Review

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Director:

Phil Johnston

Rich Moore

Starring:

John C. Reilly

Sarah Silverman

Gal Gadot

Plot:

Six years after the events of “Wreck-It Ralph,” Ralph and Vanellope, now friends, discover a wi-fi router in their arcade, leading them into a new adventure.

Review:

Ralph and Vanellope have developed an unhealthy codependency issue. Vanellope is trying to fix things, but Ralph isn’t making it easy for her and she doesn’t want to hurt his feelings, then the Internet is introduced to their world and things blow up.

Ralph Breaks the Internet was more entertaining than the first movie and I ended up really enjoying it. All the little jokes and digs at the internet were funny but easily my favorite part were the Disney Princesses. OMG we need a show with them or a movie or webisodes. Something because it was so much fun seeing them and how they interacted.

 Ralph and Vanellope end up figuring things out and their relationship was saved. There were some tense moments but nothing on the level of Toy Story 3 so I don’t think little ones would have an issue here. Both of my kids seemed to enjoy it, though, my daughter stopped caring once the Princesses were gone.

It’s a fun movie, though, very dated because of all the internet references. Who knows how fun it will be in the future?

4/5

Instant Family (2018)

Instant Family

Instant Family (2018)

Director:

Sean Anders

Starring:

Mark Wahlberg

Rose Byrne

Isabela Moner

Plot:

A couple find themselves in over their heads when they foster three children.

Review:

Marky Mark and Rose Byrne decide that their life needs to get complicated, though, they don’t think of it that way. They’ve got a successful business, a gorgeous house, and their relationship is in a good place. Because of their age, though, they’re hesitant to add a baby and think why not foster kids. Laughter and feels ensue.

Instant Family was cute, I laughed a surprising amount, and tears were shed.

Watching as the couple rose to the challenge they’d accepted was heartwarming, though, at times a bit over the top, but that’s to be expected. I liked that it shined the light on something so important, but I feel like they could have included more on that side of things. Of course, then it would have been a lot less funny.

3/5

 

A Star is Born (2018)

a-star-is-born-2018

A Star is Born (2018)

Director:

Bradley Cooper

Starring:

Bradley Cooper

Lady Gaga

Sam Elliot

Plot:

A musician helps a young singer find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

Review:

Yeah…this movie wasn’t for me. I liked the music, for the most part, but just could not get invested in the characters and as soon as I figured out what was going to happen to Bradley Cooper’s character I checked out.

Lady Gaga is a normal person, with a normal job, that happens to sing at a small drag club once a week. Bradley Cooper is a country western star with a hearing problem and a serious alcoholic. Drunk and wanting more Cooper shows up at the bar Lady Gaga performs at and decides she’s got talent.

Next thing you know she’s a star, they’re getting married, and he’s getting worse. Dude needed some serious therapy, eventually gets some but recovers just enough to take his own life.

Definitely not a happy ending and I’m not sure what the message here was either. I think I would have liked it better if it had just focused on one of them, instead of both. Just wasn’t my cup of tea.

2/5

Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians Book

Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians #1) By: Kevin Kwan

Plot:

Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season.
When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn’t know is that Nick’s family home happens to look like a palace, that she’ll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia’s most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back. Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick’s formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should–and should not–marry. Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider’s look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.

Review:

I watched the movie before reading the book, so I was expecting the movie only a bit more. The movie, in my opinion, is a romance but it’s also about an American Chinese woman returning to her roots. I didn’t get that from the book.

Crazy Rich Asians the book was much more fragmented than the movie. You saw into the lives of a lot more characters and if possible you saw a lot more wealth. There were numbers constantly being thrown at you, the price of clothing and real estate, the wealth of someone, both current and projected. It was a lot.

There was more insight into the culture of the people and area, but not so much Rachel returning to her roots. It was more these wealthy people do this thing and if you don’t meet this criteria then they will ignore you or treat you this way. Or this person is doing this thing so that the outside world thinks this about them. It was interesting, but also hard to take seriously because everything revolved around money and wealth and appearances to an insane and calculated degree.

Everyone was a lot less empathetic. Nick, who already seemed so delusional when it comes to his family, was even more so. Rachel was a lot more emotional and weak. My favorite scene in the movie wasn’t in the book at all. The entire ending of the book was quite a bit different from the movie and I feel like the movie made it much more approachable for my American sensibilities.

Honestly, I wasn’t a fan of the book, which really disappointed me. I don’t plan on reading the further books, but I’ll watch any further movies. Crazy Rich Asians, the book, was really light on the romance and discovery of self that I loved about the movie.

2/5

While the Duke Was Sleeping

While the Duke Was Sleeping

While the Duke Was Sleeping (The Rogue Files#1) By: Sophie Jordan

Plot:

Sometimes the man of your dreams . . .

Shop girl Poppy Fairchurch knows it’s pointless fantasizing about the Duke of Autenberry. Still, dreams can’t hurt anyone . . . unlike the carriage Poppy spies bearing down upon the unsuspecting duke. After she pulls him to safety, the duke lapses into a coma and Poppy is mistaken for his fiancée. But one person isn’t fooled: his arrogant and much too handsome half-brother, Struan Mackenzie. Soon Poppy isn’t sure what she wants more . . . the fantasy of her duke or the reality of one smoldering Scot who challenges her at every turn.

. . . is not who you think.

An illegitimate second son, Struan may have built an empire and established himself as one of the wealthiest men in Britain, but he knows he will always be an outsider among the ton. Just like he knows the infuriating Poppy is a liar. There’s no way the haughty Duke of Autenberry would deign to wed a working class girl. It doesn’t matter how charming she is. Or tempting. Or how much Struan wants her for himself.

Review:

I’ve never really had a desire to read While You Were Sleeping fanfic and in fact didn’t really want to read this book, but I was interested in the sequel, and I’m weird and like to read series in order. So I read this book and it was exactly what I was expecting. It was basically a novelization of While You Were Sleeping with a few changes and the period twist.

It was a fine book. I liked the character of Poppy and I always love a Scottish hero. I wasn’t a fan of her sister or the Duke, but then I don’t believe I was supposed to be. The other characters were mildly interesting but didn’t put forth enough presence to make me care about them.

I’m not sure what year this was supposed to take place. If it was Regency then there were several inaccuracies. There were horses and buggies, though, so I’m not sure. It’s a romance, so historical accuracy is not necessarily necessary, but it’s something that I appreciate an attempt to be made.

Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m going to continue with the series. I didn’t hate While the Duke Was Sleeping, but it didn’t really spurn me on too experience more in this world.

3/5