Usually I am a huge fan of Blumhouse Productions. I loved the Conjuring, Insidious, and even the first Sinister. However, Sinister 2 was definitely a typical horror movie sequel. Now I will not go as far to say that this should have been a straight-to-DVD film, although I can definitely see how it has straight-to-DVD potential.
Our story begins exactly how you would expect. Just like the first one, a family moves into a home with a dark past. A family had been murdered there just like the Oswalts in the first movie. Yet, this sequel took a different direction. In the original film, we get to see the point of view from the adult's perspective. The children, although very important to the movie, are not seen very often. This movie was all about the children. We get to see the point of view of Courtney Collins' (Shannyn Sossaman) sons, Dylan and Zach. The Deputy from the first movie also makes an appearance, but this time he is burning down houses to put an end to Bughuul's antics. Zach and Dylan see the dead children who have been succumbed to Bughuul's ways. Bughuul, in case you do not know already, is a demon which we know to be the boogeyman. His goal is to take children because he feeds on the corruption of innocence. The pattern involves one child being chosen, that child murders the family, and then Bughuul takes the child into his realm. Furthermore, the child must film the murder because Bughuul requires an offering. Well we get to see those children who specifically target Dylan. Dylan is this young boy whose brother, Zach, beats up and bullies. Dylan must watch all the films that the children give him in order to make his own movie. Now these films made by the children are no joke. I would be lying if I said I wasn't horrified when I saw them.
SPOILER ALERTS: Dylan finally watches one last film entitled "Sunday Service." Now if you thought the films in the first movie were bad, this one takes the cake. This little boy drugs his family. He ties them all up in a circle and covers their stomachs with a bucket. Underneath the bucket is a rat. You can see where this goes and yes, you get to witness all of it. As if that wasn't enough, he then watches the blood poor out and makes the symbol of Bughuul with it. I was so done with the movie after that. We then find out from the Deputy that the first disappearance ever was from Norway. Someone picked up this radio signal of a child's piano playing. Later on they heard the sounds of a child murdering her mother. Now that actually gave me chills. But the whole movie fell flat after that. Zach finishes the deeds of the children because Dylan refuses and he starts to film this murder he wants to commit. Well, the Deputy will have no part of that because he loves kids and he also loves Courtney Collins. The Deputy saves Courtney and Dylan in the most anticlimactic way possible: he breaks the camera in Zach's hand. You think he is going to kill Zach because Zach has a scythe in one hand and a camera in the other. No, he takes a candlestick and breaks the camera. After that, Zach runs to the basement in disappointment only to be taken by Bughuul. Bughuul never receives his offering and it turns out all they had to do was break the camera the whole time.
Overall, I would give this movie a 4/10. The film itself is well made despite a bad story. Also, I got the chance to meet the actor who plays Bughuul, Nicholas King, so I am a little biased here on the rating. If you like scary movies, it is definitely worth watching. However, I recommend you wait for this to come out on Redbox or even just TV because it is not worth the $7.00+ to watch it in theaters.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
A Touch of Sass
I have found a new love of writing. Therefore, I have decided to create a personal blog apart from my movie reviews. Yes, I will continue to write on this blog as well to keep people from wasting their time on lousy movies (new review coming soon heads up!). My blog is entitled "A Touch of Sass" and found at this link: atouchofsass2015.blogspot.com
Everyone feel free to view my blog. I will be talking about a variety of things, so you do not want to miss out!
Everyone feel free to view my blog. I will be talking about a variety of things, so you do not want to miss out!
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Forrest Gump - A Truly Memorable Story
"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get." This quote is something we have all heard. Whether it is through a friend or even through the film Forrest Gump, we all recognize it.
My boyfriend was out of town and my sister was busy, so naturally my instinct was to watch Netflix all night long. I chose the timeless film Forrest Gump directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Winston Groom (novel) and Eric Roth (screen play). I have seen this movie countless times. In fact it will remain as one of my favorites. However, I decided it would be a great idea to write a review on it especially for those of you who have not seen it. Now even if you have no idea what this movie is about, Tom Hanks is the star. Everyone can agree that Tom Hanks is a phenomenal actor. He is arguably one of the best of the generation. I cannot think of a movie in which Tom Hanks poorly executed a character. Therefore, this movie was destined for greatness, greatness bestowed by Tom Hanks.
