The Impossible

So, so much to say here! I've got two action films, a flick for the tweens and a movie for everyone to chat about today. Let's get started!

 

Man of Steel:

 

 

I refused to see any attempt at a Superman flick after the Reeve era had ended. It just wasn't right you know? But I saw the trailers for this one and said to myself "hotdamn Lizz, this looks bananas" so I broke my own rule and went to check this sucker out.

 

Whoa people, just whoa. They done did my favorite super hero right! Yes, there is always some bitchy complaint any supernerd could make, but overall, this was one hell of a movie. I mean this puppy was EPIC!

 

I'm normally not a fan of Russell Crowe, but boy did Jor-El justice in this role. And I don't know what's going on, but Kevin Costner is stepping up his acting game like crazy these days. I've never been so impressed by two baby-daddys before! Nice work boys!

 

Unfortunately, no matter how great this film was, they still can't manage to make Lois Lane likable. Girlfriend annoys the hell out of me. I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I just cannot stand the character. I suppose the fact that every actress that has ever played her has kept me feeling this way, is a testament to their ability to portray her in such an annoying way. Nice job ladies.

 

Regardless, this movie was action packed and stacked, I mean holy crap, they done broke a ton of stuff! They made Armageddon and Independence Day look like home improvement shows. For realz.

 

If you like classic comic book stories, action on an epic scale and big, big movies, this is one for you! I will say, if you're a girl who isn't a fan of loud noises, explosions and a shit-ton of destruction, you might want to skip this one. However, you do get images like this:

 

 

I'm just sayin', if you saw White House Down for Channing, you might want to see this one for Henry :)

 

Go see it!

 

 

World War Z:

 

 

I'll admit, I wanted nothing to do with this film. I love Brad Pitt and all, but Brad Pitt and Zombies? No sir. No.

 

It just didn't make any sense. But, being the good movie reviewer that I am, I sucked it up, got my ticket and strapped in for what I thought would be a ride to Crapsville.

 

Thankfully I was dead wrong. While there is a ton of action, this isn't an action movie. Brad is the hero but he isn't some undefeatable warrior, he isn't even the smartest guy in the room. He just happens to be the guy they need to get the smartest guy to where he needs to be to cure the world of this zombie epidemic.

 

It was very interesting to see an actual realistic portrayal of what would happen should the world suddenly become overrun with zombies. It's not like a horror film. There aren't abandoned streets or days of eternal darkness. It's a real world scenario. People are doing a lot of things in the name of self preservation and sometimes, there just ain't enough room on the boat for everybody.

 

It definitely had a very I am Legand vibe in the sense that the film ends before the zombie apocalypse is taken care of. They know what they need to do, but we don't get to see how well everyone has recovered once the "cure" is handed out.

 

If you're one of the millions of folks (myself excluded obviously) who saw the trailers for this one and said "holy shitsnacks I need to see that!", then moving my friends, this is one film you won't want to miss!

 

The Bling Ring:

 

 

It's always very difficult to review a film based on a true story. How can one review something that actually took place? "Oh I just hated the diary of Anne Frank...." See? Can't really do it... So we're stuck having to review the actors and how the story was told, not the story itself.

 

The Bling Ring is about a group of spoiled California tweens who sit around being bored and vapid. One gal has an appetite for thievery and spends her free time roaming her neighborhood, checking for any open cars parked along the street and stealing any goodies she might find within. She then "discovered" that a neighbor of hers had left a sliding patio door unlocked when they left for vacation and helped herself to some of their designer goodies-even taking one of the luxury cars they left behind out for a spin. She's a real gem ain't she?

 

After boring herself with this activity, she enlists the help of the "new kid" at school and together they "Google" celebrities addresses and start busting into their mansions whenever one is out of town. When I explain this to people, I'm constantly asked "well how did they know the celebrities were out of town?" Duh people, check your TMZ's and your BuzzFeed's more often.... Celebrities are constantly tweeting their whereabouts and a lot of them make a good chunk of change by traveling around the world for various appearances. You want to find out when Paris Hilton is going to be out of the country? Simply sign up for Google Alerts about her and you can pretty much gain access to her weekly schedule. It's pretty ridiculous.

 

So after these two start breaking into these celebrity homes, Paris' being the first, they of course start bragging to their "besties" about it and the whole gang decides they want to share in the fun. They then go on to commit robberies at the homes of Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan, Rachel Bilson, Audrina Patridge and Megan Fox. They end up breaking into Paris' house a record 8 times but since girlfriend has so much damn stuff, she doesn't notice she's been robbed for quite some time. And, not to say she's to blame but, sister left the key under the mat apparently so....yeah...duh.......

 

The young thieves were eventually found out and sentenced to jail time (California tween/mini celebrity jail time, so like a month) but because they were all just so terrible in their magazine and television interviews following their sentencing, someone thought it would be a good idea to make a film about them. Paris was actually cool and let Sofia shoot in her actual house. I say actually cool, but when you see her house you'll realize she's just as vapid as those who stole from her.

 

So all in all, I enjoyed watching the film and leaving feeling completely disgusted with the youth of America, which, I'm assuming, was the goal. I was also very pleased with the young actors and actresses who portrayed these horrible members of society in the appropriate light. Film nerd fun factoid: This is the first film Emma Watson has been in that wasn't adapted from a book.

 

The Bling Ring, it was good to check out once if you've never heard of the story. But is it one you'll want to keep on the shelf of your entertainment center? I don't believe so.

 

Monsters University:

 

I wish I could properly express my love of Mike Wazowski. But you can never really express true adoration completely now can you? If there were ever an animated character I wish truly existed, it's ole one-eye. Especially in Monster's U.

 

If you liked the first film (if you don't, go to hell, seriously, what's wrong with you?) you're going to be extremely pleased with this one. Firstly, we start off seeing Mikey as an elementary schooler. Did you read that?!?! Mike Wazowski in elementary school!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sooooooo cute!!!

 

Seriously!!!! Look at himmm!!!!!!!! Could you just die?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!

 

And we discover how his character ends up becoming interested in attending MU. Shoot to a few years later, and we follow Mike along on his journey as a Freshman at one of the top "Scarer" schools in the country. He meets a jokey-type monster by the name of James Sullivan and the two become rather competitive with one another. I'm not going to give any of the fun away, but if you want to see how two monsters who start off not getting along, become the best of friends, go check out Monsters U. If you have kids, don't be a dick, bring them along! You'll be glad you did :)

 

I will admit, the basic moral of the story is, college isn't important and if you want something bad enough, you'll get it. Both aren't exactly true, but it's wrapped up in a nice, kid friendly package so I'm sure it'll go unnoticed to a lot of audiences. Regardless, go see it, Pixar can pretty much do no wrong....