tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84279210589952617082024-03-05T08:21:19.888-08:00Popcorn for Two & Books 4Ever BlogTired of inaccurate kid movie reviews written by humorless, kidless, elitist "real" movie critics? Tired of adult movie reviews written by the same? Looking for guidance on the books you MUST read?
Popcorn for Two is a blog written by two non-official movie & book critics--an ordinary mom and an ordinary daughter with an extraordinary love of books and the movies.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-81130788510962695022012-11-19T08:57:00.000-08:002012-11-19T08:57:46.821-08:00ARGO <h2>
<img alt="" border="0" height="254" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/10/12/arts/12ARGO_SPAN/12ARGO-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/10/12/arts/12ARGO_SPAN/12ARGO-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>Warner Brothers Pictures</span></h2>
<h2>
Argo By Georgia</h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Argo was AMAZING! My mom and I saw it when I was "sick" (don't tell my teachers!) and</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> it was definitely more educational than eight hours of school. I learned about the Middle Eastern crisis in 1980, when America stepped into Iran after they elected their first democratic leader. What's so wrong with that? The leader was giving Iran's oil back to the people and America and Russia wouldn't have<i> that</i>, so they stormed into Iran and gave the country a new leader. This, essentially, is what caused The Iran Hostage Crisis. But I'm sure you know about that. What America didn't know was that six diplomats escaped the American Embassy and were kept safe by Canada. The CIA decides to go in and rescue the six, and what follows is amazing!!! *WARNING: THIS MOVIE IS ALSO VERY STRESSFUL AND SLIGHTLY SCARY. THOSE WHO TEND TO SCREAM OR FAINT HAVE BEEN WARNED!*</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> Eventually Ben Affleck's character figures out how to get the six out: by making a fake movie and "scoping out" Iran for their movie. This is when Alan Arkin and John Goodman come in: as the producer and make-up artist of the fake, CIA-sponsored sci-fi movie. So, yes, this movie has funny parts, but it is also really, really stressful. The movie has a few short scenes reenacting The Hostage Crisis that are very, very, heart-pounding-out-of-your-chest-gripping-your-mom-like-you're-in-labor scary. SO GO SEE IT. NOW!!!</span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Argo by Amy </span></span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ben Affleck--welcome to the great directors club. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">In <span style="font-size: small;"><i>Argo</i>,</span> <span style="font-size: small;">Mr. Affleck both directs and star<span style="font-size: small;">s in <span style="font-size: small;">an</span> inspired by real events story as the undercover CIA operative who successfully extracted <span style="font-size: small;">five </span>American embassy empl<span style="font-size: small;">oyees in Tehran <span style="font-size: small;">during the Iran Hostage Crisis. I was eight years old when revolutionary <span style="font-size: small;">forces invaded the American Embassy in Tehran, taking all of it<span style="font-size: small;">s employees hostage, minus the five the movie focuses on who escaped undetected that day in <span style="font-size: small;">Nove<span style="font-size: small;">mber 1979 <span style="font-size: small;">only to <span style="font-size: small;">get "stuck" hiding out, sometimes literally <span style="font-size: small;">underground,</span> at the Can<span style="font-size: small;">adian Ambassador's home<span style="font-size: small;"> in Tehran</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Affleck does a brilliant job splic<span style="font-size: small;">ing <span style="font-size: small;">real<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>news foot<span style="font-size: small;">age with film footage<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> to the point <span style="font-size: small;">where </span>the view<span style="font-size: small;">er</span> sometimes can not distinguish between the two. Ev<span style="font-size: small;">en though we know going in <span style="font-size: small;">that <span style="font-size: small;">a <span style="font-size: small;">happy ending is pending, it <span style="font-size: small;">shows Affleck's directing <span style="font-size: small;">chops that you are liter<span style="font-size: small;">ally in a <span style="font-size: small;">high st<span style="font-size: small;">ate of thrilling stress for almost the entire ride of the movie. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Alan Arkin and John Goodman provide superb comi<span style="font-size: small;">c relief as the shell "production company" executives Ben Afflec<span style="font-size: small;">k<span style="font-size: small;">'s An<span style="font-size: small;">t<span style="font-size: small;">onio Mendez character needs to round out his <span style="font-size: small;">extraction ruse of scouting lo<span style="font-size: small;">cations in Iran for an upcoming scien<span style="font-size: small;">ce fiction film.<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">2012 appears to be shaping up a<span style="font-size: small;">s Goodman's comeback year<span style="font-size: small;"> with this solid performance and h<span style="font-size: small;">is scen<span style="font-size: small;">e<span style="font-size: small;">-stealing ro<span style="font-size: small;">le in "Flight" with Denzel <span style="font-size: small;">Washington. Personally, I<span style="font-size: small;">'ve been a fan since his "Roseanne" days on television.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Georgia and I saw this in a packed multi-plex and <span style="font-size: small;">almost all of the audience stayed until the very last credi<span style="font-size: small;">t rolled <span style="font-size: small;">to watch the <span style="font-size: small;">series of real news footage about the Iran Hostage <span style="font-size: small;">scro<span style="font-size: small;">ll by</span></span>. <span style="font-size: small;">The strongest feeling that lingered with me after viewing Argo<span style="font-size: small;"> was, here we <span style="font-size: small;">are, over thirty years post-Iranian Hostage Crisis, and the entire Middle East<span style="font-size: small;">, not to mention <span style="font-size: small;">Iran's <span style="font-size: small;">continuing political threat in the region with its covetous nuclear <span style="font-size: small;">ambitions</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>, appears to be on the verge of tearing itself apart.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">A<span style="font-size: small;">rgo offers us a sober and timely reminder of<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">the way "revo<span style="font-size: small;">l<span style="font-size: small;">utio<span style="font-size: small;">n" can unfold a</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>nd an uplifting story of the enduring truth that sometimes, one person, can make <span style="font-size: small;">a difference.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-40889163214182309952012-11-19T08:56:00.001-08:002012-11-19T08:56:56.181-08:00TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN PART 2<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><img height="317" id="il_fi" src="http://movietavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/tbd.jpeg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="214" /><br />
Summit Entertainment<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Breaking Dawn Part 2 by Georgia</span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> "OH YEAH! TEAM JACOB!" Is an example of what I <i>did not</i> scream as soo<span style="font-size: small;">n as Taylor Lautner, A<span style="font-size: small;">KA Jacob Black, went on screen. However, my mom did yell "<span style="font-size: small;">eight minutes!" when Taylor <span style="font-size: small;">L</span>autner took his shirt off, about eight minutes into the film.<span style="font-size: small;"> We also laughed a lot. But this isn't a feel-good family mo<span style="font-size: small;">v</span>ie--this is the FINALE of the beloved <span style="font-size: small;">(and hated) film series: <i>Twilight. </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I admit it<span style="font-size: small;">:</span> I did read the b<span style="font-size: small;">o<span style="font-size: small;">oks as the series was coming off its pedestal (to <span style="font-size: small;">be replaced by t<span style="font-size: small;">he Hunger Ga<span style="font-size: small;">mes) and I sort of understand why people (teenage girls<span style="font-size: small;">/moms) like it (<span style="font-size: small;">*cough cough </span><b>romance</b>.*) Sure, there's romance. Edwards a vampire. But the writing...<span style="font-size: small;">*twitch<span style="font-size: small;">ing</span> in agony* and the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT....</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> But I'm not<span style="font-size: small;"> here to talk about the books, which S<span style="font-size: small;">tephanie Meyer is making millions of<span style="font-size: small;">f of.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> I'm going to <span style="font-size: small;">discuss the highly-publicized movie with "a twist ending,"</span><i> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i>as advertised in the trailer. <i><span style="font-size: small;">H</span>ow can they possibly create a "twist ending" if you've read the books??? </i>I <span style="font-size: small;">ranted repeatedly to<span style="font-size: small;"> my mother. <i>If they changed the ending even a little bit, a bunch of vicious Twi<span style="font-size: small;">h</span>ards would murder ever<span style="font-size: small;">yone who had anything to do with<span style="font-size: small;"> the movie.