Film Review: Little Miss Sunshine

Go see this movie, now go! What a hilarious gem of a surprise - does that make sense? lol

I didn't know much about this film and wasn't that sure i wanted to see it but i am glad i did, cos it made me laugh all week! Your not sure what sort of film you are watching at first cos its quite slow and the family that makes up the cast is so dysfunctional. Steve Carrell (of Anchorman and 40 year old virgin fame) is the uncle to a emo teenager that won't speak and only uses a note pad and pen, Carrell himself is staying with his sister (Toni Collette of Muriels Wedding and About a Boy) and her family because he tried to kill himself. Collette who is the most sane is married to Greg Kinnear who is obsessed with winning, and there other child olive a 7 year old ugly duckling. However she enters a beauty pageant, spurred on by her devoted Grandfather who happens to have a heroin addiction that leads them cross country on a bizarre roadtrip that you will never forget.

Yep not the usual comic background but think the Simpsons or even better Malcolm in the Middle and you will see that this emotional yet hilarious road movie is actually brilliant and heartfelt if a little absurd and unconventional. What at first doesn't seem to work in the family at first, changes through the journey and somehow bonds to make sense in the end, which by the way is even better than Napolean Dynamite for unique superbness!

(4.5/5) a sleeper hit that must be viewed just watch out for some very graphic swearing especially from the Grandfather, you've been warned!

Film Review: Crank

Ok i saw this movie cos Jason Statham is gonna be the next big English actor to actually be an action star (watch the Transporter films if you don't believe me) and i needed to see stuff get blown up!
This is a crazy movie, where no one is a good guy really, Statham is a hired hitman who is trying to get out of the game, but before he can a gang boss gets to him and injects him with a poison that will kill him if he doesn't keep his adrenaline up.
Guess what follows? Yep crazy antics that will blow your mind on many different levels, he will do anything to stay alive till he can get his revenge and escape with his girlfriend (Amy Smart). Sounds simple but this film is anything but, it goes where you wouldn't expect and therefore isn't suitable for anyone under 18. However the film has some great touches that aren't age restrictive in that Statham is very dry and witty which i enjoyed even if i was the only one in the cinema who understood his english sense of humour.

If you are up for action on a different level and don't mind terrible acting from the bad guys and can handle it, then give it a shot. (3/5) would have been higher if it wasn't so nasty in some parts.

Film Review: Jackass 2

Well what can i say . . . its a stupid movie that will make you laugh, squirm and feel like being sick. If you have seen the show on MTV then you know what to expect but think bigger and bolder. Think rocket ships, anaconda ball pits, terrifying puppetry, skatepark gauntlet, horses ergh, see saw stampede, swamp chutes, branding and dentistry you wouldn't pay for!

Yes thats right this isn't for you Mum or Jane or most of you actually, but i still thought it was ace! Haley, Anne and I went to see it on Sunday night and Anne had never seen jackass before so when Wee Man came on the screen, she shouted out loud "oh its a midget!" lol it was the most hilarious moment and embarrassing too as every one looked round at us!
Some of the film is just genius and very entertaining, but mental at the same time. Go watch through your fingers if you aren't offended easily, other wise stay well away!

(3.5/5) it is better than the first film. only for the hardcore among you, Myles, Danger, Stocks and Arist you will lap this up :)

I can no longer receive texts on my UK mobile :(

Please don't text or call my UK mobile as i can't get any messages anymore. Either email myboyswickedsmart@hotmail.com, leave a message on this blog or you can call Holy Cross (international code) then 843-8833-586 ext 228 or just ask for me when you get through to reception.

