Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

After the terribly disappointing first film of Marc Webb's Spider-Man reboot that served as Sony's attempt to jump on the superhero bandwagon that the Avengers films brought on, I wasn't expecting much from this film.  And boy did the film live up to those expectations.

The performances in this film are excellent.  Emma Stone's Gwen Stacey continues to be excellent and the romance scenes between Gwen and Peter are once again among the best in the film.  Jamie Foxx's troubled Electro is phenomenal, as is Dane DeHaan's Harry Osborn.  However, Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker is oddly British at a few moments here and there (I suppose they attempted to cover that up with him having a British mother?) and while he plays a great Peter otherwise, as with all the characters, the stilted dialogue continues to be a slight problem, although not as much as it's predecessor.

The stilted dialogue is, however, the least of this film's problems.  The plot is too convoluted for its own good.  Electro's plot line?  Fascinating.  Harry Osborn's descent into madness?  Equally, if not more, interesting.  Peter's long and drawn out search for answers about his parents?  Overall completely useless to the story.  This leaves the completely interesting villain plot lines crunched for time and makes for characters that only possess a sliver of the dimension they could have.  And somehow the script left me, a long time Spider-Man fan, rooting for the villains, and my sister, who saw it with me, agreed.

The movie does leave off with the exciting promise of a Sinister Six film, but alas, with the direction the rest of these films have led us, I worry about getting too excited for anything other than Dane DeHaan's performance and one-dimensional appearances of famous villains.

Although, on a positive note, I must say I found the film perfectly entertaining, and would encourage anyone who's interested in the film to go ahead and go.  But if there are any doubts in your mind, don't bother.  But fans of the comics can look forward to a perfectly executed famous death scene (You all know the one I'm talking about) and film fans can look forward to cinematography that makes one feel like they're reading right out of a comic book.

Overall:

6 out of 10 stars

Movie Review: Neighbors

If you are seeing Neighbors for a shirtless and sexy Zac Efron, you will not be disappointed.  Likewise if you are seeing it to laugh.  A lot.

Neighbors follows the chaos in the aftermath of the Delta Psi Beta fraternity moving in next to the young Radner couple (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne).  As they worry about noisy parties waking up their baby, the fraternity worries about their parties being shut down and therefore losing their status on campus, and the only way to resolve this obvious conflict is an all out war.

Dave Franco and Zac Efron play extremely convincing fraternity leaders just as well as Rogen and Byrne's young parents reflect the awkward stage between being young and embracing adulthood that I'm sure many parents face.  Thus this film easily appeals to those in their college years on to those in their genuine adult years.  It also uses styles of comedy that easily appeal to a wide crowd; utilizing mostly that well loved sense of "WTF" humor along with well placed referential humor and slapstick action sequences.  There is something for everyone to enjoy in Neighbors, as long as one is not easily offended by bawdy humor.

Overall:

8 out of 10 stars

Movie Review: Godzilla

Gareth Edwards's newest take on the Godzilla tale is exactly what one should expect from a Godzilla film; killer special effects, aliens destroying major cities, and of course, that classic Godzilla sound, but what else does it bring to the table?  Not much.

Of course, Godzilla features a star studded cast; Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame, Ken Watanabe, Aaron Tyler-Johnson, and Elizabeth Olsen, there is no shortage of talent on screen.  Unfortunately, all these actors were given is a script full of flat characters in a loosely tied together plot to ensure that the audience can see alien destruction in a multitude of Pacific locations.

The film starts out with a story of a seemingly crazed Joe Brody (Cranston) searching for the truth of his wife's death, convinced that something other than a reactor mistake was the cause, and his son (Tyler-Johnson) comes to his rescue after his arrest.  As the plot thickens, radioactive signatures beginning to resemble those from the day his wife died, we meet the monsters.  From there on out, the plot fails to add any emotional value to the film and the suspense of when we'll see Godzilla is all that matters.

Edwards successfully keeps the audience on the edge of their seat during the action sequences, but the rest of the film falls short.  Chugging along with another tale of a young man trying to reunite his family while all anyone is interested in is when Godzilla will finally arrive in San Francisco.

If what your summer needs is a special effects fueled film with little plot to distract from the destruction, than Godzilla is right up your alley.  Otherwise, unless you're a Godzilla fan, it's really nothing special.

Overall:
5 out of 10 stars

One year down, three to go...

