Movies | Amy C. Shaw

My Top 10 Movie Anticipations for 2014

January 9, 2014 • 31 Comments

Thanks to Yahoo’s list of most anticipated films of 2014, I was able to comb through and figure out what was coming out and what I am anticipating as well!

10. The Monuments Men

Expected Release: February 7, 2014

The premise seems interesting, and of course the cast is star-studded. As long as this one isn’t full of vulgarity (it hasn’t been rated yet) I’ll be interested to see this one.

9. Divergent

Expected Release: March 21, 2014

The trend of adapting YA books to the big screen continues in 2014, and other than Mockingjay (duh), this is the one I’m most looking forward to seeing.

8. Unbroken

Expected Release: December 25, 2014

This has the potential to be amazing, and as you may remember I raved about this book as my favorite read of 2013. But also because of my deep love for this story, I really want to see it done justice. I am excited to see that Garrett Hedlund is in the movie, though I don’t even remember the person he is portraying. I am also a little wary because Angelina Jolie is directing it and I have no idea what her directing chops are like, and the Coen brothers wrote the screenplay (I saw True Grit and was quite unimpressed). So basically, this means it will probably win Oscars and I’ll hate it. I hope I’ll like it. I want to love it.

7. X-Men: Days of Future Past

Expected Release: May 23, 2014

The trailer for this one really amazed me. It looks incredible, but I am still slightly wary, which is why it’s only #7 on my list. Other than X-Men: First Class, which I am hoping this movie will be along the same vein of, I have remained largely unimpressed with the X-Men franchise. But I hope this one is as awesome as the trailer makes it seem.

6. The Hobbit: There and Back Again

Expected Release: December 17, 2014

It’s hard for me to be super pumped for this one since I actually haven’t seen the second installment of The Hobbit trilogy yet, but I’m hoping once I do that I’ll be more excited for this final chapter! (Or I assume, I mean, I guess we never know with Peter Jackson…)

5. Interstellar

Expected Release: November 7, 2014

I want to be way more excited for this, because Christopher Nolan is my absolute favorite filmmaker AND storyteller. I just think he does incredible work. But the first trailer bored me, and I’m not a huge fan of Matthew McConaughey or Topher Grace. I want to be super excited, but I’m actually very wary. The only reason this movie is even on this list, and especially at this point on this list, is because of my love for C. Nolan. So please prove me wrong about all my current feelings about this movie, Christopher Nolan. Please release a better trailer soon and remind me why I love your stories so much. Please prove me very, very wrong.

4. Transcendence

Expected Release: April 18, 2014

This sci-fi thriller looks like it has the potential to be AMAZING. But, I’m trying to keep my excitement in check after Oblivion burned me in 2013. The director has worked on a lot of Christopher Nolan’s movies, so that’s somewhat promising.

3. How to Train Your Dragon 2

Expected Release: June 13, 2014

I ADORED How to Train Your Dragon, and it is easily one of my favorite animated films. The sequel looks pretty good, and I’m hoping it delivers!

2. Captain America: Winter’s Soldier

Expected Release: April 4, 2014

Captain America is my favorite of the Avengers because Steve Rogers!!! He’s the perfect 1940’s gentleman, and I love his character. So naturally, I am excited about his second movie. And Hayley Atwell and Dominic Cooper are both credited to reprise their roles on IMDB so… that’s also interesting. Of course, it might just be flashbacks to torture me and remind me that Steve and Peggy are living decades apart now. *cries*

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One

Expected Release: November 21, 2014

After the amazingness of Catching Fire this last year, how can this not be my number one anticipation?! OK, I think the pacing in Mockingjay the book is actually really crappy and it’s my least favorite book of the trilogy, but I have faith it’s going to be good, and I’m excited!

mockingjay-fanart — Some lovely fan art.

Others I might be interested in: The Giver adaptation, Exodus (with Christian Bale!) and Noah are both Biblical adaptations that can be interesting or just weird, Edge of Tomorrow is a Tom Cruise sci-fi movie that could have potential, and The Maze Runner adaptation.

The Amazing Spider-man 2 will be a renter.

And who knows what else may spring up on me! I hope I see a few more new movies this year than I did last year!

What movies are you anticipating in 2014?

