I just had the opportunity to see this new movie musical yesterday and I thought a movie review would be fun. First off, The Greatest Showman has awesome music. I happened to hear the soundtrack before seeing the movie and I was already hooked. These are very fun, catchy and beautiful songs and I loved getting to enjoy them within the movie plot. I did have a bit of trouble with the songs being integrated into the movie. I don’t know if the lip-sinking felt off, or it just didn’t seem natural to burst into song in some moments, but it just wasn’t as natural as I’ve seen in some other musical movies. So even though I loved the songs, something about watching them on screen, was just off. It may have been just me though. My sister didn’t notice anything odd about it. And I have to say the song with Zac Efron and Zendaya swinging through the air was just beautiful to watch.
Anyway, on to the plot. I didn’t really know what was going to happen in this film and I liked that, so I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. But I can say that I was pleasantly surprised on the value of family this film gave off. Even though our main character gets distracted by all of the attention and fame he gets from his circus success, he ultimately values his family above all of that. In addition, the assortment of odd individuals that make up the circus also form a special bond and think of themselves as a family by the end of the movie. The love story between P T Barnum and his wife, and Philip and the acrobat was also quite touching.
In fact all of the characters in this movie were very realistic and the acting was fantastic. All in all the movie was a lot of fun to watch and very uplifting. And those catchy songs are still buzzing around my head too. So if you haven’t seen this movie yet, I hope you check it out before it goes out of theaters.
I haven’t done a movie review in awhile and honestly, it won’t take me as long as another story I’d like to share from my recent trip to Big Bend. And since it’s the holidays and everyone is in a rush, including me, I’m going for short and sweet.
Now I’m not a huge Star Wars Fan. I enjoy it, and I know a lot of things about it, thanks to my sister. But I’m not… how should I say this, over invested? Anyway, I think this makes it easier for me to enjoy the Star Wars movies, I’m not nit picky when it comes to these movies and I really enjoyed all of them, more or less when I first saw them. Looking back, movies like Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith were not that great. And actually I wasn’t too fond of Rogue One either, just because everyone died. But in general, I enjoy these movies, but I’m not so attached that I get mad if it isn’t as good as I was expecting.
So anyway, I really enjoyed The Force Awakens and I’ve been looking forward to The Last Jedi for a long time. So me and my sister went opening night to see the new movie. And I can honestly say I enjoyed it. It went well with the first movie in this newest trilogy and it was a good continuation of the story. I enjoyed seeing Rey and Finn and Poe develop more as characters and learn something more about themselves. Finn finally accepted being a Rebel, Poe learned to care more for people than just being a hero, and Rey learned that she didn’t have to find her family to have a place in the world. I also was happy with the direction Luke Skywalker’s character took. It seemed very realistic and he did bring his own sort of humor to the story.
There were also a lot of epic fight scenes and hilarious dialogue in the film that kept me engaged and enjoying the story. Poe’s opening quips with General Hux were particularly memorable as was Rey getting smacked by a plant when she was trying to feel the force. So if you enjoy a good action movie, with some spot on humor I think you’d enjoy this film. And if you liked The Force Awakens, I’m pretty sure you’ll like this movie too. But if you were really set on finding out who Rey’s parents were and didn’t like the direction the new films were taking, you might be disappointed. But I enjoyed it and I hope you do too.
In any case, I hope you enjoy the holidays and take some time to be with family and friends and remember that relationships are more important than presents. Merry Christmas everyone!
Recently I’ve been binge watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I’m now into season 2 and I’m loving it. And I think one of the big reasons I like it so much is that the same producers made Parks and Recreation. Parks and Rec is my all time favorite show. Although some of the jokes can be crude, the chemistry of the cast after season 2 is just so perfect. Every single character can make me laugh, but in a different way. And Brooklyn Nine-Nine does the same thing. So, I thought it would be fun to compare characters in Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Feel free to disagree with my choices and come up with your own, but here’s how I see it.
Jake Peralta is the main character in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and he reminds me of Andy with his goofiness and child-like enthusiasm. However, Andy can also be naive and a bit slow, while Peralta is very smart and observant. So I’d say he could also have a bit of Ben Wyatt in him, especially in his love for nerdy things.
Captain Ray Holt is very similar to Ron Swanson in his demeanor and straight face. He also has authority over all of the other characters like Ron does. However, Holt is gay while Ron Swanson is the manliest man around.
Charles Boyle, Jake’s best friend, is a bit of an oddball. In some ways he is like Chris in Parks and Recreation, very enthusiastic and always looking on the bright side. But he is also very awkward sort of how Ben can get when he’s flustered.
