The Worlds End Rated: R

Tory Says:

My review for this is simple. Did you like Shaun of the Dead? Did you like Hot Fuzz? If you answered yes, go see The World’s End. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are just as hilarious in this one as they were in the first two. Only this time, they have a slightly bigger cast to help.

The plot for this one is pretty easy to follow. Five high school friends attempted an epic pub crawl called “The Golden Mile” on the day of their graduation. Their goal was to get to “The World’s End” (the last pub on the list of 12) but they didn’t get very far before all of them had to give up. 20 years later, they have almost no contact at all. Gary (Simon Pegg), a total screw-up who was their leader, hasn’t changed much since high school while the rest of them have grown up and moved on with their lives. One day, Gary has the idea to get them all back together to go to their hometown and finish “The Golden Mile.” Reluctantly they all agree (with some trickery and persuasion by Gary.) What started as a mission to get to “The World’s End” actually ends up being a fight for survival from the body snatching “robots” that have taken over the town!

I spent the first part of the movie waiting. There is always that part in the other films. (If you’ve seen them you know what I’m talking about.) That part where is goes from totally normal British film to ridiculous and hilarious! I felt like it took a little bit longer to get to that part but well worth it.

As usual, this film is way over the top and side-splittingly funny! However, it did seem to have much more explicit language than the others. I think the “F” word is in almost every line if not every 3 lines. So this is NOT appropriate for kids under 17. The violence aspect actually isn’t too bad because when the robots “bleed” they bleed what looks like blue paint and when they get smashed apart, it looks like an egg cracking or exploding. So nothing truly horrifying. However, the language is just insane! (I think if they ever show this on TV they will have to re-shoot the film to clean it up! Lol)

We saw it after an exhausting day so it was nice to just sit and watch something fun! Plus we got a date movie out of it which is rare! I would happily give this a 7.5 out of 10. I think some of the language could have been taken out. It wasn’t as good as Hot Fuzz but better than Shaun of the Dead for me. Like I said, if you liked those, go see this one and just enjoy!!

Thanks For Sharing Rated: R

Barbara Says:

Addictions...we all have them of one kind or another.  Some are ones you can tell people about and others you hide very carefully. This is what the movie `Thanks for Sharing' is about..'addictions.'  The kind we can accept and the kind we think is a joke or cop-out.  This movie has some very good actors.  Tim Robbins,Gwyneth Paltrow,Mark Ruffalo and Patrick Fugit.  It deals with drinking,drugs. and sex addictions.  Mark Ruffalo plays a guy with a sex problem who has been on the wagon for 5 years. He meets a woman he really likes and then knows he has to tell her about his past.  But he knows this is an addiction people laugh about and do not believe is real. And most definitly not a problem. But it is not only a very real problem but one that can destroy your life. Patrick Fugit plays a younger version caught in the undertow of the same addiction and going down for the last time. It is funny at times and you feel so sad for them too.  Trying not to think about sex all day is like trying not to drink when you work in a bar.   There was one line in the movie thats very funny and I will remember it. Mark tells Tim he has all these feelings that are driving him crazy.  Tim tells him``feelings are like children..you don`t want them driving the car but you can`t stuff them in the trunk either. Deal with them." That is so very true.  This a very adult movie but it is a thinking person`s movie too.  It gives us a good insight into the everyday problems those with these serious addictions must handle without going down.  We enjoyed it and recommend it those who want a funny,tender and serious movie for a change. Out of 10 I gave it a good 8 for acting and content.

Cat Says:

First of all, I love Indies. We don't get many in our part of the state because we are a "small" market. So I'm happy for the ones we do get. We headed out to go see this movie not really knowing what is was about and only knowing the Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins and Gwenyth Paltrow were in it. What we got was a very good movie.

