MOVIE REVIEW: Everything Everything

Hello All,

I feel like it's been a while since the last time I wrote a movie review but here I am writing a new one for your lovely eyes. About a week ago I published my book review for the book, Everything Everything. And after reading the book I had to see the movie. For those of you who haven't see the movie trailer I'll posted right now.

The movie follows the main character Madeline (Amandla Stenberg) who at about six month old was diagonised with SCIDs (Basically everything will make her sick) and never leaves her house. When a boy name Olly (Nick Robinson) moves in next door Madeline starts to fall in love with the real world but falling in love also makes her want to see the world outside of her house. Which ultimately causes Madeline and Olly to run away to Hawaii.

LtoR: Olly (Robinson) & Madeline (Stenberger)
Source

I loved that the movie followed the storyline of the books so closely. But at times the movie followed it to closely. The novel uses a lot of symbolism and the movie worked really hard to get the symbolism across. I feel that is great for award winning film but for film that is mainly going to draw a young adult audience it is too much. I feel like the average sixteen year old just doesn't care about the symbolism of the ocean. And this symbolism made the movie drag on forever. 

LtoR: Madeline (Stenberger) & Olly (Robinson)
Source

I think the casting was spectacular. I loved the chemistry between Amandla Stenberger and Nick Robinson. It was sweet and romantic. It was the kind of chemistry that makes you believe that against all odds in a world where these characters are real they're going to make it. They also were exactly how I pictured these characters to be as I read the novel. 

LtoR: Pauline (Anika Noni Rose) & Madeline (Stenberger)
Source

I did go and see the movie with Mama Judy who hadn't read the book said that certain parts were confusing to her. And she was able to find more plot holes then I did. But I feel that in some ways the plot holes were more noticeable in the movie.

LtoR: Madeline (Stenberger) & Nick (Robinson)
Source

I feel like this movie feeds into the old fact that books is always better then the movie. I feel like I would not have liked this movie as a stand alone but I did like it having read the book. I don't think I would be as quick to recommend this movie to people who haven't read the book. But if you have seen I do suggest seeing it and see those words come to life.

Madeline (Stenberger)
Source

Have you seen Everything Everything? Did you read the book before seeing the movie? What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments below.

Source

*This post was not sponsored by any of the linked sites. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own 

and I was in no way compensated for mentioning them ***

MOVIE REVIEW: The Girl on the Train

Hello All,

I went to the movies this weekend (now its a few weekends ago...completely forgot to edit this) and I want to tell you all about it because I went to see The Girl on the Train. Below is the trailer for those of you who haven't seen it.

This movie is based on the novel, The Girl on the Train, written by Paula Hawkins. I haven't read the book although now I'm thinking about downloading the audio book and listening to it in the morning when I'm getting ready, but I'll explain more on that later. Anyways the minute I saw the trailer for this movie I knew I had to see it because it had a very Gone Girl vibe, which is you remember about 2 years ago I went and saw that movie and loved it. (Review here). 

Rachel (Blunt)
Source

This movie starts out by introducing you to the three main women in the movie, Rachel (Emily Blunt), Megan (Haley Bennet) and Anna (Rebecca Ferguson). Right off the back we learn that Rachel is dealing with some alcohol abuse problems. Everyday she rides the train into Manhatten and passes by the street she once lived on wit her ex-husband, Tom (Justin Theroux). From the train she can see into her and Tom's old house which Tom still lives in with his new wife, Anna. And their neighbors home owned by Megan and her husband, Scott (Luke Evans). Rachel becomes obsessed with their lives and even more so when she sees Megan kiss a man who is not her husband. On that night she drunkly goes to confront Megan because she knows what its like to have a spouse cheat on her. The next day Megan goes missing and Rachel has to piece together what happened that night in order to clear her own name. 

