I recently had the opportunity to participate in a live chat with the founders of a brand new line for the family called Honest Company. The founders are very recognizable as they are actress, mother and advocate, Jessica Alba; and author, former CEO of Healthy Child Healthy World, and father, Christopher Gavigan.

The Honest Company is an eco-friendly, modern-designed line of family essentials (diapers and wipes, bath and body care, and household cleaners) that are purchased through a monthly subscription service at Honest.com.  You basically just go onto their website, tell them about yourself, choose the bundle that best fits your needs and voila you are done.  It delivers monthly to your door and you can customize it any way you want with your choice of diaper designs and household needs.  It is all up to you.

I received small samples of diapers, wipes, body wash, lotion, diaper cream, laundry detergent and a large sample of bubble bath and dish soap.  I received 2 diapers of each design that was geared toward a boy and they came in very stylish designs of skulls and crossbones, ones with little anchors on them, striped and of course the basic white.  They fit like a Huggies diaper and perform about the same.  I ordered according to the size of pampers that Wyatt traditionally wears and thought the Honest diapers fit a bit larger so I would probably choose a size down next time around. 

The wipes on the other hand reminded me a lot of Pampers wipes.  They seemed a bit thin so I was skeptical but they held up well.  I only had a small sample so I did not get to put them to the test of a big mess.

The two large samples I had were actually my favorite items because I got to really put them to the test, well sort of.  After only a few times of using the heavenly and wonderfully scented bubble bath, my 6 year old son Kyle decided to take a bubble bath when he had a sitter and proceeded to dump the entire contents of the bubble bath into the tub!  I was pretty angry to say the least because this was probably the best bubble bath I have ever used and now it was all down the drain.  (insert sounds of sigh) 

The dish soap has worked great so far.  It scrubs like I need it to scrub and rinses clean away.

Now back to the live chat; no, I didn’t ask a question but I was super sick and did not want to be talking and have some crazy cough attack in the middle of it. Check out the chat link and hear what Jessica and Christopher have to say about Honest Company. If you have tried Honest Company products let us know what you think!

*I received media sample. All opinions are my own.

Please click http://www.entertainmentexactlee.com to check out my new Entertainment blog and the Oscar winners info!

Today big sister Jackie and little sister Lee are predicting the Oscars. Now as I’ve mentioned before I don’t look at Jackie’s before I post these, as not to skew my own opinions. I want to mention that apparently we didn’t talk enough about what we were going to do because I simply made a list and she wrote a book. So go ahead and enjoy and next year I’ll be sure to elaborate!

Can’t wait to see who gets more wins correct!

Best Picture = THE KING’S SPEECH

Best Actor = Colin Firth (THE KING’S SPEECH)

Best Actress = Natalie Portman (BLACK SWAN)

Best Supporting Actor = Christian Bale (THE FIGHTER)

Best Supporting Actress = Melissa Leo (THE FIGHTER)

On to our leading men, nominated are Javier Barden, Jeff Bridges, Colin Firth and James Franco. Even though Colin is the favorite, I’m going with Jessie Eisenberg for this one. His role of Mark Zuckerberg in Social Network was so real it made my hair stand on end. I’m not sure Jessie will actually win because Colin Firth as the stuttering King in “The Kings Speech” was also fantastic. Hard to say, but I will say that the leading actor who deserves a special nod is James Franco for his portrayal of a man fighting for his life in 127 hours. He was amazing and could be a dark horse. We’ll see.

Leading Lady, will it be Annette Bening, Nichole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence or Michelle Williams? Nope, nobody will pull ahead of Natalie Portman in Black Swan this year. If every one of these ladies gave a great performance than Natalie comes in as the cherry on top. Fabulous! No one else really stood out for me like she did.

Finally, we have the best Picture nominees. I love that the Academy changed it up last year and are now allowing for 10 films to get a nod. I saw every film nominated and loved them all. Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids are All Right, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit and Winters Bone are amongst the nominees, but the little golden man is going home with the producers of “The Kings Speech”. It was a classic underdog story of a true life British hero who concurs all odds with the help of his quirky best friend. You can’t get better than that. I loved all the films nominated this year and really look forward to all that Oscar has to offer on Sunday.

