"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:

Movie and FroYo

I Am Number Four movie poster

This afternoon my sister Chandra and I went to the movies with our friend Hillarie. We saw the movie I Am Number Four. It was sort of a sci-fi/action movie. It was a good movie, but not a great one. Still, I had a lot of fun and it was nice to see my friend Hillarie since it had been a while. After the movie we went to FroYo and got some frozen yogurt. I got red velvet yogurt which is so good. It's weird how it really does taste like red velvet cake!

"The Kite Runner"

The Kite Runner movie poster

About a month ago I watched a movie called The Kite Runner and it was so good! I knew this movie was also a book, so I decided to get it from the library. *When I watch movies that are based on books I like to read the book either before or after so that I can see how it compares to the movie, and vice versa.

The book (by Khaled Hosseini) was just as good as the movie, if not better. The movie follows the book really well, which was nice since most movies are so different than the books they're based off of. I listened to the book on CD, and the person who read the book was also the author, so it was neat to hear the author read the book and pronounce all of the Afghan words the way they are meant to be said.

Although this was a good book, it was really sad and difficult to get through at times. However, it was a tale of redemption and forgiveness – not just forgiving others, but also forgiving yourself and letting go of the demons in your past that haunt you. This book was thought-provoking and gives you food for thought.

The Kite Runner book cover

Movie #25

I saw my 25th movie of the year this past Tuesday. My sisters Sharon, Chandra and I decided to see Gulliver's Travels. This movie was so silly and funny and it gave us all a good laugh. Jack Black was his typical funny and crazy self, and he reminded me of the character that he played in School of Rock (one of my favorite movies).

I made my goal of seeing 25 movies in 2010 and I will be making a blog post soon about going to the movies and reaching my goal. Hooray for movies!

Movie #24

I saw my 24th movie of the year today. My sisters Kristin and Chandra and our friend Vanessa went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. When the first Harry Potter book was made into a movie in 2001, I was so excited! I couldn't wait to see the movie, but after I did, I felt slightly let down. I really enjoyed the movie, but I got increasingly more and more disappointed with the following movies, and they just didn't fill me with enchantment and excitement like the first movie did. I really didn't care about seeing the Harry Potter movies after the first one, but I stuck with the movies and fortunately they eventually started getting better. (I think it was just too hard to fit a book so long and complex into a two-hour movie and have it still make sense.)

I thought Harry Potter #5 was pretty good and Harry Potter #6 was really good. (Entertaining as well as staying fairly true to the books.) I'm pleased to report that Harry Potter #7 was also very good/exciting. I can't wait to see part two next summer. It's hard to wait since I'm looking forward to seeing how this series wraps up, but I am glad that they decided to split this final book into two movies so that they don't have to cut out and/or change the book as much.)

Only one more left!

Movie #23

This morning my family and I went to the movies to see Tangled. I'm usually not a huge fan of animated movies, so I almost always wait for them to come out on DVD before I see them, but my sister Kristin thought it would be fun to take her whole family to the movies to help celebrate my nephew Jared's third birthday.

The movie was so good and I really loved it! I don't think there have been too many Disney movies that have come out in the past 10 to 15 years that are on the same par as the classics like Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, etc., but I thought Tangled was fantastic! It definitely gets a double thumbs up from me!

By far the best part of the movie experience today was looking over at my nephews and seeing/hearing them laugh during the movie. That sort of thing is priceless to me!

Life has been crazy lately, so I haven't been able to see as many movies as I would like, but now I'm just two more away from meeting my goal!

I love Tyler Perry!

I love Tyler Perry! I think he is such an awesome person. I recently saw an interview with him on Oprah, and it made me love him even more. Tyler seems like such a genuinely nice guy. One thing that I learned from this interview was that he was horribly abused by his father when he was a child. But even though he was abused for years, he financially supports his father, even though his father has no remorse for what he did. I was so impressed when I learned this, and I think it shows a lot about Tyler's character.

I love watching Tyler Perry's movies because I think they are so funny! My favorite is probably Diary of a Mad Black Woman. It was the first Tyler Perry movie I ever saw, and I thought it was so funny. I watched it with my younger sister Chandra and we just laughed and laughed! She especially likes his movies because she can relate to and appreciate the black humor since she is black.

