Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

Movies, Television, and Media

A Super Long List of Military Themed Movies and TV Shows

by

A Super Long List of Military Themed Movies and TV Shows

Being a military spouse, I get asked all the time if I watched Army Wives. There is something about military themed movies and tv shows that can show our civilian friends a window into our world. Some of these are really good at showing our military lives and others, not as much.

A Super Long List of Military Themed Movies and TV Shows

Most of the military themed movies and tv shows out there focus on the service member. Either showing a war, life after war, or a humorous take on it all. Some include the military spouse, and of course, we have Army Wives.

When watching some of these movies, we might laugh at how wrong they are wearing their uniform, or cry at how real they were able to show the emotions of those dealing with deployments and everything that comes with military life. We might get excited to see our favorite actor putting on a uniform, or watch with nostalgia, a movie or television show we remember watching when we were younger.

Whether you love them, or they drive you nuts, here is a super long list of military themed movies and tv shows to watch:

A Super Long List of Military Themed Movies and TV Shows

Military themed tv shows and miniseries

Army Wives

The Astronaut Wives Club

Band of Brothers

The Brave

Generation Kill

Enlisted

Hogan’s Heroes

The Last Ship

The Last Post

The Long Road Home

Jag

Mash

McHale’s Navy

NCIS

The Pacific

The Unit

A Super Long List of Military Themed Movies and TV Shows

Military themed movies

12 Strong

13 Hours

American Sniper

Black Hawk Down

Born on the 4th of July

Brothers

Captain America

Coming Home

Courage Under Fire

Dear John

Dunkirk

A Few Good Men

Forest Gump

Full Metal Jacket

Fury

Good Morning Vietnam

Gone With the Wind

The Great Escape

Green Zone

Hacksaw Ridge

The Hurt Locker

Jarhead

Lone Survivor

Love and Honor

Lucky One

Max

Megan Leavey

Men of Honor

The Patriot

Patton

Pearl Harbor

Private Benjamin

Three Kings

Sand Castle

Sands of Iwo Jima

Saving Private Ryan

The Shooter

Stop Loss

Thank You For Your Service

Top Gun

We Were Soldiers

Unbroken

White Christmas

Zero Dark Thirty

 

What would you add to this list? What are your favorite military themed movies and television shows?

As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner

by

As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner

* This post does contain affiliate links!

I am always a fan of a good historical fiction book. I love learning more about the past within a fictional story. Susan Meissner is one of my favorite authors that does a good job of this. Her latest book, As Bright as Heaven, is coming out February 6, 2018, and I got the chance to review the book through NetGalley.

About the book: In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters–Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa–a chance at a better life.

But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without–and what they are willing to do about it.

As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.

As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner

My thoughts:

I didn’t know too much about the Spanish Flu and this book takes place right in the middle of it as well as the Great War (World War I.) The way the characters are immersed in that world makes you really feel for them. I found myself wondering how I would be acting as a mother if I had to deal with that with my own children.

As with any book that takes place during a war, it is always interesting to me to read about how things were so different back then, but also how some other things are still the same. Saying goodbye to someone going off to war is difficult whether it is to Europe in 1918 or Iraq in 2017.

This was also the first book I have read of Susan Meissner’s that did not have a connection to present time and I admit that I missed that part of her books. I like how she ties that in usually. That being said, this book was still so enjoyable.

There are quite a few points of view as the story is told from the perspective of a mother as well as her three daughters. Susan Meissner does an amazing job of weaving all these stories together and giving each of them their own voice, even though some of them are children.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, if you are looking for a good book to dive into this winter, or you want something to get lost in during your spouse’s next deployment, order your copy of As Bright as Heaven (you can do so on Amazon) or check out any of Susan Meissner’s other books she has written. You won’t be disappointed.

What Adam Driver, Former US Marine, Does For the Military

by

What Adam Driver, Former US Marine, Does For the Military

What Adam Driver, Former US Marine, Does For the Military

Have you seen The Last Jedi yet? If not, go, I loved it! And I have a house full of boys who do too. If you are a fan of the Star Wars movies, you might know a bit about the actors who play in those movies. One of the new villains in these recent movies is Kylo Ren, played by the actor Adam Driver.

Did you know that before he started acting, Adam Driver was in the Marine Corps? He joined after 9/11 and served for almost 3 years. He injured his sternum while mountain biking and was medically discharged. After that, he went back to school, ended up at Juilliard, and started acting in New York City both on and off Broadway.

His first movie was J. Edgar in 2011. In 2012, he began his role in the HBO show Girls, and in 2014, he was cast as Kylo Ren for the upcoming Star Wars movies.

What Adam Driver, Former US Marine, Does For the Military
By Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Even though his career in the military ended years ago, his support for the military did not. In 2008, he founded Arts in the Armed Forces (AITAF.) This organization’s goal is to bring high-quality theater programming for active duty service members, veterans, military support staff, and their families.

AITAF perform’s domestically and around the world and chooses plays that feature diverse themes as well as ages, ethnicities, and experiences. This creates a unique experience for the audience. After each of their performances, the actors will interact with the audience, answering a Q & A and having an informal time to talk to everyone.

The first performance of 2018 will be at Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina on January 5th and 6th. They will be doing a reading of Top Underdog.

In celebration of their 10th year, Arts in the Armed Forces announced the Bridge Award that will grant 10K to a playwright who has or is serving in the military. In addition to the money, they will also stage a professional reading of the play that was submitted. All entries must be received by March 1st, 2018. The winner should be announced around May 1st, 2018. Go to their website for more information.

As you can see, Adam Driver and Arts in the Armed Forces want to bring amazing theater to the military as well as support the talents of those who serve. This is such an important thing as the military is made up of people with all different strengths and talents. Arts in the Armed Forces is one way to help support that.

Thank You For Your Service

by

Thank You For Your Service

This post contains affiliate links!

Thank You For Your Service

In August of 2006, my husband deployed with his Unit out of Schweinfurt, Germany to Iraq. In January of 2007, President George W. Bush increased the number of American troops to provide security to Baghdad and Al Anbar Province. He extended the tour of most of the Army troops and some of the Marines.

In April of 2007, we got the news that our husbands would not be home in June, but that they would be a part of this surge. My husband returned in November of 2007 after a 15-month deployment.

On October 27th of this year, the movie Thank You For Your Service will be coming out starting Miles Teller, Haley Bennett, and Amy Schumer. The movie, which is directed by Jason Hall, is based on the book by David Finkel, Thank You For Your Service. 

Finkel was embedded with the men of the 2-16 Infantry Battalion during the surge in Iraq where he wrote his best-selling book, The Good Soldiers. Thank You For Your Service is about these same men when they returned home after their 15-month deployment.

The movie is the story of soldiers returning from war, dealing with the aftermath and trying to move forward. Miles Teller plays SGT Adam Schumann, a soldier who leaves Iraq as a broken man and Haley Bennett plays Saskia Schumann, Schumann’s wife.

From the previews I have seen, this movie looks to be very good, yet will be hard for a lot of us to watch. Even as I type this, I am getting emotional thinking about that deployment and everything the men and the spouses went through and are still going through, 10 years later.

I think this is an important story for all Americans to hear about. To know what those who have served have been through and what really can happen after the homecoming. That not everyone returns from a war the same and that there is so much that has to be worked through, especially after such a long deployment.

And for those of us that can identify with this on a personal level, I hope we can talk to others about what we have been through, and find support through one another.

Thank You For Your Service will be in theaters October 27th. 

 

10 TV Shows You Should Binge Watch During Deployment

by

10 TV Shows You Should Binge Watch During Deployment10 TV Shows You Should Binge Watch During Deployment

During deployments or even during drill weekends I have found that binge-watching a television show can really make things a lot easier. I can get lost in the show, lost in the characters and that can take away those lonely nights missing my husband. Focusing on something else always works and watching a good tv show is a great way to do it.

With Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, binge watching couldn’t be easier. Back during our 2007 deployment I either had to get DVDs from the library or watch shows on YouTube, 10 minutes at a time. Not ideal I know. I much prefer Netflix these days.

So…if you want to get lost in a story, check out these binge-worthy television shows:

One Tree Hill

One Tree Hill is about a fictional town in North Carolina. It’s the story of two brothers, both raised in very different families and small town life. Basically, normal teenagers, trying to figure out life, love, and relationships. This show has 9 seasons and a lot of fans like to rewatch over and over again.

Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl takes place in New York City and is narrated by the “Gossip Girl.” Another show about teenagers but this time they are from the Upper East Side. They have money, a lot of money and all the problems that go with money. Gossip Girl has 6 seasons and will keep you guessing about who the “Gossip Girl” is the whole time.

Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls is a fun show about a mother and daughter living in a small town in Connecticut. This is a quirky show with a ton of fun supporting characters. There are 7 seasons and Netflix just came out with Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life that you must watch once you finish with the regular seasons.

The West Wing

I am a HUGE fan of The West Wing. This show is all about President Bartlet and his staff. They take on real issues and each character has their own situations they are going through. I have already watched this show twice and would love to start a third round. There are 7 seasons.

Vampire Diaries

Vampire Diaries is an exciting show about a town in Virginia, Mystic Falls with Vampires and other supernatural creatures. Elena is a regular old high school student who loses her parents in a car crash. Then she meets Stefen and Damon, vampire brothers. And everything changes. There are 8 seasons and a spin-off, the Originals.

Pretty Little Liars

Pretty Little Liars takes place in Rosewood, Pennsylvania. Four friends try to figure out what to do after their friend Alison is allegedly murdered. This show will keep you hooked because you just want to find out what is going on. There are 7 seasons of PLL.

Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time takes place in the fictional seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine. But who lives in this town? All your favorite fairytale characters, only they are under a spell and don’t remember where they came from. Emma, a bail bonds person comes to the town and learns she is the only one who can save it. This show has 6 seasons and is still going on with new characters added all the time.

Grey’s Anatomy

If you are looking for a mix of medicine and drama, Grey’s Anatomy is going to be your show. This show is on season 13 with more to come. Meredith Grey is the main character and as the show starts she is starting the residency program at Seattle Grace Hospital. You might think that it isn’t possible for one hospital to have this much drama but you don’t care because the show is keeping you entertained.

Doctor Who

If you love science fiction, time travel, British tv, you will probably like Doctor Who. I will fully admit this show is not for everyone but those that watch and fall in love with it can’t get enough. This show could be your deployment show as there are a ton of episodes to watch. You can go all the way back and watch some of the original show but I suggest starting with the newer episodes. There are 9 seasons of that, the 10th should start sometime in the near future.

The Office

The Office is such a great show to binge watch. This show is a Mockumentary about an office in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Some of these characters will drive you nuts, others will make you roll your eyes but you won’t be able to get enough of this silly show. There are 9 seasons to enjoy.

 

What shows do you love to watch during a deployment?

 

 

Amy Grant’s Tennessee Christmas CD Review and Giveaway

by 6 Comments

Tennessee Christmas

Amy Grant’s Tennessee Christmas CD Review and Giveaway

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

I was about 12 years old when I discovered Amy Grant’s Christmas albums. I had them on cassette tape and used to listen to them all season long. This was back in the day when you had to have a cassette or CD in order to listen to the music you wanted when you wanted to. I think I wore those albums out!

When I heard that Amy Grant was going to come out with a new Christmas album this year, I was very excited!

Tennessee Christmas is one of my favorite songs. The song has changed for me over the years. Before, I was a teen growing up in Southern California. Now I am a mom of three raising my boys in Tennessee and there is just something about that song that makes me feel good about being here, especially during the Christmas season.

“Well they say in l.a., It’s a warm holiday; It’s the only place to be. But a tender Tennessee Christmas Is the only Christmas for me.”

Tennessee Christmas is on the new album as well as many other songs that you have heard before. Here is the list:

  1. Tennessee Christmas
  2. To Be Together
  3. Christmas for You and Me
  4. Melancholy Christmas
  5. December
  6. White Christmas
  7. Joy to the World
  8. I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
  9. Baby, It’s Cold Outside
  10. Christmas Don’t Be Late
  11. Still Can’t Sleep
  12. Another Merry Christmas
  13. O Come, All Ye Faithful

Besides Tennessee Christmas, some of my other favorites are To Be Together, Joy to the World and O Come, All Ye Faithful. I enjoyed all the songs and will be listening to this CD in my car for the next few weeks. The CD book is filled with the lyrics and photos from Amy’s life.

Tennessee Christmas

Amy is also asking fans to upload any videos they might have of surprising loved ones for the holidays. Have you ever done that? Have you ever had a Christmas homecoming?

If you have a video to share, you can share to your own social media using the hashtag, #TNChristmasSurprise! The videos that are chosen will be a part of a compilation video that Amy will share on her own social media outlets.