You can always write to me at:

174 Corn Planters Street
Daniel Island
South Carolina
29492
USA

Thanks Y'all

Jonnyk

Film Review: Invincible

Invincible - "Dreams are not lived on the sidelines"

I went to this movie with high hopes as i love American Football movies (Any Given Sunday, Friday Night Lights, Remember the Titans etc) and was thoroughly entertained. The film that is inspired by the true story of (Philadelphia Eagles) Vince Papale back in the 70's has a lot of heart and Mark Wahlberg does a tremendous job of the understated local hero that makes it big. He's a 30 year old bar tender who gets the chance to try out for the Eagles and eventually plays over 3 seasons including reaching the SuperBowl. The filming is very down to earth, you feel part of the local Philly streets and you can't but help cheer for Wahlberg to succeed through many personal, physical and financial difficulties. The highlights aren't all saved for the ending that leaves you more than satisfied its the relationships in Papale's life that shine and none more so than that of Vince and his father that left a tear in my eye.
This is a story of hope and dreams coming reality, through gritty determination - similar but not as good as The Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe that came out last year.
(4 out of 5) big plus no swearing - it is a Disney movie after all.

Jonnyk in the USA #2

Howdy from the country of drive-thru banks, huge oversized cars and engines but 65mph speed limit, where people drive golf carts on the roads, over 1000 people go to watch a High School football game on a friday night, beer is light and hurricanes aren't few and far between!

Yes its a crazy place but i love it, wahwahweewah! lol
Let me start by saying a number of shout outs: Happy 15th Anniversary to my sister Sarah and Adam, enjoy Majorca and thank you for the postcard! Pixie Happy Birthday buddy, will skype you soon. Happy Anniversary to Phil and Tracey, thanks for the Soul Sourvivor pics, looked a bit wet! Vix Congrats on getting two distinctions in your exams you must be stoked! Arist Happy Birthday for the 3rd hope you had fun Big Man. Ryan and Annabel all the best for your wedding next weekend, have a fantastic day, see you in USA! Thanks for your letters Mum, always great to get post. Thank you; Rob, Sheila, Tim, Becky, Tracey, Paul, Vix, Ben, Megs, Tom Curtis -the summer lasts till Nov btw :), Daughter of Fran - thanks for the word tips, Adam, Si Swiz, Arist, Sarah, Benny, Bruce and Sue and finally Anthony Buckley for your emails was great to hear fro you all. Hopefully I have gotten round to replying to you all now, sorry don't get much pc time really, well that and i am so slow at typing! :)

Well I continue to enjoy my time in South Carolina, my laugh is gaining steam and starting to gather a reputation you will be pleased to hear. Since my last email . . . What a crazy couple of weeks its been, Tuesday 22nd August was spent in the office, every Tuesday morning from 10-12 we have a staff meeting, we have a Bible study, discuss it, talk about whats happened in the week thats gone and whats gonna happen in the next week and then we pray into everything and anything that comes up. Its so awesome, there are about 5/6 priest/vicars there so you learn alot! We have a Youth Team meeting straight after which is a little more chilled, we eat our packed lunch, chat, review, plan and pray which is ace. Every week we call all the kids to let them know about whats on; Storm Fri nights (11-14s) or Connection Sunday nights(15-18s), Breakfast Club Sunday morning and Life Groups (Bible Study) mid week and we post them a weekly update too! There are over 100 young people on the books but we haven't seen them all yet. After we did all that JB and I were about to leave until i went to use the bathroom only to discover some little boy must have been quite ill . . . and a very bad shot as he had missed the loo big time!! Yep we did clean it up with colourful hankys as masks (we looked like a couple of cowboys holding up a bank! lol) it was a horrible experience but its character building! After that JB invited me over for dinner which was great, Melissa cooked up a fine dinner then we watched a movie. Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada with Tommy Lee Jones if your interested, quite strange but a good movie - a throw back to old westerns but in modern times.