I know I'll most likely never have the opportunity to meet Tyler Perry, but if I did, I would tell him how much I like him! I know it sounds cliché, but I really do love his work, and I admire how he seems to remain down to earth even though he's extremely successful.

Movie #22

My younger sister Chandra and I went to the movies on Saturday afternoon and we saw the new Clint Eastwood movie Hereafter.

Here is a brief synopsis of the movie: Clint Eastwood directs this supernatural thriller about three very different people and their responses to death including a hesitant psychic named George (Matt Damon) who may be able to help the others find answers and peace. Marie is a French journalist who 's caught up in the aftereffects of the devastating 2004 tsunami, while in London, young Marcus seeks to contact his deceased twin brother. (Synopsis from Netflix)

This movie hasn't gotten the best reviews, but I really liked it for a couple of reasons. First of all, I really like Matt Damon because I think he's a really good actor. He's got great range. He's always believable at his portrayal of characters in serious dramas, while at the same time he's able to be so funny in a comedic role.

Next, this movie was really thought-provoking, which is something I always appreciate in a book or movie. Basically, the question that was being asked was, "what happens to you when you die?" I have no doubt happens when you die, and I'm so glad that I do. What would life be like if the life we live on earth was it?! I know that it's possible to survive and conquer any hardship, trial, tragedy or sadness if you have the knowledge and understand the truth that when we die our spirit (who we truly are) lives on forever! There won't be any sicknesses, disabilities or infirmities; we will live in perfect bodies that work and function properly.

We will live with our loved ones. Sometimes when people lose their loved ones too early in life they are overcome with sadness because they don't believe that they will ever see their loved ones again. This is such a depressing thought! I can't imagine having a friend or family member die and think that I will never see them again. Or in my case, I can't imagine how horrible it would be to become paralyzed at 19 like I did and feel like my one shot at living a normal life had been taken away. Trials and tragedies are difficult, don't get me wrong, but if you know that there's so much more to life and living than the life we live on earth, it makes anything bearable!

Another theme that was briefly touched on in the movie is that "death is only the beginning." This concept can seem trite to someone who is in the midst of their heartache, but it really is true. Although earthly life seems hard and unending at times, it's so short if you think eternally!

So what I would say to someone who is unsure of what happens when we die is that it's not just "lights out" and the end of everything; it really is the start of something amazing! If you're unsure, then take my word for it and take solace in knowing that there are wonderful things in store for us!

Movie #21

I saw my 21st movie of the year a few days ago. It was called Life As We Know It. This was a movie that I had been looking forward to because I thought it looked like a cute movie. Although the story was unrealistic and predictable, it was cute and I really enjoyed it. Plus, I think Josh Duhamel is really good looking, so that was an added bonus ;)


21 movies down and four to go!

The Karate Kid x 5

It might be hard for you to believe, but I'd never seen The Karate Kid until last month. Actually, I'm pretty sure my family saw this movie in the movie theater when I was a kid, but I don't have any recollection of this. I was inspired to watch The Karate Kid movies when I found out that a remake of the original movie was coming out. I watched the first movie a few weeks ago, and then I went on to watch The Karate Kid Part II, The Karate Kid Part III, and even The Next Karate Kid. I have to admit that I liked all of the movies, but The Karate Kid Part II was my least favorite.

All of this Karate Kid movie watching was to prepare myself to watch the new Karate Kid movie that came out on DVD last week. I was glad that I had watched all of the old movies recently because I was familiar with them and with the story. I thought that the new movie was fairly true to the original, although it did differ in some significant ways, one big way in particular is that there is no karate in this movie, only kung fu. (I kind of wonder why they didn't call it The Kung Fu Kid, or something else altogether.) Also, the main boy in this movie was only 12, and the main boy in the other movies started out as a 15-year-old boy who turns 16. All in all, I think this was a pretty good remake, even though there were obvious differences from the original.

Movie #20

This past Thursday I saw my 20th movie of the year. My younger sister Chandra and I saw You Again starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, and two of my favorite actresses right now, Kristen Bell and Kristin Chenoweth who are both so cute and so funny, just like this movie. It was a cute and girly flick and I really enjoyed it.


