Living in the movie theater, beating the heat....
We’ve had a couple of, thankfully, short-lived heat waves. One was when I was taking a few vacation days. So much for getting anything done around the house! I took some days off around the Independence Day Holiday. I wound up seeing a lot of movies to keep cool.
The Saturday before, I went to see The Incredibles II. On July 4, I went to the Montrose Regal and saw Solo. After that movie ended, I realized I’d never be able to leave the area due to the parade, so I stuck around and watched The Book Club. Afterwards, as I was getting ready to leave, I noticed several people sitting in the parking lot with lawn chairs. I had forgotten about the fireworks display, and the movie had ended just in time. So, I concluded with a really nice fireworks display that night. The next day, in a further effort to keep cool, I watched Ocean’s 8.
Yesterday (edit, actually July 21!), on a whim, I decided to see the second Mamma Mia movie. Which is hilarious since I never saw the first one. Just really wanted to see it. Oh, also made a cute little fairy garden, yay! Have always wanted to do one of those. I think it will make a nice little decoration for my desk at work (it will get more light there than at home, anyway).
And now, for the movie reviews.
Oh yes, I also saw some 2000s movie with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, with live-action actors. It was terrible. I’m not even bothering to look up the name, not worth any more time thinking about it. Saw it at my parents’ house a couple weeks or so before I saw the new Incredibles movie. I now aim to purge it from my memory.
The Incredibles: Loved it! I thought it was even better than the first one, which I thought was fantastic. I kind of suspected who the villain would be, but I was still surprised by the twists. This was more gray area. Those who don’t care for a lot of talk and politics might not care for it but I liked the nuances.
Solo: I think all in all I liked it. This tells the origin of everyone’s favorite Star Wars smuggler, Han Solo. The beginning was really good. The first third was…OK. The biggest problem is you had several characters thrown out there who die a short time later, and we know little about them. Now, once Chewbacca appears on screen, it gets good. Really good. I was grinning the first time those two piloted the Millennium Falcon together. Also, loved seeing Lando Calrissian in action. There was an interesting twist at the end involving Qi’Ra, Han Solo’s sweetheart. Makes me wonder what happened to eventually break those two up, and what happened to her. I suspect this might be covered in the novels. There’s obviously a lot more to this story.
The Book Club: This was fun, kind of wish I would have gone with a group of my gal pals, especially my book-loving ones. It’s one of those movies that you know how it will end (basically, happily ever after for all) but it was a fun, escapist flick. Fantastic cast, too.
Oceans 8: I know this got panned by most critics. It was…OK. It’s one of those “check your brain and logic button in the theater lobby, eat your popcorn and just enjoy the ride.” Essentially, it’s like the other Oceans movies, this time with women. Debbie, the sister of the late Danny Ocean pulls together a team to pull off a heist at the Met gala. Sandra Bullock, Debbie, and Cate Blanchett, who plays Lou, Debbie’s closest friend, are fantastic, as is Helena Bonham Carter, who plays an eccentric, down-on-her luck fashion designer. Anne Hathaway, who plays a celebrity, was charming and fun. Wish the other characters would have been fleshed out more. Watching the plot unfurl was interesting to watch, and there are a couple small twists at the end that I enjoyed.
Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again: I need to see the first one now. Another “check your brain” type movie and 100 percent cheese but I wanted another helping by the end. It was just so much fun, especially the ending (before and after the credits). And now I have Super Trouper running through my head. Most of it made me smile, and I enjoyed the music (although Brosnan really should not sing solo). I cried during the baptism scene at the end. Wow. Cher as Grandmother Ruby Sheridan was just inspired. And as I said the ending was fantastic, like a curtain call, a nice nod to the staged version. Stick around for after the credits- you won’t be sorry! The bonus scene is great.
