My Most Wanted to See Movies for 2012

Now that 2012 is here I am counting down the days to quite a few movies. This year there will be conclusions to a few movies, as well as some movies that we have been waiting to see on the big screen that are some great books that have been adapted to film. I am going to tell you my top 10 movies that I can't wait to see this year!

The first one is no surprise, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2. This will be the final installment in the franchise and a highly anticipated one at that. Spoiler alert! Breaking Dawn Part 1 ended with the awaiting of Bella Swan-Cullen to wake up as vampire. The movies kind of follow the book, so the second part of BD will be all vamp Bella and the Cullen's protecting the vamp-human baby from the evil Volturi. As a huge fan of the books, as well as the movies, this one is top on my list! Opens in theaters November 16, 2012 as of now.

The Hunger Games, another book to screen adaptation. I have owned the book for about a year now and despite that I have yet to read it, but that is ok because I have some time left. The preview alone of this one looks really good and action packed, leading me to believe it will draw a crowd not only based on the book alone. The Hunger Games is the first in the trilogy and I am sure Catching Fire and Mocking Jay will be soon to follow. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, in theaters March 23, 2012.

Summary from IMDB

"Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match."

Snow White and the Huntsman, staring Kristen Stewart as Snow White, Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen and Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman, hookd me when I saw the preview before The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1. This is not your typical Snow White, it looks action packed with a twist to the Disney fairytale.. From the preview Charlize is an amazing Evil Queen and Chris is one good looking Huntsman. Kristen is lacking from the preview, so I can't say much on her, but it looks so good! In theaters June 1, 2012.

Summary from IMDB

"In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen."

Another book adaptation that I am looking forward to is Nicholas Sparks' The Lucky One. This is one of my favorite books from the author, so I super thrilled to hear it was being brought to the big screen. I was even more excited because it was filmed in New Orleans, about an hour from where I live. I was not too excited about the casting of the main male character, Logan Thibault, as Zac Efron, but when I saw the preview he was awesome! From the preview it looks like it will be on par with the book. Staring Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling and Blythe Danner, in theaters April 20, 2012.

Summary from IMDB

"A Marine travels to North Carolina after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war."

American Reunion is one that I wasn't expecting... I LOVE American Pie and American Pie 2, American Wedding was Ok and all the crappy ones after that I never saw. As soon as I saw heard they were making this and the entire cast is back, I immediately was online looking for confirmation. The teaser hooked me and my hubby! American Pie came out in 1999 and is one of those cult favorites! Jason Biggs is back as Jim, Sean William Scott is back as Stifler, Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge are back as Jim's Dad and Stifler's Mom and the reunion happens April 6, 2012.

Summary from Flixster

"In the comedy American Reunion, all the American Pie characters we met a little more than a decade ago are returning to East Great Falls for their high-school reunion. In one long-overdue weekend, they will discover what has changed, who hasn't and that time and distance can't break the bonds of friendship. It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity. In the years that have passed, Jim and Michelle married while Kevin and Vicky said goodbye. Oz and Heather grew apart, but Finch still longs for Stifler's mom. Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to reminisce about-and get inspired by-the hormonal teens who launched a comedy legend."

I am a big fan of comic book turned movies, so of course I am excited to see the upcoming The Avengers. I loved Ironman (both the original and the sequel), Thor, The Hulk and Captain America, so I was super excited to see this movie come to the bog screen. I am curious to see how they will tie this all together, with Captain America as the first super hero and the way Thor ended I can't wait! Our favorite handsome men reprise their roles with Robert Downey Jr. as Ironman/Tony Stark, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk/Bruce Banner, this movie hits theaters May 4, 2012.

Summary from IMDB

"Nick Fury and the international agency S.H.I.E.L.D. bring together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki & his various membered army."

This year the final installment of the Batman reboot, staring Christian Bale, hits theaters this year  as well. The Dark Knight Rises will feature villains such as Catwoman and Bane. When the movie hits theaters fours will have passed since the The Dark Knight, but in Batman years eight will have passed and Gotham City is being taken over by the terrorist leader Bane. I have been a long time fan of all Batman movies, past and present, so I am anxiously waiting to see where this movie will pick and end. Christian Bale will continue as the ever handsome Bruce Wayne/Batman, also starring the amazing Anne Hathaway and Tom Hardy, in theaters July 20, 2012.

