Top 5 Movies that Influenced Me

             Hey ladies and gentleman who enjoy reading things that I write!  I’m TheCinemaChick and tonight, I’m using an idea Mumford gave me.  I’ve picked five movies that I have seen and I will now explain how they’ve influenced my life.  Before I get to that, please, please, please don’t laugh at some of my picks.  Most of them make sense but there’s one that you might wonder why it made the list at all.

            So prepare to wonder what’s wrong with my brain as I discuss my most influential films in my life.

5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I know, I know, this was a terrible movie.  There’s no denying it.  However, the memory I have associated with this film has given me a lot of hope for the future.  You see, the first time I saw this in a theater, I had Kit Kat and Fry with me.  It was the first time I’d ever met Kit Kat too.  Before seeing it, I had undergone my surgery.  I was just getting back in the swing of things after several months of doctor ordered bed rest.  So, thanks to a brand new set of crutches I was starting to walk again.  Of course, I was also terrified that Kit Kat would look down on me for being handicapped.  At the time, I didn’t have my AFO brace (a nice brace on my left ankle that helps me walk) so my steps were exaggerated.  

Thankfully, she didn’t think I was a freak and Kit Kat has become my long lost sister.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen brought us and Fry together into a special friendship that’s lasted several years.  We all agree the movie is stupid and makes no sense, but I’m ok with that.  Instead, it helped me regain my confidence during a difficult time  To help me out with my depression, Kit Kat and Fry even created a new superhero, named Gimparella.  I love the movie because of the experience I’ve had with it, not because the movie itself touched my heart.

4. Get Real

This isn’t a well known film.  In fact, I’d never really even heard of it until I found it on a random trip to a video store.  It’s a British film and it is centered around LGBT issues.  The story focuses on two high school boys who fall in love.  One boy is a quiet intellectual while the other is the school’s star athlete.  Because of social pressure and the constant pressure to conform, the boys are torn apart.  Despite declaring their love for one another and spending weekends together, the athlete succumbs to social pressure.  The end of the film has Steven (the intellectual) coming out to his entire school in an emotionally heart wrenching scene.  Right before this, he is assaulted by two bullies when John (the athlete) finds him.  John, not willing to admit to everyone else who he is, proceeds to beat Steven savagely, leaving Steven emotionally and physically damaged.

After watching Get Real, I realized that I have a similar situation.  I was in love with someone who ultimately rejected me because I wasn’t exactly what he wanted.  He claimed to love me, but he ended up like John.  While he never hurt me physically, he did leave some emotional scars.  I finally stood up to him and told him that if he couldn’t accept me as is, then I wouldn’t take his crap anymore.  Like Steven, I had to learn how to accept myself and walk away from it.  I learned that I deserved better than someone who will break my heart.  

Get Real is a fantastic film that I highly recommend.  It’s great for LGBT folks as well as anyone who’s ever been broken hearted by their first love.

3. Real Women Have Curves

This movie is fantastic.  It’s about a girl named Ana, who is Mexican American and in high school.  She has dreams to attend college, but her mother thinks she should settle down, get married and have children.  The film covers many topics, such as gender roles, cultural norms and beauty.  Ana’s mother Carmen thinks Ana will work in a dress factory all her life.  Carmen also constantly torments her daughter for being slightly overweight.  The movie ends with Ana accepting herself and going off to Columbia for college.

It should be pretty clear why I love this movie.  I don’t like women who are stick thin.  I find that the concept of beauty has been greatly distorted.  To some cultures, women who are curvy are far more attractive than woman who aren’t.  I’ll admit, I’m not a skinny little thing.  I don’t even like my men to be thin.  I want a man with a waist and hips.  There’s nothing sexier than a guy with a little extra meat.  

My point is, why should we be ashamed of our bodies and kill ourselves to be something we’re not?  I mean, I didn’t eat for five days but I was legitimately ill.  Take pride in what you look like and who you are.

2. The Nightmare Before Christmas

Oh come on, you knew this was going to be on my list.  It’s my favorite all time movie, I have admit to having a healthy obsession with it and I know all the songs by heart.  This movie got me started on a life long love affair with Tim Burton and turned me on to what I think is the most underrated and unappreciated art forms.  Claymation is an excellent medium that usually goes unnoticed by the masses.  The film mixes Christmas with Halloween, which is a strange combination.

This movie taught me that its perfectly all right to be weird.  It created an eternal love of Halloween and got my fascination with the paranormal started.  I could watch this movie over and over and over…which I have.

1. Memoirs of a Geisha

You can think this film for getting me started in the critique field.  I did a very in depth analysis of this movie for a class.  It required me to read the book, watch the film and do literally months of research.  I learned so much about how movies were made, as well as the geisha culture.  Once I discovered how much I enjoyed all this, my desire to do it more often came about.  I began taking more film classes, paying more attention to movies I watched and eventually started writing about movies.