My last Academy Award Nominated movie is Blue Valentine. This movie was a bit harder to find for me here in Central Florida. Luckily we have the Enzian Theatre in Maitland. The Enzian is Central Florida’s only full time, not for profit alternative cinema. It’s really a special experience to visit because you can have dinner and see a movie. The Enzian menu is quite extensive including everything from salads to pizza to meatloaf. Get there early so you have an extra few minutes to peruse the menu because you will need it. The seats are nice and comfortable as well and if you don’t want dinner you can sit in a fancy love seat rather than at a table. I’ve been visiting the Enzian for almost 15 years and the experience is always one to remember. Whether you are a seasoned Central Floridian or a tourist looking for a low key activity the Enzian is the place for you. Although I’d probably recommend leaving children home.

Blue Valentine can best be described as a realistic love story. It isn’t a fairy tale written for the silver screen. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams play married couple Dean and Cindy. We learn their relationship is currently running on empty and are given glimpses into their past which was much more pleasant. The couple decides to take a trip to an erotic motel to try and work on the marriage as we take a trip down memory lane.

Gosling’s younger Dean can best be described as lost and charming. He certainly doesn’t have much going for him in this world but he can get by on his smile alone. Cindy is a medical student with a promising future who finds herself in a tough situation. I found her character to be flat and depressing at the best moments. Dean promises her the world and she is scared and naive enough to believe it.

To find out whether the relationship lasts you’ll need to see the movie for yourself. It was very enjoyable and I would see it again. However one issue that I had was that the time frame seems very askew. One moment Gosling has a full head of hair and a young exterior and the next shot he is balding and looking quite worn down. To find out it has only been about 5 years was a huge surprise. I think what makes this movie enjoyable is that it is relatable. Maybe you haven’t experienced exactly what they have been through, but you can understand where they are coming from. I don’t think this one will be winning many Academy Awards but it kept me entertained.

Please be warned this movie contains serious mature themes and should not be viewed with children. Not the run of the mill mature themes either. You have been warned.

I give Blue Valentine 3 Tubs of Popcorn. Unfortunately the other sister has not had a chance to check this one out.

Flavored water has been around for a long time. I remember riding my bike up to the gas station when I was a kid to drink a yummy Clearly Canadian. The difference is nowadays the flavored waters are sugar free and may contain vitamins and other “good for you” type ingredients. A popular brand on the market is Hint Water and it was seen all over Sundance last month. It was also the winner of the Best Enhanced Water category of the BevNet Awards!

Terrance Howard, James Franco and Susan Sarandon were just a few of the celebrities spotted with a bottle of Hint Water during this film festival. Hint is unsweetened, lightly flavored (they call that Essence) and has no calories. I can definitely see the draw when you aren’t up for a caffeinated soda but plain water isn’t appealing either.With flavors like Mango-Grapefruit, Strawberry-Kiwi and Honeydew-Hibiscus you can be pretty sure your taste buds are in for a new experience.

I gave a few bottles a try and while they weren’t my thing, both my husband and 6 year old had no problem finishing off the box. I think my issue was that there is no carbonation and since there is a “Hint” of flavor it threw me off. I’d like to know your opinion so I’m offering one lucky reader a 6 pack of assorted Hint flavors.

To Enter (worth one mandatory entry):

Visit HINT at http://www.drinkhint.com and look around. Come back and tell me 2 flavors you’d like to try that I did not mention above.

Extra Credit (worth one separate entry each you do):

1. Comment on any non giveaway post on this blog. Each comment is only worth one entry but you can comment as many times as you’d like. Come back and show me where you commented each time.

2. Like both MySentimentExactLee and DrinkHint on Facebook. Come back and tell me who you are.

3. Follow @theexactlee and @Hint_Water on Twitter. Tweet “Win a 6 pack of @Hint_Water from @theexactlee http://tinyurl.com/4s95hw5 ” You can do this once a day. Come back and show me the link each time you do.

4. Follow me via RSS feed or Email Subscription by clicking the social icons above on the right. Come back and tell me who you are.

