2014: Week 11: 12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave

Genre: Drama, Biography

Main Players: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Brat Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch

General Gist: Set in pre-civil war America, a free black man is tricked into traveling south into DC and then abducted and sold as a slave.  Based on a true story. 

Tiff's Take:
This was a slow week for movies so we decided to see this one since we didn't get to see it last year.  And I always like to see Oscar ones I missed.

Let me say, this was so well acted and done.  I can definitely see why it won Oscars.  However, that being said, it was so difficult to watch.  How can people continue to move forward when their situation is so bad?  It's really hard seeing people literally and figuratively beaten down over and over.    Obviously not a high point in our country's history.  But this man's story is horrific and amazing all at the same time.  And Lupita Nyong'o who played Patsey definitely earned her Oscar.

If you haven't seen this yet it is definitely worth seeing but it's not an easy one to sit through.  It won't be one that you can watch over and over.  One time is enough for me.

Tiff's Rate: Opening Night

Deb's Take:
If you want a movie that will evoke emotions from deep in the pit of your stomach this is the one to see.  Like Tiff said, its horrific and amazing. Worth every award it received.  I can't even imagine living through what these people endured.  There is something to be said for the ability for a human being to carry on. 

This movie was best because I didn't know many of the actors.  I like when movies don't pull in the known people, a sense of authenticity is created when the actors seem more like people than stars.  Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o were beyond amazing.  I think if I had to live those parts, in any way, shape or form, I would vomit daily.  That's what this movie made me feel like, it was so sickening to see what these people had to endure I wanted to throw up. Piggybacking on my "history lesson" post of The Monuments Men, I will say this kind of history lesson hurts the heart. 

This movie was all emotion, intensity and passion.  The movie will break your soul, cause you to question humankind and possibly fill you with hatred... but it will also make you passionate about life, hunger for compassion and burst with love.  Now that folks, is a good movie!

Deb's Rate: Opening Night

Preview: Divergent of course.   

Bonus Review: Happy Feet Two

Last week we had the opportunity to see a prescreening of Happy Feet Two.  Russ and I decided to take the kids.  Rhett has gone to a good amount of movies now and does pretty good.  This was Piper's first movie.  We figured a free movie was the best way to test out her interest.  And it was 3D so it added a little extra flare to the experience.

None of us had seen Happy Feet so anything that may have referenced the first one was lost on us.  But we weren't confused about much which I'm sure is the intent with a kids movie.  This one was chalked full of well known voices.  Some of them were Robin Williams, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Pink, Sofia Vergara and Elijah Wood.  Is that the thing to do now with an animated movie?  It seems like nowadays there is always someone famous doing the voice of the characters.  I find myself paying way too much attention to the voices trying to figure out if it really sounds like that person.  Why, I don't know.

Like most animated movies, this one had a good message.  The message in this one was to work together and being different is okay.  Good concepts unless you have a son like mine who knows that when it comes to animals it's the survival of the fittest.  An elephant seal isn't going to help a baby penguin and a puffin isn't going to be accepted as an animal their not.  But putting facts aside, this was a fun movie with dancing and music and humor.  What more could you ask in a kids movie?  The 3D was pretty cool.  There were only a few scenes where it seemed really worth it but the kids had fun with the glasses.  Not sure it would be worth it to pay extra for it though.  2D would probably be just fine.

Overall, kids enjoyed it and only got a little restless towards the end.  Piper did pretty darn good for her first movie.  I think she enjoyed the Diet Coke, popcorn and glasses best of all though.

To Sum it up: Great voices, fun dancing and just enough to keep the kids engaged.     

Week 39: Moneyball

Running a little behind on the reviews this week! As Tiff mentioned, we say "Moneyball" from a free screening this week, and also a sneak peek at a preview for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".

I am a pretty big "sports movie" person. I like the thrill of competition and the whole build up of characters to a final win, so I thought this movie would be pretty good, and it was...however, I feel like I was somewhat underappreciate of the whole story line. Not that I don't appreciate the game of baseball, trading and drafting, but rather that I don't really understand all the statistics of the game, and in actuality don't really care to learn that much detail.

This movie was based on a true story about Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, and his work to use an age old stategy to draft a baseball team and lead them to a higher level of play and wins. (in a small...very small nutshell)

This movie was entertaining to me. I think Brad Pitt did okay, I don't think he is a great actor or anything, the story was more interesting to me than his acting. What I was more impressed with was all the supporting actors. Jonah Hill did a great job as the right hand man. He was were most of the laughs came from. Some of the actors who played the baseball players in this movie did a good job as well. I think what I found though, was that they were good, because they really just seemed like a group of baseball players. Nothing outstanding, but just sports men.

I was intrigued with the way this whole story portrayed a change in baseball, and how it influenced baseball. I am still completely amazed at the constant trading, bargaining and playing that happens with the sports world.

Overall, I have to say that this movie would be best watched by all those sports fanatics. If I can enjoy it with my little knowledge of baseball and all it's strategy...someone with a lot of knowledge will definately be happy they went.

See you next time!

Week 39: Moneyball

We went and saw Moneyball this past weekend.  Even though it was only a day before it came out it was still a pre screening.  Interesting process.  We couldn't take our phones in with us and we had to be wanded and everything.  But it was free.  And we got to see a never before seen preview of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Looks pretty good.  I'll have to get on that book.

I'll start by pointing out that although I really enjoy sports related movies I'm not really a big sports person per say.  Meaning if it's not high school (people I know) or college sports I don't really invest a lot of time into a game.  I enjoy the occasional pro sporting event but for the most part it's just to people watch.  (Except for tennis and hockey.  Weird I know.)  So with that being said, I thought this was a really good sports movie.  However, I didn't know what they were talking about most of the time.   

There was a lot of talk about the strategy of baseball and how this guy, Billy Beane, changed the way people thought about said strategy.  Really fascinating.  Again no real idea what they were talking about but fascinating.  It was a cryin' shame that Russ didn't get to go.  He would have been so much more into it and known what they were talking about.  I tried to go into a little detail about some players in the movie.  Russ was embarrassed for me during the conversation. 

This was a little different from some sports movies because it was less about specific games and more about this whole process.  Brad Pitt really played the role of Billy Beane well.  There's just something about his confidence that draws you in.  It's Brad Pitt after all.  And Jonah Hill as the stats genius was great.  They had good chemistry together in a platonic way of course.

If you're a sports fanatic, definitely see this movie.  If you're not, it's still worth seeing but be prepared to be a little clueless.

To Sum it up: Motivating and fascinating with just a tad of humor.