Movie Mondays: The Lucky One

Theatrical Release Poster

I read this book a few months ago and loved it! I decided to read it because I saw a preview at the theater. I couldn't stop thinking about Zac Efton and how yummy grown up he looked in that movie trailer. I tore through the book, hoping that it wouldn't let me down, and it didn't.

The movie came out April 20th, and I had hoped to see it opening day, but my oldest son had a soccer tournament 2.5 hours away, so there was no time to see a movie. By the time we got home I was exhausted, so the movie had to wait! I asked a few friends to see it with me that week, but we couldn't link our schedules, so I finally went to see it all by myself. I had waited long enough since reading the book, and I couldn't wait any longer!

The day that I saw this movie was the perfect kind of day. I had the day all to myself, with all 3 boys at school, and no work needing to be done (except housework, but that doesn't count on Wednesdays). I was able to meet a good friend for lunch at a new (to me) Asian bistro downtown and then had the rest of the day to do as I pleased! The timing worked out perfectly that there was a showing of The Lucky One starting 15 minutes after I got to the theater. I sat all the way at the top and didn't even get any soda or popcorn! I needed to have NO distractions for this movie! I did notice on my way in that the theater was filled with a wide variety of people. There were senior citizens and teenagers watching in mixed gender groups, there were women watching with other women, and there was a man (probably in his 60's) watching all by himself. I really was expecting to see mostly women in small groups, but I was pleasantly surprised. I am guessing the variety had something to do with the fact that the movie is based on a Nicholas Sparks novel by the same  name. Sparks has written 7 novels that have been made into movies including: Dear John, Message in a Bottle, Nights in Rodanthe, and The Notebook.

So anyway...back to the movie. If you haven't read the book, please see my review from What I Read Wednesdays: The Lucky One.  I loved that the movie was pretty true to the book. They had to leave out some scenes from the book (like the scene at the pond where Logan first sees Keith taking pictures of sunbathing co-eds, and Logan's visit with Victor) in order to keep the movie at a reasonable length, but overall, I thought they did a good job of keeping with the spirit of the book.

If you've read a book prior to seeing the movie, you already know how the story is going to end, and that can sometimes take the thrill out of the movie when you go to see it. That was definitely the case for me this time. The movie was still good, but I wasn't holding my breath to see how it would all turn out. Although, if I'm honest, I really just wanted to see if Zac Efron could pull off a leading role in a romantic movie. I still remember him in High School Musical, so I was skeptical. He still isn't a great actor, but he is getting better. He definitely brought out the cougar in me, that's for sure! There is a scene where Taylor Schilling's character rushes into his outdoor shower after deciding that her ex-husband didn't have all of the control, and they finally spend the night together. He definitely pulled that off well!

Aside from Zac, I thought Blythe Danner was an excellent choice to play the role of Nana. She was just perfect! I also liked Jay Ferguson as Keith. He was exactly like I pictured him when I was reading the book. I'm not sure that I loved Taylor Schilling as Beth, but I think that is just because she was mostly an unknown to me. She was good, but I wouldn't say great.

Overall, I was happy with the movie, and I would see it again. I think it would be a good date night movie, or a good movie to watch with your girlfriends. I enjoyed watching it by myself too!

Have you seen it yet? If so, what did you think? If not, are you planning to see it in the theater or wait for it to come out on DVD?

Movie Monday: John Carter

I went to see this movie with my boys, mostly because there wasn't a lot to choose from. We had already seen The Lorax, and they're not quite old enough for the Hunger Games. I had seen the previews and wasn't exactly excited to see it, but I looked at a couple of viewer reviews (I never listen to the critics), and I was hopeful that we would all enjoy it. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised!

I'm not sure why this movie hasn't received more attention, especially since it is a Disney made film. The director/writer, Andrew Stanton, worked on Wall-E and Finding Nemo, but this was his first live-action film. The movie earned almost half of it's domestic box office revenue to date in its first weekend, earning just over $30 million and debuting at #2 . Foreign revenues for the film have almost tripled the domestic revenues. According to the LA Times, one of the biggest hurdles this movie faced was the executive turnover and marketing inexperience. Usually Disney movies are marketing to the nth degree, and you can't help but want to go see them. I don't think that the previews did this movie justice, and there was very little buzz about it before it debuted. My kids wanted to see it when they saw the previews, but they quickly forgot about it once we left the theater.

