Back to Blogging!

           If you scroll down at all you will notice my last post was November 2012 and after a long break I have decided to come back! My love for film is what brings me back although I have decide to spread my review to media in general and really anything else that catches my eye.

Things have changed a ton so just wanted to give a quick update. So read if you would like or don't. I'm just putting it out there :).

Why I stopped?

Just life: In the form of these happenings:

The Shooting

As some of you may know July 2012, two weeks before my wedding, my husband and some of our friends were at Century 16 in Aurora the night of the Batman The Dark Knight Rises shooting. I won't get into details here but by sheer luck we were in the adjacent theater and not in the actual theater the shooting took place. People were injured in our theater but we all made it out unscathed. My husband and I made it a point to go see the movie the next weekend. We didn't want to ever be afraid to go to the movies. Although, I would be lying if I said it didn't change things. Going to the movies will never be the same. I will alway notice if there is a person sitting by themselves (But don't feel bad if you are going to the movies alone is awesome!), I look if some gets up to go the restroom, I'll think about what happened that night ever time I'm waiting for a movie to start, and the saddest part is I will never be truly be able to lose my self to the screen. So although that experience never stopped my from going the movies it changed the experience and made it a little harder to have my usual attitude.

I got married!

Isaac and I got married two weeks later and were just in love honeymooning, moving into his place, and just starting a life together. This directly result in me not blogging but I'm happy it happened. :)

School:

From August 2012 to May 2013 Isaac and I were both finishing our degrees in Film Production at Regis University. This was a dramatic and crazy busy year where I produced two shorts, had a full schedule of classes, worked two jobs, and was trying to be a newly wed. I was freaking busy, I barely slept, got over stressed, but found it all very rewarding.

(If you wanna is my thesis film as producer: https://vimeo.com/67462999)

After School...

We did go on a cruise too!

So after all that craziness I graduated and everything just kinda stopped. I took some time to just work my restaurant job and relax. Then I kinda lost momentum. All of film school kinda burnt me out and I was sick of dealing with the crazy array of filmmakers and actors all the time. I did work on a few projects here and there, but just have fun being young and married and all that jazz. Not going to lie it was nice not be constantly selling myself, or my movie, or my friends movie, or trying to prove I was something. So yeah that happened.

Pregnancy and Baby!

Family time happened! Not going to lie pregnancy would have been a freaking great time to blog. I even started several posts but never finished or posted them. I was just in family mode. Plus I would always miss a little bit of a movie running to go pee. I did really have so much time to go see movies and write though. Especially compared to now because I have an almost one year old and getting out is a bit more difficult, but I love him and he is perfect. 

So that's where I have been. You probably do not care and I am sorry if you just read all that but meh.

10 Things About Breaking Dawn Part 2:

1. Horribly self indulgent opening credits.
2. Really cheesy and bad for first 30 mins. Cheesy and boring next 50 mins. Pretty alright next 25 mins. Last 10mins cheesy and bad.
2. Acting on Pattinson's and Stewart's consistant through all of the movies. Take that as you would like.
3. Worst CGI decision ever. Ugly baby face.
4. Good casting on foreign vamps.  It's rare you get to see the supporting cast out act the main cast...unless you count every Twilight movie.
5. Lots of fake mountain shots.
6. I'm pro stripping Taylor Lautner.
7. I want a pet werewolf.
8. Best 20 mins of any Twilight movie. Dirty vampire/werewolf fight. Disappointed it wasn't real. They should of just changed the ending of the book.
9. I wish Bella could have at least almost died in this whole mind sharing/future seeing world.
10. Horribly self indulgent end credits. Do we really need to re-credit all those people? Seriously, it's a montage of every speaking role from every movie. Ew.

New Year's Eve = Uncomfortable

Not going to lie I usually find bad movies perfectly entertaining. I love the smell of other people's failure and laughing at crowds of people buying into stupid stuff. This is why thought New Year's Eve would at least be some fun, but man I was just SO uncomfortable.

Okay, first off I'm pretty sure Garry Marshall didn't really direct anyone. I mean some of these people are good at acting, but man pretty much everyone was really bad. Hillary Swank did win two Oscars... Right?

