Marley and Me

This is a movie I would recommend to just about anyone and everyone. Yes, it is a movie about a dog, but you do not need to be a dog lover to love this movie as it is about so much more.

Soon after their marriage, John and Jenny Grogan move to Florida and add Marley into their family. They soon realize that Marley is just about the "worst dog ever." He is good for a couple things, one being he provides great material for John's new column about everyday life. This is truly what the movie is about, everyday life. The story continues with their family growing with a baby boy and soon another boy. Jenny realizes she cannot continue to raise a family and have a full-time job at the same time. At this point you see her conflicting desires as she discusses her desire to continue with her job but knows she cannot delegate the responsibility of motherhood to anyone else. A little girl is later added to the family and they are then pressed with the decision to find another avenue for John as he struggles with his job. The family heads to Pennsylvania as he accepts a new position. Marley is with them throughout all their struggles and joys of starting a family, raising a family, being married and working.

One of my favorite scenes contrasted the life of family man, John ,and his old friend, Sebastian, who is single and always chasing the ladies. They see each other after a long time and John is able to show a picture of his family as his prized possession while Sebastian has nothing to show. Family truly is the most important part of life and can never be substituted for anything as worthwhile.

The movie was wholesome and real. I was slightly surprised that the movie came from Hollywood until I found out it was first a book.

Yahoo's 100 Movies to See Before You Die

0-9
12 Angry Men (1957)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
400 Blows (1959)8 1/2 (1963)
A
The African Queen (1952)
Alien (1979)
All About Eve (1950)
Annie Hall (1977)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
B
The Battle of Algiers (1967)
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Blade Runner (1982)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blow Up (1966)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Breathless (1960)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Butch Cassidy and theSundance Kid (1969)
C
Casablanca (1942)
Chinatown (1974)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
D
Die Hard (1988)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Duck Soup (1933)
E
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
The Exorcist (1973)
F
Fast Times At RidgemontHigh (1982)
The French Connection (1971)
G
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather, Part II (1974)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1968)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Graduate (1967)
Grand Illusion (1938)
Groundhog Day (1993)
H
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
I
In the Mood For Love (2001)
It Happened One Night (1934)
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
J
Jaws (1975)
K
King Kong (1933)
L
The Lady Eve (1941)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Lord of the Rings (2001)... this is debatable as I fell asleep during most.
M
M (1931)
M*A*S*H (1970)... I've seen many a M*A*S*H episodes
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Matrix (1999)
Modern Times (1936)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
N
National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
Network (1976)
Nosferatu (1922)
O
On the Waterfront (1954)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
P
Paths of Glory (1958)
Princess Mononoke (1999)
Psycho (1960)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
R
Raging Bull (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Raise the Red Lantern (1992)
Rashomon (1951)
Rear Window (1954)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Rocky (1976)
Roman Holiday (1953)
S
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Schindler’s List (1993)... this was on TV
The Searchers (1956)
Seven Samurai (1954)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Snow White and the SevenDwarfs (1937)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Sound of Music (1965)
Star Wars (1977)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
T
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The Third Man (1949)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Titanic (1997)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Toy Story (1995)
U
The Usual Suspects (1995)
V
Vertigo (1958)
W
When Harry Met Sally (1989)... I have seen many parts on TV
Wild Strawberries (1957)
Wings of Desire (1988)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Women On the Verge of Nervous Breakdown (1988)
The World of Apu (1959)

Quick Clips...

Confessions of a Shopaholic: We saw this for Valentine's as it is the typical rom-com. The movie was very enjoyable, even the husband enjoyed and it was pretty clean! My one question... why must there always be an English brogue in the production? Maybe I already answered that in the first sentence... typical rom-com.

Lars and the Real Girl: Funny, I wouldn't say I was rolling on the floor laughing, but it was funny... in a quirky sense. Lars brings home a girlfriend and his brother and sister-in-law couldn't be more happy, until they find out it is a plastic woman ordered over the internet. It is really great how the whole community gets involved to help Lars by providing service to his girlfriend.

Adam and Eve: A husband (prosecuting attorney) and wife (defense attorney) battling in court over an attempted murder case. Great movie. These are the same two actors who play in Woman of the Year, another fabulous movie.

12 out of 100

The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. I have read 12 so far, but there is still time...

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Withering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini -
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (Started and could not finish; however, I did finish "Reading Lolita in Tehran)
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (I can actually only count this as half as I had to give the book back to the guy I was dating!)
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Amelie (the edited version)

I loved this movie. Quite different than my initial reaction to having to read subtitles throughout the entire movie (as an excuse we were eating, I was more interested in concentrating on food than reading). The subtitles did not effect the movie at all. And it was a great pleasure to listen to French, it is such a beautiful language.

