Rewatch Review: Step Up 5: All In

I finished my Step Up rewatch on Monday with Step Up 5: All In and I have to say, I still really enjoy watching this movie. It has an interesting story that centers around many of the characters struggling to follow their dreams of being professional dancers. I think Sean Asa finding The Vortex dance competition was just the thing he needed to keep his dream going because the winner will receive a three-year paid contract to perform in Las Vegas. Sean was truly struggling, with The Mob having a difficult time finding dance jobs, it was becoming abundantly clear that it was not working out for them in Los Angeles. Sean didn't want to go back to Miami and truly in need of help, he ended up getting a job doing maintenance at Moose's grandparents' dance studio and did I fail to mention that his only option for room and board was sleeping in the storage closet at the studio.

If it wasn't for Moose, I don't know what Sean would have done. He barely had any money and even if he wanted to go back to Miami, I doubt he had enough money to do that. Which is why this competition was something he needed to do because it not only gave him a chance to regroup but the other dancers (Moose, Andie, Jenny, the Santiago twins, Vladd "The Robot", etc.) as well and they created a new team to go after their dreams. I loved seeing the characters grow into a strong team and a romance slowly developing between Andie and Sean. While Moose and Camille's relationship was strong and steady despite a little hiccup that came up. As with any Step Up movie, the dances were amazing especially LMNTRIX's final dance that included The Mob.

Despite all of this, Step Up 5: All In isn't considered a fan favorite and I'm not sure why fans were disappointed. I do wonder if it had anything to do with seeing so many of the characters struggling. I think it can be hard sometimes to see your favorite characters having setbacks. This made me think of how some of the Gilmore Girls fans reacted to Rory's journey in the Gilmore Girls revival A Year in the Life. They were disappointed with how Rory was shown in the revival because her life (professional and personal) seemed to be in a downward spiral and nothing seemed be working out for her. She was truly undergoing a major setback in her life but what I like is that by the end of the revival, Rory had found that old spark and was writing again and despite the big bombshell at the end I think Rory was on her way to living the life she wanted.

Which is how I saw Step Up 5, these dancers were not where they wanted to be career and life wise but The Vortex dance competition was a good way back into the dance world that they loved so much and they were willing to take a chance on entering the competition. What I like about this movie is that the dancers never gave up on their dreams, it's very inspiring. I love all five of the Step Up movies and I think Step Up 5 is still a good movie that perfectly closed out the franchise.

Video: "She Said Yes" Short Film (+ Mini Review)

I just finished watching the short film She Said Yes (which I also posted below) and it's really well-made and really funny. I laughed a lot watching this. I think Ben is a lazy, good for nothing, low life little weasel. I can't believed he pulled a Mr. Bean (for reference watch the Mr. Bean 7th episode Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean) and showed up with an empty ring box and expected his girlfriend's mother Debra to provide a ring. This guy is nothing but red flags and I hope his girlfriend Ana never marries him. Hopefully, she'll listen to her mother because although this encounter was funny for the viewer to watch, it was terrible for Debra to experience.

I really enjoyed watching this, if you're looking for a good laugh and you have a few minutes please watch She Said Yes. I'd love to know what you think of it.


She Said Yes

Cast and Crew:

Directed by Keith Tripler
Written by John Bellina
Starring: Oliver Stark and Debra Christofferson
Director of Photography: Steve Darby
Edited by Spencer Koobatian
Original Music by Christian Buenaventura

Description:

When Ben wants to propose to his girlfriend Ana, he goes to his girlfriend’s mom Debra to ask for Ana's hand in marriage. However, this encounter may prove that Ben may not be a good match for her daughter.

