Blu Ray Thursday #3

Well this is most definitely late.  It is Sunday night here and I should be getting ready for bed but this has plagued me since Thursday that I haven’t posted this.  So in interest of my sanity and getting a good night's sleep, I will scribble down a few words.

The movie:


I love this poster, I’d not seen it before.  I think it’s much better than the one that they seem to have mainly used. 

Well, this is a horror/thriller/kinda comedy, according to Boy Roomie.  This is a movie I’d seen before but I have been dying to see it again and knew Boy Roomie would love it because he is a giant horror fan.  Me, not so much.  I don’t get too grossed out by gore but I’m really not a fan of horror.  So why do I like this movie so much?  Probably because it’s a meta horror movie (that’s a thing, right?), so it doesn’t take itself seriously, but in a different way to the Scream movies.  And it’s written by my good pal, Joss Whedon.  In my head, he is part of common pop culture fodder.  Apparently not.

Actual conversation during the movie:

Boy Roomie: This movie is weird.
Me: I guess.  It *is* Joss Whedon.
Boy Roomie: ???
Me: It’s Joss Whedon.
Boy Roomie: It’s… just… what?
Me: It’s written by Joss Whedon.
Boy Roomie: Who?

And then my brain exploded and everyone in the room died with me too.

So I write this review from the afterlife.  I think the less you know about this movie going on, the better.  Sit and watch it.  Listen to the dialogue.  Enjoy the journey.

Recommended?  I know it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.  If you are a Joss fan and you don’t mind gore, go for it.

So… the real reason I haven’t been blogging…

I’ve wanted to tell you all this for some time but I just wasn’t sure how you’d react to this news.  I didn’t want this to change anything between us or the way you think of me.

Pause for dramatic effect…



The reason I’ve been away is because I’ve been busy starring in the movie ‘Looper’ and being married to John Krasinski.



But never fear- movie promoting is over and it’s lovely being back with John (*sigh* I wish!) and normal blogging should resume.

Sidenote- it was SO distracting that in the movie, Emily Blunt had the same bed linen as me.  Maybe forty years in the future, Ikea reproduces some of their old range?  And she had the matching lamp in her living room.  Even dirt poor movie-verse Emily Blunt has the matching lamp that I couldn’t justify buying.  Just another reason to be jealous of her :)

Blu Ray Thursday #2

What I watched:

… or if you’re American, “Pirate Radio”.

What I thought:  I really enjoyed this movie.  I’m a huge Richard Curtis fan, I love his style of writing so I was relatively sure I’d like the movie, despite it being not a very big commercial success.  Sure, it’s long and a little bit muddled but darn it, I watched it with a big smile on my face the whole way through.  And I even cried at the end.  And then laughed again.

It’s jam packed with fantastic music and some even better actors.  All those funny guys that you recognise from English movies, the ones whose face you know but might not know their name?  They’re all in it.  Oh and my beloved Kenneth Branagh.

Recommended? Yes.  Fun movie about silly people on a boat.  With bonus good music.

Blu Ray Thursday #1

Lookie here, a new segment.  More like a rehash of an old one.  Yay, movie reviews are back on my blog and that makes me happy!!!!!!!!!  Thursdays are my day off and more often than not, I end up watching a movie so I thought I’d revamp BRT :)

What I watched:


A movie with an awkward and long title, that’s what I watched.

I thought it would be a biopic about Jesse James and the man who killed him.  Instead it was a movie about celebrity and what happens when you get to meet your heroes.  Do they live up to your expectation and are they worth your emulation?  And what happens if they’re not what you hoped they would be.  Not sure if that's what I was supposed to get from the movie but that’s what I got. So for me, Brad Pitt was a good choice for Jesse James, a man so famous that the ‘man’ doesn’t exist, only the ‘name’. And he did a real good job of it too. He played Jesse as I imagine he would be, part charismatic leader, just one of the boys and part psychopath with a mean and violent streak. Brad Pitt was surprisingly chilling.  I’ve never really had any positive or negative feelings about Pitt but I thought he did some really good  work.  I forgot I was watching “Brad Pitt”.

