Jack: I love getting tossed in a sack and shoved through a magic portal.

Santa: Oh, good, that was my idea!

----------------------

Over the holiday weekend, I got a chance to see both Silver Linings Playbook and Rise of the Guardians.

My mom came into town for Thanksgiving, so Wednesday night I introduced her to the Alamo Drafthouse. While she was not used to eating in the dark, she enjoyed her first Drafthouse experience and we both really liked Rise of the Guardians. I had heard a bad review on the radio and was not sure about it, but it ended up being fantastic.

When the Boogeyman, aka Pitch, tries to take over the world, the immortal guardians must join forces to stop him before children stop believing in the guardians and they disappear. If you have not already figured it from the picture, the group of guardians is comprised of Santa Claus, Jack Frost, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and the Sandman voiced by Alec Baldwin, Chris Pine, Isla Fisher and Hugh Jackman respectively (the Sandman does not speak) and the Boogeyman is Jude Law. I also quite enjoyed the elves and the yetis, who help Santa in his workshop.

While the plot was fairly predictable, my mom and I both thought that it was funny and very entertaining. It was visually beautiful, the dialogue was witty and it is just a great holiday adventure for the whole family.

"Don't worry. If you're going to hell, I'll just come pick you up."

I really have no excuse for barely posting the past two months except for sheer laziness. The move to Austin has been a little overwhelming and I am still adjusting to working full time again. Since it has been so long, I will cover multiple movies in this one post and attempt to be brief.

In the past month and a half, I have gotten to the theater a few times. My mother and I saw The Artist my first weekend in Austin and I took myself on date for Valentine's Day to see Big Miracle. A few weeks ago, on my first official visit to the Alamo Drafthouse since moving, I saw This Means War and  I have also seen Wanderlust and John Carter.

That only counts as a few, right? :o)

I have to say, I was a bit disappointed with The Artist. It was getting such rave reviews and I just really was not that impressed. Set in the late 1920's, you see silent movie star George Valentin struggle to figure out what do to once the world becomes interested in talking pictures. For starters, the plot reminded me way too much of Singin’ In The Rain. My mom really liked it but I thought it was a little boring, maybe I need to see it again now that I know what I am getting myself into.

It had gotten decent reviews, but my love of all things Kristen Bell is the real reason I saw Big Miracle. Based on a true story, it is about a family of grey whales that get trapped in the Arctic Circle and the people who helped save them. The movie not only shows the story from the side of Greenpeace, but also the native Alaskans who want to use the whales to feed their people and the big oil company that wants to drill in Alaska. It was a touching story and one worth seeing when the movie comes out on DVD, as I think it is already out of theaters.

"You're dumber than you think I think you are."

I spent last weekend in our nation's capital and had a great time with old friends. The only movie I managed to watch was Star Trek...again. However, in the past week, I finally got around to watching Unstoppable and Chinatown. The latter of which I got from Netflix and has been sitting in my room for over a month. The problem with summer is that I do not want to sit inside and watch movies, but rather sit outside and read.

But I digress....