5 Powerful Movies Every Woman Should Watch

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Movies move us. They empower, makes us think, fuel our conversations and allow us to escape, even if for just a brief while, to a place where everything is possible. I have compiled a list of 5 powerful and emotional movies, you should truly take the time to watch, at least once.

1. Thelma And Louise

What is it about?
Two women break free from a chained, small live by going on a Road trip with unforeseen and dramatic consequences

Why should you watch it?
Because it is one of the best showcases of the deep friendship between two women. And because Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are
amazing in bringing this connection to live.

2. Alien

What is it about?
On their voyage home, the crew of the deepspace tug Nostromo investigate an alien distress signal, inadvertently picking up and bringing aboard an extraterrestrial life form with violent and lethal survival instincts

Why should you watch it?
Because Sigourney Weaver’s powerful performance as Sergeant Ripley showcased the strength of a woman in a physical demanding leading role.

3. Kill Bill vol. I

What is is about?

Four years after taking a bullet in the head at her own wedding, The Bride emerges from a coma and decides it’s time for payback! Having been gunned down by her former boss and his deadly squad of international assassins, it’s a kill-or- be- killed fight.

Why should you watch it?

Because Uma Thurman’s Martial Art skills are amazing

4. Million Dollar Baby

What is it about?
A young female boxer, Maggie (played by Hillary Swank) fights for her dream to make it big in her field, supported by a rough around
the edges trainer, portrait by Clint Eastwood.

Why should you watch it?
Because this story could have been made overly sentimental, and cliche but Clint Eastwood as a director managed to give it real heart, even if it leaves you sobbing at the end.

5. Coco Before Chanel

What is it about?
The portrait of a woman (Coco Chanel)  who fought herself from poverty to become an icon in the fashion industry and beyond.

Why should you watch it?
Because it showcases the rise of a woman who never gave up on her dream, no matter what her circumstances.

Celebrating The Week With Gratitude – A Celebrate The Small Things Blog Post

“Gratitude” by Allroads
http://goo.gl/xVlNy9

I hope you all had a wonderful week. If you did, why not participate in the “Celebrate The Small Things” Blog Hop and share with us what you are grateful for?

What am I grateful for this week:

I am grateful that I am back on track with my daily exercise. I try to walk a minimum of 12000 steps a day, but when we were all sick that was not possible. Now, thanks to my favorite motivational tool ( the Fitbit Charge) and the fact that we are all well, I am back to my regular routine. At least when it comes to exercise.

I am also grateful that my son has decided to become a vegetarian. That is totally his choice – my daughter switched to a vegetarian diet when she was 12 as well, and now is a vegan – but it makes it so much easier to cook every day, because now instead of cooking for one meat-eater, one vegetarian (me) and one vegan – the only meat I have to cook is for the dogs, unless my husband is home, who is staying on the standard American diet – well, at least for now, there is hope there too.

I am grateful that there is more leakage of the Suicide Squad movie – well, the shooting of the movie to be exact. I can not wait to see Jared Leto play the Joker. As both a Leto and a comics fan (both Marvel and DC), I am so happy for any snippet of info I can get my hands on.

What are you grateful for this week? Is there something you are really looking forward to, or something you experienced that still leaves you in a state of glee each time you think about it? Please share, we all love great news – oh, and do not forget to stop by all of the other wonderful bloggers who are participating in this blog hop.

Blessings

Claudia

P.S The above gratitude poster was designed by Allroads and is available here. Please support independent artists!

Grudge Match – A Film Review

In those rare occasions that both my husband and I have a Saturday afternoon off, we tend to watch a movie together, that we have not had a chance to see at the theater. This week we finally managed to see “Grudge Match”, a film starring Sylvester Stallone (Razor) and Robert De Niro (The Kid) , as two older gentlemen, former talented boxers, who never got the chance to fight that re-match, De Niro’s character was always hoping for.

Here is the trailer:

We truly enjoyed this movie, not because it was really clever, or had many plot twist, but because it was funny, and took a serious stab at the main actors, who seemed to enjoy making fun of their past roles, while still embodying these characters with graze and depth.

Training Scene:

With the addition of Kim Basinger in the mix, as well as Jon Bernthal as Robert’s characters son, and a few scenes with L.L. Cool J. and you have an entertaining mix, that is worth a watch.

