Last night I decided to see a movie instead of driving all the way home and back to the airport to pick him up. I selected Beastly. To be fair I didn’t know much about it other it is loosely based on Beauty and the Beast, which happens to be my most favorite folk tale (or fairytale if you’d prefer.) Also, I’ve seen practically everything else that is currently out. This movie was wrong. All wrong. It was Twilight bad. Before you call me a hypocrite, I have freely admitted that I have seen all of the Twilight Saga movies more than once. I actually own them. I will also see Breaking Dawn, probably at a press screening before it comes out. I am a fan of the books (well, mostly the first two) but I digress; we’re talking about Beastly here.

If I were 14 I would have liked Beastly (or even Twilight for that matter). My problem is that the “modern twist” on the story was lame, the acting was awful, the characters were boring, and did I mention the acting was awful? Clearly the Olson twins haven’t gotten any better since the Full House days when “You Got it Dude” was the catchphrase du joir and someone had to feed them their lines off camera. Vanessa Hudgens isn’t much better either.

Also if you’re going to do a Beauty and the Beast movie, you might want to make the “beast” I dunno… Beastly? I mean that is the name of the movie after all. Instead they cast Alex Pettyfer. I’ve never heard of him. I looked him up – only so I wouldn’t look dumb just in case he’s on Gossip Girl or something else popular that is not on my radar. He’s not. Instead I discovered he’s also in I am Number Four, but that is about it other than being rumored for the lead in quite a few upcoming high profile movies. I didn’t think he was all that good looking, but do yourself a favor and check out his profile on IMDB. Apparently he’s British and looks really good in black and white. You’re welcome.

Pettyfer and Hudgens

The whole premise of the movie is that he’s a spoiled rich kid who relies on his good looks to get ahead in life (barf), while actually being really ugly on the inside. (Double barf.) As a punishment for dissing a high school witch (it’s even lamer than it sounds), she curses him with tats and scars. He basically has a year to convince someone to say “I love you” or be stuck in that form forever. Bwhahahaha! That was my witch impression in case it wasn’t clear.

Personally I think he became better looking when he was transformed into the beast, but I have also had a lifelong crush on Billy Corgan so it might just be me. I’m totally okay with that. I was distracted the entire movie and was thinking about how I’d rather be somewhere else listening to Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

Beastly vs. Billy

Beauty and the Beast is also my favorite Disney cartoon, although I loved the story long before that. I checked the book out at the library when I was 11 and was enchanted. Here’s how Beastly and the Disney version compare:

Kyle is cursed with piercings, tattoos and a few unsightly scars.

A prince is cursed with a hairy wolf-man exterior.

Result: The prince totally got the short end of the stick.

Kyle is cursed after humiliating a high school witch at a “Green” party.

A prince is cursed after refusing a night’s shelter to an enchantress in a green dress.

Result: The enchantress’ role is much less prominent, but you’ll wish Mary-Kate Olson’s was.

Beastly: Kyle has a year (until the white roses on his tattoo fall off) to convince someone to love him despite his “ugly” exterior.

Beauty and the Beast: The prince has until his 21st birthday (when all the petals on a rose will fall off) to convince someone to love him despite his “wolf-like” exterior.

Result: While Kyle only has one year to find love, if he doesn’t it’s no big. Did I mention he looks like Billy Corgan except with tattoos and piercings? Just checking.

Beastly: Kyle is forced to endure the company of his father’s house maid and a blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris).

Beauty and the Beast: The prince/beast lives with his also cursed servants: Lumière, Mrs. Potts, and Cogsworth.

Result: I’m not sure what bet NPH lost, but I still love him. None-the-less, singing and dancing housewares are still more fabulous.

I had been a casual watcher of the show when it was on HBO, but of course I knew all about Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda. Who doesn’t? I had borrowed a lot of the DVDs from another friend to get myself up to speed before going to the first one which I loved. I have to admit I was a little worried about a second go-around. Would there be the same magic formula of fun, friendship, and fashion? And what the heck is up with Abu Dhabi? The idea of that plot line alone had me shaking in my Manola Blahniks. The desert? Are they really riding camels in THAT? I digress.

