Double Feature: The Net (1995) & The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

Next up with the alphabet is the N double feature! Two rather random pairings as I did some last minute changes. The first is 1995’s thriller The Net starring one of my favorite actresses Sandra Bullock and the paired it with one of my Christmas in July Blogathon picks, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Let’s check it out!

The Net (1995)

Director: Irwin Winkler

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam, Dennis Miller, Diane Baker, Wendy Gazelle, Ken Howard, Ray McKinnon

A computer programmer stumbles upon a conspiracy, putting her life and the lives of those around her in great danger. – IMDB

Technology has advanced in leaps and bounds since 1995 when this movie is set. With that said, The Net doesn’t age as well and suffers as a lot of the cyber and tech elements to a first watch right now with everyone being more tech savvy in general. There’s some bits that absolutely make very little sense. However, The Net still has some entertaining elements to it in terms of a thriller. Sandra Bullock’s character, Angela gets caught up when the game software she was analyzing ended up having a backdoor access to a much bigger scheme by a cyber-terrorist group which ends up taking her identity and turning her life into a dead end where she has to use her own systems analyst and hacking skills to fight back. The premise is an engaging one even if some plot points seem to not work too well.

However, Sandra Bullock is as she always is, just like her Speed days where its a good performance on her part since the movie really focuses heavily on her reactions and how she fights back and uses her wits and brains to figure out what these cyberterrorist have against her, what their goal is and how to turn things around. She’s a tough female lead in a very believable way. On the other hand, the leader of the group chasing her down for a floppy disk (you know this movie is old when we talk about floppy disks…) Jack Devlin, played Jeremy Northam puts in a decent performance as well. There’s some overacting at some points but overall, its a good interaction between the two.

The Net might not be Sandra Bullock’s best movie performance and it might not be a great thriller but it has a few elements from premise to characters and a good performance that makes it a fun watch. Sure, its a little out of the current times and technology but if anything, maybe those games she tests out has some level of nostalgia.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

Director: Lasse Hallstrom, Joe Johnston

Cast: Mackenzie Foy, Jayden Fowora-Knight, Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Eugenio Derbez, Richard E. Grant, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Macfadyen

A young girl is transported into a magical world of gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice. – IMDB

*Originally posted on Drew’s Movie Reviews for Christmas in July Blogathon*

Disney picks up a lot of these live action children fantasy adventure movies at this point. It’s usually some harmless and visually appealing affair. That’s the best way to describe The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Set on Christmas Eve where Clara goes to a Christmas party and seeks out her godfather to the key to a puzzle that her mother had left her before she passed away takes her to an adventure in another realm through a passage from the mansion. Its quite a fun way to incorporate the elements of Christmas in the beginning and take the elements of a classic story like The Nutcracker and be able to reinterpret some of the characters especially the Mouse King the way that it did. The visuals paired with the score as well as the costumes are definitely the highlight of the film. The story itself is fairly predictable and even the villain which should be a twist is fairly easy to figure out. In the end, this is supposed to be a children’s movie for the most part so it’s not supposed to be complicated for an adult to watch this.

If you look at the cast, its quite a packed one with supporting roles from Morgan Freeman and Matthew Macfadyen. How many times has Matthew Macfadyen been in the same movie with Keira Knightley at this point, right? Keira Knightley takes on a much bigger role as the Sugar Plum Fairy with a high pitched voice and a rather entertaining role. To be honest, the younger roles here who play the lead like Mackenzie Foy as Clara or the Nutcracker Philip, played by Jayden Fowora-Knight are fairly okay. They are still young and have room for improvement for sure especially in some reactions and such but overall, it’s still decent.

There’s a lot of the expected and predictable elements here. For people who enjoy this type of movie, they will still find the joy in it. If you’ve never quite enjoyed these movies from Disney, then its probably not one to catch. It sounds like I didn’t say anything with that comment but this is along the lines of movies like A Wrinkle in Time or Alice in Wonderland where it has a certain level of entertainment and visuals but also a fair share of elements like plot that might feel more formulaic.

That’s it for this double feature!
Have you seen these two movies? Thoughts?

Double Feature: A Quiet Place (2018) & Bird Box (2018)

This double feature is incredibly late. I saw these quite early this year. I always meant to pair these two together. While A Quiet Place and Birdbox are quite different, they both rely on honing into one sense and that is a fantastic angle that had me intrigued right from the moment I first saw any trailers for it, plus they both have leading ladies that I liked a lot as well.

Let’s check it out!