Wednesday i played basketball at 8am with 4 other youth pastors from other churches, man its humbling, again good character building. After a much needed shower i planned Breakfast Club in the Youth Room for the next couple of sundays with Anne-Randolph and Robyn who is a New Zealander, cool. Then a bit later i planned Storm with Anne-Ran and JB, then I met Trey Truluck the Contemporary Worship Leader/PC dude to sort my pc out. He is super funny, he thinks he can do a top notch english accent but its very Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins! After all those meetings i just chilled at home and watched some MTV - they have got some very funny shows on MTV here that aren't out in the UK, but Pimp My Ride is still my fave.

Thursday i spent the morning reading an awesome book by Ken Moser called Changing the World, he has been in Youth Minsitry for over 20 years so has some experience and lots of Biblical ideas for Youth work in church. Then i finished off the Storm schedule sheet with all the kids names who have attended so far. Then the family that Anne-Ran lives with The Maghees invited me round for dinner and they've got a miniture sausage dog called Barney so i was well happy!! lol He was brown with a long coat he was very handsome and i nearly stole him but thought it a bit rude so decided against it. Had a lovley meal with Debbie, Mack, Gabriel they're son who is my age and Cresse they're 14 year daughter who is well funny. We watched a movie with Will and his housemates Chris and Austin who are class guys, the film was Proof with Anthony Hopkins, Gwenith Paltrow and Jake Gylenhall and it was excellent. Hopkins was a maths genuis but went crazy and Paltrow is his daughter, is she the same? a real top movie. Debbie made me cookies to take home too, so it was a top night all in all.

Friday i met Will and Anne-Ran at Wholly Cow which is this amazing smoothie, ice cream place that does well good breakfast bagels too. Then Anne-Ran and I set up the Youth Room for Storm, Jb spoke in the evening and was really good we had alot of fun and afterwards we headed to the Wando High School (3000 students between 15-18!!) football game, this was an amazing experience. Ok this is the equivilent of a secondary school rugby match but with 1000-1500 people watching, a marching band of over 100 performed at half time (who were incredible) with a dance troop of 40/50 girls with flags, a similar number of cheerleaders, they had food and drink on sale, police were there and it was so so fun. Some student boys had come bare chested but covered in red, black and white body paint with Go Warriors or W-A-N-D-O spread over five different lads, awesome! I loved it it was such fun it lasted about 2-3 hours it was a good standard too. Everyone behind us was cheering for a guy called Stephen so we did too, "I love you Stephen!" ha ha so funny. Anyway the Wando Warriors won 20-0 so i tried to sing "you're not singing anymore" to the other teams fans but i was all alone. :)

Saturday i got up and headed to the Madra Rua and Irish pub in North Charleston with JB to watch Spurs vs Everton at 10am, Tottenham wer awful and lost 0-2 so i wasn't happy. But i headed to the beach with Anne-ran, Cresse, Evan and David who are some of the students we have come to know and we hung out in the sun and sea mainly trying to body surf back to the shore. In the evening i played Cranium over at the Maghees with Anne-Ran, Cresse and her friend Samantha, lost at that too! :)

Sunday Anne-Ran, Haley and I were commissioned at both the 9am and 11am services which was cool, in between i did the briefest talk on Joshua 24:14-25 at Breakfast Club asking them who will they serve? After church i drove round a bit found a cool skate shop where they sell really sweet Nike Air skate trainers for about 60 bucks = 30 quid how cheap is that. Drove round Daniel Island where i live to get to know it better, amazing houses and schools. Had a sleep then went back to Church to set up for Connection 7-9pm which was ace, they're are some really cool kids here after that a few of us went back to Wills pad and we hung out. Will goes hunting so i asked if i could see his gun, well he uses a bow and arrow instead! But he did then show me his collection of rifles, shotguns and his pistol, crazy but quite cool sorry. He had about 12/14 altogether i can't remember alot were gifts or his Dad's who sadly passed away last year. Anyway i would mess with Will! Chris Wiksell his housemate who is super cool i found out was a kicker at Clemson a college near by that has a crazy following. College Football is massive here, bigger than pro football. He showed me a picture and dvd of him kicking for Clemson Tigers in front of 77,750 fans! Yes thats right for a college game! Nuts huh.