Thanks to the One2One Network, I had also been driving around the days prior to the movie’s release listening to the Sex and the City 2 Soundtrack. I wish I could say that the Soundtrack made me feel better about how the actual movie would be, but Liza Minnelli, Cyndi Lauper, Alicia Keys, Dido, Jennifer Hudson, and a Men’s choir? I won’t even mention the cast sing-along of I Am Woman.

That’s quite a lot of diversity, and honestly a lot of the choices didn’t make sense to me. My first impression was that the R&B feel at the beginning didn’t really match the way the show had been, and there were also a lot of tracks that had a Middle Eastern feel. I get it because I knew they went to the desert, but who wants to listen to that on a Soundtrack? I did love the Ricki-Lee single Can’t Touch It that is on the movie’s trailer. It’s fun and upbeat, and I had already associated it with the movie. I also really liked the Dido song, and you can’t go wrong with True Colors by Lauper. Did I mention there are three tracks from a Men’s choir?!?!

I’m happy to say that after seeing the movie, the Soundtrack made complete sense. You’ll understand the Liza tracks and the ones by the Men’s choir. But honestly? Those moments were in less than 5 minutes of the movie and had almost nothing to do with the plot. Still, like the movie, there are still some fun moments and it is a good CD to listen to in the car.

We decided that even though the movie’s plot was a little lot recycled from the first time around, it was still fun to catch up with our four favorite friends and check out the fashion, even if it was completely inappropriate for the desert.

Want to win a copy of the Soundtrack and check it out for yourself? Leave a comment letting me know which SATC character is your favorite and why. If you can’t wait or don’t win, you can still purchase it from Amazon.

U.S and Canada only, please. The winner will be selected randomly from all valid entries on or around June 15. You must leave a comment letting me know your answer to the question above. Please also use your real first name and leave a valid way for me to contact you should you be selected as the winner. You will have 48 hours to respond before I select an alternate winner.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I did receive a complementary copy of the soundtrack to review from One2One Network and they are also providing a copy to one of my readers. This did not influence my opinion about the movie or the soundtrack.

Dave and I have a Date Night every Friday without fail. Unlike Steve Carell and Tina Fey’s characters in the new Date Night Movie, our night’s activities don’t include breaking and entering, a car chase, or a shootout and showdown with an underworld boss at a strip club. Hilarity definitely does not ensue with us. Them? Sounds like a totally different story. Check out the trailer below:

If you’ve seen the extended trailer at the theater or on TV, you know that the couple decide to go out to dinner and do not have a reservation. When a table for two is called and nobody steps forward, they decide to do what everyone surely has thought to do but would never do. They take the table, which causes a whirlwind of mishaps. Admit it. You’ve thought about it! I know we’ve certainly joked about it. I guess that is exactly how ideas for movies happen. When I first saw the trailer I immediately thought of True Lies. You know, the 1994 classic (at least in our home) with the unlikely coupling of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Do you have plans to spend your date night seeing Date Night on opening night? (Wow. That was a mouthful.) It comes out tomorrow, April 9. What’s the craziest thing that has ever happened to you and your significant other on a night out?

Be sure to stay through the credits. I hear that Steve and Tina share a 4 1/2 minute long kiss. On second thought, maybe you should leave and make out with your date in the car instead.

My point in bringing all of that up is the there is a new movie called Babies coming out on Mother’s Day weekend. I saw the preview several months ago when we were seeing another movie, and big surprise, I was boo-hooing. It looks adorable. Who doesn’t love babies? It focuses on the first year of life of four babies who all live in different parts of the world. I love the concept. Check out the trailer for yourself:

Admit it… you shed a tear, didn’t you? It’s okay, it was probably just dust in your eye. Yeah, that’s it. Love them as much as I do? Visit them on Facebook too.

This is not a sponsored post, and I was not compensated in any way. I received the information and exclusive content from BzzAgent and Focus Features, but the opinions are completely my own.