My Rankings of 2013 Movies Seen

January 3, 2014 • 21 Comments

Very surprisingly, I have only seen 10 new releases from 2013, 9 in theater and only one outside the theater (usually, I would have rented all the summer movies I missed by now!). This isn’t due to a lack of interest so much as a lack of time, and then forgetting to hit up Redbox for rentals (because I’m lame and don’t have Netflix yet. One day I’ll cave). Because of this, I have yet to see several movies I was anticipating this year or later became interested in, including, most notably, The Book Thief and the second installment of The Hobbit. So all this being said, this is based solely on what I have actually seen so far, and I certainly intend to see more.

Out of the nine 2013 movies I watched, I gave 1 at 4.5 star rating, 6 of them 4 star ratings, and two 3 star ratings. The one I did not review I would say is a 3 star movie, which I do elaborate on later. Also, I have included what number the movie ranked on my most anticipated movies of 2013 list I created last March. On with the rankings!

1. Catching Fire

I was so excited for this movie so much that I made a list of my Top 10 Anticipations for the movie. And I looooooved this movie! It was a definite improvement over the first installment of The Hunger Games movie franchise, and I cannot wait to see it again!

Ranked #2 among my most anticipated movies of 2013

2. Star Trek: Into Darkness

There are a few things in this movie that bother me more in hindsight than they did while I was watching it, but… I still love the movie overall. So many feels. Many tears shed. And there were truly a lot of great moments. Not to mention what JJ has done to bring in new fans into the franchise.

Ranked #3 among my most anticipated movies of 2013

3. Iron Man 3

I know a lot of people did not love the third Iron Man movie, but something about it resonated with me. Tony was more real to me, the twist of the villain truly surprised me, and oh yeah, he goes to Tennessee (where I live!). Look, it’s an Avengers movie, not Oscar material. Enjoy it for what it is.

Ranked #4 among my most anticipated movies of 2013

4. Monsters University

I was anxious about a prequel to my favorite Pixar movie, afraid that it would get the dreaded Disney sequel treatment, but I found that this story was great in its own right, as well as providing us additional insight to the characters we already knew! Again, it’s fairly light, but has a message that I think is actually very relevant for kids and adults alike, that you can’t necessarily do anything you want, but if you work hard, you’ll find your place!

Ranked #7 among my most anticipated movies of 2013

5. Thor: The Dark World

Thor’s second movie proved to be another fun and interesting exploration into the Marvel universe as well as Thor’s. And though I’ve never considered myself a Loki fan, he completely stole the show in this movie.

Ranked #6 among my most anticipated movies of 2013

6. Ender’s Game

I really enjoyed this adaptation quite a bit, but it was just too short and everything felt too fast. It left me wanting more, but thankfully, everything it did show looked really good and felt true to the book.

Ranked as an honorable mention among my most anticipated movies of 2013

7. Man of Steel

This was a movie that I really enjoyed when I watched it, but I have forgotten about a lot since my viewing of it. I loved all the flashback stuff about Clark Kent growing up. I hated the all the freaking property damage that was caused by Superman and Zod’s battle over who is more indestructible. This movie was considerably better than the 2006 Superman Returns, but Superman still doesn’t have the same impact on me as Batman does.

Ranked #8 among my most anticipated movies of 2013

8. The Wolverine

If I was ranking these movies more objectively and less subjectively, this would be lower on the list. But I had fairly low expectations for this movie and they slightly exceeded them, mostly in the stinger scene but oh well. It was pretty fun. Some of it lacked logic and it bothered me that the evil villain lady looked like a Poison Ivy wanna-be but… whatever. It wasn’t as good as X-Men: First Class, but probably better than the other X-Men movies.

Ranked as an honorable mention among my most anticipated movies of 2013

9. Oblivion

This movie was undoubtedly my biggest disappointment for movies in 2013. The trailer led me to believe that this was the most awesome, epic sci-fi dystopia story EVER and it just fell way short of what I expected. Overall though, it was still a pretty decent movie, which is why I rated it 3 stars, but I had so many problems with it. Why weren’t you EPIC, Oblivion?!

Ranked #1 among my most anticipated movies of 2013

10. World War Z

I never would have seen this movie if it had been left entirely up to me, but I was with a group and decided to keep an open mind. Despite the fact that it’s on the bottom of my list, I didn’t hate this movie at all. In fact, since I had low expectations for it, I almost enjoyed it. I say almost because 1.) This isn’t exactly a fun movie and the subject matter is pretty dark and 2.) I don’t have a desire to re-watch it. The funny thing is though, I am almost interested in reading the book, because from my understanding it delves more into the parts of the movie that were lightly skimmed over that I think would be fascinating to explore (i.e. more about the nature of world politics that happens rather and less of Greasy Haired Brad Pitt running away from zombies). Needless to say, putting this movie at the bottom of the list is not at all meant as a diss for a movie I had zero interest in seeing, and though I never reviewed it, I would give this movie a rating of 3 stars. I liked it alright.

