Hunger Games

"May the odds be ever in your favor"

Directed by Gary Ross

2012

Viewed March 2012

The Hunger Games takes place in Panem, a future post apocalyptic U.S.A. The country is divided into 12 districts. There was once an uprising against the Capitol that the districts serve and to remind the districts of their place the Capitol enacted the Hunger Games. Every year one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 17 from each district is chosen (some volunteer, but most are drawn in a lottery) to fight to the death in a televised event. Basically reality tv gone bad. The last person standing is given riches and fame. The story follows Katniss Everdeen from District 12 who volunteers to take the place of her younger sister whose name was chosen in the lottery. She sneaks out of the district and into the forest to hunt and therefore is very good with a bow and arrow. She is taken to the Capitol along with Peeta Mellark, the male tribute, where they are trained and then thrown into the arena. I am a huge fan of the Hunger Games book trilogy and therefore I was very excited to see the film. This film covers the first book and I think that they did an amazing job adapting it to the screen. I was worried that the PG-13 rating would take away from some of the brutality and fear that was in the book, but it really didn't. I haven't read the books in awhile so I don't know how closely it followed as far as the little details go, but it definitely followed the main plot points. There were things that were cut that I understand because of time constraints and they aren't necessarily missed in the movie. I have heard that if you haven't read the books that there are things that you don't get in the movie, but I think that they did a really good job of using the commentators of the Hunger Games as a way of explaining things (such as "those aren't normal bees, they're Tracker Jackers, here is what they do and where they come from" etc.) I also am now a huge Jennifer Lawrence fan. A



Breaking Dawn

So, there is absolutely no way that I can review this in an objective manner. I started reading the Twilight books before the first movie came out, and I was highly disgusted. Edward is a controlling, overbearing creep. It scares me that women and girls all over are so taken by Edward that they want a man just like him. Really? You think it’s ok for your man to meddle in your relationships with other men out of jealousy? You think it’s ok for him to tell you what to do and how to do it and who to hang out with and who to talk to and not talk to? You think its ok for him to spy on you all the time? Ick. Edward is emotionally abusive and emotional abuse is abuse even if it is not accompanied by physical abuse. I am going to spoil the movie for those who have not seen it, so if you don’t want to know this stuff before seeing the movie, then you’ve been warned.




Here is the entire movie. Bella and Edward are getting married. Bella is the most sullen, unhappy bride I’ve ever seen. She doesn’t want anything to do with the planning or the dress, and frankly, she doesn’t seem like she even wants to be in the wedding. So she gets dressed all sullen, and she walks down the aisle all sullen, and she says her vows all sullen, but then they kiss and the world falls away and it’s just the two of them entwined in all their love. Ew. During the rehearsal Edward tells Bella that he has a surprise for her and takes her to Jacob who is hiding creepily in some trees. Bella gives Jacob a hug and you can tell that she hasn’t let go of her feelings for him (OMG, why did you just agree to get married when you’re SOOOO young AND you don’t really know what you want AND you don’t really know who you want, AND you have to hide your husband’s true identity from all your friends and family!!!!) So then Edward takes Bella on their honeymoon to some remote island that his family owns. They have the most unhappy looking sex that is so violent that Edward shreds the pillows and breaks the headboard etc. and leaves bruises on Bella’s body. HE LEAVES BRUISES ON BELLA’S BODY…. And, the icing on that little cake is… BELLA BEGS FOR MORE. He feels bad and doesn’t want to hurt her but she pretty much begs and pleads for him to have more sex with her. Ok, let me just say, I get it that some people get freaky in bed. But remember, this movie is aimed for teenage girls. Then while they are still on their honeymoon, Bella feels weird and is like oh my period is a day late and then takes a test and finds that she’s pregnant. (omg, do these movie makers even know how the human body works?) So Edward takes Bella to his parent’s house where he HIDES her so that her family doesn’t know where she is or that she’s pregnant with his vampire spawn. She spends all of her pregnant time on the phone with her dad telling him that she’s in various different locations of the world and doesn’t know when she’ll be home. The baby grows and since it’s part vampire it feeds on all of Bella’s blood and breaks her ribs with it’s kicks. Bella turns into a walking heap of bones because the baby is so ravaging her body. Then the Cullens decide oh hey, the baby wants blood, and has Bella drink all this human blood. Ew. Then the baby starts to kill Bella and Edward has to chew it out of her womb and Bella dies to Edward turns her into a vampire. The icing on the cake is the baby’s hideous name: Renesme. (a hybrid of their mom’s names, Rene and Esme). I’m not even grading this movie because it’s too ridiculous.

