Brick Mansions: Fast Cars, Undercover Cops, and Paul Walker

I couldn't have picked a better movie to watch with my dad.  You see, ever since I can remember, my dad has been big on crime fighting, drug lord hustling,  badass movies.  So when debating who to see this with,  he was my first choice.  I think my favorite part was him leaning over midmovie just to tell me this was the perfect movie.   I have to admit, even though I usually am not into films such as this,  I truly enjoyed it for what it was, a good action flick.

Paul Walker plays Damien, an undercover cop sent to the ghettos of Detroit in order to disarm a bomb.  This isn't the Detroit we know today.  Detroit has succumbed to a new low by alienating the underprivileged with a wall that separates them from the rich and working class.  Schools, hospitals, and even police have been removed from the slums.  So it isn't exactly surprising that drugs and crime are all that occur here.  This makes for a tricky and dangerous task for Damien.   He does have a street smart accomplice and ex convict to help him find his way through what is referred to as Brick Mansions.  Damien is persistent as the drug lord of Brick Mansions is the one who murdered his father.  

Just when you think Damien is finally going to disarm the bomb and get the bad guy, plot twist!  Damien soon discovers that the Mayor set him up on this mission.  He wasn't sent to disarm the bomb, he was sent to activate it.  In the mayor's attempt to "clean up the city" and build brand new luxury living space and business, he plans on literally removing all of the lower class with one blow.  Now Damien must decide who to trust, who to save, and decipher what is right.

This film was a wonderful way to remember Paul Walker.  He's the actor who loved cars and played a great character in movies where the good guy is also rebellious,  yet still serves for the common good.  Some of the action scenes were a  bit cheesy with the slow motion movement, but it was fun to watch nonetheless.  So if you are in the mood for an action packed film or just want to see Paul Walker do what he has always done best,  then see this film!

The Other Woman: Girl Power at its Finest

As I get older and life experiences add up, I often find myself learning one valuable lesson after another.   When most girls are little,  they picture themselves as adults.  This cozy picture entails a handsome, sweet husband, two kids, a dog, and a white picket fence.   For some, this pretty picture will come true.   Sadly, for others,  this may not be the case.  The simple yet sad fact is, some people will marry the wrong person and get hurt.   I promise you,  I am no cynic.  I do believe in happy endings, but I also believe that people can be quite sneaky and withhold true colors until after the knot has been tied.  What I am referring to is the scenario when a husband or wife is unfaithful.  No, not one bad night unfaithful.   I am talking several affairs unfaithful.   This sad reality does occur.  Hopefully most of us never have to endure it,  but if we do.   I think it's important to remind ourselves of who will always be there.   Those people, my friends, are our best girlfriends.  The power of female bonding and kinship is truly a gift and if you are someone with a close group of female confidants,  don't ever let go of that.  Which brings us to Carly.

Carly is a lawyer who has made a name for herself.   She is beautiful,  confident, successful,  and doesn't need anyone.   Especially friends.  Carly dates casually and will often have more than one partner.  That is, until she meets Mike.  This new man in her life sweeps her off her feet and gets Carly to settle down into a monogamous relationship.   She is shocked at her new life,  but embraces it.  In fact, she even pays her lover a surprise visit dressed as a naughty plumber which seems to be a good idea until his wife opens the door. 

Meet Kate.  Kate thought she had it all.  A loving, successful,  handsome husband, a beautiful home in the suburbs, and the lifestyle her and her husband dreamed about back during much simpler times.  This all comes crashing down when her husband's mistress opens the door and changes everything.  Kate isn't stupid and even though the mistress tries to play it off, she realizes her husband is cheating on her.  So Kate does the opposite of what most women would do, she befriends her.  You have to realize, Kate has nobody, because all of her friends are Mike's.  Carly is resistant at first,  but Kate has a charming, innocent way about her that makes her hard to dislike.  Kate and Carly become the best of friends in their attempt to move on from Mike.  This turns sour when Kate falls for her deceitful husband again only to discover he is still cheating on her with Carly, or so she thinks.   Come to find out, Mike is cheating on them both.  The girls are now on a mission to find out about this mystery girl.

After following Mike to a tropical paradise,  the girls discover his other mistress is not only much younger, but the definition of perfect.   What transpires next is quite hilarious.  Carly snaps and lunges after miss perfect but Kate stops her. However, they were not as discreet as they thought and the mistress finds them out.  And now our twosome has grown to three.   The girls are now on a mission to destroy the man that destroyed them.

I have to say, this movie was the perfect chick flick.  It truly showed how much woman can count on one another in times of need.  I also appreciated the realness it showed with how hard it can be to let go of something you once loved but know isn't right.  Several scenes made me feel proud to be female and appreciate my girlfriends such as Kate letting go and throwing her ring into the ocean,  Kate and Carly trying on clothes in a wine drunken stupor of messy makeup and laughs, and how even when you have to be blunt with one another,  your girl friends can get you back on your feet.  This movie was a refreshingly excellent take on turning your back on what holds you back and embracing the idea of loving yourself enough to know you deserve better.  You need to go get your best friends together and see this movie.

Heaven is for Real: World's Cutest Kid has the Most Inspiring Faith

Being a teacher has its perks.  Working with children each day for the past 7 years has given me tons of zany stories.  The older kids have more of a filter for what's appropriate and what's not.  The younger kids just bare it all.  I have a vivid memory of a 5 year old telling me he had to fart.  Sometimes the little guys say a little too much mind you, but they have the best intentions.  With that said, they do say whatever they think or feel about something and tell the truth because that's what they do.  So what do you do when a 4 year old says he met God?

For Todd Burpo, a reverend of a farm town in Nebraska,  this is a reality.  His son Colton gets severely sick to the point nobody believes he will make it. Todd even finds himself yelling at God and forbidding him to take his son.  Fortunately,  his worst fear does not come true.  Colton defeats the odds and survives what will always be the hardest thing his family will ever go through.  The thing is, he had a little help.   OK, a lot of help.  

As time passes since the incident,  Colton begins to disclose some intriguing information about concepts beyond anyone's dreams. While at the park, Colton and his dad were enjoying a sunny day.  Then he leisurely explains that he met God.  His father took this as a creative imagination and passed it off. That is,  until Colton revealed information that nobody could reveal unless they had met God.  For one,  he saw his dad yell at God in the hospital, even though he was in a different room far from the operating table.  He also saw his mother calling friends and asking for prayers.  Todd told his wife this new information and she didn't quite buy it.  She honestly didn't want Todd to buy it either.   To make matters worse,  his own church wanted him to stop talking about it as it made parish members uncomfortable (Which makes no sense, these people are known for their strong faith,  shouldn't this be a beautiful miracle?).  But Todd was not going to back down and after hearing countless amazing details of his son's experience, he knew he had to tell his story.

Finally,  when Colton told his mom that he met his baby sister in Heaven, she knew Colton was telling the truth.   Nobody had ever told Colton he had a sister as well as the fact they hadn't named her.  This and other accounts were disclosed as time went on and I am happy to say that eventually,  Colton's story was told and believed.  

This was an excellent account of the book Heaven is for Real.  I wasn't sure if the special effects would give the book justice,  but they truly did.   My favorite detail is that you never see God's face until the very end,  and I will not spoil how it occurs.   I dare you not to gasp when you see it.  This was a beautiful film filled with emotion, compassion,  perseverance,  and most importantly faith.   Did I mention.......it's a true story?   Now go see it!

Transcendence: Mind Blown

I still remember fall 2000.  It was shortly after volleyball practice and I just got home.  Sitting on the floor of my basement was a glorious giant box with......a desk top computer.   This was back in the days of AOL instant messenger and that dreaded dial up sound.  Looking back,  I never realized then just how quick the rate of technological advancement would be.  I mean even as we speak,  I am typing on a miniature laptop called a tablet, my smart phone is next to me, and my Internet connection is constant.   This isn't even all of what technology can do.  So take our advancements and then look at what possibilities and soon to be realities we have.  Computers who cure diseases, computers who do work for us, nanotechnology that is capable of correcting or healing if you will, are all within our reach.  For some, this is scary, and for others, exciting.   For Dr. Will Caster, it is inevitable.

Dr. Caster and his wife have dedicated their lives to nanotechnology and creating a system that helps restore life.  Their research has been on plants and eventually monkeys, but when Dr. Caster is shot resulting in a deadly infection, they have no choice but to begin human trials on him.  Dr. Caster physically dies, but his brain is uploaded and transcended to a computer.  His wife would have done anything to keep her husband,  but what she doesn't realize is what chaos she has just started.

The longer time passes, the more power Dr. Caster needs.   He is uploaded to the internet and has access to all information.  Before long, he and his wife are running a small town with a lab that is quite extraordinary.   This lab evolves as so does Dr. Caster.  What starts as curing cancer,  blindness, healing injuries, then turns into creating human like characters via nanotechnology.   Soon everything is synthetic, even the water.  His wife sees this and begins to fear him along with his practices.

Meanwhile,  the group of individuals who shot him are working hard to ensure he is stopped.  This group has been attempting to get back to the truest forms of living where people truly connected.  They will stop at nothing to cease the rapidly growing advancements of Dr. Walter.  This will entail getting the government involved, a friend of Dr. Caster, as well as his wife.  In the end the only person who can stop him is the one who started this in the first place and doing so will most likely kill her husband.

This film was fascinating to me as it didn't seem too far from from where we are now.   It tended to be slow at parts, but overall kept me engaged.   The theme was that I loved the most.  This whole need to feel connected takes away human connection.   A definite must see.

God's Not Dead: A Film for the Believers

So I have to tell you.......I am still debating posting this even as I type.  I guess if you read it, you found out my decision.  It isn't that I thought it was a bad movie.  The enjoyment of this film stands firmly on the grounds of which perspective the viewer takes.  I think there are three classifications for this movie which include the film buffs, the Christian film goers, and the atheist film goers.  Now before I dive into this any deeper, I must inform you that yes, I am a Christian.   However, I'm not having a God no Go debate.  This post is strictly on who will enjoy this movie and why.  I don't think it will convert anyone into Christianity,  and if I am wrong then that's awesome.  I also think the film buffs will immediately notice the acting or lack there of.  To me, a movie shouldn't need the characters to state the obvious because you see and feel it in their acting.  Some of the situations this film portrayed were just not realistic and I can see some missing the point do to this distraction.  And yes, there is a really power message.  I can't deny that.   This film, from a Christian stand point, showed just how many people grapple with the idea of God.  For some, God is an evident thing, while for others, the idea of him seems like a false reality based on science or jaded life experience.   No matter the reason, these people overcame extreme situations and in the end found their purpose, found their peace,  which is the simple fact that God is very much alive.

The Professor:  His mother died of Cancer when he was 12, leaving him jaded and hating God.  So in his adult life as a philosophy professor, he requests his students to sign a document stating for purposes of his classroom, God is Dead.  All of but one student can do this.  What does he do to this student?  He makes him design a debate in which he must convince his peers that God exists.  The more his student gains strength,  the more he shoves him back down.   Kind of the opposite of what a professor should be.

The Christian:  It's his freshman year and he is assigned the professor from hell, or so it seems.  This poor kid must convince his class that there is a God after he refuses to sign a document saying otherwise.  Not only is his professor threatening to ruin his life, but his girl friend of 6 years dumps him for doing the assignment as she is fearful his decision will negatively effect the pretty picture she had painted for them.  Yeah, she sounds awesome.  Will his faith help him through this endeavor?

Little Miss Work Bee:  She is an intelligent journalist trying to change the world and critisizes anyone she doesn't agree with.   Her life is centered around success.  The nice car, rich boyfriend, successful career, and materialistic things are what drives her.  People who believe in God make her pity them.  She lives life in the fast lane,  that is, until she gets Cancer.   Oh yeah, and lovey dovey rich boyfriend dumps her immediately after finding out. Now what?

These are just a few examples of the kinds of dilemmas our characters experience in their battles with life and God.   The message is inspiring,  and like I said earlier,  believers will just be that much more reaffirmed in their faith.   So ignore the acting, enjoy the message, and have some fun at the movies.   After all, it's got Hercules! ! (Kevin Sorbo) who you must see in the video below this post.

Kevin Sorbo: Dissapointed!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9gC1GiSDDA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper Will Leave You Laughing.....A Lot

We all have family drama and I am sure each have a unique spin to just how quirky our families are.  No family is the same and at the end of the day,  we would do anything for our families.  This novel is all about family and the secrets, life changes, distance, death, and humor that go into it. 

Judd is at an all time low in his life.  He recently walked in on his wife having sex with his boss, quit his job (for obvious reasons), and lost his father.  He is processing all of this and receives a call from his sister saying that his father's last request was that Judd and his siblings sit Shiva.  This is a Jewish practice in which you mourn the loss of a loved one in their home for 7 days while everyone comes to visit and brings ridiculous amounts of food.   It is time spent as a family to reflect and remember.  For Judd, this is prison for 7 days as he and his siblings aren't exactly warm and fuzzy with one another.  Another unsettling thought is that Judd's father isn't a  religious man. Yes, they grew up Jewish, but mom was who dragged them all to temple.  His sister is persistent and his other siblings have agreed as well which leaves Judd without a choice.  He will sit Shiva with his dysfunctional family.  Things should get interesting.

Judd's Shiva experience turns out to be more than he expected.   In addition to his family dynamics that will definitely have you cracking up,  he also is still grabbing with his current life predicament of being cuckolded by his boss.  Then he runs into an old flame who slightly restores his faith in finding love again.  But not so fast, for his wife announces she is pregnant and guess who the daddy is?!  Not to mention the secret affairs of his family.   Let's just say someone comes out of the closet, someone had sex with someone's wife, and a whole list of shenanigans transpires on this seven day adventure. 

I think what I loved most about this was Judd's whole demeanor.  His sarcasm was easy to relate to and I often found myself laughing out loud......even at the bookstore.......sitting by myself.   It was a great read that left me open to my own predictions for how the character's lives turned out.  This is a great read for men and women from twenty something and on.

Draft Day: A Movie for the Football Enthusiast

Hopefully I don't loose any readers after this post,  but I feel compelled to tell you that I am not a football fan.  Believe me when I say that I have tried countless times to watch it and understand it, but it just hasn't happened for me.  With that said, I do enjoy attending football games.  There is something exciting about being surrounded by football fans.  They attend game after game no matter what kind of season their team is having.  They sit in rain and snow just to see their favorite players make a touchdown.  So although I do not watch football often, I do have an appreciation for football fans in all their team loyalty.  Needless to say, Draft Day will be enjoyed by football fans no matter what team they support or if they favor college or pro.  It has the excitement of a new season and what is entailed before you see those players running on the field for the first time. But it also has a plot that could intrigue those that just enjoy an upbeat movie with a predictable happy ending. 

Sonny Weaver has a lot going on today.  He wakes up with his secret girlfriend whom he also works with and she tells him she is pregnant.  Sony's lack luster response provides them with an awkward distance and many attempted conversations at work behind closed doors.   But we can save their story for later,  afterall, Sonny has bigger fish to fry today because it's Draft Day!  Sonny is the GM for the Cleveland Browns.   The city of Cleveland, as most of us know, doesn't exactly have a lot going on, so for them, sports and more importantly football, means everything.  This along with the pressure of his father passing away, the owner of the Browns wanting him to make history,  and a hot head coach who wants another Super Bowl ring, are all major factors weighing in on the one day that truly requires his skills.

Trades, deals, and insight are all part of the deal and Sonny has some major decisions to make.  Seattle offers a trade that will give him a very talented rookie in return for Sonny's top picks for the next three years.  This sounds like an amazing deal, yet Sonny has a gut feeling he can't ignore.  Which raises the question, is pure talent important in football or do we need to focus on character and genuine interest as well?  This is a major question Sonny must grapple with today. 

After many informative talks and several hours to think, Sonny makes decisions that show his talent as a GM.  There are many who doubt him along the way, especially the coach and owner, and hopefully Sonny's choices show them he has a rare gift of seeing people.   Luckily, among those doubters is not the trusty Allison (secret and then not so secret girlfriend) whom stands by his side all day.   And do not fret, our father and mother to be do live happily ever after.

This film was funny at parts,  somewhat suspenseful,  and overall mediocre.  However,  I truly appreciated how it portrayed football in all its glory, especially how involved the fans are.  Even those like me who aren't the biggest fans of the sport will enjoy it. 

Dark Places by Jillian Flynn

Jillian Flynn has done it again!  If you read her novel Gone Girl, you will surely be enthralled with this one as well.  If you have not read Gone Girl then I encourage you to go purchase that and the book I am currently reviewing.  The plot twists will keep you engulfed until the last page.

Libby:  Libby is the soul survivor of the famous Day family murders.  Her mother and two other sisters were brutally murdered leaving her to survive.  Libby is now in her thirties and attempting to live her life.  It is a slow process and can be very difficult to complete the day to day tasks such as getting out of bed.  She has made it her life's mission to shut everyone out and keep to herself.  All of this comes to a stand still when she is out of cash and subjects herself to help out a local group of "murder enthusiasts".  This group of dynamic individuals research murders and come up with theories.  The Day family murders have their attention as they do not believe the person placed in jail is the one who killed them.  The thing with this is, Libby was the one who stated the killer.  Who in fact, is her brother Ben.  As Libby works with the group by giving them information about her family and that night, she not only drudges up painful memories, but begins to wonder herself if she really knows who killed her family.

Ben: Born into a poor family surrounded by women was pretty horrific for Ben.  His mother had too many children than she new what to do with, his father was an absent drunk who never gave him the time of day, and he constantly felt like a loner.  This all changed for him when he met her.  Diondra was a vivacious, free spirit who introduced Ben to the person he could be.  He felt whole with her and like he was important.  Sure, Diondra hung around an interesting crowd, but he belonged here.  Unfortunately, as all good things must come to an end, so did Ben's brief fairy tale.  You see, after one hectic night, Ben lost his mother, sisters, and life all in one.  As a senior in high school, he was placed in prison for the murder of his family.

