Summer Movies 2014: To See or Not To See?

SUMMER MOVIES!

It's June now and the surge of Summer Movies is already upon us!

May gave us a great variety (or at least an assortment) of HUGE Box Office Films like: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Check out my re-cap of the first Amazing Spider-Man HERE), Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past (Check out my re-cap of all six previous X-Men movies HERE) and Maleficent. Those are the one's I've seen so far. Also released this past month was: Neighbors, Blended, A Million Ways To Die in the West and Million Dollar Arm.

There's already been plenty to see so what else is coming out that you should look forward to? Here's some of the big names that you may or may not be excited to see. I'll also tell you if I'm planning on seeing the film with something along the lines of a "Yes", "No", or "Maybe".

What films are you excited to see come out this summer?

JUNE

June 6th

The Fault in Our Stars- Probably Yes. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort (PG-13) The story is about two teenagers with terminal cancer who fall in love. Apparently the book is excellent. I'm looking forward to reading it. Might try and read the book first if I find the time. This one is probably a cry movie but with such a highly regarded source material I'm definitely interested in this.

*I've seen this movie: It was great, just like the book. I recommend reading the book first then seeing the movie. It was enjoyable, lots of ECU's though that were too long or a little awkward. A relatable story that reminds you of what it was like to be in love as a teen and experience those emotions for the first time.

Edge of Tomorrow- Yes. Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt (PG-13). Tom Cruise is caught in a time loop during an alien war. Every time he dies he starts back over a few days ago (Think like Kitty Pride's power in X-Men meets Groundhog Day with aliens). I like time travel/time jump movies so this interests me. I like Emily Blunt and I'm hoping there's a little bit more to this story than Tom Cruise is the only human with the power to stop the aliens and win the war. We will see.

*I've seen this movie: Very enjoyable and the acting was well done. There was a bit more to this story than the trailers showed. Fun and exciting movie with great performances and entertaining action sequences. It was captivating.



June 13

How to Train Your Dragon 2- YES. Absolutely. Jay Baruchel, Kristen Wiig, America Ferrera do voice overs (PG). The first movie was awesome. Can't wait for the sequel. Fingers crossed for a successful sequel to a good film.

*I've seen this movie: It was cute, I didn't love it as much as the original but the animation was beautiful and I loved all the flying scenes and all the different dragons they had. Basically the same plot of Lion King/ Hamlet though.

22 Jump Street- Probably Yes/ Maybe. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum (R). Okay the first one was great. It was a surprise comedy and I went to see it because of all the hype it got. This sequel could also be great. There is definite potential but honestly this feels like it's not going to be anything unique and special. Sure, they go to college this time but part of what I loved about 21 Jump Street was that I had no idea what to expect from it and it was a self aware movie. Hopefully this one does the same but amps it up. This feels like Hangover 2 to me now. The first one was surprisingly funny but the sequel was a let down because it didn't get much better. I'll probably wait and see how this one get reviewed first.





June 20

Think Like A Man Too- No. Kevin Hart and Gabrielle Union (PG-13) Are you getting sick of seeing sequels on this list yet? This movie is just the same as Couple Retreat and Grown Ups. I never saw any of those movies nor the original of this one. Nothing against it, I know there's definitely a market for that genre of films. I'm sure there's funny moments. Kevin Hart is a funny guy. Just not my thing.

Jersey Boys- Yes. Clint Eastwood directing (R). I'm so excited for this. It's the story behind how The Four Seasons were formed and their relationships. I love oldies music and musicals so I'm hoping for some great music and great visuals with this film.









June 27

Transformers: Age of Extinction- No. Mark Wahlburg (NR). Nope, sorry. Even with Marky Mark on board this time I lost interest after Transformers 2 and I'm tired of seeing all the women just there to serve the purpose of a "screaming hot girl". Unless someone whose film opinion I trust deeply tells me repeatedly and swears under oath that this is one of the best films of the summer I'm not seeing this. (I.E. my friend Matt aka Hyde)

JULY

Wednesday July 2

Earth to Echo- Maybe. Teo Halm (PG). It's ET meets Transformers meets Super 8. Could be good. I'm not ruling this out yet. Waiting to see some reviews first though. It looks like a cute movie with definitely potential for something a little bit different than a standard animated family film.








July 11

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - No. Gary Oldman and Keri Russell (NR). I was never a huge fan of these movies and never cared to see them. I can definitely see the appeal and I like Gary Oldman but this isn't my cup o' tea. I appreciate this series of films though.

And So It Goes- Nope. Diane Keaton and an easily interchangeable popular older male actor, this time it's Michael Douglas (PG-13). Isn't enough, enough already Diane Keaton? I guess there's a market for these movies. It is nice to have movies like this to counteract the action and crude humor comedies. As for me, I've seen it once and probably three or four times. I've seen it all. I do enjoy Rob Reiner's films though.

July 18

Sex Tape - Possibly, Maybe. Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel (NR). This could be funny, actually. Choosing two comedians instead of more general actors for these roles gives me hope that it might be funny. Do I think it's worth a $12-$15 ticket? Probably not. Could be a nice surprise hit though, we will have to wait and see.

