Figure Skating Movies

In honor of the start of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia... I'd like to share two of my favorite figure skating movies...

Can you say toepick? The Cutting Edge (1992) was one of my favorite movies growing up. I don't know how many times i've seen it...it's been a lot! They've made a few sequals to it but nothing can compare to the original.

And of course, a recent favorite of mine...

Blades of Glory (2007) is hilarious... if you like Will Ferrell movies, this is one of his best ones.... and I am also a fan of Jon Heder. You'll find yourself quoting this movie... there are so many funny lines!

16 Books To Read Before They Hit Theaters This Year

Here is a fun link... if you like to read books that will soon the the theaters or if you just want to know what is scheduled to release in 2014.


Out of all of the ones listed, I've only ready Gone Girl... and let me tell you, it's a good one! I am super excited that they're making it into a movie.. and probably even more excited that Ben Affleck will be playing the role of the main character. I can't wait!!

Philip Seymour Hoffman (R.I.P)

Philip Seymour Hoffman

July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014

Movie Moment: Twilight (2008)

Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattinson) dancing with Isabella Swan (played by Kristen Stewart)

What is a... Romantic Comedy?

A subgenre which combines the romance genre with comedy, focusing on two or more individuals as they discover and attempt to deal with their romantic love, attractions to each other. The stereotypical plot line follows the "boy-gets-girl", "boy-loses-girl", "boy gets girl back again" sequence. Naturally, there are innumerable variants to this plot (as well as new twists, such as reversing the gender roles in the story), and much of the generally lighthearted comedy lies in the social interactions and sexual tension between the characters, who very often either refuse to admit they are attracted to one another, or must deal with others' meddling in their affairs. (aka chick flick)

via wiki

Here are some of my favorite romantic comedies...

        

  

I could watch any of these movies any day of the week - love them all! There are a million more romantic comedies that I could probably name here but these are just a few quick examples. Do you like romantic comedies? Which one is your favorite?

Captain Phillips (2013)

 

The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.  (IMDb)

This movie was pretty good, not bad at all... Tom Hanks was really convincing in this role and Barkhad Abdi (the main bad guy) did a good job. This movie's storyline is not too overly complicated so their acting had to be spot on for it to work... and I think everyone in this movie did that. 

Would you take kids to see this movie? I probably wouldn't.... not only are there guns and a little violence... but the storyline isn't interesting enough to keep the kids' attention.

Is this a good date movie? Yeah... I found myself drawn to and rooting for Tom Hank's character... and it's got some action/fights for the guy.

The Definition of a Movie

Lone Survivor (2013)

 IMDb

This movie is based on real life events and The New York Times bestselling book of the same name…Lone Survivor is the heroic tale of four (4) Navy SEALs on a covert operation to capture a high-ranking al-Qaeda official in Afghanistan. All seems well for them until a goat herder and two kids accidentally walk up on the SEALs' location along the mountainside, which then “compromises the mission”. With much hesitation, the SEALs decide to let them go, knowing that they will soon inform the rest of al-Qaeda of their position. It then becomes a race for them to climb up over the mountain and get out before an army of al-Qaeda catches up to them. 
 

Unfortunately for the SEALs, they run into satellite/communication issues and are unable to call for immediate extraction. The four (4) men are then forced to fight off the much larger enemy force - they are clearly outnumbered.

IMDb

This is where the movie starts to get really intense…you know that all odds are against these guys and as the movie title suggests “Lone Survivor”… its probably safe to say that only of them is going to make it out alive… but still, in the back of my mind, I was hoping that they would somehow find a way to kill every single enemy, get rescued and go home to their families safe and sound. Of course, if that happened, we wouldn’t really have a movie, now would we? 

The back and forth between these four (4) brave men and al-Qaeda is so hard to watch. Lots of shots are fired and I couldn't help but gasp in disbelief every time one of "our guys" gets hit. There is a part (actually it happened twice) where the guys are backed up to a cliff and have no choice but to jump off. You watch as each guy hits every rock and and tree on their way down. It's unbelievable that they even survived something like that... it's pretty brutal. 

Main Cast of Characters: 

	Mark Wahlberg	...	Marcus Luttrell
	Taylor Kitsch	...	Michael Murphy
	Emile Hirsch	...	Danny Dietz
	Ben Foster	...	Matt 'Axe' Axelson
	Yousuf Azami	...	Shah
	Ali Suliman	...	Gulab
	Eric Bana	...	Erik Kristensen
	Alexander Ludwig	...	Shane Patton

Here is the the movie trailer:

Would you let kids see this movie? I definitely would not take kids under the age of 14...maybe even 15 or 16 but I guess it depends on the kid. Like I said before, this movie is very intense and might be too much for younger viewers - I mean, c'mon... it shows someone getting shot in the head! There is, however, a wonderful example of humanity in this story (more on that later...) but the majority of the movie is violent and very graphic... it is war movie after all!

Is this a good date movie? I think it can be... it could be a good one to go to together. Aside from all the action, there is a touching display of brotherhood that your guy could appreciate... and ladies, you'd definitely get major cool-girl points for going to see this with your man.  

** SPOILER ALERT **

DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE ENDING

Despite the enormous amount of courage and strength that the SEALs demonstrate, the conflict takes the lives of three (3) of the men. And, when a chinook (that's one of those longer-looking miltary helicopters with the double propellers) full with sixteen (16) other miltary men come to the rescue, it gets hit with an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) and goes down, taking the lives of all in it. Alone and badly beaten, the last man standing is Marcus Luttrell (played by Mark Walberg). Marcus is found by an Afgani local living in a nearby village and is helped to safety, and after one last attack by al-Quaeda, he is finally rescued by the US military. 

So, before Marcus Luttrell is taken back to the US military base... he takes a moment to stop and thank the Afgani local (and his son) for saving his life... it's such a great part in the movie... because everyone knows that Marcus Luttrell would not be alive if it weren't for their help. I had tears coming down because it was such touching moment. For me, this small part in the movie was the highlight... see the movie and I think you'll agree with me too.