February Reading and Movies

Books:

3. Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult. This was an interesting book, the premise about a 7 year old girl, Faith, and after her parents separate and divorce she starts to see and speak with "God". Slowly the world starts to become interested in this Jewish child who seems to have visions of god, can heal, and experiences the stigmata. It called into question how you view religion and faith, and whether it is really something that chooses you. Whether you are brought up with beliefs or not, God and the power of his influence can still find you. Not sure if I believe any of this, but it made it an interesting read.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I had never read this in high school, and this was another great book that I really enjoyed. The author really was able to write the novel from the eyes of a 7/8 year old young girl, who wanted to hear and know everything, but really didn't most of the time. Or heard things that just didn't make sense until later on upon reflection. The story has a bunch of things going on, the family dynamic of Jem, Scout and their father Atticus. The race tension of the south in Alabama, the social tensions between the different classes of people, the hysteria of people and how gossip and prejudism always plays a card in opinions and judgments no matter how "fair" and "equal" we may try to make them. This was a sad story, but a triumph as it shows the potential for people to learn from the mistakes of others and educate themselves to be better.

5. Game of Thrones by George Martin. Loved this book. I mean I watched the HBO series so reading the book was basically like re-watching the the series. The show is almost word for word what happens in the book. So I of course loved this. So many characters and plots going on, but personally my favorites are Arya and Jon Snow. (The chick with the dragons, Daenarys or however you spell it, shes pretty awesome too)

6. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. This book had its moments. I liked the main character, Katie and her plot line as the woman from an abusive relationship that finally runs away. The love story was pretty cheesy, like most of Nicholas Sparks books. A little too gooey for me, but the story overall was cute and interesting. The way her past was revealed kept me hooked. However, the last two chapters of the book really ruined it for me. I liked the book up until that point, and the ending just made me mad.

Movies:

3. Trouble With The Curve I like all the actors in this movie so I enjoyed it. The plot was very honest, about the troubled relationship between a father and daughter, and older man loosing his place in the modern world, and what we have to cling to in our lives that matter. I thought this was heartfelt and nice, and Amy Adams was great.

4. 21 and Over This movie was hilarious. It was extreme and ridiculous and I loved it. Plot is 2 friends go to visit their friend JeffChang who has finally turned 21. This movie had elements of The Hangover, Beerfest, Eurotrip, Old School, and any other hilarious comedy involving drinking and making poor decisions. I recommend as an extremely funny movie.

New Year, Same Challenge.

Alright so last year I kinda fell behind on blogging and reading. I hit 50 movies, but on the book front, I only got to 24. So this year I am going to be more on top of it, and keep my blogs short because I think I was overthinking it. So as its basically the end of January I will recap what I have done so far this month:

Movies:

1. Looper - So I watched this movie. Not really a fan. It was too weird and it ended without really explaining itself, and nothing bothers me more than that. I love all the actors in this movie though, Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and even Emily Blunt. But not too strong of a plot for me.

2. Zero Dark Thirty - Bradley basically dragged me to this movie. I was not looking to see it, its another movie cashing in on the 9/11 situation. It had an interesting story, but still it was more sad to see how we torture each other, all people, and I still don't feel like it has mad much of a difference.



Books:

1. The Falls of Giants - Loved this book! It made historical fiction fun to read! The plot at times seemed to be too coincidental for the characters to keep running into each others, but it didn't bother me too much to take away from the overall story. Very epically long, but I liked it. As I read it made me reflect back to my high school History class and the events that led up to World War I.

2. Cloud Atlas - One of the oddest books I have ever read. I think the main thing you are supposed to take away from this is that coporations will lead to the world's demise if we don't reign in control. The different stories that came up did not seem to make sense nor tie in to one another, until you finally get halfway through the book. Then it slightly makes more sense, but I would not recommend it, to be honest. I felt I had to finish the book to make sense of it all, but I didn't want to. And I still don't feel that I have a strong grasp on what the heck it was I read.

20. Bossypants by Tina Fey

This book was pretty funny. I mean, it was written by Tina Fey, who wrote skits for SNL and Mean Girls, of course it was hilarious. The novel is told as the back story to how Tina Fey got to where she was. Random moments of her life, the jobs she had, how she got the gig of a lifetime on 30 Rock. It was all uber sarcastic and with great references, it made me literally laugh to myself many times, which is a sign of comic genius.

