Sisters say it best

I copied this off of my sister Wendy's facebook page. Sisters understand eachother, and if the Disney gene of emotion runs in your family, you just might understand it too... Wendy Rawlins Stebar

Pixar’s Parable – Toy Story 3 …or… “Why the heck am I crying?”

What is it about Truth that makes our eyes tear up? ...Like:

“If we all hold hands and stick together, we can get through anything.

That we never leave anybody behind stuck in a trash bin.

That sometimes our Rescue is at the very last minute when hope is only hanging by a thread;
and that Help can come in the most unlikely and unexpected ways.

That Loyalty, Friendship, and Love are the most valuable attributes one can have in life, no matter how long or short that life may be…

And that “looking up” is always the answer.

Lastly, that the absolute WORST THING You can become is a bitter, selfish, controlling and miserable old Bear!"

Superheros II

Clint decided to make a superhero movie. He is going through a little movie-making phase...I think Steven Spielberg started around the same age... These are the princesses that the superheros have to rescue.

And this is everyone taking a lunch break.

The superhero council.

The rescue. Don't worry. We will post the entire movie as soon as Clint edits it...and charges up his video camera battery.

Searching for Pandora

"We have an indigenous population of humanoids called the Na'vi. "
"Mask on!"
"You are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentleman."
"Just hold your ground..."" I may not be much of a horse guy, but I was born to do this. "
"I see you..."
"You have a strong Heart...""Eywa has heard you...""Out there is the true world, and in here is the dream...." "The wealth of this world isn't in the ground - it's all around us..."

Body paint is liquid blue tempra paint mixed with water and cornstarch. It was easy to hose off afterwards.

Movies I am most excited to see this year:

'Percy Jackson & The Olympians' Release Date: Feb. 12

'Alice in Wonderland' Release Date: March 5

'Green Zone' Release Date: March 12

'Clash of the Titans' Release Date: March 26

'Date Night' Release Date: April 9

'Iron Man 2' Release Date: May 7

'Robin Hood' Release Date: May 14

'Shrek Forever After' Release Date: May 21

'Prince of Persia: The Sand of Time' Release Date: May 28

'The A-Team' Release Date: June 11

'The Karate Kid' Release Date: June 11

'Toy Story 3' Release Date: June 18

'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' Release Date: July 16

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Pt 1' Release Date: Nov. 19

'Rapunzel' Release Date: Nov. 24

'The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader' Release Date: Dec. 10

'Tron: Legacy' Release Date: Dec. 17

'Gulliver's Travels' Release Date: Dec. 22

You're Welcome

Rediscovering Star Wars

I have friends who have entire rooms filled with DVDs. Everyone loves movies. My collection of DVD's is small. I have only the movies I absolutely love. The ones that mean something to me. The ones I will watch, or my kids will watch, over and over again. One of those movie is All six of them. Although I could take or leave the most recent 3 prequels...the original 3 were life changing for me.
I have owned Star Wars on Beta, VHS, and DVD. I became a fan when I was 9 years old and my parents took me to see it three times. I was Princess Leia for Halloween that year. In a time before video machines, a neighbor of mine bought clips of Star Wars on a movie reel that all the kids in the neighborhood went over to watch, without sound. It was still cool. Everyone loved Star Wars.I wish I had the words to say what I really want to say about these movies. I don't. All the messages and meaning these movies hold for me could fill a book. I would not have ever married Jeff if he didn't love them as much as I do. They are THAT important. It's been awhile since I sat down to watch them. Clint loves them, and Derek has just recently discovered them, and is now hooked. But I don't complain. They are good movies. They are a huge part of the American Culture. They are Powerful. They ring of truth. We grew up with them and they have helped to shaped so many of us. I want my boys to understand and love those movies too.

These movies have endured for many reasons:

Amazing special effects. Strength of storyOriginal conceptTruthfulness Simple themes of good and evilStrong bonds of true and lasting friendship Loyalty Self- Control Self-Sacrifice Never giving up Doing the right thingBravery Overcoming the odds Having Hope Redemption The power of Love.

