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Tag Archives: movie reviews

Ghostbusters:a movie review

16 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by laurieanichols in postaday, postaday2016, Uncategorized

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Ghostbusters, movie reviews, postaday2016


I can’t believe there was such an outcry on social media against having an all female team headlining Ghostbusters, they were fantastic as the 2st century warriors of the paranormal. The ladies were so much fun to watch, but Kate McKinnon stole the show, she was hysterical in all of her scenes. However, the three other women weren’t comedic slouches, not by any means. If you loved the original Ghostbusters, you will love this one as well, trust me.

The only critique that my husband had was that the beginning took a bit long to set up, I didn’t agree, I like getting a backstory, no matter how long it takes. Once the characters made their introductions, got connected and their purpose established, hilarity ensued. I have to give a shout out to Chris Helmsworth, he played his part beautifully, I had no idea he could be so funny. I loved the dynamic between the ladies and Chris, it was nice to see the shoe on the other foot for once. He plays eye candy really, really well.

We laughed and laughed, we thoroughly enjoyed all of the cameos done by the originals, not gratuitous in the least, and we are up for another Ghostbusters, the ladies definitely made it worthwhile. 

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials: a movie review

18 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by laurieanichols in postaday, postaday2015, Uncategorized

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Maze Runner Scorch Trials, movie reviews, movies, postaday2015

   
   
Climate change and horrific viruses are very much on the minds of writers and film makers these days. Hopefully the powers that be everywhere in the world will wake up and do something more substantial about it because I am not looking forward to potential future reality as it has been depicted in more and more movies and books.

The sequel didn’t disappoint, I actually screamed at one point, I was caught unawares and I haven’t done that in a very long time. I got tired just trying to keep up with the kids, excellent runners all of them, I left the movie convinced that when the apocalypse hits, I’m a goner because I can’t run, just way too tired, so my only hope is someone carrying me to safety.

We really liked the movie, it did what we require of all of our movies, kept us in suspended belief, disbelief and fantasy, outside of the real world, simply focused on the story for the length of the movie. I do not want to give anything away because it is worth a visit to the movies. I can tell you that while you’re watching, there are societal questions that run through your mind, not just bad guy versus good guy, but more complex than simply black and white. I only read the first book and that was a while ago, what I like about movies when adapted from books is that they reflect the larger and deeper questions fundamental to the success of that particular book.

So if you like the Maze Runner series, go see the sequel I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Edge of Tomorrow: a movie review

07 Saturday Jun 2014

Posted by laurieanichols in postaday, postaday2014, Uncategorized

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Emily Blunt, movie reviews, movies, postaday2014, Tom Cruise

Today the four of us, I really love when we all go to the movies together, went to see The Edge of Tomorrow with Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise. Of course, as always I liked the movie despite what the reviews have been saying in various publications. Actually the four of us liked the movie.

Here is what I got from the movie and I will try not to give away any spoilers. My favorite part was that Emily Blunt was the hero for much of the movie with Tom Cruise playing the less glamorous part of second banana, an unwilling combatant in the midst of huge battle. I was really rooting for Emily Blunt and she was very believable in her role in my opinion. I have to admit that over the years I have grown a little tired of Tom Cruise’s one note saving the day characters and this was a refreshing departure for Tom.

If I could summarize the movie in a phrase it would be a war movie version of Groundhog Day in which one side has the rare opportunity of resetting their day until they get it better.

Tom Cruise played his unwilling and unseasoned combatant part so well that he made quite a few scenes funny and that was very helpful to the overall movie.

I would tell everyone to give the movie a chance, you will be pleasantly surprised.

The Heat : a movie review

02 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by laurieanichols in postaday, postaday2013, Uncategorized

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comedy, movie, movie reviews, postaday2013, Sandra Bullock, The Heat

Oh my goodness, did I laugh and laugh. I laughed so hard at one point that nothing was coming out of my mouth, there was barely any air coming out because my laughter couldn’t stop, the tears were just streaming and my body kept doubling over mindlessly and instinctually. The slapstick and the dialogue or monologue or whatever you want to call what was going on between Melissa McCarthy’s character and Sandra Bullock’s character was some of the funniest and tightest written scenes that I have seen in a long time.

