A Great Week for Movies!

In the last 7 days I have went 3 times to the movies and saw 3 AWESOME movies.  I laughed, I cried, I was in Awe.

Interstellar

This was a great movie!  Mathew is forced to go think in 5 dimensions to send messages through time and space.  It also gives anecdotal information about how relatively works on other worlds, not just our own.  I saw this movie in RPX surround sound and I was in shock about how well Sound and the absence off sound was used.  ALSO, I am currently living in Longview Tx, (home of Mathew) and it was awesome to see some cameos of the places that I see everyday in this movie.  If I saw this movie in IMAX I think that I would be even more excited.  A great movie to go see, better seen on a large screen.

Big Hero 6

Disney has done it again.  Just as Frozen was for little girls, this is for little boys.  I believe that this gives little boys a character to connect with and may even help them excel in Math and Science.  My eyes started to leak in this movie several times, but I wont spoil it for you.  The only thing I will say is, if you think about the ending more, the sadder it becomes.  I think that Disney hit it out of the park.  I will definitely be adding this to my movie collection.

The Mocking Jay    

I am not disappointed at all.  I have read the books and watching this latest installment brought everything back.  This part of MockingJay sets us up for the ending of the series.  I am glad that it was split into 2 parts because this one helps tell a lot of minute details that would have been missed if they tried to cram everything into one last sequel.  Katniss is as stubborn as ever and Peeta goes through a HUGE transformation that had me glued to my chair! 

Summer Blockbusters and TV series

Over the last couple of weeks I watched 2 movies.... One great, and one not-so great.... And a killer TV series.

The Expendables 3

All your aging ass kickers are back for this third installment plus a few younger ones.  My favorite was Harrison Ford, Kelsey (sp?) Grammer and Arnold!  The entire movie is predictable though, I liked the guys on their press tour more, they had exciting stories and charisma, which this movie does not.... Sorry.  If you want to see explosions, gun fights, and wrestling, then this is for you, if you want a storyline, look somewhere else.

The Maze Runner

Yes Yes Yes.  This movie has guessing trying to figure out the twists and turns.  The actors are great, you've seen many of them before!  You really feel for the boys trapped in the maze.  This movie is not full of explosions or a sappy love story like the last tween trilogies.  The special effects are so good, you don't notice them, you see them as real happenings.  Because of this movie I went out and bought the book (on Kindle, while you are there pick up this blog!) and am feverishly reading it before bed at night.  One huge plus for me is that the main character's name is Thomas, same as me!  I did not know this going into the movie.  So everyone needs to root for Thomas.

The Walking Dead S4

I am a die hard fan of TWD, except for one rule that I've followed after the first season.  I don't watch any episodes until they all come out on Netflix or Amazon so I can watch them all back to back.  Over the last 3 days I have done just that.   I was not let down either except for when Herschel dies.  He was the glue that held the group together.  Seriously, after his death and an attack on the prison, the entire group is split up, some coming back together in the end.  P.s. Rick shows how much of a badass he is again by taking a bite out of crime if you know what I mean, makes you lose all memories of him as a boring farmer!  Great season, and am extremely excited for the next season! 

Lots of new Movies

Guardians of the Galaxy

Abosulutely loved this movie, but I love all of the superhero movies.  My favorite characters were Groot and Rocket of course!  I am excited that they have already green lighted a sequel.  One of my favorite things was the after credits easter eggs.  Being a child o the 80's I can appreciate a nod to Howard the Duck.  If you dont know the Marvel universe you can still enjoy this fantasy space adventure with an AWESOME soundtrack from the 70's and 80's.  It just makes you feel good!  SPOILER when the mother dies in the first 3 minutes of the movie, I had to hide the tears in my eyes.  Guys be prepared!

Hercules

This was the role that The Rock was born for.  I watched the earlier one with Mr. Lutz but have decided that while it was good in its own right, this one was better.  This movie showed more of the above human strength that Hercules possessed and all of the villians and creatures that he had to overcome.  Good movie, good storyline...

The 100 foot Journey

Now this is a movie that is flying under the radar and I personally never heard of it until I overheard a lady talking about how Spielberg and Oprah were a part of it.  I am naturally a foodie (and blog over at www.TheFoodieWithin.com) so this was right up my alley.  I am also turning into a big fan of Helen Mirren.  Are there any "wow" moments in this movie? NO, does it make you feel good after watching it? YES.  Any way, you follow an Indian family travel to France, set up a restaurant, some members of the family fall in love with members of the rival restaurant across the street.  There are even a few funny moments in it that you will enjoy.

The Queen

After watching "The 100 Ft Journey" I wanted to watch something else from Helen Mirren.  I watched this biography type movie of how the Monarchy handled the death of Princess Diana.  Americans do not get to see behind the curtain of a leader that has been in power for over 50 years.  Our leaders are in power for a maximum of 8 years, so we really do not get to grow up with them.  In England the Monarchy is a sacred member of the English family and culture.  It is a an older movie, but gave me more insight into the daily life of our brothers and sisters across the pond.

Noah

I am huge fans of Emma Watson and Logan Lerman, both stars of this biblical movie.  (Both were stars of The Perks of Being a Wallflower that I loved)  Keep in mind that when watching this movie that everytime they say "Creator" they are referring to "God"  It was done this way to keep from saying "God" every other sentence and to make it easier for people of a different faith to watch this and learn about someone else's culture.  BTW Anthony Hopkins plays "The Grandfather" that appears to have lost his mind, but is still pretty neat how everything ties up nicely with a bow at the end.  To me this is different than what is in the bible, but I am sure some parts are more closely to what really happened and there is of course a lot that is fantastic.