Well, I have completed my freshman year of college, and I have learned a few things in the process, and I figured I ought to share.  While these are not all the lessons I have learned, here are a few of the more important things I have learned from the best year of my life.

Go in Positive

So, you didn't end up at your first choice college.  Neither did I!  But after one year, I know I'm where I was meant to be.  If you go into your college career thinking about how much you wish you were somewhere else, how can you expect to have any fun?  This is not to say that you have to stay wherever you end up your freshman year, if you give yourself a semester (and yes, I'd say a semester at minimum) and you still don't like where you are, or if you realize it's not where you want to be, that's perfectly fine!  Transfer!  Don't make yourself miserable!  But if you're only miserable because you have some pre-meditated idea of what college should be, you aren't doing yourself any favors!

Essentially, that which is for you will not pass you by.  So make the most of it!

High School is NOT the End-All Be-All of Even Your Young Life

Okay, so while you were in high school you felt that if you weren't Student Council President all the world would come crashing down on you, that your B+ in Bio would be the death of any future you hoped to have.  You felt like you didn't fit in and straight up disliked most of the people you went to school with.

None of that matters, really.  Not once you're in college.  You meet new people, you make new friends, or, if you're like me, you go to school where no one from your high school has ever gone.  But even my roommate, who went in state to the school where most of the people from her town went to college, still made brand new friends and doesn't hang out with the same group she did from high school.

Sure, I have friends who both go to school in the same city and still make sure to see each other on the reg, but that's your choice.  You don't want to remember high school?  You really don't have to.  That's the magic of starting over new.

Rush!

Easily the best decision I have made in my short college career was joining my sorority.  While, yes, Panhellenic Formal Recruitment was a week of hell and, I'll be honest!  I didn't end up in my top choice sorority.  But knowing what I know now, I ended up exactly where I needed to be!  Trust the Recruitment System.  Sure, it may seem crazy, but that complicated computer program totally knows what it's doing.

Granted, Greek life isn't for everyone, but if you're even the least bit curious, give it a shot!  It can't hurt to rush, and you just might find wonderful lifelong sisters (or brothers), and even bridesmaids (like I certainly have).

Your Friends Will Evolve

The friends you make your first week won't necessarily be the crew you hang out with for your entire college career.  I did meet some of my absolute best friends in the whole wide world in the first week, and my future roommate lived just down the hall from me, but some of the people I hung out with on a daily basis at the beginning of the year are people I now actively avoid.  And that's okay!  Friendships evolve!  And when you're living in extremely tight quarters, like a dorm, they evolve a lot faster than they did when you returned home after an 8 hour day at school.

College is a Lot Harder than High School

I'm not trying to brag, but I was virtually a straight-A student in high school and I was incredibly involved, holding officer positions in both Student Council and the National Honors Society, and I was a Theatre major!  I spend plenty of time working on shows!  I was never home, and I never studied.  But I still did really well on just about every test, and project, and essay.  If you're anything like I was, you probably think you can just ride through college the same way.

You are DEAD wrong.

College takes a lot more time.  You need to read everything on time, start your projects ahead of time, study more than you think you need to, and maybe you'll get an A.  Most of the time?  Probably a B.  Because college professors tend to actually subscribe to the idea that A is exceptional, B is above average, and C is average, as opposed to high school where a C was essentially a failing grade according to your counselor.

Don't Get Over Involved

You'll want to sign up for everything, I know I did!  But don't.  Just sign up for what actually interests you!  Sign up for activities and clubs related to your major, or related to your faith, or political persuasion.  But don't join or apply for things just to join, think about what you're committing your time to and really whittle your activities down.  You'll thank me later.

It's Okay to Change Your Major!

Sure, I've known exactly what I've wanted to do with the rest of my life since I was about 3 years old, but that's far from normal.  Many of my friends have changed their majors, sometimes multiple times, because they think they like something until they start taking the more advanced classes.  Or sometimes you learn about an opportunity you never even realized existed!  On that note...

It's Okay to Come in Undeclared!

Lots and lots of people come in to college undeclared, including my absolute best friend, and there is no reason to be ashamed.  There are so many majors and so many opportunities that you might not have ever known about before coming to college, so if you're unsure of what you want to do, why bother pigeon-holing yourself?

