Movie Munchies 1: The Blind Side

February 6, 2016February 6, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

Hi guys! I wanted to share with you a very exciting video I just posted on my youtube channel. It’s called Movie Munchies where we will review a film and make a recipe on the same video. This week to celebrate the Super Bowl we are talking about 2009’s The Blind Side and making my favorite apricot chicken drumsticks- perfect for game day. This was a huge challenge for me and I would love to get your feedback.

We’ve already got episode 2 filmed and will probably do this a couple of times a month. If you have any ideas for good movie/meal parings please let me know!

Making this video required a whole new kind of editing and filming for me so I learned a lot but I’m really excited for the future. I loved my chemistry with Jacqueline and found the entire experience very rewarding. I know each episode will only continue to improve.

Thanks for checking it out.

Here is the recipe:

Recipe-
3 lbs drumsticks or other meat
1 cup onions diced
1 cup bell peppers diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1/3 c soy sauce
1/4 c firmly packed cup brown sugar
1/4 c molasses
1/4 c honey
1 14 ounce bottle ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
hot sauce to taste
1 jar apricot preserves
Olive Oil
Heat up onions, peppers, and garlic till translucent. In separate skillet sear the chicken on high heat to get a golden brown color. Add all ingredients except for jam, heat and then let simmer till it thickens.
Add apricot jam to mixture and poor over chicken.
Bake at 400 degrees for an hour, remove tin foil at 30 minutes. Test with thermometer. Want chicken 165 degrees or higher.
Enjoy! Let me know if you like it and I’ve made it with wings, pork, ribs etc.

Movies I Saw in Theater in 2015

February 4, 2016February 2, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

So last year I got the movie pass which allowed me to see a movie every day in the theater. It’s a pretty awesome service and not including re-watches I saw 88 films in the theater in 2015. (Crazy I know!). Some of these are rereleases and some are 2014 releases. I tried to rank the films and it was impossible. They are all so different and have strengths and weaknesses.

But I will give you my grade for the film if that is helpful. It was a pretty good year when you consider out of 88 films only 9 D or F films.

2nd Best Exotic Marigold Hotel B
Age of Adeline C
American Sniper A
Amy C
Ant-Man A-
Avengers Age of Ultron A-
Back to the Future 1 A+
Back to the Future 2 C+
Back to the Future 3 B
Breakfast at Tiffanys A
Bridge of Spies C
Brooklyn A
Cinderella A+
Creed A
Do You Believe B
DUFF C
Ex-Machina B+
Fantastic 4 D
Far from the Maddening Crowd B+
Freetown A+
Furious 7 B-
Good Dinosaur A
Goosebumps B-
Grease C
Home D
Home Alone A+
Hotel Transylvania 2 C
I’ll See You in my Dreams B
Imitation Game B+
In the Heart of the Sea D
Inside Out A+
Interstellar A+
It’s a Wonderful Life A+
Jupiter Ascending C+
Jurassic World C
Learning to Drive C
Longest Ride B-
Love and Mercy B-
Love the Coopers C-
Mad Max: Fury Road A-
Man from UNCLE C
Maze Runner Skorch Trials D
McFarland USA A
Me Earl and the Dying Girl C
Minions C-
Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation B+
Monkey Kingdom B
Mr Holmes C+
My Fair Lady A+
Paddington A+
Peanuts Movie A+
Pitch Perfect 2 B-
Pixels D+
Ricki and the Flash C+
Roman Holiday A+
Room A-
Selma A
Shaun the Sheep B+
Song of the Sea A+
Spectre C+
Spongebob: Sponge out of water B
Spotlight A+
Star Wars: Force Awakens A
Steve Jobs B-
Strange Magic D
Suffragette D
Terminator Genisys D+
Testament of Youth A-
The 33 C
The Big Short B-
The Drop Box B+
The Gift B+
The Intern C
The Martian A+
The Prophet B-
The Room (Riff Trax gets an A) F
The Visit C-
The Walk C
Theory of Everything B-
Tomorrowland C-
Un gallo con muchos huevos C
Walk in the Woods C+
Walt Before Mickey D
War Room C-
When Marnie was There A
Whiplash B+
Woman in Gold C-
Woodlawn B-

Talking 2016 Animation Calendar

February 2, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

Hey guys! My friend and fellow animation addict AJ Howell did a fun podcast where we went over the upcoming 2016 animation calendar. We tried to give our insight into 18 films and what we are looking forward too and not so much. I would love your feedback. What about you? What excites you the most in the calendar?

Blindspot 1: Blade Runner Review

January 14, 2016January 14, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

Today I got to see the first in my Blindspot series where each month I will review a well regarded film I’ve never seen before. To see the full list click here. This month’s selection is the 1982 Ridley Scott science fiction classic Blade Runner.

With this film I had the special opportunity to see it on the big screen as part of the Cinemark Classic Series (good timing!), and I ended up having a unique experience.

First of all, the movie is extremely immersive. Set in a dystopian Los Angeles Ridley Scott creates a rainy city landscape that is textured and layered unlike I have seen in many other movies. It was beautiful and almost overwhelming to take it all in.

The plot is based on a Phillip K. Dick story and it stars Harrison Ford as Deckard, a cop (or blade runner) who is assigned to hunt down creatures called ‘replicants’.

There are 4 on earth and a giant corporation called Tyrell has set them up to only live for 4 years. The movie is basically a cat and mouse chase between the humans and the replicants but it is so much more than that.

I’ll be honest with you guys about 30 minutes into Blade Runner I was feeling extremely frustrated. I had no idea what was going on and didn’t understand who was hunting who and what all the characters were doing. It was so much new and different I found it overwhelming and confusing.

Finally in frustration I did something unorthodox. I went into the hallway and read the Wikipedia synopsis. This helped me have some kind of framework to understand all the characters and world being thrown at me. I know most people would bristle at reading a plot synopsis giving away the ending and other details but for me it helped to enjoy the film much more.

And like I said there is so much going on that knowing the basic framework really doesn’t spoil much in Blade Runner, so I’m glad I did it. It might be unconventional but it worked for me!

The acting is all fine in Blade Runner. The characters and performances take a back seat to the story and setting but they work with what they’ve got. In major roles we see Edward James Olmos, M Emmet Walsh, Daryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer, Joanna Cassidy and more.

I particularly liked Sean Young as Rachael, an ‘experimental replicant’ who becomes entangled with Deckard. William Sanderson is also good as JF Sebastian, a strange man who collects replicants and robots.

Daryl Hannah is very good as Pris, one of the 4 replicants.

Harrison Ford is a little bit bland here compared to his charisma in films like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark but it works. Contrary to some popular opinion not every character in a movie has to be dynamic- especially in a world and plot so dazzlingly complex as this one!

Once I wasn’t confused any more I started to pick up on the main message of Blade Runner (all good scifi should have a metaphor IMO).

The theme I took from it was the replicants know they have a limited time period to live and they want life so much. They will even go to violent methods to preserve it and lengthen it. On the other hand, the humans who have a plethora of days are kind of faceless and bland, without any passion.

This robotic human existence is exemplified by the billboards we see projected onto the cityscape of women mindlessly taking pills. The emotional climax of the film for me at least was when Rachel and Deckard admit they love each other. It’s like both realize the value of time and decide to stop wasting it.

It might sound strange but in many ways it is a similar theme we see in Wall-e. If you think of Wall-e as a replicant and not a robot doesn’t he teach the humans to value their time instead of mindlessly absorbing entertainment? Wall-e’s time is limited by his battery power, where the humans just need to wake up and live a full life.

Even with a plot synopsis not everyone is going to like this movie. It’s just too out there and different to appeal to everyone. Plus, it can be deliberately paced, confusing, and rather drab.

However, I am certainly glad I saw it and will look forward to seeing it more times and gaining further insight into the story and characters. At the very least, it was a good reminder to me that sometimes I have to make the moviegoing experience work for ME, even if that means stepping out into the hallway and reading a synopsis! If it helps me enjoy the movie more than isn’t that a good thing?

It’s at least worth seeing for the amazing visuals and world building. The music by Vangelis is a little heavy on the saxophone at times but I did really like it. The whole film is very well crafted and a wonderful sci-fi dystopian movie.

What do you think of Blade Runner? Too weird for you or a favorite?

As far as content goes there is some sensuality and violence especially a scene where a characters eyes are stabbed. The over all feel can also be dark and depressing like most dystopian settings.

Overall Grade- A-

2016 Blindspot Choices

January 4, 2016January 4, 2016 | Rachel's Reviews

My friends over at Cinema Parrot Disco and Keith and the Movies have introduced me to the Blindspot series. This is where as bloggers we fess up to 12 movies we haven’t seen that are considered classics. Then we watch one of those movies each month for the year. I have decided to participate this year and these are my 12 choices. Let me know what you think of all of these films.

January- Blade Runner

I’m actually going to see it on the big screen in a rerelease. Ridley Scott’s dystopian futuristic film is a classic I can’t wait to see!

