Reviews

My husband and I watched this movie with our niece on the opening night in 3D. I'm not a huge Disney fan and often do not care for children movies. However, this movie was really, really great. It had such a captivating story that made viewers want to watch all of it. I kept wondering what would happen next which is something I rarely think when watching a children's movie. First, it is such an appealing movie to watch. The characters are so cute and the land they live in looks so pretty. Disney did very well with the animation. My favorite character was the snowman, Olaf. They did such a good job making Olaf cute and funny. My favorite part was that it was emotional and that it told a powerful story. It was good to see a movie that encompassed a young woman fighting for her relationship with her sister. The dynamic between the two sisters was also interesting and I found to be something that can actually occur in real-life just in different terms. The movie had such a great moral of the story type ending. It proved that it is necessary to put family first before anything else and to always be there for each other which I believe kids need to hear more of.

As a huge fan of the first Hunger Games, I can guarantee that people will not be disappointed by the second film. I'm still thinking about it a week after seeing it. It has so much action, emotion, and the story line is amazing. First, let me just say I haven't read the books so I can't determine if it followed the book or not. I'm told that it followed the ending identically to the book. The dynamic of this film is so much grander than the last one. The special effects are bigger and better. I loved how the relationship between Peeta and Katniss grew throughout this movie. I believe fans will not be disappointed in the chemistry that Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence have between each other. It's so brilliant to watch to young actors connect in such a way. I can't get over the story line of this movie. I cried at least three times throughout the movie. This mainly was because the emotion is so rare and honest. I enjoyed how the producers did connect this movie back to the first movie. There is a part that Peeta and Katniss revisit the Districts and pay a tribute to the fallen. It's a very powerful scene. The ending is definitely a cliff hanger. I can't wait for the third movie!

I have never been a fan of the Hangover series and can't even remember much about the second one because I slept through it. With that being said, I believe that Hangover 3 is probably the best one they have made. I wasn't at all bored or wishing that it would end like I had been in the other movies. This movie actually made me laugh. However, the movie seemed to go by so fast; almost like it was rushed. It had a good plot but it just seemed like they ran out of ideas and just ended the movie. I think that it is a good idea that they ended the Hangover series. I feel like they wanted to make a movie that wrapped everything up but didn't have anywhere else to go with it. I liked that the Allen found love at the end. I think that was a nice touch for them to add. I really enjoyed that Melissa McCarthy was in; any time she makes an appearance in a movie makes it better. Overall, it was funny and entertaining and ended on a good note.

I have never been into superhero movies like this and would have never imagined that I would enjoy them. My husband wanted to see this movie so we went to the first opening on Thursday night. I have to say that I loved it. I didn't expect to and I was trying not to. The one thing that I found to be the most interesting is the dynamic between Thor and Loki. I loved the complicated brother relationship aspect. I think that Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman were good in this movie but the best was Tom Hiddleston. I don't believe that I have seen a movie with him in it. But he was truly the most interesting and believable character. He was the reason I wanted to continue to watching the movie. I kept wondering if he'd betray Thor or if he'd be an honest brother to him. All I have to say is that the ending is the best. It'll make you think "I really didn't see that coming." Well, some people might see it coming; however, if you are completely unaware of comic book stuff like me, you will be surprised. Anyways, I was surprised I liked it and Loki stole the show.

I wasn't sure what to think of this movie before we watched it. I'm a big fan of Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal and I was excited that they made a movie together. However, this movie is just downright confusing. First, it's a two and half hour movie that can easily be put into an hour and half movie if they took out the stuff that doesn't matter. The story line goes like this two girls get abducted, the police end up with two suspects, the parents go insane, and then the person you never thought did it was actually the one who did it. Meanwhile, the dad tortures this poor innocent man that is completely difficult to watch. The gore was too much for me to handle. I understand how the second suspect fits into the picture but I'm not sure his role in the abduction. They never really say; he just there on the side lines doing is own creepy, stalkerish stuff. Also, as a spoiler alert: I don't see the point of the father being abducted in the end either. The movie could easily have removed this part as it has nothing to do with the plot. The ending was terrible. It just ended with really nothing being revealed as if they reached two and half hours and said good enough. On a different note, Jake Gyllenhaal is a really good actor and in this movie he gives it his all to his character. I really enjoyed watching him.

I had to watch this movie for my social work policy class. I was unsure what exactly this documentary would be about and usually I am not a huge fan of documentaries. However, this documentary was amazing. It was raw, emotional, and completely engaging. I couldn't stop watching it. Grounded Truth is about soldiers that are sent over to Iraq and are trained to kill. They are given guns and taught to be the first person out there shooting. They are told to run over anybody that gets in front of their military truck. They are trained to torture people to get information. When they are finally able to come home, they have changed drastically from when they left. They have seen and done things they never imagined they would have to do. They suffer from what is called PTSD and experienced the lack of help that the military offers them after returning home. I enjoyed how it was the same people talking throughout the whole documentary. It wasn't like this person did this or that and then onto another person. It followed about seven different people from the time they entered into basic training, went to Iraq, and then returned home. It showed how some veterans lost complete control of their lives, to those who won't talk about it, and to those that seem to be coping pretty well. It also showed the effects that their PTSD has had on their families which I found to be very interesting.

I found this movie to be very inspiring. I was excited to go see this movie because I was very interested in the story line. The movie is based on the life of Eugene Allen and his career as a butler for the White House for 34 years (In the movie, his name is Cecil Gaines. This irritates me a little bit. If they were attempting to make a movie based off of his life, then why not leave his name the same.) However, the story line of this movie is very well put together. I liked that it also incorporated details of Cecil's son that was a Black Panther and protested for equal rights. The scene that I remember most from the movie is when the Black Panthers are traveling in a bus that gets stopped by the Ku Klux Klan and they proceed to start the bus on fire and beat the people inside it. It also has other powerful scenes, such as Cecil breaking down after the Kennedy assassination. The acting in the movie is very efficient. I had no idea what to expect from Oprah (who plays Cecil's wife) but she was actually really good. The weirdest thing for me was to see Robin Williams as President Eisenhower. Forest Whitaker's acting was by far the most elaborate. He definitely made the movie better.