Monthly Archives: March 2013

Jack the Giant Slayer Review

Bryan Singer’s (director of Many recent X-Men adaptations and Superman Returns) Jack the Giant Slayer was our most recent trip to the movies. A trip was long due since we think we’ve only been to one or maybe two other movies this year. (We’ll have to double check that for our end of the year wrap-up.)

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With some makeup it was difficult to tell who it featured, but we knew that Ewan Obi-Wan was the personal guard for the princess and Bill Nighy (Do you feaaaaar deathuuuu!) was the leader of the giants. It seems that Stanley Tucci (my ever so evasive uncle) was the fiancee of the princess. Ian McShane (why didn’t they use every captain from Pirates?) was the king and Jack was played by the guy who Alana recognized from About a Boy (also Beast from X-Men First Class… convenient casting). So it’s got a good cast and the princess did a great job… whoever she was.

 
It was loosely based off of Jack and the Beanstalk… the treasure, the golden harp, the giants in the sky, the magical beans, etc. However, there are a lot of giants in this adaptation. I mean an army’s worth of human-blood thirsty giants. I think they were trying to make a movie that kid’s could watch and enjoy while their parents wouldn’t be completely bored. I think it lacked that witty humor that movies such as Kung Fu Panda 1 and 2 has but it wasn’t awful for adults… and we’re not real adults. The effects were okay, the sets were convincing enough, but the king’s armor was awful. They might have done that on purpose. As for the acting, it was good enough to fit the movie. We couldn’t tell if Jack’s father was the worst or best actor ever.
This isn’t a long review and we don’t do spoilers but if you have some young teenagers and want to spend some time with them take them to this movie. If you don’t mind some death and exploding heads then take your younger ones too. It’s a fun and exciting interpretation of a very well-known fairy tale… and it moves quickly. It didn’t feel two hours long, although at one point it seemed it was going to end thirty minutes short.

If you’re going to watch it for the golden goose… then don’t bother going. But seriously, who would go for that reason?

In the end, it isn’t a very good movie. No morals or values really projected well in my opinion. They pushed the idea of follow your dreams and don’t fear an adventure, but there was nothing very moving to get that across. Let’s just say it’s not going to win any Oscars next year but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t see it with the young ones in the family.

Next Up… Oz: The Great and Powerful (next weekend)
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Get Your Smoothie On: Inta Juice

This weekend, on the way home from a fun triathlon, we stopped at Inta Juice, craving something light, but nutritious and filling. And we got our fill! Inta Juice is a healthier version of Jamba Juice with lots of flavors, fruits, supplements, and boosts to choose from. Overall, we give it a pretty high rating for giving us some hydration back after the race.

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We were very pleased with the service, we came at a pretty non-busy time early-ish on a Saturday morning. Feeling tired, drained, and indecisive, we milled about, taking about ten minutes to actually decide. The two girls helping us were very patient, friendly and helpful. We basically told them what we wanted and they suggested various options and even made a custom one for Chris.

We both got 32 oz (and Chris’ came with even more, so I got a good amount of his) cups because Chris was convinced he was starving and could really drink all of them (we semi-regretted that later, but finished it all, of course). I got the Groovin Guava which had guava, pineapple, orange, and some other tropical flavors. It was extremely refreshing but I got throat freeze every ten seconds, which is of course my fault.

Groovin Guava

Groovin Guava

Chris got something akin to the Power Protein shake, but they added strawberries for him in addition to whey powder, chocolate, peanut butter, and banana. It was very good and filling. Lots of calories and protein! Just we needed after a great race. After he finished his, I still had mine and we shared it on the car ride home.

Remnants of Power Protein

Remnants of Power Protein

I also tried a 1 oz wheat grass shot. I figured I might as well, I’ve always wanted to try one. It was absolutely disgusting, please never make me do that again. It’s not their fault, it’s my taste buds. And the wheat grass. Yuck. 

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It was a very pleasant atmosphere. We sat at the place for a good fifteen minutes, talking, cooling down, and relaxing with our smoothies. It was happy decor with lots of bright colors and information. It was very clean as well. It even had a drive-thru! Now this place is in Longmont, so I drive past it every day to and from work, so they  may be seeing me more often. We are very pleased we stopped here, it was the perfect thing for our tired, dehydrated bodies. Thanks, Inta Juice!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

nymeria sajah

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Remembering Misty: Dealing with Death

So it’s been three months since Misty passed. We still miss her every day, as we saw her as our little baby. She had all of her perks and quirks which made her the unique kitty she was. I can at least feel okay knowing that she definitely felt loved by all the people around her. Non-animal lovers will think us silly in this kind of talk, so you can go ahead and skip this post. But we saw her as a big part of the family. Her passing, especially her being just a kitten, made the winter pretty difficult.

Misty snuggled  up one day when she didn't feel very well

Misty snuggled up one day when she didn’t feel very well

I have experienced death before in my life, but it was either gradual, distant, or in a younger age where I didn’t comprehend it as fully or it didn’t hit me as much. This one definitely, definitely hit us. It was the most wrenching, stabbing grief we’ve felt in a long time. I have lost some very close to me. But this was sudden. That’s what made it so horrible, terrifying, and heartbreaking for us.

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It was very staggering, hit us like a punch in the stomach. I didn’t understand how this could happen–she’s just a kitten, it isn’t fair. I was confused, it didn’t seem very real to me, as if I would wake up and our black and white kittens would be there, hogging food and cuddling. But I didn’t wake up, because it wasn’t a dream. It was reality, and it took a little bit for me to actually wrap my head around it. For the years I’ve lived so far, nothing really tragic has happened to me. Nothing that takes the breath and life out of you and just leaves you slumped with exhaustion and grief.

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But after that day, I felt that. That deep pain and confusion after tragedy hits. We love animals so much, especially our own, and we take very good care of them. Which is why it was devastating to us that one of our little kittens died. And thus far, I hadn’t experienced such, and I am lucky for that. This hit both of us full force. Intermingled with grief was confusion: Why did this happen to us? How could have this happened? Is the universe against us? I don’t understand.

misty belly

This made it harder to accept reality and eventually deal with her death. I just didn’t get it, I wasn’t able to digest it. But with insanely-supportive friends and family, I eventually got past the point of denial and was able to taste the truth. I wouldn’t have been able to get through it as I did without Chris. Reality slapped me in the face and told me, “No matter where you live, who you are, how you take care of your loved ones, how good of a person you are–very bad things can happen to you.”

Meow

It was a lesson learned–a hard lesson learned. I’m sure everyone gets this lesson some point in their life and it was probably better to get it early on (although I would trade almost anything to get Misty back). Nobody is saved from tragedy. Nobody can go through life cleanly without anything bad happening. Bad things do happen. The universe isn’t against Chris and I. It taught us to be strong even when we felt that we couldn’t be. It taught us that life still will go on even when terrible things happen to you. It taught us that death is a part of life.

Begging for food

It was a horrific incident in our lives and she will always always be remembered with love and happiness. I remember the point where I could finally remember Misty without images of her death and remember her funny quirks like walking on two legs and her unique meow. Thank you to all who gave us support during this time and gave Misty love during her time.

My most favorite picture of them

My most favorite picture of them

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