Food, Inc - DVD

Food, Inc - DVD (2008)

I tried to entice all of my friends to come and see this one with me, but not being particular fans of the doco genre, it was always going to be a hard sell. I really did try to get to see this at the movies, but I was glad to have watched it on DVD on my couch.

It didn't put me off my dinner, mainly because I was eating a fresh kebab packed full of salad. I was a bit grossed out by the issues surrounding the mega production of meat. The chicken plants where chickens live their whole lives never touching the ground or seeing any sunlight. The cows who are raised not on grass, but in feeding lots , hobbling around in mud and poop. Shocking and somehow so immoral and wrong. I guess they got it right when they say that we have this image in our head of Farmer Brown on the farm in the green grass producing our food, when it is not even being close to the truth about food production.

Most New Zealanders are a bit shocked by folks that eat takeaways all the time and never cook fresh veg or eat fresh fruit. I think most of us here, eat our food made from scratch, with the old meat and fresh veg. Most of my friends grow their own vegetables, and try to buy ethically raised pork (free range and not crate) and chickens (free range also). However, that may be a luxury because we can afford it, but we also choose to vote with our wallets.

If you want to know more about where your food comes from, it is certainly an educational doco to watch. Maybe just do it a while after dinner. 3/5

The Road

The Road (2009)

Well in order to make my day happier, I got some loads of washing out in the sun and wind which is a good start. I traipsed into town, did a bit of browsing in the shops and bought a top on sale. Then a big fruit Tropical smoothie from the juice bar (my fave tipple), and then went to see The Road.

Not the cheeriest of movies, and in fact there was only me and one fellow in the whole cinema, but it was 4.10pm on a Friday. I'd tried to invite friends, but they all declined to see this movie, so I knew I would have to face it alone.

If you have read the book you know the story. Basically the world has surcumbed to some large disaster, and a man and his son are trying to follow the road to the south.

The book, well was disturbing and left me a bit shaken after I read it. It is really one of those, what would I do if I was in that position stories. Not everyones cup of tea for sure, but it is nice to be emotionally challenged when reading and at the cinema, and is a change from some of the silly 12 year old boy written stories that seem to plague our big screens.

So the movie, well I thought they did a great job of capturing the abandoned world and it's greyness and despair without a huge dialogue. You get to see Viggos butt a couple of times, but seen he looks like a homeless dude and you know how he must smell in those clothes, it is not really a thing of beauty. I enjoyed it, but wouldn't play it for family night. 4/5

So the other things I did to make me happy, was I bought a big 16 pack of toilet paper, as I have an unnatural fear of big disasters occuring , running out and having to use leaves or books to tidy up down there. I bought tons of snacks and fruit for the weekend of working. When I changed the linen on the bed, I put the ipod on real loud and danced around the bedroom to Simple Minds and then Eddie Vedder. I then lit the candles and had a nice dinner, and now as it is late, I am off to bed with my new book.

I guess it is all about finding joy in the small things, taking moments to appreciate each day and the pleasure of being able to afford and enjoy the choices we have.

Have a lovely weekend.

The Happiness Project

The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin (2009)

Gretchen Rubin decides to spend a year devoted to making her life happier. After a revelation on a bus, she faces happiness in all aspects of life, in regards to her children, family, husband, work and how happiness affects her. Many of them are only small changes, like deciding to be herself - to like what she likes and not be influenced by others.

A few things I can see that would be good to apply to my own life and a few things I have already found out on my own. About 8 years ago, I decided that I didn't really like drinking, that wine gave me a headache and made me feel sick, and that often I was peer pressured into it, when I would really just feel like an orange juice. So I stopped, and would just say no, which was difficult. I still do drink, occasionally, and only when I really feel like it. Last Friday, I had two Pineapple Cosmopolitans which were heaven, and then two more cocktails on Saturday. I think though all in all, I have only had about 10 drinks in the last 18 months.

I also would sit through the whole hours news broadcast, including the sports which I guess was habit. When I bought my dvr a few years ago, I changed my habits by recording the news every night, and now I just watch the first 10 minutes or so to see what has happened in the world. I don't watch any sports, headlines or otherwise, which has freed up time.

I'm going to do some stuff at the weekend like put a song on the ipod and dance around, it may just be in my living room. Even though I am working I can find 3 minutes to do this. I will get up at 7 to allow myself a shower, and to have a nice breakfast so I don't feel rushed, and I am off to day to stock the fridge with some quick easy meals so I don't feel harassed. I am also going to stock up on my favorite vanilla candles. I like to light them at night, especially in winter and leave the house smelling great.

I wasn't blown away by the book, but it did give me some small insights, which I could apply to my own days. Especially when in the winter, as the weather gets cooler and every day is the same, I can feel that I am just plodding through life.

