Amanda's Review: Trainwreck

Hello Everyone,

I saw Trainwreck on Saturday and I have to say...just like Ant-Man, I was totally surprised. I honestly thought the movie would be a little trashy or just kind of weird in general...but it was just so funny. Also, this film is definitely not a chick flick, my boyfriend has approved it, HAHA!

Before watching this movie, I looked up the rating on rotten tomatoes and it actually had one of those certified fresh tomatoes, and I thought to myself, oh okay. I also checked the rating for Southpaw because I was also interested in seeing that and it got a splatter tomato! Talk about being surprised! My boyfriend and I obviously ended up seeing Trainwreck and I couldn't be happier with the results!

Any who, here's the little summary from IMDb: She's just a girl who didn't think she could ever do monogamy and frankly, she was afraid of commitment. Of course, a good guy comes along and she has to face her fears. BOOM. Typical rom-com formula applied here - but, it actually worked.

My rating: 8.5/10!

This film definitely was just A+ material. It was really funny and witty. When a film has a cast full of comedians, it could be either a hit or a miss. Sometimes the comedians try wayyyyy to hard to make something so insignificant seem massively funny...but this team of comedians made it work perfectly! To my surprise, Lebron James was actually pretty hilarious as well! On a comedy scale, it definitely worked for me. I was also kind of afraid about what would happen since Amy doesn't fit the ideal body mold of a rom-com actress, which I will talk about in the next section. I had no idea what was in store for me when I walked into the theater, but I am so happy that I saw this film. 

Also, I gave this film an 8.5 because it just seemed so realistic. I mean given some of the story doesn't seem like it would be reasonable but I think that Amy Schumer's character was just an accurate portrayal of a typical woman. She wasn't this perfect woman who was 100% clean, athletic, reserved, etc. I felt that she completely broke the standard of what a rom-com woman is. This is all completely my opinion and I cannot express the amount of respect I have for Amy Schumer. I personally couldn't have shown my body on screen for millions to see, but she did it and she did it flawlessly.

I usually talk about two aspects of the film at this point but I seriously just want to focus on the acting particularly by Amy Schumer.

As most of you know, I'm not a particularly stick skinny person. I am a woman with a little extra to love. I find that I can never really relate to characters in Rom-Coms because none of them are ever really like me. The women are always obviously skinny/toned/etc. they are always portrayed as perfect in an obvious/non-obvious way. It is hard to find a woman who exceeds the ideal perfection weight play someone with confidence. There is always a bigger woman who is trying to make her self better AKA thinner or she has just about as much self esteem as a freaking rock (none).

I found comfort in Amy Schumer's performance. She's not a stick thin model and yet, her character was just as confident as one. There was no doubt during the film that the men were actually after her. There were no comments in the film like "I can't believe he is going after a girl like that" blah blah blah. Her weight is what it is and people accepted it. The only time it was ever questioned was by me, the watcher. How sad is it that I looked onto the screen and the first things I thought were, "why is the guy falling for her?," "am I as big as her?," and "What do people think when they see me?" I have been trained by other romantic comedies to think that women like her can't possibly find love because she doesn't fit the exact beauty standards. 

I am ashamed of myself for thinking these things but I can't deny the fact that it happened. I hope that this film is the first of many to break the traditional beauty mold that has been set by society because I feel as if there is a film sickness in me. I have seen so many films in my lifetime and a part of me wishes my life could be like the films or that I could be as beautiful as the actresses on screen. I always end up leaving a romantic comedy feeling like things on the screen won't happen to me because I don't look like the lead actress or magical/romantic things only happen to you if you're thin. Needless to say, by the end of the film I felt so much better about myself, about my relationship, about everything...because a woman like Amy Schumer was cast in a wonderful role and none of it was questioned. I looked on that screen and I felt a sense of inspiration - I felt that all of those cute things could happen to me, I felt that I shouldn't be ashamed of my body. I can only hope that one day I could feel that way about myself, that I could be as confident about my body as she was during this film. Her performance seemed 100% genuine. I didn't doubt her at all during this film. She made the film what it was through her acting and the writing. 

I would like to applaud and thank Amy Schumer for breaking the typical rom-com standard and breaking the ideals set by society. 

I am not in any way trying to bash thin women/actresses or people who are trying to get thinner (because that's what I'm doing). I just think that since women come in all shapes in sizes that it should be portrayed in the media just as much as a thin woman would be. I think this film does a great example of showing that all women - regardless of shape/size - should feel confident or beautiful. I just think that it's time for more than just one body type to be on screen and to be adored. I think it's time for society to praise women of all body types. 

Would I see this movie again? Yes, I definitely would. 

I would recommend everyone to see this film, it was funny, romantic, sad (yeah, I almost cried), and to me, it was a feel-good movie.

Amanda's Review: Ant-Man

Hello Everyone!

So, I saw Ant-Man this weekend... 

The moment I saw a trailer for Ant-Man, I said to myself, "Wow, this movie looks so dumb," "Really, Paul Rudd?," "Who would even want to see this?," "This is going to be just as bad as the Green Lantern movie." I honestly said all of those things up until the movie started, I had no hope/expectations/any feeling toward this film. I thought it was going to be a waste of money...but I was super surprised! The movie was actually good. Everything I said was completely wrong. The movie was great, Paul Rudd was great, I would recommend people to see it, and it was a BILLION times better than Green Lantern.