The story of Amelie who has been sheltered all her life because of her "weak heart." She is home schooled and therefore has no friends; she dreams and prays for a younger brother but does not receive one. As an adult she finds a box hidden in the wall of her bathroom. A little boy filled the box with treasures and hid it 40 years earlier. Amelie sets out to find the owner. If he receives joy from the box she will set her life on a course to do good continually. After Amelie sees the joy on the man's face, she immediately goes to find ways to do good and she is so creative in how she accomplishes her good deeds. She walks with a blind man for a little and tells him all the sights she is witnessing. She makes friends with her reclusive neighbor, referred to as the "glass man" because of his brittle bones. She finds the owner of a lost scrapbook and of course finds love in doing so. Moral of the story: If you do good unto others, you will find love... or something like that.

Shouldn't we all be anxiously engaged in doing good continually. The movie did give me desire to do good to others, now I need to go and do. I tend to think of service only in terms of grand projects but really I should just focus on the little things: sharing a smile, picking up trash, holding the door open, giving out more compliments, telling someone if they drop something, sending little gifts just because...

The movie also displays individual quirks. We all have them, I too love the feeling of running my hand through grains or sand, I eat my sandwiches and hamburgers in a circle to save the middle for last...

Paul Blart, Mall Cop

Kevin James is the main character and has the same quirky and slightly awkward characteristics as his Albert Brennaman character from Hitch. If you loved him in Hitch, you will love him in this movie! Single father trying to become a New Jersey Police Officer but fails due to his hypoglycemic condition. He continues to put his effort into his job being a security officer, not to be confused with a security guard, at a mall. Black Friday is given a whole new meaning when the mall is taken over. Because of his oath to "protect the mall and all inside," Paul Blart uses his police academy training to save the hostages which include his intended sweetheart and his daughter.

Definitely a fun movie, nothing too serious taking place on screen, but certainly entertaining. Plus it is a good PG movie... so we have to support the wholesome!

Fun fact for you (just as Paul Blart would interject)... the film began shooting in late February 2008 in Boston. The main shooting took place at Burlington Mall in Burlington after being denied a permit from Willowbrook Mall.

Born Yesterday, 1950

Don't let the black and white/old movies scare you they are full of charm, whit and humor. Born Yesterday was such a film. It is the story of a corrupt villain, Harry Brock (at least that is what I thought of him) who is trying to work a congressman to get more money for his business. He is embarrassed by his fiancee of seven years, Billie, by her coarse and slightly ignorant and uneducated nature. He hires a journalist, Paul Verrall, to help her unsightly ways. He gives her books and newspapers to read and takes her to the various monuments in Washington, DC. She highlights those words/ideas which she does not understand and he helps her understand. She finds a desire for learning and realizes there is something more than her beautiful looks, clothing and other fine things.

Judy Holliday plays Billie and is fantastic in this movie: she's sassy and spunky.

The Dark Knight

Wow! I was a little worried as I had heard comments on how dark and violent it was, but it is a great movie. Yes, it was dark and violent but not gruesome, just disturbing. Heath Ledger is very convincing and Christian Bale is a fantastic batman... and he is quite handsome too!

The struggle between good and evil continues in this film and brings into play the need for a hero through society's organized means. Batman partners with Harvey Dent, Gotham's District Attorney, and Lieutenant James Gordon to stop the organized crime running rampant in Gotham. The people feel Batman is causing the deaths of people as the Joker will not stop until he meets "the bat" face to face. Let's be honest, this movie doesn't need a description as it is Batman and plenty of people will see it.

This movie brings all sorts of themes out: the obvious good vs. evil, choices, the good in people, etc. My brother-in-law even pointed out a tie to the Atonement as Batman essentially takes the deaths (sins) caused by Harvey Dent upon himself so Gotham can have a hero.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Good but not as good as the back of the book professed: "A remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come."

Set in South Carolina in 1964 tells the story of one Lily Owens. Her life is a struggle between herself and finding peace with her parents. Memories of her mother are blurred from an accidental death and three items she has left from her mother. Lily tries to find happy memories of her father, T-Ray, but he is not the "father" type.

She escapes with her "stand-in-mother," Rosaleen, after Rosaleen insults three racists in town. Lily has a plan to find her mother in Tiburon, South Carolina. She believes her mother was there from one of the three items, a picture with this city and state written on the back. Lily and Rosaleen find August, June and May; three black sisters who own a Pepto Bismol colored house and make a living as bee keepers.

Lily is now free from T-Ray but is still haunted by the blurred vision of her mother's death. From living with August, June, May and Rosaleen she learns about the hard facts of life and love and she finds herself as she is connected to her mother.