My hubby and I absolutely loved this movie and it was so great to see two women working together, as men are always put into these situations, and doing a bang up job. There wasn’t the stereotypical cattiness shown between women characters, the competitive edge that we see between the two, is your usual turf competition between different branches of law enforcement, it had nothing to do with gender. Moreover, when you see Melissa McCarthy take down a perp. you seriously believe it. Melissa’s character’s name is Shannon Mullins and Sandra’s character’s name is Sarah Ashburn and the two together are the Oscar and Felix of the Odd Couple. Their chemistry as actors and as women is solid gold.

I cannot say enough how great this movie is, there was never at any moment, a lull in the action or the comedy. I really think that we have hit the ultimate with the comedic timing and chops of Melissa McCarthy, she brought nothing but her A game as she does in everything that I have seen her in. Sandra Bullock I just really like a lot as an actress, there is something about her that is very approachable and adorable.

It does one so much good to laugh and laugh.

Oh and another gift from the movie,a song that I cannot get out of my head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmZ08V4GFQg

Hit or miss when picking which movie to see on the big screen

21 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by laurieanichols in postaday, postaday2013, Uncategorized

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big screen, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, movie, movie reviews, postaday2013, small screen

Today my hubby and I watched both Life of Pi and Les Miserables. I had read both books; I read Life of Pi only recently and Les Miserables, I am fairly certain that I had read that one in high school. I was actually happy to have read the books before seeing both movies today, because after this week, I wasn’t up for stress or uncertainty in my movie experience.

Believe it or not, I didn’t miss the big screen while we were watching the Life of Pi, the cinematography was extraordinary to be sure and I think that the movie won an Oscar for it, but I was more than content sitting in my living room with Jack, our little Jack Russell, watching his reaction to the animal scenes. I have to say that even after reading the book, I still jumped from time to time, most of the time during the engagements between Pi and Richard Parker, Jack wasn’t crazy over Richard Parker. He much preferred the Meerkats, probably because he shares so many of their mannerisms. I enjoyed both the book and the movie if only because it made me think a bit more about religion and God, not converting me or anything like that, just generating thought which in and of itself is always a good thing.

What surprised me about Les Miserables is how I regret not seeing the movie on the big screen. I think that I feel this way because I got a strong sense of Paris the city as a strong character itself in the movie alongside Jean Valjean, Fantine and Gervais. I would have loved to see certain scenes in the movie theater such as the opening scene at the harbor with Valjean and his fellow prisoners pulling at the ropes, the scenes at the barricades with the Parisians fighting against the military and even when Gervais throws himself off the bridge, those scenes show Paris as much as it shows the people and seeing it in its magnitude on a huge screen would have intensified the experience. I can only imagine what the Broadway production must have been like, I had never been, but I am sure that it must have been unforgettable.

It is hard sometimes making the right call over whether or not to see a movie in the theater. Living up here in Blandford, it’s an investment in your time, you easily lose an entire afternoon from driving forty five minutes to see the movie, the two hours in the theater and the forty five minutes back home and more time if you stop to eat. So with this in mind, we try to do triage, which movies really merit the trip. We are both science fiction and action fans, so those often go without saying, but when it is a movie of a different genre, it gets a little tricky. Life of Pi was fine at home, Les Miserables, I would have preferred at the movies. You never know.

Oz the Great and Powerful: a movie review

09 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by laurieanichols in postaday, postaday2013, Uncategorized

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color, movie, movie reviews, postaday2013, scenery

We went to see the movie Oz the Great and Powerful. We both felt that it did the Disney brand justice and we both enjoyed it. As I have warned all of you, I am not a good movie reviewer simply because I like all movies and as you have guessed I liked most everything about Oz. But what really stood out for me was something entirely different this time around.

