Eat Pray Love

We watched the movie "Eat Pray Love" starring Julia Roberts last night. Julia Roberts is Deb's favorite actress. I must admit, I have liked most, if not all, of the movies she has starred in. I was looking forward to watching the movie.

However, I was disappointed in the movie. I was not disappointed in Julia Roberts. She did her usual great job. I was disappointed in the movie, and I cannot really place why it disappointed me. It could have been the storyline. Maybe it was the pacing. At times, it became boring and I would have turned the movie off if not for Julia Roberts' acting.

Find another Julia Roberts movie, even one that you have seen, and it will be more worth your time!

Statehood: A Novel Celebrating Utah's Centennial by Marilyn Brown

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Interesting story about polygamy. The story approaches it from the viewpoint of a woman who marries into a plural marriage, a non-member reporter from the East who witnesses what polygamy is about.



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Missionary

A great video about preparing for and leaving on a mission:

In the Company of Angels

In The Company of Angels by David Farland

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In the Company of Angels follows three people from the Willie Handcart Company on their trek to get to Salt Lake City during the fall of 1856. Capt. James Willie is the leader of the company. Baline Mortenson is a 9 year old Danish girl traveling with another family to meet up with her sister in Salt Lake City. Eliza Gadd is not a member of the LDS church but is going with her husband and children, all converts to the LDS church. The story follows the trials and tribulations of the Pioneers as they walked their way to Zion.

I actually had a difficult time reading the story, although it was well written. The trek was hard and painful. Many died and the story reflects the misery of trodding along while people are dying. However, since it was a historical fiction, I had to keep reading even though I knew how the story would end.

One aspect of the book puzzled me. As I stated, the story was told from three different viewpoints. However, at the critical time of the book, the author wrote a historical narrative that was not from any of the three characters viewpoints. It felt a little out of place. Also, I felt the story ended too soon. It did not follow the company into Salt Lake City. It would have been interesting to read what could have been a happier, yet conflicted, ending.

All in all, I would recommend it, but not if you want some lighthearted reading.



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Jimmer Fredette

As Angie would say: Totally!

Our Rockin' Christmas

I'll bet you didn't know that our family was so musically inclined!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Robin Hood

I judge movies on how much I think about them the next day or two. If I hardly think of the movie, it is pretty mediocre. If I think alot about the movie, it is usually really good or very, very bad. Good movies make me think of the storyline, the characters, and the effect it has on my emotions. Bad movies have me thinking what a waste of time it was to watch and how it could have been better. Some movies, however, make me want to do some research and more reading to learn more about the storyline. These movies are invariably movies with some history connected to it. Robin Hood (starring Russel Crowe) is such a movie.

As a movie, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Deb, on the other hand, fell asleep. I enjoy well done movies with some history attached to them. When the movie was over, I wanted to know what was actually true, and what was not. So, I did some research on the Internet to find more about Robin Hood. Of course, the movie is almost entirely fiction since only circumstantial evidence is available that such a character as Robin Hood existed. This movie tells the story of how Robin Hood became an outlaw.

As far as the movie itself, I gave it 7 out of 10 stars on IMDb. The movie felt long to me and it was long (almost 2 1/2 hours). In very good movies, you do not notice the length. Perhaps this movie could have been tightened up a bit so it did not feel so long. Overall, though, for me it was enjoyable. For Deb, it was a snoozer.