Movie Review: Super 8

super8

In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth – something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined. -courtesy IMDB

I have never seen the Alien movies in the early 90s or late 80s. I probably just showed my age, but those are classic alien movies and for the most part the measuring stick for scary alien movies. While you don’t get to see the alien until the end of the movie the mystery of the alien and its origins is what makes the movie somewhat interesting. The real story of the movie is not about the alien, which looks like J.J. Abrams stole the costume from the Alien movies and try to add a more sensitive side to them instead of just scary, but in the story of the friends and family. The movie mainly revolves around Joe and his father the Deputy. At the beginning of the movie Joe’s mom died because of a tragic accident at the plant and at the funeral Joe’s dad blames Louis Dainard for his wife’s death. As the story enfolds Joe befriends Louis Dainard’s daughter Alice and uncovers the reasons for the accident at the plant. Super 8 is mainly a movie about friendship, family, and the ties that bind. Joe’s  speech to the alien toward the end of the movie resonates true to life and it is eventually the reason that the alien decides to leave.

If you’re going to see this film make sure that you stay to the end because Charles’s film shows through the credits.

Under a Maui Moon

Under a Maui MoonUnder a Maui Moon (Hideaway, #1) by Robin Jones Gunn
Published by Howard Books on July 6, 2010
Pages: 276
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
three-stars

Carissa doesn’t know who she is anymore. She and her husband, Richard, are recent empty nesters; Richard is spending more and more time at work counseling his volatile clients and less time at home with his wife; his clients are starting to show up at the house at night causing Carissa to feel scared in her own home; and to top it all off, Carissa’s boss informs her that she’s been “let go.” She wonders where God is in all of this since He doesn’t seem to be around to protect her—and she’s already stopped trusting her husband.

In the midst of her world tilting off center, she’s offered time at a hideaway on Maui. Hiding seems like the best way to respond to life’s overload, and the thought of being alone sounds like just the right balm to soothe her wounded heart.

The languid Hawaiian sun, white beaches, and warm-hearted people bring respite, but meeting handsome Kai causes Carissa to toy with the idea of being romantically involved with him. Then, under a Maui moon, she looks to God for guidance and hope for the future. That’s when she discovers His hand still is on her life, and that love is closer than she ever realized.

I had to do a quick island hop the other weekend for work and family business and decided that instead of taking the usual book I was reading which I still fully intending on finishing, I would grab a new book out of my stack. I intended on packing more than one book, but I was rushing to pack and ended up only packing one. I read Robin Jones Gunn’s Under a Maui Moon in less than a day. I’ve mentioned Robin Jones Gunn on this blog before being that she is the author of the Sisterchicks series.

This book was not a Sisterchicks novel, but a complete new adventure to Hawaii. The main character Carissa at the beginning of the novel is going through a complete upheaval in her life with losing her job to restructuring in the company, to being an empty nester, to noticing that after particular scary incident at her own home that she no longer feels that her husband protects her. When Carissa is offered a chance to go to Hawaii, she immediately leaps at it not knowing what will happen next.

I will continue to love Robin Jones Gunn’s imagery style of writing which brings even the slightest details to life. While she isn’t overly eloquent in her words, her wording of the imagery takes you right into the story and lets you almost experience what the character is experiencing through their senses. (I really should work on the Star Trek technology). I recommend that you read any of Robin Jones Gunn’s book so that you will be able to have the same experience for yourself as least in a book for now.

What are you reading lately?

three-stars

Tantalizing Tuesday ♥ 7.5.11

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Hope that you are having a wonderful week filled with many good things 🙂

Monthly Questions: Happy July!

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Audrey Hepburn at the furniture store

I thought that one great feature to add to my blog aside from Tantalizing Tuesdays would be some monthly questions. I wanted to do it weekly originally, but sometimes life gets in the way and I want to make things interesting. Feel free to leave questions that you would want me to answer for the next month.

1. Coffee or Tea?
As much as I LOVE coffee I’ve been trying to quit for at least a year, it’s not working. Lately though I’ve definitely been loving Iced Tea and Iced Tea Lemonades

2. What’s on my ipod?
Starbucks Summer Mix, Hayley Taylor, One Republic, and WakeyWakey

3. What’s a superpower I dream of possessing?
I wouldn’t mind having the power to heal people. I know too many people who are suffering through incurable diseases at the moment.

4. What’s my favorite way to relax?
I love to travel and try new restaurants. There are a few new restaurants that have been popping up in the neighborhood that I want to try.

5. Goals for the month:
Stay happy, keep meeting new people, and stay relaxed

Really?!?

I heard this song on the radio for the past month, but never caught the name of the band. Today I finally had a chance to look up the song and it’s called Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People. I do not doubt that this band obviously has something good going for them since they have radio play, but when you read the lyrics you begin to wonder what the band is really advocating.

I liked the song until this moment and now I’m not sure what to think. Is it really such a good idea to put a song with lyrics like this on the radio?  I thought America and the world was really supporting the It’s gets better campaign? Did I miss something here?!?