Movie Monday: October 16

Movie Monday: October 16th, 2017

Review of Tower of Terror

Watched Sunday, October 15th, 2017

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This is one of the first things I think about when I am thinking about Halloween. It was another one of my favorites and has become a staple each year for me. This was such a great experience watching it again.

The movie opens in 1939, with the deaths of five people: singer Carolyn Crossen, her actor boyfriend Gilbert London, the well-loved child star Sally Shine, her nanny Emeline Partridge, and bellhop Dewey Todd in an elevator after they were cursed.

We then jump ahead 60 years to a journalist, Buzzy Crocker who was fired from his job for publishing news that turned out to be fake. He now makes of fake stories, usually with his niece Anna dressed up as paranormal creatures. An elderly woman named Abigail Gregory comes to visit Buzzy and tells him that she knows what happened that faithful night 60 years previously. She tells him that Sally's nanny was a witch that placed a curse on Sally, but it all went wrong because of the others in the elevator. This caused each of the people in the elevator, including the nanny to be stuck in the hotel. She tells him that she is giving him the story that everyone has always wanted the answer to.

The story continues with Buzzy, Anna, and  "Q" the grandson of the bellhop to try and figure out the mystery of the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Who really did curse these people? This mystery is intriguing to watch even after watching it every Halloween for most of my life. It used to creep me out as a child and now it really just interests me as a movie. I love noticing the pieces throughout the movie that give clues to the mystery. This is a great Halloween movie that I would recommend to anyone. 

Movie Monday

Movie Monday: October 8th, 2017

🍂 Review of  Halloweentown 🍂

Watched October 7th, 2017

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"Being normal is vastly overrated." 

I have watched this movie too many times to count. This was one of the many Halloween movies that I grew up with and that I still enjoy to the fullest. 

The Plot

The movie is about a thirteen year old girl named Marnie, her mother Gwen, her younger siblings Dylan and Sophie, and their grandmother Aggie. It starts with Marnie arguing with her mother about why she cannot go to a costume party on Halloween. She does not understand why she and her siblings has never been able to do any of the things many children do for Halloween. Her mother does not explain this. Later on in the night her grandmother Aggie comes for her annual Halloween visit.

Marnie over hears her mother and grandmother talking later on and finds out that her grandmother and mother are witches. Also, that she and her siblings are too.  After their argument, Aggie tells Gwen that people have disappearing in Halloweentown (where she lives) Marnie, Dylan, and Sophie follow their grandmother back to Halloweentown to try and help her with the "bad thing."

My Love for this Movie

The characters have always made this movie for me. Debbie Reynolds, who played Aggie and Kimberly J. Brown, who played Marnie, were my favorites in the movie. This was the first movie that got me into stories with witches and I have never went back. Also, it used to really creep me out as a kid, though it doesn't anymore I can still remember that fear. 

Besides Marnie and Aggie, the other cast of characters are also great parts of the movie. The eclectic group of citizens from Halloweentown are great. We get vampires, other witches, ghosts, werewolves, pumpkin headed people, and so many more. The setting of Halloweentown is just an enjoyable place and is creative. 

This is one of the best Disney Channel original movies that I watch every year because of my love for it. I will never get enough of this movie. 

🍂 Mini Review of TV show
Buffy the Vampire Slayer🍂
Episode 16: Storyteller
Watched October 8th, 2017
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This is one of my favorite episodes and this was the second time that I have watched it.  It's interesting to see Andrew's perspective of what has happened in Buffy.  Andrew has a very active imagination and it plays into the overall episode. I really love the lesson that Buffy teaches him in this episode. This is one of the funniest episodes, but also is quite devastating in parts. Overall it's an awesome episode. This is one of the final episodes though so I can't say much and not spoil the show.  

It was about Andrew making a video about Buffy and how she slays. Buffy and many of the other characters do not really understand why he is making the videos. As the episode goes on, we realize as Buffy does why Andrew is always making up these stories. It's quite a touching episode at the end. 

🍂Mini Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer 🍂
Watched October 9th, 2017

This poster is amazing!

I'll just make a couple comments about the trailer. First of all, the way that they have edited the clips together is interesting. I'm sure what we see here will be different in the movie but this really is making me wonder how dark it's all going to be. This definitely is looking like it's going to be a surprising movie. I really like the quotes from Luke and Poe in the trailer. And the Finn scene looks awesome also. There is just so much in this short two minutes. 

The Leia scenes hit me hard. 

