Water for Elephants (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]

Sara Gruen's Greatest Show on Earth
I have to admit that Water for Elephants was a decent representation of the book. Take into consideration that a movie is never going to give you 100% of the book. That being said, I was disappointed with the parts of the book the movie left out. There were lots of little details and nuances that just can't come across on the full screen anyway, although you would have liked to have seen how they would have been portrayed. Although too numerous to mention and for those who haven't read the book it wouldn't matter anyway, the biggest (for those who have read it) would be the comedic scenes that play out with Jacob in the nursing home. All of those chapters were completely left out.

We open with an old man (Hal Holbrook) wandering into the parking lot of a circus that is packing up and moving out. A workman comes out to see if he is lost and invites him in out of the rain while the man calls the nursing home. The old man looks at the old black and white circus photos...

GREAT MOVIE!!
Water for Elephants, a dramatic romance novel written by Sarah Gruen, was published in 2006 and has become quite a hit. It was said to be "gorgeous, brilliant, and superbly plotted" by the author Joshilyn Jackson. The book is narrated by a 93 year old, Jacob Jankowski. Jacob is spending his remaining years in a nursing home, reminiscing of his life and experiences in the circus. When he was 23, his life took a drastic turn when his parents died in a car accident. Jacob is left with no money and drops out of Cornell University, as he was studying to be a vet. Heartbroken, he finds himself on a circus train and quickly becomes the vet of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. This book has become such a success and was made into a movie in 2011, starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson.

Don't worry about the movie ruining the novel. The movie does an excellent job following Gruen's lead. It is common knowledge that the movie can never cover everything...

Better than expected
I had read the reviews of this movie before I went to see it. My expectations were low due to the mixed reviews - but I had an open mind. I really like Reese Witherspoon and when I walked out of the movie, while I thought she did a good job I felt she was miscast in the part. I thought someone more like Scarlett Johannson would have been more in tune to the part - needed someone that was a little "dirty". Reese always plays the angelic, nice girl - so since I felt Marlena had been around the block a bit and was a bit "used" someone that really doesn't fit Reese's nice girl image. I thought Reese and Pattinson did a credible job - Christoph Waltz was really good.

Once I reflected on the movie, I realized that the story is being told from Jacobs eyes - from the age of 23 and again at 92. When he joined the circus and during his life Jacob saw Marlena as innocent,angelic and sweet - I kind of expected to see a light glow around Reese throughout the movie. So, in reality...

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Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Two-Disc Edition Blu Ray + DVD/Digital Copy Combo) [Blu-ray]

Caesar Rises to Greatness!
For a movie whose trailer seemed fake at first glance (a serious drama about a superintelligent ape and his issues?), RotPotA (rot-POT-uh) does an incredible job getting you invested in the plight of a chimp. Low budget for a summer blockbuster, this ninety million dollar film focuses on the rise of Caesar, first of his species and leader of the apes. We watch as he grows up, casts off his human friendships, and eventually leads a revolt in the hopes of achieving freedom for his people, err, his fellow apes.

Whether or not you're going to like this movie boils down to one thing: can you buy into it? Can you lay your hard-earned money on the line and accept Caesar as a fully human character with hopes and fears? Since the actual humans are sort of irrelevant and the apes are incapable of speech, there's not a lot to go on. Basically, if you liked the first 40 minutes of Wall-E, then you'll probably be fine. Caesar may not be a lovable trash robot (or is he?! Twist!), but...

Surprisingly Good!
I admit I've seen the first Planet of the Apes and loved it! But I hated the other sequels! But when I saw the previews for this movie my thoughts were, "Jeez another one?" But when my grandparents and I actually went to the movies and saw the movie for ourselves, we loved it. Its a stand alone movie and its NOT a cheesy sequel to the original and its not a remake. It has a lot of action. Of course James Franco who was in the movie was extremly handsome too! LOL! And the special effects were awesome. It also tells how the chimpanzees get smarter. By the end of the movie everyone including me in the audience were clapping. I don't want to give away too much. Whether your a fan of the original Planet of the Apes or even if you haven't seen the original Planet of the Apes you will love this movie.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes......
After the fiasco reimagining Tim Burton did with his Planet of the Apes movie(even though I liked it), It is understandable that people looked to Rise of the Planet of the Apes with alot of skepticism. Rise(as I'll refer to it from now on) tells the story of how Caesar became aware(able to think for himself, if you will) and then became the leader of the army that will, one day, lead a rebellion against humanity.

When I saw the trailer for the movie months before, I was quite disappointed with it. To be brutally honest, I never thought that Director Rupert Wyatt could pull off a serious reboot of the Planet of the Apes movies without it looking abit like Burton's film but, lo and behold, with Andy Serkis' performance as Caesar- he does more than that. He actually makes the story believable. If Serkis or Wyatt one doesn't get an award during the Oscars, then those people in Hollywood are just plain silly. Being a hardcore Planet of the Apes fans, I came out of the theater...

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Mr. Popper's Penguins

An Absolutely Hilarious Animal-Human Love Tale
You live in an apartment in New York City and work within sight of the Empire State building. Your life is hectic but predictable.

Imagine getting a very unusual gift (turns out, later, to be from your father). It is a live gentoo penguin. Wanting to send it back, you ask for a return crate. You get a new crate all right--filled with five new penguins.

What a mess your apartment soon becomes! You get snipped at and dumped on by the penguins. You give them names, such as Nimrod, Stinky, Captain, etc. They are perpetually playful! The penguins swim in the bathtub and spill water all over. Your children from a terminated marriage come to visit, and, having long been alienated from you, absolutely fall in love with the penguins.

A nosy neighbor wonders what the noises are from your apartment and, suspecting that he is on to something, wants to tell the board about it. Worse yet, your new nemesis, a penguin specialist who works in the zoo, keeps spying on...

Mr. Popper's Penguins is POPPREFFIC!!!
Took my 7 year old daughter to see this movie today & Im really glad we went!
From the previews I thought the movie was going to be boring & lame, but I was pleasantly surprised with the movie!

The movie ran at a fast & very entertaining pace...
The theater audience laughed, laughed & then laughed some more...

The movie has comedy for sure, but also tells a great story & has a few very good life lessons in it...
The lengths Carrey takes to take care of these Penguins is just AWESOME!!!

Jim Carrey did a fantastic job as the lead actor...
He shows signs of his old hillarious humor from his early films, but is not sooooo over the top in this film as he was in past films...
He showed true heart & was very believable in his role!!!

The Penguins were unbelievably funny & simply amazing! They must have had some serious training!
The supporting acting was pefectly done by Mr. Poppers kids & ex wife...

Overall...

GREAT FUN.....
Between Mr. Popper's Penguins and The ZooKeeper, ... I liked them both, but I liked Mr. Popper's Penguins more. Kids loved it too. Nice story. Has been while since I saw a Jim Carrey movie,... thought he did a good job in this role. And the penguins are hilarious! I didn't quite get that incredible name of Mr. Popper's assistant,.... with the fun voice and accent, ... miss P (?),... but I liked her character/role too. So many fun scenes in this movie. We had a good time.

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