Our story begins with a young Forrest Gump in a small town in Alabama. He is different. He is not smart like the other kids and he has what his mama calls "magic legs" which is just a fancy way of saying he has a disability. Although every kid treats him poorly, Jenny Curran treats him as a human being. In fact, they become best friends. If you haven't seen this movie, here is my warning to you right now: do NOT be deceived by Jenny's sweet face and southern accent. She is not the southern belle that you expect her to turn out to be. Robin Wright did a fine job playing Jenny. I am sure she is a wonderful person but she played one of my most despised characters.So Forrest and Jenny go through life as best friends, but after high school they go separate ways. Forrest makes history and Jenny gets into a lot of bad situations like drugs and alcohol. Yet, here is the saddest plot line in the whole movie: Forrest achieves so many things to win the heart of Jenny Curran who runs away from him every chance she gets. Unfair right? SPOILER ALERT: after about thirty years of running away from Forrest, Jenny reveals that Forrest is the father of a child and that she is ready to marry him. Here is the plot twist though: she has AIDS. Just when you get closure and think everything is okay, everything falls apart. Jenny screwed up in my opinion. Most of us are guilty of friend-zoning a person whether we realize it or not. Yet, here is this guy who is standing in front of her doing absolutely everything he can to win her heart and he is never good enough. She had a troubled life and I will give her credit for that, but she had so many chances to turn her life around. He gave her so many chances. Although, Jenny is not all that bad. Forrest ends up a millionaire and she still won't date him after he makes his money. Kudos to you Jenny Curran for loving him in the end for his personality and not his money.
Now I did learn some things from this movie. We can create our own destinies. No one believed in Forrest Gump and he turned out to be an incredible human being. Then again, I am biased seeing as Tom Hanks played him. It is really difficult to hate a Tom Hanks character. Maybe if Justin Bieber played the role of Forrest Gump my opinions would differ a bit. The second thing I learned is somewhat sad. Here we have a man with so many people he impacted and so many accomplishments and the one person who impacted him the most is Jenny Curran who did not care about him until the end. It is really sad to think that you can love a person with all your heart and they don't feel the same way back. You can dedicate your whole life to one person and they will not return the favor. But then again life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. I guess we have to take risks in life because we'll never know how it all ends.
I would rate this movie 10/10 stars. Tom Hanks, you are a treasure. This movie will forever remain timeless with a phenominal cast and phenominal story. There are many historical aspects to the movie as well. Even if you don't like love stories, history enthusiests will have a party with this film. Miracles happen as Forrest Gump once said and this movie is one of them.
My boyfriend was out of town and my sister was busy, so naturally my instinct was to watch Netflix all night long. I chose the timeless film Forrest Gump directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Winston Groom (novel) and Eric Roth (screen play). I have seen this movie countless times. In fact it will remain as one of my favorites. However, I decided it would be a great idea to write a review on it especially for those of you who have not seen it. Now even if you have no idea what this movie is about, Tom Hanks is the star. Everyone can agree that Tom Hanks is a phenomenal actor. He is arguably one of the best of the generation. I cannot think of a movie in which Tom Hanks poorly executed a character. Therefore, this movie was destined for greatness, greatness bestowed by Tom Hanks.
Our story begins with a young Forrest Gump in a small town in Alabama. He is different. He is not smart like the other kids and he has what his mama calls "magic legs" which is just a fancy way of saying he has a disability. Although every kid treats him poorly, Jenny Curran treats him as a human being. In fact, they become best friends. If you haven't seen this movie, here is my warning to you right now: do NOT be deceived by Jenny's sweet face and southern accent. She is not the southern belle that you expect her to turn out to be. Robin Wright did a fine job playing Jenny. I am sure she is a wonderful person but she played one of my most despised characters.So Forrest and Jenny go through life as best friends, but after high school they go separate ways. Forrest makes history and Jenny gets into a lot of bad situations like drugs and alcohol. Yet, here is the saddest plot line in the whole movie: Forrest achieves so many things to win the heart of Jenny Curran who runs away from him every chance she gets. Unfair right? SPOILER ALERT: after about thirty years of running away from Forrest, Jenny reveals that Forrest is the father of a child and that she is ready to marry him. Here is the plot twist though: she has AIDS. Just when you get closure and think everything is okay, everything falls apart. Jenny screwed up in my opinion. Most of us are guilty of friend-zoning a person whether we realize it or not. Yet, here is this guy who is standing in front of her doing absolutely everything he can to win her heart and he is never good enough. She had a troubled life and I will give her credit for that, but she had so many chances to turn her life around. He gave her so many chances. Although, Jenny is not all that bad. Forrest ends up a millionaire and she still won't date him after he makes his money. Kudos to you Jenny Curran for loving him in the end for his personality and not his money.
