Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 8 July 2016
     Pre-Screening Event! 28 June 2016

Director: Jane Szymanski
Writer: Andrew Cohen and Brendan O'Brien
Running Time: 98 Minutes

Staring:  Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick, Adam Devine and Aubrey Plaza and a host of others

Rating? R

SPOILERS? NOPE

REVIEWS

IMDB: (It's not out yet, so no reviews exist as of yet!)

MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE

Hard-partying brothers Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) place an online ad to find the perfect dates (Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza) for their sister's Hawaiian wedding. Hoping for a wild getaway, the boys instead find themselves outsmarted and out-partied by the uncontrollable duo. Written by 20th Century Fox

MY REVIEW

This movie was a laugh fest from beginning to end. There were some moments that were just a little too much, but for the most part, I really enjoyed this film. It's hard for me to give anything a 10, much less a 9, so an 8 is as far as I am willing to go. Yes, it did lack some real depth, but apparently, the REAL BROTHERS whom this movie was written about didn't pull too many punches! This is a good real funny movie. Definitely heavy on the adult humor so keep the kids at home!!

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Director Jane Szymanski did a great job at keeping this lighthearted and silly WITH the plot and story lining up. Great Job!!
• It's good for a great laugh. I was laughing the ENTIRE time during this movie. It's not meant to be Ben Hur, it's a fucking comedy about two dork brothers who just can't get their shit together. 
• Well, obviously I liked it, the writers for this were the same ones from Neighbors, The 40 Year Old Virgin.... etc!
• Excessive use of the work FUCK. I felt like it was pretty consistent with the amount of times I say it in real life!!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• It wasn't great, it wasn't a spectacular movie. It was what it was. It was never meant to be a critically acclaimed movie with oscars coming out of their ears.

On a more personal note.....We had a scavenger hunt at work today. The whole team got involved. There were some really obscure things on the list but we were able to find 95% of the items. No one seemed to have a pair of nitrile gloves! Seriously? That was pretty funny. This is Trey's desk filled with the items on the list which included items like a stuffed animal, framed photo, coupon, tissues, desk lamp, deodorant, toothbrush and a halloween decoration. Our team totally rocked it and we won a $100 Amex gift card.

The Shallows

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 24 June 2016

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writer: Anthony Jaswinski
Running Time: 87 Minutes

Staring:  Blacke Lively, Oscar Jaenada and Angelo Josue Lozano Corzo

Rating? PG-13

SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS

IMDB: 7.1 of 10

ABBY'S RATING: 1
This is a GUEST REVIEW. The lovely and talented Abby F. provided this for the movie The Shallows. I really had no intention of seeing it, so she saved the the $5 I would have spend on the matinee.

STORYLINE

A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.

ABBY'S REVIEW

Super-hot chick, is stuck on the feeding grounds of a great white with a bird and shore is ONLY 200 yards away. The Shallows is definitely not a thriller for anyone over 18 years of age, but it’s decent for a Netflix and chill night, maybe with popcorn and your least favorite friend. This movie is true indication of, “less is really more.” On a brighter note, hats off to Blake Lively, she managed to pull off good acting in this horrible “thriller.”

SPOILER because the movie was so bad: The great white DIES and NOT by fire! 

On a more personal note..... Took some selfies yesterday and today and this evening I could Rocket and Dexter cuddling in the kitty bunkbed!! Super Cute!!

Batman vs. Superman

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 25 March 2016
     Watched  June 12 2016

Director: Zack Snyder
Writer: Chris Terrio and David Goyer
Running Time: 151 Minutes

Staring:  Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams

Rating? PG-13

SPOILERS? Ah, not really that many!

REVIEWS

IMDB: 7 of 10

MY RATING: 6

STORYLINE

The General public is controversial over having superman on their planet and letting the dark knight pursue the streets of Gotham. And while this is happening, a power-phobic batman tries to attack superman, meanwhile, superman tries to settle on a decision, and Lex Luther, a millionaire, tries to use his own advantages to fight the man of steel.