Addition for July 24: Saw Hotel Transylvania 3, which is probably odd since I haven’t seen the first two (although I’ve seen enough clips to know the gist of each). Cute, and a good summer flick, with a lot of highly entertaining moments. Loved the soundtrack, too.
The Saturday before, I went to see The Incredibles II. On July 4, I went to the Montrose Regal and saw Solo. After that movie ended, I realized I’d never be able to leave the area due to the parade, so I stuck around and watched The Book Club. Afterwards, as I was getting ready to leave, I noticed several people sitting in the parking lot with lawn chairs. I had forgotten about the fireworks display, and the movie had ended just in time. So, I concluded with a really nice fireworks display that night. The next day, in a further effort to keep cool, I watched Ocean’s 8.
Yesterday (edit, actually July 21!), on a whim, I decided to see the second Mamma Mia movie. Which is hilarious since I never saw the first one. Just really wanted to see it. Oh, also made a cute little fairy garden, yay! Have always wanted to do one of those. I think it will make a nice little decoration for my desk at work (it will get more light there than at home, anyway).
And now, for the movie reviews.
Oh yes, I also saw some 2000s movie with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, with live-action actors. It was terrible. I’m not even bothering to look up the name, not worth any more time thinking about it. Saw it at my parents’ house a couple weeks or so before I saw the new Incredibles movie. I now aim to purge it from my memory.
The Incredibles: Loved it! I thought it was even better than the first one, which I thought was fantastic. I kind of suspected who the villain would be, but I was still surprised by the twists. This was more gray area. Those who don’t care for a lot of talk and politics might not care for it but I liked the nuances.
Solo: I think all in all I liked it. This tells the origin of everyone’s favorite Star Wars smuggler, Han Solo. The beginning was really good. The first third was…OK. The biggest problem is you had several characters thrown out there who die a short time later, and we know little about them. Now, once Chewbacca appears on screen, it gets good. Really good. I was grinning the first time those two piloted the Millennium Falcon together. Also, loved seeing Lando Calrissian in action. There was an interesting twist at the end involving Qi’Ra, Han Solo’s sweetheart. Makes me wonder what happened to eventually break those two up, and what happened to her. I suspect this might be covered in the novels. There’s obviously a lot more to this story.
The Book Club: This was fun, kind of wish I would have gone with a group of my gal pals, especially my book-loving ones. It’s one of those movies that you know how it will end (basically, happily ever after for all) but it was a fun, escapist flick. Fantastic cast, too.
Oceans 8: I know this got panned by most critics. It was…OK. It’s one of those “check your brain and logic button in the theater lobby, eat your popcorn and just enjoy the ride.” Essentially, it’s like the other Oceans movies, this time with women. Debbie, the sister of the late Danny Ocean pulls together a team to pull off a heist at the Met gala. Sandra Bullock, Debbie, and Cate Blanchett, who plays Lou, Debbie’s closest friend, are fantastic, as is Helena Bonham Carter, who plays an eccentric, down-on-her luck fashion designer. Anne Hathaway, who plays a celebrity, was charming and fun. Wish the other characters would have been fleshed out more. Watching the plot unfurl was interesting to watch, and there are a couple small twists at the end that I enjoyed.
Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again: I need to see the first one now. Another “check your brain” type movie and 100 percent cheese but I wanted another helping by the end. It was just so much fun, especially the ending (before and after the credits). And now I have Super Trouper running through my head. Most of it made me smile, and I enjoyed the music (although Brosnan really should not sing solo). I cried during the baptism scene at the end. Wow. Cher as Grandmother Ruby Sheridan was just inspired. And as I said the ending was fantastic, like a curtain call, a nice nod to the staged version. Stick around for after the credits- you won’t be sorry! The bonus scene is great.
Addition for July 24: Saw Hotel Transylvania 3, which is probably odd since I haven’t seen the first two (although I’ve seen enough clips to know the gist of each). Cute, and a good summer flick, with a lot of highly entertaining moments. Loved the soundtrack, too.