I always worry that people might think I'm dumb or that I have poor taste in movies if they watch a movie that I've recommended or given high praise, but hopefully this won't be the case and people will just realize "to each their own" when it comes to the things I recommend on my blog.

This means I only have five more movies to see before the end of the year, and I'm pretty sure I'll make it, especially since there are so many good movies coming out soon. I just wish my family and friends had more time to go to the movies with me, but it's hard to schedule movie outings when everyone I know leads such busy lives!

Movie #19

I saw my 19th movie of the year this afternoon with my younger sister Chandra. We saw The Other Guys. I thought the previews for this movie looked funny, but I was disappointed. It did have some funny parts, but there was too much swearing and vulgarity in it for my taste. I got so sleepy watching the movie and since I wasn't enjoying it I took a “mini nap.” I definitely wouldn't waste your time or money on this movie -- not even on renting the DVD!

Only six more movies to go!

Movie #18

Yesterday I saw my 18th movie of the year... Charlie St. Cloud. It was a romance/drama type of movie and I enjoyed it. It wasn't the best movie ever, but I really liked it.

This is probably going to make me sound like a silly little girl, but I think Zac Ephron is so cute! He has such pretty blue eyes, and I really liked his hair in the movie and I like the shape of his lips. This is going to sound strange, but one of my favorite features on a person's face is their philtrum -- the depression above the middle of their upper lip. Not everyone has a nicely shaped philtrum, but I think Zac Ephron does. Wow, this paragraph makes me sound 13!

I saw two movies this week, so now I'm back on track to make my goal of seeing 25 movies this year! 18 down and only seven more to go!

Movie #17

I've been really busy lately, so my movie conquest has really been suffering since I haven't seen a movie in nearly two months. However, I took advantage of my sister Chandra being off work for Labor Day yesterday, and we went to the movies. There wasn't anything good playing at the regular movie theater, so we went to the dollar show. (It's actually three dollars, but they still call it the dollar show!)

We decided to see the movie Salt starring Angelina Jolie. It was a suspenseful, action-packed movie where you don't know who is good and who is bad until the very end of the movie. I thought the movie was pretty violent for a PG-13 movie, and people were constantly getting killed in violent ways! The movie was entertaining, but not great, in my opinion. If you're interested in seeing this movie, I personally would wait until it comes out on DVD.

17 movies down, and eight to go with just under four months left in 2010! I really hope I make it to 25!

Movie #16

Yesterday afternoon my friend Lacee and I went to the movies and we saw The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Like any movie, I thought it had the potential to be really good or really bad. However, I'm happy I can report that I really liked it! I'd say that this movie is a cross between Pirates of the Caribbean and National Treasure. My friend Lacee didn't like it as well as I did and I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people that don't like it, but I'm not really that hard to please when it comes to movies.

There are so many movies that appeal to me, and I'm trying to keep ahead of them, but there are still several movies that have come out this summer that I still have yet to see. The Karate Kid, Prince of Persia, Toy Story 3 and The Last Airbender are the ones that I can think of, but I'm sure that there are probably more that I'm forgetting.

16 down and only nine to go!

Movie #15

Last Christmas when I went to see Sherlock Holmes with my sisters Sharon and Chandra I saw a preview for a movie called Inception that was scheduled to come out in the summer of 2010. As soon as I saw the movie trailer I was intrigued and each time I went to the movies and saw the trailer again I became more and more excited for this movie.

Inception finally came out yesterday, and I couldn't wait to see it. Unfortunately, my sister Chandra (who I always go to the movies with) was scheduled to work today. I didn't think I could wait an entire week to see the movie, so I asked my friend Nate if he would take me to the movie. I didn't have to twist his arm because he also thought this movie looked like a potential winner, so he came down this afternoon and picked me up and took me to the movies. He was a little nervous to take me out by himself since he isn't one of my formally trained caregivers. He said something like, "I am a doctor, but I'm not the kind of doctor that would know how to help you!" (He's an orthodontist.) However, he knows enough about me and my care, so I told him that I felt comfortable with him and that everything would be fine. (And it was.)

