Short Term 12

4 Stars

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Cast: Brie Larson, Frantz Turner, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever
Release Year: 2013
Rated: R

Brie Larson plays Grace, a counselor for troubled teens at Short Term 12. She is confident, caring and is willing to fight for all her kids. When she is not working however, she is nervous, and self-conscious. She is a woman with a past and while she advises her kids to talk about everything going on in their head she refuses to do the same.

This is a difficult role and Larson delivers it flawlessly. She does not fall into the trap of playing the emotions of the scene. I felt as though she was living and breathing everything her character was experiencing giving the audience a raw, truthful performance. She is only a year older than me and for her to be this in control of her character is astounding. Being the lead it is easy to remember her, but the rest of the cast does a great job as well. You feel for all the characters and are invested in their journeys from beginning to end.

Grace is a physically and mentally wounded woman. She is able to hide from her problems until the arrival of Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever). Everything seems to fall apart with Jayden's appearance and Grace shuts herself up even more from her boyfriend, Mason (John Gallagher, Jr.). 

Larson and Gallagher, Jr. are fantastic together. They react to each other and have believable chemistry. Mason is the complete opposite of Grace. He is open and willing to talk. He loves Grace and wants to help her, but she refuses to let him in. This aspect of the film gives additional insight into Short Term 12 and the teens that reside there.

The teen actors are also memorable. It is easy to make the characters obnoxious and unlikable, but they are not. You know why Kaitllyn Dever's Jayden acts up. Luis (Kevin Hernandez) and Marcus (Keith Stanfield) may not like each other, but there is also a sense of hurt and protectiveness that rounds them out as full, living characters. One of the most memorable parts of the film is when Marcus is sharing his latest rap verse with Mason. The camera does not change angles from the moment he begins to rap until he is done. I don't want to say what the rap is about or how he performs it, but it is heart wrenching.

The film may focus more on having a happy ending, but it doesn't feel forced. The topics in the film are heavy and after everything we experience, the audience does want to see everyone in a better place. Even so, it doesn't feel like a cop out. It's still though provoking and difficult to grasp. Brie Larson is marvelous and I am looking forward to seeing her in Room. Here's hoping I can be that good one day.

Trailer:

The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy, #3) by Deborah Harkness

This book was okay. This whole series was okay.

My mom and my brother's girlfriend both enjoyed this series and it seems like a majority of people did, too. I was more bored by it than anything.

I read this trilogy because my brother's girlfriend lent us A Discovery of Witches. She then told my mom that if she enjoyed that one, she would lend her the other two books in the series so she could finish the trilogy. I enjoyed that story. It wasn't one of my favorites, but I was interested in finding out more Diana and Matthew and their forbidden love. I wanted to finish the trilogy since I had already started it.

The second book was slow. Painfully slow. I didn't enjoy reading that one. My mom told me she felt the same way, but said the third book made up for the second one.

I began the third one and after the second one not very invested in the characters. I waited for the third one to pick up, but for me personally, it never did. I will now go into further detail. Possible spoilers may be revealed.

1. Point of view If I am not mistaken, A Discovery of Witches was all written from the third person point of view. The second one was written in the first person and The Book of Life was written from the first person point of view when dealing with Diana and in the third person point of view with the other characters. However, I feel that there were moments in which the author went into the first person point of view with the other characters and I was confused at times because I didn't know who was speaking.

2. Characters The author did focus on Diana and Matthew. She introduced us to other characters in the first two books and mentioned them often enough that we knew who they were by the third book. However, there were some characters that were reintroduced or mentioned for the first time since the first or second book and I could not for the life of me remember who they were. This wouldn't be so much of a problem, but after mentioning name after name and them seemingly now playing a part in one way or another it got to be bloating and confusing.

