Thursday’s Tale: Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

by Carol2 Comments
We saw Alice Through the Looking Glass last weekend. I admit, I'm not a big fan of Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and I don't think I've read Through the Looking Glass, but I really like Burton's Alice and this sequel. From what I can tell, this movie doesn't have much to do with the book anyway. First, the visuals are amazing. It's just a gorgeous movie. Just sit back and enjoy it. Alice goes back in time to try to save the Hatter's family. Time warns her that you can't change the past, but you can learn from it. Alice tries, anyway, but soon understands he's right. I'm not a big fan of time travel, but I don't mind it so much when you can't actually change anything, when it self-corrects, so to speak. Of course, we get a happy ending. Family is important, both for the Hatter and Alice, and we need to let each other know how important they are to us...
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Thursday’s Tale: Pan (2015)

by Carol3 Comments
I know I said I was going with Irish tales, but we just saw Pan over the weekend. I had this ready to go yesterday, but apparently never got around to actually posting it. Alright, I'm going to be in the minority. I enjoyed Pan. It was a cute movie and I liked how it looked. It was kind of Cirque du Soleil/pirate fairy tale. I'm not saying it was necessarily a good movie, but it was fun. Of course, I'm not a fan of Barrie's Peter Pan; I find it a bit creepy. It's not surprising that Pan, who of course does fulfill the prophecy defeats Blackbeard, along with Tiger Lily and Hook, who is his friend here, but there were some surprising moments in the film. When Pan arrives in Neverland, all the miners and pirates break into a chorus of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and when the natives are killed they burst into colors, like the kind at those color...
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Jurassic World (2015)

by Carol8 Comments
Dinosaurs are cool. Chris Pratt is sexy. The kids survive. And it's a fun movie. That's all you need to know. I've always loved Jurassic Park, so Jurassic World was on my must-watch list this summer, along with everyone else apparently. We saw it last Sunday and it's the first time I've been to a sold-out showing at our town's theater in years. Amber doesn't like 3D, so we saw it in 2D, although there were some points where I thought, "I bet the 3D on this is pretty good." A giant, new dinosaur gets loose in the park, a genetically-created dinosaur who is basically a killing machine. Chaos and bloodshed ensue. We have some heroes, some bad guys, some just naïve people. The ones we care about get a happy ending, well except for a few of the critters I was rooting for. It's what I was expecting and I enjoyed it....
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Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

by Carol8 Comments
We went to see Avengers: Age of Ultron yesterday in 2D. Superhero movies tend to be ones that all of us enjoy and this is the current must-see. I have to say I enjoyed it. I actually haven't seen the first Avengers or (gasp) any of the Iron Mans, but I do love Thor. The movie was what I expected - lots of actions, cool powers and gadgets, good guys win. There were some funny bits and Amber glared at me occasionally for laughing out loud. She also filled me in on a couple of bits I missed from not seeing the previous movies, but nothing that really would have left me lost had she not told me.  There was a bit of philosophizing about the nature of humans and war, and attempts at making our superheroes real people too, with strengths and weakness and people they care about. There was one fight scene that I thought was a bit too long - between Iron Man and...
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Thursday’s Tale: Cinderella (2015)

by Carol5 Comments
Cinderella is a lovely movie. Cinderella is told by her dying mother to have courage and be kind, and that's the motto she lives by, even after her dad dies and her step-mother and step-sisters are just horrible to her. At least her reason for hanging around makes some sense. It's pretty faithful to the 1950s cartoon version, which on the one hand is nice. It's a sweet story with a happy ending, but I would have liked to see a little something different. I guess I've become used to re-tellings that twist the stories a bit. Lily James is a nice choice for Cinderella. She's not a tough girl, but she's strong, she keeps going no matter what life throws at her and tries to be positive. Yes, she talks to animals. And I loved her first meeting with the prince. They were both sweet and kind and smiling. Cate Blanchett is perfect as the evil step-mother. She's nasty, but at...
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Thursday’s Tale: Into the Woods (2014)

by Carol4 Comments
We all know the danger of seeing a movie after reading the book - the movie rarely lives up to its promise. While Into the Woods is based on a musical, not a book, we did see the musical a couple of years ago and it's impossible not to compare the two. But the musical is based on fairy tales, which comes back to being based on books - all a little confusing really. But the plot, while involving lots of folks pulls it all together well. I liked the movie, even if it didn't quite live up to my expectations when I heard people saying run, don't walk, to see it. It's enjoyable, full of great characters and stories, ones we're familiar with but whose stories don't turn out the way they traditionally do. I think, for me, the live performance is a little better, but the movie is definitely worth seeing. A couple of things: I found the Little Red Riding Hood...
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