Brief Synopsis:
A civil war veteran, who has lost his wife and child and is wanted by the military, is transported to Barsoom (Mars) after picking up a  medallion in a cave.  He is taken prisoner by the native race, and is quickly thrust into the middle of a civil war between the cities of Helium and Zodanga. The Jeddak (King) of Zodanka proposes a cease-fire as long as the Princess of Helium agrees to marry him. John Carter helps the Princess escape and they set off to find a way for John Carter to get back to Earth. The Princess is recaptured after they find the weapon that the Jeddak has been using. John Carter saves the Princess from her impending marriage,  and they are about to live happily every ever after, until he is banished back to Earth by a shape-shifting Thern (White Martian).

The twist, that is unclear until the very end, is that while John Carter is on Barsoom, his body double is still on Earth in an inanimate (coma-like) state. After he returns to Earth, he fakes his own death to draw out the God-like Thern that was sent there to watch him. He is able to use the Thern's medallion to go back to Barsoom forever, leaving his nephew inherit his fortune and watch over his human body.

For a full plot summary, visit John Carter on Wikipedia.

Overall Review:
There is a lot of special effects in this movie, which are actually pretty cool. I loved the ships and the Ninth Ray weapon that the Therns have. The love story between John Carter and the Princess is predictable, but a welcome reprieve from the fighting and special effects. To me, this movie is Star Wars meets Avatar. While I'm not usually a big sci-fi fan, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would, and the kids were engulfed the entire movie. Even my 3 year old, who had no idea what was going on, stayed quiet and glued to the screen. I hope that more people go see this movie. It is a good movie for the whole family. Two thumbs up!!!

Movie Monday: Possible Fifty Shades Movie?

There is no question that The Fifty Shades book trilogy written by E.L. James is a hot topic right now. It's being discussed on morning talk shows, entertainment shows, in car pool lines, on the soccer field sidelines, and countless other places! Recently, I wrote about the trilogy in What I Read Wednesday: Fifty Shades Trilogy. Later, I was interviewed by Right This Minute about my review of the series. The thing about these books is that the more you think about them, the more you talk about them, and the more you think about them.

There has been some speculation about whether or not this series will be made into a movie. People question how they could do it while continuing to appeal to the female viewers. According to The Hollywood Reporter,

A veteran producer who spoke to THR ... wonders if Fifty Shades can actually be made. "I’ve heard that women will read about pornography; men like to watch it," he notes, adding, "This sounds like an updated version of 9 1/2 Weeks."

While I have to agree that not all women are looking for pornography to watch on a Friday night, I think this movie can be made as a mainstream movie that appeals to both women and men. The sex scenes don't need to be explicit to get the point across. A lot of the passion and naughtiness can be conveyed without the closeups and money shots typical of porn movies.  I think men will still want to watch it because they'll want to know what their women have been obsessing over. I think it's a win-win. So what if it's an updated version of 9 1/2 weeks? That movie is always recommended to women as a way to spice up their sex lives. I'm okay with a newer version, as long as it's done right. There are plenty of movies out there right now about teen angst and young love. It's about time we have one that is for adults!

So let's talk about what one should expect from this movie. As anyone who has read the book(s) can attest, this story is not just about the sex. And when it is about the sex, it's not all about S&M. I think the movie should capitalize on the fact that while he is originally looking for a pure submissive, he learns very quickly that she doesn't have a submissive bone in her body, and he decides that he is okay with that (but that doesn't mean he is willing to give up control). He introduces her to a lifestyle that she would probably not have come across on her own, and she pulls him out of his world and into hers where he experiences many firsts with her, including introducing her to his family, sharing his bed with her, flying her in his helicopter, etc. The key is that they find a balance while falling in love, so he still gets some of what he needs, and so does she. It's hot and steamy, but it's still a love story.

There are a few things in the books that I really enjoyed that will be hard to convey on the big screen.  Christian and Ana have a playful banter, which is often portrayed through email in the books. It's not always what is written in the body of the emails that is important, but more often the subject and the email signature that make me laugh. Along with the playful banter, we also get to see the many sides of Ana's psyche in the books, which she calls her Inner Goddess and her subconscious. It's funny to see how the different sides of her mind react to certain situations compared to how she ultimately decides to act or react. If they can find a way to capture these things in the movie without being cheesy, I will be very happy!

One of the things many people are speculating about right now is who should play the parts of Ana and Christian in the movies. I haven't seen any suggestions that I whole-heartedly agree with yet, so I'm trying to come up with a few suggestions of my own. I think the most important thing for the actor portraying Christian to have is the eyes. I would like to see someone like Ian Somerhalder, who plays Damon on the Vampire Diaries,  play the part. He has a great body, extremely good looks and crazy eyes that can just as easily  melt you as terrorize you. The only problem is that he doesn't have copper hair, but I can get past that. Another option could be Jensen Ackles, who is currently playing Dean Winchester on Supernatural. He, at least, has almost the right color hair. I also think Chris Pine, who played opposite Reese Witherspoon in This Means War, might be a viable candidate.

