Catching Fire

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ****1/2
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SO SO SO GOOD. I loved the first Hunger Games Film. LOVED it. This movie blows it out of the water. They followed the book almost perfectly. The little clips of Snow and his granddaughter? BRILLIANT. All of the new characters were perfectly cast. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson were even more brilliant than the first film. Except for the one super slobbery kiss in the jungle this movie is just AWESOME. I LOVED it so much I went and saw it a second time just a week later. Best make of a book I've ever seen and absolutely phenomenal movie.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty ****1/2
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This movie is absolutely phenomenal. It is cute, clever, witty, funny, inspirational, and clean. I have a newfound respect for Ben Stiller after seeing this movie and discovering he directed it. The cinematography in this film is perfect and the character development is extraordinary. The film is well paced and filled with action moments and satire yet is an overall inspirational and uplifting film. Can I be as inspired as Walter? It's time to stop dreaming and start living.

World War Z

World War Z ***1/2
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Well if you are looking for a fun zombie movie this summer, this is it. The zombies are super fast, which is insanely creepy when you think about it. If zombies really were fast we wouldn't stand a chance! This movie wasn't scary, it had some make you jump scenes but overall it was just creepy and suspenseful. Kind of like "I Am Legend". It was a very well done movie. Fast paced, well developed characters, good actors, lots of action, but also a real storyline and a purpose. It was very fun. At least I enjoyed it :).
Now I would like to give a little bit of a heads up, Russ just read the book and told me it was phenomenal... And that the movie really was nothing like the book. Haha. SO remember that when you go to see it. It's nothing like the book. But that doesn't mean you won't like it. Go in looking for an exciting zombie movie and I guarantee you'll enjoy it. But it is different from any zombie movie I've seen in the past... So no slow decomposing monsters in this flick!

Star Trek

Star Trek: Into Darkness ****
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This movie was as good as the first one. Which is saying something. I don't do Star Trek. But these newer movies are good movies with a Star Trek theme. They are acted fantastically well, the story lines are a blast, the plot is exciting... Overall the movie was great. I really enjoyed it. Russ loved it, obviously. he was raving about it for days. Me, who doesn't enjoy classic Star Trek, thought it was great as well. It is like a phenomenal action movie made as a tribute to the classic Star Trek films. The bad guy is fantastic, the main characters are fun. Basically I would highly suggest this movie to anyone, not just a trekkie! :)

The Host

The Host ***
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Have you read this book? It is easily one of the longest books I have dragged myself through. It was close to 800 pages long and it was so so so slooooooooow. But I thought it was fascinating that the main character was the alien who is inhabiting a human being. It was a different take on an alien invasion story. I though that the story was fascinating but that the way it was delivered was not that phenomenal. So I pushed my way through this book because it was just interesting enough to make me want to know what happens. I saw the preview for the movie with one of my all time favorites songs blasting in the background and it made me want to see it. I don't know why. i guess I figured the movie couldn't be any worse than the book. If anything it could be way better. Right? Well I would say it was about the same. Interesting story, good cast, kind of slow... But overall, just good enough to keep you watching. Yep. That's it. So the movie was fun, better than the book because it takes 2 hours to get through, not a week! But fairly comparable in every other way.

House at the End of the Street

House at the End of the Street **
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I love scary movies. I don't know why. The thrill, the absolute terror of monsters to affect your dreams at night. I saw this movie and thought "oh fun! A scary movie! AND Jennifer Lawrence. Plus plus." So I saw it on Netflix and thought "well it can't be THAT good or it wouldn't be on Netflix already." But I figured I'd give it a try anyway. I have to say that this movie was incredibly disappointing. It is a super long story about this teenager who is mad at her mom and falls for the creepy kid next door. And that's it. Until the last 20 minutes where it is creepy and you finally find out how messed up the creepy neighbor is... And you go from thinking "maybe he's not THAT bad, maybe his parents were the REAL problem." to realizing, well, the truth. Anyway, I was definitely disappointed by pretty much everything about this movie. It was scary, it was long and dragged out, the girl throws herself on the boy several times... Blegh. Lame, lame, lame! Just disregard this movie! NOT worth your time. AT ALL.