Mini Movie Reviews: Apparition, Door to the Other Side and The Cleansing Hour

I watched Apparition, Door to the Other Side and The Cleansing Hour and out of the three movies The Cleansing Hour was the best. The Apparition wasn't bad but it also wasn't great either, I'd rate it 2 stars. It definitely didn't have the best story and budget as the other two movies but it is watchable as a fairly decent, some what sub par horror movie. The story follows as a group of friends use an app that connects to ghosts and they end up having a frightful experience. I can't believe they would go to whatever place the ghostly connected app told them to go to and didn't expect something terrible to happen.

As for Door to the Other Side, I'd rate it 3 1/2 stars because the story was interesting as it focused on Tim an older guy who was a recluse but was being haunted. His therapists (and neighbors Nick and Joan) believed his problems were merely psychological but they were quickly learning that there was a ghostly connection. This felt like I was watching a ghostly psychological thriller and I enjoyed how the story played out.

Finally, The Cleansing Hour was so unexpectedly good as it followed Drew and Max, two friends who fake exorcisms for their online show until they had to deal with a real one. Max's fake image as a priest is so carefully crafted but he's nothing more than self-centered jerk who is looking for more attention. Initially, Drew and Max's both seem like really good friends but there are underlying issues which tie in perfectly with the story. I would rate this 5 stars, because it was really good.

I guess the unspoken question is are they rewatchable? For me, I would say yes. Although, full disclosure, I like horror movies so even if a movie is terrible, I would probably still rewatch it. Since all three movies ranged from okay to excellent, I'd rewatch them again.

Movie Review: Wonder Woman 1984

From its clever opening moment of young Diana on Themyscira learning a valuable life lesson to the impactful ending, Wonder Woman 1984 was a amazing sequel to the 2017 hit movie Wonder Woman. It's a rare follow-up that bursts with action, fun and endless surprises that'll keep you guessing. Because as I was watching the movie, I couldn't stop wondering what was going to happen next especially as Diana had a lot to deal with in this movie. Not only was she going to have to stop the ever increasing chaos causing Maxwell Lord but also her former friend the powerful Dr. Barbara Minerva a.k.a. Cheetah.

Steve Trevor's return was very surprising but there was nothing surprising about Diana and Steve's love. It's very palpable. I just loved watching all of their scenes because their amazing chemistry makes it feel as if no time had been lost between them. However, his return will have Diana making a tough decision. There is a scene that will make you feel her pain and sorrow but despite the despair it shows that Diana's strength is not from her powers but from her heart.

With spectacular action, deeply rich characters and an engrossing story, this has become one of my new favorite movies. I also loved the wardrobe from the over the top 80s fashion to Diana's classic style, it was incredible. I'll have to write something about it for another post. What I found to be the most striking element of this film is that it shows there can be great consequences to our decisions. Although we may get exactly what we want or think we want that doesn't mean it's not hurting us or so many others.

Harrison Ford Filmography Challenge #7: Frantic

Frantic follows American Dr. Richard Walker (Harrison Ford) and his wife Sandra (Betty Buckley) who traveled to Paris, France for a medical conference. Once they were in their hotel room, they realized Sandra had picked up the wrong suitcase. While Richard was taking a shower, Sandra answered the phone and then left the room.

Harrison Ford Filmography Challenge #6: The Conversation

Please note, that this review is out of order for the Filmography Challenge. And that's because I recently added the movie to the challenge.

Although Harrison Ford only has a supporting role as Martin Stett in The Conversation, I wanted to include this movie in the Filmography Challenge. The Conversation is a thriller that follows Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), a surveillance expert who was hired for a job to record a conversation between a young couple, Ann (Cindy Williams) and Mark (Frederic Forrest).

Harrison Ford Filmography Challenge #5: The Mosquito Coast

The Mosquito Coast is a brilliantly crafted story. It follows Allie Fox (Harrison Ford) a restless and annoying, genius and inventor who was so disappointed with the current state of America (he believed it to be materialistic, violent and cynical) that he decided to move his family: his wife "Mother" (Helen Mirren), sons Charlie (River Phoenix) and Jerry (Jadrien Steele) and twin daughters April (Hilary Gordon) and Clover (Rebecca Gordon) to a remote area in Central America. He dreamed of creating a more simplistic life and with help from many of the locals such as Mr. Haddy (Conrad Roberts), he was well on his way of achieving that.

Harrison Ford Filmography Challenge #4: Witness

Witness was a good movie, it's a crime romantic drama that follows Rachel Lapp (Kelly McGillis), an Amish widowed mother and her young son, Samuel (Lukas Haas) who were traveling from Lancaster County, PA by train to visit her sister in Baltimore, MD. As they were waiting at a Philadelphia train station for their next train, Samuel went to the restroom and ended up witnessing a brutal murder of a later identified police officer. However, quick thinking kept the little boy from being seen by the murderers.

Harrison Ford Filmography Challenge #3: Blade Runner (The Final Cut)

Blade Runner is an excellent movie, it's a sci-fi noir thriller that's set on Earth in 2019 as it follows Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a Blade Runner which is a special police officer that goes after replicants (bio-engineered androids or artificial humans) and retire (kill) them. He was tasked to go after four fugitive replicants Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), Leon (Brion James) and Pris (Daryl Hannah), who had murdered people in their attempt to get to the Tyrell Corporation.

Harrison Ford Filmography Challenge #2: The Frisco Kid

I thought it was going to be difficult to find some of these old Harrison Ford movies but surprisingly it wasn't. I'm not a big western fan, it's just not my favorite genre of films. However, I watched The Frisco Kid with an open mind and I ended up enjoying this western dramedy.

This story follows Rabbi Avram Belinski (Gene Wilder) who was traveling from Poland to San Francisco to run a synagogue and to get married. However, once his ship from Poland docked in Philadelphia, he was supposed to take another ship that would take him to San Francisco but it had left early. Which was unfortunate for him because in trying to be helpful, he was conned out of money, beaten and robbed. Then tossed out of a horse-drawn buggy having to pick up his belongings that were tossed on the road.

Harrison Ford Filmography Challenge #1: Hanover Street

Hanover Street is a very good film, it's definitely more a of a romantic drama than a traditional war movie. However it does include some good action scenes and the entire movie does a fantastic job of never letting you forget that this takes place during a war.

This movie which is set during World War II, follows American bomber pilot Lieutenant David Halloran (Harrison Ford) and a British nurse (Lesley-Anne Down) as they instantly connect and fall in love during an accidental meeting on a street in London. Getting caught in a air raid only seemed to cement and intensify their burgeoning romance. However there's a problem, not only will she not tell him her name but she's also married.

Movie Review: Corvette Summer

When I watched Corvette Summer I wasn't expecting it to be such a fun movie. It's a wacky little coming-of-age story that follows Californian teen Kenneth "Kenny" Dantley Jr. (Mark Hamill) as he tries to find a stolen Corvette Stingray that his auto shop class had rebuilt. This car meant a lot to Kenny because not only did he find the car at the junk yard, he put in a lot time and hard work rebuilding and customizing it. After the car was stolen, the police told Kenny and his classmates that it was highly unlikely that it would be found.

Movie Review: Daphne & Velma

I know I mainly review books but I recently watched "Daphne & Velma" and wanted to post something about it.

No one solves mysteries better than Mystery Inc. and that continues in this Scooby-Doo prequel movie Daphne & Velma. In this movie, Daphne Blake (Sarah Jeffery) and Velma Dinkley (Sarah Gilman) go from online friends to real life friends after Daphne's family relocated to Ridge Valley. Daphne was happy for the move because not only was she was going to attend the high tech school Ridge Valley High but finally meet her online friend Velma (who also goes to RVH).

Rewatch: The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner)

The joys of being at home sick, yesterday I re-watched The Scorch Trials, I forgot how much I loved this movie. I liked The Maze Runner, as the first movie in the series it did a great job of introducing the characters but I enjoyed the second and third movies a little bit more. And that's more to do with the horror element that was added on.