There were some good supporting parts too (Jeremy Renner, Sam Rockwell, Garret Dillahunt,Paul Schneider, Mary Louise Parker and Zooey Deschanel), all actors delivered.  Apart from the ladies who seriously had nothing to do and I only recognised Zooey Deschanel from her singing voice.  Take away her fringe and I have no idea who she is!!  But I guess the star of the show was Casey Affleck, playing the Robert Ford of the title.  I’m really creeped out by him ever since I saw him in this movie “The Killer Inside Me” where he plays an awful, awful human being so I really dislike watching him.  Which means he’s a good actor and the unsettled feeling I get worked well for him in this film too. My only gripe with him was that he was supposed to be young, barely 20, and Affleck (although baby-faced) looks way older than that.  I feel like the movie kept having to remind us how young he was because he certainly didn’t look it!

This movie was L-O-N-G.  Two and a half hours.  And slow.  Very slow.  I ended up watching it in three parts.  I am a sucker for punishment though and I watched the first hour over two days, then had a four day gap… and then started the whole thing from the beginning again!  But for some reason, I didn’t hate that it was a long, slow movie.  Nor did I mind watching it from the beginning again.  I think that’s coz I was watching a good movie in the hands of some talented filmmakers. 

Last shout outs go to the soundtrack (beautiful!!) and the cinematography.  The scenery was gorgeous and a lot of the shots tried to emulate old photographs and hit just the right note.  Oh so pretty :)

Recommended?  Hmm, not sure.  It’s a good solid movie and I enjoyed it.  Just bear in mind that it’s two and a half hours of your life you’re never going to get back.  But I don’t think you’ll regret it.

I’m definitely feeling ‘Brave’

I’ve been in a bit of a rut for probably the last few months, just another reason why I haven’t been posting as much. The feeling tends to come and go.  So I decided to take myself on a movie date. I went to go and see ‘Brave’.

{via here}

I was a little hesitant about seeing a kids’ movie by myself in the middle of the day but it wasn’t too bad. Everyone was actually around my age, one couple and another girl. I’m actually really glad I saw this one by myself. Because I cried like a baby through most of it. I can’t even put into words why either but I’ll try.

The movie was GOOD. I didn’t know much of what to expect in the way of storyline and was pleasantly surprised.  And the soundtrack is gorgeous.

The scenery (and all the animation itself actually) was absolutely beautiful.  I miss Scotland and in my mind, it looks *exactly* like that :)

And Merida… her hair!  It was a character in itself.  I loved her fearlessness and her determination.  And anyone that can shoot an arrow already has my heart.  I wish I had had a Disney Princess like that when I was little. 

The backbone to the story was a mother-daughter relationship which was handled really nicely.  And made me want to give my own mother a big cuddle too!

I’m so glad I went and saw it.  I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but I wanted to see it to support the movie.  I knew it wouldn’t be popular- the trailer promised a simple tale with no quick banter and a feisty girl as the main character.  And that’s what I got.  It wasn’t perfect but it was perfectly lovely and just what I needed.

{via here}

Blu Ray Tuesday #22

And so it is with a sad heart, I must announce the shelving of Blu Ray Tuesdays.  I am swapping shifts with another nurse and instead of doing every other Tuesday, I’ll now be doing EVERY Tuesday.  Which means I won’t be home in time to enjoy the wonders of BRT.  Hopefully the Roomies and I will be able to do some other movie thing but for now… this is the last BRT post.  (Ouch, writing that makes my heart hurt!)

The movie:



The menu: Fancy pizza- chicken AND bacon!

Well, I guess I am ending in true BRT fashion.  This movie was AWFUL!  And it’s hard to say that, you know?  It has so many things that I love in it: beautiful visuals, Henry Cavill, Henry Cavill shirtless and Greek mythology.  Yet, somehow it ends up being a total hot mess.  So disappointing.

I was so excited when I heard they were making this movie.  Theseus is one of my favourite heroes in mythology and my home girl/goddess Athena is like front and centre of the story.  When I heard they were making the movie in a style reminiscent of ‘300’, I rejoiced.  And I believe I may have mentioned once or twice, I have serious mad love for Henry Cavill. 

Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I knew nothing of Greek mythology.  I spent all two hours of this movie going “WHAT?!??!”.  I frightened the dog I was looking after because I yelled at the TV so often.  I couldn’t enjoy it, I was so irritated.  And aside from that, there were other ridiculous annoyances that just added to the all encompassing belief I have that this movie is terrible.  For example, if your superhero power that can save the world is your virginity- you don’t give it up- even if the dude is Henry Cavill.  Also, the movie was boring.  I don’t know how they made a movie with swords in it boring, but they did.

Recommended?: No.  I’m getting harsh in my old age!

Blu Ray Tuesday # 21

The movie:

The menu: Boy Roomie made fancy dinner because it was Girl Roomie’s birthday!

This movie was a load of codswallop.  The plot was ridiculously hard to understand.  I could only barely understand it because I used to be obsessed with ‘Shakespeare in Love’, will probably always be obsessed with Queen Elizabeth I and have more than a passing interest in Shakespeare himself.  Also (and possibly most damning in my eyes) there were NO attractive men in the entire movie.  The main dude was supposed to be charming and brilliant but was played by the guy who was Hugh Grant’s scruffy roommate in ‘Notting Hill’. I spent most of the movie with my iphone in my hand, trying to google what did and didn’t actually happen and harrumphing over it all.

I don’t have any personal problems with the filmmakers suggesting Shakespeare didn’t write his plays.  I love a good conspiracy theory.  It’s just that this movie was so convoluted, so blatantly trying to be the cleverest person in the room.  I was probably more offended with the idea that Elizabeth (the ‘virgin’ Queen) was off having illegitimate children left right and centre!  Affairs, yes.  Children, no.

The only bright spark was William Shakespeare himself who the movie portrayed as an opportunistic illiterate drunk who easily steals every scene he was in.  The actor played his lines as if he were in a comedy… I wish I could have seen *that* movie.  Oh and props also go to the two actresses who played Elizabeth I.  I love a good Elizabeth and this movie had two!

Recommended?: No.  It is two hours and ten minutes.  Just… no.  Unless you are Abigail who I think might get a kick out of it :)

Blu Ray Tuesday #20

The movie:

The menu: McDonald’s

I wanted to like this movie so bad.  Cowboys!  Aliens! James Bond! Indiana Jones! I can’t quite work out what was wrong with it.  My final thoughts are that I think they got a bit bogged down with trying to ensure that this was not your typical summer blockbuster.  The writers wanted to make sure that everyone was a three dimensional character.  EVERYBODY and their mother had a backstory.  No joke, even the dog had a backstory.  When you watch a movie called ‘Cowboys & Aliens’, nobody’s watching for the insightful commentary on the human condition.  They wanna watch explosions and dudes on horses.

My other complaint about the movie was the sound. I know this makes me sound like an old woman but it was SO loud!! Every explosion was earth shattering so we had to turn it down but then because the movie was also a Western, when the characters were talking, everybody mumbled and we had to turn it up. Resulting in all of us nearly wetting our pants, when we had the TV turned up loud to try and hear what everyone was saying and then there would be a surprise explosion.

Luckily I quite like Daniel Craig.  I think he’s a good actor, effortlessly cool and easy on the eyes.  Also, they put him in a pair of chaps which once Girl Roomie pointed out to me, I could not take my eyes off them. 

And special shout out to the special effects team because they did an awesome job on everything.  I thought the aliens were really well done.  Menacing and very realistic.

Recommended? All in all, the movie’s alright but it’s pretty long and I think that adds another nail to its coffin.  If you wanna see a good mix of the Western and sci-f genre, I’d recommend you watch ‘Firefly’ instead. 

Blu Ray Tuesday #19

The movie: Crazy Stupid Love

The menu: Red Rooster (Aussie KFC- for all you foreigners!) and Cold Rock icecream.

This was last week’s movie and it was just me and Girl Roomie.  I’ve wanted to see this movie for ages and had heard it was good and that I would ‘absolutely love it’.  So I was preparing for another disappointment like what happened with me and ‘Bridesmaids’.  BUT this movie was so much better than I thought it would be and what the trailer made it out to be.

I’m sure everyone has already seen this movie and I’m preaching to the choir, but it was so good! 

