I’ve been watching new (to me, anyhow) movies and been slacking on the reviews! Here’s my one paragraph thoughts on four films…
Non-Stop was pretty much a non-stop adrenaline rush, other than its slow beginning and then somewhat wrapped-up-with-a-tidy-bow-on-top ending. This, like Taken, is a Liam Nesson movie that really makes you think twice about traveling. It’s an interesting idea and I was really invested in what was happening, but the reveal was a little disappointing for reasons I can’t fully explain (not because of spoilers so much as I just don’t know to explain it!), and then the ending was kind of like, “OK, yay Liam Nesson saved the day, movie over.” I don’t know, I just would have liked to have been thought through a little more after an intriguing premise. Other than the suspense, another upside to this film was actually the characters.
(Note: This is the same director as the Liam Nesson film Unknown, which I have similar complaints about, though I liked Nonstop more.)
If you go into Tron expecting it to be 80tastic, you’ll get exactly that. It was a little confusing too, especially in the beginning, and I would have been much more lost had it not been for my familiarity with Tron: Legacy. But the idea is interesting, and I really liked how these initial ideas were further developed in Tron: Legacy.
I had zero interest in this movie, but I had many friends who insisted it was great, and more of an adult movie than a kid movie. Well, these friends of mine have kids, and I think maybe their opinion has been somewhat diluted by this. I enjoyed it pretty well at the moment, and it made me laugh, but with a heavy-handed message to parents and the crazy fast pacing, it didn’t quite reach “everything is awesome” level for me, and ended up more on the forgettable side. (P.S. Unikitty is awesome though. Hands down my favorite character.)
Finally! This was the last Jane Austen novel I had zero exposure to, and I was finally introduced to Mansfield Park via the 2007 adaptation. I enjoyed it, but it felt so short, and I really want to see the slightly older version that has Jonny Lee Miller. But the actors and actresses in this adaptation were really good, and Hayley Atwell was the evil Mary Crawford! As a big Peggy Carter fan that broke my heart!
What movies have you seen lately? Have you seen any of these?
First I have to say that because of Nonstop my Mom has a big Liam Neeson obsession – so I’ve seen several of his movies and rewatched Nonstop recently. And I really like Nonstop – the suspense and that adrenaline rush of a plane landing is so fun. Um, but I haven’t seen Taken – I think that’s next on the list.
I haven’t seen The Lego Movie yet, but everyone does say it’s really good so it was surprising that you weren’t in love with it! I hope to see it soon, and am so interested in what is so good about it.
Mansfield Park! I barely remember that and the older adaptations though – I was planning to rewatch one of them now that I’ve read the book, but I keep turning back to Star Trek (you understand :D) I don’t think I liked either adaptations very much though.
Watch out, Taken is intense! I had a short-term job position where I had to research stories about human trafficking, so I didn’t want to re-watch the movie for a long time, because it became too real to me from reading real stories of trafficking.
The Lego Movie is clever, but since I’m so into characters and the Lego people are mostly just caricatures, I couldn’t connect with it on any level, really. It was just like, “OK, that was kind of funny,” but it’s not like I have to watch it again. I’ll be curious what you think of it when you watch it!
Maybe you’d like this adaptation because Fanny is played by a Doctor Who actress? But if you’ve seen it before and didn’t like it then I don’t know. It wasn’t my favorite by any means, but liked it well enough. Have you seen any adaptations of Northanger Abbey, and if so, which one would you recommend? I’ve read the book but haven’t seen an adaptation yet.
I agree on the lego movie! It was cute but a little manic and too adhd for me lol
I wasn’t looking forward to watching The Lego Movie at all! I remember first watching the trailers in the theatre and thinking this is going to be a flop. But I went with a few of my friends who wanted to go see it and I actually surprisingly enjoyed it! It was so unexpected, I didn’t really go in thinking that it would be anything but a mindless film for five year olds. What I liked though was the deeper meaning and how they made it to be very accessible for younger children as well even if they won’t get maybe the whole idea. I actually had a really great time watching that movie and I think I might even get a copy to rewatch later on!
They did do a good job of making it enjoyable for adults, and it certainly wasn’t mindless. It just wasn’t on Pixar level or anything, and my friends were kinda acting like it was!
I haven’t seen this version of Mansfield..I saw a version a couple of years ago that was really strange and very unlike the book. I have seen the older version but I didn’t like the actress who played Fanny especially, but I am not a huge fan of hers in the book either to be fair!
Oh no, I’ll have to try to avoid the one that isn’t like the book! Even though I haven’t read it yet, I will in the next year or two!
I saw Non-Stop recently and really liked it! I thought the ending was a bit too picture perfect, as well, but I could forgive that because the rest of the movie was pretty awesome. And besides, Liam Neeson is one of my favourites so …. 😀
Of the other movies, I’ve seen Mansfield Park when it first aired on TV. I remember being so excited because of ROSE TYLER haha XD Even though, from what I can remember, there were some uber cheesy parts, especially at the end where she randomly goes “purple” and then he has the lover eyes. I kind of cracked up laughing at that bit.
I watched an interesting movie the other day called A Lonely Place to Die. It was actually pretty interesting. A group of mountain climbers find a girl buried alive and then the rest of the movie is wrought with action and creepy scenes. I enjoyed it.
Also! I watched the entire series of Fringe! I bought the box-set for like eighty dollars or something and then kind of binge watched the whole thing. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. Walterrrrrrrr. I don’t think I have ever loved a character as much as I loved Walter! And the ending more than broke my heart </3 Thank you for reminding me of this show, Amy!
“He has the lover eyes.” Bahaha! That is true!
Ahhhh I’m so glad you loved Fringe! It really is amazing!
I think you’re kind to Lego movie. I was so frustrated that Unikitty was so awesome and definitely better than the main character and yet… she was a secondary character whose goal was to… become the main characters girlfriend?? Arg! Why? I can think of no other reason than that the main character just had to be a boy. And further, a very average boy. Sigh. I’m not so sure that it’s a good thing to teach young girls that no matter how awesome they are, they’ll always be sidelined by boys.
The main character (I can’t even remember his name!) was super lame and average but it did seem that was the point. Still, Lucy being into him at the end was kind of strange to me. This was definitely not a good character movie. I mean, I know they’re plastic toys, but goodness.
I didn’t even know there was a Lego movie (says the one who’s apparently living under a rock). But it’s not my type of movie anyways. ^^
I definitely have to check out this adaptation of Mansfield Park after reading the book, because I like Billie Piper a lot! But before I’ll get around to that, I want to read Emma and Northanger Abbey, so that might take quite a while. 😛
I’m actually reading Emma right now, and so far I think it’s my favorite Austen novel! As mentioned in the post, I still haven’t read Mansfield Park yet, and then I’m also lacking Sense and Sensibility.