Bring On The Shows!

2016-01-13T12:49:00.000-08:00

New favorite show on MTV: The Shannara Chronicles -- based on the best selling books by Terry Brooks.

I've never read them, but I heard that they've been around for a while. And now I know about them, I might be keen to reading more because reading is fundamental.

Here's the synopsis. If you want to skip, scroll down a few paragraphs...or lots of paragraphs.

The story takes places in a post-apocalyptic future where different races emerge (Elves, Trolls/Gnomes, Dwarves, Men), each race occupying one of the four compass points called the Four Lands. It's about a magical tree called the Ellcrys that is slowly dying in the Elven land of Arborlon. Thousands of years ago, when the Four Lands were filled with demons, the Elven elders used magic to cast the demons to a realm called the Forbidding. The Ellcrys basically keeps the demons in check. But because it's dying, each leaf that falls from its branches becomes a demon, unleashing them one by one back into the world.

The lucky seven Elves who win the gauntlet race to become one of the Chosen, gets the privilege of guarding the tree for a year, thus continuing to ensure the safety of the Four Lands. The Elven-king's young granddaughter, Amberle, runs the gauntlet and succeeds. She's the first female Elf to do this in over a millennium and is a princess no less!

Because magic and the Druids slowly faded away into stories you told your children at night, the Elves now think: "Guard an old tree? Water it and sing to it? No problem!" The Elven-king's son who doesn't believe in magic either also thinks: "Cool story, bro. Now go and make me a sandwich."

When Amberle touches the tree, she gets bombarded with a vision of everything destroyed, people dead and demons feeding on their bodies. Gross. She tells no one of the disturbing images, probably thinking she shouldn't have ate those mushrooms before the ceremony.

The Druid Allanon wakes up from his thirty year hibernation when his magic senses something is wrong with the Ellcrys. At this time, the demon Dagda Mor is also released from the Forbidding. He's a powerful and evil Druid that was banished with the rest of the demons. If you've seen The Lord of the Rings, he looks like an uglier cousin of the Orcs. When the first leaf from the tree fell, he was able to return, but in a weakened state. He's waiting for the Ellcrys to completely die so he can regain his full strength and basically take over the world. #evildemongoals

Dagda Mor sends a Changeling into the Elven places to spy on them and to kill the Chosen. Amberle's visions freak her out, so she abandons her duties and leaves Arborlon, thinking all the terrible things happening is her fault. Because she wasn't in the palace when the massacre of the Chosen happened, she is the last surviving guardian of the tree. And as such, it's her destiny to save the Ellcrys by taking its seed to Safehold and putting it in the Bloodfire so that the tree can be reborn and hold the demons once again in the Forbidding.

Besides the aid of the Druid Allanon, Wil Ohmsford, who is half-Elf, is assigned to protect Amberle, and joins her on her journey to Safehold. He is a part of the Shannara bloodline, basically heroes with magic in their veins. And, of course, along the way they run into all sorts of trouble besides the demons.

The first time I saw the previews for this show was in the theaters and thought it was a movie due to come out in 2016. To my surprise, it was a new series on MTV. Last I heard they're supposed to be a "music television" channel. They've really moved more toward a variety of shows than music over the last decade or so but hey, I ain't mad at 'cha.

New Zealand brings so many great landscape visuals to this show and I love the fantasy elements of it. I was super happy to find out that there are ELVES in it! *squeals like a freshman girl being asked to the senior prom*

I've had a fascination with Elves, ever since I watched The Lord of the Rings so many moons ago. The Elves, their origin and the language that J.R.R. Tolkien created is so cool and creative. However, these Elves aren't like them. They act more human and are not immortal, and the male Elves don't have long, beautiful locks like in LotR that makes Beyonce's blow out jealous.

One of the coolest things on the show that I noticed in the beginning is the structure lying in ruins that happens to be the Seattle Space Needle. Also in above poster. Residing in the Emerald City (don't stalk me), of course, I noticed this. Seeeaaaa-haaaawks!!!

The landscape is great, the visual effects are awesome, the acting is believable and most importantly, I like the story line. There's magic, humor, action, killing, sword fights, demons, horse riding, horses running away, horses returning, knives to the throat, rivers, hills, lots of walking, lots of running, lots of peril, lots of enemies, lots of everything!

If you like fantasy elements with all these things in it, tune in to MTV on Tuesdays @ 10 p.m. PST to catch the show. You won't be disappointed. If you are...well. That sounds like a personal problem.

There, MTV. I did a plug for you. You're welcome.

Mic drop.

2016-01-13T08:45:00.000-08:00

I originally intended for this blog to be about movies I've watched and my thoughts on them, but I also have a bunch of television shows that I enjoy watching and have recently tuned into to see if they're interesting enough to add to my watch list. And so, I'll be adding my thoughts on a few on here once in a while (if I manage to keep this thing updated!). Be on the lookout for it!

One new show I watched yesterday was the new Shadowhunter series based on the best selling books by Cassandra Clare. I'm a BIG fan of the books -- but thought the Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie was crap. Like the kind of crap you step into while walking on wet grass thinking you just stepped on mud kind of crap. The acting was horrible and the story line could have been presented better.

