The Help

I realize that it's been almost 2 yrs since my last post, but I've had some major life changes, the best life change - having a little girl, Isabella, so that's the reason I haven't been blogging.

I saw "The Help" just about a month ago and am ashamed to admit that I'm just getting around to reviewing it now. I saw it with a friend of mine - we are both fans of the book and we both loved it. I absolutely, positively LOVED "The Help". I enjoyed the book so much, so naturally that made me a little worried about seeing it on the big screen, but I couldn't have been more pleased. As expected when films are made into motion pictures, things change, details are overlooked, etc...I can honestly say that did not have any effect on this movie. Things that were omitted or downplayed in the movie vs. the book had absolutely no bearing on the film. This movie was so extremely powerful - I laughed, cried, etc...just like I did in the book and that right there is saying something. Emma Stone was amazing. I wasn't sure how the "Super Bad" chick was going to pull off such a serious role, but she made it happen and now that I've seen her in this movie, I can't imagine another Skeeter. Bryce Dallas Howard is the PERFECT villian...you truly love to hate her just as you do in the book. Her performance is flawless and she deserves to win every award available for her portrayal as Hilly. Thankfully I did not live through this time period because I must say that this book/movie made quite an impact on me. This is just not about entertainment, it makes you think, what would you have done? Would you have just stood on the sidelines like everyone else...or would you have been a Skeeter? I highly recommend seeing this movie. Normally everyone would say, "Read the book, it's so much better...yada yada yada" - if you don't have time to read the book - see the movie ASAP...this is one that will stick with me for a long time. Hope you enjoy it as much as I (and Wendy) did!

Fighting

Don't waste two hours of your life watching this movie!

The Last House on the Left (remake)

I thought the idea of this movie was neat - a bunch of thugs that left a girl for dead end up staying the night at her parents house - how ironic! However, all of the horrible acting and graphic violence ruined it. There were quite a few scenes where I actuallly covered my eyes and/or placed my hands over my ears so I wouldn't hear the horrible sound effects. One scene in particular was extremely hard to watch and I couldn't wait until it was over. Well...that's how most of the movie was for me, I couldn't wait for it to be over. Feel free to disagree, let me know your thoughts!

Obsessed

This is one crazy chick!

I just watched this on dvd and must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's kind of a "Fatal Attraction" for the 21st century. One thing I appreciated is that the action begins the moment this movie starts and doesn't let up until the very end! In too many movies, a good 30 minutes or so is "wasted" on inconsequential things, this was certainly not one of them.

From the start, Ali Larter's character develops a deep obsession with a co-worker and you know things are going to get worse. Just watching her desperation made me uncomfortable! Needless to say, that's a sign of good acting! Idris Elba was fantastic as her "prey" and Beyonce Knowles was also a great surprise as his wife.

What was refreshing is that I didn't find this movie very predictable. Of course there are always things that you suspect will happen, but instead of analyzing it, I just went along for the ride! I say give it a chance and let me know what you think!

Rob Zombie's Halloween 2

Here's my take on the re-imagining of Halloween 2...I'll keep it short so I don't ruin it for anyone!

Let me start by saying that I'm thankful this will be the last Halloween movie that Rob Zombie will be "re-imagining"! As a huge fan of the original films (even including Resurrection), I was extremely disappointed. While at first I didn't love Zombie's Halloween 1, I appreciated his vision and the homage he paid to the original movies. I really wanted to like this film - the trailers were fantastic! Unfortunately, this sequel is just all over the place - too much gore, disgusting sound effects, and zero plot! Probably most disappointing is that the classic Halloween theme isn't present until the end credits! I could go on forever about everything that was wrong with this movie, but I won't.

Just about the only thing I did like was that you see how the characters have been affected over the past year. Scout Taylor-Compton did a respectable job portraying Laurie's wavering mental status, Danielle Harris will always be one of my favorites (although to me, she will forever be Jamie - not Annie), and Brad Dourif was fabulous as Sherrif Brackett. Shockingly, Malcolm McDowell was horrible as Dr. Loomis (I was also surprised by the lack of screen time he was given). I'm not sure so much if I didn't enjoy McDowell's performance or just the way the character was written this time around. While I try not to compare Zombie's Halloweens to the classics, I found myself thinking, "Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis never would have said this..." or WWDPD (What Would Donald Pleasence Do)?

Overall, fans of the originals will most likely be disappointed, but if you're just up for a slasher movie - this may be for you.

Let me know your thoughts!

Twilight

Here's the thing about Twilight for me. I was completely unaware of this phenomenon until November of this past year. I decided to see what all the hype was about. Unbeknownst to me that this was geared towards teenagers, I began to read the first book of the "saga" on a Thursday and was finished with it by Saturday. I was hooked. I finished the entire series within 1 1/2 weeks and some of the delay is because I ordered the last two books from Amazon! Feeling a little awkward that I'm 28 years old and completely infatuated with this Twilight World, I decided to hook a few of my girlfriends on these books as well and it worked!

As for the movie...

Robert Pattinson is just the Edward Cullen I imagined when reading the book, so I was extremely happy with his casting. Kristen Stewart on the other hand is just ok. For the life of me, my friends and I can not understand why she gets fabulous reviews for her work. For the most part, the movie tries to stay true to the book, but as with any book that you're passionate about, you notice the subtle details that they could have gotten right if they wanted to. As a fan of the book, I was also a little disappointed that some things I felt were key events, funny, etc... didn't make it into the movie.

I own the movie, have watched it a few times, and even had a "Twilight" viewing party at my house the day that it was released on dvd. I say give it a whirl...at least you'll know what all the fuss is about. I'm curious to hear your thoughts!

The Hangover

I must admit that I was a little nervous that the funniest parts would have been in the previews, but I laughed throughout the entire movie. The premise of the movie alone is pretty funny and how they go about tracing their steps and actually find out what they got themselves into the night before is just ridiculously entertaining! Ed Helms is reason enough to give this a chance. I love his character on "The Office" and he's just as kooky in this role. Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis are quite funny as well. All in all, it was good fun and would recommend it! Let me know your thoughts!