</span></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Well, I won't tell you the twi<span style="font-size: small;">st ending, but there's nothing to fear<span style="font-size: small;">, <span style="font-size: small;">T</span>wihards</span></span></span></span></span>. There's the magical vampire sex you guys have been waiting for<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">; </span>Jacob's cre<span style="font-size: small;">epy protective-pedophile love<span style="font-size: small;"> over Renes<span style="font-size: small;">mee<span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="font-size: small;"> O</span>h yeah there's <span style="font-size: small;">Renesm<span style="font-size: small;">ee<span style="font-size: small;">,<span style="font-size: small;"> too--</span>Bella's fast g<span style="font-size: small;">rowing human/vampire daughter. The best, least inappropriate<span style="font-size: small;">, sort of sweet scenes are the one<span style="font-size: small;">s with Bella and Renesm<span style="font-size: small;">ee. She's de<span style="font-size: small;">finit<span style="font-size: small;">e</span>ly got</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size: small;">the maternal thing down.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;">Yes</span>...the movie still has a <span style="font-size: small;">cheesy special <span style="font-size: small;">e</span>ffects, lines, and acting<span style="font-size: small;">, but who cares, right? Let's give <span style="font-size: small;">Mrs. M<span style="font-size: small;">eyers another billion so she can have <span style="font-size: small;">a house in Italy, and <span style="font-size: small;">Billy J<span style="font-size: small;">oe Armstrong <span style="font-size: small;">needs his fence painted, apparently, because he wrote <span style="font-size: small;">AND SUNG <span style="font-size: small;">one of the songs in the cre<span style="font-size: small;">dits<span style="font-size: small;">!<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> And I <span style="font-size: small;">totally called it in the credits!<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">I said: "M<span style="font-size: small;">om! That Billy Joe A<span style="font-size: small;">rmstrong! That's Greenday!" Mom</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>: "No! It can't<span style="font-size: small;"> be!" FIVE MINUTES OF CR<span style="font-size: small;">EDITS LATER<span style="font-size: small;">...Me: "It is! Ha! I called it!" Listen to it<span style="font-size: small;">, I beg of you:</span></span></span></span> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-A2mnRBDTU&feature=autoplay&list=PLSAAn8VWf90nzy65ldYA79GvOA7e6zkOC&playnext=4">(Greenday's Twilight Song <span style="font-size: small;">) </span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> In<span style="font-size: small;"> the end, se<span style="font-size: small;">e this movie if you want a good laug<span style="font-size: small;">h or if you actually enjoy th<span style="font-size: small;">ese mov<span style="font-size: small;">ies</span></span> or if you have nothing else to see.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Breaking Dawn Part 2 by Amy </span></b></span><br />
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During a film, I am always the shusher. If you break out your cellphone to check an email or a text during my few minutes of total abandonment of all responsibility other than watching a movie, you will hear me ask you, politely, to please turn off your phone as it's distracting.<br />
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At Breaking Dawn Part 2, which my darling Georgia dragged me to see, I became the "shushed."<br />
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I did not come to the film with an open mind. I came to it with a closed mind, an annoyed mind that so many had found the poorly written Twilight books compelling reading, and, in complete disclosure, a jealous mind--why can't millions of people like my own book, huh??? I know, I don't have a weird love triangle, or vampires, or wolves. <br />
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I am not a fan of vampire movies. The last one I saw was Interview with a Vampire and that had Tom Cruise (before he was abducted in to Scientology) and Brad Pitt (before he grew facial hair).<br />
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But here is what I found interesting about this final installment--Bella, at last, does things besides look mopey and wait for her two boy toys to save the day. She is rather kick-ass in all her newborn vampire strength, though I could have done without the "I must feed off the blood of any animal I can find" scenes.<br />
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From a parental standpoint, I questioned the PG-13 rating. As Georgia mentions above, there are several scenes of vampire sex. Bella & Edward are having lots of it. They can't get enough of it. Am I just getting to be an old fart longing for the PG movies of John Hughes with their long, drawn out kisses and smoldering sexuality?<br />
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When we got to the epic battle scenes between the Cullen clan and all the cute wolves against the Volturi, I admit I was gripped. It was great film-making. Tension-filled. Both Georgia and I were freaking out. <br />
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And then came the much touted "twist ending" which should have been called "The twist ending that they chicken out of at the last minute which results in the most over-used trite ending." <br />
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When I expressed my outraged opinion about the ending-within-an ending vocally in the theater, I got shushed. I marred the viewing experience for some middle-aged Twihard.<br />
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And for that, I'm sorry.<br />
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But I'm sorrier still that I caved to my teenager and spent $16 to see the damn thing. <br />
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<h2>
</h2>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-72335734234789792082012-10-17T09:10:00.004-07:002012-10-17T09:13:55.622-07:00Pitch Perfect--RUN do not walk to the movie theater<img height="300" id="il_fi" src="http://cdn04.cdn.justjared.com/wp-content/uploads/headlines/2012/08/pitch-perfect-posters.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="300" /> <br />
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<h2>
We took our whole gang to see <b>Pitch Perfect-</b>a movie about dueling acappella collegiate groups--over its opening weekend. Here's the official polling:</h2>
Gracie, 9--thumbs up<br />
Gia, 5--double thumbs up, plus toes up<br />
Georgia, 13--double thumbs up, plus toes up<br />
Wendy, 51--double thumbs up<br />
Amy, 41--triple thumbs up, plus toes up, plus everything else<br />
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<h2>
<b>Top 10 Reasons Why Georgia & Amy Think You Need to See Pitch Perfect</b></h2>
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10. The Breakfast Club is making a come back.<br />
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9. The screenplay appears to have been written by intelligent, funny human beings who were not consuming large amounts of Red Bull or beer while writing it.<br />
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8. Lead female character is a tech whiz. Can anyone recall the last time we saw a female lead with that background? She makes music magic happen from her laptop.<br />
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7. It's like the first season of Glee except set in college. And with Rebel Winston. Is the plot terribly original? No. Do you care? No. Is the singing good? No. It's AWESOME. Who knew Anna Kendrick, the lead, used to sing on Broadway? I had only seen her in her great performance with George Clooney in Up In The Air.<br />
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6. Almost all the characters are girls. And they're funny. *gasps*<br />
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5. Rebel Winston. It's as if Lucille Ball, Bill Murray, John Belushi, and Gilda Radner had a baby together. <br />
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4. Did we mention Rebel Winston?<br />
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3. There's a sort-of-mean-girl but she's not catty. *more gasps* She's just controlling! Yay!<br />
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2. This movie is for ANYONE who likes ANY kind of comedy--sarcastic comedy, American comedy, Australian comedy, The Hangover-esque comedy (yes, there's a specific category for those people,) etc.<br />
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1. If you want to spend one hundred and twelve minutes with unique, funny characters saying hilarious things with good music pumping in the background, Pitch Perfect is the <b>aca</b>-antidote to everything else in the movie theaters right now.<br />
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Georgia's Reasoning</h3>
Okay, for anyone who knows me, they know I'm sorta geeky. For those who don't, you know now. Here's my geeky calculations: IF THIS MOVIE IS NUMBER ONE (OR TWO OR THREE,) AMERICANS WILL HAVE TO REALIZE THAT WOMEN CAN ACTUALLY BE FUNNY!!!! IT'S MIND-BOTTLING! (That's not a spelling error--if you've seen <i>Blades of Glory</i> you'd understand.) Anyways, AMERICA WILL ALSO HAVE TO REALIZE YOU CAN BE CHUBBY, SKINNY, BLONDE, BLACK, LATINA, AND STILL BE FUNNY! THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR FACE LOOKS LIKE--IT'S THE WORDS COMING FROM IT THAT MATTER. I'm pretty sure that's a quote from an eighties movie. Maybe. Probably not.<br />
