12 Movies, Because I'm WAY Behind

I know my blogging has been lackadaisical lately.  I blame the fact that I have two jobs (sorry).  But I noticed that my movie blogging was even more behind.  I’ve seen plenty good movies, just haven’t posted about them.  Get your slushies ready!  Here it goes...

#35: Side Effects

The film starring Channing Tatum and Rooney Mara as married couple Martin and Emily Taylor dealing with his release from prison for insider trading.  Emily is struggling with depression and goes to Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) for help.  She continues to struggle and continues taking a variety of medications, the most recent that gives her problems with sleepwalking. Banks then consults with Dr. VIctoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones) on Emily’s past issues and how he can make progress with her.  The side effects of her medication become the main question of the film.  I give it a 8.5 out of 10.  The movie had amazing cinematography and an absolutely fantastic main cast.  The thriller aspect of the movie was done so brilliantly that when the film was often obvious, it still wasn’t. Absolutely fantastic film, I deducted 1.5 for some easily guessable moments and the small amount of time Channing Tatum was on screen.

#36: For a Good Time, Call...

While I might be buzzed off my gourd writing this, but the film is awesome. Katie (Ari Graynor) and Lauren (Lauren Miller) are old college frenemies who find themselves in difficult positions and forced into living with each other. Katie operates on a sex line, which Lauren soon discovers. Eventually Lauren convinces Katie that they could operate their own line and make it a profitable business.  The film is witty and hilarious. I give it a 9.5 out of 10.  There were a couple moments which to me could have been done better and the length was short, but overall the film was a joy to watch. And kept me in stitches from laughing. Even though the film is about a phone sex line, it has an amazing message about sex.

#37: Man On Fire

This film is about a bodyguard Peasey (Denzel Washington) who gets hired by a family to protect their daughter Pita (Dakota Fanning).  The family resides in Mexico City where abductions are abundant and return of life low.  One day as Pita is coming out of her piano lesson, she is snatched.  The family tries to ransom for her, but when things go south, Peasey goes on the warpath.  Had I not known the film wasn’t directed by David Fincher (director of Se7en and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), I would have believed it was his work.  The cinematography was fantastic.  I give the film an 8.5 out of 10.  The pace of the film dragged far too much for my liking.  Clocking in around two hours, the film could have cut at least twenty minutes out and made it far more bearable.  This is what Taken with Liam Neeson would have been, if Liam Neeson liked to take things slow.  Overall great story, but takes some time getting around to the action.

#38: Iron Man 2    

I hadn’t seen this movie for a really long time, and then fortunately one night while working on homework the first Iron Man was on followed by the second.  The sequel continues on Tony Stark’s life as Iron Man and his ego the size of his house.  Someone else has harnessed the power that he possesses and his planning to use it against him.  Two villains are featured in the story including the aforementioned Ivan Vanko (evil scientist also known as Whiplash, played by Mickey Rourke) and Justin Hammer (played by Sam Rockwell).  Not to mention, Stark is dealing with some health concerns that could derail him as Iron Man forever.  Overall, I give the movie a 7 out of 10.  It didn’t hold my attention as much as the first movie.  And I felt Sam Rockwell was underused as a character.  He’s a fantastic actor and I wish he could have been given more time in the film.

#39: Iron Man 3    

I was very excited to see this film in theaters, and I was not disappointed.  Tony Stark’s story continues as a terrorist called the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) is wreaking havoc, and that havoc lands on Iron Man’s own doorstep.  A guy from Pepper’s (Gwyneth Paltrow) past reemerges with new technology he’s keen on sharing.  Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) is messing with some serious firepower, and Pepper could be at risk.  Tony’s life is upended and he is reminded how much of Iron Man is about his wealth and how much is about his heart.  I give the movie an 8 out of 10.  The film was genuinely funny.  I spent so much of the movie cracking up.  I’m fairly certain that the release for the film got pushed back because the release was in May, but the film had so much Christmas in it.  There were things that could have been done differently, but overall, it was a great addition to the franchise.

#40: The Host     

While I may get crap for having read Twilight, the Host, Meyer’s more adult novel, is markedly better in my opinion than her more popular series.  The book is about an invading race of aliens that believe they need to take over the world because humans are too violent and are killing themselves as a species. Melanie (played by Saoirse Ronan) has just been inserted with one of the aliens, and that entity, self named Wanderer, is tasked with finding a pocket of rebel humans trying to get away from the invasion.  Melanie is torn between the resolve of the alien and her own personal love for her boyfriend Jared (played by Max Irons).  When she makes it to her human community, it becomes an internal struggle between the two souls.  Overall, I give this movie a 7 out of 10.  Since the book is mainly an internal debate, that is hard to translate to film.  There were pivotal parts that were missing.  But as the wise uncle Jeb, William Hurt is phenomenal. It’s a decent representation of a decent book.

#41: Star Trek Into Darkness   

I’ve always been more of a Star Wars gal, but when I saw the first Star Trek, I was pretty twitterpated.  I can’t wait to watch some original ST, but since I have so many other shows to watch, I had to settle for the films instead.  The original gang is back, including Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Sulu (John Cho), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Bones (Karl Urban), and Chekov (Anton Yelchin).  An internal threat brings destruction on the Federation, and the Enterprise is charged with bringing him to justice.  John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a mystery that Kirk and his crew are about to unfold, but what will happen in the process? Since I haven’t seen the original, I don’t know how well it compares.  I give it an 8 out of 10.  I thought it was fantastic and the cast was brilliant.  The only downside to me is that sometimes the story seemed weird or off or something.  Probably just me. But I thought Benedict was amazing! And would watch it over and over again just for him.

#42: Friends With Kids

This is a great story of how a group of friends copes with changes.  One couple has just gotten pregnant, another couple is newly married, and the two remaining individuals are still dealing with singledom.  This ensemble cast includes Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Kristen Wiig, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Westfeldt, and Adam Scott.  As both the first two couples are immersed in responsibilities with children, the two singles decide to revolutionize relationships and parenthood.  They decide to have a child together even though they aren’t together.  As time goes on and relationships are altered, you find out which relationships are solid enough to make it.  I give the film 7.5 out of 10.  The ensemble is what made this film.  These actors work so well together.  But at the same time, the film gets predictable.

#43: Safety Not Guaranteed  

While this movie is not perfect, it contains so much poignancy that it almost is.  Kenneth (Mark Duplass) is trying to go back in time to change something, and he takes out an ad in a magazine to find a companion.  Employees at the magazine (Jake Johnson, Aubrey Plaza, and Karan Soni) get sent to find out his story and see if he’s really a nut job or if there is more than meets the eye.  The amazing story unfolds and leaves the most thoughtful point: you cannot move forward if you live in the past.  I give it a 9 out of 10.  The movie is amazing but has moments that could have flowed a bit better.  Overall, an amazing film that leaves you with a nice profound appreciation for your life.

#44: Bachelorette  

This movie is a great illustration of how karma is a bitch.  Regan (Kirsten Dunst), Katie (Isla Fisher), and Gena (Lizzy Caplan) were the mean girls in school.  They pretended to be friends with and toyed with Becky (Rebel Wilson) all through high school.  Becky has asked them to be her bachelorettes for her wedding.  As the girls head to NYC for a bash, all the things that could go wrong for the girls do go wrong.  Karma really takes over and tries to teach the girls a lesson about how you should treat people.  I give it a 7 out of 10.  It was interesting to watch and had a more original concept than some films out today, but it wasn’t phenomenal.  A good movie to Netflix on a girls night in.

#45: Sideways

I had wanted to see this movie for a while because it is about wine and has a great cast.  Jack (Thomas Haden Church) is about to get married and his best man Miles (Paul Giamatti) decides to take him for a wine tour for his last hurrah.  While Miles is content to taste wine and enjoy the country, Jack wants to sow his wild oats...yeah.  Miles and Jack end up meeting up with two waitresses Maya (Virginia Madsen) and Stephanie (Sandra Oh).  Miles already had a crush on Maya, but Jack immediately hits it off with Stephanie.  I give the movie a 6 out of 10.  I was slightly buzzed off wine when watching it, but I felt the movie was far too long and I don’t see why it was so acclaimed.  The two main male characters are kind of assholes. There were certainly moments, but it was only ok.

#46: Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is my least favorite Shakespeare work I’ve ever read.  But since I’d never seen the Baz Luhrmann edition, I thought I would give it a try for the sake of my friend who really likes Baz. Leo DiCaprio and Claire Danes play the elusive lovers, supported by an amazing cast including Pete Postlethwaite, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau, Paul Rudd, and Brian Dennehy.  While I admit that you can tell it’s a Baz Luhrmann film through and through, it’s still Romeo and Juliet, so it still sucks.  I give it a 5 out of 10. I can handle the cinematography and the cast, but not the story. I really can’t do it.

I’ll hopefully have a Catching Fire movie and book review up soon, so enjoy that popcorn and stay tuned!

Book Club: November

For November, I continued the Olympia Heights series by Amy Strickland.  The second book is The Weight of the World and the third book is The Blood of Athens.  While I finished the second book a while ago, I finished the third book last night and I am anxiously waiting for the fourth book because the third left a teaser for us.  Which is just RUDE. Anyway...I wanted to get this actually posted during November. Womp womp.

From Olympia Heights Website

The Weight of the World takes place six months after the culmination of the first book.  The focus of the novel is the upgrading of powers for the gods, and Devon (Aphrodite) doing what she normally does (being sexually promiscuous obviously) and getting pregnant with Frank (Ares).  As she and the group deal with the oncoming birth, strange things start happening around town including a giant ladle falling from the sky and two bears attacking Diana (Artemis) and her new boyfriend. Emotional tensions are running high in the group since Nick (Poseidon) is seducing girls from Valerie’s (Hestia) abstinence club.  Now that June (Hera) and Zach (Zeus) are on the outs, he’s been spending time with Minnie (Athena), which doesn’t go over well with June.  And on top of all that, someone is catching their behavior in the act and publishing it online.  Drama and hijinks ensue, forcing the club to figure out how to work better as a team.

From Olympia Heights Website

The Blood of Athens starts up with part of the Pantheon preparing for a trip to Greece, which to them is a much bigger deal than the other students.  The trip takes a turn for the tragic when dead bodies start cropping up through the country.  While part of the Pantheon is trying to enjoy the homeland, the other part back home is dealing with its own issues.  Zach and June make some interesting choices, and the mortal ally Jason has someone making threats that could unravel the group, whose powers are still advancing.

More information about the author Amy Strickland can be found here at the Olympia Heights website and at her blog here.  Hopefully next month’s book club will be both a book and movie review as I take on a Catching Fire comparison!

Open Letter to Bad Drivers

I’ve experienced two incidents on Alabama roads since this summer, including this very morning, that make me find the need to write an open letter.  Particularly, an open letter to shitty drivers.  I’m not saying Michigan is devoid of bad drivers or that all Alabama drivers are bad; I’m just sick of dealing with people who can’t freaking drive properly.  So here are some helpful rules for drivers who need to go back to driving school.

Rule #1: Use Your Fucking Turn Signal

I don’t know why people have such a hard time with this.  The whole point of the turn signal is to let people know what you intend to do on the road.  So use your signal if you intend to change lanes.  Or intend to merge.  Or intend to turn.  If other drivers don’t know what you’re doing (which btw people aren’t psychics, crazy right?) that’s when bad things happen.  The whole point of the turn signal is for everyone to be aware of what people are doing on the road.

Rule #2: Put Your Phone Down

Let me put it this way: is telling someone “hey” as important as your life? No.  End of freaking discussion.  You don’t need to be texting, or even talking on the phone if it is going to be a major distraction to your driving.  Texting, we obviously know is a major enough distraction because you’ve got one hand (at least) not on the wheel and unless you can text perfectly without looking (doubtful) then your eyes are also not on the road.  It’s not worth it.  No text message is worth your life unless you’re the president, in which case you don’t drive your own car.

Rule #3: Life Is About Taking the Scenic Route

I know how important it can be to get somewhere.  But taking drastic measures because you might miss your exit is not an excuse for your behavior.  Particularly in the case of this morning, in which the driver could easily have gotten off and the next exit and made three turns to get back on the desired road.  I hate getting lost, but since GPS isn’t always accurate and I don’t know all the roads in this city (I’m not Sherlock, damn) it is inevitable.  If you have to take the long route, it isn’t as bad as putting someone else’s life in danger.

Rule #4: If Tired, Pull Over

One of the worst car accidents I’ve ever been in was because someone fell asleep at the wheel.  I understand being tired and the desire to just get home, because I’ve been in situations where I had cold air blowing on my face and music turned to high heaven for me to stay alert.  But if you really feel you can’t keep your eyes open or find yourself having long slow blinks, pull over your car.  Call a taxi or friend to come and get you.  It’s a sucky situation especially when you’re exhausted and just want to be home, but it is safer to rely on someone else than to put your life and the lives of all other drivers at risk.

Rule #5: Don’t Drive Drunk/Tipsy

This is obvious.  But at the same time, not entirely obvious.  You know when you’re drunk.  And you know not to drive when you’re drunk.  Most people abide by this, though some don’t.  But what less people abide, and even I’m guilty of this, driving while tipsy.  I’ve only ever done this twice.  But I felt terrible about it.  I really shouldn’t have been driving; I would have at least been very close to the limit and maybe over.  The problem is that I don’t always feel tipsy when I go to leave, but realize it after the fact.  So again, pull over and call a taxi or a friend to come get you.  It just isn’t worth the risk.

So you may (or may not) be wondering what actually happened this morning on the road.  For anyone who knows the area of the Bham, you’ll probably know which section of road I’m distinctly talking about.  Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning, I get up early (asscrack of dawn) and have to drive a specific way to work.  I get on 65 North, and eventually merge onto 459 South (though it runs more southwest).  Once on 459, I pass the exit for 31 and immediately after take the off ramp for the mall.  Now, the exit for 31 and the sign and exit for the mall are not that far apart.  Well I was in the right lane getting ready to get off at my exit and a car in the lane to the left of me, swerved in front of me to make the exit for 31.  There were two lanes to my right, designated for the exit at 31.  So at least three lanes covered by the swerving.  He’s lucky I have good brakes, because he was less than one car length in front of me.  I’m also lucky no one was behind me.  This idiot didn’t have his/her signal on at all, but just jerked over to make the exit.  Anyone from the area knows that all he/she needed to do was take the next exit and drive around the mall to get back to 31.  But instead, the idiot driver swerved, putting my life and his/her life at risk.  I don’t know if the driver was drunk (it was just after 4 am on a Sunday) or just stupid, but I’m sick of my life being put in compromising positions by other drivers.  People need to stop being such selfish drivers and consider the other people on the road.

I’ve said my piece, so now I’m going to try and relax and enjoy something today since I’m still on edge.  Please be considerate of other people on the road, and learn to focus on your driving habits, not your textual communication.  I know I will appreciate it.

Book Club: October

Book club for October is not only coming late this time, it’s untraditional.  Recently, due to financial pressures, I’ve had to get a second job.  So before, when I had three days off, I had more time to read and time to go to book club on Thursdays.  Well that went out the window. Bye time I used to have!

That being said, I decided to improvise so that I could still do book club blogs, but instead of it being books chosen and talked about in book club, I will pick books I’ve read in that month to discuss.  I didn’t read many books in October, so my choices were limited, but I read a great book that I’d like to talk about here.

Image from MatterDeep Publishing

The book is called Olympia Heights by Amy Strickland.  She’s a local author here in Birmingham and I came across the book from my friend Cathie who works with Amy’s husband, who recommended the series to her.  My friend Cathie really liked it, so she passed it along to me.

A Young Adult fiction, the story is set in a high school just outside of Miami, Florida.  Football captain Zach is a leader, popular, and has a way with ladies, much to the distress of his girlfriend June.  During a football game, Zach experiences what he believes is being struck by lightning, when really he produced the lightning.  What then transpires is normal kids in high school discovering that they aren’t normal and they aren’t really kids: they’re ancient gods.

Many people who have read the series compare it to the similarly written Percy Jackson novels.  I enjoyed coming into the reading having not yet read Percy Jackson.  My friend Cathie said at times she had difficulty differentiating the stories because they are so similar.  Not having that problem was refreshing for me because I got to enjoy the story without constant comparison or confusion.  Another great part is that the characters names have a common letter with the god or goddess they represent.  Zach=Zeus, June=Juno, etc.

There were only two downsides for me.  At times the storyline didn’t seem present.  Events would move along, but it lacked cohesion at parts that made the story difficult to follow.  Also, there is such a multitude of characters, representing gods, that it can get incredibly confusing remembering who is whom.  Some of them are more obvious based on their talent and how frequently it is used.  But the lesser known gods get forgotten at times and I had trouble remembering which god or goddess they were and their power, and their history with the other gods and goddesses.

I don’t have any quotes for this book since it was loaned to me and I don’t usually mark other people’s books.  Overall, I found it a very amusing read and got to enjoy the story as separate from Percy Jackson.  At times it was hard to follow, but still a great and fast read.  I’m currently reading the second book of the series, so that might end up being my November book club. We’ll see.

For more by Amy Strickland, visit her website here and access her blog here!

Hufflepuff Is Actually Awesome, Here's Why

I take to the vlog-o-sphere to celebrate the arrival of fall and defend my Hogwarts house Hufflepuff. It's a love of Harry Potter and being all Huffly!

For the honey badger video, go here.

Happy Dance and Stuff

So here's my second go at a vlog post! It's shorter, and cut together a little better. There's a lot of jokes about Brotherhood 2.0 and the Vlogbrothers so if you don't understand, I'm sorry. Check them out on youtube. They are hilarious. Anyway, in this video you get to see my happy dance, hear me add "in my pants" jokes to book titles, and listen to me rant about cell phone etiquette. Enjoy!

Vlog Post!

I finally took a leap forward and made a video post! I'm hoping I stick with it and obviously looking for ideas for posts!

The basis of the video was a survey done by Hank and John Green on their Vlogbrothers page in the first year of Brotherhood 2.0.  Below the video is the questions, so feel free to answer in response! Enjoy me talking for eleven minutes!

Questions                       

1. Your name?

2. Your Web page?

3 What have you been up to this past year (please be as detailed as possible, because we actually want to know)?

4 How much longer do you think you’ll be doing what you’re doing?

5 Why are you doing it?

6 What do you want to be doing?

7 What’s next in your life?

8 How You Doin’?

9 What’s the best book you read this year?

10 Describe a perfect day?

11 Assuming that all things come to an end…how do you think humans will go extinct?

12 How are you feeling about kids these days?

13 (- In this space, compose your own question, and answer it -)

14 Ambrozzo tastes better than anything else, what does ambrozzo taste like?

15 If you were a cliché, what cliché would you be?

16 What is your least favorite part of any given day?

17 Do you enjoy science fiction?

18 Cheese or Chocolate?

19 Where would you live if you could live anywhere?

20 What was your first concert?

21 If you could start a business that would be instantly successful, what kind of business would it be?

22 Invisibility or Time Travel?

23 What’s wrong with the world?

                   

 If you found this survey amusing, I highly recommend checking out Vlogbrothers. They're smart and funny. Go Nerdfighters!