Five on Friday

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! 
 Sending lots of LOVE your way today!!

[ONE]

I'm over winter.  It is very much overstaying its welcome this year.  Totally done with it.  I am training for two races right now...and I'm not a happy camper on the treadmill.  At this rate, I'm just hoping there isn't still snow covering the ground when I run the first one in mid-March.  Come out and play, Mr. Sun!  I know you're just dying to melt away all this messiness :)

[TWO]

I was blown away by the presence and confidence of Michael Sam throughout his recent interview with ESPN.  In case you aren't familiar, Michael announced he is gay.  He was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year with the Mizzou Tigers in 2013.  He is projected to be drafted in May.  I can't wait to see where he lands and how he contributes to that team on the field in 2014.  He seems to be a very intelligent young man that knows what he wants and isn't afraid to go get it.  He's also got some great people in his corner based on what I've seen so far.  For one, the timing of his announcement was nothing short of perfect.  And he is a very marketable fellow.  Look forward to following his story this off-season.

[THREE]

I loved getting to see my niece and nephew this past weekend!  They are getting so BIG!  And I just love them so much.  It was awesome to get to spend a bit of time with them...even if it wasn't nearly enough!

[FOUR]

Chris and I had to cancel our Vermont trip for the third time due to weather this weekend!  We rescheduled for next weekend so please keep ALL your fingers crossed that we will finally get to go then!  Seriously, we already had to cancel in December AND January.  We'll be having some impromptu Valentine's day fun at our favorite hibachi restuarant tonight instead!

[FIVE]

I'm sad to say I haven't too much of the Olympics coverage yet.  Boo!  I need to fix that real soon though.  (Anyone know when the figure skaters take the ice, next??)  Instead, we've been catching up on the last few weeks of the amazing True Detective series.  Are any of you watching?? 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Andrea :)

Oscar Review: Nebraska

Oscar Nominations:

Best Picture

Actor (Bruce Dern)

Supporting Actress (June Squibb)

Directing (Alexander Payne)

My Review:

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I really enjoyed this movie!  Probably because it reminded me of home...maybe a little too much!  The movie follows a father and son as they head to Nebraska to claim the father's "guaranteed" prize money winnings.  There are lots of twists and turns along the way that prove quite humorous.  It is a tale of the good and bad when it comes to family and friends...especially when a large sum of money is involved.  It is most definitely worth watching.  It will make you laugh and possibly shed a tear or two.  I would recommend it to anyone.

Have you seen Nebraska? What did you think?

Andrea :)

Oscar Review: Her

Oscar Nominations:

Best Picture

 

My Review:

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I wasn't very excited about seeing this movie at all.  I am not a fan in any way of Joaquin Phoenix.  Not entirely sure why, but I just don't like him on the big screen.  I'm also not really very into technology.  At least not the kind of technology present in this movie.  So going into this one, I was only watching it as an obligatory check off on my Best Picture nominee list.  Knowing that, I didn't totally hate the film.  It held my attention most of the time even though I thought much of it was quite strange.  I mean, dating an IOS (your phone/computer) is bizarre to me.  I just couldn't really grasp it  though it was more interesting to observe than I imagined.  Overall, I wouldn't recommend this one unless you love technology and all the possibilities it provides.

 

Have you seen Her?  What did you think?

Andrea :)

Five on Friday

[ONE]

It was sad watching Jay Leno's final Tonight Show last night.  I loved watching him when I was growing up.  After moving to the Eastern Time zone, I didn't watch as much.  I always loved Headlines and Jay Walking though.  So funny!  He had two of my favorites as his final guests - Billy Crystal and Garth Brooks.  So glad I tuned in for his final week on the air!!

[TWO]

I started my training for the NYC Half yesterday.  I hadn't done much running since the marathon this past November, but it felt good to be back.  I only had 3 miles on my training schedule for yesterday...and it wasn't my easiest 3 miles ever, but it's progress!   Slow and steady wins the race...at least in my book! 

[THREE]

I've finally seen all of the Oscar nominees for Best Picture!  YAY!!  I am posting reviews on Tuesday and Thursday for the rest of the month so be sure to check those out.  I also rented Blue Jasmine and went to see August: Osage County with my parents earlier this week.  Both have nominees for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.  While I didn't love either film, the actresses in both movies were great!  I especially loved Meryl Streep...is it even possible for her to not be fabulous on the big screen?

