Fury

          As I said before, it has been a very long time since I've seen a movie where people have actually stood up in the theater and clapped, but, again, this is a movie where I expected that to happen. While Fury might not be set on a single true story, it definitely gives the feel and impression of a story that has really happened; the movie is actually based on a number of accounts from people that actually participated in tanks during World War II. The trailer for Fury is here, but the trailer doesn't give the overall feel of the movie. I was lucky enough to be able to see the very first showing of this movie, and it was entirely worth it.

Fury Poster. Yahoo. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.

          Summary:

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

          Set during World War II, Fury follows the crew of a tank they named "Fury" as they work their way through the missions they are given and, at the same time, the war. Early on, what may seen as a mere child, Norman is sent to replace a fallen member of the tank "Fury." Norman's actual training for the war has been as a typist and it becomes obviously apparent that he has had no real experience in battle. We are able to watch Norman as he quickly changes into something that is unfamiliar to the Norman we see in the beginning of the film. In the end, "Fury" is left as the only defense against a company of SS German soldiers, and we get a glimpse at the humanity that still survives during wars.

          Overall, Fury is an incredible movie that I found myself gripped to the entire time. It does an amazing job of showing the transformation of a soldier during the war, or more accurately, any war. We are able to see Norman as he enters the worst part of the war, and we can witness his transformation that happens over what we may believe to be only a few days. Everyone knows, "War is Hell," but I believe that this film does one hell of a job of really showing us that. If you get a chance and you enjoy war movies, Fury is a film that you do not want to miss, even if you don't particularly love war movies.

Stuck In Love

          Stuck In Love sounds like what it is. The poster says, "A story about first loves and second chances," and there is really not too much trickery or twists to this movie. You could broadly classify this movie as a romantic comedy, and you wouldn't be wrong in doing that, but that isn't all there is to Stuck In Love. The trailer for it is here, and from the beginning of it you can tell that it's unique.

Stuck In Love Poster. IMDb. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.

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

          Stuck In Love centers around the Borgens family; a father, Bill, daughter, Samantha, son, Rusty, and ex-wife, Erica. The first three are writers, or writers in the making, with the father being successful, having published some books and garnered respect as an author. The daughter is in college, and as we learn in the beginning, she is getting her first book published; something that would be a huge moment in anyone's life. Rusty is still in high school and a massive fan of Steven King. Some jealousy shows when it is learned that Samantha is getting her book published under the same people that publish Mr. King, but all in all, everyone is happy for Sam. As for Erica, she and Bill are divorced, and while Bill has been holding on to hope for two years, she has remarried.

          With a little push from his dad, Rusty goes looking for some life experiences; one of those coming in the form of the girl he's had his eye on in class. Samantha takes a different path. Having bore witness to her parents divorce, she avoids relationships and dating all together and instead looks only for company that she can cut loose in the morning. Throughout the movie, Bill fights a battle with whether to move on or to keep his promise to his wife, because as we come to find out, she waited for him.

          I think that there is something in Stuck In Love that every person that watches it can relate to. Whether it's heartbreak, fear, uncertainty or anything else, everyone can probably see something familiar at some point. Stuck In Love is light, with a lot of comedy placed throughout, but it also carries a heavier side to it. Overall, it's a great movie that I believe is definitely worth a watch. Some or most might be put off by the story being centered around these few characters' relationships, but as I said, that's not all that the movie has to offer; don't let that stop you.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

          I'm willing to bet that most everyone knows the title "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" and some might even remember reading the book. Well there's good news for all those people out there that don't like reading the books and just wait for the movies to come out: it's a movie now! So if you told your parents, "Heck naw," and refused to read the book when you were a wee little baby, you can finally go see the movie and find out the story that you've waited your whole life to watch.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Poster. Wikipedia. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.

          Summary:

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

          I'm sure everyone has had one of those days; those days where it feels like everything says, "You seem like you've been having a good time lately, so here, have some of this." For Alexander, every day feels like one of those days, while it seems like everyone around him gets along perfectly. Tomorrow is Alexander's birthday and today he just had enough, so for his birthday wish, he wants everyone else to know what it's like to have one of those days; and what do you know, his wish came true.

          Now, there's not much that I could spoil for you in this movie unless I explained every way that everything went wrong on Alexander's birthday, but where's the fun in that? Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a fun movie to go see. You might go with family or you might just want to see something to lift your spirits, but whatever the case, this movie will cheer you up.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

          At first glance, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil might look like another horror flick, where murderers run amok and whittle a group of people down, person by person; but take a closer look. You can watch the trailer here, and even through the short trailer you'll see that it isn't really what it seems like. If you had to sum it up into one sentence you might say that it's the opposite of all the other movies that involve college kids and a couple of hillbilly looking guys.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil Poster. 2011. IMDb. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.

          Summary:

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

          Tucker and Dale are just two misunderstood hillbillies looking to get away for a bit, and they finally have a place to get away to: their new vacation home. At the same time that Tucker and Dale are taking their vacation, a group of college kids decide to take a camping trip in the woods. As you can see from the poster Dale isn't an ugly guy, he's just.. different. The problem is Dale psychs himself out, and gets pretty nervous around the ladies. The first time that the hillbillies and college kids really meet is at a gas station, where Dale does his best to strike up conversation with a very pretty college girl named Allison. Because of the aforementioned psyching, Dale comes off just a bit creepy to these college kids; they react like he might be deranged or something, (weird right? He looks like such a nice guy on the poster.) Later on, while the college kids decide to go swimming, Tucker and Dale are fishing in the same lake, and save Allison when she almost dies. Tucker yells to the rest of the kids that they've got their friend, and the kids think that Allison is being kidnapped. Things begin to go downhill fast when the college kids start accidentally killing themselves while trying to rescue Allison from Tucker and Dale.