So support the movement! Go tell everyone you know about Pitch Perfect and send them RUNNING--not walking--TO THEIR NEAREST MOVIE THEATER. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-81209127256186952292012-06-03T16:53:00.000-07:002012-06-03T18:40:51.350-07:00Snow White and the Huntsman<h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Snow White & the Huntsman by Georgia</span></span></h2>
VICTORY TO QUEEN STEWART! I love, love, <i>loved</i> Snow White and the Huntsman!!! It was dark, but beautiful and powerful at the same time. In this movie, Snow White has been locked up by the evil queen (Charlize Theron, who deserves an Oscar for this role!) because of her fairness and beauty. But she escapes and befriends the drunken Huntsman who was sent to capture her.<br />
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But enough about the storyline, here's what I think: go see it. If you are over eleven years old, go see it. There's a great heroine (who just happens to be the awesome and beautiful Kristen Stewart!) for teenage girls (and boys,) there's Chris Hemsworth (Thor) for any Hemsworth fans, there's violence for the action movie lovers, and there's a bit of romance. A BIT, mind you. This ain't Twilight.<br />
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Before I end my post, I'd like to say a brief rant: I AM SO ANGRY AT ALL THE STUPID MALE CRITICS WHO HATED THIS MOVIE!!!!!!! Not all the male critics hated it, but most did. They thought it had way too much "overacting" and that Stewart wasn't "right" for the role of the kick-butt heroine with a pure side. REALLY? Was it the fact that she actually had CLOTHES ON or that you don't think she's PRETTY enough for the role??? Is it hard to see a fully-clothed girl actually doing something? Well, welcome to the 21st Century! Cough, cough, Katniss!! Anyways, the movie was great, no matter what the stupid critics say. GO SEE IT!!!!<br />
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<b>SNOW WHITE and THE HUNTSMAN-<span style="font-size: large;">-Amy's review</span></b><br />
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I feel like I had been waiting my whole life to see this movie. </div>
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Pause for reflection--I grew up in libraries. Mostly old Oklahoma libraries, filled with musty books and crisp, new books and paintings you could check out to hang on your walls at home for two weeks, which my mother did. It was on the shelves of the Lawton Public Library that I discovered Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory when I was ten. The original King Arthur story captivated me. I had been a big fan of the Wizard of Oz books and the Arthur legend blew my young mind-the drama of the knights’ escapades, the beauty of the women, the lavish banquets, the scope of it all. I then read every variation on it I could find and eventually, years later, found the Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. This was the re-telling of the Arthur story from the perspective of the women and it was as if I had found a new universe hidden within a treasured tale, a universe dominated by strong women.</div>
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This brings us to the movies. In the 1970s and 1980s, women could play superheroes on TV. Wonder Woman was one of my favorites. As was the Bionic Woman. I had the action figure doll for both. My collection also included Wonder Woman’s invisible jet. It was made of clear plastic so it was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sort </i>of invisible. Here’s the rub though—none of the films at the movie theater of my childhood featured female superhero leads. And now that I’ve crested the hill of forty with three daughters coming up behind me, we’re still waiting for a female superhero to carry a movie.</div>
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Screw superheroes.<br />
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Who needs them in 2012 when the gods of cinema have given us Katniss Everdeen in Hunger Games and Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron as good/evil Queens in Snow White and the Huntsman? </div>
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I hereby declare 2012 the Year of the Powerful-Yet Empathetic-Strong-Yet Kind-Kick Ass Leader Girl. In Snow White and the Huntsman, Universal Studios gives us a princess to love. The new and improved Snow White is the type of princess we wouldn't mind our daughters growing up to be. </div>
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Kristen Stewart’s Snow White is the strong, silent type. I’ve read reviews of this movie in major national papers and saw an interesting trend. The majority of male reviewers, though not all, complain about Stewart. One didn't think she was “pretty enough” next to Charlize Theron. Many said she was "ill-suited" for the role. And my response is, I think they would have liked Stewart better if she wore a push-up bra and showed a little cleavage instead of being costumed in modest outfits best suited for, you know, traipsing through the forest and sword fighting. What was that three-time Oscar-winner Collen Atwood costume designer thinking?</div>
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Stewart is a new kind of Snow White. She is a slight girl with expressive eyes and at first glance seems an unlikely choice to take back a kingdom from the likes of the powerful evil Queen. Her appearance reminds me--in their shared "delicate" appearance-- of freed Burmese/Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi , who like Snow, is the only daughter of a king--in Ms. Kyi's case her father was the "King" of modern Burma. Though small in stature, Aung San Suu Kyi has inspired a nation to rise up against oppression and won a Nobel Peace Prize in the process.</div>
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Stewart works because we’re intrigued by how this fragile-looking young woman will face the awesome task in front of her. She’s the literal underdog, half a foot shorter than model-height Theron. Sheer force alone will not be the way Snow wins. It’s not possible. </div>
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Conceived in love by her Queen and King parents, the scenes of Snow as a young child show her nascent leadership abilities and how her childhood best friend William, the Duke’s son, is clearly besotted with her. When Snow’s life slips in to tragedy after both parents die and the evil Ravenna—played brilliantly by Charlize Theron—locks her in the tower for years on end, one understands that basic chit-chat is not something Snow does. </div>
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When Snow escapes and the chase storyline kicks in, Stewart convincingly undergoes a </div>
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metamorphosis from terrified young girl to a composed leader ready to wrest her father’s kingdom back from the darkness that has fallen across it during Ravenna’s reign. The movie pulls pieces of the original Disney film into its elaborate, innovative, visually dazzling whirl.</div>
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The scene where Stewart goes toe to ugly toe with a giant troll is one of my favorites. She hollers back at him just as he is hollering at her and stares him down with an openness in her eyes that lets him know she sees him, really sees him, and perhaps understands whatever misery he’s endured that has landed him the unfortunate job of consumer of bridge crossers.</div>
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Romance is secondary in the film. Snow is loved by the Duke’s son William who does all he can to rescue her and fight with her but, as Georgia said to me, the movie is not called “Snow White and The Duke’s Son.” Chris Hemsworth of “Thor” plays the huntsman hired by Ravenna to bring back Snow so the Evil Queen can remove her young heart. And then eat it for a light snack because that how Ravenna rolls.<br />
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The scene where the Huntsman finds Snow in the Dark Forest and they see each other for the first time is handled well by both Hemsworth and Stewart. He is shocked to find such a young girl as his prey and she is unsure of his intentions. But there is something that runs between them in that instant which, I hope, we’ll see explored in more depth in the sequel. </div>
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The Huntsman then switches sides and becomes part of the swelling ranks of those supporting Snow in her bid to take back the kingdom. The beach scenes where her army is descending upon the castle are stunning-- banners flying, horses’ hooves kicking up the surf, Kristen Stewart on a white horse in full chain mail transformed in to a purposeful Joan of Arc. It has been years since we’ve seen a sweeping, saga kind of movie done on this scale with real, animate objects versus special effects. Though the movie uses plenty of those as well.</div>
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And now, for the Queen. <img height="320" id="il_fi" src="http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/snow-white-and-the-huntsman-charlize-theron-uni.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="550" /></div>
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Charlize Theron accomplishes the mighty task of embodying pure evil and </div>
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darkness in one beautiful package while also giving us insight in to the cruelties she endured as a young child that led her own mother to slice her hand, put drops of her blood into a bowl of milk and force Ravenna to drink it while placing a spell on her that her beauty would protect her, it would be her power over men, including the men pillaging her home village and taking away her mother. </div>
