One of my favorite movies is Just Like Heaven with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. I first saw Mark in the romantic comedy of 13 Going On 30
. He plays the slightly dorky but still hunky guy very well. His face is very expressive and paired with Reese Witherspoon’s spunky perky attitude and good looks it’s a match made in heaven. Pun intended.
Just Like Heaven fits well with all of the hospital television dramas like ER
, Grey's Anatomy
, Scrubs
, House
, etc. If you like one or all of those shows you'll be sure to enjoy Just Like Heaven. Elizabeth Masterson, played by Witherspoon, works hard. In fact, work is all she does. Despite having moved to San Francisco to be closer to her sister and her sister's family, she's not swung by to see them all that much. Because let's face it Elizabeth is dedicated to her work to the point that she's lost all contact with things outside of work. She wants the attending position and is competing for it with another doctor.
The movie starts off following her through one of her many overworked, overtired, entirely too stressful days as she struggles to be the best doctor she can be. By the end of the day her biggest worry is taken care of and she finally gets ready to leave to meet her sister and nieces for dinner. On the drive to their suburban home, tragedy strikes. Elizabeth finds herself in a head-on collision with a semi-truck. Fortunately, she survives. Unfortunately, she's a ghost.
David Abbot, played by Ruffalo, is a depressed architect. His life has seen tragedy as well. Grieving for a lost love, David scours San Fransisco for an apartment with a decent couch. Having found one, he learns the renting contract is more than slightly bizarre. It's rented on a month to month basis, but considering his other options, David immediately accepts and moves in. Just as he's settling into the new place Elizabeth startles him. Several cat and mouse encounters later, David is sure he's either crazy or that Elizabeth is a ghost. A ghost that can't even remember her name (to begin with) and certainly can't recall her life. Determined to get rid of her, David reluctantly agrees to help her solve the mystery of her limbo existence.
Similar to Ghost
with Whoopi Goldberg, this movie has the two characters interact without being able to touch. Luckily David can see Elizabeth or Jon Heder, from Napoleon Dynamite
, who plays an occult bookstore attendant would have to act as the messenger between David and Elizabeth. Well he does have a scene where he interprets the vibes between them, but nothing like Golberg's character in Ghost. Heder plays his part exceptionally well with a good sense of humor. Whether you liked him in Napoleon Dynamite or didn't like him in Napoleon Dynamite you will be hard pressed not to love him in this movie.
Overall this movie is a that weaves grief and humor together so sweetly you can't help but fall in love alongside the characters.
Rating: 4 Stars
 |
|
US $6.99 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $.01 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $.01 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $.99 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $.99 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $.99 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $1.99 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $4.50 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $7.00 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $2.99 |
Sale |
Originally posted 2008-10-18 10:36:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Online Stores
The last two times I wrote, I talked about reducing your TBR pile through monetary and organizational methods. This time I'm going to share with you tips on how to get through your pile by answering the following question: How can you read more books?
Check out these reading methods below:
1. Books in multiple places.
This goes against the organizational methods mentioned earlier, but more books in more places where you sit down and relax can be very helpful in encouraging you to read them. So go ahead, put some by your bedside table, next to the couch, by your bathtub, etc.
2. Read more than one book at a time.
Combine this tip and tip #1 and now you're cooking... er reading. Your mind can keep track of more than one story, you can follow multiple books and not get lost. Go ahead and try this on for size and see how you do. Chances are you'll get through a bunch more books because you won't be locked into any one particular story.
3. Conversely, read only one book at a time.
If you're someone who is easily distracted this might be the method for you. Reading a book at a time allows you to focus more and pay attention to all the things you love.
4. Schedule reading.
By setting a time to sit down and read you're making a plan. You will read a whole lot more by doing this. Make it a daily habit or schedule it when you know you won't be interrupted by every day demands like dinner and phone calls.
5. Read for an hour before bed.
It's a great way to relax and it's similar to #4. You are guaranteeing a time to read for yourself, which allows you to focus on your reading and your day to day business.
6. Read for an hour after waking up.
Wake up an hour earlier and get to reading. Allow yourself the luxury of not being in a hurry to get ready for the day. I personally like to combine #5 and #6. It's amazing how many books you can get through by doing both.
7. Listen to audio.
See if you can get some of your reading in audio format instead of the standard print. This way you can hear a book while running, walking, driving to work, at the gym, and more. Listening to books is a fabulous way to get through your reading.
8. Quit reading bad books.
This is why you use blogs and other review sources. We read the bad books so you don't have to do so. Put down the read that's killing you to get through. You're not obligated to finish a book ever. Pass it on to a friend, donate it to the library, swap it at Paperback Swap, whatever you feel like doing to get it out of your sight.
9. Carry a book with you everywhere.
Not everybody has a whole lot of time that they can put aside to read. By carrying a book with you if there's ever a down time you can whip it out and read a few pages.
10. Turn off the TV.
Really, you can use that time spent watching shows to read more. Don't want to miss your shows? Record them and watch them later minus commercials or better still watch your shows online later at Hulu or the network website.
11. Read sitting up and with a good light.
If you read sitting up and with good lighting you're not likely to fall asleep in the middle of a paragraph and snooze your way through your reading time.
12. Keep background noise to a minimum.
Lots of noise equals lots of distraction which you can't have if you're going to get through that TBR pile! Plus it's considerably less annoying than listening to commercials on the radio or on TV.
13. Skim / Scan.
Yes, I know it's your pleasure reading and you want to squeeze every minute of out the experience, but not everything needs to be read. If you can't follow through with #8 at least this method helps you slog through the book faster.
14. Speed read.
I read pretty fast, I could read faster if I learned how to speed read. I hear you can read faster and still retain all the information from the book without any problem with some practice. What better practice material than your pleasure reading? A faster reading speed might be just the ticket to get through that towering pile.
15. Shut off wi-fi when reading ebooks.
Most ebook readers are still using laptops and desktop computers. Shut down your internet connection before you open a book and this will let you focus on reading instead of your email and instant messages.
16. Stop rereading!
I don't mean rereading a book you've read before, though that certainly won't help you get through your TBR pile. I mean stop rereading the same text over and over again. You're either doing it unconsciously (which means pay attention and stop) or consciously by going backwards to find out what you missed/forgot or by trying to find out where you were in the book. Stop it now! Use a bookmark and pencil lightly where you left off between reading sessions and erase on opening. As for missing something, trust me, authors will reveal it again so keep reading further. You might just find out that the next paragraph jogs your memory anyway and you've read more instead of less.
How's that for a fairly exhaustive and in depth list? Do you have anything you can add? If so leave a comment and share with others!
Photo Credits: Betsssssy
Online Stores
