Sunday, February 24, 2013

"What 14-year-old boy doesn't want to watch a comedy that features flamethrowers?" What I'm Reading & Watching This Week Plus Blogger Links To Share

Things are a bit quieter this week -- my husband is on vacation and he took the girls to North Carolina. They're visiting my sister-in-law, who's moving to N.C. She's retiring and making her Great Escape from New Jersey.

So it just me, James, and the feral mutts. Since James now has a computer, with high speed internet access, in his room, I don't see much of him, though he will wander down when he gets hungry. I understand cats are much the same way. Maybe raising cats would be good preparation for rearing teenagers?



Anyhoo, I was excited about the prospect of spending one on one time with him so I rented some movies. His only request was "don't get any dramas." I rented The Amazing Spiderman, which we watched last night and both enjoyed. Seriously, how cute are Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone together?

I also got Contagion, which is more for me than him (it seems as much a thriller as a drama -- does that count?) and 30 Minutes or Less. I don't know anything about 30 Minutes or Less. The tagline promises "Balls-out action and raunchy laughs." Is that a good thing? Or is that code for "lame, stupid movie that will only appeal to certain pre-pubescent boys?" Oh well, it seemed worth a shot. As I said to the Video Rental Store Guy, what 14-year-old boy doesn't want to watch a comedy that features flamethrowers?




The Hubby, the teens, and I started the second season of Game of Thrones last week. I have to take a hot shower after every episode because of all the incest :-P -- but this series is awesome.

Being a bit of a weenie about graphic violence, I've closed my eyes during a few bloody scenes. My family finds it kind of amusing. My son, who used to be sensitive about cinematic bloodshed, can now watch any kind of onscreen violence without flinching. However, he turns his head when naked breasts appear. I don't know whether this is his natural inclination or if ... well ... what 14-year-old boy want to look at breasts when his mother is in the room? Awkward!


"It's Monday, What Are You Reading" is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It's an opportunity to plan your reading week and connect with other avid readers.


I started two new books this week:

  
Tim Rowland's Creature Features by Tim Rowland

This is a collection of the author's newspaper columns; he's a humor writer who chronicles his life, with his wife Beth, on a small farm. Many of the columns concern the antics of their two dogs, various cats, goats, horses, and pigs. I wasn't sure it would be my cup of tea, but I am finding this laugh out loud funny, and I mean that literally. I'll be reviewing this tomorrow.




A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin

This fantasy epic really grabbed my attention in the first few pages. Yes, even though I've already seen it on T.V. :-)








Recent Book Reviews:

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

11/22/63 by Stephen King


Recent Movie Posts:

Movies that Got a Strong Reaction -- good, bad, or in between, 14 movies that got a strong reaction from my co-blogger, Sarah.

Review of Warm Bodies -- lightweight zombie romance

Review of Weekend -- unconventional indie romance; explores challenges related to homosexuality in our society -- a 5/5 star movie for me.

Philosophical Ideas Through Movies Part I: Relativism -- This is the start of a series of posts on using movies, in our homeschool, as a springboard to discuss philosophical ideas. My daughter and I used Hilary and Jackie as part of a discussion of multiple perspectives on human experiences. I'm almost finished with Part II, "The Problem of Evil."

Review of Pan's Labyrinth -- blends dark fantasy with drama set in the Spanish civil war; another 5/5 star movie for me.

Discussion of Compliance -- Why are some people unable or unwilling to challenge authority?


Some of the Blog Posts I've Enjoyed:

Have a great week!

20 comments:

  1. Thanks for the link! :)

    Hope you like Contagion. Haven't seen 30 Minutes or Less, so I'm not sure if it's good or not.

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    1. Thanks -- I've heard good things about Contagion, and I do have a high opinion of this director.

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  2. So, I saw every movie you rented for a 14 year old...IN THE THEATER!

    Not sure if that's awesome or incredibly awesome...I'll get back to you on that.