There's More to College Than Grades

I'm not saying grades aren't important, because they are.  And believe me, you realize just how important when they tank, but it's important to remember that college is your first time being a (semi) independent adult!  And lets be honest, what are you going to remember about college?  How much time you spent studying to get that A, or how much fun you had that time you went out your friends for late night nachos?  Of course, there's a balance to be had, and it might take a while to figure that out, but it's important to keep in mind that your personal success is such a small part of your life when you think about your relationships to others!

So go out, make new friends, embarrass yourself over that kid you have a crush on, and stay up until 3am on a school night watching movies with friends.  Those are the most important college experiences.

Always Be There For Your Friends

This should speak for itself, and it's something I think we all know deep down, but it's important to remember.  Whether they're crying over a crush, having the time of their life, or had too much to drink, it's your job to wipe their tears, celebrate, and hold their hair.  That's what friends are for.  And if they aren't there for you through all of this, how good of a friend are they, really?

and, finally,

Freshman Year is the Year to F' Up

Ever wanted to try ditching a class?  Freshman year is the time to do it!  Wanted to see how much you can drink before you vomit?  "Freshman!  Freshman!  Kegstand!  Kegstand!"  Curious about a DFMO?  Freshman year!

Be young!  Be wild!  You can't do these things at 25 without seeming lame!  So kiss lots of people, wear that revealing outfit, sleep in on your birthday!  Of course, stay safe, but if you're going to f' up, freshman year is the prime time to do it, because how responsible does anyone really expect an 18 or 19 year old to be?

A quick update

Well, I apologize for not updating recently.  I usually post a list of all the movies I've watched each month with a short review or thoughts on each, but unfortunately the running list I keep was on my laptop, which was stolen out of my dorm room a few weeks ago.  Nevertheless, I thought it was appropriate to update with a few changes I plan to make to this blog!

1. I hope to post weekly, about something.  Whether that something is feminism, movies, a particular moment in my life I feel like sharing, or a spiritual revelation.

2.  I will be changing the way that I do movie updates on here, and will just be posting semi-legitimate movie reviews of every movie I see in theaters, which, at least for the summer, there will be PLENTY, considering I work at a movie theatre.  I will also occasionally post reviews for other films that I see, but I plan to focus on new releases.

3.  I hope to receive recommendations!  If there is anything you want to see more (or less) of, let me know!

Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you have a lovely summer!

Spring Break!

It's been a while since I've updated, primarily because I've been ridiculously busy, but I figured that it was time for my obligatory Spring Break post as I am a college student just back from her spring break.

Rather than take a typical drunken spring break somewhere tropical (or at least warm), my friends and I opted for a trip to my favorite city in the states, Chicago.

To kick off the spring festivities I spent the weekend with my dad, who was in town for my cousin's confirmation as her sponsor.  Even though we didn't really do anything exciting, it was nice to spend some time with my dad since I rarely get to see my family now that I live out of state.

I then headed up to Omaha to spend the night with my BFF and her family.  We watched our favorite movie (Heathers) and played Disney SceneIt, only to lose to S (which is pretty insane if you know how intense my love for Disney is).

The next day S and I met up with our friend Abby to head over to the Omaha Zoo, which I'd never been to before, and I got to experience all the indoor exhibits, along with the wonderful penguins (my favorite animal since the dawn of time).  S then gave me a driving tour of Chicago while we snapchatted our friend Johnny about sharks, West Side Story, and spring break.  Soon enough, our friend Taylor arrived and we hopped aboard the Megabus to Chicago!

We arrived the next morning and checked in at our hotel, the Double Tree on the Magnificent Mile, and then went on a walk through Millennium Park, took excessive Bean pictures, ate sushi, enjoyed the Art Institute, and of course went shopping at Vineyard Vines and Forever 21.

The following days we went to Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum (where they had an exhibit on the Chicago World's Fair, which I'm pretty much obsessed with), the Museum of Science and Industry, and of course, the Skydeck at the Sears (or Willis, whatever) Tower.  We also ate Deep Dish Pizza and went shopping along the Magnificent Mile where I spent way too much money on clothing from Topshop and H&M in addition to going up every floor at Macy's.

My favorite part of the trip, though, was the exhibit on Disney at the Museum of Science and Industry.  It was an extra $9, but totally worth it.  I already knew most of the information, but it was still cool to see original sketches of Mickey Mouse by the Walt Disney himself, in addition to storyboards for Mary Poppins, props for various movies, including but not limited to Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, and Teen Beach Movie.  Not to mention costumes from Enchanted, Pirates of the Caribbean, High School Musical, and Saving Mr. Banks.  But I think the coolest thing I saw was the telegram Walt sent Roy upon imagining up Mickey Mouse saying that everything would be okay.  It was described as "oddly prophetic."

We unfortunately had to return to Omaha after four days.  We spent the night at S's house, then headed back to Lincoln.  And while I wish I could've stayed in Chicago for ever and ever, I'm glad to be back home in Lincoln.

February Movie Blurbs

The time has come, once again, to do a monthly update of the movies I have watched and how I feel about them.  Naturally, this one is shorter for a multitude of reasons:  not being home to watch excessive films whenever I feel like it, having a crazy busy schedule, and also the fact that its the shortest month of the year.  But anyway, here we go!

She's All That
Apparently it was blasphemy for me to show up at college having never seen this movie, so my roommate ordered it for me to watch and for her own enjoyment, therefore I've seen it quite a few times since.  To be honest, it's not my favorite, but I do enjoy the fact that it's a modern day version of 12th Night and has a fantastically feminist message.  Otherwise, though, it just doesn't do much for me...I'm more of a Mean Girls person.

Mulan
The day I stop loving Disney animated films will never come, and Mulan has always been a personal favorite of mine.  I even dressed up as Mulan for Halloween when I was a kid!  She's this solid princess character who works her butt off to take care of her family and gets around the patriarchal society she lives in by faking her way through it as a "man," only to realize the way to save her empire is to get all the men to embrace their feminine side dressed as women!  It's actually flawless and of course the feminist in me loves it, the Disney fan in me loves one of their most successful films from my childhood, and then the human in me loves it because who doesn't automatically hear "Be a Man" and think "WE MUST BE SWIFT AS A COURSING RIVER."

Aladdin
Not my favorite Disney movie, by any means, but if the music in this movie doesn't make you jump with joy you're lying to yourself.  The Genie is possibly one of the best characters in animated history, and "A Whole New World" might just be one of my favorite Disney duets of all time.  And naturally I gotta give an A++ to feminist princesses all the time always.  Jasmine gets a lot of flack because she has to use her sexuality and has to be saved by Aladdin, but it actually doesn't bother me in that she works to be independent but lacks the tools to do so growing up in her patriarchal society living an overly privileged life, and when she finally finds someone to fall in love with, Jafar shows up being uber rapey (forcing Jasmine to marry him?  Yeah...not cool), but as a villainous character it's an acceptable plot point, and she ultimately is able to fulfill her dream of marrying who she chooses because the story is really less about Jasmine being saved and all about Aladdin proving to everyone that where you're from doesn't have any bearing on what you're capable of.  I could go on for days about this, but I'll move on.

21 Jump Street
All the Disney movies listed above were watched on the same day in a Disney marathon of sorts which we followed up with 21 Jump Street to a comment from a passerby on finally watching something age appropriate (Disney movies are always appropriate for any situation ever).  Regardless, I love this movie.  It's hilarious, it doesn't care, and it's a surprisingly accurate representation of modern day teenage culture.  Yes, some of the jokes in this movie are problematic for various reasons, but the essential plotline is not, and is rather hilarious.  Some of my favorite lines from this one include (but are not limited to) "Ja feel?"  "Ja feel, ja definitely feel" or "Mother Earth...Mother Earth is dying" or "I have arthritis, I need a handful of the dick!"

Heathers
I have talked about this before, but it's pretty much my favorite movie right now.   Like, how can lines such as "Well, f*ck me gently with a chainsaw, do I look like Mother Theresa?" and "Eskimo" ever be forgotten?  I actually am in romantic love with this film.  But really, if you haven't seen it, you should really truly watch it.  It has excellent reviews (95% on Rotten Tomatoes), is a brilliant satire of teenage life, and features a very hot young Christian Slater.  Like, what more do you need?

The Princess Bride
I have grown up with this movie and its simply the best.  I have majority of it memorized, and watching it takes me back to my wonderful childhood when I had this BA princess to look up to.  It's a fantastic adventure tale full of comedy, inappropriate costumes for the time period, amazing sword fights, and rhymes.

Airplane!
Until this month I'd actually never seen Airplane! which is kind of sad considering how much of a movie buff I am.  However, I was excited to watch this iconic comedy and was not disappointed.  The deadpan comedy style and the fantastically dated everything was all a part of what made it wonderful.  Some of the dated comedy erred on the side of misogyny a bit much for my taste, but overall I was still able to appreciate the humor and the importance of this film in terms of the history of comedy.