The Vow

" I vow to love you, and no matter what challenges might carry us apart, we will always find a way back to each other."

Directed by Michael Sucsy

2012

Viewed February 2012

This is a wonderfully sappy love story about love overcoming all odds, even memory loss. Paige and Leo are very happily married and decide that it's about time to start trying for a baby. On their way home one night they end up in a car accident and Paige is thrown from the car (Never unbuckle your seat belt even if its just to give your husband a kiss! You shouldn't be making out at every stop sign!) and ends up in a coma. When she comes to she can't remember anything about her time with Leo and doesn't even know who he is. She thinks that she is still engaged to someone else (who has a really fun time pissing Leo off by flirting with Paige) and she doesn't remember why she got so angry with her parents that she hadn't spoken to them in years. Leo goes out of his way to try and win Paige back and make her refall in love with him. This was a decent chick movie and apparantly it is based on a real story (there's even a picture of the real couple at the end!). I loved all of the sappy love quotes that were in it. I usually love Rachel McAdams who plays Paige, but I found her to be kind of a jerk. I understand that she lost her memory, but she is shown proof of her love for Leo and their marriage, yet she is so self absorbed that she doesn't even care how hurt Leo is about all of this, all she is thinking about is herself. I know it may have been weird or awkward not knowing him but knowing that you're supposed to be in love with him, but I felt like she could've been a little bit more compassionate. Her parents were very cookie cutter rigid rich people who think that Leo is a bottom feeder and therefore does everything in their power to keep Paige away from him, so that was really unoriginal. It did make for a good date movie though. B-

Contagion

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

2011

Viewed February 2012

This film follows a deadly virus as it ravages the human population. The CDC and World Health Organization research and try to find a way to stop it as well as try to figure out where and how it started and how it was spread. I found it to be really interesting. I don’t know if this is a real picture of how epidemiologists work, but it was really fascinating how they figure out how fast it spreads or how many people one infected person can infect etc. It also said a lot about society and how scared people in large crowds are a force to be reckoned with. The moral of this story is: wash your hands with soap and warm water, don’t touch your face, and anyone anywhere could be carrying a deadly disease and you’ll never know it until they give it to you and you die…. B

Abduction

Directed by John Singleton

2011

Viewed February 2012

16 year old Nathan is doing a sociology project about abducted children when he finds his face on a website for lost kids. He contacts the site which is run by some Russian mob guys and they come looking for him. The CIA gets involved and also comes after him. Nathan finds out that his “parents” were really agents who were protecting him and they pretty much get killed in front of his face. Nathan takes off with his neighbor Karen and is on the run from the mobsters and CIA.



This is a pretty generic big brother is watching type movie. The mobsters tap into the CIA’s systems while the CIA is using traffic cameras and surveillance cameras to track Nathan and Karen. There are some decent chase scenes and it definitely keeps the movie moving. It’s refreshing to see Taylor Lautner with an expression on his face that isn’t pouty jealousy (like in the Twilight series), although he doesn’t have a very large range of expressions…. C+

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Directed by Stephen Daldry

2012

Viewed January 2012

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this movie. It has gotten such mixed reviews, but the preview was amazing, so I had high hopes. I am pleased to report that this is one of the better movies that I’ve seen in awhile. It follows nine year old Oskar Schell (who was tested for asperger’s and reports that the results were not definitive) who’s father frequently sends him on little treasure hunts throughout New York City. Oskar’s father is in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and dies after leaving many messages on the answering machine. Messages that only Oskar has listened to. Oskar finds a key in with his father’s belongings and believes that if he finds the lock that it opens he will find one last message from his father. He eventually gets help from a mute old man who is renting a room from his grandmother and they help each other on a road to emotional healing. I loved Thomas Horn who played Oskar, he was absolutely amazing. He wasn’t even an actor before this movie, the director saw him win on a kid’s edition of Jeopardy and asked him to audition. I also loved Max Von Sydow who is not in the movie for a whole lot of time, and never speaks, but relays so much emotion just through his face. Amazing. If you see this movie be sure to bring tissues, both Bobby and I cried (I cried through basically the whole movie). A

Crazy, Stupid, Love

"I'm going to help you rediscover your manhood. Do you have any idea where you could have lost it?"

Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

2011

Rated PG-13

Viewed January 2012

Middle aged husband Cal Weaver is blindsided when his wife, Emily, asks for a divorce. Emily reveals that she already had an affair and felt as though she was going through a mid life crisis. Cal moves out and spends his nights at the bar where he is noticed by Jacob who takes it upon himself to help Cal with his love life. The movie also follows a storyline involving Cal's son Robbie who is in love with the babysitter, Jessica. Unfortunately, Jessica is in love with Cal and does not appreciate Robbie's confessions of love. There's also another storyline involving Hannah who finds herself dating a really boring guy. This movie is definitely one of my new favorite romantic comedies. It is sweet and funny and, at times, heartbreaking. I love that it believes that when you find your soulmate you never give up on them and that true love is real even when there are bumps along the way. A

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Directed by: Rupert Wyatt

2011

Viewed August 2011

What to say about this movie other than that it is awesome. Let's start with the story line. Will Rodman (James Franco) is searching for a cure to Alzheimer's and is testing his cure on chimps. He finally thinks he's ready for human trials when the ape goes out of control and his project is shut down and all of the apes are put down. Will finds a baby chimp and takes him home to his sickly father. Will and his father (played superbly by John Lithgow) raise "Caesar" who has increased intelligence due to the testing that Will had done on him. Caesar gets into some trouble with the neighbors and has to be taken away... Caesar is smart enough to know the apes that he's with are being mistreated... I don't want to give the whole movie away... The apes in this movie were filmed using the same motion capture technology as Gollum in Lord of the Rings and you very often forget that they are computer generated. This film makes you think a lot about making sure to buy products that are free of animal testing, as well as making you think twice about visiting the monkeys at the zoo. A

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

"Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living and above all, those who live without love."

 

Directed by David Yates

2011

Viewed July 2011

This was a wonderful ending to such a great series. Its been awhile since I've read the book, and I think it basically follows most of the major points, but it does take some liberties as well. But keeping the book out of it, I still think that this was a really great movie. Harry, Ron and Hermione have battled Voldemort and his forces of evil for 8 movies, and here, in the 8th and final film, it all comes to a head and there is a final battle. Oh how these characters (and the actors who played them) have grown. We have watched them for the last 10 years and it's definitely sad to say goodbye. I got so into HP 7.2 and when the characters had triumphs I wanted to cheer for them. Neville had a big scene and I just wanted to jump up and clap for him because he's come so far from being that dopey, comical chubby kid and turned into a brave young man willing to stand up to The Dark Lord himself and fight for what he believes. This movie is not quite perfect, there were a few scenes that felt cheesy (mainly the "19 years later" part that was horrible in the book as well). Overall this movie was exciting, fun and it did not feel like I had been sitting there for 2 hours and 10 minutes! A-

Super 8

"Production value!"

Directed by J.J. Abrams

2011

Viewed July 2011

There is only one good way to describe this movie and that is: Steven Spielberg alien movie (like E.T. or Close Encounters) with a very J.J. Abrams twist (like Cloverfield or Star Trek)... Basically a group of hilarious kids are trying to film a zombie movie. They sneak out for a night shoot and witness a huge train wreck. Then weird things start happening around town and the kids try and figure out what is going on. It definitely has that nostalgia for the late 70s/early 80s, it was definitely a simpler time where you couldn't just look up a bunch of stuff on the internet and parents weren't afraid to let their kids play unsupervised. It's also very exciting and sometimes has a Goonies like feel within the group of kids. The kids are all so fun to watch and have some very hilarious and witty moments. I definitely love love LOVED this movie! A

P.S. Stay during the credits for a little treat!

The Green Hornet

"You said I was boring. My gun has two barrels. That's not boring."

Directed by Michel Gondry

2011

Viewed June 2011

I didn't have high hopes for this film. The previews made it look so dumb. I was pleasantly surprised by it though. The buddyness of Seth Rogan and Jay Chou is just so fun and bromantic. The movie is about Britt Reid whose father dies of an allergic reaction to a bee sting and inherits his father's fortune as well as the newspaper he built. Britt's father is played wonderfully by Tom Wilkinson who definitely warmed me up to the movie despite having very little screen time. Britt ends up meeting the car/coffee making guy Kato and the two become fast friends who decide to become super heroes.... Except sort of not... They go and commit crimes to make people think they're bad, but really they help people and are trying to take down a drug ring.... I dunno, it didn't really make a whole lot of sense... They end up angering drug boss Chudnofsky who is played by the fantastic Christoph Waltz who pretty much makes the movie with all of his cheese and cheekiness. The actual plot is pretty dumb, but like I said, Seth Rogan and Jay Chou are fun together. C+