It just seemed like a typical movie that didn't do the book version justice. I know many Harry Potter fans felt this way when the Sorcerer's Stone first came out. They were disappointed that many things that made the book great were left out or changed. I, for one, never read the book series (gasp!) so I can't really do any comparisons. I enjoyed all the movies with no knowledge of all the other stuff left out. And maybe if you're someone who's never read the Shadowhunter series and only saw the movie, you'd think it deserved to win an MTV Movie Award.

Or not.

Shadowhunters are a race of humans with angelic blood, known as the Nephilim. The first Shadowhunter was created by the angel Raziel, having Jonathan Shadowhunter drink his blood from a cup, now known as the Mortal Cup. It's said that whoever drinks from the cup will turn into a Shadowhunter.

The Nephilim live in secret, often using glamours to hide themselves and their world from humans they call mundanes. Shadowhunters were created to protect the human world from the demon world. They also monitor Down World and the Downworlders (vampires, warlocks, faeries, werewolves) to make sure they are obeying the Clave Law set by their institution. They also use different runes on their bodies to help with healing, unlocking stubborn doors, quiet footstep when you're sneaking out past curfew, and other things that help them do cool warrior things.

Their weapons are made of adamas, forged by the Iron Sisters in the Iron Citadel in Idris (not relation to Idris Elba), home country of the Nephilim in Central Europe, which is also glamoured from mundanes. Their capital is Alicante. The adamas is a clear-like, translucent metal that only the Sisters can forge. To activate it, the Shadowhunter says the angel's name that they've name the weapon after. It glows white and cuts through demons like butter. And the adamas is specifically for killing demons.

Only the mundanes with the Sight can see past their glamours as well, most of them servants in the different Shadowhunter Institutes all around the world. When Jace Wayland first meets Clary Fray, he thought she had the Sight because she could see them, not knowing her mother was a Shadowhunter.

Clary Fray's father, Valentine Morgenstern, was a great Shadowhunter until he got the not so good idea of killing off all the Downworlders and using the Mortal Cup to create new Shadowhunters. He gathered his gang known as the Circle to get his plans underway, because he thought it was a good idea. But her mother, Jocelyn Fairchild, finally saw the horrors of her father's experiments and how ludicrous he was becoming. She ran away with the Mortal Cup and from her crazy husband, hiding Clary from him for eighteen years after she found out she was pregnant with her.

Valentine also disappeared during this time, resurfacing again when he discovered the location of his wife and the daughter he didn't know he had. Therapy probably didn't help because he still had the Mortal Cup on the brain, and wanted it back from Jocelyn. He sent his Circle thugs to retrieve it for him, but Jocelyn took a potion that knocked her out cold so he couldn't find out where she hid it.

Jace takes Clary to the Shadowhunter New York Institute where he thinks she'll be safe. The Institutes are built on sacred ground so no Downworlder can trespass. Clary is freaking out because she doesn't understand what happened to her mother and what he and his Shadowhunter friends are. She eventually finds out that her mother had the High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane, cast a spell to block her memory of the Shadow World because she wanted her daughter to have a "normal" mundane life. And because her father is craaaaazy.

And that's basically the first part of the series of the Mortal Instruments. The Shadowhunters try to find the cup, stop Valentine and rescue Clary's mother. #squadgoals

And now, about the show on Freeform fka ABC Family. I was apprehensive to watch it because again, when books come alive, they're not always portrayed the way we have them envisioned in our minds. Some books are better left off-screen for us to indulge in how we imagine how a character looks, sounds, if those six-pack abs are really only four, what shampoo they use to get that soft, silky shine to their hair, and so on.

Because of the movie and the English accents (British accents, not 'Murican) of the Shadowhunters, I kind of presumed the tv series characters would as well. But, nope. They sound 'Murican. I guess it makes sense since they live in the New York Institute -- but, like I said, Idris is located in Central Europe. So, you'd think they would have English accents. Although Shadowhunters can grow up anywhere around the world.

Anyway, back to the characters. Okay, so they don't have the accents. Understandable. NBD. But the actors who actually play the Shadowhunters I'm not so convinced about, especially the actor who plays Jace Wayland. In the books, he's described as being more slim and muscular and his blonde hair longer. I just can't picture this guy as Jace. Jamie Campbell Bower who played Jace Wayland in the movie looked the part a lot more. Go look him up. Or refer to poster above.

Oh, and the guy who plays Luke Garroway (former Nephilim turned Werewolf) on the tv show is African-American. Not that I have a problem with the ethnicity of the character, it's just something to get used to because I didn't expect it. And frankly because it's the guy in the Old Spice commercials. I don't know if I can take him seriously as a cop on the show without imagining him taking off his shirt and riding on a white stallion in the middle of New York City chasing down some bad guy. But hey, that's just me.

I wasn't like, "Wow! This is a pretty cool show!" It was more like, "Ehh, okay. I guess it's made for tv." I'll give it a couple of more views and see if I actually stay interested enough to keep watching it. Otherwise, it will say hello to the delete button and will no longer be recorded. Bye, Felicia.

Happy New Year!

2016-01-13T07:37:00.000-08:00

It's been another hot minute since I last updated this blog. My bad. I wish I could go back and list all the movies I've seen since my last post, but that could take weeks, even centuries to do. Here's a quick rundown of what you missed:

+ Star Wars: The Force Awakens (twice, of course)
+ Spectre
+ The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
+ Attack on Titan - Part One (didn't have time to watch Part Two)
+ Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
+ The Gift
+ Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' (don't judge me)
+ Mission Impossible - Rough Nation (my favorite MI movie so far)
+ Ant-Man
+ Self/less
+ Magic Mike XXL (holla!)
+ Inside Out
+ Spy
+ Jurassic World

Just to name a few.

2015-05-28T11:30:00.001-07:00

I wanted to post the other movies I've watched over the last few months in chronological order before I posted this one, but...oh, well. (Told you I was still on my movie game!)

Tomorrowland was an interesting movie that I saw a couple of days ago. There's mix reviews among my friends who saw it, but I liked it.

It was the concept I liked and what our future could be if the dreamers and the optimistic never gave up on what they believed in. It sends a good message and makes you realize all the natural disasters in the world would most likely continue to increase if we don't take care of Mother Earth better. She's currently the only planet we have.

And also because I don't think the Na'vi would appreciate us taking over Pandora. I mean, looked at what happened to the people mining for unobtanium because earth had depleted its natural resources. However, it would be cool having an Avatar body. The downside is that I'm a city girl. Don't know how well I'd do out in the wilderness with animals and plants alike trying to kill me.

So, no thank you.

It would be great if we could live in a better world where everyone had a purpose and there was no famine, violence or homelessness (or any of that other oppressing stuff). That's why we need more dreamers. We, as humans, have come a long way with technology. And I know we still have a long way to go.

The cool gadgetry people come up with are evident in movies like this and many others (even though they might never or don't exist yet), and it just goes to show that creation is limitless when it comes to the imagination.

I'd rather see a future more like Tomorrowland than Mad Max: Fury Road, which I actually watched in the theaters before this one. But, that movie review is for another day...

PS: I got a cool Tomorrowland pin like the one in the movie. But I think mine's broken. It led me nowhere. Piece of crap...

2015-05-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

Focus was actually a cool movie that I saw in March. I haven't seen Will Smith in a movie where he played a more serious character like in Bad Boys or After Earth.

His character, Nicky Spurgeon, is an expert con-artist who works with a group of people in the con-game industry. They do a con together, split up the goods, then go on their merry, separate ways. He meets Jess Barrett (Margo Robbie) who actually tries to con him, not knowing he was onto her the entire time. Basically, she got schooled.

Eventually Jess joins Nicky's group of con-artists. But because he didn't want to admit that he was falling for her, he puts on his macho facade and let's her go, giving her the excuse that it's only about the con after one of their biggest plays. And, of course, she's left devastated in the back seat of a Lincoln town car with thousands of dollars in her hands while she cries her eyes out. Life is so hard.

Fast forward a few years later, they end up running into each other still doing their own separate cons. Because Nicky knows he screwed up, he tries to win her back from her supposed rich, race car owner boyfriend. But, what Nicky doesn't know is that she's also playing him for a fool because payback's a bitch.

The movie is full of clever little tricks on basically how to steal from people and how to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, while trying to steal from both. There's also other surprises the movie brings that you never expected.

One thing the movie taught me was to keep an eye on my stuff at all times, especially in crowded tourist trap areas like New Orleans. And don't wear any flashy jewelry that you don't want stolen. Unless they're fake. Then you can always just buy new ones.

2015-05-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

Now, you know I have to talk about this movie (as I say this with a mischievous grin).

Yes, I've read the trilogy by E.L. James - long before I even knew the first book was going to be made into a movie - and was very excited when the first installment finally came to theaters.

While I loved the books (you can tell my copies have been read once or twice...or more), the movie didn't live up to 100% of my expectations. I understand you can't turn an erotic novel like Fifty Shades of Grey into an exact replica on screen. If that were possible, it would have an NC-17 rating and the sex part is not entirely what the story is about. Like in all relationships, they have their personal ups and downs.

People who haven't read the books think it's just a BDSM movie without real depth behind it. Although the first installment does give you a glimpse of that world, the relationship between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in their dom/sub roles become more than that. Mr. Grey (as everyone calls him) had a pretty messed up childhood before he was adopted at a young age by good, respectable people.

As the story progresses (the books, not this movie), we see more of how his past has shaped him into the successful, private, control freak that he is now. He tells Ana, "I'm fifty shades of fucked up." And...the guy kind of is.

Because Ana is so innocent and naive, she kind of blindsides Grey because he hasn't been with anyone like her, nor her him. Sometimes I find Ana too naive for her own good and she kind of makes you want to pull your hair out. Or choke her. Or slap her around a bit.

When I caught wind that the first book was going to be turned into a movie, different actors came to mind on who should play Christian Grey. Personally, I voted for Henry Cavill (Superman) but I guess no one got that memo. Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) was originally set to play the character but he dropped out and I'm glad he did. While I liked the movie Pacific Rim that he starred in, I can't imagine him as Christian Grey. At all.

Besides, Henry Cavill or even Matt Bomer (Magic Mike), Jamie Dornan (Once Upon a Time) looked more like Christian Grey with the copper colored hair and gray eyes. And of course, a male-godlike physique. However, because I know Jamie Dornan is an Irish actor, he couldn't completely hide his Northern Irish accent from me. Maybe to those who's never heard him speak normally in some of the shows/movies he's been in, you can't tell. But I have and I can.

Let's move on to Anastasia Steele's character for a second, played by Dakota Johnson. I haven't seen her in many movies (and because she's never really had any big roles), I was surprised and confused that she was chosen to play this character. There were other, more promising Ana Steele lookalikes that I thought could portray her better in appearance. But, I suppose it also depended on which actress the studio could convince to do a movie like this where you're fully naked in some scenes.

If Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele's characters were to jump out of the book, Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson wouldn't be the people I would have in mind as far as what their characters could look like in the real world. Plus Jamie and Dakota seems like an odd pairing for this type of story to be told onscreen.

They also lacked onscreen chemistry. It was hard to believe that a wealthy and handsome CEO of his own company like Christian Grey would fall for someone like Anastasia Steele, who was still studying for her college finals when they first met. I may have gotten used to reading Ana's POV in the book, but I thought that there was a lack in dialogue between the actors in the movie. I also didn't get a good feel for the minor characters like Ana's roommate Kate Kavanagh or Christian's brother, Eliot Grey. But, then again, they didn't really have a big role in the first book.

However, knowing the book, I kind of felt the movie was rushed.

With all that said, I did buy the blue ray version that just recently came out. I think I'd have to watch the movie again a few more times to let it grow on me and let the stuff I wish was portrayed better onscreen slide a little.

Just like I did with the movie: Twilight. I was sorely disappointed at many of the scenes and interactions between Edward Cullen and Bella Swan when I saw it. Because, for one, Kristen Stewart is a horrid actress. I cringed whenever her voice sounded like a man. And the delivery of the lines like: "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb…" "What a stupid lamb," "What a sick, masochistic lion," just sounded so cheesy! Ugh.

Nevertheless, after watching it a few more times, I got over it. And thank GOD, the movies got better.

The way Fifty Shades of Grey was interpreted onscreen also had to do with the conflict between the author, E.L. James, and the director, Sam Taylor-Johnson. I think if the two ladies didn't butt heads so much because James wanted to keep her creative control, the movie would have been awesome.

Oh, well. I'm just glad that there's a possible second installment. Which, I'm hoping is better. Did you also know that Fifty Shades was originally written as a Twilight fanfiction? Yup. That's where Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele came from...Edward and Bella. Huzzah!

2015-05-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

I saw Jupiter Ascending in the theaters last February and it was an awesome movie...with a sucky delivery of the plot.

I really wanted to see this movie because I love fantasy, sci-fi movies like this (and because it was from the same creators as The Matrix), but the characters lacked real depth and the movie didn't provide much of an actual story. Okay, I guess it did - but the screenplay wasn't done very well. What I loved about this movie was the concept and the cinematography. Visually, it didn't disappoint.

[Spoiler Alert]

I'm basically going to tell you what this movie is about (if you're curious).
And because I feel like it.
If you're not interested, then we're done here. You're dead to me. Bye.

[Continue to spoiler]This movie is about a girl (Mila Kunis) named Jupiter Jones. Her father was an astronomer geek, hence, the name. However, his wife's first thoughts on the name was, "Over my dead body we're naming our daughter after a planet." Sadly, due to a robbery in their home, her father dies before she's born. To honor his wishes, her mother ends up naming her Jupiter after all. They later leave Saint Petersburg, Russia and travel by boat to Chicago to live with her mother's relatives and become house cleaners for the rich. Great life, right?

On the other side of the unknown galaxy is a group of alien royalty who look like us and happen to be the real "relatives" of Jupiter. As story goes, Jupiter is actually the reincarnation of the previous matriarch (with identical, pretty genes) of this society of transhumans. The matriarch's children are Balem, Titus and Kalique.

Balem is the crazy sibling who lusts for power and won't give up his hold on Earth (I'll explain more later). Titus is the handsome brother who's full of charm with his baby face looks, but is also capable of deceit and betrayal. You never really know what his motives are. He would probably kill you in your sleep or hire someone else to do it if his brother didn't beat him to it. Their sister, Kalique, is on her own side or whichever side that wins and she stays alive.

The interesting concept about this movie is that this royal family has an enterprise of "harvesting" different planets to stay looking young. They belong to the House of Abrasax, which is the most powerful of the alien dynasties in the galaxy (or galaxies). After their mother died, Balem inherited their refinery on Jupiter. Not Mila Kunis's character Jupiter, but on actual Jupiter.

Titus and Kalique I think inherited other planets of their own. Titus was supposedly trying to stop the youth serum trade (the "harvesting" of planets), however - that good Samaritan deed was a bit sketch.

What does harvesting of a planet entail, you ask? Well, let me tell you. It's nothing like harvesting wheat. Remember how the royal family wants to stay looking young? To keep their youthful age, after a planet sanctioned within their enterprise seems right for harvesting, they destroy all life on that planet. The organisms living there are harvested to produce this liquid thing called the youth serum. It's a hundred lives per canister, which is a lot disturbing. That's how they're basically able to live forever. The matriarch was around 19,000 years old before she died. Mind blown.

Aside from the refinery on the planet Jupiter, Balem also inherited Earth, his mother's most prized planet. That's when Jupiter Jones's life becomes in danger. To get a telescope she really wanted (which probably reminded her of her dad), she planned to sell her eggs at a clinic and use the money she would receive to buy it. Easy money, I guess? Balem has been looking for the genetic replica of his mother's DNA and finally finds her at the clinic.

The fun starts when Jupiter freaks out because the doctors, disguised as aliens, try to kill her. Why? Because Balem doesn't want to give up his inheritance of Earth. If Jupiter is acknowledged as the rightful ruler of the House of Abrasax, she gets dibs on Earth, therefore, protecting the planet from the next harvest Balem had in mind. Talk about family problems!