That ending was the most interesting to me. What is going to happen with Rey and Kylo? That's what I want to know. So yeah the excitement is at full force right now. 

December 15th cannot come quick enough.

Movie Monday: Review of Casper Meets Wendy

🎃Movie Monday: October 2nd, 2017

Review of Casper Meets Wendy

Watched October 1st, 2017 🎃

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This is the first time in many years that I have watched this movie and I enjoyed it, but it was not as good as I remembered it. The best part of this film is the villain which I will get into later on. The title characters, Casper and Wendy's friendship is cute. This is a very corny movie that really did not hold up to what I remember from it. It's a great movie for kids, but I'm not so sure for adults.

My favorite part of this movie is the villain, Desmond Spellman, his goons Jules and Vincent, and the oracle in the mirror. Every part of the movie that has any of them is funny. Desmond is played by the great George Hamilton and is a reason to watch this movie. Really, I would recommend this movie just for his parts. The rest does not have much substance, but his parts made up for that for me.

There are plenty of great movies from my childhood that still hold up for me today, this is not one of them. I did enjoy parts of the movie most of them being with Desmond. He's not in it enough for me to make it completely enjoyable. Actually, I became bored while watching many of the other parts. I loved Hilary Duff in this movie, especially seeing the difference from then and now. I'm glad I started with this movie for my October, they will only get better now. 

Disney's Hercules Review

🏺 Disney's Hercules Movie Review- Watched June 27th ⚡

In Honor of the 20th Anniversary of Hercules

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How better to spend the day than watch this movie? This is my second favorite Disney movie right below The Little Mermaid. It is the well-known hero story. Hercules goes off on a mission wanting to find out who he really is. He meets his father, Zeus, who tells him he has to become a true hero to join him as a God again. Hercules sets out to meet Philotetes (Phil for short). Over the course of the movie, Hades sets out on his mission. He falls in love, has to fight many creatures, and finds out what it means to be a true hero. 

"Zeusy I'm home"- Hades 

One of the reasons that I adore this movie and the biggest reason is James Woods as Hades. He is the funniest character in the movie if not the funniest in all of the Disney movies. He is my favorite Disney villain. I just adore him as a character. He's snarky, sarcastic, self-depreciating, and probably is the best part of the movie. Oh and I recommend watching the movie until the end credits because Hades talks to you. This was one of my favorite things when I was a kid. I want a Hades' movie right now. Come on Disney. Please. 

"I would go most anywhere to find where I belong"- Hercules "I Can Go the Distance" 

The music in this movie is perfect. Every single song hits me so hard when I hear them. I know all of the words because of a number of times I have listened to them and watched the movie. My favorite is "I won't say I'm in love" sung by Meg. It was just a song that I have always enjoyed singing myself. Also, the visuals with this are great. 

"At least out loud, I won't say I'm in love." - Meg "I Won't Say I'm in Love"

Greek Mythology has always been one of my favorite things to watch and read about and I blame that unconditional love on this movie. Thanks, Hercules you started an obsession that I will never get enough of. That's the one thing that I can easily say about this movie. No, it is not the same as the Greek Myths, which is a good thing since this is a kids movie. It made me want to research more about these characters and learn about the origins of them. I have heard so many people make fun of the fact that this is not a complete adaptation of the myths but I think that is a good thing. It is a great story that I love fully and cannot get enough of. 

"A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength but by the strength of his heart."- Zeus 

20 years later I am still so obsessed with it. Here's to many more. 

Notes During the Movie (There are spoilers below, don't read these if you have not watched the movie) :
~ Baby Hercules and Pegasus are adorable *squeals at the cuteness*
   - the adorableness is too much
   - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zFDrIpZqOs 
~ Music
   -"I Won't Say I'm in Love"
   - "Go the Distance"
   - "Gospel Truth"
~ Artwork- beautiful style made with the help of
~ Changes are just fine
   - This was what made me interested in Greek Mythology when I was a child. It started my forever obsession with finding all information about the myths.
~ Hades- every single scene that he is in
   - James Woods
~ Jokes about Greek Mythology
   - Verse
   - Oedipus
   - Creating the great art pieces
~ Meg being one of Hades' cronies- interesting love interest problem
~ The Muses are a great way to narrate what is going on
   - Very reminiscent of "Tell me oh Muse."- from the Odyssey
   - Great use of the idea for narration device

Disney's Alice in Wonderland 1951 Movie Review

Alice in Wonderland Movie- June 4th 
Review: 
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This is the first time I have seen this movie in many years. I do not even remember the last time I had seen this movie but I will say that I enjoyed this thoroughly. This movie is a great adaptation of the book though there are many different changes throughout. I have taken detailed notes while watching the movie that I will place below my review for those that want to see them. They are major spoilers for both the movie and the book though so do not read them if you have not watched the movie or read the book. 

