Synopsis~

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into a reluctant relationship with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children.

Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. Katie must choose between a life of transient safety or one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven. — IMDb 

I was surprised at how well I liked Safe Haven. I would characterize the movie as a romance with a touch of suspense. I enjoyed getting to know Alex and Katie, watching them overcome their past and fall in love. It didn’t hurt any that Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel are absolutely gorgeous. 

Though the acting was fair, spots in the movie felt slow at times. And despite the twists, I found the movie to be a little predictable. Surprisingly, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment.

David Lyons did a fabulous job acting, coming off as determined and creepy at the same time. I don’t want to give away spoilers, so I’ll stop there. If you have a lazy afternoon and are looking for a satisfying romance, you might like Safe Haven.

Favorite scene: It’s a toss up between when Alex begs Katie to give them a chance and the snippets of Katie’s past.

Rating:  

Synopsis~

A tormented zombie (Nicholas Hoult) experiences a profound transformation after entering into an unusual relationship with the daughter (Teresa Palmer) of a military leader charged with eradicating the walking dead. As the unlikely pair build a tenuous bridge between the living and the dead, those on both sides of the battle begin to sense that nothing in their world will ever be the same again. Warm Bodies is based on the novel by Isaac Marion. Rob Corddry and John Malkovich round out the starring cast. — (C) AMG

To celebrate publishing my book, I begged asked my husband to take me to a movie. I’m a huge fan of zombies, so when I saw a preview of Warm Bodies, I had to see it.

The show was not what I expected at all. I thought the movie was hysterical! My husband almost fell asleep. Go figure.

The actors were wonderful, especially Nicholas and Teresa. I loved this scene…he tells her to act dead. When she started moaning loudly, he turned toward her and said not that dead. lol

The storyline wasn’t that terribly good, a number of logic issues throughout, but there was something very moving about two people so opposite, with no hope of a happily-ever-after, falling in love.

This is not your straight-forward zombie movie. There is some violence (people do get eaten), some okay graphics (the boneys were awesome), but the zombies themselves were so very human-like that I was a little disappointed. You won’t have decay or body parts falling off. Warm Bodies tickled my funny-bone and landed purely in the romantic comedy category for me.

Favorite graphics: Boneys!

Rating:  

Synopsis~

It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane. — (C) Warner Bros. 

We had a chance to see this movie Friday. I was expecting something spectacular. Something to wow me. And some of the movie did…the rest of the story kind of fell flat.

One character did surprise me. Anne Hathaway played the perfect Catwoman. Not only was she gorgeous in the suit, she was the perfect prickly cat. And talk about hot! And those moves…yawza!

My biggest issue was Christian Bale as Batman. I didn’t think he cut it. Yeah, he had the brooding, tortured hero thing going, but his role in this movie just didn’t do it for me. He started okay, but things went quickly downhill.

I did liked the plot (although I guessed the end pretty quickly). The fighting was great as well. The special effects were nicely done. Unfortunately, the combination wasn’t enough to push the movie into a higher rating for me. I suspect this is a case of expecting more from a movie because of all the hype.

Favorite part of the movie: Catwoman.

Rating:  

Synopsis~

Marvel Studios presents ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’—the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes – Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Captain America (Chris Evans). When Loki and his army threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins. 

Joss Whedon is the master, tacking on another winner to his long list of must see movies. How could he not with this huge cast of talented actors! I was surprised to find Scarlett Johansson played such a big roll in the film and so well!

The special effects were wonderful, not as overwhelming as I feared. It fit the movie without appearing ‘fake’. The plot was solid, and easy to follow.

What I liked about the movie and added to the chemistry was not all the characters got along. Who knew super heroes mixed like oil and water? There was a certain charm to watch these tough characters put aside their differences and do what must be done.

I was not a huge fan of all the heroes, so I was surprised to find they all did so well. The movie gave each their own screen time without feeling rushed.  I won’t go into the storyline as I’m sure you’ve all seen the movie before I had. The Avengers is a movie you can go back to again and again and enjoy it each time. There is action, adventure, drama, a touch of romance, not to mention some of the best action scenes I’ve seen in a while. If you haven’t seen it, what are you waiting for?

 Favorite scene: When Hulk confronted Loki in Stark Towers. Hilarious!!