3. Secrets In the first two books, Diana and Matthew keep all their secrets to themselves. They are even reluctant to reveal some of those secrets to those closest to them. In this one, they have to reveal more in order to win the war that is going on. However, it was confusing because someone started revealing these secrets to Benjamin and other members of the congregation and they could not figure out who it was. They themselves are revealing secrets that will help boost their status in the war, yet it's bad that these secrets are falling into the wrong hands.

4. Corra Corra plays a major part in Diana's life once she is revealed in the second book. She is a part of Diana and suddenly she wants to be free to be with other familiars that may exist. She promises Diana that she can keep her strength, but she no longer wants to be a part of her. I couldn't see the purpose of this.

5. Plot  The first and second book build up to this war that Diana and Matthew have to fight in order to be together as well as the purpose the book of life in the outcome of the war. The war turns out to be nothing more than speeches Diana has to do for the congregation in order to get what she wants. Everything is resolved easily. There is no real fighting involved in anything. Diana and Matthew want something, someone resists and gives in easily after a few spoken words. This was utterly disappointing.

6. Blood rage From the beginning we get the feeling that blood rage is a terrible thing to have. Vampires afflicted with blood rage turn into monsters that have no mental state about what they are doing. They can kill their loved ones and only learn about it when their fit of rage is over. Diana helps Matthew control his blood rage, but it a process that takes time and risks. Jack, their adoptive child, has it and he has one of the worst cases of it. Any small argument can set him off, yet by the end of the novel he can control it after a few months. Matthew's blood rage reemerges as bad as ever after he is tortured and again he can control it no problem a few weeks after being saved. Maybe the author is trying to say that with love and tenderness anything can be fixed, which if that's the case why didn't anyone try to show this compassion to Benjamin?

7. The book of life The book is built up from the first book as being the thing that holds all the answers as to the creation of all the creatures. The book is found, but most of the answers are found through science rather than this all powerful book. This explanation would be fine, if the book hadn't been built up to be super important.

8. Pacing This book was not as boring as the second, but especially since it was supposed to be a book about this war they were fighting in, it was rather dull.

This trilogy is not something I am going to visit again. It seems popular amongst other people, and you may enjoy it, but it was not my cup of tea.

If the author writes more stories covering the backstories of other characters, I might give that a chance. Some were more interesting than Diana and Matthew.

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

“But to look back from the stony plain along the road which led one to that place is not at all the same thing as walking on the road; the perspective to say the very least, changes only with the journey; only when the road has, all abruptly and treacherously, and with an absoluteness that permits no argument, turned or dropped or risen is one able to see all that one could not have seen from any other place.” 

The story follows fourteen year old John Grimes who is struggling to find his identity. He has to deal with his bully of a step father and what his family expects him to be.

He is expected to be a preacher, but is plagued with doubts as he experiences worldly thoughts.

Part of the problem is his stepfather, Gabriel Grimes. Gabriel prohibits John from reading anything other than the Bible and does not allow him to dance or enjoy any other pleasures as he feels this will lead John to a life of sin. Gabriel has his own secrets that riddle him with guilt and cause him to lash out in anger.

The novel is chock full of Biblical metaphors as John finds his identity. The novel is divided into three sections and it is in the final section entitles "The Threshing Floor" that John is saved.

Of course, the readers are faced with determining who the real sinners are and who are the ones that are actually saved:
“There are people in the world for whom 'coming along' is a perpetual process, people who are destined never to arrive.”

John finds refuge within his church community away from the violence from home. Gabriel who claims to be a holy man still struggles with his past:

“The morning of that day, as Gabriel rose and started out to work, the sky was low and nearly black and the air too thick to breath. Late in the afternoon the wind rose, the skies opened, and the rain came. The rain came down as though once more in Heaven the Lord had been persuaded of the good uses of a flood. It drove before it the bowed wanderer, clapped children into houses, licked with fearful anger against the high, strong wall, and the wall of the lean-to, and the wall of the cabin, beat against the bark and the leaves of trees, trampled the broad grass, and broke the neck of the flower. The world turned dark, forever, everywhere, and windows ran as though their glass panes bore all the tears of eternity, threatening at every instant to shatter inward against this force, uncontrollable, so abruptly visited on the earth.” 