Life of Pi

Life of Pi ***
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This movie won a ton of awards and lots of people loved it. I agree that the imagery, special effects, and filming style were all phenomenal. The tiger was really cool, and the scenes with the flying fish and the whale were insanely cool. Overall the movie had some pretty amazing qualities but the story itself was only okay for me. As far as movies following one person lost at sea or on a deserted island, this is one of the better ones. I thought the main character did a great job. If not the movie would have flopped, even with the beautiful imagery. I thought this movie was very well done, I guess I just missed the point of it.

Jack the Giant Slayer

Jack the Giant Slayer ***
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This movie didn't receive very good reviews on-line, so we went and saw it at the cheap theater for a buck fifty each. But you know what? I liked this movie. I thought it was a lot of fun. The giants were cool, the main character was a cute innocent farm boy - just as Jack should be. I loved how he became a giant slayer. The story is not the classic Jack and the Beanstalk, but at the same time it held true to many of the main points in the story. The beanstalk was pretty cool as well. This huge towering stalk that goes all the way up into the clouds. Miles above the earth. I would say that if you go into this movie expecting a fun, summer flick but nothing more, you will enjoy it a lot. There is nothing really fantastic or awful about this movie. It's just some good, clean fun.

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 ****1/2
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"I loved you in "A Christmas Story" but the way." This movie was awesome. I think it's the best Iron Man movie yet. Robert Downey Jr. Is hilariously sarcastic as per usual, and the story is very exciting and entertaining. I loved how Tony Stark has none of his usual gismos and gadgets for most of the movie. He has to rely on his smarts more than usual. I love the relationship that develops with the little kid. The kid that helps Tony is a smart, funny little guy. I loved that Tony is experiencing PTSD, it just makes sense after such a traumatic, death-defying experience like he had at the end of "The Avenger's". I loved the character development and relationship building events that occur in this story.

Oblivion

Oblivion ***
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The trailers for this movie left a lot to the imagination. The film itself was an interesting concept. It was an intriguing idea and I was surprised several times by the twists and turns they threw in. You knew things were not as they seemed, but the direction they took the story was still unexpected. For me at least. It is a little weird, but I thought it was a fascinating idea. I liked the sacrifice at the end of the film and the dark, creepy scenes are well done. The movie is interesting but a bit unusual.Go in with the right expectations and you might enjoy it! :)

The Croods

The Croods ***1/2
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This movie was very cute and funny. It has a great cast and the story is cute and fun. I loved how the teenage girl is super awesome in some ways but total caveman in others. The ending makes you get a little teary eyed. And it has you laughing throughout. It may not be quite as good as say "How to Train Your Dragon" or "Wreck it Ralph" but it was still pretty good. It is funny, quirky, and cute. Russ' favorite part is the name of the pet. Everyone has names that sound more like a grunt than a name, but then the dog has a totally modern name. Haha. It's a bit silly and cheesy but still a very cute movie. I would definitely check it out!

Jack Reacher

Jack Reacher ***
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Like action movies? This is an action movie and a half. I think it was semi-equivalent to "Taken" in the type of action violence you can expect. I thought the story was interesting and Tom Cruise was good as always. But the movie as a whole was a little too violent for me. It didn't quite do it for me. But if you really love violent, action-adventure movies then you will most likely enjoy this movie. It was fun watching Tom Cruise utterly demolish the bad guys after a nice short warning of "Are you sure you want to do this?" At one point he takes down no less than 6 or 7 guys all at once. They don't even know what hit them. It's pretty awesome, haha.

Madagascar 3

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted ***1/2
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"Chimichanga! These pillows are filled with baby birds!!" HAH. Okay the first Madagascar movie is funny. The second is HILARIOUS. This one was comparable to the first. It is very funny but not absolutely hilarious. It has it's moments for sure. Russ was singing the afro circus song for days after we watched the movie. Haha. The lady that is hunting them down is so extreme it is almost too much, but they keep it just barely in the okay zone, haha. So it is still very funny. It is a little ridiculous, but very entertaining.

The Four Feathers

The Four Feathers ****1/2
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This movie was absolutely fantastic. It's obviously a few years old since Heath Ledger is in it... Never the less it is phenomenal. Heath Ledger's character doesn't want to join the military, but he does because his dad is a military leader and he feels he must. When his legion is sent out to a country to fight, Heath Ledger doesn't feel like it is the right thing to do, so he finally leaves the military. Once he does he is called a coward and is sent a white feather from his fiance and 3 of his friends. A white feather is the symbol of a coward. So the rest of the movie Heath Ledger is simply trying to prove to himself that he is not a coward. He lives through extreme circumstances, he fights through unbeatable odds, and saves his friends lives. It is a fantastic story. Heath Ledger is wonderful in this movie and the story is incredible. This movie was so so so good. You should just go order it right now. It's awesome.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green

The Odd Life of Timothy Green ***
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I didn't know if I would be able to make it through this movie. It is about a couple that is unable to have children. The doctor tells them to give up, it's never going to happen. But, I decided to see it anyway. And I'm glad I did. It was very cute. The little boy was adorable. The story was a bit quirky and weird but it was cute.  It made me a little sad here and there, obviously. It was very close to home for me. But the story was fun. It is a good family film. Cute and different. 

Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower ***1/2
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I read this book and was pretty dang disappointed by the story. It won all kinds of awards and was a best seller, I thought it was be more enjoyable. So why did I see the movie you ask? Because of the cast. I'll be honest. When I saw that Emma Watson and Logan Lerman were going to be main characters I was excited to go see it. I know, weird right? But I was really curious to see Emma Watson in something other than Harry Potter, and I was curious to see how these actors would portray the characters from such a strange book. There was a small amount of inappropriate material in the movie, which was majorly toned down from the amount in the book. The book didn't reflect what high school was like for me so I couldn't relate to it. This movie was a coming of age story. The main character is trying to find who he is while making friends with a confident young girl (Watson) and her gay step brother. One thing I thought was great about the gay character is that he is not defined by his sexuality, it is just a part of his character. If there are to be issues of sexuality in a book or film, this is the way for it to be developed.I felt no emotion while reading the book, except maybe some disgust and discomfort. But the movie had me laughing and crying and feeling a lot of emotions in between. It was very moving and real. I felt that the lead cast did fantastic. They took the book and made it worth watching. I really enjoyed this movie. If you liked the book you should watch the movie. If you didn't read the book but are thinking about it, skip it. Watch the movie. I thought it was great. :)

Secret World of Arrietty

Secret World of Arrietty **1/2
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This is a studio Gibli film based on the book "The Borrowers". I thought it would be good because most studio Gibli films are at least decent, if a little weird. This movie unfortunately was a bit disappointing though. I thought it started out well, but it kind of fell apart about halfway through and the ending was just super lame. I mean ridiculously cheesy and painful. There wasn't anything in the movie that made me love it or hate it. I just felt fairly neutral and semi-disappointed. I just felt unsatisfied when it was over.

Rise of the Guardians

Rise of the Guardians ***
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This movie looked like it could be one of those movies that's meant for kids, but is still really funny for adults, like Wreck-it-Ralph, but unfortunately... It wasn't. It had a few funny moments but overall it was DEFINITELY a children's movie. It was cute, and well done for a children's movie. If we had kids I would have been very satisfied with this movie. But as an adult, I wasn't super impressed. But like I said, there were things that were entertaining, parts that were funny, but overall it was completely geared toward children. So great kids movie, not a great family movie necessarily.

Wreck-it-Ralph

Wreck-it-Ralph ****
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Have you ever wondered what goes on inside of your arcade games when you're not looking? No? Well that's okay, you'll still enjoy this movie. It is ridiculously cute. I thought it was very clever and well made. If you have kids, take them to see this movie. If you're like us and DON'T have kids, still go see this movie. It's hilarious. We loved it from start to finish. It is very cute and clever. I love how Ralph just wants to be accepted for who he is. Even if he's not what everyone wants him to be. It's got a great cast so it's very well developed and delivered. Check it out!

Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies ****
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BUH. Okay, I saw the trailer for this movie and knew that I HAD to see it. The concept was so outlandish, it had to be good. Seriously, a zombie falls in love with a human, what??? So the day it came out we went and saw it, yeah, that never happens for us. Except movies like "Harry Potter" and "the Hunger Games". But we went and saw it right away because well, zombies, hello. Anyway, it was hilarious. The main character was fantabulous, so funny, I loved him. And the chick from "Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "I am Number Four" did great, as usual. The movie was cast well, the script was hilarious... Really, I loved everything about this movie. Except, obviously, the one f-bomb that was completely unnecessary as always. BUT honestly except for that and some other swearing, it was great. So clever, fresh, funny, new, great. I loved it. 2 thumbs up for this one. Go see it ASAP. Fo' shizzle. I just love "R's" (the main character) way of thinking. He is so genuine. And really just a confused teenager trapped in the body of a dead and decaying zombie who finds his heart beating once again when he meets this fab girl. So dang funny...