Not ranked among my most anticipated movies of 2013

What were your favorite movies of 2013?

My Top 3 Earth-Bound Sci-Fi Films

November 27, 2013 • 15 Comments

When we think of science fiction, we often think of outer space. But there’s some good science fiction out there that takes place on Earth as well, exploring the “what-if” questions of science and technology. So for Sci-Fi Month, I wanted to focus on my top three films that were set on Earth and discuss what they’re all about. (Warning: there will be spoilers about the plot devices of these movies.)

1. Source Code

Synopsis (stolen from IMDB): An action thriller centered on a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.

This story deals with alternate timelines. While Colter Stephens is playing the role of Sean Fentress through this tech known as “Source Code,” he decides he wants to do more than find the bomber on the train, but also try to change the demise the train faced by stopping the bomber altogether. He believes doing this will not only give new life to everyone on the train, but himself as well.

The concept of this movie is really interesting, and I love to see all the different things Colter tries out to get answers. This is the alternate timeline concept done right, in my opinion. I also absolutely love the characters in the movie, Colter and Christina especially (and really, they’re the main focus).

2. The Island

Synopsis (from IMDB): A man goes on the run after he discovers that he is actually a “harvestable being”, and is being kept as a source of replacement parts, along with others, in a Utopian facility.

The Island deals with clones in an interesting way. The clones are led to believe they are survivors from a cataclysmic event and are being kept safe in a facility, but through a lottery system, they can be chosen to go to “the island,” the last safe natural resource. The reality, however, is that these clones were paid for by their wealthy counterparts, who have them as a sort of insurance policy for their organs (or even to be used to produce a child for them). Lincoln and Jordan are the two main characters who leave the facility and learn the truth of their identity.

I’ve long been fascinated by the idea of clones: do they have souls, do they feel as we feel, would they make all the same decisions as we do, etc. And I think the concept behind The Island is certainly feasible once human cloning is possible, and which is scary to think about.

3. Gattaca

Synopsis (from IMDB): A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.

Gattaca is the one that seems the most realistic to me from this list, and the movie even begins with “the not-too-distant future” as the time identification. Vincent has always dreamed of going to space, but since he was created naturally and not with the science of eugenics, he is considered “invalid” instead of “valid,” and is thus unable to pursue his dream of going into space. But Vincent is determined and disciplined, and pursues the chance to assume the identity of an athletic valid, Jerome Morrow, who was paralyzed in an accident so that he can go after his dream.

I grew incredibly interested in genetic engineering in college, and I’m not sure what sparked it, but it was during that time I sought out this movie (after vaguely recalling my dad telling me its storyline several years before). It definitely challenges the questions of eugenics, of how far would we go with it if we were to implement it into society.

(BTW, if you’re interested in genetic engineering and ever have the chance to visit Chicago, do yourself a favor and go to the Museum of Science and Industry there. They have a fabulous exhibit there on genetic engineering that I thoroughly enjoyed. And also if you’re in Chicago and catch a commuter train to or from a suburb in the area, you’ll feel like you’re in the movie Source Code, for real!)

BONUS!: Inception

I feel weird putting Inception as a bonus because it’s my favorite movie of all time, but when I first decided to do this list I wasn’t thinking of it as a science fiction film. After seeing a couple of posts from other people who do it as such though, I can see why they’d see it that way. What if we could share dreams and manipulate them from within? What if we could organically plant an idea in someone’s mind? I’m sure most of you have seen Inception already but if you haven’t then seriously, what are you waiting for?! It’s AMAZING!

What would you consider your favorite “Earthbound” science fiction film? And what elements of science fiction do you like to see explored in stories that take place on Earth?

This is my last official post for Sci-Fi Month, and I just want to thank Rinn Reads for hosting this awesome event!

Review: Catching Fire

November 25, 2013 • 20 Comments

Catching Fire was one of my anticipated movies of 2013. And it really delivered for me. Before I fangirl on (and give just a few small complaints) let me warn that this review is filled with spoilers for the book and for the differences between the book and the movie.