    Thanks for the link!!

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    1. Ha ha! So is 30 Minutes or Less any good? If you reviewed it at TDC, I missed it. :-)

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  3. I really do want to read the Game of Thrones, but it is so long!!!


    Here is mine

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    1. Yes, the novels are insanely long. :-) But I love a really long book, especially when it's a page turner. Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. I loooooove the Game of Thrones series, OMG awesome!! Contagion was pretty darn good, I'm a total germophobe and yet I love all those deadly virus movies and books.

    PS. you won Elusive Dawn on my blog, shoot me an email with your address details
    Enjoy your week and happy reading :)

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    1. Thanks, Sheree! :-) We're planning to watch Contagion tonight. 30 Minutes or Less turned out to be a complete dud -- way too puerile even for a 14-year-old. Ick! Hoping tonight's cinematic pick is MUCH better.

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  5. Awkward! LOL, my 14 year old son is the same. If there is kissing going on he is OUT of the room like a shot ;)

    I really do want to get to the Game of Throne series one of these days. Sigh, so many books!!

    Have a fab week pal!

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    1. Thanks, Jennifer. We should enjoy our sons' innocence while it lasts. So many books indeed!

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  6. Sorry your comment didn't go through! Stupid Disqus' fault no doubt. Thanks for reading and sharing it though! I still need to get started on Game of Thrones but will have to wait till I've caught up on Walking Dead and Breaking Bad first!

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    1. Well, I very well could've screwed up and hit the wrong buttons, but yeah ... let's blame it on Disqus. :-)

      For most of my life nearly everything on T.V. has been complete rubbish, and now there are so many good television series! We always wait until they come out on DVD. Right now I'm hooked on Games of Thrones and The Wire. We love The Walking Dead. My husband has been reading the graphic novels upon which they're based, and they're even more f-ed up than the T.V. series. I'd eventually like to watch Breaking Bad.

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  7. Hey thanks for the double linkage, dearest! So who's YOUR fave period drama heroes? I don't believe you ever shared that here so I'm curious!

    Ahah, your comment on Game of Thrones made me laugh! "I have to take a hot shower after every episode because of all the incest" I think I'd be too. I'm too chicken to watch it because of the graphic violence. ROME was the last HBO show I saw and boy that was bloody, I think this one took it several notches!

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    1. I'm glad I'm not the only one leery of cinematic violence. :-) I'm not sure about the period drama hero question. I do like Col. Brandon and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

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    2. "I'm glad I'm not the only one leery of cinematic violence." Likewise! I feel that a lot of moviegoers became desensitized to violence, I hope I'll never become that way. A lot of the violence are so unnecessary, they could tone stuff done a lot and still made a good impact if the story is good.

      Oh Brandon and Darcy, of course! I actually much prefer Brandon than Darcy, yes of course Darcy is hunkier and he's got that perfect wet-shirt look, ahah, but Brandon touched my heart so much. I also have a thing for tortured souls, so Rochester is my #1 Byronic hero :D

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  8. I recently rewatched entire second season and boobs were shown in literally every episode. Even when the city is under siege they manage to show them. That's HBO I guess :) The incest is kinda disturbing but the way sex scenes are written in books is much worse, actually, one time I had to stop reading for a while because it was too gross. But that was book 4 I think.

    Thank you for two links! :)

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    1. It looks like James will be covering his eyes a lot during this season! :)

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  9. Haha! My friend's 15 year old son gets so embarrassed at nudity scenes in movies or on television. I've wondered if it's because his mother and grandmother are also in the room too. We haven't had a chance to watch the second season of Game of Thrones. I would like to read the book first, but that's only part of the delay. It's been hard finding time to watch.

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    1. Maybe this is a universal thing with teenage boys. :-) And I know what you mean about not finding time to watch DVDs.

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  10. I really liked The Amazing Spider Man. Like you said, Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield were just so adorable... all of their scenes made me smile.

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