The Greatest Showman Movie Review

The Greatest Showman Movie Review

3.5 out of 5 Stars

For the entirety of this review, it is important to note that I saw this movie twice in theaters. The first was because my friend and I wanted to check it out like any other film. Based on that first viewing, I would not have volunteered to see it again. However, I had promised to take a different friend to the movies, and this was the film that they chose. It was their treat, so I agreed to see it again. Interestingly enough, I liked it more the second time I saw it, and I'll explain why in a moment. Despite liking it more the second time around, I don't think I would spend more money to see it in theaters again for a third time.


The Greatest Showman, for those who are not completely sure of what the movie is about, is inspired by the life of P.T. Barnum, the guy that created the first circus. Hugh Jackman plays this role and is accompanied in the film by Zac Efron, Zendaya, and Michelle Williams. Young Barnum has nothing but through hard work earns enough to marry his childhood sweetheart and live in New York City. When he loses his job, he begins to use his imagination to think of a new attraction in the city that he can call his own. The movie progresses throughout his circus career and stresses the importance of family and acceptance. The movie, as is said within the movie, really is a "celebration of humanity".

Sounds fantastic right? It very nearly was; however, the first time I saw it there was so much going on and there were multiple plots that I couldn't follow them all without wondering about where the film was going to go. About halfway through the movie, there had already been a successful rising tension, climax, and resolution plot line and I was so confused about where the movie was going to go. It was extremely distracting! And then when the second one started, it was fuzzy as to what the problem was that needed to get solved. It wasn't until the climax of that plot that it became known what was happening that needed resolution. The second time around though, I knew what was going to happen so I was able to enjoy everything else more than. So on that note, I would say it was not strong writing and storytelling.

A part of this movie that I really did enjoy were the songs. The opening scene itself is bada** as heck and got me really excited for the show. From start to finish, there is an air of entertainment to all of the music that really drives home the movie. I think my favorite song of the entire thing though it "The Other Side", which is sung by Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron. It was just such great buildup within the lyrics and composition, and then with the choreography that they used it made for a really enjoyable scene in the movie. Lastly, the colors, settings, and costumes were SO amazing. I don't think they could have hit the nail on the head better with the whole entertaining-circus-Barnum thing. The colors were bold and bright and unapologetic. And then there is the contrast with the high society of New York that wore very formal attire with dulled colors or pale colors.


This movie is worth going to see in theaters, even if only once. It is also a great family movie, so if there are little kids and you need to see something that everyone can watch, this will work nicely. For me though, the plot was too disorganized and jagged to really make it spectacular. The Greatest Showman is up for three Golden Globes tonight (as of this posting): Best Motion Picture- Musical or Comedy, Hugh Jackman for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical or Comedy, and "This is Me" for Best Original Song- Motion Picture.

Best of luck to all the nominees for the Golden Globes tonight and thanks for reading!

ACOWAR Ships

Ships in A Court of Wings and Ruin

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

Feysand:
I think this may be one of my favorite ships of all time.... then again, it may just be because of Rhys, so I'll have to think about this one a bit before I officially declare it as "all-time favorite".  There are so many pieces of this ship though that make it incredible. First, I would like to state that I shipped them in book 1. Some people are probably reading that and thinking it's bullshit, but I seriously did. I wasn't lukewarm about it either- the end of book 1 happened and I was ecstatic and I DEVOURED the second book to figure out what happened. It's already been a paragraph and I've barely touch the actual ship, so I'll just make a whole post about them later. There's no way I can condense this into a paragraph.


Nessian:
This is the ship that has literally exploded across the fandom, and while I ship it, I am not as fanatic about it as others. I will say though that I am really supportive of the two of them, because you have Nesta who is super intense and will not show emotion and then you have Cassian who is a flirt and very demonstrative. I'm not sure if it's the ship that I love then so much as it is the situations that they get into. Seeing them break these characteristics for each other is really what gets to me. It just shows how much that they mean to each other, even if it's an accidental show of emotion. The one possible hiccup would be if either of them found a mate. I don't think that will happen, at least from a literary perspective because it is supposed to be a rare thing and we already have two pairs. However, if it were to happen, would they break the bond with the other so that they could be Nessian? I don't know....