There is also a movie out, featuring a great cast: Dakota Fanning (Lily), Queen Latifah (August), Jennifer Hudson (Rosaleen), Alicia Keys (June)and Sophie Okonedo (May). I will probably see this... but it will only be dollar theater or NetFlix worthy.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and Davdi Oliver Relin

I just finished an amazing book on my trip to and from Denver. Three Cups of Tea is about "one man's mission to promote peace... one school at a time."This book was so inspiring. Greg Mortenson started his life as a nurse and a mountaineer. After failing to climb a mountain in Pakistan his perspective changed as he saw a group of children gathered to attend "school." Their school was gathering outside in the cold and they used sticks to write their lessons in the ground. This image altered his course and he became the head of the Central Asia Institute building schools for children in Pakistan and nearby regions. He truly believes in his mission that by building schools and educating the children we can bridge the gap of ignorance and hate.

Sometimes I don't feel we are even in a war. The scenes on TV have died down, the deaths have decreased and our focus has switched to the new President elect Obama. As the husband said, we aren't so much in a war but we are now building a nation. Thoughts rise as I think about what I could possibly do to help. Lucky for me, they gave ideas on how to help at the end of the book. One of the ways is to spread the word about the book... http://www.threecupsoftea.com/

I just ordered two calendars from here: https://www.ikat.org/limited-edition-calendar/

The Brothers by Chris Stewart

I didn't love this book. The book took a lot of effort for me to get into it and enjoy but it was recommended by my dear friend and one of the woman I visit teach, so I gave it a try.


This book is the first in a series following a group of people from the preexistence and throughout their lives. The first book is about the War in Heaven, the different sides and views and the main characters choices before they come to earth. Although a central part of my religion, it was difficult to imagine, simply because I had never read it dramatized before. Think of it as reading a story from your parents childhood. A story your dad continually tells but now you are reading it from an outsider's perspective.


The book wasn't terrible, it just took a lot for me to get into. It did make me reflect on the War in Heaven, choices made there, Agency and the Plan of Salvation, so it wasn't a complete loss! I just couldn't read page after page, I had to focus to read pages. Apparently, they get better and turn out to be a really fantastic series. I imagine they would get better as it would be easier to imagine stories of people on earth. I guess I am a book snob in the sense if they didn't hook me with the first book, there is little chance I will read the rest... but there is a chance!

Matchstick Men

Another great movie with Nicholas Cage! Keep them coming Cage!

Roy (Cage) is a hypochondriac, OCD (and possibly more) who happens to make a life the not-so-honest way. He is a "con artist, not a crook" but tells all he is an antique dealer. He takes pills for his condition until his business partner, Frank, suggests he sees a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist tells Roy, his medical issues are because of his guilty conscience.

Roy finds out he has a 13-year-old daughter, Angela, and starts on a journey to form a relationship with her to ease his conscience. Angela wins his heart with her youthful and carefree attitude. In an argument Roy confesses he is a con artist and after some nagging he agrees to teach her a con. He even lets her take part in their biggest con yet. The act doesn't go as planned and his new found relationship with his daughter catapults his desire to change his life around, including his hypochondriac/ OCD tendencies. He is conned at the end but has a new life to start.

Moonstruck

I guess you could say I was "moonstruck" by this movie. Loretta's (Cher) first husband died and she swears it was due to their courting and not being engaged properly. At dinner as Ronnie is proposing she is determined to have luck on her side as she makes him get down on one knee and provide some sort of ring. Ronnie and Loretta split shortly after as Ronnie visits his mother on her deathbed. He asks Loretta to contact his brother as they are no longer on speaking terms and Ronnie wants to start fresh. Loretta tries calling and ends up visiting Johnny (Nicholas Cage) at his bakery. They meet and have a little feud at the beginning, discussing the other's blunders, but in the end Johnny and his fake hand win Loretta.

A new side of Cher and Nicholas Cage you do not want to miss! Just beware as you will have, "when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore" stuck in your head after the movie. Hey, it's a great song and the movie is well worth it!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

I have seen this movie before, but recently watched it again with some friends. I remember enjoying it the first time but I think I was better able to appreciate the storyline this time around. The story of four best friends split up for the summer as they each go their own way and plan to stay connected through a pair of jeans. The jeans will be passed from each girl and mark their adventures wherever they are and adventures is exactly what they have. Carmen is visiting her father in South Carolina for the summer where she finds he is getting married. She struggles with this new form of a family and how she will fit in. Lena visits her grandparents in Greece and finds love that she must hide from her grandparents because of a long forgotten feud between the two families (a slight Romeo and Juliette storyline). Tibby remains at home as she works at Wallman's and is determined to make a documentary. Despite her attempts to be callused toward much of her present circumstances, she finds a 12-year-old friend, Bailey, to soften her. Bridget goes to soccer camp in Mexico where she finds herself, but first she finds Eric. Bridget learns the value of love and what love isn't. They come together at the end of the summer still best friends learning and growing through their adventures.