Just so you know I hardly ever feel bad for people. I know all these people get paid way more money than I ever will, but they whole time I truly felt bad for them. I'm not talking about there characters i'm talking about the actual actors from the "amazing" cast.

So let us begin:

Zac Efron: I think he really tried, unlike other cast members, but trying is not good enough here buddy. I think he was trying to be a little gangsta or something. I'm still confused and its been weeks.

Halle Berry: Like pretty much everyone else she was given horrible dialogue. A my goodness! How do you make one of the prettiest women alive look that bad? I know, you could say they're trying to portray real life people and blah, blah, blah, but they aren't. If your gonna give the her dumbest things to say and the most unrealistic things to do she might as well look pretty.

Jessica Biel, Seth Meyers, Sarah Paulson, and Til Schweiger: Given the worst storyline ever! It had to be from a really bad sitcom episode that was never taped. I mean why? WHY???

Katherine Heigal: Looked fat but not all at the seem time. Also stuck in a dumb storyline.

Jon Bon Jovi: Nice try?

Ashton Kutchor: Actually was just the usual Ashton Kutcher caught in yet another bad sitcom episode. I mean how times do we have to watch people stuck in an elevator?? And with Lea Michele

Lea Michele: I felt bad because I think she was just as excited for being in this movie at Zac Efron was.

Michelle Pfeiffer: She actually gave the best performance and I know she was suppose to be a dumpy old women but man she looked SO bad. This woman used to be a hot chick and you know how those Hollywood ladies get when they start getting old. This was no confidence boast. I mean really you don't have to make her look like my grandmother crawled out of her grave. You only go that ugly for a role if your gonna win something.

Abigail Breslin: Not a cute little girl anymore. Kinda scary looking.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Josh Duhamel: I guess they did ok. I almost forgot they were in it.

Hilary Swank: Horrible dialogue, horrible hair, horrible make-up...

I really don't blame any of these people. I don't think they had any clue what they were getting into. Oh wait. There was Valentines Day... I've never seen it, but I'm sure it was some sort of sign.

So I guess thank you for making me feel bad for a lot of people I never thought I would feel bad for.

I can't believe how money goes into this crap. Give it to me or feed some starving children.

Young Adult.... I think I know that girl?

When I walked out of the theater, after watching Young Adult, I felt bummed out. I'm pretty sure it's because I know that girl, because the

entire time I kept thinking "Oohhh I've been there" and "Oh shit! Could of gone there".

Ok, in noway was I the most popular girl in high school and i'm not half as successful as the pathetic girl Theron plays (counting i'm almost half her age ;)), but watching the girl who loves everyone hating her, feels a little like home. I mean who hasn't tried to steal someones boyfriend or loved being every mothers worst enemy? I guess it's probably a lot of people,

but I did it a couple of times, lucky unlike Mavis Gary I grew out of it.... I think.

Diablo Cody (Writer) takes the girl we all hate, but wanted to be, in high school and shows us her life 20 years later. Jason Reitman did a good job of telling us her story. He takes "that girl" and shows how she never really grew up, because the best time of her life was everybody else's worst. She dwells on the past while the rest of the world was happy to move on. Charlize Theron had this character down perfectly, you hate her sometimes, feel sorry for her sometimes, and then hate yourself for feeling sorry for her.

Patton Oswald plays, Matt, who becomes a mentor, ally and conscious, for the girl who has none, and does amazing. He manages make it completely believable that the least popular boy, who really did get the crap beat out of him, becomes a wise cripple man who becomes the one popular, alcoholic, girl's only true ally.

Other characters in the film did seem a bit one dimensional, it would have been nice if that had more to them but I didn't mind it. It helped keep Mavis isolated and accentuated her inability to grow up. Almost like a cartoon where you never see the parents faces because they are just boring grown ups, and here Mavis is the entertaining, 43 year-old, teenager.

After reading many of the bad reviews for this movie I see they are mostly from men who think it's just about a girl who went to get back her old high school flame. But I definitely understand this girl I saw her in high school and sometimes I was her. It's much more about who she is than what she is doing. It's the girl who just couldn't grow up, because she never needed to and it's a little sad.