Country Strong

"Don't be afraid to fall in love. It's the only thing that matters in life"

Directed by Shane Feste

2010

Date Viewed: Saturday July 2, 2011

Let me start out by saying that Gwynth Paltrow has never really been my favorite actress. However, she is really good in this movie. Gwynth plays broken country singer Kelly Canter who is pulled out of rehab early by her manager/husband for a come back tour. Their marriage is toxic and ugly. Kelly had gotten drunk and fell off stage and killed their unborn child (which is how she ended up in rehab). Her husband can't forgive her, is controlling and both are unfaithful. Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund and Leighton Meester are worthy costars as Kelly's husband, lover and opening act (respectively). The music in Country Strong is pretty enjoyable, I'm not an expert on country music, but I enjoyed it. The movie has good moments, but as a whole got boring and a little cliched. C

Battle: Los Angeles

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman

2011

Viewed June, 2011

I loved the preview for this movie with its slow motion and haunting music. So when this film came out I wanted to see it, but didn't have the money. I snatched it up from Redbox the day that it was released just to make sure that I got a chance to finally see it. Wow. Was it worth it! Battle: L.A. is about aliens landing and starting a war here on earth. The focus of the movie is obviously Los Angeles, where a squad (I don't know the technical marine lingo...) of marines are sent in to save some civilians who are trapped behind enemy lines. It's shot like a legit war movie and it really works well. I love the shaky camera and the feel of imminent destruction by unknown forces.A

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

"These are dark times, there is no denying. Our world has perhaps faced no greater threat than it does today." 

Directed by David Yates

2010

Date Viewed: Friday December 24, 2010 and May 29, 2011

This is probably my second favorite Harry Potter film (Number 4, HP and the Goblet of Fire is my #1 pick). I think I enjoy how its in a really dark place and the whole series has led up to this huge ending and this one just gets me really excited to see how the ending will all play out on screen. I think the acting is definitely better, and the friendship of Harry, Ron and Hermione is just so strong- Hermione and Ron are even willing to sacrifice their lives for Harry. I know, Ron has his weak moment in the film where he's all sullen and crabby and ditches them for a bit, but that's Ron for you... This film finds the three wandering the wilderness in search of the Horcruxes that hold pieces of Voldemort's soul. Voldemort is in search of the Elder Wand, which is the most powerful wand in the world. Bellatrix is still a crazy psycho, and Dobby is the hero in this film. B+

Unstoppable

Directed by Tony Scott

2010

Unstoppable is about a train, that because of stupidity, got away. Conveniently, this train that was so carelessly left running while the conductor hopped out for a second was carrying a bunch of cars filled with a toxic substance that would explode on impact. A lot of the movie is about them yelling at each other and trying to figure out how to stop the train and the other part focuses on two conductors on a train, an old guy and a young guy, who are snippy toward each other until they are forced to come together and help stop the runaway train...

This movie is soooo Tony Scott, the coloring, the camera work, the use of slow-mo, and the random police car that is driving so fast the it just all of a sudden flips over.... However, this movie was way better than I thought it'd be. I think it's one of the better Tony Scott films of late. C+

The Social Network

“They came to me with an idea…. I had a better one.”

Directed by David Fincher

2010

Date Viewed: February 2011

I never had any interest in this movie. A movie about the birth of Facebook? A bunch of nerds doing computer stuff? Boooooring…. But it kept getting so many really amazing reviews… And then Oscar nominations… I started wondering about it and decided to finally break down and watch it. I was very pleasantly surprised. This is actually a pretty good movie. Mark Zuckerberg is in the process of being sued by The Winklevoss twins who claim that the idea for Facebook was actually their idea (it’s called intellectual theft… I never knew that existed). Zuckerberg is also being sued by his former best friend and business partner Eduardo Saverin who was basically cut out of the company. The story of Facebook is told mainly through testimony in the two cases. It was really interesting to see why Facebook began, how it began and then watch it explode into something huge. Justin Timberlake was great as Napster creator Sean Parker who took Zuckerberg under his wing in a way. Jesse Eisenberg is the same as he always is as Zuckerberg, who he portrays as a naïve kid who got caught up in it all and taken for a ride. I don’t know if that’s really how Zuckerberg is, but that’s how he’s portrayed in the movie. This movie was definitely not as boring as I thought it would be. B+