When John is saved he is finally free from the resentment he feels toward his stepfather. We don't know if John will become a preacher as everyone wants him to, but with his new found community he is free to express himself and figure out his identity. He no longer fears what his stepfather thinks of him.

Structure
The novel opens on the morning of John's fourteenth birthday and ends on the threshing floor later that night. In between the opening and closing chapters are three chapters following Florence, Gabriel and Elizabeth. John's aunt, stepfather and mother respectively. We see insights into their pasts and discover why they act the way they do and how their relationship with God or lack thereof is changed.

Spoiler Alert
The next section has spoilers and if you do not wish to read them move on to the next section.

Florence's Prayer (John's step aunt) Florence has rejected God for many years. This is the first time in decades that she has stepped into a church. She has no reason to believe in God. Her husband was killed during the first world war and Gabriel was always her mother's favorite in spite of his sinful past. Her best friend Deborah was at one point married to Gabriel and she has kept one of the letters Deborah sent her illustrating Gabriel's sinful nature with another woman. She wants to give this letter to Elizabeth so Gabriel can stop tormenting Elizabeth and her bastard child. Florence is close to death and decides it will not matter since Gabriel will outlive her.

Gabriel's Prayer (John's stepfather) Gabriel gave in to feelings of lust causing him to impregnate another woman. He abandons her and her son for fear of judgement from his peers, he grows resentful of his wife and remains that way long after she, the woman he impregnated and his first son are all dead. His  guilt causes him to last out against his current wife Elizabeth and her illegitimate child. His anger and guilt all stem from his past and this causes him to lash out mainly at his stepson.

Elizabeth's Prayer (John's mother) Elizabeth is a kind, good woman who gave herself to her one, true love Richard despite not being married. Richard is arrested and tortures for a crime he didn't commit. When there isn't enough evidence to convict him he is released, but Richard, a proud, black man can't take the humiliation and fear of what he went through slits his wrists before Elizabeth has a chance to tell him that she's pregnant. She marries Gabriel to give her and her son a better chance at life and she truly believes it is God's will to do so. She loves her son John and knows he is destined for great things.

SKIP TO HERE. NO MORE SPOILERS James Baldwin
This is a semi-autobiographical novel as some of what John experiences were drawn from Baldwin's real life. Both were raised in an impoverished Harlem, both had problems with their stepfathers and both were saved at the age of fourteen.

Baldwin found his voice and escaped to France where blacks and gays were treated better than they were in the fifties United States.

Conclusion
This was my first time reading "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and while I have nothing in common with John and his circumstances, I was drawn into the story and was fascinated at what was going on. I wanted to know more about all the characters and what they were going through. I especially enjoyed reading the prayers as the backstories of all the characters were particularly intriguing. 

I recommend this book to anyone who loves literature in general and to those who:
-love the rich language of the Bible
-struggle with their own identity with religion
-want to know more about the black experience before the civil rights movement
-identify with coming of age stories

I identified mainly with the women and their struggles with morality, religion and sin. I believe in redemption, but like the women in the novel it seems more difficult to obtain sometimes especially when the whole world tells you you have to behave in a certain way.

I think this novel is universally relatable whether or not you believe in God or not. You may not be able to relate to the characters and the color of their skin, especially if you've never been persecuted for the color of your skin, but it can at least give you insight into what it's like to fear for your life. To fear being attributed to something because just because you look like the person who did it. In that sense, I think we can all relate to it.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

I know that as a theater person I am way behind the times in reading this play. I can see why it is considered a classic, but I can also see why it is not popular among actors.

Arthur Miller is a good playwright and he definitely writes in a poetic manner. One of my favorite lines in the play is absolutely beautiful:

“Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.”

Of course there are issues with this play. I read the preface to the play and while it was explained why Miller made the historical changes that he did, I'm not sure what the purpose was in doing so.