Sergeant Terry Jeffords is a very unique character. I want to compare him to Leslie Knope because they share the second in command role and he also cares deeply for his coworkers. But he has a soft side along with his buff exterior that reminds me of health-conscious Chris with his emotional breakdowns.
Sorry I don’t have pictures for the rest of the characters, but I’m going to do them anyway.
Amy Santiago is a lot like Ann Perkins, wanting to please others but also Leslie Knope in her enthusiasm and detailed organization. So I’d say she’s a mix of the two.
Rosa Diaz reminds me a lot of April Ludgate in her don’t-care attitude and ability to confront others with the truth. Though more physical in her approach, she has a lot in common with April.
Scully and Hitchcock both remind me of Jerry/Gary/Larry. All of these characters are looked down on by their coworkers, but just go on with life. They also all make stupid mistakes that are easy for other’s to make fun of, but have their own quirks that keep us laughing.
And that leaves us with Gina Linetti. I’m not quite sure what to make of her. She’s a bit like Donna, with doing her own thing while at work. But while Donna never fails to treat herself, Gina cuts her own hair and is very thrifty. She’s also very crazy, like a whole lot of psychiatrists were fascinated by her in one episode. So I might say she’s a bit like Mona-Lisa too.
Anyway, those are my thoughts so far. And if you like Parks and Rec and haven’t tried out Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I recommend it.
If you haven’t seen Wonder Woman yet, be warned, there are spoilers in my review. So I’ve put off writing a review for Wonder Woman even though I saw it in theaters opening night. I think it’s because I really wanted to like this movie and most of the reviews and responses to the movie were very positive. But I just didn’t come out of the theater thinking ‘I loved that movie’ and I wasn’t really sure why. But now that I’ve had some time to think it over, I’ve come up with some reasons why I didn’t love this movie.
Now don’t get me wrong, this movie is a very high quality film and I’m glad it’s getting good reviews and people are enjoying it. I don’t want to start any arguments or make anyone upset. But since I have reviewed movies in the past, I wanted to at least give my opinion.
First off, one thing that makes me love a movie is the comedy. Not all movies need to have comedy, but even dramas I think are improved with moments of comic relief. Wonder Woman too, includes some comedic moments, but most of them are based in sexual humor which is awkward to me and not very funny. I don’t like that kind of comedy and so I found this movie very lacking in any funny moments that usually make me enjoy a superhero movie.
In addition, what makes me really enjoy a movie is a connection to the main character and a desire for them to succeed or accomplish their goal. I’m still not sure why, but I just didn’t connect to Wonder Woman as a character. I didn’t care what happened to her and even when her love interest died, I didn’t cry. Maybe it has something to do with her being a god and not having many things is common with me, or many of the other characters.
And speaking of the whole god thing, that was another reason I didn’t like the movie. As a Christian, any film that has it’s story line based in mythology always makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. I believe there is one true God and seeing anything with reference to other gods is just always harder for me to get into. But that’s just who Wonder Woman is, so I don’t blame the movie at all, they are sticking to the original comic for her back story, as they should. It’s just another reason that I personally had a hard time enjoying this movie. I prefer superheroes who get their powers by accident or technology instead of because they are a ‘god.’
And lastly, I had a hard time following the story in Wonder Woman. She seems to believe for most of the movie that she just has to defeat this one bad guy, Ares, and then everyone will stop fighting and there will be peace. It’s a naive understanding and I enjoyed seeing her discover that killing one bad guy won’t solve everything when she kills the German with her sword and the fighting doesn’t stop. But then the audience is shown that in fact it was just the wrong bad guy and even her sword isn’t the weapon we thought it was. So instead Wonder Woman is the weapon and some other guy is Ares and she battles him, wins and then the fighting stops.
So it felt like they were setting up an alternate ending where Wonder Woman doesn’t just defeat a bad guy and win, but then that ending sort of happened anyway. So I felt led on as an audience member. I don’t mind it usually when movies have surprises that you weren’t expecting, but it just felt like it was trying to do something new and then said never mind we’ll just do the regular ending that everybody expected at first.
In conclusion, as I’ve already said, I didn’t enjoy the movie. And that’s sad because I was really excited about it and was hoping I’d really enjoy it. I loved the scenery and setting in World War 1 and I liked Chris Pine’s acting and several of the action sequences were very well done. But in the end, it just wasn’t for me.
I was hanging out with some girlfriends this past Saturday and one of them mentioned seeing a movie. I suggested the Jungle Book, since I thought the remake looked interesting and I’d heard some good things about it. The suggestion was met with exclamations of “Yes!” So a few hours later I went with 3 close friends to the mall to see this remake of a childhood classic.
In many ways this movie holds true to the original animated Disney movie. Most of the characters are the same and they even have updated versions of the classic songs “The Bare Necessities” and “I Wanna Be Like You.” However, there are some noticeable changes, most of which I enjoy. For example, we get a lot more screen time and character development with Mowgli’s wolf family, especially his mother. This was sorely lacking in the original movie, and I appreciated seeing the pack or family mentality woven into the film.
The movie also has a darker tone than the original. There is a lot more action, fear, and a more developed villain. Sher Khan doesn’t just hunt Mowgli, he is the one who killed his father. And he even kills the wolf leader because they don’t hand Mowgli over to him. And Kaa isn’t a bumbling snake that easily loses his prey, instead she is a cleaver seductress that would have killed Mowgli if Baloo hadn’t shown up.
Mowgli is also shown to be a very unique and likable character. He realizes he is not like the other creatures around him and develops his own solutions or “tricks” to problems, such as making a scoop to collect water. He gets in trouble for these “tricks” at first, but later it is seen to be his strength. He also is very aware of other’s needs and wants to help. When he sees how his staying with the wolves is causing a conflict, he decides to leave, and when he sees a baby elephant stuck in the mud, he helps it out.
I also love how Sher Khan is defeated in this film. Instead of Mowgli tying a burning stick to his tail, all of the animals of the jungle pitch in to help Mowgli. Ultimately Mowgli is the one who has to trick the tiger into his death, but I really loved seeing all of the other creatures taking part in the action. It reinforced the importance of the pack, or community. I especially enjoyed this because I love the message for us as well.
If we try to face our problems on our own, it’s hard and we probably won’t make it. But when we look out for each other and care for each other, we can overcome huge things. I’ve seen this firsthand with how my city has gone through disastrous flooding over and over again. If we just let our neighbors deal with their own issues and don’t offer to help, the whole community suffers. But when we come together to bless each other, it strengthens everyone.
We all need friendship and community to get through life’s personal or communal tragedies. And this movie does a good job of showing that. At the end of the film, I expected Mowgli to go back to live in the man village, just as he does in the old movie. But he doesn’t, instead he stays with his real community, his jungle friends who he’s helped and who have helped him. They really have become his family.
So I hope you take the time to go see this film, I really enjoyed it and I think you will too.
Yesterday I went to the theater with my good friend and we saw God’s Not Dead 2. This is the sequel to God’s Not Dead. I wasn’t sure exactly what this film would be covering and I was pleasantly surprised to see some of the previous film’s characters appear again in this movie. Though the main story line is new and there are several new characters in the film, it was enjoyable to see how people’s lives had continued since the previous story. Therefore I would suggest seeing the first movie before watching this one, though I think you could enjoy it either way.
Whereas the first movie is centered on a college campus and one student standing up to his professor about the existence of God, this film instead focuses on a high school teacher who answers a question about Jesus in her classroom and then faces the school board and a jury to decide if her action was in line with the law. The story, though fictionalized, reflects several real court cases around the United States and at the end of the film, these cases are referenced.
I don’t want to spoil the whole film for those that want to see it for themselves, but I’ll say that I enjoyed it. I really liked seeing the old familiar characters still growing in their new faith or applying the lessons they had learned from the previous film. It reminded me that real life isn’t like a Hollywood movie where everything works out in the end and there are no problems once the credits roll. These recurring characters have to explore their new found faith, decide what they really believe and if they will hold to their decision despite the consequences. However, I don’t think the “God’s Not Dead” tagline worked as well in this film. The prosecutor claiming that this court decision would prove that God was dead, didn’t seem to make much sense. And everyone claiming that God’s Not Dead near the end of the film, though fun to watch, didn’t seem very realistic either. I know this tagline comes because it is a sequel to the first film, but I just don’t think it fit in as well with this plot.
One last tidbit in case you are planning on seeing this movie: there is an end credit scene. I was lucky enough to stay till the end of the film so I did see it, but everyone else in the theater had left, so if you do go see this movie, stick around till the very end.
If you read my last post, you know that I was very excited to see the new Pixar movie Inside Out. And I can say with confidence I was not disappointed, and if I ever make an updated list of my five favorite Pixar films, this one will be on it. Sometimes I set the bar too high for movies and end of leaving disappointed, but Pixar has done it again. They surpassed my expectations and left me wanting to see this movie again.
So before I get into the details of the movie, if you haven’t seen it, I’d say go ahead and watch it first. I’d hate to spoil anything for you. And if you still need some info before you see it, here’s a preview.
