Movie Review: Age of Adaline

Age of Adaline is a romance movie about a woman named Adaline (played by Blake Lively) who, due to a freak car accident, stopped aging at the age of 29. Many years later, she meets Ellis Jones (played by Michiel Huisman) at a New Year’s Eve party and they decide to go out on a date.

The story plot wasn’t as predictable as I thought, but it didn’t exactly keep me on the edge of my seat either. But the overall movie was better than expected, going from the commercials, but still a better movie than other movies that I’ve seen. I think the voice over at the beginning and end to explain why Adaline has the ability to not age took too much of the movie and I think it wasn’t as necessary as they might have thought.

Blake Lively did a very interesting acting choice with this movie. She portrayed a character who seemed content with her life but always had this sense of sadness around her. The storyline to that made sense as every 10 years she had to change her name and life. I enjoyed her interaction with the older actors and their character links like Harrison Ford as a past love interest and father to her current boyfriend. Not to mention the dynamic with her 83 year old daughter played by Ellen Burstyn.

Overall, the acting was pretty believable, especially in most of the emotional scenes, but not so much in the car crash scene near the start of the movie, even though the lightning effect looked really cool. For these reasons, I would rate this movie 8.9/10

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 Review

Well people, I decided it was time to check out a comedy after a long run of serious movies. The question to answer now is this, was this new Kevin James movie something to laugh at?

Anyways, the movie starts with a (sort of) serious prologue which surprised me because it’s a comedy movie. I thought it would go to a joke scene or something. But really it’s a prologue to know why Paul Blart continued being a mall cop after the first movie.

To be honest I find this a hard review to write because I am not a fan of saying bad things, but that is what I have to do if I want to be a Critic.

I found a lot of the jokes as crutches from the first movies. Were they funny the second time around? I would say the very quiet movie theater means no. There are some laughs to be had but not as many as I would have enjoyed.

I did like that there was some character growth but I think this ultimately was a movie that should have died before it was even written.

In all I rate this movie 5.2/10 for the few laughs and character growth but the recycled jokes just did not make the cut. 

Movie Review: The Longest Ride

Before I get to the review, I just want to say that I’m not one for romance movies, but this one seemed like one that I would want to review. Thanks!

So I took my Aunt with me as I have been told it is always good to take a date with you to a romance movie. I have to say, no matter what I think of the movie I had some really great company.

The Longest Ride has two story lines in it but it is all to lead to one conclusion which is that two people from different worlds can have a relationship and make it work.

The movie starts with Bull Rider Luke, played by Scott Eastwood being hurt in a big rodeo and then fast forwarding to a year later when he is getting back on the bull to try and get his career back on track. We also are introduced to Sofia, played by Britt Robertson who is an art major in school. She meets Luke when she goes to the rodeo with her friends. They go on their first date and that is when they meet Ira, played by Alan Alda as they save him and his letters from a car accident. It is at this point we get introduced to our second story line because Sofia helps Ira read the letters he sent to his wife Ruth over the many years of their relationship.

 I went into the movie knowing it was a romance movie but thought it would be really good because of the western theme I saw in the commercials. There weren’t many of the things I was looking for, but it did leave my Aunt crying so I am guessing it worked.

Not sure my life will ever be a romance movie but for those people who like this type of movie genre I think they will enjoy themselves.

I rate this movie 7.3/10 because it hit emotionally for my Aunt but romance movies aren’t quite my thing.

Movie Review: Fast and Furious 7

Before I actually get to the review, I just want to tell you that I am new to the whole fast and furious franchise. I’ve only seen one other fast and furious movie before this.

With that in mind here are my thoughts on this installment of the Fast and Furious franchise.

I went into the movie expecting lots of action because that is the type of movie it is. I was blown away by the quality of the action. It kept me on the edge of my seat and involved in every moment.

What I was even more surprised about was the story that came with the movie. The characters like Dominic Toretto played by Vin Diesel and Brian O’Conner played by the late Paul Walker had more than a thug like quality to them. There was some depth to their interaction that gave me a want to check out the rest of the story in the other movies that I felt I was missing as I watched. You could tell that these actors had a great respect and love for each other more than acting in a movie and it came through on screen.

As a young watcher, I was not comfortable with so many ladies dressed in very little clothing. I knew going into the movie there would be some partial nudity, but I felt it was not needed as much as they showed it. To show some to portray the life style of the characters is understandable but so many lingering shots took away from the overall quality of the movie.

My final thoughts on this movie are this, Great action that had a surprising touching story line that was a little over shadowed by the directors need to show a little too much skin. For these reasons I rate this movie 7.4/10

As a warning, please take a pack of tissues with you and for others as there is a great memorial to Paul Walker at the end of the movie and I think it is the best action movie end I have ever seen.

As a fun time to add to the movie experience, check out some of the racing games in the arcade when you are waiting for it to start or even better after you are done watching.

Movie Review: Home

First of all, I would like to say that I was looking forward to this movie as soon as I heard that Jim Parsons was going to be one of the voice actors. I am a big fan of his work in Big Bang Theory and personally, I kind of relate to his character in the Big Bang Theory, Sheldon. We both think of the world differently than others. We both sometimes think of cool ideas that others don’t understand. Basically we both have brains that are different from others.

This brings me into Home, the DreamWorks animated movie about aliens invading our planet. Well, actually it’s about an alien race called the Boov (actual name and spelling) living on earth abducting humans and putting them in a special town where they all live in “harmony” with the Boov.

The two main characters, Tip and Oh, are being hunted down by the other Boov because Tip (voiced by Rihanna) is a human looking for her mom, and Oh (voiced by Jim Parsons) is a Boov that has made one too many mistakes. The voice acting was actually pretty accurate, especially in Jim Parsons sake because he made the character feel relatable and funny the only way he could.

The story plot was actually pretty good, giving you some parts that seem funny and other parts that might bring you to tears. But my favourite part of the movie would probably be the end. I can’t spoil it for you, but I can say that it might change everything you might know about the Gorg (yes, that’s the other alien species). It has great themes on bullying and being yourself but it was a little simple for me.

Also, the soundtrack was actually one of my favourite soundtracks ever. Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez lend their voices to some very thought provoking songs. I am disappointed to note that my favorite mini song from Jim Parsons is not included.

Overall, I would rate this movie 8.7 because of the story, character growth and soundtrack. I would have liked some of the plot to be a little less simple but it all still worked out great in the end.

Oh, by the way, check out this YouTube video of Jennifer Lopez singing live on American Idol the title song in the soundtrack called “Feel the Light”. It is pretty epic. 

Please comment and share as I learn from them.

Thanks!