Movie Review: Into The Woods

The 2014 musical and fantasy film Into The Woods was all over the place. I originally decided to see this movie because many actors that I know to be good in other movies were starring in this one. However, in leaving the theater after watching Into The Woods I was left feeling fairly disappointed with the film overall.
First I'll give a brief synopsis of Into The Woods, for any of you that have yet to see it. Basically, the movie tells the story of a baker and his wife that are desperate to have a child. It is revealed that a witch has placed a curse on them that prevents them from ever having children, and the only way to reverse this curse is to fetch the witch four items. Their quest for these items leads them on a journey that crosses paths with several characters from classic fairy tales, such as Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood.
Let me start with what I did like about this movie. I thought that the musical aspect of it was well done, and all of the actors did a solid job of singing their respective lyrics. I also thought that the transitions between the songs and the main storyline of Into The Woods were executed well. For example, there was one scene in the movie where the sound of an approaching giant cuts a musical number short in a way that I thought was well done. However, one shortfall of the music was that I felt that all of the songs sounded very similar to one another. That is, there wasn't a lot of musical variety in this film.
I also thought that the entire storyline of Into The Woods was a lot more complicated than it needed to be. It tried to bridge too many classic fairy tales into one main plot, and this made the whole movie a big messy web of interconnecting characters and storylines.
To sum up my overall experience of watching Into The Woods, I would say that it was somewhat of a letdown and I left the movie theater unimpressed. I was underwhelmed with what I saw and I probably wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone that I know, even if they're a musical lover.

Rating: PG

Genre: Musical/Fantasy

Run Time: 124 minutes

Release Date: December 25, 2014

My Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Movie Review: The Theory Of Everything

I recently watched the 2014 biographical film The Theory of Everything, with actor Eddie Redmayne portraying Steven Hawking and actress Felicity Jones starring as his wife Jane Wilde. The movie itself provides a lucid look into the life of theoretical physicist Steven Hawking, and it did a really good job of incorporating both the scientific achievements and also the personal elements of Hawking's life.
I was thoroughly impressed with all of the aspects of this film, but the acting was especially brilliant. Redmayne's portrayal of Steven Hawking was not only a stunning physical transformation for the actor, but he also was able to truly capture the personality and emotion of Hawking. Redmayne was able to do this effectively even in scenes where there was no speaking on his part; all of Hawking's thoughts and feelings had to be portrayed through facial expressions and physical movements. I can only imagine how difficult this must have been for Redmayne to achieve, but he managed to do it seemingly effortlessly in The Theory of Everything. His recent win of Best Actor at the 2015 Golden Globe Awards was totally deserved, in my opinion. The acting on the part of Felicity Jones should not be overlooked either, however. Her portrayal of a wife trying to cope with a husband slowly degenerating physically was truly impressive. Although both Redmayne and Jones did a great job acting their individual roles, what truly made this movie shine was the relationship between the two characters in the film. Both managed to elevate each other in scenes where they were together on screen.
Perhaps the only criticism I can give this movie is that to me it started out a little slowly. It took some time for me to get really interested in both the characters and the storyline. However, I gradually became more and more invested in what was happening on screen as I watched it. Overall, I would without a doubt recommend this movie to anyone, especially for those who enjoy dramas or movies portraying an individual's life. It may start off a little slow, but give it a chance. I bet you'll walk away with no regrets on investing two hours of your time in order to watch The Theory of Everything.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Drama/biographical

Run Time: 123 minutes

Release Date: November 7, 2014

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Molly's Recipes: Cinnamon Bun Oatmeal

Lately I cannot get enough of this recipe, and I've had it for breakfast three days in a row now. Not only is it a tasty recipe, but it's healthy, filling and extremely quick and easy to make as well. So give this oatmeal a try and let me know what you think!

Cinnamon Bun Oatmeal:
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup instant oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon 100% pure maple syrup
1 ripe banana

1. Begin by heating the water over high heat until it comes to a boil. Stir in the salt and the oats and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until most of the water has evaporated.

2. Add the cinnamon and maple syrup to the oats, and stir thoroughly to combine. Continue to cook on low heat until the oatmeal is the perfect consistency.

3. Once the oatmeal is cooked to your liking, turn the heat off and thinly slice the banana. Add the slices to the oatmeal and stir gently to combine.

4. Finally, pour the oatmeal into a serving bowl, let cool a few minutes, and enjoy with your favorite cup of tea or coffee!

Serves: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes

Notes: as the banana gives this recipe a natural sweetness, you may not need to add a lot, if any, of the maple syrup. I just like things on the sweeter side, so that's why I add it to mine.
I also am a huge cinnamon lover and I probably add well over 1/2 a teaspoon of the spice to my oatmeal. So feel free to add more if you feel that your oatmeal needs more flavor.