Summary from IMDB

"Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, the terrorist leader Bane arrives in Gotham City, pushing it and its police force to their limits, forcing its former hero Batman to resurface after taking the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes."

The forth book to movie adaptation I am excited about is One for the Money. One for the Money is the the title of the first book in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, there are several more in the series, and it follows Stephanie Plum as she gets a job from her bail bondsman cousin as a bail bondsman er woman and hilarity ensues. I hope the writers are able to bring Stephanie, her mom, grandma and the rest of these zany characters to the big screens as well as they were written. I am not sure how I feel about Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum, but I guess I will have to wait and see. In theaters January 27, 2012.

Summary from IMDB

"Unemployed and newly-divorced Stephanie Plum lands a job at her cousin's bail-bond business, where her first assignment puts her on the trail of a wanted local cop from her romantic past."

Next up is Bel Ami and  is "supposed" to be released this year, but who knows they keep changing the date. Bel Ami not only looks good, but it stars the handsome Edward Cullen... I mean Robert Pattinson. Bel Ami, also a book adaptation, is the story of a poor young mans climb to power. Robert Pattinson is a great actor and chooses roles that are outside of the norm. This is a great way to showcase his talent alongside award winning actress like Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci. As of today, in theaters March 2, 2012.

Summary from IMDB

"A chronicle of a young man's rise to power in Paris via his manipulation of the city's most influential and wealthy women."

Last on my list, because it may be pushed back into 2013, is Cosmopolis and may only be on my list because it stars yet again Robert Pattinson. I have not seen a trailer for this, but the storyline seems interesting and yet another different type of movie from Robert. Cospomolis, another book adaptation, follows Eric Packer, a multimillionaire who spends 24 hours on a action packed race around Manahattan. Starring alongside Robert Pattinson is Paul Giamatti and Samantha Morton, as of today in theaters December 12, 012.

Summary from IMDB

"Follows a multimillionaire on a 24-hour odyssey across Manhattan."

I am sure there are plenty more great movies to come out this year and I 100% sure I will not only see these 10, but many many more that are not listed here! What are you most excited to see, is it listed?

XO Shannon

My Twilight Take, Breaking Dawn!!!

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I, the fourth installment in the series, hit theaters on November 18, 2011 at 12:01 a.m. And I was there! In line at 1 p.m. on November 17th to watch the three previous movies leading up to the midnight showing of the most anticipated movie of the year, at least for me!

I am a huge Twilight fan! I have been since 2008 when I picked up the first book and was HOOKED! I started them in August of 2008, a few months before the movie came out in November 2008. I had never heard of Twilight and new nothing of the movie being made. I would literally stay up until midnight reading and wake up at 5 a.m. and read before heading off to work. All housework ceased to exist and all I did was read. This was about the time we had a hurricane pass through southeast Louisiana, Gustav, and I was hunting down Eclipse as I was winding down on New Moon. Knowing I could possibly be with out power and businesses closed for at least a week or so I could not go into this hurricane without knowing what happened next! So while most were gathering water, non-perishables and batteries, I was hunting for Eclipse!

After the hurricane I grabbed Breaking Dawn... and then was so sad when I finished that I didn't know what to do! So, I read them again and again... I cannot explain what it is about this series that hooked me! When I began them I was 27, almost 28, married and a mother of three (still am)! I forget that they are vampires, its just this amazing love story to me. I loved the books so much and the movies are great, but somethings are left out or condensed down so it is a little disappointing sometimes.

Twilight the book is probably my favorite, the movies is one of my least favorite. There are so many things left out and things that were added that it just kind of made me sad. There were so many things I felt they did right and looked great, like the baseball scene being my favorite! But they left out one of my favorite scenes, the "blood typing scene" and how James was the reason Alice is a vampire, because she has no memory of how she came to be. But the movie sill conveyed the same thing and elicited the same feelings I had for the book with the movie.

