So, I finally made it back to a movie theater and thought I’d do a blog post about the newest film in the Harry Potter Franchise: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Now I’m a bit new to this fandom, I didn’t grow up reading the books or watching the movies, though many in my generation did. I only read and watched the original series this past year. So it was kind of fun to go to my first Harry Potter movie at the movie theater. I was joined by several friends and we settled into our comfy reclining chairs to watch the story of the man who wrote Harry’s textbook.
I was also really excited to watch this movie because Eddie Redmayne plays the main character Newt Scamander. He also played Marius in Les Miserables and I loved that movie. So I was excited for how he’d pull off this role. He did a great job with his awkward smiles and his hilarious interactions with the beasts he carries around in his suitcase. He turns Newt into a lovable character that you can’t help but root for.
But my favorite part of this movie was our Muggle or No Mag character Jacob Kowalski. He brought so much humor into this movie with his fascination for all of the magical things he had never seen or experienced before. Maybe I identified with him the most because this whole world is a bit new to me too. But mostly it was just his good sense of humor and how he accepts that this world is real and wants to help protect it.
In any case, this film had a intriguing story, fun new characters, beautiful animation and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. So if you have time during this Thanksgiving Break, go see it.
This weekend I got to see two movies that I’d really been looking forward to, so I thought I’d review both of them in one post. It was odd seeing Star Trek Beyond and Jason Bourne so close to each other. I normally watch kid movies and the types of previews that come before these sort of films are not very uplifting. There were so many shooters, assassins, and thriller commercials that it got to be a bit too much for me. With all that’s been happening in our real world, seeing more violence in these previews was not at all appealing to me. It reminded me why I usually go for the more family focused films.
But despite Star Trek and Jason Bourne being more adult films and having plenty of action and violence, I still enjoyed myself. Star Trek was very similar to the last 2 films and Jason Bourne was very similar to the original trilogy. They both had cool action scenes, with flying spaceships and explosions in one, and fistfights and car chases in the other.
I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride in Star Trek, partly because I was in the front row and could barely see the whole screen with my peripheral vision. But the shaky cam in Jason Bourne did just as good a job of sucking me into the action. (Though it could make it difficult to know what was happening).
So if you like action films, check out either of these two films, and you won’t be disappointed.
Now on to a deeper level, I noticed that Star Trek and Jason Bourne have fundamentally different set ups. Star Trek is about a crew, almost a family, having to solve problems, work together, and use their varying skills and talents to overcome huge obstacles. No matter what they face, they stick together and don’t give up on each other. The villain in this movie, as in countless other movies, says this is what makes them weak. But the crew firmly believes that it is a strength to have each other.
Jason Bourne, on the other hand, is a protagonist that we’re rooting for but he doesn’t rely on others very much. He’s not on a team, he’s by himself. And though he occasionally works with others or shows care for others, it usually ends up being just him against insurmountable odds. But because he’s Jason Bourne, he always comes out on top.
Thinking of this in my own life, I would rather be in a Star Trek type situation rather than a Jason Bourne one. I like having a team of people around me that support and encourage me rather than being able to handle everything on my own. There is some discomfort in not being able to take care of myself all on my own, but there is such a sweet bond that people share when they help each other and depend on each other. And I’d rather have that than the ability to do it alone. It also reminds me of the Body of Christ and how we aren’t good at everything, but by working together we build each other up in love and glorify God. He designed us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and to help others but also receive help from others.
Well anyway, those are a few of my random thoughts after seeing the movies. I hope you enjoy one or both of these films.
Movie review time again, yay! I’ve been waiting to see “Me Before You” for a long time and I was excited that it worked out with my friend to watch it last night. This is definitely one of those chick flick movies, so if that’s not your preference, feel free to stop reading. But I found the film very enjoyable. It’s definitely more of a tearjerker movie and not as much of a romantic comedy. Although, there were definitely a lot of funny moments in the film and I enjoyed laughing along with the rest of the audience.
But in the end, this is not a happily ever after type movie. From the beginning we can tell that this romance is mixed with tragedy. One of the main characters William, is involved in an accident at the beginning of the film and has to deal with the pain, humiliation, and changes that come from having a spinal cord injury. The plotline focuses on his growing relationship with Louisa. She tries to brighten up his life, make him smile, laugh and focus on the good. It is fun and sometimes laughable to see her efforts at cheering him up throughout the film.