Movie Review: Megamind

I can't believe it's taken me until now to finally watch Megamind, a movie that was released back in 2010. It's a wonderful movie that has an interesting take on the world of superheroes. I was surprised by how much this paralleled with many of the elements of the Superman universe. There was even a smart, feisty, risk-taking reporter that reminded me so much of Lois Lane.

This begins with Megamind (Will Ferrell) falling towards the ground as he tells how he got to this point in his life. As a baby he had been placed in a space ship by his parents to escape from his planet that was being sucked into a black hole. But his ship wasn't the only one soaring through space there was another that had a baby. Both may have found their way to Earth but Metro Man (Brad Pitt) landed in a luxurious home while Megamind crash landed in a prison.

Metro Man grew up with all the advantages and was embraced by everyone while Megamind was an extremely smart, bald, blue kid that could never catch a break. Nothing ever seemed to go right for him. Despite growing up in prison, I do believe Megamind was supposed to be a hero but feeling misunderstood and treated horribly sort of set in his mind that he was supposed to be a villain. And if he was supposed to be a villain then he was going to be the best there was.

The all powerful superhero Metro Man was constantly fighting against his arch nemesis Megamind, who although highly intellectual, his villainous plans never worked out. That is until one of his plans finally did and he some how miraculous defeated Metro Man.

But destroying the ultimate hero, didn't bring him the happiness he thought it would. In the process of reconsidering his life, Megamind while disguised as museum curator Bernard found himself becoming friends and potentially more with reporter Roxanne Ritchie (Tina Fey). While the two were building a connection, they were also trying to figure out a way to stop Megamind.

Knowing the city needed a hero, Megamind decided to create one. However, his plan backfired when the "hero" turned into a powerful villain. And his romance with Roxanne ended when she found out the truth about him. But with Roxanne's life in danger along with the city, Megamind was the only one who could save everyone. But can the villain become a hero?

I really enjoyed this movie and there was a twist regarding Metro Man that I didn't see coming. I totally love that Megamind finally got the chance to be the hero that I knew he was supposed to be. I love this movie, with Superman in the DCEU so boring and uninspiring it was so much fun to watch this. I could not have asked for a better superhero movie, it was exciting, funny and action-packed but it was also very heartwarming.

If you haven't seen this movie, I would really recommend watching it.

Movie Review: American Assassin

I finally saw American Assassin on Sunday and it was a good movie. I haven't read the book that this is based on but I know that there were changes made to update the story. As an action movie fan, I enjoyed watching it. The movie is a fast-paced, action adventure that follows Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) who was initially seeking revenge against terrorists for the death of his fiancée Katrina (Charlotte Vega) but his one man crusade got him unexpectedly recruited into the CIA by Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan).

He had already trained himself in how to fight but he needed more training and discipline. To get the additional training that he needed, Director Kennedy sent Mitch to Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton), a gritty, tough as nails veteran who put him through a grueling training program.

Mitch was going to need every bit of his training while continuing to trust his instincts when Director Kennedy tasked Hurley and his select team with tracking down a rogue operative known as Ghost (Taylor Kitsch). They received assistance from Annika (Sheva Negar), a Turkish agent but it was a globe trotting major upheaval trying to track down Ghost who was leaving death and destruction wherever he went.

This had a very interesting story to go with along with all the action and I thought Mitch although extremely intelligent, self-motivated and skilled was a very flawed character. Rationality seemed to have flown out the window sometime ago with revenge fueling his desire to hurt people he believes needs to be stopped. Mitch had a lot of bad things happen in his life resulting in him having quite a few issues that he needs to work through which includes being extremely stubborn and angry.

I liked Annika and they play up the mysteriousness around her but also at the same time letting the audience get to know more about her. Ghost was pretty out there, he had a plan and no one was going to stop him from going through with it.