Overall, I felt that Catching Fire was a better adaptation in being true to the book, and just a better movie overall than The Hunger Games. I think what director Francis Lawrence and the screenwriters, Simon Beaufoy Michael Arndt, who were all new to the franchise, did with the material in Catching Fire was truly highlight its best elements and magnified them in this visual adaptation of the story. And if nothing else, the recasting of Buttercup was spot on…

buttercup — I kid… sort of… kind of… not really. Come on Gary Ross, you couldn’t find an orange cat?!

But I digress…

The story starts off much like the book, with Katniss before the start of the Victory tour, though in order to help consolidate the storyline, they also make this the time that Gale kisses Katniss saying that he had to do “at least once.” Somehow President Snow knows about the kiss approximately 5-10 minutes later, but I guess we has spies and cameras everywhere so I am willing to let it go. Katniss and Peeta are cold towards each other but when the cameras turn on, they turn on the charm. Like the book, Peeta does slip on the ice and Katniss tumbles over him and kisses him. Peeta says Katniss does a good job faking it… that it almost felt like a real kiss. Which leads me to…

I forgot how frustrating this was in the book! Instantly I want to yell at Katniss, “Just love him! He’s the sweetest person you’ll ever know! LOVE HIM!!!!!” Which leads me to my biggest pet peeve of the movie…

GALE.

First off, let me say that Liam Hemsworth did like 10,000 times better as Gale in this movie, meaning that he actually came off as likable instead of dopey. I credit this to Hemsworth, the writers, and the director. THANK YOU ALL.

Second off, it’s not really Gale I have a problem with, it’s Katniss AND Gale. For some reason, they decided to make Katniss like Gale as more than a friend instead of being truly confused about it all.

gale&katniss — Catching Fire Gale = better Gale. But back off of Katniss!

Book quote:

His voice drops to a whisper. “I love you.”

…I never see these things coming. They happen too fast. One second you’re proposing an escape plan and the next… you’re expected to deal with something like this. I come up with must be the worst possible response. “I know.”

Movie quote:

“Do you love me?”

“Gale, you know how I feel about you.”

No Katniss, he doesn’t, neither do we, neither do you! I was almost willing to accept this, but then they decided to add an extra scene where right before the reaping, Katniss kisses Gale just because. Not because he kissed her first, and not because he just got whipped nearly to death, the two kisses that happened in the book and I completely accept, but an extra one where she acts like it’s because they’re dating.

NO. NO. NO.

WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.

Save those dang kisses for Mockinjay where they belong. But thankfully, the kissing with Peeta in this movie was also WAY better in this movie than in The Hunger Games.

I promise I care about more than the kissing and will move on in a minute…

Catching Fire is a critical point in the Peeta and Katniss’ love story. In all the time they spend together and Peeta is nothing but genuine and loving towards Katniss, she starts to feel a little something. And when she thinks she’s lost him forever in the arena, Jennifer did such a great job portraying how much Katniss suddenly cared in that moment. And then when they’re on the beach, and she tells him she needs him, and kisses him for real. That was great. I wish we could have gotten just a little more of them before they went back to the arena (like my fave scene in the book – the rooftop!), but still, it was all still way better in this movie than the cave stuff in the last one.

Something else I loved in this movie: Johanna Mason.

As far as I’m concerned, when it came to the other tributes, Jena Malone as Johanna stole the show. She was angry, she was vengeful, but she also stuck with the plan. The way she cursed President Snow, her sly looks as took off her outfit in the elevator (Jennifer Lawrence deserves an Oscar just for her face in that scene – priceless!), and her whole attitude was spot-on for me. I wanted more of her. I can’t wait to see more of her!

And then there was Finnick…

My one complaint with Finnick is that in the book, he comes off way creepy and I had to warm up to him like Katniss had to. But just the same, I enjoyed him in the movie and how Sam Clafin portrayed him.

Other minor characters who I felt really shone: Caesar of course (Stanley Tucci does him so perfectly – I just love it!), Effie, and Haymitch. All fabulous and even better in this movie than the last (and they were all great in the last one too)! You can see how much Haymitch and especially Effie have grown since the last movie. And President Snow was as chilling as ever.

But let’s talk about Plutarch. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a great actor who can be way creepy (see: Mission Impossible 3), and I felt like he was extremely under-utilized in this movie. One detail from the book that I wish they would have left in the movie (and that literally would have taken five seconds) was Plutarch showing Katniss his Mockingjay watch. As it was, his conversation with her at the Capitol party felt so flat and no where near as impactful as it was in the book, which just seemed crazy with Phillip and Jennifer both being so talented. I blame the writing, which again, was usually spot on, but something about that moment in that scene just didn’t do a lot for the story to me. Though I will say Plutarch’s interactions with Snow were pretty good, even more dynamic than the interactions between Seneca and Snow in the last movie.

Beetee… jury’s still out. I like Jeffrey Wright in Source Code, and I thought he did fine here. I guess I wanted more but at the same time, the arena stuff in the movie couldn’t play out as much as it did in the book, and he didn’t have a lot to do anyway. Hopefully we’ll see really good things from him in the Mockingjay movies.

And Cinna? There wasn’t enough! And then when they beat him…

*cries*

Let’s move on…

More things I love: Prim’s go-get-em attitude, Peeta telling everyone about “the baby” (and Haymitch’s reaction, amazing, but sad they left out Finnick’s line about hormones!), did I mention Effie and Caesar?, and the AMAZING wedding dress turned Mockingjay dress…

Overall, Catching Fire delivered all the feelings I wanted and expected. It delivered a lot more lines from the book. It delivered all the tension and danger of the forthcoming revolution (District 11 scene *cries*). It delivered Katniss’ struggle with PTSD and resistance to being a symbol. It was filled with amazing moments that left satisfied and ready for Mockinjay! Though Mockingjay was my least favorite book of the trilogy I believe that if we have the same team working on it as Catching Fire, those two movies can really be powerful and awesome. For being quite possibly my favorite 2013 release, and for being an amazing adaptation, but with points knocked off for the extra Gale kiss (boo) and a couple of other nitpicky things, Catching Fire gets 4.5 stars from me.

What are your thoughts on Catching Fire?

Science Fiction World Building

November 22, 2013 • 16 Comments

In science fiction, the story sometimes takes place on a world or galaxy we don’t know. Other times, it takes place on our world (or includes our world), but it’s set in the future and the rules have changed. Either way though, the building of the world for a good science fiction story is key.

To create a world or galaxy from scratch, like George Lucas did with Star Wars, is pretty amazing. I remember when Episode I came out, and I got one of those picture encyclopedia things about the movie. I was fascinated to learn that Amidala’s hairstyle, clothing, makeup, all stood for something in her culture. It wasn’t just random, but there was this whole other story behind what she wore and the rituals she performed. I didn’t know it yet, but I was intrigued by world building.

Some stories that use our world also create new worlds and alien species, such as Star Trek, Babylon 5, and Ender’s Game. Sometimes they choose to focus on one other species, like Ender’s Game, and in this case, they are viewed as an enemy. In Babylon 5, there are more species, and a handful of them are ones Earth has made peace with, though unfortunately there was war before peace when it came to some, and still quarrels within the alliance they have formed. And then with Star Trek the number of species out there seems as infinite as the galaxy, from the Klingons to the Vulcans to the Cardassians to the Breen to the Xindi, some who are friends, some who are foes, some who have played as both.

The Xindi are especially unique because they have five different species within their own kind.

But there’s more to the world building than the aliens, of course. They create Earth histories that gap the period of time between now and then, and these gaps always seem to include wars. World War III is a common one to be seen, but there’s also wars between us and aliens, and then one that I find particularly fascinating in the Star Trek universe: the Eugenics War. Which if you think you know about Khan from Into Darkness, check out The Original Series’ episode “Space Seed” and the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan to learn more about his past and his involvement with said war.

Then there are the stories that feel closer to our time and that take place on Earth, but society has changed. The Island and Gattaca are two great movies (that will be discussed in more detail in a future post) that answer “what if” questions. Fringe focuses on strange things happening in our current world, and leads both the characters on the show and us to believe that there could be a lot more to what’s possible in our world than what we think of on the surface.

fringe-lab-work — Some creepy creature the Fringe team found.

Then there’s Firefly, which doesn’t focus on aliens but humans, but they travel in space and have been spread across the galaxy, and war has separated people to either side with the Alliance or with the Browncoats. The story has a Wild West in space feel to it and Chinese and American cultures, as the only superpowers left, have blended, which also adds an interesting element to the world of the show.

Another great thing about science fiction is the technology. It can play a significant role in the world of the story, and even influence the technology of our world Who doesn’t want a lightsaber or wish they could just teleport to their destination? Star Trek, and I’m sure other science fiction stories as well, have actually influenced our progression of technology, which I think is awesome.

But I feel all this barely scratches the surface on world building elements, as well as the great worlds seen, in science fiction stories. So I ask you: What science fiction story’s world building has captured your attention the most? What elements of world building in science fiction do you particularly enjoy seeing?

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