I was so happy with the choices of actors selected for EVERYONE! Kristen Stewart IS Bella Swan! I honestly don't think I could see anyone else playing her. I read one time they wanted Alexis Bledel, and all I could think was I would't be able to sit through a moving with her blandness and monotone voice. Oh... and don't get me started on Robert Pattinson, he is adorably cute and he IS my Edward Cullen. The supporting actors chosen for Jessica Stanley and Mike Newton, were fabulous! They literally still every scene they are in, in ALL four movies to date!

From the 2008 Twilight Premiere

New Moon the book was my least favorite, mainly because *spoiler* Edward leaves Bella! Only for her own good... but there was so much Jacob in the book and lets face it, we all want her with Edward! (I'm obviously Team Edward) But the movie was really good... just enough Jacob and they kept Edward present. Of the books made to movies, this one is the closet of them all with the exception of how Edward described being away from her as a moonless night and the vote. I wanted to see Edward destroy the flat screen!

Eclipse was a great book! I love it because you get a lot of history on the Cullen's and how Rosalie and Jasper came to be, which I really loved. The movie however put things out of order and spent to much time on Victoria and Riley, which I would rather have left that out and had more of Bella and Edward, since this was her story. I think one of the main reasons I didn't like this one is that they changed Victoria's on us... Rachelle Lafevre was the BEST Victoria! She was a huge fan of the series before they were a major success and movie, and I didn't like them replacing her with Bryce Dallas Howard. Originally Bryce was approached for the role of Victoria for Twilight, but turned it down. I heard it was because it wasn't a big enough movie, again speculation and I could be wrong, but if that was the case when the movie blew up she was cast. I love how all the rest are still there and present, very thankful for being able to be apart of this series. I feel they cast Rachelle out for the daughter of Ron Howard and that doesn't sit well with me. But enough of that, the movie was still good and I happy Nikki Reed and Jackson Rathbone got their chance in the franchise to be active in their roles, because they are always in the back ground.

Now, on to Breaking Dawn Part I... I LOVED IT!!! I wanted it to start like the book, her at the gas station in her bullet proof car, but intend it came on with Jacob receiving his invitation to the wedding and running off in wolf form. That was the end of Eclipse... But thats ok. Then it showed Charlie and Renee with their invitations. The wedding scene was absolutely amazing and beautiful!!! It was different from the book, as in the book it was an indoor wedding and the movie was outdoors, but a good different. The dress, was beautiful!!! Not what I imagined, better than what I imagined. Kristen and Rob made a beautiful Bella and Edward bride and groom. The reception was funny, listening to Emmett, Jessica, Charlie, Renee and Edward giving their speeches.

There was a nightmare sequence that was not in the book that was kind of disturbing... This movie seriously pushed the PG-13 rating it received. The honeymoon was amazing, again not what I imagined, but better than what I imagined. A lot of people booed at the "sex scene" because it kind of did fade to black, like the book, but they go back to it as flashbacks when Bella wakes up. The honeymoon ended just like the book, to an extent and it picked up with Jacob, like the book as the book is Bella, Jacob, and then Bella again. Pregnant Bella looked to me just how the book described her to be. The way Rosalie was protective of her and the baby, was also on point for the book. Some of the wolf stuff was off... and rushed or left out. The delivery... the delivery was gruesome and I had to look away. Though I feel they did the book justice, a lot of critics didn't like it. I loved how they did Bella's transformation!!! The way it showed her burning inside and then the venom running through her veins and healing her. 

The imprint scene was wonderfully done! I loved how they did the sequence of her from baby to adult, it was perfect to me! the way it ended was exactly how I thought it would... to line up with the second Bella point of view from the book. Really the movie was great and I understand the reasoning of breaking it up into two separate movies. The book encompasses so much and there are really two climatic events, so they dealt with one in part one and the other will be dealt with in part two. So, if you haven't seen it, go see it and stay until the credits role... If you have seen it, what did you think???

XO Shannon

Cut Loose for a 50/50 Real Good Time

I haven't reviewed a movie in a while, but last weekend I took in a double feature for my birthday... Footloose (with the girls) and Real Steel (with the hubby). But before I saw those two, my hubby and I took in 50/50. So I have for you a cute remake, a serious yet funny movie, and a good all around movie. All three of these have positive review on Rotten Tomatoes.