As for the leading female role, I am torn. I know that Anastasia is only 21/22 in the books, but I'd like to see a slightly older actress playing her. This article suggest  Rooney Maura, and after seeing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I know that she could do the sex scenes, but I don't know that she could pull off the rest of the character (only because I haven't seen any more of her work). I would hate to see Kristen Stewart playing the role for many reasons, so she's definitely out. I've also seen people suggest Jennifer Lawrence, but Katniss (from The Hunger Games) cannot be Anastasia! That would just not work for me. I guess I don't really have a suggestion for the leading female role. Maybe it should be an unknown!

So what do you think? Would you like to see them make the books into a movie? Who would you cast?

ETA: The movie rights for the entire trilogy have been sold to Universal and Focus Entertainment for an estimated $5 million. The author retained the rights over final scripting and casting. I'm anxious to see who gets cast!

Movie Monday: The Lorax

Last week was Dr. Seuss's Birthday. I wanted to make some cute Cat in the Hat treats, or make something creative, but the week got away from me. There was no way that I was going to let the weekend get away from me without seeing The Lorax with my kids though!

When I was a kid my grandmother would read The Lorax and other Dr. Seuss favorites (Horton Hears a Who, Yertle the Turtle, etc.) to me every time I spent the night. I loved the way her voice changed with each character and how I could feel the vibrations in her chest as I lay my head on it. They are some of the fondest memories I have of my grandmother, and I will cherish them always. My grandmother is now in a nursing home with Alzheimer's so I recently asked my aunts and uncles what happened to her Dr. Seuss books. Unfortunately, they were stored in the basement of her home in Vermont, and they were ruined by mold. :(

Anyway, I have been looking so forward to this movie! I've been seeing previews for what seems like forever! My kids were really excited when I told them we were going, and as is typical for us, we also brought along one of their friends, and ran into a few more while we were there. The theater was packed and we couldn't all sit in the same row, but we had a good time anyway.

The movie takes place both in the past and in the present (something my 10 year old didn't really like). It starts off in a town called Thneedsville, where everything is fake and there is no grass, trees, plants or dirt anywhere. Clean air is bought and circulated with machines.  A teenage boy (voiced by Zac Efron) goes on a quest, outside the city walls, to find a tree for the girl he likes (voiced by Taylor Swift). That is where he meets the Once-ler, who tells him the story of how greed and excessive consumption ruined the place that was once beautiful and full of life.

Overall I thought it was a great movie! It was more musical than I thought it would be, and a lot of the funny one-liners were shown in the previews, but it wasn't too sing-song-y, and we still laughed a lot. All of the kids (ages 3, 8, 9 and 10) were glued to the screen the entire time. They didn't even complain in the middle when I thought the story was dragging a bit. The ending was great though, and it gave everyone something to consider about our environment and how we are treating it.

On the way home we discussed the movie in the car. Everyone liked it, and said that it was funny. We talked about whether or not the same thing could really happen here, and they all agreed that it could. I think my 3 year old son said it best though. He said,

"If you cut down all the trees, you won't have any happy!"

And that, my friends, is the moral of the story! I highly recommend seeing this movie with your kids and using it as a platform for a discussion about the environment and how trees provide us with the air we breathe!

Two thumbs up for this movie - one for entertainment value and one for a positive message! What did you think? Did you like the way they added to the book to make it into a movie?

Movie Mondays - Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Welcome to the first edition of Movie Mondays! For some background on this new blog feature please see my initial Movie Mondays post. Please note that I do not profess to have great movie knowledge and will only be reviewing movies based on their entertainment value.

I went to the movies today with my husband, our three boys (ages 3, 8 and 10) and on of their friends (age 9), to see Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. It was the first movie that I watched with the intent of reviewing it afterward. It didn't really change the way I watched the movie, but I kind of wish I had brought a notebook or something to write a few reminders in. Ah well, live and learn!

Overview
Sean (Josh Hutcherson), the boy from Journey to the Center of the Earth, has moved to a new town with his mom and step father (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). He's less than thrilled with the move and his new family, and he's rebelling, until he gets a distress call from his grandfather. He can't break the code from his grandfather's message without the help of his step-father Hank. Together they break the code and figure out the coordinates of the island where his grandfather is. Hank convinces his wife to let him take Sean on a trip to find his grandfather, in the spirit of male bonding. The problem is that the island doesn't exist on any map, and they can only find one guy willing to bring them there, for a pretty penny! Fortunately for Sean, the captain has a beautiful daughter (Vanessa Hudgens from High School Musical Fame) who tags along.

