Movie Review: Gimme Shelter

A few weeks ago I was asked if I would watch an upcoming movie and write up a review on my blog. Since I like nothing more than sitting back to empty my head and take in a movie, I was quick to accept.

I actually had the option of getting a "press pass" to see it on the big screen the night before it premiered, but my schedule put its foot down and said no way, Jose, you can't fit a movie in on a Thursday night! So instead I watched it on my laptop from the comfort of my couch. I Just followed the link they sent me and voila, movie time.

I'm fancy.

I'm high falootin'.

Anyway, the movie is Gimme Shelter. It stars none other than High School Musical's own Vanessa Hudgens. When I told my friend that Vanessa was in it, she said, "Who?" And I just stared at her and said, "Uh, High School Musical....? DUH?" She continued to stare at me blankly while I stared at her like she was an idiot until it dawned on me. She's no idiot. Just the mother of two sons.

But I digress. Here is the official two sentence synopsis of the movie:


Based on a true story, Gimme Shelter centers on pregnant teenager Agnes "Apple" Bailey (Vanessa Hudgens) who flees her drug-ridden mother (Rosario Dawson) in search of a better life of her own. Turned away by her Wall Street father (Brendan Fraser), Apple is forced into the streets on a desperate journey of survival.

Cast:
Vanessa Hudgens, Rosario Dawson, Brendan Fraser and James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones didn't have a large part, nonetheless, he was amazing. Don't you just love James Earl Jones? Is there anyone who doesn't love James Earl Jones in anything he does? I even love to say his name.
James Earl Jones.
James Earl Jones.
James Earl Jones.
Say it with me,
James Earl Jones.

Ok enough of that.

As for Vanessa Hudgens, she was wonderful. As you may or may not know, it is generally true that an actress's talent in a movie is indirectly proportional to her attractiveness. Vanessa uglied herself up pretty good for this role, and as a result, her performance was stellar.

The story line was a bit predictable, but since it is based on a true story, I guess that's not much of a factor upon which to weigh the merits of the movie.

Because the protagonist is a traumatized, abused, foster kid with attachment problems, I kept a watchful eye as to how they would portray this angle, and I have to say kudos. Job well done.

With a very minimal soundtrack, the movie had a bit of a documentary feel to it. Id didn't seem very "movie-ey". That's a word, isn't it? Can fancy high falootin' movie reviewers say "movie-ey"? I say yes.

Even so, I enjoyed the movie. I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me.

Well, hold on. I don't think I laughed. I did cry. I cheered a little. I smiled. I related. I rooted.


Would you like to see the trailer? Here it is for your viewing pleasure:




Gimme Shelter.
Check it out!





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Sweet 16. Sweet.

I threw a surprise sweet 16 party for Rosie last Friday.

She had been asking me for a surprise party since she was about 10, and had really been ramping up those requests in the last year.

I kept telling her, "I can't throw you a surprise party if you ASK me to throw you a surprise party. It kind of defeats the purpose."

Regardless, on and on she kept going about wanting one.

Little did she know I had been planning one.

And let me just tell you, in this day and age, surprising a teenager is no easy feat. What with all the tweeting and skyping and texting they do, it's hard to keep anything under wraps.

But I managed to pull it off.

We held it at the fire hall, because it ended up being pretty cheap, and no WAY was I going to have dozens of teenagers at my house eating and drinking and dancing and what not.

So friends and family helped me with...


Setting up a gift table,




Putting together dozens of pretty little candy jars




setting up the room with blue, silver, black and white decorations
(there were lots of balloons in those colors floating on the ceiling after this picture was taken)




Creating a "candy bar"




And taking lots of fun pictures.





As for Rosie?  All she had to do was have lots of fun....
















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Miley, Miley, Miley....

Turned on the computer earlier today to see everyone all in an uproar over Miley Cyrus' performance at the VMA awards last night.

I watched the video, I read some blogs and comments and tweets, I laughed at the Smith family's reactions.



Image source

And then I sat back and thought about it, and asked myself how I felt about the whole thing.

Being the Mom of three teenaged girls (girls who grew up on Hanna Montana), I found that, oddly enough, I wasn't all that bothered.

See, when my kids were three and four years old, they went through a potty stage. I'm not talking about potty training. I'm talking about anything that remotely relates to the potty is disproportionately funny and intriguing. And although I witnessed this firsthand in my own kids, this applies to every kid of that age group pretty much across the board. You Moms know what I'm talking about. For a good two or three years, everything relating to poop or pee or potties is just hilarious. If they see a pine cone? Poop. Apple juice? Pee. You get the picture.

I think young adults go through a similar phase, only sex (and being uninhibited in general) replaces poop and pee. Normally, these kids cut loose at college. I have a friend whose daughter, who was Catholic school educated K - 12 and a wonderful girl, broke both arms as a freshman while dancing on a table at a pub.

The pub was her stage. Her place to cut loose and go a little wild with no parent/teacher/priest watching over her shoulder.


For Miley? The world is her stage.




Image source

And for years, she has had no one watching over her shoulder, no one whispering a little guidance in her ear.

Even her song lyrics sound like a little child, don't they? "It's my party I can do what I want." With as many sexual (poop and pee) references as she can put in, because that's what is looming so large in her mind right now.

When my kids were going through the potty thing, I basically ignored them, knowing it was a phase that would pass.

So with Miley,  I say everyone just back off.  Don't give her the attention she is so desperately seeking.  She'll work through her phase and move on to more adult behavior soon enough.  I think she'll be with us for a while.  She's actually quite talented (in my opinion anyway).

And believe it or not, I kind of like her song.  I just put my fingers in my ears and go lalala for the drug references, and I burned my eyes out with a hot poker after watching the video. 

But you've gotta admit, it's a catchy little tune.


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