First up... 50/50. This movie by the previews alone looked really good, however I was hesitant to see a movie about a guy that has cancer. In the end my hubby and I took a chance, and boy were we happy with the out come. This movie is about Adam, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun, Inception, 500 Hundred Days of Summer), who is diagnosed with cancer (I don't remember the name, sorry). He is the guy who just does what he is supposed to and never stands up for himself. He has a real biotch of a girlfriend, played by the amazing Bryce Dallas Howard (Eclipse, The Help), a stoner best friend/co-worker Kyle played by Seth Rogen. And lets not forget his mother played by Angelica Houston.

Upon his diagnosis his doctor refers him to counseling to deal with his stress and anxiety surrounding his cancer and 50/50 chance. Adam's therapist in training is played by the hilarious and witty Anna Kendrick (Twilight Saga, Up in the Air). My hubby's main hesitation to see this movie was Seth Rogen... and the same for a friend of mine. But it has just enough Seth Rogen and its a much different role than what we are accustom to seeing Seth play.

This movie was... words can't describe. My hubby rarely finds serious movies all that good, I think the last one was Up in the Air, so for him to be like I really like this movie speaks volumes to me. I recommend seeing this movie, you won't be disappointed. Rotten Tomatoes has this movie at 93% positive, I give it an A+.

Next up... the Footloose remake. I loved this movie... I struggle with deciding which one was better. The original, release in 1984 when I was only 4, is so good... seriously in my top 10 movies of all time good. But, being that it was the 80's it was slightly cheesy. But with future stars Kevin Bacon, Sarah Jessica Parker and the late Chris Penn, it was pure box office gold. I was a little put off by the thought of a remake, I really wish they would leave these movies alone, especially with thoughts that Chace Crawford or Zan Efron would play the leading role Ren McCormack. But in the end they went with relatively unknown Kenny Wormald, which I must say was a fantastic choice. Pair Kenny up with the awesome and beautiful Julianne Hough and you have dance movie gold!

The storyline in the remake is pretty close to the original... ban on dancing, came to live with aunt and uncle, etc. There are slight story changes, that were good for the story and actually flowed better than the original. in the remake, Ren is from Boston, not Chicago, his mother did not accompany him, his uncle is not a jerk (I actually liked him in this one), and of course derby bus racing instead of tractor chicken. but, I do love how Ariel's mother, played by Andy McDowell, speaks up and has a voice.

I loved that they kept signature lines, clothes and characters. The music is essentially the same, just updated with current artists. I am not a fan of the new music, especially Blake Shelton's "Footloose" remake. The character of Willard, originally played by the late Chris Penn, stole the show as did Chris in 1984. I was not impressed with the selection of Rusty. Sarah Jessica Parker did not have a cheesy country accent in the original, not like Lori Singer (original Ariel), so I am not sure why she has this unnatural thick accent that is so annoying!

I could  watch this movie again and again, like the original. Rotten Tomatoes has this movie at 71% positive, I give it a B+! If you are looking for a cute movie, with fun music and low expectations for acting, then check out this movie because it will lift up your spirits and make you want to cut loose and dance!

And the final movie is Real Steel. This movie was my hubby's choice, so I went with it as it was his turn to choose. It was better than I expected, a little predictable in some parts, but still over all a good movie. Real Steel is set in the near future where robot boxing has taken the place of real life boxing. Charlie Kenton, played by sexy Hugh Jackman, is a former boxer who now builds and fights robots, with the help from his "friend" Bailey Tallet, played by Evangeline Lilly, who owns the boxing gym where she and Charlie build and work on the robots.

Charlie is down on his luck, owes money to more people he can afford to pay, when he is notified that he is now the sole guardian for his 11 year old son Max. Max's mother past away and is now being left in the care of his reluctant father Charlie. Charlie is ready to sign over Max to his aunt and her rich, old husband. But Charlie sees a chance to earn a quick $50,000, but keeping Max for the summer when the aunt and uncle travel Europe. After Charlie demolishes his last bot he and Max brake in to a steel yard for robot parts. In this steel yard, Mac discovers Atom, a sparring bot, that he feels a connection to and wants to save, against Charlie's wishes.