The four passengers survive the stormiest section of the ocean, and find themselves stranded on the Mysterious Island without an exit strategy. They quickly make their way inland and realize that what should be small is large (ants and bees), and what should be large is small (elephants), as described in the book The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. They find Sean's grandfather (Michael Caine) and rely on his knowledge and skill to navigate the island and it's non-human inhabitants. Hank's Navy training proves invaluable, and the group is able to make their way to Captain Nemo's Nautilus before sinking with the island.

Review
Everyone in our party enjoyed this movie. My youngest son, who is 3, didn't get a lot of the humor, but he stayed attentive to the movie, which is more than I can say for a lot of movies. He wasn't even afraid of the scary giant iguana-like creature that chases and torments the characters.

The 4 other boys (including my husband) liked the slightly crude jokes and the light humor. Their favorite part of the movie was when the iguana-like creature was chasing them and Vanessa Hudgens' character said, "I hope he doesn't like Polynesian food!" and her father responds, "I hope he doesn't like food with poop in their pants!" It was fitting for the situation, and I laughed too, but it was especially funny to the boys.

There were a lot of cheesy one-liners in this movie, but overall I thought it was well done. It had a wholesome message and it was nice to see a film with the family that we didn't have to worry about violence, sex, foul language, etc. It wasn't had to look at the Rock either, even if we did have to explain 'pec popping' to our 8 year old.

Overall I'd give this movie 2 thumbs up for family fun!

What I Liked

• I love The Rock in family movies. He is believable, and has great comedic timing.  He's also easy on the eyes! 
• Josh Hutcherson is a boy-next-door looking actor who plays an awkward teen really well.
• The movie sparked conversations with the boys about the books that the plot line relied on: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island, both by Jules Verne. I think my 8 year old is going to read them first. If he likes them, his 10 year old brother probably will too. Anything that encourages reading of the classics is okay in my book!

Did you see this movie yet? Did you see it with kids? Did you like it? Tell me what you think in the comments section!

Movie Mondays

I watch a lot of movies - kids' movies, family movies, chick-flicks, action movies, sci-fi and fantasy movies...you get the point.  I love to watch movies in the theater and at home, but given the opportunity, I will always choose the theater.  There is something about sitting in the dark with a bunch of strangers in front of a giant screen that is oddly appealing to me. I will even go to the movies by myself if there is no one available to go with me! As long as I have a large Diet Coke and snack, I'm happy!

One of the things that I do before I go to any movie is check the reviews. I don't typically care what the critics have said because they use a totally different set of criteria than I do to decide if a movie is worth seeing or not. I'm not looking for Oscar winning performances in every movie that I see. I don't necessarily care if there is a big name actor as the lead character (although it usually helps get me there), and I don't care if the movie will ever win an award. I only care that I will have a good time watching it. So I don't look to the critics, I look to other movie-goers!

Before any movie, I'll check the Fandango app on my phone to see what other reviewers have said. As long as it didn't bomb with other reviewers, I'll usually go see the movie to make my own decision about it. If I have any doubts, or if the movie has been out for a while, I will ask around to see if anyone I know has been to see said movie. If they have, and they give it a good review, I'll usually go see it. I have only been burned a few times by this method, most recently for The Muppets movie. I heard from several people that it was good, but my family and I didn't care for it.  In fact, I was ready to leave after the opening scene!

After I see a movie, I love to talk about it with the people that I saw it with, or other people who have seen it. Sometimes there isn't much to discuss beyond whether or not someone liked it, but usually there is a sequel or a book to compare it to, or you can compare an actor's performance to another movie that he/she has been in. I love a movie that makes me think beyond the scope of the film (if it's appropriate). I also love a movie that keeps me in suspense throughout the movie.

I figured that if I like to hear others' reviews about movies before I see them, and I like to discuss them afterward, there just might be a few other people out there who would enjoy the same thing! So I've decided to add a new feature to my blog - Movie Mondays! It gives me an excuse to go to the movies (or rent one) every week, in order to have something to write about (but shhhh...don't tell my hubby that's why I'm doing it).

The plan is to give you my  candid feedback unbridled opinion, along with feedback from those who went to the movie with me (my kids for a kids' movie,  my husband for a date night movie, my BFF for a chic flick, etc.). I'll also make some comparisons and maybe even a Cul-de-sac Mom rating. I hope I'll get some interaction in the comments section each week from those who have seen the same movie!

First up -  Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. I'll be posting tomorrow!