Movie Review: Still Alice

I recently watched the 2014 film called Still Alice, starring Julianne Moore in the title role. My overall opinion on this movie after watching it was that it was pretty good; not outstanding by any means, but none the less a really well-made motion picture that was enjoyable to watch on screen.
First, I'll give a quick summation as to what exactly Still Alice is about. The main character, Alice Howland, is a linguistics professor at a college and prides herself in her intellect and intelligence. After getting diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease, her life undergoes a massive change as her and her entire family cope with her developing illness.
I found the storyline of this movie to be really good, and I think that it paints a good picture of the struggles related with Alzheimer's disease. I felt that the directors, Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, did a very thorough job of broaching not only Alice's mental decline but also the profound effects that this has on her life and family. It was a very real and believable movie that I felt was very sincere.
I would say that the main problem I have with Still Alice lies in the acting. This issue certainly is not pertaining to Moore's acting, as she pulled off the character of Alice seemingly flawlessly. I also thought that Alec Baldwin, who plays Alice's husband in the film, did a good job portraying a man who is slowly losing the wife that he once knew. The main issue for me lies in the character of Alice's daughter Lydia, played by Kristen Stewart, and the mother-daughter relationship between them. I didn't feel a genuine connection, and especially felt that Stewart's portrayal of Lydia lacked the appropriate level of emotion that was required for the role. I'm not saying that Kristen Stewart should have portrayed a daughter hysterical with grief to the point of being unbelievable, but I didn't get any sense of emotion from her whatsoever throughout the entirety of Still Alice. There just seemed to be something lacking, and the character Lydia and her relationship with her mother Alice never blossomed into anything special on screen for me.
So in conclusion, I feel that Still Alice does have some very strong points, particularly with the way that the storyline was handled and in Julianne Moore's acting. But the movie as a whole, despite being touching to watch, was relatively unremarkable in my opinion. I probably would recommend this movie to anyone that typically enjoys dramas, and perhaps some will find this movie more profound than I did.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Drama

Run Time: 101 minutes

Release Date: December 5, 2014

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

The Best And Worst Movies Of 2014

Well, I guess it's that time of year for me to yet again sum up my favorite and least favorite movies for 2014. This isn't a new tradition, as I've ranked movies at the end of the year several times before. However, it seems like my lists change every year, as in 2012 I only did my top 10 favorite movies and in 2013 I did my top 10 and bottom 5. But this year I wanted to change it up again and I felt like my favorite 3 and least favorite 3 movies would make a well-rounded list. Overall, I feel like this year has been pretty solid in the movie department. There weren't a lot of terrible movies that I saw, but there also weren't many outstanding movies either. However, a few did stand out to me on either side of the spectrum. I also want to add that all of the movies that I evaluated for my list this year were both released in 2014 and watched by me in 2014. Enjoy, and tell me what your favorite and least favorite movies of 2014 were.

BEST MOVIES OF 2014:

1. Interstellar:
Overall, I really enjoyed Interstellar and I feel like it brought not only great directing, acting, screenwriting and visuals to the table, but also had an outstanding soundtrack. I had some minor issues with this film (which I won't elaborate on as this isn't a review for Interstellar), but the high points exceedingly outshone any negative aspects about this film, and ultimately this is why I chose it as my favorite movie of 2014.
My Rating: ★★★★☆

2. Nightcrawler:
The crime thriller Nightcrawler "crawled" its way to number two on my favorite movies list for this year. I wasn't expecting much from this movie, but maybe that's why I enjoyed it as much as I did. It's certainly a dark film, but is pulled off with the perfect combination of elements. Overall, I was very impressed with the acting on Gyllenhaal's part, and also the atmosphere that Nightcrawler evoked. These are the reasons why it's one of my favorite films of 2014. (Read my movie review for Nightcrawler here).
My Rating: ★★★★☆

3. Lucy:
The 2014 science fiction film Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman, landed in third place on my list for the best movies of 2014. I thought that this movie had a fast-paced, unique and very intriguing plot that I had never seen before, and it held my attention from beginning to end. I will admit that this movie did not have it all; certain parts of it were a little over-the-top. However, to me this does not overrun the many aspects about Lucy that I really enjoyed, and so it is my 3rd place pick for the best movies of 2014.
My Rating: ★★★★☆

WORST MOVIES OF 2014:

1. Divergent:
What can I say about this film, other than predictable. Having never read the series of books that the film Divergent is based on, I had no preconceived notions about this movie. But between the easily predictable plot from beginning to end, poor acting, and cookie cutter character relationships that I have seen all too much of in many movies recently, Divergent left me sorely disappointed. Ultimately it was, in my opinion, the worst movie that I saw all year. (Read my movie review for Divergent here).
My Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

2. Men, Women & Children:
I wanted this movie to be good, but boy did it let me down big time. This movie was simply too messy, and what could have been a solid concept for a film was over-complicated. There were too many different storylines going on for there to be any real substance, and in addition I found all of the storylines to be overdramatic and unrealistic. Ultimately, director Jason Reitman took what could have been a great movie and bogged it down with too much drama, landing this movie at number two for my worst films of 2014.
My Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

3. Heaven Is For Real:
This movie wasn't entirely bad and did have some positive elements. But with this being said, its plot lacked the anchor that it desperately needed to really pull the audience in. It also didn't help that throughout the length of Heaven Is For Real, I kept feeling like religion was being shoved too far down my throat. I feel like the religious part of the film could have been handled in a different way that would have made it much more enjoyable to watch. This is why Heaven Is For Real is one of my least favorite movies of 2014.
My Rating: ★★☆☆☆