After rescuing Atom and cleaning him up, Max insists on getting him a fight. Charlie gets him a fight and from there the father and son duo hit the road with Atom, all the way to the pro robot championship. Rotten Tomatoes has this movie at 60% positive, I give it a C+. This a good family friendly movie, I only wish we would have brought our boys to see this, as I am sure they both would have loved it. 

So I have given you three options... what will you see? Or, what have you seen? I am always looking for good movies to see... Up next, I think I might see Ides of March... anyone seen it?

XO Shannon

Double Feature Weekend... Abducted Dolphin Tale

This weekend I took in two features, Abduction and Dolphin Tale. Of the two I am sure you can figure out which one was the better one... While Abduction was, in my opinion, a minor league action movie that had the attraction of the loyal Twilight Saga fan base, which I am not knocking as I am a diehard Twi-hard through and through, Dolphin Tale can attract and please families and adults alone just the same with this heartwarming story that is truly inspiring.

Friday night my girlfriends and I took in the Taylor Lautner movie, Abduction. While I had seen a few previews, I thought it looked really good and really wanted to see it since I like so many varieties of movies. I was a little discouraged when I saw the Rotten Tomatoes rating and it was 0% positive... and then later in the day it had increased to 4%, still not very good at all. This is Taylor's first big screen movie as the main actor since the Twilight Saga, while Robert Pattinson has had 2 successful, in my eyes at least.

Abduction is slightly predictable, with amateur actors as the main characters. Lautner plays Nathan Harper who finds out his parents are not who they say they are after researching missing children for a research paper. His partner and love interest Karen Murphy, played by Lilly Collins, witness the murders of his "parents" and are on the run. While Nathan and Karen are not sure why they are being chased, they are approached by two different CIA operatives and not sure who to trust. This movie is about Nathan figuring out who he is and what happened to his real parents. It wasn't terrible and I truly think Lautner has potential for action movies like Jason Statham. I give this movie 3.5 stars out of 5, and maybe a wait for the DVD.

And today my mom and I took my 3 kids to see Dolphin Tale. My kids are 12, 9, and 7, and my daughter, the 7 year old, was really excited to see this movie. This movie was so wonderful! We opted not to see it in 3D, as my 9 year old Nathan gets headaches from 3D movies. Dolphin Tale is inspired by a true story and stars "Winter" the dolphin the movie is centered around.

The main character is Sawyer Nelson, an 11 year old boy who is very closed off emotionally and socially withdrawn. Sawyer says goodbye to his cousin Kyle in the beginning of the movie, as he is going off to the Army, and is sad about losing his cousin. On his way to his summer school English class, a man calls for Sawyer's attention as he had just found Winter washed on to the beach. She had been tangled up in a crab trap and severely hurt. The man that got Sawyer's attention called 911, who contacted the marine animal hospital in the area.

Sawyer and Winter had a connection since the moment he cut the ropes free. The marine animal hospital arrives and Sawyer meets Dr. Clay,played by Harry Connick Jr., and his daughter Hazael. Dr. Clay, Hazel, and their team take him to their facilities. Sawyer sneaks into the marine animal hospital and see that WInter isn't doing too well. Upon Sawyer's arrival Winter immediately perks up, which shocks Dr. Clay. So Sawyer sticks around and starts to open up and creates relationships with the people that for at the marine animal hospital, and eventually stops going to summer school. Sawyer's mom, played by Ashley Judd, finds out and gets upset at first, but once she see's what Winter and the time he has spent there has done for her son she becomes ok with him missing summer school.

As the movie progresses, you learn of a tragic event that happens to his cousin Kyle and then to Winter with her damaged tale. Dolphin Tale was emotional and funny, heartwarming and inspiring. All three of my kids, my mom and I thought this movie was so good. I am not gonna lie, I cried at lead 3 times, but I am crier... This movie will not disappoint adults or children, I feel it touches each in a different way and inspires both not to give up on your dreams, that anything is possible if you don't give up. GO. SEE. THIS. MOVIE. I obviously give this one 5 stars out 5!!!