One of the girls in my book club actually had the book on CD which when I thought about it was brilliant. As no one can deliver those lines like she can. I pictured her doing a monologue as I read the novel. The discussion of her looking identical to Sarah Palin and the sketches, too good. It was a fun read, nothing too deep or serious and just really made you laugh about the moments of life you look back on to see how you made it here.

19. House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III

I actually really did not like this book. It took my a while to get through it, even though it was not a very long book at all. I did not feel very sympathetic to either of the main character. The woman who's house was taken through a mistake by the state I felt bad for at first. But then she was very rude and ignorant about the other family that moved into her home. It was just a very weird story, and it ends terribly as well. Everyone is basically screwed in the end, and I felt the book was a waste of my time. To me the book just showed how everyone has their own prejudices, the persian family was stuck in their old ways, not assimilating well into America, and the father made decisions without consulting the wife or even explaining situations to her so she could understand. Kathy, the American whose house was taken from her wrongly, she had every right to be angry and frustrated with the situation, but she allowed herself to be dragged into a far worse situation, and went into a downward spiral without being honest about her situation to her family. There is too much for me to hate on, so I will just leave it there.

18. A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

This was probably one of the weirdest books I have ever read. It was entertaining and kept me hooked to keep reading, but unfortunately the end of the book felt like a big let down. The plot was about the main character becoming a hand of death, where he helps souls move from one person to the next through inanimate objects. It did entertain me, the writing was funny, filled with sarcasm, but it was a book from start to finish you knew it was completely fantastical and not real.

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy fantasy novels with magic or vampires and other such craziness, but I like to read novels and stories like that where it can almost convince me it could really happen. That such a world could be existing right under our noses. This book was just soooo over the top and ridiculous that it was unbelievable. I hope that makes sense. I wouldn't recommend this book personally, I have mentioned it to people as so odd and ridiculous but not to bother reading it.

17. A Sweethaven Summer by Courtney Walsh

The story unfolds about a girl who's mother died and left her with a lot of questions about her own history and her mother's. Who is her father? Who are these women her mother wrote letters to, but never mentioned to her? What is Sweethaven and why does it seem to contain a piece of her mother that she never knew about?


This was a cute novel. It was a little too cut and dry for me, pretty much it ends with the happy ending, everyone reaches a crisis and moves on with a better hold on their life, and all because of this one meeting up in Sweethaven. It had parts that I really liked, but also parts I really found cheesy and predictable. Overall I enjoyed it, it was a short quick read compared to the other books I have been reading.

The romance thread between the main girl and the local son of .... kept me hooked. But other than that there wasn't too much to this story to recommend it to anyone. 

End of Summer Movie Time

43. My Sister's Keeper - Okay this was on lifetime and I decided to DVR the movie, as I heard it was terrible, and completely different than the book. And oh my was it. I did actually like this book, but hated the ending. Which is what they changed in the movie, which kinda makes me laugh because I hated the movie version of events. I think what makes me mad is if you are going to adapt a book to film, at least make the key parts the same. DO NOT CHANGE THE CRUX OF THE BOOK IN THE MOVIE! Not only will the book fans hate you, most of the time the movie isn't as powerfully charged. (And I absolutely hated the mom character in the movie, played by Cameron Diaz. Just a rando factoid.


44. Pitch Perfect  - Totally loved this movie! I am a sucker for any movie with music and singing (my boyfriend can painstakingly agree to this) and this one did not disappoint. I dragged Bradley with me, as I got free advanced movie passes, and from start to finish the movie had me hooked. Anna Kendrik is amazing, I knew she could sing as I watched a gem of a movie called "Camp" back in the day, and I am pretty sure that was her first movie role. Girl has some pipes on her. The lead actor starred on the broadway stage in "Spring Awakening" and tons of other great cast members. All in all a fun movie with some great music.

45. The Words  - This movie pulled me in. I went to see it at Cinepolis, which is a fancy movie theater in which they serve you dinner and drinks to your recliner chair seats. (I kid you not) But I digress the movie itself was really powerful and a great visual piece. The movie was a story within a story within a story. Dennis Quad is an author that is reading aloud excerpts from his novel about an author (Bradley Cooper) who was struggling along trying to become a big hit, and he finds an old manuscript that is an amazing story, and he ends up passing it off as his own. And then the story flips back and forth between the characters in the story and Dennis Quad. I can't say more, but watch it I think its worth it. 