I’m probably the only person in the world who doesn’t love Ryan Gosling.  Like, I can see that he’s attractive but I’m not attracted.  The internet however is trying to change my mind by putting clips out there like Ryan reading actual ‘hey girl’ memes or wearing a onesie on the Ellen show.  And then magazines print pictures of him carrying his dog.  It’s like the world wants me to fall in love with him.  When we were watching the movie, I said to Girl Roomie “You know what?  I think I love Steve Carell more than Ryan Gosling”.  She gave me the look.  You know, the “you are crazy” look.  But it’s true.

And now to finish on some “hey girl” memes.  I spent far too long looking at these and picking the best one.  Ok, ok, maybe I like Ryan Gosling.

Source

But this is my favourite.  Girl Roomie sent it to me yesterday.

Recommended?  Of course!  But you’ve all already seen it so whatever.

And I also discovered this whilst searching for pictures.  It contains some swear words so maybe not safe for work.  But watch it when you get home.  And then watch the “Drunk History” videos.  They are hilarious. 

Drunk History Christmas with Ryan Gosling, Jim Carrey and Eva Mendes from Ryan Gosling

Blu Ray Tuesday #18

The movie: Peep World

The menu: Pizza

You’ve never heard of this movie?  Don’t worry, us neither.  However, this movie will go down in history because this is the movie that Girl Roomie chose and with that decision, she joined Boy Roomie and myself in “The Worst Movie Pickers Ever” club.  It’s taken almost a year but she has finally joined our illustrious ranks.

This movie blowed.  It tried too hard to be a little indie black comedy (and don’t get me wrong, there were some funny moments) but it just wasn’t. 

This bit needs capital letters because it’s important.  DON’T FALL FOR THE FACT THAT IT HAS ALL THESE GREAT ACTORS IN IT.  DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE WE DID.  Just because it has Dwight from The Office, Dexter from… Dexter, Sarah Silverman, Judy Greer, that chick from American Horror Story, that guy from Alias doesn’t mean the movie is going to be ok.  They were all good, don’t get me wrong.  They just couldn’t save the movie.

Recommended?:  No.  Just… no.  Although there were funny bits, they were far and few between.  What they fell between were some horribly awkward bits where characters’ situations went from bad to worse.  There was so much painful second-hand embarrassment and frustration that I said on several occasions, “I can’t watch this.  I can’t watch this”.  Don’t watch this.

Blu Ray Tuesday #17

This is from a Blu Ray Tuesday, about a month ago that I never got around to uploading.

The movie: Conan the Barbarian

The menu: Subway!  Of all things.

I am a number 1 fan of action adventure movies.  Especially great, cheesy action adventure movies.  This had potential to be such a movie. 

Mr Conan was super ridiculously buff and attractive.  Although thanks to ‘Game of Thrones’, he will always be Kahl Drogo to me.  The storyline of this movie was so silly that the only way I could really enjoy this was if I pretended it was a prequel to ‘Game of Thrones’ and this was the coming of age story for Kahl Drogo.  Alas, it was not.

The baddies were flat out crazy with a ridiculous plan to take over the world and chewed the scenery at a delightful rate.  The action was good.  The scenery lovely.  Costumes awesome.  The romance suitably lame- they HATE each other at the beginning and then what do you know?  Love blossoms.  The movie even had blooming Morgan Freeman narrating the beginning (for no apparent reason)!  It was a winner on so many levels.  Unfortunately it tried to take itself too seriously and there was its downfall.

Plus, I had a big problem with ‘the girl’.  She was some nun who in the first scene she was in was attacked by some bad guys and she totally holds her own in the fighting- the girl has some moves.  Which are then never seen in the movie ever again.  As soon as she gets rescued by Conan, she totally becomes the damsel in distress and it’s dumb.  I think we’ve come a bit further than that in our storytelling, Mr Hollywood producers and writers.  AND THEN… to make matters worse- and this was the bit that really got me, *spoiler alert* at the end, Conan drops her back off at the convent and is all like “so… I guess I’ll see you around but probably not because I’ll be off doing adventures and stuff” and she’s all like “oh well, I really liked you but no hard feelings, I understand”.

