Movie Review: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Title: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Release Date: 2014
Genre: family, comedy
Author: Disney
My Rating: ***
Official Rating: PG for rude humor including reckless behavior and language
Age Group: 12+ (I would like to say 8+ because that seems to be the target audience, but the content doesn't fit in that category)

Summary
Poor Alex has a tough life. Things just never go his way. The girl he likes thinks he's crazy, someone schedules a birthday party the same day of his, and he sets the school lab on fire. That's only the beginning, but multiply it by ten and you might get the idea.
Alex has a great family. They all love each other. But they just don't understand what it's like to have an awful day. In fact, their lives and days work out so well that Alex feels left out.
So in the middle of the night, celebrating by himself with a cupcake and the school Guinea pig, Alex makes a wish: that everyone would know what it's like to be him and have an awful day.
Oops. When he wakes up, Alex's seems to have come true. Alex feels bad and tries hard to help his family avert disaster, but one thing leads to another, and the day spirals into a black hole of awful.
What's a family to do when nothing goes right?

Word of Warning
 Note: I was pretty disappointed with some of the content. For the most part, they were funny and almost innocent jokes. But then there were the other ones that made me wish my younger siblings weren't sitting there. Made me wonder how much they were picking up on. It wasn't comfortable.

• Alex starts the movie by saying his parents are wrong
• A girl pukes three different times during the movie
• Slow motion of a 12 year old girl
• Term "sexist" is used out of context
• Character has a shirt that is too low in the front
• We see briefly pictures of models in bikinis and other tight short clothing
• 12 year old boys use the word "boobs"
• The term "Faummy" which means "father-mommy" which sounds sweet at first. But then it makes you wonder: why isn't father enough? Why must a father, who is someone who looks after his children, be seen as playing the mommy's role when he changes the baby's diaper or drives the kids to school?
• We see a little kid on a potty (no detail)
• Kid starts a fire in the science classroom (no one is hurt)
• A man sticks his hand in the garbage disposal to pull something out. Nothing happens, but this is a very bad idea in real life
• The kids are rude to their parents and, for the most part, the parents do not scold them
• "Hot" in reference to a girl
• Alex complains that another kid sent "butt thong" pictures to the whole school (these were Photoshopped, but the point here is the term)
• Parents kiss briefly twice
• Naked baby bottom more than once. also, the baby pees on the kitchen floor and later in the sink.
• Mother stubs her toe on the door and mutters "motherhood" in a tone that suggests she wanted to say something very different. My objection here is choosing to say such a beautiful word in such a tone.
• Mother walks in on teenage son in the shower (he is, presumably, completely undressed)
• Mother says, "I have seen every penis in this car" when she is in the car with her three sons and their father
• When talking about a classmate having chicken pox, a kid says that the spots are everywhere, even "in his butt crack."
• Near disaster/car crashes avoided, more comical than scary
• Anthony has apparently been waiting all year to "make out" with his girlfriend in the car. "Make out" isn't defined, but the parents respond by saying they didn't want to know that and leave it at that
• A girl guzzles cough syrup and it makes her high (more or less)
• Father's sleeves catch on fire (he's fine)
• Alligator in the house
• Male strippers were accidentally hired for a kid's birthday party. Luckily, disaster is averted and the men are told to keep it PG. The parents find this mistake amusing and are glad they caught it in time. The kids don't even know.

My Thoughts

It was funny--kind of. This may sound like an odd critique, but the laughs were short lived. They weren't those deep from-your-belly laughs that leave you sore and exhausted and feeling good after a movie. Not the kind that, if someone were to quite that line from the movie, would cause you to laugh when you remembered how funny it was. They were in-the-moment funny. Which is fine, but not satisfying, and not what I expect from a comedy.

Also, the parents weren't parents. As in, even though they ran the house and worked jobs and all of that, they tended to interact with their kids more on a buddy-buddy level. This was evident when Alex reveals Anthony has been waiting all year to make out with his girlfriend. Instead of speaking to Anthony about this, the parents just shrug it off and say with a little shudder, "I didn't need to know that." What? That's not what a parent is supposed to do, is it?

The movie did have some good points, however. The family dynamics were not the classic bickering family you see in shows like this. (Indeed, "show" is what it felt like. An episode from a TV show, not a well-thought out movie.) The family members really did support each other, and the teen characters were not your typical selfish creeps. Anthony does what he can to keep his girlfriend happy but eventually *SPOILER* breaks up with her to be with his family. They all ban together to create a really awesome birthday party for Alex. They don't want to tear each others' throats out, they want to help each other out. In addition to family dynamics, or maybe in elaboration of, the father sees his role as to protect everyone from harm and bad days. Which is, I think, a revelation of a great truth movies like this often neglect to point out.

