Movie Review: Angel has Fallen

This movie comes after Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen.

I really enjoyed the first two movies, so I was super happy to see this one.

I wasn't sure where it was going to fit in the timeline with the other two, but it fit just fine. 

I love that Trumbull was President.

 I like how he took time out for fishing

I liked the betrayal and the secrets.

I like that Banning was framed and had to work to clean his name.

I loved meeting his father.

A fun action thriller that I would watch again and ties with perfectly with the other two movies.

Monday Matinee: The Duff

When Bianca's neighbor opens her eyes to the fact that she's a DUFF (designated ugly fat friend), she enlists his help on becoming date-able in exchange for her chemistry notes. 

My Thoughts*:
I really really enjoyed this movie.

I loved Bianca: she was sassy, smart, weird, relatable, and entertaining. I loved Bianca acting like a goof-ball during the clothing montage.

I Loved her mother - from her professional life to her dating sites to her advice at the end.

I liked Wesley - he was entertaining even though he was cocky. I liked the moments he had with Bianca.

I liked how classic mean girl assumed she was going to be famous and had one of her friends film everything about her life - just in case. 

I liked her Bianca's two friends - they both had talents and not just a pretty face.

I love it when the book author has a cameo in the movie!

*I fully admit that I haven't read the book this movie was based on yet. So I'll ask you, how closely did this match?

Final Thoughts: Buy this one for the Teen Dept in your library - but watch it yourself first!

Movie Review: Catching Fire

Last night, I went out to see this movie and it was AMAZING! I loved it. There were parts that I had forgotten about the book and I loved the way the movie captured my feelings on the book. I loved the twists and turns that I didn't remember. I think this book was my favorite in the trilogy, the movie made me fall in love all over again. The movie was perfect. It was strong with bits of humor, sadness, and fierceness. 

My favorite smaller role characters were back including Cinna and Caesar.

I even grew to like Effie in this movie.

The final shot took me by surprise, and I'm intrigued to see where this might lead. 

Did you see it yet? What are your thoughts? 

Sunday Matinee: Hunger Games

I've been waiting for this movie for forever it seems. I couldn't wait a minute more and went to the midnight showing on Thursday night.  While there were some differences from the book, I really thought it was well done. I loved it.

Differences my husband and I noticed:  
the introduction of the pin
The saluting of Katniss
Prim (was she so terrified at the reaping in the book?)

Moments they tried to include but lost significance: 
The bread moment
The long talks between Peeta and Katniss both before the games and during the games
Haymitch's drinking problem and the deal he made with Peeta and Katniss

I heard teens in the library talking - most loved it. There was one girl who didn't like it because she felt it missed the romance of the book.

My husband and I talked about that too. I thought the romance seemed forced from Katniss's perspective, but that it was supposed to feel that way. Chris remembered her being unsure in the book - but feeling something. I thought that didn't happen until the second book.

We also had different viewpoints on the Cinna/Katniss relationship. the movie didn't show the development of the relationship - how he was unique in the Capitol, more human.  With the style team not in the movie, it made it hard to see how different he was from the others. Aside from the gold on his eyes, he didn't share the crazy fashion of the Capitol. They were close in the movie, but the relationship seems more significant in the books.

Moments that stood out for me:

The scenes between Katniss and Prim (I teared up at these scenes)


Rue's scenes:

Caesar - was great for comic relief

The Capitol costumes were amazing

How the games were controlled:  a great addition to the movies that was not detailed in the book - really cool!

Overall:
I thought it was true to the book. I loved Katniss and Peeta. I thought all the characters were well done.

 I thought the violence was handled really well - it wasn't too gruesome, but it wasn't cut out either. It was significant but not graphic.

All in all - a great movie. I hope to show it at the library. Everyone I know is buzzing about it - if they've seen it, when they're going, and what they thought of it.

What did you think of it?

Sunday Matinee: One for the Money

I've been waiting forever to see this movie. I'm a HUGE fan of the books. They're an addicting mix of danger and humor (I often laugh until I cry). I was so excited to see it.

And I really enjoyed it.

Likes:

I liked Morelli - he was entertaining, amusing, and perfect for the role

I liked Heigl - when she was first announced as the lead, I wasn't sure. Then I watched the movie Killers and became convinced that she could play Plum. She was pretty good.

Dislikes:

I wasn't a huge Ranger fan - but he was ok. There wasn't much of him in the movie.

There wasn't enough Grandma Mazur - but she was great in the short snippets

There wasn't enough of Lulu. She's also hilarious in the book and she's quite funny in the movie, but she's barely in the movie.

I don't remember the ending of the book as I read it years ago, but is it the same? Somehow I thought there was more danger for Stephanie.

Overall: It was funny - with some action and some danger. I'm hoping the movie does well enough to make a few sequels. While the book was better (like most cases), the movie was pretty entertaining.

Did you see it? Did you like it?

Also there was an awesome trailer for Hunger Games!

Catching Fire coming 2013

Lionsgate dates 'Hunger Games' sequel

Oh, I can't wait to see the Hunger Games and Catching Fire on the
big screen. I have several teens buzzing about it already!

Doesn't the picture above look awesome????

Hunger Games poster reveal

Just released and looks AMAZING!!!!!