46. Without A Paddle - Eh, this movie had its moments but I think I would have survived without ever watching it. Semi ridiculous at times, had some funny/stupid elements. It was no Beerfest or Eurotrip, so I would say its fine to live without. 

47. Monte Carlo - Not gonna lie, kinda liked this movie. It was so the same idea as tons of other movies come and gone, there is the look alike, one of the group looks just like some famous singer, actor, and then they get to pretend to live the great life. I like Selena Gomez and Leighton Meester so overall it was cute but nothing special.

48. Cobu - I can't say much as this is not a movie that is released and I saw an advanced screening for the movie. It was interesting, not the best or worst movie, had some sweet dancing scenes so I enjoyed it.

49. 10 Years - I love reunion movies, especially as next year will be my 10 year reunion. This movie had an awesome cast, Channing Tatum, his wife in real life (sorry Jenna Tatum I think?) Justin Long, Rosario Dawson, Chris Pratt, etc. There are many great moments and I loved the the awkwardness of rekindled friendships and people you just never got along with.

16. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This was by far one of the craziest books I have read recently. The story starts on the morning of Nick and Amy Dunne's 5 year wedding Anniversary, and suddenly Amy is gone. There are signs of a struggle and more and more elements are popping up leaving Nick looking like the guilty one. And his actions and choices don't help to alleviate the suspicion.

This book was great at manipulating the reader, and what you think is reality and who the real victim/victims are here. Did Nick really do something to his wife? What are the events that led this seemingly nice couple to this fateful day? With each chapter there is more and more deception and further questions to answer. I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. I would recommend if you like thriller/mysteries that are fast pace and really suck you in.

I don't want to reveal too much plot, but there is so much hidden here that it will really keep you guessing until the last page on what happens next.

(Sub note, they actually mention The Wind Up Bird Chronicle in this book, which was the book I had read just before this! It made me laugh.) Also, this is the second book in row in which the husband is trying to find out what happened to his wife, as The Wind Up Bird Chronicle was also mostly about a man trying to find out where his wife is and why she left him. Very interesting...


A must read for me! I loved it. 

15. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

This was one strange book. I mean I am all for pushing the limits on the human mind and the types of things we can do that seem beyond the realm of normalcy, prophesying or communicating with the dead, anything and everything but this novel just took a really long time to go nowhere for me personally.

The story starts off with the main character. Mr. Okada, gets a phone call from a woman claiming he knows her very well and with her mantra "I just need 10 minutes of you time" and from the start of the book to the end you just feel like you are on a whirlwind of events that seem to connect but then never eventually do. Nothing ever seems to actually correlate and come back to square one, and the novel is lacking the cohesion from point a to b to c, as its a to m to i to z. Nothing seems to flow and some of the plot I just didn't get why the author included it or why it was in the novel.

And their cat is missing, so Kumiko, the main character's wife, is trying to get the stay at home husband (Mr. Okada) to search for it. She sends him to a psychic and to the random alley behind their house that leads no where, as it is closed off on both ends.

It got to be a little mundane also because all these other sub characters (Malta Kano, Creta Kano, Nutmeg, the Leutenant, Ushiwayga) they all feel compelled to tell their own min-stories as well. So the plot gets more and more dense with these "other" stories, which you think are revealed to somehow explain the main plot of the novel which is what happened to Kumiko once she leaves the house and never comes back. I kept waiting for the "aha" moment where everything became clear and came back together, but it never did.... I am still waiting for some closure here.

Don't get me wrong, there were some really interesting ideas and philosophies at play here, but it was all so muddled and lost in the book that any meaning or relevance was pretty much lost on my by the end of the book.There were psychics and people who could push the limits of their mind. Kumiko's brother, Noburo Wataya had the power of influence and could make people hang on his every word. Creta Kano could get inside your dreams, Okada had the power to heal people and access some hidden facets of the mind. But there was so much going on that these plots get confused and loose their meanings.

Movie Time

 39. Cars - So cute! I had actually never watched this movie. I really enjoyed it. I can see why all the young kids (particulary the boys) love this one. I went to Disneyland and actually went to the Carland area and it was adorable. Now it is all in context. What I found funnier was as I watched the movie I was like oh, I remember that from the ride. I know, I am one of a kind. (Also, I watched this as part of a Disney day experience, in which wine and glorious bread with an assortment of cheese was available. A grown up kids day, I like to think of it as.)