I don't regret watching it. But I watched it on break with a week ahead of me. I wouldn't watch it again. I did laugh. Some parts made me squirm. Some parts made me smile.
Three stars seems about right.

Movie Review: Sister Act

Title: Sister Act
Release Date: 1992
Genre: comedy, music, religious (kind of)
My Rating: ***
Official Rating: PG for mild violence and language (though why this is not PG-13 is beyond me)
Age Group: 16+

Summary:
Delores Van Carter is a singer at a lounge who wants to take her carrier farther. She is also the lover of the lounge's married owner--and a big time crime boss (which she doesn't know). Frustrated with Vince and his treatment of her, Delores finally breaks and decides to leave. When she marches up to his quarters to tell him this, she witnesses a murder ordered by Vince and committed by two of his men.
Terrified, Delores goes to the police. Turns out they've had their suspicions for a long time but needed evidence--or a witness. Since they can't get a court date right away, Delores must go into hiding.
They put her the last place anyone would look for her: in a convent. That leads to mixed results.


Word of Warning

•  A nun warns a young girl that the path she is on will lead straight to the devil.
• Revealing dresses (low necks and short skirts)
• A man is shown without a shirt as he is dressing. This is used to imply he had his lover have just spent the night together.
• A man kisses a woman's neck/shoulder. Later there are at least two (possibly three) kisses.
• Vince is a married man having an affair. We barely see his wife and he seems to have no concern for her, giving away her coat to his lover.
• Words: d*** (at least twice), a** (at least twice), black a**, h*** (a few times)
• A man is shot in the head off screen.
•  Vince is a leader of some major criminals. Drugs are mentioned. People are killed to keep his secret (probably not the first time this has happened).
• Someone says of the nuns, "these people don't even have sex."
• Someone says, "I just saw a guy get his face blown off!"
• A bra is thrown over a curtain.
• Mention of holster hips.
• Delores almost leaves when she is told she must live by the nuns' vow of chastity while she stays with them.
• The Mass becomes focused on the performance of the nuns singing songs.
• Someone says that "singing is better than sex."
• Punches are thrown, people are shoved about. Gunshots. One man is shot in the arm (no detail shown).
• A girl is thrust from a moving car.
• Nuns say a prayer out loud near someone to guilt trip him into giving them what they want.
• Vince remarks, "I know this woman in the Biblical sense."
• A woman punches two men between the legs. They double over, reaching for that area in pain.
• A nun lies to protect another woman.
• The priest character is more concerned with getting more people into the church and raising more money for his church and less concerned with what is being taught to his congregation and why they are there.
• Delores has a hard time living with the nuns after her old life. Eventually she learns a lesson, but she is still rather worldly.
• There is a misunderstanding about nuns in general. The convent is Carmelite but the nuns there all seem to have different ideas as to what they were signing up for. This is an easy mistake to make when making a movie, but the confusion of not knowing that there are different convents/orders that do different things just added a rather strange element of tension.

My Thoughts
I wouldn't rewatch it. But I don't regret the time I spent watching it. Goodness, that seems to be the theme of the movies I have been watching lately.

Still, the movie was funny. One element I really liked was that even though the Mother Superior seemed to be more old-fashioned, and even though Delores (pretending to be a sister) brought in a slightly more secular/worldly approach, the old-fashioned ways were never pointed at as being bad and old-fashioned and needing to be replaced. They were simply seen as something that was good but which could be improved upon.

As for the secular/worldly approach, this was blown out of proportion. By this I mean it was sold as being secular/worldly, but it really wasn't a big deal. It was a big change from what the nuns were used to, but it was more about working with the people and having fun. Which is what many nuns do.

So my biggest complaint? The confusion as to how convents work. Yes, reform sometimes happens in orders and convents. But it doesn't really work like this, as far as I know. The reform shown in this movie felt like the convent was changing its entire focus/ministry and become a different convent/order. It was confusing, and frustrating, for a Catholic.

But overall, it was a funny movie, handled well, and all things considered they didn't do a horrible representation of the Catholic Church. It may have had its flaws, but I have seen much, much worse.