The Love that nearly destroyed Darth Vader was also the power that saved him in the end.

We are products of the media whether we like it or not. Whether we want to admit it or not. I really believe that. And I believe that everyone who has seen Star Wars is a better person because of it. There is truth in the message. And it IS that simple. There is evil, regardless of how benign it may appear at first. And there is good.

I have not watched any of the movies for awhile. I dutifully bought the new DVD set of IV, V, and VI a couple of Christmases ago because we only had the them on VHS. No one had watched the new DVD set. Derek has gone through all of them, and a few days ago, Derek was jumping from couch to couch, lightsaber in hand, flipping all over the living room while episode VI was finishing up. I brought up my basket of Laundry and sat down to fold while the last 20 min. was on...the part where Luke saves Darth Vader. I had forgotten what an amazing movie it was. But the part that really got me was, and this is new just on the latest DVD collection, is after the Death Star is destroyed again and everyone is reuniting on Endore after the fall of the Empire. Luke walks away from the crowd and sees his dear friends who have passed away there in spirit, watching over them. And then, Anakin is there...only it's not the old Anakin, it is the young Jedi, before he changed. He was back the way he was. Restored. It just really surprised and touched me. I can't say why. Except that it was truth. We cant explain it. But it's real. The themes that it expressed, a powerful metaphor for all we know to be true...coming at a time when we need it. Teaching little boys Right from Wrong, Good from Bad, Love from Hate. Loyalty, Friendship, Hope, Faith, Freedom, Devotion, Eternity.

I love Star Wars.

Scary Stuff

I saw the original Night of the living Dead when I was in high school. Scary Stuff. Since then, on the monster scale...Zombie's are at the top of the list. Right after demons that possess people...they are number 1. I still have never seen The Exorcist. Never will.

Then I watched Shaun of the Dead with Jeff a few years ago, (I totally recommend this movie if you havn't seen it) and my perceptions of Zombies became a little more humorous.

First of all, because they move really slow. As long as you are not overpowered by too many, they are pretty wussy. In fact, according the the Zombie Survival Guide, all you need to do to survive the Zombie Apocalypse is go to a second story house and knock out the stairs. They can't climb. They will just wander around on the first floor looking for stairs. They can't problem solve...they aren't going to stack up furniture or go and find a ladder. You just have to wait them out. (Unless you run into those Zombie Jumping Doberman Pinchers in Resident Evil, you should be just fine...)

Sheer Annoyance

Okay...Don't hate me, but, that is what I felt the entire time I made myself sit through the Twilight Movie last night. The book was definitely better, and I really didn't like the book! I really wanted to try to understand something that so many of my friends absolutely love. So I keep trying. But it comes down to this... When I hear about how great Twilight is, and how Meyer is the "bestest" writer in the world, I feel like I've entered the fourth dimension. I cannot begin to conceive how the mediocre writing, predictable plot, and poor characters of the book could have generated so much frenzied fandom. Twilight for me read like a Sweet Valley book with a Jesse McCartney type vampire. Worst of all, it brings the mystery of the wonderful vampire mythology down to the level of the screamy fangirl . Real Vampire lore means something to me. Good verses Evil, Light Verses Dark. Meyer has tried to change the meaning and symbolism of it all without really understanding what it is really all about. How light, when the dawn finally breaks, after the darkest night, keeps evil away. It is our greatest protection, not something that makes sparkles! There is so much more that is not evident in her books. She has no right to call her characters Vampires. They are something else. She De-fanged the Vampire!

I do think Meyer is smart enough. It is hard to break into the publishing world. And good for her that she is successful. But I remain extremely unimpressed. I realize people are going to hate me; Fortunately, there are not too many people who read my blog! Everyone has an opinion. Mine just happens to be different from most of yours, So don't hate me. I realize that maybe I am the one who is out of touch. And I am certainly no expert. But can someone please help me understand?