Alright, onto the review. This movie combines outstanding characters with an epic story. As only Pixar can do, the cast of this movie leaves the audience laughing at every turn. There were multiple times when I watched this movie that the audience or myself was laughing so hard, that I missed what a character said right after the funny moment. (This is one of the reasons I want to see it again).
One scene in particular that I found hilarious, was the dream sequence which began with the average dreams that pretty much everyone has experienced (reliving a bad memory, losing your teeth, and not wearing any pants) but the film pokes fun at these stereotypes by having Fear (played by Bill Hader) comment on the predictability of these scenes. Then as other characters, namely Joy (played by Amy Poehler) and Sadness (played by Phyliss Smith) try to change the dream, Fear is left wondering what in the world is going on, saying such things as “What the?” and “Stick with a plotline people.”
And this I think is one of the things Pixar does best, starting with Toy Story they have had groups of characters that feel so real, but say and do things that are just hilarious. I still remember Mr Potato Head saying “Look I’m Picasso,” and “What are you looking at, you Hockey Puck?” Inside Out has the same quality of one liners that leave you laughing. But just as Toy Story, and almost every Pixar film has funny characters, it also has an emotion filled story line.
I can honestly say, this movie made me cry… multiple times. It just knows how to tug on your heart strings, and take you from laughing to crying so fluently. Ironic right, since it’s a movie about emotions. But this is something that Pixar has perfected, even managing to make a 5 minute love story between two people that is heart wrenching in their movie UP.
One last thing I want to mention that I really enjoyed from this movie is how loss is handled. In the movie, Joy is always looking on the bright side and being optimistic and trying to make everyone around her, even Sadness, happy. But at one point she in confronted with a character who is heartbroken. Something they loved, that was really important to them was lost, and they’ll never get it back. (It reminded me of a person losing a friend or a loved one). Joy responds as she always had before, trying to put a positive spin on things, and distracting the character from the loss. And that can be such a typical response that we can give to someone else’s tragedy. But in contrast, Sadness listens to the character’s story and lets him mourn. She enters into his pain and lets him feel that it is alright to be upset. And that ends up being so much better for him, and for anyone dealing with grief.
I’ve been learning a lot about that in my own life now, with so many people around me and in my city experiencing tragedy. I want to remember to not try to fix everything or make someone feel happy, but let them be sad, validate their sense of loss and even cry with them.
So, I hope you enjoyed this movie too, and if you haven’t watched it and went ahead and read this, I hope I didn’t give away too much and you’ll still enjoy seeing it for yourself.
This past week I had the opportunity to see several movies, including the musicals: Into the Woods and Annie. I don’t recall seeing Into the Woods before, but I knew the general plot of rewriting the old fairytales. And Annie has been one of my favorite musicals ever since I was a little kid. I’ve seen it multiple times on stage and I’m pretty sure the old movie version was watched at least once by my family. In any case, I usually like movie adaptations of musicals. I like the music, even if it gets stuck in my head and generally the storylines of musicals are just as compelling as other movies. So into the movie theater I went to see these two movie versions of classic plays.
I’ll start with Into the Woods, since I saw it first. Even with the familiarity of the fairytale stories, I enjoyed getting to see the characters fleshed out by new actors and I particularly liked seeing Little Red Riding Hood being a sneaky little girl who took way more sweets than she needed. Since I hadn’t seen this play before, I actually thought the movie was over when everyone was getting their happily ever after. I had the brief thought of “what about that other bean stalk?” but everyone was so happy that I thought it wasn’t a big deal. And then the change came, people cheated, died and the happily ever after became a lie. I liked the realism this change brought to the characters and I especially liked the song about who to blame. It’s easy to get caught up in finding someone to blame for our problems, when the truth is we are just as much to blame as they are. So in the end, even though the story changed, I was pleased with the outcome, and how the characters who were still alive had changed too. And the “Into the Woods” song won’t be leaving my thoughts anytime soon.
Onto Annie, this story I know very well, and I was intrigued by the preview for this movie and how they were updating it for a new generation. A lot of the classic songs were still included and even a tip of the hat to the old version with the opening scene showing a little red headed girl tap dancing who was also named Annie. But then the story shifts and we get to see a world more similar to what we know. And even though new songs were added, characters were changed, and the story departed from the original, I still found myself enchanted by this movie. I especially liked how the lady who boarded the orphan girls had more of a backstory and was more relateable to the audience. I enjoyed her character a lot more than the previous version and was happy that she got to become more of a heroine than a villain in the end. The only complaint I would have is that a few of the songs sounded a little “fake” to me, as if they were recorded by a different actor and then lip-sinked to the one playing the character. But even with that, I still enjoyed the movie.
So if you too enjoy a good musical, I would highly recommend either of these movies.
NovelSisters 