But then we find out that William has decided to end his life. It’s a decision that he made before he even met Louisa, and the audience cheers her on as she tries to change his mind. But despite her best efforts, the film progresses toward this assumed ending. This definitely brings out the tears. But more than that, it brought up some questions and a good discussion with my friend.
As Christians, we could see something missing from Louisa’s efforts to save William. She was trying to convince him to keep living in a world full of pain, loss and disappointment. She wanted to make him happy, but he didn’t want to trap her in his world and keep her from living. No matter what she said, she couldn’t change his mind. Then my friend said, “If only he’d known Jesus.” It was a short comment, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. There are so many people that live through horrific circumstances and don’t give up. They may live in pain every single day and a lot of people see them and think it would be better if they were put out of their sufferings. But they have a hope and they refuse to stop living.
I went home after the movie thinking about this and then happened to read this passage:
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”
2 Corinthians 1:8-10 “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”
I think if William had known Jesus, he could have kept living. Because Jesus not only comforts us in our hardships and delivers us from our despair, but He also gives us a hope and a promise. No matter how hard this life gets, He has promised that those who follow Him will have eternal life. All of the hardships from this life will be redeemed, and will be worth it. All of the sacrifices we made will mean something. Jesus gives us a reason to keep living.
So anyway, those were my thoughts after seeing this movie. If you enjoy a good chick-flick, check it out.
Well I got to see the movie “Mother’s Day” today with my good friend. So I thought I’d write a review for the film. It’s similar to the movie “Valentine’s Day” released a few years ago and also follows the lives of several families as they celebrate the holiday. Unlike “Valentine’s Day,” however, this movie covers more than just the one day. It gives us a look into the families varied lives before the holiday happens. It is a touching movie with many heartfelt moments. I did tear up a couple times. But there are also plenty of hilarious moments to laugh at and keep you entertained. All in all it was a good movie to watch, and a good reminder that mothers and fathers are all important. They definitely deserve more than one day of appreciation. So even though Mother’s Day is over, and Father’s Day isn’t till next month, I’m going to take a moment to thank my parents for all that they have done and still do for me. And I hope you do too.
Mom, you’ve been there for me, before I can even remember. You’ve done so many things without being thanked, even once. Countless dishes have been cleaned, the laundry washed and dried, floors swept, mopped and cleared of toys. You bought me clothes and taught me to sew. You made so many meals for me and then taught me how to cook my own food. If I ever have a problem, or a question, you’re the one I go to for advice. I love you so much! I’m so thankful for your constant presence in my life, and for not only your care, but your friendship. I’m so glad you’re my mom.
Dad, thank you for working so hard to provide for our family, for putting in the long hours and pushing through the stress and difficulties with your job. I’ve always had what I needed because of you. Thank you for taking the time to play with me as a kid, to read me bedtime stories and teach me to ice skate. Thank you for all of the Daddy-Daughter dates and teaching me what I should expect from a man. You taught me how to dance, how to navigate, how to organize and make wise choices. You’ve given me such a great example and I am so thankful for your love. I love you! And I’m so glad that you are my dad.
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.
So I’ve been wanting to see The Martian movie for a long time. But I never made it the theater and then it was in that weird in between stage where you can’t see it in theaters and you can’t rent it either. But this past weekend my family finally rented it through iTunes and we all sat down to watch the almost 2 and a half hour movie. I’d heard good things about this movie and know it’s also getting some attention at the upcoming Oscars, so I was expecting a good movie, but I didn’t know how good. Now after seeing it, I may just have to read the book it was based off of by Andy Weir.
When watching this Space Drama, it’s hard not to think of other space related movies, such as the more recent Interstellar, and older classics like Apollo 13. And while Apollo 13 will always have a special place in my heart and is enjoyable because of it’s basis on a true story, I have to admit that The Martian took things to a whole ‘nother level. It’s like the awesome visuals of Interstellar were combined with the compelling story of Apollo 13 and then given steroids.