Rachel (Blunt)
Source

I loved this movie, it kept me guessing the whole time. I think that at different points throughout the movie I thought each of the characters were the primary criminal of the story because they all had such great motives. In a way I felt like the actual kidnapper and their motives were a little cliche but I think the way the story unraveled made up for it. Like I mentioned before I really want to read the book because there is one part of the reveal that left me with a few questions that I'm hoping maybe the book could answer.

Anna (Ferguson)
Source

As for performance I feel like the whole cast was phenomenal. But the one who stood out the most to me was Emily Blunt. She portrayed this character so well. At different times through out the movie I pitted her, hated her, felt protective over her and sympathized with her. I felt all those emotions in the course of two hours and it was all because of Blunt's performance. 

Detective Riley (Allison Janney)
Source

One thing I noticed, although I'm not sure if it was done on purpose was that all of the male characters looked a lot at alike. For the story it made sense because it made it that while Rachel was drunk she'd have a hard time telling them apart. But as an audience member it was confusing at times but also helped me relate better to Rachel's state of mind. So now that I've written a whole paragraph I've decided that I do love that they all looked a like. 

Tom (Theroux)
Source

I rarely write about editing when I write these posts mainly because I don't feel like I know enough about it to write about it in an educated manner. I will say however that in this movie the editing was done perfectly. It flashed around and there were a lot of jump cuts that came very quickly, adding to the confusion and chaos going on in Rachel's head. Something that as a movie nerd I loved to see. I actually have a class this semester where were looking at movies and if this movie was out on DVD I'd probably used it so I could talk about those aspects. 

LtoR: Tom (Theroux) & Rachel (Blunt)
Source

So, in case you're still wondering I would recommend this movie to almost everyone. The people who I would say shouldn't watch this movie is people who get squeamish easily. There are a few scenes where there is a good about of blood. But for everyone else, please go see it and see the awesome movies for yourself. 

Source

Have you seen Girl on the Train? If you have what are your opinions? Let me know in the comments below. 

MOVIE REVIEW: Finding Dory

Hello All,

As some of you may have noticed some of my favorite posts to write are reviews so I'm excited to be back with another one today. 

Like every other twenty-something, okay maybe everyone, in America I was super excited when I heard the news that Dory, Marlin and Nemo would be returning to the big screen. For those of you who need a little Dory (or Ellen) in your life watch one of the previews down below.

So, I patiently waited for the Finding to Dory to come out for weeks, months, years, 13 years to be exact. And then I had to wait another couple weeks after the premiere to actually go see it. But that didn't stop me from seeing all the tweets, Instas and Facebook posts about the movie.  Everyone talked about how Finding Dory was one of the only sequels to surpass the prequel. Which gave me some really high expectations, but did it live up to its review? Find out as the post continues. 

LtoR: Dory and Marlin
Source

Mama Judy and I went to see the movie in 3D (that was a lot of fun). The movie opened up with a very cute Baby Dory and her parents. Her parents teach her how to explain her short term memory loss (little Dory talking about it was even more adorable then her looks) to strangers and new friends. Soon she looses her parents and they do a short flashback montage leading up to when she meets Marlin in the original movie. Slowly Dory gets some flashes of her past which leads Marlin, Dory and Nemo on another adventure across the ocean. 

LtoR: Bailey and Destiny
Source

The movie features some characters from the original movies including Mr. Ray, Crush (Mama Judy's favorite), Squirt and Nemo's classmates. It was so cool seeing these characters again and seeing where they were a year later (even if we had to wait 13 years to see it). I think Mama Judy's one complaint was that Crush wasn't in it enough. 

LtoR: Dory and Hank
Source

They also brought in some new characters such as Hank, a grumpy octopus, Destiny, a blind whale Shark, Bailey a beluga whale with a head injury and Dory's parents. All of these characters were adorable. My favorite new characters were the whales. They were so funny and adorable, if Disney made a movie about them I would be first in line to see it. The internet's favorite character was Gerald, who was adorable but not my favorite. 

Baby Dory in all her cuteness
source

Over all I thought the movie was extremely cute and I am so glad I went to see it theater. But I will say that I didn't feel it was better then Finding Nemo. I think it was on the same level as Nemo but not better. 

LtoR: Merlin and Crush
Source

Mama Judy would probably like me to add that she loved the pre-movie short featuring Piper. 

Piper (The pre-movie short)
Source

Did you guys see Finding Dory? What did you guys think? Let me know in the comments below!

Source

NETFLIX REVIEW: 23 Blast

Hello All,

Today I'm back with another Netflix Review!

 A couple of weeks ago I watched a movie on Netflix called, 23 Blast.

23 Blast based on the true story of Travis Freeman (Mark Hapka) who was the star football player on his high school team. One day Travis wakes up to his eyes being swollen shut because of a serve sinus infection. Which causes him to need emergency surgery. When Travis wakes up he no longer has his ability to see. In the beginning Travis has his hardships with his new disability but with the help of parents (Dylan Baker and Kim Zimmer), his friends Jerry (Bram Hoover) and Ashley (Alexa PenaVega) and special education teacher Mrs. Crawford (Deirdre Brennan) he's able to see the good life again. Travis' love of football causes him to suggest changes in the line up to his football coach (Stephen Lang) which gets his coach thinking that maybe Travis can still play. 

LtoR: Coach Farris (Stephen Lang) and Travis Freeman (Mark Hapka)
Source

I love sports movies, especially the ones that are based on true stories.  This story was inspiring and serves to remind us that even when life hands us lemons that you can always make lemonade. I loved seeing how positive Travis remains even when he was having difficulty learning new a football position as a blind man. 

LtoR: Travis (Hapka) and Jerry (Bram Hoover)
Source

I felt like the acting was only subpar. There were many times that it felt like the characters should be showing more emotions and they seem to have blank expressions. I read online that it was the directional debut of Dylan Baker and I'm not sure if he wasn't pushing the actors enough or if the actors just weren't that good but something was definitely missing in this movie.

LtoR: Travis (Hapka) and Ashley (Alexa PenaVega)
Source

Another thing I didn't like about this movie was the lack of chemistry between almost all of the characters. It felt like none of the actors had ever met before filming each of scenes. It was very strained and at times hard to watch. 

LtoR: Unknown, Travis (Hapka) and Jerry (Hoover)
Source

Although I will say that Mark Hapka did a fantastic job protraying a young man who had gone blind. He did it in a smart way that did seem like it would be offensive to others. 

Travis (Hapka)
Source

Although I loved the story I wouldn't say the movie was a life changing by any means. I don't think I will ever watch the movie again nor would I recommend this movie. I also wouldn't say that it was the worse movie I have ever seen, I think I would rank this movie a 4/10. 

LtoR: Ashley (PenaVega) and Travis (Hapka)
Source

Have you seen 23 Blast? What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments down below.

NETFLIX REVIEWS: Like Sunday, Like Rain

Hello All,

Recently I was watching a movie that I had never seen before on Netflix and I thought to myself "Hmm...I really want to write a review. To bad this movie isn't new". But then it hit me I could write review because anyone with Netflix could watch this movie (or it could probably be found somewhere else online).  And then hit me even more then I so many movies on my Netflix list that people may enjoy. So, why not write about them? So, without further ado, I present my first Netflix Review.

For this review I'm going to be talking about the 2014 movie, Like Sunday, Like Rain.

I was original intrigued by this movie because of one the title has my favorite day of the week and rain both of which I love. But also because it has one of my favorite actresses, Leighton Meester. The movie is the story of Eleanor (Leighton Meester) who breaks up with her boyfriend (Billie Joe Amstrong) and it becomes messy when he con confronts her at work which leaders to her getting fired. Eleanor finds a new job nannying for a young twelve year old boy, Reggie (Julian Shatkin) who is too smart for his britches. Together the form a special bond because of the feeling of being an outsider, their love of music and their crazy families who seem to over look them. 

