This weekend I took some much needed downtime and recharged watching two movies: Orphan and Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

ORPHAN

I rented Orphan from Netflix. It had looked interesting when it first hit theaters, and it got decent stars/reviews on Netflix so I went for it.

I didn’t have high expectations for it, though. It certainly looked like it had room to turn into a complete disaster.

To my surprise, it only held one scene where I was like, “Really? That’s how he’d act? It doesn’t ring true to his character but let’s see where this goes. I’m too far in now to turn back…”

The scene I’m talking about was when the father, John Coleman (played by Peter Sarsgaard), broke down late in the movie to his adopted daughter, Esther. But after that the movie picked back up on pace. (It could’ve swerved completely out of control at that point. Luckily it didn’t.)

Especially since that was the only glaring near miss the movie had for me. Otherwise, I thought the acting was excellent. Vera Farmiga (who played the mom, Kate Colemna) always delivers a great performance, and except for that one scene Sarsgaard was on target too.

But it was the kids, Esther (played by Isabelle Fuhrman), Daniel Coleman (played by Jimmy Bennett) and Max Coleman (played by cutie patootie Aryana Engineer), who stood out. So young, yet they portrayed BIG feelings and emotions.

Also unexpectedly enjoyable (and just plain unexpected) was the storyline, which threw in a bit of a twist they set up perfectly, didn’t hide, and which I never saw coming. I like when that happens. It’s rare, and the writers pulled it off brilliantly.

It’s not a totally “fresh” movie. There was a lot that has been seen and done before in other movies, but all in all I really enjoyed it. That was a pleasant surprise.

BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA

This was another pleasant surprise, particularly because animal movies kill me. I don’t know what it is, but even when nothing bad’s happening to the animals in the movie I want to cry. That’s why I rarely watch them.

Even if  didn’t have my little tearing up problem, I for sure didn’t want to see anything called “Beverly Hills Chihuahua.” Stupid!

Well, that’ll teach me to judge a movie by its title. The joke was on me because it was cute!

Wayne DVRd it for some reason. I guess he got to watching before he left for work Friday and thought it was cute. I ended up watching it with him Saturday morning and was all set to heckle the hell out of him. I don’t think it even took two minutes for the dog stars to enchant me.

I love Drew Barrymore and she once again brought to life a fantastic character. (She played the voice of Chloe, an all white chihuahua.) Through her Chloe grew from a spoiled, pampered pooch to a pup with poise and panache.

Papi (voiced by George Lopez), the landscaper’s chihuahua who’s in love with Chloe, had me doubled over with his one liners. Go Papi! I haven’t been smitten with a character like that since Robert Benigni’s Guido charmed me in Life is Beautiful. (But **SPOILER ALERT** – unike Guido, Papi doesn’t die at the end!)

Delgado (voiced by Andy Garcia), the ex-police dog German Shepherd who becomes Chloe’s protector when she gets lost in Mexico, had me cheering, laughing and crying as his sad tale of how he came to lose his scent –and then find it again–unfolded.

It was a fun movie. A true Disney type movie. The kind I grew up on. One full of heart, heroes, and hope. It was just the thing a weary soul needed for a recharge movie watching weekend.

Have you seen any movies lately that you unexpectedly enjoyed?

ARGH! It had so much potential! It had wonderful actors! Why did they feel a need to get too clever with the storyline? Why can’t movie makers just remember the KISS rule? Some of the most awesome movies follow it.

There were flaws galore, but the two most glaring which I think did the movie in for me were:

1. Inconsistency with the characters. Specifically the main couple they started out following. If they’d just had them say different lines in the tent when they were debating whether or not to stick with the couple they’d met at the falls, the twist could’ve been more realistic. (Basically they said something to the effect of being afraid of the couple because they were clearly crazy after having killed and gutted a wild goat. They came across all unsure and afraid. My husband read it one way, but I read it as they were afraid. Which, *SPOILER ALERT* when it’s revealed later that they’re really the killers just didn’t jive with their character development.)
2. When Nick (played by Timothy Olyphant) follows Cliff Anderson (played by Steve Zahn) down the cliff after he was shot in the cave…he wouldn’t have known Cliff climbed up the rocks to try and get Gina (played by Kiele Sanchez)!  They paddled in on kayaks to the cave. Nick never knew his girlfriend was up there. (Unless I’m remembering incorrectly and she screamed before he was shot…but I’m fairly sure it was after.) If anything he would’ve paddled back to the beach.