Elucien:
I'm giving them a chance. They are mates after all, and while Elain is dealing with her own shit ton of being turned into a Fae, I really think that her and Lucien have personalities that will go well together. Lucien very clearly cares enough to put her in front of himself and the instinct to be around her. Hell, he left the freaking court that she was in and wouldn't even see her because she wasn't ready to. There is definitely trouble ahead though because poor Azriel may or may not have a thing for her.

Elriel:
In terms of Elriel, I don't know how much I support this ship. I guess it's there? It wasn't as present though when I read A Court of Wings and Ruin although I guess that their scenes could be read that way. In my perfect happy world though, Elain ends up with Lucien and Az finds someone else to take care of and be happy with.  For them to end up together, the bond between Elain and Lucien would have to be broken, which is not possible in this world correct?

Amrian/Vamren:
Hit me like a pile of bricks, this one did. This is the ship that although they don't have a bunch of page time, I am obsessed with the time that they do have. Varian calms Amren down a bit and gets her to give up her other creature-thing. I died when that happened. The only thing that I would like to see more of in the upcoming books though is in addition to more page time for these two, more characterization of Varian. He seems like a really great guy, but I just don't know if he's as fleshed out as they other characters are. If he were to be built up character-wise a bit more than I think this ship will be even better than it is now. Side note- does anyone know their official ship name???

 
Morx???:
I just want Mor to find someone. I take that back- at the very least, I want her to tell the Court of Dreams that she's gay so that she can at least have a chance of finding someone. Plus, Az will stop (maybe) harboring feelings for her and move on. The only possible ship I can think of for Mor is Viviane, who I feel like knows that Mor is gay. This ship can't happen though because Viviane is with and perfect with Kallias. So Mor is still left alone- unless she meets someone new in the future books. The only other not-very-well-known character right now is Vassa, the mortal queen that is cursed by some sorcerer. Maybe Mor will end up with her?

Thanks for reading!

Movies of 2018

The Movies of 2018 I'm Excited About

 

****means that this movie is an adaptation of a book****

Avengers: Infinity War- May 4

Black Panther- February 16

Ready Player One- March 30****

The Incredibles 2- June 15

A Wrinkle in Time- March 9****

12 Strong- January 19

The Post- January 12

Love, Simon- March 16****

Fifty Shades Freed- February 9****

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald- November 16

Red Sparrow- March 2

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms- November 2

Ocean's 8- June 8

The Darkest Minds- September 14****

There are probably a TON more movies coming out this year that I either do not have on this list or do not know about, so please let me know which you are really looking forward to!!!

Thanks for reading!

12 Hour Reading Challenge

A Challenge That Is Exactly What It Sounds Like: 

Reading for 12 Hours Straight

Hello! I hope 2018 is off to a great start for all of you. I thought that I would start mine by doing a sort of beginner's level of the 24 Hour Reading Challenge that is around online. Instead of reading for the whole of 24 hours, I decided to set aside a day and only do it for 12 hours, thus ensuring that I can get some sleep in because I couldn't afford a day of reading AND a day of catching up sleeping. Anywho, I think it was a huge success! Here's the breakdown:

Start: 12 noon

First book (had already started): Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
pages: 57
Second book: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
pages: 139
Third book: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
pages: 332
Fourth book (did not finish): The Strange Case of Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
pages: 12

End: 12 midnight

Total books read: 2.5-2.75 
Total pages read: 540

I don't think that's too shabby of a 12 hour reading session. And it's roughly 12 hours- I took breaks to eat, shower, talk, etc. It was a lot of fun though and really relaxing. The best part is, I got to sleep like a normal person and here I am today perfectly functional.

So there you have it! My 12 Hour Reading Challenge- highly recommended!!!!


Thanks for reading and happy belated New Year!