A Quiet Place (2018)

Director: John Krasinski

Cast: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cade Woodward

In a post-apocalyptic world, a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing. – IMDB

A Quiet Place is one those movies that are incredibly interesting in terms of the premise. Its an intense thriller because of the use of the silence and the meticulousness of the little details of how this family lives. The strength of the film has a lot to do with the quiet and the mysterious control of the monsters here. It also has to do with the script and the characters and how they each grow throughout the film to see what place they each have. There is no doubt that Emily Blunt and John Krasinski bring a lot to the film however, who does stand out is Millicent Simmonds and the emphasis on the relationship of her with her parents especially the journey she has as she lives with this guilt and these abilities. The best parts are the hunt and the genuine feeling of survival and the stakes in play.

However, there is one thing  that I can’t get past for this film. It has to do with the basis of this film of how the situation managed to get to the dangerous state that it is and that is Emily Blunt’s character’s pregnant state. Very different from it being a situation that happened before the danger arrived, this happened while knowing the risks of it. With that said, this doesn’t align with the whole mentality of what this family we see has tried to achieve the entire time. That is a plot hole in my opinion and something that feels contrived. Aside from that though, because as the movie intensifies, its easy to ignore and accept the situation at hand and it delivers on a lot of levels. Seeing as this is John Krasinski’s debut directorial effort, this is a solid piece.

The only thing that I’ve had on my mind (which still I wonder on) is that while the movie relies on silence, there is a prominent soundtrack that sometimes is less than subtle. It makes me wonder whether it would have achieved more with less soundtrack and more focus on the quiet. Its something that bothered me also when I saw The VVitch (review).

Bird Box (2018)

Director: Susanne Bier

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Vivien Lyra Blair, Julian Edwards, Sarah Paulson, Jacki Weaver, Rosa Salazar, Danielle Macdonald, BD Wong

Five years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a mother and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety. – IMDB

Bird Box is a really nice example of how the big Hollywood can take in a sophisticated filmmaking efforts that Netflix has to offer. There are things that don’t always make sense and it has its moments that aren’t quite as refined but this post-apocalyptic world and the world-building and the survival and character developing is all such a huge part of what makes Bird Box shine above all those imperfections. In some ways, there are  a lot of parallels to A Quiet Place but somehow Bird Box works better in that aspect because it starts in a situation that was made out of necessity. The structure of how the story is told makes a contribution to its success and effectiveness. All the way from why Sandra Bullock’s character changes over the course and seeing the need to find salvation to her two kids who she calls Girl and Boy and remains nameless throughout the film. The history of it makes it work because it helps build up the different elements of the invisible danger outside.

Sandra Bullock is an awesome actress and she takes on this role so well. A lot of credit has to go with the character being written really well. There’s a lot of great actors in here which creates a lot of layers to the story itself, making it a more psychological experience and a human nature sort of deal. There’s a more self-preserved character that is more grounded to the reality of the post-apocalypse played brilliantly by John Malkovich and a fairly shorter role of BD Wong and then, a great performance playing opposite Sandra Bullock by Trevante Rhodes that we first saw in Moonlight (review).

Bird Box stands out to me the most because of its tension. Its psychological aspects especially because the whole nature of the villain or outside factor that attacks civilization is about that as well. There are a lot of little details and reveals in the story that make it work. In some ways, there are elements that remind me of 28 Days Later and having the sense of hearing becoming a central sense works here also.

That’s it for this double feature!
Have you seen A Quiet Place & Bird Box?

Sunday List: Sandra Bullock Roles, Ranked

Sandra Bullock is another one of my favorite actresses. Its inevitable to eventually have a list of her roles ranked from best to worst according to me.

At the same time, this list will be updated as I watch more of the filmography as well as add on some of the reviews that I’ve already seen before.

Annie – Speed (1994)

Lucy – While You Were Sleeping (1995) (Review)

Gracie Hart – Miss Congeniality (2000)

Malorie – Bird Box

Margaret Tate – The Proposal (2009) (Review)

Leigh Anne Tuohy – The Blind Side (2009)

Ryan Stone – Gravity (2013) (Review)

Debbie Ocean – Ocean’s Eight (2018) (Review)

Mary Horowitz – All About Steve (2009)

Ashburn – The Heat (2013) (Review)

Miriam (voice) – The Prince of Egypt (1998)

Jean – Crash (2004)
Birdee Pruitt – Hope Floats (1998)
Kate Forster – The Lake House (2006)
Scarlet Overkill (voice) – Minions (2015)
Linda Hanson – Premonition (2007)
Cassie Mayweather/Jessica Marie Hudson – Murder by Numbers (2002)
Sarah Lewis – Forces of Nature (1999)
Gwen Cummings – 28 Days (2000)
Annie – Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)

