"Beauty and the Beast" Movie Review

Wow. Just wow. This movie has truly lived up to the hype surrounding it which is something rare. I'll admit that I was nervous to watch this film because Beauty and the Beast is a treasured animated classic. I do not know a single person who doesn't like that movie and in my opinion it's one of Disney's best movies ever. That is a lot to live up to for bringing these beloved characters and their songs to life.

Emma Watson was flawless as Belle. She truly brought her to life in the best possible way. There has been so much surrounding Emma's changes to Belle that I was nervous she had been changed too much. However, the changes work perfectly with the character-she is as strong-willed, intelligent, and kind as ever.

Speaking of stories surrounding this movie, if you're concerned about Lefou being gay and his "gay scene" in the film then you really shouldn't worry- trust me. In the cartoon, I thought he had a thing for Gaston so when they announced that he was officially gay in this film, it didn't surprise me at all. I would have been more surprised if he were straight. Josh Gad truly does a spectacular job with Lefou (as if there was any doubt!).

Luke Evans as Gaston was fantastic. I hate him so much, yet I can't stop singing his songs! He really rocked the role and the songs that came with it.

Dan Stevens is the Beast and he was fantastic. He brought such life to this character. He makes you fall in love with him; he brings him to a new level. The Beast was difficult at first and scary, but once he starts opening up...it's so great.


**SPOILER PICTURES AND COMMENTARY AHEAD!

Lumiere and Cogsworth 

In this scene, he shows Belle a book given to him by the Enchantress that will transport them anywhere they want to go. Belle takes them to the place where she was born in Paris. Beast/Prince has no idea until she begins telling him about it and looking at the drawings her father left behind. She says she never knew what happened to her mother and her father would never tell her. He finds a doctor's mask and says it was probably the plague that took her mother. It is a very touching scene between these two. We finally find out what happened and it gives Belle and the viewers some peace.

This was so magical...it's hard to describe the beauty.

Dan looks exactly like the Prince in the animated version, doesn't he?!

We finally have a legit Beauty and the Beast wedding! This is Belle's dress! It was such a beautiful scene!

Ultimately I give this move 5 stars- it's a MUST SEE!

Book Review - "The Goddess Test" trilogy

Welcome to Ancient Greece in modern times!! This trilogy is interesting in the way it presents the Greek gods/goddesses and how they actually behave.

So we start off with Kate Winters and her very sick mother. They are moving to her mother's home of Eden, Michigan so she can spend her final days there. Kate is finishing high school and has been preparing for this day for a long time, but her mother is all she has in the world. She meets some interesting people at school, like the friendly James, the popular/bitchy Ava, the rude playboy/Ava's boyfriend Dylan, and a secretary named Irene who knows all about Kate's mom. Ava invites Kate to a party at a mysterious manor that is surrounded by greenery and fences. Kate is reluctant to go, but follows Ava. After a terrible accident, Kate's life changes forever. She meets Hades, the god of the Underworld, who now goes by Henry. He heals Ava and asks Kate to participate in the goddess test. Kate must stay with him for half of the year and pass a series of test administered by the Council (aka the other gods/goddesses) and if she does not pass she will either die or be sent away with no memory of what has happened for the last 6 months. Every woman that has participated in these tests so far has died, and Henry is ready to give up. If this happens, then Henry will fade or cease to exist.

Kate refuses to join this until Henry offers to help her mother. He tells her that he cannot heal her, but he can keep her alive. Kate readily agrees, against James many warnings. Kate moves into Eden manor where she is taken care of by the sweet Calliope and the brash Ella. They dress her, test her food for her, and make sure she has everything she needs. Ava follows her to Eden manor as a ghost as she died when Kate refused Henry the 1st time. Kate also runs into Irene from the school who is her mythology or history teacher. Kate tries to adjust to her new life and get to know Henry, but it's hard when he keeps up a constant wall. How do you get to know someone who won't let you in? Kate eventually makes her way into his heart and learns that he is still hurt and in love with his former wife Persephone. She was the daughter of Demeter and she had an arranged marriage with Hades. He was madly in love with her and she did not return his affections. Eventually she fell in love with a human named Adonis and Hades/Henry granted her mortality so that she could grow old and die with the man she truly loved. Obviously this destroyed Henry's heart and this creates a big obstacle for Kate. She meets with her mother every night in her dreams and discusses it with her. Kate falls for Henry, and it's hard to tell, but he does fall for her to. It's a sweet read. Until Kate is murdered. Yup. You read that part right. Things go horribly wrong with a major plot twist and that is all I'm going to tell you.

However, this is a trilogy so I'm sure you can guess that either Kate doesn't really die, she's brought back to life, or it was some crazy dream or something. Otherwise, this would have been a 1 book and done kind of thing.

The following books are good, but I do think the first was the best. The 2nd book had a part or 2 that infuriated me to no end, and I'm still angry when I think about it, so that obviously skews my view of it. Read it and you'll understand. The 3rd book brings a very interesting view of the Titan Cronus and is a heartbreaking and interesting read.

I definitely recommend these books (especially if you like Greek mythology).

Book Review - "The Glittering Court"

I have very mixed feeling about this book to be honest...at first I was intrigued, then I was bored, then I was annoyed, and then I wanted to know what was going to happen.

The story starts with the Countess of Rothford whose name is Elizabeth. Her family is having money troubles and she is supposed to marry her 2nd cousin, but she refuses. She wants to be free. A man named Cedric comes to her home to recruit one of her maids, Ada, to The Glittering Court. Cedric's father started a company where they train young women of low stature and auction them off in the new world, Adoria, to be the new royalty. Ada gets very upset and Elizabeth comforts her. She's very drawn to Cedric, but has no idea why. After he leaves, Elizabeth pays off Ada and sends her home. Elizabeth assumes her identity- Adelaide Bailey, and runs away to join the Court. On her way to the manor house she is joined by 2 other women in the carriage. We meet Tamsin, a laundress daughter, and Mira, a Sirminican refugee who will become Adelaide's closest friends. On their way to the manor, Cedric and his father join them in the carriage. Cedric cannot believe what he is seeing and immediately recognizes Adelaide/Elizabeth, but says nothing.

At the manor, Adelaide tries to blend in and pretend that she is clueless per Cedric's request. She becomes close with Tamsin and Mira. Tamsin is extremely driven and wants to be the top girl in their class. She wants to be the diamond. Around Christmas time, Adelaide discovers that Cedric has a dangerous secret so they come up with a plan to make the best for everyone involved. Adelaide does a complete 180 in her classes and wins the top spot (as she should, since she has learned these things her entire life). With Adelaide as the Diamond girl and the most coveted woman of The Glittering Court, new complications arise.

The trip to Adoria proves to be dangerous and once they arrive, Adelaide catches the eye of the Governor's son. Out of everything that is going on in her life, the most dangerous complication will be the growing attraction between Adelaide and Cedric. Will she marry the Governor's son and help Cedric with his secret, or will she and Cedric be together in the dangers of the New World with targets on their backs?

Shadowhunters Review

Shadowhunters is centered around 18 year old Clary Fray whose world gets turned upside down on her 18th birthday when she witnesses Shadowhunters kill a demon at a club and her mother disappears. Shadowhunters can only be seen by other shadowhunters or people of the shadow world. The shadow world can be summed up with "all of the stories are true." Jace Wayland, one of the shadowhunters, follows Clary because he wants to know how she sees them. They find out that her she is a shadowhunter and her mother has been hiding this from her for her entire life. Clary's mother Jocelyn has been taken by the evil Valentine who is after a power instrument called the Mortal Cup. Clary must learn the ways of the shadow world in order to save her mother and find out who she is. 

The main cast includes:

• Katherine McNamara as Clary Fray
• Dominic Sherwood as Jace Wayland
• Alberto Rosende as Simon Lewis
• Matthew Daddario as Alec Lightwood
• Emeraude Toubia as Isabelle Lightwood
• Isaiah Mustafa as Luke Garroway
• Harry Shum, Jr. as Magnus Bane

Recurring cast includes:

• Alan van Sprang as Valentine Morgenstern 
• Maxim Roy as Jocelyn Fray
• Jon Car as Hodge Starkweather 
• David Castro as Raphael Santiago
• Jade Hassoune as Meliorn
• Kaitlyn Leeb as Camille Belcourt
• Nicola Correia-Damude as Maryse Lightwood
• Paulino Nunes as Robert Lightwood
• Jack Fulton as Max Lightwood
• Christina Cox as Elaine Lewis 
• Holly Deveaux as Rebecca Lewis
• Stephanie Bennett as Lydia Branwell 
• Mimi Kuzyk as Imogen Herondale
• Joel Labelle as Alaric
• Jordan Hudyma as Blackwell
• Shailene Garnett as Maureen Brown
• Lisa Marcos as Susanna Vargas
• Curtis Morgan as Pangborn

This show is crazy and so addicting! The cast brings these incredible characters to life in a thrilling way. Kat is meant to play the role of Clary Fray- she's spectacular. Dom kills it as Jace Wayland and Matt brings Alec Lightwood to life flawlessly. Em is so fearless, sexy, and badass as Izzy it's unbelievable and Alberto makes you desperately wish Simon Lewis was your best friend.

The creators of the show clearly worked very hard to bring this world to life on the small screen and it doesn't go unnoticed. The episodes get more and more thrilling as the season goes on and I cannot wait for season 2! Thank you to Freeform for bringing this awesome series to life. 

I highly recommend watching it!! I give it 5 stars.

Book Review - "The Siren" by Kiera Cass

I'm not really sure where to start with this book. The premise is very interesting and unusual. It took me a little while to adjust to it, but once I did I liked it. I liked the bond between the Sirens, I thought it was realistic and yet something that everyone wants. I guess I liked everything but the end. I like HOW it ended (for the most part), but I don't like the WAY it ended. That still makes no sense, but I can't explain without spoilers.

This book is about a Siren named Kahlen. She was saved by the Ocean (who is basically a spirit) when she was drowning after hearing the Siren song. She agreed to spend the next century as a Siren and lure humans to the depths of the Ocean with their song. The Ocean became like a mother figure for her since she lost hers. The girls live on land in together in cities but are forbidden to speak. If they do, whatever human hears their voice will go straight to the Ocean and kill themselves. Kahlen has always been very careful not to speak or bond with anyone that isn't her Siren sisters. She's the oldest one living in the house with the others in Florida. She's unlike her sisters in the fact that she feels immense guilt after each Song and she actually keeps scrapbooks of each shipwreck because of her guilt.

Kahlen meets a boy named Akinli at the library and he is unlike anyone she has ever met. He realizes she can't speak, and he's ok with that. He still talks to her and even gets her a pen/notepad to write with. Kahlen is taken aback by his kindness and she starts to fall for him. They have a date and afterwards, Kahlen freaks out and is afraid of falling in love with him so she forces the girls to move to another state. This basically begins a long journey of Kahlen being depressed and the others being annoyed/worried with her. Once the Ocean realizes what is happening, it/she becomes furious with Kahlen. Kahlen runs away and runs into Akinli who offers her a place to stay with him and his cousins.

Things look great for a little while, until Kahlen makes a major mistake and bargains with the Ocean who adds even more time to her "sentence." Kahlen is devastated about it and her sisters try to help her. Then Kahlen begins to get sick and no one can explain why. She is a Siren and supposed to be inhuman so she should never get sick or need sleep. The girls work over time to find out how they can save Kahlen and what Akinli has to do with it.


***SPOILERS*** IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK THEN SCROLL PAST THIS PART!!!

So basically the fact that Akinli heard her voice and without hearing his voice anymore they're both dying. Like seriously?! He's dying without her voice and she's dying without his. The only solution was to turn her back into a human which was really sad because the girls lost their sister. Akinli's family finds her and once he sees her he starts feeling better which is all fine and dandy, except she doesn't remember him. It's sweet that she feels like she loves him without remembering, but the fact that she doesn't remember anything of what they went through makes me feel cheated. Honestly, this whole ending makes me feel cheated and like I wasted my time. I wanted Akinli and Kahlen together, but I also wanted her to be able to remember her Siren life. I realize that was probably too much to ask of Kiera Cass, but still...I feel like the ending was lame and uncreative. I was expecting more.

***NO MORE SPOILERS***








Overall, I like the idea but I am disappointed with the ending...I was expecting more and wanted a little more razzle dazzle.

I give this book 3 stars.

"Concussion" Movie Review

This movie was absolutely magnificent. It was pretty intense. Will Smith did an incredible job playing Dr. Bennett Omalu.

Dr. Omalu is a Nigerian forensic pathologist who ends up doing the autopsy for the famous Pittsburgh Steelers player Mike Webster. Mr. Webster essentially began going crazy before he died and no one could figure out what was going on. He was a drug addict, he was hallucinating, and even tasing himself with a taser. Dr. Omalu found that the cause of Webster's death was head trauma due to concussions. He explains what happens to the brain when we get hit in the head and it is actually pretty scary. He says that hummingbirds wrap their tongue around their brain as a protective measure when they hit their heads and that rams have "padding" to protect their brains when they collide. Humans have no such thing. Our brains just gets smashed and it can only handle so much. Dr. Omalu estimated that Webster had sustained over 70,000 hits to the head in his lifetime. No wonder he lost his mind.

After Dr. Omalu and his colleagues publish their findings, the NFL is quick to shut them down and essentially say that they are wrong. The Steelers former team doctor works alongside Dr. Omalu and proves to be quite the ally. More football players die and Dr. Omalu's test results all come back in support of his hypothesis. The NFL continues to deny it and comes after Dr. Omalu and his family. Dr. Omalu is forced out of Pittsburgh and relocates to California with his wife. a few years later another famous football player commits suicide, but shoots himself in the chest with the specific purpose of Dr. Omalu studying his brain. The same conclusion is found.

Dr. Omalu basically forced the NFL to acknowledge what can happen to players after they play football for so long. Supposedly the NFL already knew about this, but they withheld the information from their players which is pretty shady.

I completely understand why Will Smith was nominated for a Golden Globe award for this role and I hope he wins it- he was truly amazing. I could care less about football and I enjoyed every minute of this movie. It's a must watch!

"Joy" Movie Review

"Joy" is based on the real life story of inventor and entrepreneur Joy Mangano. While her story is real, there is still a fictional element to the movie (including a crazy half sister who doesn't actually exist). Jennifer Lawrence played the title character and stared alongside Bradley Cooper (aren't they great together?) and Robert De Niro.

In the story, Joy was a very creative child and liked to build things and create things. Her creativity had to be pushed aside when her parents went through a messy divorce. Her mother basically became stationary and only stayed in one room to watch soap operas. Her dad was in and out of her life with different women. She ended up getting married, having 2 kids (in real life she and her former husband Tony share 3 kids), getting divorced, and having her ex-husband live in her basement in her Long Island home. Her dad comes to live with this already full house when his current girlfriend dumps him on her doorstep.

Her father owns a car garage which has been doing poorly. Joy works for an airline and they can barely make ends meet. When she is cleaning up a mess in her kitchen, she cuts her hand on broken glass while ringing out the mop. This leads her to inventing the Miracle Mop which she attempts to get patented and sell. This film is an emotional and empowering roller coaster. It makes you realize how important family is and how far you can by believing in yourself and not taking no for an answer.

I'd say this film is a must see and another winner for director David O. Russell, Jennifer Lawrence, and Bradley Cooper.

"Pitch Perfect 2" Movie Review

This movie was hilarious. I was laughing so hard (and so was my husband surprisingly).

We catch up with the Bellas in their senior year of college when they are performing for President Obama on his birthday. The set they put on is very theatrical and overdone, and Fat Amy accidentally flashes her vagina to the entire crowd. This causes the Bellas to be kicked out of Collegiate Acapella and they will have to give up their championship tour (FYI they've won the Nation Championships 3 years in a row) and they will not be allowed to defend their title. In an attempt to get them re-instated (if they aren't re-instated then the Barden Bellas will cease to exist for future generations) Beca makes a deal: if they win the World Championships then they get re-instated. Gail and John think it's hilarious and they are doomed to fail because "everyone hates America."

We meet a new freshman, Emily Junk, whose mother was a Bella back in the 80s. She is ecstatic to try out and she's so cute. Hailee Steinfeld did a great job. We find out that Chloe has intentionally failed Russian Literature 3 times so she can remain a Bella and as the girls try to figure out their next move, Beca gets a phone call offering her an internship at a record label. She accepts but declines to tell the Bellas. Jesse takes her to her first day of work and while she's gone, Emily shows up at the Bella house. She asks to join the Bellas' and after an awkward audition where she sings a song she is writing, they ultimately decide to let her join. They head over to the Treblemakers home for an acapella only party where Emily runs into Benji (again) and he is hilariously awkward (again). Beca sneaks in and joins the party where she meets Emily.

The girls work on their choreography and decide to check out the German group who got to take over their victory tour Das Sound Machine or DSM. They watch their performance and are blown away even though none of them want to admit it. The Germans see them there and talk to them after the show- thanking them for screwing up so they could have all of this practice before Worlds. The girls try to trash talk back, but Beca is hilariously pathetic at it with this woman.

They end up against DSM, the Treblemakers, the Tone Hangers (whom Bumper is now a member of), and the Green Bay Packers- yes the Green Bay Packers (a few of the football players sing Bootylicious and it is freaking hilarious) in an updated version of a riff-off where there is $42,000 giftcard for Dave & Busters on the line. The Bellas lose to DSM and are very very angry.

Beca continues at work where she impresses her boss by doing a mash-up while Snoop Dogg is in the recording booth singing one song, and she sings outside. He offers to listen to her demo. She asks him about them later and finds out he isn't a fan of mash-ups, he wants to know what she has to say. She's devastated and takes it like she failed.

Amy and Bumper have a date although Amy was unaware of what he was planning. He asks her to be his girlfriend and she freaks out and refuses and goes back home where she finds an upset Beca.

Chloe freaks out about them not being in synch so she says they're all going on a retreat. They go to a bootcamp where Aubrey is in charge and she attempts to whip the Bella's back into shape. It's hilarious. The girls finally come out with what is bothering them and they bond in typical Bella fashion. Beca takes Emily to the recording studio and produces a demo of her song "Flashlight" and her boss is very impressed with both of them.

The girls graduate and head to Copenhagen for the competition and everything about it is awesome. Everything everything is awesome. Their final song- was perfect. Even DSM's final song was great, but really the ending was flawless.

I loved this movie so much! I give it 5 stars.

"Maleficent" Movie Review

Alright I know this movie is like a year old, but whatever. I'm still obsessed with it. I think this is my favorite movie Angelina Jolie has ever done.

I'll be honest- when I first heard they were making a movie from Maleficent's point of view, I was nervous. I love Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and I love her story. I always have and I always will (here's to hoping I get to name my daughter Aurora). I was afraid her story would be ruined by Maleficent, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

I fully understand know why Mal was pissed at the king. King Stefan stole her wings while claiming to love her. Mal was a kind fairy (something I didn't see coming) and she showed Stefan kindness when he was just a nobody. They fell in love but his greed came first. It's so sad. Mal took her frustrations out on his daughter, Aurora. 

She was always there watching over Aurora, waiting until her 16th birthday when she would fall into a sleep she would never wake from since there is no such thing as true loves first kiss. The three flood fairies: Flora, Fauna, and Merrywether, were idiots and basically Aurora would have died many times has Mal and her bird/human sidekick Diabold not been watching over her. I didn't like that part very much, but I get why they did it. 

It was kind of funny watching Mal toy with the fairies while Aurora showed no fear of her. King Stefan was losing his mind which was weird and the Queen dies. When Aurora is older, she believes Mal is her fairy godmother and isn't afraid of her. 

They grow closer, although Mal clearly tries to keep her feelings at a distance. Aurora meets Prince Phillip in the woods and its hits as sweet and awkward as in the cartoon. She finds out Mal cursed her and she is taken by the fairies to her father's castle. She is heartbroken about Mak and Diabold and she is upset she can't see Phillip ever again. Of course she pricks her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and goes into her sleep. The fairies find Phillip and have him kiss her, but it doesn't work. Mal isn't surprised as she knows true loves first kiss is a lie. I didn't like that as it was one of the most iconic scenes in the cartoon, but the part that followed made up for it 

Mal tearfully apologized to Aurora as she realized that she couldn't save her "Beastie". She kisses Aurora's forehead and Lo and behold, the princess awakens! This was true loves first kiss. It was like the love of a mother for her child. 

The sweet moment doesn't last however when Mal is discovered by the kings men and captured. He knows (thanks to a young Mal) that iron burns fairies, so he has her chained with iron shackles. Aurora is locked in an attic like Rome where she finds Mal's wings. She grabs them and breaks out, getting them to Mal who takes over. She turns Diabold into a dragon and eventually they win. 

She crowns Aurora the queen of the Moors (the magical land where all the fairies and other creatures live). She, Diabold, and Phillip stand at Aurora's side and it's beautiful. 

I love that Aurora is just as kind and innocent as she is in the cartoon. I love the relationship between Mal and Aurora. They really are like mother and daughter by the end. Mal's emotional and mental journey throughout the movie is so intense and Jolie did a great job with her. Also. I totally ship Mal and Diabold! 

This was a great movie and will basically be the Sleeping Beauty live action movie, but it was so good that I might actually be ok with that. (Although I'm a little disappointed that thee was no iconic blue/pink dress).

I give this movie 5 stars.