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On their wedding night, Snow’s father is on top of Ravenna in bed and says, “You will be the ruin of me, Ravenna,” with a smile on his face, bewitched by her beauty and thrilled to have her as his own. Her response is chilling, “Another king ruined me a long time ago.” The implication being she has endured rape, most likely, and the loss of her mother during another King’s war.</div>
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There are layers to this story that speak to our modern day wars, to the travesties committed against women and children, particularly girls, in the name of religion, natural resources, or ancestral lands. What does it say about our current culture that the plight of women and girls in parts of the world, indeed even within the borders of our own country, is no better than what the young Ravenna endured?</div>
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And so I understood Ravenna’s rage and how the evil committed against her turned and twisted her own psyche. But I didn’t like her and spent many of the scenes detailing her ghastly beauty and eating habits with my head turned away from the screen, as did Georgia. </div>
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In the ultimate scene between Ravenna and Snow, Stewart communicates that she understands what Ravenna endured, that their initial situations-orphaned girls displaced by war—were the same. But how they responded to the evils done against them is the difference. </div>
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Snow is, in the end, a warrior. She understands herself to be the rightful ruler of her kingdom. And so she does what warriors do.</div>
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This movie is not for the under twelve set. It is dark, explicitly violent in certain scenes and disturbing. But for young adults and grownups, it could be one of the most gorgeous, inventive, thrilling movies you see this year. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-63146105881565998412012-03-24T12:04:00.002-07:002012-03-27T18:10:24.081-07:00The Hunger Games!!!!!!!<h2><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Hunger Games by Georgia</span></h2><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Ohmygodohmygodohmgod (*hyperventilating!*) </span> </span>I AM IN SHOCK RIGHT NOW, AND IT IS NOT JUST BECAUSE OF JOSH HUTCHERSON'S HOTNESS. The Hunger Games was <b><i>EPIC</i></b><i>!</i> I've read all the books a billion times and this was so true to it!<br />
Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing actress. Seriously. She is now my official role model!! In one scene in the movie, her hands were literally shaking in pain. She's <i>that</i> good. Josh Hutcherson was really good, too, but he didn't top Jennifer.<br />
To get this over with, I'll say the mess-ups first (have no fear, there's not many.) Okay, first of all, Haymitch wasn't the drunk pervert he was in the book. They made him look all nice and <i>secure.</i> Haymitch is freaking messed up, people! Also, it completely left out the part when *spoiler alert* Peeta's leg gets amputated and he gets a prosthetic leg. But I can kind of understand why they cut that.And...wait a minute...I can't rant. Something isn't right...I can't rant abut this movie! This is a good sign! Hooray! (That is amazing, considering I can rant about pretty much anything and <i>everything</i>.)<br />
Overall, the movie was a bunch of epicness. PURE. EPICNESS. If you haven't read the book, read it, and then see the movie. It's not like you can't understand the movie without reading the book, but you should read the book. (And, if you were wondering, I <i>am</i> telling you nothing about the storyline for a reason: read the book. Watch the trailer. I'm just here to tell you how AWESOME it was.) And it was awesome. See "The Hunger Games" today. Seriously. Go. Now. And <i>may the odds be ever in your favor.</i><br />
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<h2 style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;"><b>The Hunger Games by Amy</b></h2><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">May I just say how grateful I am as a mother to Suzanne Collins for giving my daughters someone in popular culture besides Bella Swan of Twilightdom?<b> </b>I'm going to start this review with my experience as a reader. Due to Georgia's obsessive love of the Hunger Games series and her months of joyful anticipation in the lead-up to the movie version, I was brought kicking and screaming to the book The Hunger Games. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Seriously--what parent wants to read a book about kids having to kill each other for sport? Not this parent. No, sir. Thank you very much. But Georgia said I "had to read the book before the movie comes out" so I bowed to my daughter's will and last summer I read the first book in the series out loud with Georgia.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> From a reading perspective, I credit the author with creating memorable characters and putting them in ridiculously compelling situations that leave the reader with no choice but to keep turning the pages. Bravo, Ms. Collins. I would give a lot to have one-tenth of the impact this story has had on its readers. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What I found problematic about the book was primarily lazy writing--I would frequently edit the lines as I read them, to the dismay and annoyance of Georgia--and the violence which is such a central part of the story. And there is a lot of violence. I also found Katniss's ignorance of her potential suitor Peeta's feelings unbelievable in the book. The girl is smart and intuitive, not clueless as Collins's portray hers in matters of the heart.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Okay--so THE MOVIE. First off, I viewed it on an IMAX screen. In my opinion, if you're going to see an action movie like this, you might as well fork over the bucks and see it on an epic screen. I can count on one hand the number of book to film adaptations that have surpassed the book's vision. The Hunger Games is one of those.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The script is clean and free of some of the lazy writing that annoyed me in the book, though there are a a couple of scenes where the screenwriting crew--which included the author--gave up too easily. I am thrilled to say however that "You got this" is no where in the movie. Thank you. I would like to petition that the expression be banned from all future films, tv shows, and the mouths of humans everywhere. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jennifer Lawerence IS Katniss. From the first shot, she embodies the character. She is comforting her little sister Primrose who has had a bad dream--a very bad dream that will come true the next day--and Lawerence manages to exude compassionate, kind, loving strength in one deft swoop. Lawerence is able to express a range of emotions on her face without being obvious about it. Instead, the viewer feel as if she is observing a real reaction to a series of unbelievably awful events. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There is a quietness to Katniss--she does not like to talk. She is a doer. And it's wonderful to see the interaction between Lawerence and her primary love interest Peeta, played by the talented and adorable Josh Hutcherson (see Georgia's gushing above). Peeta is a talker, he chatters on about all sorts of things and Katniss merely observes, calculating the unknown of the Capitol when they journey there for the Hunger Games. It is a refreshing turn to see the boy being the chatty Cathy and the girl being the stoic.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The actors make this movie--Stanley Tucci as the Ryan Seacrest of the Games, Elizabeth Banks as the strange and perky District 12 hostess, Woody Harrelson as the alcoholic with a heart of gold District 12 mentor. The landscapes of the poor districts are suitably bleak and shot on location in North Carolina. The landscape of the Capitol provides a futuristic take--citizens here are rich and well cared for by the government--they wear bright colors and dye their dogs an eye-popping pink. Their strangely clad masses cheering and chanting on the eve of the games is disturbing, they can't wait for the bloodbath to begin.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The movie makes the political realities of this dystopian future more real than the book. The thumb of the oppressive government is expressed through Donald Sutherland's character President Snow. I suppose this is an unfair comparison for the book given the range of Mr. Sutherland's abilities to look crazy and inhumane while pruning roses.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The violence is intense and I had to look away several times during the battles within "the arena," though it does feel more restrained than it did in the book and if the restraint was only caused by the filmmakers desire for a PG-13 rating than I say hooray for PG-13. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Hunger Games feels revolutionary. It is a cultural moment. Boys, girls, men, & women are filling the theaters and talking about the movie afterwards. I have not read the next two books in the series and won't be. According to Georgia, the violence increases and Katniss's character loses her sense of self.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I think I'll also call it a day with film number one. A film where a young female lead triumphs over adversity, saves her family and sparks a political revolution all while fully clothed? That's my kind of movie. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">P.S. Georgia did not share her biggest disappointment with the movie-there was no shirtless scene involving Mr. Hutcherson. Perhaps Catching Fire?</div><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </b><i> </i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-20417324272051751722012-02-29T18:40:00.000-08:002012-02-29T18:40:02.909-08:00Journey 2: The Mysterious Island<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">JOSH HUTCHERSON AS PEETA MELLARK!!!!!</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: large;">Journey 2: The Mysterious Island by Georgia</span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Yep, I saw Journey 2--and not just because Josh Hutcherson was in it! Okay, a little--but mostly because I saw Journey 1 and thought it was really good. The second one was almost as good as the first one, the only flaws being that Vanessa Hudgens' tank top took a little roller coaster ride throughout the movie (by roller coaster ride, I mean that it just got lower and higher on her chest and hips--which were exposed A LOT. Not the whole chest, FYI.) </span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"> So here's the story--Sean is back and he broke into a satellite facility to get a message about the Mysterious Island from his grandfather. Magically, his step-father was in the navy and can read code. They figure out the coordinates--with several references to three island books--and go to an island near there. On this island, they get a ride from Gabato--a foolish and slightly offensive (not the actual character, but how he was portrayed) Hispanic man and his "beautiful" daughter, Kailani (Hudgens.) Of course, there's a dramatic minute scene where Kailani steps into view and Sean (Hutcherson) gawks dramatically--that was another small flaw and clich</span><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">é. Anyway, Gabato has a run-down helicopter that they get on and they go off to the island! What happens next? Go see the movie!!</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Journey 2: The Mysterious Island by Amy</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Any movie with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has got to be entertaining, right? Sort of. The highlight of the film for me was seeing him do the "Pec-Pop of Love," which you can see for free in the movie trailers. Just FYI. My 5 year old can do a pretty decent imitation. Ditto FYI.</span></span></span></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Let's be serious about why Georgia wanted to see this movie. She bugged me, in fact, until I took her. It wasn't The Rock. It was Josh Hutcherson. She admitted as much in her review. And he is a cutie. He comes across as intelligent and rebellious and beefcakey all at the same time. Unlike some actors formerly known as werewolves, who missed the intelligent part. </span></span></span></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My main beef with the film is the ridiculous costuming of the lone female character-whose primary function is to hang around looking annoyed. Georgia mentions this above so I won't belabor the skimpiness of Vanessa Hudgens's outfit. But I will mention that the clearly male camera crew, director, and film editors must have felt that Vanessa had a really nice backside because there is a full-on shot of it as she is extracting herself from a cave. And it's not a glancing shot--they hold the shot long enough for you to really try and appreciate her butt. Why they felt this was an interesting camera angle for the audience is one of the great unsolved film mysteries destined never to be solved. We wouldn't want to actually look at her face as she's trying to heave ho out of the cave, right? </span></span></span></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Wait for the DVD on this one, folks. Trust me. Unless you have a teenage daughter. Then let her go by herself and you can see The Artist. </span></span> </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> </span></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-46781968113866288942012-02-29T18:01:00.000-08:002012-02-29T18:01:12.015-08:00My Name is Mina by David Almond<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">My Name is Mina by David Almond (Reviewed by Georgia)</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"> I know I've been ranting a lot lately, so here's a happy, non-critical--really, no criticism, I swear--review of My Name is Mina. Mina is a ten or eleven year old girl who has a wonderful view of the world--she loves birds and she's home schooled, so she has lots of free time to admire the sky (and birds.) She loves to write silly little poems and she loves word play. If you had a daughter, you would want her to be like Mina. Though Almond implies that Mina might have a learning disability, I interpreted she just didn't like school. Her journal--written in "her" handwriting"--is full of "extraordinary activities" where she suggests simply looking at the night sky a certain way or writing one word one page. There is a story, too, not just activities, so don't worry. My Name is Mina is actually a prequel to <i>Skellig</i>, which was published a long time ago. I tried to read Skellig, but it was depressing and creepy. Just read My Name is Mina. It's really good.</span> </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-61279540361756226362012-02-28T21:20:00.000-08:002012-02-28T21:20:57.210-08:00Twilight vs. Hunger Games<span style="font-size: large;">The Twilight Saga vs. The Hunger Games</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Oh, yes. It seems ever blog with a teenager (and some blogs without) are blogging about how people are "comparing the Hunger Games to Twilight" and how it is "unacceptable." Okay, those aren't actual quotes from real blogs, but that's what they're saying. And as a teenager who <i>has</i> a book blog, I feel it my duty to write about this incredible controversial topic. Here we go.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Note: To all Twilight or Hunger Games haters or lovers, this is an unbiased account of The Hunger Games vs. Twilight. It may contain *spoiler alerts.* Enjoy.</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i>And so we begin...I will first state the differences of these two series. It's pretty easy: Bella doesn't do anything until the end of the last book; Katniss kicks butt until<b><i> </i></b> </span></span>the end of the last book (she's completely crazy by then.) Peeta is a very likable baker boy who doesn't have a thirst for Katniss's blood; Edward is really creepy and a creeper, though he seems to have a sensitive side once he falls in love with her (after he dumps her in the woods, of course.) Jacob is just a hot werewolf who comforts Bella; Gale is just a hot rebel best friend who comforts Katniss. (Okay, that one was kind of similar.)<br />
Onto the similarities (and I assure you, there <i>are</i> many.) First similarity: the writing. No need to gasp, I will explain. This writing is the level of what a fourteen-year-old could write (no offense to writing fourteen-year-olds, of course. Rock on! Or--write on!) Anyway, it sounds like basic writing because Stephanie Meyer states Bella's every thought and movement, while Suzanne Collins is just lazy. Examples:<br />
<i>I walk into the cafeteria. I get lunch. Yum, yum: mac-and-cheese! I sit next to Edward. He looks super hot today. So, so, hot. He flashes me my favorite smile of his and I almost sigh. God, what a hot vampire. Alice sits down. She looks pretty today. She wears a black tank top and jeans.</i><br />
<i> "Hey Bella," she says. I reply, "hi Alice." She smiles. "I knew you'd say that." Vampires rock!</i><br />
<b>Peeta hands me some flowers and I look at them confusedly.</b><br />
<b> "What are these for?" I ask, rather confused. Peeta can be extremely odd sometimes.</b><br />
<b> "They're for you, " he says. Why would Peeta give me flowers?? We're in the hunger games! I'm going to have to kill him! Then I remember: the fake romance we've created must go on.</b><br />
<b> "Thank you!" I say, and pretend to be super excited. He smiles, and it looks so convincing! Peeta is such a good actor. I could never be that good. I hate my life. </b><br />
You can probably guess which example was for which book. (Hint: the one in bold was told from the point of view from Katniss Everdeen.) Meyers lacks basic sentence structure and describes everything in way too much detail. In my example, I was trying too hard to point out the fact that I'M SITTING AT A LUNCH TABLE WITH EDWARD AND ALICE CULLEN! It kind of <i>screams </i>what I'm trying to point out. Collins, however, changes Katniss's tone too much during the book. Sometimes she sounds extremely depressed, sometimes she sounds like she's on drugs, sometimes she even sounds English! (As you saw in my example.) In my example, she goes from very oblivious to very English to oblivious again to adoring to depressed. Also, I used confused <i>twice</i> in one paragraph. That is BASIC LAZINESS! No good author uses the same word in a paragraph, much less a chapter! Especially an adjective or adverb, like confused and confusedly. The second huge similarity with these two series: by the end of the book, you end up disliking (or hating) the heroine. (If Bella Swan can even be called a heroine, that is.) I didn't like Bella by the end of the series because she DIDN'T do anything (until the end!) She's like: I'm so happy. I'm a teenage vampire, I'm a eternally beautiful, and I have an immortal daughter who I birthed at age eighteen! Nice message, Stephanie Meyers. <b></b>I didn't like Katniss by the end because she tried to commit suicide at least three times and was totally okay with being ditched by Gale. Collins actually had the opposite problem with her ending then Meyers; Breaking Dawn's ending was much too happy and Mockingjay's ending was much too sad. *Major spoiler alert* DID PRIM REALLY HAVE TO DIE? DID SHE, Suzanne Collins?! No! DID NO ONE REALLY HAVE TO DIE IN YOUR BOOK, STEPHANIE MEYERS? I honestly think one of the vampire should've somehow died. A death (or deaths) bring a sense of ending to series. But no, Twilight had to have a fairytale ending where no one died! And the Hunger Games had to have an ending where everyone died! The last reason The Hunger Games trilogy and the Twilight "saga" are similar is because of a huge mistake that both authors made: they tried to make a broken character, and seriously failed at it. Definition of a broken character: a character who is sad and/or lonely and/or depressed because something horrible happened to them.<em> i.e: Gaia Stone is a broken character because she's watched her love interest be beaten, her mother</em> <em>die in childbirth, and because her little sister was taken away from her.</em> Congratulations, Caragh O'Brien. With Stephanie Meyers, she tried to make Bella broken when Edward ditched her.Instead, she looked pitiful and sad by lying down in the woods and waiting for someone to rescue. (Just a note: there's a hilarious Bella vs. Katniss spoof on youtube--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHd1wdHakIc) With Katniss, Collins tries to make her look broken because in Mockingjay, Peeta goes crazy and her mom and Gale ditch her and her sister dies. Really happy ending, right? Anyways, she ends up looking crazy, bipolar, and suicidal rather than broken.<br />