Not only that, but it is visual perfection.  The colors, the lighting…all those technical aspects blended together beautifully to create an artistic atmosphere.  Memoirs of a Geisha is probably the only movie where I like to use of voice over.  Normally it annoys me to no end, but here, it works perfectly.  Saiyuri’s story is relatable since at some point everyone has experienced loss, heartache and impossible struggles.  The acting is flawless, the dances are mesmerizing and the costumes are to die for.

Memoirs of a Geisha is easily one of my top films of all times, though sometimes I do have trouble sitting through it.  The film is long and sometimes has slow parts where I’m itching for something to happen.  It’s an Americanized version of an Asian topic, so patience is a necessity.  Rob Marshall, the director, did his best to make it more appealing to the American viewer and I believe he was highly successful.

So there you go, five movies that have influenced my life in significant ways.  I know some people are going to laugh at my choices, but this is my list.  Yes, Transformers is a bad choice, but remember, for me it was about the experience I associate with it instead of the actual film.

Movies have the power to make us laugh and make us cry.  Some are wastes of time but others stick with us forever.  What movies have touched your life, dear reader?  Is there a film that you can watch repeatedly because you love it that much?

Let’s share, reader.  We’re friends here.

I’m TheCinemaChick and soon…you’ll see my choices for my top guilty pleasures…the five films I secretly love.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

            Greetings to you, possibly healthy reader! I’m often called TheCinemaChick and I wrote this review while at the doctor’s office.  It’s currently hours later but you can’t see what I wrote so now it’ll be typed.  Don’t worry; you won’t catch a cold from me.  I went to see if I had food poisoning or not.  I don’t, just a bad reaction to a medication I recently began. Ah, but this isn’t about my health problems.  This is a movie review blog, so let us discuss the first movie of 2012 (for me), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

            Before we jump into the world of espionage, I want to take a moment to talk about the film’s poster.  It’s a simple portrait of Gary Oldman, but I believe it’s done as binary art.  His face is comprised of numbers and soft colors.  The film’s tagline, “Trust no one.  Suspect everyone” is cleverly hidden right under his eye.  It feels like a coded message, which does end up playing a huge role in the film.  I love the poster and I think it’s one of the best I’ve seen in a while.  It’s mysterious but intriguing at the same time.

            Let’s get to the cast.  Seriously, it’s like a who’s who in amazing British actors.  We’ve got John Hurt, who was in Immortals and played Ollivander in the Harry Potter series.  There’s also Mark Strong, whom you might recognize as Lord Blackwood from the first Sherlock Holmes movie.  Add in Toby Jones (the guy from Captain America), Ciaran Hinds (Aberforth from Harry Potter) and Stephen Graham and there’s no way this cast can be anything but stellar.

            Of course, we can’t forget the main star of this movie, Gary Oldman.  Yeah, he has top billing and he’s the one featured on the poster but come on, its Gary freaking Oldman!  He’s an incredible actor!  Not only does he play Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, he’s Sirius Black and Commissioner Gordon in the Batman trilogy.  One thing about him that I greatly admire is his ability to transform into any character.  Compare him as Sirius to Smiley.  He’s unrecognizable.  Also, I seriously believe he is ageless.  I looked up his age and I refuse to believe that’s true.

            As if that weren’t cool enough, let’s add Colin Firth into the mix.  I’ve made no secret of my love for this man.  He’s only in the supporting cast, but take my word on this, he is vital to the plot.  I can’t say why so just trust me.  Of course, we also have Benedict Cumberbatch.  I love saying his name out loud.  It just sounds like a “can you possibly get anymore British than that?” name.  You know what, let’s all say it together, just for fun.  His name is…

            Benedict Cumberbatch!

            Now that we’ve gone over the cast, let’s actually discuss the movie.  The first act is slow, almost painfully slow.  This was one of few times when I actually needed my soda in order to stay awake.  Nothing really happens and for the most part, it has no effect on the film overall.  Do we really need to see Smiley (Oldman) buy new glasses or go for a swim?  I don’t see why the watcher needs to see a drawn out day in the life of this character.  We don’t learn anything about him so it just felt agonizingly dull.

            However, the film does pick up.  The obstacle in the plot is that there is a mole in the agency where all these men work.  Smiley is working to figure out who it is.  For the most part, it’s a good spy flick.  I seriously didn’t know who the bad guy was until the end of the film when it’s revealed.  There’s a sublplot featuring a character named Ricky Tarr that also seemed a bit trivial.  The character itself I understand but then they add in a love interest which really didn’t seem to add anything to the story.  Plus, after they talk about the chick, she’s never mentioned again except one mention of her name at the end.

            I liked the movie.  Despite being thoroughly confused up until the final few minutes, it was a fantastic film.  It’s seamless and flows easily from one scene to the next.  Unlike most spy action thriller movies out there, you have no clue who the villain is until the end.  There’s four possible guys but the suspicion between each one is so intense that I gave up trying to figure out what was going on.  It’s visually stunning and the actors are flawless.  I would recommend Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to someone who’s not a fan of the spy genre.  It’s definitely worth checking out if it’s playing in your area.

            I’m aware that this isn’t one of my best reviews and for that, I apologize.  I have been unable to eat in five days because of some weird sickness.  The good news is, my doctor has given me more medication.  I’m doing better so that’s a good sign.

            Next on my list is a blog dedicated to the five movies that have changed my life, thanks to a suggestion from Mumford.

            I’m TheChinemaChick and I’m thinking a nap sounds great right now.

TheCinemaChick takes on...dating

            Hey guys, I’m known internationally as TheCinemaChick and I usually see movies.  Well, I’ve been doing some thinking and been talking to my trusty sidekick, Kit Kat.  Plus, I read Mumford’s blog about online dating, which also got me thinking.  It only seems logical that if a guy gives his opinion on the whole dating scene that a girl should too.  So here I am, a chick with a few thoughts on relationships.

            I suppose before I go into my rant, I should let you guys know a little more about me.  First off, I’m not the super hot girl who could get any guy she wanted.  I’ve had a grand total of four boyfriends in my life.  Each one was different and each one had problems.  I’m not saying the experiences were bad, but each break up taught me something about myself.  With that said, I haven’t been in a relationship for about two years.

            I don’t date.

            It’s not that I don’t want to, but you know, the opportunity hasn’t presented itself to me.  Now, I’ll readily admit that I’m not the super thin girl who has movie star good looks.  I’m more of the nerdy, sits in the back corner reading comic books and wears a hoodie girl.  By the explanation, I guess you could call me a wallflower.  By no means am I boring.  I have a lot to say.  While I know little about politics, I do have opinions.

            Yeah, I could do online dating, but honestly, that’s a road I don’t want to go down again.  I have tried it in the past only to be contacted by either perverts or jerks that proceeded to berate and insult me.    So you can understand why I choose not to do that.

            I wonder…what makes me dateable or undateable?  I mentioned that I’m no beauty queen.  I’m open minded and willing to try new things.  Ok, I can be a bit naïve and sometimes I might say the wrong thing, but surely that can’t be the reason why I don’t have dates lined up. 

            You see, to me, the most attractive thing about a guy is his smile.  If he can walk over to me with a smile and project an air of confidence, that’s sexy!  I’m going to let you guys in on a little secret.  Not all girls want to find Brad Pitt or Robert Pattinson.  Some of us want the sweet little nerds or the chubby musician.  Personally, I like guys who write, love going to concerts and movies and on occasion, hiking.

            Also, not all of us want the handsome prince on a white horse.  Honestly, in this day and age, does that even happen anymore?  Are there girls who sit around and wait for a guy to sweep them off their feet?  Please don’t take offense to any of this.  I am seriously curious.  I mean, I’m fairly independent but that doesn’t mean I would like to lie on a couch and watch TV in my pajamas with a guy.  Sure, going out is fun too but some girls don’t like putting on their sexiest outfits and piling on the makeup.

           Guys, do you really know how much work it takes for a girl to look her best?  We have to shave or wax, do our hair, pick the outfit, put it on, match our shoes, pick the right purse, put on our make up and add a dash of perfume .  Well…I’m not like that.  I would much rather go out in my jeans and a nice blouse.  Maybe I’m exaggerating about all this, but I don’t know.  My friends don’t talk about their dating lives around me much anymore.

            Ok, maybe it’s just me, but seriously, do all guys want a swimsuit model?  I fully believe that looks will fade over time but a personality stays.  What if you land the hot chick and she’s just vapid and shallow?  What will you talk about over dinner?  How long can something last based on being attractive?  I’m not saying all hot people are like that, but let’s just say we’re basing this off negative social ideals.  Like, all pretty girls are dumb and all smart girls are ugly…things like that.  I know that isn’t true, but some people believe it.

            As far as meeting people, the bar scene isn’t for me.  I’ve had drunk guys hit on me which I hated.  I also don’t drink often so I prefer to not be around it.  Clubs aren’t my thing either since I’m unable to dance plus I don’t want to see girls dressed slutty.  I’ve been to bars and clubs before, so I am basing it off experience.  I was told I could meet people at coffee bars and the library but once again, I’m not at those places often enough to meet people.  And honestly, do many people actually meet their Mr. or Mrs. Right when having drinks at some loud, crowded bar?

            Speaking of Mr. Right…why do we all seek perfection?  Perfect is a concept that can never be attained.  I want a guy who has a few flaws.  Instead of doing everything right, make a mistake.  Get into a stupid argument with me.  Forget what time we said we’d do something and agree to do something completely different.  If life always went according to plan, things would be rather boring.