Google+ Review

So I know I usually review movies but a lot of people have been asking about Google+, and being a social networking nerd I'd figure I'd give a quick positive/negative list.

Positives:

- It's Simple. Like Facebook used to be...
- No Farmville! No one sending you tomato plants and asking you to join their Mob.
- Circles! It's a big feature on Google+. It's nice you can decide who sees what you say. You can seperate what posts your co-workers see from what your close friends do. Oh, and people don't know what circle you have them in (Nice!). Now, you can do this on FB but it's kind of a pain and most people don't know how to. (It's a little weird categorizing people at first, but you get used to it)
- It's connected to your gmail. I know it sounds lazy.... but now you can log-in into one place to check your email and see if you have any notifications.
- Chat system is also nice. You can chat with people through gmail or through Google+. So if a friend has gmail but not plus you can still chat with them. They also have 'Huddle'

so you can chat in groups (Facebook is trying to do this now too).
- Video Chat. The 'Hangout' feature is a great idea; You can v-chat with multiple people at once, without paying Skpe monthly. (Also see negatives)

- It's new! It's still small. No ads covering the page. No companies saying "Like Us" (but still like mine! lol) You also don't have to read you friend's 14 year-old sister pathetic updates, because she hasn't joined yet.
- It's gotten to see FB become what it is and take advantage of it's faults.
- It's Google, a name we know and trust. We know they're gonna do some cool stuff.
- It's more about sharing with friends than having friends.
- Lastly, if Mark Zuckerberg is as douchey as Eisenberg played him it's time he got his. Although, I don't think Google+ will bring down FB.

Negatives:

- It's new. I know this was also a positive, but they are still working out a lot of hiccups.
* An example would be the "great idea" I said the 'hangout' v-chat feature is. I've tested out a few times and it doesn't work so well, you can hear but not see or see and not hear. Hopefully they'll get it to work.
- Even though it's in a bar right above your email they still email you notifications. You can turn this off, but I think it's a dumb that you have to.
- You don't have to accept people who want to follow you. Anyone can follow you, so you'll have to put them all in a special circle, hide, or block them. It's kind of annoying.
- The switch over is going to be hard. I have been on Facebook for years. I don't think the switch over will be as smooth as MySpace to Facebook was.... if it even happens.
- It's a little weird going for "The Man". Google is no college kid starting a website or Tom our Myspace friend in the white shirt. You'll now notice you can '+1'(there equivalent to fb's 'like') anything you google. It just reminds you that they are trying to take over, and they are no underdog.


Overall, I like it. It's nice to be on with just a few friends for now, and fun to play somewhere new. I don't know what's going to happen with it, but it's growing fast so ask someone to invite you in.

Why I Love Harry Potter

I remember walking through the mall one day and my sister showing me the new book she had just bought, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", I was about 10 years-old, I had heard about it but didn't really know what it was about. Little did I know that that book would forever change me. I was a horrible at reading when I was young, I even had to take special classes and it always embarrassed me. I had grown to hate books but when my sister read that first book to my little brother and I, I fell in love.

The Harry Potter series has truly become a part of my life. I have read and listen to the books many times. I can't sleep with my own thoughts so I listen to Jim Dale read the books. In high school my best friend and I called our crush, "You Know Who" so he wouldn't know we were talking about him. For the last 12 years whenever I needed to escape I would in the books. Most importantly, I have related the characters lives to mine and they've played a big part in who I am.

Of course the books will live on forever for future generations but I have truly been blessed to grow up with them. I got to feel what it was like to wait for books 4-7 to come out. I got to go to the bookstore and wait till midnight to get them. I had the luxury of imagining what the characters looked like in my mind without actors influence. Finally, I got to watch the books grow into a world phenomenon which turned into eight movies.

At first, I hated the movies for so many reasons but now I have grown to respect them for what they are, just another way to see it all, and I love how they carry on the legacy. It was cool to watch the actors grow up in many ways, like I did and Harry did. It was great to see the world in my mind come to life even if it wasn't perfectly how I imagined it. To even my surprise Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 will always be one of my favorite movies. And now part 2 is out.

Just tonight I watched it and so many emotions ran through me. Of course, while watching this last one, there were great moments and not so great moments. There were emotions missed that meant so much to me in the book. There was a lot of jumping around and it could have been paced better, but there also was a lot of great film making and a lot of tears on my part. In the end I don't want to over analyze it because it all means too much to me.