Now, in comes Channing Tatum's character: Caine Wise. He's kind of a cross between a superhuman and a dog due to some sort of experiment they did on him as a former solider. He went to prison for biting someone. Maybe because of a full moon or something, who knows? Titus, Balem's brother, having his own agenda (I told you that you can't trust the guy), sent Caine to Earth to look for Jupiter as well and to bring her to him.

Because Jupiter is drugged up for the procedure she was supposed to go through at the clinic, all she can do is watch the battle take place around the operating bed she's on between Caine and these Area 51 looking aliens (who were disguised as the doctors). The little gray guys are supposed be some kind universal E.T. keepers that erase human memory and rebuilds buildings like nothing ever happened when intergalactic stuff happens around them, for example: when they're accidentally seen (which happened to Jupiter before the clinic incident) or flying spaceships that are dog fighting around the city shooting laser beams at each other. You know, the usual.

Caine finally manages to bring Jupiter to Titus - or rather - his sister, Kalique. She is the first one Jupiter meets on a different planet. They were able to escape Earth with the help of Caine's former comrade, Stinger Apini, played by Ned Stark. Sorry, I mean, Sean Bean. This is when Kalique explains the whole reincarnation thing to Jupiter and even shows a status of their mother, the former matriarch. Kalique also reveals that she was around 14,000 years old herself. Crazy.

At some point during the palace tour, Kalique strips naked into this tub of watery goo with lightening bolts shooting out of it. When she reemerges to the surface, Kalique is looking young and radiant again. When Jupiter asks her how it was possible to turn back time, Kalique plays coy with her answer.

Jupiter is horrified when she finally meets Titus who tells her about the harvest and the canisters full of human...essence (I guess you can call it?). These canisters look like the size of a VOSS water bottle and Titus showed her a room full of them. Now, imagine how many lives and planets it took to create these things. Mind blown. Because the youth serum is a high commodity all over the galaxy, people and aliens alike would probably sell their children and mother-in-laws to get a hold of a canister. It also makes for a good source of payment to hired mercenaries.

Titus tries to convince Jupiter that he wants to end the youth serum trade and says some other charming, convincing things that eventually got her to agree to marry him. She also learned that Earth currently belongs to Balem and wasn't too keen in knowing that her family and the other billions of lives on her home planet were going to turn into watery goo and become an aging cure for the powerful and somewhat psychotic rich people of the galaxy, and all the other little people who could afford it.

While Jupiter thought Caine was safe (or off somewhere with Bilbo Baggins on an adventure), Titus actually planned to have him deported out into space. Harsh. But by this point, Jupiter finally got her royal documents in order and staked claim to Earth (yay!). That's why Titus wants to marry her...and then kill her after the wedding so he can control Earth. Sorry, Balem.

However, Caine survives deportation into the great void and crashes the wedding. Aegis, the intergalactic police force, now becomes involved. After crashing the wedding, more battles and fights happen involving Balem's lizard-looking goons because again, he also wants Jupiter dead. The sister, Kalique, disappears or dies--one of the two--but no one really cares because she's not that important.

Jupiter finally meets Balem face to face inside the refinery on the planet Jupiter and is pissed because he took her family hostage. In exchange for their lives, Balem wants Jupiter to give up her rights to Earth so he can harvest the planet. I think she ends up giving it to him, but she wasn't going down without a fight. Caine follows her into the heart of planet Jupiter's windstorms where the refinery is located and starts kicking some ass. However, because he broke the protective shield around the refinery by crashing his ship into it (smart move), all hell breaks lose and fires erupt everywhere because of the hostile environment of the planet itself.

In the end, Jupiter Jones ends up killing Balem and escapes with Caine.

She gains back control of Earth and makes sure it's not harvested anytime soon. Or ever. At least not on her watch. As for her family, they all got their memories wiped and continued to go about their lives. They also surprise Jupiter with the telescope she wanted making everything right in the world again. Caine also got his wings back after they reinstated him. Wings, as in actual angel, bird wings attached to his back. They make out on a roof top then fly away - Jupiter on Caine's hover board thing she learned to use and him, flapping his wings.

The End.

Now only if the screenplay did that movie justice. Sigh.

2015-05-19T13:20:00.001-07:00

I saw this Christmas Day last year.

I'm really into the fairy tale classics and always down to see different versions of these stories. What I didn't know was how much singing there was going to be in this movie. While I was surprised to see some of the actors actually sing, others I could have done without hearing their musical talent.

Not all of the different stories captured my interest either because I think none of them really had depth as far as what their story was about. It all blended well in the end into--of course--a musical Sound of Music type number, and the moral of the story had a good takeaway (but I can't remember what it was now), but I would have liked to see the individual stories more developed. Or know more about what happened after Rapunzel left her tower, what did Cinderella do after she decided to leave forest and what did Little Red Riding Hood do with the rest of Johnny Depp after she skinned him into a nice new fur coat?

The interesting thing I found in the movie was how the giant lady that came down from the beanstalk to kill Jack because he killed her husband was the same actress who played Madame Olympe Maxime in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. She was the head mistress of the girls' school, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, who was also tall and intimidating. I wonder if they saw her in that movie and thought she'd be perfect for the angry, giant wife who wanted to stomp on them like tiny insects from above the clouds?

All in all, Into the Woods did have its moments. However, I could have waited for it on Redbox.

