Lone Survivor: Movie Review

Last night for our date night, we went to see Lone Survivor. I saw a preview for it a few weeks ago and we saw one together this week. Chance immediately said he wanted to see it and I agreed, much to his complete shock. He then admitted to having a man crush on Mark Walhberg. Well, maybe he didn't say it that way, but it was inferred. Anyway. We both agreed on a movie, which doesn't happen often that we both genuinely want to watch the same thing.

I had no idea what it was really about, but it looked pretty good from the previews. Once I really knew what it was about, I was a bit worried that it was going to be more than I could handle. Movies that involve beatings and brutality are something I can't really handle watching, but I decided that if it ended up that way, I would suck it up and watch it.

The movie started and built up the relationship of the characters. Not too in depth, but enough for a man watching the show to get, which I figured was the target audience. The plot built really fast and the thing that had to happen to get the story moving happened fairly early (at least to me, though the movie is on the shorter end of average) which worried me even more. That's when the action started. And let me tell you, I sat cringing, covering my eyes, and eventually had to get up and go to the bathroom to take a break because it was so intense. Remember, I'm a baby with this stuff.

I was impressed with the story and the actors. Saddened that it all really happened, pretty accurate portrayal. There was a wonderful tribute that made me cry and made Chance almost cry. We talked about it all the way home and even after we got home and went to bed. It was a very interesting story and made me want to know more.

I definitely recommend it, with the disclaimer that if you're like me, it's tough to watch in parts. I wouldn't let that keep me from watching, it's worth it.

The Hunger Games: A film review

It's 2:30 in the morning, and I'm blogging. Why you ask? Shouldn't a pregnant mother of a vivacious toddler be asleep by this ungodly hour? Yeah, I should. But, if you know me, you can imagine what I might have been doing that would keep me up this late. If you guessed The Hunger Games midnight show, you are correct. If you're my mother, who went with me, your guess doesn't count. :)

Now, on to my thoughts before I lose all coherent ability to think.

The movie was excellent. The story was on track with the books, the dialog was similar, and the things that were left out were done so appropriately. The things that were changed were done well and I didn't leave thinking, "I read that book?" (ahem, Twilight and Percy Jackson)

There's just something really good about watching a favorite story come to life on screen-well, not just done, but done well.

What did I love? I loved Woody Harrelson, much to my own surprise. I didn't think he fit, but he managed to fit the part of Haymitch and be a good actor while doing it. I loved Josh Hutcherson, he is a great Peeta and I believed him. Jennifer Lawrence was great, as expected. The gore was toned down, which I'm fine with. The capitol is spot on, costumes, make-up, garishness-all true to text. 

Here's a part from the movie that I loved, that I apparently didn't consider while reading. District 11 (Rue and Thrush's district) was primarily African American, which makes sense considering it cuts a large swath through states that currently have a higher African American population. Suzanne Collins stated when the characters for Rue and Thresh were chosen that she described them as African American, and apparently I missed that description. There was lots of diversity in other characters as well, but District 11 is highlighted, and the citizens of the district are shown as African American and I thought that was a really important aspect of the film. It's not often that I enjoy something from the film more than the book, but this pleasantly surprised me.

There were a few things I didn't love. I have to agree with a few early reviews that stated they played up the love triangle. There were a few shots of Gale looking a little disturbed at the closeness between Katniss and Peeta. While I'm sure he did feel that way, we didn't know that in book 1. I also went with two people who hadn't read the book (shame on them, right?) and they were a bit lost. They weren't sure if it was current/past/present time. They didn't understand why some districts had more than others, and why District 12 had electricity sometimes, but not always. I don't really think this was obvious without knowing the back story. It gave a quick run down at the beginning, but it was quick. My mom's bff went with us and she didn't realize it was telling a story, and by the time she did we'd already missed 2 screens of text. I explained to her as best I could, but I thought that was a missed opportunity. I also thought that we didn't really get enough of life in District 12. We see that it's dark and dingy, that life generally sucks; but we didn't see any story that really developed the characters enough. I know they crammed as much in as they could, it was a long movie (which I love anyway) but I just wanted, for the sake of non-readers, the chance to know what's happening without guessing all through the movie and then asking later. 

I also didn't like that the movie didn't quite include enough of the negative feedback or social ramifications of what the Capitol was doing. It didn't make you feel guilty for watching, in fact, it almost made me want to see what it was like from a district viewer-which makes me want to throw up. I want to feel sick and guilty because people in real life want to see other people hurting, because humans enjoying watching blood sports (we have for over a thousand years and counting) but they just didn't convey how wrong it was. Or, not enough for me anyway. 

