Movie Monday: Star Trek: Into Darkness

Ah, I bet you'd forgotten all about these! Well, I kind of did, too, until a couple weeks ago when I was browsing through old posts, and I realized it's been... too long since I did one of these. I'm a little rusty, so forgive me if this doesn't persuade you to watch this movie. You definitely should go watch it.

I will prove to you once again that I am an enormous geek (not the most enormous, by far, but still quite enormous) as I tell you about today's movie, Star Trek: Into Darkness.

Star Trek: Into Darkness picks up where Star Trek left off, with Captain Kirk leading his team on the USS Enterprise. On an observation mission, Captain Kirk is forced to reveal the Enterprise to the native population as Spock's life would otherwise be lost, thus breaking the "Prime Directive." Mr Spock, being the Vulcan that he is, puts this information in his mission report, and this information ends up getting Kirk relieved from his position as captain of the Enterprise.

Meanwhile, the plot is underfoot as agent John Harrison bombs a Starfleet base in London. An emergency meeting is called at headquarters with the highest ranking officials. All seems to be going smoothly... until Harrison shows up in a gunship and unleashes fire on the building. What ensues puts Kirk back in the captain's chair of the Enterprise and a personal mission that takes the team into Klingon territory and the most life-threatening situation of their careers.

Hi. Can I just tell you how much I love Benedict Cumberbatch? Look at Sherlock, being all bad guy and stuff. Awesome.

Well, really, the casting in this movie was super perfect, in both my opinion and Chris'. After we saw this movie, we watched the original Star Trek movie on Netflix (which I wouldn't recommend unless you have something else to distract you because it is the slowest movie of all time) and it was spot on with this movie.

I would recommend bringing something with you to keep your hands busy, because I was biting my nails almost the whole time. Because I'm not a Star Trek expert or anything, I didn't know anything from original movies or the tv series. So everything was a surprise for me, and I didn't see some plot twists coming. We were sitting beside some die-hard Trekkies - I should have asked them what they thought.

This is a great date night movie, something for everyone in this movie. Action, romance, hilarity, drama, etc, etc. If you haven't seen Star Trek at all or it's been a while, I would recommend watching it first before you go see this.

And now here's a picture of Benedict Cumberbatch being a sweetheart:

Movie Monday: The Hunger Games

I can't believe that I didn't write about this movie sooner. I saw it the day after it came out with my sister, our cousin, and a couple of friends. 3 of us were fans of the books, and the other 2 were totally new to the story. It was interesting to have both perspectives of the movie. I was so excited for this movie, it was all Chris heard about for weeks! Of course, he is going to be dragged to it next time I want to watch it :) And I'll likely see it a third time with another couple of friends. How horrible ;)

**POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT**

I find it so hard to explain the story without giving too much away. The Hunger Games takes place in a dystopian future nation called Panem that rose up from what remained when North America as we know it collapsed. This country is made up of 12 Districts, all with their own specialty (4 is fishing, 11 is agriculture, 12 is coal mining, etc). These Districts are under the control of the Capitol, which keep the districts under strict control after a rebellion happened over 70 years ago.

What Panem would probably look like if it was real.

 As a way of reminding the Districts of their reliance and subservience to the Capitol, the Capitol created the Hunger Games: an annual event where 1 boy and 1 girl from each District is chosen through a lottery to participate in an arena death match. The last person standing is literally the last person alive. These participants are between the ages of 12 and 18, and the lottery entries are cumulative. The Capitol sees the Hunger Games the way we see the Olympics, a fun time of festivities and cheering for the favorites. The Districts watch the games in horror, knowing that their children are not safe, and next year it might be one of their family members forced to participate.

24 go in, only one comes out.

We join this ongoing trial in the 74th year of the Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen, aged 16, is a hunter who lives in District 12. Her 12 year-old sister Prim will be attending her first Reaping (aka the lottery draw). Everyone in the District gathers where the drawing of the names takes place. Broadcasted on the screens is Effie Trinket, the announcer and guide for the District 12 tributes. Effie reaches her hand into the bowl of names, and draws out the name of the female tribute...

Primrose Everdeen.

Katniss goes into panic mode, and yells out "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" This outburst changes her life forever.

Katniss and fellow tribute Peeta Mellark go to the Capitol, where they undergo beauty treatments, interviews, and training for the arena. They are guided by Effie; the mentor of District 12, Haymitch Abernathy, a previous victor; and Katniss' stylist Cinna. Then the day comes where they enter the arena, and they must literally fight for their lives. Only one can live...

