100 Movies Challenge
#54 Trance
James McAvoy and Rosario Dawson
I'm a sucker for James McAvoy. Have been since I first saw him in SyFy's Children of Dune back in 2003. McAvoy plays Simon, an art auctioneer who gets mixed up in a scheme to steal a multi-million dollar painting, but when the painting goes missing during the heist and Simon ends up injured with amnesia, they seek out the help of a hypnotherapist (Dawson's character) to help retrieve it. This was one of those films that you really have to pay attention to, because the minute you think you have it figured out, they throw you a curveball and it up-ends your entire theory. In fact, this was very much like McAvoy's Wanted. (He must have a type.) Anyway, this film is action packed and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Just make sure you have no distractions when watching it.
#55 Belle
It was one of those Friday nights, when my plans fell through after I'd already told my family that I'd be late coming home, so instead of showing up early and sitting around all night, I stopped in Grundy to see what was playing. And to my delight, Belle was playing. I've been wanting to see Belle for a few weeks, but didn't figure it would come to any of the theatres around here. Obscure, costume drama with a quiet cast...I can count on one hand the number of people I know in Waterloo who would want to see it and all of them would wait til it was out on Netflix. But I LOVE costume dramas!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE them! And this 18th Century period drama fit the bill for me to a T.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Dido Elizabeth Belle, a mixed race daughter of a Royal Naval Admiral who is left to be raised by her great uncle. The mixed race aspect of this story is really the thing that sets it off from any other costume drama. 18th Century England is going through an abolitionist period, but slavery is still legal and although she is a free woman and from a wealthy family, Dido is faced with the difficulties of having to accept someone below her station or live her life as a spinster. One of the fun things about this film is seeing Tom Felton as a bad guy again, and LORD, he's bad. What an asshole! I really loved this film. It has a very Mansfield Park feel to it and that makes me love it all the more.
#56 Stars in Shorts
Shorts is available on Netflix. I'd been wanting to see it for a little while, if only because I love some of the actors in it, but hadn't been able to find it until now. So basically, it's two hours of movie shorts. Some are as short as 5 mins, others as long as 15, and each of them feature well-known actors. I'll admit, I wasn't as entertained as I'd hoped to be. I only really enjoyed one or two of the shorts, but I'm glad I got the chance to watch it.
#57 Blended
This is another Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore movie and it is SOOO adorable! We took the kids to go see it. After every movie, we always go around the car and say what we liked best. It's my way of teaching my kiddo to have open discussions after movies and right now, it feels like a game to the kids. Leave it to my kid though. When asked what his favorite part was, he didn't hesitate. "My favorite part was the two Rhinos humping." *facepalm*
So yeah...may PG13 is a relative term and needs to be considered a little more carefully before taking a group of 7-10 year olds. But overall the movie was cute and family oriented, adventurous and beautifully shot. The relationships between the kids and the adults in the film were so natural and real that I felt like I was watching my own family. So yes, I really loved this movie.
#58 & #59 Xmen Origins Wolverine and The Wolverine
I'm gonna lump these two together, cuz honestly, I can't keep them completely straight now. *facepalm* I was confused by some of the backstory in Xmen, Days of Future Past, so I naturally thought, maybe I should watch some of the backstories available. That'll help clear things up, right? Wrong. I'm more confused than ever. So many characters, so many character death's, Deadpool used to be hot?? What?!
Okay, it wasn't all bad. In fact most of it wasn't bad at all. It was interesting to see the really far back history of Logan and Victor, to watch them go through war after war...geez, I sure hope they took the decade off between wars to do something fun. To see the easter eggs for the other Xmen movies, particularly the bit about Silver Fox and Emma Frost being sisters...how does that work?