            And like I said, I’d like to date.  I have crushes on guys who don’t even know I exist or think I’m too ugly.  By the way, I have been dumped by someone for being too ugly.  I’ve also been dumped by text message.  Several times I’ve also had to play relationship counselor for friends, so I know a few things about dating.  It’s not the easiest thing in the world.  Love can be the greatest feeling in the world, but it can also be the most painful.  When you find it, it’s bliss.  Losing it makes life hell.

            I won’t say that people should date just for the sake of finding a one night stand.  Relationships should be about finding someone to spend time with on rainy days or maybe dancing like idiots together at the bar.

            I believe that everyone deserves to love and be loved.  Several of my friends are now married with children.  I’m happy for them, knowing that maybe someday I’ll have someone who shares in my wacky ideas.  Will it happen soon?  I don’t know and I don’t care.  When it happens, it will happen.

            However, I also think dating won’t be any easier until we learn to accept our flaws and imperfections.  I want a guy who won’t be afraid to show moments of vulnerability but can also be a shoulder to cry on when I need it.  I’m not asking for Superman.  I just want a guy who accepts me as I am: I’m weird, I’m a nerd, I have insecurities like every other girl.  Just because I’m not Adriana Lima, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have someone to share my life with.

            I’ll even admit that I had a crush on this guy while I was in college.  He’s probably one of those guys who’ll never see me as anything more than a friend.  He has a great smile and he was a little dorky.  By no means was he perfect, but you know that’s fine by me.  And in case you wondering where I went to college, I went to two.  If you figure it out…then you clearly know me way better than I know me.

            High school was nothing but a popularity contest.  Life shouldn’t have to be like that.

            I’m TheCinemaChick and while I may not be a supermodel, I’m still fun and lovable.  Kit Kat can vouch for me on that.

            Remember, “The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”

            Yes…I quoted Moulin Rouge.

Holy shark repellant, Batman!

            Welcome to the new year!  My name is TheCinemaChick and I am a lover of all things film related.  I am working on improving my skills as a reviewer, so I might start doing vocabulary lessons.  You know, some people might wonder why I review so many films.  The thing is, I’m a performer at heart.  I grew up wanting to be a singer (preferably opera) and I do have the talent for it, but my crippling stage fright got in the way.  I do wish I could be an actress because I would love to be different characters and see how others perceive me being someone else.  I’ve done some small things and I have auditioned at local theaters but…sadly, never really broke into the business.

            Enough about me being a wannabe, let’s get right in to my first review of 2012!

            Not that it should be a surprise, but this is going to be another list.  I haven’t had the chance to see a movie yet, nor is there anything I’m really dying to see.  Now, I hadn’t planned on doing this list, but the idea originated on Facebook.  It all started because of Batman.  I finally watched Batman Begins while another person decided to watch all of the movies.  Ironic, isn’t it.  I thought, “Well, I’ve seen them all, why not do lists and see how different our opinions are?”  I’m not sure if they were all for the idea, but I’m doing it anyway.  I suppose I should give this person a name…well, we’re acquaintances, not sure if I could say we’re friends.  Hmm…I knew them in college…ok, I’ve got it.  It’ll be a dead give away for them but you know, I haven’t had a good song reference in a while. 

            So here we go, TheCinemaChick’s list of Batman movies from best to worst, possibly going up against my fellow blogger’s list.  For the sake of anonymity, let’s call him Mumford.  If you think about it, you’ll get it.  As of right now, his list is up and I haven’t read it yet because I don’t want to be influenced.  So, for my list, I’m looking at the more recent movies and I’m including the old school Adam West one.  

            From best to worst, here’s my take on the Batman films.

1. Batman (1989)

I’ll admit, the first one, to me, is by far the best.  It really captured the essence of who Batman is.  He’s dark, mysterious and elusive.  The film reflects that by being a little too dark, but it’s accented by the bright colors provided by The Joker, played by Jack Nicholson.  Michael Keaton does a good job laying the masked crime fighter.  I like that it doesn’t completely explain what happened to Bruce Wayne’s parents because honestly, I didn’t know until I came of the comic book closet and admit that I was a geek.  It’s also a Tim Burton film, so that added bonus points.  Had this been a stand alone film, I would have been satisfied.  The subsequent sequels did slightly kill the franchise for me, but we’ll get to that as we go along.

