The underestimated importance of the very end of the movie

I got my Christmas tree yesterday. Did you know there are people on craigslist who will cut a tree with dimensions you specify and deliver it to your house (and sometimes set it up in the stand)? I called the guy yesterday around 4pm, told him what I wanted (a fat, 6 foot Douglas Fir...see below) and he showed up at my house around 6 with the most awesome tree I have ever seen! It only cost me $25 bucks too. Pretty sweet! So anyway, after the tree guy left it was just me, the dogs and cats, and a giant tree. I felt pretty sad for a little while because putting up the Christmas tree is one of my favorite memories from when I was a kid (yes, even the ones when Dad got pissed because the stand wasn't working right) and it just felt wrong to be doing it alone. I tried distracting myself by unwrapping some ornaments and reminiscing about where they had come from and Christmases past, then after a few minutes I just gave in to the festivities, turned on some Christmas music, and had a pretty great time! There's something great about being able to sing cheesy Christmas carols ("It's a marshmallow world in the winter...") at the top of your lungs and not having to worry about anyone hearing you. Good times.

The other day T was over and we watched this movie from a few years ago called "The Pledge". Let me tell you, this was the best movie I have seen in a long time. It had suspense, love, mystery, action, murder, a great soundtrack, beautiful visuals, great acting...it was just awesome. Halfway through, I made up my mind to tell everyone I knew about it because it was just such an incredible movie. Then, ten minutes before the end of the movie, it just started sucking hard. You would not believe that ten minutes at the end of the movie could have the potential to derail the whole thing, but I promise you, that is what happened. It was so awful that we decided just to ignore the last ten minutes of the movie and make up alternate endings in our heads. So if you find yourself watching this movie and just totally loving it (trust me, you will), do yourself a favor and stop watching about ten minutes before it's over, then make up your own alternate ending. You will be glad you did.