Deadpool...Go See It!

Good morning, guys...


So, how many of you went to see the Deadpool movie when it came out last weekend? [I hope you did...it was fantastic!!]

The boyfriend and I went to go see it this past Saturday...if you haven't seen it yet, then you should definitely solidify some plans to do so, ASAP! I'd say that this movie ranks up in my Top 5 favorite comic book movies...aaaaand, I like a lot of comic book movies...so, it's kind of a big deal...[okay, okay...I know my opinion means nothing to most people...but just go see the movie, alright?!]

But, just in case you haven't already heard...or for some reason you don't know much about Deadpool's character...this is not a 'hero' movie that you should be taking your small children to see. Not at all! There's raunchy humor, violence & gore, and boobies. Soooo, yeah...don't bring the little ones.

I'd like to write more about the movie and truly nerd out over the things that I loved about it...but I'm going to refrain! The movie is that good! Go see it!

Hello There, Daydream Boyfriend: Commitment (The Movie)

Last night, I was mindlessly browsing through Netflix and you won't believe what I found...

/Fangirling

It's my daydream boyfriend! On my Netflix! Ridiculous or not, I'm taking this as a sign...we loves me, he just doesn't know it yet! [hahaha okay...that sounds creepy and desperate...it's meant to be read with 99.9% sarcasm...the other .1% is definitely wishful thinking...]

A couple of weeks ago, I watched one of the other Korean movies on Netflix...so now I've got a "Because you watched ______" grouping that brings me all sorts of Korean movies and dramas...

As I was scrolling through them [still very much a noob to the world of Korean entertainment], I remembered reading that T.O.P. did some acting in addition to his swoon-worthy singing. Not knowing how popular his acting works were nor how popular the Korean movies/dramas on Netflix actually are...I wasn't sure if any of his stuff would be available. So, I was delightfully surprised to run across this movie!

*** Potential spoiler alerts ahead!!***

The movie was pretty good...surprisingly good compared to all of the other Korean movies/dramas that I've seen. I had to watch the movie with it's English subtitles, but I didn't find it difficult to keep up with the dialogue. Luckily, I'm a ridiculously fast reader and I love subtitled anime and movies...but I realize that most people do not share my love for subtitled, foreign films. So, please do keep the language difference in mind if you decide to watch this movie.

I thought the overall flow of the movie was very good. There is only one particular spot in the movie that stood out to me as feeling a bit out of place: there's a bit of a rumble involving some good ol' fashioned school bully douchebaggery...immediately following a brief clip of our hero and damsel seemingly removed from the fight scene but without any explanation as to where they have moved to. [No transition, no explanation...and his jacket does a random disappearing act only to reappear a few seconds later] The next scene shows our hero back in his classroom and the rest of the story line flows just fine. It's a very minor point, and I know I'm probably the only non-critic that even noticed it...

Such a cutie!

The movie has got a fair bit of action, some heartbreaking espionage, and sheds a little light on the complexity of North/South relations...I'll admit, I know next to nothing about North/South relations outside of what we can see on the news and the news websites that I read [which, I presume, is also mostly America-generated]. I know that all news channels/sites spin each story to some extent, so I'm not naive enough to believe that everything I see, read, or hear is the absolute, 100%, unadulterated truth. And I was too young to have been told the grittier side of things when I lived in Korea...and that was over 20 years ago anyway...I'm sure things have changed since then...but yeah. I'm still a bit confused over some of the dynamics that were portrayed in this movie...I'll be asking my cousin about it later.

All things considered, I definitely recommend this movie. When you find yourself needing something to watch, pick this one!

/Swoon

Still not completely sure you wanna watch this movie?

It's almost two hours of watching my daydream boyfriend...he's a spy, kicks serious tail, and goes to any length to try and protect those close to him. He rides a motorcycle, stands up to bullies, and plays the piano. Did I mention he rides a motorcycle? [/chuckle me likey the motorcycle]

Cinderella 2015: A Pleasant Surprise! *Possible Spoilers*

Okay, just a few things to post about...

First: I realize that this is likely going to sound 'girly' and such, but I am so, so excited! I begrudgingly went and did some clothes shopping this weekend [it's been sorely needed...], and I found the most amazing blue jeans! I know that it sounds trivial, but my new jeans have made me feel 1000% better about myself...now that I can leave the house in something other than legging or yoga pants, I feel like I can be an actual, visible member of society again! So...yay!!

