#MovieReview - Twilight

Opening weekend, Twilight's box office numbers were somewhere in the neighborhood of $141 mil.  OMG!  I can't believe it.  I still can't believe that I watched all five movies.  Yep, all five.

When the mad blur began, I read Meyer's four books before the first movie because I wanted to know what the hype was all about.

I enjoyed book one and book four, tremendously.  When I watched the first couple of movies, I believe I was just as wrapped up in them as every teenager out there.  I really analyzed this phenomenon.  Why was I as anxious to watch the first movie?

I guess no matter what age you are, maybe, we all have a secret hope that we find that one breath-stealing unbreakable love.

By the time we reached book two, I felt like it was a little like...hmmm, am I the only one who felt like it was a long suicide note.  Then the whole imprinting thing turned me off.  (I'm an aunt and for some reason I couldn't let it go.  I kept wanting Meyer to change that part of the story.)

So, here we are now with the final installment.  I read the books so long ago that  I can't match it up to the book, exactly.  But, I enjoyed the movie.  Acting aside.  It was fun and fast-moving.  The books didn't necessarily move at the same pace.

Kellan Lutz...wtf!  BEAUTIFUL!  Did you guys see his shoulders and arms.  Come on.  No fair.

#MovieReview - Cloud Atlas

So, depending on your religious beliefs, you may or may not like Cloud Atlas.

I haven't read the book, but couldn't wait to see this movie.  I wanted to see how someone would treat the idea of multiple lives and how they intersect over time be good or bad.

Also, I love the idea of how the same people continue to crossover each other's lives again and again.

The movie begins so slowly that it was a bit painful.  But, we understand that they needed time to set up each character's timeline.  They needed to be able to make sure the movie watcher was well-rooted to each individual character before they started twisting them all into one.

I enjoyed the movie, but as I said, it begins slow.  Without giving away too much, the futuristic characters sounded a bit live historic slaves.   I found that odd for so many different reasons.  It will take a minute before you get comfortable with their language.  But, its easy enough to catch on after you hear it a few times.

The amount of roles each actor plays is absolutely amazing.  You miss many of them.  At least, I did.  Women play men, men play women.

But, connecting the dots is half of the fun of watching the movie.  You want to see how much of a role they play in each other's lives.  And sometimes, it's just a brief moment that's never even noticed.

I enjoyed the movie, and I think if you have an open mind to reincarnation, you will, too.  But, don't leave at the very end.  Just in case you missed something, you will get to have a few questions answered.

#MovieReview - Sparkle

For anyone who hasn't seen the original Sparkle, I don't want to spoil anything for them.  But...

Plot: Single mother who's been chewed up and spit out by the music business hides herself away from life behind religion and raising her children.  The youngest of her daughters loves to write and sing, but fights against her desire because of her mother.  But, a series of twists and turns leads the trio of sisters to the stage, and right into the dangers their mother warned.

The original movie had actors like Philip Michael Thomas and Irene Cara, and in my opinion it was a true 70's movie deep with drugs, death, and family angst.




The remake had Derek Luke, Whitney Houston, Mike Epps, and Jordin Sparks.  I can't say I thought the acting was anything great, but I did like a few of the loose ends that they cleaned up from the original.  I loved the sass of Tika Sumpter.  The emptiness of Carmen Ejogo was believable.  But, I thought some actors' talents were a little wasted, namely Derek Luke.  I've seen him much stronger in other pieces.

We've discussed Magic Mike before, at time while watching this movie, it felt like the female version.  Some of the shots nearly ran right up the female actresses' dresses while on stage, especially Sister's.  Some of the shots, I don't think were flattering.  But, some did add layers of understanding to the relationship between Sister and Mike Epps' character, Satin.

I think what I liked about this version vs. the original is that it showed the strength of family.  I loved the sisters standing together to fight.  I loved the sisters not giving up on each other.  I loved that the mother in the end took a look at herself and went...this is my daughter's life.

Jordin Sparks has a beautiful voice, but I think some scenes of her singing didn't have heart...it felt overacted and too exaggerated.  But, Carmen Ejogo matched her singing with her character's pain.  And the sassy sister played by Tika Sumpter held her own.

In the original movie, again typical 70's style, everybody good doesn't win at the end.  In this version, you're satisfied with where the characters are when the credits roll.

But, I wonder if the actors themselves were...I don't remember seeing anyone aside from Jordin Sparks promote the movie, which may speak a lot to the quality of the movie itself.  Even if you look at the covers posted as part of this blog.  The emphasis of the movie was Jordin Sparks, and I don't think she really had the acting talent to carry it.  But, I did like the script.  Overall, I would think this was a good Sunday afternoon movie to watch with your mother an your sister, if you have one.

Catch it in the matinee :-)

Movie review - Magic Mike

It had to be done.  I held out for as long as I could, but on the constant push of one of my close friends, I broke down and went to see "Magic Mike."

The plot is simple: young aimless boy has friend who works as a stripper.  That stripper introduces him to a world filled with the things of a young man's dreams, if he dreams of : women, sex, and drugs without consequences.

But, eventually, there are consequences, and those consequences affect the young stripper and those who are around him.

At it's core, it's a fairly moving story about a sister's love for her brother, a young man's journey to self-discovery, and another man's introduction to the power of his manhood and sexuality.

If you discovered that you had the ability to capture the attention of anyone you wanted how would you use that power?  Would you abuse it?