Bad Words and Transformers

Transformers: Extinction

I went to see Transformers on opening day... in 3D of course.  It was really good.  What was even more interesting is that I live just a few miles from where the movie takes place!  I liked the storyline, I just wish there was some kind of mention of the characters from the first 3 movies.  The redesigned transformers were great, K. Grammer was great, Mark Wahlberg was fantastic.  People actually dies in this movie so I am guessing that the 2nd (5th) installment will be even darker. 
The next week I took vacation and headed home to Abilene to be with my little brothers and family.   They hadn't seen it yet so we went and watched it at the Drive In theater.  You haven't seen transformers until you have seen them 80 feet tall!  The Dinosaur Transformers are my favorite by far!

Bad Words

If you like Arrested Development, then you will love this.  If you have never seen any Jason Bateman movies and this is your first, you will fall in love with his wit and comedy.  A must see and it is freaking HILARIOUS!  I LOL'd many times during this movie, but I would have liked a better ending with his father.

The Kid in Me, at the box office

This week I saw myself going back in time and acting like a kid again.  I ate a whole box of strawberry vines, then some cake, bounced off the walls for few hours and finally crashed.  Before I crashed I was able to get in a few more movies.

Maleficent

This is a first for Disney.  They retold the story of Sleeping Beauty but from the angle of Maleficent.  I must say, it was pretty impressive.  Of all the movies I watched this weekend, this one was the best and will become part of my movie collection.  I was impressed by the way they paid special attention to the 3D aspect of the film.  The scenes where Maleficent is soaring through the sky were breathtaking in the third dimension.  Special effects were great, it was awesome to see just how much power Maleficent really had.  Favorite part of the whole thing was the twist ending... I wont give it away but I even my second guess was wrong at the end.

How to Train your Dragon II

I loved the first one, and this one did not disappoint.  I definitely takes a darker turn in the second installment with a main character dying.  This movie definitely tugs at the heart strings MULTIPLE times during the movie.  Great battle scenes!!!!  As a Science nut I can appreciate they use of thermodynamics as Toothless is using his fire bursts to keep HicCup in the air, but you will see it in the movie!  New types of dragons are added along with a few new main characters that I am sure we will see in the #3!

The Grand Budapest Hotel

All I can say is that this is kind of like Clue, Life Aqautic, and Dunstin Checks In all rolled together but add in a whole bunch of cameos from great actors.  I enjoyed this movie but am very aware that this movie will not appeal to the majority of people.  If you liked Life Aquatic then you will like this, if not, maybe you are better off renting it after you watched your #1 choice.  Great acting, lots of little puns that a more sophisticated audience can enjoy!

I need a better hobby

Yes, I went to the movies again.... I need a better hobby, it seems that watching movies is the only thing that I have done lately!  AnyWhoooooo.......

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Freaking Amazing!  The 3D was great, (when it worked, yes I am calling you out Regal Cinemas!!!!)  Enjoyed the storyline, the special effects were on point.  I personally wanted it to be about 30 minutes longer and do some more character building on QuickSilver.  One thing that impressed me was how they paid attention to past XMen movies and tied them together.  You will notice this too if you go watch it.  As I am typing this, the media is expecting XMen to cross $100 Million at the box office for Memorial Day Weekend!  *Spoiler*  Loved all of the original cameos from past XMen movies!

Godzilla

I wanted to like this movie so much, and to be honest I am unable to give an opinion on it.  Yes, I went to see it, Yes, I paid the up sale for 3D.  BUT.... when it came for the huge fight scene where Godzilla fights off the other monsters.... I literally fell asleep in the movie theater.  I guess I was just too exhausted.  I awoke when I heard clapping for the rest of the people in the movie theater that enjoyed the fight scene.  I enjoyed the graphics and storyline that I actually saw.  I will watch it again when it comes out on video.

Emperor

You cant miss a Tommy Lee Jones film.  Here he plays General MacArthur and he has been given the task to rebuild Japan after WWII.  He gives MO's to some of his men to see if the Emperor of Japan should be tried to war crimes or not.  This movie is a history lesson that you did not learn in school.  Since I like learning new things about historical events, this had my interest the whole time.  If you don't like documentaries, you wont like this movie.


 

Neighbors: The Review

Neighbors

So, I had a little free time AND the opportunity to go see Neighbors a few hours before it was officially released.  I decided to go.  Showed up about 20 minutes early, ordered and gigantic Mountain Dew for like $100 or how ever much they cost now.  (I think I am Regal Cinema's best customer!) Went into the movie theater, took my seat, 3rd row so I can be completely be immersed into the production.  Watched some hilarious previews that I will have to go see when they are in theaters (hopefully some will invite me to red carpets HINT HINT!)

The Movie starts out with Seth Rogan and Rose Byrn being your typical new parents, they just don't want to give up the "party life" when Zac Efron, Dave Franco, and the whole fraternity move next door and hilarity ensues.  They go after each other with disastrous outcomes but the whole time you are laughing.  A lot of the pranks that you see are straight out of YouTube so it connects with today's audience. 

One thing that I would change, SPOILER!!!!!  at the end when Zac Efron's character is arrested, I wish Seth Rogan and Rose Byrn would have been seen bailing him out of jail.  That way it could possibly lead to a tighter friendship, could have seen them using the walkie talkies at the end.  Maybe setting the precedent for a sequel.

This movie is THAT Funny.  Rated R so make sure the youngin's stay home!