Sooooo Pretty!

Secondly: I dragged the kiddo to go see the latest rendition of Cinderella, and I was genuinely
impressed!

Cinderella is a story that most of us are very familiar with...since the original version, the story has been done and re-done, wouldn't you say, at least 100 times? That being said, I really didn't hold out much hope for this one...I thought that, at best, it would be the exact same, tired story but with better graphics. And I was wrong! [Better grab a screenshot of that...these sorts of admissions don't happen very often!]

For me, character development is what set this movie apart from all of its predecessors. In the animated classic, we get pretty much just the gist of the fairy tail...at the end of the movie, do we know all that much about the main characters? Not really...we know that the step-mother and step-sisters are terribly cruel, Cinderella is unfalteringly saccharin-sweet, and the prince is pretty much just a handsome face that happens to be next-in-line for the throne. Maybe that's why I never truly loved the animated movie...I never found the characters to be all that relatable [and everyone knows that The Little Mermaid is my favorite!].

I know that different versions of the movie present their own spins on the classic fairy tale, and I know that those movies come with their versions of back-stories for the main characters...but I really liked that this latest re-make of Cinderella fleshed out these characters while maintaining their classic roots.

***SPOILERS AHEAD!!! If you haven't seen the movie yet, turn back now!!***

I really liked that this movie offered a glimpse into Cinderella's life before the evil step-mother. From the animated movie, we know that Cinderella had a loving, doting father that had passed away before the start of the movie. In this movie, we get to see what life was like for the rags-to-riches princess when she was much younger...we learned that Cinderella's real name is actually "Ella," and she learned to maintain her unwavering kindness from her mother [who unfortunately passes away when Ella is still a young child]. One of the more touching details from Ella's childhood is that her mother often sang 'Lavender's Blue,' This song ends up being a recurring musical theme [the music nerd in my loves this sort of thing!] and lends for some teary-eyed moments later in the movie.

I also liked that this movie offered insight into the behavior of the terrible Lady Tremaine, better known and the wicked step-mother. We see when Ella's father hesitantly tells Ella of his plans to start a new chapter of life with Lady Tremaine and her two daughters...he is very obviously still struggling with the loss of Ella's mother and is longing for any chance at regaining happiness. However, minutes after the Tremaines arrive at Ella's house, it becomes very clear that the two families are very different and that merging the two will not be easy.

This movie also gave us a peak into the newly 'Brady Bunched' family's lives pre-Ella's father's death. As the two families are struggling to assimilate into one, there are several scenes where you see Ella's father likely regretting his decision [especially in instances where there's interactions between he and Ella] and then we see how these moments affect Lady Tremaine. I can't even imagine...knowing that the competition for your husband's heart is his dead first wife? How can you compete with that? Add to that the husband's daughter that looks and acts just like the wife/mother...you've got to deal with knowing that you'll never be first pick for either the father or the daughter...this takes a toll on Lady Tremaine, and you can see flashes of hurt in her eyes several times in the movie. [I think a great deal of this must be attributed to the excellent acting of Cate Blanchett...she played a fantastic Lady Tremaine!] Now, none of this justifies her terrible behavior later on in the story, not at all...but I think it definitely lends to the statement 'evil isn't born, it's made.' [Once Upon a Time gives us this quote...great show...]

The Prince is another character who we learn more about in this movie. In the animated classic, next to nothing is known about the prince...he's the prince, he's going to choose his bride at the upcoming ball, aaaaaand...he's the prince. [It's been a long time since I've last seen the animated movie, but I think I'm pretty spot on here...]

In this movie, the Prince actually has a name! His name is Kit and he ends up being quite the endearing fellow!

Contrary to the animated movie, Ella and Kit meet before the ball...in fact, his chance encounter with Ella is what prompts Kit to extend an invitation to the ball to all eligible maidens in the kingdom rather than strictly the nobility and gentry. I like that this movie adds this little detail...I think it makes it more plausible that the prince would want to invite all maidens. Plus, it also makes a little more sense when he's obviously taken with Ella during the ballroom scenes...they'd met before, had crazy chemistry, and mister princey-prince was seriously jonseing for more Ella time...sounds far more believable than the animated movie. In my opinion anyway...