What movies have you seen the weekend, or recently?

;) Shannon

Drive on in to your theater!

It's been a while since I have reviewed a movie on here, even though I have seen a few since the last review. So I decided I would review the movie I saw this past weekend, Drive. I had seen only a few previews for this movie and what I saw looked good, I mean Ryan Gosling alone is enough to get me in the theater to see this movie! Saturday night my husband and I decided to take in a movie, and Drive was what we decided on.

Drive is a movie about a guy, whose name is never mentioned and I assume is "Driver", who is a stunt car driver and mechanic by day and part-time get away driver at night. Ryan Gosling is the "Driver", who is a man of little words. The opening scene was intense and pretty awesome, then it has a slow build into violent action packed second half. 

Driver works for Shannon, a garage owner and builds the stunt cars for the movies in which Driver does the stunt work. Shannon gets in business with 2 men, a former movie producer from the 80's and a thug played by Ron Pearlman. He wants Driver to race cars and needs there help for funding of a car and race entry fees. They reluctantly agree and get in business right as Driver becomes friendly with his neighbor and her son.

Driver meets his neighbor Irene, played by Carey Mulligan, and her son, Benicio, and her husband is in prison and about to be released. It's hard not to see the budding romance between Driver and Irene right as her husband "Standard" is released from prison. 

About 20 minutes into the movie my husband leans over and asks, "where is this movie going?" Not long after my husband asks this question does it start to get going... and take a turn into the Scarface type of violence. And with all the violence, Driver never uses a gun... and boy is he sexy!

This movie had received raving reviews about how awesome this movie is and that it is what The Fast and the Furious movies should been like. Yes, there was driving, no Paul Walker or Vin Diesel driving, but still it was a action packed movie with a touch of a love story for us ladies dragged kicking and screaming to see a Ryan Gosling movie, hahaha. Not only was the movie great, the music in the movie was awesome!!!

Go see this movie, you won't be disappointed! Fast car driving, hot guy, with love and action, and a great soundtrack! I give this movie 4.5 stars out of 5!

XO Shannon

Friends with Benefits... Go see it!!!

So this past Friday night, me and two of my girlfriends got together for our Friday dinner and a movie. This weeks feature, Friends with Benefits starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. It seems like everyone is comparing this movie to No Strings Attached, which starred Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman. FwB was ten times better, and I really liked No Strings Attached. FwB gets an A- from me for hilarity, great chemistry and cute storyline.

Friends with Benefits centers around a friendship that develops between two self-proclaimed emotionally damaged and unavailable people, Jamie (Mila Kunis) and Dylan (Justin Timberlake). Yes the movie is slightly predictable, but the chemistry between the two leading actors is undeniable, their delivery is superb, and that is what separates this movie from No Strings Attached for me.

Dylan is brought to New York by Jamie, the two instantly become friends. After a night watching a sappy romance movie (which is so hilarious, starring Rashida Jones and Jason Segel) and a few beers, the two decide since they are equally emotionally damaged/unavailable why not take a chance and just do the sex and nothing else... What could possibly go wrong with this scenario?

JT's character, Dylan, moves to New York from sunny L.A. He leaves behind a father with dementia, who's own personal relationship with a former love and his wife have affected Dylan more than either he or Dylan realized. There is a scene in the movie between Dylan and his father that is so touching, that it almost brought tears to my eyes.

Mila's character Jamie is from a single mother, who is lets be honest... a flake at best. She grew up not knowing who her father was, therefore never really putting herself out there. Throughout the movie Jamie realizes what she is trying to avoid is what she truly wants most. But, is she willing to put herself out there?

This movie is a great movie for girl's night, guy's night, date night even. Give it a chance, you will be laughing so hard!

XO Shannon

Transformers: Dark of the Moon... Wait for the DVD

Last night my hubby and I went to see the new Transformers movie, Transformers: Dark of the Moon... I give it a C-. This installation in the Transformers trilogy left little to be desired for more from this franchise.