A sturdy 3/5

My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper - DVD (2009)

I read the Jodi Picoult book that this book was written from, some time ago. She is one of my favorite authors, her style is easy and she writes intelligent female fiction that usually weave in interesting current ethical issues.

Anna Fitzgerald is 11, and she goes to see a lawyer because she wants medical emancipation from her parents. Born to be a genetic match for her older sister Kate, Anna wants to be able to make her own decisions and choose whether she wants to donate cells or a kidney to her sick older sister.

I didn't really expect to like the movie, but I was entranced by it and thought it was a good interpretation of the story. It portrayed the characters with dignity. love and humour that I never expected, and seldom see played out in many Hollywood movies.

Kate who has cancer was played by Sofia Vassilieva, who normally plays Ariel on Medium and I thought she was awesome. Now Miss Diaz, well her character could do with a good slapping at several stages throughout the movie (oh and a good sandwich too).

Abigail Breslin, well she did a good preteen job of being a normal looking and acting kid.

So grab a tissue, and a girlfriend, and sit on the couch and watch on a cold winters evening. It's a hanky loving 4/5 from me!!

39 Steps

39 Steps - DVD (2008)

This is a BBC remake of an Alfred Hitchcock classic movie. Moved to 1914 as the English are about to enter the war, a bored English secret service agent becomes involved in a plot to bring the Germans close to war.

A little bit dry to begin with, the movie got better midway through which was helped by the lovely Scottish scenery and the equally beautiful Rupert Penry-Jones. He plays a good hero, and I like that his character and the leading lady seemed to actually have some chemistry and looked like they liked each other.

A solid 3/5 - a good Sunday winter afternoon DVD.

My Source

I got asked where I get all my books from. Well I have to say that mostly the fabulous Wellington Library is my supplier. I have bought only about 4 books this year, 2 from Trademe and 2 from the bookshop. I just find that I don't reread books and my bookshelves are jammed full already. I can't resist Jodi Picoult, Lee Child and the Twilight books.

I do have a plan though. Usually once a month or so, when I am in town. I visit Borders with a piece of paper and pen, and when I find books that I might like to read, I write down the title and author and reserve them at the library. A few years ago a paperback was $20, but now the new releases are released large size and priced between $25-40 which is getting a bit crazy.

I am finding a similar problem with going to the movies at the moment. $17 is getting a bit pricey, especially with 2-4 friends going, we could actually buy a couple of dvds for that price. Also, as the weather has been so nice, I have felt guilty spending a few hours in the cinema when the sun is shining and warm outside. But soon that will all change, with winter chills on their way.

Of course if I won the Lotto, I would buy a large house and fill it to the brim with lovely bookshelves and spend the days lying in the sun on Caribbean beaches reading - Bliss!!

Music Monday - Amy Winehouse

I still LOVE this song, although it must be a good advertisement for what drugs can do to a girl. You know, like a before shot of healthy looking Amy, before she blows all her money and talent on toxic powders.

Anyways, it has been blasting out through the ipod this weekend.

Good

Good - DVD (2008)

Oh my gosh, this was soooo not good. In any way. I found the whole jumble a bit false and pretentious, poorly written, acted and directed. I guess the point of it was to show how a normal man, with good intentions ends up being sucked in and how everything can change in your life.

Viggo Mortenson plays John Halder, a German literature professor who finds himself becoming involved with the Nazi Party. He also has to deal with an aging mother, a new wife and a best friend who is Jewish. Trying to help everybody out makes him confront his beliefs and leads him on a new path.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas did a better job of explaining a similar type story. So I am sorry, Viggo and all - it has to be a 0/5 from me. I'd rather sit through 6 hours of mind numbing golf or snooker on TV, than watch this one again.

Mistress of Rome - Kate Quinn

Mistress of Rome - Kate Quinn (2010)

Sometimes a work of historical fiction sucks you into the time period, so much that the characters and their stories feel real and you can picture them moving about in their world. Kate Quinn does a wonderful job of telling the story of Thea, a Jewess who finds herself a slave girl to the deplorable Lepida. Her fortunes rise and fall, as she becomes a prostitute, then a singer who catches the eye of an Emperor.

Rome came alive for me, and it has been a long time since I have looked forward to bedtime by curling up under the warm duvet and reading some more pages. For that it may have to be a 5/5 as I would be happy to recommend this book to everybody - rush out and buy it.

Apparently Kate Quinn wrote this in four months, and is going to write a sequel and a prequel - so I will be hanging out for them to arrive in the bookstore.

Is it a Potato?

Amazing. I loved the UK version, but the US version looks even better.