          In my own opinion, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a great movie. It has plenty of one liners, "Are you okay?" along with the chaos caused by some oblivious people on both sides of the action. Granted, the movie gets somewhat bloody, which you don't really get from the trailer, but if you were to find a more mature trailer, which there are, you may see what I'm talking about. If you can make it past the blood or if blood simply does not bother you, and enjoy the movie for the humor it really has, it'll be worth it.

Gone Girl

          I believe the last time that I saw a movie where everyone stood up and clapped at the end was Inception, and even though that did not happen tonight, I still expected it. Now, I know I can't ask the same thing of you as I did last time because this time you'd have to actually buy tickets and everyone knows it's pretty much impossible to just ignore the snack bar, but if you feel like you have some money burning a hole in your pocket and just want to throw it at something, I'd recommend throwing it at Gone Girl, or, you know, a theater showing Gone Girl. I also said in my last post that you should go into A Bag of Hammers blindly, but that has changed for this movie. You can feel free to watch the trailer here and read some reviews on the movie if you would like; just beware of spoilers, they'll be your undoing.

          When I went to see Gone Girl I was lucky enough to get the last ticket for this movie, and it was well worth it. I hadn't anticipated the movie to be sold out, so I ended up showing after the trailers started to show. I found a seat in front and on the side, but the theater was small enough that it was still a good seat.

          Gone Girl has it's fair share of laughs, along with a healthy dose of suspense. It's an incredibly smart movie in the way that it seems as though the characters are playing a game with each other, acting and reacting off of the others moves. They seem to enjoy the game; a game that has the potential to completely destroy the losing party. Throughout the entire movie I was drawing conclusions and grasping for straws that didn't really exist, trying to make sense of what was happening and anticipate what was going to happen next, as I'm sure you will, too. It's the kind of movie that may make you look at your boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse and wonder, "Are they psychotic?" 

Gone Girl Poster. 2014. IMDb. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.

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

          It's the morning of Nick and Amy Dunne's five year anniversary, and as Nick returns home, a troubling scene awaits him. His front door is open, a glass table flipped and shattered, and Amy is gone. As police begin their investigation, and Amy's parents create a hotline to call for tips, it seems as though the whole town begins to volunteer to help find Amy. Nick keeps calm and collected through the case, putting on a face for the media and those around him. It is because of this that he begins to get eaten alive by the media. Things don't add up and Nick begins to be a suspect in the case of his wife's disappearance. It's not until about halfway through the movie that it takes us back to the morning of and we learn what really happened to Amy Dunne, making us, as the audience, one of only two that really knows what happened on that morning.

          Now, I could lay out the whole story and all the major events that take place in the movie, but I really think that I should avoid that for this one; what's the fun in that anyway? I said earlier that I was grasping for straws through the movie, and that's part of what makes it so great. I think that that is what makes movies so fun; going to see them, drawing your conclusions and connections, and being completely blown away by what is really the truth. So, I'm going to leave it vague in hopes that some of you will see it, at least when it is released from theaters.




          

A Bag of Hammers

          If you only listen to one thing I say, listen to this: watch this movie. Get on your Netflix account or however you watch movies, search "A Bag of Hammers" and watch the movie. At least throw me a bone and watch the trailer here. 

          BUT, before you do anything, (watch the trailer, read on, read about it somewhere else), if you plan on watching this, I'd recommend going into it blind. No spoilers, no summaries, no reviews, no nothin'.

A Bag of Hammers Movie Poster #2. IMDb. Web. 1 Oct. 2014.

          Summary: 

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

          The movie opens up with two friends at a funeral. Ben and Alan are their names, boosting cars is their game. Alan has a sister, Melanie, that works as a waitress while she attends school. Aside from taking cars like I do when I play GTA, Ben and Alan also rent out a house. This is worth mentioning because this is how they meet Lynette and Kelsey; a mother (Lynette) and son (Kelsey) that have landed on hard times. Despite her search, Lynette is unable to find a job, and being at the end of her rope, she decides to take her own life. Ben and Alan come across Lynette's body some time later and decide that the best option is to care for Kelsey themselves. They clean the house that the two were staying in and erase any trace of Kelsey, allowing them to move him into their house and care for him. It is revealed later that Ben and Alan both have been on their own for quite some time, but they've always had each other while Kelsey now has no one. Ben and Alan then have to figure out how to take care of Kelsey, and all the problems that come with it.

          In my own opinion, this is an incredible movie. There's quite a lot of comedy and jokes in this movie, which hits my fancy right there, but there's also a serious side to it. 

          And if you've read all this, you're already most of the way there. So just go watch the movie.

The point of this blog is to review or critque films and possibly provide a summary of the story or major events in the movie. The movies may be classics, new releases, movies that have been suggested, or anything else. I haven't decided if I'll follow a certain theme of film, choose movies strictly based on suggestions, or if I'll just choose whatever I want to watch and screw everyone else's ideas.

If you have suggestions, feel free to throw them out there; maybe it's a favorite movie, a terrible movie, or something yet to be seen. I have no problem with watching movies, so I'll do my best to work my way throw what I expect to be thousands upon thousands of suggestions and requests.

Thanks for taking a look though.