Noah Shaw

The Becoming of Noah Shaw

by Michelle Hodkin

SPOILER FREE
The Becoming of Noah Shaw, while being as wonderfully written as The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer series, carries a slightly different tone to it. This series, at least this book, really dives into the mentality of Noah, who is much more grounded in his reality though that alone comes with it's own darkness. This creates a more stable narrator though. Because there is the Mara Dyer series before this one too, the reader (should they read this after the Mara Dyer series) already knows about what is going on with the group, which also changes the tone of the novel from the first series. The great thing that this book does though, is that even as the reader has gained so much knowledge from the previous series, the pace of the story is still engaging and intriguing. We all thought that the answers were solved with the end of The Retribution of Mara Dyer, but here we find that it was only the tip of the iceberg.

The plot of the novel picks up almost immediately after the The Retribution of Mara Dyer, and I am not entirely sure that you can read this one without having read the others (The Unbecoming, The Evolution, The Retribution... of Mara Dyer). All of these books are fantastic though so, trust me, you won't regret reading them. Unless you get freaked easily... then you might. Coming back to this novel though, I think the plot is really well created: it is not the same as the previous books- there is no way that it could have been- but instead builds on it in a way that smoothly transitions from the last book to this one. We find out in this story that there is still so much that we do not know; but the pieces start to come into place in this book.

Another thing that was different in this book was the narration. I already touched on this, but seeing the story through Noah's point of view is vastly different from Mara's. All of the characters are slightly different, yet the same, now that they are seen through Noah's perspective, and holy moley does it make a difference. For me, the biggest difference was seeing Mara and her actions and words as opposed to being in her head. Also, she has some insane character development that kinda freaks me out, but I'm also looking forward to seeing more of.


This book is a great start to what I really think is going to be a great series. It is not the same twisty, dark, and psychologically freaky story as The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer series, but The Becoming of Noah Shaw still very chilling and darkly themed, which I love. Plus, Noah Shaw is there the entire freaking time.

Thanks for reading!

Review of The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin

Be Prepared for the Roller Coaster that is 

The Becoming of Noah Shaw

By Michelle Hodkin

THERE IS LESS THAN A WEEK UNTIL THE RELEASE OF NOAH SHAW!!!!!

My rating: 

 

This is not an automatic rating because I love the Mara Dyer books. I am so so so so so happy and lucky to say that I got to read a copy of the book- yes, THE book!!!- before the release and it is absolutely incredible.

*THANK YOU to Simon & Schuster Books for a digital copy through Edelweiss+*

110% this book is going onto my favorites shelf and I'm giving it five stars. THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS IN THIS POST. So for those of you who are just hunting for those, you will not find any here.


From Goodreads:
"In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after.

Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.

They’re wrong.

Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.

He shouldn’t.

And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.

They’re right."

Chances are, if you are reading this post you may have already seen this Goodreads page, but I just wanted to give you a refresher of what is going to be happening.

I absolutely loved the Mara Dyer series, and I really think that I am going to love this series as well if not more because I think that having it be a companion series allows there to be so much more depth, even just by nature of it being a companion to something that already exists. There are some new characters, but the main group is composed of people that we already know from the other books and the background to this novel is the Mara Dyer series; so it goes straight into the action of the plot and further development of these characters. 

One of the great things about the Mara Dyer series is the unreliable narration in my opinion. While that is not an element in this book, I still think that Noah was a strong narrator and that there is still a very creepy and Gothic vibe to the book that matches the others that have come before it. There is still a very strong and important theme running throughout the book of what these characters can do beyond the natural, but the tone of the novel takes a slightly different tune as the reader hears a story from Noah and his mind as opposed to Mara and her strange combination of PTSD and supernatural abilities. 

MADNESS: the real cause of excitement for most people I would imagine. Oh my. I think that is the most comprehensive and accurate summary of what I can say without spoiling anything. Good luck interpreting, but please for the sake of the fandom and myself READ THIS BOOK ASAP. Also, cover love. All of the Mara Dyer books have water on the covers and this one has like flames and embers and I am totally obsessed with the opposites here.

I'm honestly terrified to keep going because I don't want to accidentally spoil anything. The excitement and feels for this book though are SO strong and if I go on I may actually slip up on something. It is at that level of amazing to me. Michelle Hodkin's writing is just as beautiful and wonderfully intricate in this book and The Becoming of Noah Shaw is a phenomenal and strong start to the beginning of what I believe will be a great companion series.

ONLY 6 MORE DAYS AND THEN YOU CAN BUY THE BECOMING OF NOAH SHAW!!!!!

Thanks for reading and I cannot wait until I can share my full thoughts with you all!!!!!

Dunkirk Movie Review

Dunkirk Movie Review 

4.97 out of 5 Stars

I went into this movie knowing pretty much only that it was written and directed by Christopher Nolan with a score from Hans Zimmer. The other bare minimum information in my head going into previews was that it took place in France during World War II, and that Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, and Harry Styles were in it. Even with my sparse knowledge of the film, I was blown away. It is different from any other movie that I can think of in that it doesn't seem to have been made primarily for the stories it tells; but rather, it seems to have been made to educate both historically and emotionally what this event was like.


The experience of watching Dunkirk reminds me of the first time I rode a roller coaster. There was this great anticipation of what was about to happen followed by this adrenaline rush fueled by a combination of fear and thrill. It was a bit rocky and hard to adjust at first, but then by the end I did not want the experience to be over.


Without a doubt, the part that sits in my mind the strongest is the shooting of the film itself. Some of the angles and view points that were used are beautifully done and brilliantly clever. The cinematography of this film is stunning in my opinion and it made me feel like I was there. Especially with the shots that were either from the view of a pilot or were shot underwater while the ships were going down really pinned me to my seat. This in combination with the point directly below about the stories followed makes this movie more of an experience of Dunkirk than anything else.

Switching constantly between three different stories that all started at different times makes for a strange time frame that admittedly was hard to follow at first. But I quickly realized what was going on, and it became a fascinating way to see how these all overlapped each other and came together at the end. Looking online, there are some mixed reviews because it can be confusing at times, but I really liked this aspect. It gave the viewers insight to so many different elements that were all being played out at once or near to the same time. Slightly risky, considering how the scenes needed to jump from one abruptly to another, but overall it paid off because the viewer experienced multiple angles of this tragedy.


Contributing greatly to this experience is without a doubt the sound effects and score. I am a huge fan of Hans Zimmer's work (I really do not care how nerdy that sounds), and I really think he pulled off another fantastic score. Between that and the sound effects there were times when the theater seemed to be shaking or the reverberations of the sounds could be felt. Everything just came together so wonderfully, and I liked the balance between sound effect, score, and other miscellaneous things. It was all orchestrated without a single flaw and it made me feel the wide range of emotions even stronger than without it.


Fanfreakingtastic acting. While it was very heavy on the male cast, I can't even say anything about that because it is so realistic as to who would have actually been there and I would much rather have accuracy in a movie like this. For the actors who are in this movie, I thoroughly enjoyed their work and efforts. To me, there was no one person that stood out as the best actor. They all played out their role amazingly and I do not think I can come up with a single complaint. The one person I will point out is Fionn Whitehead, because I had never heard of him before, but he did just as great of a job as everyone else and I'm interested to see where his career takes him.

The only thing I actually do want to point out is that I have no idea what most of the characters' names are. There's George, and Farrier, and Mr. Dawson, and I think that's all I got. It was just so strange to go through a movie like this and not even be able to tell what someone is called; I'm not even sure if the other characters were given names- I'll have to check the credits. That being said, there wasn't much talking in general, which really is also a statement about Christopher Nolan's ability to tell a story without much dialogue. Name issue aside, I don't think the film suffered from being mostly action based. I actually think it helped the movie because so much more was able to be shown and said in the actions and silences of the soldiers.



Another note to add to this movie (outside of the story itself) is the timing of its release, which seems very early on in the movie season. Personally, I like this time for it because I can let it sit in my mind for awhile and steep instead of having to immediately jump to another train of thought for school or for any reason. And this is definitely a film that demands your thoughts and attention, so I highly recommend going to see it, (because everything about it is amazing and stunning) and then re-watching it on DVD going into award season because I would be very surprised if this film does not receive any nominations and/or wins.

Thanks for reading!