Although this movie has many moments where it feels like a remake of The Nanny Diaries. It was its own movie in many ways. These characters brought together a new heart that The Nanny Diaries didn't have. They had an instant connection and the chemstry between Leighton Meester and Julian Shatkin was adorable. When I noticed the movie was near its finish I was sad to see it ending because I was sad because I didn't want to return to the world where Eleanor and Reggie weren't. 

The ending was heartbreaking and feel and raw. Both Meester and Shatkin brought their A-game for the final scene together. Although in my opinion both of them were all-stars throughout the whole movie. I already loved Leighton Meester during her time on Gossip Girl and in other films I had seen her in but this movie just made me love her even more. This is the first time I had seen Julian Shatkin in anything and I have to say he was a great performer. I hope to see him in many more projects as the years go on. 

This is definetly a movie that I would reccommend for one of those days where you just need a good cry. And a perfect setting would probably be a rainy Sunday afternoon. (Yup, I'm that corner) 

Have you seen Like Sunday, Like Rain? What did you think of it?

MOVIE REVIEW: How To Be Single

Hello All,

Recently I went to see the new movie How to Be Single. You can check out the preview down below.

This movie followed the single lives of many different people but focused on about four different stories that all kind of intermingled.  The first story we are introduced to is Alice's (Dakota Johnson). Alice had been in a relationship with her college boyfriend, Josh (Nicholas Braun), pretty much since day one. But around the time they are graduating she decided that needed time to find herself and breaks up with Josh. The next story we meet is Robin (Rebel Wilson) who is very happy sleeping around and partying and really isn't looking for a stable relationship. Alice's older sister, Meg (Leslie Mann) is a single doctor who hasn't felt the need to be a relationship since med school. She decided to try and get pregnant on her own but soon ends up meeting Ken (Jake Lacey) which turns everything upside down. The other two stories were definately supposed to be B storylines. The first one was Lucy (Alison Brie) who thought that she could beat the online dating system through an algorithm, Lucy soon befriends a bartender, Tom (Anders Holm) who didn't want a relationship and much like Robin could careless about being a relationship. The final storyline was about David (Damon Wayans Jr) who was a single dad just trying to figure out how to fall in love after the death of his wife.

Alice (Dakota Johnson) & Robin (Rebel Wilson)
Source

There were so many storylines in this movie that I felt like none of them actually got the time they deserved. My favorite story line was the Leslie Mann storyline but out of the main 3, her's was the one that got the least screen time. I would have been just as, if not happier seeing a movie that was only about her (then again that would just be the Back Up Plan). My main problem with the multiple storylines is that none of the characters were really developed well. It often felt like they were skipping important moments of development that left me confused. 

LtoR: Meg (Leslie Mann), Alice (Johnson) & Robin (Wilson)
Source

Chemistry wise the best chemistry in my opinion was between Rebel Wilson and Dakota Johnson. In many of the scenes they shot together I felt like they must have really been friends. But much like the character development you didn't get to really see Alice and Robin's friendship grow. Which was too bad because the whole movie had the feeling of female empowerment but they friendship was just grazed upon. 

Lucy (Alison Brie)
Source

 I will say two positive things about the movie. One the male cast was all gorgeous and great eye candy. But also I loved that they never painted the character of Robin as being a "slut". Although the sleeping with multiple men is not my lifestyle I don't think that its something that are our society should frown upon, especially when in other movies Tom's (the player) character would be shown as a stud or a cool guy. 

Meg (Mann)
Source

Over all this is not a movie that I would pay to see in the theaters again. Although I also didn't hate and will probably watch it when they play it on TV sometime in the future. As for a reccomendation I would say lovers of the chick flicks genre would probably enjoy it but I don't think I would really encourage my friends to see it in theaters.

