Furious 7

It was a little different watching this movie knowing that one of the main characters had died in real life (Paul Walker).  Even how he died, crashing a high performance sports car like the ones in this film, made it like there was something "more" to this than just a normal movie.  When it started, all I could think about was the death of Paul every time he came on the screen.  But, the more I watched, the more I was able to get into the movie and allow myself to be distracted by the unbelievable, over-the-top, almost ridiculous crazy stunts they were able to pull off and cheat death over and over.  There wasn't much to the actual plot other than a guy wanting revenge for his brother, but the plot isn't why people watch this series - they want to see fast cars and action that could never actually happen in real life - and if that's what someone is looking for, this movie definitely delivers!  As the movie wound down, you could see it turning into more of a Paul Walker tribute, which was nice.  He has been a part of this movie series since it started back in 2001, and it all seemed like a fitting way to allow everyone - the actors and the viewer - a way to say "goodbye" to Paul and thank him for his contribution to the movies and allow everyone to move forward.  It seems strange feeling that way after a Fast and Furious movie, but I guess I do...

Mad Max: Fury Road

Was this a good movie?  Not really.  Did I enjoy it?  Yes!  I think this is one of those movies people will either really like or really hate, with not many opinions in between.  I have a soft spot for the Mad Max movies, so this felt like kind of a “guilty pleasure” for me.  Charlize Theron plays a woman leading a rebellion against a tyrannical leader, taking his favorite women, Max and others along with her.  They are being chased across post apocalyptic Australia by the ruler and his people with very cool souped-up muscle car/monster truck type vehicles.  There were constant wrecks and explosions and all kinds of things going on almost the entire time.  It was quite an adrenaline rush watching this one.  It wore me out.  I normally don’t go for films that are all action and not much else, but for some reason, I did enjoy this one.  Truthfully, I probably would have liked it no matter what.

The Boy Next Door

If you’re hoping for an intense thriller – you won’t find it in this movie!  This movie was “sssooo” clichéd and I knew within 5 minutes of the movie where it was going and how it was going to end.  It seemed like they took several movie plot lines from Disturbia, Fatal Attraction and other movies and jammed them all together to make this laughable movie!  Jennifer Lopez plays a mom with a high school son going through a separation from her husband.  A young, handsome kid moves in next door and they start making googly-eyes at each other.  Well before you know it – Jennifer is making out with him, among other things (and these scenes just make you uncomfortable to watch).  He is instantly in love with her and when she won’t return his affections, he goes berserk and tries to kill her and her family for the rest of the movie.  It was cheesy and horrible and even though they tried to save the movie with sex (because nothing else would save this movie) – it still didn’t work.  I give it an F for failure, farfetched and featherbrained!

American Sniper

Eric and I feel the same way about this movie and have written the following review:

By now, Chris Kyle is a name that many people have come to know.  “American Sniper” is the story of being the U.S. Navy Seals most lethal sniper and earning the name “Legend.”  This is Chris’ story, (who is played by Bradley Cooper), of his 4 rotations of serving in Iraq.  The movie makes you feel like you are there with him behind the scope as we watch him protect the men who are on the ground.  As with other recent true war stories such as, Lone Survivor and Zero Dark Thirty – you walk away with a new sense of patriotism and total respect and awe for the men and women of our country.  Chris’ story took a tragic turn when he and a friend were killed by another veteran on American soil on February 2, 2013.  You can read more of his story through his books, the movie or his wife’s new book, “American Wife” by Taya Kyle and Jim DeFelice.

Still Alice

This wasn’t an easy movie to watch.  Julianne Moore does an incredible job playing Alice, a linguistics professor who starts forgetting things and gets concerned when it starts happening to her more and more.  After getting lost on a run, she decides to go to a doctor and see what’s going on.  She’s only 50, but is diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s disease, and there is really nothing that can be done to stop its progression.  Watching the movie, I felt like I was able to experience her decline through her eyes and know what she was thinking and feeling the entire time.  She would have good days and bad days, but knew exactly what was happening to her.  I also enjoyed Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, and Kate Bosworth in their supporting roles.  Everything about this movie seemed to capture what it might be like to either have Alzheimer’s or have someone close to you dealing with this terrible disease.  It’s not a fun movie, but is well worth watching.

Black or White

I enjoyed this movie.  I like films that deal with real-life situations and problems.  This one had a lot of emotions that felt "real" to me - and nobody was perfect - far from it!  Who's to say what's right, really?  Should a little girl who lost her mother and now her grandmother be with her drinking grandfather who has helped raise her since birth, or with her real father who is fighting his own demons, or even with her grandmother on the other side just so she can be raised by a black family, since she is half black?  Also, how much of a say should the girl have in who raises her?  The movie was definitely about race in many aspects, but I felt like it was actually more about trying to get past all of that and doing what is right for everyone involved.  It got pretty real when everyone started looking at themselves in the mirror and facing up to their own thoughts and prejudices, even if they felt like they had reason to feel that way.  Some may not be impressed with this movie, but I sure was.

Black or White

The premise of this movie is Kevin Costner has primary custody over his granddaughter after his daughter dies during child birth.  A family custody battle ensues when his wife dies and the other grandmother decides she has more to offer the girl now that it’s just the grandpa.  I know this movie was trying to make a statement about race and color, (the girl is half white and half black), but I think it should’ve made sure we were attached to the characters first!  Because of the lack of character development, the story gets all muddled.  There were a lot of clichéd characters in the movie and  it seemed almost suffocating at times when the crux of the story was about race when in fact, the storyline of two grandparents who loved the child and wanted only what was best for her  would’ve made it more compelling and heart felt.