Like I said, I had no interest in seeing Ant-Man, whatsoever. If it wasn't for my friends, I probably would have never seen it...ALSO, I didn't even look up any reviews until 2 minutes before the movie. It had a certified fresh tomato on rotten tomatoes and it had like 92% audience score. I wasn't so scared after that. I'm going to give IMDb's plot right now: Basically this guy Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) gets this super-suit that can make him shrink while increasing his strength. He must "embrace his inner hero" and help this other guy Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), pull of a heist to save the world. 

My Rating: 8/10!

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I was completely wrong about this film. I didn't think I could ever love ants so much, theoretically. I still hate ants but they were cute in the movie. Any who, the movie was funny, had some (not too much) action, and it was overall a great movie. I've been a fan of Marvel films for a while now, with the exception of missing Captain America, Thor, and the Avengers 2. Some of them are usually a hit or a miss with me, and this one was definitely a hit! It completely shut my original opinions up.  The humor in this film kind of reminded me of Guardians of the Galaxy and I adore that film. I loved so many things about this movie and I just...ahh, I don't even know. Also, giving it an 8 just feels right! It was just a complete surprise and that alone just makes it such a great movie. 

I gave it an 8 because I didn't like it enough that it made me cry or that I really felt connected with it, but I honestly did enjoy it. It was amusing from start to finish and Paul Rudd did such an amazing job. Also, The supporting characters were so great! I'll go into more depth about them a little later!

The two things I want to focus on for this film are: Acting and Editing.

Acting: Like I've mentioned through out this whole review, I didn't expect anything good from this movie. But everything about the acting was so great. Paul Rudd did such an amazing job in this film! I can't express how much this movie made me feel for Paul Rudd! I thought Ant-Man was going to be a stupid character and a superhero that didn't need to exist, but I defintely like him a lot more than some of the other Marvel characters...Enough about Paul Rudd, I know. The minor/supporting characters were so great in this film. I don't want to give too much away from them but I think they did such an incredible job and they made the humor so much better in the film and ah. Loved them! I am so glad that none of these actors were too serious because it just made the film that much better. And the ants...perfect!

Editing: With these kinds of film, editing is important. You don't want to cut a movie to where it obviously looks fake. The editing is basically the flow of the film and I think that this film did a great editing job. For some reason, I didn't question anything in this movie. It all just seemed real! In retrospect, it seemed like the editing would be extremely difficult jumping from one tiny size to one large size, it could have easily been such a major flop, but it was great! That's all I can really say about that!

Would I see this movie again? Yes, yes I would.

I would recommend people to not judge this movie by the idea of it sounding dumb...or go watch it with that idea and see if it changes your mind. I think that if you have the chance to see this movie, go see it!

Last Minute Fourth of July Ideas!

Hello Everyone!

We're about to hit the halfway mark of summer - the fourth of July! If you've been busy like Angela and I, you'll definitely enjoy this break! We wanted to include a little list of things to eat, drink, wear, and make for this fabulous weekend! We hope you guys have been having a wonderful summer and hope that this fourth of July is amazing! 

1. Food // Luckily for me, the fourth of July lands on a cheat day (saturday), and I am so ready to eat! If you're having trouble deciding what you should eat here are a couple of options: Deviled Eggs as a little appetizer, you can grill up some Corn on the Cob, and of course, you can never go wrong with  Burgers and/or Hot Dogs!

2. Drinks // I had no idea the amount of drinks you could make with the colors: red, white, and blue. It's crazy! I am not much of a drinker but I may make an exception for one of these tasty looking drinks: First we have Piña Coladas - don't they just look so yummy? Next we have some Super Slushies (vodka is what makes them so super). I had to throw in some Wine Sparklers that weren't so colorful just because we don't always have to be so festive. Lastly, you can never go wrong with simple Jello Shots! (Can't you tell that I loved whipped cream? It's an ingredient in three of these drinks!)

3. Treats // My absolute favorite part of ANY holiday is the desserts/sweets. I can't decide what I want to make for my friends. First we have Oreo Pops  which are simple and cute and you can do them in so many different colors. Then we have a Firecracker Cakelette, which seems a little difficult to make but they look so cute. Of course, you can never go wrong with some simple Smores. And at last, but not least Cupcake Cones  super simple and easy to make and they're just so cute!

4. Style // I don't know about you guys, but I just have this idea in my head that you should wear red, white, and/or blue on the fourth of July. I get that you don't have to, but that's what it always comes down to for me. You can go full on patriotic and wear a sweater with an american flag on it (picture 1). You can tone it down and have a little casual look with a starred t-shirt (picture 2), or you can really tone it down and wear american flag socks (picture 3)! The possibilities are endless! Then there could be people that want nothing to do with stars and stripes on this holiday, thus, we can tone it down and just wear red, white, and blue in a very simple and stylish way (picture 4). 

5. DIY // There are so many things you can make for the fourth of July. The four things I've listed below are very simple to make and are super cute. First we have Mason Jars, who doesn't love a good mason jar DIY? Then we have some Confetti Launchers which are perfect for the places that don't allow fireworks, this is a great alternative - especially for children. Next is something that will make any outdoor area even greater, String Lights - they will make nighttime look magical! Last but not least is something that can entertain the lil'kiddies, Parade Wands - these will definitely keep any child occupied!

I am so excited for this holiday and I can't wait to spend it with my friends! If you're stuck in a rut and don't know what to eat/drink/wear, I hope this post helped guide you!

I hope you all have an AMAZING fourth of July! - Pop some fireworks for me! :)