Life

4/5 Stars

Summary: “A team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discover a rapidly evolving life form, that caused extinction on Mars, and now threatens the crew and all life on Earth.”

So if you are a diehard fan of the original Alien movie, I kind of have the feeling you’re not going to like this movie.  Only because Life is obviously inspired by it, and you might just spend the entire time comparing the two.  I honestly didn’t like Alien that much, so I was able to enjoy this movie.

It’s got a little bit of suspense and horror mixed in with it’s sci-fi genre.  I like the fact that 99% of the movie was contained to what was going on inside the space station and not going back and forth between people down on Earth trying to help or do something, like we usually see in this type of movie nowadays.

I was a little bit disappointed in the deaths of the characters because they kept killing off the ones that I liked (that’s not really spoiler-y I hope—you don’t know who I like).

Which leads to the ending.  No spoilers, but I do want to say that I really liked the direction the ending went.  I kind of wish it was done a little better, the whole lead up to the final scenes was meh, but as a whole, I liked it.

Beauty and the Beast

4/5 Stars

Summary: “Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman, is taken prisoner by a beast in its castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the beast’s hideous exterior, allowing her to recognize the kind heart and soul of the true prince that hides on the inside.”

While I like Disney movies, I wouldn’t say I was a huge fan of the animated Beauty and the Beast.  Not that I disliked it, I just probably haven’t seen it since I was a little kid and never gave it much thought in the time since then.  So when I got to the theatre to see this new movie, I realized I didn’t remember much of what it was really about.  Oops.

So if there are differences from the animated movie, I have no idea.  Either way, this movie was a lot of fun.  The singing is amazing as well as the acting, which really should come as no surprise.  The sets are beautify done and brings the whole world to life.

Gaston is absolutely my favorite character and every scene he is in, especially with LeFou, is perfect.

After this I can’t wait to see how Disney brings back all their other movies scheduled to be made live action (ahem, don’t mess up Mulan!!!!)

First Impressions: Trial & Error

4/5 Stars

Summary: “Josh, a bright-eyed New York lawyer, heads to a tiny Southern town to defend an eccentric poetry professor accused of the hilariously bizarre murder of his wife. Josh’s optimism never ceases despite his legal team of unqualified local misfits and a makeshift office behind a taxidermy shop. Winning his first big case isn’t going to be easy, especially when his client continues to unwittingly say and do things that make him look guilty. Despite being complete underdogs, he and his ragtag team continue to take two steps forward, one step back to keep his client from stepping into death row.”

It’s The Office meets a murder trial and I absolutely love it!

John Lithgow starring in Trial & Error (and Nicholas D’Agosto cause I love him) were reasons enough for me to check out the show, but then the humor in it is what got me to stay.

First off, these characters are so out there, you can’t help but love them.  Seriously, Sherri Shepherd’s character is perfect.  They’re all kind of the weirdest of the weird, trying to come together to do something that ordinarily would be taken very seriously.

I am starting to be over all the police/crime dramas because they are blending in to being the exact same thing with different characters.  Adding the comedy of a half hour sitcom is extremely refreshing.

Like I said with Making History, I am not sure how long the show can last story-wise, but I am so excited to watch it happen.  If you think you might like a mockumentary show with a little bit of dark humor (not too dark, this is network TV) give it a watch and let me know what you think!

First Impressions: Making History

4/5 Stars

Summary: “College facilities manager Dan Chambers is misunderstood, but when he discovers time travel, he finds that he can claim movie quotes and stand-up bits as his own and be the cool guy in the 18th century. He doesn’t initially realize that by transporting himself back in time to hang out with his girlfriend, Deborah, he is altering events in the present. When Dan’s meddling leads to Paul Revere postponing his famous ride and altering the events of the American Revolution, he must turn to popular history professor Chris Parish for help. Together, Dan, Deborah and Chris try to set everything right.”

This season of new TV brought a bunch of shows dealing with time travel, Making History is the one that I have been excitedly waiting for since I first heard about it.  Seeing Leighton Meester and Adam Pally star and then the premise itself seemed perfect.

The first two episodes have aired so far, and I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed.  It’s awesome seeing a historical comedy instead of the usual drama.  The jokes are great and relevant to things going on today.  I’m not really sure as to where the show is going to go after the second episode since it kind of solved the problem from the pilot, but I’m interested to find out.

My only complaint would be that it is too short.  I’ve become less and less a fan of the half hour format of TV, especially for shows that aren’t your typical sitcom.  A show like this could be something really great if given the time to develop the characters and get you into the world.  I know it’ll never become a full hour, but hopefully it’s going to be given (at least) a full season and people give it a chance.

Seriously, watch it.  And make all your friends watch it.

High Strung

3/5 Stars

Summary: “When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.”

So I chose this movie on Netflix  because it had 5 stars so it has to be great, right?  Nope.

If I’d realized the movie was rated PG before watching it, I probably would have moved onto something else, because it was just your typical PG movie about a girl who can dance. The story is extremely predictable and the acting of some of the background characters is horrible.