Movie Review: Call of the Wild: A Race for Buck

Title: Call of the Wild: A Race for Buck
Genre: family, adventure, animals
My Rating: **
Official Rating: PG for some violence, language, thematic material, and brief smoking
Age Group: 8+

Summary: Nine-year-old Ryann is visiting her grandfather in Montana since her parents are off enjoying Europe. Ryann does not want to be in Montana. At all. How is she supposed to keep up her appearance and act like the popular girls at school if she's in Montana where there is no TV and no mall?
When an injured dog-wolf wanders into her grandfather's barn, Ryann is introduced to a whole new world: dog sledding. In a desperate attempt to keep the dog (named Buck by Ryann) from a cruel dog sledder, Ryann and the teenage neighbor boy train Buck to be a lead dog. If they can win a dog sled race, they can keep Buck. If they can't, well, Buck goes to the man who is cruel to his son and his dogs.
Can they win the race? Can Buck overcome his wolf side?

Word of Warning

•  Ryann is rude to her grandfather.
• A man yells at his son for losing a race and says that the son embarrassed him in front of the whole town. Later, he tells his son he is stupid and tells him to cheat in a dog race. The father makes the son ride in the back of his pickup. He says to the boy, "If you don't win, you don't bother coming home."
• Someone makes one of my favorite innocent movie insults: shouldn't you be at home having a heart attack?
• Mention of ghosts.
• A man beats a dog with a club in a veiled scene that implies it happens but we never see the stick hit the dog.
• The word "cuss."
• A myth is told of a man who is apparently an escaped convict, catches rabbits with his hands and eats them raw, and eats rocks. These are just rumors and the grandfather assures Ryann that he has never hurt anyone.
• Someone threatens to have a dog put down.
• Jack sprains his ankle (minor) in a minor sled crash. This sled crash causes the kids to be stranded for about five minutes.
• A man apparently dies from a beating. This does not happen in the movie, but in a book the grandfather is reading to Ryann. There is a scene shown of a man sprawled in the snow but nothing else.
• A quick kiss on the cheek.
• A dog attacks a man (the man is uninjured).

My Thoughts
All things considered, that list is pretty short. So why the low rating? For a few reasons, one of which is that I simply did not find the story line very interesting (isn't this the same story line we get for every animal movie involving a semi-wild pet?). The other is the quality. I don't mind a low budget movie--as long as the acting is decent. I don't even mean good. I just mean decent, and preferably with an original story line (only the films that have lots of funding can get away with a stupid story line that's been done a million times).
Ok. So I don't mean to make it sound awful. My younger siblings enjoy it, and quite honestly, it is aimed at their age group and not mine. Usually I enjoy their movies. This one was tolerable. But aside from the fact that I didn't enjoy it very much, the content itself was pretty clean.
So in short: it was fine. Not something I would rewatch, and not something I would have watched if I were not on break. But not painful and something I regret either.

Trojan Horse Book Review: Story of a Girl

Before I do the review, I think I should briefly re-explain what a Trojan Horse Review is since it has been so long since our last one (thank goodness for that!). The Greeks left the Trojans a gift, a great wooden horse. Inside, Greek soldiers waited to spring a deadly trap upon the Trojans and completely destroy their city. A Trojan Horse Review is a review of one of those books/movies/albums/other that comes highly recommended, disguised as something good, and is nearly deadly. Due to the deadly nature of these materials, the author of the post may, on moral grounds, not be as detailed in the review as usual. While the main and major problems will be listed, smaller ones may not be mentioned or noticed by the post author due to a skimming of the material.

***MATURE CONTENT AND SPOILERS***

Title: Story of a Girl
Author: Sara Zarr
Genre: Romance,
My Rating: -**** (yes, that is a negative rating)
Official Rating: Teen Fiction
Age Group: 18+ (or, more appropriately, not at all)
The Horse: National Book Award Finalist, insinuation that a problem will be addressed/resolved when it is not dealt with
Summary:
Deanna's father caught her with Tommy when she was thirteen. Tommy was a senior in highschool. In such a small town, everyone knows the story, and Deanna just wants to escape it. On top of that, her own family has rejected her. Her father has not spoken to her since the day he found the two and her mother isn't all that motherly. Her brother and his girlfriend seem to be the only ones who still love Deanna, but they've got a baby to deal with. As if that's not enough, Deanna has fallen for her best friend--who is dating someone else.
What's a girl to do?