Rating:  

Synopsis~

The macabre and lurid tales of Edgar Allan Poe are vividly brought to life – and death - in this gothic thriller. A brutal killing spree terrorizes 19th-century Baltimore and a young detective turns to notorious author Edgar Allan Poe for help getting inside the mind of a serial killer.

The previews quickly caught my attention. Edgar Allan Poe is a master in the art of writing, but I wasn’t sure how that would translate into the movies. Despite my reservations, I rented this movie.

Boy, am I glad I did! I’m into quirky movies, and this one fit right up my alley. All the characters were very well casted. See the yummy detective played by Luke Evans? Whowza! Superb acting.

The movie started out with Poe returning to Baltimore and the woman he’d left behind. We quickly learn that he’s deeply in love, but afraid to commit…everyone he’s ever loved has died.

They chose Alice Eve to play Emily Hamilton, Poe’s love interest. Not only was she beautiful, but she’s very clever as well. She was the perfect foil to the deeply dark Poe.

I had my reservations about casting John Cusack as Poe. Much to my surprise, his over the top acting suited the character.

Now onto the movie…I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. The characters were fantastic. I loved the scenery and the setting. The clothes and background were breathtaking at times. The plot was not what I was expecting either. A serial killer has latched onto Poe’s writing. With each mutilated body, clues are left behind…clues that lead to Poe.

The investigators team up with Poe, and they give chase to the killer. The stakes are raised when the next victim is Emily Hamilton. Poe has to figure out who the killer is before he loses the only person that matters to him.

Emily’s plyth was horrible. The ending of the movie has a few twists that I won’t give away, but if you are looking for a little bit of drama, something a little dark and entertaining, you might want to give The Raven a try.

Rating:  

Synopsis~

A rambunctious group of five college friends steal away for a weekend of debauchery in an isolated country cabin, only to be attacked by horrific supernatural creatures in a night of endless terror and bloodshed. Sound familiar? Just wait. As the teens begin to exhibit standard horror movie behavior, a group of technicians in a control room are scrutinizing, and sometimes even controlling, every move the terrified kids make! With their efforts continually thwarted by the all powerful eye in the sky, do they have any chance of escape?

I’m a huge fan of Joss Whedon, so when I learned he had a new movie coming out, I had to see it. The Cabin In The Woods is a cross-genre show. It wasn’t really a horror story or a scary movie, but played to both genres. If you expected either, you might be disappointed. The less you know about the movie, the more you will enjoy it.

 

 

Whedon is a unique writer, so I knew not to expect the normal. He likes to add odd twists and turns to keep the viewers guessing. Don’t you love the two way mirror in the picture? Very creepy!

 

 

 

Like most classic shows, you have the jock, the good girl, the beauty queen, intellectual, and the stoner. As you might have guessed, the sexy Chris Hemsworth played the jock. I loved his character. Very masculine and macho. Co-stars Anna Hutchison and Kristen Connolly played equally sexy rolls for the guys to enjoy. Fran Kranz played a key roll in the movie and kept me laughing! Believe it or not, he’s the person you want with you if you ever get caught in a horror movie.

 

 

 

To give the show a little twist, all the characters are smart. Too smart. The people behind the scenes need them to panic and make mistakes, so they set the scene against them. Only things backfire, and the kids end up escaping into the underground labs. They witness things only seen in horror shows. Things that couldn’t be real.

  

 

To be truthful, I liked the movie. I liked the cast. The special effects were adequate. The only thing that put me off the movie was the last five or so minutes. They opted to give the movie a unique twist…the predictable twist. They had an option for an alternative ending, but they passed on it.  

 

I’m still debating if I want to purchase a copy or not. I’m leaning toward ‘yes’.

*Please see the comments for spoilers*

Rating:  

Synopsis~

In the epic action-adventure Snow White & the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart  plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Charlize Theron) who is out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) who was dispatched to kill her.

I had high hopes for this movie, but didn’t expect much. I purchased it when it was first released, then it languished on my movie shelf. This weekend, I finally cracked it open.

First, Charlize Theron did a fantastic job. Great acting. Visually stunning, she made the perfect evil queen.  She carried a large portion of the movie and did it effortlessly.

The main male character, Chris Hemsworth, the Huntsman did an equally good job. It didn’t hurt that he was something yummy to look at either. Big grin. 