Dark of the Moon begins with recent graduate Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), who is currently unemployed and living with his British, modelish girlfriend Carly Spencer (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), looking for a job where he matters, since he has saved the world twice. Carly is gainfully employed by an exotic car dealer, Dylan (Patrick Dempsey), who appreciates Carly more than Sam likes. The Autobots are defenders of the Earth and allies with the humans. Unbeknown to the Autobots, Megatron is still alive, so to speak, and using the humans to get the Autobots to retrieve what he claims is his. When a Decepticon tries to kill Sam while at his new job, he realizes they are back. Sam attempts to let Captain Lennox (Josh Duhamel) know they are back, however no one wants Sam's help. Sam enlists help from an old friend, Simmons (John Turturro), to figure out what the decepticons are up to.

This movie was way to long, at some parts I was thinking "when will this be over?"... At one point I looked at my hubby, who had the same look on his face. Some of the acting was just brutal, um Patrick Dempsey please stand up, and cheesy, making it hard to sit through. And then you have Rosie Huntington-Whitely, who needs to go back to the Victoria's Secret catalog she came from because she cannot act, and yes I know she is just a pretty face/body to look at for all the boys/men that will be seeing this movie.

Shia LaBeouf was pretty funny, I have been a fan since Even Stevens was on the Disney Channel, and I probably only saw this movie for him and Josh Duhamel. I do wish the parents had more screen time, that mom is hilarious and delivers her lines with flawless humor. So with that being said, I wouldn't rush to the theater for this one,wait for the DVD or maybe see it during the day so you don't spend too much money for your disappointment. They should have stopped at two movies, because with the loss of Megan Fox and just an overall disappointing storyline it just didn't leave me ever wanting more.

XO Shannon

Monte Carlo... Cute and Family Friendly

This Saturday I took my seven year old daughter to see Monte Carlo. And yes, her only reason for seeing this movie was Selena Gome. I had heard that the movie was tolerable for us adults, so I thought I would give it a shot. And I have to say that the movie was really cute, with lots of fun and humor. Sure, some parts were predictable, but I was still rather cute. I give it a B-.

Monte Carlo is about one girl, Grace (Selena Gomez), who takes a trip to Paris after her high school graduation, with her BFF Emma (Katie Cassidy) and unwanted step-sister Megan. Upon arrival in the city of lights, the trio find themselves being left behind by their tour guide. After wondering around in the rain, Grace is mistaken as a British heiress, thus beginning the trip of their lives.

The movie does not concentrate on Grace alone, the movie follows all three girls as they try to figure out their lives. Grace is trying to get out of her small town life and do something meaningful, who falls in love on the way... but does he love Grace or the heiress?

Emma is a high school drop out, who breaks up with her BF Owen (Cory Montieth) on the eve of their departure. Emma learns that the grass isn't always greener on the otherside, will Owen still be there when she realizes this?

Megan is the unwanted tag-along, pushed to go by her father, who is also Grace's step-father. Meg is uptight and needs to let loose, it may be possible with the help of a handsome Austrailian.

The clothes and makeup in this movie were really great. There is one dress that Emma's character wears that is to die for! I love the ruffles and the color. Her makeup is beautiful and if I can find a nice still I may just try to recreate.

So, if you are taking any little ones to the movie, give Monte Carlo a chance I gaurantee it will not leave you bored and counting down until the end.

XO Shannon

Hello and Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog! I love makeup and movies, so what better than to blog about my two favorite things! This blog will focus on two of my favorite things... makeup and movies, with a splash of my third favorite M.. MUSIC! And since I love both makeup and movies, my posts may be on one or both topics at times.

I go to the movies a lot, usually once or sometimes twice a week, and for years my friends have told me I should do a blog. Up until recently I was like no... but then thought... why not? I see lots of different genres of movies with my friends, kids and hubby; so I thought why not do a joint review with my hubby... We can give a couples perspective on movies we see together.

Over the last year I have spent lots of time on YouTube watching all the amazing and fabulous gurus. I have learned so much from them and they have inspired the makeup part of this blog. I have not decided if I will venture into the YouTube world yet... If and when I do, it will be posted here first!

On occassion my posts may be about music and books I am loving. I love music and try to attend concerts when possible, which seems to be a lot. I also love reading... when I find a great book! Any recs?!

I look forward to blogging about my favorite things and hope you all enjoy!

=) Shannon