The Purge: Anarchy - No. Frank Grillo (R). If you opened up a dictionary and looked up "unnecessary movie sequels" I'm pretty sure that this movie is going to be another entry in that column. Right under Hangover 2 and The Ring 2. The original is an interesting concept though, I never got around to seeing it but this is probably more of the same. If you're wondering why they made another one just close your eyes and picture dollar signs. There's not much more to it than that.

Planes: Fire & Rescue - No. Dane Cook and Julie Bowen voiceovers (PG). I'm not going to say anything bad about this because even though yes, it's very soon after the original Planes was released, it's summer and parents need a movie for their kids to see with the babysitter. Clearly it was popular enough to make a sequel so there you go. Little kids, rejoice!

July 25

Hercules - Maybe. Dwayne Johnson (NR). Sorry Kellan Lutz (The Legend of Hercules) but it seems like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was literally born to play Hercules. I might go see this, it could be pretty cool and action packed. I think this movie will be epic and awesome. At least I hope so.

Lucy - Yes. Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman (R). I love Sci-Fi and this movie is definitely going to stretch the imagination and could be awesome. She looks great and can definitely carry a movie. I'm excited for this one, as long as it doesn't try to take itself overly serious and become ridiculous. It's a fine balance.

Step Up: All In - Probably, Maybe. Alyson Stoner and Briana Evigan (PG-13). So these aren't the best movies ever but they're fun and the dancing is exciting and I like to watch them. This movie brings together many but not all (Rob Hoffman...): ) from the previous Step Up films and is set in Las Vegas. I think it'll be fun, nothing to shout about but something enjoyable to spend two hours on when you just feel like seeing an entertaining movie.

AUGUST

August 1

Guardians of the Galaxy - ABSOLUTELY. Chris Pratt and Vin Diesel (NR). Each trailer that comes out makes me more and more excited. Is Chris Pratt a leading man? YES and this is a great role for him to help prove it. It's going to be a comedic Marvel movie, something that Marvel has yet to do. Sure their movies have comedic moments and dialogue but they aren't comedies. This is going to be much more comedic than what we've seen before while still being an action, sci-fi adventure story that we know and love. Go see this. It's gonna be great.

Get On Up - Maybe. Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis (NR). It's a biography of James Brown. Something about this movie turns me off. I'm not sure what it is but from the trailers I've seen it seems to me like maybe the script wasn't too great. I would be glad to be wrong and have this as a great biography film about James Brown but until I see some reviews I'm staying undecided.

August 8

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Yes. Megan Fox and Will Arnett (NR). Despite Megan Fox I am still excited for this movie. But I'm saying if you put Megan Fox as April O'Neil and she takes away from the movie instead of making it awesome I will be severely upset. This movie has so much potential for greatness. Just be good! PLEASE! 

Wednesday August 13

Let's Be Cops - Probably. Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans, Jr. (R). Two guys dress up like cops and enjoy the reactions they get so much that they continue the charade. Ruckus ensues. Should be pretty funny, the trailers have made me laugh so I'm hoping this one is decent enough to see.

August 15

The Expendables 3 - Probably Not. Sylvester Stalone and Mel Gibson (among MANY MANY others) (NR). I actually have never seen any of these movies but they seem fun. All the action stars you know and love are together in one movie doing action things. Appealing enough, I'm sure it'll be just as good as the other two.

The Giver - Yes. Brenton Thwaites and Jeff Bridges (NR). I loved this book so much. The trailer did not release much excitement over the anticipation of this film but I am still hopeful. It's about a boy who lives in a seemingly perfect community and learns about the real world from an elderly man, THE DUDE! Please be good, please be good.... Also Meryl Streep.

August 22

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Most Likely. Jessica Alba and Mickey Rourke (NR). Sequel to the 2005 "groundbreaking" film, plus this time Joseph Gordon-Levitt so you know I'm in. Hopefully will be cool. We shall see.

For more movie releases and dates check out: The Movie Insider

Re-Watch: All 6 X-Men Movies: From X-Men (2000) to The Wolverine (2013)

In preparation for what is probably the movie I am looking forward to most this year, X-Men: Days of Future Past, I thought it made sense to review all 6 X-Men movies thus far. I debated going chronologically but I think it would be confusing so I'm going by release dates. There will be spoilers here, the purpose of this post is to catch up before seeing the new X-Men film.

It's time to prep for DAYS OF FUTURE PAST!

Up first is....

X-Men (2000)

Ah, the start of it all. What a beautiful beginning. This was back before superhero movies were so popular and this film kicked off the entire X-Men universe.

X-Men Poster

This film follows Rogue and Wolverine, two mutants with special abilities, as they make their way to Charles Xavier's school for the gifted. Xavier is one of the most powerful mutants in the X universe having the ability to read and control things with his mind. Xavier, or Professor X, and his team are up against Magneto, an equally powerful mutant with the ability to control metal. Magneto wants to make the rest of the world mutants too, he wants mutant equality and thinks that the only way to get that is through terror and force. Wolverine's power of healing and his adamantium claws make him an invaluable weapon in this fight as well as Rogue's ability to absorb other mutant's powers through skin contact. Much to Rogue's dismay, she can't touch people without hurting them, though. Xavier's X-Men stop Magneto before it's too late and all's well in the X world, for now.