At the end of the day I'd rather just be sad. This is the last midnight showing I'll attend. This was the end of 10 years of waiting and wanting. Wizarding World of Harry Potter(which is awesome!) will always be there, and I am sure I will love Pottermore, but it's just not the same. This was the end in so many ways and I'll miss the anticipation more than anything.

So, although I am not one for cheese, all I have to say is, I love Harry Potter and thank you J.K. Rowling. Thank you for opening my imagination, for giving me a place to go when life sucked, for helping me become a storyteller, and for allowing me to realize how much I love to read.

Monte Carlo

This one is pretty simple. Here are some quick thoughts:

• The Lizzy Mcquire Movie meets Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but a little better.
• It was cute but predictable.
• Acting was ok. I think Selena Gomez is as cute as a button (too bad she's with stupid Bieber boy).
• Made me want to go to Europe even more.
• The guys in it were hot.
• Perfect for 12 year-old girls who still think they can run off somewhere a find the perfect boy.
• Girls might wanna rent it one day. Or just catch it on TV someday.

Why Green Lantern Really Isn't That Bad

So last night I was convinced to go see Green Lantern. I really had no desire (AT ALL!) to see this in theaters. I've heard so many bad things and from the moment I saw the first trailer I thought it was going to be ridiculous. My boyfriend dragged me to it and I kicked and screamed until... I found out the new Harry Potter Trailer was going to be showing before it. So, in the end I sucked it up and went, and was pleasantly surprised. Here's the quick play by play (Without giving too much away).

Arrive at Cinebarre and order lots of calories (Yum!).

Watch some short films and then trailers....

PISSED!

No Harry Potter. Ok yes, I already watched it online the moment I could but I love watching trailers in theaters. Best part of any movie.

Green Lantern begins.

- Yes, good plan, start off with the shirt off.

Ryan Reynolds is SOOO hot (bummer Scar Jo gave him the downstairs bumps).

- Eww Blake Lively. Just. So. Annoying.

Her acting was bad, but to be fair I expected worse.

She is prettier as a brunette.

- They don't really develop any supporting characters. Although after watching X-Men First Class, were they try and shove in too many characters, i'm ok with that.

--We've got the good guy, the bad guy, and the chick. Check.

-The Suit. Not gonna lie I thought it was going to really really really bug me, but with all the other CGI it just kinda worked.

- Wow and super hero movie and Kid might actually like. Hmmm... what a concept.

- Cheesy.

- Could have a little more playing and fun.

- Ok Blake does get better, but still ew.

- Sarsgaard should just always have an accent. It's bugging him that he doesn't.

- Oddly most people call this movie jumpy, but I call it "to the point".

It ends and overall it was alright.

Critics apparently hated it. All I have to say is get the F over it. What do they expect?!?! Heaven forbid someone make and comic book movie with a simple plot line that kids can follow. I'm sure when they cast Lively and Reynolds no one was expecting something amazing, but they did well. Yes, it could have been something amazing, but few movies accomplish that. Comic book movies are all part of a money machine don't expect any crazy genius from them. Green Lantern was no where as bad as Spider-Man 3. I guess all i'm saying is go in expecting hate it and then maybe you'll like it ;).

In Theaters Now

I haven't been able to write this semester, way too busy, but of course I have a lot to say about a many things so I will say them here.

Ok lets start with movies in theaters now:

Bridesmaids (R):

Funny and sweet. It is a romantic comedy, but your boyfriend is more likely to like it than your mom. Kristen Wiig is cute and funny, she is perfectly pathetic; you almost want to smack her but can relate and feel for her. Melissa McCarthy (Gilmore Girls, Mike & Molly) totally steals the show and Terry Crews (My Favorite!) is in it for like a minute which is awesome. It could have been funnier at times although I understand they were trying to walk a fine line. Worth a watch.

Fast Five (PG-13)

What do you expect? Ok that's it.