 [FOUR]

We are headed to Kentucky tonight to check out venues for our wedding this weekend.  I am both nervous and excited!  I am ready for us to have a location and official date so we can get rolling on all of the other items we need to lock in, but we have multiple factors to consider with this decision so I want to make the most optimal choice possible. 

[FIVE]

Looking ahead to March, I'll be in a different city a couple of days each week via work trips.  It will be nice to rack up the frequent flyer miles, but I know I'll be exhausted when April rolls around.  Here's to enjoying (and relaxing as much as possible) the rest of February!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Andrea :)

Oscar Review: Gravity

Oscar Nominations:

Best Picture

Actress (Sandra Bullock)

Directing (Alfonso Cuaron)

My Review:

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Gravity recieved a LOT of hype when it came out in theaters.  The previews didn't particularly grab my interest.  And I am not a fan at all of 3D movies.  So...I wasn't planning to see this movie.  Until, of course, the Oscar buzz started.  Then, I became a little more intrigued.  Chris wasn't interested in it so I saw this one by myself one day after work.  I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  I thought it was very unique that the entire film was shot in space.  It must have been extremely difficult to coordinate the movements in these scenes.  I actually just saw a clip regarding the mechanics involved in the filiming of the movie when Sandra Bullock was on Jay Leno last night.  Wow!  I can't imagine having to practice movements with machinery to make them look fluid AND act at the same time.  Quite impressive!  I don't know how many theaters are still playing this movie, but I would highly recommend seeing it in 3D if you intend to watch it.  Even though I'm not a big 3D fan, I believe the movie would definitely lose something without that third dimension.

Have you seen Gravity?  What did you think?

Andrea :)

Oscar Review: Dallas Buyers Club

Oscar Nominations:

Best Picture

Actor (Matthew McConaughey)

Supporting Actor (Jared Leto)

My Review:

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This was another movie that I wanted to see from the moment I saw the previews.  It was shocking to see Matthew McConaughey so thin and scrawny in those previews.  I knew that if he was willing to make himself look that way for a role, it would have to be a good one!  I was right!  Once again, this movie is a true tale.  Near the beginning of the film, you learn that Ron Woodroof (McConaughey), a Texas man, contracted AIDS in the mid 80's.  As we all know, very little was known about the disease at this time and various medical trials sprung up throughout hospitals.  Of course, not everyone was able to be included in these trials.  This is were the Dallas Buyers Club came into play.  Basically, Ron along with help from his transgender friend, Rayon (an amazing Jared Leto performance!), set up a black market to sell the drugs that were helping to prolong his life. 

I absolutely loved the film.  It provides a personal look at what these individuals had to endure in a very unknown and scary time.  It was also good to see how far the research and medical treatments for this virus and disease have progressed in the past 30+ years.  I thought both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto more than deserved these Oscar nominations.  They both gave phenomenal performances...particularly Jared Leto.  If he doesn't win the Best Supporting Actor award, then something is very wrong.  I was blown away by his performance.  I remember watching him on My So-Called Life many years ago.  I hadn't seen much from him since then, but he came out of nowhere and just nailed his character in this movie.  This is not particularly an easy movie to watch (and there is a some nudity in a handful of scenes), but it is impactful.  I would definitely suggest watching it if you have the chance.  There are some very powerful scenes that will really make you think about how you treat people (especially when you may not know the whole story) and the value of true friendship.

Have you seen Dallas Buyers Club?  What did you think?

Andrea :)

Oscar Review: Captain Phillips

Oscar Nominations:

Best Picture

Supporting Actor (Barkhad Abdi)

 

My Review:

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I was excited about seeing Captain Phillips from the first preview I saw way before the film was released.  I love Tom Hanks (and met him last year...read more here!) so I had plans to see this one without even realizing it would have a shot at Best Picture.  To be honest, I didn't think it was quite Best Picture quality, but it was a fabulous edge of your seat flick.  Since it is a true tale, I was soaking up every minute.  I never got bored or distracted throughout the entire movie.  There were so many times particularly early on when I really wasn't sure how the Captain and crew were gonna survive the situation at hand.  I don't want to give away too much in case you haven't seen it, but there are some scenes that really have you holding your breath.  I would recommend that you all go rent this movie tonight!  I promise you won't regret it!

 

Have you seen Captain Phillips?  What did you think?

Andrea :)