Movie-smovie

I recently had to do a movie review for my capstone course. We saw Morning Glory. I think you'll catch on quickly to how I feel about this film. Enjoy! 

Morning Glory Chokes Out the Talent

Morning Glory follows convention so well, it is as though we have already seen the movie. Remember screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna’s previous work The Devil Wears Prada: an all too eager girl trying to fight her way to the top by proving her worth in a field which she seems ill fit for to begin with. Enter Rachel McAdams with her underdog gumption and go-getter spunk, which becomes too thick throughout the movie, as she tries to pull together the misfit crew of a dying morning news program. As she quickly makes changes to the program she must contend with the bold personalities of Ford and Keaton; these co-hosts butt heads battling over whether or not to present hard news or “fluff”.

     This social comedy remarks on the workaholic mentality of society as it affects family dynamics. McAdams and Ford are parallel characters asking the question which is worth more: relationships or a career?  Ford is the gruff, professional broadcaster who has worked so hard to reach the top with hard news stories that the only place left for him to go is down with frittatas. McAdams is an emerging producer who is dedicating her entire life to entertaining and informing the public that she leaves little room for her own life. Through each other the pair realizes that there is more to life than a career.

     In this respect, the movie is worth the viewing. Gather around with your overpriced popcorn and soda “deal” and wait for the wholesome, good-feelings to emerge as the fluff fills the screen. Convention rules the plot structure, which is forgivable, but to leave the characters with so little depth and fill them with annoying qualities (i.e. Ford’s forced Dark Knight voice and McAdams’ over the top Pollyanna enthusiasm) make it difficult to even enjoy the cliché turn at the end.

     Luckily, the film is injected with strong characters playing in the supporting cast. Take a look at the field newscaster played by Matt Malloy and Lenny played by Joseph J. Vargus for genuine characters that bring humor to the film. Also the set decoration is key to the authentic feeling of the movie as well; small, cramped, and crowded with props and papers shoved into corners lends believability to the hectic and disheveled life of the Daybreak family. 

     It is not that the genre is bad, but the execution could have been better, especially with such a strong cast. Overall it fails in creating suspended disbelief by forcing the audience to relate to un-relatable characters while providing mediocre entertainment. So, if you have nine dollars and an hour and a half to spare bundle up and find a seat. Do not worry it will not be crowed.

Marshmallow Legumes

Just before drifting off to sleep the other night I had an interesting conversation (also known as intercourse as per the thirteenth century usage) about circus peanuts.

I have always found marshmallows and marshmallow-like treats to be wonderful-- I think its due to the  spongy, airy quality of spun sugar. (This is a similar reason for my enjoyment of cotton candy). I'll freely admit that I enjoy circus peanuts on an occasional basis. I know it's odd to like a treat that is orange, shaped like a peanut, vaguely tastes like banana, and only slightly shares the marshmallow's consistency. (huh, I'm beginning now to wonder myself why I like them).

These treats were first produced in the 1930s and ever since can be found on the bottom shelves of most every store. (I'm sure many  of them have never left the shelf since 1930, but how could they ever go bad anyway?!)

But back to the topic at hand....
I was laughing so much from the slight confusion which ensued from my curiosity. Follow along:

M: How do you feel about circus peanuts?
B: I feel like they are totally overrated.
M: Overrated? If anything they are underrated!
B: I like 5 guys peanuts. That's a burger place by the way.
B: Guess you must have had some amazing experiences with circus nuts
M: I was talking about the marshmallow treat, not the actual legume

Oh it just makes me smile! :)

A night on the town with Mr. Billings

Well I should be working on a paper among other things, but I just can't find the motivation. Besides I cannot stop thinking about my cousin's holiday party. It was such a good time...

Wednesday night JR, also known as Mr. Billings, hosted his annual kick off the holidays party at the Highlands Club. It was splendid! There was an incredible spread of food (I never actually got over to the table, but from the looks of the plates going around it was delicious fare), the drinks were mixed with a heavy hand (I had to tone mine down with lots and lots of ice or I would have been under the table in no time!), and most all of my family was in attendance making for a mini-reunion of sorts (It was practically like California all over again)

Not only did my favorite Reger cousins come into town to party, but I met a few inspirational people who gave me great advice for making writing into a career and along with that I have decided that DC is my future local after graduation! (Yay!! Lizanne!)

And unknown to me, this holiday party has the tradition of, well, setting up a little holiday happiness ;)

Mr. Billings and myself at the end of the night

Aunt Noreen, myself, and Lizanne

Lizanne, Joe, and myself

Congrats to my parents for owning their first DVD player!

It's a bonfire, baby!

Yes, this is the result of typing "bonfire" into a google image search

The one photo of the night. How classy!

