Jersey Boys

On Tuesday, July 29, 2014, I went to see the movie Jersey Boys, which is an adaptation for the big screen of the musical, which talks about the story of the Four Seasons.

This was directed by Clint Eastwood, so at first, I was very skeptical about it.  After all, I did not think that this was Eastwood's genre.  I was also skeptical because I had seen the stage production first, so I know how good or bad the movie adaptation is.

But, I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  I find that Eastwood was able to do justice to the stage production.  I also think that because Eastwood put it on screen, he was able to spend more time on the more emotional aspects of the story, such as the relationship (strained) between Frankie Valli and his wife and later his girlfriend and his daughters, which I didn't feel the stage production did much of.

If you like stage productions and especially if you like the Four Seasons, you will really like this movie.  The only thing that I didn't like about this movie, and it's a personal thing, I thought that the person they cast for Frankie Valli, his voice was too nasally.  However, I thought that the actor they cast for Tommy DeVito, he was cute.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

On Tuesday, July 22, 2014, I went to see the movie X-Men:  Days of Future Past.  This movie features a whole bunch of actors:  Sir Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ellen Page, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Halle Berry.

The story takes place in the future, where Sentinels are designed to hunt down mutants as well as humans who aid them.  They also have the ability to hunt down humans who are going to have down the line (children or grandchildren) mutants.  Professor X believes that this was because of Mystique who killed Dr. Trask.  So, he sends back Logan who tries to enlist the help of the younger Professor X and Magneto to try and change the course of history.

Do they succeed?  You'll have to watch to find out.  I found that this movie dragged a bit towards the end.  And apparently, there were also very big plotholes.

Maleficient

On Tuesday, July 15, 2014, I went to see the movie Maleficient, featuring Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning (who's all grown up now).

The movie is based on the story of Sleeping Beauty, but told from the viewpoint of the "evil" fairy, Maleficient (Jolie), who put a curse on the baby, Aurora (played by Fanning).

The story starts off about a conflict between a kingdom and the Moors, inhabited by enchanted creatures.  Maleficient is the protector of these lands and one day, she meets a boy by the name of Stefan, who came to steal a treasure.  Maleficient makes him give it back and she put it into the river.

Over the years, Stefan and Maleficient would get together and converse.  But eventually, Maleficient fell in love with Stefan.  But, she was only to be betrayed by Stefan, who cut off her wings while she was sleeping (drugged) so that he could succeed the king of the other kingdom to claim the throne as his own.

What happens next?  You'll need to watch the movie to figure it out.  This was a very well done movie.

Words and Pictures

On Tuesday, July 8, 2014, I went to see the movie Words and Pictures, featuring Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche.

This movie is about Clive Owen's character, Jack Marcus, who is a published author and an Honours English teacher at a prep school in Maine.  He's got problems.  He's an alcoholic.  He's divorced and lives a single life and because of his drinking, he's gotten kicked out of restaurants or classy bars, etc.  It is even getting in the way of his teaching career.  He teaches without passion, he doesn't care about the curriculum.

One day, there is a new teacher, Juliette Binoche, who is teaching Honours Art.  She tells her students that words are lies and this sparks a war between the two of them.  However, it becomes apparent that Jack is attracted to Juliette Binoche's character, Dina Delsanto.

And to complicate things, Jack Marcus is up for a "review", which means that his job is in danger.  He's got a strained relationship with his son and his girlfriend, because of his drinking and he is at a loss of inspiration in terms of writing.  He's no longer writing anything.

How does it all end?  You'll have to watch the movie to find it.  A worthwhile watch.  A very well done movie.

Million Dollar Arm

On Tuesday, July 1, 2014, I went to see the movie Million Dollar Arm.

This is a movie based on the true story of a sports manager who was kind of at the end of his rope...  So, he had this idea of having a contest in India, finding the next cricket player who can be trained to be a Major League Baseball player.

The coach, J.B. Bernstein was played by Jonn Hamm.  He was the major character, although there are some other characters as well, which are also very important, but they are of not yet famous in North America cinema.

He also falls in love with the female character, the woman whom he was renting to.

I really enjoyed this movie.  Very heart warming story indeed.