Jurassic World

Posted by Amy A in Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi and tagged with 2015, bryce dallas howard, chris pratt, dinos, in theaters, jurassic world, summer blockbusters June 26, 2015

As said in our last post, let’s get into the summer blockbusters people! We shall start with the number one movie at the top of the box office currently: Jurassic World! I got to see it with a couple of friends yesterday and let me tell you it was a real treat.

Directed by Colin Trevorrow and starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, Jurassic World is set 22 years after the events of Jurassic Park and takes place on the same island of Isla Nublar where a fully functioning dinosaur theme park has been running for 10 years. Chaos ensues when a genetically modified dinosaur, Indominus Rex, breaks loose and creates havoc across the park.

Jurassic World to me was that kind of classic summer movie. It was a lot of fun to watch! There was great action, little bit of romance, drama, DINOS. The dinosaurs and special effects looked good to me, though I cannot imagine filming and having to scream and act scared to a nonexistent dinosaur.

Chris Pratt was a “bad-ass” (as referred to in the movie) leading guy and was very likable so kudos to him. Bryce Dallas Howard also did a nice job, but I need to complain about her outfit in the movie. High heels..really? You expect me to believe she lasted that whole day in high heels and even outran a T-Rex in them? No, just no.

At times, the movie tried to take on too much, like having an emotional moment between two young brothers about their parents’ pending divorce. It was obvious though it was all for the sake of character depth and was simply unnecessary in the end. Ain’t nobody got time for this! It’s dino time! Also, you would think that these people would learn to not open up that island again but noooo apparently humans still think they can control dinosaurs. Number one lesson learned from this movie: always listen to Chris Pratt.

ALL IN ALL: Jurassic World is a fun, dino-filled film that is to be simply enjoyed, not examined.

Oh, almost forgot this… Seriously the best part of the movie, my friends and I doubled over laughing during that scene!

image from: http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/jurassic-world-own-raptors-poster.jpg

Catch-Up!!

Posted by Amy A in Action/Adventure, Drama, Uncategorized and tagged with 2014, 2015, american sniper, cake, cinderella, focus, into the woods, kingsman, Movies, plane, summer June 25, 2015

Wow I am terrible, it has been almost three months since the last post! Wow, where did the time go? Well I actually was very busy for the past couple of months but my attention is now to you whatever few and faithful readers I may still have. One of the reasons I had a busy schedule was due to traveling as my family went to India for almost three weeks. Now anyone who has been on those cross the globe flights knows that the only real way to pass the insufferable hours is to watch movies and that is exactly what I did! So similar to last year’s catch up post after my trip to Barcelona, here are some short reviews of the movies I watched on the plane to and back.

Cinderella (2015: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter)

I loved Cinderella! It is a great movie for anyone to watch, classic Disney. Sure there were times when Cinderella’s goodness was almost sickeningly sweet but it was all made up for by the glorious Richard Madden as Prince Charming. He was fantastic and charming, (haha funny joke). However, I thought the best performance was hands down Cate Blanchett, who played the evil stepmother perfectly. Helena Bonham Carter was also a nice little pop of fun as the fairy godmother. Cinderella was very enjoyable.

Into the Woods (2014: Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Johnny Depp)

This was a very different turn after the traditional Cinderella as both films included the same character but in different lights. I thought the acting in Into the Woods was spot on, including of course Meryl Streep and also Chris Pine who was pretty hilarious at times. The movie itself was just eh to me. I realize the story is based upon the Broadway musical of the same name but the pacing felt off at times. This also is not exactly a movie for children which I think the marketing failed to highlight. Into the Woods was not really my favorite.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine)

I have actually been meaning to watch Kingsman for a while so imagine my delight when seeing it among the plane films. It was a fun movie to watch and I loved the style and tone of it. I am a big James Bond fan so it had that kind of vibe going on at times. I was surprised by the actual reason behind Samuel L. Jackson’s master plan: the environment and population size (shout out to AP environmental students!). The film was definitely goofy at times and the violence/gore actually caught me off guard but only added to the fun in the end. Kingsman was chock full of spy action which I enjoyed!

American Sniper (2014: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller)

American Sniper is not really a film that one enjoys. It is more of a film that one just has to sit down and get through. I can say though that it was very well done though so props to Clint Eastwood for his direction and an impressive performance by Bradley Cooper.

Focus (2015: Will Smith, Margot Robbie)

Focus was more stylish than solid to me. It is a pretty movie on the surface but closer examination just leads to a very confusing and at times messy plot. The chemistry between Will Smith and Margot Robbie was very believable though. I think the movie just tried to be too smart and slick.

Cake (2014: Jennifer Aniston, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, Adriana Barraza)

I was deciding between Cake and Still Alice (which has Julianne Moore’s Oscar-winning performance) but I found myself to be more curious about Jennifer Aniston in Cake. I thought she did a fantastic job! The film definitely acted as a vehicle to show off her skills but for good reason since it seems she has not had this type of opportunity before. However the plot of Cake was very underdeveloped and was more about Jennifer Aniston overall.

The other two movies I watched on the plane were Mili (a Malayalam movie) and Happy New Year ( a Hindi movie), both of which were pretty good in my opinion, but this post is getting long and my fingers are tired of typing so we will save those for another time. Perhaps a foreign film post is needed to also cover the many movies I watched in India as well! Let’s get into the summer blockbusters now in the meantime!

OSCARS 2015!!

Posted by Amy A in Award Shows and tagged with 2015, celebrities, oscars, predicitons, red carpet, winners February 28, 2015

This is late and I know the Oscars are probably off your mind by now, but oh well! How were the Oscars everyone? I for one was pretty satisfied with the winners. I was not a huge fan of Neil Patrick Harris though. He just was not that funny to me but you have to give the guy props because hosting the Oscars is no easy job. There were some great music performances too (“Glory” by Common and John Legend, The Sound of Music tribute by Lady Gaga).Let’s go over the winners, shall we?

THE WINNERS (check mark ✓ and x mark ✗for my predictions being right or not)

Best picture: Birdman ✗ Wow I was totally expecting Boyhood but I am psyched Birdman won!!
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman ✗ I was rooting for him though! He’s such a cool guy
Actor in a leading role: Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything ✓ I wanted Michael Keaton, but Redmayne was so excited when he won!
Actress in a leading role: Julianne Moore – Still Alice ✓
Actor in a supporting role: J.K. Simmons- Whiplash ✓
Actress in a supporting role: Patricia Arquette- Boyhood ✓
Writing (adapted screenplay): Graham Moore– The Imitation Game ✓ He had such an inspiring speech!
Writing (original screenplay) : Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo- Birdman ✓
Animated feature film: Big Hero Six ✗ (I thought How to Train Your Dragon 2)
Animated Short: Feast ✗
Foreign language film: Ida – Poland✗
Music (original song): “Glory” – Selma ✓
Music (original score): Alexandre Desplat – The Grand Budapest Hotel ✗
Cinematography: Birdman✓ A shoe-in, the film was made to like one single shot!
Costume design: The Grand Budapest Hotel✓
Documentary (feature): CITIZENFOUR ✓
Film editing: Whiplash ✗
Makeup and hairstyling: The Grand Budapest Hotel ✓
Production design: The Grand Budapest Hotel✓
Visual effects: Interstellar ✓
Sound mixing: Whiplash✓
Sound editing: American Sniper ✓
Short film (live action)L: The Phone Call ✗
Best Documentary Short: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 ✓

So I got 16/24 = 66% like last year! Man, I got to step up my game!

Now onto the RED CARPET! I was very pleased this year with all the dresses and also the #AskHerMore campaign!

My Favorites:

Anna Kendrick in Thakoon (for some reason, it looked a lot brighter on my TV screen, but I still love the color)

Rosamund Pike in Givenchy Haute Couture

Rosamund Pike may have found herself on the worst dressed list time and time again this awards season, but the "Gone Girl" star had arguably one of the best looks of the evening when she donned an absolutely ravishing red Givenchy gown at the 87th Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015.