Disney’s “Pets” Coming in 2016

Who all has seen the commercials for Disney’s movie “Pets” coming in 2016? I have to say that it looks really cute! It’s about what pets do when their ‘parents’ leave them home alone. While it’s a really cute idea, I honestly don’t see how they’re going to drag it out for an hour and a half movie. There’s only so much pets can do while imprisoned in their home while their owner is at work. Sure, there’s plenty of mischievous things they can do but it’s what you would normally expect – torn pillow cases, human food eaten, etc. I’m curious to see what they’re going to do with it. Here’s a link to the video for those who haven’t seen it yet!

“The Book Thief” Movie

 I finally had the opportunity to watch “The Book Thief” last night after finding it on clearance in Walmart! For those that don’t know me, the book this movie originates from by Australian author Markus Zusak, is one of my favorites. I’ve read it almost as many times as the Harry Potter Series and Lord of the Rings. To finally see it on screen was awesome! However, it still gets only a four out of five stars for not completely adhering to the book. Now, I won’t reveal any spoilers, but those of you out there know what I’m talking about, involving Max especially. I definitely recommend this movie to everyone that appreciates unusual foreign films. Please note that although foreign, it had very few subtitles!

“Cinderella” Movie

First off, this can’t possibly contain spoilers because it’s Cinderella and we all know what happens.

I’ll admit, the commercials for this movie made me not want to see it because they were made very bland and never showed the best parts. The movie started off very Pride and Prejudice-y with a touch of whimsy. When the stepmother and stepsisters arrived, I wanted to know where the hell they got their fashion sense. Here was Cinderella and her father (kind of) wearing normal clothing for that period and then the stepfamily arrives looking like rich people from the Hunger Games. That threw me for a loop. Then we finally get a view of the royalty and such, but same thing. What the heck are they wearing?! At least Cinderella’s dress was beautiful yet more traditional. That’s probably why everyone else was staring at her and loathed her. She was the only one with a solid-colored dress without Candy Crush throw up on it.

Helena Bonham-Carter did an awesome job in the few moments she was on screen as the fairy godmother. She managed to get out several laughs and kept her dark, pleasantly creepy demeanor.

All in all, this is a film I recommend to everyone with kids and I give it 5-stars for the new little twists. Seriously, though, they need help with their clothes.

The Box Trolls Movie

After all of the hype about the movie from tons of commercials shown daily, I thought it was going to be a more interesting movie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still adorable! But it was very bland to what we’re used to seeing in a kid movie. It wasn’t dramatic enough and we didn’t care about the characters enough for starters. The villains were gross but not intimidating enough to the main character and yet, the characters all acted like it was a huge deal. And what was with the cheese-tasting thing? That whole aspect just didn’t fit into the movie. I’d give this movie a three-star because their idea started off good but they didn’t pull it together enough to make an excellent movie.

Frozen Disney Movie

     Ever since I first heard of this movie, I really wanted to see it but I didn’t want the movie theater experience with a bunch of noisy kids. Instead, I finally received the DVD of it as a birthday gift and was ecstatic. Disney has done it again! Instead of the typical “here’s the bad guy; have to defeat them,” you end up completely floored by what actually happens. And let’s face it, the non-talking Disney animals are adorable and pretty much make the movie. In this one there’s a reindeer named Sven. There’s also a talking snowman who is hilarious and annoying at the same time. Frozen has such a wonderfully passionate cast that you almost forget that it’s animated. This movie will make you go through a rollercoaster of emotions without ever slowing down, and let’s face the fact that we all love that about movies. Watch this movie On Demand or buy it. I don’t care how old you are; you’ll love it.

Thor 2: The Dark World Movie

     Who else thought that the commercials for this movie were amazing? I did too and considering that the first movie was pretty good, I assumed that the sequel would be just as good. What do we all know about assuming? “It makes an ass out of you and me.” This movie certainly did after what the commercials implied. The good parts were in the commercial. That’s pretty much it. Loki had a few other sarcastic remarks throughout the movie that made watching the entirety of it more bearable. Everyone’s acting just seemed off by a yard and it was obvious that the focus was on graphics and fight scenes. When the third Thor movie comes out, I probably will not bother to see it. Another Avengers-like movie would be great though.

Walking Dead – The Grove Episode

SPOILER WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T SEEN THIS EPISODE.

Carol and her group finally find a house and it’s really the perfect place for them to stay at. But Lizzie has to go and screw it all up. Who else was really pissed off about that? Yes, Lizzie is just a kid and all but she should be locked up in an insane asylum. Considering that that isn’t possible, she’s a liability. Everyone had to come to terms with that the hard way when Lizzie kills Mika. Tyreese and Carol realize that they can’t trust Lizzie with the baby and they can’t exactly leave the girl out in the woods. So using the calming phrase that works on Lizzie, Carol takes her out into the grove and tells her to “look at the flowers, Lizzie” before shooting her. If this had been done a long time before, Mika would be alive and their new camp wouldn’t have been compromised. Instead, now Tyreese, Carol, and the baby have to move on and decide to go to Terminus. Gradually all of the characters will come together again in Terminus but if the guy running it is worse than the governor, personally I’d take my chances out in the wilderness. But that doesn’t make much of an interesting story to keep an audience on the edge of their seats.

The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box Movie

Definitely a steam-punk film with a decent cast and strange twists. As most of us know, Greek myth tells us that King Midas ruled the country of Phrygia and lived a rich life along with his beautiful daughter. However, he was extremely greedy so when an opportunity came, he got in the good favor of Dionysus and Midas was granted a wish for anything that he wanted. Midas chose to have the power to turn anything he touched into gold. At first, Midas believed it was a wonderful thing but it quickly became evident that it was a curse when he accidentally turned his daughter into a golden statue and could not eat food without turning it to gold. So the Midas Box is said to give the possessor the power to turn anything into gold. Naturally, someone wants the box for their own selfish reasons so it creates the conflict for this movie. Be warned, it is definitely a kid movie and they will absolutely love it. As the adult watching it, you may feel the movie is a bit lame and lacking in some areas but overall it will be good. I recommend this movie for a family.

Riddick Three Movie

Wow, the beginning of this movie reminded me of some parts of the movie Castaway. There’s a reason this movie is rated R and it’s just as good as the earlier Riddick movies. You’ll see a lot of similarities between all of the movies the longer you watch it as well. I can’t believe parents took their kids to the movie theaters to see this because it is totally inappropriate for them! I still think it would’ve been better if Riddick had gone to the Underverse to try and retrieve Kyra/Jack. It would’ve been much more interesting and less predictable. I recommend this movie to those who have already seen the Riddick movies but it’s not for the faint-hearted.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

When I first heard about this movie, I absolutely wanted to watch it. I didn’t have time to go to the theaters and watch it but I wish I had because it must have been awesome on the big screen. It appeared on Netflix so I finally got to watch it, but I took the time to read some of the reviews first. Most of the reviews I came across were only One Star and were ranting about how horrible the movie was. I came across a couple Five Star reviews that said how they “loved how horrible the movie was” which had me raising my eyebrows at it. After all, the commercials looked great! So I started to think it was one of those spoof movies but I went ahead and watched it. Those previous reviews are ridiculous. I loved it! And so much so that I’ve watched it repeatedly, shared it with friends, and left an excellent review. I happily recommend this to 18+ people who aren’t afraid of a little gore and have a sense of humor. Just remember this – when reading reviews on anything, it’s always going to be a 50/50 chance that you love it or hate it. Give more movies and books a chance, despite any cruddy reviews they might receive.