Upcoming November Movie Releases

It's that time again. What movies are coming out next month you ask? I'm here to tell you.

About Time released November 1.

Alright, so I was going to put the synopsis, but it's massive, so I'm just going to summarize it.

Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) finds out that all the men in his life have the ability to travel through time. He then meets Mary (Rachel McAdams), they fall in love and then due to an unfortunate time travelling incident it's like they've never met at all. They meet again and again, and he uses his time travelling to win her heart. He uses his ability to fix his life (perfect proposal, stop awful best man speeches at his wedding...) but finds out that his ability can't stop him from experiencing the same ups and downs as normal people, and that it could be dangerous too.

I thought it looked kind of cute, it's a different sort of movie than most that are being released nowadays. Fun fact that I learned while looking this movie up, Tim plays Bill Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (also Mad Eye's son :) haha). I'm not sure if I'll end up making it to theatres to see this, I don't think I want to drag my boyfriend to it, but if he's interested or I find a girl friend to go see it with then perhaps I will. On a Tuesday. :)

Next up is Thor: The Dark World released on November 8

Marvel's Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel's Thor and Marvel's The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Thor. Enough said. I have seen all, and own almost all of the Marvel franchise and am actually excited to watch the new ones. I've been hearing from some people that they're not as excited about this one as they were for the others. But since I don't really know much about what's "right" or "wrong" about the adaptations, it doesn't really bother me. I won't be going to see this opening night, but once it dies down a bit I will definitely be checking it out.

Being released on November 22 is Catching Fire

Ok fine, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. If people need to be told it's part of the Hunger Games trilogy, they shouldn't be watching it.

Here's the synopsis

Katniss Everdeen has returned home safely after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way, Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.

If I remember correctly (it's been a while) the first movie was fairly well done in relation to the book, so I'm hoping the second one will be the same.


Last but not least, Frozen is being released on November 27

Fearless optimist Anna sets off on an epic journey-teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven-to find her sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom.

This one I haven't really heard or seen much about. But it's Disney, so I will be watching it. From what I have seen, the snowman and the reindeer seem pretty hilarious. Apparently my favourite parts of kids movies are the animals...


Next up are the DVD releases

November 5 is White House Down

Capitol Policeman John Cale (Channing Tatum) has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation’s government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.

I never actually got a chance to see this in theatres, and I've heard that it was not the greatest movie, so I will not be buying it. However I will somehow find a way to watch it because, duh, Channing Tatum. Fun fact I learned when I was looking up the synopsis, it was filmed in Montreal! Woot! Haha


On November 12 it's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Man of Steel

Ok I know that's not the saying, but who cares.

Clark Kent/Kal-El (Henry Cavill) is a young man who feels alienated from others because he has powers beyond anyone's imagination. Clark, who was transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, struggles with the ultimate question – "Why am I here?" Raised by his adoptive parents Martha (Diane Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), Clark is shaped by their values and soon discovers that having super abilities means making very difficult decisions. When the world comes under attack, can Clark's abilities be used to maintain peace or will they ultimately be used to divide and conquer? Clark has to become the hero known as "Superman," not only to protect his loved ones but to take his place as the world's last beacon of hope.

This one I did see and very much enjoyed. You can find my full review here. I will be buying this at some point, just probably not right away (I'm being cheap these days) or I may just add it to my Christmas list.

So those are the November movies I'm looking forward to. How about you? Did I miss any of your favourites?

CIBC Run for the Cure Update

I've been wanting to write this post for a while now, basically since the run, but I've been waiting for the website to update with fundraising totals. 3 weeks later and it's still not up, so I'm just going ahead and writing the post.

The Saturday before the run I had to work and woke up feeling like absolute crap. I'm not normally one to call in or go home sick, but that day was an exception. I didn't want to feel even worse on the Sunday so I went home early. Good thing I did because I was feeling a little bit better (very early) Sunday morning.

I unfortunately had to be there for 8am to drop off my offline donations, my team captain wasn't going to be there until 8:30, and the race didn't start until 10. After I dropped off my donations it started drizzling, so I just hid in my car for the next half hour.