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

      I actually had no intention of seeing this.  I was telling people, “I’m a Marvel girl, no way I’m going to crossover and join the DC side.”  Butterfly called me, told me to get tickets and we’d go opening night.  Of course, since I rarely say no to him, I bought them and sat through it.  I was amazed.  Christian Bale didn’t quite cut it as Batman for me until much later when I’d had some time to think about it.  The movie was a bit confusing for me, with the whole romance angle, mixed with the villains and having the Chinese mafia added in.  I’ll bow down and admit that Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker sealed it for me.  I knew it was him, but he is so in character that he couldn’t be seen any other way.  It’s sad to think that this was his last film, but he went out on a positive note.  I could have done without Maggie Gyllenhaal but hey, nothing’s perfect.  Harvey Dent was portrayed decently, but it just wasn’t as good as it could be.  Heath Ledger truly was perfection and his posthumous Oscar was well deserved.

3. Batman (1966)

Yeah, I loved this one.  It’s campy, it’s cheesy and there are so many things wrong with it, but I still love it.  I grew up with this movie and the series that used to be on, before the animated shows started.  It’s almost impossible to take this film seriously, but the bright colors and incredibly stupid weapons make for a good laugh.  I mean, shark repellant?  I don’t take this one seriously so I guess I love it for nostalgic reasons.  It used to be a family thing for me.  We’d all watch reruns of the old show together.  Plus, I love Adam West.  If you think about it, the over the top antics and the weird blocks of colors with words in them make it pretty funny.

4. Batman Returns (1992)

I’ll freely admit, the first two Batman movies were the best of the whole bunch.  By the first two, I mean the ones Tim Burton was involved in.  While this is one of the better ones, it’s also one of my least favorites.  I love the movie overall, but the storyline was bogged down.  We have Bruce Wayne’s story, plus the Penguin’s story then we add in Selina Kyle.  There’s just too much going on for it be enjoyable.  The ending was also rather over the top for the dark tone of the movie.  What really killed it for me was the clowns.  I freaking hate clowns and Penguin has some hanging around.  Then there’s the ceremonial-ish moment where the penguins sort of push the Penguin’s body into the water…even I, whose favorite animal is a penguin, found this to be ridiculous.  While it’s good, it’s a sharp turn from the first Tim Burton Batman movie.

5. Batman Begins (2005)

Honestly, I just didn’t enjoy this.  I thought it was very slow paced and at times, rather boring.  It was good, just boring in my opinion.  The parts I enjoyed were the scenes with Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow in them.  He was the most interesting character in the movie.  He’s sinister, he’s sadistic and he’s a genius, but he’s barely there.  Plus, the beginning of the movie bothered me.  After the brief moment from his childhood, it swaps between current time and a flashback which gets confusing.  I found Christian Bale to be very off putting and Katie Holmes was completely flat.

6. Batman Forever (1995)

For me, this is where the franchise took a sharp decline.  While the Tim Burton films had a dark tone to it, this one seemed to have a very light hearted approach.  Dick Grayson got on my nerves because he is so annoying.  Two Face was a joke to me and looked more like a cartoon character.  Val Kilmer as Batman was seriously wrong and Chase Meridian, played Nicole Kidman came off totally wooden.  Even the plot seemed stupid.  Stealing secrets through television?  That’s the best you could do with the series?  For me, the saving grace was Jim Carrey as The Riddler.  He’s campy, he’s cheesy, he’s just so ridiculous that it works.  I imagine this character wouldn’t be the kind of person to take himself seriously.  I enjoyed Carrey in this role and I’m not a fan of his.  He combines comedy and a sinister persona very well.  I liked him but that’s really about it.  I could have done without it.

7. Batman and Robin (1997)

Honestly, who didn’t see this one coming?  It’s so bad that it’s ranked as one of the top ten worst superhero movies of all time.  There were two sequels planned for Joel Schumacher to direct but this movie killed them.  If you’ve seen this, you know exactly why.  I’ve tried to justify the reason this film sucks so hard, but there is no possible way.  I even tried the “maybe they’re paying homage to the 1966 movie” but even that one is better than this.  This might as well be a live action cartoon.  The characters are terrible, the actors were miscast and the plot was thinner than a sheet of paper.  It’s cheesy and not in a good way.  The script is deplorable, with tons of bad puns and innuendo in it.  Seriously, count how many cold, ice, winter or similar jokes are made by Arnold Schwarzenegger makes as Mr. Freeze.  Uma Thurman disappoints as Poison Ivy and once again, Chris O’Donnell plays Dick Grayson, the most irritating sidekick ever.  

While I’m ranting, who’s brilliant idea was it to cast George Clooney?  He was terrible playing an action hero.  Not to mention the opening scene of them suiting up was borderline obscene.  Did those suits need have everything…like butt cracks, oversized codpieces and nipples?  That was one of the things that made Batman so intriguing!  He was mysterious!  Oh yes, the ruined Bane!  He was portrayed as a mindless moron who does whatever Ivy tells him to do.  Even Schumacher and Clooney have apologized for this movie. 

