Teenage Cinema

On Friday I went to the movies with my friend Lacee and her friend Monica and we settled in for a double feature. The first movie we saw was Footloose – a remake of the 1984 dance flick starring Kevin Bacon. I've never seen the original movie, but I thought the remake looked fun, so that's why I wanted to see it. The movie was really fun and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The criticism I have with the movie, however, is that it's geared towards teenagers, but quite a bit of the content (like language, innuendos and some suggestive dancing) is questionable for young teens. I'm pretty conservative and I don't think I would allow my teenager (especially a young one) to watch this movie. Teens are so impressionable, and I know they will find out about the ways of the world soon enough, but that doesn't mean I have to be the one to expose them to it. It's too bad when a good movie is tainted with things like excessive swearing. Gratuitous swearing is one of my biggest pet peeves in movies! Heather's rating: 6/10 stars

Like I said, I've never seen the original Footloose, but after watching the remake it inspired me to get on YouTube and look up some of the iconic, well-known dance scenes from the original movie. I thoroughly enjoyed watching a very young Kevin Bacon strut his stuff!

One difference I noticed while watching my side-by-side comparison of the Footloose movie clips was that Kevin Bacon's character (a senior in high school) was smoking in the original movie. I know lots of high school kids smoke, but thankfully, you don't see nearly as much smoking by teens in movies today. (Movies made in past decades had a lot more smoking in them.) I'm glad people have started to wisen up to the fact that smoking is not only a disgusting habit, but one that will kill you. There are still way too many people that smoke, but I think it's something that is fortunately on the decline.

The next movie we saw was  Breaking Dawn, pt. 1. I didn't have a strong desire to see this movie in the theater, but my friend Lacee really wanted to go, and since she and I have watched all of the other movies together in the theater I thought, "Why not?!" I admit it, I have read all of the books, as painful as it was. Since I've read all the books I like to see the movies to see how the movie portrayals compare to the books. The first movie was downright awful, but each one has progressively gotten better, partly due to the fact that there's a bigger budget for better special effects.

I thought Breaking Dawn was actually pretty good, as far as the Twilight Saga goes. Granted, the acting is pretty laughable, especially by some of the actors/actresses, but the movie was pretty good. The movie was pretty true to the book, but that's largely due to the fact that the final book is split into two movies. Heather's rating: if I'm rating this movie based on the other Twilight movies, then this would get 8/10 stars, but if I were rating it compared to movies in general it would only get 6/10 stars.

Here are my major hangups with the books/movies: #1) the writing style of the books is awful! I'm sorry Stephanie Meyer, but you seriously need to work on your dialogue! In my opinion, for a book to be classified as "well-written," the dialogue needs to sound natural. Some authors really struggle with writing natural sounding dialogue, and it ends up sounding contrived or "too perfect." I'm not really that tough of a critic when it comes to books, but phony/cheesy dialogue is a definite dealbreaker!

#2) the main character, Bella, is one of the most annoying, whiny characters I've ever come across in all the books I've read in recent years. It would be one thing if Stephanie Meyer were intending the character to be annoying, but she's not. I find many of the characters in the Twilight books to be annoying in some way or another, but Bella is by far the worst of the bunch!

#3) the actor and actress that portray the main characters, Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart) are not very good actors, at least in the Twilight Saga of movies. It's almost painful watching them interact because they have awful on-screen chemistry. Just my humble opinion, of course, but there you have it!

#4) the plot, relationships and interactions are all so unrealistic! Yes, I'm aware that this is a book about vampires and werewolves, but I think it gives such a slanted and unrealistic portrayal of what love/life is really like.

Why did I read all of the books and why do I keep subjecting myself to the movies, you might ask? Well, let's just say I have a love-hate relationship with the Twilight Saga. What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment, but I like to see something through to the end once I start it, for better or for worse. I guess that can be blamed on my loyal side! So, yes, I'm sure I will be going to see Breaking Dawn, pt. 2 in the theater next November. (Especially if Lacee has anything to do with it!)  ;)

So, what did you think of Breaking Dawn, or what do you think of the Twilight books in general?

My friend Kate had this picture on her blog and I thought it was hilarious!

A Few More Thoughts

Thank you to all of the wonderful people who left a comment on my previous post as a "second birthday" present to me. I love comments, and it made my day to read them!

I had to go to the hospital today to have my cardiac pacemaker checked (since the company that had been doing the telephone pacemaker checks recently stopped doing them). Driving 50 minutes each way to the hospital for a 10 minute EKG really wasn't the way I wanted to spend a good portion of my day, but at least the weather was beautiful (albeit quite chilly and brisk) and the sun was shining, and I was with my BFF, (Mom).

Although I wasn't out doing anything exciting, or at home working on my computer (one of my favorite ways to spend my time), I just "rolled with the punches" (no pun intended) and enjoyed the ride. ;) I was grateful that on this afternoon of November 17, I was only at the hospital for something minor and at the end of the day I was able to go home.

