Everything, Everything: Girl Next Door Falls for Boy Next Door

I remember being in high school and seeing Save the Last Dance with my girlfriends.  I was so gitty to be seeing a "girly" movie with my besties and wondered if I would ever outgrow such movies.  It is 18 years later, and I am happy to report that is not the case and far from it.  So of course when seeing the preview for a movie where an 18 year old, who has been confined to her home her whole life due to an illness, falls for the boy next door who shows her a world she's never seen, I was all about it.

Maddy has been sick since she was a baby, and with that has been confined to her house the entire time.  Her sickness is rare but limits her ability to fight infection and therefore implies that the outside world could very well kill her. This makes things tough when she falls for Olly, the boy next door.  Olly is the cynic to Maddy's positivity and falls for her instantly knowing she makes him better. The two have quite the challenge to their relationship as Maddy's overprotective mother doesn't want Maddy to get involved with Olly since their relationship can only go so far.  With the help of Maddy's nurse, Olly is able to sneak over and spend time with her.  This is still a limiting situation as he isn't able to stand too close to her.  As time continues, the two break more and more boundaries because love makes you do crazy things.  All hell breaks loose when Maddy leaves her house to see if Olly is ok after a rather scary encounter with his father.  Maddy's mom catches her going outside to him and puts together the pieces.  She forbids Maddy from seeing him again and takes all forms of communication she has with him away.  Maddy does what any teenage girl would do and runs away with Olly.  Her desire to be with him and see the world causes her to be brave and take Olly to a once in a lifetime trip to Hawaii.  Maddy is exposed to so much more than she ever imagined with cliff jumping, swimming, and yes.....falling in love.  This all comes crashing down when Maddy collapses and is taken to the hospital.  Will this trip have been her last?  Find out and see this heartfelt movie that reminds us of the simpleness of young love.

This movie was exactly as I suspected.  It was geared for those in between ages 14-18, but definitely had its appeal.  My husband even saw it with me and didn't mind it.  I have to say, there is quite the plot twist that you may be able to figure out in the middle of the movie, but I won't give anything away here.  IMDB gave it a 6.3 and Rotten Tomatoes gave is a 47%.  I would definitely give it a 7/10.  You have to go into it seeing it for what is is which is a high school love story.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2: Baby Groot Steals the Show

There is nothing better than seeing a movie with some of your closest friends, during the workweek, and on opening night.  I had the privilege of having a night like that on Thursday and what made it even better was that it was the kick-off to summer movies which means, it was a comic/action film.  To me, this was the best way to kick-off summer.  I know what you are thinking, I am an almost 32 year old, girly female, what could I possibly enjoy about such a movie?  You'll just have to read below.

Peter, aka Star-Lord, and his fellow defenders of the galaxy are in for it when two groups band together to destroy them.  The Guardians have other plans though as Peter finds out who his real father is and is introduced to a world he never knew existed.  Things aren't as they seem and the others begin to take notice, but it may be harder to make Peter see this as he is transfixed by daddy-dear.  Old enemies return, but we soon find out they may not actually be the enemies we thought.  Things get a little confusing and it's hard to figure out who to trust.  Ultimately, the fate of the universe will in be the hands of the Guardian's, and hopefully Peter is onboard with saving it.

When the movie first started, I was worried it was just going to be just a bunch of random action scenes.  It did kind of carry on a bit in this way for the first 10-15 minutes, but after that ended, the real story began and I loved it.  My favorite parts had to be anything involving Baby Groot.  If you were a Groot fan before, just picture a smaller version with a child-like mindset.  He was so stinking cute and just entertaining the entire time.  I also loved the secret hints throughout the movie that led to a major plot twist.  It definitely had a lot of action, but also sentiment and a ton of comedy.  Whether you are into Marvel or can appreciate action movies with comedic value, I definitely think you'll enjoy this one.  Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB would also agree as they gave it 82%, which I think it spot on.  Don't take it from me though, go get your summer started by seeing the first box-office hit!