Plus, we can't ignore the fact that Kit is being played by Richard Madden...also known as the late Robb Stark to us Game of Thrones fans....very glad to see him on the screen, he left us far too early in GoT [darn you, red wedding!!!].

All in all, I give the new Cinderella movie an enthusiastic 'two thumbs up'!

Don't forget, the new Frozen mini-feature is played before the Cinderella movie....I know that the mini-feature alone is enough to get some people into the theater...

Finally: I had no intention of going on about the Cinderella movie for so long! More posts later this week!

Selected Snippets...

Hey, guys!

It's been a crazy week....we had so many orders come into the office, I had to work over the weekend and I've been working later than usual pretty much every day this week. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

I would say that it's the overwhelming amount of work that prevents me from experiencing anything that's post-worthy...but I think that, by now, you guys have probably figured out that such a statement wouldn't be entirely true. [What can I say? I take my homebody habits seriously...]

As uneventful as my personal life is [at the moment], there are still a few things that I feel must be acknowledged...or at least thrown out into the paradoxical void that is the internet...

- I need to thank the amazing vocalists in Pentatonix. As a lowly free-time blogger, I'm pretty sure they'll never see this post...but you guys are awesome! Discovered your music a few months ago and have been fangirling ever since...

Listening to yall's music helped me get through this week's hellish amount of work...and it's even saved lives! [I'm not entirely positive that I would have been able to not kill some of the people I work with, if it weren't for your music]

But, seriously. All five of them are crazy talented! You've all won my respect and adoration...as a musician, I know what kind talent and dedication it must take for you guys to do what you do, as well as you do...I hope you guys keep making music...I know I'll keep listening to it!

- If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend the Paddington movie...


The movie is based on the Paddington Bear children's books [I don't remember reading any of them as a kid, but I do remember being vaguely aware of the storyline], and it is adorable!

I thought it was a really cute movie...it seemed to cover quite the span of emotions, definitely not typical for a children's movie. [To be fair...it doesn't take much at all for me to cry over a movie...] The story contains some pretty heavy plot points [death of a family member, confusion of moving to a foreign country, the heartbreaking realization of being unwanted, etc], but manages to keep the overall feel lighthearted enough to keep the movie from needing to come with a self-harm warning.

Overall, it was a lovely movie. I asked the kiddo if he enjoyed the movie and he said he'd give it '100 thumbs-ups'....soooo, I think he might have liked it.

- My DVR is a jerk.

Again, my DVR has betrayed me...it decided not to record this week's episodes of Supernatural and Arrow...a travesty that I only discovered when I finally found myself with enough free time to watch this week's episode of Supernatural.

So much disappointment, DVR...so much disappointment...

Thankfully, I'm caught up to the point of being able to visit CW's website to watch any episodes that I miss...

I'll get caught up with them over the weeke....

Wait...

We just got flooded with about two dozen orders for appraisals...and I wish I were exaggerating.

Looks like I'm going to have to work this weekend, too...

/sobs uncontrollably

Aww, now, see what you've done? Who on Earth
is evil enough to make Dean cry?!?

What A Curious Little Beasty...

I watched a few movies over the last several days...thought I'd share my thoughts/opinions...maybe someone will find them useful!

First up is Disney's Maleficent.

I remember being ridiculously excited for this movie when I first started seeing trailers for it last year.

To me, the big selling point of this movie was that we would get to see a different side to the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale...I've always been a big fan of classic protagonists. For years, I maintained that it would be a brilliant paper topic to write about the happenings in The Phantom of the Opera from the view-point of the Phantom. Most people view the Phantom as the clear-cut villain in the story...after all, he terrorizes the opera house and it's patrons...and he kidnaps Christine! Call it the odd side of me, the side that can't help but be drawn to things that are melancholy and misunderstood...but I've always sympathized with the Phantom rather than despised him. His poor soul...the pain and suffering that he must have been made to endure, especially when he was a child...

/sigh...my views on Phantom could make up for a dozen posts on their own, and I'm getting away from the actual topic...

The movie begins by announcing to the viewers that the "true" story [of Sleeping Beauty] isn't quite as we've been told. Then we are shown a young Maleficent and are enlightened as to why she grows to be in conflict with the King [as we see in the beginning of Disney's animated Sleeping Beauty].