The movie has many aspects from the second book that I have commented on below. One example of this would be the characters of Tweedledee and Tweedledum. I love these characters and many of the others used from Through the Looking Glass but I wish that they would have kept them out of this. Why I say this is the fact that I would have enjoyed seeing Disney's take on Through the Looking Glass.  I can understand why they are in the movie because they are very interesting and funny scenes and also are some of the best from the second book. This is one of the only details that makes this not a perfect adaptation. Also some of the scenes from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland are not in the movie. One of the major scenes is from the chapter the Pig and the Pepper, which introduces the character of the Duchess. Most of everything else is in the movie.  

One of my favorite aspects of this movie is the songs. The songs many times throughout the movie are actually the poems used in the book. This was a great way of getting the poems into the movie and a great way to adapt them into the format. Also the character of the Dodo was someone I thoroughly enjoyed while watching the movie. This was a change from the book that I could not get enough of. The Dodo in the book is not mentioned much at all and is not one of the most memorable characters. In the movie he shows up at multiple scenes and I really enjoyed the humor of his scenes. 

The addition of having the door knob talk to Alice when she first falls down the rabbit hole was clever. In this scene in the book she is just talking to herself and thinking to herself. I believe that the addition of this character in the movie was a great way of showing this scene in the movie. Also the door knob would definitely have fit in the original story and I think that he is a character that could have been created by Carroll himself. 

The White Rabbit in the movie becomes the connection between the scenes in the movie. He is in much more of the movie than the book and keeps showing up. Alice in the book is just going throughout Wonderland and seeing all the sights, but in the movie she is trying to follow the rabbit the whole time and get home. This gives her a mission and a purpose in the movie that was not in the book. It also puts more of a plot into the story. I cannot really say what I like better because I like both for different reasons. Many of the scenes with the white rabbit in the movie are very funny and enjoyable to watch. I think that this was a clever idea. 

Overall, I believe this movie was a great adaptation of the original book and a great movie overall. Many scenes I enjoyed just as much as the novel and also some I even enjoyed more. I would recommend watching this movie if you have not and seeing for yourself. Most fans of the book I believe will like this version. I know I am a big fan of both and love both so much. 

Random Notes Taken During the Movie:

Longer intro before she gets to Wonderland-

"Simple impassible"- door knob   Good quote
Good way to show what Alice says to herself in the book

The Dodo is hilarious

Tweedledee and Tweedledum
-the walrus and the oyster
Turning the poems into songs is a clever idea, great way to put them into the movie
Father William is also here but Tweedledee and Tweedledum say it

Bill the lizard- I like the fact that Alice does not kick Poor Bill
Again I love the Dodo. The scene with the White Rabbit's house is so funny.

The flower scene- Through the Looking Glass

Caterpillar scene:  play on a teacher
-I love how they play with the story with animation (for instance with the smoke)
-turns into a butterfly

-Should have kept her neck growing large because it makes more sense for the bird to think she is a serpent
- having this not happen makes the scene not make complete sense.

Skips the Pig and the Pepper Chapter

I love the signs pointing all kinds of ways

The Cheshire cat singing the Jabberwocky song is awesome.
-love him
"It really does not matter which way you go"
-The original voice of Winnie the Pooh, I love recognizing the voices in Disney movies

Unbirthday- Best addition to the story, it is briefly mentioned in the second book but I love it in this movie.

The tea party is one of the best scenes in the movie
"If you don't think, you shouldn't talk"- Hatter said this in the book, March Hare says it in the movie

The white rabbit is a way to go between scenes, gives Alice a mission in the story. Gives more of a plot to the story -wants to go home all along in the movie, not much of a plot in the book

Sees the Cheshire cat again before seeing the queen

Maze - cards are painting the roses red
The king is very different in this movie
Croquet game

Skips the Mock turtle scene

The trial in the movie is because of the fact that the Cheshire cat torments the Queen making her lose her temper. - Alice is blamed
-The king tries to calm the queen down

Alice is much more active in the movie

Alice wakes up after being chased by the cards in a more dramatic scene- Caucus race really shows the dream-likeness of the story