Now I did learn some things from this movie. We can create our own destinies. No one believed in Forrest Gump and he turned out to be an incredible human being. Then again, I am biased seeing as Tom Hanks played him. It is really difficult to hate a Tom Hanks character. Maybe if Justin Bieber played the role of Forrest Gump my opinions would differ a bit. The second thing I learned is somewhat sad. Here we have a man with so many people he impacted and so many accomplishments and the one person who impacted him the most is Jenny Curran who did not care about him until the end. It is really sad to think that you can love a person with all your heart and they don't feel the same way back. You can dedicate your whole life to one person and they will not return the favor. But then again life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. I guess we have to take risks in life because we'll never know how it all ends.
I would rate this movie 10/10 stars. Tom Hanks, you are a treasure. This movie will forever remain timeless with a phenominal cast and phenominal story. There are many historical aspects to the movie as well. Even if you don't like love stories, history enthusiests will have a party with this film. Miracles happen as Forrest Gump once said and this movie is one of them.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Let me start by saying that I have actually seen this movie more than once. The first time I saw it, I was about nine years old. Because of my young age, I did not remember much. All I remember is crying at the end. My sister and I were having a movie night and wanted to watch a musical. We both love the music in this production to begin with, so naturally Phantom of the Opera was our first choice. I remembered this movie being very sad, but I was not aware of the downward spiral my emotions would take.
This movie stars the always attractive Gerard Butler playing the mysterious and handsome Phantom. Emily Rossum plays the beautiful Christine and to my surprise Patrick Wilson plays Raoul. Even if you hate musicals, this movie is enjoyable because the acting is superb. Christine is a very understated character in the beginning. The Opera House treats her as a background character. The "star" however, is a mean, spoiled woman named Carlotta (Minnie Driver). Although she can sing she does not match up to Christine's standards. When Carlotta backs down Christine assumes the throne as star performer. When asked who her teacher is, she says it is her angel of music. Just as the phantom says Christine makes his soul take flight, the phantom's appearance made my emotions take flight. I immediately fell in love with Gerard Butler's character. Call me insane, but I love the mysterious, attractive "bad boy" so to speak.When he sang Music of the Night my heart melted. I was enthralled by his vocal dynamics followed by a sweet symphony playing in the background. Honestly I would not care to stay in his dark dungeon forever because he gets paid a salary, he's handsome, and he has tons of little trinkets that would provide entertainment.
As the movie progresses the phantom develops feelings for Christine. However, Christine has her eyes on another, her childhood friend Raoul. Although Patrick Wilson executed his role as Raoul very well, I still will never like this character. I tend to analyze movies very distinctly. My sister will even tell you the same because I notice everything: facial expressions, background scenery, etc. What I grasped from this is that Raoul fell in love with Christine's voice which made him fall in love with Christine as a person. Not to mention that Raoul thinks she is insane for having this "imaginary tutor." The Phantom in contrast sees her potential from the get-go. He loves her sweetness and most of all he loves her because she is not frightened by him. Honestly though if Gerard Butler tells you to stay with him why would you not? That is the real question I have for Christine. And as the play and movie both go, Christine chooses Roaul over the Phantom. Yet is this the whole story?