What really appealed to me, as I was watching the entire movie, was the scenery and the background of the surrounding landscape no matter where we were in the movie. Kansas or what we came to think of Kansas was a totally entire entity that had its own character whereas the land of Oz announced itself in such a vibrant manner. The land of Oz dizzied the senses especially visually; the colors so bright, so strongly painted on Oz’s canvas, so real. The flowers were jumping out, big and majestic, characters themselves in the land of Oz. The rivers and the waterfalls had the same power, a force of life that went beyond anything that we had seen previously in Kansas.

That was my strongest impression, the land of Oz; a perfect setting for everyone’s story and Kansas, everyone’s common reality. Whoever came up with the storyboards and put this in motion should be remembered at Oscar time.

It’s a Good Day to Die Hard: a movie review

16 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by laurieanichols in postaday, postaday2013, Uncategorized

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action movie, Bruce Willis, movie reviews, postady2013

Today my hubby and I went to go see Bruce Willis, in his best known character role of his career, at the movies. The media is making a big deal that it has been twenty-five years since the first Die Hard and I would appreciate it if they would stop speaking of it. I don’t need to remember that it has already been a quarter of a century since I first saw Bruce Willis as John McClain. My hubby and I really enjoyed the movie, as you may suspect, it had all of the necessary ingredients to keep us riveted to the screen; the wry sense of humor, car chases, explosions, high action impact, more wry humor and the requisite yippee Kai yay m.f. as only John McClain aka Bruce Willis can utter. The actor who played his son “Jack” John Jr. did a very good job with his role being the angry young adult son of a father who worked more than he parented. He was very believable, he was also extremely believable as an action hero. I told my hubby that when the young McClain walked, you really got that he was a man of action just by his walk. My hubby said “yes, just like I walk, like a superhero” I said “exactly, my husband” The young man walked with true purpose and focus, you believed that he was going to get the job done.

We also went to Arby’s beforehand for lunch and I did my arteries a big disservice. I ate a small roast beef sandwich, a large order of curly fries and a 30 oz chocolate shake. Hopefully all the oatmeal that I eat during the week will help flush all of the saturated fats and gunk out of my arteries and if not then the miles that I walk will hopefully force flush all the bad stuff out. I won’t worry about it, it tasted really good going down and since I don’t eat like this everyday, an indulgence every now and again isn’t the end of the world.

Today was a very fine day, a movie and Arby’s with my hubby, just the two of us.

Lawless; a movie review

08 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by laurieanichols in postaday, postaday2012

≈ 2 Comments

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gangsters, movie reviews, movies, postaday2012, prohibition

I neglected to mention that my hubby and I, last weekend, went to go see Lawless, starring Shia leboeuf, Tom Brady and Jessica Chastain. I wanted to see it for research purposes for my novel because the last part takes place during prohibition and the movie was based on a true story. The twenties as an era were very different in the States than they were in France and it always helps to get a visual feel of the trials and tribulations my character might encounter.

We both liked the movie, surprised? You shouldn’t be, we always like our movies, we are willing participants in the director’s flight of fancy. The movie, set in the 1920’s, revolves around three brothers, who believe that they are somehow indestructible, after a few brushes with the law you tend to believe their little myth as well. The conflict of course rests between the law and the bootleggers, the three brothers aren’t the only bootleggers in town. But they are the only ones who won’t pay off the law men to look the other way. Therein lies the conflict. I won’t say more but there is suspense, a sweet little love story and characters to love as well as characters to hate.

There was some mighty fine acting, Guy Pierce was fantastic, I despised his character so completely that I was surprised that only a few movies ago I was loving Guy Pierce as the hero in the futuristic sci-fi movie, I can’t remember the name of it but it was a good one. Tom Brady continues to impress me with his acting, in this movie he was a man of few words, a criminal but only in the sense that he was selling alcohol, he wasn’t part of the mob, he didn’t believe in shaking anyone down, he treated those near and dear to him with respect and kindness. His character is a gentle giant complete with a cuddly cardigan with pockets. That is the visual that I will leave you with.

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