Dirty 30 (2016)

Watched: 1/29/2017

I know Mamrie Hart, Grace Helbig, and Hannah Hart from their various you tube videos and books.  This movie centers around Kate ( Mamrie Hart) turning 30 and allowing her friends to throw her a party.  She wants a simple, quiet gathering and they end up throwing a huge drunken party.

They are basically adults who don’t want to adult, and I can understand that.  One is married and possibly wants a divorce, while another is secretly engaged to her girlfriend.  Turning 30 and  not being where you wanted to be by 30 sucks.  Here I am “pushing 40” as my mother likes to remind me, and still feel the same way.  But what’s fun about this movie is that it’s  real, it feels like these  girls are your friends. Also seeing high school people is awkward and strange!   I could see having these same conversations with my friends.  This isn’t groundbreaking cinema, it’s just a fun little movie about friendship and getting older.  Life is messy and full of misunderstandings that can be cured by sharing an adult beverage with your girlfriends.

Partee Tyme!

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (2016)

Watched: 1/28/2017

Watched with: Ken & Andrew

Miss Peregrine’s…….. it’s such a long title to type all the time.  So instead I will just say MPHFPC.  But that is also obnoxious .  Anyway, this movie was entertaining and peculiar.  I don’t remember anything from the book, except that it was my pick for my book club and that I didn’t like it.  The pictures were what drew me to the book so I was excited to see them in the movie.  I think this story is better suited for the screen and it comes to life thanks to Tim Burton, although it didn’t necessarily feel or look like classic Tim Burton.

The story centers around Jake and his journey to find out more about his Grandfather Abe who has passed away.  He grew up in a home and Jake and his dad travel there.  Once there he encounters the children and Miss Peregrine who are living in a “time loop” in 1943.  They all have a peculiarity or talent.   They are safe within the time loop, that Miss peregrine sets daily.  There are other peculiars out there who are evil and actually eat the eyes of the others.

Whoa wait, they eat the eyes of the others, the children?  Yes they do and they are led by Samuel L. Jackson and they are creepy as hell.  There was a lot of weird concepts here.  Time loops are hard to understand.  Why was it set when it was?  Why are they safer there?  It was cool to see Miss Peregrine set the loop though.  She is played by Eva Green and I really liked her.  She was fierce and beautiful, even as a bird.  My husband thought Eva Green should only play bad people, but I thought she was great in this.  Something else that was unexplained was Chris O’Dowd having an American accent, no thanks.

At the end I don’t know all of what was going on, a lot of stuff is left unexplained.  I did enjoy the movie for what it was even if I don’t really think I’ll re watch this one anytime soon.  The children were fun to watch, as was Dame Judi Dench in her small part.

Manchester By The Sea (2016)

Watched: 1/28/2017

Hmmm what to say about this one.  I had people wanting me to watch this one.  One person at work told me I would love this because ” We like the same things” and I had another friend tell me the people who like this are “sheep”.   surprisingly I don’t have much to say either way.  I only know for sure it wasn’t for me personally.  I didn’t really get much from it.  I felt nothing, except I had a hard time during the fire scene.

I think the major problem I had was that I didn’t connect with any of the main characters.  Lee seemed like a real person but I really didn’t care for him either way.  I wasn’t invested in him.  I was invested in Randi but she was such a small part it was hard to care about what was happening the rest of the time.  No one was really likable and no one really learned anything.

Michelle Williams was great in this, her hair especially at the end was on point.  I loved the water and the seagulls.  I’ve been to Gloucester, MA and it was beautiful, this reminded me of that.  It’s such a different place then where I live, rich in history and legend.  I loved anytime they were on the boat.  I also found the music usage to be off-putting.  There is a scene in a police station that was over powered by the score, I had a hard time paying attention to the dialog.  I struggled to get through this.  I know I’m in the minority and it probably won’t be the last time I find myself not enjoying a movie the masses loved.  It just didn’t do anything for me.  I thought maybe I am just alone and after reading a couple message boards I found people being attacked for not liking this one.  Other people said they “should just stick with Michael Bay films if they don’t get it” I don’t agree with that.  I get it, I just didn’t like what it was I got.

Now I’m going to go watch a Disney movie to sanitize my mind from all the angst.  On a positive note I am 100% caught up on this blog!  It took awhile but now I can keep up in real time.

Alice Through The Looking Glass (2016)

Watched: 1/27/2017

Watched with: Andrew

I’ll admit to going into this one with low expectations.  I really never thought there needed to be another one of these.  It felt played out, at least to me.  But I found this movie to be fun and at times interesting. What saves this movie is Time.  Having Time be a character is inspired.

Alice starts the movie captaining a ship that was her fathers.  She has traveled the world and she’s costumed to look like the stage production of Hamilton.  Actually the costuming in this movie is amazing, especially the Hatter.  Alice is a voyager content to lead a life of adventure.  She goes back to Wonderland to help Hatter.  He is upset about his family and Alice seeks Time’s help in order to save them from being killed.  Time tells her she cannot change history but can only learn from it.  She steals his chronosphere and sets off back in time to save the Hatter’s family.  Time is slowly dying without the chronosphere and must race to get it back.