Recommended?: Despite all my misgivings, I would recommend this one.  Although it tried too hard, I gotta reward the movie for making a valiant effort.  And despite my feminine justice rant in the previous paragraph, I’m honestly a 14 year old boy at heart and sometimes it’s just cool to watch a young boy chop off a man’s nose and then years later find him again and stick his finger in the crevasse where the guy’s nose used to be.  Because he was a baddie and totally deserved it.

Blu Ray Tuesday #16

First up, a warning.  This is my most favourite of classic literature.  The way the rest of the world feels about ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and Mr Darcy is the way I feel about ‘Jane Eyre’ and Mr Rochester.  I love it a LOT.

The movie: Jane Eyre

The menu: McDonald’s

The audience: Me and Nilly.

I don’t think Nilly really enjoyed the movie.  She fell asleep half way through and I kept accidentally waking her up when I would sigh dramatically and say “I can’t stand it anymore” in regards to all that tension or when I would squeal at something romantic.  I think she found me annoying.  So it’s probably very good that the Roomies were also away this week!

I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed it.  The costumes were amazing, the sets and scenery were gorgeous and the two leads of Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester (played by Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender) were outstanding.  They are two of my favourite fictional characters, so real and layered and the actors completely brought them to life.  The support of Judi Dench as the housekeeper was great, it’s a thankless role but she’s Dame Judi Dench and she rocked it.  And then there is recently re-discovered (in my eyes anyway) grown up Billy Elliott aka Jamie Bell who was unfortunately hidden away behind a HUGE pair of sideburns.  Shame.  But probably just as well.

I really liked how they told the story in flashbacks.  Haven’t seen that before so it gave something new to the story that I know so well.  Obviously it’s hard to tell such a long nuanced story in the length of a movie (and the movie fades in comparison to the 2006 miniseries) but I thought the movie did a great job and I look forward to watching it again.  They messed up a couple of things though.  Pilot the dog was completely wrong.  I’m not sure if he has a breed in the book but in my head, he is a huge black shaggy dog.  Also, I super love the epilogue of the book which got cut out of the movie. 

Recommended?  If you love period dramas and all that jazz, then I’ll think you’ll like it.  It’s fairly slow and a lot of the movie is about what is NOT said but it’s in the hands of good actors so it’s not painful.  I loved it times a million but I realise that it’s not for everyone.

Geez, sit on the fence why don’t you, Laura?!?!

Blu Ray Tuesday #15

The movie: The Losers

The menu: Pizza. It always comes back to pizza.

This movie was recommended to me by Danielle and since my first choice of ‘Jane Eyre’ was out (and I didn’t think I’d be able to coerce the Roomies into watching it anyway), we decided to go with this one. Foreshadowing, Danielle is a self-confessed terrible picker of movies, but maybe that’s why we are friends because we share similar traits.

The first ten minutes of the movie were spent picking what was going to happen. We were correct in our assumptions. The Roomies and I do like to guess what the next line will be or pick what the shot will be.

Just have to talk about the poster for a moment. Aisha (the girl one) has her hair in that style for quite a bit of the movie and it annoyed me immensely. The reason you put your hair up in a ponytail is to keep the hair out of your face and if you are a super cool badass fighting lady, that is an important requirement in a hairstyle. WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE TWO STRANDS AT THE FRONT THAT ONLY SERVE THE PURPOSE OF GETTING IN YOUR FACE?!?!?!?!? I couldn’t get past that whilst watching the movie.

The movie in itself was ok. It’s about a black-ops team who has the chance to clear their name and get their lives back by doing one insanely tough mission. I really, really, really liked the villain. He had a lot of the best lines and was suitably unhinged. Also, luckily for this movie, my Captain America boyfriend Chris Evans dropped in to play his usual goofy sidekick character, which he does ever so well. He made this movie a lot more palatable for me to watch. I think my enjoyment of the movie was ruined by the fact that I do not believe in Jeffrey Dean Morgan as a tough dynamic leader of the group. Which is a shame because I absolutely heart him and know he can play tough and dynamic.

Recommended? Um… ok. If you want to. I’m not going to tell you to watch it but if you come across it and there’s a choice to watch this or something else- at least now, you will know what you get with this one.

And I leave you with a direct quote from the house as we sat in silence as the credits rolled, trying to work out if we liked the movie---

Me: 96 minutes? Oh well. I’ve wasted more time on longer, stupider movies.

