Summer Reviewin'

I was lovin' my summer, let me tell ya... movies, books, music, friends, food, even more! So, before I forget it all, here's a quick rundown of things watched, read, eaten, spent time with and so on:

Summer Movies:
Surf's Up... actually not a bad movie. It was second in a double feature, so we watched it for free, and was pleasantly surprised. Shia LaBeouf is the voice of Cody, a penguin who loves to surf.

Transformers... speaking of Shia, he did quite well headlining this feature, based on the 80s toys. Sam (Shia) buys a car to impress a chick (Megan "She's a Total" Fox) only to find out the car is a robot, an Autobot, to be exact, one of sent to Earth. This movie freakin' rocked, surpassing all of my expectations.

Spiderman 3... Ehh.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End... Much better than the second one.

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix... This movie was awesome. I had high hopes for the movie, as it was my favorite of the books, and it delivered. Evanna Lynch was perfect as Luna Lovegood, and the climax of the film was great.

The Bourne Ultimatum... My favorite of the Bourne movies. Well paced, fast action, great plot, great turns by both Matt Damon and the supporting cast, including Joan Allen, Chris Cooper and Julia Stiles.

Live Free or Die Hard... John McClane is just awesome. He kills a copter with a car. A car. He runs out of bullets, you see... Bruce Willis is an icon. This one is better than the third one.

Knocked Up... Raunchy, but funny. Really, really funny. Katherine Hiegl is worth the price of admission.

Superbad... Raunchy, but funny. Really, really funny. Seth Rogan is worth the price of admission.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer... this was kind of a crappy movie, but crappy in a good way. It was only 90 minutes, which was a perfect length. Jessica Alba is still a terrible Sue Storm.

Bug... Holy crap. I only went to see it because My Hollywood Goddess was in it. However, if someone who's seen this film calls you and says "hey, you should come over and watch it!", you say no, then you quit being their friend, because they don't love you.

Oceans 13... Not a bad flick. Not quite as much of a inside-joke movie as Oceans 12, thereby its a little funnier, while Oceans 11 is still the best of the three.

Books I've Managed to Read:
To Catch a Predator by Chris Hanson... perhaps you've heard of the Dateline NBC running show of the same name--well, this is that show in book form, but more in depth. Not only does it give you some background to some of the sting operations, but tells some other personal stories of people who've faced internet predator tragedies.

King Dork by Frank Portman... Ya know, I really wanted to like this book, but ended up being halfway through it, and forcing myself to finish because I'd invested several hours into it. The ending wasn't too bad, but I was glad this high school tale of loserdom and friendship and music was over when it was.

Don't Eat This Book by Morgon Spurlock... Its the same guy who did the fantastic doc "Super Size Me", and he relays alot of this into this movie. Its starts out great, documenting the days leading up to his movie, but it bogs down greatly in the middle, playing politics and placing alot of blame on various entities and government organizations.

The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart... I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I really liked this chick book. I mean, its the story of the friendship between Cameron and Sonia, and how it all goes bad years later, but I found it not just amusing but... touching? Sweet? Poignant? I'm going to go slam my hand in the car door now.

Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton... a book I read for work. My strengths? Postivity is number one, followed by strategery, then communication, beliefs and connectedness. Sounds like me, I reckon.

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows... might have been the best book I've read in years. Absolutely stunning and brilliant.

The Shining by Stephen King... as a teenager, this book scared the begeezus out of me. Rereading it in one weekend this summer, I found that it didnt scare me like before, but it was a lot smarter, and the characters much richer and in depth than I remember. Great book.

Two books I tried to read, but couldn't finish, though I may try again soon:
Unlikely Angel: The Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero by Ashley Smith... when I feel like I might be smarter than the author, it's not a good thing. I'm halfway through it, so I'll probably end up finishing it.
The Innocent Man by John Grisham... I love me some CSI, and Cold Case Files and all that, but this book is a little trying on my short attention span.

Summer Music:
"Taylor Swift" by Taylor Swift
"Wake Up Laughing" by Martina McBride
"The Part Where You Let Go" by Hem (the new Liberty Mutual commercial)
"Give It To Me" by Timbaland, Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake
"The Story" by Brandi Carlile
"The Game" by Motorhead (Triple H's theme song)
"Trapped in the Drive Thru" by Weird Al (you've GOT to see the video)

TV Shows That Nabbed Me This Summer:
Mythbusters. I've always liked this show, but its gotten better over time
Solitairy. Its a show on Fox Reality, and I have to watch it on iTunes. Its like a car wreck... I can't turn away
Greek. Another show I watch on iTunes, airing on ABC Family. Its clever, funny and sweet.
The Starter Wife. It was a limited series, but it was fabulous. Debra Messing is like standing next to Ashley Judd, ready to step in as My Hollywood Goddess if Ashley is unable to fulfill her responsibilities.
Pardon the Interruption. Wilbon and Kornheiser might be the best sports duo since Latta and McRee

New Things Discovered This Summer:
Wendi Deckermiller's desk photography. Its fun. Its simple. Its good.
Meredith McQ's blogpage. She just started it, so this is more promotion than anything
Amy Farris. Country chick with bluegrass influence

So, that's been my summer. Expect some of these things to show up on 100 Coolest Things About 2007, coming in December. And coming this weekend... the Dave100 continues with #94 through possibly #85 (gotta get this thing going!)