Friday Five: Theater Movies

Welcome to this week’s Friday Five. If you haven’t been here before, this is nothing more than my random rambling about something that interests me, with a list of five, in no particular order. This week’s list is Last Five Movies I’ve Seen in a Theater. Hope you enjoy!

Last Five Movies I’ve Seen in a Theater

Oblivion I really liked this movie. Of course, I’m a fan of most things dystopian, so this was right up my alley. Plus I Iove movies where people are going along in their contented lives until something comes along to make them question all that they’ve always believed. Tom Cruise was fantastic as always. (Love him as an actor, no so much as a person.) It’s a bit mind bending here and there, though not so much you can’t figure out what’s going on. Great scenery and an interesting premise make this a movie well worth seeing.

The Host Weirdly, this was my third time watching this movie. Not because I love it so much I wanted to see it three times, but just because circumstances caused me to be invited to it three times. It was a good adaption of Stephenie Meyer’s book. Saoirse Ronan was really good. It was a little disconcerting at first having the voice coming from her “head” but I’m not sure how else they could have done it. Loved the two leading men (Max Irons and Jake Abel), and thought William Hurt was great. I suggest reading the book before viewing the movie. I think you’ll get more from it that way.

Olympus Has Fallen My daughter-in-law wanted to go see a movie, and it was between this and The Call. We showed up to a specific theater, and decided we’d see whichever was playing there and it was Olympus. I really didn’t know what it was about, only that I could spend two hours watching Gerard Butler, never a bad way to pass time. I was surprised to find I really liked the movie. It was far-fetched, but that’s never a hold up for me. It’s a movie, for crying out loud, not a documentary. Gerard both looked and was amazing. It was pretty action packed, and without a romance to hold it I thought I might not like it, but I truly did. It’s a good one to spend a few bucks on.

Silver Linings Playbook I genuinely had no idea exactly what this movie was about, in spite of all the Oscar buzz it was receiving. I wasn’t sure if I’d like a romance between Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence based on their real-life age difference, but I’m happy to report that it wasn’t an issue in the slightest. Bradley manages to look young and vulnerable, while Jennifer is mature and cynical, making them seem the same age. This movie about two broken people who almost accidentally find one another was absolutely amazing. It’s a strange path they take to helping each other become whole, which made the journey that much more enjoyable. Robert De Niro was absolutely amazing—and almost as crazy as his son. I’d watch it again.

Oz: The Great and Powerful I liked this one well enough, but I don’t know that I’d really recommend it or bother to see it again. James Franco was pretty good, playing the slightly wacked playboy Oz in this prequel to The Wizard of Oz. It was kind of cool to see how he became Oz, but there were a few things I wasn’t so crazy about. Mila Kunis, who I generally really like, was really good—until she became the witch. And I don’t mean that in a good way. Even with all the fantastic makeup (you rock, Greg Nicotero) it couldn’t hide that innocence that’s inherent in her face, and her voice wasn’t nearly creepy enough. Michelle Williams was only so-so, but Rachel Weisz was fantastic. She was the real star of the movie for me in spite of her limited screen time.

Jack the Giant Slayer Okay, I know this makes six, but I can’t remember which was the more recent movie between this and Oz, so I decided to include both. Besides, it gives me a chance to rave about this movie. Loved it! Who thought the story of Jack and the Beanstalk could actually be exciting, funny, and romantic. Nicholas Hoult is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors (so happy to see him successful after his fantastic turn in About a Boy). Ewan McGregor is another actor I’m happy to sit and watch for a couple of hours, and man did he look good in this one. Some of the special effects were less than stellar, but I can overlook that in the face of a good story. I definitely will be buying this one on Blu-Ray.

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