Girl Roomie: That should be your review.

Blu Ray Tuesday #14

The movie: The Eagle

The menu: We all had different things to eat so I’ll tell you what I ate. A huge hunk of birthday cake and a coke slushie. Why yes, I am on a diet starting tomorrow, how did you know?

I’ve been waiting to see this for AGES!! It’s a movie based on a much loved book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The movie did badly in the States and so was held back for a year or two before even coming to DVD in Australia. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get anyone else to watch this but Girl Roomie took one look at the front cover, saw her celeb boyfriend Channing Tatum on the front and said a big “yes” and in this household majority rules so Boy Roomie had to watch it whether he wanted to or not.

The story is a rather simple one of a young man trying to regain his family’s honour by having a glittering military career. He’s off to a fine start before being wounded and given an honourable discharge. He’s at a bit of a loss at what to do with his life but to cut a long story short, he decides to go on a secret mission with his reluctant slave, played by the kid who played Billy Elliot who has matured very, very nicely.

At the heart of the story is the friendship between the two young men. Billy Elliot is very resentful at the invasion of the Romans to his native land, not to mention his capture at their hands and being forced to become a slave. However, they realise that they share many of the same values and through saving each other’s lives, they learn to trust one another. I did have to giggle at several points during the movie because my mind took their friendship to a WHOLE other level. Although I usually complain when there is a romance "shoehorned" into an action movie, so I guess I should be grateful for one movie where there is no romance to get in the way- and I should probably not make up a romance that is not there.

I think that if I hadn’t read the book I would have been quite lost. Boy and Girl Roomie were both fiddling with their phones by the end of the movie so I don’t think the movie held their interest. Whilst it’s not a terrible movie, it’s certainly a quiet, gentle movie. I use the word ‘gentle’ despite there being several quite bloody battle scenes even though the movie's only PG-13. There are long periods in the movie where I guess you could say that nothing happens but the real enjoyment of the film is watching the two characters interact and see their friendship grow (and blossom into love- I can’t help it!!!!!!!!)

Recommended? Yes, if you like character driven movies. And attractive men. And gorgeous scenery (filmed in my beloved Scotland). The costumes and sets aren’t too shabby either.

Blu Ray Tuesday #13

The movie: Bad Teacher

I started watching this movie and I didn’t like it. The main character was a thoroughly unlikeable person and I wasn’t in the mood to watch it. To be fair to ‘Bad Teacher’, I’d had a really long day (going to the zoo, SUCH a first world problem, I know, I know!) and I’m sure any other day I would have laughed my bum off but I just wasn’t feeling it. Jason Segel made it worth watching (that HIMYM cast are a wonderful bunch of scene stealers!) but about halfway through I slipped off to my room.

I turned off the lights and put in my new DVD that I brought yesterday on a whim, “The Muppet Christmas Carol” (aka my favourite Christmas movie… tied with “Elf”). The overture started, mixing snippets of songs from the movie with Christmas classic songs and my bad mood was gone.

I was reminded why this movie is so good. The Victorian London set is fabulous, as are the costumes. The world created by the movie of Dickensian Londoners living alongside Muppets is strangely believable. The script is surprisingly witty. I love the use of Dickens’ original narration, as performed by Gonzo in the movie. For some reason, it works well alongside Rizzo the Rat’s ramblings, mainly about food.

Michael Caine is so, so good as Scrooge, particularly in the beginning as they’re setting the scene and showing you just how despicable Scrooge is. Even when he has no lines, he’s brilliant. A lot of the movie balances on him being able to portray how the Spirits have changed him with simply a look and he knocks it out of the park. Plus there’s the added bonus of seeing an Oscar winner singing along with Muppets.

Recommended? Yes. Definitely gets you ready for Christmas!

Blu Ray Tuesday #12

The movie: Country Strong

The menu: Chicken Tandoori pizza… guess I’m getting fancy in my old age :)

Let’s preface this review with the fact that I am not a country fan. But I do like those country pop songs that turn up on the radio every now and then. I am not a Gwyneth Paltrow fan. But she is in two of my favourite movies (Sliding Doors and Shakespeare in Love, for those of you playing at home). I am not a fan of the “washed up singer” movie. But I really, really, really liked this movie.

When I went online to find the picture for this review, I couldn’t believe that it was so hated by critics! I thought they loved this kind of movie. But I never listen to those fools anyway. I listened to my friend Jenna who said I would like this movie.

The movie is about Gwyneth Paltrow’s character who is a super famous country star attempting a comeback tour after a very public breakdown and stint in rehab. Like I said, I’m not a fan of the “washed up singer trying for redemption” storyline so thank goodness there was another storyline in the form of her support acts and their relationship with each other and with Gwynnie’s character.

I thought the acting was great, not to mention the plot. Me and the roomies had a fun time trying to come up with the ending, making up several alternate plot lines. Seriously, Hollywood should give us a call some time. The singing was also excellent, as were the songs. As a non-country fan, I really enjoyed the songs and will probably youtube them while I’m doing work today. But also because I am a girl and not blind, my very favourite part was Garrett Hedland and his character.

Yum! Any man that can sing and play guitar and look good in a cowboy hat is alright by me. I think I swooned several times during the movie because his character is so lovely. I need someone who can swoop in and save the day, with guitar in hand. When talking about him, Gwynnie says “He thinks he’s so tough, but I’ve never had a man be so gentle with me”. Excuse me y’all, I’m moving to the country!

Recommended: Yes indeedy!

Blu Ray Tuesday #11

The movie: Water for Elephants

Now, I have been told by Boy Roomie (specially requested, actually!) that I have to come clean and confess that I watched ‘Bridesmaids’ in the time slot dedicated to Blu Ray Tuesday. And then Boy Roomie sang Wilson Phillips to me, complete with over the top dance moves. That’s all well and good but I feel like everyone and their mother has seen ‘Bridesmaids’ but not everyone has seen ‘Water for Elephants’ which I watched beforehand. And I have to say, going against popular opinion- I liked ‘Elephants’ more than ‘Bridesmaids’ and it impacted me more than 'Bridesmaids'.

I had read the book a while back and absolutely loved it. I love that 1930s era, the extreme decadence whilst the financial world slowly crashes down around them (sound familiar?!) and I think the book captured that really well. The book had some imagery that played absolutely beautifully onscreen: a woman atop a rearing elephant with her diamante headdress sparkling in the lights, the excitement and sweat that went into the setting up of the Big Top. Costumes were gorgeous, the sets were pitch perfect and seeing all those animals was wonderful.

Ok, so *visually*, it was amazing and I certainly wasn’t bored despite the movie taking just over two hours. I actually liked most of the changes that they’d made to the book (Interestingly enough, the author wrote this book as part of NaNo!). Now, I’m not particularly a big fan of Robert Pattinson or Reese Witherspoon and the whole movie is basically their love story which I didn’t really believe.

So by now you’re thinking “um… Laura… if you didn’t like the main actors and thought they weren’t very good at telling their story, why did you like the movie so much?”. Well, dear readers, it is because the fabulous Christoph Waltz was so fabulous in it. He plays the ringmaster and did SUCH a great job. Knocked it outta the park. I'm afraid he's probably now horribly typecast but he's just so darn good at playing the polite psychopath. I have to confess that I have an inappropriate crush on him. There, I've said it.

And all the supporting actors were also amazing. Camel who was my least favourite character in the book became one of my favourites in the movie. I think what I’m trying to say (in a very long-winded way!) is that despite not liking the things that I should have liked (such as the main actors and the romance), every other little thing in the movie- I went crazy for which made up for it. I hope that makes sense!

Recommended?: Yes. And/or read the book. It’s an easy read and a great page turner.

Has anyone else read the book and seen the movie? What did you think? Am I alone in liking this movie? From what I’ve seen on the internet, I think I am!

Also I apologise for getting this to you late, it’s just that I don’t have any more procrastinating to do because I have handed in ALL my assignments and done ALL my exams! You now have a fully qualified veterinary nurse on your blog roll :) Holla!

Blu Ray Tuesday #10

The movie: Take Me Home Tonight

The menu: McDonalds. Well, just for me actually. Everyone else had a late lunch and didn’t want dinner!

