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Remember that old adage? You know the one that says “If you have nothing to nice to say do not say anything at all?” Unfortunately if we followed that saying there would be no blog entry for this latest incarnation of Sherlock Holmes. And what kind of blog would that be? It may suffice to say this version of Sherlock Holmes (which has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award) was a disappointment to me.  If you are one of those people who wanted to go see a film with an actual story then perhaps you may agree.

Robert Downey Jr. stars as the great detective. Jude Law plays Holme’s assistant Dr. John Watson. Rachel McAdams is Irene Adler, Watson’s fiancee. And Mark Strong plays the part of Lord Blackwood, the main villain in this piece.

The movie’s plot can be summed up in a few words.   Sorcerer and serial killer Lord Blackwood returns from the dead to continue his murdering spree. Detective Sherlock Holmes (played by Robert Downey, Jr) and his assistant Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) team up to catch the killer( Strong) who is threatening all of England. Rachel McAdams (Adler) best known for her role in The Notebook, plays Irene Adler, Watson’s fiancee.

The director’s intention may have been to tell a story about murder, deceit and black magic but in this film the special effects are the real stars and overshadow any attempt at telling an interesting story. Yes, that is right. This film has almost no plot. After the film I was left with a wish that the storyline had been more similar to the classic versions of the forties when the plot was the thing and not the over-use of special effects. What little bit of plot there was left little for character development. For example the director could have explored the relationship between Adler and Watson a bit more in the film and perhaps the story would have had more weight.

But no. That is perhaps asking too much.

Consequently the entire film suffers. It feels more like a vacuumed out period of two hours void of any real soul or depth than an exciting adventure. And given the weakness of the story is it any wonder that the performances also suffered? Unlike his more impressive roles as Stark in Iron Man and Charlie Chaplin, Downey’s portrayal of Holmes was not very convincing to me. Downey, one of the few actors in Hollywood with an impressive acting background (and actual talent). However one might still come away feeling that Downey could have done more with the role. Jude Law’s performance as Watson left much to be desired. There was nothing that he did or said that was really that memorable. The only bright light in the film was Rachel McAdams (Irene Adler). She was the damsel in distress that both Holmes and Watson rescued near the end of the film.

Overall if you like special effects and mindless entertainment then perhaps this film is for you. However if you are looking for something with a bit more weight you may do better to save your ten bucks and consider another film at an art house.

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Now here is a walk down memory lane… an oldie but a goodie as far as films go. If you have an hour and a half to kill at some point and the weather is kind of frightful then you can not go wrong by watching this film from the Hollywood Golden Age. Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and winner of two, Separate Tables tells the story of several people who live at the Beauregard Hotel. They share one common trait: loneliness.

This movie based on a play by Terence Rattigan and John Gay. It was produced by Harold Hecht and directed by Delbert Mann. Vivien Leigh was to star as Ann Shankland, but bowed out when her husband, Laurence Olivier, decided not to direct the film adaptation.

Deborah Kerr plays Sibyl Railton, a shy neurotic unmarried woman who is unable to cope with daily life. She is finally able to overcome her timid behavior in order to confront her domineering mother. Sibyl (Kerr) strikes up a friendship with Major Pollack ( David Niven)  and is devastated when she learns of the Major’s dark past.

Major Pollack (Niven) is unsure how the people who live at the Beauregard Hotel will react when his secrets are  revealed.

John Malcolm (Burt Lancaster) a disillusioned writer who drowns his disappointment by drinking excessively must face his past when he has a confrontation with Ann Shankland (Rita Hayworth) a  new guest at the hotel. They were once married. Their relationship ended when she sought out the company of other men that lead up to their bitter separation. Malcolm(Lancaster) never forgave Shankland (Hayworth) for her deceitfulness.

There are several other characters living at the hotel. There are an aging spinster, an older gentleman and two women. One woman runs the hotel and the other seems content living among the others. There is a younger couple staying there as well. The young woman wants to remain single while the gentleman is set on getting her to the altar.  Each learns a lesson about forgiveness and acceptance as they get to know one another.

I prefer movies in black and white rather than the newer colorized versions that are available today. I found the characters interesting especially Lancaster and Hayworth. I would have liked the film to have gone deeper into the characters pasts.

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Its that time of year again when the champagne is flowing and the band can be heard playing in the background. We ring in the New Year with family and friends as we dance the night away. The atmosphere is filled with excitement as we await the clock to strike midnight.

Whenever we think of the new year we can’t help but think of making our New Year’s Resolutions.

