BREAKING FREE FROM THE ROOM
Joy (Brie Larson) is a young woman who lives in a tiny shack called Room with her 5-year old son, Jack (Jason Tremblay). They share a bed, toilet, bathtub, TV, a small kitchen and their only window is a skylight. Jack calls these objects by name as if they are living. The truth is that Joy and Jack are being held captive and the film takes us on their journey into their day to day life in the Room and what lies beyond.
There are a number of films I’ve watched over the last half year in which the reviews got put on the back burner. Many people have probably seen some of these flicks but I’ll slowly post them up as I get through each review.
HAPPILY EVER AFTER?
Into the Woods was a much-anticipated movie adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical in which the story is a compilation of a number of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales. The story begins with the Baker (James Corden) and his Wife (Emily Blunt) who are eager to have a child but unable to conceive due to a curse being placed on the Baker’s family. The Witch (Meryl Streep) placed the curse after catching the Baker’s father stealing vegetables from her garden, which include some magical beans. The Witch offers to lift the curse if they obtain 4 items to make a potion: a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold.
Here is where the other characters come into the story. Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) must sell his beloved cow, Milky White, for his poor family; Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), who has a serious sweet tooth, picks up treats at the Baker’s shop for her sick grandmother; Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy) is the Witch’s adopted daughter, who lives in a tower in the woods; and Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) runs into the Baker’s Wife while fleeing from the Prince (Chris Pine) at the Ball.
MARSHMALLOWS UNITE!
Nine years after the end of the show, Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) is living in New York with Stosh “Piz” Piznarski (Chris Lowell) with an offer at a prestigious law firm. Until she gets a phone call from her ex-boyfriend, Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), who is now a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He has been accused of murdering his girlfriend, Carrie Bishop, who is now a mega popstar. She returns to Neptune, CA to help Logan find the best representation but ends up investigating the case herself.
2014 is off to a good start in dramaland if You From Another Star is any indication. We are almost at the halfway point and things are really heating up. Plus, later updates on last night’s Golden Globes.
IT’S HANSEL, IT’S GRETEL, NO EXPECTATIONS
Abandoned in the forest by their father, young Hansel and Gretel enter a gingerbread house and nabbed by the old witch who lives there. The witch keeps the two as her slaves until they’re able to shove her into the fire. Fifteen years later, Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have become famous witch bounty hunters. One day they enter the town of Augsburg to stop the execution of a woman, Mina, who is accused of using witchcraft. They’ve been hired by the town’s mayor to help stop the recent abductions of children.
REVIVING ROMEO
After the zombie apocalypse, a zombie named R (Nicholas Hoult) spends his days eating brains and wandering around the airport with his fellow zombies. They travel in packs looking for humans to feed on and similarly human venture out from their fortified city to search for food. During one of the expeditions, R meets a human named Julie (Teresa Palmer) and rescues her from the rest of his pack. The two begin to bond causing R to slowly come back to life.
Unfortunately, the two find they are caught between two opposing forces: Julie’s father, Colonel Grigio (John Malkovich) and the Bonies. Leading the humans against their daily battle, Colonel Grigio refuses to believe that zombies have the ability to change. While the Bonies are zombie skeletons who are driven by their instinct to eat human flesh and lost all traces of humanity.
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. I got the same weird looks from my friends, too. But the trailer made me laugh so I just had to watch it.
A GOOD PR PERSONALITY IS HARD TO FIND
Iron Man 3 picks up after the events of The Avengers. After battling aliens, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is traumatized and finds himself having a hard time sleeping. He spends the midnight hours building more Iron Man suits putting a strain on his relationship with his girlfriend, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).
When the attacks of a mysterious terrorist known as Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) hits too close to home, Tony publicly challenges him but discovers that he must face an insurmountable enemy.
YOU KNOW THE MOVIE ABOUT A FAKE MOVIE THAT WON THE OSCAR?
It’s the Ben Affleck flick that delivered come Oscar time, especially since he was passed over in the directing category despite being awarded Best Director by the Director’s Guild of America. I’m not sure what took me so long to watch this. I knew it was going to be good but the question was how good? How much would I get invested in the lives of these Americans and their escape from Iran?
The movie follows CIA extraction expert Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) as he helps six US diplomats who escaped capture when Iranian militants stormed the embassy. The six hide out at the home of the Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor (Victor Garber) while the other diplomats are held hostage. Time is ticking as it is only a matter of time before the Iranians piece together shredded documents and discover that six diplomats have evaded capture.
REVIVING A GREAT ORATOR
This film follows President Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he tries to pass the Thirteenth Amendment, the amendment abolishing slavery, before the Civil War comes to an end.
AN INDIE ROMEO AND JULIET
When Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman) runs away from his “Khaki Scout” summer camp with Suzy Bishop (Kara Hayward), the entire community sends out a search party to seek out the two runaway lovers.
Musings of a Chunkeemonkeeato 