Ok, to break it down for you. Ruffalo is a recovering sex addict. He's been 5 years "sober". This means no sex or sexual contact of any sort for 5 years. Robbins plays his sponsor who also had substance abuse issues as well as the sexual addiction. Add in there Josh Gad who plays a fairly messed up addict who is just starting to attend the meetings and not succeeding in his recovery efforts and you have 3 guys who are trying to make their way through this very difficult process. Ruffalo meets Paltrow and, for the first time in 5 years, he has a relationship which leads to sex which confuses the issue and his recovery greatly. Robbins is still married but, while being a wonderful guidepost for those he helps, still has many unresolved issues in his own family with his wife and grown son. Gad meets and mentors Pink (yes, the singer) who plays a substance and sex addict trying to find her way in an environment that is mostly made up of men. Gad's character is able to help her, and she is able to help him, just by being a platonic touchstone. All of these stories are touching, sweet, and evlolving. All of the characters are interesting, entertaining, heartbreaking, flawed, damaged and real. 

Due to the subject matter it is very adult. There are scenes that include masterbation, sex acts, pornography and nudity. Fortunately they don't go terribly far with any of these scenes. They are supposed to make you feel uncomfortable while they give more details about each of the characters. This does make the film for 17 and older. I give it an 8 out of 10. Doesn't need to be seen on the big screen but very good.

The Book Thief Rated: PG-13

Barbara Says:

The Book Thief is one of those movies you had better take tissues with you.  But, my oh my, is it good. We were very taken with the story and the actors. Of course, Geoffrey Rush is always great at whatever he does. But the girl, Liesel, (Sophie Nelisse) and the boy, Rudy, (Nico Liersch )were just wonderful as children who form a close friendship during the rise of Hitler.  She has lost her brother to death and her mother to being very poor.  She goes to live with Geoffery Rush and Emily Watson and meets her next door neighbor, Rudy. Along the way they shelter a young Jewish man, Max (Ben Schnetzer), from the troopers. The whole story is narrated by DEATH talking about how he becames interested in Liesel on the train when he came for her brother. It is a story of friendship, love, hardship, lost and how to endure when everything seems to have gone to hell in front of your eyes. It shows how some people even though they love you find it impossible to show it. It reminds us of how entire countries can become blinded by hate and thus destroy themselves.  Out of 10 I give this one a 12.  I will long remember it.


Cat Says:

I went into this movie knowing just the bare bones outline of the story, what I had seen in the trailers and a warning from a friend that it's an emotional rollercoaster but ends well. It is a sweet story about how people during the 40's were forced to place their children up for adoption and what happens to the children. The couple (Rush and Watson) think they are adopting two children but only one, Liesel, survives the journey to their home. Rosa (Watson) is disappointed that it wasn't the boy who survived so she has a very gruff exterior for Liesel to penetrate but Hans (Rush) is immediately kind and loving and giving. His helping Liesel to read is one of the most touching things I have seen in film. 

The title refers to that reading quest. Rosa does the laundry for the Burgermeister in town and his wife, having lost her own son who was a voracious reader, decides to share their library with Liesel. At this time the Nazi's are beginning to round up the Jews for the camps so Hans and Rosa take in a young man for shelter. Max and Liesel become fast friends as he recovers from an illness. Their bond takes a brother/sister level and when Max becomes so ill, hiding in the freezing basement, and almost dies, Liesel makes it her mission to keep him going by any means and the best one she knows of is the stories that she reads outloud to him. When the Burgermeister calls a halt to Liesel using his library she is forced to climb into their window and borrowing books to read to Max, always being careful to return the books when she gets a new one.

Her friendship with the next door neighbor boy, Rudy, is never really fleshed out because they spend so much time on the parental relationship growing between Hans and Liesel and Rosa and Liesel as well as the growing brother-like relationship with Max that they run out of time to fully develop the friendship with Rudy which leaves you to feel like you are missing a whole bunch of the story. Based on a book, this is clearly part of it that they glossed over in the movie making process.

As the war takes a turn for the worse for the Nazi's it brings the bombing of Germany home to Liesel and her family. The ending of the film is also rather rushed. For an hour and a half you get the very slow movement of how Liesel came to live there, how those relationships grew in the shadow of the war and highlights from that such as the book burning parties they would stage for the towns. The last half hour is quickly showing how fast life can change on a dime and how Liesel's life ended up decades later.