Monday is my day off so i picked up my films, pics of Crusaders very cool. I chilled by the private pool opposite my house that only residents can use :) so sweet. Mum you would love it. Then Anne came by and we went downtown to Charleston, first time since we arrived. Yes Janey we went on the swinging benches down on the pier. :) We walked around market street, got some ice cream and then went to a Irish bar for a drink of ice water as it was super hot like over 90 degrees and then headed home. Anne-Ran is from Virginia so like me she doesn't know alot of people here unlike Haley who is a local girl so its cool to hang out so we aren't billy no mates all the time! Monday is football/soccer night which i love i would play football every day if i could. Then after that Will, Haley, Anne-Ran and i went to the cinema and saw the funniest movie - Little Miss Sunshine with Steve Carrell its hilarious go see it, its a little quirky but you will love it, i laughed so hard i am surprised you didn't hear me!

Tuesday was staff meeting and then Youth Team meetings followed by jobs in the office, then i went to JB and Melissas again for dinner and some Xbox action oh yeah.

Wednesday i had a lay in, hit the Church office to plan Fridays Storm which i was speaking at. Then in the evening i went to the College Bible Study at Wills where we got dinner too :) All free meals are welcome i can tell ya. Then we watched Two-A-Days on MTV a new show which follows an Alabama high school football team through a season, Si, Benny, Stocky, Arist, Joely and Micky you would love it so look out for it.

Thursday i stayed at home in the morning checking the weather as a grade 1 hurricane was meant to hit but it turned out to be just a tropical/heavy storm and we got about 5 inches of rain. I just headed to the office and worked on my talk, set up my board with pics to inspire me and worked through my emails, called the middle school boys about Storm and Sunday and set up my espn fantasy football team called Daniel Island Super Spurs! :) The Rec team i am gonna play for this season that JB plays in set up a wee league so i am in that. I also cashed my first pay cheque wahoo! Then i had dinner at home with Zoe and her friend Mr Eric as called by little Jackson. Then i watched Andre Agassi play the most amazing tennis match in the US Open his last tournament ever. He won in 5 sets to a guy called Bagdhatism who was awesome after 3.5 hours phew!

Friday the 1st of September I can't believe it! I finished off my talk at home then met Anne-Ran and Will at Wholly Cow for a breakfast bagel, yum. I did some more admin work before settting up for Storm which went well, i spoke on Matthew 1:18-25 Jesus' birth as we are going through the gospel of Matthew. We got the guys and girls to act out the story in different movie genres, my group did foreign language lol, other were a western opera and my favourite action movie! so fun and creative. Then after we cleared up we headed off to the Wando game which they won 38-7 i think Stephen whoever he is was awesome lol.

Saturday morning i did a bit of shopping, bought a desk for the dell computer a family in the church gave me oh and another larger fridge as the one i've got is very small and kinda freezes anything in the top half of it! :) I was given a 100 dollars towards the fridge which covered it, so generous and blessed i feel. Couldn't find the England vs Andorra match anyway as it was pay per view (PPV) but we won 5-0 anyway. Started Soccer Saturday up at 4pm which is basically a kick around for anyone in school and parents too, not a huge turn out but lots of people wanna come in the future so looking forward to this as this was my idea. Plus i get to play more football :)

Sunday just gone was slightly less busy we go to the 9am (i know Si and all at Marlow Congregation, me at church at 9am) which is the more contemporary service i.e drums, guitars not organs. Then we do Breakfast Club from 10.15-11am where we get krispy kreme donuts the best donuts ever! Had lunch out with Zoe and Jackson, sushi and salad check me out! had a wee sleep in the sarvo becoming my sunday habit and then headed off to Connection which was amazing we had Trip Cormenary one of the priests here at Holy Cross come and give an over view of the Bible but we ended up just discussing tough questions the students have - Trip was so clear and fascinating what a top night.

