St. Vincent

          St. Vincent is a great movie with plenty of laughs. The story centers around a young boy in need of a friend and a neighbor that's not so much of a people person. As the movie plays we get to see how the relationships Vincent has begin to change. 

          St. Vincent's a nice type of movie; the kind that makes you feel good or happier after seeing it. It has plenty of comedy throughout and the right amount of emotion to tug on your heartstrings a bit. The trailer is here if you would like to take a look.

St. Vincent Poster. IMDb. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.

          Summary:

          (Highlight the grey text boxes SPOILER with your mouse to see spoilers if you dare)

          St. Vincent is about a grouchy old man that gets some new neighbors; a single mother trying to make things better for her son and herself. Maggie, the mother, works in a hospital and is often working late, therefore she finds a need for a babysitter. Vincent, the grouchy next door neighbor, offers to watch Oliver, Maggie's son, after school as an hourly job. What we believe to be a mean, gambling, drinking, old man turns out to be something completely different as we watch the days Oliver spends with this new friend.

          Overall, St. Vincent is a very good movie. So if you feel like you're in need of a pick-me-up, I think this may do the trick.

Interstellar

          Incredible.

          Now, I could leave the review at just that, and I kind of want to. Not for lack of effort or laziness, but because sometimes, a single word can be so powerful. It can so perfectly sum up a moment or feeling, or convey so much that so many words couldn't. I want to leave it at that because I feel like a single word by itself would tell so much.

          But, I also feel that I want to explain myself. I'm the type of person that doesn't like to pick one thing over another, that doesn't like to leave something or say that something is bad, better or worse than something else because I feel like I'm going to be hurting something else's feelings. Saying that this movie was incredible isn't saying that the other movies or other movies in general can't stand with this movie, but it is a way to sum up the sheer immenseness and size of this movie. The unknown, the portrayals of what may be out there, the ideas in and of themselves, all of it makes this movie incredible; so much so that I didn't want to leave for some time, I didn't want to talk about it or how it was, I just wanted to sit and think. Almost like being in awe. Now, I know that's a lot, and I know that not everyone and maybe no one will have that reaction. Some might think it may be excessive or over the top, but that's the impact the movie had on me. And I can't really describe it.

          You can find the trailer here.

Interstellar Poster. ComingSoon. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.

          Summary:

          (Highlight the grey text boxes SPOILER with your mouse to see spoilers if you dare)

          The most basic summary of the movie is that mankind cannot survive on the Earth itself for much longer. Four people set out on a mission in order to find another suitable planet for life, or at the very least, to use the materials they have brought in order to colonize the planet so that humanity may survive.

          It's a short summary, but there's so much more to take in and see when actually seeing this movie. You may not have the same kind of reaction to the movie as I did, but I couldn't imagine that you'd be disappointed by it.

Lone Survivor

          I don't know how many of you might have heard the story of Marcus Luttrell, but if you have, you'll already have some knowledge of this movie. Marcus Luttrell was part of a SEAL Team that was attacked while deployed on a mission. There were four men in the team including Luttrell, and he was the only survivor of the mission. When a helicopter was sent in to evacuate Luttrell and the rest of his team, those on board also lost their lives, which made this one of the largest losses of life in SEAL history.

          The movie Lone Survivor does an excellent job of capturing what Marcus and the men around him went through during that battle. As someone who has read the book, the two have many similarities, yet there are some differences as there always would be. One of the main reasons I'm doing this movie is because it is playing on campus this weekend, and also, Marcus Luttrell will be visiting our campus to speak this coming Wednesday, which is something that I personally believe will be very interesting.

 

          The trailer can be found here.

Lone Survivor Poster. Wikipedia. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.

          Summary:

          (Highlight the grey text boxes SPOILER with your mouse to see spoilers if you dare)

          Marcus Luttrell was part of a four man SEAL Team that was tasked with the identification and capture of a Taliban leader. Luttrell's team's job was to carry out reconnaissance on the area and the leader, and identify him. During the mission, a few goat herders stumble upon Luttrell and his team. The four men debate on whether or not to let the herders live, because living could jeopardize their mission. The men decide to allow the goat herders to leave and relocate to continue the mission. After some time, the SEAL team is found by Taliban fighters, and a deadly battle follows. The three men in Marcus' squad lose their lives along with all those that were aboard a helicopter that was sent to evacuate the team. Marcus ends up surviving because of the actions of a few men when they find him in the mountains. These men take him to their small town and protect him until he is able to be rescued and returned to a base.

          I didn't tag anything with spoilers because this movie is based on a true story. I feel like the information could be found easily enough, but I also feel like, even if you don't see the movie, it's an incredible story that some may want to know.

Goats

          Goats is about goats; not really, only a little bit. What the movie is really about is Ellis Whitman, his growing up and his family that, like everyone's, has some quirks. It's a very good movie and it really shows struggles that some people have to go through; struggles that may seem insignificant compared to the larger world and other peoples' problems. You can see the trailer for Goats here.

Goats Poster. IMDb. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.

          Summary:

          (Highlight the grey text boxes SPOILER with your mouse to see spoilers if you dare)

          Coming soon.

Nightcrawler

          I'm trying to get back into the pattern that I happened to fall into in the past couple of weeks, and here's Nightcrawler coming out on Halloween. Nightcrawler was definitely worth the watch, and you can see the trailer here; although, the trailer gives you only a slight look into what really takes place during this film. Nightcrawlers are what they call the people in this movie that go out and try to get the shots that they can sell to news stations. This is what Louis Bloom becomes, and he happens to be very good at it.