You are bound to connect with one of these girls through the trials they encounter or just learn from their adventures. A great story of life, the choices we make and the consequences that come from these choices. In this movie, Hollywood does have somewhat of a conscience!

Woman of the Year

Loved it! Black and white movie with wonderful characters, played by Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Sam Craig, a New York sportswriter, listens to Tess Harding, a political columnist, on the radio as she "strikes out" over questions regarding baseball. He is baffled by her lack of knowledge and a feud entails between the two through their columns. The feuding stops when they see each other face-to-face and their attraction to each other takes over. Sam takes Tess to her first baseball game (one of my favorite scenes) and she learns to enjoy the sport and enjoys his company as well. The story follows the normal sequence of events: boy and girl meet, they fall in love, marry... and even a child comes into the picture. Tess is busy with work, is the chairwoman for a refugee committee and is named Woman of the Year while her marriage struggles.

The story is full of life. Real human life shown through a couple who tries to find the right balance of life, work and marriage. A good reminder of where we each need to put our effort and what our top priority should be, done through a "rom-com."

Time for a book...

It has been movie after movie. Although I haven't read a book since The Life of Pi, I decided to do an old favorite: Pickle-Chiffon Pie by Jolly Roger Bradfield. With a name like Jolly how could it not be, well jolly? It is absolutely adorable, a family favorite that will truly become a family favorite of yours as well. Although I currently do not have the book, I intend to own it one day to read as a bedtime story. The trouble is finding it at a bookstore!

It is the story of a King who has a beautiful Princess daughter and a love of pickle-chiffon pie. Princes from every court come to the Princess in hopes of winning her love. To be polite she asks them to stay for dinner, meaning less pickle-chiffon pie for the King. The King dreams up a challenge for three princes. Each Prince is to go throughout the Kingdom and find the most amazing creature to win the heart of the Princess. On the way you will see a juggling lion, sewing mice and many other spectacular creatures. In the end, you learn about compassion and a kind heart.

czech dream

This was a very interesting movie. I really enjoyed it (although there are subtitles) but wish I would have known more of the culture and the events leading to this documentary.

Basic plot: Two Czech film students want to explore the extent of post-communist Prague. They create a super mart that doesn't really exist and film the reaction. They become the "managers" of Czech Dream and are given makeovers to look the part. They hire an ad agency and radio ads, billboards and jingles are created and are found all over Prague. On the day of the opening 4000 people show up, many show up a few hours early. The "managers" go through the whole ribbon-cutting ceremony with the grand opening and hand out little souvenirs. The store, which is simply scaffolding with a billboard in front, is a walk away and the reactions range from mad to humored. Some say they even expected it and that Czechs are very gullible so it didn't surprise them. My favorite responders were those who were actually pleased with this idea, it got them out of the house or gave the elderly exercise.

It was interesting to see the reactions and the whole process was incredible. While reviewing the ads the "managers" wanted to add a line about how the people wouldn't go away empty handed. The ad agency said they wouldn't include the line because they didn't want to lie to the people. The "managers" response, "You are already creating an ad for a store that doesn't exist and they would be coming away with an experience." Apparently that was too much for the ad agency. It was a good look into human nature and what people justify.

Nicholas Nickleby

Nicholas Nickleby and his sister, Kate, lose the life of their father and Nicholas is forced to be the man of the house. Actually, I don't know that forced is the correct word as Nicholas is one who does it out of personal duty and love for his sister and mother. He is sent to work as a teacher for Mr. Squeers, a one-eyed crotchety old man, who leads the boys to be fearful of him and treats them harshly. While there, Nicholas finds an older boy who is also there to work, Smike, who is essentially a slave for Squeers and his wife, who is just as unpleasant. Nicholas and Smike become true friends and Nicholas rescues Smike and they escape together. The rest of the story is romance, where Nicholas finds his hearts partner, Madeline. Don't worry Kate also finds her true love!

It is a story of true friendship and working through the trial of losing a loved family member. At the end the narrator asks what happens to one who loses a parent too early and describes that family isn't always blood related but those who we would give our blood for.

Mama Mia

The music definitely kept me entertained... I was the dancing queen during in the theater. I went into the movie not knowing the plot and enjoyed it, although there were some less than stellar parts and pretty shady images. I probably wouldn't see it again for these scenes.

Sophie is about to get married and wants to find out who she is before by finding out who her father is. She finds her mother's journal and finds three possible suspects and invites them to the wedding. Her mother nor her fiance are aware of her tricky plan. It is set in Greece, beautiful scenery and the adventure with Sophie as she tries to discover herself and who her father is.

Honey, honey, how it thrilled me! Take a chance on this movie for only two main reasons: the songs and seeing Pierce Brosnan sing a few!