May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor...

The wait is over!

Mixing it up, and trying something different, no review this post just wanted to let you all know, if you live under a rock....

Its finally here, this weekend is the opening of the long awaited second installment of The Hunger Games series, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. It will open this Friday the 22nd and if its anything like its saga predecessors a la Harry Potter and Twilight, its going to be a big deal amongst its super fans.

I haven't read any of the books (I was more of what some might embarrassingly label a "Twihard")  but I have seen the first movie so I do plan on seeing the second hopefully sometime soon.

I am a huge Jennifer Lawrence fan, so I cant wait to see her reprise the role of Katniss Everdeen. If anyone gets a chance to see it over the weekend, let me know how it is!



Here's a little video to tide you over of the cast picking who they think is the "deadliest" character...

Insomnia

In my cinema class we just finished watching a "whydunnit" filmed called Insomnia.  This is one of Robin Williams' dramatic roles where he stars as a writer/killer in a chase from a sleep deprived detective. Also starring Al Pacino and Hilary Swank, this movie is about two LA based detectives sent to cover a case in a part of a Alaska where the sun never sets for six months.

During the film the constant light becomes an enemy to Pacino's character Detective Dormer, who never sleeps for the week he's there, having the sun light keeping him up. This leads him to lose his mind little by little running on no energy, and finding himself in more trouble than the suspect. No spoilers...

Williams' character is a crime writer in this small secluded town who finds himself in the middle of an investigation of a missing teenage girl. He and Dormer find themselves working closer together than they have liked trying to keep each others secrets under wraps.


What was interesting to find about the film was that it is actually a remake of a Norwegian original. The Norwegian screenplay happens to carry a little more darker/disturbing undertones, and happens to be a little more explicit. Also the ending was changed last minute, not from the original version, but just from the original American screenplay.

Another Fun Fact: Detective Will Dormer's name is derived from the Latin word "dormire" which means "to sleep"

About Time

Last weekend I saw the movie About Time.  I am personally not a fan of these type of romantic movies but something about the trailer pulled me in, with the element of time travel that I thought it looked good so I might give it a shot...

I wish I hadn't.

It was a movie that was pretty much all over the place.  The main character Tim finds out he has the ability to time travel, and his first step is that he wants to find a girlfriend, which seems silly. But anyway part of the whole reason I wanted to see this was that I thought the movie would be centered around the use of his time travelling and maybe getting, losing and getting the girl again, ya know typical love story. But the movie glossed over their relationship and halfway through transitioned into what felt like an entire different story dealing with the relationship with his father, and a little sub plot involving his sister.

It was unfortunate because after seeing the film I didn't get the experience that I anticipated from the trailer which basically shows in my opinion practically a different movie.

Also lead actress Rachel McAdams has starred in two extremely similar time travelling movies, the first being the wife of Eric Bana's character in The Time Travelers Wife and the fiancé of Owen Wilson's character in Midnight in Paris. Zooey Deschanel was also supposed to be originally cast as the lead role of Mary but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, and McAdams was cast.

Halloween Movies!

Since we are rounding the corner on Halloween I just had to share some of my favorites that I usually watch every year before the holiday, and suggest you do too!!




The other night The Omen was on TV and I made a point to sit down and watch it because its one of my faves. It is a horror classic made it 1976 but I have only seen the 2006 version of it. Even still its a great horror film, not sure how it holds up to the original given I didn't see it but still scary.  Its about a couple who through different horrifying revelations realize they might be raising the reincarnate of the devil.













The Shining is an American classic. Made from Stephen Kings novel it follows a  family that heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific visions from the past and of the future. This movie is pretty iconic and a favorite horror film for many!
















You cant do Halloween without watching Hocus Pocus!! Its a more "family" PG rated take on a Halloween movie but its personally my favorite, and if you ask most people my age they wont disagree. Kids grow up watching this movie so it sticks without and its something that's always thought about when you think Halloween. Its a funny, fun filled Halloween adventure and who can go wrong with Bette Midler as a head witch?!