LtoR: Alice (Johnson) & Josh (Nicholas Braun)
Source

Have you seen How to Be Singe? If so, what did you think about it? Let me know in the comments below.  

MOVIE REVIEW: Joy

Hello All,

Last week I went to see the newest Jennifer Lawerence movie, Joy.

The movie follows the life of Joy (Jennifer Lawerence) whose family has its issues. Joy, now in her mid to late twenties lives in a small house with her grandmother (Diane Ladd), her mother (Virginia Madsen) who spends her days in bed watching soap operas, her ex-husband Tony (Edgar Ramirez) and her two children. She is living pay check to pay check and has her fair share of difficulties. When her father (Robert De Niro) starts dating a new women, Trudy (Isabella Rossellini) Joy gets her to fund her invention.  After a few failed attempts to get her product into the big stores like K-Mart and her small town hardware shop, Tony gets Joy a meeting QVC, launching Joy's career.

Joy (Jennifer Lawerence)

In my opinion none of the actors in this movie did a bad job. They are all amazing actors and they showcased their talents well in the movie. But for me the two little girls who share the role of Joy's daughter stole the show. Aundrea and Gia Gadsby were adorable. They played the role so well and made the daughter seem so precious and lovable. I found the character and how they portrayed her to be extremely realistic.

LtoR: Joy (Lawerence), Rudy (Robert De Niro) & Tony (Edgar Ramirez)

Although this movie isn't all happy as the title may imply, this movie didn't cause me to leave the movie feeling sad either. This movie felt like real life where there are moments of heartbreak or feeling betrayed or just not having the best of luck. But Joy pushed through and David O. Russell ended the movie on an up lifting note.

LtoR: Joy (Lawerence) & Neil (Bradley Cooper)

I really enjoyed the movie but I'm not sure if its something that I would pay to see again. I think that if could got back in time I would tell myself to wait for it hit red box or Netflix because its worth seeing but not necessarily in the theaters.

LtoR: Joy (Lawerence) & Rudy (Cooper)

Have you seen Joy? What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments down below!

MOVIE REVIEW: Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 2

Hello All,

I have been cranking out blog post recently like its nobody's business. Even so, I'm still behind on getting out all the post I have on my written on my to do list. But I'm going to try and get a lot of them out so we can be all even stevens when the new years roles around. Which brings me to this post.

Do you when the last time I wrote a movie review was? It was in July! That was the last time I went to a movie! For anyone whose wondering that movie was Trainwreck and you can read the review right here.

So, for any of you who haven't been living under rock for the past 3 and half almost four years then you've probably heard about The Hunger Games. I was stubborn and refused to read or watch them movies for the longest time because I thought they'd be lame. But last year I watched the first one one night when it was playing on ABC Family and I was confused. So then I watched again with my roommate and she helped explain it to me. At that time Hunger Games - Catching Fire was on Netflix so we watched that one. And then we went and saw Mockingjay part 1 and I was hooked. 

Well a couple of weeks ago I went and saw the most recent one. If you haven't seen the trailer well here it is.

Normally when I write reviews I give you a summary of the movie but I don't know how to do that without giving away the other 3 movies. But one thing I can say about the plot is that it picks up exactly where the 3rd one left off. Almost perfectly! I actually think that they did a better time picking up where they left off then Harry Potter did between the two Deathly Hollow movies.

Katniss (Jennifer Lawerence)
Source

One thing that always leaves me in awe about these movies (or just about any movie she's in) is how amazing Jennifer Lawrence is. She honestly can play any part. And of course this movie is no different. Katniss, Jennifer Lawerence's character, has a lot of emotions and rebellious attitudes in this movie.  And J-Law pulled it off amazingly well. She made me want to stand up and fight for their cause. I don't think there is any other actress on the face of this earth who could play Katniss in such a way.