In conclusion, The Hunger Games and the Twilight Saga both have HUGE flaws. I think you got that. But they still are two great stories, so read them! Most people aren't as critical as me, so you'll get so enthralled in the story that you won't notice the bad writing!<br />
Also: I think that if JK Rowling helped out Meyers and Collins with their writing and Meyers helped Collins with her final ending and Collins helped Meyers with <em>her</em> final ending, the books would be a lot better. Over and out.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-89163947675130691612012-02-13T21:06:00.000-08:002012-02-13T21:06:45.146-08:00Matched by Ally Condie<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Matched by Ally Condie (reviewed by Georgia)</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you've ever heard of <i>Matched, </i>by Ally Condie, you probably thought what I was thinking:<i> *sigh* another dystopian book?? </i>Yes, well, I read it anyway and it was super super good. It </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">had more romance in the first book than in The Hunger Games, and Cassia (the main character) wasn't totally oblivious to Ky and Xander's love. Ky and Xander being the two love interests, of course. Xander: the cute best friend who the government has "Matched" her with. Ky: the cute love interest who could have been Cassia's Match. Cassia: at first she loves the Society (her government) but she soon discovers dark things about them from Ky, and realizes what she's been oblivious to. After Ky gets taken away from her borough, she decides to fight the government. I think that it's a brilliant first book, and I can't wait to read Crossed and whatever book comes next!</span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-53423704211093434022012-02-10T23:02:00.000-08:002012-02-10T23:02:37.823-08:00The Friday Book Award<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Friday Book Award (FBA) By Georgia</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <span style="font-size: small;"> Every Friday I will try to present one FBA, though I cannot guarantee I'll do it <i>every</i> Friday. Today the FBA is Top Five Worst Heroines of the 2000's. Enjoy! Note: I've decided to add brief explanations</span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">1. Bella Swan (from Twilight)-Yes, her. First of all, choose between the freakin' werewolf and vampire! Or just kill them both! Jeez. Second of all, she honestly doesn't <i>do</i> anything but kiss Edward and Jacob until the last book. (And that's <i>way</i> in the last book.)</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">2. Katniss Everdeen (from the Hunger Games)- I know she was on the Top Five Best Heroines, but she's also </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">naïve and suicidal in by Mockingjay. (Not to mention Suzanne Collin's <i>horrific</i> and lazy writing.)</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">3.Tiger (from the unpopular book, Fish)-Where to start? She's a </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">naïve</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> little ten or eleven or nine year old (is it not sad that I don't even know how old she is) who wants to save this fish as she, her parents, and "The Guide" go on a long journey. Pathetic writing, from start to finish.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">4. Jenna Fox (from the Adoration of Jenna Fox)- Okay, so I was confused throughout the whole book. Jenna has amnesia from this accident that no one talks about, so in the first half off the book you know nothing about her. Then she figures it out and cries when she finds out her pretty little legs and blond hair and everything but 10% of her brain are *spoiler alert* <i>fake. </i>She had the perfect life...and then she almost died in a car crash along with her two besties. (Cough, cough, <i>clich</i></span><i><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">é</span></i><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">.) Sorry Ms. Pearson, but try third person next time.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">5. Honor (from The Other Side of the Island)-I <i>loove </i>the government so, so much! They could never do anything wrong! La la la...She honestly is worshipping the government until the last chapter. Wake up, all ready!! </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sorry about the longness of this entry. I kinda went on a rant. I feel so bad about being so bitter. Oh well. I recommend this website if you agree with me: </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">bookriot.com/2012/01/what-would-insert-ya-heroine-here-do/</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next week: Top Five Best Heroes!!!</span></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="color: black;"><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-30167735693970914022012-02-10T21:42:00.000-08:002012-02-10T21:42:05.232-08:00<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Georgia's Review on <b><span style="font-style: italic;">The Night Circus, </span>by Erin M<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">orgenstern</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;">The Night Circus </span><span style="font-size: small;">is a wonderful young adult fantasy romance about two magicians, set in the late 1800's and early 1900'<span style="font-family: georgia;">s. It follows the life of Celia and Marco, two young magicians entered in a dangerous magic game. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;"><i>Le Cirque <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">des</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Rêves</span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">is where this game plays out, though Celia and Marco are not aware they are each others competition. It is a dark, magical, modern fairytale and I sincerely recommend it to anyone who enjoys tales of magic who's over twelve years old, since it </span><span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;">is </span><span style="font-size: small;">dark and romantic. It's a fabulous story!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;">Georgia's Review on <b><span style="font-style: italic;">The Adoration of Jenna Fox/The Fox Inheritance </span>by Mary E. Pearson</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;">The Adoration of Jenna Fox </span><span style="font-size: small;">is a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">dystopian</span> young adult novel about a girl named Jenna who can't remember what happened to her; all she knows is that she was in an accident that her parents won't talk about. She tries to figure out her past as she slowly regains memory and IMHO, I think the second book is better. But if you want to read the books, you should read the first book.<br />
*spoiler alert* <span style="font-style: italic;">The Fox Inheritance</span> is told by Locke, Jenna's old best friend, as he and Kara, Jenna's other old best friend. They escape a horrible doctor to find Jenna and that's where their journey begins. It's filled with twists and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">surprises</span>, and is MUCH better than the first book.</span></span> </span><br />
</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-44133457207742263362012-02-08T17:51:00.000-08:002012-02-08T17:51:32.731-08:00Big Miracle<div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Big Miracle By Georgia</span></span></div> <span style="font-size: small;">Yesterday I saw Big Miracle, and it was pretty good! If it wasn't a true story, I'd probably give it 2 stars. Since it <i>is</i> a true story: 4 STARS!!</span> I have to say, I'm not the biggest fan of Drew Barrymore (I mean, what's with the half brown/half blond hair??) but she makes a very good hippie-fighting-for-the-greater-good. <br />
So the basic storyline is: reporter guy in some tiny town in Alaska is losing interesting news, until he finds out about the whales. The story gets around and his ex-girlfriend, hippie-fighting-for-the-greater-good (AKA Barrymore) wants to help. He also has a kinda creepy crush on this NBC reporter girl who ends up showing up later. Business is booming in this Alaskan small town, but meanwhile the reporter and his ex-girlfriend are trying hard to find someone to help them. When one attempt fails, they call in the Reds (the Soviets) to save the day. With a sad but realistic twist near the end, this is the perfect animal-lover, hippie, feel better, or family movie. Who knows? Maybe more than one of the circumstances apply to you.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-16179344283640077322012-01-21T17:33:00.000-08:002012-01-21T17:33:34.616-08:00Joyful Noise<span style="font-size: large;">Joyful Noise By Georgia</span><br />