I grabbed some canned food to donate, and Little E (plus Special K and Dave) and we were off to the Bedford Movie Tavern. Krista and I stood in line to have our picture taken in (and with) Bella’s truck from the Twilight movie. Yes, the actual truck. My understanding is that Sterling Biegart, a local 17-year old talked her parents into purchasing the truck for her on Ebay. It was one of two used in the movie. It was her idea to use the truck to raise money for charity. She told us that her mom actually wanted her to use it to make money for college, but backed up her decision to donate all the money instead. She told me she didn’t feel right taking people’s money. They were both there last night with the truck, and could not have been more sweet. Her mom actually took this picture of us:

For $5 each, we were able to take as many photos as we wanted in and around the truck. It was kind of neat just to be able to say we did it, and more importantly helped raise a ton of money for charity which is always good. Here are a few more photos of the front and back of the truck:

Here’s what Audra and Amanda (the event’s organizers) sent out this morning:

With your help, we raised over $3000 for the TAFB and collected almost 700 pounds of food! That will help feed 12,000 people in the DFW area this Thanksgiving, and we couldn’t be happier.

Me and Krista in the theater with Little E

Would you like to win your very own Mattel Collectable Pink Label Edward or Bella doll? One winner will get to select the doll of their choice. Here’s how:

1) Comment and tell me your favorite character from the Twilight Saga and why for one entry (required). 2) Make a donation to the TAFB (and e-mail me your receipt) for ten extra entries (leave 10 comments). 3) Follow me @laurie_pooh on Twitter and send the following message for one extra entry: I entered to win a Mattel Twilight Barbie Edward/Bella from @laurie_pooh: http://tinyurl.com/twilightbarbies 4) Follow my blog using the Google Connect in my sidebar to the right for one extra entry. 5) Subscribe to my blog in a reader for one extra entry.

U.S. and Canada only, please. The winner will be selected randomly from all valid entries on or around December 12. You must leave a comment letting me know your answer to the question above, as well as additional comments letting me know what else you have done to earn extra entries. Please also use your real first name and leave a valid way for me to contact you should you be selected as the winner. You will have 48 hours to respond to my e-mail before another winner is selected. Good Luck!

To get you up to speed, I read the books quite a bit before the first movie came out. When I read them I didn’t know who Taylor Lautner was, and I had no idea Robert Pattinson was being considered to play Edward. I enjoyed the first three books for their story, because quite frankly Stephenie Meyer’s writing style was pretty elementary and could definitely not be confused as anything resembling good literature. The fourth book (Breaking Dawn) came out a month or so after I devoured the first three books (in less than 24 hours each), and that’s when I pretty much gave up on her. Ridiculous plot plus whiney characters equals I quit. And I did. I could only read a few pages at a time. It.was.really.that.bad. (IMHO)

The Twilight movie was awful. When you couple bad acting with a bad script (which really isn’t the movie’s fault because they took a lot of the dialogue right from the book), the end result most likely isn’t going to be pretty. Plus it was cheesy. And white makeup? Really? I also found fault with almost everyone cast, except their choice for Jacob. He was okay and fit my vision of the character from the book. Not that Rob isn’t an attractive guy, but the Edward of my mind is nothing like him. I’ve learned to appreciate him though (I’m impressed he can turn off his accent), and I thought he was cute in Harry Potter. The bottom line is that even though it wasn’t a perfect interpretation or movie, I still walked out happy that a film version existed and I had hope that New Moon would be better.

I saw New Moon last night with my Twilight OBSESSED friend Krista thanks to a contest from BigFanBoy.com in which I had to dig deep and share my favorite scene from Twilight. In case you were wondering, I chose the one where Edward speeds up in his shiny silver Volvo and saves her from the creepy men on the street. Go me for not selecting one of the love scenes. They are way better (and less awkward) in the book.

My hope that New Moon would be better was quickly squashed. Sadly a lot of the plot and character development was left out of this one, which was pretty disappointing. There was plenty of Emo music, extra lip biting and bad acting from Kristin Stewart, CGI wolves, and ghostly Edwards (hysterical). I just don’t think they did this one justice. At least when I walked out of Twilight I was able to say that it followed the book very closely, even if it wasn’t as good. New Moon just left out (and changed) too much. Oh, and Edward’s red lips were very distracting. He wore more makeup than Bella. I was hoping they’d lay off on the white paint too. At least the sparkling looked a lot better, I’ll give them that. But hey, if you’re into hot guys… this is the movie for you!