Monday i went fishing with Mr Eric on his friends boat, so cool very fast 225 bhp about 50 mph top speed which is so fast on water. Adam you would have loved it we went out on the Intercoastal Waterway behind Isle of Palms. It was an amazing day as it was stormy when we went out but it cleared and it was glorious sunshine all day we were out for 5 hours and didn't really catch anything on our rods justy in the throwing net some shrimp, flounders and some other fish i can't remember. I am not really into fishing but i didn't want to turn down this opportunity. Plus you could see the sky all round 360 degrees which was ace and then even better. We saw dolphins about 7/8 of them all over the place about 40/50 feet away wow is all i can say they are so graceful it was such a privelege I also saw a pelican dive into the sea and catch a big fish that filled his throat Tom and Jerry style right near our boat. Then about 4pm we headed back at about 40mph which was so cool. Then it was football in the evening not too many people today as its a national holiday day, Labor Day. Got home and decided to assemble my desk - felt like a man using a hammer and a screw driver and making things, lol!

Tuesday, yesterday as i type this, Staff meeting, followed by Youth Team meeting then i planned my Grade 6 and 7 (11-12 year old) Life Group we are gonna go through the book of Daniel. Unfortunately no one turned up so will have to make a bigger thing of it this week. Oh well you live and learn. In the evening you would love this Charleigh Will, Anne-Ran, Haley and I watched Eddie Izzard - Dress to Kill that JB lent me, oh Eddie how you make me laugh so :)

Today played basketball at 8am starting to understand how to be good at defence, hussle and picks but i got one basket, gotta work on that shot of mine its poor! Popped home for shower then into the office to do emails, then met up with JB for our monthly review meeting at Barnes and Noble bookstore where they have a coffee room, so nice. JB is pleased with me and so happy i'm here, so am I got loads of room to grow and grow but looking forward to it. Then i walked over to the bar across the way to try and get the England vs Macedonia game but they didn't have it so i watched Germany beat San Marino 13-0 oh my goodness what a game Germany destroyed them poor San Marino peeps. England win 1-0 though so its all good. Got chatting to the owner and he bought me some southern fries and a drink how nice are people here. He is gonna book me the sofas up stairs in his bar on Sat for the Man Utd vs Spurs game that KO at 12noon how cool is that, Come on you Spurs! Tonight its College Bible Study and Two-A-Days on MTV sweet.

Thats it for now, i am still waiting for my Social Security number so still can't drive my beast but i found out Melissa's car i am driving a Pontiac is a 2.2 litre V6 so its not small anyways ha ha love it!

Sorry this has been so long i will try and keep it shorter in the future, or write more often.

Please keep praying for me and let me know your news or just say hello sometime.

God bless y'all
JonnyK
Make God Famous!

Hey'all Wow wow wow! what a week and a bit its been!!

Thank you Janey and Phil and Tracey for your cards and to Tim, Hayley, Keith, Ruth Sowa, Marky, Janey, Rob and Sharon, Mike and Kelly and Atim for your emails.

Well it was a huge journey time in the end, Si and Marky took me to Gatwick which was awesome - the place was packed though. We arrived at 9am and we finally took off at 3pm (should have been 12.30) after a million security checks, bag searches, intimate frisks, x-rays et al. I met some really interesting people which was cool, made the time whizz past. Unfortunately we missed our connection at Newark, NY so Continental put me up in a hotel over night. I met a guy at the bar who lived round the corner from where my Sister used to live in Maidenhead and he went to Cox Green School - crazy huh!

I got to the airport early trying to get on the 9am flight but it was over booked so i met another guy who missed out and he and i hung out for the best part of 7 hours having breakfast and sitting at the bar until our 3.25pm flight. So i eventually arrived in Charleston International Airport, SC at 6pm 20 hours later than expected!