LEGO Movie
Honestly has the potential (and is rather likely) to be the animated feature of the year.  Like, beyond fantastic.  The animation is actually really solid and the story line is surprisingly touching for a children's movie about legos.  It's also pretty much one of the most hilarious movies I've seen in theatres in a long time.  I mean, its by the lovely people that did Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which I have unfortunately not seen just yet, and 21 Jump Street, so it really shouldn't be a surprise that it's hilarious, and everyone should go see it, even if just for the hilarious Batman references.

Anastasia
This was pretty much one of my favorite cartoons growing up, and naturally the only reason us college kids decided to watch it was remembering how hot Demetri was.  Although I also came to realize just how amazing the music is and how well developed the characters are and also, if I was an animated character I would be Anya and I'm totally gonna end up married to someone like Demetri and it's gonna be wonderful.

Monsters University
This is honestly one of my favorite movies of the past year.  I saw it in theatres 5 times.  So naturally, when my sisters on the bus to our District Leadership Conference put it on I was thrilled.  I honestly think it is one of the most accurate representations of college life in any film I've seen, and I love the portrayal of the Greek system.  Each house has it's own distinct personality, and they aren't all stereotypical srat/frat kids!  I also just love seeing nerdy little Randy Boggs at the beginning.  OH THE FEELS.

Pitch Perfect
Naturally, my wonderful sisters then chose one of my other favorite most accurate college representations.  While I am (unfortunately) not involved in the a capella scene at my college, everything else rings very very true.  Especially as a performing arts kid.  And if you don't think "Well, hey there, Hillary Swank from Million Dollar Baby" "You don't have to say Hillary Swank, you could've just said 'Hey, Million Dollar Baby,' you don't have to reference the specific actor playing the part" "Damn, prisons changed you."  is one of the best exchanges in the history of film you are wrong and I hate you.

Love and Other Drugs
To my dismay, on the ride back to our respectful campus homes, my sisters decided to watch Love and Other Drugs, which I found to be a pretty awful film full of awful people pretending they were great romantic characters along with gratuitous sex scenes all centered on a relationship that literally began with sexual harrassment.  I CAN'T EVEN.  Also, it's just a terrible film overall.  I fell asleep in the middle, and I don't think I missed anything.  So...

Ghostbusters
Of course upon hearing of the death of Harold Ramis I found it incredibly necessary to watch Ghostbusters instantly, and sure enough, the second I returned to my dorm, that's exactly what I did.  I forgot how great this movie is, and also how fantastic the comedy is.  It's a really great satire of film from the era, and I completely spaced that Sigourney Weaver was in it.  And for the record, RIP Harold Ramis, you'll be dearly missed.  You were a comedic master, and the world could always use more of that.

Dallas Buyers Club
This movie was far better than I expected, and I was expecting a great movie.  For the record, I had literally no idea what this movie was about aside from Matthew McConaughey surprising everyone with acting ability and Jared Leto being a transgender woman and AIDS, so learning about buyers clubs and the whole AZT situation of the 80s at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic was really eye opening.  Matthew McConaughey's performance was simply stunning, from his ridiculous weight loss and his ability to channel a pretty unlikeable man in a realistic manner, down to my favorite scene from the entire movie (*spoiler alert)*, when he's sitting in the library doing research on AIDS while still in denial of his diagnosis and he has a flashback to having sex with a woman with track marks.  That's the moment when he realizes he's not misdiagnosed and that his homophobic image of what AIDS is was wrong, and with one line, he made me cry.  Jared was equally brilliant, his best scenes being when she's putting on makeup and saying that when she meets God she will look beautiful like an angel if it's the last thing she does and when she starts coughing up a bunch of blood and cries saying "I don't want to die."  Of course, the transphobia in the movie really pissed me off as well, from the fact that on Rayon's deathbed all her doctors continued to call her "him."  Like, really?  She's on her death bed and you can't even call her by her preferred pronouns?  Way to be a bunch of dicks.   But really, this movie is stunning and everyone should see it.  Why AIDS isn't still a huge subject in this country I don't know, because it's not like it's suddenly dormant, but if you want to really be transported back to the early days of AIDS, here's a real great way to do it.

So, there you go!  My February movie blurbs!  Have any questions or wish I'd have elaborated on something?  Let me know in the comments.  And keep watching great movies!