On the plus side, the dancing is nice to watch.  I’m always amazed watching ballet (if you want to watch an awesome show about ballet, check out Flesh and Bone).

The movie isn’t terrible, I still enjoyed it to an extent, but it’s probably better left to maybe a more preteen/teen audience.

Available on Netflix.

Red Queen – Victoria Aveyard

4.5/5 Stars

Summary: “This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.”

A friend of mine suggested this book and it was on sale for really cheap so I quick picked it up and read through it.  If you loved dystopian YA novels like Hunger Games and Divergent, but kind of want to be reading something a little more adult, you are going to love this book!

It kind of has a Game of Thrones feel to it where there are different families, and you don’t know who you are able to trust.  The characters are great and come together to tell an exciting story.  There is a bit of romance to it, which I’m kind of thinking might play a bigger role in the following novels, but it isn’t done in a cheesy YA kind of way.  I think it is easy to forget that the characters are only in their late teens, which to me is a good thing.

You’re going to get hooked early on, but the just you wait until you get towards the end and see what happens because you are going to get that much more into it.  I’m so excited to get my hands on the second book in the series because I need to know where it is going to go next.

Sausage Party

3/5 Stars

Summary: “A sausage strives to discover the truth about his existence.”

I really wanted to love this movie, but it was just middle of the line.  Throughout it, there were a few moments where I thought the storyline was pretty good, but then others where it was just a movie relying on the fact that it was an adult animation to get by.  Which, if that’s what you want, that’s fine—you’re going to love the movie.

The villain in the movie didn’t work too well for me, because none of his scenes seemed to matter.  I almost feel like the movie would have been 100 times better if the main characters had made it out of the food store and had to battle against the humans the entire time.

To be fair, there were great jokes all over the place as you would expect from Seth Rogen and co.  Some of it was actually pretty smart humor, not just all easy sex jokes.  It was just that when there wasn’t a joke I was kind of bored.

Also, I really could have done without that orgy scene at the end.  That was weird.

Available on Netflix.

Logan

4.5/5 Stars

Summary: “In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.”

Everyone, take note.  This is how you make a superhero movie.

Logan is a great example of why I enjoy the X-Men movies more than anything with the Avengers in it.  It focuses on telling you a story and not just “hey look over here at some epic action shots.”  That is not what I want to pay to see.

Having the movie rated R was also a great choice, by allowing the movie to feel more real and gritty.  Logan is aging and hurting and the world is apparently not that great a place, the cursing and the blood add to the atmosphere of that.

I loved seeing the relationship between Logan and Charles and watching Laura’s character grow.  She’s bound to have a spin off, right?!

Logan is an amazing addition to the X-Men franchise and if you’re a fan, it’s going to blow you away.  And the ending, ughhhhh!!!

Also, there’s no after credits scene so you don’t have to wait around like I did

The Lego Batman Movie

3.5/5 Stars

Summary: “Bruce Wayne must not only deal with the criminals of Gotham City, but also the responsibility of raising a boy he adopted.”

I absolutely loved  The Lego Movie, I thought it was smart and funny with a great song that we were honestly singing all over my college campus.  To me, The Lego Batman Movie was kind of a step down, but still a decent movie.

Robin kind of plays the role the Batman did in the first movie, where everything he says is funny and you just want to see more.  Seriously, he was adorable!  Batman on the other hand seemed a little different from how he was before character-wise.  Was this supposed to be after the first movie or did none of that even happen?  But I guess it’s meant to be a kids movie so I’m probably putting too much thought into it.

There are definitely some funny moments, but nothing that I would write home about.  While I would watch the first movie over again, once is probably enough for this one.

Z: The Beginning of Everything

4/5 Stars

Summary: “Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, a brilliant, beautiful and talented Southern belle and the original flapper and an icon of the Jazz Age in the flamboyant 1920s. Zelda is a free spirit, who longs for a bigger and better life. When Zelda meets an unpublished writer named F. Scott Fitzgerald, a passionate, turbulent and notorious love affair emerges. This fictionalized biography pulls back the curtain on the wild parties and the music, as well the struggles, adultery, dark secrets and dashed dreams.”

Major binge watch alert!  I planned on watching the first two, maybe three episodes of this show and ended up watching the entire season in a day…oops.  To be fair, the episodes are only a half hour long.

Seriously though, why is a drama only 30 minutes?!  Somehow, they manage to make the episodes feel satisfying in the shorter amount of time and I actually didn’t realize they weren’t hour longs until I looked at the clock a few episodes in.

Before this I’ve only heard of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, so I had no idea what to expect with the show.  It starts before the couple has met and goes through their early relationship through the beginning of their marriage.  In what seems like a short amount of time, they really go through a lot.  Zelda seems like a great character and I am so interested to see where she is going to go next.

If you love the 20’s, you’re going to love the feel of the show along with its beautiful sets and costumes!

Available on Amazon Prime.