The Change-Up

The Change-Up (2011)

This was actually a pretty good movie!  To be completely honest, the main reason I wanted to see this was because I love Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman.  The basic premise of this is that it's an R rated (or unrated) version of Freaky Friday.  The two guys switch places and crazy things ensue.  It was written by the same guy who wrote The Hangover and directed by the same guy who directed Wedding Crashers so it was bound to be funny.  And it was definitely funny.  The two main guys together were pretty great and I would love to see them do something together again.  I wasn't a fan of The Hangover or Bridesmaids (maybe I just don't have the right sense of humor) but I do love Wedding Crashers, Old School, movies like that so I enjoyed this.  It has just enough gross-out humor where it doesn't seem like that's all they're doing but it also has some cute funny moments, for example, when Jason Bateman's character is interacting with his kids, those are some pretty funny scenes, especially the opening scene (I don't want to ruin it for you, but if your gag reflexes are triggered easily you may want to look away)!  Overall I would recommend this, especially if you like to have a good laugh or two!

XO,
 Lauren

One Missed Call. Rose Red.

One Missed Call (2008)

Seeing that this movie only got one star and a 3.4/10 rating on IMDB I really had no idea what it was going to be like. And honestly, it wasn't that bad. Don't get me wrong, there was a lot of room for improvement but overall I actually enjoyed it. There were a few creepy parts which I always enjoy and the scares didn't really seem cheap. I know this was a remake of a Japanese movie and I haven't seen that one so I can't really compare the two but that one got a 6.2/10 on IMDB so obviously viewers thought that one was better. If you enjoy these kinds of movies I would suggest it, but don't expect any sort of award winning film.

Rose Red (2002)

I have seen this so many times it's ridiculous so I had to do a review of it! This was originally a Stephen King miniseries in 2002 and that's when I first saw it.  I loved it then and I still love it. If you are a Stephen King fan then this is a must see but even if you're not I would still recommend it. It has all the creepy chills that I good horror movie should have and though some of the special effects are lacking it doesn't really take away from the movie, it was made for TV after all so you can't expect much. After this was on TV it came out on DVD and I used to rent it all the time and a few years ago I bought it on the internet and watch at least a few times a year. I can't really tell you why I love it so much there's just something about it. I love horror movies that take place in creepy old homes especially when that home is the haunted part. The plot is about a Professor (Nancy Travis) who loves all things paranormal and loves the history of this house and she takes a group of people who all have some sort of sixth sense and they try to awaken the house and they do just that.
  Obviously I would highly recommend this and I'm sure you can get it from most libraries or on Netflix so go and check it out!

XO,
  Lauren

Footloose Friends Dark Lucky

  I am officially on summer break so I will definitely be posting more reviews but here are a few new ones:

Footloose (2011)

I really had high hopes for this but unfortunately those hopes were not met.  I am a fan of the original Footloose so I was looking forward to seeing this but...ughh.  Where should I start?  I guess the main problem was that it was just really boring.  I was literally falling asleep.  I am really glad I didn't pay $10 to see this in theaters.  The acting was subpar, I enjoyed the new guy who played Ren and Julianne Hough wasn't that bad.  I think part of the problem was that they tried to hard to copy the original, almost every scene was exactly like the original and I didn't really care for that but that's just my opinion.  I honestly have to say that I wouldn't suggest this unless you want to waste two hours.  If you're itching for a Footloose fix, rent the original.

Friends With Benefits (2011)

Another one that I wasn't that impressed with.  I do have to say that it was better than No Strings Attached but that's not saying much.  This was cute and at times funny but overall I didn't think it was all that great.  Justin Timberlake was funny and I like Mila Kunis but I don't know, I just wasn't that convinced with their chemistry.  I don't really have that much to say about this since I didn't really care for it but it wasn't nearly as bad as Footloose.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010)

So I am a HUGE fan of horror movies but I prefer ones with ghosts and that kind of thing and I thought that's what this was going to be but no, this movie has weird little gremlin looking monsters and I didn't really like that.  The story wasn't bad and that acting was pretty good (though I've never thought Katie Holmes was that good), Guy Pearce was as good as usual and the little girl did a very good job.  But the monsters?  That was just strange.  The movie wasn't bad but when I'm watching something scary I want to be at least a little scared and I definitely wasn't with this and the little monsters weren't really that creepy.  I was a tad bummed with this, I thought it would be a lot better but I guess your hopes should never be to high when it comes to the horror genre.