It was all ok though i'm here for a year so whats a day, Melissa JB's wife met me with their baby (Hannah) and took me back to Mount Pleasant where they live. I stayed with Jb and Melissa for 3 days while we got my apartment set.

Its really cool, its above the double garage of a big house on Daniel Island which is 10 mins away form JB's. Zoe who lives in the house with her 7 year old son Jackson and an older lady called Susan are lovely. You go around the side and through the garage and up a seperate staircase to my pad which consists of a pretty large room, a walk in closet and an en suite bathroom. I have been given so much furniture already and will get a tv, dvd player and a pc soon - amazing.

Monday was spent sorting the room out and paperwork i.e Social Security etc and then a football kickabout in the evening in the mid to late 80sF! I could have rung my t shirt out afterwards seriously, sorry. Really enjoyed playing soccer grrr with the team i will play for this season.
Tuesday i met everyone at the Church including the two girls doing the apprenticeship with me - Anne-Randolph and Haley who are cool and very fun so we will get on well. Tuesday is team meeting day so all the staff at Holy Cross come together, pray, worship and talk about the coming week as well as looking back over the last week. Then JB took us out for lunch with Will who is the associate Youth Pastor (a real joker - so we get on too) had my first taste of sweet tea - very nice. Watched a movie with JB and Melissa in the evening.

Wednesday morning JB took me to play Basketball at 8am with some other youth leaders in the diocese, i am so poor its untrue but was good to meet some more people. Then after a shower into the office - met some more staff and got the tour of the church premises and the youth room where we have our office. We then did some mailing out stuff to the youth. JB then took me to Zoe's so i could move in and i had dinner with her and Jackson - we played table ice hockey we tied at 7-7 bed time interupted us!

Thursday all the five of us who are the youth team; JB, Will, Anne-Randolph and Haley went over to Camp St Christopher which is a retreat on a beautiful island think tree house stylee (Swiss Family Robinson) complete with a stunning beach and the warmest sea ever! We spent two days there meeting with all the other youth pastors in the diocese about 35 in total (see pic above) where we had teaching, worship times, meals, hanging out time and encouraged each other. Played a bit more Basketball getting a little better. Had some amazing food, they have an awarding chef there, so so good. We arrived back Friday night about 8, i just chilled out still tired.

Saturday i was supposed to meet Will, Anne and Haley and some of the youth for some frisbee but i got lost - not many turned up so we went to Walmart and played hide and seek, Will hid behind all the duvets on the shelf! jokes. Then we had some lunch and then did some grocery shopping with Anne which was interesting but fun, later on we went to the beach at Isle of Palms which was so awesome we got there about 5ish and swam out in the bath water aka the sea, did a bit of body boarding so fun! I went to a tavern/bar in the evening after watching the sun setting over the creeks.

Sunday we attended Holy Cross on Daniel Island which is 10 mins walk from my house, ace! We were commissioned in the service and then Jb and Melissa took me out for brunch, i slept most of the afternoon and then Zoe and Jackson took me out to a restaurant called Vickerys (Janey,Tim, Ben and Vic we went there last time) and sat out on the huge balcony over looking the marina and all the boats coming and going so lovely. Then aload of us went to the cinema late to watch a scary movie.

Today is my day off so i will go soon as i late meeting the guys at the beach here on Sullivans Island where the HC offices and main church are. I had a lay in, they don't say that here lol. Then i made some calls and have been emailing y'all. Please do stay in touch either by email or write to me my address is :
174 Corn Planters Street
Daniel Island
South Carolina
29492
USA

I can receive texts but they cost alot - hopefully soon i will have a number you can call either at the house or at HC.
Please do let me know your news and thanks for reading Prayer requests: That i get my social security no. back soon, i can cut my car insurance down, get a bank account easily, continue to settle in - its a process! That my money stretches and for us as a team thank you.

As soon a i get a blog set up with pics i will let you know.

Big Love
Jonnyk
Make God Famous!