40. American Reunion - Not as awesome as the original, (come on, nothing can top American Pie) but had its moments. I think the cast are all too old to make the jokes as funny and new compared to the first one. But overall it was worth a watch. I liked that literally all the original cast members come back.

41. Machine Gun Preacher - I was not a fan of this movie. Don't get me wrong, the heart of the story about the cruelty and terrible slaughtering of people and the recruiting of young children of Sudan to be part of the armies, that was so shocking and terrible but one of those things that people have to see. We have to know what is going on in the world. And this probably seem terrible of me to say, as this was based on a true story, but I did not like the main character. He really bothered me from the moment the movie started. He was a drug dealer and druggie, and treated his girlfriend/wife like crap. Then he finds his calling to his faith, and goes to Africa to try and make peace with the messed up life he made himself by helping the Sudanese. However, his fight to save these people ends up warping his own mind and he becomes obsessed with it. He will kill and slaughter the same way, and it just angered me. The movie ends on a slightly happier note, but I was just annoyed by it.

42. Brave - I was so excited to see a disney movie about a Scottish family! That is my heritage! This was an enjoyable movie, and the plot was completely different than what I had anticipated the movie to be about. Which was refreshing. The triplet brothers were so cute and mischievous. Plus one of besties Ellen was here so I got to do a girl's trip to the movies to see a Disney flick. Super awesome.

14. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

This book is  literally what the HBO series TrueBlood was based on. It was a very silly book. I enjoyed it, but it was nothing fancy. Sookie Stackhouse was a funny southern character that has an interest in Vampires. As they have just "come out of the coffin" as it were and announced their real existence to the world. The novel is all about her weirdness, as she can hear people's thoughts and always felt like an outsider, but once Bill Compton comes into Merlottes, he is the first person she encounters that she can not hear, and that brings her peace.

The book as pretty much exactly like the first season of the show, and I am not going to lie, TrueBlood is my guilty pleasure. But what I thought was crazy, is that there is no such character named Tara!! She was a character they made up for the show! Other than that, everything else was pretty similar to the book. If you want a light read that is silly and easy going, than this is one for you.

13. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

This book I really just read because I saw the movie version, and it was the only book I recognized that I could get for free on my kindle. The movie was just okay to me, pretty boring and took me like 3 tries to finish watching it so I thought the novel would be better.

I liked how the novel went back and forth with Jacob in his present day self, old and left at some nursing home as his kids couldn't take him in, and then his flash backs to what his life was like back when he worked on a circus. The scenes of his life in the nursing home were so heart wrenching and real, reminded me of when my great aunt was in one and just the more lonely and senile she got, just because of where she was.

The book was a decent read, it kept me pushing through to hear more about Jacob and Rosie, the elephant. I actually felt that the elephant wasn't as big of an element in the book as it was in the movie, which is interesting. Especially as the book is literally titled Water for Elephants.

12. Sun Storm by Assa Larsson

This was a crazy book. Pretty short but had me hooked from the start. This was originally a story written in Swedish I believe and so its translated into English. Certain sections and the writing can be off with meaning and flow, but otherwise I found it to be an intriguing thriller with the "who is guilty" constantly wracking your mind. A lot of questions remain unanswered for me, and the end isn't a neat bow tying everything up nicely. A lot of it is still open-ended leaving you to piece together exactly what happened. I think in the end Sanna was the most guilty person in the whole novel, but that you can decide for yourself.

The character's I thought were very believable. Many of the men seemed to have issues with woman and looked down on them constantly throughout the story. The prosecutor, the pastors, most of the men in the novel. There were many different people's perspectives and views you were able to see, which made the book very interesting. You got to hear inside most of the main characters heads exactly what they thought and were feeling which gave more questions and less answers at the same time. Very interesting way of writing.

If you liked the "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" this is a lighter dose of a thriller/mystery type of novel and would be a great dip in the pool of such types of books.

11. 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James

This book took me a long time to get into. I honestly took like 2 months to get through the first 8 or 9 chapters. Then I was like a woman possessed and read the rest of the book within 3 days. This book was very ridiculous in some ways, but also made me laugh and enjoy the risque elements I would never have otherwise.