The basic plot of The Martian is that someone is lost in space, more specifically on Mars, and a whole team of people have to work together to get him home alive. Not to mention, he has to figure out a lot of things on his own. But it’s amazing to see all of the inventiveness, creativity and humor of the stranded Mark Watney. I also was excited every time I saw another celebrity actor show up in the cast. It just brought a high standard to the whole film.
And although there are many things to praise about this movie, such as the beautiful scenery, music, and well written plot that balances drama with humor perfectly so we don’t get tired of either; I feel like my favorite part of this movie was seeing Matt Damon talking to himself throughout his time alone in space. I was a little worried that I would see similar things to Castaway or other films where someone is alone and they go a little crazy. But time and time again, our hero Mark finds a way to laugh at his situation and just go for it. It brings a sense of hope to the awful situation he is in and inspires the audience to do the same.
So, in conclusion, I loved this movie. It does have a bit of language that you might want to watch out for, and the opening storm scene is a bit intense, but otherwise I think it’s enjoyable. So go see it before it wins some Oscars, because based on what I saw, it’s winning something.
As you know if you’ve been following my blog for long, I’ve blogged about the Hunger Games before. I’ve seen all of the other movies and read the books. So this past weekend I went to see the latest Hunger Games movie. And just in case you haven’t seen it, be aware that this blog post will have some spoilers in it. I found it interesting that before I got a chance to see the movie, several people in my life were complaining about this newest film. Some said they were disappointed, or didn’t like the ending. But I wanted to reserve judgement till I had actually seen the movie for myself.
So yesterday I settled into my movie chair with a good friend and we watching the 2 hour and 17 minute movie. And I couldn’t see why people were complaining. There were intense battle sequences, fairly good acting, and great music. I even laughed at a few of the lines. I thought the movie did an excellent job of bringing the book to life. If followed the story line almost perfectly as did the previous films. It seemed on par with all of the other Hunger Games movies. What was there to complain about?
And then it hit me, the people I’d heard complaining about the movie had not read the books, or at least not to my knowledge. Suddenly it all made sense. When I first read the books, I loved the first one, was still interested by the second, and was kind of frustrated with the third. I didn’t like that so many of the characters died and yeah I just didn’t like the story. But that’s how it was written. So when I went to see the movie I expected Finnick and Prim to die, I knew Coin was also a villain and I enjoyed seeing everything play out. Plus I got to see my extra favorite ending scene with Peeta and Katniss hanging out with their kids. By the way Peeta makes an awesome dad.
So yeah, I got what I expected. But if someone was watching the films and didn’t know how it was going to end, I can totally see why they were disappointed. I was too, just with the book. I can’t blame the movie, because it wasn’t the movie’s fault, it all came from the book. So in any case, if you’ve enjoyed the Hunger Games movies, you’ll probably enjoy this one too. But if you don’t know the ending, be prepared for some sadness coming your way because it’s not all happily ever after.
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.
So I got to see the new Avengers movie yesterday and it definitely was a summer blockbuster. It had plenty of action, all the returning Avengers, plus several new faces. It was 2 hours and 20 minutes long and I never got bored during the whole thing. The director also did a good job of balancing fast action with slow character development. The movie definitely was a thrill ride. And if you haven’t seen it yet, go ahead and stop reading now, and see if for yourself. Otherwise, beware of spoilers.
One of my favorite parts of any of the Marvel Universe movies is the banter and jokes between characters and this film did not disappoint. Whether it was in the middle of a thrilling action sequence, or while our heroes are taking it easy at Avenger’s tower or their safe house, there is always a cleaver line thrown in. Even our villain has several humorous comments to add, probably because he was developed by Tony Stark and inherited some of his wit. I also loved the bit about Thor’s Hammer and how no one could pick it up, though Captain America did manage to move it. And then in the climax, our new hero Vision is able to pick it up easily, proving that he can be trusted.
The one downside to this movie is that there is literally so much going on that it can be hard to follow the plot or connect with new characters. It could have just been the mood I was in, but I didn’t get as caught up in this story as I have with other Marvel movies. I didn’t cry when Quicksilver died or when the the Avengers saw their worst fears or memories. Maybe I will the second time through, but the first time I was constantly trying to keep up with who was who, and what was going on so that I didn’t get emotionally invested.
But in any case, it was a fun movie to see and I enjoyed it and will probably see it again soon.
NovelSisters 