I hope there will be a sequel, because at the end of the movie Mitch seems like he's in a better state of mind and appeared more relaxed and ready to let go of some of that anger. But he still had that same rebellious and determined streak along with a new hair cut. Also if there's a sequel, I would like to see if Director Kennedy will go out into the field. I know someone as high up the executive food chain as her is most likely not taking field assignments but I would like to see if she still had all her training. I definitely want to see more of Stan Hurley, he's so unpredictable and possibly even a little insane.

Something I loved about this movie was that it was actually filmed on location and there is a lot of beautiful scenery featured throughout. As much as I enjoyed the movie, I do wish the pacing had slowed down in a few scenes but overall this is a movie I enjoyed and could see watching again.

Please note that this is an R rated film and there is a lot of violence, some gory scenes and one scene that featured brief nudity.

Cookies and a Movie: The Bronze

I just finished watching The Bronze, I can't believe I waited this long to watch it especially since I bought the Blu-ray back in August. If you're wondering about the cookies I'm going to be making chocolate chip cookies and I will put them in the oven as soon as I finish writing this.

I decided to watch this movie which was so funny yet heartbreaking at the same time, it stars Melissa Rauch as this horribly self-entitled, foul-mouthed and mean former Olympic gymnast named Hope Ann Greggory. Rauch did a wonderful job with this role because as much as I found Hope to be a total jerk I couldn't help feeling bad for her and not to mention rooting for her to get her life together. Something I couldn't help noticing is that Sebastian Stan really excels at playing these douchebag characters. He has played so many of them that he must have perfected it.

Hope is what would be considered a has been, it's been years since she won her bronze medal but in her small hometown of Amherst, Ohio, she's a rock star. And she takes every chance she gets to milk it for everything it's worth. However, there's a problem, she has no job and her dad Stan (Gary Cole) who loves her dearly is fed up with giving her money. Her father who is nearing the point of retirement from his job as a postal worker, would like her to get a job and to stop stealing money from the mail in his mail truck. Her life is a complete mess yet she's too blinded by her delusions that she's still a star to move on to the next phase of her life.

That next phase would be coaching yet there is no way Hope is going to do that. But when an opportunity comes up for her to train the town's rising star Maggie Townsend (Haley Lu Richardson) is she going to be capable of letting go of the limelight to step up to be the best coach ever?

She didn't take the training seriously at first until Lance Tucker (Sebastian Stan) a former gymnast who is now a coach tried to steal her client away. That was just the incentive she needed to get her motivated to make a star out of Maggie. It's not all about the training, there is a bit of romance for Hope when assistant trainer Ben "Twitchy" Lawfort (Thomas Middleditch) expressed his interest in her. However, a drunken moment with Lance may ruin things between her and Ben.

This movie surprised me because although I was expecting the humor I wasn't expecting it to be so moving. What I like about The Bronze is that Hope is not perfect and she's far from being likeable, she's completely flawed which is not something you always get to see with female characters. Her behavior and actions are of a fading star trying to hold on to an accomplishment earned as a teenager. That one thing has come to define her and in a way she had not grown into being an adult. She is so stuck in that moment that she even wears her USA red, white and blue warm up tracksuit all the time.

I've seen some of the ratings and reviews for this movie and it didn't get as much love as I thought it should. Yes, the humor is crass, the characters are a little wacky and not to mention that there is an hilarious over the top sex scene (by the way this is rated R) but that's the beauty of this movie. It might be wrapped up in raunchy humor but it has a touching story. Overall, this is a story about the transformation of a spoiled former athlete who finally got that much needed reality check but gained a tremendous amount of growth.

Cookies and a Movie: Just Wright

I figured I would do another Cookies and a Movie it would give me a chance to pull another old DVD off the shelf. The cookies this time are peanut butter chocolate chips. Yes, I made them again. Why not, I had all the ingredients and they're easy to make. And this time, they turned out even better because last time I left them in the oven a little too long.