Also along the lines of some wholesome Halloween fun is the Disney classic Halloweentown.  Debbie Reynolds stars as Grandma Aggie whose grandkids find out her secret of living in another dimension called Halloweentown.  There the kids try to fight off the "bad thing" and save their grandmothers town that they have just encountered for the first time. 

And you cant end the Halloween season without Tim Burton.  Two of my favorites of his are the very popular A Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride.  These are animated films that just have the flair for the holiday. In "Nightmare" Jack finds himself exploring a new holiday rather than Halloween which is the only holiday he's ever known. In Corpse Bride Victor finds himself marrying a corpse by accident instead of his to be bride.

What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?

What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? is a 1962 drama/horror/thriller film.  As an avid Halloween/horror lover I was told to check out this movie, and so I did.  Its an older film so I was a little disappointed over the horror part.  Older films tend to make you imagine something is more scary than actual showing it, but even this film was just more creepy than scary.  It had more of a psychological take on the fear instilled between these two sisters.

The movie is about two sisters, "Baby" Jane Hudson and Blanche Hudson, played by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford respectively. Jane is a former child star, who is now a nobody and is taking care of her crippled sister, Blanche, who before her car accident was a movie star herself. The story follows Jane tormenting Blanche day after day in cruel ways.  Jane does these things more or less out of jealousy or the fact that everybody pinned the accident and the fact that Blanche is crippled and no longer able to star in movies on Jane herself. As the movie goes on you start to realize that Jane is slowly slipping away from sanity and even tries to hire a man to revive her old career as a child star, even though she is already an older woman.

It was known in Hollywood that these two actresses, Davis and Crawford, had always frankly hated one another, and this did not change even when working together. One fact about the film was that Joan Crawford during one scene where Jane violently kicks her character, wanted to use a dummy due to the fact she was fearful that Bette Davis would "kick the living daylights out of her." Giving no spoilers away to those who haven't seen the film, there is a surprise at the end which might make some switch gears and feel sorry for Jane. This movie was not what I'm used to as far as horror films go, but its worth a watch if you're a fan of thrillers or old movies.

Casablanca

In my cinema class we just finished the iconic film Casablanca.  It is said to be one of the top three movies of all time. After seeing it for the first time this week I wasn't too impressed.  I'm not sure what it was about it, but the plot just never clicked with me. It might be because this is supposed to be one of the most epic love stories of all time and I am not too overly into love stories. Also some of the acting seemed a bit too forced to the point where it was comical to me, but maybe that's just because of the generation gap between me and these older movies.  So tell me, am I crazy for not liking this super successful, popular, iconic film, or is it really not all that great...

Carrie

So, you know how remakes of movies usually aren't as good as the original, and when it comes to horror movie remakes they are even worse than the original?!? Well that is not the case with Carrie. It opened this past weekend and after seeing it I can confidently say that it is better than the original. It stars Chloe Grace Moretz as the title character, a sixteen year old who is already pretty big in Hollywood, and Julianne Moore who plays her religious crazy mother. Both do exceptional work. Moore is so captivating in her performance as Carrie's mother, but what really stole the show was Moretz's portrayal of Carrie. With being only 16 herself she wasn't even born yet when the original came out but she embodies Carrie fantastically! She had the perfect blend of innocence and "poor little shy girl" and pure evil. I was left speechless after the iconic prom scene, every move she made just had you squirming in your seat and eyes bugging out. When the original first came out in 1976 Sissy Spacek was 26 years old playing the high schooler, but having a teen like Moretz play Carrie made a big improvement. I also enjoyed the bit of a modern twist they put in this remake. They infiltrated modern technology and social media as a means to torment poor Carrie White that couldn't be done in the first. This is a must see!

