Hmmmm....so the movie version of this book was nominated and won several Academy Awards....interesting.  I'm not saying it didn't deserve such recognition; I haven't seen the movie yet.  I'm only saying that based on Joanne Harris' book, I'm not sure why a movie would receive such accolades.  I'm certainly going to watch the movie as soon as I can get my hands on a copy--it has Johnny Depp in it, for heaven's sake!!!  :)

The book CHOCOLAT by Joanne Harris is quite good.  It held my attention enough that I kept reading and read it in just a few short days, in spite of the fact that I've been really busy finishing my semester.  I especially love how this book demonstrates how one person CAN make a difference in the lives of others.....and that influence can be positive or negative, depending on the type of person we CHOOSE to be.  That part makes this book super-great and well worth the read.

It is a story like IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, but without the main character contemplating suicide in order to realize her impact on those around her. 

I spent a lot of time wondering about my impact on others....am I someone who demonstrates true JOY as I want?  My life's goal is to live a life of JOY--showing the Joy of the Lord.  I know that I have trouble when I get frustrated showing that joy--or when I get angry--or stressed.  But do the people around me see Joy shining through me more than anything else?  

I think we all wonder, at least to a degree, about our impact on those around us.  The few people I've known in my life who don't wonder also don't care.  And their lives are the saddest--and the ones I try to avoid simply because they don't care at all about the negative ripples they're creating in the world around them.  I sure don't' need THAT in my life!!!  The priest in this story radiates negativity.  Where we should be seeing love and acceptance, he oozes ugliness.  It's really a sad state that the priest represents of so many people in this world today.  And not all negative people are men/women of the cloth; he simply is one representation of intolerance and lack of empathy towards his parishioners.

I guess that's what makes this story one so well worth reading--and I'm sure watching....the fact that it says so much about life--about how we should be around others and that we should be aware of the influence we have on those around us, even if we don't realize it.

I'm enough of a romantic, though, to be disappointed that the romance isn't as hot and steamy as the previews for the movie make it out to be.  I spent the whole book on the edge of my seat as I waited for Roux and Vianne to demonstrate evidence of electricity between them.  The only time that happens is when they fool around.  There isn't any indication prior to or after that incident to demonstrate chemistry between the two.  It sounds as if the movie takes that relationship to a higher level than the book does.  Well, at least when I watch the movie, I guess I'll get to see more of that and not be so disappointed!  :)

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

So I went to see Pirates 4 last Friday--the day it was released.  I've heard reviews that say it's the best one yet.  I do agree that it's an awful lot of fun.  Samuel and I enjoyed the movie very much.  But I don't think it's "the best" of the Pirates movies.  The first one was and still is "the best" of the films so far.  Nothing can beat that very first time I saw Captain Jack Sparrow standing on the mast of that tiny skiff--as if he owned the world!  Seriously, it was a very good thing I saw that movie for the first time in the privacy of my own home so I could take care of "business"---yes, it was "wet-my-pants" funny!!!! 

This new movie was funny and quite enjoyable to watch.  Definitely worth of Johnny Depp and the Pirates franchise and well worth our time to go see it in the theater.  It is the first and only one of the Pirates movies that I have actually seen in the theater.  I'm not quite sure why I never saw the first 3 in the theater, but I made sure that I went to see THIS one on the big screen!  I even got Samuel out of school early to go see it!!!

It turned out to be a great treat for him especially---Samuel had learned just that morning that he'd passed his EOGs and wouldn't need to retest--not even for Math!  We were REALLY excited!  So our trip to the movies last Friday turned out to be a celebration!  We'd have gone no matter what his final scores had been for the EOGs, but it was pretty awesome to go out and be able to celebrate and enjoy the afternoon like that!!!!  So we'll always remember this movie for that special reason!!!

Johnny Depp, of course, is amazing.  He could have been on screen more and it would have been ok with me!  LOL!  I love Penelope Cruz and she is really a lot of fun, too.  I love that they've made a love interest for Jack, but that they're not fawning all over each other.  That wouldn't be Captain Jack Sparrow!!!!

You do need to stay through the credits.  There IS a scene after the credits.  It's barely 30 seconds long, but I think it's staying through the credits for.  After the 3rd movie had a scene after the credits, I thought everyone knew to stay until the credits were over, but the majority of the folks in the theater left as soon as the movie was over, before the credits even started rolling.  Out of a packed theater, I think there were barely 10 of us left after the credits.

It's definitely worth seeing!!!  Bring on MORE Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz!