Movie Monday - Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Last week was my son's 10th birthday.  How in the world do I have a 10 year old??? I can't believe I've been doing this parent thing for a decade now.  OK back to the point of movie Monday.  My son loves the Percy Jackson novels by Rick Riordan.  We've read them all in my house and seen the first movie installment a few times.  So for his birthday we went to see the 2nd movie installment Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

Percy Jackson played by Logan Lerman is a demigod, meaning he's the son of a mortal and Poseidon the God of the sea.  He finds this out in the first book/movie.  He attends Camp Half Blood a magical camp that trains him and all the other demigods.  The tree that protects the camp is dying because the bad guys (Luke introduced in the first book/movie) poisoned it.  The head of Camp Half Blood Mr. D played by Stanley Tucci sends some campers on a quest to retrieve the golden fleece of legend because it will heal the tree and save the camp.  Percy is not picked for quest but feels like he must go so he and his friends Annabeth played by Alexandra Daddario, Grover played by Brandon T. Jackson and his half brother cyclops Tyson played by Douglas Smith head out to the Bermuda Triangle to find the golden fleece in the Sea of Monsters.

I love the Percy Jackson books.  I've read them to my son and I've ready them myself just for fun.  They are great books! They are funny and action packed and you learn all about the Greek gods.  As much as I love the books, I hate the movies.  They do not follow the books at all.  I understand sometimes they can't fit everything in and I get that.  But it seems like the script writers wrote down all the plot points then just threw them out the window.  I also had some issues with the actors they choose for certain characters.  Tyson is not big enough and well Clarisse is waaayyy to pretty in the movie.  I also have to say that I got bored at the end of the movie.  The plot was so different and stupid that I got bored.  Maybe if you've never read the books you might like it.  But I doubt it.  Now I have to say my son loved it.  But he loved Paul Blart Mall Cop too so take that as you will.  I am giving Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters 1 pop corn bucket out of 5.

Movie Monday - The Conjuring

I have to start out by telling you that Friday night I got text from Ivy telling me to make sure I got a lot of sleep over the weekend because we were seeing The Conjuring on Monday.  My first reaction was WHY?!?! I'm not a fan of horror movies and neither is Ivy.  In fact we cringe and hide during the PREVIEWS for horror movies. So why in the world did she want to drag me to this.  Well the answer is two fold.  For one thing it was filmed here in Wilmington, NC where we live and two it was getting really good ratings, especially compared to the other movies out that we hadn't already seen.  So we waffled for awhile but finally we steeled ourselves and went.

The Conjuring is about a family that decides to leave the city and moves into a beautiful old farm house in the country.  Pretty much as soon as they move in weird and disturbing things start to happen.  Woven into the story line of the family is the story of Ed (played by Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Played by Vera Farmiga) Warren who are paranormal investigators.  The movie shows their back story and what they do to help people, which I found incredibly interesting.  Things in the family's house keep getting worse and worse so the mother Carolyn (played by Lili Taylor) seeks out the help of Ed and Lorraine Warren.  They agree to help solve the mystery and help the family get rid of the dark presence in the house.

It's creepy and scary and I jumped or covered my eyes several times.  Ivy and I were also talking obnoxiously through the scarier moments to break the tension.  BUT it was good!!! It scared the crap outta me at times but the story was compelling and fascinating.  I also found that because it's not really all that bloody or gory I liked it better than other horror movies like Saw.  So my rating is 4 1/2 pop corn buckets out of 5!!

Movie Monday - White House Down

I know this didn't get posted last night.  I was just too tired.  After I got home from the movie I pretty much just went to bed.  But here it is better late than never.

So this week I saw White House Down starring Channing Tatum as Cale and Jamie Foxx as President Sawyer. The synopsis is basically that Channing Tatum's character Cale works as a capital police officer who gets a job interview for the Secret Service.  He takes his daughter with him because she loves everything having to do with the President and the White House. After Cale's terrible interview at the White House,  it is taken over by a bunch of home-grown terrorists. There's a twist here both Ivy and I saw it coming so it wasn't a very good twist. Lots of shooting and crashing of helicopters and cars and strange political situations ensue. And Channing Tatum saves the day.  The end.

I wasn't overly excited to see this movie because I've already seen it and it was called Olympus Has Fallen. But I was wrong. I actually liked White House Down better than Olympus Has Fallen. I like Channing Tatum in this movie, a lot and Jamie Foxx was an interesting take on the president. I actually found myself -don't laugh- crying during one scene of the movie. Not sobbing crying just a couple tears in a very emotional scene. But crying nonetheless.  I also liked it because it had a little bit of humor and it wasn't as violent as Olympus Has Fallen.  Don't get me wrong there's still a lot of violence but it's Die Hard type movie violence and not the more realistic violence with blood like in Olympus Has Fallen.  Ivy and I were both in agreement that we liked this better then Olympus Has Fallen and the fact that it had eye candy Channing Tatum helped immensely. Overall a good summer shoot 'em up thriller. Just the sort of movie my Granddad would have liked.

On a slightly different note.  I suppose it would help the movie reviews if I came up with some sort of rating system. I have no idea off top of my head what that would be. The star ratings are overdone and so are the grades ABC. So I'll give it some thought and think about another way to rate movies because I think it might help. But if you have any suggestions as to how you think I should start rating the movies please comment and let me know.

Update: I now have the popcorn bucket scale rating!  5 is the maximum.  My rating for White House Down is 3 popcorn buckets out of 5.

Movie Monday - The Heat

I'm going to start this off saying if you find bad language offensive then stop reading RIGHT NOW.  I don't usually use foul language on my blog but I am going to in honor of The Heat.  So read on if you don't mind a fuck or a shit thrown into a movie review.

Tonight I saw The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.  Sandra Bullock plays a socially awkward, by the book FBI agent named Sarah Ashburn who is sent on assignment to Boston to bring down a big time drug king pin in order to secure a promotion.  She is forced to partner with Melissa McCarthy's charter Shannon Mullins who is an out of the box (waaaayyyyy out of the fucking box) Boston cop.  Lots of shooting, bad language, laughs and family dysfunction follow.

The Heat was FUCKING hysterical.  I am using all the bag language in honor of the movie and well to tell the truth I like to cuss I just save it for real life.  I just didn't feel I could review it with out throwing in a few.  Melissa McCarthy is a comic genius.  Now I know a lot of her lines were probably scripted but her delivery is the shit!  But as funny as Mellisa is Sandra Bullock is THE perfect straight man to Melissa's insanity.  I have not honestly laughed that hard in a movie since Bridesmaids.  I was laughing so hard at one point I was crying.  Ivy and I agreed it was one of the best movies we've seen in a very long time!!  Oh and for those of you other 30 somethings out there like me you will enjoy a cameo by Joey McIntyre of New Kids on the Block!!

Update: New rating scale added since first posting.  My rating is 5 out of 5 popcorn buckets.

 

Movie Monday Part 2 - Monsters University

Ok so I know I promised this movie review sooner in the week but it was the end of my semester at my teaching day job and that comes with a mountain of paperwork to deal with.  So here it is.  Last Monday I went to two movies.  Yes, I did.  I went early in the day with my mom and kids to see Monsters University and then later that evening I went again on my usual date with Ivy to see World War Z (read the review for it here).

Back to my Monsters University review.  I was very excited to see this one.  I love Monsters INC. so I decided to tag along with my mom to see this one with my kids.  In Monsters University we see Mike (voiced by Billy Crystal), Sully (voiced by John Goodman) and even Randall (voiced by Steve Buscemi) getting to know each other in college.  It's all a cute lesson about not judging people/monsters by their appearance or lack of scariness and throw in a little Revenge of the Nerds Disney style and you have Monsters University.  My kids said they loved it.  My mom and I thought it was cute but a little long and not as good as the first.  I know, I know most sequels are not as good but when we're talking about Disney/Pixar who DID make Toy Story 2 and even Toy Story 3 as good if not BETTER than the original the bar is high in my book.  Honestly what I think is missing is the sweetness of Boo the little girl in Monsters INC. and Sully's relationship.  We did not see it in 3D because the price starts to really add up when your paying for 4 people to see a 3D movie.  I honestly did not miss anything seeing it in 2D.  Unlike some other animated movies I've seen in 2D and thought wow now that would be awesome in 3D (Despicable Me) I never had that thought during Monsters University.  So I say skip the 3D but go see it your kids will love it.

Update: New rating scale added after the original posting.  My rating is 3 popcorn buckets out of 5.

 

Movie Monday - The Internship

We can all agree I pretty much suck at keeping up with this blogging thing.  So as I was sitting in my very cool mom mini van waiting for my friend Ivy to get to the movie theater, inspiration stuck.  I love going to the movies.  In fact I go just about once a week.  It's my escape from the real world for 2 hours.  I'm lucky enough to have found a friend who loves the movies too.  Ivy and I manage to sneak away once week to see whatever movie catches our fancy.  So anyway it hit me that I should at the very least blog about the movies I see every Monday. 

So this week I'm reviewing The Internship starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.  The basic premise of this movie is two middle aged salesmen (Vaughn and Wilson)  lose their jobs and decide to try to win coveted jobs at Google through their summer internship program.  Lots of Vaughn rants and nerd references abound. My favorite was the Quidditch match.  Yes, there is a Quidditch match and if you don't know what Quidditch is you most likely won't get 90% of the jokes in the movie.  But I laughed through all of it! In fact Ivy and I agreed it was one of the better movies we've seen a long time.  We both really loved the actress Rose Byrne who played the part of Owen Wilson's love interest.  It also made me want to get a job at Google.  But most importantly Google I now know you have Google Wallet, Google Drive and a whole host of other products I just can't live without.  Aside from all the product placement I really enjoyed The Internship immensely.

Confessions of the Day 18

You know how there is always the one ghetto house on the block??  Well my house would be it this week ... umm OK last 2 weeks.  For one thing our grass was really, really ridiculously overgrown.  It was a bit long when we got back from Tennessee (that was TWO weeks ago).  But then James and I had to go right back to work and we have been in a heat wave so mowing just can't happen in the heat of the day (from about 10AM to 5PM). Well then there is issue that I have never mowed a lawn before and don't know how to work the lawn mower (I in theory understand how it works and I am sure I can do if I had to ... it's not rocket science) so that leaves James to do it.  Plus we have been having afternoon/evening storms almost everyday.  So that rules out doing it in the evening.  I must admit it was really bad.  I just knew we were going to get a nasty letter from our HOA (it finally got mowed today btw).  But then driving home from work last night I was looking at our jungle of yard and the broken screen door and the toys in driveway, along with the extra cars and I had to admit that we are the ghetto house at least for a few weeks.

I have been to the movies 3 times in 4 days.  I love going to the movies.  It's my escape.  So I went with my movie buddy and friend Ivy Thursday and then again tonight.  But I also went on Friday when James and I had our date night.  So you can skip Dinner for Schmucks (really silly and not as good as the original) but Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is so much better than I would have thought.  And finally The Switch was cute but you won't miss anything by waiting for the DVD.

I hate Sponge Bob Square Pants!  It's a fact and I never (usually .. just wait) let my kids watch it.  Now James will let them watch it but that's different.  I just can't stand it.  Well I was organizing and going through some things in my craft/scrap booking room this afternoon and my 2 1/2 year old daughter came in.  I didn't mind having her in there with me but of course she started playing with paintbrushes and trying to walk off with some of my origami flowers so when she turned on the TV I let her watch it.  I flipped around for some cartoons and the ONLY one on was yep you guessed it Sponge Bob dumb ass Pants.  And yes I let her watch it so she would stay out of my stuff...  mother with outstanding morals right here.