Ok, here’s what really gets me about Batman and Robin.  Had the movie not sucked, there would have been another sequel.  The next film would have had Scarecrow and Harley Quinn.  For those of you who don’t know, Harley Quinn is my all time favorite Batman character.  But no…Schumacher had to create something that bombed so bad that its famous for being terrible.  No one can look at it seriously.  There aren’t even words to express how amazingly bad this movie is.  It’s like…Crossroads meets Green Lantern to create a bastard child of an action movie.

However, Christopher Nolan managed to successfully revive the franchise and so far, has not disappointed.  Batman Begins and The Dark Knight have been phenomenal successes.  The Dark Knight Rises is already highly anticipated and has hordes of fanboys and fangirls drooling over it.  The trailer is already out there and sucks you in.  I’m super excited to see Bane on the big screen because honestly, he looks amazing.  Like…I don’t see him as that horrible character in Batman and Robin.  He’s been redesigned   I’m not thrilled with Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle because she does not embody Catwoman like Michelle Pfeiffer did.  I will see it and I do plan on reviewing it.

So there you have it, my Batman preferences.  If you want to see Mumford’s take on it (remember…the blogger I mentioned before the rant?), here’s a link to his list:

http://aslanhollier.blogspot.com/2012/01/batman-saga-review.html?zx=9fd88e3ac110fd6a

I have not read it, but once I have posted this I will.  I look forward to it.  Read his blogs.  He has some great opinions and I may sound a little stalkerish, but I really do look forward to his posts.  

Well, that’s all I’ve got to say for now.  I’m cold and for some reason, my fingers are communicating with my brain.  Please to enjoy my Batman rant.

I’m TheCinemaChick and I have yet to see a movie in 2012…in theaters or on TV.

All you need is 20 seconds of courage

            Happy holidays everyone, I’m you friendly local movie reviewer, TheCinemaChick.  I won’t say where I’m local, but I’m fairly popular in the UK and Russia.  I learned a very important lesson tonight.  Christmas is a popular night for movies so parking can be a nightmare.  Yeah…plus, I needed a few hours out since I’ve been homebound for a few days.  Butterfly wanted to go out, Fry was already with me so we went out and watched We Bought a Zoo.

            I’ll admit, this wasn’t one I was dying to see but it did have my curiosity peaked.  It stars Matt Damon and Scarlet Johanssen.  There are some interesting characters throughout the film which made it a little more bearable.  For instance, Patrick Fugit has a minor role.  Most people won’t know who he is, but he’s done some incredible work.  Check him out in White Oleander or Wristcutters: A Love Story.  The latter film sounds morbid, but it’s fairly interesting.  I would recommend that very much.

            We Bought a Zoo wasn’t the most entertaining or exciting film.  It was cute, but far from making my top eleven favorites list.  The main plot is about Benjamin Mee, who buys a house that has a zoo on the property.  He spends the movie renovating the zoo so it can be opened in time for summer.  Then we have the subplot.  He’s also a single father who’s raising a fourteen year old son and a seven year old daughter after their mother dies six months before the movie begins.  It’s never really explained how she died, but they keep mentioning her.  But wait, there’s still two more plots to go.  There’s two love stories, one with the son and one with Benjamin

            I mean, the movie wasn’t bad by any means, it just isn’t my cup of coffee.  One thing that irked me to no end was this is being promoted as a family film.

            DO NOT take small children to see this.  Teenagers and above, sure, go ahead and see it but there is some foul language that I was shocked to hear.  To make things worse, some if it is said by the fourteen year old and seven year old.  I’m sorry, but when I was that age, if I used words like that, my parents either grounded me or used soap in my mouth.  Maybe times have seriously changed since then, but I don’t think children should even hear their parents use them.  I’ll admit to slipping up and uttering a swear word, but never around children or family.

            Also, the movie is fairly long, about two and a half hours.  The sad thing is, it feels that long.  I was never truly sucked in but that might have been because of the noisy family behind me.  Small rant: don’t let your children roam the theater unaccompanied, then have them return and ask in a very loud voice “What happened?”  I’m sorry, but if you were sitting quietly and watching the film like the rest of us, you’d know what’s going on.

            So despite all that, I did like it.  I shows the struggles of a family coping with the loss of a parent while trying to maintain a sense of normality.  No family is perfect and they do have issues to work out.  Once Benjamin realizes his own mistakes, he is able to reach out to his son.  When forced to make a choice about the life of an elderly tiger, he is forced to confront his own problems with mortality.

            There is also one message that I loved.  The son asks the father for advice about girls to which he says (basically, not word for word): “All you need is twenty seconds of courage to embarrass and humiliate yourself.”  If you think about it, he’s right.  Sometimes, speaking the truth is embarrassing and humiliating, but it’s better to get it out there than to keep it inside or lie.  If I had twenty seconds to be courageous…wow, there’s so much I’d want to say.  I’d tell this one guy how I felt about him (and that’s not implying I have feelings for him.  I would tell him off.)  I would stand outside and confess that I don’t agree with how being beautiful shouldn’t not depend on weight or physical appearance.