Today I saw Joyful Noise and it was <em>extremely </em>good. I pretty much love all movies with Queen Latifah, so add in Dolly Parton and Keke Palmer and it's a party! This movie was funny and serious at the same time. It follows the story of Vi Rose Hill and her two kids, Olivia and Walter (all devout singers) as they go about their life. Walter had Asperger's Syndrome, and at first tries to hide it. Olivia is a typical Momma's-good-girl who starts to rebel when cute Randy (the loser grandson of Dolly Parton's character, played by Jeremy Jordan) falls for her. As this is all going on, two people die and the church choir loses the semi-finals to go to LA. It has a great ending, is filled with good music, though some cliché lines were delivered. Overall, FOUR AND A HALF STARS! <br />
(Amy will rate later on when she gets off the couch)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-16964961192557772492012-01-19T22:15:00.000-08:002012-02-10T22:07:01.571-08:00<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Friday Book Award (FBA) By Georgia</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Every Friday I will try to present one FBA, though I cannot guarantee I'll do it <i>every</i> Friday. Today the FBA will be for Top Five Heroines of the 2000's. (And I mean fiction heroines) </span></span></span>And <i>here </i>they are:<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">1. Katniss Everdeen (of The Hunger Games trilogy)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. Hermione Granger (of the Harry Potter series)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">3. Gaia Stone (of the Birthmarked Trilogy)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">4. Annabeth Chase (of the Percy Jackson trilogy)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">5. Katsa (of the Graceling trilogy)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next week I will be doing the Top Five Worst Heroines! I hope you enjoy my list and take the books into consideration!</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span> </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-29904177582613438682011-12-28T12:27:00.000-08:002011-12-28T12:33:36.003-08:00Blog RevivalOkay, it's the dawn of 2012 and Georgia's and my good blogging intentions back in 2010 sadly fell by the wayside. <br /><br />But since no one else is doing decent kid movie reviews and we also thought since we both read a lot and write a lot, we could throw in a book review or two now and then for some literary flavor.<br /><br />Both of us will be posting. Sometimes together. Sometimes separately. Georgia reads about 3 novels a week. I read about 1 novel a month. My stats are sad, sad, sad but there you have it--work, life, parenting lowers one's reading consumption abilities. Our movie consumption is about 1 a month. <br /><br />So, here we go....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-86262010143375624812010-04-29T16:58:00.000-07:002010-04-29T17:15:15.182-07:00Percy JacksonGeorgia: well, Iknow it's alittle late to be rating, but so what?! (p.s. I'm doing this in Pennsylvania.)I thought the movie was good (and I just finished the 4th book)<br />Though being a good movie, it was not really like the book.(As you will soon hear)They were too, too,OLD!!! He is in MIDDLESCHOOL, not HIGHSCHOOL!!!!!!!!!! ALso,Annabeth has BLONDE hair,not BRUNETTE!!! Now,instead of hearing my mom's opinion, you will read Tim's opinion(6th grader from Pennsylvania) Enjoy!<br /><br />TIM:I found the graphics in the movie to be very good. But don't go to the movie expecting it to be like the book because you will be sadly mistaken. If you have never read the books I highly reccomend going to your local library to get them.If you have only read the first JUST KEEP READING THEY GET MUCH BETTER AND IT ALL LEADS UP TO THE LAST BOOK THE LAST OLYMPIAN.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-90613832092194623282010-01-24T20:26:00.000-08:002010-01-24T21:06:07.338-08:00The Tooth FairyGeorgia- Anyone care for cat-away or perhaps amnesia dust? I think it was awesome! Julie Andrews plays the queen of tooth fairyland. She doesn't like to be interrupted and is hysterical! The basic plot is Derrick Thompson (Dwayne Johnson)is a dream-destroying, hockey playing guy that has to serve tooth fairy duty. He helps 3 people along the way; Randy (his girlfriends son,)Tracy (fairy case worker,) and himself. Overall, A DELIGHT, 1,000,000,000 stars!<br /><br />Amy<br />I think Georgia is over-rating it a bit...1 billion stars seems a little much from this mom's perspective. However, there is pure joy in seeing Julie Andrews aka Mary Poppins aka Maria von Trapp aka Queen Clarice from Princess Diaries aka Nanny from Eloise add this final "queen" role to her repertoire. Seeing her stare down Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson while he is dressed in a pink tutu is almost worth the price of admission alone.<br /><br />If there are any fans out there who have been wondering what happened to Ashley Judd-me, Wendy, anybody else?--she shows up in The Tooth Fairy as the Rock's girlfriend. How this happened, I have no idea--How do you go from A Time to Kill, Double Jeopardy, Kiss the Girls, and Someone Like You w/Hugh Jackman to The Tooth Fairy? I don't get it. Let me know if you have any theories...I know she got married to the Italian race car driver in real life but The Tooth Fairy? All she does is make goo-goo eyes at The Rock through the whole thing.<br /><br />The Rock is in his sweet zone in this movie playing a pro-hockey player dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" because he's known for knocking his opponents' teeth out on the ice. It's pure testerone out of control that gets tamped down by the humbling experience of being a tooth fairy for a few weeks.<br /><br />Billy Crystal has a guest role as an old Tooth Fairy and he is his usual smart alec self. I wish they'd given him more screen time. One last piece of advice--if you go see it, make sure you stick around in the theater during the credits because there's a "bonus scene" w/Julie Andrews & Billy Crystal this is worth the wait, my friends.<br /><br />Overall, decent kid movie. My three girls all laughed and enjoyed it thoroughly. I spent only a few minutes during our viewing contemplating my "to do lists" and what to make for dinner.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-10698627710324654362010-01-07T22:18:00.000-08:002010-01-07T22:45:18.146-08:00It's Complicated--suprisingly underwhelmedREVIEW BY AMY<br /><br />Okay--I am a HUGE Nancy Meyers fan (the writer/director of It's Complicated). She wrote & produced both Father of the Bride movies w/Steve Martin & one of my all-time favorite writer movies--Something's Gotta Give. She also wrote, produced & directed The Holiday w/Cameron Diaz & Kate Winslet, another rainy day DVD fave.<br /><br />So I was geared up to see It's Complicated starring Meryl Streep as a 50 something divorced mother of 3 who ends up having an "affair" with her re-married ex-husband played by Alec Baldwin. <br /><br />You can count on three things in any Meyers movie: 1. the location will be gorgeous--in this case Santa Barbara, Montecito in particular judging by the Streep's character's lavish "estate." 2. everybody in the movie is wealthy & white 3. that there will be some bitingly funny scenes involving the awkwardness of aging.<br /><br />In It's Complicated, #3 happens in the plastic surgeon's office and is undeniably hilarious, especially when Streep's character Jane runs screaming out of the plastic surgeon's office only to bump into her ex-husband Jake (Alex Baldwin) & his 30 something wife on the "Fertility Clinic" floor.<br /><br />Alec Baldwin is wonderful as Jake, and I say that with considerable effort as Baldwin does not impress me in his personal life. But, on screen as Jake, he is adorable and endearing and charismatic.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the sparks between Streep & Baldwin do not fly in It's Complicated. When I compare the love affair depicted in Julie & Julia between Streep playing Julia Child & Stanley Tucci playing Paul Child, Baldwin & Streep are like 7th graders having their first kiss. There's no there there.<br /><br />John Krasinski from tv's The Office is funny as Jane's future son-in-law who is put in a pickle when he catches on to the escalating affair between Jane & Jake. <br /><br />The best thing about this movie is Streep. She is sexy, funny, and doing her best with a somewhat limited script. Steve Martin plays her potential unmarried love interest and his comic abilities are mainly left untouched as his character is reeling from a bad divorce and does not exhibit many emotions other than a puppy dog like grin through most of the film. This is a crime to tie up Martin like this. He is not a good straight man. Alec Baldwin's Jake gets to have all the fun. Steve--you need script approval rights the next time out with Nancy.<br /><br />The pieces were there for Meyers to make a really funny, interesting movie with It's Complicated and somehow, they just don't add up to much more than a light diversion.<br /><br />Worth a matinee admission at the theater. Good date movie. Good chick flick.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-32404496730582084772010-01-03T10:36:00.000-08:002010-01-03T11:07:12.320-08:00Invictus--wait for the DVD releaseThis review is solely by Amy.