I wrote down some quotes while I was watching this that struck me.

” The only way to achieve the impossible, is to believe it’s possible.”

“Time is a thief and a villain.”

” Time is a gift”

I really liked what was going on story wise with this movie.  The concept of giving and taking time was great.  Also getting a peak at why the queen of hearts (or red queen) is the way she is was fascinating.  However ,  the visuals are way too over the  top for my liking.  Way too much CGI.  The color usage is vibrant but I everything is fake!  There were two nice cameos I had no idea about: Richard Armitage and Andrew Scott.  It’s always a fun surprise to see familiar faces like them pop up.  So intheend,  ienjoyed this one far more than I thought I would.

Loving (2016)

Watched: 1/26/2017

Watched with: Janine

Loving is a compelling movie that takes you back in time to experience what life might have been like for people back then.  There is social injustice that my modern mind can’t wrap it’s head around.  But this happened and it’s still happening today!  Maybe not this exact situation but there are still people struggling for basic rights in the world.  People are also terrified the rights they have today can be taken away at any point.  Ugh it’s frustrating.

Loving is the true story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple who had to fight to be together.  I doubt a more appropriate last name can be found!  It was illegal back then for a white person to be married to a black person.  They are played beautifully by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga.  They do an excellent job of conveying the anguish of their situation.  It seems crazy that interracial marriage could hurt anyone.  They marry in DC where it is legal, but cannot remain in Virginia where they live.  They are forced to move.

Richard is stoic and serious, he barely smiles.  He has the weight of the world on his shoulders.  He works hard and provides for his growing family.  Mildred is more positive and sweet.  She’s willing to do what is needed to get back to Virginia.  They end up having three children.  They constantly have to watch their backs for people who might want to arrest or harm them.  It’s a sad way to live.

They are approached by civil rights attorneys who try and help them.  One of the lawyers is played by Nick Kroll, who is so sleazy and smug I had a hard time taking him or the other lawyer, who we affectionately referred to as ” Studgy” , seriously.

In the end #lovewins.  It’s hard to understand that it took as long as it did for gay marriage to be legally accepted.   To me it’s the same thing.  Love is love.  Thankfully there are trailblazers like the Loving’s to fight for their love and families.

Pete’s Dragon (2016)

Watched: 1/25/2017

Watched with: Ken, Andrew & Belle

Pete’s Dragon is both incredibly sweet and extremely unbelievable.  You really have to look past a lot of plot.  But this movie also features Wes Bentley and Karl Urban playing brothers!  That’s enough for me!

Pete’s family is in a car accident when he is five, and in the great tradition of Disney movies, he is the only survivor.  He wanders into the forest and before getting attacked by wolves, he is rescued by a green dragon he names Elliot.  The story picks up 6 years later when a logging company threatens their home.  A nice forest ranger and her family find him.  There is also a legend about a dragon that lives in the forest that only a character played by Robert Redford believes.

At first I thought this story took place in present day but it turns out it was the 70’s.  Karl Urban plays the villain and at times it just felt sad.  I think he’s a great actor and I don’t understand why he was playing the sterotypical selfish bad guy.  At one point he is covered in dragon snot!  Karl urban you deserve better!  Elliot is great.  I loved how he was furry instead of reptilian.  He purred like a cat and acted like a dog.  My daughter would laugh and point at him.  She loved Elliot.  He cares for Pete and Pete cares for him.  They created a true family unit.

The plot holes in this movie are vast, and many.  It’s all just very hard to believe that they lived in the forest for 6 years in seclusion without being seen.  The adults in this film do a terrible job of watching the children, as a parent it just seemed extreme.  The kids run off and escape from hospitals, it’s hard to believe.  But if you can look past how crazy it all is, it’s really a sweet movie about family.  I would like an Elliot of my own.

Zoolander 2 (2016)

Watched: 1/21/2017

Watched with: Ken, Andrew, & Belle

Thus begins the return of Saturday Family Movie Night!!!  After a heated game of Uno to determine who in the family gets first pick, my husband wins picking Zoolander 2.  Not much to say about this one except what a stupid, brainless movie.  I can’t really remember the original, having watched it years ago.  The movie opens with Justin Bieber playing himself getting shot numerous times that reminded me of Bonnie and Clyde.  When this happened my son turned to me and said ” This is the best movie ever”.  Well son, I wish that was true.

The only thing worth mentioning at all, is the cameos.  There are so many it’s hard to keep track.  It became the sole purpose of watching, it was like a game.  Look there’s Katy Perry!  Look there’s Anna Wintour!  Look there is everyone else in the ENTIRE world!  I think I should also address Benedict Cumberbatch.  He plays someone named All.  He is not male or female, he is all.  He doesn’t  have eyebrows and he looks like an alien.  At one point he has wings and it’s just a lot.  My son said ” He’s fudged up” All this made me want to run and watch Sherlock.  Kristen Wiig is not even recognizable and her accent was the only thing that made me laugh.