Now for the movie, I've seen Just Wright quite a few times and it's a really good movie. It's a romantic dramedy that centers around Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) who despite having an interesting career as a physical therapist and being a vivacious and outgoing person, her love life is a bit stalled. That's mainly because she's seen as a friend instead of as a love interest.

Things were a bit different for her god sister Morgan Alexander (Paula Patton) who has the quintessential looks but is extremely shallow. Her only goal in life is to marry an NBA player and build her own fame and brand through that.

Which leads us to Scott McKnight (Common) who is a point guard for the New Jersey Nets. Despite the fame and fortune, he's a good-natured down to earth guy. Although, Scott first met Leslie during an interesting encounter it was love at first sight when he met Morgan which turned into a whirlwind romance. But when Scott became injured, it made him realize a few things about romance.

I love this movie even though it does include some of the classic romantic dramedy tropes it's still able to feel fresh and unconventional at the same time. This has a great story, interesting characters and love and romance set in the world of professional basketball.

Side Note: I had no idea Wendy & Lisa (formerly of Prince and the Revolution) scored the music. As I mentioned before, I've seen this movie so many times yet I failed to notice that they had anything to do with it.

Cookies and a Movie: Something Borrowed

I just made some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, they're in the oven right now. It shouldn't take them too long to bake. I also just finished watching Something Borrowed, I haven't seen this movie in a long time. And for some reason I decided to put on the DVD, I figure sometimes you just need to watch a romantic dramedy.

Something, I never realized before is that this movie sort of reminds me of Bride Wars, well character wise that is. The characters that Kate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin portray in this movie have a similar type of friendship to the characters that Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway portray in the other movie. The archetypes are definitely the same with the bubbly bossy blonde and the meek brunette but it's even more extreme in Bride Wars. Although Something Borrowed is based on a book (which I haven't read) and the other as far as I know is not but the similarities are there.

I guess I better go check on my cookies, don't want them to burn. I love baking or cooking because it's a good stress relief. Perhaps I'll make this a new column, who knows.

Movie Review: Hallmark's Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery

Movie: Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery   Hallmark Movie & Mysteries

Rating: 1 star

Review:

Wow, I really don't want to say this but this movie was awful. It was slow moving and boring. The acting was bad and the mystery was far from interesting, there was no excitement or sense of danger and suspense. The movie just went from one boring scene to another.

The mystery focused on the murder of Hannah's friend Ron, the milk delivery driver and her stopping at nothing to find out who did it.

I usually try not to compare the book with the movie but with so many changes it's hard not to. I don't mind the changes if a movie is engaging and fun to watch which this wasn't. The Hannah Swensen (played by Alison Sweeney) in this movie was nothing like the book except for her desire to solve the mystery. What made this a different Hannah was she actually enjoyed exercising, her hair was nice and neat, she wore make up and really nice clothes. However book Hannah complained constantly about her appearance but she never did anything about it. She also couldn't possibly fathom going shopping unless it was at a thrift store.

The actor that was cast to play Norman made him appear dull and boring instead of the sweet and charming guy that he is in the book. Meanwhile, Cameron Mathison actually made Mike appealing because in the book he's really slimy.

Usually Hallmark mystery movies are fun to watch like Garage Sale Mystery, Wedding Planner Mystery, Aurora Teagarden and Along Came A Nanny (which starred Mathison) just to name a few. Because the ones that I mentioned were well written and the acting was good but Murder, She Baked was extremely boring with nearly zero suspense or excitement in the mystery.

So, in the end this movie wasn't worth watching for me but I may give the second movie a chance if they improve on the acting and make the mystery more interesting.

A side note that I generally post with anything Hallmark movie related is their unwillingness to showcase more diversity with their movies. The lack of diversity is so glaringly obvious that it's downright embarrassing.