TV: Faith Like Potatoes

Faith Like Potatoes is an excellent movie. It's based on the true story of Angus Buchan. He is a Scottish man who has lived his whole life in Africa. He was a farmer in Zambia but after a bad crop during a time with there were violent wars all around, he decides to move to another area.  He moves to the Zulu area. He farms. He has a violent temper. His wife convinces him to go to a pancake breakfast at a local church and then one of the members there invites him to come to church the next day to hear some of the local farmers speak. He goes and while he's listening, he remembers that he was once at a revival and he knows he needs to get saved, so he does. Then he wants to do God's will and God tells him he needs to share his story and then he needs to organize a prayer meeting for all the local farmers to pray against the violence and the drought. He shares the verse, 2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (NIV version) There is one sad part at the end of the movie where a family member dies.

TV: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

I watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It stars Kate Hudson as Andie Anderson, Matthew McConaughey as Benjamin Barry, Kathryn Hahn as Michelle, Annie Parisse as Jeannie, Adam Goldberg as Tony, Thomas Lennon as Thayer, Michael Michele as Judy Spears, Shalom Harlow as Judy Green, Robert Klein as Phillip Warren and Bebe Neuwirth as Lana. Andie is the How-To girl at Composure magazine. Michelle and Jeannie are her co-workers and best friends. Michelle has just broken up with a guy after 10 days and doesn't know what she's doing wrong because everything starts out right but then ends up with her being dumped. But when she's telling Jeannie and Andie about the guy they're surprised she lasted as long as she did because she does things that are horrible to a guy like calling and telling him everything you ate that day, using baby talk, putting feminine products in his bathroom, etc. So, during the staff meeting when Lana asks who will use Michelle's pain to write an article, instead of letting someone else do it, Andie volunteers to do a reverse how-to article on how to lose a guy instead of keep a guy. Meanwhile across town, Phillip Warren's advertising agency just got a tip that the DeLauer's who control 70% of the diamond industry are shopping for new advertisers and Benjamin Barry wants the account because he was the first person that got the tip. But, while he is great with athletic gear and beer, Phillip feels that the girls, the Judys, Spears and Green, sell luxury better. Benjamin makes a bet that getting someone to buy a diamond is as easy as getting a woman to fall in love with you. He says he can get any available, straight, single woman to fall in love with him in 10 days. Spears says she will pick someone from the restaurant and she picks Andie. What Benjamin doesn't know is that Spears and Green met with Lana to talk about advertising in Composure just that morning and she introduced Andie and told them how she was going to go on a date with a guy and then flip the switch and drive him away. She thinks they'll win the bet. It's a very funny movie.

TV: The Women

The Women is a re-make of a 1939 movie. I haven't seen the old version but hope to someday. The Women has an all female cast! Plus, most of the people working behind the scenes are women. It stars some incredible women: Meg Ryan as Mary Haines, Eva Mendez as Crystal Lewis - the other woman, Debra Messing as Edie, Bette Midler, Cloris Leachman as Mary's maid, Candice Bergen as Mary's mother, Ana Gasteyer as Crystal's coworker and roommate, Carrie Fisher as a gossip writer, Annette Bening as Sylvia, Jada Pinkett Smith as an author, and India Ennenga plays the daughter, Molly Haines. These ladies are high society ladies. Mary Haines is having a big luncheon and she tells Sylvia not to be late as she usually is. Sylvia goes to Saks 5th Avenue to get a manicure and the manicurist is running her mouth about her friend, Crystal Allen, who works behind the perfume counter and is having an affair with some man who is always in the newspaper in the business section...what is his name...I can never remember his name...oh yeah...Haines...Steven Haines. Of course, Sylvia knows this is Mary's husband so she has to decide if she should tell her or not and how to tell her. Mary kicks Steven out of the house and after a little self-meditation and whatnot, she decides that she wants to live for herself....she has always wanted to design her own clothes so she starts a small collection. It's really cool. It's a pretty good movie.