Katniss with Effie and Haymitch

I thought this movie was really well done. The first few minutes, until Katniss and Peeta leave for the Capitol is extreme closeups and shaky shots, which make for a very panicky feeling opening scene - exactly how those in the District feel. That being said, I was kind of annoyed at that, because I wanted to get a good look at the Seam, the Hob, the places in this world where Katniss lives, but the camera angle was changing every few seconds - not long enough to really focus on anything.

Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss. She is so perfect for this role it is a bit ridiculous. She portrays the emotions so well, you feel like you are going through everything Katniss goes through. She makes you feel the horror that Katniss does as she goes in the arena and watches people die.

I seriously teared up during this scene!

There were a couple places where they took creative license from the books, and it worked very well. For example, they show you the tension in the Districts after one of the tributes dies (which was one of my favorite scenes for the fact that they did it so well). It wasn't described in the book, but it is a preview of what is to come in the next couple of movies.

Some of the characters were downplayed in the movie, which disappointed me a bit. You don't really get a sense of how close Katniss is to her hunting partner, Gale. And their relationship is not romantic at all, but because they don't go into depth with it in the movie, you assume that they have a bit of a thing going on when they don't. And I felt like Effie played a bigger role in the books as well. (I realized after the movie that she didn't say her famous line: "If you put enough pressure on a piece of coal you get a pearl!")

Of course, this movie is of a violent nature, and there is some blood. However, the thing that is disturbing is the way some of the tributes really get into killing the others. As well, the Capitol just thinks it's good fun, but in reality they are taking humanity away from these kids. And that is the part that is supposed to disturb you. The scene I found the most disturbing was a playback of a previous year of the Hunger Games. That being said, if you watch forensic shows or action shows on tv, the blood won't disturb you too much.

This girl will kick your butt!

I love Peeta. I thought Josh Hutcherson played him brilliantly as well. He just captures Peeta's character, his strength and his patience.

The boy with the bread.

Another highlight of this movie for me was Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, the interviewer and announcer of the broadcasts. I've come to realize that I just think he's brilliant in everything. Is it weird that I have a bit of a crush on him?

I loved this movie. You can tell because I'm just going on and on about it :P I seriously was playing this movie over and over in my head for days after I saw it. It just stuck with me. I can't wait to see it again.

New book obsession.

Last fall, my family went on a trip to the States for a weekend. My mom, sister and I stopped at a Wal-Mart to look for something - I can't remember what now. I wandered into the book aisle, and I noticed this book called "The Hunger Games". I had heard that it was really good and that I should read it. Because I am the kind of person who buys a book based on its reputation before I personally read it, I bought it that day.

This past Saturday (not a couple days ago but the one before) I had finished reading Jane Eyre, and I knew that the Hunger Games movie was coming out in March, and figured I may as well now read the book now.

I read the whole book in 2.5 days. I couldn't put it down. I was obsessed with this world of Panem and I needed more. Last Tuesday I went to buy the next two books, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. I stayed up until 2:30 in the morning to finish reading Catching Fire. The next day pretty much all I did was read Mockingjay. I just couldn't stop until I knew what was going to happen with these characters that I had grown to love - Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Prim, Cinna, Haymitch...

It's been almost a week since I finished the books and I'm still thinking about them. Chris is probably getting tired of hearing about "Hunger Games this" and "You should sit down and read this book!"

Me, every other day: "The Hunger Games movie comes out March 23!! *squeeeaaaal*"
Chris: *silence*

I am going to see this movie with my sister and a friend of ours, because they've also been reading these books the same time as me. (I beat them because my job sucks and I get no hours, so I have time to read all day) We are all very excited.

Would I be a super geek if I bought the China Glaze "Colors from the Capitol" collection and wore a different color on each nail when I see the movie?

Me: "Chris, is it okay if I pre-order this Hunger Games nail polish collection for $50?"
Chris: *silence*

It's safe to say that I am obsessed.

Blast From the Past

For my first Movie Monday in ages, I'd like to review a movie I watched a few weeks ago on Netflix. I know that a lot of the movies recommended on the home page are not movies that interest me at all. But years ago I saw a few scenes from this movie on tv, and it looked like a fun movie, so I gave it a try when it popped up.

Brendan Fraser plays Adam, a man who was born in a fallout shelter his eccentric father built in the 60s during the Cold War. After 35 years of knowing nothing but this shelter and his parents, Adam ventures to the surface to find the world drastically changed from the one his parents knew and taught him about. In his excursion, he meets Eve, and he enlists her help to gather more supplies for the shelter. Now, with characters named Adam and Eve, you probably don't need to guess too hard at how the movie ends...

I thought this movie was going to be super lame; and granted, it was lame in parts. However, I actually really enjoyed it. I absolutely loved Adam - he was such a gentleman, and he treated Eve in a way she had never been treated before. That was super sweet.