Haven’t Seen or Can’t Remember

Lisa Edwards – Hangmen (1987)
Kate Mason – Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989)
Devlin Moran – Who Shot Patakongo? (1989)
Debby Cosgrove – A Fool and His Money (1989)
Diane Farrow – Love Potion No. 9 (1992)
Diane Shaver – The Vanishing (1993)
Amanda – When the Party’s Over (1993)
Linda Lue Linden – The Thing Called Love (1993)
Lenina Hexley – Demolition Man (1993)
Alyssa Rothman – Fire on the Amazon (1993)
Elaine – Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)
Lori – Who Do I Gotta Kill? (1994)
Angela Bennett – The Net (1995)
Roz – Two If By Sea (1996)
Ellen Roark – A Time to Kill (1996)
Agnes von Kurowsky – In Love and War (1996)
Sally Owens – Practical Magic (1998)
Sandra Bullock – Welcome to Hollywood (1998)
Judy Tipp – Gun Shy (2000)
Sandra Bullock – Lisa Picard is Famous (2000)
Sidda – Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
Lucy Kelson – Two Weeks Notice (2002)
Mrs. Harker – Loverboy (2005)
Gracie Hart – Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005)
Nella Harper Lee – Infamous (2006)
Linda Schell – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
Jane -Our Brand is Crisis (2015)

What are favorite roles of Sandra Bullock?

Ocean’s Eight (2018)

Before we start this review, perhaps a few things need to laid out. If you watched my What’s Up, you will know that I already talked about this. While I’ve seen Ocean’s 11 and that trilogy (or maybe I haven’t seen Ocean’s 13 because I can’t remember), I honestly can’t remember a whole lot of what goes on except that Ocean’s 11 was pretty fun and had some big stars in it. With that said, Ocean’s 8 is kind of a new slate for me which works because it turns out that its a standalone story with a few nods in terms of characters and such. I usually don’t go to watch films like this at theatres but one of my good friends took me so who am I to argue with time with friends, right? Plus, would you look at the cast here? A ton of my faves all in one movie sounds like a ton of fun. Let’s hope it is!

Ocean’s 8 (2018)

Director: Gary Ross

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sara Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Awkwafina, Rhianna, Richard Armitage, James Corden

Debbie Ocean gathers an all-female crew to attempt an impossible heist at New York City’s yearly Met Gala. – IMDB

Judging from my above comment, you could say that I enjoyed the Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve heist movies but then I’m not exactly remembering a ton from it so maybe not exactly my favorite movies ever. With that said, my appreciation for Ocean’s 8 draws exactly from the little things I remember from the male centric ones and that is the cast. Ocean’s 8 hook is its fantastic ladies. Everyone delivers in absolutely glory.

The movie starts off with quite a few comedic moments as we see Debbie Ocean, played by Sandra Bullock be released from prison. There is this sarcastic and fun humor as Debbie and Lou (Cate Blanchett) go to find the other members for this epic heist she has in mind which leads to some comedic moments of knowing a little more about each of them as we get a glimpse of their life and their pressures but also their fortes that make them an asset to the group. Rhianna, Mindy Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter, Sara Paulson and Awkwafina as well as Anne Hathaway all fall into place for this plan to work out. And they all deliver so well. I have only heard of Awkwafina and haven’t seen Mindy Kaling before so I don’t know what to say much but Rhianna has grown so much as an actress. I am not a big fan of her music but she gets involved in some great movies now. Helena Bonham Carter also has some awkward movies before but in this one, she fits well in it. At the same time, I am telling you that I have a huge lady crush on Sara Paulson. She always delivers so well and I just love her.

In terms of the heist, I have always been a fan on seeing the movie magic happen because it is both entertaining and fun when it is thought out well and puts all the pieces into motion and there is always a twist and some tension. With Ocean’s 8, it delivers a lot of these fronts. While the setup had a lot of comedic moments, the heist actually had a fair amount of tensions. The heist also stands out in not only watching the plan roll out with whichever snag it hits because what movie would it be without (I guess some might say that its a tad formulaic) but also these ladies and their beautiful outfits. Its impossible to not feel this beauty and intelligence in one package as well as triumph. These ladies are what makes the heist happen and I think the biggest accomplishment is that we see them as a unit because of their differences and connect to them so we care about what happens.