February- Ghost in the Shell

Another anime to cross off my list. This futuristic anime is about a Motoko Kusanagi tracking down a hacker known as the Puppet Master. It should be interesting to watch with the live action version coming in March

March- Dark Knight Rises

Yes, I haven’t seen the 3rd in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The truth is I’m not that big a fan of Batman movies and didn’t love Dark Knight as much as most people. In honor of Batman v Superman will give the trilogy another go and finally watch the 3rd offering.

April- Yentl

One of few Barbara Streisand films I haven’t seen and April seems like a good fit for this film.

May- The Jerk

I want to have some laughs during the series so let’s enjoy Steve Martin being The Jerk!

June- Tales from Earthsea

Another Studio Ghibli to cross off the Must See list. This is one of Hayao Miyazaki’s first films and I look forward to seeing it.

July- Talk to Her

Directed by Pedro Almodovar Talk to Her is the stirring story of 2 men who become friends when their significant others are in comas. It’s a foreign film I’ve had on Must See List for some time

August- Porco Rosso

Another Studio Ghibli to cross off the list. This one looks very fun and different. I mean a pilot pig. How can you go wrong with that!

September- 400 Blows

The debut film by Francois Truffaut is a must see for any cinemaphile, so I look forward to watching it. It’s about a boy in France who is unhappy and causing all kinds of trouble.

October- Unbreakable

Let’s give a ‘good’ M Night Shyamalan movie a shot. I’ve heard Unbreakable is a terrific superhero/thriller movie and I will have an open mind. I do like Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense and think Signs is well made.

November- Looper

To get ready for Rian Johnson’s helming of Star Wars Episode 8 I will watch his time travel film Looper. I love time travel movies and Joseph Gordon-Leavitt is one of my favorite actors. Bruce Willis I am more hit and miss on but he can be very good.

December- The Ref

Just in time for Christmas let’s join Denis Leary, Judy Davis, and Kevin Spacey in The Ref. Evidently Leary is a thief who ends up ‘refereeing’ in Spacey and Davis’ marriage.

So that is my Blindspot picks for 2016. Let me know what you think!

Best Movies of 2015

December 22, 2015December 23, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

I don’t know if you guys enjoy end of the year lists as much as I do but it s always fun to see both the highlights and lowlights of the year of movies. Next week we will dive into the low but today let’s talk about the best of the year! I ended up doing a top 15 because I had 15 films I felt were worthy of a shout out.

15. When Marnie was There-

Studio Ghibli’s beautiful final film is a magical realism story of a family rescuing a girl from deep depression. Lush, beautiful animation with incredible sound design and an emotional core that stayed with me long after I saw it.

14. Testament of Youth-

An underrated film about a woman in World War 1 in Britain. She starts out with idealism and through working as a nurse she see’s the reality of war including getting to serve the enemy for a time. Moving, beautiful and fine performances from all involved including Alicia Vikander.

13. Creed-

Creed is a wonderful boxing movie and a great Rocky movie to boot. Michael B Jordan brings heart as Adonis Creed and Sylvester Stallone is wonderful back as Rocky. The boxing scenes are shot seamlessly and it’s a story that will make you want to cheer.

12. The Rewrite-

If you love old school romantic comedies then hunt down The Rewrite. It’s the kind of movie I haven’t seen made for so long. The kind of thing Nora Ephron used to write. With a terrific cast starring Hugh Grant, Marissa Tomei, JK Simmons, and Alison Janey, we get great writing about work, books, teaching, movies, writing and more. May be the movie from 2015 I rewatch the most because I loved it so much.

11. Mad Max Fury Road-

One of the most insane experiences I had at the theater this year. I felt exhausted after the intense experience but in an exciting way. It was something I had never seen before and the apocalyptic battles were so well done. I loved the strong female characters and the fact they weren’t pandered too. They were just cool characters no girl power slogans required. Way out of my comfort zone but a great film.

10. Freetown

One of the best faith based films I’ve ever seen. Freetown tells the moving story of a group of missionaries who must be smuggled out of Liberia to Freetown. It is not a film of dogmatic, preachy like many faith based films. Instead it has characters that struggle with doubt under extreme pressure and stress and their faith helps them survive. Well made, acted and a good story make it a film I think anyone can respond too.

9. The Good Dinosaur

The second film from Pixar for the year was an emotional heroes journey of young Arlo trying to conquer his fears and find his way back home. I found the old fashioned Disney feel to be refreshing and something we haven’t seen from Pixar yet. The animation was stunning and I loved the relationship between Arlo and Spot.