Whether we want to drop those extra ten pounds we gained by joining the local gym or dreamed of free falling from the sky this is the time of year when we set goals and take chances in life.

Sometimes we share these resolutions with others or we keep them to ourselves.

I have always made a list of what I wanted to accomplish by the end of the year. In January I set out to accomplish these goals with great enthusiasm. By the middle of the year with all the demands of work and home life I found myself placing my personal goals aside to concentrate on my  immediate concerns.

As time progressed Iwould pick up where I left off and maybe added a few more resolutions to the list. Then with renewed enthusiasm I would  begin again and hopefully I would be able to accomplish several of my goals if not all of them.

Maybe we start out with the best of intentions when we list our resolutions but then again we get side tracked. The good thing is whatever we not are not able to complete this year we can always add them onto next year’s list.

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Not too long ago I was talking with a friend and I caught that person in a fib. It was not a big deal but afterwards it did give me some pause and I thought about why they felt they needed to lie. On one level it was a bit disappointing because I had thought better of this person who was a dear friend but not always so keen to making the right decisions. While I immediately forgave the person for their actions it did make me think about the nature of living a good life. From these ponderings I still came up with the following guidelines.

1. Telling the truth is always best. No matter what you believe it is always best to tell it like it is – to tell the truth. Sure there are situations where the truth has been stretched to save someone from having their feelings hurt but honesty goes a long way.
2. Lies always catch up to you. I have learned lying always catches up with you whether it takes a day or a year.  It is always a personal issue as to what one’s code of ethics are regarding fibs and lies. If your grandma made a dessert that tasted like tree bark I think it is okay to tell her it was delicious then discard it discreetly without grandma’s knowledge. However you may need to explain later why your tastes have changed if she serves you the same dessert again and again.
3. The truth always comes out. Whether you are a religious person or not we all have our own rules to live by. I am hardly a preacher nor do I want to be but I can say every time I told someone I couldn’t have dinner  or make a concert for one reason or another you can be sure the truth always came out.
4. Lying can destroy relationships. I have seen first hand how lying can destroy relationships and diminish one’s spirit. Hurting another person intentionally is just not cool. Being honest without hurting another is a challenge but it is all in the delivery. If your mom bought you a gift you would never wear I would thank her but say I hope you do not mind if I use the receipt to exchange the gift. I would never want to insult you but I could use black rather than red.
5. Telling the truth is always the most practical choice in life. Experience is a teacher in itself.  Even if we lie now eventually we may see that lying is a difficult, destructive and time consuming activity and that it is still always better to simplify our lives by not lying and simply telling the truth. We all must learn from our mistakes. I try each day to be a better person. I feel as if we are on a grand journey. We learn as we go along much like parents learn how to parent on a daily basis. Hopefully we will see over time that living a life of honesty is still the best course of action.

Sometimes I believe think that the idea of karma and reincarnation are correct. For those who believe in reincarnation the journey of the spirit continues until you come back and begin the process all over again until the circle is completed or the lesson is finally learned. Then we can go where ever we are meant to be in spirit and be free to fulfill our purpose in the after life. Ok I probably have read too many books where the after life is a sense of glorified perfection or too many fiction books where it is the greatest existence to be an immortal. When it is my turn I’ll find a way to let you know how things go when I get there.

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Wow. Three words come to mind that I would not have thought possible regarding this film. Three magical words that was a shock to both myself and my boyfriend (who begged me to go for several weeks before I finally relented.) Three words. What were they, you ask?

I liked it.

That’s right. After moaning and groaning about the possibility of sitting through another techno-babble-oriented story with my boyfriend about some strange beings from another planet (or planets), I actually found myself enjoying Star Trek, Paramount Picture’s gamble to reboot Gene Roddenberry’s dying franchise. This is shocking because I for one have never been a “Trekker.”

And even though my grandmother had a thing for William Shatner when the original television show aired back in the sixties I never really took to the franchise. In short, the word “Star Trek,” was not in my vocabulary. Or if it was there was a stigma about it — a negative connotation to it, if you will — and I was one gal who seriously never gave much consideration to men with pointy ears. At least not until now.

You see the new movie, Star Trek, is (I am biting my lips and they are bleeding, can’t you tell?) actually really, really fun. From the first few minutes after the lights dimmed until the closing credits I was hooked. And to tell you the truth there is no small feat let me tell you. The story was engaging. I have to admit Shatner was a bit of a looker back in the original show but this Christopher Pine does a pretty good job on his own. And all of the characters in the story were wonderful. Karl Urban who really made a splash in The Lord of The Rings, does an amazing job as Doctor Leonard McCoy. He just about steals the scene every chance he gets. Zoe Saldana who plays Uhura does a very believable job as the communications officer and Zachary Quinto (who inherits the role of Spock from Leonard Nimoy) makes a compelling argument why franchises can indeed be rebooted with much success.

Eric Bana does a great job as the menacing bad guy, Nero. He has tattoos all over which means he must be evil, right? Well, if that is not enough of an indication his violent tendencies through the film are a dead giveaway. The film was directed by J.J. Abrams of television fame for the hit shows, Alias, Lost, and Fringe, and he does an amazing job giving us a movie that is engaging, enjoyable and exciting. The characters basically keep you in stitches half the time which only makes you want more.

By the end of the film it is easy to feel sad. After all the “friends” you made for the last two hours — all those Roddenberry characters resurrected through the new cast — are now gone. At least for now. Four magic words come to mind as I close this review: go see this film. It is fantastic. It is one of the more satisfying films I have seen in quite some time. Sure, it may not be high art, but it is a good time nonetheless. See this film in the theaters or wait until it comes out on DVD or BLU-RAY. You will not be disappointed.

I admit I need more experience counting pennies which is why my bank account reflects the sorry state of my current finances.

I am like many of my female counter parts who find it difficult to say no to a good sale or a good hair salon or a good, ah you get the picture.

As long as I paid my bills on time and had credit to spare on my cards I thought I am doing just dandy.
But all it took was one financial set back and I find I am not doing as well as I had thought.
So it seems I have to put myself on a budget and cut out all of the frills and thrills that are unnecessary in my life.

I went through my receipts and realized how often I ate out per week; maybe not at the fanciest places but more than my current budget allowed.

So my number one Budget Makeover was to limit myself to eat out once a week on the weekend. That includes breakfast at the fast food joints and my daily Starbucks fix.

I reacquainted myself with the deli counter and salad aisle at my local grocery store. I purchased some of those new plastic food organizers where you can keep your salad dressing in a smaller container as well as the one where you can keep a sandwich and a side dish like potato or pasta salad.

I took inventory of my refrigerator and pantry. Anything I had too long was tossed. Chips and less than healthy snacks went to the church for their needy parishioners.

The first couple of weeks were tough but when I saw how little I ran to the ATM I thought this just might work.

Then I went to my closet. I could not believe how many items still had their original tags on them and had never been worn. So I first tried to return them with out a receipt. When I ran into problems like severe discounts because they no longer carried the item or the item had been discounted to a price just above a giveaway, I decided EBAY and CRAIGSLIST might be my answer.

So I looked into selling several items I put together such as jeans, a top and an accessory. Much to my surprise the clothes sold for my asking price and in some cases above what I thought I would get for them.
I liked the idea of auctions and direct sales and became quite good at it although I will admit my background was in advertising so I put those skills to use.

It’s not so difficult to rearrange your priorities when it comes to finances once you set up a schedule and stick to it. And the benefits far outweigh the effort it takes to make the changes.

In a nutshell I cut out the expensive coffees and made my own brew with my favorite caramel flavoring. I made a habit of eating breakfast at home and took my coffee for the drive if I was meeting a client or potential client in the morning hours.

I brown bagged lunch and learned to love a bottle of water rather than an expensive juice or sugary soda.
Another trick I found out that was a great time and money saver was preparing dinners for the week on a Sunday. Sundays are generally a low key day for me. I catch up on laundry, reading, my bills etc. So I thought why don’t I get over myself and start clipping coupons again from the Sunday papers.

Will the food taste any different if I bought it for a few dollars less by using coupons? I don’t think so. And generally the stores double coupons for an even bigger savings?

Great websites such www.CoolSavings.com, www.coupons.com, www.freecoupons.com are fantastic sites for saving on your grocery bills. And if you are a club person there are sites where you can join a club and swap coupons with other members.

So I shopped for my groceries and found substantial savings by using coupons and buying the sale items.

And I cleaned out my closet and either donated slightly used items or sold new and used clothes and accessories on EBAY and CRAIGSLIST.

With gas prices the way they are I cut out the extra driving to the stores at night since I wasn’t buying for the most part and limited by shopping to the weekends unless there was an emergency. I redefined what my idea of a shopping emergency was as well. An emergency is not defined as the last day of Estee Lauder’s free gift with any purchase.

I find organizing and putting myself on a budget doesn’t have to impact my life in a negative way. With the money I have saved I decided to open an online savings account with a larger percentage rate.

That is definitely a win-win situation.