These movies are all about the star power and while these all female casts cause so much talk, I’d like to stray away and just talk about how fantastic these star-powered casts bring to the table. Hence, the long chat about. However, Ocean’s Eight did bring in some humor from the men as well. For one, we have Richard Armitage which I haven’t seen in anything for a long time. The man is super charming and well, he got what he deserves. Let’s just put it that way. While small, it still had its significance. We had  cameo of sorts by James Corden and I’m telling you that lately I’ve started watching those Carpool Karaoke videos and this guy is pretty hilarious and I think he pulls off some great comedic moments as well here.

Overall, Ocean’s Eight is a fun and entertaining time. There’s a lot of comedic moments and my fave sarcastic humor. There is a slew of beautiful and talented cast here who work so well with each other. That is the true star plus the outfits are so pretty and lovely. The heist itself works fairly well and had its tense moments. There’s a lot of like about Ocean’s Eight and while I might not remember from Ocean’s Eleven in terms of specifics, I remember that fun feeling I had when the film ended and we get the same thing here.

Double Feature: Speed 2:Cruise Control (1997) & Perhaps Love (2005)

I promised regular programming yesterday and here it is! A double feature! These are actually getting a little hard to put together because I’ve been watching TV series more than movies. Although there is The Edge of Seventeen, Miss Sloane, Macbeth and Southpaw sitting in my movie queue lately, so I need to work on those very soon. It helps that double features are a lot easier to put together and I like this new structure a lot.

Anyways, enough side tracking. One new watch and a repeat one in this double feature!

Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)

Director: Jan de Bont

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Jason Patric, Willem Dafoe

A computer hacker breaks into the computer system of the Seabourn Legend cruise liner and sets it speeding on a collision course into a gigantic oil tanker. – IMDB

I love Speed. Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. A great team, perfect action and so very tense to watch. Even recently, when I revisited it, I still had tons of fun. Funnily, my love for the movie didn’t bring me to watch Speed 2: Cruise Control until recently. Its the bad reviews and lack of Keanu Reeves and really not seeing anything interesting about this one. Instincts are a great thing and I sometimes forget to trust it and that is how I end up watching Speed 2 in three sittings, almost giving up after halfway through the second one but deciding to tough it out. I had seen Jason Patric in a more recent film coincidentally for My Sister’s Keeper which I reviewed for Medicine in the Movies Blogathon.

Why didn’t I like this other than the fact that Keanu Reeves isn’t there? Well, when you bring back a sequel and use the lady of the previous movie, she should be more of a center. Now, if Sandra Bullock was doing all the action, maybe it would have worked better and more entertaining. Its hard to follow a character that really isn’t too compelling to watch, plus you have Willem Dafoe playing the villain with crazy eyes here. At the end of the day, when you look back at Speed 2, it takes the formula of Speed, puts it on a cruise ship, switches up the cast and setting and adds some even less probable and reasonable events and we get this.

To be absolutely honest, I did enjoy the final parts of the movie mostly because there was a ton of guilty pleasure action moments that worked for me. However, to have to sit through a good portion of the beginning to get there isn’t exactly something I plan on doing again.

Perhaps Love (2005)

Director: Peter Chan

Cast: Jacky Cheung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Xun Zhou, Jin-hee Ji, Eric Tsang, Sandra Kwan Yue Ng

A love triangle develops during the making of a musical in mainland China. – IMDB

Perhaps Love is one of those movies that never really made it internationally however, within their own circles had its own merit. Chinese film industry at that point hadn’t really done a lot of modern musicals. I’m not talking any form of Cantonese or Peking Opera which are really live performances. I am talking about a theatrical musical and this one did that. It roped in a phenomenal singer from the 90s who still has the pipes, like Jacky Cheung in a supporting role who sings a whole bunch here and then adds a famous actor like Takeshi Kaneshiro who is in fact earned his fame in the Hong Kong film industry and then mixes in famous Chinese actress Xun Zhou. Along with smaller roles from Eric Tsang and Sandra Kwan Yue Ng, and the change between mandarin and cantonese dialogue, this musical has a lot of great elements although being influenced and feeling like some Hollywood musicals: Moulin Rouge and Singin’ in the Rain, mostly comes to mind, along with a scene that looks exactly like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Nine (the musical).

Regardless of whatever inspirations or influences to this film, Perhaps Love is a very solid entry. Sure, there are a few spots that get a little dramatic but also expected in a lot of romantic dramas. What is very cool is how they tackle this relationship and slip between the past and present but also give this fantastical feeling to it, meshing reality with what is going on in the movie that these characters are brought together for. It has this movie in a movie sort of thing and that works very well especially because the music is beautiful and the director does a great job at setting up his shots. The costumes are really nice and just everything is done really well.

I’m not much for Chinese romance or dramas. I find that they sometimes get lost in the overdramatic phase but this one handles it all along with using it as a personal journey to overcome whatever these characters have to overcome and comes to terms with, making them each have their own layers. Rewatching now, and seeing all the inspirations, still makes me like this one a lot. Plus, Jacky Cheung is one of my favorite singers. Maybe not such a polished actor but he carries a lot of the great singing sequences here and it fits really well. While back in the early 2000s, Xun Zhou really had a good deal of fame and was offered lots of roles and in that phase, she grew on me as she picked up more complex roles in different genres. And well, Takeshi Kaneshiro is a great actor in general and its shows how much he’s grown since he has been in the acting business for a long time. Great cast, great set, beautiful music and this all pulls together into a must-see if you are into musicals and foreign films.

Have you seen Speed 2 or Perhaps Love? What did you think of it?

Valentine’s Marathon BEGINS with Netflix A-Z: Hope Floats (1998)

I had a few days to get back on track a little and we’re officially kicking off the Netflix A-Z selection: Hope Floats! I had originally wanted to watch Her and well, that probably might’ve been the typically better choice. However, I have a girl crush on Sandra Bullock since I saw her in Speed and I also have a love for romance back in the 90s. I’ve only ever heard of Hope Floats and never saw it so when it landed on Netflix, I just couldn’t resist. It might not be the light and fluffy movie that should be in a Valentine’s Marathon but forget about it.  I just looked at my rundown and its not very light and fluffy.  Its might still change but who knows.

Lets check this one out! 🙂

Hope Floats (1998)

Director: Forest Whitaker

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., Gena Rowlands, Mae Whitman, Michael Pare, Cameron Finley

Birdee Calvert must choose between her morals and her heart after her husband divorces her and a charming young man, who her daughter disapproves of, comes back into her life.-IMDB

 Okay, after watching Hope Floats, it really isn’t quite suitable for the Valentine’s Marathon but it is romance as much as it is a drama. Let’s start from the beginning.  Hope Floats is a decent romantic drama.  Its a little bit of soul-searching and a little of just moving on and figuring out what our main character, Birdee is made of after the first half of her life seems to be wasted. Its about finding hope after it feels like everything’s been destroyed from your original beliefs.  But then, isn’t that life? What would be the fun of it if it was all expected, right? I’m not saying divorce and death are anything needed to be part of our life but on a broader spectrum, you can take Hope Floats as a little journey to find out what is important and how to move on and still have hope.  Its a good message, that is what I’m trying to say.

The cast here is lovely.  I think it might even be the whole mesh of the characters portrayed by this outstanding cast that lifts the rather cliche storyline.  Sandra Bullock is lovely as always.  Its actually the few times I’ve seen Harry Connick Jr. and he is quite good as well.  The best scenes are their scenes together where they fully show their amazing chemistry together. There is one dance scene that totally swept me away and his tender eyes and all that makes him such a dreamy male character. I mean, that says a lot since he’s not exactly my type of attractive so its more his charisma that catches me more than his looks.

On another note, its funny how recently for The Duff, I was saying that I hadn’t seen Mae Whitman in anything and one of you told me that she was in Independence Day.  Well, it turns out she’s in Hope Floats playing Sandra Bullock’s daughter, Bernice.  As much as its a romance, this is also a lot about this little girl and her mom’s relationship and just picking up the pieces and facing the wreck of a divorce.  She does a fantastic job especially with the help of the little boy who plays his cousin by Cameron Finley and holding a balance with Gena Rowlands playing Bernice’s grandmother.  There’s no point where I found her annoying as it happens frequently but rather I learned to really feel for her character and want her to see that her mother was working so hard, especially when it was even harder for a young girl to face the reality of the situation as her mother struggled with those same emotions in a different level.

Overall, Hope Floats is a lot of things as I think about it more.  Its about family and love all at the same time.  It was about a mother and daughter relationship, a father and daughter relationship and a guy and a girl relationship.  While Hope Floats might not be anything more than average, its rather decent especially with its great cast that lifts the story to another level so that we can connect with the characters and make us care, especially when the deeper meaning is so significant, reminding us to stay hopeful even in the most dire situations. I really like movies with a good message and this one definitely qualifies as a decent choice.

Have you seen Hope Floats? Are you a fan of Sandra Bullock?

Next selection is a romance in I! Can you guess what it is?

Oscars 2014!

Wow! Two years in a row I watch this! Sometimes, I wonder why I do it since I saw 3 movies that was nominated through all the categories.  Shameful as I’m building a blog that getting more and more focused in that area.  I’m going to try harder this year, thats all I can promise!

Back to the biggest night of Hollywood! My boyfriend was finishing up a movie so I lost a bit of the red carpet action, still, I caught most of the outfits as I did watch the whole Oscars and even used commercial breaks to check out tweets! I have to say that I’m a huge fan of Ellen so I loved her quite a bit! I mean, she crashed Twitter with that crazily retweeted selfie? Did that actually happen? AND she ordered pizza, which was super hilarious! 🙂

Moving along…I did it last year and I’ll do it again!

My favorite dresses at the Oscars last night! (Top 5 because I couldn’t pick 3 *ahem*)

Cate Blanchette

Lupita Nyong’o

Sandra Bullock

Charlize Theron

Emma Watson

Cate Blanchett oozes elegance, at least to me, she’s the symbol of it.  No one quite does it like her! And I’m totally loving the blue shades on Lupita Nyong’o and Sandra Bullock along with the design, simple but so pretty 🙂 Charlize Theron was just stunning (especially when she was presenting next to Chris Hemsworth). And Emma Watson knows how to choose her clothes.  I’d love to mention Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence and Anna Kendrick’s dresses. They were super beautiful too!!

Last year I didn’t do the men but they were so handsome!

Matthew McConaughey

Chris Hemsworth

Will Smith

Bradley Cooper

Matthew McConaughey was totally charming in his suit. Chris Hemsworth was hot in his burgundy.  Will Smith was looking pretty good and Bradley Cooper surprisingly took my breath away in his suit 🙂

The best speeches of the night goes out to these two awesome people!

Matthew McConaughey’s speech was really meaningful and encouraging. He thanked his belief and faith, his family and his future self.  That blew my mind! This man was already awesome in my book and think he just went even higher!

Before Matthew McConaughey got his award, her award seemed like the absolute best.  It was completely heartfelt and so meaningful.  I mean reminding children from everywhere that their dreams are valid (paraphrasing her words, of course), is just beautiful!

Aside from actual on-spot live speeches, I feel the Governor Awards is worth a mention because I was totally happy about Angela Lansbury getting it.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks was so fun! She’s awesome! I was very happy to see this!

Aside from her, we have Angelina Jolie that I have to give a mention because I was never a huge fan of hers but her speech was very touching and she’s done some pretty awesome work.  Impressive, right?

Last thing I’m going to talk about is for the songs.  They were all pretty good performances, no? Frozen totally deserved it and Idina Menzel blew me away as always.  She has a monster voice! BUT, the show was hit off on a very positive note with Pharrell Williams performing Happy and dancing with some of the ladies. This right here:

My girl crush on Amy Adams just grew a little (okay okay, maybe a lot)! 🙂

I’ve held you all up too much now so I’ll stop here!

Did you watch the Oscars? Who was the best dressed? Which speech stole the night? Were there any surprise wins?

The Heat (2013)

So…there should be another review before this one but I’m still pondering how to write up on Mud.  Lets do this one first, ok? I love Sandra Bullock.  I believe I’ve expressed my love for her many times before. Just look up my review on While You Were Sleeping or Gravity. I’m positive that I’ve talked about it.  Now, before Emma Stone and Anne Hathaway, I think my first girl crush was for Sandra Bullock and its been probably the longest.  She’s just awesome! 🙂 Now, The Heat had tons of mixed reviews and I wasn’t sure if I’d like it.  Melissa McCarthy is hit and miss for me.  But still, lets check it out, shall we?

Director: Paul Feig

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Rapaport, Demian Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael McDonald

Uptight FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is sent out to Boston to investigate and shut down a drug lord Larkin.  In Boston, she ends up being paired up with Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) who doesn’t follow the rules. They are absolute opposites and treat all the situations in completely different ways.  However, as the investigation gets deeper and they follow more leads, they realize that they have overcome their differences and become buddies.

I really don’t like doing write ups about comedies, mostly because what I find funny is probably different to what you find funny and even if we did both find this funny or say, This Is The End funny, it doesn’t mean we’ll find this one funny anyways.  You see, subjective? No one can pinpoint exactly what makes the humor.  It could just be that day you enjoyed this sort of humor and another day, its another type.  Anyways, I can talk about the philosophy of humor or whatever in the twisted confusing way on top all day and night but point is, I like this one a lot.  Was it THE BEST comedy I’ve seen? Well, no.  I mean, Paul Feig is the guy who did Bridesmaids also so I was expecting him to one-up that with a lot of awkward situations and yup, it was there.