Seriously it is. Not so good acting, fast cars, hot people(now older)... yep. Overall I loved it.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides:

I would say this is the third best Pirates. Not as good as the first two and not as bad as the fourth. I feel like it had good elements but was pushing too much exposition. What we all loved about the first movie was the sense of discovery and that is whats missing here. You would think with mermaids, zombies, pirates, and the fountain of youth, you would have that, but you don't. Sparrow (Depp) is just a cliche now no longer the breath of fresh air from other more realistic characters. I do have to say Penelope did great and looked beautiful, and Depp was doing his same old thing (a little heavier this time..). Overall it's a good popcorn movie not much more.In the end all I have to say is Jack Sparrow should never be your protagonist.

Hangover Part 2 (R):

Yes it is the exact same concept. I do have to say it is still pretty funny, and I appreciate the "it worked before" attitude. It's not as good as the first because it lacks the originality and freshness. It will still make you laugh most of the time but it's in no way genius. There is a bit of awkward exposition at the beginning and it's a little weird that they still leave the other friend (Justin Bartha) behind, but once it gets rolling you'll be laughing hardcore.

Thor (PG-13):

I'm sure most have seen this by now, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I thought Chris Hemsworth (Thor) was going to be a bad pick. Honestly not as hot as I would want Thor to be and seemed kinda annoying. Although, after watching the film he was perfect. It was a good story with a lot of witty dialogue. Natalie Portman wasn't overbearing and there wasn't too much of Kat Dennings (sorry not a fan). Overall, a fun movie, and if your crazy and haven't seen it you should.

Quick Reviews

So apparently my sister, Shauna, is crazy because she wants me to review all movies I see so she knows what she should see. So here is a quick review of some i've seen lately.

Iron Man 2:

I'm sure most people have seen this by now but if not just wait for the DVD.

It's not horrible but also not good. It jumps all over the place and tries to cover too many aspects of the comic books. I just left confused.

Battle scenes should have been longer and conversation scenes should have been cut shorter. I mean we get that he's a drunk and that things aren't perfect.

Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow give good performances.

Scarlett Johansson kicking butt was pretty cool, but her acting was the same as usual.

I love Sam Rockwell but the dialogue he was given was cheesy and annoying.

I'm pretty sure Jon Favreau (Director/Actor) just wanted to put him self in it as much as possible.

It's just a popcorn movie without the popcorn fun.

Grown Ups: A Movie For Everyone... Wait I Mean No One.

So a couple of nights ago my boyfriend and I randomly went to the movies at 10 pm. We got there and stared at the board. He picked Grown Ups and I was down. I knew it wouldn't be great, but expected a family fun pic and left very confused.

It's about 5 friends meeting up after years when their old basketball coach dies. Something we've seen a million times; they all lived their lives differently but then come back together and find that bond again. The storyline didn't really go much beyond that.

Although this one was a little weird. The jokes were horrible almost as if they were for children, but then totally inappropriate things would jump in. Which is usual funny with Sandler movies but a lot of them were over kill.

Maria Bello's character breast feeding her 4 year old was funny like the first two times and then it got to be just plan stupid and gross.

I thought it was gonna end like five times; I mean how many "lets all realize that we love each other and need to gather together and say cheesy things" moments do you need?

Scenes went on way too long and made several actors I love look horrible. It just wasn't fun, like at all. I would waste the time seeing this one ever.

The A-Team

Finally and good mindlessly fun action flick. Joe Carnahan (Director) rocked it.

It was just fun. Explosions, a hot guy (Bradley Cooper), hot chick (Jessica Biel), big guns, and helicopter tricks.

I love Liam Neeson and this was a great role for him. Cooper was great, and after District 9 and this movie I am in love with Sharlto Copley he is hilarious. Quinton Jackson wasn't amazing but did alright, and was held up by a great cast. Jessica Biel is blah to me as always, but I think i'm only on person who doesn't like her so don't listen to me.

I think this will be one of few good blockbuster movies this Summer so good check it out.

Toy Story 3

Of course it was awesome. It was cute and fun. The new toys were fun and it was nice to see our old friends. Ken and Barbie were hilarious. Most people have been saying it's the best one, but I'd disagree. I still love the first one and this one didn't make me cry like the second one. Anyway it was awesome, it had tons of fun moments and overall a really good flick. Good see it. Oh and in 2D.