You can also find Tennessee Christmas on iTunes!

Now for the giveaway! One of my readers will be able to win 1 of Amy Grant’s Tennessee Christmas CDs.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Just enter with the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

10 Thoughts on Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life on Netflix

by 8 Comments

10 Thoughts on Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life on Netflix10 Thoughts on Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life on Netflix

  • This post contains affiliate links! 

In 2004, I had a little baby boy and we signed up for Netflix. My mom told me about this great show that we could watch on DVD with Netflix, Gilmore Girls. I was hooked right away. So was my son. He would stop whatever he was doing and watch the theme song with amazement. That little baby is now 12 and Gilmore Girls is back with new episodes.

Netflix is amazing and one of the reasons that Netflix is so amazing is because they can take old shows and make new episodes. The first one was Arrested Development, another favorite. Fuller House is another example and now we have Gilmore Girls. Four 1.5 hour episodes going through the year. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.

This was released on Friday and I ended up staying up way past my bedtime to watch all of them. And after that, I needed to watch an episode from season three. I love this show and can’t seem to get enough. As much as I wanted to savor every episode of the new shows, I knew that avoiding spoilers might be hard. You never know what people are going to say on social media, what Facebook will put in your feed or what an article’s title might say. I didn’t want any part of the show to be ruined, so I watched them all Friday night and wow, what an amazing show!

I have a lot of thoughts on the new episodes and I wanted to share them here. Know that the rest of this post will show spoilers so stop reading if you have not watched A Year in the Life yet. Then come back once you have.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SPOILERS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Rory’s Boyfriends- I love that Dean, Jess, and Logan all came back for these episodes. Logan was in the most scenes and Dean was only in one but I really liked seeing them. I am a fan of the Good Wife, Supernatural and This is Us and what I loved is that these three came back and were very much Dean, Jess, and Logan, not the characters I have seen them as more recently. I was a little shocked that Rory was with Logan, especially since he had a fiance. I am glad she gave him that key back to the Maine house. I felt like he was trying to set her up to be his longtime mistress. If he truly loved her he should break it off with his fiance but he didn’t seem to want to do that.

2. Sookie, Lane, and Paris- Loved seeing these ladies back as well as the townspeople, Lane’s twins, Mr. Kim, etc. They added so much to the original series and it was so nice to see them back, if only for a few scenes. I did feel like we saw a little too much of Kirk. 

3. Luke and Lorelai- During the original series the two would banter back and forth with one another and I was glad to see they still had that. I worried about the lying and not wanting to get married after all those years. I also thought the baby storyline was weird. How did they never talk about it? And then now thinking about a surrogate? But the wedding was perfect! 

4. Wild- Loved the book and movie Wild and thought the storyline was an interesting one. Not something I ever would have thought Lorelai would ever do.  I loved how they made the two park rangers actors from Parenthood and Mae Whitman showed up in New York at one point as well.

5. Jess- I have pretty much always been team Jess and I was hoping they would get together by the end. I wasn’t so sure after the scene in the newspaper office. They seemed so much like buddies. But then, when Luke asked Jess if he was still into her and he said no, but then went to the window? That gave me hope. I am not sure if we’ll get any more episodes but I would love to see Jess and Rory together in the end. Logan is just not cool and Dean seems happily married too.

6. Emily- LOVED seeing what she did after she got over her grief about Richard. Seems like a great way to wrap her up as a character. And the scene when she is explaining about the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up made me laugh.

7. The Seasons- I really enjoyed the different seasons. I felt like each one was different enough to put us in that time period. That also made it easy for us to see time passing within the four episodes.

8. Stupid Paul- I hated that Rory kept forgetting to break up with him. It was cute and all and a silly joke but it just didn’t seem like something Rory would do. They should have had her break up with him at the end of the Winter episodes. We could have still had the joke but it wouldn’t have gone on as long as it did.

9. The Musical- Did they really need to spend that much time on the town musical? It was so long. That is one big thing I would have changed. Give us more time with Jess…or really anyone.

10. The Last Four Words- WOW! I didn’t see that coming in any way. What will Rory do? Will she tell Logan? If she did would she want him to be with her? Where does Jess fit in? Will she live with Lorelai? I need more Gilmore Girls. I need more. Even if we have to wait a while for it.