The plot was a little ridiculous, and the main character annoyed me a little. She was whiny and at times also moody and reminded me of a teenager in love. I mean I know she was only supposed to be 21, but I don't know it seemed more like a high school novel with crazy sex scenes thrown in. The writing was nothing special, and the beginning chapters I found really boring. Then half way through it is revealed Mr. Grey's sexual preferences and the book gets semi interesting and pretty unbelievable.

If you want an easy book to read with a basic love story and the sex write out there in the novel, then this would be the one for you!

The Dark Knight Rises - Movie Time

38. The Dark Knight Rises - What can be said about this movie? It was a great ending to the trilogy. Christian Bale's voice when he's in the batman suit is still pretty hilarious to me but other than that, I found him to be a believable Bruce Wayne/Batman. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman was interesting and I found the dynamic between the two of them witty and fun. The plot kept me intrigued, as it spans a decent amount of time. This movie had a decent twist and kinda kept me guessing as to what was really going on. Sad to see this Batman trilogy come to an end, and even worse the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. This trilogy will always have the dark stains of Heath Ledgers death and this fatal shooting in Colorado. Very sad and crazy how people in this world can be....

10. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

This was an interesting novel that starts on one person, Bennie, and then circles out to encompass the lives of many different people who directly and indirectly came in to his life. There were some really interesting parts of this book that i really enjoyed. There were perspectives told from first person and third person. Each chapter was told through another characters eyes, which made it both interesting and  chaotic. Sometimes it would take a few pages to determine who it was that was telling the story and how we know who they are. It kept me intrigued the whole way through.

The only thing that I didn't like was that once the story was told through a specific person's eyes, it never went back to them again. I can't get into much detail, but it was overall an interesting book. They are supposedly making an HBO series out of the book which I would probably watch.

9. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

This was a really sweet novel that paints a wonderful picture of Brooklyn. How it was and what it turns into throughout the course of one girl's adolescence into her adulthood. I loved the way the author could really get inside the head of the young girl and then how the mind grows up. How the things you adored as a young child loose their meaning. How much more magical the moments were when you were innocent and then how they dull and loose their fresh hold as you age. It took me about 2 months to read this book, as it is a really slow paced novel that not too much happens. So reading a chapter here and there before bed is all that is needed. Definitely worth a read, as the descriptive language and the aging of Brooklyn along with the aging of the main character, Francie, is really creative. Also, its told through the perspective of this low class poor family and the darker side of the world that you learn to love.

There are a lot of hidden elements and themes throughout the novel about poverty, the aftermath of living such a life. There are so many different types of characters introduced, the drunk but lovable father, the strong willed mother, the petty women who stand on the blocks discussing the other women on the block. The other members of the Nolan-Rommeley family and how they all have their own faults and shortcomings. I really liked that this novel became a real tribute to the different generations of the family and also the differences surrounding Brooklyn itself. A worthwhile read if you want a book you can slowly take your time with to enjoy.

Week of the Movie Theatre Outings (And some rando movies too)

33. Ted - Loved this movie. How can you go wrong with a stuffed animal that talks, sleeps around and anything and everything inappropriate? The "dirty fozzy" I mean too many great lines to go into further. But I would say if you like Family Guy with their inappropriate jokes and constant references to other actors, movies and T.V. shows. Such a great movie.


34. Men in Black III - Eh I did not love this movie. I didn't really care for the second Men in Black movie either so I had a feeling I wouldn't be too thrilled with it. The plot was kinda the same as the other movies, except Will Smith ends up going back in time to save K (Tommy Lee Jones) as a young man. It was okay, kid friendly fun. I think the jokes and humor between the two has been done too many times that it has lost the original magic the first movie had.


35. The Amazing Spiderman in 3D  - I actually really liked this re-make of Spiderman. I thought the guy cast to play Peter Parker was believable and personally Tobey Maguire didn't really do it for me in the original movies. Emma Stone is a great actress and I usually love her. The plot was different enough from the original Spiderman that I didn't feel like I was simply re-watching the same movie (like the Hulk movies) The lizard/doctor was a great character that you sympathized with, and overall I would recommend.




36. Wrath of the Titans - Another movie that didn't do it for me. Why do I continue to watch sequels when I  do not like the first movie? A good question that I did not stop and think about long enough before turning this on. The plot was pretty boring, another Perseus must save the world as he is the last hope....blah blah been there done that in round one no? Pass on this flick, nothing special.