The most interesting view of this movie is the narrator. It is told from the view of Death. He speaks of how he first came into Liesel's life when he came to collect the life of her brother on their journey to Hans and Rosa. Then he follows from there with how he returns into her life from time to time and ends with when he finally comes to collect her life in her old age. It really is a very wonderful approach to the movie and sets up that there will be very sad moments to come in the film. 

But, as my friend let me know, it does end happily for Liesel even though she loses a lot along the way. It's a sweet slow moving film that tries hard to show as much as it can about the world Liesel grew up in at that period in her life in a short amount of time. I have a feeling that the book version of this would reveal a whole lot more that is missing here. For this reason it gets an 8 out of 10 from me. I just kept thinking that, while well written, well acted and cinematically beautiful, it isn't well balanced story-wise or time-wise. I would have rather had an other half hour added to the film time and actually have the weaker parts expanded and the ending not so rushed.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Rated: PG-13

Tory Says:

I am a Harry Potter and Twilight geek to the core. I was expecting to LOVE The Hunger Games. I liked the first one but wasn’t jumping to go see Catching Fire. However, I’m so glad I did. I actually loved this one. I haven’t read the books so I can’t give that comparison but I was on the edge of my car’s seat (I saw it at the drive-in) almost the whole time!

The acting was SO much better in this one. I’m a big Jennifer Lawrence fan and this role feels made for her. The relationship with Peeta is a complicated one and the story line for this film definitely leaves you wanting more! There are moments of emotion that make you want to cry. I almost lost it when she is sent back into the arena. Without giving anything away, they tug on some heartstrings during that part. Jenna Malone as Johanna was fantastic! I truly enjoyed her performance. She had the perfect combo of smart aleck, angst and bad ass. Lol

As soon as it was over, I wanted to stay for the next show. It really was that good. Those I have talked to who have read the book say that this film nailed it! Let me put it this way, it was SO good that I went home and started reading the series. I can’t wait to get to this book and the next as well. There is a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of this film so beware if you haven’t read the books. I’m excited to see how this story will end up. No different from the first Hunger Games as far as your kid being able to see it but for ones who haven’t read the books, the cliffhanger maybe confused or upset them so keep that in mind. I’m giving this one a 9 out of 10. I can’t wait to own it! I’m already betting that I’ll see it again before it leaves theaters.

Cat Says:

I am the only one out of the three of us who has read all three books. For the "fan boys" out there this will not disappoint. The outline of the movie is that it picks up where the last one left off. If all three books were put together into one this would be the middle section. The first part of the book would be the set up. Introducing the concept and the world that they live in and what they face. This second part, the middle part, shows you what happens after the first games ended and how Katniss brings about a revolution on her own. The Capital tries to slow her down by throwing her and Peta back into the games but this is the beginning of the end for the Capital and everyone knows it. The movie ends at a part that feels unfinished. A cliffhanger. Sort of like you stopped reading right in the last third of a great book. It is set up for the third section of the story which will be told in two movies. Those are the ones I'm dying to see and find out how they manage to translate it onto the big screen because, in the books, the effects are just SO fantastic! For those who have not read the books please do brace yourself for an abrupt ending to this movie. But it's SO worth it. 

For those of you with kids. The first games were a lot more brutal than what they show in the second movie. The other victors are not really the danger here, the Capital bent on killing them all is the real threat. These effects can be very scary for smaller kids but the movie, as a whole, isn't as violent. 

My only regret is that they didn't flesh out the newer characters as much as I would have liked but at over 2 hours in length they really just didn't have the time or it would have ended up being a 3 hour movie. All of them are very interesting characters and my favorite, Finnick, (played by Sam Claflin) has a larger role in the third book so it would have been nice to have seen more of his character fleshed out a bit.So for this it loses a point. I give it an 8 out of 10. See it on the big screen if you can! Definitely go get the books so you can catch up with what they didn't have the time to show in the movies!