            I do recommend We Bought a Zoo.  While it’s not the best thing I’ve ever seen, it’s still really good.  It sends a good message which so few movies do lately.  Like I said, this one isn’t for the kiddies due to the coarse language.  It’s cute, it has some awesome animals in it and it deals with things that happen to regular people.  And what’s strange is that there is no objectionable content other than the swearing.  It’s really a shame.  This film could have been a great holiday family film.  Instead, check out The Adventures of TinTin or The Muppets if it’s still playing near you.

            Matt Damon does his best but man, he looks so old.  Something about the movie made him look aged.  True, I am overlooking the aspect of makeup and special effects but he looks almost fifty in this film.  I’ll also admit that this is based off a book, which I haven’t read.  I didn’t know this was a book until I saw the movie.  I’m not in a huge rush to read this, so if someone else has, let me know if I should pick it up.

            If I had to give We Bought a Zoo a grade, it would be a B-.  Not bad, not good, just meh.  It’s good but mostly forgettable.

            I’m TheCinemaChick and every time you recommend me to a friend, a penguin gets his fish.

Happy Holidays from TheCinemaChick.

            Hey guys, you know me as TheCinemaChick and that won’t change any time in the near future.  Tonight, I’m bringing you a short but sweet message.  It’s Christmas Even and we’ve all got things to do.  I just stuffed the stockings with care.  By that I mean I hung candy canes on them.  Everyone loves peppermint.

            Anyway, I’m just stopping by to wish all of you a very happy, safe holiday, whatever you celebrate.  Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or Festivus, I sincerely hope it’s enjoyable for you.  I’m celebrating Christmas with my stepfamily and Fry this year.  It’s going to be fun watching my nephews and niece play with all their new toys.

            New Year’s is coming up and you know what, I’m going to share my three resolutions with you.

1. I’d like to eliminate all fast food from my life and if I do go out, I must get a salad.
2. I will stop buying concessions at the movie theater in order to save money.
3. I will continue being TheCinemaChick and improve my writing, which means possibly continuing my studies in film.

            From me and everyone who has contributed to this blog, I thank you for reading, commenting, recommending me to your friends or inspiring me.  There’s one person I wish I could thank personally for giving me numerous ideas and honestly…sort of keeping my ass in line when I felt like giving up.  Poor Kit Kat is probably sick of me talking about him and she knows one thing that she won’t ever share…unless she wants to embarrass me.

            I seriously cannot thank certain people enough.  I have a list of people I am so grateful for, including the incredibly generous folks over at Harkins Theater for asking me to cover two film marathons this year.  I feel lucky and humbled by them.  I honestly still can’t believe they did that.

            All right.  Enough of my sentimental ramblings.  Go be with your family or friends.  If you’re spending the holidays alone, hey, don’t feel bad.  I’m your friend.

            On behalf of myself, Kit Kat, Fry, Butterfly, Just Joe and everyone in my movie watching crew, I wish you a joyous holiday and a prosperous 2012.

            Keep reading and commenting.  You guys are the best.

            I’m TheCinemaChick and I bought you a candy cane.

Tattoos, piercings and mysteries, oh my!

            Hey guys, people know me as TheCinemaChick and I’m perfectly fine with that.  I’m your faceless mystery girl who checks out movies and reports them to you.  Now, it’s currently Thursday, but my internet is down so there’s a good possibility you folks won’t be seeing this until Friday, so I do apologize.  You’re probably thinking I could have omitted all that info, but I like to be open and honest with you.

            Because I care about you.

            Now, tonight’s feature is the much talked about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  It’s based off a novel by Steig Larsson.  I haven’t read it through yet, but it is currently in my possession and I do plan to read it.  As you know, I’m kind of in to adaptations.  This movie has been much hyped for a while now and it was on my list of things I really wanted to see.  However, this movie comes with a warning.

            If you’re offended by drinking, smoking, cursing, violence, murder, rape, sodomy, incest, lesbians, oral rape, tattoos, piercings or nudity, then stop reading and skip the movie.  Yes, all of those above mentioned things come into play.  I won’t say how little or how much because I’m not entirely sure myself.  I will say this: the rape scenes are graphic.  It was nowhere near as bad as Straw Dogs, but still…it’s rather frightening to watch.  For me, it’s a moment where I have to look away or grab onto someone’s hand.  This time, I had Butterfly and Just Joe, who hasn’t been seen lately.  Well, life is busy people.  I can’t expect people to always be free when I am.