2015-05-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

OK. So, I saw this last December as well. The first round didn't go so well. After twenty minutes of getting into the movie, I had to leave the theater because of an emergency. The second time around was much better.

I almost forgot this was the last installment of the Hobbit. I'm a big fan of anything LotR so of course, I have to say this movie was awesome. I'm more into the Elves than the Dwarves or the Hobbits. I geeked out when they finally showed what Thranduil's Halls looked like in the second movie. Their race is much more fascinating to me; their origin and the qualities they possess (aside from being really, really ridiculously good looking).

Anyway, I like how Bilbo Baggins showed more courage in this movie against Thorin Okenshield II and basically told him he was a lunatic with that dragon fever of his (or whatever it was) and how he wasn't going to stand around and simply play house.

Battles in these movies are always epic so there's no need to further explain that. It would have been nice to see what Bilbo's journey was like on his way back to the Shire though. It would be ironic for him to survive as a burglar with Thorin's company then die on the way home.

Just saying.

2015-05-14T09:43:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I posted about a movie I've watched. But trust me, I'm still true to the game! I still watch a movie at least once a week or as much as I can when a movie trailer catches my interest.

This one: Exodus - Gods and Kings I saw last December. It was an interesting version of the biblical tale of Moses and how he saved the Israelites from the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II. [Spoiler ALERT!] I haven't researched the movie or why they chose to use a boy to represent God and His commandments.

The movie stayed true to most of what I know about Moses's tale but he was a lot more stubborn than the other portrayals I've seen of the character. I think Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton played the parts well, even Ben Kingsley who played Nun with his small role.

I'm sure there's a lot of reviews and critics out there who have varying opinions about this movie. No movie always stays true to the original story or even legend they rose from. I'm not saying it was the best version ever made (because I haven't seen them all) but I enjoyed the cinematography and the epic battles. Also how it seemed as "real" as possible with the blooded waters and parting of the Red Sea without too much movie magic.

The last remake I saw was the animated version: The Prince of Egypt done by Dreamworks Pictures in 1998. Honestly, I liked that movie better. I'd rather watch TPoE again compared to Exodus.

But that's just me.

Iron Man 3

2013-05-30T13:29:00.001-07:00

I quite enjoyed this third installment of the Iron Man series. I liked it because it was different from the other two movies and focuses more on Tony Stark as the person--not so much Tony Stark as Iron Man. It had its funny moments as well, especially when he seems out of his element.

This movie also seems pretty final so I'm curious as to how they're going to incorporate the events of this movie and where Tony Stark is now in his life to the upcoming Avengers movie.

I guess we'll find out!

Spider-Man 2012

2012-08-23T14:30:00.003-07:00

This is actually my favorite Spider-Man movie out of the franchise. The acting is better and I like Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone together. She cracks me up in her movies! It also seems more heartfelt and it shows you more of Peter Parker's family life with his aunt and uncle. The lizard aspect of it was OK. I was really more into the action and the effects of the movie. I also didn't know that Mary Jane wasn't first in Peter's life. Maybe I should brush up on my comic books...

Total Recall

2012-08-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

This was a great remake of the original 1990 movie staring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Of course there are some major differences but the plot of the 2012 story I think is better. It makes more sense to me. Plus, I'd rather watch a half-naked Colin Farrell than Mr. "Come with me if you want to live."

The action is also better - however - there was too much of it. There didn't seem to be any kind of down time with the characters, or enough of it. There was always something exploding or a gun shot every few seconds. It's a very fast-paced kind of movie. The only time where things move along gradually is in the beginning and a little in the middle when they try to convince Farrell's character that he's still strapped to a chair at Total Rekall and is only dreaming his espionage role.

The chick fight between Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Beal was definitely something I wanted to see and they did not disappoint. Even their fight scenes with other people, especially between Farrell and Beckinsale's characters was pretty bad ass. They look cute and petite and before you know it, you've just been punched in the face with three broken ribs. Gotta love that.

Hunger Games

2012-08-20T07:57:00.001-07:00

Yes, folks. It's finally on Blue-Ray and digital copy. The books were great and I didn't know how the movie would hold up to them and I must say, this movie was pretty great. Of course certain things had to be changed for movie purposes and even those went well. I'm glad they made some of those changes because if I never read the books, I might not understand the movie in its entirety. The cast was picked well and Jennifer Lawrence is a really good actress. I don't think I could imagine anyone else playing Katniss Everdeen. It's crazy to think that the world's future can turn into something like this with children from ages 12 - 18 offered as Tributes to die with only one victor because of some rebellion against the Capital 74 years ago.

I don't think I could imagine myself as a 12-year-old picked to fight and perhaps die while trying to win a game of survival for the amusement of others. That's what it basically is. The only perks is that you and your District eats better for a year. I want to see who will play the other actors in the upcoming movies. We'll see how it goes!

Snow White & the Huntsman

2012-08-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

I liked this version of Snow White. It wasn't all hearts and flowers and vibrant colors and singing fairies. It was darker with more action and people dying by the hands of the Queen. Even though the story is still meant as a fairy tale, just the way the events unfold, the fight scenes, the seven burly Dwarves, and the special effects make it seem more real--meaning, if something like this really happened centuries ago, this would be the version people would pass down to their grandchildren. The type of story that says to stay out of the dark forest because the Boogie Man lives there.

