"Unbroken" and "Mockingjay"

I seriously slacked on my movie watching in 2014. As of Christmas, I hadn't even seen ONE movie in the theater the entire year. So, the day after Christmas my sisters Sharon and Chandra and I went to see Unbroken. I've been eagerly anticipating seeing this movie ever since I heard that the book was being made into a movie. When I read the book three years ago I was mesmerized by Louie Zamperini's story. He was an amazing and inspiring person, and I found his story very compelling.

I really liked the movie, but as is the case with most movies based on books, the book was much, much better. The book is pretty long and very detailed, so there was no way they could cover all of Louie's life in one movie. The movie briefly covered Louie's childhood, and it was mostly about Louie's experience in the war, which included being lost at sea for 47 days and being held as a prisoner of war in a Japanese POW camp for more than two years. The movie ended with Louie coming home after the war. There was a brief summary of his life post-war, but it was given in just a few words and pictures. This was pretty much the only thing I found disappointing about the movie, since it didn't show the part of Louie's life that I found/find the most inspiring. As amazing as his survival of all of that horrendous stuff was, what happened to him AFTER the war was truly miraculous. I wish the movie would've gone into this a little more and told how he found God and triumphed over his demons. I still thought this was a really good movie, though, and I really don't have anything bad to say about it. I just wish there would've been even more of it!

Louie as a young Olympic runner on the left, and Louie as an old man on the right. (Louie died on July 2, 2014.)

Angelina Jolie was the one responsible for bringing this movie to the big screen. She and Louie developed a close bond while working together.

A few days after Christmas, Sharon, Chandra and I went back to the movies, along with my nieces Elizabeth and Kate, to see Mockingjay, part 1 (this was Elizabeth's request for her 14th birthday). I wasn't super excited to see this movie, but I really enjoyed it. The movie went by so quickly, and all of a sudden it was over. This was just part one of the final book and it ended in a cliffhanger, so I didn't really come away from the movie feeling very fulfilled, but I did like it. I can't wait to see part two next year!

Here we are at the movies: