Argo Review

Justin and I saw Argo on October 13, 2012. This was an excellent movie displaying the importance of cooperation between international governments to quell international problems. The events in this movie are inspired by a true story around the time of the Iran Hostage Crisis. This movie focuses on taking six American ambassadors out of Iran amidst a cover-up of a mock science fiction movie called Argo. I liked how the movie begins with a brief history lesson of how Ayatollah Khomeini came to power and how it affected Iran. The six ambassadors are taken in by the Canadian Ambassador, so the C.I.A. creates identities that they are a Canadian film crew. The movie definitely leaves you on the edge of your seat and you're invested in the characters from start to finish. It's up to Tony Mendez to extract them from Iran. With a team of C.I.A. personnel and Hollywood film makers, he is able to formulate his plan. Ben Affleck did an excellent job in the role of Tony Mendez as he is constantly battling to get his plan to succeed. I think the ensemble cast was awesome all around. In recent years, Affleck has had some great movies. The Town is one of the best movies I've seen from the last five years. He hit another homerun with this movie. Just like The Town, he also directed this. The rest of the cast is awesome: Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Clea Duvall, Tate Donovan, and Victor Garber to name a few. The scenes at the airport were amazing. These six ambassadors show what real fear would be like. Being in that situation will definitely cause emotional scars. The theater was packed. We were all wrapped up in the story and rooting for Mendez and the American six to escape the terror. The audience erupted into applause at the events and I even heard a few people crying which was awesome. Powerful movie!!! I also felt there were some legitimate comedic moments particularly with Goodman and Arkin. They had some great scene in Hollywood that blended nicely with the extreme dramatic nature of the Iran scenarios. The bottom of the screen also kept giving updates on what was going on with the hostage crisis in conjunction with the events of this movie, which actually happened. Now, I am sure there were some things that were done to make it more Hollywood, but this was a real event. That's what made this so powerful in my opinion. Also, it's great to see Clea Duvall in this. I have always been a fan of her and I feel she is a good actress that doesn't get enough credit. I have liked everything she has been in to date. I definitely feel this movie deserves a 5/5 for the excellent cast, great story with historical events, and brilliant dialogue.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Review

Justin, Dad, and I saw The Perks of Being a Wallflower on October 4, 2012. I absolutely loved this movie. Justin and I were still discussing it for ten minutes after we saw it. He thought it was good as well. He normally doesn't come out and say if he thought something was good right away, but on this occasion he did. Now, I first found out this was going to be a theatrical release early last year and was immediately excited. I have read the book three times. I read it back in 2001 when I was at North. I read it junior year at Elmira College. I read it this past summer to refresh myself and delve back into one of my favorite books. In my opinion, the book is a must read, especially for those that may be close minded. Stephen Chbosky definitely opens your eyes with this. I was really glad to see that he directed and wrote the screenplay for the movie. That meant an accurate portrayl of his work. The casting for the movie is excellent and each actor/actress fits their role perfectly. The book and movie follow the life of Charlie, played perfectly by Logan Lerman, as he transcends from a tumultuous year of dealing with his friend's suicide in 8th grade to the sometimes tumultuous world of high school. He is an academic, but suffers from mental disorders and inner guilt about certain events, such as the loss of his Aunt Helen. He is a loner, but soon is befriended by the seniors at his high school, namely Sam and Patrick, who are step siblings. Emma Watson is young, beautiful, and extremely talented. Alot of scenes with her as Sam, especially the one on one conversations with Charlie had me crying at certain points, especially the climactic one dealing with the importance of love between them. I loved how well the tunnel scene was portrayed. Definitely well done. Ezra Miller was excellent as Patrick. He really did a great job of balancing the character's comedic side and dramatic side with Brad. Justin and I loved how the Rocky Horror Picture Show scenes came along. I loved how both sequences looked. Creature of the Night with Sam and Charlie is so cute to watch honestly. Emma and Logan had a fun time shooting that, and it allowed Emma to show a sexier side. I saw that she has three projects lined up which is awesome. I also thought the Don't Dream It, Be It sequence was well done. Ezra Miller really looked the part of Frank N' Furter in that scene, which he should have. Mae Whitman continued the pattern of perfect casting as Mary Elizabeth. As I was re-reading it over the summer, I had known the cast members by then and I kept seeing her in the role. I liked Paul Rudd's portrayal of Mr. Anderson as well. Rudd fit nicely into the role and worked off of Lerman's Charlie pretty well. Catcher In The Rye is actually my favorite book, and I always liked how that is one of the many books Mr. Anderson gives to him for pleasure reading. Perks explores how a person can lie about who they are, but deep down they know who they are. It's about looking within oneself to realize we are all wallflowers. We are all infinite-this is the basis for my brother Jake's tattoo. It is insightful, thought provoking, emotional, captivating, character identity, the ability to feel proud of who you are. as well as knowing you love the people that matter, and they love you back. Charlie has that with his sister Candace (good cameo by Nina Dobrev of The Vampire Diaries-who reminds me a little bit of my cousin Tiffany in the way they look. Tiffany just gave birth to a baby girl name Lila Raechel Christenesen on Wednesday. It's very exciting), Sam and Patrick, and Mr. Anderson. I have that with my brothers, my best friend Jennifer Turner, my father, my mother (who is looking at me type this from somewhere). We all need to have that acceptance. This book and this movie will show you that it is okay to be who you are. The people that accept you for you are the people that matter. Screw the rest!!! This is in my top ten movies, just like its in my favorite books. On a sidenote, really cool to see Emma Watson represents two of my favorite books. This movie had great acting from young actors that I can't wait to see more from adapted from one of the best books I've ever read. If you couldn't figure it out, this is a 5/5 for sure!!! Loved this!!!

Hotel Transylvania Review

Justin and I saw Hotel Transylvania on September 30, 2012. I had been interested in this movie since I posed for a picture with people dressed up like the characters at Comic-Con!!! I thought the movie was funny, had a good plot, and had some great animation/special effects. The movie follows the life of Dracula and his daughter Mavis. The hotel was constructed in order to save Mavis from the human world. The humans caused a major tragic event in Dracula's life and he doesn't want to see this happen to Mavis. That is why the hotel is constructed: protection. Only monsters are allowed!! Dracula is preparing for Mavis's 118th birthday and a huge party is going to take place. Mavis wants to experience the world, but Dracula keeps doing everything to keep her from moving from the hotel: He even sets up a mock town with zombies acting as humans to keep Mavis from going. I personally thought the Dracula plot blended a nice dramatic element to some fun physical comedy bits from characters such as Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolfman-and his 30 kids, and other great monster friends. I think my favorite character in terms of overall look was Mavis. A human named Jonathan (who can get annoying at times) infiltrates the hotel. It is interesting to watch the progress made by Dracula. He notices that all humans aren't bad. We witness some fun scenes including a Monster Comic-Con which was great. I thought this was great to show as people have become more accepting of monster culture. There are some subtle messages in there in terms of current social landscapes, and I like the way they approached it. The voice talents of Selena Gomez, Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, Fran Drescher and David Spade were excellent. Rob Schneider was missing, which baffled me. I am picky on animated movies, and I have to say the combination of placing the Universal Monster troupe in a more family friendly environment, along with great animation/visual effects-with great usage of color especially, and a good plot mixed with dramatic and comedic elements made this enjoyable for me. Everything meshed well together in my opinion. I give this a 4/5, and besides Grown Ups this is the first Adam Sandler project I've liked for a while.