Independent Women

Began a cloudy and much cooler morning with a quick Superman short. Superman faces a "Showdown" when a crook dresses as him in order to steal jewels and valuables. After he strikes during an opera production, Superman swings into action!

I was woken up earlier than I planned by loud noises outside my window. They were finally starting to repave Manor Avenue. Half of it was being done even as I made my way down the sidewalk to West Clinton. After that, I was able to quickly ride to City Hall to lock the bike there. The bus showed up a few minutes later. There was a little traffic around some road repairs in Haddon Heights. Otherwise, the ride went quickly, and I was in Somerdale by 9:30.

It took me a few minutes to decide what movie to see, but I ended up choosing Ocean's 8. Since the movie wasn't starting until 10:15, I had a little time to use the bathroom and check out the lobby. The Pac-Man game is gone, so I tried the Jurassic Park shooting game instead. I have no idea how you play that. I pushed all the buttons that were on the controller, but I never seemed to hit any pterodactyls.

Ultimately opted to get to my seat early. Not only was it the first theater when you enter (which meant no wandering around in that maze of a building), but it was pretty much empty. There may have been one or two other people there the entire two hours.

Once again, I'm not going to give any plot details because of spoilers, but I really enjoyed this. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does have a terrific cast in gorgeous costumes having a great time. I especially liked the twist with whom the last member of the 8 turned out to be, and the camaraderie among the women as they plan their caper and get to know one another better. No wonder one of the ladies joined in simply because she thought they all looked like such great friends.

Critics have carped on the pedestrian plot...but really, if you're not into heist capers or the previous Ocean's films, this probably isn't for you. If you loved the other Ocean's films or other caper films, you're going to want in on this one as well.

(Incidentally, this isn't my first time seeing an Ocean's film in theaters. My then-boyfriend and I went to see the original Ocean's Eleven in January 2002 after a few too many people got drunk at my college graduation party and we decided the movies would be safer. We both had a great time and ended up loving it.)

Had lunch next-door at Applebee's. They were fairly quiet for the first Friday lunchtime of the summer for many local kids. The honey chicken tenders I had were sizzling hot, crunchy, and flavorful. The fries were perfectly salty. (And actually tasted pretty good with the honey sauce on them.) The French onion soup was delicious, smothered with a ton of broiled cheese on top. Had a huge "blondie" with vanilla ice cream, cream cheese icing, and pecans for dessert.

Didn't do too much after that. Checked Game Stop and Wal Mart for the Star Wars toys I'm still looking for. I just ended up buying deodorant from Wal Mart, and that mainly to make change. The bus was pretty late arriving, almost 15 minutes. By that point, it had finally begun to rain very lightly. I was glad to get on the bus as it made its way through the road work and down the White Horse Pike to Oaklyn.

As soon as I got home, I went right back out again, ignoring the light shower. By that point, the road was completely paved and finished. A few cars even passed me as I headed to the laundromat to finally get a rather large load done. I forgot the pen to write notes, so I read magazines while half-listening to soap operas and online video shows.

I tried to write after I got home, but I was tired from being jolted awake this morning and couldn't concentrate. Ended up playing more Lego Clone Wars while eating leftovers for dinner instead. Got three more pieces on "Grevious Intrigue" and four more on "Gungan General."

Finished the night with Charlie's Angels while I made Blueberry Oatmeal Bars, and later online. The 2000 version of the beloved 70's action show starts out more-or-less the same way the TV series did, with the three members of the Angels Private Detective Agency, tough Dylan (Drew Barrymore), genius ditz Natalie (Cameron Diaz), and wealthy and elegant Alex (Lucy Liu), taking an assignment to find a missing industrialist. Their unseen boss Charlie (voice of John Forsythe) believes software creator Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell) has been kidnapped by Roger Corwin (Tim Curry), the owner of a communications company. With the help of Charlie's assistant Bosley (Bill Murray), the trio set out to find him, and later to retrieve his voice-recognition software. But there's a lot more going on behind the scenes than they think...and it all leads back to their mysterious boss.

This is another movie I saw in the theater with my boyfriend in college. We loved it then - I even gave it a glowing review in Stockton's school paper - and I still love it. This is such a fun flick. The spoofs are hilarious, the soundtrack is awesome, and everyone is having a great time. Bill Murray hadn't been this funny in years. Some of the slow-mo action sequences that were in style in the late 90's-early 2000's look a little dated now. Not all of the jokes land, and others require you to know the original show or other action shows from the late 70's-80's.

I hear there may be a remake or reboot in a few years...and if they can make it as enjoyable as this one, I'm all for it. If you love the cast, action films with strong heroines, or ones that are more comedy than action, you'll want to check this one out.

Oh, and the rain did pick up around the time I was baking cookies. It's been off and on the rest of the night. I hope it's not too bad tomorrow. I want to hit the farm market and bring some donations to the thrift shop.