Minions (2015)

Minions

Minions (2015)

Director:

Kyle Balda & Pierre Coffin

Starring:

Sandra Bullock

Jon Hamm

Michael Keaton

Plot:

Minions Stuart, Kevin and Bob are recruited by Scarlet Overkill, a super-villain who, alongside her inventor husband Herb, hatches a plot to take over the world.

Review:

Best part of this movie was the music.

So, for the life of me, I tried to watch this movie but it just didn’t hold my attention. Thankfully, my daughter at least enjoyed it and she watched the entire thing, which is crazy.

I really like the Despicable Me movies, but I’ve never been Minion obsessed. Though, I do have a Minion pencil box, but that’s beside the point. There was really no need for a full length movie about them. I mean, they don’t even speak in an understandable language. It’s like French and gibberish and they’re such a continuous stream of stupid.

Oh well, this will not be added to my library and hopefully I’ll never have to try and watch it again.

2.5/5

Austenland (Austenland #1) By: Shannon Hale

Austenland

Austenland (Austenland #1) By: Shannon Hale

Plot:

Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined. Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen—or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It’s all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

Review:

I really liked this movie and I enjoy reading books movies are based on, so reading this was a no brainer.

Anyway, there were parts of the book I enjoyed more than the movie and there were parts of the movie that I enjoyed more. The book added more character information and you got to see what Jane was thinking better than the book. She also didn’t come off as a Pride and Prejudice obsessed loser like in the movie. I thought the ending was much better in the book as well.

Movie wise I thought the pacing was better. Parts of the book kind of dragged and I could easily see the boredom Jane was experiencing.

I can completely understand her infatuation with Pride and Prejudice and all things Austen. I haven’t read all of Austen’s work, but easily one of my favorite books is P&P. The Colin Firth movie has also imprinted on my mind, but I just can’t see myself going native like Jane does. Of course I haven’t had the horrible relationships that she has.

If you liked the movie or Jane Austen I would definitely recommend this book.

4/5

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Starring:

Tom Hanks

Mark Rylance

Alan Alda

Plot:

During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

Review:

Love me some Tom Hanks, he’s so phenomenal, probably my favorite actor of all time.

Didn’t expect to get so angry while watching this, I ended up getting so frustrated and eventually depressed that nothing ever seems to change.

Still, I liked the movie a lot. It was about a time period I’m interested in and talked about something I wasn’t familiar with. There were a few parts where I feel that Spielberg went over the top, the end with the boys climbing over the fence was too much and didn’t need to be there.

Looking at the Oscars this movie has been nominated for I’m kind of surprised. There was so much silence in the movie I’m not sure why it’s being considered for Best Original Score or Sound Mixing. Honestly the only Oscar nomination I agree with is the Best Supporting Actor, but I’d have to see who he’s up against. Of course, I don’t watch the Oscars, they never seem to nominate anything I like or go to the “right” winner, it seems like a lot of politics involved.

Anyway, really liked it, loved Hanks, world please learn from our history.

4.5/5

Neanderthal Seeks Human (Knitting in the City #1) By: Penny Reid

Neanderthal Seeks Human

Neanderthal Seeks Human (Knitting in the City #1) By: Penny Reid

Plot:

This is a full-length, 110k word novel and is the first book in the Knitting in the City series. There are three things you need to know about Janie Morris: 1) She is incapable of engaging in a conversation without volunteering TMTI (Too Much Trivial Information), especially when she is unnerved, 2) No one unnerves her more than Quinn Sullivan, and 3) She doesn’t know how to knit. After losing her boyfriend, apartment, and job in the same day, Janie Morris can’t help wondering what new torment fate has in store. To her utter mortification, Quinn Sullivan- aka Sir McHotpants- witnesses it all then keeps turning up like a pair of shoes you lust after but can’t afford. The last thing she expects is for Quinn- the focus of her slightly, albeit harmless, stalkerish tendencies- to make her an offer she can’t refuse.

Review:

Janie is a bit weird, but Quinn is a bit secretive, so a match made in heaven. In the book Janie thinks she’s the Neanderthal, she seems to think that she’s not attractive, even though she’s gorgeous, and he’s evidently physically perfect. She has a hard time believing someone like him would be into her.

I’m not overly fond of characters that are supposed to be beautiful, but don’t know it. I’ve yet to meet anyone that is beautiful and doesn’t know it. Most people know their level of attractiveness.

Quinn is clearly the Neanderthal by most people’s definition. He’s a bit overbearing, always ordering for Janie at restaurants, putting security on her without her permission, and making her use a cell phone. Janie just takes it and fights the most against a cell phone. Normally her submissiveness would bother me, but it didn’t in this book because it didn’t come off as submissive. It was more she was lost in her thoughts and let him do that because she didn’t care.

There were so many hints that Quinn was more than what Janie thought he was, but she just never connected the dots. I didn’t have any problem forgiving him for not forcing the issue because it was so clear. I’m not a fan of that in most books, but again there were just so many hints it was crazy she didn’t figure it out on her own.

I liked the book, even though it had things I don’t normally enjoy. The way it was written avoided what I dislike most out of those situations. Definitely going to read more.

4/5

Vacation (2015)

Vacation

Vacation (2015)

Director:

John Francis Daley & Jonathan M. Goldstein

Starring:

Ed Helms

Christina Applegate

Skyler Gisondo

Plot:

Rusty Griswold takes his own family on a road trip to “Walley World” in order to spice things up with his wife and reconnect with his sons.

Review:

I watched the original National Lampoons Vacation years ago in high school and really just remember not liking it. Too many awkward situations I think, but not totally sure why I didn’t like it.

This movie certainly stood on its own and I liked it a lot better. There were of course awkward moments but they were so funny it didn’t bother me.

I liked the dynamic between Helms and Applegate and thought their characters were much more relatable than the original version of the movie. The kids were good, though I thought the youngest was channeling the kids from Talladega Knights a bit too strongly. James Griswold, Skyler Gisondo, was ridiculously cute and I thought his character was adorable.

Overall, I liked the movie. It was funny and off the wall but not outright stupid. Would watch another in the series.

4/5