37. Goon - This was a hilarious movie I had never heard of. If you are a hockey fan and liked Stifler from the American Pie movies....well then this movie will have all you need and more for a good time. Sean William Scott plays a local nobody, who is not the most intelligent from Boston and happens to be very good at kicking people's asses. He catches the eye of a hockey team manager when he fights a hockey player in the stands and knocks him out. He somehow gets added to the team...can he skate? Fuck no. He is just a goon they need to intimidate the other team and protect the real hockey players so they can score. Interesting movie that I just loved.

8 - Night Road by Kristin Hannah

I really liked this book. It's way more sappy than I usually like, but it was not over the top so I could handle it. (I like to think of it as similar to a Nicholas Sparks novel but not quite so cliche and ridiculously sappy). So the story is told through two eyes, the first set is a young girl named Lexi. She was living in the foster system for the past 5 years off and on and had a drug-addicted mother who kept coming back into the picture to mess up her prospects. She finally seems to have found a home...in Washington.

Then the story switches to the perspective of a mother of two, twin boy/girl, Mia and Zach and she is the overprotective mother who is immersed in her kids lives suffocatingly so. She cares and loves them, but she is head mom of the PTA and knows all the events going on at school, when the school dances are...and is involved way more than the typical parent. Almost as though she wanted to re-live her childhood through her kids. The story really takes off when the kids hit their senior year of high school. Lexi and Mia are best friends, and Zach and Lexi fall in love. One night out drinking changes their lives forever, one life taken, one sent to prison, and one left trying to live a half life without the love needed to grow.

Told you, its a very emotional book that had highs and lows, but overall I really enjoyed it and would recommend it if you want a story that has love, tragedy, and questions about how would you try to move on after a life altering tragedy? Who would you blame? Yourself, friends, family, alcohol... or is it just life and you have to learn to deal with it.

More Movies

29. Prometheus - This movie was pretty good. I had mixed feelings going into it, the trailer didn't really wow me. I went with my brother to the midnight opening...and no I did not see it in 3-D. The line was so obnoxious and I don't think seeing it in 3-D would have magically made anything cooler to me. The plot was similar to any alien-type of movie. Go to some distant planet, there seems to be sketchy alien beings there that want to take over. It wasn't as thriller/gruesome as I would have anticipated based on the actual Alien movies, but it was still overall an enjoyable flick. One actor in the movie, I think he is British in real life, he plays a cyborg in the movie. His character was pretty funny and yet devious as well. I thought the cast was pretty good as well, that is important for any movie.


30. Conviction - Bradley and I were bored one night and put on this movie. I actually really liked it. The premise was this, Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell were brother and sister who were always super tight. Them against the world. He was always getting into trouble growing up. He is arrested and put in jail for the murder of a woman in the town, but the whole time he pleads his innocence. At first, Hilary Swank just supported him during the trial, but then when he actually gets convicted, she basically makes it her life mission to get him free. She puts herself through her GED, Bachelor's Degree, and finally law school, all so she can try to help her brother. It's a sad struggle, it costs her her marriage, her sons feel neglected, and she has to fight the whole time to prove her brother is not guilty. It was a really good movie, also with a great cast. Minnie Driver is always refreshing with her witty comments. If you get the chance, watch this one.


31. Rock of Ages - Eh. I saw the musical and loved it. (This Broadway theatre it was being performed in served alcohol to your seat, so yeah I loved it. I mean you really felt like you were part of a rock concert.) I don't think a musical like this can translate well into a film. The cast was decent, however I didn't really like the two main people the guy/girl love interest. Tom Cruise was hilarious though, his character was bat shit crazy and the passionate scenes with him and Malin Ackerman were too much. I also though Alec Baldwin was decent, but the character Russell Brand played, I don't think he executed it as well as the live show did. The musical was told by that guy, but the movie they didn't use that angle as it was too hard to convey. So I wasn't impressed. Could wait for dvd to see this one.

32. X-Men: First Class - I am a comic book/action hero junkie. As I have previously stated, you really can't go wrong with action scenes and super powers. Come on. And this movie I thought was pretty good. Not as amazing as the X-Men movies before it, but still lives up to the film genre. I liked James McAvoy as Professor X, and the other characters besides Mystique and Magneto were pretty much background noise. They were briefly mentioned but no lasting impressions. Except for the geeky CIA guy who also happened to be a mutant. It was clever how they tried to take the actual events of the cold war and put a spin on it to include the mutants as always being behind the main events of the countries. I would recommend t his one as well.