I've seen a strip show or two :-), and I have to admit you always have that little fantasy lingering in the back of your mind.  Honestly, after watching  "Magic Mike" it erased those thoughts right from my mind.  The characters were sad and incomplete.  The fantasy on the stage was all they were--nothing more.  This is because of two reasons: one the writing only partially flushed out the secondary characters, and two there wasn't much more to the characters.

I love Channing Tatum!  He can dance.  He can act.  But, this definitely wasn't one of his best acting venues. Matthew McConaughey is one of my all time favorites, but he was a little too thin, too tanned, and too everything for me in this one.  I kept waiting for Alex Pettyfer to cut his beard, or at least shape it up.  Cody Horn, unfortunately, anyone who looks like her will conjure up images of Kristen Stewart and, fairly or not, they'll be compared.

For Magic Mike 2, can I make a few casting suggestions:

Boris Kodjoe

Jason Mamoa

Shemar Moore

This movie begins fast and fun, then becomes a little sad before ending on a soft hopeful note.  There are definitely a few scenes that make you wish you could add your dollar!

The Amazing Spider-man

I never read comic books as a kid...I guess it's the whole girly-girl thing.  But, I was a huge tomboy, so go figure.  But, my baby brother was a comic book, science fiction kind of guy, and I would watch a lot of it with him.

And still, I love it!

I've discussed remakes and re-imaginings with all of you before, and probably so many of us have wondered when some fresh new ideas will come to someone.  But, I have to admit, I really enjoyed "The Amazing Spider-man".

Like every other version, Peter discovers himself, love, and the importance of family.  But, you fall in love with the vulnerability of Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, and the innocence of Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey.  Can I just say Emma Stone is the Meryle Streep of tomorrow.  She freaking disappears into every role.  And what can I say about Sally Field and Martin Sheen.  One of the things I enjoyed about this movie was the cast and their acting.  They didn't overact because someone told them they were in a science fiction movie. They didn't all run around speaking in odd little voices.  No.  They "acted" and they did it well.  They knew and understood their characters because they made me care about them: their desires, losses, loves, and dreams.

And the romance writer in me love Peter's little whisper in Gwen's ear!  Awh :-)

Great action, appropriately crazy villain, maybe a touch too long, but overall fun escape.

Snow White and the Huntsman

First, I have to say, I love a lot of things about fairy tales...I've always thought women should be portrayed a little stronger, but otherwise, I love their moral strength.

So, needless to say, I was excited to see a lot of the fairy tale remakes, but, I'm not sure anymore.

I think I'm probably one of many who believes that, unfortunately, Charlize Theron's looks don't allow people to take her seriously as an actress, which is  weird to statement to make as a woman.  Especially when I think about Angelina Joile.  The thing is, how long of a list do you have of attractive female dramatic actresses, not romantic comedies.

However, I think Charlize Theron was perhaps the best thing about this movie.  Aside, from the absolute gorgeousness of Chris Hemsworth.

At some points, Charlize's portrayal may have been slightly over the top, and out of balance with Kristen Stewart's Bella part two, but I think I appropriately felt sorry for and hated her at the right moments.

I appreciated the action of the movie, and I think the bleakness of the world made me root for the success of our heroes.  The world our heroes lived in and fought against had many layers, some of which didn't seem fully explained.  If the "evil" queen reigned supreme over all, but the dark forest, then how do you explain sanctuary?

What I think I loved most was the Queen's backstory.  Strip away the magic, and her story could be one told by women of any time or place.  The Queen didn't care for much, but the relationship she had with her twisted brother showed she was indeed capable of love, and deeply suffered from its loss.

I know I'm supposed to connect with Snow White, but I can't say I cared much.  She didn't inspire me, nor did the fealty of the dwarfs to Snow White.

The Huntsman, okay, I admit it, I kept waiting for him to strip off his shirt, and found myself extremely disappointed when it didn't happen.  But, still, I cared that he hungered to feel the void left by his wife, and his desire to believe and hold onto any opportunity that might return her to him.

Kristen's tomboy Snow White and Chris' Huntsman, however, do not "fit" as a romantic couple.  The maturity of Chris and the youth of Kristen were too vast.  I didn't even find myself hoping for a romantic development.

Is it bad when the movie ends, and you want to know more about the bad guy than the good?  I wanted the queen redeemed, and whoever had hurt her to be punished.

I miss this type of story being told in Hollywood

Okay, I know I'm late, but OMG The Help. This movie reminded me of why I first fell in love with story telling.

The ability to evoke emotion. To bring someone into your world. To have someone care about the characters in your story.

There aren't many stories that have moved me like this one: Imitation of Life, Children of Men, Rosewood, Passion of Christ are a few.

I was born and raised in Tennessee. As I watched the story, I remembered all of the reasons why I left Tennessee. As a child, although not to the degree captured in The Help, Tennessee was divided. What as white was white, and what was black was black. And everyone else had to pick.

I remember my mother pointing out walled up doors or fountains in the back of stores as she told me of how there was a time when blacks had to use them.

When I left Tennessee, I wasn't sure if I'd ever come back, but for all it's faults, I have to admit, I love the south. The majority of the people I've met in the south are kind and generous.

But, like anything, there are still a few small minded folks out there who strongly hold onto old world thoughts. This story: Mississippi hate killing is an extremely sad example.

Movies like The Help remind us of our past, and hopefully will stop us from making the same mistakes again. People, in so many small ways, can be quietly strong. And their strength can help power change.

I absolutely loved this movie, and the song "The Living Proof" was a beautiful way to end the movie.