            So, before I dive into the full movie, and another thing I need to stress…if you plan on seeing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, go see it in the afternoon.  It is a solid three hour movie.  I’m not kidding.  It’s two hours and thirty nine minutes, but taking previews into account, yes, it’s a full three hours.  I went to a showing at seven and made it home close to 10:30 PM. 

            The opening is something I want to talk about in detail.  Trust me, I won’t give away a thing but I’ll have you interested in the movie if you weren’t before.  Normally, opening credits are full of establishing shots that let the watcher know where the movie takes place or sometimes introduces the main characters.  In this case, neither of those things occurred.  My initial thoughts were that the opening sequence is liquid latex, fetishistic, overly cyber sexual and incredibly seductive.  I’m not sure what happened while names flashed on the screen but damnit, I was hooked.  I can safely say latex was involved, as was some computer animated computer cords.

            That lasted for possibly six minutes.  And it’s all freaking awesome.

            Once that heated, intense part is over, we dive straight into the movie.  Almost immediately we get to meet our main couple, Mikael Blomkvist (played by Daniel Craig” and Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara).  I knew nothing of Mara previous to this film, but holy crap, she’s AMAZING.  Seriously, if you see this film, see it for her.  All her piercings are real and she clearly gets into the role. I could rave about her on and on, but there’s so many things to touch on that we must keep going.

            I’m not a fan of Daniel Craig and I’ve come to believe that it is a contractual obligation for him to get naked in every movie he does.  Seriously, every movie I’ve seen that he’s in, I’ve had to see him in the buff.  Sorry to all the Daniel Craig fans out there, but I don’t find him attractive.  He’s just…serious.  I’d rather take Mr. Tumnus the faun from The Chronicles of Narnia.  He’s played by James McAvoy who is pretty hot and he has a personality. 

            The movie does get a bit slow at times because like Sherlock Holmes, the whole plot focuses on gathering evidence.  And the action doesn’t really pick up until the third act when Lisbeth and Mikael get really close to solving the mystery.  Plus, the stories are separate until about midway through when they finally meet and come together.  In a sense, there are three plots that merge into a slightly jumbled mess at the end.  First we have Lisbeth’s story, which is fairly interesting.  We also get Mikael’s life and I was fairly bored with that.  Finally, there is the murder mystery plot which took too long to get going.

            I know, not all mystery movies can be full of action, but there were times when the film felt like three hours.  A truly good film should detach me from the world, suck me and make me lose track of time.  Plus, there were times when scenes were stuck in and felt so detached that it made no sense.  For instance, the scenes where Lisbeth and Mikael have sex, but at the time it first happens, it’s so out of the blue, it seems forced.  Also, I didn’t know you could use dental floss like that.

            Now, having said all that, I thoroughly enjoyed this film.  While most mysteries you can figure out in maybe twenty minutes, this one had me guessing up until the very end, then threw in a twist I had not predicted.  It’s pretty shocking and even then, I wasn’t entirely sure if I knew what had happened.  I am more compelled to read the book, though it will be difficult now that I am babysitting three little ones for about two weeks.  Plus, it’s Christmas followed by New Year’s so forgive me if I vanish for a while.  I don’t want to, I have to.

            As of right now, I don’t know if the two sequels The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest and The Girl Who Played With Fire will be adapted to the silver screen.  So far, reports for the movie have said it’s making decent money, so I think there’s a good possibility.  I would honestly love to see Mara reprise the role because she embodies it so well.  I don’t think I will be able to stop singing her praises for this role.  Fun fact, Kristen Stewart was one of the possible actors considered for the role of Lisbeth.  Had she been cast, I don’t think I would have seen it.  Even though Lisbeth is fairly emotionless, I don’t think Stewart could have done this role justice.  And for once, this isn’t just because I can’t stand Kristen Stewart.

            I would whole heartedly recommend The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, so long as you can get past the things I mentioned earlier.  They don’t sugar coat anything, which gives it a gritty edge to the overall peaceful setting.  My one main issue is that the film is set in Sweden, but when they had a scene of the two main characters in a car, I noticed something a little off.  For a movie set in Europe, why were they driving American cars?  Sure, the plates are clearly European, but the steering wheel is on the left when foreign cars have them on the right.  I could be wrong, but if someone else sees this, please either confirm my suspicions or prove me wrong.  I really think I’m right on this one.

            That’s about all I have to say for now.  Butterfly is making me see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, which should be interesting since I’ve never watched a single Mission Impossible film.  If I can swing it, I’d like to see The Adventures of Tin Tin as well.  I also plan on renting Batman Begins this weekend (since SOMEONE told me I had to see it) and maybe even the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.  Other than that, I’ll be watching Disney movies all day because of the munchkins.  I can’t complain.  They’re just so darn cute.

            Well, I’m TheCinemaChick and love’s what I got, don’t start a riot.  You’ll feel it when the dance gets hot.  (Ten points if you can tell me the song.)