This contest is open to US Residents ages 18+ Only. Contest will run until Tuesday March 15th and Midnight EST. Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize.

*I received media sample. All opinions are my own.

24

Random numbers generated Mar 22 2011 at 12:18:40

Congrats Rosie!

You read it right! My Sentiment ExactLee’s popular web show is back and better than ever! I’ve teamed up with the nice folks at MingleMediaTV.com to bring you a show that is based solely on Entertainment. This Tuesday night at 10PM EST my guest will be Director Kelly Asbury who recently directed Gnomeo and Juliet and also directed Shrek 2 and Spirit Stallion Of The Cimarron. So tune in and start getting hyped up because we are going to have a ton of fun!

If you have any questions for Kelly Asbury please feel free to leave them here. He is willing to talk about anything so if you have questions about his movies or what goes into directing please ask!

http://www.minglemediatv.com/mysentimentexactlee.html

Lee and Jackie are back to bring you two different reviews on the same movie. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree. Either way we’ll entertain you! This week we are reviewing The King’s Speech.

After the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon) and the scandalous abdication of King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), Bertie (Colin Firth) who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), the future Queen Mother, arranges for her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). After a rough start, the two delve into an unorthodox course of treatment and eventually form an unbreakable bond. With the support of Logue, his family, his government and Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall), the King will overcome his stammer and deliver a radio-address that inspires his people and unites them in battle.

Based on the true story of King George VI, THE KING’S SPEECH follows the Royal Monarch’s quest to find his voice. (From the Officil website http://www.kingsspeech.com)

Lee (the younger sister). I visited this movie with much hesitation as I didn’t think I would enjoy it at all. It was more like work but I knew I needed to give it a review. I was pleasantly surprised when the movie was both comical and dramatic which led to great Entertainment. Colin Firth’s portrayal of The King, though he isn’t King through the entire movie, seemed pretty spot on. He reluctantly visits speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush)after having many Knighted doctors try and help him with his stuttering to no avail. Lionel demands a casual atmosphere which The Duke (still Firth) is not comfortable with. The awkwardness and hilarity that follows ensured the movie never had a boring moment. In the end The Duke becomes King, Lionel becomes his his trusted confidant and he does find his voice. It’s just the path to get there that makes a powerful movie. I enjoyed the history behind it because the characters were of the time I could actually remember. Not that I lived at the time, but I know who this Royal Family is and realized that Helena Bonham Carter was playing the Queen Mum and the little girl is our current Queen Elizabeth. Hearing about some of the things Albert (the King) in his childhood was awful and led to his stuttering. I can see Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter (having played the supportive wife) receiving Oscars for The King’s Speech and although Rush does an excellent job he still isn’t strong enough to beat out Christian Bale’s Fighter role. I give this movie 3 tubs of popcorn.

Jackie (the older sister). I went to a Friday afternoon showing of The Kings Speech, not realizing that Friday was senior discount day. The place was packed and as I took my seat I could not help but listen to the buzz around me about the history behind this story being told by people who had first hand recollection of the events. All I could think to myself was this should be quite a show with everyone yammering on about where they were when this happened and that happened in the story. The lights went out and the film started to roll and much to my surprise there was complete silence through out the entire movie. Until the end when the theater roared with applause. I haven’t been to a movie where people actually gave an ovation in years.
How do you make movie gold? You hire David Seidler to write your screenplay, Tom Hooper to direct and Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter to play your leads, that’s how. What wonderfully versatile actors these three are. Colin Firth takes a well known King and makes him human, like a member of your own family with real life problems and self-doubt. Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth standing by her husband, willing to do anything to help him; her portrayal reminds us that not all Royals from the past are self- raucous snobs. But the performance by Geoffrey Rush as the quirky failed actor/speech therapist absolutely stole the show. The relationship between these two men grows before your eyes and is truly a beautiful thing. The sets where breath taking, the clothes where beautiful the words where perfect and the Oscar is going to this delightful adaptation of a true life best friendship. This sister gives it 4 tubs of popcorn.