Now, I really liked the whole premise that this movie has set for why Maleficent becomes the villain that we are familiar with. I can't go into detail without ruining the story, my apologies. Just know that it's pretty good...I wouldn't say that it makes for a 'must own' DVD or BluRay, but I definitely feel as if I got my money's worth out of my RedBox rental! [Yeah, yeah...I know it's less than a whole $2, but when money's tight, money's tight...]

I've got no wings on me!

The only thing that I didn't really care for has to do with the classification of magical creature that the story has chosen for Maleficent. In this movie, she is said to be a fairy...the largest of all the fairies in the Moore. I'm sure that I'm discontent with this classification only because of what I've come to accept as fairies through stories and various books are very different than this 'fairy' version of Maleficent. Fairies are, in my mind, supposed to be tiny, wisp-like creatures with delicate butterfly-type wings...unless it's a dark fairy...that's a different story...

Anyway...I thought that perhaps this winged Maleficent would be better classified as a Valkyrie. But some quick research on the topic and I learned that this would not be a proper classification either.

Originating in Norse mythology, Valkyries were female spirits [helpers of Odin, if you would] that hoovered around battlefields and would select those that were to die in battle. Commonly depicted with wings on their helmets, but the Valkyries themselves do not have wings. [I mistakenly thought that they did] Turns out that this misconception is probably because the Valkyries were allowed to disguise themselves by taking the form of a swan...but if  a human were to see a Valkyrie in her true form, she would become an ordinary human and would never be able to return to Valhalla.

Soooo....yeah. Pretty sure this rules out Maleficent as being a Valkyrie.

If you're harpy and you know it...

My next thought was that maybe it would be more correct to label Maleficent as a harpy.

I remembered, from my World of Warcraft playing days, that harpies were female creatures with wings. [Vicious, vicious female creatures...] The fact that harpies have wings is pretty much where the similarities with the newest version of Maleficent end. Maleficent certainly did not have a bird-like body or feathers aside from her wings...

Soooo....nope. She's not a harpy either.

/Shrug

So, I guess she's a fairy. Why not.

Overall, it's a good movie. Give it a watch...maybe you'll be able to think up a better classification than fairy...if you do, please share!

I hadn't anticipated typing this much for just one movie...but it seems time has escaped me, so I'm going to have to save the other movies for another post. At least I'll have something to write about!

I Love Baymax!

Here's something else I'm excited about:

Big Hero 6 comes out next weekend!!

If you haven't seen a trailer for the latest Disney movie yet, give the one I've posted above a shot...

It's going to be awesome!!

Sunday Evening and 'Gone Girl' Thoughts...

Hey, hey...

Well, the Grandmother's birthday shindig went...well...it went.

And I'm going to go ahead and make it official...I'm in love with my grey and white plaid shirt. Love it. I think I'm going to have to go and pick up a couple more of the buggers.

I got a few things accomplished today.

The kiddo and I went grocery shopping [hey, it may sound like a silly thing...but grocery shopping can be such a drag!].

Love this minion!

After that, I got some cleaning stuff done...sometimes, trying to keep our apartment clean feels like an exercise in futility, but I can't deny that I feel much better if it's been tidied up.

Oh!

Yesterday, I saw the movie Gone Girl...

The movie was pretty good considering I already knew what to expect [I'm going to start reading books after watching the movie...seems like there would be less disappointment that way...]. Some of the big "holy crap" moments in the book are captured excellently in the movie...and some of them are more or less glossed over. I know that this ends up being necessary for movie production, but it just leaves so much to be desired! Yes, yes, of course the book is better than the movie...the book is always better than the movie [it's practically a scientific law]. But, I would still recommend the movie to both those who have and haven't read the book...it's that good of a story!

NPH excellently captures the blend of
charm and malevolence that is Desi

Plus, Neil Patrick Harris is absolutely brilliant in the role of Desi. Brilliant!! Then again, he's pretty much amazing in any role he plays...so yeah, definitely no complaints in the NPH/Desi department.

Just...../sigh....no.

I'm still far less than thrilled about the casting choice for Andie. They
cast Emily Ratajkowski...and I'm not really sure how she fits the role at all...aside from the description that Andie has big breasts. [Seriously. In the book, Andie is described as being authentically Irish...sooooo, yeah.]