MY REVIEW

Well, in all honesty, I was not that excited to watch this movie, but after some negotiation with the husband, this was our evening movie of choice. I was trying to pay attention but I just had a hard time keeping focused. (I think I may have been tired and cranky as well). It's not a BAD movie. It's pretty average, hence the 6 rating from me.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Batman and Alfred were pretty awesome. I had my doubts about B-Fleck but he really did a good job with what he was given. He represented the Batman that I feel is the most appropriate for a kid who watches his parents die and grows up with resentment and anger. (I'll bring up the whole parents thing in a minute)
• Shit blowing up action! Yes, this was a great part for me. I do love a good action scene. The cinematography was pretty impressive. You can have a piece of shit movie and if it's filmed and edited in the RIGHT way, it can increase my review!!
• Along with the action, the cinematography in general. This was a beautiful film to watch. The shots were nicely planned and cut together with some well-designed but poorly executed CGI.
• I LOVE that Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan play Mom and Dad Wayne. I am a HUGE Walking Dead fan and to see Negan and Maggie together in a different show was 
  awesome!!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• The people who go to see these movies KNOW the story of how Batman becomes the Batman! DO we really need to rehash it out with each movie? Does every director need to show their own interpretation of this poor little boy watching his parents get shot to death? I think we can go ahead and leave that out in the future!!
• Editing and Speed is just a mess. The scenes seemed slapped together with little connection. The story lines are multiple and some are disjointed from the others. I'm a comic fan and I followed along okay, but still. Not impressed.
• Superman. Yeah, he was not my favorite. 
• Lex Luthor also, not my favorite. I love Jesse Eisenberg, but casting him in this role was less than stellar.
• Motivation in general. There was just an underdeveloped story that really made no clear sense why exactly Batman and Superman are mad at each other. I didn't get it at all

On a more personal note..... How cute are these guys!?!?!?! Dexter Morgan turned one this month!! He's the grey tabby with the tiny white feet!! He's gotten pretty close to his little brother Rocket. (He's about 4.5 months old) They were pretty adorable this morning and I just had to snap a photo!! Love these guys faces!!

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The Conjuring 2

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 10 June 2016

Director: James Wan
Writer: Carey Hayes and Chad Hayes
Running Time: 2 Hours and 14 Minutes

Staring:  Vera Farminga, Patrick Wilson, Madison Wolfe

Rating? R

SPOILERS? Yes, sorry about that!

REVIEWS

IMDB: 8 of 10

MY RATING: 4

STORYLINE

In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to London, England, where single mother Peggy Hodgson believes that something evil is in her home. When Peggy's youngest daughter starts showing signs of demonic possession, Ed and Lorraine attempt to help the besieged girl, only to find themselves targeted by the malicious spirits.

MY REVIEW

I'd like to begin with stating the obvious. I LOVE horror movies, the scarier the better. What I have never been a big fan of are the ones that boast the tagline-- "Based on a True Story." I absolutely, positively HATE that!! I have been interested in the paranormal and all things that make the claim of haunted for as long as I can remember. Not for the obvious reasons, mind you, but for one that is not. I do not believe in ghosts, spirits etc. I am curious about those who claim to be living in thee types of situations and the ones who make money exploiting them. I have NEVER seen a credible piece of evidence that CANNOT be explained by some sort of version of Occam's Razor.  I feel like that needed to be said before you read my review, because a lot of the things that I dislike are perpetuated within this movie.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• I do give James Wan directoral prowess a nod for the decision to blur Janet's face in the scene where Patrick Wilson tries to have a chat with the ghost of old man Bill. That was brilliant. I think that was most likely the one pure perfection that the movie had for this viewer!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• I'd like to begin with the blatant and mind-numbingly direct marketing pitch for what I can only assume is the Conjuring 3 which may appear in Theaters as soon as they're done raking in the dough from this one. The Amityville house in which Ed and Lorraine Warren were shown visiting was a KNOWN hoax and they continued to claim the opposite even after the family who made the claims recanted and admitted that they made the whole thing up. Yes, it was the site of a horrible tragedy where an entire family lost their lives, but haunted, I think not. It has nothing to do with the supposed Enfield Poltergeist other than the inclusion of the demon hunting Jesus-freaks, the Warrens. {Amityville Debunked} {Times Ed and Lorraine Warren were proven as Frauds}
• I am a huge fan of jump scares and whomever happens to go to the movie with me during those scenes is gonna get a pretty good squeeze because even though I can see them coming a mile away, I am still gonna jump. Guaranteed. What I did not like was that each jump scare was accompanied by odd musical timing or some sort of loud noise that just made it too much.
• As an atheist, I think the overuse of the idea that evil can be combated with pure and true religion just grates on my nerves. Too many crucifixes. The idea that the demon or whatever it was, manifested as a creepy nun. I think at one point during the movie, I was just bored enough to work on the plot for my next book!!
• Theres nothing in this movie that has not been done before, and done better. James Wan should know better. It feels like he just copied and pasted a bunch of crap together into a script and made the characters and time fit into it for the film. No bueno! I was not impressed.