Wow. This movie. Let’s just say that I know how to pick an instant classic! I actually couldn’t even remember the title of the movie so I had to imdb Topher Grace in order to see what the title was… *that’s* how much this movie made an impact on me.

And I’m just going to steal imdb’s quote about this movie too “Four years after graduation, an awkward high school genius uses his sister's boyfriend's Labor Day party as the perfect opportunity to make his move on his high school crush”. It was set in the 80s but it didn’t really need to be. I was looking forward to seeing Anna Faris but she was in it for about two seconds. I actually preferred her storyline and wished I could have seen more of it. Thank goodness for Topher Grace who had enough charm and likeability to make this movie slightly watchable. Oh and there was also a dance off and if there’s a dance off in a movie that is played for laughs, it’s pretty much my favourite thing ever. That helped too.

Recommended? This is actually a big moment for me and “Blu Ray Tuesday reviews”. This is the first time I am NOT recommending a movie. Even though this movie clocks in at a short and sweet 97 minutes, I still wouldn’t recommend it- and normally I’d recommend something bad because it’s short and it’s not going to steal your life away from you if you watch it. I do have one addendum though. If you’re a Topher Grace fan, then I think you might like it. But you’d have to REALLY like him.

Blu Ray Tuesday #9

The movie:

The menu: Hawaiian pizza with MEDIUM base!! A step away from the usual thin base, such rebels.

Boy Roomie and I kept trying to interject lines and songs from Disney’s Beauty & The Beast into this movie, which is a modern spin on the classic. We hit a home run with the ending but our several attempts to add “Tale As Old As Time'” into the movie didn’t work as well. We kept trying though.

Um, confession time, I found this movie quite enjoyable. I’m pretty sure that the target market for this movie is 14 year old girls but I think I will always be a 14 year old girl at heart. This movie gets bonus marks for co-starring Neil Patrick Harris who is always brilliant in everything he does. He was definitely one of the things that made this movie and he stole every scene he was in. And also Mary-Kate Olsen was in this playing an ‘ugly’ witch. She just wears pale lipstick and messy hair and S&M outfits.

That doesn’t equal ugly. Oh she also plays a high school student despite being 25 and looking it. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, I’m just saying she looks 25.

A few problems: Our resident witch turns our hottie into a beast for seriously NO reason! He’s kind of a douche but as an audience, we aren’t given much to work with. We’re given a few short scenes of him being mean and we’re meant to believe that he deserves this curse. And those short scenes are interspersed with moments with him interacting with our “beauty” who he actually already likes so he’s quite sweet with her.

So when our hottie turns beastly, he’s actually not that bad. He kind of looks like a tattooed rocker and in a city like New York, there’s probably more than a few girls who would find that look pretty darn hot. I think the storyline would have been better if he lived in a small country town.

When Mr Beast is trying to find someone to love him, when he stumbles across his “beauty”, he literally stalks the crap out of her. Like for real. Super creepy. He just hides in the shadows wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up and watches her in her bedroom. KA-REEPY!!!

Recommended? All that aside, the movie is magical and ever so slightly dark, despite everyone knowing how the story will end, making it a great movie for this spooky time of year.

Blu Ray Tuesday #8

The movie:

The menu: Pizza. Apart from Boy Roomie who wasn’t feeling well. So he ate an entire bowl of popcorn instead. That smelled amazing. I'm still jealous

I read that this is a horror/comedy but I wouldn’t really describe it as such. It’s definitely a comedy, not so much horror. It’s certainly gruesome but all the blood, death and gore are played for laughs… and it’s very, very funny! We all laughed the entire way through.

A group of teens are headed out to the woods for a camping trip during college break. They run into two hillbillies at a gas station who look and act like every creepy scary redneck from every teen horror movie ever. The action swaps from following the teens to following the rednecks, who it turns out are just two best friends who are heading to the woods themselves to start doing up their newly purchased ‘vacation home’, a small shack.

When one of the girls falls and hurts herself, the two ‘heroes’ swoop in and save her. Unbeknownst to them, the college kids think that the rednecks have kidnapped their friend and plot to get her back. And then calamity and hilarity ensue.

Recommended? Ok, why not? It’s silly, gory fun. Perfect for the Halloween season for all you American folks.