Don't get me wrong, I thought she looked fabulous in the Blurred Lines music video, but does that really give her enough 'acting' cred to land roles in movies? /shrug Maybe it does and I'm just getting old and cranky...

Contrary to the book, Andie gets very little mention in the movie...which [to my relief] translates to little screen time for Ratajkowski. She did...alright, I suppose. But I really think she's had too much done to her lips already [she's only 23 for crying out loud!], so much so that they were distracting. But aside from that.... /shrug I guess it could have been worse.

It was a pretty a good movie. If you've got a few hours to kill and about $40 to burn, maybe go see it. Oooooor, take the money and go buy the book!

The book is always better. Always.

Go, Go Power Rangers! (Twerking? No...Sombreros? Si!)

Semi-breaking news in the world of movies! A few days ago it was announced that there is a Power Ranger movie in production, slated to be released in July 2016!

I heard about this while getting ready for work this morning. Definitely, definitely excited! 

I don't know any details about the film itself. Not sure which generation of Power Rangers it's supposed to have, though really, if it's anything other than the first two or so, it won't be worth seeing. I would love it if they went all the way back to the first generation of Power Rangers...the dinosaur-themed Zords were the best! And considering villains, things got progressively weirder once you added Lord Zed and his cronies to the mix. Just one more reason to keep the plot of the movie as close to the first generation as possible. If you wanted to be picky about it, the Green Ranger wouldn't even have to be included...but c'mon, everyone knows that the Green Ranger was awesome. Heck, even bring him in as the White Ranger! Even more awesome!

I'm not sure who's supposed to be directing this potential gem of 90's nostalgia, but I will go ahead and say this: "Michael Bay had better not come within a 5 million mile radius of the Power Ranger movie reboot!" And I mean that. 

Now, I will say that he did an epic job with the Transformer movie reboot...for the first three films. Two and a half, really....everything after that was, and will continue to be, complete and absolute rubbish. /glare Don't even get me started on the ridiculous TMNT reboot. At this point, I'm refusing to spend money to go and see that garbage...

Here's an idea! After 2016, if the MMPR movie isn't absolutely butchered by M. Bay (aka, the M. Night of the nerd/geek movie world), then we should have whomever directs the MMPR movie rescue the TMNT franchise! 

Good movies for everyone!

Please, please, please bring back the original zords! They were the best! And I want to buy them ALL!  

Saber-toothed Tiger, FTW!

Do not...I repeat, DO NOT, have the MMPR participate in any of today's newfangled ridiculousness. 

For the love of GOD, no twerking!

Though, I do think sombreros would be fun. Yes, to sombreros!

Mucho gusto!

I'm sure news on this movie will be trickling out for the next two years...so plenty more to come!

Guardians of the Galaxy...

Hope you all had a good weekend, if you didn't use some portion of it to go see Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, shame on you!

I'll be the first to admit, I thought it looked like a ridiculous movie when I first started seeing trailers for it about a year ago. With the massive onslaught of comic book-themed movies, many of which are devastatingly sub par, it was easy to write it off as another movie flop. I mean, seriously, there's a gun-toting, talking raccoon. And what's going on with the walking tree guy?

But, I was wrong about this movie! (And people said that I'd never admit when I was wrong...pssht!)

Guardians of the Galaxy is easily in the running for one of the best Marvel movies made to date, and anyone who knows me also knows that this is a huge deal! (Okay...as big of a deal as loving a movie could be...) I was skeptical when I'd read a few critic's reviews saying that this movie easily rivaled the Avengers movie and that it would very likely be the next big thing, as far as superheroes go. But they were right...

The movie managed to find that tricky balance between action and humor, and even though it takes place in space with aliens abound (Peter Quill, aka StarLord, played by Chris Pratt, is said to be the only human), it didn't come across as the cheesy movie I had anticipated. 

Chris Pratt did an excellent job of bringing his character, Peter Quill, to life. As one of the main characters of a little known comic book series, I think he deserves recognition for making Quill one of the decades most likable movie characters. Now, I'm not saying that the newbie rag-tag team of accidental heroes is going to replace my longtime DC/Marvel favorites...but they are definitely going to be added to the roster!
Also, I now have a fangirl crush on Chris Pratt. He's adorable, he's funny, and gives the impression that he's a genuinely all-around nice guy. Did I mention that he's adorable?

I definitely recommend that you go see this movie, maybe even twice!