When You Get a Vacation And All You Want To Do Is Watch Movies...

So, I house-sat this week. (You know. It's like babysitting, but with a house). And after going to work everyday, I had free time. Yes, that glorious thing that I didn't have a lot of this past Summer. So what did I choose to do with said free time? I watched movies. Movies were my vacation, so to speak. You might remember that I mentioned that the only movie I watched all Summer was Spider-Man: Homecoming. So you might consider this marathon my "catch up".
Any-who, I watched some movies, I have opinions, here they are.
(FYI, I had never seen any of these before).

Father of the Bride (1991):
(trailer)

I guess I had high expectations for this movie, which would explain why it fell a little short for me. I mean, it was cute, (mostly) clean, and very sentimental, but I didn't find very funny (in fact, most of the things that I think were supposed to be 'funny' just annoyed me, such as the father complaining so much about the wedding). Nor did the movie interest me a whole bunch. The movie did a good job making fun of the kind of things that your typical 'father of the bride' would experience (such as stress concerning wedding expenses and 'losing his little girl'), but I guess that's one of the reasons I didn't resonate with it too much. It wasn't all bad, though. It had pretty moments. And I did laugh a couple of times.

1/5 stars

Leap Year (2010):
(trailer)

You know how you just keep hearing about a certain movie, so you just want to go ahead and watch it so you will stop wondering about it? That was "Leap Year" for me. It was pretty good, I think. It was your typical sweet romance story, and even though the entire plot line was basically one big huge cliche, it wasn't your fluffy, cheesy, irritating type of chick flick. The events were carried out pretty well, in my opinion. I found it quite enjoyable, cute, and best of all, not boring or entirely predictable. There were a few innuendos, as well as some kissing (because duh), but nothing too sensual, thank heavens. I would probably even watch this again in a few years, that's how not bad it was.

4/5 stars

Jurassic Park (1993):
(trailer)
This movie was a lot like Jurassic World (which I enjoyed in theaters as a new release), except there was no Chris Pratt. There was a lot of running from dinosaurs, being eaten by dinosaurs, trying to outsmart dinosaurs. You know. I really liked how real the raptors looked (comment if you know what song that's from), I thought all the actors did a splendid job, and the whole family-type relationship between the kids and Mr. Grant made me happy. But overall, nothing really wowed me. I can see how it's a Steven Spielberg classic, but other than that, there was nothing that really makes me want to see it again. I did really like the soundtrack, surprisingly. Even nowadays, when soundtracks don't do a lot for me. But hey. *shrug*
3/5 stars

The Walk (2015):
(trailer)
YOU GUYS. THIS MOVIE WAS SO ADORABLE. It tells the true story of a (borderline certifiable) French dude back in the 70s who wanted to walk a high-wire between the two buildings of the World Trade Center. This movie has everything... a tiny bit of romance, humor, a good plot that keeps you moving forward, a touch of suspense... everything. Plus, it was adorable, as I have already mentioned. Philippe and Annie's relationship was completely ship-worthy (look at me, using fangirl terms.. oh how things change), and I just love how the whole story was carried out. It was a good old-fashioned enjoyable movie. It was great, honestly. I am totally buying this on DVD. Watch out for some cuss words, but there really isn't much besides that (hooray because that means it's great for family movie night). I also really liked the soundtrack to this movie as well.
 Basically, I loved this movie.
5/5 stars 

Doctor Strange (2016):
 (trailer)
"While heroes such as the Avengers protect the world from physical dangers, we sorcerers safeguard it against more mystical threats."
 There is more out there in our universe to believe in than the material things, the tangible things. It is not all as it seems. You all know I'm not the biggest fan of Marvel movies. I watched Doctor Strange, and... I'm still not. However, this movie didn't seem like a Marvel film. It seemed... different. Somehow. Unconventional, perhaps? Any-who, I enjoyed it well enough. It kept me un-bored, which is good enough for me. Spider-Man is still my favorite, but Doctor Strange was not bad.  There is a bit of spell-casting nonsense to watch out for, of course, but the the focus on spiritual warfare, and the dangers of going astray from what is right are a clear theme in this sci-fi flick. But there is a good dose of language which annoyed me, as usual.
Let's be honest, though. I'm a bit partial. I feel like you could put Benedict Cumberbatch in ANYTHING and I will automatically enjoy it. He's just an amazing actor. I also have to mention how I really loved Stephen and Christine's relationship. I loved their (thankfully clean) moments. They were so precious.
3/5 stars

Forrest Gump (1994):
(trailer)
"My mama always said, 'Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'"
This movie surprised me in two ways. First of all, it was way more dirty than I had anticipated (which made me really sad and annoyed), but the second surprise is that... I actually loved this movie. I loved it. It was so cute.
 It made me laugh... and cry (like, actually cry).
I'm really sad that there was a lot to speak of in the way of 'content'. A lot of language. A lot of crude behavior, including indecent bedroom and party scenes. Let me just say, if you have one of those movie filter thingies, use it. I beg of you. Because people should see this movie. It's a classic. It's hilarious. It's heartwarming. It's Tom Hanks.
But... I don't recommend anyone seeing some of the stuff in it. I wish more of Tom Hank's movies were clean because I really enjoy his acting. Honestly, right now I can't even think of one Tom Hanks movie I haven't liked.
 Overall, "Forrest Gump" was really good. (But bad... but good.)
...
 But bad.
...
 (*whispers* but good).
5/5 stars (NOT FOR CLEANLINESS)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008):
(trailer)
I've wanted to watch this ever since I read the book for a WWII class I took in high school. The book was very good, and very sad, and so was the movie. We follow the 'explorations' of a young German boy, Bruno, who is trying his darnedest to understand why Jews are the 'bad guys', and why his family is so tense about it all. There's more than that, too, of course, but basically this is a WWII movie that will leave a person touched, saddened, and very sombre at heart. There was nothing amazing that really stood out for me, exactly, but the movie was good. And I would definitely recommend the book, too.
Also, I have to shout out to the actress who played Bruno's mom. She did an extraordinarily good job at her part, I observed.
3/5 stars

Mulan (1998):
(trailer)
If I ever told you guys how many Disney favorites I have not seen, you would be shocked. I could never call myself a 'Disney person' or 'Disney fan' because I simply have seen enough Disney movies to qualify for that. So anyways, to help fix that, I watched one Disney movie in all of my marathon. I chose "Mulan". I thought the movie was really cute. It made me laugh, it wasn't boring, it wasn't entirely cliche, either. The cricket was the best. :) You also wouldn't believe how many internet memes and references I now understand because of watching this movie. Like the whole "dishonor on your cow" thing? I never understood that. Until now. Thanks, Mulan.
3/5 stars

  La La Land (2016):
(trailer)
"City of stars... are you shining just for me?"
Ah yes, that musical 'masterpiece' that called a classic before it's even 5 years old. It took me awhile, but I finally watched it. Can I just say, it was a good movie, but I'm very under-impressed. That's probably because I'm not one who likes musicals. They are weird (I mean, I'm weird, I know... but this is different). Also, (even though I hate to put down a fellow human being) I'm not a huge fan of Emma Stone's.
But I'm putting it much more negatively than it actually was for me.
Lemme put it this way. I thought it was really sweet. It was dreamy. It was relaxing. It's a classic. It was nostalgic. It was pretty, it was beautiful. But I just... didn't like it too much.
 It was unconventional, but not in a way that I necessarily like. It's the same classic problem I always have with musicals. "Can we stop singing and get back to the story? I'm bored. It's a pretty set, but... I'm bored."
There were a lot of things I did like about it. The soundtrack was golden. That jazz piano... *magicallll* I've always liked jazz, ever since I heard some in a talent show when I was a child. And this movie certainly gave me a good dose of it.
I must mention before I end this review, that there are quite a few swear words. They are sprinkled everywhere that I kept tripping over them, including an f-word. (y u gotta do dis, hollywood)
2/5 stars

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013):
(trailer) 
"I am alone... my mind drifts like the snow."
It was sweet, and very cute. I always like Ben Stiller. It's the story of a guy who needs to save his job at LIFE Magazine, but he has a problem; he's a daydreamer (which isn't a problem exactly...), and he lost something very important to the magazine. And I've always had a special place in my heart for 'underdog' characters.
The movie wasn't amazing, though. It wasn't wonderful. Just sweet. There were a few cuss words, but nothing else.
3/5 stars

~*~
And now, for fun, just a really quick list of favorites out of all that I watched.

10.  Father of the Bride (Sorry, Steve. You last)
-
9. Jurassic Park (because "how real the raptors looked...")
-
8. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (because I'm a daydreamer too, buddy)

7. Mulan (because of Mushu... who was hilarious)
-
6. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (because that ending, man)
-
5. La La Land (because that piano music got me)
-
4.  Leap Year (because #dat accent tho)
-
3. Doctor Strange (Ok I gotta confess: because Benedict Cumberbatch)
-
2. The Walk (because I thought it was adorable... which you should know by now)
-
1. Forrest Gump (by far... even though it was..."bad"... #dontkillmemom)
-
By the way, at the end of writing this, I realize that my two favorite movies from this list are directed by the same person. Huh. Way to go, person. :)

Also I just realized how long this post is. Hm. Sorry bout that. Thanks for sticking around till the end! Hey, let's do one of those YouTube things... If you read all the way to the end, comment "Galaxies". Hehe.
#so fun
G'bye.

-Amaris