The Cabin in the Woods

ATTENTION: MOVIE SPOILERS INCLUDED!!

The Cabin in the Woods

April 15 2012

I am not a horror film buff by any means, but I really wanted to check this movie out given all the hype that it received.

My opinion:

3.5 out of 5 bags of popcorn for the overall movie

3 out of 5 boxes of milk duds for my personal entertainment

My suggestion: If you love horror and pithy dialogue then head to the theatre, if not, wait for the DVD

The gist: A group of 5 young, attractive college kids head out of town to a cabin for some R&R. They step right into a classic horror film or so they think, until one of them begins to unravel the secrets behind “the cabin in the woods.”

My Take: Let me start out by saying I didn’t LOVE this movie, but I certainly didn’t hate it either. Horror is not my preferred movie genera so I was pretty skeptical about the film from the beginning. As the film got started I could tell I was going to like it a lot more than a regular blood and guts type of film. First off, the film doesn’t try to make you believe it is something it’s not. There is no spooky music or plethora of lead in scary moments. You basically understand that something strange is going on at this cabin and most of these beautiful young adults are going to wind up with their blood and guts all over the place.

What I did enjoy about this movie was the twist. I don’t want to give too much away, but this was very different than your Freddy Kruger or Jason type horror films. As far as dialogue goes, it reminded me more of Scream than Friday the 13^th or Halloween or anything on that line.

The reason for my lower rating for personal entertainment is this: I think the movie was good but for me this just isn’t really my cup of tea. I enjoy Joss Whedon’s stuff so that is why I went. The actors/actresses in the movie are fine. They get the job done and that is the important part in a horror film.

Wrath of the Titans

ATTENTION: MOVIE SPOILERS INCLUDED!!

Wrath of the Titans

April 4 2012

I needed to get out of the house for a mid-week movie and I wasn’t sure what to see so I picked out this one.

My opinion:

2 out of 5 bags of popcorn for the overall movie

2 out of 5 boxes of milk duds for my personal entertainment

My suggestion: Skip it or if you LOVE special effects then see it in the theatre

The gist: Half-Man Half-Gold Perseus sets out to rescue his father, Zeus, who has been captured by his brother Hades and son, Ares. He must venture to the underworld to help free his father and prevent the Titans from being unleashed upon the world.

My Take: So I am going to have to disagree with my movie buddy who said “Liam Neeson” is always in good movies. Usually that is the case, but not this time. I feel like they just made this movie to make money off the Clash of the Titans success. I didn’t really understand why this movie was made. I enjoyed the Clash of the Titans very much, but this was honestly just a waste. I happened to see it in 3-D which I don’t particularly like, but there were some very good special effects while they were in the labyrinth of the underworld. That part I thought was pretty cool.

Sam Worthington was good. I like him as Perseus and he is a handsome fellow to boot. I am glad that he ends up with Andromeda in the end, just like the original Clash of the Titans.

There was a trailer for The Hobbit which previewed before the movie and that was one of the best moments of the whole movie. I was underwhelmed to say the least by the movie but it was still nice to get out of the house.

21 Jump Steet

ATTENTION: MOVIE SPOILERS INCLUDED!!

21 Jump Street

April 1 2012

My opinion:

3.5 out of 5 bags of popcorn for the overall movie

4 out of 5 boxes of milk duds for my personal entertainment

My suggestion: Theatre or DVD

The gist: A pair of screw-up cops: Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are assigned to an undercover division at 21 Jump Street. Their assignment is to go back to high school, posing as student, to help bring down a drug ring.

My Take: This is a fun movie. We all know the story line and I loved that there was a cameo by the original 21 Jump Street boys – gotta love Johnny Depp.

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are a great duo and very funny together. There were many laugh out loud moments. My favorite character in this movie was played by Ice Cube. He plays a rough, swearing, mean ‘ole commander who doesn’t take any bull.

You know it’s going to be a great movie when the opening song is Eminem’s My Name Is and Jonah Hill gets off the school bus dressed like an Eminem wanna be. Too funny! My other favorite moment was the name of their high school’s prom – One Night in Tijuana. Now that’s class!!

I got a kick out of this movie and think others would like it too. It was entertaining without being overly done. It is what it is….a funny, dumb comedy. Which is exactly what is should be!

The Hunger Games

ATTENTION: MOVIE SPOILERS INCLUDED!!

The Hunger Games

March 24 2012

I have been WAITING with excitement to see this movie! I got to see it with my husband on the BIG screen at the theatre. It was packed but we got great seats.

My opinion:

4.5 out of 5 bags of popcorn for the overall movie

5 out of 5 boxes of milk duds for my personal entertainment

My suggestion: This is a MUST see in the theatre

The gist: The Hunger Games is set in a futuristic world where the capital chooses one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts to compete in a fight to the death. The movie focuses on Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) who volunteers to take her younger sisters place as tribute from District 12. She is joined by a young boy named Peeta (Josh Hutcherson).

My Take: I gave this movie 5 stars for my own personal entertainment. My first 5 star movie rating and I will stand by it no matter what everyone else thinks. I read all 3 books and LOVED the first book the best of all of them. I think it is important to have read the book before the movie as I don’t think it would be as enjoyable if you didn’t have some basis for what was going on. This movie was perfection.

Jennifer Lawrence was perfect as Katniss Everdeen. I had my reservations about her when I heard she had been cast, but after seeing the movie I am thrilled with her. She is a true star. There was one moment specifically in the movie before she is lifted up into the arena when you can feel her fear about what is to come. I liked that she had both a hard and soft side to her.

Josh Hutcherson who played Peeta was excellent as well. I was also hesitant about him when I heard he had been cast, but was very happy with his performance.

The movie followed the book really well, although they did leave out a few parts but that is always to be expected when converting a book to a movie. I think the movie really captured the grittiness and the rawness of The Hunger Games and how brutal it was for all the tributes, even the ones that were trained and wanted to go in. Still when it gets down to it it’s an awful and hard thing to do, killing off other kids. They did have to keep the movie PG 13 so it was missing some of the goriness of the book.

I loved it, and would love to see it again. I think the second movie will be just as amazing and I cannot wait until it come out.

Remember Me

ATTENTION: MOVIE SPOILERS INCLUDED!!

Remember Me

March 23 2012

I knew nothing about this movie and my husband had it recommended to him by a co-worker so we decided to give it a try.

My opinion:

3 out of 5 bags of popcorn for the overall movie

3 out of 5 boxes of milk duds for my personal entertainment

My suggestion: DVD

The gist: Remember Me is the story of two new lovers; Tyler (Robert Pattinson) and Ally (Emilie de Ravin). Each of them are struggling with two very traumatic experiences from their past which play a huge part in their behaviors and relationship. Tyler’s parents are separated, his father (Pierce Brosnon) plays a successful, emotionless business man and his little sister (Ruby Jerins) is struggling to earn their father’s love and attention. Ally’s mother was murdered on the subway platform in front of her and her father (Chris Cooper) is tormented over losing his wife.

My Take: This movie was very interesting. It took about a half an hour to get into it, you figure out they are in New York and it appears to be before 9/11. I loved the intricacies of the characters, but that being said I feel like the main character, Ally I didn’t really get to know well at all. She was cute and likeable but I didn’t feel like I got an understanding for her like I did the rest of the characters.

Robert Pattinson was fine (looks and acting). I say fine because he basically plays the same awkward character he normally plays with a few other details added in. The two best performances in the movie in my opinion were by Ruby Jerins – she plays Tyler’s littler sister who is dealing with school bullying and there is actually a moment where something unpleasant happens to her in the movie and it made me gasp at the cruelty. My heart absolutely broke for this young girl.

I think this movie was designed as a real thinker, but my husband and I both guessed the ending and that kind of ruined the rest of it. There was so much build up to what should have been a very dynamic ending, and probably would have been if you hadn’t have already guessed what was going to happen. I must admit I did still think about the movie for several days afterwards trying to figure out if I liked it or not, so that is something.