The RAnts of RA

I’m married to a sci-fi fanatic. We have more sci-fi movies that I ever knew existed and while I don’t mind having them around, I don’t always appreciate the efforts Shawn goes through to get me to watch them.

Admittedly there are quite a few out there that I do enjoy with enthusiasm but that is not always the case. So, when Shawn insisted I watch Eagle Eye, I tried to watch it. For some reason I just couldn’t get into it. When Shawn mentioned the movie to me several times, I knew it was important to him that I watch it. I made a couple more attempts and tonight I finally managed to make it all the way through.

Starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monoghan, Eagle Eye is part thriller, part sci-fi and part adventure. The story feels a little disjointed in the beginning. It’s hard to follow and leaves you wondering what is going on. About half an hour into the movie the plot thickens, mysteries start to reveal themselves. Surprisingly, I found myself riveted to the show, hanging on every word at one point.

Robert Horton writing for Amazon says:

The "cell phone thriller" is becoming a genre unto itself, and Eagle Eye should be considered a key example of the form. Frankly preposterous but compulsively watch able, this movie puts Shia LaBeouf in a mess of trouble instigated by a mysterious telephone voice. If he doesn’t follow orders, dire things will happen–although when he does follow orders, the consequences are pretty dire, anyway. Also being blackmailed is a single mom (Michelle Monaghan) receiving similar phone calls…

The movie is rated PG-13, which in my opinion is about right. My son watched part of it with me, though the violence wasn’t graphic, a lot of cars blew up and many people died in car accidents, the wrecks were shown but the people we not.

The mother (Rachel) quickly gains our sympathy and our support through her love and concern for her young son. The young gentleman (Jerry) takes a little while to warm up to. He plays a sort of lovable loser who just can’t seem to settle down, preferring instead to drift around from place to place.

If you are a computer enthusiast and enjoy your cell phone, this is a movie that will give you something to think about for a long time. You’ll never look at either quite the same again. I know I won’t.

Mother’s Day will be here before we know it. Since my mother is still living in Michigan and I’m out here in California, it’s always a chore trying to find just the perfect gift for Mom.

After all I would not want her to think she’s not special because we all know that all mom’s are pretty special people. Clothing was out – we have entirely different tastes and her weight fluctuates as much as mine and well, I haven’t seen her in six years. I’d be way off.

I didn’t want to send roses because they don’t last long enough. Knick-knacks are out because she’s moving and it’s just one more thing to pack. I just bought her a pair shoes and it’s too soon to buy her another pair. So, I was stuck. What to buy?

I decided to send her some of my favorite movies — ones that I was pretty sure she would enjoy.

Nothing says love like the The Princess Bride, this is one of our all-time favorite movies and can you believe that my mom has never seen it! This is one movie that has everything.

Notting Hill, is another romantic movie, mixed with humor that is a must see! I won’t mention that it’s an awesome "chick flick."

I’m not so sure about 12 Monkeys, she might not like it but I reasoned, who could resist Brad Pitt and my favorite line, "games that wanna get out…" I’m hoping it’s a big hit but if not, my sister will enjoy it.

I had to make sure there was one on the list that was a sure-fire bet. Mom has been talking about seeing Paul Blart: Mall Cop since it came out in theaters. She can’t wait to see it, so I pre-ordered it and she’ll get it hot off the presses.

What are you getting mom for Mother’s Day?

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

I thought I was the only person who is overly obsessive about spam. I’m talking about the postal kind, not the e-mail type. Years ago I received so much spam in the mail that I actually felt sorry for my postal worker.

Well today as I entered our neighborhood post office a man was standing just inside the door. He looked at me with that deer in the headlight look. I had plainly caught him at something he felt guilty about. He started rambling on about how he knew exactly what to do with junk mail.

I had to chuckle to myself because here was a grown man standing in the post office, stuffing business reply envelopes with the mail he had just received from that particular business. I used to take great pleasure in sending junk mail back to its originator – especially knowing they were paying the freight. It never would have occurred to me, not to take the mail home first. Talk about efficiency.

He stuffed it back in the envelope it came in, calmly walked over to the mailbox and dropped it in. He was my hero today — standing before me looking like the cat that had just eaten the canary. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone in the world – that I actually had some control over my life. It made sense.

Until…

The other shoe dropped.

I had been at the post office early this morning because I knew there was a package waiting for me and I couldn’t wait to get it into my hot little hands. It was the 10th Anniversary Edition of Pride and Prejudice complete with the book, The Making of Pride & Prejudice, one of my all-time favorite movies. As such the mail hadn’t been sorted yet.

So, when Shawn came home this afternoon we had mail.

I need to rest, I’ll finish this story up in a few hours. Check back in the morning. Continued at: Time For Kids?