8. Brooklyn

The moving story of an Irish immigrant in 1952 who tries to make a home for herself in Brooklyn. It really asks the question of ‘what is home?’ and I loved seeing the immigrant journey play out. The performances are great, it looks beautiful and it was a sweet, old fashioned story you don’t see from Hollywood every day.

7. Paddington-

Paddington is probably my biggest surprise of 2015. I thought it was going to be a big stinker from the trailers but I ended up loving it. The journey of Paddington being left on the train station was surprisingly emotion and yet funny and sweet at the same time. The performances from Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville and Julie Walters were so lovely and all the details like the sets and design of Paddington were wonderful. Most CG/Live action hybrid films are awful (think Smurfs, Yogi Bear) so that makes Paddington even more of an achievement.

6. Cinderella

Cinderella gave me hope for the Disney live action remakes. As a Cinderella aficionado I loved just about everything in this film. Lily James and Cate Blanchett are great and I loved the message of kindness and courage. The sets, art design and costumes were top notch. I liked they changed a few things from the cartoon but nothing that fundamentally altered the story.

5. The Peanuts Movie

This is how you do an adaptation of a beloved franchise! I was so worried this would end up like The Smurfs but I was completely charmed by The Peanuts Movie. I loved seeing Charlie Brown gain the confidence to talk to the Red Haired Girl. I loved Snoopy and the Red Baron. I loved all the other characters and the fact they stayed innocent and sweet. I loved the hybrid animation and how it looked both rich and flat at the same time. The voice acting was perfect and music worthy of Peanuts.

4. The Martian

I loved both the book and movie of The Martian. My favorite thing about both was what a nice guy Mark is- a lesser author would have made him all brooding and conflicted. Instead we get someone we want to see succeed and cheer for. Matt Damon is great as Mark and I loved seeing him tackle each challenge that came his way. Ridley Scott does a great job capturing the red planet and the entire cast does a magnificent job fleshing out characters out of small parts. It’s a movie that will make you feel fantastic

3. Spotlight

The movie that inspired me the most in 2015. You’d think the story of the investigation of the Catholic priest molestation scandal would be depressing but while it is certainly sobering I left the theater wanting to do something for my fellow man. It was empowering and so well acted/written. It’s as close to a perfectly executed film as I saw all year.

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The most anticipated film of 2015 lived up to the hype. Some say it is the best Star Wars film ever. I don’t know if I’d go that far but what a great return to form for a galaxy far, far, away. I loved all the new characters and how they meshed with the old. I loved the grittiness and some of the storylines we’ve never seen in a Star Wars film. I’ve seen it twice and each time walked away with a huge smile on my face. Great performances from all involved and a tremendous job by JJ Abrams as the director. It was the movie that entertained me the most so it gets 2nd on my list

Inside Out

Pixar made not only my favorite film of 2015 but one of the best animated films I’ve ever seen. I was so moved by both Riley’s and Joy’s journeys as they figured out what happiness and sadness mean. The world building was brilliant the heart was beautiful, the humor worked perfectly. I loved the animation and the ending gets me every time. A perfect film in my eyes that I like more every time I see it.

The 33 Review

November 22, 2015November 22, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

I must confess I have absolutely no memory of the 2010 Chilean mining disaster that evidently captivated the entire world but yours truly. This fact probably helped me to enjoy the film The 33 more because if I had known the details going in it would have felt very predictable.

It’s not a perfect film but I had an ok time watching it. If you are in the mood for a cheesy inspirational film you certainly could do worse.

It basically tells the story of 33 miners who after a collapse are stuck beneath the ground in a mine in Chili. The men must use the small supplies they have to survive and try to get along in the hot, tense cramped quarters.

Meanwhile above ground their families are trying to get more help and Laurence Golborne (Rodrigo Santoro) the minister of mining is trying to manage expectations and find a way to drill down to the men.

For the most part I liked the performances of the actors playing the miners. Antonio Banderas is good as the leader and Lou Diamond Philips as the safety officer who feels he let the men down by not insisting on safety to management.

Above ground the acting is more dicey. Juliette Binoche is completely miscast as the estranged sister of a miner. There are also a lot of caricatures that made me cringe like 2 women that are in love with a miner- one wife, one mistress. Gabriel Byrne appears as an engineer and he is pretty good.

There are a couple of choices the director Patricia Riggen made that felt odd to me. First of all, some characters speak Spanish with subtitles but the majority speak English with a Spanish accent. I found that very distracting. She should have just gone with one or the other.

