Showing posts with label Redbox Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Redbox Review. Show all posts

Redbox Review: "Parental Guidance"



With finals in the not-so-distance future, I needed a feel good movie. "Parental Guidance" is my choice for this week.

The movie starts with very modern and helicopter-like parents Alice (Marisa Tomei) and Phil (Tom Everett Scott) who need to get away for a week so they call in the grandparents to watch the kids. Alice is reluctant to leave her parents, Artie (Billy Crystal) and Diane (Bette Midler), alone with her three kids.

Artie and Diane’s parenting tactics are very different than those of Alice and Phil. Grandma Diane desperately wants to earn the affections of grandkids, and Artie faces challenges when it comes to trying to follow his daughters rules for parenting her children.

Artie and Diane’s week with their grandkids was anything but perfect but it ultimately brought them all closer together, and Alice discovered that maybe her parents did know what they were doing after all.

"Parental Guidance" didn’t get the best reviews, but I really liked it. I found it endearing and found myself crying at the close of the movie. The movie has been accused of being predictable, but in my opinion, most of these types of movies are and I don’t think that’s always a bad thing.

I thought this movie was sweet, genuine, and it even had its humorous moments. Billy Crystal and Bette Midler had an interesting dynamic, and the grandkids were adorable and made me giggle. If you’re like me and into all that sappy feel good stuff I say ignore the critics and rent this one.

This article is part of Samantha Latting's weekly entertainment column, "Redbox Review," which provides reviews about movies available at Redbox.

By: Samantha Latting | Image: Source

Redbox Review: "Silver Linings Playbook"


It was only a matter of time before I got my hands on another Jennifer Lawrence movie ... "Silver Linings Playbook?" Don’t mind if I do. The movie has won plenty of awards this season, and I think it deserves every one.

The cast itself is reason enough to go see this movie. You have Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro, Jacki Weaver, Julia Stiles and Chris Tucker. The story starts with Pat Solitano (Cooper) moving back in with his parents (DeNiro and Weaver) after a stay in a mental hospital. All Pat wants to do is reconcile with his wife, Nikki (Brea Bee).

Pat meets Tiffany (Lawrence) while having dinner with an old friend and his wife. Tiffany has some problems of her own brought about by the loss of her husband. Tiffany recruits Pat to be her partner in a dance competition. Pat reluctantly agrees, and the only reason he does is because he thinks it’ll show Nikki that he’s changed and will bring her back to him.

Pat and Tiffany start to bond with one another and connect on a level they never expected, which complicates things. They both seem to create “silver linings” for one another.

This movie breaks the traditional ‘rom com’ mold and has a different humor about it. It’s kind of a subtle or dry humor—think "The Office" or "Juno." This film made me realize something important; finding someone who loves you doesn’t mean they fix your imperfections or eliminate your ‘crazy.’ It’s someone who is aware of all that and accepts you anyway.

This was probably my favorite movie of 2012, and I highly suggest checking this one out. Also, if anyone wanted to let me borrow the book this movie is based off of, you would make me one happy columnist. Just joking—but that would create a nice little silver lining in my day.

This article is part of Samantha Latting's weekly entertainment column, "Redbox Review," which provides reviews about movies available at Redbox.

 By: Samantha Latting | Image: Source

Redbox Review: "Bully"


This week I decided to do something a little differently and watch a documentary—but don’t let that scare you away. "Bully" is a documentary about real life people and their stories, struggles, pains and pasts with the issue of bullying.

"Bully" discusses the issue of bullying in the American school system. The movie follows stories of kids in public schools of Iowa, Georgia, Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma. Two of the kids, Ty Smalley and Tyler Long, lost their lives to suicide. Seeing their families mourn the losses of their sons was absolutely heartbreaking for me.

We also see stories from Kelby Johnson, Je’Maya Jackson and Alex Libby. Kelby is bullied at school because she’s a lesbian. Je’Maya brought a gun on the bus to try and scare her bullies. Alex is constantly picked on, teased and hit especially on the bus ride home. It was startling to me to see how little the school administration did to help these students.

Ty Smalley’s father, Kirk Smalley, started an organization after he lost his son to suicide, dedicated to keep his son’s voice alive. Stand for the Silent is a non-profit organization that works to keep the conversation about bullying alive and to educate people on becoming advocates for the cause so that this kind of tragedy doesn’t happen to anyone else. Stand for the Silent encourages every victim of bullying remember the phrase: “I am somebody.”

This documentary was heartbreaking, but I was consumed by it for its entirety. I think it’s something everyone should see because it was an eye-opening experience for me. After I finished watching I asked myself, “what can I do to help?”

If you feel the same way after watching, you can check out  thebullymovement.com to take a pledge to stand up against bullying. This website will also give you other ways to get involved and help out. You can host a screening, donate funds for change, or share your own story about bullying.

This article is part of Samantha Latting's weekly entertainment column, "Redbox Review," which provides reviews about movies available at Redbox.

By: Samantha Latting | Image: Source

Redbox Review: "Django Unchained"


I remember seeing tweets upon tweets about "Django Unchained" and how awesome it was, so when my friend asked to go see it, I said why not, even though I had no idea what I was going into.

Had I known it was a Quentin Tarantino filled with violence and gore and blood, I probably would have said no. That being said… I’m glad I didn’t know because I ended up loving this movie despite it being filled with things that usually turn me away.

"Django Unchained" is the story of a slave named Django (Jamie Foxx), ‘the D is silent,’ who teams up with a bounty hunter from Germany (Christoph Waltz). In their journey capturing people wanted by the government, dead or alive, they end up at ‘Candyland,’ an infamous plantation owned by Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Calvin Candie happens to own Django’s wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), and they have to devise a plan to rescue her from Candyland and make it out alive.

This movie evoked almost every emotion on the human spectrum. I laughed, cried, cringed, got angry, gasped and questioned my faith in humanity just to have it restored again. The movie even has a hilarious cameo by Jonah Hill.

As with any Quentin Tarantino film, some gore and violence is to be expected (I may have viewed most of the movie through the cracks between my fingers covering my face). Even if you're like myself and usually shy away from these kinds of movies, I strongly urge you to give Django a chance. Every performance given in this movie was flawless in my opinion. Maybe Leo will finally get that Oscar we all know he deserves. Honestly, how that man has never gotten an Oscar is a mystery I cannot solve, but that’s another story.

Prepare yourself for a roller coaster of emotions and take the spare time to sit down and watch this movie. The movie is pretty long, but the length is worth it for a film that will have you talking about it and quoting your favorite lines for weeks afterward.

This article is part of Samantha Latting's weekly entertainment column, "Redbox Review," which provides reviews about movies available at Redbox.

 By: Samantha Latting | Image: Source

Redbox Review: "The Hunger Games"


If you haven’t seen "The Hunger Games" by now I’m going to assume you’ve been living under a rock. This is where my weird obsession with Jennifer Lawrence began. At least I can admit that I have a problem, that’s the first step right?

"The Hunger Games" has been out at Redbox for quite some time now, but they just added it to Netflix and Amazon Prime, so I’ve been hearing a lot about it again and I decided to watch it ... again. I mean, "Catching Fire" comes out in November, so it’s never too soon to start mentally preparing to delve back into the story.

I’m going to keep my summary short because I assume most people, even those who haven’t seen it, know the general plot of the story. The movie takes place in the country of Panem, which is where the United States had been. The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic world of sorts. Panem is split up into 12 districts and The Capitol. Every year two tributes, a boy and a girl, are chosen to represent their district in the annual Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games are a punishment to the districts for “the dark days.” The districts tried to rebel and rise against The Capitol. There was a 13th district that The Capitol wiped off the map because of the rebellions. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) are the tributes in this years games. Originally it was Prim, Katniss’ little sister, who was chosen to compete, but Katniss volunteered as tribute to keep her little sister safe.

I definitely recommend this movie. I loved the book series, and I think the movie followed the story well. If you haven’t seen it yet, here are a few reasons why you should.

1. The eye candy—Jennifer Lawrence is beautiful, Josh Hutcherson is absolutely adorable, and Liam Hemsworth, who plays Katniss’ childhood friend Gale, is just plain sexy. If only he had his real life Australian accent in this movie...

2. "Catching Fire" comes out in November—The sequel is said to be even better. They had more money to spend this time around and the storyline only thickens. In the meantime, read the books. They’re great.

3. Katniss is a total badass—I love it when girls are independent and kick butt. Katniss is exactly that. She’s a hunter and takes care of her family. She also saves Peeta’s ass more than once during the games (he does, however, return the favor).

4. Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks are hilarious—Harrelson plays Haymitch, Peeta and Katniss’ mentor. Banks plays Effie Trinket, district 12’s escort from The Capitol. The banter between their characters is probably my favorite.

Long story short, if you are in the minority here it’s time to jump on "The Hunger Games" bandwagon. It doesn’t look like this craze is going to die off anytime soon.

This article is part of Samantha Latting's weekly entertainment column, "Redbox Review," which provides reviews about movies available at Redbox.

By: Samantha Latting | Image: Source

Redbox Review: "Zero Dark Thirty"



National Women’s Month may be over but that doesn’t mean the world is in short supply of badass women. This week’s pick, "Zero Dark Thirty," personifies female badass-ery in the character of Maya (Jessica Chastain) and in Kathryn Bigelow, a fellow badass female who directs this movie.