TV: Trading Places

I love the movie Trading Places. It stars Dan Akroyd as Louis and Eddie Murphy as Billy Ray Valentine. It also stars Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Denholm Elliott, Philip Bosco, Bill Cobbs  and James Belushi. Ameche and Bellamy play the Duke Brothers. They work on wall street with commodities trading. One bets the other that the environment plays a big part on how you live. He says that a person who grew up on the streets would act right if given the chance to live in high society and that if a high society person found themselves with no money, no friends, no home, no job, etc., that they would take to crime. Louis is engaged to the Dukes' niece. He works for them, so they decide to trade places between him and this low-life Billy Ray Valentine. The results are hilarious. There is a little nudity and bad language in this movie.

TV: American Flyers

I watched American Flyers. This is one of Kevin Costner's earlier films. He has a cheesy mustache in this film. He looks really funny. The story is good, but a little sad. Kevin's character Marcus finds out that he has an aneurysm like his dad died of. There is nothing they can do for an aneurysm so once something happens to it, it's only a matter of time.  Marcus has a younger brother David who still lives at home. He goes home to check on him because he's worried that he might also have an aneurysm. Marcus is mad at his mom because he doesn't feel like she was "there" for his dad in his final days. She was in the apartment but she escaped to her room because she just couldn't watch her husband die, and Marcus is mad at her because his dad was calling for his wife. So, he can't spend more than a minute with his mom before he starts arguing with her. But, she is also worried about David. He is having some random dizzy spells and has lost a lot of weight. Marcus takes him home with him. He is a sports doctor and he takes David to his clinic and gives him a tour and then threatens him with a torture test (treadmill) and then gives him an MRI. He gets a clean bill of health. Marcus doesn't tell his mom or David that he has an aneurysm. David and Marcus love to ride their bikes. They practice riding all the time and they go to contest called Hell of the West. There is a little bit of nudity and a little bit of bad language in this movie. The story is very good. There are some very strong emotional parts. There is sadness, danger, patriotism, anger, excitement, love, and a little humor. David is played by David Grant.

TV: Win a Date with Tad Hamilton

Rosalee Futch (Kate Bosworth) and her best friend Cathy Feeley (Gennifer Goodwin) work at the Piggly Wiggly. Their best guy friend, Pete Monash (Topher Grace) is the assistant manager. He frequently gets store awards like employee of the month. Tad gets in the tabloids because of his bad boy photos and his agents, Richard Levy the Driven (Nathan Lane) and Richard Levy the Shameless (Sean Hayes) set up the Win-a-Date contest. The girls find out that Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel) is raising money for a children's charity by selecting one girl to go on a date with him. Rosalee wins and after meeting her, Tad realizes that his priorities are badly out of whack, and he moves to West Virginia for a while so her good morals can rub off on him. Pete, secretly madly in love with Rosalee, is very jealous. Meanwhile, Angelica (Kathryn Hahn), the bartender at their local hangout has a huge crush on Pete that everyone except Pete sees. Gary Cole, Stephen Tobolowsky, Octavia Spencer and Amy Smart are also in the movie.

TV: The Holiday

The Holiday is one of my "new" favorite movies! It stars Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black and John Krasinski, Kathryn Hahn, and a cameo by Dustin Hoffman. Winslet's Iris Simpkins has been in love with a colleague but finds out he is now engaged to another colleague. She lives in a cottage in Surrey, England. Amanda Woods (Diaz) is a movie-trailer maker who lives in Los Angeles. Her boyfriend cheated on her, so she threw him out. She decides that she wants to take a vacation. She finds Iris's home listed on a home-exchange. She and Iris switch homes/vehicles/friends for two weeks. Iris befriends Amanda's elderly neighbor who used to be a screen writer. She also falls in love with Miles (Black) who works with Amanda's ex-boyfriend. Iris and Miles eat at a sushi restaurant. Meanwhile, in Surrey, Iris's brother, Graham (Law), shows up at his sister's house, and meets and falls in love with Amanda. I love this movie. I think Iris's cottage is really cute. Amanda's mansion is incredible. The music is pretty and the guys that the girls fall for are sweet. A great movie all over!