I thought this movie looked like it had major potential to be good, and I wasn't disappointed! (I was fearing that I'd leave the movie disappointed and/or horribly confused.) The movie was so interesting and even though it was confusing, I'm pretty sure that I understood the concept when it was over. (Although, as soon as we left the movie I told Nate, "I think I need to see it again!" There was a lot to understand, so I'm looking forward to seeing it again on DVD.

Anyway, I'm so glad that I didn't have to wait long to see this movie. 15 down and 10 to go!

Movie #14

On Saturday afternoon my younger sister Chandra and I went out to lunch and to the movies with our friends Javier and Nate. We ate lunch at Pizza Hut (it's been a long time since I've actually dined in at Pizza Hut instead of having it delivered.) The restaurant was mostly empty and we had a nice time eating and talking. After lunch we went to the movies and saw Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. This was an action/comedy flick, and it was really funny. We all enjoyed it even though it wasn't the best movie ever. I think there's something about watching a movie with friends and hearing each other laugh that makes any move better. It was a fun afternoon and I'm glad that I could knock another movie off my list. 14 down and 11 to go!

Movies #12 and #13

This past weekend I was able to add two more movies to the growing list of movies that I've seen this year. I'm doing pretty well in my pursuit to see 25 movies in the theater this year, although it seems like so many times when I plan a trip to the movies, something that inevitably happens that prevents me from going. This time I was fortunate enough to be able to go to the movies without incident!

The first movie I saw was The A-Team. This movie is based on the TV show from the 1980's. The TV show was a little before my time (or at least, I never watched it), but I was excited to see it anyway. The movie was actually pretty good (I thought it could go either way), although I wish it didn't have so much language in it. The dialogue wasn't too cheesy, and there were some pretty funny parts.

The second movie I saw was Eclipse. I wanted to see this movie since I've read all of the Twilight books, although I have to confess that I'm not "crazy" about them like so many people are. I frequently get annoyed in the books when I come across cheesy and unnatural dialogue -- that sort of thing always makes me cringe and can ruin a book for me. Anyway, this movie was pretty good and definitely better than the very first Twilight movie. I thought Eclipse was on the same par as New Moon (which was pretty good, all things considering).

I always enjoy my trips to the movies, especially when the movies are enjoyable. I'm over the halfway mark... 13 down and 12 to go!

Movie #11

When my sister Sharon was visiting we went to the movies with her friend Shellie and our younger sister Chandra and we saw the movie Robin Hood. I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie, but I went into it with an open mind. I wasn't disappointed. The movie wasn't the traditional Robin Hood story; it was more of the back story of how Robin Hood got to be the Robin Hood that most of us are familiar with where he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. As much as I liked the movie, I found it hard to follow and I kept getting confused as to who the good guys were and who the bad guys were, so I'm really looking forward to seeing it again when it comes out on DVD. All in all, I really liked it, although I have to admit I'm still partial to Robin Hood Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner.

Movies #9 and #10

Yesterday my younger sister Chandra was off work, so we went to the movies together. We decided to make the most of her day off and we saw two movies: Shrek Forever After and Letters to Juliet.

Shrek was in 3-D, which was fun to watch since this was only the second movie I've seen in 3-D. I can't believe how many movies come out in 3-D these days... it seems like everything is in 3-D! The movie was really good. It wasn't as funny as a couple of the other Shrek movies, but this one had more of a serious plot and story behind it, instead of all funny stuff. I definitely wouldn't say it was better than the first and second Shrek movies, but it definitely was better than the third movie. It was better than I thought it was going to be, so I was pleased.

Letters to Juliet was a sweet, cute romantic comedy. It wasn't fantastic, but it was really cute. I thought it was a little slow, but maybe that's just because I was getting tired. I did manage to stay awake in both movies, though, which is great for me since I often have trouble staying awake in them!

10 movies down and 15 to go. The next movie I want to see is Robin Hood, and I'm hoping to see it in two weeks when my sister Sharon is in town visiting. There are a bunch of other movies that I want to see this summer, but I can't remember the names of them right now. I love movies!