On a more personal note..... I can't wear these headphones all of the time at work!! It's not realistic to have them on all day. I know the phone rings through them, but I am a social person! I need to hear the conversations around me.  So, today, I came up with this genius idea and turned the volume up almost all of the way and used my envelope sorter to hold them. Made sense to me!! It was pretty awesome! I just might be a genius!! Rocket got to spend some time in the back garden today. He hung out in the grass for about 5 whole minutes!

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The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 24 March 2013
     Netflix 28 May 2016 

Director: Ursula Macfarlane
Running Time: 47 Minutes

Staring:  Warwick Davis Narrates

Rating? Unrated

SPOILERS? Yes

REVIEWS

IMDB: 6.8 of 10

MY RATING: 7

STORYLINE

The actor, Warwick Davis, presents the story of the Ovitz family and their ordeal during World War II. From a successful musical act to being tortured and experimented on by Dr. Josef Mengele in a concentration camp. This story might have been lost to history if it weren't for the family's diminutive size, which made them a novelty as well as an inspiration.

MY REVIEW

I love documentaries and occasionally I run across one on Netflix that looks interesting. This was in that category. The story of the Ovitz family was not new to me as I did a research paper in college about Dr. Mengele, the Angel of Death of Auschwitz, and his inhuman experiments on the prisoners under his care. This unfortunately was only a footnote in the research. The 10 Ovitz family members were all dwarves as well as accomplished singers, dancers and actors in their time in Eastern Europe. They were sent to Auschwitz due to their Jewish heritage unfortunately putting them in the hands of Dr. Mengele. This is not a story for everyone.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• This is a story about beating the overwhelming odds. Survival. It's truly inspirational and makes one question the nature of people who would do something so terrible.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• The only thing, and this may be personal to me, but I would have liked it to be a little longer with greater detail. I mean, it did make me do some internet searches to find out more information, so maybe that was a good thing!

On a more personal note..... I finally found a cupcake carrier that I love! It just so happens to be perfect to carry 2 dozen cupcakes to work that I can share with my co-workers and friends! AND, my deck of Exploding Kittens came in today and I am so freaking amused with the new cards!! So much better than the iPhone game! And, the traditional selfie. I was wearing pink and pearls and it reminded me of college. Back in Delta Zeta, I learned how to accessorize!

The Darkness

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 13 May 2016

Director: Greg McLean
Writer: Shayne Armstrong, Shane Krause and Greg McLean
Running Time: 92 Minutes

Staring:  Kevin Bacon, Radha Mitchell, David Mazouz and Lucy Fry

Rating? PG-13

SPOILERS? Yes, but it's because It's so terrible!

REVIEWS

IMDB: 4.1 of 10

MY RATING: 3

STORYLINE

A family returns from a Grand Canyon vacation, haunted by an ancient supernatural entity they unknowingly awakened and engages them in a fight for their survival.

MY REVIEW

We've all heard the phrase.. 

Everything is better with Bacon! 

This movie proves that a lie! Poor Kevin Bacon. This was definitely not his best work. What happened to my Footloose Kevin Bacon? Are you turning into the new Nicolas Cage? Will you just agree to do any movie? Can we talk about this!?

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• I love the Grand Canyon and I enjoyed seeing it on film. Is that sad that that was the only redemption for this movie to me?
• It gave me a reason to drink.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Could they have just written down the plot and stuck with it? This thing was all over the place. It felt like every character had a different storyline and NOT one single piece seemed to be connected. Example: What did Kevin Bacon's philandering past have to do with the story? The teenaged daughter and her weird bulimia habit of storing her vomit under her bed in tupperware?  Mom's an alcoholic?
• It seemed to be a rip-off of Poltergeist.
• The jump-scares are cheap and can be seen a mile away!

On a more personal note..... I LOVE having professional photographers for friends! Why? Yes, I am a bit of a narcissist and love to have my picture taken! I love this one!! Thank you, you know who, for taking it for me! I love the color and I agree that blue JUST might be my power color!! Also, Baby Rocket is quite possibly the cutest thing on the planet. He's just shy of 4 months. He also found a spot to hide at Darth Vader's feet in the entry. hall!

Captain America: Civil War

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 6 May 2016

Director: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Writer: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Running Time: 147 Minutes

Staring:  Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johanssen, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Paul Bettany and many manny more!!

Rating? PG-13

SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS

IMDB: 8.3 of 10

MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE

With many people fearing the actions of super heroes, the government decides to push for the Hero Registration Act, a law that limits a hero's actions. This results in a division in The Avengers. Iron Man stands with this Act, claiming that their actions must be kept in check otherwise cities will continue to be destroyed, but Captain America feels that saving the world is daring enough and that they cannot rely on the government to protect the world. This escalates into an all-out war between Team Iron Man (Iron Man, Black Panther, Vision, Black Widow, War Machine, and Spiderman) and Team Captain America (Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Falcon, Sharon Carter, Scarlett Witch, Hawkeye, and Ant Man) while a new villain emerges.

MY REVIEW

Well, let's just go ahead and be honest with ourselves for a moment. This is much less a Civil War and more of a Super Hero's fighting with each other War. I mean, it's not bad,  and overall, it was pretty impressive IN SPITE of it being just a Super Hero movie. I do love Tony Stark, well, Robert Downey Jr.. Yes, I know, it's supposed to be all about Captain America, Chris Evans, but he just doesn't do the same thing for me that good old RDJr does for me!! (I mean that in a very nice way!

I could pass for a super hero?

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Direction: I feel like Anthony and Joe Russo did a good job juggling between A-Listers in this story. We all have our favorites in the Avengers and yes, this IS a Captain America movie, but there are a lot of stars who showed up!! I am NOT complaining!! Jeremy Renner's appearance does make me a very happy girl! And the ICING on the cake was bringing in the unexpected like Spiderman and Ant-Man (PAUL RUDD)!! Freaking Genius!
• Flow: The story flows pretty nicely from the first to the second act and then into the third is where it falls apart for me. (See below)

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• THIRD ACT!! The villain is just not villainous enough for me. He's not interesting, bot bad. His story doesn't work for me at all!
• CAMERA WORK!! The camera work is the one thing that annoys me when they try to get all artsy and get on the hand-held shaky cam. NO!!!!!! I hate that!

Other than those little hiccups, I did love this movie. It was pretty great!! Nice emotional pieces to give the story just enough for me to possibly see it a second time!!

On a more personal note..... Yesterday, we adopted a new little guy! This is little Rocket J.! (I don't know what the J. stands for yet, I guess he'll have to earn his middle name!

Green Room

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info:1 May 2016
Director: Jeremy Saulnier

Running Time: 1 Hour and 35 Minutes

Staring:  Anton Yeltsin, Imogen Poots and Alia Shawcat

Rating? R

SPOILERS? No

REVIEWS

IMDB: 7.1 of 10

MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE

A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder of a neo-nazi at a skinhead bar gig.

MY REVIEW

I really wanted this to be beyond amazing. I had the highest of hopes and this movie was pretty damn near that for me. Sit was solid and had excellent performances. It's a must see for psychological thriller fans. This is really less horror, but it was almost there.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• This was perhaps the most interesting take on the adage of "Wrong Place, Wrong Time". There were times when I was watching that I was literally shaking my head a the twists and turns that just seemed to keep happening. It was surprising. There was an oppression that falls on the watcher with this film. The kind that almost keeps you from breathing. This is claustrophobia at its best. Loved this feeling.
• The direction led by Jeremy Saulnier was near perfection. He's a veritable newbie in the directing gigs, but brings to the table a history of cinematography, special effects, casting, make-up and writing that works for him, and works for him well. He knows how to use these things in his took-box to make the production go a long way!
• The character development is exquisite! Even though it was only an hour and a half, there were real feelings that happened for these people. They were multi-dimensional people who seemed to exist and not just as flat people in a movie. There were real feelings for them!
• It's violent. It had to be violent. Without the violence, it would not have been successful.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Horror was not the right genre for this film.
• Predictable, but passable ending.

On a more personal note.....   What a day! There was a sign on the EMPTY building in the shopping center behind my house when I got home from work today! Looks like we're getting a Harbor Freight! It's not the best store, but at least it's not an empty building for the criminals to hang out in front of!! The 3D Printer is really starting to produce some interesting pieces for me! Iron Man Helmet is well on it's way! Then there are the obligatory cat pics. Dexter Morgan and his big brother Jinx. I love them more than people sometimes!

The Boss

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 8 April 2016

Director: Ben Falcone
Writer: Ben Falcone and Steve Mallory
Running Time: 99 Minutes

Staring:  Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage

Rating? R

SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS

IMDB: 5.3 of 10

MY RATING: 4

STORYLINE

A titan of industry is sent to prison after she's caught insider trading. When she emerges ready to rebrand herself as America's latest sweetheart, not everyone she screwed over is so quick to forgive and forget.

MY REVIEW

Well, It was a Saturday morning matinee and it was only $5. If I had paid full price on a night showing and bought soda and popcorn, this would have gone in a different direction. A very different direction.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• It was pretty funny. I will give them that at least!!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• It was a little over the top on one-liners and was just a little cheesy about 60% of the time.
• I do love and appreciate crude humor, but this sat on the line and crossed over just a little too much. I am no where near prudish, but seriously. That was just too much!!
• Predictable as hell!!
• An SNL skit gone entirely too long!!
• This was not the greatest writing, lacked a sense of purpose other than the redemption of the main character.
• This movie is just offensive to my sensibilities!!

On a more personal note..... I was taking a selfie, as usual, and I loved the way it turned out. So, I recolored it to black and white! I was still a little teary today because of Boomer. My 7 year old cat passed away this week and it really sucks. He had heart problems and it was unexpected and horrible! He was an awesome little guy who looked especially dapper in his bow ties. He will truly be missed.

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Hush

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 8 April 2016

Director: Mike Flanagan
Writer: Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel
Running Time: 81 Minutes

Staring:  John Gallagher Jr., Kate Siegel, Michael Trucco

Rating? R

SPOILERS? NOPE

REVIEWS

IMDB: 6.7 of 10

MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE

A deaf writer who retreated into the woods to live a solitary life must fight for her life in silence when a masked killer appears at her window.

MY REVIEW

I had my reservations about this movie, but it was clearly a surprise. We are introduced to Maddie, played by Kate Siegel,  who is working on a novel deep in the woods when her world gets jumbled up and insane when a masked man shows up in her window to terrorize her. She clearly does not see him and does not hear him either. Did I mention that she was deaf? Yeah, that takes this story to a whole new level. I wanted to yell at her so many times to just LOOK at the window. I did appreciate the way this film lets you really feel what she must be going through.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Michael Trucco... Enough Said, but not really. I have loved him since One Tree Hill and loved him again in Battlestar Galactica and in Revenge.. I mean, what have I not loved him in!! 
• Creative! It was a simple story-line that could have gotten messy and lost itself in the details. This was not the case. It was certainly effective storytelling. 

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• There were some pieces that lost me, but not enough to fail the movie was a whole. (Dream sequence)

On a more personal note..... Fun at work today. I feel like I always have so many screens in front of me! Pink and pearls today!! And finally, after I got home, I let Jinxie and Isabella watch some "Bird TV" on the computer.

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