 

What did you think? Are you hoping for more???

10 Reasons Why Pokemon Go Is The Best Thing Ever

by 1 Comment

Pokémon Go

10 Reasons Why Pokemon Go Is The Best Thing Ever

Unless you have been living under a big rock, you should have heard of Pokémon Go by now.

Pokémon Go is a free game you can find on iOS and Android devices. Developed by Niantic and published by the Pokémon Company. This game came out last week. Has it only been a week?

I discovered Pokémon when I was about 21 years old. I played it on my Gameboy for a few years. Over time I stopped playing the game but we still have my red and blue games here in the house. A couple of years ago my son started getting into collecting the cards has one of the newer games for the DS.

I saw on Twitter that there was a new game for Pokémon lovers for your phone. I had to check it out. So I did.  I learned this game wasn’t just a game you play on your own in your own home. This is a game that you have to play out and about in your community. And I was hooked. I told my boys right away and they were so excited about Pokemon Go too.

It took a few days to figure out how to play Pokemon Go.  The game kept having overloaded servers the first few days but we soon learned a little bit about the game. How you only have so many Pokémon balls to start. Whoops. How you can get more by leveling up and by going to a Pokémon stop. What’s that?

We found out that a Pokemon stop was where you can get extra items for your Pokemon and the game. It seems that almost every church in our city has at least 2-3 Pokemon stops. They are also in other places like parks and stores. We are still trying to figure out how the gyms work.

With the fast popularity of Pokémon Go, I wonder how long people will be playing it. Will we all go out on a snowy day to find more Pokémon? Maybe not. We will have to wait and see what happens. However, this summer, for the few weeks we have left of it, my boys and I will be playing Pokémon Go.

Because Pokémon Go really is the best thing ever. This is why…

1. We can play it together. We only have 2 phones in our house this will work on. One is mine, one is my husband’s so my boys are not going to have their own games. I have been taking turns with them. They usually get to hunt for Pokémon while we are driving and I have them tell me about any Pokémon stops they see along the way. Then we can go back to the ones I feel comfortable about.

2. It’s a walking game. Yes, you can play while driving but walking is even better. When you are driving you can capture Pokémon but it seems a little easier to do so while walking. This game is getting more and more people out and about. Which is a good thing.

Pokémon Go

3. We are meeting people in the community. We haven’t been out as much as I would have liked with Pokémon Go but the times we have it is really great to see others in our community and ask them if they are playing too. People are talking to each other. After what happened in Dallas, Minnesota, and Baton Rouge last week, this is a good thing. Who knew we would achieve world peace through Pokémon?

4. Because you can play Pokémon in the real world. This game is a great mix between the real world and the imaginary one. I love that. I love that we see Pokemon while out and about. That they show up in weird places.

5. The game gets us to explore. There are a lot of places around here that have a lot of Pokémon. This makes us want to go and explore them. While I don’t want to go anywhere I would think was unsafe just to get a Pokémon, going to see parts of our city that we normally wouldn’t is going to be a lot of fun. If you are new to a city, it would be a great way to get out and explore with your kids.

6. It’s free. While you can buy things in the game with real money, you don’t have to and I love that. I love that we can go out and do something fun together without having to spend any money to do so.

7. Pokemon Go has been good for mental health. I have seen quite a few articles about how this game is helping people with mental health issues like anxiety and depression and helping those with Autism. And that is a good thing.

Pokémon Go

8. Pokemon Go is opening up a door. I think we will see more and more technology like this come out into the world. I would love to see something like this for the Sims games or even Disney. The possibilities are endless.

9. New safety guidelines. This might be the push a lot of people need for more safety guidelines when it comes to phones and cars. Phones are not going anywhere and some states still allow you to drive and use them. Maybe the popularity of this game will help with laws and keeping people more aware of when they are on their phones? There are always going to be people who ignore these laws but if games like this are going to be the future, we need to be aware of how to use them safely, especially when the games involve our kids.

10. Communities. Did I mention this is getting people to talk to one another? Pokemon is getting people to create meetups. The game is bringing people together and that is a good thing.

So if you want to play Pokémon Go, go check the game out. Pokémon can be a lot of fun for you and your kids. Remember to never Pokémon while driving a car and be aware of the people around you. Stay away from places you are not sure about and make sure your kids know how to stay safe too.

Have you started playing Pokemon Go yet?