When In Rome

"You could get your heart broken or... you could have the greatest love affair the world has ever known. But you're never gonna know unless you try" 

Directed by Mark Steven Johnson

2010

Date Viewed: Sunday December 26, 2010

Beth is a career oriented go-getter who wants to find love, but can't find a man she loves more than her job. Her younger sister meets an Italian man and a few weeks later gets married in Rome where Beth meets Nick (the best man). The two flirt, but then eventually Beth sees him hanging out with another girl and assumes that he's a player so she goes and gets drunk and starts stealing coins out of the Fountain Of Love. The men who threw those coins in become obsessed with Beth and start stalking her and trying to woo her. They're all kind of creepy and gross.... Nick also starts calling and stopping by and Beth just assumes that he's under the spell of the stolen coins as well. This is a cute but pretty generic romantic comedy. There are some goofy parts, but most of the funny stuff was in the previews. I did really enjoy Kristin Bell and Josh Duhamel though. C+

Tron: Legacy

"The Grid. A digital frontier. I tried to picture clusters of information as they traveled through the computer. Ships, motorcycles. With the circuits like freeways. I kept dreaming of a world I thought I'd never see. And then, one day... i got in."

Directed by Joseph Kosinski

2010

Date Viewed: Thursday December 23, 2010

Tron: Legacy starts off with a young Kevin Flynn telling his 7 year old son, Sam all about The Grid and his adventures there. He tells him about Tron and Clu (from the original Tron movie) and about the discoveries he's making while inside. Then he promises Sam that he'll be by to see him in a few days and then off he goes... never to return... Fast forward 20 years and Sam is a super hacker who ends up getting transported to The Grid by accident. There he ends up being forced to play in the games and has an awesome light cycle battle and then ends up finding his father. Together, with the help of Kevin's apprentice Quorra, they race Clu to the portal to get back home. I highly enjoyed the Imax 3D experience of this movie. The games and the light cycle battles were super cool to watch and The Grid was neat to look at. This movie also used a mixture of 2D and 3D which I thought was kind of cool, and the 3D was actually pretty good (it wasn't cut outs walking around over a background). The story was a little predictable at times, but it kept a pretty good pace and was exciting. The only thing I really didn't like was the digitization used on Jeff Bridges' face to make him look younger. It just looked way fake and I felt like they could have done a way better job using make up. B+

How To Train Your Dragon

"We're Vikings. We have stubbornness issues."

Directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders

2010

I admit, I thought this movie looked pretty lame from the previews and I had very little desire to see it. I eventually did sit down to watch it (obviously) and I found that I loved it! Hiccup is a Viking who lives in a village overrun by dragons. He's definitely not a warrior and he's definitely very clumsy... He ends up catching a very elusive species of dragon and intends to kill it to prove his Vikingness. The poor dragon looks at him with such a sadness in his eye that Hiccup can't bring him to do the deed. Instead he lets him go only to find him later stuck in a small oasis with rock walls surrounding it. The dragon is missing part of his tail so he can't steer or become fully airborne. Hiccup ends up inventing a contraption to help the dragon and ends up training him. There are many other adventures, but I don't want to give them all away. I loved how creative this movie was. It came up with several different species of dragons that all had different mannerisms and characteristics. I loved the diversity of the characters and how completely adorable Hiccup's dragon (Toothless) was. There is plenty of witty dialogue as well. A

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Lucy: "Aslan, will we ever meet you in our world?"

Aslan: "You shall."

Lucy: "How?"

Aslan: "Because there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name.This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, That knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."

Directed by Michael Apted

2010

Date Viewed: Saturday, December 11 2010

This is by far my favorite of the Narnia movies. It's probably my favorite of the books too, even though I always say that The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is because it holds a special place in my heart. Edmund and Lucy end up in Narnia with their obnoxious cousin Eustace. They are transported there via a painting. While there they have many adventures with Prince Caspian aboard the Dawn Treader. The children help Prince Caspian in his search for seven lost lords of Narnia. They have many adventures including dragons, Deathwater Island (that has a pool that turns anything it touches to gold... including people), the Island Where Dreams Come True (including nightmares) and the Edge of the World. There are so many great characters and adventures in this story. I love it. A