself s new icing tip and colour. I picked orange, because our work shirts are orange and I thought it was funny. I told the girl hosting the party I'm making them and she's super excited. So that's good news :)

As always, stay tuned for more misadventures.

Nail Polishing Trials and Triumphs

I have a fairly large-ish collection of nail polish. I always feel so lame because I have so many and yet I only ever use one colour at a time. So I found a cute design on Pinterest, and decided to give it a try.

Website is here, in French

I just went off this picture. Mostly because the website is in French, partly because I thought I could figure it out on my own. I discovered that I need better tape. I was trying to use painters tape and cutting it into tiny strips. (On a side note, part of the "trials" was me smashing the top of my head off the underside of the crawl space getting said tape. Ow).

So after cutting my tape into tiny strips, I stuck them on and started painting. You're supposed to take the tape right off after you paint it, except the colour I was using was too light so I had to do 2 coats. So it didn't peel too fantastically. I also didn't have little enough pieces of tape, so the lines looked funny.

I decided to just remove it all and then start over. This time using the lighter colour first. It worked a little better.

 



This was my final result. Not perfect, but hey, it was my first attempt at anything remotely difficult on my nails.

I should have made the light purple bits bigger and I need some striping tape. No idea where I can get it, but apparently that's what people use for painting nails.

I then learned the hard way that white nail polish at work=bad. It turned all brownish and gross and the tips starting wearing down. Anyone have any tips on how to get the tips to not wear as much? I feel like a day after I paint it and I use my hands the colour disappears.

Now that I've (sort of) succeeded with this, I might try another design soon.

Upcoming June Movie Releases

I can't believe it's almost June already. June means we're about halfway through the list of big summer blockbusters being released. So I'm going to give you a list of some of the movies coming out this month. Keep in mind, these are just the movies I want to see. I'm pretty sure there are a lot more, but none that interest me.

I'm going to start off giving you a synopsis of each movie and then tell you why I want to see them.

Man of Steel released June 14

A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

I'm actually not as excited about this one as I thought I would be. Superman used to be "my" superhero, and I suppose I would say he still is, but I think I've just gotten more engrossed in the Marvel movies. I also didn't really get super excited when I saw the previews. I'm not really sure why. I kept expecting to see Tom Welling when he turned around, but obviously it's not him, it's Henry Cavill. I'm still going to be seeing the movie though, just probably not opening weekend. I'll wait till a Tuesday after the buzz has died down.

Much Ado About Nothing also released June 14

Leonato the governor of Messina, is visited by his friend Don Pedro who is returning from a victorious campaign against his rebellious brother Don John. Accompanying Don Pedro are two of his officers: Benedick and Claudio. While in Messina, Claudio falls for Leonato's daughter Hero, while Benedick verbally spars with Beatrice, the governor's niece. The budding love between Claudio and Hero prompts Don Pedro to arrange with Leonato for a marriage. In the days leading up to the ceremony, Don Pedro, with the help of Leonato, Claudio and Hero, attempts to sport with Benedick and Beatrice in an effort to trick the two into falling in love. Meanwhile, the villainous Don John, with the help of his allies Conrade and Borachio plots against the happy couple, using his own form of trickery to try to destroy the marriage before it begins. A series of comic and tragic events may continue to keep the two couples from truly finding happiness, but then again perhaps love may prevail.

Alright so full disclosure, I only want to see this one because, hello, Nathan Fillion and Joss Whedon. It's Shakespeare, but it's supposed to be a modern retelling, which should help it be a little more interesting. I'm worried though that it won't be coming to our little small town theatre, because it tends to not get, shall we say, not as popular movies. Which is disappointing. So I may be grabbing my bff Amberella and going on a trip to find it in theatres.

Monster's University: June 21

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. “Monsters University” unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.

Just because I am 23 does not mean I can't get excited about movies meant for children. In fact, I'd say I have a right to be excited about this one because I was part of the original target demographic for the first movie. I think this movie should be pretty good, and pretty funny. I just wish Boo could be in it, she was my favourite.

White House Down release date June 28

 

Washington D.C. Policeman John Cale has just been denied his dream job of being a Secret Service agent and protecting President James Sawyer. Not wanting to disappoint his young daughter with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, and they are there when the complex is overtaken by a paramilitary group. Now the nation's government falling into chaos, time is running out and it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter and the country.

I just saw another preview for this the other night when watching Fast & Furious, and I gotta say, I'm not as excited as I originally was. Regardless, Channing Tatum. So, I'm going to be seeing this. I probably sound super pathetic because the only reason I go see movies is because of hot guys. Oh well. I'm pretty sure this one is going to have almost the exact same storyline as Olympus has Fallen, and I'm not sure which one will be better.

Turns out there are zero DVD releases I am looking forward to in the month of June. Is that not sad? I think Die Hard is coming out, but I'm not going to be buying that one, but I just feel like most of the DVDs being released are kind of crappy. But hey, mine is just one opinion, you might like them.

Are there any movies you're looking forward to this month?

Mini Movie Review: Fast & Furious 6

Tuesday night means another cheap movie night! This time it was to see Fast & Furious 6. I was also super excited because I got the kids' combo which was for Monster's University :) because clearly I'm a giant dork. I now have a Sulley cup topper to join the rest of my collection.
Alright, starting with the (ridiculously long) synopsis and then into the review.

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of all-stars as the global blockbuster franchise built on speed races to its next continent in Fast & Furious 6. Reuniting for their most high-stakes adventure yet, fan favorites Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Elsa Pataky are joined by badass series newcomers Luke Evans and Gina Carano. Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian’s (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin’s empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete. Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. Payment? Full pardons for all of them so they can return home and make their families whole again.

I feel like I should have watched the last movie again, because I really don't remember what happened. That being said, I don't think there was much that carried over. Other than Letty supposedly being dead, and Brian is having a kid.

The movie starts with Hobbs asking Dom to help him, and he's pretty adamant about saying no, until he sees the picture of Letty. He then agrees, just to find out if she might be alive, and to bring her home. The rest of the team comes together pretty willingly. Brian needs a little persuading to leave Mia and the baby, but she convinces him to go.

Most of the movie is just the fast driving and chasing the bad guys. Some things blow up, a couple people die...but the basis is the fast car chases.

Overall I thought it was a pretty good movie. It had some pretty funny moments, lots of action, and a bit of a twist at the end. I'd recommend it if you like action movies, and want to watch something fun and not too serious.

I found out that this movie is actually supposed to take place just before Tokyo Drift (fast 3), and that there will apparently be a Fast & Furious 7...not sure how I feel about that yet. I almost feel like it's hit it's peak and will be downhill from here. But we shall see.

Stay tuned for more misadventures.