If you’re looking for a couple of movies to rent, I have some suggestions.
“OUT OF THE FURNACE”
Christian Bale is one of the best actors in the movie business today.
“Out of The Furnace” is a little seen movie that came out about a week before his Oscar-nominated role in “American Hustle”.
In the movie, Bale plays Russell Baze, a West Virginia steel mill worker that has a beautiful girlfriend (Zoe Saldana) that wants to have a baby, a brother (Casey Affleck) with a gambling problem and is struggling with life after serving in the war, and a dying father.
He works every day and is paying off his little brother’s gambling debts. After stopping for a few drinks after work one night, he’s involved in an accident that changes his life forever.
Also, his little brother disappears and Russell feels it’s up to him to find out what happened and to make things right.
The movie features incredible performances from Bale, Affeck, Saldana, and Woody Harrelson as a New Jersey sociopathic, inbreed, drug dealer named Harlan DeGroat.
GRADE: A
“THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY”
While it’s a Christmas-themed movie, I recently watched “The Best Man Holiday”, the sequel to Malcolm D. Lee’s 1999 hit, “The Best Man”, and I loved it.
The $17 million movie brought in an incredible $71.6 million in theaters. While I didn’t see the original and know the history of the characters, I could still follow the storyline.
In the movie, Mia and Lance invite their group of friends – boyfriends/girlfriends, spouses, and a couple of single friends to their ritzy, gorgeously Christmas-decorated mansion to share a secret with them.
However, Mia and Lance’s secrets aren’t the only ones revealed.
“The Best Man Holiday” is funny, cute, and sentimental!
The weekend is upon us! While I have a couple of work-related events to take part in this weekend, one Saturday and one Sunday, I plan on taking full advantage of my down time.
Have a great weekend and thank you for checking out my random thoughts this week.
GIVE YOUR LOVED ONES AN EXTRA HUG
We all get overwhelmed and sometimes we forget to do simple things like show others how much we care.
You just never know what will happen that day.
Who would have thought this innocent-looking 16-year-old boy is now suspected of stabbing 21 students and a security guard earlier this week in a Pennsylvania school?
To my friends, I appreciate you. To my loved one, I’m thankful you’re in my life!
RE-WRITING THE BIBLE
Failed presidential candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee wants you to know he is not homophobic.
That’s what he told a crowd earlier this week at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition Spring fundraiser.
Huckabee says, “I’m not against anybody. I’m really not. I’m not a hater. I’m not homophobic. I honestly don’t care what people do personally in their individual lives…but… when people say, ‘Why don’t you just kind of get on the right side of history?’ I said, ‘You’ve got to understand, this for me is not about the right side or the wrong side of history, this is the right side of the Bible, and unless God rewrites it, edits it, sends it down with his signature on it, it’s not my book to change.’ Folks, that’s why I stand where I stand.”
I admit that Huckabee knows more about the Bible than I do, but I really don’t think that God put his signature on the first one, much less rewriting it, signing it, and sending it down now!
HIT THE ROAD, JACK
After thirty years of marriage, it’s over for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila.
Unless she’s like him, I wonder why it took thirty years? Who knows (or cares)? Maybe his hateful, ignorant attitude is something relatively new.
They have two daughters.
COUNTRY MUSIC SHINES ON CBS
Last Sunday night’s Academy of Country Music Awards show on CBS brought in some big numbers with 14.2 million people watching.
While I had no desire to watch it, I did flip over from “Crisis” on NBC during a couple of commercial breaks and I have three observations to make.
In her performance with husband Tim McGraw, Faith Hill looked amazing. I didn’t really care for the song they performed and I really wish that she’d release an incredible album that country radio would have to embrace.
Meanwhile, show co-host Luke Bryan (left, below) looked incredibly hot. Whatever he’s doing, it’s working. As for Blake Shelton, not so much.
I didn’t watch the opening monologue and I know that the point is to poke fun at pop culture.
I thought Blake’s comment about marriage equality was funny, “A year ago, same-sex marriage just meant once you got married, you had the same sex over and over and over again.” From what I’ve read, his wife, Miranda Lambert, in the audience, mouthed, “Thank you” to him! It might have been a cold night in Las Vegas in their suite that night!
But, I didn’t care for one of his other “jokes” that I’m sure others thought was funny.
When the hosts were talking about the upcoming live performances on the show, Shelton added, “And if you don’t like live music, you have to go down the block and see Britney Spears”.
Stop! I’m laughing out loud. Not really.
I know it was a joke and they have writers, so I’m saying this in fun. Blake, when you get own residency in Vegas and can ask for $800 a ticket and $2,500 for a VIP/Meet & Greet ticket, give me a call!
HERE’S THE KICKER TO BLAKE’S JOKE
Rascal Flatts, performing their new single, “Rewind”, on the ACMs now admit to lip-syncing (badly)!