Xavier and Magneto play chess a lot. It's a thing. They're old friends.

This movie has a great cast and does a good job at balancing so many characters in one film. It's a fun universe with a nearly infinite amount of different X-Men characters to choose from and add to various movies. The filmmakers did a good job of staying true to the comics here and it's a great beginning to a franchise. X-Men is directed by Bryan Singer, stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen (among many, many others. Halle Berry, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, etc.) It has an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.

X2: X-Men United (2003)

My personal favorite X-Men movie, the opening sequence is wonderful and amazing. Why can't Nightcrawler be in more of these films?

This poster is all about the hair. Yes, even you Bobby Drake.

This sequel has the X-Men uniting (get it? the title of the movie...) with Magneto and his team to fight against William Stryker, an evil militant man who makes it his mission to use Xavier and Cerebro, his mutant locating machine, to get rid of all the mutants. Stryker is the key to Wolverine/ Logan's mysterious past and how he came to have adamantium throughout his entire body (don't worry that whole story will be explained in X-Origins: Wolverine). Stryker put all the metal throughout Logan's body long ago and he is also responsible for Logan's lack of any memory. The team works together to stop Stryker from killing all the mutants but Jean Grey gets trapped and "killed" letting the X-Men escape from an exploding dam.

Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler.

This movie does a great job continuing to build up the X-Men franchise, there's lots of new mutants and the story is interesting and well-done, the acting is superb, it's better than the first film. This movie is a great example of how a sequel should be done, especially for comic book films. It's one of the best. This movie is again directed by Bryan Singer stars all the same people from the previous film plus Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler and a few others. It's at 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

The downfall of what should've been an excellent triology, this movie falls flat of doing anything worthwhile to continue to build up this series. Let's remember what went wrong...

Angel's wings take up half the poster.

This time the X-Men must deal with a mutant cure that some scientists have created from a mutant who's power is to suppress other people's abilities. The film builds up to a suspenseful (somewhat?) climax of Xavier's X-Men versus Magneto's Brotherhood. Mutants must decide between giving up their powers and joining the human race or joining Magneto in fighting a war against humankind. Jean Grey is alive and has transformed into her evil and powerful alter ego, Phoenix (one of my favorite Marvel characters!). She is collected by Magneto and she is the powerful key to their battle against the humans. Mutants added to this film include Angel, Beast and Juggernaut. In the end, Wolverine kills Jean Grey, the woman he loves, in order to stop her destruction of humans and basically everything. It leaves the mutants disheartened, many of them killed like Cyclops and Jean Grey. Xavier is also seemingly dead but in the end of the film during a post-credits scene it is hinted that perhaps he actually is still alive.

Logan getting ready to kill Jean Grey/ Phoenix.

The reason that this film doesn't work is because all of the heart and emotion from the previous two films is gone and replaced with action sequences and explosions. There is a different director this time around, Brett Ratner taking the helm. The acting is still well done and the fact that the previous two films were so good is partly what carries this one but it's not enough to make this film great. It lacks the beauty and precision of Singer's films. It's at 58% on Rotten Tomatoes.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

The title pretty much says everything about this movie. It's an origin story. Unfortunately it's the weakest film in the X-Men canon. Everyone loves Wolverine, right? I'm pretty sure this is the thought process behind those responsible for choosing this as the next X-Men movie.

Gambit, Deadpool and Wolverine in one film? Where did this go wrong?!?

This film tells the origin of Wolverine, his brother Victor and how Wolverine got to be the lonely wanderer we met in the beginning of X-Men (2000). Basically, Wolverine aka James Logan and his brother Victor Creed both have sharp claws and healing powers and were born prior to 1845. They travel through wars together (the beginning sequence of them throughout the various wars is a highlight of the film, actually) and fight along side each other. They are found by William Stryker during Vietnam and he convinces they to join his team of mutants. They travel to find a meteorite in Nigeria and when the group uses unnecessary brutality on the local townspeople, Logan leaves. We find him years later living with his girlfriend, Kayla Silverfox, leading a quiet life. Victor is hunting down members of the old team, long disbanded, and Stryker comes to warn Logan about "someone" killing off the group. Stryker uses Logan's anger at learning that Victor is killing the mutants to put the adamantium in Logan's skeletal system.

Post-Op

Logan hears that they are planning to kill him and use his DNA and healing to create something more powerful. He escapes and is hunted down by Stryker's team. Some of the old team is still alive and Logan looks to them for help in finding Stryker and hunting him down. Logan learns that Gambit is the only one to escape from Stryker's prison and he takes Logan there. Logan learns that Victor and Kayla were both working for Stryker and that Stryker is building an "all powerful" mutant. He had Victor help him collect dozens of mutants and he put their powers into a single body known as Weapon XI. Weapon XI is formerly Wade Wilson, a member of the old team, aka Deadpool. Kayla helps Logan free all the imprisoned mutants and he goes and fights Weapon XI controlled by Stryker. Victor helps Logan out and they both defeated him by chopping his head off. Kayla dies and Stryker shoots Logan in the head with an adamantium bullet erasing all of his memories. He only knows his name by the dog tags around his neck saying Logan on one side and The Wolverine on the other. Stryker lives for now but is later killed off at the end of X2.

He was a great Deadpool.