LtoR: Katniss (Lawerence), Boggs (Mahereshala Ali) & Gale (Liam Hemsworth)
Source

Of course there is also the amazing chemistry between Katniss and Peeta (Josh Hunterson). I'll be honest, I never read the books but never once in the movies did I ever see how the character Gale (Liam Hemsworth) was ever even a possible match for Katniss. Lawerence and Hutchernson have such undeniable chemistry that every time  Peeta tried to attack or Katniss showed that she remembered who he really and truly was my heart melted and I got butterflies. 

LtoR: Katniss (Lawerence) & Gale (Hemsworth
Source

And then there was the end. I'm not going to give it away but it was the perfect ending for the movie.  They wrapped it up in a way that you knew what had happened to all the characters that you loved but remained very focused on Katniss and her life. I will be honest my favorite sense in the whole movie was in the last five minutes. It was a moment between Katniss and Peeta that was so sweet and so innocent and so beautiful. 

Peeta (Josh Hutcherson)
Source

After finishing the movie I left the theatre feeling three different ways. One happy because the movie was amazing (possibly my favorite). But it also made me want to turn around and go watch that one or any of the Hunger Games movies again.  But it also made me want to actually read the series. Which I'll be honest I have said multiple times because. And this year winter break might actually be the year that I do it. 

LtoR: Gale (Hemsworth) & Katniss (Lawerence
Source

So,  incase this glowing review didn't make it obvious I would recommend this movie to just about anyone.  I don't think you need to have watch the third one recently to be able to see this one but I do think that you need at least seen it once so you know what it is going on.

LtoR: Peeta (Hutcherson) & Katniss (Lawerence
Source

Have you seen the Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2? If you did what did you think about it? Let me know in the comments so we can chat!

MOVIE REVIEW: Trainwreck

Hello All,

Recently I went to see the movie Trainwreck staring Amy Schumer (Inside Amy Shumer, Amy Shumer: Mostly Sex Stuff, A Different Spin on Mark Hopper), Bill Hader (SNL, Superbad, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Her), Vanessa Bayer (SNL, Despicable Me 2, Adventures in the Sin Bin), Tilda Swinton (Adaption, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Narina, Moonrise Kingdom), John Cena (WWF Raw, The Marine, 12 Rounds, and The Reunion) and LeBron James (You know the basketball player). And here's the preview because the movie.

This movie was about Amy (Schumer) who was raised by a dad who put Charlie Sheen's character in Two and Half Men to shame. Because of that Amy had a hard time finding strong, healthy relationship. When the movie opens Amy is in a relationship with Steven (Cena) but is still sleeping with other men causing them to break up. But it isn't long before Amy gets assigned an article for work where she interviews sport doctor Aaron something (Hader) who becomes the first person to boyfriend Amy had ever had that treated her the way a girl deserves to be treated.

LtoR: Amy (Schumer) and Aaron (Hader)
Source

I am a huge fan of chick flicks but this movie wasn't the typical chick flick. It felt like they tried to cram has many cliches of chick flick as possible into one chick flick. And it didn't work because none of these storytelling elements worked because they weren't able to develop fully enough.

LtoR: Amy (Schumer) and Aaron (Hader)
Source

Speaking of not developed enough, I felt like the character's development didn't work that well. Many of the developments felt that they were unrealistic. There really wasn't a character that I was rooting for or rooting against. Actually scratch that I pulled for John Cena's character and LeBron James who played himself. For me they were the only likable characters.

LtoR: LeBron James and Aaron (Hader)
Source

Although the story wasn't great it was funny. There were some really laugh out loud moments. And some not so laugh out loud moments that were still funny. And the although Amy's father wasn't the best guy in the world his story line did pull at the heart strings.

Amy (Schumer)
Source

Would I reccomend this movie? Well I wouldn't pay to see the movie again. But one day in the future I might pop it on Netflix or on the TV. Also it was a perfect distraction from the heat was in the Northeast.

LtoR: Amy (Schumer) and Steven (Cena)
Source

Have you seen Trainwreck? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Source