Barbara Says:

Some have said this movie did not have enough action but for me it was just right. I watched it on just about every lunch break and saw the movie completely twice. The entire cast is perfect in their roles..even the villans. In my eyes at least, Donald Sutherland is one of the best old time actors.  As for Jennifer Lawrence, she is a up and coming young actor who will go far if she does not let it all go to her head.  Only 21 and she has it all.  This second in the series of Hunger Games is mostly setting up the coming last two.  Yes, you read it correctly.  The last will be broken into two movies so they can get everything into it. One woman came out of watching this one and was very upset about how it ended.  When I reminded her there were others coming she replied "Yes,in a year.''  I do know where she is coming from because a year is a long time in my life too.  But I keep wandering away from the facts of this movie.  It keeps you guessing on just what Katniss feels for Peta.  I, at my age have come to know you can love two people at the same time..just in different ways for different reasons. There are a few surprises for those who have not read the books (I have not) and so makes for a very good time.  I like this series (never cared for Twilight series) and the actors are very good .  So will look forward to next year and The Uprising.  I give this one a 9 out of 10 rating.

Thor: The Dark World Rated: PG-13

Tory Says:

I saw this one because my husband wanted to and because it looked better than the first which I barely remember. This one is SO much better. At least this one felt like it had a real story line.

 

Once every 5,000 years the 9 realms of Asgard align, including Earth. In London, Jane Foster and her crew find a portal that has been created between the realms. While Jane is investigating the portal she comes in contact with a substance called Aether. After 2 years, Thor is drawn back to Earth and after realizing that Jane is infected with the Aether, takes her back to Asgard to be cured. Unfortunately it draws more than just Jane there including another being called Malekith who wants to use the Aether to destroy Asgard. Thor must call upon his imprisoned brother, Loki, for help to save the realms.

 

For me, Loki actually makes this movie. He is such a wonderful smart aleck and trickster. All his one liners had us cracking up! The special effects are done well and I never felt “bored” like I did with the first. I actually remember the plot to this one and would see it again!  I think whether you liked the first Thor film or not, you should see this one. It felt more like “The Avengers” which was fantastic! If your kids saw Thor or The Avengers, they can see this one. So I would give it a 7.5 out of 10. Good and I would see it again but I don’t feel I need to own it.

Captain Phillips Rated: PG-13

Barbara Says:

Why is the theater not packed with people to see this movie??? It is a seat clutching, gut wrenching, nail biting movie with the best acting Tom Hanks has ever done and that is saying something.  I knew how it ended and it did not matter because I was so caught up in it that I was lost.  The only other movie that has done that was Argo with Ben Affleck.  And have to say it: this was even better.  

You come to know these people, even the pirates.  And, in our case, to care about one of them so much you want him to live. The story, in case you were living in a cave when this all went done a few years ago, is about Somali pirates taking an American freighter in the Somali straight. They try to anyway. You even get to see the pirates beforehand and how they became involved in this tragedy. How in some ways, they were not unlike children in their behavior.  You see Captain Phillips emotions so clearly with Hanks`s portrayal and the very real fear he will not live through this to see his family again.  What these people cannot understand is that the United States does not pay a ransom and will end the problem in a final way if pushed to that end.

Go see this movie on the big screen before it is gone because you get the impact so much more.  I simply cannot tell you how well done this movie was or how much it sends the message that the world is a dangerous place.   I give this film an 11 out of 10.  And hope to see Tom Hanks up for an Oscar.

Ender's Game Rated:PG-13

Barbara Says:

This stars a newcomer, or at least he is to us. Asa Butterfield did an amazing job as a young boy in training to fight aliens who, he is told, have attacked Earth before and are massing for another attack. He is quick to see paths other do not and believes in putting on on such a fight that his enemy never returns. But he finds he has been lied to and it just about does him in because he cannot live with what he has done. I will not say what it is so it is a big surprise for you too. 

This movie uses the fact that so many of our young people are very adept at computer games of war. It also stars Harrison Ford, Viola Davis and Ben Kingsley. The movie ran a bit of a different path with a few twists that made it interesting and enjoyable. My friend and I found it worth watching and, out of 10, I would give it a 7.