Chris Hemsworth does a great job of playing the Huntsman. However, his interaction with Kristen Stewart is a little awkward. Why? Because she's awkward in general. Not my favorite actress. In fact, I think she did crap in this movie just like most of her other movies I've seen. The good parts are the ones where she doesn't talk or open her mouth so you only have to deal with her awkward gestures. The "British" accent she sounded like she was suppose have was next to nonexistent as well. I really thought they could have picked a better person for this role, obviously.

And now, Charlize Theron. Can I say, "Wow!" ....She was super psychotic in this movie. Major beauty issues growing up. But she kicked ass as the Queen. Her crazy, delusional, suck the life out of females self portrayed this character well. I just didn't understand what her creepy brother with the bowl haircut was about.

All-in-all, it was a good movie by my standards. Except for Kristen Stewart. She can go get eaten by a Troll.

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

2012-08-09T18:45:00.002-07:00

So, yes. If you haven't seen this movie yet--you must be living in Adam West's old bat cave. The last movie in Christopher Nolan's trilogy is freaking EPIC. It comes with a great cast and although Christian Bale is known to go psycho on set yelling at crew members, he's been the best Batman to grace the screen.

If another director takes on the task of trying to create more Batman movies after this, it'll be just crap. However, I would like to see what direction a new movie would take with Robin's character. I couldn't believe that Tom Hardy plays Bane. I remember first seeing him in Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio. Gotta love the guy's British accent too, but it's quite muffled in the movie with that spider of a mask he has on the entire time. Great actors, great roles. Even Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway held their ground.

The movie was three hours long but well worth it. It kind of kept you guessing on what might happen next, even if you might follow the original comic version. There are differences, of course, as with all things written in ink converted to the big screen. The right amount of action and down time is what I appreciated the most. That's what made the three hours fly by so quickly. However, I kind of wish the ending ended a little differently.

The Watch

2012-08-08T20:55:00.003-07:00

OK. I know I've been sluffin' on the movie stuff--but I've actually seen a ton of movies! I just haven't had time to say things about them. I guess I'll get back on track with this one. I saw the screening of The Watch a few days before it came out and I'm glad I did because I honestly wouldn't have paid to watch this movie in the theater. Redbox, maybe, for $1.33. This is definitely a rental, folks.

It's a good cast with Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and that other dude (I'm too lazy to search for his name--my bad). But I felt like the characters lacked substance. It had it's moments but the plot of the movie wasn't what I thought it was at all. If you know nothing about the movie, I'll summarize it a little for you. If you love all Ben Stiller movies and will hunt me down and do awful things to me for giving you some kind of spoiler then read no further.

* POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT *

Ben Stiller is basically a manager at a Costco somewhere in a small town and his life seems perfect and he gets along with everyone, is in a bunch of different town committees--so on and so forth--then after his night security gets killed is when he tries to form a neighborhood watch. Hence, the four guys on the movie poster. And get this....there's ALIENS involved! Weird right? How are aliens tied to these four and their neighborhood watch task force you ask?

Well, I guess you'll just either have to waste your money at the theaters, go online and look for the whole synopsis or wait for it to hit Redbox. I would pick the latter.

Footloose

2011-10-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

I saw the sneak preview of this movie, not knowing what to expect. The original version was a classic so I wasn't sure on how I would feel about this remake. During the movie, I found myself actually enjoying it, laughing and all that. I liked it because it still had some of the same elements like the original movie did but upgraded into more modern times, especially with the humor and the dancing. *Spoiler Alert* Julianne Hough is a big time skank in this movie.

She plays one of those typical Preacher's daughter who was a good girl gone bad. Maybe it's because she's been hanging out with Rihanna a little too much? Anyway, I don't remember the original character looking like she wants to spread her legs out all the time. It was a funny thing to see though, since I've only known her on Dancing with the Stars. I still think Steve Seacrest is gay. She's only with him because he's a great guy to go shopping with.

X-Men: First Class

2011-10-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

I finally got to see this movie recently. It wasn't something I was hyped about seeing in the theaters for some reason so I waited to watch it on DVD. Don't get me wrong, I love the Marvel movies. But, this just didn't look that promising to me.

When I finally did get to watch it, I wasn't that impressed. It was nice to see the background of some of the main characters in the beginning when they were younger, but the story didn't do a lot for me. I was surprised to see Kevin Bacon playing a German guy though. That was interesting. I also liked how they put in a couple of cameos. I always wondered how Professor X became wheelchair bound and now I know. What didn't make sense to me and found strange is how the guy that plays Magento kept switching his accent? He sounds British one second, then American the next? I know for the fact that the actor who plays this role is really English so why was he trying to cover his real accent? Isn't Magneto supposed to sound British in the first place?! Well, in the movies anyway. Go figure.

I haven't been keeping up with this movie and if there will be a sequel to it. If there is, I might wait again till it hits Redbox or Netflix. Unless someone pays for my movie ticket. And popcorn.

Star Trek

2011-10-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

I really like the new installment of the legendary series. I grew up watching Star Trek with William Shatner and Leonard Nemoy. My favorite was Star Trek: The Next Generation. I watched all the way up to Deep Space 9 then after that the series started getting boring. I liked this version of seeing how the characters were before they became the Star Fleet officers that they did, especially Captain Kirk. I actually never knew his middle name was Tiberious?! And Ahura? Say wha? I also thought the movie came with a great cast but the storyline with the Romulans trying to get revenge on Spock was kind of eeeeh though.

I'm very interested to see the next installment.

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

2011-10-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

So, the third installment of the Transformers franchise is now on DVD/Blue Ray. I actually enjoyed this movie as well, more so than the actual first movie. I would put them in a 3, 2, 1 order. I saw it in 3D in the theaters, which wasn't worth it. There were barely any scenes worthy of being done in 3D. The action scenes and graphics were pretty wicked and the way the military people glided through the air, but it really didn't need to be deemed as 3D because it wasn't. At least it didn't feel like it was from my experience. I'm also glad they replaced Megan Fox. She wasn't that great of an actress. The new chick that replaced her was also pretty hot and she seemed like she had more character in the movie--although she didn't deliver that many lines and was usually in skimpy outfits. But she can do that. Why? Because she's model hot. That's why. But what confused me was all the new autobots that kept appearing. I wish they had some kind of intro on how they came to earth. They might be pushing it with a fourth installment like Pirates of the Carribean, but I guess we'll find out.

Waiting for Forever

2011-09-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

Horrible movie. I have no idea why I rented this. I'm not a big fan of Rachel Bilson, only because I haven't really seen her in many movie roles. I do know she was on the show the O.C. but even that I never watched. I probably caught bits and pieces of it.

It's basically about a guy who's had a major crush on his old childhood friend who he hasn't seen in years and has no life of his own. She's some sort of tv actress in the movie and where she moves to, this guy follows her just like a stalker would. But to him, he's not a stalker. With his feeble thinking, he probably doesn't even know what that means. He only wants to be where she is so someday he can confess his love to her. However, when he finally gets the opportunity to do so, he gets a panic attack and wusses out. The guy means well and is pretty innocent, the kind of guy who wouldn't hurt a fly. But at the same time, he's completely delusional. His brother basically tries to tell him that while his friends encourage his behavior.

It's stupid. The scenes that are supposed to be cute that make you smile and want to say, "Aww..." make me want to say, "That's corny. Really?" This movie just wasn't done well. Probably has to do with the acting as well. Don't watch it. If you do, turn off the volume and make your own dialogue to it. Might be more interesting and worthwhile to sit though.

The Change Up

2011-09-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

I saw the previews for this movie but wasn't sure if it'd really be funny or not and this movie had me dying in my seat. It was pretty effin hilarious. It's not as funny as Bridesmaids but it was up there on my list of funny scenes and dialogue kind of movie.

If you don't know what it's about, it's basically two best friends who have totally separate lives and tell the other how great they seem to have it. One is a (low rate) actor (Ryan Reynolds) and a lawyer (Jason Bateman). They piss in a fountain that has the statue of Athena (or some kind of goddess) on it and once they say, "I wish I had your life..." BOOM! Lives are switched and it's Freaky Friday all over again, except with two grown men and no Lindsay Lohan and her monitoring bracelet on her ankle.

Like I said the scenes and the dialogue were pretty funny. It also had a heartfelt touch to it because they got to see people's different perspectives on the type of people they were. This was a good team up.

Jane Eyre

2011-09-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

Oh man...where do I even begin. I like all kinds of movies but time-piece ones like this one or documentary/autobiography ones really depend on how it's presented. I guess that's all dependent on the director and actors that portray other real life people that existed in someone's lifetime. Probably your grandfather's.

I was sketchy about watching this one, thinking I would occupy myself with doing other things and such and barely even get the gist of it. Besides that, I really had no idea what it was about. I remember a friend telling me she saw it and really liked it. I was out of options for any good (not even good, just something I felt like watching) movies and so I gave this one a go. And I honestly, really liked it. I didn't cry like my friend did but it did rip at my heart because there were things I could relate to like love.

The English was very proper so I had to turn on the subtitles to make sure I fully got the different conversations in the movie. Whoever wrote the dialogue did a great job for this type of movie. I also liked Pride & Prejudice with Keira Knightley but I thought this was done more beautifully. I also think it's because I understood the storyline better. If I had the subtitles on for that movie, too, maybe it'd be different. But, I liked these characters better and the actors that played them were more believable. Who knew Alice in Wonderland would play the lead, getting (trying) to marry so young to man 10+ her senior, the man 10+ her senior being one of the Spartans from 300. Oh yes, don't think I didn't recognize him.

This might be a worthy movie to buy...maybe.

Thor

2011-09-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Another worthy Marvel Comic movie. What I knew about Thor: (1) He is the Norse God of Thunder & Lightning, (2) Thursday is named after him (Thor's day), and (3) He carries around his big bad hammer, Mjolnir (yeah, I had to look up that spelling). All I knew about Loki was that he was a little punk trickster, but that's about it. I knew nothing about the Frost Giants or how he actually belonged to their king, Laufey - who Odin Allfather took and adopted as his own son.

Honestly, my favorite scenes were the ones in Asgard and Jotunheim. The scenes on Earth were kind of boring, maybe because it was located in a small town in New Mexico. When he faces the Destroyer as a mortal man, I thought that scene would have a little more 'Wow' factor to it or be a little longer before he gained his full powers back.

The way the movie portrayed the 3D like Rainbow Bridge and how they travel to the other Realms was pretty damn cool. If you read up on Thor's actual background (according to Marvel Comics), it's pretty complicated, full of adventure and a little bit of heartache. I can't wait for the Avengers!