SPOILER ALERT: The end of the movie got to me more than any movie I've watched in a while. He kidnaps Christine and says her fate is to stay with him. Raoul runs after her. The Phantom says that he loves her and blames his face for the fact she does not love him back. Yet Christine says it is his actions that really drove her away from him. At this realization he lets Raoul have her. He loves her but he realizes that his actions have consequences. His actions lost him Christine. But there's a twist here. Christine loves him too. When Raoul and Christine ride on the boat back to safety she looks back at him longingly. At the end older Raoul is visiting Christine's grave. He brings her the Phantom's music box. On the grave is a single rose with the ring the Phantom presented her. Christine isn't as bad as I thought she was. She chose the Phantom in her heart and that is enough happiness for me.
I encourage everyone to watch this movie at some point. It is more than a musical. It is very entertaining and the music is beautiful. Plus there is some really awesome dance numbers, fights, and attractive men serenading the audience. What more could you want?
This movie stars the always attractive Gerard Butler playing the mysterious and handsome Phantom. Emily Rossum plays the beautiful Christine and to my surprise Patrick Wilson plays Raoul. Even if you hate musicals, this movie is enjoyable because the acting is superb. Christine is a very understated character in the beginning. The Opera House treats her as a background character. The "star" however, is a mean, spoiled woman named Carlotta (Minnie Driver). Although she can sing she does not match up to Christine's standards. When Carlotta backs down Christine assumes the throne as star performer. When asked who her teacher is, she says it is her angel of music. Just as the phantom says Christine makes his soul take flight, the phantom's appearance made my emotions take flight. I immediately fell in love with Gerard Butler's character. Call me insane, but I love the mysterious, attractive "bad boy" so to speak.When he sang Music of the Night my heart melted. I was enthralled by his vocal dynamics followed by a sweet symphony playing in the background. Honestly I would not care to stay in his dark dungeon forever because he gets paid a salary, he's handsome, and he has tons of little trinkets that would provide entertainment.
As the movie progresses the phantom develops feelings for Christine. However, Christine has her eyes on another, her childhood friend Raoul. Although Patrick Wilson executed his role as Raoul very well, I still will never like this character. I tend to analyze movies very distinctly. My sister will even tell you the same because I notice everything: facial expressions, background scenery, etc. What I grasped from this is that Raoul fell in love with Christine's voice which made him fall in love with Christine as a person. Not to mention that Raoul thinks she is insane for having this "imaginary tutor." The Phantom in contrast sees her potential from the get-go. He loves her sweetness and most of all he loves her because she is not frightened by him. Honestly though if Gerard Butler tells you to stay with him why would you not? That is the real question I have for Christine. And as the play and movie both go, Christine chooses Roaul over the Phantom. Yet is this the whole story?
SPOILER ALERT: The end of the movie got to me more than any movie I've watched in a while. He kidnaps Christine and says her fate is to stay with him. Raoul runs after her. The Phantom says that he loves her and blames his face for the fact she does not love him back. Yet Christine says it is his actions that really drove her away from him. At this realization he lets Raoul have her. He loves her but he realizes that his actions have consequences. His actions lost him Christine. But there's a twist here. Christine loves him too. When Raoul and Christine ride on the boat back to safety she looks back at him longingly. At the end older Raoul is visiting Christine's grave. He brings her the Phantom's music box. On the grave is a single rose with the ring the Phantom presented her. Christine isn't as bad as I thought she was. She chose the Phantom in her heart and that is enough happiness for me.
I encourage everyone to watch this movie at some point. It is more than a musical. It is very entertaining and the music is beautiful. Plus there is some really awesome dance numbers, fights, and attractive men serenading the audience. What more could you want?