I won’t hold my breath that Eclipse will be any better, though there is a lot more action and we will get to see a lot more of the love triangle and drama between Edward and Jacob. That could be good, right? RIGHT?

Did I mention I have an Edward Barbie? Did I mention I’m going to see New Moon again tonight at 8:00 PM at a charity event benefiting the Tarrant Area Food Bank? Did I mention I’m having my photo taken with Bella’s truck? Did I mention I’m C-R-A-Z-Y and majorly sleep deprived?

I know, I’m a nerd. So are you Team Edward or Team Jacob? Let me know in the comments. Oh, and come back because I will have a Twilight/New Moon giveaway tomorrow.

So what to do with the other two seats? Could we dare show up to a screening of a children’s movie by ourselves? My friend Nikki agreed to let me pick her children up in the pouring rain and swoop them off to the movies. Her daughter Taylor called me “Aunt Laurie” without any prompting while we were out shopping a few weeks ago, and then both she and Zach officially “adopted” both of us as an Aunt and Uncle the next week. Too cute.

The night before we visited our favorite local independent bookstore, Legacy Books, and picked up the book to give to the kids and to jog our memories. I actually hadn’t remembered it until I saw the book. It’s short, and there’s not much to it. I knew the makers of the movie probably had to take a lot of liberties, as I imagine Spike Jonze did with Where the Wild Things Are. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was actually first published in 1978… the year I was born! Go figure.

When we arrived at the movie theater, the kids were excited because there was a Radio Disney van parked out front of the theater. Once inside we were treated like VIPs and didn’t have to stand in line. After everyone was wanded and my purse checked for cameras and cell phones, we were allowed into the theater. We had special seats reserved with my name on them. The kids were once again excited when they realized that the Radio Disney DJs were in our theater giving out prizes. They each “won” a Scratch & Sniff card with different foods from the movie, and insisted on making us smell them all.

The movie was colorful and fun, and the kids seemed to really enjoy it. The animation was really good and I enjoyed the voices of the characters, even though I convinced myself I was listening to John Cusack instead of Bill Hader. Ah well. Mr. (I pity the fool) T also voices a character. There were also plenty of jokes for adults sprinkled in, that go right over the little one’s heads. Since we weren’t allowed cameras and phones, I don’t have any pictures. I assure you though, a good time was had by all.

On the way to lunch, since it was still pouring rain, we spent the ride asking the kids what foods they wished were falling from the sky. Ice cream was the consensus. If only…

*SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK*

Sunday night we attended a charity event for Variety and saw an advanced screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This is probably my favorite of the six films, although I do have a special place in my heart for the first one as well. This movie is sad, and everyone who has read the books knows why. Of course I am talking about the demise of Dumbledore. I think it is fun that he lives on via Twitter with #Dumbledore. I have to admit that I sent a few tweets out with his hashtag. Check out What Would Dumbledore Do? if you’d like a more in-depth explanation of what they are trying to do. I think they are eventually going to look for sponsors and make a donation to charity.

Dave is a bigger HP fan than I am, so really I bought the tickets for him. I could have waited until it came out tonight to see it, but I am glad we didn’t have to stand in line for too long and fight for seats. We saw it in the nicest HD theater that has the most comfortable leather seats. I am more of a fan of the movies than the books, which is actually kind of unusual for me. 99% of the time I prefer the book to the movie version. This is actually the only exception I can think of, but maybe someone will point something else out that I have forgotten about.

I am also a fan of Snape, although I know that is probably an unpopular character to favor. I have always liked Alan Rickman. I think he is fantastic, and I love watching him act. I am also a huge fan of Ralph Fiennes who plays another very unpopular character. There is no winning for me.

I won’t tell you who the Half-Blood Prince is, but if you have read the book you already know. Once you see the movie, come back and tell me what you think. That’s what #Dumbledore would do!