Miller keeps the story the same in that young girls are caught dancing in the woods and in order to prevent reprimanding they say they are possessed by the devil. The begin to accuse women in the town as having made pacts with the devils. The change occurs mainly in the character of Abigail who is now seventeen instead of being eleven or twelve as she was in real life. The girls are all older with the exception of Betty Parris.

Abigail is the ringleader of the girls and she begins the accusations mainly because she is seeking revenge on John Proctor and his wife. She used to work for them, but is fired after she and John begin an affair.

The main issue with the play is the time when it was written. 

John and Abigail begin an affair. Goody Proctor suspects it and does nothing about it except to fire Abigail. John is upset and when he confronts his wife she says that her behavior caused him to turn to the affair. Not many people nowadays would accept the fact that a woman is blaming herself for making her husband go astray. It was written in a different time and it takes place in a different time and perhaps this should give us the chance to forgive the play, but I know people that would not let that slide.

This aspect did not bother me so much. I was more bothered by the female characters. I did not find them interesting, but was frustrated by them.

Overall Abigail and John's relationship had no point to it other than to fuel the accusations. The real story is more interesting than this.

The penguin edition of the play ends with an afterword. As it is written by Arthur Miller, I'm not sure how accurate it is and I am also not sure if it is meant to be included in the notes of the playbill as the audience would otherwise have no way of knowing what is written.

The writing is beautiful and I think this is the main reason as to why it is considered an American classic. It is a play that needs to be in an actor's repertoire as it is mentioned a lot in any circle, but apart from the language there was nothing to me that stood out.

Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos

Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos

This is the first animated film I've seen with a PG13 rating. This is a film in Spanish with English subtitles, and while in Spanish I guess it earns that rating, I'm not sure about the English translation. This is a funny film with double entendres as its main form of comedy, but I think the jokes would go over the heads of those who speak only English as I am not sure how well the jokes would translate.

"Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos", according to the subtitles, is something "Egg-cellent Adventure". I didn't pay too much attention to it since it made it sound totally lame. The title literally translates to "The Rooster with Many Eggs", but this is a PG-13 film so the translation should actually read as "The Rooster with Big Balls". Anyway, the story follows Toto (Bruno Bichir) who is an awkward little rooster trying to find his crow. The owner of the farm in which he lives recently lost her husband and is on the verge of losing her farm as well after going bankrupt.

Toto and his friends decide to enter a cockfighting competition (in this case cockfighting equals boxing roosters) in order to try and keep the farm.

Toto, his love interest Di, her father, the eggs and a piece of bacon all set out to get Toto ready for the big fight.

The film is written and directed by Gabriel Riva Palacio Alatriste. He does a good job balancing the film's comedy and heart. There are also a lot of fun pop culture references such as the egg who looks like the godfather and lots of visually interesting characters like the duck egg that is covered in tattoos.

The characters are part of the "Huevocartoons" or "Egg cartoons". Yes, they are literally eggs with arms, legs and faces. It makes absolutely no sense. I first saw the egg characters on stickers that my cousin from Mexico had on her door. I could not understand why anyone would want to watch eggs. Then my boyfriend recommended the first egg film and I reluctantly did so. I still could not see the appeal of those darn eggs. My mind did not change overnight. I found the film funny, but my mind could not get past the fact that the main characters were eggs. After watching this film I understand a little more. My mind has finally accepted these little egg people and I enjoy watching their personalities and their interactions with each other.

These characters are beyond weird, but if you go in prepared for them and you allow yourself not to overthink the fact that there is a Snoop Duck and a Duck Claude Van Damme you can fully enjoy the silliness that is this film. It is over the top and ridiculous, but that's what these eggs are. Pure fun and entertainment.

The only part of the film I was a little iffy about was the cockfighting, but that's more political on my part. At least these roosters weren't gouging and tearing each other open. Had I not seen the subtitles refer to the boxing roosters as cock fighters I might have been more okay with the context of the fights.

