Taken

I'm not much of an action movie kind of a girl in a general sense, though I certainly have a soft spot in my heart for Big Trouble in Little China (who doesn't?). Car chases and buildings blowing up are not generally what I'm looking for in a movie. This was a good action movie. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Not too much time spent blowing up stuff and car chasing (just enough). Good story. Good acting. And, hey, isn't that movie poster excellent?

Hellboy II

How can you not love Hellboy? The quirky characters and the dialogue are excellent. This one may not have quite lived up to the level of Hellboy I, but it came close. As always, the good guys are fabulous, and I thought the villain in this one was wonderful too. Here's my favorite line---Hellboy's comment on marriage, "I'd give my life for her, but she wants me to do the dishes." For those of you out there who are thinking Hellboy is beneath you, I point out that Rotten Tomatoes listed the film as Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy in their 10th Annual Golden Tomato Awards. It has also been nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup.

Hancock---Movie, not Founding Father

I loved the first 45 minutes or so of this movie. The bum superhero getting a PR agent (Smith and Bateman are excellent in their roles)---good stuff. Then the plot takes a dive. (I know they had to bring on a bigger conflict to take the movie to a climax, but man, I wish they'd found another way.) To make a long story short, after what I would call an egregiously bad plot twist, the film pretty much loses most of its appeal. Still, I highly recommend the beginning. I think this movie was almost a classic.

Little Debbie's Cherry Cordials

I don't usually have much use for Little Debbie, other than an occasional Nutty Bar, but I'm addicted to these (so are Bennett and Laraine). Get while the getting is good, as they're only around near Valentine's Day.

Trader Joe's Freeze Dried Mangosteen

All you non-Utah residents with Trader Joe's nearby, get some of this stuff. My excellent sister-in-law sent me some (thanks, Deb). Loved it. I've never had a fresh mangosteen, but I thought this was some great stuff. Sweet flavor, melts in your mouth (well, it's freeze dried), with a weird, but I thought enjoyable, crunchy center. I hit up some California contacts (Brian and Karene) to send me some more, but all you other Utahns better find another source, since I don't think B&K are really wanting to go into the shipping business. I've also tried TJ's freeze dried strawberries (again, thanks, Deb), bananas, and mangoes. All yummy.

Dreyer's Peppermint Ice Cream with Hot Fudge

Okay, yummy. Thanks to Therese for introducing me to this. If you can get the Hershey's dark hot fudge, that's probably best, but any hot fudge will do. Unfortunately, Peppermint is a limited Christmas edition, but it's still around, so get some before it's gone.

Australia (Movie not continent)

Angie and I got to go see this movie free as a work function. The best word for this movie is ambitious. It actually was a lot of fun and we both enjoyed ourselves, but you couldn't help leaving with the feeling that that was a movie that was not nearly as good as it was trying to be. I suppose that a movie shouldn't be knocked for shooting high and only managing to be fun and entertaining, but it's hard not to notice when a film is trying to position itself as a great romantic epic in the tradition of "Gone With the Wind" and really only manages to be "Man from Snowy River." Still, I like "Man from Snowy River", and I liked "Australia." In the end, I give it a B. I also give it some extra points for ambition.