Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Despicable Me 2

Adorable! If you enjoyed the first movie then you should love this one! The villains are not the focus of this one. It is more of a redemption story. Gru (voice by Steve Carell) is no longer and evil villain trying to steal the moon or take things. He know is a happy father to Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Agnes (Elsie Fisher), and Edith (Dana Gaier). This Anti-villain task for ask Gru to join them but even in this task force to take down villains they may have their own agenda.
Gru works with Lucy (Kristen Wiig) to watch the workers in this shopping center to catch the bad guy. There is a Mexican restaurant owned by Eduardo who Gru is convinced is El Macho. However the Anti-villain says they have the guy. But then why are his minions being taken? Gru does not notice this because he is not as focused on being home, or the jam they were making. His trusty sidekick Dr. Nefario (Russel Brand) has missed doing evil and leaves him.
What he did not know was the evil planning was with El Macho and they are taking the minions and turning them into evil killers! They are indestructible. Of course there needs to be an epic battle between Gru and El Macho. Good verses evil is always a good match up.
Be ready to smile, giggle, feel slightly sad, but overall entertained.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Make up

I have green eyes and have stuck mainly to using purple and browns for my make up. I have been wanting to get to know more ways of doing my make up because I am simply getting bored and want to try new things. I found this amazing site on Youtube for doing eyes with plum colors, a different way then how I do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVM2BWhoswY

Generation

I used to think that each generation was one in the same. In a sense it is but now I am realizing it truly is not. I feel so bad for my generation and younger. They do not know the social disconnect we all share. When our friend is sitting right next to us we will text and have our own private conversation. Why not talk to them?! They are next to you. But oh goodness our others friends that are there which we are suppose to be hanging out with are sitting there and we don't want them to know what we are talking about.
I will admit I am guilty of this crime too. I will be with friends and something with come up and I want to share it so I text that one person. My other friends might want to know too. They could even enjoy what was going on around us. However I keep them out. Why? We are all guilty of this and it has gotten to a point of being normal. How is this a normal behavior? We loss empathy for people. We loss the joy others can give us. We loss our creativity. Those are crimes in which we cannot go back.
We have all scene it. When was the last time an original movie came out? One that was not made from a copy of a book, copy a cartoon, redone a movie, or had a new storyline? Everyday is a new day but we continue to live in the past. There have been a few books that have changed and written what we have not read before. When I look at books now I see a new memoir written about a celebrities life.
The classics are in the back of Barns and Nobles while the celebrity memoir is up front. Are people going to buy books that have been around for years that will change their life? Or grab and "easy read" about a celebrity that is all over the magazines, but we don't know the truth about what really happens in their life. It is a memoir. Read a classic Keep those a live.
I will start reading the books I have heard so much about but have not read because I hear of these other stories and I finish them quickly. I will read through the list of books my Creative Writing professor has given me:
Angela's Ashes Frank McCourt
Tuesday's with Morrie Mitch Albom
Note found in a bottle Susan Cheever
Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life J.M. Coetzee
Colored People:A Memoir. Henry Louis Gates
The Shadow Man Mary Gordon
Daddy We Hardly Knew you Germaine Greer
Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia Marya Hornbacher


All Souls: A family story from Southie Michael Patrick MacDonald
Are You Somebody Nuala O'Faolain
Dubliners (Stories) James Joyce
The Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad
Dangling Man Saul Bellow
Seize the Day Saul Bellow
Ravelstein Saul Bellow
The old man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway
The Sun also Rises Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway
A Separate Peace John Knowles
Slaughter House Five Kurt Vonnegut
The Color Purple Alice Walker
Jazz Toni Morrison Beloved Toni Morrison
Sula Toni Morrison A Mercry Toni Morrison
Interpreter of Maladies Jhumpa Lahiri (Stories)
Unaccustomed Earth Jhumpa Lahiri (Stories)
The Namesake Jhumpa Lahiri Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert

The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
This Side of Paradise F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Book of Evidence John Banville
The Death of Artemio Cruz Carlos
Fuentes Mrs. Dalloway Virginia
Woolf Light in August William Faulkner
Sanctuary William Faulkner
Native Son Richard Wright
The Invisible Man Ralph Waldo Ellison
The Fifth Child Doris Lessing
Love Medicine Louise Erdrich
Tracks Louise Erdrich
Love in the Ruins Walker Percy
The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Julia Alvarez
Love in the time of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Wise Blood Flannery O'Connor
Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
The Dark John McGahern
Slow Man J. M. Coetzee
Disgrace J. M. Coetzee
Waiting for the Barbarians J. M. Coetzee

I will Read this list. I will continue to add on stories. Though I will add on these books, my reflection. If any other book stand out to you which I should read please comment. I hope that you also feel incline to read a book. Reading gives us knowledge, creativity, and can bring new friendships.
Let us get our generation involved, social, creative, and gain knowledge.

- Seeking Originality

After first thinking of this topic I have spoken to two friends who share my opinion.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Hit & Run

Dax Shepard does an amazing job in this film. He directed, wrote, and starred in this film. It has a smart sense of humor with a story line. I was entertained by the story of having to rush off for Annie Bean (Kristine Bell) to make her job interview in LA. Although she has this momentous opportunity that is career and life changing, Charles Bronson (Dax Shepard) Annie boyfriend's past gets in the way of making this an easy trip. Alex Dmitri (Bradley Cooper), Neve (Joy Bryant) were Charles crime buddies, Alex went to jail and Neve used to be his fiance. They find out where Charles is thanks to Annie's ex boyfriend Gil (Michael Rosenbaum) who still believe that him and Annie belonged together. This doesn't end the crazy train, Charles witness protection officer Sanders (David Koechner).
This crazy train doesn't end here. First Sanders is introduced by him getting out of his car that's not parked, it heads down then road and he's chasing after it shooting his gun. The neighbor kids are playing in the front yard and his mini van almost runs them over. This just introduces you to the ridiculousness you're about to experience. If you liked Fast and Furious you would enjoy this. Combine that with Dukes of Hazard, well at least those are the only movie combinations that I could possibly think as a combination for this.
Writing, directing, and staring in this movie wasn't a terrible idea or job. The cast seemed like closet friend. Kristen Bell - fiance, Joy Bryant - co-stare and wife of show Parenthood, now where Michale, Dax, and David came from they could be other connections to being in the same industry. It's good to have friends that can help when it comes time to bringing a project to life.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Man of Steel

First I must admit that I saw this movie twice. TWICE! I cannot give it a proper review because each time I was distracted while watching it. Well hello, Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) is easy on the eyes but that wasn't it. There was just so much happening with the history and the length of the film that my second time watching it I fell a sleep. I don't fall asleep during movies so this wasn't a normal thing. Granted this could have been from the exhaustion of crazy life happening but still, I am saying there is a bias going into this review.
Sharing all that I will say it was generally a good movie. Could things have been taken out? Yes. Where there too many story lines going on? Yes. So, this story could have been made into two movies. On one hand was the history of who Superman man was and where he came from. This wasn't the first movie ever made though. I think that is why the writer David Goyer believed there needed to be the villain of General Zod (Michael Shannon). The villain was helpful because it was apart of the story of where he came from and connecting Clark to his original home.
Great, we have a connection of his previous world and Earth... Sound familiar? THOR.. cough cough. For you avid comic book fans you can tell me if I am wrong but I don't know the Superman story and his origins and all that so this all seemed to fit under the present Marvel franchise. Which good for them and creating all this head way. I am a Marvel fan, I enjoyed Spiderman (all four), Avengers, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and Hulk. Well I haven't seen the remake but I did enjoy them so I am in no way trying to put them down. Although it is become clear that this happens to be a franchise.
I must give credit to Lois Lane, I think Amy Adams gave her more of that stronger women persona. Granted it is a strong 21st women. Which don't get me wrong I love a strong woman but I think we are over shadowing men a little too much and they are being seen as having no back bone in the world by television, movies, and ad. It's a little much for me. They wonder why woman can't find a man, stop putting them in such a light of being weak, all I'm say.
Now I will stop with rants and basically with this movie, I am sure you will end up seeing this at some point with friends who are Marvel fans. There was nothing too crazy or outstanding. It could have been shortened or broken into two movies rather than having two strong story lines overlapping like they did. Of course there is an ending that just shows this is not going to be the last Superman, which I cannot complain.