"The Christmas Cure" - Hallmark Christmas Movie Review

This movie served as a kick off to Hallmark's annual Countdown to Christmas. The movie is about a young woman, Vanessa, who is a very busy doctor. She is finally able to spend Christmas with her family and she's very excited about that. Upon returning home she crosses paths with her high school sweetheart and finds out that her father is retiring. She spends her Christmas deciding if she wants to take over for her dad or further her career.


 Stars: Brooke Nevin, Steve Byers, & Patrick Duffy

This movie was...ugh. I could not get into it at all. The main love interests had no chemistry whatsoever. Byers' character Mitch was poorly written. Mitch and Vanessa did not seem like high school sweethearts- in fact they seemed like strangers. The majority of the movie focuses on Nevin's character and her inner struggle of staying or going; there is no time spent on the rekindling romance until towards the end. The only redeemable and semi interesting parts of this story was Duffy and his wife and the teenagers subplot romantic story line. I had no emotional attachment to the two main characters. I cared more about Dr. Turner (Duffy) and his wife and their adorable moments, as well as Kyle (Vanessa's younger brother) and his crush Shelly. There were 2 parts that made me tear up- once again these parts had nothing to do with Vanessa and Mitch. There is an elderly woman that Dr. Turner visits weekly since her husband died, Mrs. Willis, and each Christmas she bakes a traditional German cake for her late husband. It was very sweet. Overall, I'd give this movie 1 star and say skip it. There are WAY better movies on Hallmark to watch. 

New Girl Review

I'm obsessed with this show! It's so hilarious. I find myself quoting it all the time. At first, I was a little taken aback  by how quirky the main character Jess is, but she grows on you and you fall in love with her. She's hilarious and just wants to help everyone.

So the show starts with Jess needing a place to live after her boyfriend cheated on her. She goes on Craigslist and finds an add for a roommate. She assumes her roommates will be women, but when she arrives she finds 3 guys waiting for her. This is where we meet Nick, Schmidt, and Coach. They are great. Jess is a very quirky teacher and it takes some time for the guys to adjust. Schmidt does most of his adjusting when Jess' best friend CeCe, who happens to be a gorgeous model, comes to visit. Schmidt is instantly obsessed with her. Coach is replaced in the following episode by Nick and Schmidt's old friend Winston who has come back from playing pro basketball in Latvia.

This group is insane and this show is freaking hilarious. I love it.

The main cast includes:

• Zooey Deschanel as Jessica "Jess" Day
• Jake Johnson as Nick Miller
• Max Greenfield as Schmidt
• Lamorne Morris as Winston Bishop
• Hannah Simone as Cecilla "CeCe" Parekh
• Damon Wayans, Jr. as Ernie "Coach" Tagliaboo

Also, watch out for their BA drinking game called True American. It is so confusing and so funny that even though you barely know any of the crazy rules, you want to grab your closest friends and attempt a game.

I 100% give this show 5 stars...WATCH IT!!!!!!

Book Review - "Autumn's Kiss" by Bella Thorne

I don't even know what to say about this book. I'm so disappointed in it.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***


Ok so it starts off and everyone is suddenly friends and everything has been swept under the rug. I guess that's nice, but there is no resolution from the previous book for the reader. It ends and everyone Renzie is mad at Autumn and Sean is mad at both of them, but now they're all best friends. It's just ridiculous. I'm sorry, but that's not how high school works. It'd be great if it did, but it's not.

Now Autumn has a map that can take her wherever she wants to go. That's cool. It's random, but you get used to it. Autumn finally meets Kyler Leeds and he ends up being a weird character...he's part douche bag but also part sweet guy.

Sean and Autumn finally go out, and it's nice until he cheats on her with Renzie. How does Autumn know this? She appears in his closet on their vacation and witnesses them hooking up. Of course she's devastated, and JJ is there to pick up the pieces. They start going out before Sean even gets back and when he does come back he is pissed at Autumn for breaking up with him via text message and blocking him. Autumn ends up feeling guilty for it and doesn't really feel the same about JJ as he feels about her. What. the. F. I don't think so. She's made to feel bad for breaking up with her boyfriend for cheating on her? Hell no! He says that he felt so guilty that he threw up the next morning and the only reason it happened was because they had been drinking. I'm sorry, but that's crap. He and Renzie end up dating later on. I think Autumn had every right to break up with him. He never would have told her what happened if she hadn't of found out. He really didn't care about her.

With that being said, Autumn is a bitch for jumping into a relationship with JJ so quickly and leading him on. How terrible. He has been nothing but good to her and that is how she is going to repay him? I just can't believe the author made Autumn become such an all over the place character. I also can't believe how guilty she makes Autumn feel about Sean. I think that makes me angrier than any of it. She has no reason to feel guilty. It's ridiculous.

This whole disaster ends with a party at Autumn's where everyone shows up except JJ. The only reason they show up is because Kyler Leeds sends each of her friends a personalized video inviting them there. Sean and Renzie are there as a couple which is a douche move. I thought they were all friends? That doesn't seem very friendly to me. Then Autumn sneaks away and decides to poof off to where Kyler Leeds is. The f?

I just don't even know. The first book was so cute....and this one started off ok I guess, but it ended horribly. I think I'm done with Autumn Falls and her friends.

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.

"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.

Pretty Little Liars Recap - "Game On, Charles " (S06E01)

This episode was insane.

It begins by showing an unknown blonde girl drawing with chalk on the wall of what looks like a dungeon in the doll house wearing the infamous yellow tank top. She hears the Liars making their escape and we find them outside. A/Charles leaves them outside for days without food or water and even in the pouring rain. The girls are doing everything they can to stay positive and support one another, but it's clear they are afraid.

The girls are finally invited back inside. In the hallway they are all knocked out. Aria and the other girls awake on tables in what looks like a morgue. They are all naked and covered only by a sheet. They fear that Charles is making them appear dead to send a message to their families so they stop looking for them. Mona comes in dressed as a candy striper and acting like Ali again. She gives each of the girls something to take for their headaches. She shares that she is scared Charles will throw her in the hole for trying to escape. A message plays asking them to return to their rooms and Mona refuses. A bell dings 3 times and she folds saying they have to go "or else." They stand outside of their rooms and enter one by one- each one screaming when they enter. They don't come out for 3 weeks and when they do they are visibly shaken. Aria even has the pink stripes in her hair like she had when Ali went missing. They wonder where Mona is.  We find out she is in the hole and terrified.

Ali holds a press conference and we find out that all charges against her for Mona's murder have been dropped and Andrew is the prime suspect but he has vanished. Ali begs for Andrew to come forward and for her friends to be freed.When she returns to the house, we find out she is working with the police in hopes of drawing Andrew out of hiding.She gets a call from an unknown number and it's playing a song. They track the call and find out the caller is in the house so the police go to find them. They return and Ali is gone, and there is a broken wine bottle. We find out that Caleb and Ezra called, and she is working with them and Toby to find the girls. Toby distracts the police by leading them too the Campbell Apple Farm.

Ali is contacted by A so the guys let her go into the woods after Caleb gives her a pair of boots with a tracker in them. Ali is lead to a car, she gets in it and the GPS tells her where to go. The guys follow and aren't far behind. She is told to pull over on the side of the road and to check the trunk. She finds a card telling her to change clothes or the girls will die. When Caleb and Ezra arrive, they find the car and Ali's clothes along with her boots pointing them in the right direction. Ali wanders through the woods in the infamous yellow top.

The girls are finally out of their rooms and are clearly very shaken but they band together. They are taken to Ali's room and they realize that Ali A is probably bringing the real Alison. They are putting away things in Ali's room and see news articles in the box and wonder if they are even real. Hanna finds out her mom was hospitalized because she was so worried about Hanna. Aria is putting clothes away and at the back of the closet she sees a message from Mona carved into the wall saying A is going to kill her. Aria gets Spencer to help her and shows her the message. They start plotting to get out.

The night when the generator switches off the girls all run to Charles' secret room and Spencer shows them the video. The girls look around and end up setting the room on fire. Charles is watching and sees Ali in the woods and the fire in the room. He panics. They pull the curtains down and see A/Charles standing behind a plexi-glass wall watching (he's of course in a mask still). They run and find Mona in the hole and work together to get her out.

The boys find Ali in the woods and get ready to leave until Ali hears something. She turns around and they see smoke coming from the ground which leads them to the door. They call the police and break into the dollhouse as the girls are running out. Everyone embraces and it is a tearjerker. Haleb, Ezria, Spoby, and Emison are so sweet. The police explore the dollhouse and find the girl we see at the beginning of the episode and find out she is Sarah Harvey, the girl who went missing around the same time Ali did and Emily met with her friends. She had been there this entire time.

"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.

Book Review - "The Selection" by Kiera Cass

This book was so crazy. I mean nothing too crazy happens, but the love story is just-ah! It gave me so much anxiety and so many knots in my stomach (the good kind). I love America Singer and I would love to be her best friend. I also love her relationship with her younger sister May and how much she cares for her family (even when they're annoying).

I feel like America is kind of awkward. She's also blunt and wears her heart on her sleeve, but she's still a spitfire. She's so relatable. Another thing I love about her is how close she is with her maids. They are there to serve her but she is always looking out for them and when the palace is under attack, she is concerned for their safety. It's something both Maxon and I love about her.

I am team Maxon and not team Aspen. America deserves better. She deserves to be treated like a lady and taken care of. Plus, Maxon was willing to implement a system of getting food to the lower castes simply because America shared her opinion about their struggles. They are so cute together. The fact that he tells her he'd send everyone home if he knew she loved him, I just- I can't. I was squealing like a 13 year old girl. 

Overall, I love this book and can't wait to continue along with the series. I hope to see America's relationship with Prince Maxon grow and I want him to pick her. 

5 stars for America Singer!! (and May, Marlee, Prince Maxon, Lucy, Anne, and Mary)

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" Movie Review

Oh. My. God.


This movie was everything it was hyped up to be and more.

As a fan of Hawkeye (and Jeremy Renner) I was really really happy to see that he was in this movie a lot more, and you humorously see what an important part of the team he actually is.

You finally learn about the Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)'s past and wow- I understand her a lot more now. I have always loved her, but this movie brings her to a whole new level.

The Maximoff twins, Pietro and Wanda (Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch), are a great addition to this movie. I didn't think I'd end up caring much about them, but holy crap did that change by the end of the movie.

We finally get a better glimpse into the Hulk (Bruce Banner)'s life. It's not much of a surprise that he views himself as a monster, but it's nice to begin to see the man behind the monster.

Thor doesn't have a whole lot of character development- he just seems to be in a good place and in a good place with the team (until Tony Stark screws things up).

Iron Man (Tony Stark) is his typical self in this movie, but we get a good glimpse at his non-egotistical side. He loves the team and will do anything to protect them.

Captain America (Steve Rogers) has his own growth through the movie. I think he is finally getting a handle on being a man out of his time.

We start right in on the action as the Avengers take down a Hydra base while looking for Loki's scepter and thinks take off from there. Everything about this movie was flawless, I'm not even kidding. There was plenty of humor and one-liners (from more than just Tony Stark) and a lot of running jokes (good job Cap). There were a lot of fight scenes which I thought would get old, but it didn't. Each fight had a purpose- there was no fighting just to fight or blow things up just because. Also, we meet The Vision and he is awesome. Tony messes up by creating Ultron it somewhat rectified by creating The Vision.

I want to say more, but I don't want to give things away so I'm going to do another post on this movie in a few weeks when more people will have had the chance to see it.

All in all, SEE THIS MOVIE - YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

Book Review - "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard

Red blooded thief, Mare Barrow, is a 17 year old girl living amongst the other red blooded people in a destitute village called The Stilts while the silver blooded people live a life of luxury. A person with red blood is ordinary and boring, but a person with silver blood is like a god. Silver blooded people have powers and ability like manipulating water, great strength, multiplying...etc. It is with these powers that they can keep the Reds in line, and everyone knows it. 

As a result the Reds are forced to fight the Silvers war for absolutely nothing. Mare's 3 older brothers are all off in the war and she and her best friend Kilorn are next. In a desperate attempt to escape conscription, Mare is involved in accident that ruins her family's future plans. She ends up getting a job working at the King's summer palace and during a twist of fate Mare's entire world changes. She is a Red with Silver powers. How is this possible?! 

To save face, the King and Queen announce that Mare is actually a long lost Silver from a noble house and she is Lady Mareena Titanos. She is betrothed to the King's second son, Prince Maven. She is a sheep thrown into a wolves world and she must act like she is one of them- her life and her family's lives depend on it. Her only allies in this new life are the Princes, Cal and Maven. 

This book is full of little twists leading up to one big one. It's crazy. The book is we written and flows well. The characters are both intriguing and confusing,but I love it. After all, can you really trust a Silver?

I really liked this book a lot. Once I started reading it, it was hard to put it down. Between the romance aspect, the secrets aspect, and the fact that Mare is kind of a tough cookie- it has a little bit of everything.

I give it 4.5 stars and look forward to more from Victoria Aveyard.

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Top 5 Lip Products

My top 5 lip products:

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in "Dragon Girl" - a siren red

• I love this red. It's like a berry red and it's so pretty. I really like that the pencil is like a crayon. It makes applying it so simple and quick which are major bonuses for me. I also like that you don't really need to use a lip liner with it because it's kind of like a big lip liner in itself. (this is the color Taylor Swift wore to the Met Gala in 2014) - $26.00

Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge in "8 Iconic Red"

• This red is stunning. If you are going for a classic red color that won't budge- this is your product. It dries quickly after applying it and you can leave it matte or use the clear gloss for a nice shine. It stays really well on your lips and it's honestly so beautiful. (Taylor Swift used this a lot during the RED Tour) - $24.00
  

Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick in "Melted Peony" - a dusty rose

• I think this is such a pretty shade of pink. It's a neutral pink that works for a nice everyday look. I really like the way the lipstick goes on. It feels nice and has a good pigmented color. The applicator is a soft brush. - $21.00
  

Clinique Almost Lipstick in "Black Honey"

• It's such a pretty color! The stick looks dark, but it goes on pretty sheer so you can build it up if you want a darker lip. It's a really good color for fall and it feels nice and smooth when it goes on. - $16.00

Revlon Color Burst Lip Butter in "Strawberry Shortcake"

• I am obsessed with lip butters. They feel so good on your lips! The colors are actually pretty pigmented- I was expected a sheer color but it was a nice surprise. The Creme Brulee color also makes for a really pretty nude lip that doesn't make you look dead. The Strawberry Shortcake is just a pretty pink that adds a nice pop of color. - $8.49