Melissa McCarthy in this one is definitely better than the weird and kind of funny in the most bizarre sense person in Bridesmaids.  The more I watch Bridesmaids, the more she grows on me and that really helped because she was pretty funny in this one.  Plus, her and Sandra Bullock had a really good connection.  When they were playing off each other, it was downright hilarious.  Its either what I find funny has changed or whatever was going on just really worked to what I liked but it worked.  If there was a second one, I’d go see it just for them.  Melissa McCarthy is really good at entertaining and I look forward to seeing more of her stuff.  Even when she was by herself, she did really good and I also remember having a few WTF laughs.

Now, I have to talk about Sandra Bullock.  Its really weird because I actually think as a group with McCarthy, Sandra Bullock did better than by herself for this one.  I’ve seen her do better comedies, although they were mostly romantic ones.  Still, a good part of her part plays off of McCarthy’s role as Mullins because before Ashburn moves to Boston, she was in New York and super uptight, so that part wasn’t all funny..well, except for that opening scene.  She had her moments too 🙂

The Heat benefited from Sandra Bullock and especially Melissa McCarthy.  The story itself wasn’t anything unpredictable.  Everything happens pretty much as you’d expect it to.  But, what I did like was the refreshing concept of a female buddy cop flick.  We’ve see a ton of guy buddy cop flicks throughout the years.  I was wondering when we’d get this sort of thing going.  I’m happy it wasn’t disappointing.  I didn’t have high expectations for this but it turned out to offer a good amount of laughs and was pretty fun overall to watch 🙂

What did you think of The Heat? Are you fan of Melissa McCarthy and/or Sandra Bullock?

P.S. I’m going to try to maximize on reviewing 2013 releases for the rest of this week (before February hits) along with other regular stuff going up, so it’ll be busier here.  Remember to check back 🙂

Gravity (2013)

YAY! I applaud myself (and my boyfriend) for FINALLY making it to the theatres and getting this review up after so many days. We had to make a choice between Gravity, Ender’s Game and Thor 2.  You already know which one won.  Hopefully, I will still catch the other two, because as much as I love outer space, I have been looking forward to those equally as much (if not more). Lets see what Gravity is all about (although I am slightly late to the party and pretty much everyone else has reviewed it)…

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris

A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.-IMDB

I know I’m being lazy. I’m writing too much, my brain has stopped functioning on the level of writing reviews.  However, that description from IMDB pretty much covers the story of Gravity.  The medical engineer, Dr. Ryan Stone is played by Sandra Bullock and the astronaut, Matthew Kowalski is played by George Clooney.

Lets start by saying that I liked this movie a lot.

I’m sure all of you have heard already how amazing this movie is: visually stunning is one that is agreed by everyone.  There really isn’t anything that quite compares to the grand visuals in Gravity.  It is so captivating. The scene from outer space looking back at Earth, the whole motion, the debris flying.  Everything was out of the world. Just that was worth the ticket price.

Of course, any movie is not just carried by their visuals. I’ve been watching so many thrillers that it seems to be hard to get me engaged as easily.  However, its hard to not be with this one.  For one, its set in one of the most mysterious unknown so everything is really out of their control.  It kept me completely at the edge of my seat because of the intensity for one (if not because I had a dog bumping the back of my seat throughout the movie, thank his genius owners). The whole movie doesn’t really have many relaxing moments.  Its just constantly watching to see what the characters will do next, how they will react, what crazy thing will happen next.  The whole “zero gravity” really gives this movie that intense atmosphere. For those who have seen it, you know that last scene, my eyes were watering up from the overwhelming feeling of not knowing what would happen.

A plus for me has to be that I love Sandra Bullock.  She’s one of my favorite actresses EVER! My boyfriend doesn’t feel the same way about it but this movie changed his mind just a bit.  As usual, Sandra Bullock is awesome and I love her as Dr. Ryan Stone.  She grasps her role very well.  The nerves from being on her first mission, the intense feelings she has churning through her and the whole channeling the meaning of life and simply the importance of surviving: her character actually was quite complex.

I didn’t care too much about George Clooney but he was a character that brought some sort of calmness in the midst of tension and chaos. It was helpful that way.  What works for Gravity is that its not extremely long and it always keeps the action going.  Right when we think things are going to be okay, it comes around and gives you another problem.  The last scene had to be one of the most tense, nerve-racking, heart pounding scenes that I’ve ever experienced in any movie.

Gravity is a movie experience very much worth the time and effort to go check out at the theatres.  Its meant for the big screen and it will be visually stunning and extremely compelling.  Its thrilling and engaging.  I highly recommend it and if you haven’t seen it, then its one I’d say is very much worth your money.  🙂

Have you seen Gravity? Are you into space adventure/thriller movies?