The movie tried to drop red herrings, clues, and foreboding. I think once they pulled it off without being overly obvious. But those two things I mentioned above were what blew it for me.

However, the couple played by Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez? Those performances were awesome! Their on-screen chemistry and their character portrayals were wonderful. And hot? Holy cow are those two good looking actors.

But I liked them both so much I had to go look on IMDB to see what else they’d been in. They both charmed me and had me wanting more that much!

Tim’s done all kinds of stuff. Some TV, other movies. But he’s going to be in Crazies. I was psyched for that movie as it was, but now? REALLY excited.

Kiele’s done a lot of TV, including Lost. (She played Nikki Fernandez. Minor part.) But she’s also going to be in another movie I’m stoked about and didn’t know was coming out until now –30 Days of Night: Dark Days.

So, A Perfect Getaway wasn’t a total wash. At least I found two new-to-me actors who I’ll look forward to seeing in other things. (Hopefully better and hopefully which will help them both become big time stars.)

When Julie & Julia came out, everyone kept telling me I just had to see it. Why?

“You’re a blogger. You’ll love it!”

All that did was make me cringe.

Great, some new standard of wonderfulness to live up to that I likely never will.

Yet, even before the movie was released, when they were just showing previews, Julie & Julia had piqued my interest.

Cooking, Julia Childs (who I’d read some biographical info on for a Gale work project a few years back and couldn’t help but be inspired by), and blogging…yes, it certainly did have all the makings of a movie that would appeal to me. Throw in Meryl Streep (LOVE HER!) and Amy Adams (who I have yet to watch perform and not be enchanted by) and I knew sooner or later I’d cave and see the movie.

Oh, which reminds me why else I didn’t see it when it was in theaters. When it came out I was still in my “funk.” I had submitted so many stories and all had met with rejection. (Okay, not all. In some cases the pubs went out of business. Others were MIA…and still are.)

The last thing I needed reminding of was my yet once again failed attempts at getting more things published. BAH! (And, no, my past publishing “successes” proved little consolation. All I was focused on was why I couldn’t repeat that process!)

But little did I know there were major circumstances out of my control. Namely, the planets truly were not lined up in my favor.

I’ll never forget writing an article for Families.com a coupe months before I quit in 2008. I talked about the black cloud I was under and just could not seem to shake. I’d fallen away from following astrology at that time. If I’d been on top of it I would’ve known about Saturn and all the chaos it was causing…and still had yet to cause. Truly, I was jinxed by a black cloud. Or, more aptly, a black planet.

Saturn was a HUGE factor in my “funk.” When Julie & Julia first came out it was still “infecting” me. Seeing the movie back then might have only served to aggravate me more than inspire me.

But Saturn’s since moved on and with it so has my black cloud and my funk. When I finally saw Julie & Julia last weekend I was in a good place mentally. I could receive the movie’s message as it was intended.

If you’ve seen it, it’s kind of fairytale-ish in its own way, isn’t it? Which appeals to me. I like fairytales. I believe in happy endings. Or, rather, I want to believe they’re at least possible.

That Julie had this idea to write a blog, and it ended up generating interest which lead to a book and a movie deal…it doesn’t get much more fairytale-ish than that.

But I liked that it showed the ups and downs both Julie and Julia faced. Julia Childs wasn’t an immediate, overnight success.  She had her own adversity to face and challenges to overcome. Julie, too, wasn’t an instant hit.

In fact, the scene where she got her first comment, her first non-mom comment…I laughed and cheered for her. I remember my first non-Families.com fellow blogger comment, a.k.a. from a reader…WOW! What a feeling! There’s little that compares to some faceless stranger you’ve never met taking the time to comment on your words. Amazing.