Word of Warning
Where to start? There's far too much in this book to all be mentioned in a post like this, particularly because with such a big moral problem as the center of the book (which is not dealt with by the end), I did not read for the little details.

• Deanna and Tommy did drugs and smoked who-knows-what. We're well aware that their relationship was sexual and only that, even getting a few descriptions (nothing very graphic, but still way too much). As for what happened, suffice it to say that they went "too far" and after a doctor checked Deanna, her mother rushed her to the store and bought her a box of condoms.
• Deanna's brother and his girlfriend have a baby.
• All sorts of sexual jokes are made. People mention "boobs" and one guy grabs Deanna's bottom while she is out in public.
• Deanna doesn't seem to really regret her relationship with Tommy for any good reasons. Her reputation in her town is completely destroyed and people do not respect her anymore. She doesn't regret losing her virginity or the drugs or the smoking or anything else. She knows Tommy used her and is angry with him, but also willing to forgive him. She even lets him drive her home from work.
• Tommy doesn't regret it either. In fact, he's happy to try again. He almost succeeds, but Deanna stops him and yells at him.
• Deanna and her childhood friend hang out at his house in his bedroom with no supervision. Nothing happens, but the situation is not a safe one. He even offers to let her spend the night, but she doesn't because her dad would be angry.
• Deanna's boss is gay.
• Deanna's dad suggests that she's in a sexual relationship with her boss. Angry at him for always expecting the worst of her, she yells at him and says he's right. Then she assures him that he's wrong.
• Deanna and her childhood friend discuss kissing and he tells her that guys wonder what it would be like to kiss all girls, even teachers (but only the hot ones).
• On a day designated as having to do with sexual abstinence, a girl and her boyfriend are caught taking it too far. They're proud of being caught on that particular day and boast about it. The whole school seems to think of it as a funny joke.
• Deanna kisses her childhood friend even though she is well aware that he is dating another girl (Deanna's friend).
• The writing style is awful.
• Deanna may have depression.
• Many many other problems.

If the main problem (Deanna's loss of virginity at age thirteen and the consequences of that) had been dealt with, the book might be appropriate for older ages. Maybe. But it's left hanging. Are we really supposed to be satisfied with the fact that Deanna hasn't had sex again simply because she's afraid it'll ruin her reputation? The book is haunted by the unresolved problem, making the reader feel disappointed, lost, confused, and with a negative outlook on life.
For all the bad, there simply was not enough goodness to conquer. In fact, there was almost no goodness at all.

My Thoughts
I picked up the book thinking I'd try something a little on the dangerous side to review for an older audience. I also figured it would be interesting to see this problem resolved. I knew it wouldn't be done satisfactorily, but I expected more than I got.
Because I got nothing. The book dug the hole deeper and deeper, and I was barely into it before I found myself skimming along--and caught by a deadly hook. I have found very few books that I can put down once I start reading, and this book came close to being one of them.
As I reached to pick it up and skim some more, I noticed something. The seal of the National Book Award Finalist on the front cover, next to the face of a girl who looks haunted, sly, and blank all at the same time.
And honestly, I was disgusted. Who judges these things? Even if it came down to the writing style, the book was bad. I wondered, was it a finalist because of the issue it addressed?
Well the issue was never resolved. And that's one of the most dangerous things a book can do.

Movie Review: October Sky

Title: October Sky
Author: N/A
Genre: historical, true story, science, biography, family, drama
My Rating: ***
Official Rating: PG for language, brief teen sensuality and alcohol use, and for some thematic elements
Age Group: 12+

Summary
Homer saw Sputnik fly through the night sky in the small town of Coalwood. He knew then that he wanted to do something big like that. That it wasn't about accomplishing such a feat before another country could. That it was something so much bigger.
So the boy who refuses to work for his father's coal mining business and is a failure at football sets off on a rather strange quest: to build a rocket. He and his friends have the encouragement of their kind teacher. Slowly, as their determination becomes clear, they gain the support of the entire town.
When success seems to be right around the corner, things fall apart. There is a mining accident. There is a terrible sickness. When one thing after another adds up against the boys, they start to lose hope.
Still, Homer ends up working for NASA. This is the story of how he first got started.

Word of Warning
Honestly, I think this movie walked the line between PG and PG-13.

