Snow White and the Huntsman

Movie:  Snow White and the Huntsman
Major Actors:  Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Sam Clanfin
Rating: PG-13
Best Audience: This movie could be for anyone.  Older children (like 8 and up) would enjoy it, as well as adults.

Review:
Everyone kept saying that this movie was a "dark version" of the famous fairytale.  Actually, I found that this story followed the fairytale rather closely.  It added some things and changed some things, but overall it was a lot closer to the original fairytale than they let on.  One of the best parts of this movie is that it is very visually stunning.  Great imagery and cinematography. 

I'm not typically a fan of Kristen Stewart (she always has this look on her face like something smells bad).  But she actually did a great job at portraying the innocence and purity of Snow White.  Charlize Theron did an excellent job at seeming like pure evil.  This movie was well cast. 

I surprisingly enjoyed this movie.  I truly, truly did not think I would.  I went because there was nothing else out I wanted to see and so I wasn't very enthusiastic and I was very pleasantly surprised. 

What to Expect When You're Expecting

Movie:  What to Expect When You're Expecting
Major Actors:  Jennifer Lopez, Rodrigo Santoro, Chris Rock, Elizabeth Banks, Cameron Diaz, and many more.
Rating: PG-13
Best Audience: Even though it's PG-13, I would say mostly women and couples ages 16 and up would enjoy this movie the most, just because I think it would not be interesting to 13 year olds.

Review:
Okay, this is one of those movies where they pile a bunch of stars into one movie, that all have different story lines under the blanket of being in the same general subject matter.  Previous examples of this phenomenon are (my favorite movie) Love Actually, He's Just Not that Into You, Valentines Day, and New Year's Eve.  Now, let's digress for a moment.  I believe I have figured out the formula to why some of these movies work and some don't:

1.  What to Expect When You're Expecting (the movie I'm reviewing), Love Actually, and He's Just Not that Into You are good movies.
2.  Valentines Day and New Year's Eve are horribly bad movies.

I believe this is because with the movies I mentioned in #1, the stories occurred over a long period of time, so there was time for both character and plot development.  In the movies in #2, they both occurred in one day and had too many story lines happening in one day to have any development in characters or plot.  They were a mess.

Let me get back to my review.  What to Expect When You're Expecting is excellent.  It is heartwarming and hilarious.  I loved all the story-lines in it.  I feel like it really covers the different types of pregnancies and most of the possible things that could happen to you when you're expecting.  The actors do a great job and are both comedic and relatable.  I highly recommend it!

The Dictator

Movie:  The Dictator
Major Actors:  Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris
Rating:  R
Best Audience: Adults who are not easily offended, and who can take serious subjects extremely lightly.  You have to have an easy-going sense of humor.

Review:
This movie was outrageous, but actually pretty funny.  For those of you familiar with Sacha Baron Cohen's work, it is no Borat, but it is worlds better than Bruno.  The Dictator is probably in between those two movies.  Although funny, it is at times a "stupid" kind of funny, and ALWAYS offensive.  Cohen's characters have a way of offending people indiscriminately.  I guess if you have to offend, that is the best way.  So you have to have be light-hearted, easy-going, and not take life too seriously to enjoy this.  Also, the movie has a lot of language, nudity, sex, and other things that give it the R rating.  So, like I said, it is funny, but you must be prepared for all the things I just mentioned.  And if you don't like those things, don't see the movie.

Dark Shadows

Movie:  Dark Shadows
Major Actors:  Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter
Rating:  PG-13
Best Audience: I agree with the rating here.  Most people over 13 would enjoy this movie.  I wouldn't take young children to see it, but if you want to take young children, it really doesn't have very many bad things in it, it's just up to you as a parent.

Review:
I love Tim Burton, but I feel as though it has been a while since he's done something great (Sorry, Alice in Wonderland).  But Dark Shadows is definitely worth seeing.  I was a fan of the soap opera when I was three years old (according to my parents).  I don't remember much about the soap opera, but I do know the movie is more of an homage to the soap opera, rather than trying to be just like it.  It definitely has elements of the original show, such as campiness, twists, and random outrageous supernatural occurences.  However, I think this movie can definitely stand on its own as a great movie.  It is a good story, funny, the characters are interesting and well-developed. 

My main criticism of this movie would be casting.  And its actually not because the casting is bad...it's completely wonderful.  However, Tim Burton has used Johnny Depp and his own wife Helena Bonham Carter in so many of his movies.  I love both Johnny and Helena, but I'm sure there are plenty of other actors that I would love too.  They are not the only ones on the planet, Tim.  I would like to see Tim Burton do future films with actors you wouldn't expect him to work with.  Challenges are fun.  I hope he does it.

Movie Reviews!

I am very excited to start doing a movie review blog!  I definitely see enough movies to write on this subject.  I am going to do every single entry in an organized format to include all the information you'll need to decide if it's a movie you'd like to see or not WITHOUT including spoilers.  If I do include spoilers, I will do you the courtesy of putting it behind a cut. 

My main blog is Woman of All Ages which discusses practical living for modern women with a historical point of view (mostly).  Check it out.