I didn't actually know my team captain, hadn't met her before, so I wasn't even sure who I was looking for come 8:30. I saw someone carrying what looked like a tent, and thought it could be her, and when I saw it starting to go up, I saw Blue Mountain, and went over to help. Getting that tent up was no easy feat. If anyone had been watching us they probably would've thought we were ridiculous, but we got it put up and waited for the rest of our team to show up.

There were thirteen members on our team.

Back Row: Helen, Kevin, Taylar, Karen, Travis, Me, Chris, Amy, Dave, Alan
Front Row: Keaton, Heather, Blaire

I was proud of myself that I was not the last person on our team to finish. Not that it was really a race, but I was happy. Kevin unfortunately couldn't run due to an injury but he still came to support us and take pictures of us finishing. Travis was actually the first one to finish over all, which was pretty cool. I ran 4 out of the 5 km, so I was proud of that since I didn't think I'd be able to run any because of being sick, and according to the running app on my phone I finished in just under 36 minutes. I really wish I could have ran all of it, but there's always next year.

That's a really awful picture, but it's me almost at the finish line! Woohoo! And then I got a pretty carnation when I finished. Which lived for a surprisingly long time haha.

I managed to raise a total of $400.00, a big thank you goes out to everyone who donated (and bought cupcakes :) haha) I really appreciate it.

So that's my experience at the 2013 Run for the Cure, and once the numbers are up on the website I'll add them here.

Cupcake Bouquet

A while ago while browsing Pinterest, I came across something called a cupcake bouquet. Basically it's a bunch of cupcakes decorated like flowers in a flower pot. Hey, seems easy enough, and if you're gonna get a bouquet that's not going to last, might as well get one that you can eat.

So in September I had two birthdays that I thought I could make these for. My boyfriend's mom and my best friend. I made one for Gerry (boyfriend's mom) because she likes flowers, and I honestly had no idea what else I could get her. I made one for Amberella (my BFF) because she basically told me she would disown me as a friend if I did not make her cupcakes for her birthday.

Gerry's bouquet

 

 

I looked up some tutorials on how to make it, and then just decided to wing it. Some of the tutorials said to get plastic cups to sit the cupcakes in to make sure they don't slide and flip off the bouquet. Turns out the cups I got weren't the right size and I didn't need them anyways, so now I just have a bunch of plastic cups haha.

Amberella's bouquet

I got the pots from the dollar store. They worked pretty well and held 9 cupcakes. I also got foam blocks from the dollar store to stuff in the bottom to fill the pot and have something for the skewers to stick in. The skewers were from the grocery store, I had to cut them a bit so they wouldn't stick out the top of the cupcake. The butterfly things are also from the dollar store, not sure what they're supposed to be used for but I thought they were cute.

Make cupcakes as usual, and to ice them use a Wilton 2D icing tip. Start piping the icing in the middle of the cupcake and work yourself in a circle towards the outside of the cake. I found it easier to ice the cupcakes once they were already in the pot, that way I didn't have to risk getting icing everywhere to put them in. 

These are not the easiest thing in the world to transport. I would like to come up with a way to deliver them that does not involve a passenger holding it. Though I must say thank you to my boyfriend for helping me deliver them :).

I think if I were to do this again and have more time I would get some fake leaves or something to stick in the gaps between the cupcakes, make it look a little better. Other than that I'm happy with how they turned out, and I think the recipients were too.

Brief Book Review: We Bought a Zoo

I finally finished We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee. Finally being the key word because I think I started it in May. Every time I say the title of this book I always think of how the little girl says it in the movie.

This is the movie covered book that I own

This is the original cover that I wish I owned

In the market for a house and an adventure, Benjamin Mee moved his family to an unlikely new home: a dilapidated zoo in the English countryside. Mee had a dream to refurbish the zoo and run it as a family business. His friends and colleagues thought he was crazy.

But in 2006, Mee and his wife with their two children, his brother, and his 76-year-old mother moved into the Dartmoor Wildlife Park. Their extended family now included: Solomon, an African lion and scourge of the local golf course; Zak, the rickety Alpha wolf, a broadly benevolent dictator clinging to power; Ronnie, a Brazilian tapir, easily capable of killing a man, but hopelessly soppy; and Sovereign, a jaguar and would-be ninja, who has devised a long term escape plan and implemented it.

