More Oscar Movie Reviews

Last weekend was another movie weekend. I love movie weekends! We saw Winter's Bone at home. I really liked it. David thought it was just so-so.

The lead female actress, Jennifer Lawrence gave a wonderful and powerful performance. I would give her an Oscar. This is how IMDb describes the movie: An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact. Not the most cheery of films, but so moving to watch how she keeps her family together while looking for her father. I recommend it.

The other movie we saw, The King's Speech. Wonderful is all I can say! Colin Firth did an amazing job and deserves the Oscar. Geoffrey Rush was great as well. I was not used to seeing Helena Bonham Carter looking "normal" in a movie and rather enjoyed her role.

I love all things royal. I can't wait for Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in April. I did not know the story behind King George the VI and how he came into power. Nor did I know about his father and brother or who his children were. I also have a soft spot for people who stutter. I have worked with many kids with this disorder and wish I could take their embarrassment and pain away when they speak. I am a big advocate of speech therapy and when I see a child who hates to speak in front of others open up and face their fear, it is a powerful thing. King George faced his fear and became a better man for it. Again I highly recommend this movie as well. If I were to choose between these two film's I'd probably say check out Winter's Bone first.

Only three more Best Film Oscar movies to see: Toy Story 3, The Fighter and True Grit. I don;t know if I'll get to them before the Oscars but I hope to.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Yum is all I can say. I made some yesterday for the Super Bowl. So glad the Packers won. I had been craving it and it is so easy to make in the crock-pot, I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Ingredients
~8 oz. cream cheese
~1-10-12 oz. can of chicken, shred (I like more chicken, so I use 1 1/2-2 cans or cook up chicken breast and shred)
~1 cup ranch dressing (can also use blue cheese dressing, but I don't like it)
~3/4 to 1 cup buffalo sauce (I use Franks Red Hot Wings)
~8oz. shredded cheddar

That's all! Put all the ingredients in a crock-pot and turn on high:

Before:

After about 30 minutes, stir:

During (I know not the most appetizing picture):

After another 20-30 minutes, stir again and you should be ready to enjoy. Turn the crock-pot to warm to keep the dip hot. Make sure everything is melted together and serve with tortilla chips and/or celery. Delicious!

After:

Oscar Movies

Since I just reviewed some movies, I wanted to see which of the Best Picture Nominees I have seen and how many more I have to go. I went over to Little Lion's Life where Colette had made a blog entry all about the Oscar nominations. Here are the Nominees for Best Picture:


BEST PICTURE
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech 
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone


The ones in purple are the ones I have seen. 5 down and 5 to go. I don't think I'll get to them before the Oscars, but now I have something to try and work towards, although of the 5 left, I only have a real interest in 2, The Fighter & The King's Speech. If you've seen the other 3, please tell me if I should check them out too.


Happy Friday Everyone!

Movie Reviews

I've been meaning to get to this all week but between my job interview (went great), a sick little boy (bronchitis) and all the other daily stuff, blogging got pushed to the back burner. Last weekend was a movie weekend and I loved it. Saturday David and I had date night so we saw a movie and had dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. The last movie we saw in the theater was The Other Guys and that was in September. We kept debating about what movie to see and finally decided on Black Swan.

It was so good! I am really glad we saw it in the theater. I wasn't sure about it but it kept you intrigued and always wondering. There were times you thought something happened and it turns out it didn't and times when something happened and you wondered if it was real. I have heard people say you either love this moveeie or hate it, there is no middle ground. After seeing it, I would agree with that. I have a dance background, so right off the bat I was interested in the premise. Natalie Portman did a fantastic job as did Mila Kunis. I think she should have gotten a supporting actress nom for the Oscars, what a shame she didn't. The supporting cast and musical score was perfect. I got lost in the movie the whole time and when it was over, I was amazed. I don't want to tell you about the story so I don't give anything away, it is a psychological thriller and I highly recommend it.

Sunday we decided we wanted to watch another movie and decided to see what was On-Demand. I love this feature with our cable but we have been using it a lot. I am wondering what our cable bill will be. Although it is winter and we're stuck inside with all the snow and cold. As we were looking at the list, I saw a movie I've been wanting to check out, The Kids Are All Right. David wasn't completely sold but he couldn't find a movie he wanted to see so we went for it and I am glad we did.

What a great cast and what a lovely story. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are a couple who have 2 children who decide to find their mom's sperm donor, Mark Ruffalo. Watching the story unfold, you felt for the kids, the moms and the dad. Seeing their interactions and consequences for going down this path were great. I cried at one part, which I admit I am a crier, but when it was over, it was such a touching story I wanted to know more. Again I highly recommend you check this movie out as well.