• Joking mention of sucide
• Kid is brutally tackled a few times during football tryouts
• Words: a** d*** it, son of a b****, h***
• Cave in at the mine. one man has a bandage on his head but he is fine. Later, another cave in and fire results in the death of one man and the near-death of the father figure in the movie
• Kid demonstrates how to put your arm around a girl's shoulder to his friend (also a boy)
• Rockets explode more than once. One explosion knocks viewers off their feet. A few more almost skewer those watching. No one is actually ever hurt.
• The father yells at his son in front of a bunch of men. The father in the story is, in general, rather mean to his son. He does not support anything the boy does except mining. Even in the end, it's not entirely clear he is siding with his son.
• Kids shoot at an old car for fun. One kid grabs the gun and throws it aside. It's not the gun that's the problem here, it's the reckless use of it with no consequences.
• One of the boys has a stepfather who is a drunk. In fact, this allows them to buy pure alcohol (to power their rockets).
• Boys fight (punching, kicking, etc)
• Boys steal wood and tools from local businesses. They steal steel from the railroad for money. They also do things one boy's parents have implied they do not want done.
• An accidental explosion of flames in a science lab (no one is injured)
• The boys run directly at a train.
• There is a scene where teens are seen in a bar of sorts with music and apparently drinking (that part is unclear).
• The joking mention of losing one's virginity
• Stepfather beating a boy. The boy has a cut on his lip and bruises on his face.
• "Screw you and your d*** union!"
• Older brother steals/dates his younger brother's crush
• Teacher is sick and dying.
• A man shoots at the father figure (no one is injured)
• A woman threatens to leave her husband.

My Thoughts
It was a good movie. There wasn't much wrong with it aside from the language and the father figure. Honestly, the father figure aspect was painful to watch. It was truly heartbreaking to watch the son seek his father's approval over and over, finally giving up everything he wants to save the family and only then gaining approval--for doing something he had always wanted to avoid. Then, even when he succeeds in his dream, even on his birthday, even when the rest of the two is proud, the son is scoffed at by the father.
Other than that it was a good movie. It was fun to watch the boys try to figure out how to build a rocket. There wasn't a whole lot of excitement or romance, but it was a good adventure-type story that followed the friendship of four teen boys who built a rocket.
And really, what beats that?

Book Review: The Map Makers (book 1)

To our blog readers,
I know it is been a very long time since we last posted, and I am so sorry for this. We are sadly more busy than we'd like with school, jobs, writing, and other things. Part of the reason we do not post often is because we do not have much time to read/watch things to post on. I do not say this to give us an excuse not to post, I simply present it as a possible reason as to why we may not post as often as we like. We are, however, working on remedying this. In the meantime, please accept our apologies for not posting often enough and know we are doing what we can to increase the number of posts.
A blessed and very merry Christmas to all our blog readers.


Title: The Map Makers
Author: Matthew Krengel
Genre: fantasy, adventure
My Rating: ***
Official Rating: children's fiction
Age Group: 10+

Summary: Jane is a relatively normal girl by modern standards. She has an iPhone, her parents are divorced, and she takes the train to her grandparents' every summer. Usually, she does that with her sister. Now that her sister's gone missing, however, it's just her.
And a strange little old man. And a creepy tall man dressed in a black robe type thing. And a cute boy named Jacob.
After witnessing a bizarre fight and disappearance, Jane and Jacob are thrust into a world of magic which needs their help. Fairies are being captured. Slaves are being held. Jane's sister might be a captive. Magic is creating huge destructive waves on Lake Superior back in their world. The Divide between the two worlds is in danger, and Jane and Jacob might be the only ones who can help.

Word of Warning
This is not a problem, but you might want to be aware this book takes a few chapters to really get moving. It also has a prologue and epilogue which move slowly and are vague and confusing (they make more sense when you've read half the book). Other than that, it's a quick and enjoyable read with a very real feeling to the life portrayed.

This book was very clean. Jacob and Jane are 16 (we know this because they drive) but they have clean language and, aside from running off on a fantasy adventure without telling their parents (a sort of necessary ingredient in all children's fantasy books), are pretty good kids. There is some fantasy violence, but none of it is graphic. Here is a short list I wrote while reading the book of things you might want to be aware of:

• Slave ships are mentioned, and there is a suggestion that many do not return. Those who do do not come back the same.
• Mention of bloody raids on villages
• Jane's mother, being divorced, has a boyfriend.
• Jane does not have much respect for her mother. This can be seen more in her wording and annoyance in narration, Jane ignoring her mother to listen to music, and Jane lying to her mother so she can stay with her grandparents, but not in their dialogue. I can't tell if this is because the author wants her to sound like a teenager, or if he really is going for disrespect.
• There is a mention of the movie Twilight. The only detail we get is that Bella is accusing Edward of being a vampire. We are given no indication as to what that means or what the story is about.
• Jane's sister disappeared and the police have given up searching.
• Jane's grandfather calls a reporter a filthy animal. This is the best (and strongest) insult in the book.
• Jane and Jane take the train alone. This may not be a problem since they are 16 and can drive alone.
• Jacob makes a half-hearted threat to throw a man who is pestering him off a train.
• A man is beaten and falls unconscious.
• A father forgets his son's visit "nonviolently" according to the son. The son is sent back home to his mother and she is angry and yells at the father. The son also seems a bit upset about all of this.
• A man threatens kids with a knife/sword/dagger.
• A huge wave hits houses, stores, cars, and leaves behind it destruction. We later find out that seven people died.
• Kids let a stranger into their car and drive him around.
• Two kisses. One is described as quick and gentle. The other is a kiss "once long and hard" but no other description.
• Jane hits a man over the head with a baseball bat and he turns to dust.
• Jane and Jacob hang out in Jane's bedroom with the door closed to keep away from her grandparents. Nothing happens.
• Jacob's pants fall down to just above his knees when his belt is cut off so he can fit into a little fairy cave. He pulls them back up, Jane isn't there, and no further mention is made (except that he gets a new belt when he gets home).
• Jacob's mother doesn't worry about her son until he's been gone for a few days, according to him.
• Goblins are shot and killed. An old man gets a dagger to his shoulder and dies (it's a good death).
• A man threatens Jane, saying he is going to "cut you up girl" and waves his daggers at her. This is about as graphically violent as it gets.

The list might seem long, but that's because there was so little in the book I was able to take notes on everything I saw. Often with books that have more problems, I select the ones people have more objection to and share those.

My Thoughts
It was a fun read, especially for a Minnesotan. Seeing the grandfather say "oh yah" (which does happen!) and the kids refer to pop, as, well, pop, was very thrilling for me. Plus, Jane lives in the Cities and can see Interstate 94 from her window. Then they went to Duluth and we were given even more detail on Minnesota. It's not very often a Minnesotan gets to read a book set in her own state that's actually well done. Plus, the characters are decent (for the most part), have clean language, and Jacob is a gentleman (more or less. I mean, he's 16, so he's got some room to improve).
Something I did notice is that the book moved slowly at times and at other times it sounded like a grown man trying to sound like a 16 year old kid. Which, realistically, is what it was.
Overall, it was a great little adventure, fast read, and a pleasant little gem to have on a bookshelf and would like to read the other two some day. I confess I have not come across a fantasy book of this quality that is clean enough that I willingly hand it to my younger brothers without a second thought, but that is what this book is. And for that, I am so very grateful.

Movie Review: Gimme Shelter

Title: Gimme Shelter
Genre: family, drama, true story
My Rating: *****
Official Rating: PG-13 (mature thematic material involving mistreatment, some drug content, violence and language--all concerning teens)
Age Group: 16+

Summary: Apple Bailey has no home and no family. Yes, her mother is still alive and would like her to live with her. Yes, her father is alive and is willing to let her live with him and his wife and two kids (as long as she makes some changes in life). But Apple doesn't really have a home.
Neither does her unborn baby. All Apple knows is she can't abandon her baby like she was abandoned.
As sixteen-year-old Apple flees an abusive home and two people who demand she abort her unborn child, she thinks she is alone. And she is alone--until she allows someone to make her not alone.
Encountering a shelter for young women who want to have their babies, Apple finally finds a home. Still, she faces many challenges on her way there, at the home itself, and after. This is the story of Apple, her baby, and the love she finds when she comes home.