So you read Gnomeo and Juliet Take One and Gnomeo and Juliet Take 2 and I’m sure you are wondering how I got so lucky! Truth is I don’t know but I am grateful. Sunday, our last day, was the best day.

We had to wake up early for a “special surprise” which we were all curious about. We met in the lobby and got into our shuttles and drove to the Universal lot. That is when it was announced that we were visiting the set of The Muppets. This is going to be short and sweet because we are embargoed but I can tell you that it takes a very long time to shoot a scene for The Muppets so when you go see it on Thanksgiving, go in with a ton of new found respect!

After that it was time to get ready for the big moment, the red carpet premiere! I had little idea what to expect and we were told we could dress “nice casual”. I threw that idea to the wind and dressed up to the nines. I didn’t overdo, but I do’d as much as I thought acceptable. Unfortunately the big mean security guards rushed us on the carpet and I didn’t get a single picture. A lot of the other bloggers have shown up in B roll footage but none has been found of moi.

Once inside there was free drinks and popcorn for everyone! I grabbed a water and found my seat. Color me surprised when the seatmate across the aisle from me was none other than X-Men Star Patrick Stewart! I figured I’d already seen the movie once, so if I just stared at him the entire time I wouldn’t miss anything. But then I felt like a creepster so I decided to just watch the movie.

Gnomeo and Juliet is really one of the best kids films I have seen in years. The characters are completely unoriginal, I mean they have been done before, yet they have such new breath in them. Nannette, as the Nurse, brings comic relief with her crazy fountain frog antics and one liners. Lord Redbrick, as Lord Montague tends to get his words confused which is great humor for the adults. But mainly it is the music that makes Gnomeo and Juliet such a hit. We hear original Elton John music and songs tweaked from his old favorites. Just seeing how they used his current catalog of music for scenes in the movie is worth the $10 ticket. Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting lends itself to a pretty spectacular lawn mower race which is the creative way director Kelly Asbury incorporated fight scenes from this classic tale.

When the movie ended and the credits had rolled, the screen lifted and there sat Sir Elton John. It was truly a “Ladies And Gentlenen Mr. Elton John!” moment. He sat at his piano and played Crocodile Rock for us. Since I was so close to the front it felt like a private concert. It was my favorite moment of the entire weekend. At one point he stopped playing and let us sing the lyrics. Wow, such an exhilarating few minutes.

After wards it was time for the after party, which was the moment I’d personally been waiting for. Schmoozing with celebrities comes naturally to me. Just ask the other bloggers. I had no problem walking up to them and asking for a picture or just striking up a conversation. I was able to meet Entertainment Blogger Perez Hilton who is a big inspiration for me. He was a lot of fun and took pictures with all of us. We took a few minutes to chat with Elton before he had to fly off to London and it just enforced my opinion that he is an approachable great guy. So is his husband David Furnish. Very friendly and happy to lend an ear. Before we left I spotted David Copperfield. I was all over that. He is one of my all time favorite celebrities. He sat with me and we talked for a moment and I got a picture. I really hope to make it out to Vegas to see his new family friendly magic show.

At the end of this trip I took away so many wonderful memories and I made some life long friends. I got to see a great movie that I couldn’t wait to introduce to my own children (which I did and they loved). I recommend you do the same.

When I was in LA a few weeks ago I was offered the chance to see a sneak preview of I Am Number Four starring Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron. Timothy Olyphant is also in the movie and we are huge fans of him in this house because he swam for USC which is where my husband was a competitive diver! However it was kind of late at night and I had been awake since 4:00 AM EST going on only 3 hours of sleep. I declined the offer but my friend Kimberly with the blog SheScribes saw it and posted a great review. Click below to see what she had to say!

SheScribes.com I Am Number Four Review!

Tonight Criminal Minds Suspect Behavior aired their first episode. Unfortunately I don’t know that much about the show itself but what  do know I learned from CBS.com.

Last month I had the chance to tour a broken down sound stage of the show and the big question on my mind was “Who exactly is Jack?” No one named Jack is in the IMDB credits. But lo and behold Jack is played by a  talented actor named Richard Schiff from my husbands favorite show The West Wing. No more mystery! Though IMDB does need to get their act together.

I watched the episode tonight which guest starred Raphael Sbarge and it was actually better than I had expected. Kirsten Vangsness is lucky enough to have a role on this show as well as the Original Criminal Minds. I always wish the best for her. Otherwise I think  Janeane Garofalo is hysterical and can’t wait to see what she does with this role and everything Forest Whitaker touches turns to gold.

My biggest fear is that I am not sure the general public is willing to invest the time needed to get to  “loving” these new characters. The original Criminal Minds is one of the best shows on TV and one of the only shows that gets better and better as time goes on. So many shows just keep taking wrong turns but this one delivers quality entertainment day in and day out. Yet so few people have ever heard of it. It’s been on for years and rates tops in the Nielsens each week. But ask your local book club or Mom’s group and you are going to hear a big “Huh?”! This is my big worry for Suspect Behavior, the every man won’t even know it exists.

We’ll see. I have my fingers crossed because I wish nothing but the best for the Criminal Minds enterprise. You decide, tune in on Wednesday night at 10PM EST on CBS.

*Special thanks to Brandy at LoudMouthPhotography.com for taking this candid picture of me. It came in handy even if I do look surprised.

Here we are again to bring you two movie reviews on one movie. As two opinionated sisters 10 years apart in age we rarely agree. We decided to bring it to you in Entertainment form! Today we are reviewing The Social Network!

On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history… but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications. Written by Columbia Pictures.

Jackie (the older sister)I was really excited to see The Social Network because until this movie I had no idea where Facebook came from or who Mark Zuckerberg and Edwardo Saverin were. Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher hit the ball clear out of the park with their adaptation of two Harvard undergrads that create the single most popular form of internet communication to date. The Social Network was well written, well directed and very well acted. Jessie Eisenbergs portrayal of Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg was so real it bordered on creepy. You hate him [Zuckerberg] and yet, at the same time can’t help but feel for the guy. It’s not easy to take a loathing character and breathe such life into him that the audience is full of empathy. Jessie’s nomination for Best Actor is well deserved. Andrew Garfield [Saverin] gives a stand out performance as the jilted best (and only true) friend to Zuckerberg, however the performance by Justin Timberlake as Napstar creator turned Facebook executive was one of the very best I’ve seen. He is an actor whom I believe we will see great things from in the future.

I loved this movie, more than I expected to. Watching how money and jealousy can corrupt even the best of friendships, knowing that it’s based on a true story, and knowing how much I love Facebook and could not live without it is a great combination of drama, drama, drama! It will be filed on my video library shelf under guilty pleasure to be watched over and over again. This sister gives it 4 tubs of popcorn.

Lee(the younger sister)The Social Network was one of the creepiest movies I have seen in a long time. Not because of horror, blood or any type of gore. More along the lines of a psychological thriller. If you’ve seen this movie you are probably laughing at my review right now so let me be clear. The character portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg by Jesse Eisneberg was extraordinary. He picked up on every mannerism of a sociopath that needed to be displayed. Zuckerberg was not right in the head and could not create and maintain relationships with those around him. He was also willing to go to great lengths to hurt someone he felt wronged him or to get someone’s attention he felt he deserved. Jesse Eisenberg was the only choice for this role and I give him two huge thumbs up.

Unfortunately the movie itself was awful. Other than the fact that Eisnenbergs portrayal made me want to itch myself as if I were watching an episode of the Office, the rest of the cast was a joke. Armie Hammer plays the Winklevoss twins and quite poorly. We understand that they were supposed to be spoiled rich kids, but his definition was veil thin. Justin Timberlake plays an egotistical .com superstar and although I believe everything that man touches turns to gold, I was not impressed by him in this movie one bit. He overacted the part which didn’t need as much screen time as it was given.

All in all I found The Social Network to be little more than an uncomfortable teen drama with more money involved than usual. The question of who really created The Facebook, whether it be The Winklevoss twins, Eduardo Saverin or Mark Zuckerberg bored me about 1/3 of the way through the movie. However I can see this movie walking away with Best Actor and Best Score. This sister gives it one tubs of popcorn and only because we don’t have “half tubs”.