Maya is an intelligence expert who has dedicated 10 years of her life to finding and capturing Osama Bin Laden, post-September 11th attacks. A change in Maya can be seen throughout the movie. In the beginning you can tell some of the tactics used by her colleague, Dan (Jason Clarke) make her uneasy, but she becomes more accepting of his tactics after time passes and she becomes frustrated by many dead ends and false leads. Maya continues her dedication and persistence even after she seems to be the only one still fighting passionately for the cause.

This movie has really put this real-life manhunt in perspective for me. A decade is a long time to be dedicated to anything—that’s almost half of my life. This movie was interesting although it isn’t a genre I would usually pick on my own. (I’ve got a thing for chick flicks if you all haven’t noticed.) I admit, I did get distracted a few times because the movie is kind of lengthy.

I would recommend this movie for a few different reasons: 1) It is an important part of your own history—you were on this earth while it was happening, and that is pretty cool. 2) Jessica Chastain is a badass. And finally, 3) this movie is genuinely entertaining and a good story.

This article is part of Samantha Latting's weekly entertainment column, "Redbox Review," which provides reviews about movies available at Redbox.
By: Samantha Latting | Image: Source

Redbox Review: "Wreck It Ralph"


Who says that cartoons are just for kids? Not this girl. This week’s pick, “Wreck it Ralph,” is the story of an arcade video game villain, Wreck It Ralph (John C. Reilly), who doesn’t want to be the bad guy anymore.

Ralph leaves his game, Fix-It-Felix and makes his way into a first person shooter game where he tries his luck as a hero. The damage Ralph causes here is solved by his arch nemesis in the video game world, Fix-It-Felix (Jack McBrayer.)

Ralph tries his luck in another video game in the arcade called Sugar Rush, which is a racing game. Here he meets Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman), a ‘glitch’ in her own game who wants more than anything to become a racer.

Ralph has to help Vanellope to get what she wants, but Ralph has to make a decision to return to his game or not. If he doesn’t his game will be unplugged, which is the worst thing that can happen to a game in the arcade. Without Ralph around to wreck anything, Felix has nothing to fix.

I may have used my 5-year-old nephew as an excuse to go see it in theatres. He loved it, and so did I. I definitely wouldn’t call this one just a movie for the kids. It was a really well thought-out, sweet, funny and warm hearted movie … that just happened to be a cartoon.

I cannot lie; I did get a little misty eyed at the end of this one and was even legitimately shocked at the plot twist.

I would definitely recommend running down to Redbox and getting this one.

This article is part of Samantha Latting's weekly entertainment column, "Redbox Review," which provides reviews about movies available at Redbox.
By: Samantha Latting | Image: Source

Redbox Review: "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"


"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is being called a modern classic, and I totally agree. Whether you’ve read the novel from which the movie is based or not, this movie is wonderful and heartfelt. Reading the book first is definitely recommended though. I may have read it four times. What? It’s my favorite book, okay?

Charlie (Logan Lerman), the main character or the wallflower if you will, is not your typical high school freshman. He has reservations about starting his high school journey as a friendless teen with anxiety. He begins to write letters to an anonymous person to help him feel not so alone.

There are a lot of lessons we can learn from Charlie and the friends he makes along the way. Here’s four of the most important.

1. Don’t sell yourself short. One of the most known quotes from the novel and the movie is a piece of advice that Charlie’s English teacher (Paul Rudd) gives him. “We accept the love we think we deserve.” In other words, don’t settle. Not just in your relationships but in other aspects of your life, too.

2. It’s okay to be selfish sometimes. One of my favorite quotes from the novel and the movie is “You can’t just sit there and put everybody’s lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love.” Sometimes you have to put yourself first to be the best you that you can be for those who love you.

3. It’s okay to not have it all together all of the time. I mean, we are only human. In the beginning Charlie says, “So this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad, and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.” Human emotion is messy, and so is the way we experience it. Don’t be afraid to feel what you feel.

4. Emma Watson is flawless. Okay, maybe this one doesn’t count. But who can argue with the perfection of the super talented and always-beautiful Emma Watson? She did win the People’s Choice Award for her role as Sam in the movie.

Don’t think the entire story is this heavy, however; there’s plenty of lightheartedness. The movie and the novel will both leave you feeling moved with the desire to dive back into the story again and again. You won’t regret it.

Without a doubt—rent this one. Heck, I say buy it.

This article is part of Samantha Latting's weekly entertainment column, "Redbox Review," which provides reviews about movies available at Redbox.
By: Samantha Latting | Image: Source

Redbox Review: "House at the End of the Street"



I am in no way shy about the fact I am obsessed with Jennifer Lawrence. She is the main reason for my pick this week: “House at the End of the Street.” Keep in mind, I am a self-proclaimed baby, and I normally hate horror movies.

This movie starts with a mother and daughter (Elisabeth Shue and Jennifer Lawrence) moving into a new house and starting a new life in a small town. Their neighbor Ryan (Max Thieriot) still lives in the home where his younger sister, Carrie Anne, murdered his parents.The whole town has something against Ryan; people in the neighborhood cannot understand why he would still live in the house where this tragedy happened.There is even an urban legend that Carrie Anne lives in the woods, tormenting anyone who dare to venture in.

Despite his unpopularity, Elissa (Lawrence) decides to befriend Ryan and the story follows the roller coaster that is their relationship.

I am awful at predicting movies and was surprised by the plot twist (I won’t spoil it for you!).

That being said, the movie didn’t do a very good job of explaining how and why the plot twist happened. It was sloppily explained in about five minutes of screen time. It left my roommate and I to put the pieces together on our own.

If you are looking to be terrified, I would go with another movie. Like I mentioned before I’m a baby, I’ve been known to cry during scary movies, and I barely jumped during this one. Granted it was daylight and I was holding onto my roommate's arm for dear life, but hey, those are minor details.

If you normally aren’t a horror movie fan, go ahead and rent this one—it won’t keep you up at night.

This article is part of Samantha Latting's weekly entertainment column, "Redbox Review," which provides reviews about movies available at Redbox.By: Samantha Latting | Image: Source

Redbox Review: "For A Good Time, Call..."



This week I watched "For A Good Time, Call…" Well, I attempted to at least. I turned the movie off before it was even over.

I wanted to turn it off way before I did. I really wanted to make it through the movie to write this review, but I’m sorry to say I’ve failed you. I couldn’t take another minute.

I went in knowing the movie was about two roommates (Lauren Miller and Ari Graynor) who start a phone sex line, but I wasn’t expecting that to be all this movie is about—two girls having phone sex with their clients. It was just awkward.

My roommates decided to watch this one with me, which only added to the awkwardness. I feel like I should give more of an overview to the movie, but like I said there isn’t much else going on besides phone sex.

I think I laughed twice during the amount of the movie that I watched: Once, when Graynor’s character Katie drunkenly peed in Miller’s car during a college flashback (I know it was a cheap laugh, but I wasn’t expecting it) and again when Justin Long’s character Jesse reenacts the Circle of Life scene from "The Lion King."

I’m a pretty big Justin Long fan, which is the whole reason I rented the movie—but he was barely in it and was significantly less charming than he usually is. I was hoping for a character similar to Long’s characters in "Accepted" and "He’s Just Not That Into You," and I was very disappointed.

I was just let down by this movie. I would recommend skipping this one. Unless, you know … you’re into this sort of thing.

This article is part of Samantha Latting's weekly entertainment column, "Redbox Review," which provides reviews about movies available at Redbox.

By: Samantha Latting | Image: Source

5 Reasons We Love "Pitch Perfect"




If you haven’t see "Pitch Perfect," you are probably in the minority. There are so many reasons to Redbox this movie (again and again). This movie has something in it for everybody. It’s more than a romantic comedy with a cappella singing. So why should you give this movie a shot?

1. Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine. You might know Wilson as Brynn from "Bridesmaids" and Devine from "Workaholics." The way their characters, Fat Amy and Bumper, interact is sure to make you laugh.

2. It is so quotable. Acca-scuse me? You heard us right. You know those movies where you can't help but repeat lines days after watching? "Pitch Perfect" is one of those movies. (It’s even more fun if you quote Fat Amy in her accent.)

3. Skylar Astin is adorable beyond words. Astin plays Jesse, a member of the boys a cappella group, The Treblemakers. His character is sweet, charming, and he’ll sing his way right into your heart. He also has Rocky and juice pouches! (See, there we go quoting the movie already.)

4. Anna Kendrick is just plain awesome. Kendrick plays the movie's main character, Becca, a college freshman that joins the Barden Bella’s after an awkward in-shower singing encounter with Brittany Snow’s character, Chloe. Kendrick is quirky, hilarious and tough the whole way through.

5. It’s not a musical per se. We’re not hating on musicals here, but not everyone is a fan of them. "Pitch Perfect" isn’t a musical—it just has a killer soundtrack. You won’t see the characters burst out in song to describe their feelings like Zac Efron in his "High School Musical" days.

Rent it or forget it? I think the verdict is obvious ... rent it! "Pitch Perfect" is a raunchy yet charming movie that will have you singing, laughing and heading back to Redbox again and again.

This article is part of Samantha Latting's weekly entertainment column, "Redbox Review," which provides reviews about movies available at Redbox.

By: Samantha Latting | Image: Source
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