Word of Warning

• The movie begins with a fight scene in which one woman (a mother) is thrown against a wall. Her daughter flees to a cab and the mother follows, banging on the window and shouting, "You owe me!"
• The main character has various piercings on her face.
• A character tries to steal a cab because the driver tells her to get out after he discovers she doesn't have money. He pulls her from the driver's seat, throws her to the ground, and kicks her.
• A girl more or less breaks into a yard. She is caught by the police and subdued after a brief struggle.
• A man hands money to his daughter when she asks for a place to stay, clearly intending she leave and he support her from afar.
• The main character's mother is abusive and has done drugs in the past. Her teeth are yellow and she often has bruises on her face. The father of the main character abandoned the mother (they were not married) and child before the child was even born.
• A girl has been in the foster care system and has nothing good to stay about it. She says she was taken to a mental hospital because she "didn't fit in." She claims in one house the husband came into her room and "started touching me and feeling all up on me."
• As stated in the summary, the girl is sixteen and running away from home.
• We see a girl drink a raw egg. Later, she pukes (the two may or may not be related).
• Apple says she didn't know she was pregnant, she "only did it once."
• The wife of the father (Tom) tells Apple she and her husband will not have Apple's baby in their house. She then wants to know if the child's father is in jail.
• Wife and husband are heard shouting in the background.
• We see Apple sitting on a toilet (upper bare legs are shown). The camera moves to her face as she places a pregnancy test between her legs.
• Bare stomach is shown during an ultrasound. This is seen at least twice as the baby grows.
• The wife leaves Apple behind after bringing her to the doctor.
• Apple passes out.
• Tom says Apple is not ready to assume responsibility of motherhood and tells her to "turn the page on this" and she'll forget it ever happened. He doesn't use the word "abortion" but that's what he's telling her to do. It's implied that he will not let his daughter stay at his house unless she aborts the baby.
• Wife makes an appointment for an abortion against the will of Apple. We seen a room in the clinic (bed, tools on a table, etc). Apple removes her shoe as she begins to undress. She never gets any farther.
• Apple decides to live on the street. She gets into an unlocked car, eats what she finds, drinks the water, and borrows a blanket. Later, she digs through a garbage bag for food and eats what she finds.
• A man threateningly orders a girl to get into his car. She steals it and almost crashes it. Later, she is t-boned by a truck and the car swerves off the road and hits a fence. She wakes up in a hospital, cuffed to a bed, bloody and bruised
• Words: a**, h***, "Oh my God"
• The girl screams "God don't care about me. Don't waste your time!" and later demands "Where was God when I was getting abused and suffering all these years?"
• Apple shouts at the hospital chaplain to leave her alone.
• The mother tries to manipulate Apple into coming back to her. She tells the social worker things are fine at home. She shouts at her daughter and slaps her a few times and accuses the girl of being just like her mother because she wants to keep the baby. She reveals she will let Apple keep the baby because she wants the money the government will send them. She blames her daughter for her life since she gave birth to her. She gives a rather convincing story about being sorry, she messed up, she still loves her daughter. This is shown to be a lie.
• The mother is very scary looking.
• Girls break into different rooms in a shelter/house and go through stuff they're not supposed to.
• As the girls are reading their files, one reads off that she was a prostitute. The others joke about this a bit but in a comforting "we're here for you" kind of way.
• Daughter tells her mother "I hate you" twice.
• The girls in the shelter are keeping count of the different "colors" of their babies. One girl declares there will be "Four black babies and four white babies" but that gets the others talking about different shades (caramel, etc). None of this is done in a racist way. It actually sounds rather sweet and innocent.
• Mother calls her daughter a whore and tries to kill her with a razor she has in her mouth. She cuts the girl's face and blood drips onto her clothes.
• One girl taunts Apple about her mother and how even though she's really mean, Apple can't help but love her. She continues, bashing the house's rules and voicing her desire to be free of them.
• We see Apple screaming as she delivers her baby.
• The father wrote a letter saying he and Apple's mother went out a few times and she just happened unexpectedly. He left her behind because he was off to college and didn't want to disappoint his parents. His reasoning is clear, but he makes it sound like it's ok.
• The father of Apple's child is never seen or heard from

My Thoughts
What can I say? The first part of the movie starts out feeling very dirty and gritty and even frightening. Then the viewers are offered a slight glimmer of hope, followed by a glimpse of beauty. The beauty continues to grow until it consumes even the dirty and gritty aspects. They still exist, but they have been made into something more.
It was beautiful.

Unfortunate Disappointments: Movie Review: Endless Love

Title: Endless Love
Genre: romance, drama, family, loss
My Rating: -** (yes, that's a negative two stars)
Official Rating: PG-13
Age Group: 18+ (if you really must watch it. but overall, it should be left unwatched)

Summary: David has been in love with Jade all through high school. He only has one problem: Jade doesn't know that, because he's never, ever, spoken with her. It might have something to do with her being rather reserved and very focused on her studies, especially after her older brother died and left her with very loving but overbearing parents.
Or it might just be that David's a chicken. For all his talk of true love, he might just not have it in him to go get it.
At least, that's what Jade's dad says. Because when Jade and David finally do start a relationship,a rather awkward and slightly misinterpreted scene causes Jade's father to strongly dislike David. That and the fact that David is getting in the way of Jade's future career as a doctor.
But Jade is happy, and David is too. Aside from all the family problems he just became a very big part of when he chose to date Jade.
Can the two of them survive the mess and get their happily ever after?

