Years ago The Blue-eyed Girls Club (consisting of my daughter Suzy and I) went to movies . Mr. Wonderful and the rest of the clan were not with us when we we decided to sneak off. This movie came out in 1995 so Suzy would have been 16.

I knew what the movie was about because I had read the book and I carefully explained to my impressionable teen that the movie was about a married woman who had an affair while her family was away. I explained that I personally thought it was wrong, but I wanted to see the movie to see Clint Eastwood as a romantic lead instead of "the dirty Harry" character he usually played.

So....for two hours we sat in silence and watched the drama unfold. What followed was one of the best talks that she and I probably ever had. We began to discuss the movie and the question came up..."When did the heroine cross the line?' "When did the innocent flirtation become an invitation to sex?" We were free to openly discuss their actions and behaviors because they were not us. There was no guilt, shame or reproach but just honest observations.

We were able to see when the interest and flirtation subtly changed and what steps could have been taken to stop it . We also discussed what might have happened to the heroine's family had she run off with the National Geographic Photographer.

As a parent we make all kinds of mistakes.....this particular event I count as a high point of motherhood, what could have been just a few hours of escapism turned out to be a serious lesson on how easily it is to be swept away by our emotions and make bad choices.

Has a movie ever led to a serious discussion with your kids?

Labels: Monday memories, Movies, Suzy

I'm off to the Movies to see the Narian Chronicles : The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe. I'm really excited about this movie and am thrilled it received a 5 star rating. I'm hoping with the success of this movie that maybe Disney will consider making the rest of the books into movies also.

The Mister and I first read these books aloud to each other long before we had children. We've read this series to our kids many times and was always thrilled as the children began seeing more symbolism in the book than just the surface story.

We rarely go to town much less the movies so this is a big date night for me. We are actually going on a double date with our friends John and Sandy. I'll catch you later!

Post Script: This movie rocks! Totally loved it and it was a faithful adaptation of the book that took 5 years to make. The executive producer is Douglas Gresham ( C.S. Lewis' stepson) and the director also directed the "Shreck" movies. The battle scene are breathtaking!

The voice of Aslan is Liam Nielson. The children were well cast and look like what I imagined them to look like. I especially enjoyed the beginning of the movie which was very moving and puts the movie in the time frame of world war II.

The White Witch was very cunning (however, she looked somewhat deformed in some of her outfits). She was believably sweet and harsh at the next instant . I was glad she wasn't typecast as a "Cruella de Ville" type of villain.

I loved the whole experience! It was fun and I highly recommend it!

Narnia Opens with $23.4 Million
Source: ShowBIZ Data
December 10, 2005
The big screen version of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, produced by Walt Disney Studios in conjunction with Walden Media, had a healthy opening day yesterday, earning an estimated $23.4 million in 3,616 theaters nationwide, an average of roughly $6,500 per theater. It is very likely to end up in the top 20 for opening days, and if it holds up as well as expected, it could be making a strong play for the December opening weekend record, currently held by Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which made $72.6 million its opening weekend in 2003.

Labels: all about Me, Movies

Today was a play day. Work has been so hard, and so physical lately that today we ( me and my two friends) decided that we needed to have a girl day and just play.

We divided the day into three parts and formed our own sisterhood......the first part of the day was spent in sharing prayer request and praying for each other and each of our families.

Second part of the day was lunch and a movie. Since none of us had any money we decided the best way to spend our time was to pop in a frozen batch of Chicken Lasagna while we watched "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." I must admit to being the instigator for the movie and for the sisterhood we've developed.

I read the book several years ago while packing to move to Virginia. We had lived in Savannah, Georgia for 17 years so this move meant leaving friends and family behind. I was intrigued by the cover and the title and was really in to reading anything about the company of close knit circle of friends . I loved the banter and the plot and could easily understand why the book made the best seller list. The following year the sequel came out and my good friend Sandy gave me a copy as I had talked so much about the book. Last year the third book came out.....and naturally I read that also. When I discovered they would be making a movie Sandy and I decided that we had to have a movie date. (knowing full well that our misters would take a pass on a chick flick!)

The movie came out in June and we never did get to go see it together. So now that it is out on DVD we decided it was our time to watch it . It was a good movie and perfect for escaping the care and concerns of the day. My friends also enjoyed it and for a little while we were "carefree girls" again and not wives and mothers.

We ended the day with a craft project. We made Advent Ribbons. It basically consists of wrapping individual pieces of candy to look like a package and hot gluing them on to a ribbon. The person who receives the ribbon takes the bottom piece off for each day till Christmas. We personalized the candy gifts with an encouraging message about the person wrapped around the candy.

It was fun and inexpensive but a home made gift with lots of heart.

Labels: all about Me, Friends, Fun, Movies, Sandy

Old Dad is snoring in the next room....(they are sweet snores) and the kitties are curled up together sleeping on the couch , Spot is sleeping at my feet and I feel quite alone tonight.

Seems like I have too much to reflect on right now....We saw "The passion of the Christ" last night and came away emotionally exhausted. I guess I have a Love/Hate relationship with the movie. I wasn't entertained and knew I wouldn't be......I hated the brutality and physical torture......even though I was very aware of Christ suffering and sacrifice. I loved the humanity of Christ/but grieved that my sin put him on the Cross. I hated the mocking and angry shout of the crowds to 'crucify him' after he was being beaten almost to death and almost beyond recognition. I was confused by the "Catholic" references to the stations of the cross and went home and looked them up. I hated the "devil" and how he became more and more ugly as the movie progressed. I loved the reflection of Mary back to Jesus falling as a boy and being there to hold him and tell him "I'm here" ( Mary meets Jesus is another station of the cross). I loved the Aramaic and Latin and really not needing the subtitles.

I loved that the theater was quiet after the movie. There was no mad dash to be the first one out of the door. There was a quiet hush all over and when the theater did begin to empty out the people weren't talking. I loved the fact that we went a week after the movie came out and still had to buy our tickets in advance to make sure we could get in. I'm sure it is a movie that I will only see once....but it was enough to last for a lifetime.

Labels: Movies