Patty:  She was drowning and didn't know how to swim to the top.  Patty had 4 beautiful children she couldn't afford to raise, a drunk ex husband who still thought he had claims on her, and situation after situation that continuously brought her down.  It took everything she had just to get out of bed.  She knew the troubles each day would face and she just couldn't do it.  Patty did love her children.  Even her son whom she didn't understand and who she was convinced hated her.  Unfortunately, Patty's life was cut short along with the lives of two out of three of her daughters.

Only a few people really know what happened that night and 3 of them are dead while one is in jail.  It is up to Libby to figure it out.  But what will she do when she finds out the truth?  Is this one of those situations where knowing more could actually be worse?  Find out who killed the Day family.  I promise you will not know until the end no matter how convinced you are throughout the novel.  

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I love seeing movies the night they come out. Especially action packed comic movies.  There is something exciting about seeing an eagerly anticipated movie with people who not only love it, but know so much about it.  I have to admit,  my experience with Captain America is strictly the first movie and the Winter Soldier, so forgive my lack of knowledge.   As with all of my posts, my focus today is on what I experienced with this film.

Captain America joins us again as he fights the bad guys and aims to do the right thing always.   But what happens when he discovers that the people he currently works for are not what he thought?   There has been corruption in SHIELD, a group he works for in which he thought was to help serve and protect.   Captain America has to grapple with who to trust and what information is real.  To add to this dilemma,  he finds out that his current enemy, who appears to be up to par with Captain America's talent, is a long lost friend from his past that he thought had died.  What our hero soon realizes is that his friend has been brain washed and doesn't know who he is.  Fighting off someone you would die for isn't exactly ideal and creates a major problem for him.  In the end he will have to choose between his life or the life of the man he once fought beside.

The action scenes were intense and Captain America's abilities are truly exhibited in this film.  I felt engaged the entire time and was eager to see just how the lives of the innocent would be saved this time.   A fun movie for all to see. 

PS......stay until after the credits......which I am sure most of you comic movie buffs already know.

Noah: Hollywood Takes on the Bible

I realize it's been done before, but this was my first encounter with a movie version of the biblical tale of Noah.   I didn't know what to expect but did know the acting would be superb. I mean come on.......Russell Crown as Noah?   Need I say more?  The only issue I had was more of  a personal matter as I had to constantly remind myself that this was  the Hollywood creation of Noah.  The visual effects and quality actors did provide a convincing story. Which is why I remind you that this is not the true story of Noah,  but more of the Titanic version.  You know, we'll have some characters that really existed and the maintain the main event,  but put our own plot twists to it.

Our story dates back to a low time for mankind.  The "creator" (this made me chuckle a bit, but I get it, they didn't want to say the G word and scare people away) created the sun, earth, plants, animals, and finally man and woman.   Unfortunately both gave into temptation and set forth a spiral effect of bad choice after bad choice until the once innocent humans were just plain evil.  Murdering,  rape, awful treatment to animals, and a "power to man" kind of mentality where men were to be worshipped,  not some creator,  was all too common place for humans at this point.  Fortunately,  some good still existed and the creator saw this.   So he called upon Noah to build an arc.
This arc would save those the creator intended and leave the rest of mankind to drown in a massive flood.  The creator therefore sent Noah several messages through visions in order to make sure it all went according to his plan.  Noah was on a mission.

In Noah's attempt to follow the creator's plan, he begins to take it too seriously.  His wife and children begin to see this, but even they cannot save Noah from himself.  Noah's mission grows to be so much more than building an arc.  The arc does set sail and they do survive,  leaving evil behind.  But Noah becomes obsessed with this notion of reestablishing mankind.   So when his son and girlfriend become pregnant, Noah loses himself even more and believes the creator wants him to kill the child once it is born.  To make matters worse, evil is lurking on the arc which will not only surprise but could change everything Noah has worked so hard for.   The other issue also remains, which is the unending ocean before them with no land in sight. 

I felt the overall theme of good verses evil and the inner issues we have with ourselves in that regard was prevalent.   Here you have a good person, Noah, but in his devotion to the creator,  becomes self destructive.   I can see many of us doing this.  We want to make sure we are following the right path,  but what if we get it wrong?  What happens if we misinterpret the plan?

They should have cut some lengthy portions, but overall it was a visually dynamic, entertaining film.