<br /><br />How can you go wrong with Clint Eastwood directing, Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela & Matt Damon as a hunky rugby player? <br /><br />Apparently you can. Invictus tells the story of the newly freed Nelson Mandela trying to unite post-apartheid South Africa through the vehicle of the country's national rugby team. Great drama potential, right? <br /><br />Here's what no one else is telling you: our man Clint--whose Million Dollar Baby is, in my opinion, one of the most perfectly made movies ever--dialed this one in. Maybe he thought with Morgan Freeman playing Mandela all you had to do was let the cameras roll. <br /><br />Because that's pretty much what Eastwood did. There are long monologues of Mandela addressing the people, in political speeches that may have been riveting in the real life moment but fall flat on the screen. Freeman tries to hint at the personal sacrifice Mandela paid for being imprisoned for almost 30 years--his wife and daughter remain estranged even after he is freed and becomes President Mandela. But there is not enough of it. We never get a chance to fully experience the human Mandela because Eastwood gives us so little screen time and interactions of Mandela in one on one conversations. The longest we get is when Mandela invites Matt Damon's character--Francois Piennar captain of the South African rugby team--to tea to convince him that the team can win the Rugby World Cup and united a divided South Africa.<br /><br />"Invictus" is a great idea for a movie--sports unite a divided country--and Freeman gives his typical fine, elegant & nuanced performance. Damon's role is pretty minimal--we never learn much about who this guy is other than he's good at rugby and likes to lead by example. Damon looks very hunky all beefed up and the South African accent on him is fairly delicious. <br /><br />The movie does reveal the astuteness of Mandela's political judgement--it was a stroke of brilliance & great risk on his part to support the almost all-white national rugby team when it symbolized white supremacy to the black population & national pride to the white population. <br /><br />He calculated that by bringing the focus of the world onto South Africa for something positive--contending for world cup rugby--versus its racial struggles, the country might continue to inch forward in its path to life following apartheid. <br /><br />I should tell you that I'm the lone voice in the wilderness on this one. It's alreaday received three Golden Globe nominations and will doubtless garner more award. <br /><br />I could just never forget that I was watching a movie while viewing Invictus. It felt like a documentary, a fairly interesting one, but never quite the movie it could have been.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-14192775844748757472010-01-01T17:45:00.000-08:002010-01-01T20:15:04.871-08:00Alvin & the Chipmunks--The Squeakel and Princess and the Frog<strong>GEORGIA</strong><br /><em>Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakel</em><br />I think it was a great movie. (Of course most critics didn't like it.)The Chipettes weren't as girly as I thought they were going to be. They stuck together, even when Ian tries to make JUST Britany the star. Meanwhile, Alvin totally turns his back on Simon and Theodore so he can hangout at the jock table.(He eventually comes to his senses.)Lastly, Ian pretty much goes crazy and the Chipmunks and the Chipettes are formed. <br /><br />The Princess and the Frog<br />It's a great movie! Perfect for chefs, kids (not just girls,)people in New Orleans, music-lovers,families, and MORE! With an unexpected ending, a weird blind woman(who loves snakes!,)a poor prince, a jazzy alligator, and a girl with a restaurant dream. Overall it is a perfect movie because it's NOT your classic princess tale.<br /><br /><strong>AMY</strong><br />Alvin & the Chipmunks the Squeakel<br />Okay, I was not looking forward AT ALL to seeing this movie. I only took the two older girls because our youngest went down for a nap and my wife was psyched about watching the 49ers on TV. I even asked Georgia & Gracie moments before walking into the theater if they minded if I went to see a "mommy movie" while they saw Alvin. The answer was a vehement "yes, we mind." <br /><br />So, here's the good news should you find yourself with children begging you to see this movie--it's not that bad. I actually laughed out loud more than a few times. There's a particularly funny scene involving a Wii remote & a flat screen TV that had me rolling.<br /><br />Message-wise: As Georgia stated above, the 3 sister group--the Chipettes--remain in true sisterhood despite efforts to make one of them--the "cutest" one--the lead singer. Alvin & the boys have a similar theme--family stick-togetheredness. While it's not terribly original or "cutting edge" (they are computer-generated talking chipmunmks let us not forget)-I did not feel my $27 admission fees were in vain. The girls liked it, I got a laugh out of it, and without revealing too much, you will never be able to hear Beyonce's Single Ladies ever again without seeing the Chipettes.<br /><br />Princess & the Frog<br />We took the whole brood to see this--me, the wifey, the 11, 6, & 2 year olds plus Gracie's best friend Charlie. The thing that struck me immediately is it's look--created by using hand drawn images, the old fashioned way vs. computer animation--which is pure, old-fashioned Disney. The images of 1900s New Orleans--from the French Quarter to the bayou to the Disneyified version of "wrong side of town" are rich, warm & evocative. You will be longing for beignets when the film is finished.<br /><br />And I have to disagree w/Georgia--this Princess movie ends the way ALL Disney princess movies end. Cue the bells. What's really different about this is the obvious--the lead character, the "princess," is African American. Hello. First we had Pocahontas. Then Mulan. Now, finally, Tiana. Dark headed, brown eyed, brown skinned girls around the world may rejoice. And Tiana's plucky, determined and just too darn busy pursuing her dream of opening her own restaurant to worry about silly old boys. Well, almost too busy.<br /><br />When the film lands its two heroes--Tiana & Prince Naveen, both turned into frogs by this point--in the Bayou, things really pick up and it's great songs, singing gators, and the funniest Cajun lightning bug you have ever seen. Almost all the scenes in the bayou are magical. <br /><br />There is the requisite classic Disney freaky antagonist and in Princess & the Frog they have created a vodoo man sure to haunt some of your more sensitive children's dreams for months to come so beware--there are trippy vodoo scenes w/swirling colors, dancing dead guys, and graveyards. There is the spoiled Southern belle who drives you crazy because she's such a ninny-more Scarlet O'Hara than Scarlet--but ultimately makes an unselfish sacrifice at the end that saves her from worst Disney character status.<br /><br />Bottom line--good movie, some really great songs, and another minor character--Ray the Cajun lightning bug--to fall in love with. <br /><br />Food for thought: Would Disney ever make a "princess movie" about an adventure a princess girl had that did not involve some romantic entaglement? What do you think? Would you go? Would your daughters and sons want to go? I know the answer in my house. Let me go and get started on that screenplay...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427921058995261708.post-29282202477147027342010-01-01T12:38:00.000-08:002010-01-07T23:01:06.852-08:00Why the World Needs This BlogWHO WE ARE <br />Mom: Amy, in the twilight years of her 30s, parent to 3 daughters, ages 11, 6 & 2. <br />Daughter: Georgia, in the twilight year of Elementary School.<br /><br /><br />WHY ANOTHER BLOG?<br /><br /><strong>GEORGIA</strong>: I think the world needs this blog because I'm tired of stupid reviews of kid movies. Most movie critics don't understand what kids like. If a kids movie review is good, you can bet most kids will hate it. Cases in point: Where the Wild Things Are--critics loved it. I was creeped out by it. My two younger sisters didn't like it either. The six-year old Gracie said, "It's bad and mean." And then there was The Bee Movie a few years ago. Critics loved it and I hated it because it had no storyline at all & was totally boring. <br /><br />But once in awhile "the critics" get it right like with "Princess and the Frog" and "Up." <br /><br /><strong>My movie biases</strong>: I don't like anything scary or super sad. And I love anything with Anne Hathaway. <br /><br /><strong>My pledge to our devoted readers is this</strong>: I pledge to write exactly what I thought of the movie, good or bad. <br /><br /><br /><br /><strong></strong><strong>AMY</strong> <strong></strong>: When it comes to kids movie reviews, at least the ones our family reads--namely the ones in our local Bay Area papers, the reviewers seem to universally hate all kid movies almost on principal. I can imagine these titans of film criticism theory being forced to review the latest Miley Cyrus flick on a Saturday when they could be watching something <em></em>important<em></em> & <em></em>Oscar-worthy<em></em>.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong--I don't like all kid movies. Nor do I like half of them. There is just as much dreck being produced in the kid market as the adult market. So what this blog will do is give you the kid's perspective on kid movies and the mom's perspective on kid movies with a few grown up movie reviews sprinkled in for good measure when I can tear myself away from the family & work & sit alone in a theater w/my popcorn & Coke Zero.<br /><br /><strong>My movie biases.</strong> I love character-driven, well-written comedies & dramas, with a special place in my heart for British comedies. I abhor plotless action movies & movies that are homophobic and/or feature gratuitous violence.<br /><br /><strong></strong>My pledge to our devoted readers is this: I pledge to tell you exactly what I think of a movie--good, bad or otherwise.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0