In the end, I doubt I will ever watch this again, although I have watched the end credits roughly 50 times because my daughter enjoys dancing to the music.

Brave (2012)

Re watched: 1/19/2017

Watched With: Belle

I have a feeling that this post will go off topic and mostly be about mothers and daughters.  The princess in the film is named Merida and she’s for lack of a better word, brave.  She’s tough, adventurous and a skilled archer.  Her mother wants her to be more princess like and wants her to get married. In an effort to get her mother to change her mind about the whole marriage part, Merida gets help from a witch but instead of changing her mind, she ends up accidentally changing her mother into a bear.

I watched this for the first time with my  one year old daughter, she actually picked this movie from five choices.  I looked at her thinking, one day she’s going to get so mad at me she’s going to want to change me into a bear!  It’s very different having a daughter.  My son was first and I feel very blessed to experience raising both a son and a daughter.  But with a daughter, everything is slightly more personal.  She’s a little lady, she’s more delicate and since I have a great relationship with my own mother, I want that for us.  Speaking of my mother, Merida is her favorite Disney princess.  She likes the idea that she didn’t need a prince to rescue her.  It’s no surprise that my mom’s other favorites are Mulan and Pocohontas.  Merida is also the only Disney princess that does not break out into song, she doesn’t have time for that!

As the story progresses, Merida and her mother become closer as they try to save her from becoming a bear permanently.  In the end, they come to understand each other.  I can’t wait to one day watch this again with my daughter when she’s old enough to understand.  I hope my mother can join us.  3 generations of women, who are brave, who god willing, will not want to turn each other into bears.

A word about blogging

I’ve really enjoyed the exercise of writing this blog. I usually blog standing up at the kitchen counter while my children scream behind me. Last night my one year old cried at my feet for me to pick her up. So I did and then tried to still type while holding her. Sometimes when I read the preview section I find my mistakes and correct them. And then sometimes I find horrifying mistakes the next day and I’m embarrassed. I think for the time being I’m going to concentrate on the actual ritual of writing instead of worrying about the details. I can fix those later I suppose.  Babies need to be held and blogs need to be tended to.

Pan (2015)

Watched: 1/19/2017

Usually when I am not enjoying a movie, I turn it off.  There is no point in continuing something that you have no interest in.  But now that I’m blogging about movies, they can’t all be winners.  I need to just suck it up and make it through no matter what.  This is the first movie I have hated this year.  It is magnificently bad.  I found myself really looking forward to writing about it.   I apologize for what will likely be a bitch fest.

The only reason I was remotely interested in this was Hugh Jackman.  He wouldn’t make a terrible movie right?  Or at least he would be enjoyable in anything right?  Well this prove I was naïve.  I have said out loud that a movie that makes Hugh Jackman look ugly shouldn’t be trusted, and I should have listened to myself.  He looks awful, there’s a wig and weird facial hair.  But the most appalling thing was his bustle.  He was wearing a bustle that looked like something a woman would be wearing on the set of Tombstone.  And it’s ruffled and streampunk!  He’s Captain Blackbeard and when we meet him he’s singing with his minions, NIRVANA!  What in the world is going on here?  It makes zero sense in any way.

This will be the section dedicated to Garrett Hedlund.  It is a masterclass in terrible choices. He’s plays James Hook, the man who will eventually become Captain Hook.  We actually see him use a hook!  We also see him almost get his hand bit off by a giant croc, but at the end he’s still intact.  Also I can’t remember ever hearing that Hook was his last name.  I thought he was Captain Hook because of the hook.  There is an accent used that would best live in the world of American Horror Story: Freak Show.  It doesn’t make sense and I couldn’t figure out what it reminded me of.  In the end I decided it was a cross between Jack Nicholson’s joker and Jared Leto’s joker.  It was insanely annoying.  He was channeling Indiana Jones in his vibe and wardrobe and that was ok.  I just couldn’t get past all the mugging for the camera and the voice.

Rooney Mara is Tiger Lily and in this version she is the same age as Hook and they seem to be into each other.  Romance is hinted at although she is far to classy to be with Hook and everyone knows it.  At her camp the one cool thing happens.  Blackbeard invades the camp and the use of color is stunning.  The note I made was ” Crayola box exploded”.  If only the rest  of the movie was as colorful.

Peter is a newcomer, and honesty I can’t be bothered to look up his name.  He’s ok for a kid.  The story has Peter and Hook having a love hate bromance that seems crazy considering where they end up.  It’s forced and confusing.

The crocodile is shown briefly and it’s impressive.  I’d love to see Tick Tock: origins.  At one point there are mermaids.  Their fins glow underneath the water and it’s beautiful.  The when the mermaids come up to the surface they all have the same face and it’s Cara Delevigne!  I have a hard time with one Cara but for there to be multiple Cara’s it was too much.  This movie was all too much.  Please watch at your own risk.