Monday, April 27, 2015
Interstellar
We have all heard of Matthew McConaughey's new movie hit Interstellar. If you haven't, here is a brief overview: basically Matthew McConaughey is this once engineer turned farmer, Cooper, who sets out on a mission to find a new planet to inhabit humans. I am not normally one for sci-fi movies, if this can be considered one, but this was a different type of sci-fi movie. For example, when I think "future," I normally think of hover cars and teleportation devices. I don't normally think of a world that has completely used up its new technological devices and that is paying the price for its many years of pollution and wastefulness. Yet, that is how Interstellar is. Here we have a future that is completely based upon how we used our resources in the past. It really makes you think. Very rarely do I watch a movie that impacts me or really sticks with me. However, this was one of those movies. I could not believe that I actually loved a Matthew McConaughey movie. Don't get me wrong; the man is handsome. I personally am not a fan of his acting, although I'm sure many people will disagree with me. However, he was perfect in this movie. Another plus to this whole film was the special effects. I actually felt like I was in space with the crew. I felt lonely out in space while Matthew McConaughey and his group were there; and it honestly made me miss my family even though I was only 10 minutes away from them. It is very hard for a movie to grasp such emotions given the genre. Furthermore, I learned so many things. For example, time is relative. I was completely on the edge of my seat the whole time. Cooper (McConaughey's character) has to leave his family behind in order to help on this space mission. Yet time on earth is completely different from time out in space. I think the line that really just made my heart break was the scene in which Cooper is saying goodbye to his daughter Murph. He says that when he returns Murph might be just as old as him (keep in mind, his daughter is like 10 years old here). Immediately I knew that this was not going to be an easy journey. Of course Anne Hathaway's character, Brand, had a lot to lose too. Her father was the head of the mission and he was elderly (you can see where this is going). Each individual on the mission had so much to lose, yet so much to gain. Not to mention Brand's father quotes the poem by Dylan Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight," which happens to be a poem my old English teacher read to us. It is a powerful poem and fit perfectly with this powerful movie. Yet just as the poem is so dark, this movie has several dark elements. So here our characters go. They have communication with the secret base of NASA (NOTE: all military and governmental programs were cut due to the money needed for drones) in which Cooper can still receive messages from his son and daughter and Brand still receives messages from her father. Well, Cooper's daughter is not on speaking terms with him because she did not want him to leave. She decoded a message prior from a gravitational signal that decoded the phrase "stay." Long story short, they come to this planet in which 1 hour on this planet = 7 Earth years. Time is relative remember? SPOILER ALERT: Because of such strong gravitational pull, this planet has massive waves; so high they resemble mountains. The ship gets struck by a wave and although it does not damage the ship, the engine gets flooded. They're stuck for a long time. By the time they get back, they realize they've been gone 4 hours or 28 years on Earth. Here is where your heart will break: Cooper gets a message from his family. His son is married and has a child. Next message: his son's child just died due to lack of pure air. Next message: Cooper's father-in-law died. Then the worst message: his daughter Murph finally speaks to him. After 28 years of silence, she speaks to him. She is finally his age when he left for the mission. Mind blown right? Let's not forget how Murph is now working alongside Brand's dad. After Brand's father, Dr. Brand (Michael Caine), passes, Dr. Brand reveals that the mission was never for the group to return. Rather, they would find a planet and stay there. This brings us to the idea of altruism which they discuss in the movie. I learned this in my Biology class. It's the evolutionary concept of someone risking their own fitness to save their own species. In other words, instead of fixing the issues on Earth, he sent the strongest and bravest humans out on a mission to save the human species. Again, my heart was breaking. If that isn't enough we can fast forward to the end. Remember how Cooper has been gone for a very long time? Well he finds his way back. Happy right? Wrong. His daughter has apparently found a way to create a base on a neighboring planet of Saturn and has set up a whole civilization there. Cooper is still the same age as he was when he left, maybe a couple of years older but not by much. He returns to his daughter who happens to be dying of old age. That's right. She finishes up her line with a twist on the line Cooper told her in the very beginning "No parent deserves to see their child die." Crying yet? I wanted to. This movie was amazing though. The cast did a phenomenal job and kudos to you, Christopher Nolan, for creating an absolutely spectacular visionary masterpiece. I couldn't keep my eyes away from the screen. My only regret is that I didn't see this one in theaters. I highly recommend Interstellar to anyone who enjoys sci-fi movies.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
American Sniper
Okay, so I know it has been a while since my last post. Believe me, I have seen a ton of movies in the past month or so since I've posted something; however, none of the movies I have viewed previously have been remotely good enough to even write about. Yet, one move I saw just last weekend really stuck with me. I am sure we have all heard of Bradley Cooper's new movie American Sniper. Kudos to you, Clint Eastwood, for directing one of the most horrific yet terrific movies I have seen in a while.
