Julie my friend was telling me on the Final Destination 3 DVD you can pick who dies or something like that. I haven't seen the third one yet, but I liked the first two. I watched Evil Dead again saturday night. That's a classic. The next movie I am awaiting to come to the theater is Spider-Man 3. I have seen one preview and it looked good. I'm glad that Sam Raimi was picked as the director. He has stuck close to the original story line. Which is something a lot of directors don't usually do. Also Bruce Campbell might have a more promonent role in this one as a villian. Since I'm on film adaptations I always thought it would be cool if the Dragonlance Chronicals (War of the Lance) were made into movies. Of course if it was me I would do 9 movies with the Meeting of the Sextet leading up to the War of the Lance. That would be asking a lot though, so I would settle for The Chronicals. oH someone could do The Legand of Huma, or just about any of the great DL books. Any other Dragonlance fans out there? Tim

Like texanjana, this year I saw all the nominated movies. Hadn't planned to but by January realized I'd seen 7/9 so I caught Captain Phillips and 12 Years a Slave too. I quit paying Woody Allen years ago when he started sleeping with his stepdaughter but relented and saw Blue Jasmine, to my chagrin when Dylan Farrow came forward a few weeks later. Anyway, my thoughts: American Hustle was entertaining but I also don't quite get the critical acclaim; there just wasn't all that much to it. Thought Amy Adams killed it in her role, though. Gravity was certainly entertaining, but again by the time I saw it I was expecting The Most Incredible Movie Experience of My Life. It wasn't all that. "I really enjoyed Captain Phillips-thought Tom Hanks was robbed not to be nominated" What she said. I hadn't seen it during its first run, thinking it just didn't sound entertaining. Boy was I wrong. Great film, how he didn't score a nomination is going to be one of those Oscar trivia 'stars who were robbed' entries for years. "I am embarrassed to say I really liked Wolf of Wall Street, even though I felt like I needed a shower after watching it!" Ok, still channeling Texan on this one too. I literally sat through much of the movie with my mouth open in shock and awe. I wasn't particularly offended either and as someone who lived in Miami during the 80s, the shenanigans weren't that unbelievable but it was sooooo over the top. Actually enjoyed Leo DiCaprio which is a first, as I really don't care for him usually. 12 Years a Slave - this one felt like a movie that was determined to hit every last stereotype about the evils of slavery. I know, I know, based on fact etc but it just didn't move me all that much. Dallas Buyers Club did move me very much. Matt McConaughey was absolutely amazing in his role. Not a feel-good movie but it stayed with me for a long time. "Philomena was beautiful, and oh so sad. Dame Judi was excellent, as always." Texan is making my reviews easy :). I adored this movie too. Thought it was a perfect blend of drama, humor, and poignancy. Although I can't argue about Blanchett winning Best Actress, I was really rooting for Judi Dench. Her was an odd movie for me. I suppose it was a success in that if the intent was give the audience two hours of watching a dysfunctional, sad person in a vaguely depressing near future setting pursue a fantasy that ended up leaving him more sad and dysfunctional--great job. I left feeling sad, if not dysfunctional. Side note: another Amy Adams role and she literally was unrecognizable as the same person who appeared in American Hustler. That woman really deserves to and I hope will someday win an Oscar. Nebraska-was a nice indie picture. I am not sure I found it quite as moving and significant as many critics and viewers seemed to. Agree that June Squibb was a hoot. I only watched a few minutes of August Osage County (peeked into the multiplex after seeing another film) because I just didn't feel like sitting through hours of Meryl and Julia chewing the scenery and the entire premise sounded utterly depressing. My 10 minute clip seemed to confirm that impression.

Hi, I just joined the group and saw your question. What I have realized is that 10 year olds today are not the 10 years olds that we were at that age. They know more, and have experieced MUCH more. TV, the Internet and movies have exposed them to things we never dreamed of. My advice is if you can't lick 'em, join em. I didn't see 'Click' but whatever it is, I'm sure your grandson has seen much worse and much better. Don't worry, you won't set him on the path to degradation. Do as much as you can with him. If he'll let you, join him in the things he'd like to do. There's is a very sweet anecdote on the 'grandkids' section on a site called LetLifeIn.com about a grandfather taking his grandson to a Red Sox game. I think it kind of summed it up for me. Here is a link that might be useful: Let Life In

I just re-watched TiMER, which is set in a future in which you can get an implant that will count down until the moment when you meet the one person you are meant to be with. But it only works if your "one" also has a timer. Oona is about to turn 30 and is getting increasingly desperate because her timer hasn't started counting down yet. Her sister is floundering because her timer did go off--but she won't meet her "one" for another 13 years. The technology is more fantasy than science, but it makes for an interesting backdrop to look at people's reactions to knowing/not knowing/wanting to know/not wanting to know.