My Review of The Five-Year Engagement: The Topping on the Wedding Cake

The Five-Year Engagement. Could be a fun movie, right? i haven't seen a chick flick in such a long time. I might as well check it out...

I hadn't expected to see The Five-Year Engagement, but it happened to be playing at an inexpensive theater near my house. At first, I had trouble choosing between seeing this movie and seeing Dark Shadows, a film in which Johnny Depp plays a vampire waking up in the 70s.
You might wonder why I decided to see any movie instead of one that starred Johnny Depp, but The Five-Year Engagement was rated R, and as a 17 year old, I was excited to see a rated R movie in theaters without my parents. 
Besides, the movie seemed worth watching. Its previews were funny, and when I compared its trailer to the trailer for Dark Shadows, this movie’s trailer seemed funnier. No offence to Tim Burton and Johnny Depp (both of whom I love dearly), but I could use something different.
And so that's how I ended up watching a romantic comedy about two people who somehow managed to remain engaged for five years without either marrying or breaking up.
The movie centers on the lives of two fiancés who are madly in love with each other, but who struggle to stay together for various reasons.
This couple is played by none other than Jason Segel, famous for his role on “How I Met Your Mother” and Emily Blunt, who appears in movies such as “The Devil Wears Prada”. Both actors perform their roles adequately. I could definitely feel the chemistry between the two, which is essential for a romance movie. 

Jason Segel  (not really) working the bunny suit. 

The Five-Year Engagement is a typical slice-of-life comedy. While most of the movie was fairly predictable, there were a few unique moments. For example, it was entertaining to see Jason Segel's character, Tom Solomon, don a bunny suit not once, but several times during the movie. And even I was shocked when a young girl shot an arrow into the leg of Emily Blunt’s character, Violet, and when Rhys Ilfans did super cool ninja-like jumps during a chase scene. However, my favorite part of the movie by far was when Tom's brother (played by Chris Pratt) sang a beautiful song in Spanish to his new wife (played by Alison Brie). While no other scenes stood out as particularly interesting, the movie portrayed scenarios that could occur during anyone’s life and wrapped it all up in a beautiful happy ending. *spoiler alert* They finally get married at the end. 

I want my hubby to sing me this at my wedding.

the Proposal :)

My biggest complaint about the movie is that it had too many unneeded scenes. The movie is over two hours long, so it was hard to sit through scenes that added nothing to the plot and had little comedic affect.
For example, I did not need to see Jason Segel and Dakota Johnson have sex in about six different positions for ten minutes. I'm sure this scene was supposed to be comedic, and maybe I'm just not old enough to understand the humor, but it was a very painful ten minutes. I mean they could have at least replaced Segel with a super attractive stunt double during that part... just saying.
Even though the movie had several unnecessary scenes, it did manage to fit in all of the classic elements of a romantic comedy. The girl cheats on the boy; the boy cheats on the girl; they get back together. They both have to make unfavorable sacrifices to be together. Hmm… where have I seen that before? Oh yeah, everywhere.
The movie was a standard chick-flick, but I must admit that it was adorable. I liked the moral of the story: while some believe that people only have one soul mate that they are destined to be with, this movie illustrated that people can have successful relationships with multiple people, they just have to keep their minds open and find someone who is willing to make it work. 
I would recommend this movie to people who enjoyed movies like Bridesmaids or other wedding movies.
Thank you Mirichan for the edit.

My Favorite Alternative Rock Music Videos of the NOW

Summer has started once again, and I am stuck at home waiting endless days for my volunteering job to start... It doesn't start for another month. 
I've been SO bored that I've contemplated buying a gun and shooting... my walls. 
So today, when I was in one of my lazy, bored shlumps I decided to start watching music videos On Demand. 
I automatically went to the Alternative Rock category and started watching the music videos there. I became so enthralled by some of the videos that I decided to share them. Con todo el mundo!!! Aka with the rest of the world. 
I hope you'll enjoy my favorite music videos. Some are funny. Some are catchy. Some are thought-provoking. And some are just plain weird! Please enjoy these. Whether you're sitting at home bored out of your minds. Or you're just looking for something entertaining. I invite you to take a look into these rock music videos(which happen to be in no particular order).
1. It's Nice to Be Alive- Ball Park Music

I really like this music video. The song is all about being grateful that you live in the world. And the music video reflects that. The music video shows the band members as they realize that the world is about to end. They get to work doing all the things they can manage to cram in before the world ends. It's really fun to watch and quite crazy!

2. Simple Song- The Shins

This music video is very entertaining. It's really crazy and fast-paced. It tells an interesting story in five minutes, and I really enjoy it. I couldn't draw my eyes away from the screen. It centers around three grown-up kids and their relationships with their father. It is really well done. The camera angles are perfect, and the story is enlightening. It tells of their relationship when they were younger and when they were older. And I just absolutely love it. 
3. Not Your Fault- AWOLNATION

Although I don't really like this song, the music video is really cute. It takes us on a trip through the sea, on land, and in outer-space. The video is an adorable stop motion of the band which reminds me of Chicken Run and other childhood favorites. It also vaguely reminds me of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Regardless its a cool video.
4. Paddling Out- Miike Snow

This is probably my favorite video. It goes as number four because I didn't want to scare ya'll away. This music video is insanity at its finest. And I find it to be particularly intriguing. I don't know why I enjoy it so much, but its great. It's about a guy who suddenly ends up in outer-space and meets up with aliens who change him into this "perfect human", but they changed other people into the perfect human, and it's just plain weird. 

5. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall- Coldplay

This is yet another cool stop motion. I don't really like this song, but I enjoy the magic of the video. It's fun to watch and cool to see all the work put into it. I have a soft spot for stop motions because I actually made one myself which you can check out here: Awesomeness!
6. Houdini- Foster the People

This music video is SUPER crazy. Haha. And really well acted. If Foster the People are game for it, they should make a movie and follow up this story line. It's amazing what corps will do for the money.
7. Anna Sun-Walk the Moon

This music video is really catchy and has a lot of coordinated dancing which makes me super happy. So it wins for that. It's also really colorful and "the vibrant colors give your body an experience that it will never forget".(That last part was taken as a direct quote form my sister)

Well those are the seven videos that I can think of right now which I specifically enjoyed. Until next time, have a great summer. :D

My Review of Snow White and the Huntsman: A Grimm Tale

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. We’ve all grown up accustomed to the childhood movie, Disney’s first ever full-length animated film. 

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

We watched Snow White run off into a scary forest and befriend little friendly creatures and dwarves. We watched the evil queen fall to her demise and the handsome prince rescue Snow White from a deep sleep.
This year, another Snow White film has come out, but it has taken an entirely different spin on the classical tale from that of its various predecessors. This time, Snow White is a live-action film that is meant to be taken seriously. It is probably the first Snow White film that wasn’t made for little kids.
While this version doesn’t really follow the Brothers Grimm fairy tale or the Disney movie that it was based off of, Universal Picture’s Snow White and the Huntsman has an interesting plot and an on-par cast.
In this Snow White which came out in American theaters on June 1st, director Rupert Sanders was able to add a dark twist to the classic story. One could argue that this made it more similar to the Brothers Grimm version of the tale. Regardless, this made it an interesting watch.
The story is about a girl named Snow White, the daughter of a king. When the king’s wife passes away, the king falls for a beautiful woman, Ravenna, who turns out to be an evil witch. Ravenna marries the king and then kills him. She takes over the kingdom and locks Snow White away in a tower.
On the day Snow White comes of age, the evil queen asks her magical mirror to tell her who the fairest one of all is and the mirror replies, “Snow White.” In order for Ravenna to gain immortality, she needs to consume Snow White’s heart.

Don't you wish your mirror
turned into this?

The queen fetches her brother to get Snow White so that she can take her heart immediately, but Snow White escapes. She ventures into the Dark Forest, and a huntsman is sent after Snow White to bring her back alive. Snow White eventually befriends the Huntsman, and together they meet a whole cast of magical creatures. She is also reunited with her childhood friend, William. And together they go forth to destroy the queen and once again restore the crown to its proper heir.
I liked this movie because it was always busy with new adventures cropping up around every corner. The movie moved from event to event at a breathtaking pace and kept me on the edge of my seat.
I also liked the wide range of characters introduced in the movie, ranging from the seven dwarves (who could actually be taken seriously) to the Forest Spirit (which also made an appearance in Princess Mononoke). 
The actors also for the most part did great jobs in their roles. After all, what would you expect from an award winning cast? 
Kirsten Stewart, who I despise for her role in Twilight, did not disappoint me in this movie. She sucked as much as I expected her to in her role as Snow White. Her character remained emotionless even when exacting revenge by killing off the witch who stole her father’s life, which is representative of her acting. She generally lacked emotion throughout the film. One prime example I can give of this is when she is giving a rallying speech to the town’s people to get them to rise up against the evil queen. I did not feel any emotion in it at all. She was just devoid of expression, and even made me yawn.

Charlize Theron as the Queen

However, Charlize Theron’s portrayal of Ravenna more than made up for Stewart’s disappointing performance. Theron played the most fantastic evil queen ever. Her acting was breath-taking, and I thought she performed the best out of all of the actors by far. She captured the entire essence of a faulted, power-hungry witch. I would love to see more of her acting in other movies. She actually won an Oscar for her previous performances, and I can see why. She does a great job shifting into character and making that character’s whole life believable.
Chris Hemsworth was awesome in this movie. Instead of wielding a hammer like he does in Thor, he wields an axe as the Huntsman. I really appreciate his prevalence in this movie because he is so great to look at. He is just one hot hunk of a man. 

Sam Claflin. Snow White's "Prince"

Sam Claflin plays the handsome prince. While he isn’t as awesome as Chris Hemsworth, he does an alright job in his role as the worried childhood friend of Snow White, William. Claflin is new to film, and is best known for his role as a missionary in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strangers Tide. Claflin is a budding actor, and still needs to work on becoming a memorable character, but I’m sure he’ll get there eventually. He has potential.
Now that I think about it, I feel that this movie was cast based off of the actors’ looks. The huntsman needs to be really brawny, strong, and brazen so why not hire Hemsworth? And of course, whenever a pale white girl is needed, it’s Kirsten Stewart to the rescue. Haha. 
The dwarves were the only exception to this casting trend. They were played by normal sized people whose appearance was digitally altered to look shorter. These actors include Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone and more. 

The Huntsman and a few of the dwarves

Many “little people” are in a frenzy about this because they don’t get many opportunities for big roles, and this one was taken away from them. It’s tough being a little actor in the big world. 
Still, I really enjoyed the performances of the dwarves even if their size was all a lie!
The CGI in this movie was magnificent. I loved how all of the fairy tale creatures were brought to life. That was definitely my favorite part of the film. I loved seeing the sprites come alive in the friendly forest, and the majestic beauty of the dark creatures in the Dark Forest. It was all so beautiful and surreal.

This captures the beauty of the scenery and the
horror of the outfit. Oh my!

The scenery was also very beautiful throughout the movie. Much of it was filmed at Marloes Island, a tropical island that is bountiful with natural beauty.
The costuming, however, was disappointing. Snow White wore pants underneath her dress. I didn’t think that girls wore pants underneath their dresses during the middle ages. Also, the costumes did not match time period that the movie was set in. Everything about the costuming was incorrect. I was especially annoyed at the ease with which Snow White was able to do things in her armor. Armor is supposed to be big and bulky(aka Hemsworthy), the opposite of what Snow White was wearing.
The movie was interesting for the most part, even though some of the scenes were unnecessary. I loved how Universal Pictures took the fairytale and turned it into something to be to be taken seriously. For the most part, the actors played their parts well, and the CGI and scenery were both breath-taking. I am quite pleased by this take on Snow White. It has its fair share of adventure, action, magical creatures, and kissing but no real romance, and I would mostly recommend it to preteens.