PUTTIN’ MY MONEY where my mouth is

Dianne here. So I’ve been reading and writing so much on politics on this blog that I decided to start a strictly political blog attached to my fundraising page for Barack Obama. Please visit that page here:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/women/PMM

It’s called Puttin’ My Money (where my mouth is) because I’ve decided for the first time in my life to donate money to a political campaign, even if it isn’t tax deductible.

That’s how much I believe in Obama’s campaign and the need for change in this country.

And with that, I will go back to just reviewing movies, books, TV shows, and life in general.

Thanks!

Have We Become Hardened to School Shootings?

Read Dianne’s commentary on the campus shooting in Illinois yesterday at YourHub.com

It’s a big switch from her Valentine’s Day fluff piece, although as she says in her commentary, we as human beings do need to escape from the horrors we see and experience in this world. It is self-protection.

It is why Oprah’s show goes from serious subjects such as a husband killing himself and leaving his wife penniless to soft topics like the sheets Oprah can’t live without. She knows that we can only take so much bad news before we switch channels.

It’s why Dianne hopes now that the WGA writers strike is over that The Daily Show with Jon Stewart will start having different types of guests, not just political authors and such. A celebrity can sometimes be a welcome change…

14 Suggestions for Single Women on Valentine’s Day

Dianne here. Check out my 14 Suggestions for Single Women on Valentine’s Day on YourHub.com.

I’m offering a great deal on my book (above) from my website at www.singlewomenaliveandwell.com/swaw.html.

It’s a collection of creative non-fiction stories by and about women who have learned to be happy on their own.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you!

Dianne re Juno

Since Juno was the only best picture nominated for an Academy Award that I hadn’t seen yet, I decided to go today. And I agree with Liz, it is the Little Miss Sunshine of this award season, only better. It touches on so many types of relationships, good and bad, and yet gives us hope. I couldn’t help but think while watching the show how supportive Juno’s parents were when she announced her pregnancy. Even though Juno’s real mom long abandoned her for a new family, Juno has the kind of self-esteem that can get someone through anything life dishes out. I give it a High Five, as did today’s Saturday matinee audience, which was surprisingly large for a movie that’s been out for a long time. Reminds me of the audiences going to My Big Fat Greek Wedding a few seasons ago. So much to like and, well, what’s not to like?

Liz’s Take on Juno: Comedy with an Edge

So if you have yet to see this year’s break-through Indie hit Juno, it just might be time. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture (along with several other award nominations), it is 2008’s Little Miss Sunshine. In other words, it’s a great film-a comedy with an edge that draws you in immediately into the title character’s world–which has just abruptly changed. At 16 Juno finds herself pregnant, and with the help of her best friend, she finds a couple in the PennySaver to adopt the baby.

The acting and character development in the film is superb. Ellen Page’s portrayal of the sarcastic and witty Juno is somehow endearing, and you root for her character throughout the film. Her interaction with the father of the baby (played by Michael Cera which some of you will remember from the brilliant show, Arrested Development) is heartbreaking, funny, and touching. The potential adoptive father in the film is played by Jason Bateman who appreciates Juno’s sense of humor and they connect in an unexpected way. While Jennifer Garner plays the potential adoptive mother, and is anxious about the arrival of the baby and obsessed with making everything perfect. Meanwhile Juno is simply trying to make the best of an awkward situation, and keep her head high while doing so. Written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman, Juno is not to be missed! 

I will not give away the ending…but it took me by surprise. For more analysis and commentary (which WILL give away the ending), check out my new Blog: www.filmfascination.wordpress.com

There Will Be Blood: A Movie Review by Dianne

Daniel Day-Lewis only comes out of semi-retirement for exceptional roles, such as the main character in There Will Be Blood, which not surprisingly won him Best Actor at the SAG Awards. I didn’t really care for this movie, not in the way I usually like a movie by relating to the characters or feeling either good after watching it or like I want to run out and change the world. But Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of Daniel Plainview, an oil man in turn of the century California, was so much more than acting. One Daniel actually became the other Daniel. I heard that the movie had to stop filming for a year and Day-Lewis stayed in character by not reading any other scripts.

He must have been fun to be around, except the man seems like a gentle sort when he speaks in public, such as at the SAG Awards. The oil-man Daniel is the opposite, yet I was mesmerized by him, wanting to figure out what makes men like him tick and then blow up like one of their oil wells. I couldn’t help but think of our modern day oil men who seem to go to any length to find or steal oil and then get it to the consumer, of which I am one. I almost felt guilty for driving my car to the theater, realizing that so much of the world’s problems right now are due to the oil economy, which is only a little more than a century old - I don’t need to name them…   

Neither do I need to name the oil men who are in charge of our country right now and have us entangled in what they would like us to believe is a never-ending war on terror. Strange how this movie also has a religious theme in it, which I think points to a lot that is going on right now. Oil and greed is a religion in itself, and religion all too often has a lot to do with greed and power. I recommend this movie simply because it is so well done, but be prepared to not feel good at the end. The good guy, if there is a good guy, does not win the Day.

On Being Part of the Process

Both Dianne and Liz went to their precinct caucus last night on Super Tuesday.

Dianne got to help out with tallying the votes and shares her experience at YourHub.com.

She wants to thank everyone who came out in the cold on icy streets, sought out a parking place, and then helped pack the rooms with warmth and enthusiasm.