I glanced at the subtitles occasionally only because my brain wanted to read the words on the screen even though I don't need to. However, I was able to keep my brain from reading everything and I listened to what was being said. The jokes are risqué in Spanish and again, I'm not sure how well those jokes translated into English. I'm sure some them translated fine, but this film did not do well at the box office and I'm thinking it's mainly because the English translation is not going to capture the spirit of the Spanish language,

Overall, I enjoyed this film and I think more people will too, if they give it a chance.

Crimson Peak

Guillermo del Toro's latest foray into horror reads more as a gothic romance and this didn't bother me. Don't get me wrong. This film definitely has moments where you are creeped out by the surroundings and situations. Overall, though, this was not the scary film I had been expecting. It was creepy, romantic, wrong and breathtakingly beautiful. While it did differ from del Toro's other films as he focused completely on the gothic look of the film, his vision still shone through mainly with the physical appearance of the ghosts.

The film begins in Boston at the turn of the 20th century. Edith Cushing (Mis Wasikowska) is an aspiring author who lives with her industrialist father Carter (Jim Beaver). She struggles to get her stories published as she is a woman (what a world to live in).

Cue Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) and his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain). Thomas is in America to try and get Edith's father to invest in a contraption he needs to gather the valuable red clay found underneath his estate. Carter Cushing does not trust him and refuses to fund him. Lucille seems determined that they stay until they can get the funding and during their stay, Thomas and Edith fall in love. Carter is murdered and Edith marries Thomas. She leaves her life in America and her best friend Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam) to move to her husband's English estate.

The appearance of the mansion is perfectly gothic. It is vast and beautiful at first glance, but then we see that the wooden floors are rotting due to the red clay underneath and there is a hole in the roof that leaves the house exposed to the elements. The pipes deliver red water before it turns clear, and the walls seem to bleed with the clay. During the winter the red clay is exposed underneath the snow making it look as though it is stained with blood, thus giving it the name Crimson Peak.

Then there are the ghosts. Each ghost is different in appearance, although it is hard to see the differences at first. Some ghosts are black while others the signature crimson color. Glimpses of how they died can be found on their bodies. All but two lack distinguishing facial features and while I was hoping to see more of them than I did, when they were on the screen they were worth it as they were beyond creepy.

The film is gorgeous to look at and of course del Toro knows how to keep his audience on the edge of their seat. The cinematography gave glimpses of the ghosts before fully revealing them and shots of walls full of insects (some dead, some not) added the perfect touch.

The script was well written and the actors all did a great job. Mia Wasikowska kept the film going while Tom Hiddleston was able to play all the emotions his character is feeling without giving too much away. The standout performer though, is Jessica Chastain. She has a coldness to her and while you suspect that nothing is quite right with her, some of the revelations did catch me off guard. The three main characters played off of each other well and were able to keep the audience invested in their story lines.

Overall raitng: 3.5

Everest

3.5/5

The visuals in this film are absolutely stunning and all the actors did an incredible job. It was hard to keep track of who was who, but I found myself engaged and worried about all the characters.

The film is based on a true story and follows guide Rob (Jason Clarke) and some of his clients. The Texan Beck (Josh Brolin), Doug (John Hawkes), and journalist Jon (Michael Kelly). Doug is eager to reach the top as he barely missed doing so the year before. Rob is a cautious guide as he has never lost a client and this causes him to clash with Beck. At this time in history, expeditions to Everest were being sold to wealthy clients. Since there are so many groups trying to reach the summit on the same day, Rob teams up with rival guide Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) to make the expedition easier on both teams. The teams are delayed by outside factors which causes them to lose precious time. By the time most reach the summit, they have to turn around immediately in order to make it back to camp on time. Unfortunately due to the setbacks they are met with a blizzard and some are trapped on various points on the mountain while others barely make it back to camp.