Nothing was easy, given the family's lack of experience as zookeepers, and what follows is a magical exploration of the mysteries of the animal kingdom, the power of family, and the triumph of hope over tragedy. We Bought a Zoo is a profoundly moving portrait of an unforgettable family living in the most extraordinary circumstances.

I'm not really sure what took me so long to read this book as I did enjoy it. I think part of it was that I just haven't wanted to read much lately, part was that it was non fiction, and part was that I kept comparing it to the movie. Apparently I compare either way, watching or reading first.

Wow, ok so apparently this blog post is taking me almost as long to write as it did to read the book. Pretty sure I finished it around mid-September and it is now the beginning of October. I suck.

There was a fair amount of in depth information about the animals and running the zoo that I found a little boring, and I felt like there were a few parts that just seemed to ramble on. I'm sure there are some people who would find all the information interesting, I was not one of them. I did, however, learn a fun fact that peacocks are the pretty coloured ones and the peahens (females) are more of a boring brown colour.

I did find myself actually laughing out loud at some points, one of which was talking about otters and ferrets. The kids apparently loved the otters, which apparently make "ridiculous squeaky toy noises" and the ferrets, Fidget and Wiggle (I'm serious, those are the names), with their "dinky little ferret harnesses". Benjamin also has a bit of a confrontation with a porcupine, "I stood up and laughed with new esteem for this pint-sized animal pincushion. I had been totally trounced by what is technically an elaborate rodent. Mr. Porcupine, one; Mr. Zoo Director, nil. Respect."

All in all I did enjoy this book, as tough as it was with comparing it to the movie. It was pretty cool to read about the Mee family's adventures with the zoo. And I apologize for this being a crappy review. Since it's been so long since I read it I kind of forget what happens.

Now that I've finished the book and the review, I can re watch the movie. Every time I wanted to watch a movie I would look at it on my shelf but knew it would confuse me even more.

If this post did nothing to make you want to read the book, at the very least watch the movie. It's a great story with an awesome cast. And usually I'm the one saying "the book was better"...

Upcoming October Movie Releases

Apparently I'm not on the ball. Didn't think about the fact that September was almost over and I'd need to do one of these posts for October.

It appears as though there are no good movies coming out in theatres this month. Again. Kind of disappointing.

And there are only 2 movies coming out on DVD that I'm looking forward to.

Much Ado About Nothing is released October 8th.

Leonato the governor of Messina, is visited by his friend Don Pedro who is returning from a victorious campaign against his rebellious brother Don John. Accompanying Don Pedro are two of his officers: Benedick and Claudio. While in Messina, Claudio falls for Leonato's daughter Hero, while Benedick verbally spars with Beatrice, the governor's niece. The budding love between Claudio and Hero prompts Don Pedro to arrange with Leonato for a marriage. In the days leading up to the ceremony, Don Pedro, with the help of Leonato, Claudio and Hero, attempts to sport with Benedick and Beatrice in an effort to trick the two into falling in love. Meanwhile, the villainous Don John, with the help of his allies Conrade and Borachio plots against the happy couple, using his own form of trickery to try to destroy the marriage before it begins. A series of comic and tragic events may continue to keep the two couples from truly finding happiness, but then again perhaps love may prevail.

I haven't actually seen this movie, apparently it wasn't popular enough to come to any theatres near me. It's a modern retelling of Shakespeare, which usually tend to be pretty interesting (much more than the original stuff). It's directed by Joss Whedon, and Nathan Fillion (whom I love) is in it as well. I'm not sure when I'll be seeing this, just because I'm not too fond of buying movies that I haven't seen yet and unfortunately there's no places to rent movies around anymore.

The second movie I'm looking forward to is Monster's University, out on October 29th.

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. “Monsters University” unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.

Can't wait to watch this movie again. My review of this movie is here.

Hopefully next month is a little bit more exciting for movies. And as always, stay tuned for more misadventures.