Three More Must See Movies For Fall 2013

Three More Must See Movies For Fall 2013

6. Carrie 10/18
 Carrie is a highly anticipated remake of the classic 1970s horror film. It stars Academy Award Winner Julianne Moore and Chloe Grace Moretz who is sixteen portraying the high school character, where as Sissy Spacek was twenty-six when she played the same character back in the 70s
 7.   American Hustle  12/13
This movie is set in the 1970s, and is about cunning con artists, and is a fictionalized take on a real federal investigation.  It is the follow up project from director David O Russell's 2012 hit Silver Linings Playbook.
8.  Her  12/18

This film is about a man who buys a new computer system named Samantha, whose human like voice is so empathtic that he begins to fall in love with her.

 

Don Jon

Last night I saw the movie Don Jon.  This film is the first written and directed by its star Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  It is a super smart take on the way media can affect a relationship, and I think Gordon-Levitt did a great job writing it.  It wasn't written one sided at all and he wrote a woman's side and her perspective very well with both Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore's characters. These two woman had opposite effects on his character as a man but both had very significant impacts on him. 

Jon is a good looking, slightly into himself, man who enjoys pornography more than an actual sexual relationship with a woman. After dating Barbara for a couple months the intentions of their relationship start to shift. Jon than meets and older woman, Esther, who shows him a deeper meaning he has been missing in his intimate life. 

The movie takes an unexpected turn in the end, but in a good way. I highly recommend this movie because it is super funny but also emotional. Its also extremely well written and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's talent shines through in his directorial debut. 

Five Must See Movies for Fall 2013

 Five Must See Movies Fall 2013

1. Don Jon 9/27

This film is written and directed by its star Joseph Gordon Levitt. It’s about a couple and their unrealistic looks on what a relationship should be like. It has an eclectic cast that is creating a lot of buzz, making it highly anticipated.

2.   The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 11/22

Catching Fire will be the highly anticipated sequel to The Hunger Games trilogy. Jennifer Lawrence had a great year winning an Oscar for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook. These films are comparable to the Twilight Saga so you know each movie will be bigger than the next.

3. Thor: The Dark World 11/8

Thor is one of the many sequels that fans are looking forward to this year. It picks up right where The Avengers left off.

4.   Enough Said 9/20

This film is about two empty nesters who find love.  It stars Julia Louis Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini in one of his last projects. This movie is receiving much critical acclaim.

5.   The Wolf of Wall Street 11/15

This based on true events tale of Wall Street where a stock broker goes gangbusters in the 1990s and than is followed by the FBI.

 

Prisoners

If you are looking for a thrill this weekend I suggest you see the new movie Prisoners if you have not already. This movie was fantastic! It had such a talented cast and Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal delivered their best performances yet. The movie starts out just like any other thriller, but when you really get into it, it unfolds so many different twists and turns that you don't see coming. They aren't twists and turns that are too jarring either, they don't stray you too far from the path and all eerily tie in together. There are some sub plots that always keep you on your toes so you're constantly trying to weight in to "whodunit." The use of cinematography in the film as well is brilliant and totally sets the tone for each scene.  The constant coloring of a gray sky almost acts like another character itself.  Emotions run high throughout the film, you are always siding with the "good guy" detective who is extremely smart and good at what he does. You also play detective yourself too when it comes to dissecting the other characters behavior. Toward the end, about the last almost full hour I sat there with my heart thumping. The way the movie resolves is stunning. It certainly takes the every day thriller up several notches in my book. Try and see if you can watch this movie not in the edge of your seat.

Insidious 2

This weekend I went to see the new horror movie, Insidious 2. I really like horror movies, and this is around the time when all the new ones come out. The first installment of Insidious came out back in April of 2011, it did so well that the second one was expected to live up to its expectations, and it did. This opening weekend it was number one at the box office making $41 million. I thought this movie did a great job integrating the first one into the second. Having not seen the first one since it came out you might have forgotten bits and pieces, but Insidious 2 picks up right where the first one left off. Its rather suspenseful and maybe a little less scary than the first one but makes up for it with the fact that its still really creepy. There is also some comedic moments to the movie which help break up the fear at some moments when you need it! In the end I thought it was really good and I would recommend it for the Halloween season!