The film is absolutely gorgeous to look at and Baltasar Kormakur (director) does a good job in telling the story. The main problem with this film is that it is hard to remember who is who and what role they play in the film. Rob, Beck, Doug are the easiest to remember as the filmmakers focus mainly on them. Jake Gyllenhaal is easy to remember mainly because of his star power, I actually didn't know what his name was during the duration of the film. Jan (Keira Knightley), Peach (Robin Wright), Helen (Emily Watson), and Yasuko (Naoko Mori) also gave brilliant performances and being female they stood out in a sea of nameless male characters. Overall I enjoyed the film and found myself engaged in the events and rooting for everyone to make it out alive.

Watch the Everest trailer here:

Facts and Figures
Year: 2015
Genre: Action/Adventure
Runtime: 144 mins
Distributed by: MacGillivrey Freeman Films
Production Companies: Universal Pictures, Working Title Films, Walden Media, Cross Creek Pictures, Free State Pictures, RVK Studios

Reviews
Lluvia Reviews: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 72%
Fresh: 136 Rotten: 52
iMDB: 7.4/10

Cast and Crew
Director: Baltasar Kormakur
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Nicky Kentish Barnes, Liza Chasin, Evan Hayes, Brian Oliver, Tyler Thompson
Screenwriter: William Nicholson, Simon Beaufoy
Starring: Jason Clarke as Rob Hall, Jake Gyllenhaal as Scott Fischer, Josh Brolin as Beck Weathers, John Hawkes as Doug Hansen, Sam Worthington as Guy Cotter, Robin Wright as Peach Weathers, Keira Knightley as Jan Arnold, Clive Standen as Ed Viestrus, Emily Watson as Helen Wilton, Mia Goth as Meg, Michael Kelly as Jon Krakauer, Martin Henderson as Andy Harris, Elizabeth Debicki as Dr. Caroline Mackenzie, Tom Goodman-Hill as Neal Beidleman, Vanessa Kirby as Sandy Hill Pittman, Naoko Mori as Yasuko Namba, Mark Derwin as Lou Kasischke, Thomas M. Wright as Mike Groom
Also Starring: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Nicky Kentish Barnes, Lisa Chasin, William Nicholson, Simon Beaufoy

Links
Everest Movie Site

The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty's Prince by Serena Valentino

This book was okay.

The story changes a bit in the sense that the enchantress has three older sisters that want nothing than to see the Beast fail. I don't really know why they're there other than the author is going to make them a permanent fixture in all her retellings.

I did enjoy getting a peek into the Prince's life before he became a beast and I thought the explanation as to why he has such a bad temper was clever.

I enjoyed the story and overall thought it remained true to the Disney story we all know and love.

This is a quick read and I think worth reading if you want more of an explanation as to why a prince had to become a beast in order to learn a lesson.

Minions

Minions

Minions: 3 stars

Directed by: Kyle Balda & Pierre Coffin

I have honestly never been a fan of these little, yellow jelly-beans.  I enjoyed the Despicable Me films, but while I thought their antics were cute, I was more interested in Gru and the girls. It seems I am on the unpopular end of this spectrum as Despicable Me 2 put more focus on the Minions which led to their very own film. I have no problem with them, but I saw them only as cute, comic relief.  

I thought Despicable Me had a lot of heart and a good story to go along with it. Despicable Me 2 annoyed me only because I saw less of Gru and the girls and more of these guys. Minions was cute, but that was about it. There was no real substance to it. It was the minions doing what they do best: messing things up, going bonkers over bananas, and speaking in the gibberish that they have become known for.

Minions follows Bob, Kevin and Stuart in 1968 as they search for a boss that they and the rest of their tribe can serve. They head to Orlando where Villain-Con takes place. There they meet Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), the first female super-villain.  She hires them to hire the Queen of England's crown. Of course, hilarity (I guess) ensues. I found myself smiling throughout the film, but I only laughed once and that was because I was hoping for (and got) a Beatles cameo. This film is filled with gags that are sure to make kids laugh, but nothing worth remembering. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfql_DoHRKc