Around 4 PM my mom was working on my bath and I jokingly asked her if this afternoon was a better afternoon than the afternoon of November 17 in 2003. She said, "Yes," as she sighed and wrapped her arms around my shoulders and laid her head on my chest. (That's the way we hug these days.) As she washed my face she said, "Eight years ago I couldn't do this [wash my face] for you. Your neck was so big and swollen and you had all sorts of tubes connected to you." I thought, "poor Mom!" as she said that because I can't imagine what that day must've been like for her. (If you want to read more about that day and what my family and I went through, click here and here. (I must admit, it's a pretty interesting story, if I do say so myself!) ;)

I'm so grateful for the gift of joy that my Heavenly Father has given me. That gift is truly what makes my life bearable. I give all the credit for my joy and other accomplishments to the Lord, because I know without Him I would most likely be a sad, bitter and angry person. Hooray for life and for all of the things I can do, however small they may be!!

One last thought. When I was leaving for the hospital today I told my younger sister Chandra to kiss me goodbye in case I got in a horrible accident. She said, "Aww… don't say that… that's so sad!" I said, "You never know, I just might come back walking!"

11/17 Remembered

Well, today is November 17, or as I like to call it, my "second birthday" since it's the day my old life ended and my new life began. It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone since that day eight years ago that will forever live in infamy in the hearts and minds of my family and friends. Although it was a physically traumatic day for me, I had it pretty easy compared to everyone else since I missed out on all of the emotional trauma since I was unconscious and off in my own little world. I'm sure the emotional trauma that my family and friends endured was absolutely heart-wrenching as they waited to find out if I would live or die and what my fate would be if I survived, Would I be doomed to a life of paralysis?

At the time of my accident my life was so averagely normal. I'd never even broken a bone or had stitches, let alone had any accidents or major health problems. I was a teenager and I, like most teens naturally assumed that that would always be the case with my life. I never dreamed that I would become one of "those" people – you know, the kind of person that everyone looks at with at least a small measure of pity and thinks, "thank goodness that's not my life." Ironically, I used to be that kind of person who would thank God for being normal when I saw someone who was either mentally or physically handicapped.

Who would've ever thought that this would happen to me?! Sometimes I'm just in awe that this is my life. I can't move and I can't even breathe on my own. I have to rely on my diaphragm pacemaker to make my diaphragm contract so that I can inhale. (Speaking of my diaphragm pacemaker, today also happens to be the anniversary of the surgery where electrodes were implanted on my diaphragm.) That was in 2006 – three years after my accident – and it's been one of the best things to happen since my accident so that I don't have to be on a ventilator any more. Ditching the ventilator is something I never thought I would be able to do, and it's been a huge blessing.. Sure, I still can't breathe on my own without the assistance of some sort of machine/device, but the diaphragm pacer is much more healthy, portable and convenient than being tied to a ventilator.

Try to take the time to truly enjoy life, to not take things for granted and to look for the positive in all situations, even in challenging ones. Life is too short to waste not being joyful! (I love getting comments, so if you want to make my anniversary extra special, leave me a comment!)

Celebr8te!

I had a get together this past Saturday evening to celebrate the eighth anniversary of my accident which is coming up this Thursday, November 17. I like to have a get together every year to celebrate the fact that I'm alive, happy and well. It's a fun excuse to visit with friends, play games and eat yummy food.

This year I asked my mom to make rocky road tart – one of my favorite treats that I was introduced to by my sister Kristin who is an extremely talented baker. I also recently found a recipe online for Reese's peanut butter cheesecake brownies. The picture looked so enticing, and since I love Reese's peanut butter cups, cheesecake AND brownies, I thought the recipe looked like a "must-try!" They were WONDERFUL! The rocky road tart was amazing, too. Check out these mouthwatering pictures:

I'm so grateful to still be alive after being involved in such a horrific accident. It was so severe and it's a miracle I survived. I really should have died, and I'm positive that God had a hand in saving my life because I'm sure I wouldn't have survived otherwise.

It was a wonderfully fun night and I'm so grateful to have such nice friends to celebrate with!

Anderfan

As cliché as it sounds, I AM one of Anderson's biggest fans! Admitting that makes me sound pathetic, since he's someone I've never met in person, but I can't deny it… I really like him! Anderson has a gift for being able to tell other people's stories in a way that other people can relate to. He's down to earth, relatable and hilarious in a witty way. All of that in conjunction with his willingness to laugh at himself is so endearing and it makes me laugh right along with him.

He's a talented journalist and I appreciate his objectiveness when delivering the news. He doesn't editorialize with his personal opinion, he just presents the facts and lets you draw your own conclusions. If there were breaking news in the world I definitely want to get the scoop from AC because he's definitely a credible, trustworthy source.

Here's a dirty little secret… well, it's not a secret, and it's definitely not dirty, but I take a bath with Anderson every afternoon! Anderson's new talk show is on at 4 PM, and that's when we do my afternoon routine which includes getting me back to bed, undressing me, giving me a bath, repositioning me, etc. Having "Anderson" on is just as much a part of my routine as everything else and it's something I look forward to each day.

Anderson isn't your traditional celebrity or superstar, but if I could have my choice of meeting anyone in the world, Anderson would make the short list of people I'd like to meet most. This is just another feather to stick in my the cap of dreams.