I’ve never been really impressed with Kristen Stewart acting. It always seemed so wooden. What surprised me is that I didn’t notice it until later in the movie. I actually thought she did a pretty good job with only a few hiccups.

Overall, the story fell in the category of an epic fantasy. The stunning scenery quickly drew me in to the world. I loved the touch of fairytale and magic threaded throughout the movie. I liked that the story went dark instead of light and fluffy…it deepened the story and characters. Everyone had a great back-story, and the movie built on them. The battle scenes were well choreographed. There’s nothing quite like seeing a great sword fight. This was a wonderful new twist on the old fairytales. I hope to see other stories follow in a similar tone.

Rating:  

Synopsis

Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room… until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large – Professor James Moriarty – and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may give him an advantage over the renowned detective.

Now, as a rash of murder and mayhem breaks out across the globe, only Holmes and Watson can stop the cunning Moriarty from completing his ominous plan and altering the course of history.

I was surprised at how much I liked the first movie, so I had to see if the second one lived up to it. Maybe I was expecting too much, but I didn’t like this movie as much as the first.

The movie was good. The actors were wonderful. The action was non-stop and fascincating, I love all the special effects. Very well done. The scenery was awe-inspiring. The costumes were fabulous. So what went wrong? For me, there was just too much going on and not enough downtime for us to re-connect with the characters.

And look at the eye candy in this picture. Not only are the guys hot (Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law), but she (Noomi Rapace) does her best to steal a little of the film from them. I loved her exotic looks as her role as a gypsy.

If the plot was a little more developed, I think this could’ve competed with the first movie. This show had so much potential that I was a little disappointed when the movie ended without showing Holmes as a little more human.

Rating:  

Synopsis

FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) are covert CIA operatives and best buddies…until they both fall for charming and sexy Lauren (Reese Witherspoon). Their friendship is put to the ultimate test as they wage an epic battle for her affection, using their surveillance skills and an array of high-tech gadgetry — may the best spy win!

I wanted to see this movie when it had first been released, but I’ve heard such bad reviews, I’ve been putting it off forever. Well, it finally came up on Netflix this weekend, and hubby and I sat down to watch it.

It was hilarious! I loved it. I will say that I’m a big fan of romantic comedy, so that might have something to do with it.

Yes, I know that none of the story was plausible, but 99% of the movies I watch aren’t either, so it didn’t bother me. I don’t particularly care for any of the actors/actresses in the movie either.

So color me shocked when I loved everything about the movie. I laughed throughout the whole thing. I thought the characters were cast brilliantly. I loved watching the guys stalk the girl of their dreams, and adored the merry chase she gave the boys in turn. Talk about hot!

I wasn’t expecting much from the movie, so maybe that’s why I thought it was such a hoot. The show wasn’t perfect. There were little things about each character that I didn’t care for, but overall, this is one movie that I’ll have to buy and watch again. If you want some good fun, a little murder and mayhem, and a touch of romance, I would recommend giving This Means War a try.

Rating:  

Synopsis

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, the Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sister’s place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy when she’s pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

I went and saw the move The Hunger Games a few weeks ago. I loved the movie a lot more than I thought I would. It’s one of those movies that impacts you and forces you to think about what happened long after the screen has gone dark.

The movie made you feel what the characters went through. And yes, I cried. The acting completely caught me up in the characters lives. I immediately wanted to watch the next movie.

And I’ll admit it, I haven’t read the books yet.

I have the first book, but I want to have all three books before I start reading. Everyone says they are a fast read.

The producers followed the books closely. If so, I can’t wait to read it!

I might have to bend my rules of watching the movies first and crack open the pages.

The graphics in the movie were both subtle and fantastic. Don’t you just love the mockingbird symbol?

Not only does the movie keep you involved in the characters lives, there is some nice eye-candy as well. Here is Gale Hawthorne played by Liam Hemsworth.  Hot!

One thing that I loved about the movie is the casting for Katniss Everdeen. I love Jennifer Lawrence in this role. She is both capable and vulnerable. The movie portrayed her wonderfully.

Isn’t she kick-ass here?

If you haven’t seen it, I would highly recommend taking the time.

Rating:  

Now I just have to find the time to see Snow White and The Huntsman.