The Lucky One (2012)

This I really liked!  And yes, I am one of those girls who  just loves a good chick flick and this certainly delievered.  I love Nicholas Sparks' books and the movies are always good but I hadn't read this one yet so I didn't really know the story other than what I saw from the previews.  Zac Efron was very good in his portrayal of a struggling marine and Taylor Schilling also played her part very well.  I loved the little boy and I look forward to seeing him in other things.  I can't believe I'm actually saying this but the little kid from High School Musical is actually a pretty good actor and he can hold his own as a leading man.  I know the main reason they cast him was because of the eye candy factor, but so what?  Whatever gets the butts in the seat!  But he did a very good job and I hope he does other movies like this.  If you enjoy a good chick flick and maybe want to shed a tear or two then I would definitely recommend this!

XO,
  Lauren

Roswell

Roswell (1999-2002)

 

Ok, so technically this show went off the air 10 years ago so I guess I'm a little late to the party. I just got season 1 from the library and oh.my.God, I am obsessed.  Now I know in my previous post I said I wasn't a fan of alien things but this is really an exception.  That is the main plot of the show but with all the other storylines going on, it kind of gets moved to the back corner and then you just have the drama going on between the characters.  Basically the show is about two siblings, Max and Isabel (Jason Behr and Katherine Heigl) and their friend Michael (Brendan Fehr) who are found to be aliens after Max saves Liz, a waitress at the local diner who gets shot.  Up until this point nobody knows that the three of them are aliens and that's the way they want to keep it but it has to be explained to Liz because of Max saving her life.  I think the thing I love best about this show is the love story between Max and Liz.  I am a sucker for a good love story and the two of them seem to fit perfectly together.  I am not quite done with season one yet so I don't know where their relationship will go but I surely hope it will last.  I can't wait to get my hands on seasons two and three!

Max and Liz

And can I just say how hot Jason Behr is?  Holy crap!  This is the only thing I've ever seen him in (other than his guest spot on Dawson's Creek) and wow!  I've looked him up online and it doesn't seem like he does much anymore but I sure hope that changes in the future!  So for your viewing pleasure here are a few nice pics of the yummy Jason Behr :)

Crazy Elephant Thing

   So it's been awhile since I've blogged about any new movies but I just happened to watch a few over the weekend so here's an update:

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

  So I've been wanting to see this for awhile because I love, love, love Steve Carell (and Ryan Gosling's not bad either).  I get all my stuff from the local library so it takes me a little while to get some of the new things so I've been waiting a couple months for this and finally last week it came in.  I was really excited to see this because the previews made it look really good and I love seeing Steve Carell in these kinds of roles and he really was great in it.  However, the movie wasn't quite what I thought it would be.  Don't get me wrong, it was good but it was a little slow-moving for me.  Ryan Gosling's character was pretty amazing though.  It was almost a little unbelieveable, are there really guys out there like this?  He was like Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother on steroids.  I just love seeing Steve Carell in roles like this, I mean he's fabulous on The Office but my favorite role of his is Dan In Real Life because he just seems so real and personable, I just want to give him a hug.  Steve's character has just separated from his wife and he runs into Ryan Gosling who gives him a head to toe makeover and turns him into a ladies man but deep down he still loves his wife.  Emma Stone and Julianne Moore play the main women and I honestly wasn't that impressed with either one.  I don't get the attraction to Emma Stone though so that could just be me.  Overall I would suggest this movie to anyone who just likes to have fun at the movies, it's a good mix of comedy and drama.

Water for Elephants (2011)

  This was another one that I had been waiting a long time for and of course it came in at the same time as the previous movie.  I really wasn't sure about this movie, the only reason I wanted to see it was because I liked the main stars, Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson.  I am not a fan of the circus and I don't usually care for things that take place that long ago (1931) but it exceeded my expectations.  I was quite impressed by Robert Pattinson's performance, I had only ever seen him in the Twilight movies so I didn't have a ton to go on but he did a great job.  Though I haven't read the book yet he seemed to fit the character perfectly.  I used to love Reese Witherspoon but I feel like lately her acting seems the same in everything she's done.  A year or so ago she did a movie called How Do You Know? and that movie was just terrible and she didn't impress me at all.  She was good in this but it didn't blow me away, Robert Pattinson was much better in my opinion.  Christoph Waltz who played Witherspoon's character was great in his role as the insane circus leader.  Witherspoon and Pattinson's characters start an affair and that's when Waltz's character really goes over the edge and he did a very good job at acting crazy.  I've never seen him in anything before but I really enjoyed his performance.  The day after I watched this movie I ran to the bookstore to buy the book so I will be reading that pretty soon!  Overall I would suggest this to just about anyone.  Side note: if you have a problem with any sort of animal cruelty you may want to avoid this because there are a few mild scenes involving this.

The Thing (2011)

   This was terrible.  I love horror movies but this was just bad.  Now I've never seen the original so I don't know how it stacks up to that but looking at it by itself?  Not good.  The acting was mediocre, the main character was played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and I don't have anything against her but I just don't understand why she was cast as the lead.  She wasn't bad but she just didn't have that star quality that's needed to carry a movie.  The majority of the rest of the cast was made up of people I had never heard of that I'm pretty sure were Norweigan or something like that.  I guess I didn't really know this movie had to do with aliens so that could have been my first problem.  There aren't a lot of alien movies that I like, really the only one is War of the Worlds and I think part of the reason is that it just comes off as goofy to me and this was no exception.  I would not recommend this.  Don't waste your time.

One Tree Hill.

Well, tonight is the end of an era.  My favorite show (you could call it an obsession) is ending.  One Tree Hill will take its final bow tonight at 8 on the CW.  I have grown up with this show, I started watching it when I was 15 and I am now 23.  It has been on for 9 seasons and I have never missed an episode, including once when I was in the hospital.  This show has seen me through high school, a house fire, a kidney transplant, and now college.  With all the crazy things that life has thrown me, One Tree Hill has always been a constant in my life.  I look forward to it every night it's on and every time a new season rolls around.  I knew from the pilot episode way back in 2003 that this show had staying power and that I was going to see it through to the end, and I have done just that.  The show means so much to me and I don't care if that's corny, it's the truth.  The characters mean a lot to me, they are so relatable and you invest so much in them, especially after 9 seasons.  I also learned a lot from this show, it taught me things and I still find myself repeating some of the quotes, and that means something, it means this show was important.  I have every season on DVD and I have watched all of them at least 4 times (yearh, I told you it was an obsession) and it never gets old.  I still invest so much in every episode every time I watch it, just like it's the first time I'm watching it.  I will miss this show and the characters dearly but thankfully I will still have the DVD's so I can go back and watch them anytime I want.  But it's sad to know that after tonight there will never be another new episode.  So One Tree Hill, I will miss you, after all, there's only One Tree Hill.

The Help

The Help

   After being on the waiting list for a few months for this at the library I finally got it the other day.  Now this was not a bad movie, it was actually pretty good.  However, the majority of the movie just left me mad.  It was hard to watch how these maids were treated and what they had to go through.  I am way to young to remember when racism was really bad but we still see it today and I can't stand racist people and this movie just emphasized that I feel.  It was interesting in that way that it was told from the view of the maids and it was easy to hate the horrible white women (except for Celia & her husband, played by the gorgeous Mike Vogel and obviously Emma Stone's character).  Especially the character played by Bryce Dallas Howard-she was terrible!!  I really have to wonder if the white actresses had a hard time playing these characters because I honestly don't think I could do it and I for sure could never use the 'n' word, I can barely hear it let alone use it, in fact I have never said it and never plan on it.  The story and the plot were good and there were several funny parts but overall, it was a difficult thing to watch and I honestly don't know if I would suggest it.  I do think it's a good thing for someone my age (23) to see because we never saw racism that bad and also for older people that did live through that time so that they can see what these maids and colored people in general really went through.

XO, Lauren