Movie Review – The Big Short

We crossed off another Oscar movie nominee, The Big Short, this morning. In case you haven't heard, The Big Short is about "the credit and housing bubble collapse in the mid-2000s. . ." And it's a movie well worth seeing.

While I still don't completely understand the cause of the collapse, I do know much more than I did before. But what I enjoyed the most about The Big Short was becoming familiar with the number of socially-awkward highly-intelligent people who predicted the collapse years before it happened. As I've said before, I absolutely love movies about extremely smart people.

It's my opinion The Big Short more than deserves its nomination. And it's easy to see why Christian Bale as Michael Burry was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

After recently enjoying The Revenant and The Big Short, I'm even more excited to see other 2016 Oscar movie nominees.

Good News From New York

My daughter-in-law is now 15-weeks pregnant and appears to be coming out of that rough period of morning sickness that resulted in two hospital stays. When I spoke with her Wednesday, Zuae said she was much better, eating and feeling more energetic. But, best of all, yesterday she got some results of the blood draw from a couple weeks ago and everything looks good!

Then this morning we got more good news from New York. My son starts a new job Monday with better pay and benefits, which he can work from anywhere with internet access. So Daniel and Zuae's move from New York to near us in Missouri is still on and their financial future feels much better. (Currently Daniel's a freelance tutor.)

The move is scheduled for May 2 and baby is due July 17. It's going to be an exciting spring and summer!

Movie Review – The Revenant

This was a tough one. Although the scenery throughout The Revenant is breathtaking to the point I found myself marveling at the wonder and beauty of nature, the movie's savagery is hard to take. In fact, I had my eyes closed at least 20-percent of the time.

But I can understand why the The Revenant has been nominated for 12 Academy Awards. It's an extraordinary film. The visual effects, the acting, the costumes, the screenwriting, and the set design were all top notch. If given the choice, I recommend seeing it in IMAX to truly appreciate the landscapes unfolding before you.

This time of year I'm on a mission to see most, if not all, of the movie nominees. We're now down to five, although I very much doubt I'll bother with Mad Max: Fury Road. I've yet to be able to sit through any of the Mad Max movies. Just not my genre.

No matter the cold, ice and snow, for me this is movie season!

Snow Day Miracle

Schools were closed yesterday, so my daughter was home with both grandsons. Late in the afternoon, after wrestling with the boys and dealing with handymen all day, she finally took a break and laid back in one of their recliners. At the same time, Jonah was laying on the floor in front of the recliner watching shows on the iPad. And that's when the miracle happened.

Jonah's dear lovey, Cream Bear (a.k.a. Creamy), has been missing since January 2. Turns out, poor Creamy was stuck in the mechanism of the recliner for 19 days!

So how did Creamy get in that position? Well, Jonah's been known to walk around the house in the early morning hours when everyone else is still asleep. We suspect, during his January 2 early morning walk, Jonah laid on the recliner for awhile and Creamy slid down between the arm and seat cushion.

Jonah was unbelievably brave the whole time Creamy was missing. I asked him today if he ever cried and was told he did "inside." I, my daughter and Jonah's brother were not as brave. Emily said she cried three hours the first night. And Elliott and I shed a few tears too.

Today I gave Creamy a new festive bow. In the picture, you can see that bow as well as the creative patching I've done over the last six years. Creamy is truly loved and we're all so happy he's back.