Last night I had a gathering of friends to the outskirts of town to enjoy the warmth of a bonfire.

Of course, as my luck would have it, it has been snowing for the past few days, the temperatures have been dropping, and the roads are a sheet of ice. Luckily, a group of brave friends headed out into the darkness along a winding road to roast weenies and GIANT marshmallows. (I'm not kidding these things were huge! It was as though three regular sized marshmallows combined forces to make this fluffy goodness. Check them out at Evergreen IGA).

When the continual rotation of our bodies around the campfire along with the consumption of festive drinks (Thank you Anna for making Tom and Jerry's! ) no longer provided enough warmth, we moved inside to play Apples to Apples. (Steve kicked ass by gathering a total of 17 green apple cards!) In playing the game I developed a new method of card selection: I always put the newest card out and never looked at it. The results were very profitable, if not a bit confusing when I didn't realize it was my card that was chosen! 

I'm certain everyone had a great time and am looking forward to hosting another bonfire once the shock of the first major snowfall wears off. (Plus,I still have a rather flammable item to throw on the coals!)

Secrets don't make friends

Boy am I tired this evening. It has been a fairly busy weekend, but not especially productive. I am looking at a week full of tests, papers, and presentations. Luckily, I have a few special events and opportunities on the horizon. (I don't want to say too much because it makes me feel particularly bubbly to know that I have something of a secret.) I just need to stay on task and use my time efficiently to survive the next few weeks of school.


Look at the new lip gloss I bought!

I've been feeling particularly cheeky lately and this just seemed to be most fitting.


 Enjoy your Sunday evening!

Yes, another haircut

I know, I know only a few posts earlier I was gabbing about how I cut my hair--how it was such a life changing experience blah, blah,blah--but today I cut my hair again. I just had to do it.

I have wanted to cut my hair short for a few years now, but have not had the gumption to go through with it. Well, this week I finally did. I needed this change. I have been feeling rather angry and in changing my attitude I changed my hair. I have been talking for too long about wanting short hair so I told myself to grow a pair of lady balls (thank you Easy A for being my new favorite movie) and just cut it off already!!

And no, this was not a crazed fit of rage which compelled me to chop off my hair. It was more of an assertion of my self as Mattie. My recent life has felt like a loss of the person I knew as me, but I am becoming more aware of my self and my blessings which have made my life incredibly rich. I would not trade this life experience or the heartbreak because I know I am becoming a better version of myself each day. (I mean just look at this kick ass haircut I just got!)

I might consider a color change too . . . 

Monster Cupcakes! Attack!!

A few weekends ago I met up with my darling friends for dinner and a bit of a pre-party. They roused me to join them for a splendid night of wild dancing and costume contests. But, all of that was halted when I realized I locked my keys in the car.

Anyone who is well acquainted with me is aware of my uncanny ability to "lose" my keys. It's not as though I have actually misplaced them, but I induce a panicked state of searching for a small collection of keys in the bottom of a dark purse or even discovering that I have them in my back pocket when I cannot come across them quickly.

But, I had put most of that frantic searching behind me when I came to the epiphany (I'm not kidding this was the most exciting day I had. I even came up with a brilliant idea for bananas, but I'll explain that another time) when Caitlin told me to hook them onto the ring on the outside of my purse. Ingenious!!

It seemed as though all of my key losses were behind me.That was until I locked them in my car. I have NEVER locked keys in a car before. I was so flustered and ashamed that I had done such a thoughtless act.

Luckily I was in just the right company! Both Steve and Erik are masters of the car world (well as far as I can tell from my limited knowledge. And hey, they are my key saviors so of course they THE MOST incredible!) with their well developed knowledge pertaining to the extraction of keys from inside a vehicle.

Two bent hangers, a screwdriver, swearing, masked costumes, and many sexual innuendos later the car was unlocked and my keys retrieved.

I could not think of a better way to repay their hard work than with baked goods. (And who doesn't love cupcakes?!) So I whipped up a batch of monstrously-sized red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. (I'm not kidding these cupcakes tower over any cupcake you have seen before!)

Just warm out of the oven. mmmmm :)

Ready for frosting!

See! These cupcakes are like the mutant-monster, steroid-using version of the regular cupcake

Frosted, decorated, and ready to be eaten! Enjoy Steve and Erik!

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In my daily comings and goings I have encountered many fowl. On two different occasions I have caught a glimpse of a bald eagle and a rafter of turkeys! 

While bald eagles are not an unusual find for the Montana region, they are more likely to be found in forested regions rather than prairie. So, I feel pretty luck to have spotted this guy!

Interesting fact of the day: A collection of turkeys is called a rafter.  I just hope these little guys realize that Thanksgiving is just around the corner so they had better keep skedaddling!