Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Self-Care and Movies

Yes, still waiting. I so am ready for this baby to come. Went and had a manicure/pedicure today, and treated my friend Laura to her first mani/pedi for her b-day. Best part was the hands, feet and shoulder massage that goes with it. So, I will have nice nails when the baby arrives. Then I went and ran a bunch of errands, including over an hour at the grocery store trying to stock up on foodies. Got stuff to make 2 lasagnas, but by the time I got home, I ran out of energy to actually make them. Maybe tomorrow. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I haven't worked in 27 days, and that's definitely the longest break from work I've ever had in my 20 year work history. I don't think I've ever had more than a week and a half off without being out of town or out of the country.

As part of my additional self-care in waiting for baby and keeping my feet elevated (severe feet and hand swelling), I have watched a lot of DVDs this month. Here is my star rating with 1star being worst, and 4 stars best.

Meet the Fockers** - worth seeing for Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman. They stole the movie! Oh wait, we saw this on New Year's Eve at the theater. The only other movie I saw in a theater in 2004 was Fahrenheit 911, which I highly recommend.
Manchurian Candidate*** - pretty good. Meryl Streep is amazing in her role as a powerful senator, and Denzel Washington is totally great. I needed to watch the director's comments to pick up on some of the storyline that confused me in the first viewing. This is an anti-war movie that has a strong political message by the screenwriter and director.
Day After Tomorrow**- fell asleep during the viewing, and the next day while watching the director's comments. There's a strong political commentary about the environment, but still I couldn't keep my eyes open.
Collateral*** - pretty good movie. I was surprised that it takes place in LA and shows a lot of diversity of LA within the story. Shabaka Henley (his wife Paulina is a long-time Great Leap artist) has a pretty big role. A little too much violence for me, but Jamie Foxx' performance is worth watching. He's fine.
Happiest Baby on the Block*** - for parents of infants, this is a pretty good DVD of some ways to calm a crying baby.
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle* - what a waste of my time. This is not my kind of humor. It was pretty stupid, very sophomoric humor --but Tony was laughing hysterically. I pulled out the laptop and surfed the web until it was over.
The Forgotten*** - I really liked this very suspenseful movie. You really feel for Julianne Moore's character in her refusal to forget about her son.
Love Actually**** - I'm a sap for a romantic comedy. This one has about 10 different stories and you just get caught up in all of them. The best story was the one with Liam Neeson (sp?). I was surprised how much I loved this one.
Secret Window *** - Ooh, this thriller had me jumping out of my skin. I haven't seen Johnny Depp in years, he's a fun actor to watch.

Ok, that's my little movie review for the month. I think I saw others, but these are the ones I remember. Any other movie recommendations for me?

2 comments:

Lisa said...

I keep thinking I will log onto your blog to find out you've had that baby... they come in their own time! Good for you for putting your beautifully manicured feet up and watching movies because 9 months from now you will be saying this... "Movies? Ha! Who has time for that? I've not seen a movie since the baby was born!" And truly what movie can compete with watching that beautiful little creature grow and change before your eyes. But I have to admit I am a "Bachelorette" addict...

Hiroko said...

Jenni, Tony, congratulations!!!
Welcome Maiya!!!

Wow! 8 pounds!!?? But you know, it's a blessing that moms somehow forget the exact details of how painful the whole process was.

During my pregnancy, I watched mostly comedies and romantic movies only. I stayed away from horror, gore, and movies with too much noise. For some reason, my body was telling me I didn't need to see them.

After having Akira, Marlon and I aren't able to watch any movies in which something happens to a child. We saw Ray, and we were bauling. Becoming a parent definately changes your life!! But all for the better, I believe.

Well, that's it for now! We're so happy for you!!
Love,
Hiroko
All the movies since Akira have been on DVD, of course. *hee hee!*