The band says, “After having performed several shows earlier in the week, Gary lost his voice. So instead of canceling our commitment to do the show, we made a last-minute decision to lip-synch. We’ve never done it before, and we’re obviously not very good at it. We look forward to singing live again in the very near future!”
“WTH” FASHION STATEMENT
And, my last ACM Awards comment is about Miranda Lambert. She is a beautiful woman and she looks amazing in the right and left pictures from Sunday night.
However, in the middle picture, from the braided hair to the demin shirt and the belt, the whole ensemble had me censoring myself and just saying, “WTH”.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
WAY TO GO, NOTRE DAME
In life, there are good and bad Democrats and Republicans. There are good and bad straight people and LGBT people. There are good and bad <insert group here>.
The University of Notre Dame, a Catholic college, in South Bend, Indiana, is making strides to be on the right side of history.
Watch this amazing video the University released after tennis play Matt Dooley came out as gay. It’s incredible and touching.
REMEMBERING RYAN WHITE
It was 24 years ago this week that 18-year-old Ryan White died of complications of AIDS.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been that long. We have come so far in the fight against AIDS and today, with proper medication, it’s no longer a death sentence and people can now live a full and long life.
That wasn’t the case back in the 1980s. Ryan, a hemophiliac, was infected with HIV from contaminated blood in December 1984 and was given only six months to live. He surprised doctors and the world by living for another five years.
While he posed no threat to other students, he was expelled from middle school because of his diagnosis. Many parents and teachers in Kokomo, Indiana, fought against him returning to school and the family left Kokomo after bullets were fired into their house.
In life, Ryan became good friends with Elton John and Michael Jackson, along with John Cougar Mellencamp, and former President and First Lady Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
Before he died, Ryan became a national spokesperson for bringing AIDS discrimination to the forefront in America. Sadly, he died a month before graduating from high school.
Ryan, your memory is still alive. And, to all of the Ryan Whites in the world today, live life to the fullest.
Here’s Elton John performing “Skyline Pigeon” at Ryan’s funeral.
DID YOU KNOW?
On a lighter note, now that it’s warming up, ice cream sounds like a great treat to enjoy outdoors.
In the July 2013 issue, “Better Homes and Gardens” reported that the average American eats 24 pounds of ice cream a year!
While I love many flavors of ice cream, if I had to choose only one, it’d be Rocky Road. And, if I could add one ingredient, it’d be coconut.
Now, there are many ranking of favorite flavors. My favorite, Rocky Road, barely makes the Top 15.
Most rankings have Strawberry at #4, Butter Pecan at #3, and Chocolate comes in second place.
What’s shocking to me is that Vanilla is the favorite by a three-to-one margin! Maybe because of its versatility?
PICK HIT
Pharrell Williams is hot right now.
As a solo artist, he’s at #1 with his song, “Happy”, and last year, he was featured in two of the biggest songs of the year, “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk and “Blurred Line” with Robin Thicke.
I don’t really care for “Happy”, but I love him accompanying other artists. I first became aware of him when appeared on Madonna’s album “Hard Candy” and on her 2008’s #1 dance smash, “Give It 2 Me”.
Pharrell is featured on one of my favorite songs from Kylie Minogue’s latest album, “Kiss Me Once”.
“I Was Gonna Cancel” is the album’s second single and the follow-up to the #1 Billboard Dance hit, “Into The Blue”.
Radio programmers, add this to your playlist now!
“THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY”
While it’s a Christmas-themed movie, I recently watched “The Best Man Holiday”, the sequel to Malcolm D. Lee’s 1999 hit, “The Best Man”, and I loved it.
The $17 million movie brought in an incredible $71.6 million in theaters. While I didn’t see the original and know the history of the characters, I could still follow the storyline.
In the movie, Mia and Lance invite their group of friends — boyfriends/girlfriends, spouses, and a couple of single friends to their ritzy, gorgeously Christmas-decorated mansion to share a secret with them.
However, Mia and Lance’s secrets aren’t the only ones revealed.
“The Best Man Holiday” is funny, cute, and sentimental!
GRADE: A-
“I’M A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY”
Earlier I talked about Luke Bryan, so I’ll feature him in my segment of some of my favorite country songs.
In just seven short years, the 37-year-old Georgia native and married father of two boys has racked up an incredible 15 Top Ten hits on the Billboard Country chart. Of those, 11 of have reached the Top Three with seven making it to the #1 spot!
His latest, “Play It Again”, is at #3 this week and it could top the chart, too. However, he’d have to knock himself out of the top spot since he’s featured on Florida Georgia Line ‘s “This Is How We Roll”, at #1.
I really like many of his hits like “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” and “Rain Is A Good Thing”, but his first hit, “All My Friends Say”, which reached #5 in 2007, is my still my favorite.
THAT’S IT
Thank you for checking out my random thoughts this week. As always, feel free to let me know what you think, whether you agree or disagree with any of them.
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