I rented this movie from Netflix and watched it twice. It's one of those films when you watch it a second time, you see and understand more. As with all my movie reviews, no big spoilers here. Just a brief summary of the film as well as my rating.
"The Lovely Bones" (2009) was directed by Peter Jackson and stars Mark Wahlberg, Michael Imperioli (Christo-fa from the Soprano's), Rachel Weisz & Saorise Ronan. It is an excellent film. Visually stunning, colorful & imaginative this movie is reminiscent of "American Beauty" and "What Dreams May Come." Susan Sarandon is marvelous as the maternal Grandmother. Stanley Tucci was a major player in the film however I don't want to give anything away.
Set in the 1970s, the costumes, set designs & hairstyles were dead on to what that time period looked and felt like. Some scenes were filmed with a yellowish cast which is what my old photos from the 70s look like now that they are fading. I very much related to these aspects of the film.
Saorise Ronan plays 14 year old Susie Salmon. This girl can ACT. I predict she will have a long & brilliant career, as long as she stays away from all of the "young hollywood" pitfalls that engulf so many young talented people. I hope she takes the route of Dakota Fanning and stays true to herself.
The movie centers on Susie & her Father (Mark W). There are some very sweet & poignant moments where the love a Father has for his Daughter are depicted perfectly. Small things, like sharing a hobby or just talking. I'm lucky to have a very close relationship with my Father so I could relate well to this aspect of the characters. Well written, the storyline flows in a manner which intermingles realism with the surreal. The plot has twists and turns which lead to an ending which left me in tears.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this film a 9. Have you seen "The Lovely Bones"? What is your opinion?
This morning I was searching for a beach quote to put as my FB status and I found this one. “It’s hard for me to put into words why I like the beach so much. Everything about it is renewing for me, almost like therapy...Beach Therapy” ~ --Amy Dykens
Wow, that's how I feel about the beach...so I decided to go visit my therapists - Sunset Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. I'm blessed to live about 6 miles from there. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I'd live near the ocean. I also never expected life to take the twists and turns it has which is how I ended up living on the beautiful Carolina coast.
It was 78°F, sunny, with a beautiful breeze. I walked along the edge of the sea...the water was a bit chilly but my feet got used to it quickly. There were a lot of shore birds scurrying about as the high tide was receeding. and the air...the air smelled wonderful - fresh, clean and a bit sweet. ahhh I wonder, does Heaven smell like this? It is nothing at all like the beach air in NJ.
My therapists - Sunset Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Both have a transcendental quality to them. The soft sand & salt water relax me. The waves come in at regular intervals like a heartbeat and I can feel a small part of the vast energy of the ocean as I walk along the shoreline. The breeze and the bright sun both cool and warm my skin on this early spring day. Almost immediatley my mind clears of any worries or concerns. The waves whisper to me that these things will take care of themselves and if not, I can think about them later.
The beach is fairly quiet and I can walk a long ways before passing another person. The shorebirds accompany me on my walk. As always, my faithful friend Jonathan (Livingston Seagull) is there. He is one of the big white seagulls and he walks near me for a little bit. I'm sure I'll see him again when I'm relaxing in my beach chair as he loves to fly above me.
I feel at one with my God, the Earth and the Sea. I always catch myself talking to my angels, meditating & praying without even thinking about it...it just happens. Sometimes the solution to a problem or a creative idea just pops into my head, like it had always been there, just waiting to be uncovered like a half buried seashell.
When I turn around to go back to my beach chair I usually stop by the waters edge and gaze out at the vastness of the ocean for a while. I feel so small in comparison. I breathe deeply as the waves once again whisper to remind me that we are all a special part of an infinite Universe. My soul sings as I recall the fact that I am a soul currently residing in a body, not a just body that has a soul...which reminds me of the lyrics "Even scientists say everything is just light, not created, destroyed but eternally bright". After all, once energy is created it cannot be destroyed and souls are energy. I'm the kind of person that can totally mesh science with spirituality however that is a discussion for another day dear reader.
Until next time, I wish you peace, love & good health.
I participated in the Art House Co-op Sketchbook Project 2011. What is that you ask? Well it's basically similar to a concert tour but done with sketchbooks. here is the description from their website:
"Thousands of sketchbooks are being exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the country. After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be cataloged and available for the public to view. We sent 28839 artists from 94 countries blank sketchbooks. Just under 10,000 books were returned completed to us — all of which will be on display. The tour starts February, 2011."
The sketchbooks are currently in Austin, TX. I received a text message stating someone viewed my sketchbook. I was super excited to discover it was one of my art friends from Facebook. How cool is that? If you have a moment dear reader, you can check out my sketchbook "Derigibles & Submersibles" as well as my Mother's "It must be...Elvis" here. I hope you have a wonderful day !!
