Friday, July 24, 2009

7 Quick Takes Friday

This is what my 7 Quick Takes looks like --thanks for the invite from Conversion Diary

1. Saw the movie, "Gran Torino" with Clint Eastwood. I've been holding out, waiting to see this with Eric, as we seldom watch movies together anymore. We're always so tired, and there are a million things to do other than watch a movie. I think our most enjoyed movies together were "Band of Brothers". Strong movies with an serious theme. "GT" is good. Really good when it comes to drama. However, it is similar to another movie I saw recently: "Seven Pounds" with Will Smith. I do not recommend this movie. It is depressing for reasons that people don't need to consider. I do think "Gran Torino" has a noble theme, whereas "Seven Pounds" is just disturbing. However there is a similar ending that I'd be interested to see who else noticed. Drastic resolutions to serious problems. I think there's something to be seen in modern movies about modern problems and what writers see as options for life/death. I'll see if anybody comments before I spoil the ending.
2. Saw first 10 minutes of "Igor" at the kids movie, before we walked out, told the manager, and were offered free seats to another movie. Really, who actually thinks a movie like that is appropriate for any child? We actually, truly prayed for the children that had remained. We saw "UP" for the 2nd time, which has some sadder themes but is a much better choice in my book.
3. Made my favorite easy frozen dinner tonight from Bertolini. It's the pasta with the basil/tomatoe sauce. Quick & easy. I buy 2 bags and have no left overs. It's our version of take-out. Pricier than a regular meal, but easy & wayyy cheaper than a nice Italian restaurant.
4. Received Susan Wise Bauer's "The Story of The World Vol. 1:Ancient Times" w/workbook via UPS. Also, "First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind". by Jessie Wise. Looking forward to diving into both.
5. Finally finished cutting the grass, before it started to cover the windows. We have a small yard & use a push mower. No biggie. It was just a little more time consuming with the length of the grass being so great.
6. Received a notice to schedule H's 3 year dr's appointment. Can't believe he's going to be 3.
7. We're considering the clunker's for $ program as our cars are both showing their age. Who know's what we'll actually wind up doing. The world turns to fast for actually worrying about how that will turn out.
ps. don't miss the dolls in my last post...

3 comments:

You Can Call Me Jane said...

LL, We love The Story of the World books (we've only read Ancient Times so far). We're also using First Language Lessons this coming year. It's been fun finding your site. Blessings to you and your family!

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

My husband and I just watched Gran TOrino the other night. We'd been wanting to see it since it was at the movies. I liked it...and while I was sad at the end, I didn't even compare it one bit to Seven Pounds. I guess because he was sick...and because it made it seem more like he GAVE his life rather than TOOK it? Does that make sense? Either way, yes, he committed suicide. And I wasn't happy about it. But I understood it more than Seven Pounds...where he had people and life to LIVE for but gave it up anyway. It was very selfish...whereas "Wally" did it as a gift..of sorts.

Laura at By the Bushel said...

Michelle, That's exactly what I thought too. I noticed the common thread of someone taking their life, and wanted to hear what someone else thought. I thought Wally's reason was so much more noble. What a change of heart for someone so ingrained in his thinking and lifestyle. A lesson there I'm sure. I don't wish to sound too critical of either character. Just wondered what others thought. It does give pause for thought 2 movies with 2 such good actors in their own right(I realize Eastwood is in a class by himself- that's a given) but find myself noticing this similarity in the endings that I couldn't get past. Seems to have some relevant commentary on our society/story writers. Thanks, really, for commenting.
We had been waiting to see GT also, and both enjoyed it, whereas, I saw 7lbs by myself and didn't enjoy it at all. My husband only saw a little bit of it, and I'm glad he didn't see more. -

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