The Wolverine at least had a more fluid storyline. There was a beginning, a middle and an end, although I was a little put off by Wolverine in Japan. I don't know why, but I was. I think it was the way the film was shot. It was just so very different visually than any other Xmen - or for that matter Marvel movie - I've seen. All-in-all, as an Xmen fan, I was better off having not seen these two movies. :(
#60 The Muppets Most Wanted
We missed this movie in its first go-round in the theaters, but one of the older theaters in Marshalltown brought it out special this summer, so I took my kiddo to go watch it. It stands up with all of the other Muppets movies. They're a good time, they remind me of my childhood, they make me laugh and JJ gets to be the next generation of kids who loves the Muppets. Win-win-win-win. What I enjoyed most was getting a chance to visit the theater of my childhood. The Orpheum was the place I saw ET. It was where everyone went on Christmas night for the late showing. "By 2000 the theater had become part of the Fridley Theater group but closed its doors in 2001. At that time a group of concerned citizens who desired to save the structure formed a nonprofit group to "save our screens" (SOS Campaign). It took ten years, a Vision Iowa grant, a Main Street grant, a passed bond issue, and thousands of individual, corporate and foundation dollars to once again open the Orpheum doors as the newly restored and re-designed $3.4 million-dollar Orpheum Theater Center, owned and operated by the Iowa Valley Community College District." (http://www.iavalley.edu/orpheum/history.html) The theatre is beautiful and it brought back many childhood memories that I got to share with my kid.
#61 Echo
I love the theatre in Grundy. $3 movies and even less during the Saturday matinee. We paid $4 and got myself, my brother, my kiddo & my nephew in. And because their food is so cheap, each boy got a kids combo and I got popcorn and pop for less than $12. You just can't beat that!! But the movie.... It is ET x Wall-E x Goonies x Stand by Me. You shouldn't haven't any problems translating that. Echo was just very enjoyable. Funny, exciting, touching, adventurous, I could go on and on. I loved how relatable it was to the boys who are 7 and 10. They could easily see themselves in the group of friends that the characters made up and really seemed to get how important the 'quest' was for those characters. Shawn & I connected to it just as well because we grew up on the Goonies and Stand by Me and ET.
#62 How to Train your Dragon 2
I really enjoyed the first movie. I enjoyed the second movie more! Took all four kids to this one. My niece, who sat beside me, warned that I might have to wake her up as she's notorious for falling asleep in movies. She very proudly didn't fall asleep in this one. Even more beautiful than the first movie, Hiccup is all grown up and set to become the next chief of Berk. Only, he's not sure that's what he wants and spends his days exploring the lands around his home and discovers that someone is capturing dragons. What happens after is a whirlwind of excitement, adventure and mystery with a climactic end that left me teary-eyed. Also...spoiler...someone dies.
#63 Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary
It's finally on Netflix! I was so excited, because the Phantom and Raoul are played by two of my favorite West End actors, Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser. I love these two and I ship their Bromance like whoa! I would give just about anything to watch either of them live on stage, be it acting or singing (because they both have music careers also). So yes, I love them. I love them to tears in Les Mis, so I figured...why not watch them in Phantom. I've never seen Phantom, but it's on the top of everyone's musical list....Not mine. Compared to Les Mis, Phantom is a mess. Yes their performances were perfect, Yes I loved Sierra Boggess as Christine, but the flow and pace of the musical itself is just messy and I really wasn't all that impressed (as a whole) with the music. Of course, there are bright shining moments, but overall...not my favorite.
#64 Sunshine
Chris Evans plus Director Danny Boyle, who's known for Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later...people are basically lining up to work with the guy now and I can see why. This is beautifully shot and really smartly written. The story follows a crew of eight people into space as they take on the mission of saving our dying Sun and all of the Earth with it. And then...everything goes wrong. There is definitely a Vulcan 'the needs of the many' theme that runs through this movie, but what I found so interesting about this theme is, that as humans, we may have good intentions, but when it comes down to it, our instinct to survive always fights for precedence. These crew members face this life or death decision time and time again, sometimes winning out over the instinct, other times losing, and it really made me consider my own strength of will. Would I be able to complete the mission they're sent out on? Knowing that I won't be returning home? Knowing that I may not even make it to the end of the mission? That's a really hard question to answer.
Watch this movie. It's been hard for me to locate this film, but it suddenly popped up on HBOGo. It won't be on there for long, so be sure and add this to your watch list. It is so thrilling (and not in a good way) and beautiful and heartstopping.