Thanks Chelsea!

Chelsea, in the BYU animation program, got us in to a sneak peak of Madagascar 2. We were excited to go, but I didn't have really high expectations, because I didn't love the first Madagascar. But this one was Great! I really loved it. 10 times better than the original. Thanks Chelsea! 2 Movies in one day! Life can't get much better than that. Did I mention I love movies at Jordan Commons? My little mini vacation!

Batman, Batman

(Derek's Batman...) I went to see Batman again tonight. Everyone said I would like it better the second time. It was Clint's first time seeing it. I did like it better this time. Maybe it's due to the dual nature of the entire movie that makes it better the second time, or maybe it's because I missed so much the first time around because so much is going on. After the first time, I felt a little depressed. This time, I liked it much more. I know there are those of you who have mentioned how you hate when people who really don't know anything review movies, (Lisa), so you can stop reading now. For anyone else who cares, this is what I think...

I thought it was interesting how everything in the movie is about the dual nature of things. My sister Wendy, and Chelsea, pointed some of these things out.

• There are 2 superpowers: 1, an agent of Chaos, the Joker, and the other, still Chaotic, but good, Batman


• Rachel has to choose between 2 men


• There are 2 boats


• There is 2 face


• 2 sides of the coin


• Batman has 2 identities


• This is even the 2nd of the 2 Batman Movies
  

There will always be good and evil, black and white, right and wrong. We all need to decide what side we are on. So here are 10 things that I love/hate about the Batman movie. (Spoiler Alert)

• 
  Love: Heath Ledger as the Joker. Thought he was brilliant and a lot more enjoyable the second time. Hate: That he was not in the movie more. Not enough Joker


• Love: The Bat mobile and the Bat Cycle. Hate: When I thought the commissioner was really dead for 15 min. the first time I saw it.


• Love: The few good guys; Alfred, The Commissioner, and Lucius Hate: So many corrupt police officers, and how Harvey Dent succumbed so quickly and easily to evil. I didn't believe it for a second. Although, the joker said that your true nature is revealed when you are close to death...maybe Harvey Dent just alwasy had everybody fooled...maybe he never really was all that we thought and hoped he was, and it took his accident to reveal it. RAchel was still good and strong when she realized that she was going to die. Batman had the same tragedy that he had to deal with, but it made him better....so much to think about.


• Love: That Christian Bale makes a great Batman Hate: Maggie G. as Rachel


• Love: That Batman is also Chaotic and unpredictable, just like the Joker. Hate: That Heath Ledger is dead.


• Love: That Alfred is so loyal, and he told Batman that to catch the bad guys, he had to burn the jungle down. Made sense that Batman had to do whatever was necessary to stop the Joker. Tap all of the phones in Gotham to stop him. Very conservative move. Sometimes it's necessary. Hate: That Rachel dies, and whenever kids were involved, I don't like that
  
• Love: That Batman had to break laws to catch the Joker and realizes that taping phones was the only way, and he did it. Hate: He took the fall for Harvey Dent at the end. Although, that is probably the most heroic thing he could do, but to give Gotham Harvey Dent's reputation is a lie. He is the real Hero and what Gotham really needs.


• Love: The boat stand off, and how the criminals did the right thing, and Batman had faith that they would, which is why he does what he does for the people of Gotham. Hate: That the boat scene, which could have been a real turning point for the movie, was not accentuated enough, and was just kind of swept under the rug.


• Love: That Batman and the Joker do what they do for deep and meaningful motives. Not for money, but because of what they represent. Hate: That Gotham looks like Chicago or New York, and not like Gotham.


• Love: Batman Hate: Having to wait a long time for the next Batman movie
  

So, now that you know how I feel, Check out Chlesea's latest drawing of the Dark Knight, with the greatest line of the movie: Batman "A silent Gardian, A watchful protector". I love a good superhero. I love things that represent what is possible, if we believe, and hope for a better world.