Slumdog Millionaire

After hearing about how great this movie was and how many awards it got, I could not wait to watch it. I finally watched the movie in the car and the way back from Colorado. The little talking that happened in the beginning of the movie was in subtitles. I did not really know what the movie was about since I had not realy seen any previews for it or heard people talk about what actually happens in the movie.

The movie was so different from many other movies in our culture. People could kind of relate to the who wants to be a millionaire part because we have that in our country. It starts off as him getting beat up to answer how he cheated. Then it starts to show you flash backs of why they are asking him this question and beating him up. As you see them go through the tape, he explains how he knows each answer to the questions asked. They were life experiences for him. It starts off when he was young and goes through the life he lived as he grew up in the slums. People who lived in the slums were called slumdogs. When he shows the answer to each question you learn how he lived his life, and how these different experiences have gotten him to where he is. He had a hard childhood, by losing a home and his own mother. Him and his brother stuck together even though he bossed him around. He was kind of a bully and ends up being on the bad guy side to get ahead, which he does.

The younger brother had a girl that they became close with until a man caught her and started using her to dance and get money. The brother has always looked for her because he loves her and can never forget about her. The older brother is working for the man that caught her though and wants to keep his job and the good life he has. He goes against his younger brother though. The entire movie is so incredible and it was like nothing I have ever seen before. It was a long movie but every moment had something new and added to a different part in the story. There is a soundtrack out to the the movie. The songs are so good. I have been listening to them all the time lately. This movie was amazing and I can see why it recieved so many awards.

Dog Sledding :)

Over Spring break I went to Colorado as you might know. There we got to go dog sledding. I was so excited because the time before this when I went to Colorado we went and it was the most memorable time there for me. When I was there this time with a lot of the people that did not really know what dog sledding was like I kept getting really excited over it and I am pretty sure they all thought I was going over board but I did not care. They finally understood when we went why I was acting that way.

We went to the same exact place that we had gone the time before. We arrived there and filled out forms then got all of the gear we needed and put everything on so we were ready to go. Soon our instructors came in and took us outside to the dog teams. Our group was split up into six and four because there are only six people allowed for each group. I was in the group of four and we had two other people from another group join us. We got to our dog teams and the group we came with all took a picture with the lead dogs. Then we soon met the dogs on our team and learned a little bit about them. There are eight dogs on the teams that pulled us. First off on our team was the two boys. The rest of us sat in a two bench sled thing that was being pulled by the snowmobile that the instructor was driving. Each bench sat about two and maybe three if you squeezed. The dogs are taught to follow the snowmobile so our instructor took off, yelled a command, and then the dogs took off.

Dog sledding it not the fastest thing in the world especially when they had been on the same trails day after day so they get bored. The people on the sled were going at a more leisurely pace then one might think. The instructor started to make new trails for the dogs to be interested and pay attention more. This just meant a bumpier ride for those on the sled behind the snow mobile though. It was fun for me but maybe not for the people that did not have things covering their face.

Soon enough it was my turn and I went by myself first with no one sittting in the seat area. He asked me if I wanted to go the easy way or the hard way and I told him the easy for this first time.... sooo he went the hard. Well I have gone dogsledding before but I was no where near an expert. He took me down and path where the corner takes a hard steep right and then quickly a hard steep left. Well luckily I got the first corner down without hitting the trees on my right. But then there was too much slack in the line that attached the dogs to the sled and dumb me forgets how to break at the moment we try to go around the second quick turn to the left. The dog were going so fast and got the turn but the sled did not and whiplashed out to the right taking me in the same direction. I pretty much launched off of the sled and to the snow. It was fun that I fell but I kind of wanted to have a re-do and prove that I could do it. And just my luck too, the other six from our group had just crossed the trail across from us and saw me launch off the sled. One of them even got a picture.

Moving on to another exciting part of the trail ride was when a little boy in our group who was one of the additions rode on the dog sled. He was probably in elementary school or middle school. He was so light and little though, so he got to ride a lot so the dogs could pull him easier and we could cover more ground. Our instructor unexpectedly led us up this crazy little snow ramp thing. It is hard to describe but it didn't feel like we should make it over but somehow we always did. Well the dogs get excited to go up it and the instructor takes us up then we looked back and see the dogs come over and then soon the sled.... but with no little boy. Then we circle around and the dogs follow so the boy quick jumps back on the sled. Again we go over another one of those crazy little ramps and this time we all think the little boy might make it because we can see him on the sled coming up... but then the sled flicks over that quick hill and launches the boy up. It was sooo crazy, he did like a superman in the air. That was the talk of the day for me.

The entire experience was sooo much more amazing the second time than the first. I think it was a little bit more adventurous too. I loved dog sledding and I wish I could do it more often because it is so incredibly fun and enjoyable.

Eagle Eye

This past week I saw the movie Eagle Eye in theatres. I did not really see many commercials for this movie or hear about other reviews from people. When the movie started out I was not even sure where it was going to go. As things unraveled, it was a very interesting movie. When "Jerry Shaw", Shia Labeouf, is pinpointed as a terrorist by the FBI he has to find ways to get through their security and escape. He tries to learn the game he has to follow from all the orders he's getting from this women on the phone. Along with Jerry there is another woman, Rachel, who is getting orders from the same woman on the phone.

From your first point of view it seems that Jerry and Rachel are being forced to help this terrorist organization that is controlling their future to live. As the movie gets more in depth you start to put the pieces together and see that it is a computer the government created that has tried to take over. It is on the lines of technology taking over. This computer takes over because it think the people that are supposed to protect the country are starting to hurt it and the computer has to fix those in control. It pretty much sets up murders for government leaders.

It really makes you think through out the movie. The movie had very interesting twists and turns. There are so many ways that the movie could go in different directions that make it difficult to predict what the outcome will be. You are worried for the woman and her son most of the time and wondering if Jerry will follow all the orders or keep trying to rebel. In the end when it all kind of clicks how everything is connected, it still doesn't let the action die. You are still wondering if everything is going to work out all right and how they're going to fix the problem. Overall I thought the movie was a pretty decent, action packed film for a mind that likes the different conspiracy theories.