But the most fun I had watching the movie was that both women had dreams in their hearts and passions to pursue. Ones that motivated them to get up every morning and to shut out the naysayers.

They were their own knights in shining armor. They saved themselves and created their own happily ever afters on their own terms. That’s awesome!

Those are the kinds of stories I like most. It’s inspiring to see people living “better than they ever dreamt dreams coming true” lives. All because they stayed true to their Authentic Selves.

And more and more I’m fascinated by bloggers who make a name for themselves with their blogs, are used as experts in magazines and on TV shows, have huge followings, make money via their blogs, get book deals, etc…

From the time I could put pen to page and let loose my imagination, I’ve always had this idea I would write world-renowned novels. That’s how I would make my mark.

But my dad always used to encourage me to pursue non-fiction.

“Ick. So not me. You, like, have to give facts and stuff.” (This was during my Valley girl phase, but it’s the most telling description of how I felt about non-fiction.)

But in my early thirties something weird started happening to me. I started having this itch to write something…else. Something that stretched me. Something deeper. Something that might matter.

Then I learned about blogging…such a wonderfully freeing form of writing. And come to find out people were making their marks that way.

Could I be one of them? Did I dare try?

I held off for a long time, but when the opportunity to write for Families.com came along, it showed me “Yes, Courtie, there is a blogging Santa Claus!”

It reminds me of the chant in the 2004 movie version of Peter Pan. When Tink’s near death but Peter and Wendy and all the rest start saying, then shouting with abandon, “I do believe in fairies! I do. I DO!”

They resurrect Tink and breathe new life into her.

That’s what blogging has done for me. I’ve “met” some amazingly wonderful “faceless strangers” who I still haven’t met in real life, but it doesn’t matter. They’re kindred spirits and I count them among my dearest friends.

The one who comes to mind first and foremost is Jade Walker. She started following my Marriage posts at Families. It didn’t take long before I looked forward to what she would say.

One thing led to another and we started chatting via email. Next thing I knew she was sending me story ideas. Now we exchange birthday cards, presents, she sent me amazing gifts to boost me through my cancer days…Basically, she’s become a good friend.

And then there’s the friends I’ve made since starting up Haunt Jaunts, like Autumnforest, Julie, and Patty. Autumnforest was the first winner in my Halloween Blog Party but you know what she did? She ended up sending me a gift! A very cool ghost hunting game. And now it’s not uncommon for us to chat via emails about our writing aspirations…among other things.

Julie leaves very thoughtful comments and exudes a balance and charm that never fails to bring me comfort. And Patty…if she stumbles on a neat site she shares it with me.

My blogging may not have generated income, book deals or media appearances, but I’ll tell you what…it’s certainly generated something equally priceless, if not more so: friendships.

And these friendships have done wonders for my soul. These ladies have breathed life into my Tink.

So everyone who said I just had to see Julie & Julia was right after all. It made me reflect on all the good that’s come of my own blogging –and all the dreams still yet to come true!

They broke it down like this:

1. My Bloody Valentine 3D
2. Drag Me to Hell
3. The Last House on the Left
4. Paranormal Activity
5. Orphan

Why people liked Drag Me to Hell I don’t understand. It’s the first movie in a long time I’ve turned off. (I shut it down after the old lady is hiding in the back of the girl’s car after she gets off work and they have an absolutely ridiculous cat fight –where the old lady almost wins! It was absurd. ABSURD! I can’t emphasize that enough. Yet, I’m in the minority. Every one else claims if I’d kept watching I would have liked it. Doubtful. I couldn’t buy that part and when I can’t suspend my disbelief for a movie anymore, well…that does it for me.)

I haven’t seen any of the others. They’re all in my Netflix queue though waiting to be delivered.

And then there’s my personal fave because of the zombie aspect: Zombieland. It got an honorable mention on Film.com’s list. It had it’s rough spots too, but overall the funny outweighed the flaws and kept me amused. Glad it made the reviewer’s list, even as an HM.