Discoveries

I saw Terminator Salvation on Friday with some of the Hardys, and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. I had read reviews that cast it in an unfriendly light, but I feel it deserved better ratings than what it was given. I thought the acting was great - Christian Bale is always great and Anton Yelchin has quickly become one of my new favorites since Star Trek. I thought the special effects were awesome, which is a major part of any Terminator movie. I have only seen the first two Terminators (edited versions) and I loved both of them. I found this new one a fun take on a familiar story line. However, it did have its flaws. There was not enough heart in it, though you can tell they tried. I never felt that Marcus Wright was truly torn between his human and machine parts. His conflict needed to be more predominant for us to really feel for him. The story feels a little recycled and predictable, but mixed up just enough to make it entertaining. I found it much more enjoyable than I expected.

Today I saw Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. I really liked it, though it was not better than the first one. I loved the first one and this was a fun continuation, but if they do another I think they should make it a bit more innovative story wise - it was plenty innovative on the special effects side. I loved Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart and Hank Azaria as Kahmunrah. They were by far the best parts. Adams continues to please me with her ability to nail a part, and I have always been a fan of the very funny, very talented Azaria. They were fine additions to the already great cast. I felt this installment was a bit more juvenile than the first, more for kids, but still very fun and entertaining. They did very well hitting the proper beats in the film - they obviously knew which parts were most meaningful thematically and made them keenly felt. My favorite visual effect was probably the black and white characters placed in a color world. The lighting and contrast was perfect and I was in awe the entire time. But Amy Adams by far trumps as my favorite part of the movie.

My newest discovery is Stephen Sondheim's musical comedy Company, about a man who is the only single person among his group of friends and examines their marriages to decide whether or not he should pursue ending his bachelorhood as well. The music is fabulous, as it always is coming from Sondheim, and story is understated yet powerful. I grabbed the DVD of this play off of the library shelf, thinking it might be an interesting diversion. Indeed it was, and I highly recommend it. Raul Esparza stars in it and does a wonderful job. The supporting cast is similarly wonderful and talented. My favorite songs are Company, Being Alive, Barcelona, and Marry Me A Little.

This Week in the Life of Jenny

This week I drove to and from Provo more than I think I did all Winter semester. I just finished my first complete week of work at BYU Independent Study on their video crew. This is the first job where I haven't been bored most of the time. I get to help shoot videos for Independent Study courses then edit them using Final Cut Pro. I hope to learn how to use Photoshop and Adobe After Effects while I work there too. You can do some amazing things with the right tools and know-how. The time moves quickly when I work, and I really like editing and going on shoots. It's very good experience as well.

This was also the third week of my internship with the KSL production department. I get to go on shoots with them as well, which I really enjoy. I have met some really neat and talented people while I've been there. They work with Avid editing machines there, and I'm learning how to use those too. I helped write and choose footage and sound for three spots for This Is The Place Heritage Park which will air throughout the summer. I've learned a great deal during my time there. I like the atmosphere a lot, and all the people that work there are great. They're very encouraging and helpful.

My sleeping habits have been terrible lately, but I don't entirely mind until I have to drive home from Provo. That gets a little sketchy. I have to play my music real loud and sing at the top of my lungs to stay awake. I'm sure I'm a sight to behold. I stay up late playing with Josh mostly - watching movies and X-Files and such. We enjoy ourselves. It's getting harder for me to face the reality that he is leaving on his mission. One of my best friends Lucky Mather is leaving very soon as well, and every time I think about it I get close to tears. Josh is my very best friend and I am starting to miss him already, and he doesn't leave until July 22nd. Just have to make the best of the time we have left, I suppose. He and Lucky are both going to be fabulous missionaries. I'm very excited for both of them at the same time that I am sad they're leaving.

Things I have been enjoying lately:

Dr. Pepper on a parched throat
Remington Steele, curled up in my room
Star Trek
X-Files with Josh
Inkdeath and Enna Burning in the bathtub
Long drives to great music, singing loudly
Galaxy Quest special features
Iceberg
Late nights with great friends
Sleeping in (rare, but fabulous)
Warm weather
Curling up on the love sac
Writing stories for fun
Summer movie season
Family

Photography Experimentation

Here are just a bunch of pictures I've taken while goofing off with my dad's fancy camera. I like to play around with them on photoshop-type programs and make them look cool. I have recently begun to develop photography as a hobby. I like capturing natural personality and emotion and I like playing around with color and exposure a little bit. I've been told that if I want to make movies I need to experiment a lot with a camera - so here we go! As you'll notice, most of the pictures are of my brother Josh. I'm not totally sure why. I guess I'm just around him a lot...

Hear ye, Hear ye!

This is Jenny Hardy's first blog experience ever, so you should be excited! Um...what to say...

Right now I am watching Remington Steele, an awesome TV show from the '80s starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan. I'm pretty sure this series is the reason Pierce became James Bond. Both leads are fabulous - very charming together and seperately. It's an intriguing overall story - the most intriguing parts are the relationships between the characters, though the mysteries themselves are very well done, I feel, especially for a TV show of this nature. I highly recommend this show to anyone who likes action, mystery, comedy, and romance. Plus, Stephanie is a powerful, independent, gorgeous, feminine woman and Pierce's hair is absolutely fabulous. I have a thing for thick black hair. And British people. :) And he's extremely charming. Remington Steele is a fabulous show.


The last movie I saw in theaters was STAR TREK, and I loved it! And I'm also very glad it was a big success, except with a small minority like Roger Ebert who gave it 2.5 out of 4 stars when I feel it deserved at least 3.5 stars. Normally I have trusted his ratings, but since he gave the third Mummy movie high accolades I haven't taken him entirely seriously.


I have been a Star Trek fan for a long time. My favorite characters from the original crew are Spock, Bones, and Kirk, though I have a special place in my heart for all of the crew members. From the Next Generation crew I like Data and Picard the best, though I love them all as well. The Star Trek TV series have always seemed much better to me than the movies, though quite a few of the movies have been very good, my personal favorites being Wrath of Khan, Voyage Home, Generations, First Contact, and the newest installment.


In the new Star Trek movie, I thought the cast was chosen excellently. My favorites were still Spock, Bones, and Kirk, thought, like always, I loved them all. ("Dammit man, I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" CLASSIC!) I love that they totally revamped the series, so now they can do absolutely whatever they want. The film was beautiful to watch - loved the lens flares - and also had fabulous special effects. It was funny, smart, and though the time-travel theme seems to be wearing thin in Star Trek situations, this one didn't seem redundant to me. It used the familiar theme to its advantage. I'm excited to see Spock and Kirk's friendship develop and I wish now, more than ever, that I could be an officer on the bridge of the U.S.S Enterprise. Live long and prosper!