Alexander (The Movie) – A Review

 

Movie: Alexander

Release Year: 2004

Director: Oliver Stone

Rating: 5/5 Stars

I have always been fascinated by Ancient History. It was my favorite subject in school, and is my favorite subject to teach. Out of this reason, and many others, I decided to watch Alexander, directed by Oliver Stone, in its extended cut version, today.

While of course this is a movie rather then a documentary, produced by an epic, and larger then life director, it is essentially the story of a great man. There are sure ways the execution of it could have been done better – rather then switching back and forth within the time line, it could have been done linear, but the care it showed for each individual character was superb. As a fan of Jared Leto, I was drawn to his performance, which was as I expected exceptional, as the best friend, and essentially true love of Alexander. Colin Farrell gave an charismatic, emotional and convincing performance, even if it was considered controversial, and I have a feeling not well received because of that. Glad, that I had only heard of a hint of the controversy about the movie and its main characters relationship with two males, to whom he was closer then any woman, I saw only the depth of their relationship, rather then the dissatisfaction that others have expressed about the film, because of it.
The fight scenes where epic and grant, nothing less is to be expected by an Oliver Stone project. Sometimes the gore was much, but war is not pretty, and should not be described as such, and back then it was even more personal and therefore more explicit. Maybe it also hinted on stereotypes when it expanded to include the people of Asia, but it is after all a movie from the view of a limited worldview, of the times of the beginning of exploration, rather then after it.

In all I really enjoyed the movie, I enjoyed the care of portrayal of each characters, the emotion, the visual execution, and its depth. Having one of my favorite actors, and musicians in its cast (Jared Leto), was the icing on the cake.

“Jennifer” – A Surreal, But Interesting Short Film

If you are not familiar with the online television creator “Wigs”, then you have been missing out. Not only does the site produce great series, it also contains a variety of documentaries and short films, one of which I want to share with you today.

“Jennifer” is a surreal, but funny, dark but comedic short film, in which special attention is given to felons, whom have all one thing in common: they have committed violent crimes.

See for yourself:

I urge you to take a look at the other, originally done, and unique content that Wigs provides!

Enjoy!

G.I.Joe – Retaliation (Review)

First thought of the movie, and the most prevailing one throughout it for me:

Why in the hell did they kill off Channing Tatum within the first 10 minutes of the film? Now that was one big disappointment, considering that another character (Flint) would not have been missed at all, while Channing’s character Duke was likable, played well and funny – not to mention he is nice to look at. Well I do watch action movies for a few reasons, deeply developed dialogue about important and thought provoking subjects is not one of them. I want to see mind-blowing action, brought by strong men and women who look good delivering the many high powered scenes, and the few lines that move the story along. Channing added provided just that – for the few minutes he was on screen.

The main segment of the movie, was spent going after the person reasonable for Duke’s death, and the real reason someone wanted ALL G.I.Joe’s eliminated. Fast paced, the story moves along rather quickly, many explosions and fighting scenes included, the most memorable one being a chasing/fighting scene on the side of a mountain range, reminiscent of Chinese  action movies.

Overall the film delivered what it promised, a action packed entertaining ride.

Highlights: Bruce Willis’ characters home filled with a well hidden  arsenal (look what I found behind the soup, it’s a machine gun!), and the short but sweet cameo of James Carville, playing himself.

Down-side: Bruce Willis performance which was flat, and his attempt at proving tension between him and the female member of the team was annoying at best.

G.I.Joe is available on iTunes, via Amazon and currently to stream on Netflix.

 

X Is For X-Men: Days of Future Past – News

The release of X-Men: Days of Future Past is drawing closer (May, 23rd 2014), but not while already drawing some unwilling attention, not because of bad reviews, but because  of Director Bryan Singer’s announcement, that he will not be attending any of the premier festivities due to the abuse allegations against him. While I will not comment here on the case, I do consider this a fair and wise move, as it will take away the attention from him, and refocuses it on the film.

One of the pictures from the movie does bring us some mystery – Quicksilver is holding a young girl on his lap, and even though Brian Singer has denounced the possibilities of Quicksilver’s sister Scarlet Witch making an appearance, it does make us fans wonder, who then this little princess is, if not her.

See for yourself:

 

I for my part will look forward to this installation of one of my favorite Marvel characters, with the high hopes to be just as entertained as I was with the previous creations of this franchise.

Are you looking forward to this installation of the X-Men? Which of the Marvel franchises is your favorite?

On a side note: Bryan Singer also credited as the producer of a very interesting drama, I just recently wrote about, and which premiered last week: The Black Box 

 

S Is For Starstruck

While I admire many people in the creative arts, there are only two at the moment in who’s presence I would turn into a starstruck fan girl, should I ever had the good fortune to meet them. Mainly because I admire them further then just the creative endevour of their many accomplishments, but also as people, with a depth, and character qualities that I think of as high in value.

One of these people is probably not surprisingly Joss Whedon. As a creative artist, he has accomplished much, sometimes despite of what others might have thought. Perserverance has brought forth some of the most highly acclaimed television shows and movies. But beyond that, he has shown a care for others, specifically for women’s equality causes, which has earned him my admiration. Let me share as an example his “Equality Now” speech with you:

 

The second person I want to write about is Jared Leto. While his music through Thirty Seconds of Mars is widely acclaimed, and I am surely a fan of his songs as well as his acting skills, it is his thoughtfulness for his family and his dedication to both venues he chooses to express himself in, that inspires me the most. His documentary “Artifact” showing a deeper look into the music industry and how artists struggle to get fairly compensated for their art – fighting at times both ends, the labels who are obviously into making profit, and those who illegally download and share the hard work of the artists.

Here is the trailer:

It is currently available through itunes and Amazon, watch it, even more so if you are thinking about working with or in the music industry.

 

 

 

J Is For Johanssen

As in Scarlett Johanssen that is. You know her from the Iron Man movies, as the voice in “Her”, and also, “Robot Chicken”.

Scarlett Johanssen has been busy. Yes I know she is pregnant, not what I meant, but besides working on Avengers 2 and having a kid, she has two movies coming out shortly (or have been released last week), which both sound weirdly interesting. Oh, and a Black Widow movie has just been announced! Busy woman, good for her. Let me start with “Lucy”

Lucy

Release Date: August 8th 2014

By: Universal Pictures

Director/Writer: Luc Besson

In Lucy, Scarlett plays a young woman who gets caught in the midst of a dark deal, waking up with drugs sown into her stomach. As one of them bursts, her abilitiy to access her brain becomes enhanced, leaving her able to manipulate her environment beyond what should be physically possible. It is a movie tailored to Scarlett’s abilities, her fighting skills she equired for her role as Black Widow come to display. Impressive action scenes seemed to be littered throughout this dark movie, that also features Morgan Freeman.

Here is the trailer:

And here is the second one:

Under The Skin

Release Date: April 4, 2014

Director: Jonathan Glazer

Under The Skin is a surreal, limited release movie, with Sci-Fi elements. It is based on a novel by Michel Faber.
The main character, an Alien, played by Johanssen, takes on human form in order to seduce men, so she can harvest their organs, under the supervision of another alien, who has taken on the form of a male motorcyclist.

 

Both movies are certainly worth taking a closer look at, building around a strong female lead character. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Sam Mendes, Penny Dreadful and Bond 24

I  just finished watching “Skyfall” (review posted tomorrow), when I ran across some info on the next Bond film (Number 24) and its director Sam Mendes

To begin I must say, that I am happy to hear that Sam Mendes has been sought after to direct the next Bond as well. He brought back the traditional feel of the original, “old style” spy movies, that I fell in love with the first time I saw Sean Connery move across the screen, as 007.

Sam Mendes is also creating a new series for Showtime, called Penny Dreadful, which from the snippets available seems beautifully dark and menacing with a paranormal twist, that makes my heart sing. I might actually have to subscribe to Showtime now, just to see more of what Mr. Mendes has created for us.

Here is a taste of the show:

Speaking of Bond, Timothy Dalton and Eva Green (Casino Royale) are a part of the cast of this horror spectacle. John Logan is the creator behind the show, who is announced to be writing the screenplay for the next two Bond movies, and is the master behind “The Last Samurai”, “Hugo” and “Sweeney Todd”.  No stranger to the darker shade of the cinematic experience then, while leaving enough space for real plot, deeper character development and not just gore.

In more Bond news, the villain for installment 24 is rumored to be quite a surprise for me. Chiwetel Ejiofor. (Please do not ever have John Travolta try to pronounce his name in public). The lead actor of “12 Years a Slave” would make a very interesting addition, a choice I would not have expected, but has me intrigued.

Stay tuned for additional news on the James Bond movies, I will try to keep you updated.