James McAvoy and Rosario Dawson
I'm a sucker for James McAvoy. Have been since I first saw him in SyFy's Children of Dune back in 2003. McAvoy plays Simon, an art auctioneer who gets mixed up in a scheme to steal a multi-million dollar painting, but when the painting goes missing during the heist and Simon ends up injured with amnesia, they seek out the help of a hypnotherapist (Dawson's character) to help retrieve it. This was one of those films that you really have to pay attention to, because the minute you think you have it figured out, they throw you a curveball and it up-ends your entire theory. In fact, this was very much like McAvoy's Wanted. (He must have a type.) Anyway, this film is action packed and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Just make sure you have no distractions when watching it.
#55 Belle
It was one of those Friday nights, when my plans fell through after I'd already told my family that I'd be late coming home, so instead of showing up early and sitting around all night, I stopped in Grundy to see what was playing. And to my delight, Belle was playing. I've been wanting to see Belle for a few weeks, but didn't figure it would come to any of the theatres around here. Obscure, costume drama with a quiet cast...I can count on one hand the number of people I know in Waterloo who would want to see it and all of them would wait til it was out on Netflix. But I LOVE costume dramas!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE them! And this 18th Century period drama fit the bill for me to a T.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Dido Elizabeth Belle, a mixed race daughter of a Royal Naval Admiral who is left to be raised by her great uncle. The mixed race aspect of this story is really the thing that sets it off from any other costume drama. 18th Century England is going through an abolitionist period, but slavery is still legal and although she is a free woman and from a wealthy family, Dido is faced with the difficulties of having to accept someone below her station or live her life as a spinster. One of the fun things about this film is seeing Tom Felton as a bad guy again, and LORD, he's bad. What an asshole! I really loved this film. It has a very Mansfield Park feel to it and that makes me love it all the more.
#56 Stars in Shorts
Shorts is available on Netflix. I'd been wanting to see it for a little while, if only because I love some of the actors in it, but hadn't been able to find it until now. So basically, it's two hours of movie shorts. Some are as short as 5 mins, others as long as 15, and each of them feature well-known actors. I'll admit, I wasn't as entertained as I'd hoped to be. I only really enjoyed one or two of the shorts, but I'm glad I got the chance to watch it.
#57 Blended
This is another Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore movie and it is SOOO adorable! We took the kids to go see it. After every movie, we always go around the car and say what we liked best. It's my way of teaching my kiddo to have open discussions after movies and right now, it feels like a game to the kids. Leave it to my kid though. When asked what his favorite part was, he didn't hesitate. "My favorite part was the two Rhinos humping." *facepalm*
So yeah...may PG13 is a relative term and needs to be considered a little more carefully before taking a group of 7-10 year olds. But overall the movie was cute and family oriented, adventurous and beautifully shot. The relationships between the kids and the adults in the film were so natural and real that I felt like I was watching my own family. So yes, I really loved this movie.
#58 & #59 Xmen Origins Wolverine and The Wolverine
I'm gonna lump these two together, cuz honestly, I can't keep them completely straight now. *facepalm* I was confused by some of the backstory in Xmen, Days of Future Past, so I naturally thought, maybe I should watch some of the backstories available. That'll help clear things up, right? Wrong. I'm more confused than ever. So many characters, so many character death's, Deadpool used to be hot?? What?!
Okay, it wasn't all bad. In fact most of it wasn't bad at all. It was interesting to see the really far back history of Logan and Victor, to watch them go through war after war...geez, I sure hope they took the decade off between wars to do something fun. To see the easter eggs for the other Xmen movies, particularly the bit about Silver Fox and Emma Frost being sisters...how does that work?