I don't have any huge negatives about this movie. There is a character who is a total burnout, and when Adam comes out of the shelter he takes him to be Jesus. This becomes a running joke for the rest of the movie, and I did feel that it got a little overdone toward the end. But overall the movie was really funny. Since it's free on Netflix, give it a try next time you want a silly, light-hearted movie.

Cast Away

Sorry I missed Monday, I was busy painting my soon-to-be house all day with my soon-to-be hubby and my currently awesome friends! Better late than never, I like to think.

This week's movie is Cast Away.

Once again, I had never seen this movie before, but I borrowed it from the same friend who lent me last week's movie. It sat in the bag with less interest on my part than other movies in there. One day Christopher was over and we wanted to watch a movie. I pulled it out among the many, and he said "oh, that's a good movie!" I said "I've never seen it." He said "We are watching that now."

So we did. But before I go further, a proper introduction to the movie is in order.

Chuck Nolan is an analyst working for Fed-Ex, who jets around the world preaching the gospel of time management to Fed-Ex depots. He comes home to celebrate Christmas with his family and his girlfriend Kelly. At the end of Christmas dinner, he gets a page from work summoning him on his next trip. Kelly drives him to the airport, where Chuck promises that he'll be back for New Year's Eve, and gives her something to hold onto until he gets back (something in very distinguishable box). The plane takes off... And as you can guess, this is when Chuck takes on the titular role.

 This was one of my favourite scenes.

At first Cast Away just really made me sad, because the title kind-of-totally gives away the plot, and there were just so many things happening in the first 15 minutes that I knew would come into play later when Chuck was stranded on the island. I especially did not appreciate the mention of a toothache and needing to go to the dentist (What Chris heard during this part: "OH NO HE'S GONNA HAVE TO SMASH HIS TOOTH OUT ON THE ISLAND!!!!! *whimpering fake-cry out of disgust* [I have dentist issues]) But once I got over that, I did get into the character of Chuck and how he was going to survive on this island. Tom Hanks did an absolutely brilliant job in this role. Just brilliant.

Another favourite scene.

I thought the direction and the soundtrack and production were all just wonderful together as well. Can I say brilliant? The feel of the movie was perfect. I think that they did an excellent job of making this movie as realistic as they could. I didn't find too many plot-holes in it, and that's what I do when I watch movies :P I would recommend this movie if you're in the mood to sit down for a few hours and be grateful for the life you have.

Lars and the Real Girl

I am going to be starting a new feature here on Open Up The Sky called Movie Monday. I finally have time to watch movies, now that I've graduated, and so I'd like to just review them for you lovely readers.

First up: Lars and the Real Girl

I had been wanting to watch this movie since I first heard about it, but never got around to renting it. A while ago I borrowed it from a friend, and sat down to watch it one evening. I am glad to say that it did not disappoint me. Lars and the Real Girl is a very sweet story, one that feels very, well, real.

Lars Lindstrom, played by Ryan Gosling, is a shy, reserved man who lives in his brother Gus' modified garage. He goes to work and church, but spends most of his time alone, which suits him just fine. One day, Lars knocks on at Gus and Karin's door and announces that he has a female guest named Bianca. Elated, Gus and his wife Karin invite them over for dinner. However, Bianca is not quite what they expected. In fact, Bianca is a life-size, anatomically correct doll. But to Lars, she is a real girl. What ensues are events which challenge family relationships, dredge up past hurts and fears, and bring a socially-challenged man out of his shell.

I found the premise of the movie very unique - a man who is suffering from a delusion that makes a doll real to him. Gus and Karin bring Lars and Bianca to the local doctor seeking any sort of help for Lars' delusion. Dr Dagmar simply tells them "Go with it." She figures that Bianca is some sort of coping mechanism for Lars, and that when he doesn't need it anymore he will get over it. So Gus and Karin go to the rest of their small community and ask them to play along.

I think that was my favorite part about the movie. I expected some cruelty on the part of the community, making fun of Lars for believing Bianca was real. However, the way everything played out was beautiful. Everyone was so gentle and understanding of Lars. It restored my faith in people a little bit. Another high point was Karin's deep love and pursuit of Lars. Often Lars would push her away, yet Karin persisted and tried to break down the walls he had around him.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes movies that tug on your heartstrings. There was no explicit profanity that I caught. There were some jokes about Bianca being an anatomically correct doll, but nothing that was extremely offensive. Don't watch this movie is you're in the mood sit down and shut off your brain. But if you want a good-hearted and feel-good movie, Lars and the Real Girl might be what you're looking for.

Movies I can't believe I don't own.

You know how everyone has some of those movies that they just love and could watch over and over, but somehow don't actually own a copy? Here are some of those movies for me: