Poppin' Off- Summer Movies

Happy Friday everyone! I haven't made it to the movies too much this summer, but within the past few weeks I've managed to make it out a few times and I thought I'd share my reviews with you. *As always, if you haven't seen any of these movies but plan to, and you want to do so spoiler free, you should probably not read this until you see the movie. Spoilers have a tendency to pop out sometimes.*

Ant-Man

I really liked Ant-Man. Scott Lang (played by Paul Rudd) is your average dude who gets out of prison and through the help of his friends (Michael Pena and T.I.), manages to stumble into Hank Pym's (Michael Douglas) house and ends up stealing a suit that can turn him into a tiny human that can, among other things, help him control ants. Ant-Man fights an Avenger (Falcon), a bad guy (Yellow Jacket) and gets the girl (Wasp). The movie is filled with comedy, more than the average Marvel movie, but there is a good amount of action as well. And for everyone that said that Paul Rudd couldn't do it, you were mistaken. Ant-Man didn't require the casting of a Chris Evans or Chris Hemsworth because that's not the type of superhero that Ant-Man is. He's much more of a Mark Ruffalo type, and Paul Rudd pulled it off flawlessly. I look forward to seeing him with the reset of the Avengers. 

Pixels

So...about Pixels. It's probably one of the worst rated movies of the summer (seriously, read all of the reviews, the hate is real and also very entertaining), but I didn't think it was all that terrible. Adam Sandler makes a particular type of movie, and I think you have to know and accept that before going into anything that he does. With all that in mind, Pixels was cute. It had all of the video games I grew up with, and Ashley Benson (Hanna Marin on PLL) even has a small part as Lady Lisa. Yes, its very unlikely that Kevin James or anyone remotely like him would ever be President of the United States, and of course its super unlikely that aliens are going to see a time capsule of footage from a video game contest in 1982 and come to Earth attacking as said video games, but the movie is still fun. And its kinda fun to think of Olaf (Josh Gad) and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) running around being big ole nerds and fighting these alien video games too. There have been so many articles about the movie about how it missed its chance to take on serious subjects like how our lives and technology are changing, but when does Adam Sandler ever make serious movies? I think I've seen him in one....maybe. Anyway, its a fun movie if you don't go into expecting too much and like retro games and songs from the 80's.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Tom Cruise is once again Ethan Hunt, running away from bad guys, being seduced by a hot chick who can't decide if she's on the good side or the bad side, and receiving comic relief from Simon Pegg and the rest of his team. I like a good spy/action film, and this one did everything it was supposed to do. In the previews alone, you learn that his team is being hunted by a group just like theirs called the Syndicate, and in the film you learn that his team gets disbanded and Hunt disappears, becoming a wanted man by the CIA. The Syndicate is a group that causes major catastrophes around the world; like power plants blowing up, corporations going bankrupt, starting civil unrest in third world countries.....everything conspiracy theorists think governments do in real life. Of course, with everything that happens, Hunt's team has to reunite to save him, and there's plenty left open at the end to suggest that this is not the last we'll see of Ethan Hunt and the IMF. 

Which movies have you gone to see this summer? I still really want to see Trainwreck, Magic Mike XXL, and Paper Towns. Have you seen them, or have any suggestions? Let me know in the comments!

Poppin' Off- Summer Movies Vol. 2

Happy Friday! I've had the opportunity to go to the movies a few more times this summer, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on these summer movies. There will probably be spoilers, so read at your own risk.

Lucy-



Lucy stars Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman and some other guys you probably don't care about. The premise is an interesting one- a drug that can open the human mind to its full potential. What wasn't interesting? Pretty much the entire movie. It was a lot of Scarlett Johansson regurgitating her role as Black Widow, minus the rest of the Avengers and with the facial expressions of Kristen Stewart in any Twilight movie. Morgan Freeman seemed to make the movie lag on more than it did already, someone probably should have played his role as a professor (who is coincidentally giving a lecture about what could happen if humans had the capacity to use their whole brain. hmm....). To me, the movie wasn't worth the movie theater expense, its much more a Redbox rental.

Guardians of the Galaxy-



This movie was amazing!!!! (More exclamation points!!!) There wasn't really a dull moment in the film, and while most Marvel films focus on a lot of action, and a little bit of comedy, this had both. Groot and Rocket stole the show for my kids, but as an ensemble I thought they were amazing all around. The soundtrack was also very good. The music wasn't overly modern, but it was modern enough that every age group could get a kick out of it. And I have a soft spot for mix tapes, they're virtually nonexistent now, so it was cool to see one in a movie today. I'm ready for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 :) I would recommend this movie to everyone, its a must see. I know some people compared it to Star Wars, but I didn't really catch that vibe.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-



Okay, so I wasn't too sure I wanted to see this. I love the old Ninja Turtles cartoon. I love the old Ninja Turtles live action movies. I love the old Ninja Turtles rap done by Vanilla Ice. But I have kids that like the new Ninja Turtles cartoon and who now like the new Ninja Turtle movie. *sigh* The only super positive thing I have to say about this movie is that Michael Bay used the turtles' full  names. He didn't abbreviate them like the cartoon does, you know, because kids today are too stupid to say Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael. Anyway, this movie is a huge love letter to Megan Fox, made Shredder look like something the Power Rangers would fight and didn't utilize Will Arnett like at all. He kind of just stood there, one more admirer for Megan Fox. Yuck. Also, you could tell that they were hoping you would see the movie in 3D, because it was obviously shot for 3D (if that makes sense). Like with any remake though, there were changes (a lot of them, in this case), and fans of the original will probably not be receptive to them. I will say, that for all the product placement and change, it wasn't quite the travesty I thought it was going to be. And, it provided my husband and I the perfect opportunity to show our children the original TMNT movies, which they also enjoyed (even though they said the turtles looked weird lol).


I'm still hoping to see the new Transformers and The Purge: Anarchy (I think they've made their way to the dollar theaters by now). My husband is my movie-going companion, but he saw those movies with other people, so now I need to find my way to the theater alone *eek*. Or maybe just wait until I can rent them, I don't know. What are your thoughts? Theater or wait to rent?

Poppin' Off- Summer Movies

I haven't been able to get the movies too much this summer, but here are the reviews for the ones I've seen lately. And there's probably some spoilers in here (especially for HTTYD2), so read at your own risk if you haven't seen any of these movies yet and want to.

22 Jump Street




This was one of the movies I was looking forward to seeing this year. It didn't disappoint, although it's focus on "doing everything exactly the same" kind of made the movie drag a little for me. The comedy was still on point, and bringing in Jillian Bell (watch her on Workaholics) was a really good choice, she played her part well. There was a hint of 23 Jump Street, but if they really make a third one...I guess thats up to them. They did have a lot of movie posters in the credits showing the potential ways they could drag out the franchise, but they were just jokes. What was funny though, was that a lot of people took them seriously when I went to see it, and one guy was like "Great! I should've left right when it ended. Now I know what the next movies are going to be!" And he was totally serious. 22 Jump Street is a fun summer movie, even if it is a little predictable.

How To Train Your Dragon 2



I really liked the first How to Train Your Dragon. I didn't like this one. I felt that it was really meant for adults. My husband and I took our children to see it because they really wanted to. My son (8) liked it. My daughter (4) hated it. She couldn't sit still (which she only does if a movie can't hold her attention), and thought the bad guy was too scary. I thought it was bullshit that they killed the dad off the way they did, and overall, the whole tone of the movie was dark. There was a lot of conflict in this movie, mostly internal dealing with Hiccup not knowing who he is and where he wants to go in life; but externally as well, with the bad guy trying to take the dragons. I was really disappointed with this one, I thought they could've done better.

Earth to Echo



Earth to Echo is another movie that my kids really, really wanted to see. So we saw it. It wasn't as horrible as I thought it was going to be. Its a cool little sci-fi movie for kids that doesn't get so deep they can't understand it. The premise has been compared to E.T., but I didn't really gather that from the movie at all. It focuses on three boys who live in the same housing community, but are being forced to move due to construction. Of course, it comes out later that the construction is a cover for trying to find Echo's ship. Anyway, the boys spend their last night together trying to find Echo (through maps that this little alien has sent to their phones) and then helping him find his way home. Its filmed predominantly Blair Witch style, handheld camcorders and Go-Pros, so if motion sickness is an issue for you, I would suggest taking some Dramamine before you watch this (I did). Its a good movie to see during matinee prices, or it'll be a good one to rent once it hits Redbox.