Oscars Night!

With my new Disney addition, Lotso from Toy Story 3 watching Oscars

I made it home in time to watch the whole Oscars night last night.  I even had time to eat dinner and get all comfortable because I knew that it would end at midnight. Whenever I come back from Toronto, there’s always a decent amount of unpacking and I’ll definitely be having another food review and some cool finds that I have.  A little sneak peek would be here as I made some tea, sat down comfortably with one of my new additions and eventually my boyfriend did join me when the actual Oscars started!

I even got to see a bit of the preshow on the red carpet and the dresses and interviews.

I opened it midway right in time to see who was presenting and interviewing everyone.  Of course, I landed right around interviewing Sandra Bullock and she was just so elegant.  After that we have Anne Hathaway.  I don’t know about everyone else and I haven’t read any tabloids but my first impression was that it looked like a pink apron.  Definitely not a good choice in  my opinion but hey, she’s still a beautiful actress and I’m sure there are people who liked her choice.

Speaking of that, my favorite three dresses of the night has to go to these beautiful elegant women in no particular order:

Jennifer Lawrence

Sandra Bullock

Amy Adams

For the record, if you haven’t been following me for too too long, you’d know that I only watched a small portion of the movies that were nominated but I think I follow a whole lot of movie blogs and in turn, it made me make a lot of good guesses.  I figured that Ang Lee would win Best Director and I guessed Anne Hathaway would win Best Supporting Actress (even if I still had a moment that she wouldn’t).  I figured that Daniel Day-Lewis had a really good chance at winning Best Actor but I didn’t know that this time broke the record of the first person to win 3 times best lead actor.  Now that is a huge accomplishment.  As for Best Actress going to Jennifer Lawrence, I really didn’t think she had a shot until I saw the snippets of the movies and thats when I really thought that she did have an equal chance at it.  Of course, her dress was bulky so down she fell as she was overjoyed and attempting to walk up the stairs.  Now Jennifer Lawrence is on the grid officially and I can see her with even more movies in the near future.

The biggest fight this year was probably Best Picture.  The last Oscars I watched was probably at least 7 years ago because I used to watch movies and the Oscars in totality with my dad.  It was something we bonded with.  I always remembered it having only 5 movies in the race but apparently now we’re at 9.  Talk about tough choices, right? I was surprised that Argo won.  I really was.  Lincoln had a lot going for it from what I’ve heard.  Deep down, anyone who knows me would know that I’d want Les Miserables to win but I also knew that the possibility was quite low because its not one that EVERYONE likes, it was more towards a certain group of people who preferred this sort of musical.  Argo won and I’m seriously happy for Ben Affleck among all of them.  He’s proven himself quite worthy in his whole career and he’s grown quite a bit into the director and producer that he is now.  I really look forward to seeing what his next project will be.  Definitely seeing some great things for him if he continues the way he does.

So now that we’ve looked at those big awards, I was super happy when Disney’s Paperman won Best Animated Short.  I had shared that video a few weeks ago on Twitter and it was just such a fun and cute movie.   I put in the video below just in case you didn’t get a chance to see it 🙂 And then, for Best Animated movie was Brave and believe it or not, I saw it! I actually wasn’t sure who would win for that one but I was sure that Pirates wouldn’t win (even if I did enjoy it quite a bit, you can see my review HERE).

Now on a more personal level, sitting down to watch the Oscars means a lot to me.  It included having memories of spending time with my father.  I wrote a deep personal post about moving on in December (you can check it out HERE if you’d like) related to it.  This year, I felt like since my blog was slowly getting in more reviews, it made lots of sense to sit down and watch the Oscars again.  I miss my dad of course and I think doing it made me move on a little bit more but you know, last night would be a night he would enjoy.  We had some James Bond songs and then on top of that, in the memoriam, that part really got me when Barbara Streisand came out and sang one of my dad’s absolute favorite songs.  That was the highlight of my evening. However, I can’t seem to find a video of that so maybe in a few days, we’ll have some better quality ones appearing in Youtube if you didn’t see it.

After seeing all those snippets, I just know that I have so much catching up to do now.  I’ll be working hard on that and hopefully this year, I’ll be a bit more on track with movie viewing, at the minimum try to catch the big ones.  It was a fun night for sure, and I’m definitely going to get more prepped for next year’s awards 🙂

What was your surprise win(s)? How about your favorite outfit? I couldn’t pinpoint my favorite speech, did you have one?