I watch a lot of movies. Therefore, my standards on movies are relatively high. It takes a lot for a movie to truly stick with me. This movie did just that. Bradley Cooper did such a phenomenal job of portraying Chris Kyle. I am not one for war movies. My boyfriend makes me watch a lot of them and most of the time I try to stay in my own perfect world where war is dramatized and fictitious in movies. American Sniper was so gripping that it was impossible to go into my happy place. The movie encompassed every aspect of war: what happens to the families when a family member is out at war? What is going on over seas? What happens after a tour? Why do people want to fight in war? All of these questions were answered. Nothing about the movie was remotely settling. The happy scenes were something the viewer had to treasure because the rest was so sad and horrifying. I can't lie and say I didn't tear up in this film. This movie made me want to go out and personally thank every single veteran in the war. I have so much respect for people who want to join the military because I know it is a difficult job, but this movie made me open my eyes to it a little more. These people put their lives on the line every day and witness these horrifying events just to protect our country. That's a big deal.
SPOILER ALERT: The violent scenes were so real to me, that I actually cried while watching them. This guy they call the butcher is shown drilling a hole into a little boy's head and all you can hear is this little boy screaming. Bradley Cooper's face said it all in the film. He could only sit there and watch. His first kill is that of a little boy and a woman. I mean to realize that this stuff is happening in our world is absolutely disgusting. I wanted to keep my eyes shut. The whole ordeal was disturbing. This was definitely one of Bradley Cooper's most memorable performances to me. He did a phenomenal job of portraying a man who is human just like us but loses himself once he experiences all of these tragic events. He dehumanizes into a killing machine where he no longer has to think about who is the bad guy and who he is willing to save. I have never been to war, but I imagine that happens to many soldiers. My old history teacher used to tell me war stories of when he was in Afghanistan. He even admitted that it changed him.
I saw this movie with my boyfriend and the first words I said to him as we left while I was in a puddle of tears were "please don't join the military." As horrible as that sounds, I have concluded that there is no way I could be an army wife. I applaud all of those who are capable of sustaining that kind of relationship, because I would be a mess. This movie just changed me in some way. I saw a whole new view of the world I never imagined I could. I would recommend this movie to anyone. It was horrifying and sickening, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
I watch a lot of movies. Therefore, my standards on movies are relatively high. It takes a lot for a movie to truly stick with me. This movie did just that. Bradley Cooper did such a phenomenal job of portraying Chris Kyle. I am not one for war movies. My boyfriend makes me watch a lot of them and most of the time I try to stay in my own perfect world where war is dramatized and fictitious in movies. American Sniper was so gripping that it was impossible to go into my happy place. The movie encompassed every aspect of war: what happens to the families when a family member is out at war? What is going on over seas? What happens after a tour? Why do people want to fight in war? All of these questions were answered. Nothing about the movie was remotely settling. The happy scenes were something the viewer had to treasure because the rest was so sad and horrifying. I can't lie and say I didn't tear up in this film. This movie made me want to go out and personally thank every single veteran in the war. I have so much respect for people who want to join the military because I know it is a difficult job, but this movie made me open my eyes to it a little more. These people put their lives on the line every day and witness these horrifying events just to protect our country. That's a big deal.
SPOILER ALERT: The violent scenes were so real to me, that I actually cried while watching them. This guy they call the butcher is shown drilling a hole into a little boy's head and all you can hear is this little boy screaming. Bradley Cooper's face said it all in the film. He could only sit there and watch. His first kill is that of a little boy and a woman. I mean to realize that this stuff is happening in our world is absolutely disgusting. I wanted to keep my eyes shut. The whole ordeal was disturbing. This was definitely one of Bradley Cooper's most memorable performances to me. He did a phenomenal job of portraying a man who is human just like us but loses himself once he experiences all of these tragic events. He dehumanizes into a killing machine where he no longer has to think about who is the bad guy and who he is willing to save. I have never been to war, but I imagine that happens to many soldiers. My old history teacher used to tell me war stories of when he was in Afghanistan. He even admitted that it changed him.
I saw this movie with my boyfriend and the first words I said to him as we left while I was in a puddle of tears were "please don't join the military." As horrible as that sounds, I have concluded that there is no way I could be an army wife. I applaud all of those who are capable of sustaining that kind of relationship, because I would be a mess. This movie just changed me in some way. I saw a whole new view of the world I never imagined I could. I would recommend this movie to anyone. It was horrifying and sickening, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
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