I like all the different mutants and fan favorites, Gambit and Deadpool, in this film. The shame is that once they turn Ryan Reynolds into Deadpool they stitch up his mouth so he can't talk. Deadpool's smart mouth is one of his best qualities in the comics. The general dislike of this film is due to the story and it's lack of originality. It's too cliché and makes the film difficult to remember an hour after seeing it. (I had to go back through a plot summary to remember all these points to type up here). Once Victor and Logan separate in the film it loses it's focus and can't regain the momentum. Liev Schreiber delivers a great performance and Hugh Jackman is great as always in this role, he's played it enough times to have an incredibly strong grasp of the character. The film is directed by Gavin Hood and has a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes.

X-Men: First Class (2011)

For all intents and purposes this movie is a reboot for a struggling franchise... and it succeeds! First Class breathed a much need new breath of life into this series.

I HAD to choose this poster because everyone's face is ridiculous. That's also why I made it so large.

This film follows the beginning and inception of the X-Men from Charles Xavier, played by James McAvoy, and Erik Lensherr/ Magneto, played by Michael Fassbender. It shows how they met and how they were once friends. Kevin Bacon plays the bad guy here, Sebastian Shaw, and it's so nice to have a fresh new villain to deal with in this movie. It makes the plot much more interesting and sustainable for the story here to make sense. The film is set in 1962 and the military enlists Xavier's help to stop Shaw from starting World War III by releasing nuclear missiles in Cuba. Magneto holds a grudge against Shaw who killed his mother in front of him during WWII when he was held in a concentration camp. Magneto often gets blinded by his need for revenge, a need that Xavier does not share and it ends up tearing apart their friendship in the end. BUT! Before that happens they work together to try and recruit other mutants to help them and fight against Shaw together, i.e. the First Class of the X-Men. I should mention that Mystique was taken in by Xavier when they were young children and he helped to raise her but in the end of the film she leaves him to join Magneto who has gone a separate way from Xavier. They end up stopping Shaw and killing him but Magneto changes and becomes the vengeful mutant that we know from the previous films and it breaks apart some of Xavier's team who decide to join Magneto instead.

See look, they're playing chess again. I told you it's a thing.

There's lots of great mutant characters in this film. We get to see how Hank McCoy turns into Beast, there's Alex Summers who is brother to Scott Summers (Cyclops from X-Men 1 and 2), Emma Frost and many others. The act is superb here, each of these actors knows how to use their craft in the best possible ways. The script here is strong, logical and most of all fun. The cast isn't mostly men anymore with a few women thrown in for good measure, the females here are powerful and can definitely hold their own. The best part of this is all the cameos. Hugh Jackman even makes a cameo giving him the right to say he's been in every X-Men movie. The movie is directed by Matthew Vaughn and has an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Wolverine (2013)

The most recent X-Men film, The Wolverine takes place chronologically AFTER The Last Stand giving us a nice reprise from two back to back prequels.

ARM VEINS!!!!!

This film is a solo film and is done very well. It's difficult to break the audience away from the group cast format of all the previous X-Men films but this movie's successfully storytelling could open another branch for the franchise to create more solo films... Deadpool??

This film follows Wolverine as he struggles with accepting killing Jean Grey (remember, in Last Stand?) and he is called to Japan by an old acquaintance who he met during WWII. Wolverine is living a completely secluded life out in the woods when he's found and collected by Yukio to go to Japan and say goodbye to Yashida, an old friend of Wolverine's. He saved Yashida's life and Yashida saw Wolverine's healing ability first hand. Now old, Yashida wants to take this healing power from Wolverine so he can live forever and Logan can live out the rest of his life normally. Logan refuses but one of Yashida's people, Viper, comes into Logan's room that night and suppresses his healing power so now he can be injured. Logan also meets Mariko, Yashida's granddaughter. They end up having a stereotypical, she doesn't like him but he is entranced by her and she helps him get over Jean and they have a thing, etc. etc. Yashida dies and Mariko will inherit everything and be the most powerful person in Japan. She is constantly captured and we find out that her own father was trying to kill her before the will was read. Mariko is taken by Viper to one of Yashida's facilities in the mountains. Logan removes Viper's "curse" on his healing power and Logan is back to normal. 

This is the giant samurai that Logan fights.

Viper leads an army of black-suited ninja's that Logan must fight through in order to reach Mariko at the top of the facility. He passes out due to the ninja's having arrows dipped in poison. He wakes up in the facility and he is strapped down. Viper tells Logan that Yashida was stocking up on adamantium due to his obsession with Logan's skeletal system and he built a giant mechanical samurai out of the material and therefore it can kill Logan. Viper provokes Wolverine into extending out his claws but prevents him from retracting them back and the giant samurai is about to cut off his claws when Mariko distracts it and he cuts Logan's restraints instead. Yukio arrives and battles Viper while Logan fights the samurai who cuts off one of his adamantium claws revealing bone underneath it. Logan slashes it's head off one handed and the samurai is spazzing out of control but one of his swords falls and cuts off Logan's other adamantium claws. Inside the suit is Yashida, who faked his death and drew Logan to this facility in order to take the life from him which he does but as the life is draining from Logan, Mariko comes and stabs/ confronts her grandfather. Logan kills Yashida and he finally dies and the life returns to Logan. Logan leaves Mariko as she inherits her grandfather's corporation and her duties lie in Japan. Yukio happily joins Logan and they leave together on an airplane going to an unknown location.

Wolverine vs. Ninjas. Sweet.

This movie is a great example of a solo film, it isn't advertised as an X-Men film because it's not a group picture but Wolverine is such a familiar character at this point that this movie has a wide draw. Hugh Jackman does an excellent job once again. This movie has the emotion that Logan has to deal with following The Last Stand and that emotion is the strongest part of the film. The film stays in Japan, which is nice and gives a lot of beautiful exteriors all around Japan. Again, lots of strong female characters here too and it's a welcome change from what easily could've been a completely male dominated story. While it's not the strongest film it is worthwhile to see as the action sequences are well done. Some of the dislikes of this film are that Wolverine's evolution throughout the film aren't very interesting, as though he's just going through the motions. See the film and judge for yourself. This film is directed by James Mangold and has 69% on Rotten Tomatoes.

**POST CREDITS SPOILER:

After the credits for Wolverine there is a short scene of Logan walking alone through an airport and a TV commercial shows an ad for Trask Industries (Bolivar Trask is the villain in Days of Future Past). Suddenly everything metallic begins to float and Logan (and the audience) is familiar with this and he ejects his bone claws and turns around to see Magneto (Ian McKellan) and he freezes Logan in place and asks him to lower his defenses. Logan then sees that everything around them is frozen in place (cue audience excitement as we know this sequence too) and the camera shows a wheelchair weaving through the frozen crowd (cue me jumping up and down in my seat due to excitement) and we see Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) definitely alive and Logan is speechless. Magneto tells Logan that they need him to save all of mutant-kind. (Cue me suppressing an excited scream because I'm so looking forward to Days of Future Past). 

Fine, fine I'll post this clip below. Here's the post-credits scene:

Here's the movies listed chronologically:

1. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (It begins in 1845)

2. X-Men: First Class

3. X-Men

4. X2: X-Men United

5. X-Men: The Last Stand

6. The Wolverine

Days of Future Past is a time traveling film to attempt and fix some of the mix-ups in the X-Men timeline so it takes place after The Wolverine and then time travels to after First Class. So now you're pretty much all caught up with everything X-Men and you're ready to see Days of Future Past as it's released on May 23, 2014! Days of Future Past currently has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Very high critical success so far, which bodes well. I personally can't wait to see it and for those who want to see more here's a trailer for Days of Future Past:

This trailer still gives me chills. Oh man it's so good.

Guilty Pleasure Series #1: Mean Girls and Rat Race

Everyone has their own favorite guilty pleasure movies. A guilty pleasure movie is something that you shouldn't like but do, it's something that's generally defined as being a "bad movie" but you watch it anyway and it's a movie that you don't care how much other people may dislike it- it's something you can't help but love. In starting this post, which I hope to continue as a series, I didn't want to start with just my own guilty pleasures (don't worry we'll get to those too) but rather what other people's guilty pleasure movies were. So naturally, I posted a Facebook status about it. Here's some of the results I got:

I decided to start with two of the popular answers: Mean Girls and Rat Race. Let me clarify something first before beginning. Mean Girls DOES NOT actually qualify as a guilty pleasure but you could see how it could be seen as one don't worry I'll explain...



Mean Girls (2004)- Happy 10th Anniversary Mean Girls!

Is there anyone who HASN'T seen this movie a million times?

Funny, witty, relatable and well-written, this movie is overall not considered a bad movie! So why is that my friends along with other people feel like this is a guilty pleasure movie? Well, it's a teen comedy and it's about a bunch of girls. Most guys would be embarrassed to admit that they like this movie a lot but actually almost every guy I know has seen and liked this film. Teen comedies have a bad rep, and for a valid reason- there's a lot of stinkers out there, but this movie actually stands out as one of the better, smarter films in that category. So you feel guilty for liking a clever, funny movie about backstabbing girls in high school? So what. I say, don't feel guilty about this one.

It's written by Tina Fey. She's a master at work here.

Mean Girls is about Caty Heron who has been home schooled her whole life finally making her way to high school because her parents want to make sure she is socialized. She likes math and falls into the "un-popular" crowd who accept her for who she is. However, when she's noticed by the popular crowd, referred to as "The Plastics" she joins them to be a spy on the inside, telling her unpopular friends about all the ridiculous things they do and say. Caty ends up getting sucked into the popular world and finds that she vies for their acceptance and she becomes one of them. The whole film is a wonderful commentary about high school life and it portrays different cliques and how far teenagers will go to fit in and just be accepted by their peers. Except this movie uses comedy instead of drama and guilty to teach teens that being who you are is what's important.

Oh, Lindsay

It's filled with comedy greats and more memorable, quotable lines than you'll be able to keep straight. It's likable because haven't most of us been in Caty's situation? Whether it's the new kid in school or wanting to sit with the popular crowd and be in their world? I bet a lot of us at 16 and 17 years old would change our hair and clothes (and perhaps attitude?) if it meant sitting with the popular crowd. Now I'm not saying EVERYONE felt that way. By the time I was 17 I was more than ready to leave high school not stay in and try to hang with the popular girls. But I can still relate to this story. Guys like this film too. It's a well-written comedy and those are hard to come by and should be embraced like this movie has been.

Wednesdays.

So, now you know that while this movie is a teen comedy it's a stand-out among the pack for it's creativity and originality. The story is logical and progressive and the acting is easy to watch. Most of these people are big stars now, sorry Gretchen Wieners :(. If you're ever in the mood for a good movie and a good laugh, watch Mean Girls... and don't feel guilty about it! This non-guilty pleasure, but still somewhat of a guilty pleasure movie is at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.



Rat Race (2001)- Wait? It's been 13 years?

I actually had a hard time figuring out what to say about Rat Race. The movie is about a group of strangers picked at random from a Las Vegas casino for a high stakes wager from casino owner Donald Sinclair. They each get a key and race to Silver City, New Mexico to get $2,000,000 from a locker. Of course they all end up getting there at the same time and they chase the money to a giant charity concert featuring Smash Mouth (if that doesn't date this movie I don't know what else will. Maybe the ancient cell phones?) who they end up giving all the money to. It's based off the 1963 film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Is it a little bit creepy that their heads are abnormally big? I'm looking at you, Cuba.

The funny parts are some of the gags that they do but most of them are actually not that funny and even hard to watch. I get that it's a race for money but the greediness of the characters is somewhat disheartening. A dad for a family of four won't pull over so his daughter can actually use the bathroom? He makes her go number 2 out of the window of the moving van. I guess that's supposed to be funny but I just found it obnoxious. Nearly everyone in the movie steals are car at some point and even the casino owner played by John Cleese wages on cruel things like how long a maid can from the curtains and who will end up throwing up first in an airplane. If more of the jokes came off as actually being funny it wouldn't be so hard to watch Seth Green knocking into about a dozen cows. Honestly, during that bit I was more worried about the cows than I was laughing at any of these ridiculous things.

Seth Green, before he steals cars, delays the airport, and hangs from a cow off a hot air balloon.

So lots of people like this movie, I think it's because the cast is somewhat impressive for a film that's just one gag after the next without much more substance to it. It actually comes off like someone wrote down a bunch of "funny"things that could happen under these circumstances (I use "could happen" very loosely here) and they just lined them up in the movie one after the other. Rowan Atkinson's character is actually amusing, he's the only one who just goes to the locker without trying to sabotage everyone else. Plus his narcolepsy is one of the funnier gags in the movie, being that he just all of a sudden falls asleep standing up and random times. Also, Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character stealing a bus full of I Love Lucy impersonators is funny too.

Why do all these characters talk about the money so much? Lots of other people try to steal it too.

One critic wrote, "Take a couple of laughs here, a couple of smirks there, and the conclusion is obvious: If ever there was a movie designed with the fast- forward button in mind, Rat Race is the one"(Liam Lacey). So why is it such a popular guilty pleasure movie? Well because it's a bad movie that people can't help but watch. It's a great example of a guilty pleasure. There's enough funny parts to stick in your mind and after some time make you want to watch it again and the cycle continues. While I am not a huge fan of this movie, guilty pleasure or not, there are many people who are. It's a basic comedy with enough entertaining gags to push along the rest of the film to a sappy ending.

Cleese is one of the funniest actors around and doesn't get much humor here for someone of his caliber.

Rat Race has a 44% on Rotten Tomatoes making it a good example of a guilty pleasure film. There's a lot of elements here that just don't work, mostly unfunny jokes, but there are enough funny moments to make the film somewhat likable. It's worth seeing at least once if you never have and if you are a fan of transportation-related humor this is definitely the movie for you. Fun fact I actually met Breckin Meyer once while working at Sony, he was very nice and very funny although I think of him in reference to Clueless before this movie.



If you have your own favorite guilty pleasure movies comment below, I might feature them on my next guilty pleasure series!

Re-Watch: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

I love Spider-Man. It's that's simple. When the first Spider-Man came out back in 2002 (12 years ago?!) I knew the entire movie line for line, but I'm not here to talk about Raimi's Trilogy. The franchise was rebooted so Sony could keep the rights instead of them reverting back to Marvel (MCU heavy sigh). 

The Amazing Spider-Man Poster.

The reboot was a pleasant experience of a well-known origin. This time Spidey is played by Andrew Garfield. Garfield is too attractive to be convincing that people would actually pick-on and ignore him in school but he plays a very nicely comedic Spider-Man. Much closer to the comic book. Garfield is a big fan of the character and has been since he was little. It makes his performance a little bit more endearing for me. 

Spidey's back. Get it? Back? Okay.

The difference with this reboot is that it's much closer to the feel of the comic books. The humor and sarcasm of Spider-Man is something that makes him an iconic superhero and they really brought that out better in this movie. The story, of course, is how Peter Parker turns into Spider-Man. As a young boy his parents mysteriously died and he was left to be raised by his Aunt and Uncle. Once in high school, he visits a science lab (this time at OSCORP) and is bitten by a spider while trying to snoop for information on his father.

The cast of The Amazing Spider-Man

The Spider bite gives him radioactive powers! He also has an adorable relationship with science student and independent woman, Gwen Stacy. As Peter begins to learn about all of his new abilities he chooses not to help when a drug store is robbed. The thief gets away and ends up shooting Peter's Uncle. Wap. Wap. Now he's angsty for life. The villain in the movie is Dr Curt Connors, someone who is connected to Peter's father through their research together. Peter gives Connors a formula he found in his father's hidden research and it seems to be valid. Connors uses it on himself, eager for his arm to grow back. He should know those types of things come with a consequence. He paid it big time. He turned into a giant lizard!

Long story short, there's lots of fight scenes. Connors wants the entire city of New York to be lizards too so he releases an air toxin to hit them all. Of course, all's well in the end. Spidey stops it but not without a casualty or two. He thinks that he is protecting Gwen by staying away from her (of course he should've- if you've read the comics you know what tragedy happens to her) but in the very end of the film decides he doesn't care and is with her anyway. Hm... sound familiar Spider-Man 2 plot point?

Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. Mask-less and angsty

Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy and she does a great job. I like her a lot as an actress. She's someone who can put up with Peter's nonsense and still hold her own ground. She challenges him in many ways. Her character is strong and keeps up with Peter Parker, she's independent and smart, I love that she is a positive role model in this film. You go Gwen Stacy!

Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy

The problem with this film, of course, is that it's all too familiar. We all know that Uncle Ben's going to die. We know why Peter Parker turns into Spider-Man. It makes for a less interesting story because it's too recently remade. This is starting to actually become a trend and a problem for studios to remake a film instead of producing new content. It's a travesty. There's great scripts out there but they get overshadowed and passed over by someone thinking that it'll make more money and makes more business sense to do something again that's already made money.

I like this reboot I just wish it had come with a little bit more time between films, I think people would be more excited about seeing the sequel to THIS reboot if that were the case. It's an epic story and deserves to be told in the right way. The Amazing Spider-Man is at 73% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy

Why Mary Poppins (1964) Is My Favorite Movie.

In college everyone always asks: What do you want to do with your life? Luckily for me I knew what I wanted to do since I was 17. "Make movies" I'd respond. "Oh you want to direct then?" They say it like a statement, not a question. "No, actually I want to produce." Most people nod their heads being familiar with a producer at least in a general sense. After that dialogue, however, they ask the inevitable question that every film student gets asked nearly every single day (at least it seemed like it to me), "What's your favorite movie?". I used to respond uneasily, there's a certain pressure and expectation that if you have studied film it means that you have to have excellent taste and you have to see every single movie ever made. So there's a pressure to respond with either something brilliant or something no one's ever heard of nor seen before.

That pressure also comes across when people ask if you've seen a certain movie. I can't even tell you how many times someone has asked if I've seen a movie and if I haven't they are immediately taken aback and this usually comes out, "I can't believe you haven't seen that movie. It's so good. You HAVE to see it. Didn't you study film?" I feel a small twinge of guilt when I haven't seen it, perhaps I'm missing out on one of the greatest movies ever? One thing that I've realized is that not everyone likes the same movies so therefore everyone has movies they don't like or haven't seen yet, even well-cultured film students.

A few years ago I made a list of my top 20 favorite movies, choosing from movies that I owned. If I don't own it then I don't like it enough for it to be a favorite movie. Then I took that list and picked my 10 favorites, then my top 5 favorite films. I see picking a favorite movie as something that you love to watch multiple times. I'm not talking about what's the BEST movie, but what's my FAVORITE movie and there's a big difference. The best movie is superior in all categories of film making. If you think about the categories at the Oscars they all are talking about the "best" of a certain criteria. So I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about a favorite movie. It's something that you prefer above others. Most importantly, it doesn't have to be something that everyone else thinks is the greatest movie ever. I want to say that again.

Your favorite movie DOES NOT have to be something that everyone else loves.

I own this beautiful poster

So now when people ask me, "What's your favorite movie?" it's easy for me to respond. "Mary Poppins," I tell them. "Really? I don't think I've seen that movie since I was little" is usually what people say back to me and I tell them to re-watch it. I think at first it surprises many people because it doesn't seem like more than a kid's movie. I completely disagree. In my opinion, it's a practically perfect film. It's originally based on a children's book series by P.L. Travers and Walt Disney spent many years acquiring the rights to the books in order to make a film (See: Saving Mr. Banks, the story of how Mary Poppins was made). Yeah, they made a movie about how my favorite movie was made.

Tom Hanks as Walt Disney, Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers

So now the whole reason I'm posting this is to explain to you why I love this movie so much. Well, it's magical. The story is relatable at any age. The music is spectacular. Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke are incredible together and their love for creating art through film is evident throughout the entire movie.

Aren't they great?

Step-In Time is one of the best numbers of any musical. Just watch it:

The scenery and set-design is beautiful artwork, the cast is well chosen and it's just easy to watch. There are great actors in the film but no one who out shines the two stars. I think that it's a beautiful movie in all aspects. You feel warm when you watch it and get engrossed in the film. It's special effects are great for it's time. While we are lucky enough to experience high class special effects in current films, this one celebrates the art of it and uses it to elevate the film during a time that advanced special effects were not very common. 

How beautiful are these colors though?

Julie Andrews, of course, is the reason why this movie is so wonderful. Her performance is perfect and absolutely legendary. My favorite story from Mary Poppins is that they wanted to take out the song, "Stay Awake", which Mary sings to the kids, and Julie Andrews wanted to keep it in the film so she called up P.L. Travers (the author of the books) and told her she wanted the song to stay in the movie. Travers called up Disney and told him to keep it in. And it stayed in the movie. Julie Andrews, you are truly one of the greats.

Julie Andrews flies as Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins is at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It's not on Netflix Instant but rent it and re-watch if you haven't seen it in a while. It's a great film.

And for your enjoyment here is a photo of me at Disneyland with Mary Poppins and Bert:

Bert asked if I wanted to hold his cane. I said, "of course!"

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

It's a bird... it's a plane... oh wait, wrong super hero.... um....

It's Captain America!

Captain America poster! Slow walk in front of explosions! Action movie!

I love comic book movies. Truly, they are my favorite. I'm a Marvel girl. While my heart belongs with Spidey, I have a good friend who loves Captain America and I think he's an interesting enough hero. I went into this movie thinking it would be an experience similar to the Thor sequel: "Thor: The Dark World", which is to say that it was good enough and I REALLY didn't dislike it but there was nothing faint-worthy. I was wrong. And glad to be so. This movie was action filled, had an interesting story and wasn't just another "filler" in-between Avengers movies.

Cap. and Black Widow- super serious

It's a movie that truly brings you into it's universe. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (hereby referred to as The MCU) is so vast and well-planned now that it's so easy to fall into that world and be... dare I say taken away? (check out my blog title if that pun went over your head). The story in this film was captivating and interesting, it held my attention and was an excellent addition to Captain America's stories as an individual hero. Besides the obvious star, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson was my personal favorite. He has some of the best screen presence that an actor can possible have. He's a badass, he holds his own, he is smart and he proves again why he is SHIELD director. He's the highest grossing actor of all time. He is a slam poet (check out his reading of slam poetry about Boy Meets World here). He just seems to love his craft so much. I'd LOVE to watch a movie just about Nick Fury.

Nick Fury- you're fired. (I just feel like this photo need an Apprentice reference)

Another thing I love about the MCU is since Joss Whedon has an influence on all the Marvel films because he's directing Avengers: Age of Ultron is that all of the female characters are completely awesome. I'm all about how they hold their own, they don't need a man to rescue them and they are strong enough that you never have to question if they are going to just stand there doing nothing but screaming about the commotion around them (I'm looking at you, Transformers 3). Speaking of which, Black Widow, played by Scar Jo helps to carry the entire film. Cobie Smulders' SHIELD agent Maria Hill pops up throughout the movie and adds another interesting female to a male dominant film. I love her in that role, she does a good job of being a well-trained agent but still shows that she has a passion for what she does, it clearly means something to her. The same can definitely be said for Black Widow. She's such a strong character and Scarlett Johansson is a powerful actress too.

Black Widow- got guns?

Anthony Mackie plays Falcon, adding another positive and strong African-American hero in the MCU. We love you Don Cheadle! He plays a nice contrast to Captain's very strict moral compass. Mackie's character, Sam Wilson, is sarcastic and isn't intimidated by Cap's presence, instead he makes jokes about it. The first time you see him Captain is outrunning him around Washington and when they finally speak Sam Wilson makes a sarcastic comment and you can sense a genuine friendship between them. The Captain really takes to him and he's a great addiction to the MCU. It's great to watch them together on screen.

Falcon- a genuine hero

I don't want to say much about The Winter Soldier to not give away anything about the plot but it's worth watching. I love Sebastian Stan as an actor and his performance is interesting and strong.

The Winter Soldier- you think the top of his forehead ever gets burned?

This movie felt like it connected with other films in the MCU and the TV Show Agents of SHIELD. I really enjoyed the movie. The film flowed with the first Captain American film and allows him to have his own world within a larger universe. It's all done so nicely.

My dislikes? The action felt like a handy-cam and I had to strain in order to see what was going on. I read that it was because they wanted to use as little CGI as possible and it's more believable that they're hitting each other if it's harder to see what's going on (they don't really hit each other!). I have issues with shakey cam scenes so that was bothersome. My other issue is the actual title of the movie. It makes it seem like Captain America is The Winter Soldier. That's not the case. It frustrates me. There should be an "and" would that be so bad? It seems misleading to me but I digress because it's a small annoyance. If you read the short synopsis about the movie it explains that "Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and battles a new threat from old history: the Soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier."

My likes? Pretty much everything else. There's a fun cast of characters that challenge each other on general and individual levels. Top class acting for some of the biggest stars right now. Exciting action scenes that aren't just someone hitting someone else. The plot is interesting. I liked the powerful female characters. There's TWO post-credits scenes. The mid-credits scene. WOW. I don't want to give it away but there are two particular people that are shown and look great in it, especially the female. I was completely impressed. It made me even more excited for the next Avengers movie. The other post-credits scene was not as exciting but nice none-the-less.

Go and see Captain America: The Winter Soldier it's at 89% on Rotten Tomatoes (Thor: The Dark World is at 65% if that gives you a frame of reference). It's worth seeing, especially for fans of action movies and superhero films.

What did you like/ dislike about the movie? Did you enjoy it too?