          Nightcrawler was excellent, one of those movies, like the others on here, that I'd go out and see again. It's very dark and is accompanied by plenty of suspense, which I believe makes it great for Halloween.

Nightcrawler Poster. ComingSoon. Web. 31 Oct. 2014.

          Summary:

          (Highlight the grey text boxes SPOILER with your mouse to see spoilers if you dare)

          I imagine I'll probably end up covering a lot from the summary because there's so much that I think is better not to know.

          Louis Bloom lives in L.A. and seems to be struggling to find work; we see almost instantly that he steals different things to then resell to make some money. As he is driving on the highway he comes upon a car accident where the police are trying to rescue the person inside. Right after Louis arrives at the scene to observe, a van pulls up with two cameramen trying to get shots of the scene that they can sell to the news stations. Soon after this event, Louis is out with his own camera and police scanner looking for a place he can get the best shots to sell. He quickly picks up the trade and learns that he has an excellent eye for the shocking shots that will keep people glued. With his success, he hires a man named Rick to help him during the night. As events unfold, we see that Louis is very different and willing to do things to get the perfect shot. It becomes very clear how far he is willing to go when we see the van from the very beginning in a collision right after we witness Louis tampering with it.

          At one point, Louis witnesses a home invasion that leaves three dead, and he even films the two men that committed the crime as they leave. Instead of giving the evidence to the police, Louis removes certain parts of the tapes and then sells the remaining footage to a news station while he sits on the evidence so he can use it at a better time. In the end of the movie, we are shown that Louis now has two vans instead of one car and his company is still going.

          Overall this is an excellent film. Louis is cutthroat and willing to do whatever it takes to move up. He is incredibly smart and takes everything into account when making a decision. There is obviously an entire movie worth of content that I left out of the summary, but I wanted to give an overview without giving everything away. If you still aren't very sure on whether to see the movie or not, take a look at the image below.

Quote From Jake Gyllenhaal's AMA on Reddit. 2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.

Lars and the Real Girl

          Lars and the Real Girl is a movie about Lars and a not so real girl. It's a look into this shy, awkward guys life. The movie shows us what Lars struggles with and it also shows us how much people care about this sweet guy. It's a great movie that is certainly worth some attention, and the trailer for it is here.

Lars and the Real Girl Poster. IMDb. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

          Summary:
          (Highlight the grey text boxes SPOILER with your mouse to see spoilers if you dare)

          As I said, Lars and the Real Girl is about Lars and a not so real girl. Lars seems to be a bit of a loner. He lives with his brother, Gus, and sister-in-law, Karin, but he lives in the furnished garage which is almost like an apartment. Don't get the wrong idea though, it's not like his brother and wife has banished him to the garage; they still try to invite him to eat with them and spend time with them, but Lars does his damnedest to avoid that. One night out of the blue, though, Lars tells Gus and Karin that he has a visitor and asks them if they could put her up in the house while she's there. Happy to see Lars with someone, they gladly agree before seeing who is really visiting Lars. Her name's Bianca and she doesn't speak much English, though to everyone else, she doesn't speak at all. That's because she's a doll that Lars ordered online. Most people probably wouldn't brag about having a doll that's quite like this one, let alone start dating it, but to Lars, Bianca is very real and seems to be filling a very big hole in his life.

          Early on, people are obviously a little wary and confused, but thanks to a few amazing people, Bianca becomes a regular person in the town with a life and friends, all because they care so much for Lars. As the time passes, Bianca becomes very sick and soon passes herself. Thanks to her though, Lars is able to overcome some very real hurdles in his life.

          Lars and the Real Girl is an excellent movie; it makes you want to live in a town like that one. There's humor in this movie, and while it doesn't come from one liners and such like in the other movies, it's more situational and seen in the people's expressions or reactions. It's definitely a movie worth checking out, that brings a nice, happy story to us.

Guardians of the Galaxy

          I know that this is out of my usual pattern of movies, but it's playing on campus, so I thought I'd put it in. Whether you've noticed or not, I've been trying to do a movie that is lesser known, at least to me, and a new release each week. Guardians of the Galaxy doesn't fall under either of those categories, (it shouldn't, it seemed quite big) but like I said, it's on campus, so I figured I'd talk about it if anyone was trying to decide whether to go or not.

          Guardians of the Galaxy is a MARVEL movie, so that means it was adapted from a comic book. Like all of the other MARVEL movies, Stan Lee makes his appearance and it is really a very good movie. There's plenty of laughs throughout with a healthy dose of action, and some sad moments. You can watch the trailer here and then go check out the full movie at the Union.

Guardians of the Galaxy Poster 2. 2014. ComingSoon. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

          Summary:

          (Highlight the grey text boxes SPOILER with your mouse to see spoilers if you dare)

          In the beginning of the movie we see Peter Quill, as a child, get abducted by a space ship right after the passing of his mother. We see him again some years later on a foreign planet where Peter is searching for an object that someone is very interested in buying. Peter has become a Ravager in his new life; searching for and selling stuff to very interested buyers. This time though, Peter's target has some very extreme and secret powers that some might want to get their hands on. One in particular is named Ronan the Accuser. Ronan has been holding some grudges and when he finally gets his chance to take his revenge, it becomes up to Peter and the rest of The Guardians to stop him from achieving his goal.

          Guardians of the Galaxy is a very good movie with a great story. The humor is fantastic and the action is packed. It really is a fun movie to go see, especially since it's right here on campus and free. So go give it a shot, and I doubt you'll regret it.