The Wolverine at least had a more fluid storyline. There was a beginning, a middle and an end, although I was a little put off by Wolverine in Japan. I don't know why, but I was. I think it was the way the film was shot. It was just so very different visually than any other Xmen - or for that matter Marvel movie - I've seen. All-in-all, as an Xmen fan, I was better off having not seen these two movies. :(
#60 The Muppets Most Wanted
We missed this movie in its first go-round in the theaters, but one of the older theaters in Marshalltown brought it out special this summer, so I took my kiddo to go watch it. It stands up with all of the other Muppets movies. They're a good time, they remind me of my childhood, they make me laugh and JJ gets to be the next generation of kids who loves the Muppets. Win-win-win-win. What I enjoyed most was getting a chance to visit the theater of my childhood. The Orpheum was the place I saw ET. It was where everyone went on Christmas night for the late showing. "By 2000 the theater had become part of the Fridley Theater group but closed its doors in 2001. At that time a group of concerned citizens who desired to save the structure formed a nonprofit group to "save our screens" (SOS Campaign). It took ten years, a Vision Iowa grant, a Main Street grant, a passed bond issue, and thousands of individual, corporate and foundation dollars to once again open the Orpheum doors as the newly restored and re-designed $3.4 million-dollar Orpheum Theater Center, owned and operated by the Iowa Valley Community College District." (http://www.iavalley.edu/orpheum/history.html) The theatre is beautiful and it brought back many childhood memories that I got to share with my kid.
#61 Echo
I love the theatre in Grundy. $3 movies and even less during the Saturday matinee. We paid $4 and got myself, my brother, my kiddo & my nephew in. And because their food is so cheap, each boy got a kids combo and I got popcorn and pop for less than $12. You just can't beat that!! But the movie.... It is ET x Wall-E x Goonies x Stand by Me. You shouldn't haven't any problems translating that. Echo was just very enjoyable. Funny, exciting, touching, adventurous, I could go on and on. I loved how relatable it was to the boys who are 7 and 10. They could easily see themselves in the group of friends that the characters made up and really seemed to get how important the 'quest' was for those characters. Shawn & I connected to it just as well because we grew up on the Goonies and Stand by Me and ET.
#62 How to Train your Dragon 2
I really enjoyed the first movie. I enjoyed the second movie more! Took all four kids to this one. My niece, who sat beside me, warned that I might have to wake her up as she's notorious for falling asleep in movies. She very proudly didn't fall asleep in this one. Even more beautiful than the first movie, Hiccup is all grown up and set to become the next chief of Berk. Only, he's not sure that's what he wants and spends his days exploring the lands around his home and discovers that someone is capturing dragons. What happens after is a whirlwind of excitement, adventure and mystery with a climactic end that left me teary-eyed. Also...spoiler...someone dies.
#63 Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary
It's finally on Netflix! I was so excited, because the Phantom and Raoul are played by two of my favorite West End actors, Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser. I love these two and I ship their Bromance like whoa! I would give just about anything to watch either of them live on stage, be it acting or singing (because they both have music careers also). So yes, I love them. I love them to tears in Les Mis, so I figured...why not watch them in Phantom. I've never seen Phantom, but it's on the top of everyone's musical list....Not mine. Compared to Les Mis, Phantom is a mess. Yes their performances were perfect, Yes I loved Sierra Boggess as Christine, but the flow and pace of the musical itself is just messy and I really wasn't all that impressed (as a whole) with the music. Of course, there are bright shining moments, but overall...not my favorite.
#64 Sunshine
Chris Evans plus Director Danny Boyle, who's known for Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later...people are basically lining up to work with the guy now and I can see why. This is beautifully shot and really smartly written. The story follows a crew of eight people into space as they take on the mission of saving our dying Sun and all of the Earth with it. And then...everything goes wrong. There is definitely a Vulcan 'the needs of the many' theme that runs through this movie, but what I found so interesting about this theme is, that as humans, we may have good intentions, but when it comes down to it, our instinct to survive always fights for precedence. These crew members face this life or death decision time and time again, sometimes winning out over the instinct, other times losing, and it really made me consider my own strength of will. Would I be able to complete the mission they're sent out on? Knowing that I won't be returning home? Knowing that I may not even make it to the end of the mission? That's a really hard question to answer.
Watch this movie. It's been hard for me to locate this film, but it suddenly popped up on HBOGo. It won't be on there for long, so be sure and add this to your watch list. It is so thrilling (and not in a good way) and beautiful and heartstopping.