Also she could have done more to create a sense of claustrophobia in the mine. It felt hot but never the kind of thing that would make a man crazy. The audience for the film also feels a little muddled. A few times it feels like it is aiming for a faith based audience but then you have things like mistresses and a weird segment with the men hallucinating their females feeding them that evangelical purists will not like.

It’s also way too long. 127 minutes really started to drag and should have been more like 90. There was no need to include multiple scenes with them rationing food or multiple scenes with bigwigs shouting about giving the men ‘false hope!’. The Juliet Binoche scenes in particular could have been cut out and it would have been much better.

That said there were strong moments particularly from Banderas and I did feel inspired by the end of it. The late James Horner score helps add to the inspiring feel. I did want to see them succeed and get rescued and it was exciting when (spoiler alert) they were!

I guess it is one of those films you take it for what it is- a cheesy inspirational story. That’s what I thought I was going to get and that’s what I got. So if you are in the mood for that watch it!

I’m working on coming up with a new grading system but for now The 33 gets a

Overall Grade- C (which in my world means I liked it but it has some major problems)

Star Wars Ep 4: New Hope Review and Discussion

November 17, 2015December 11, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

So we have gotten through the prequels and I think had a pretty good time doing it and now on to the cream of the crop! Yesterday my friends Abby and Jeremy and I discussed the original Star Wars movie. This is a film that I think is just about perfect. If I was going on a desert island it would be a film I would take with me. I love the characters, action, pacing, setting, lore, and everything else. Nevertheless, we aren’t just drooling fans but have a good discussion on the film I think you will enjoy.

Just as I have done in the past Star Wars reviews here is my summary of Episode 4.

PLOT:

The original Star Wars ep 4 starts 19 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith. The galaxy has split up into two groups, rebels and the larger Galactic Empire. At the opening a rebel Princess Leia has stolen plans to the Death Star in R2D2. Leia is captured but she sends R2 and C3PO to Tatooine to find Obi-Wan Kinobi.

Next we meet Luke Skywalker who is anxious to get out of his uncle’s simple farm life. Luke purchases the droids and see’s the message from Leia to Obi-Wan. They end up meeting Obi-Wan and Luke learns about the days of the Jedi, the force, and Darth Vader who studied under Obi-Wan and killed Luke’s father. Luke is also given his father’s light saber.

After viewing the message Obi-Wan decides to go to Alderaan and visit with Leia’s father. Luke decides to go with him only after he finds his uncle and aunt have been burned alive by Imperial storm troopers looking for the droids. To get to Alderaan they hire the cynical pilot Han Solo and Chewbacca who fly in the Millennium Falcon.

Meanwhile Grand Moff Tarkin decides to make a show of force to Leia and the other rebels and destroys the entire planet of Alderaan in one massive shot. The Millennium Falcon is caught by the Death Star and Han, Luke, Obi-Wan and the droids stage a rescue for Leia. However, things go wrong as they are caught and end up in a trash compactor where they narrowly escape being crushed alive. Then they escape but not before Obi-Wan and Vader duel with light sabers and Obi-Wan is killed. Luke is devastated but they must leave.

Using the plans for the Death Star the rebels discover a port that connects to the station’s main reactor. They decide if they can shoot a target directly in that port it will cause the entire Death Star to explode. Luke and a squadron join the mission and Vader is hot on their trails. Obi-Wan’s spirit helps counsel Luke to use the force and he is able to successfully get the shots into the port and destroy the Death Star. This kills Tarkin and weakens the Empire for the moment. Han and Luke receive medals for their bravery to end the film.

REVIEW:

This is pretty much how I feel about this movie:

I love Star Wars. I love the characters especially Han and Luke. I love the journey we go on with Luke as he learns about his father and the Jedi. I love Vader as an awesome villain with a strange attachment to his ‘old religion’. I love all the world building and the special effects. I love hyperspace and the droids. I love the humor especially from C3PO. I love what Star Wars did for movies and fandom. I think the music is perfect and by the end I want to cheer.

What George Lucas accomplished is truly remarkable and as much as the prequels aren’t my favorite I give full props to him for all he gave modern movies. I don’t know how it can be argued that Star Wars is not one of the top 10 most influential films of all time. Wizard of Oz, Citizen Kane, Star Wars to me belong in the same discussion as the greatest movies of all time and 99% of people I know agree with me on that. Most of all it is so entertaining for the entire family. That’s why most of us are excited for Force Awakens because it will hopefully be a chance to relive the Star Wars we were introduced to as kids. The Star Wars that made us want to cheer.

That’s all I really have to say about Star Wars. I love it and on to Empire Strikes Back next!

Overall Grade- A+