Then, there was one thing I hated. Hated. Loathed. Many of the action scenes were filled with this jerky, nearly home camera style filming that was next to impossible to follow, and made me want to close my eyes to avoid being sick. It moved to quickly, panned to fast, bobbed all over, and didn't give you clear image of what was happening. It gave you a clear image of panic and hurry, which I understand the need for; but it was just too much for me. 

Overall, I was impressed. It was true to the original story in the most important ways. It improved on a few ways that I felt the book didn't really just come out and say (and lets face it, I'm pretty concrete; I need things spelled out sometimes), and it didn't really disappoint in any major ways. I paid $11 total (to get in and snacks) and I will most likely go again before the run is over. 

So, my recommendation is for you to go watch it. Enjoy. 

And may the odds be ever in your favor. :)

Penelope

I mentioned the movie Enchanted earlier, and the fact that I'm not enthused with the overall idea of the movie.

Well, after Chance went to bed, Archer and I watched Penelope, the movie with Christina Ricci. I went into it expecting it to be silly, and your regular run of the mill JH girl movie.

After watching the movie, I can only hope that every JH girl has seen the movie. In my comparison of the two movies, I would choose the slightly more rough around the edges Penelope over Enchanted.

The Disney flick had was cute, but in my opinion it gave the wrong message. Penelope had more adult language and themes, but had the message that young girls need to hear.

Fairy Tale Movie?

Since Starz is free this weekend, there is lots on TV! Yeah right, but still, I DVRed "Enchanted" last night, and we watched it earlier today.

Spoiler if you haven't seen it.



Knowing it's a Disney movie, I wasn't expecting anything too risque or anything. There weren't any blatant cleavage shots or a ton of over exposing clothes. The father buys a book about famous women for the daughter instead of the fairy tale book she wanted.

Blah, blah the movie goes on in a typical fashion for disney. Singing, dancing, and gaiety. (The happy kind, not the sexual kind.) Well, you can clearly see that the father is growing feelings for the princess, and like wise. They almost kiss.

The movie winds down to the ulimate climactic moment, and guess what? True love's first kiss we've been singing about since minute 3, it's not with Prince Edward, it's with Robert McDreamy.

Now, I have no problem with true love, singing, or fairy tales. But, and this is a pretty big one, but I'm not ok with adultery. I'm sure it sounds absurd to say this, but he's planning on proposing to his girlfriend of 5 years. She was on the way to the wedding to marry her prince. They were both "in love" with these people, yet suddenly they are in love with each other.

What kind of message is that? I like the idea of the story, that we don't always have to do what is expected, that we don't fall in love after just one day, we have to date and learn about each other. I get and respect all of that.

Don't know. Maybe I'm over thinking it, I just don't like to promote the idea that we can fall out of love with one person and in love with another in a matter of days.

Time Traveler's Wife, The movie

Went to see this Saturday night. I really enjoyed it more than the book. There were some things that were different, but overall I liked the movie different.

With movies like Twilight and Harry Potter, there were so many details that were left unattended. Well, with Twilight, only a few details were actually taken from the book, the rest were made up. This movie was different. I was left with a sense of, "Ok, that's not quite how it worked in the book, but it still works."








**Spoiler**

The ending of this movie is the reason I liked it. I could tell from the previews which clip was the ending, so it was why I was excited to see the movie after reading.

Clare doesn't spend her life in turmoil and being miserable waiting for Henry like she does in the book. She is still sad, and she still waits, but she gets to see him again before she's 82. I like that, and I like that the casual watcher doesn't know that Clare had sex with her best friend's husband while desperately trying to imagine it's her own dead husband. That whole story piece didn't sit well with me.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

So, this is a fun, make you smile silly movie.

I wasn't really sure if I would be able to stomach some of the silliness (the mannequins come alive and entice her to shop, really?) but it has a cute story. That's the perfect description, it's cutesy.

I kind of regret paying $5 to see it, I probably should have just waited for it to come out on HBO or something.

**Spoiler**
I knew she was going to sell her clothes when she found the note from the friend calling it all crap. But, before that, for a second, I actually thought her parents were going to bail her out.

Life note:
I have a really good friend who got into credit card trouble in college. She was given 2 credits cards at 18. I think that is absurd, she is paying off her debt and has been out of college for a while. I am super proud of the accomplishments she's achieved in getting that debt under control, but I think it's insane that credit card companies are allowed to target people who have no reliable source of income. Credit cards make it too easy to spend money and not feel as responsible for it. Thus the reason I have an emergency card and no debit/check card. You spend less money when you have physical reminders of how much money you really have and need to live on.