Word of Warning

•  Jade's brother died sophomore year of high school. We don't get many details, aside from the fact that it was a car crash and his father was there, but we do know it hurt the family deeply. They can't let go of him. His father sleeps in his room and won't let anyone touch the boy's things. He takes it a step further, no longer devoting time and love to his family but becoming determined that they be as good as his now perfect (but dead) son.
• David has been watching Jade for years and hasn't talked to her. This is made to sound sweet in the movie, but since he really has no relation to her at all (other than going to the same school) it borders on being creepy.
• A man is rude to the valets who take his car. They take his car for a joy ride (out of revenge) and drag an innocent girl into the mess. The valets are fired, but not before a yelling match and a punch to the face.
• David glances at Jade's legs as her skirt flies up in the wind. She quickly shoves her skirt down but gives him a mischievous glance.
• A man remarks, "It's gonna take a lot more than stealing my car to get her to spread her legs" for which he is punched in the face.
• Girls wear short dresses with slightly low tops, strapless dresses, and bikinis.
• David prank calls the police to put an end to someone's party for a personal reason and, in addition to many other complaints, says, "Someone is pissing on my mini-cooper!" While this is comical, he is causing an apparent innocent's party canceled for a personal gain and making a joke of it, all while getting the police involved.
• We see Jade in her underwear more than once. Sometimes unintentionally (like when she spins and her dress flies up), sometimes very intentionally (like when she pulls the side of her dress up so David can see the edge of them).
• Catcalls are made when Jade and David step out of a closet. Nothing happened in the closet. They intended to kiss but were interrupted.
• Jade's father is clearly upset about what he assumes happened in the closet, but instead of speaking to either teen involved, he just separates them and doesn't tell them what he is angry about (though they would have to be stupid not to be able to guess).
• Jade's father shows a lack of communication throughout the entire movie. If he speaks to his family, it's because he dislikes something one of them is doing or because he is giving an order.
• Multiple passionate kisses.
• Jade and David meet behind their parents' backs. Later, they do the same when David has a restraining order on him.
• When Jade clearly intends to have sex, David tells her, "You don't have to do this. As much as I want to, I can wait" but she refuses him and says she wants to "feel this with you" as if that's all it is. The two remove their clothes (we see them in their underwear) and have sex.
• A couple is shown in a bathtub from the shoulders up. It's presumed neither has any sort of clothing on.
• The entire first half of the movie and its passionate romance happens in about three days. It's almost as bad as Romeo and Juliet.
• A girl throws away her internship to be with her new boyfriend she met just a few days before.
• A father tries to run his daughter's life/future/college plans and yells at her for not doing as he had planned.
• Father takes his family to the lake house to spite his daughter's decision and to separate her from her boyfriend.
• Daughter disobeys and talks back to her father.
• A husband is having an affair with someone's wife.
• David finds out about the affair and hides it from Jade to protect her. Jade's father threatens David about not revealing the truth, but David assures him he won't because it would hurt Jade.
• The father figure pressures his living son to be like his older brother (who is now dead) and the son is clearly hurt by this and feels like he will never be good enough for anyone or anything.
• The father lies and digs up criminal records on David.
• Jade suggests she and the others be "young and dumb, just for tonight" to which David agrees without hesitation. She then pressures him into doing something which he knows shouldn't be done. He ends up being arrested after fleeing the police.
• The mother desperately wants to have her romance with her husband back and comes right out and requests this. He ignores her and turns her down.
• A jealous ex-girlfriend turns her ex-boyfriend and others in to the police.
• Jade's father bails David out of jail after Jade promises to stay away from David. The father then leads David to believe Jade doesn't love him.
• The father verbally abuses David, eventually telling him that he's not good enough, that Jade will get bored of him, just like David's mother became bored of his father.
• We learn that David discovered his mom having an affair and beat the man.
• David punches two people in the face.
• A teen defends something that was stupid and wrong because "it was fun" until it went wrong. The implication is that if it hadn't gone wrong, there would have been nothing wrong with doing it. A father figure, as well as a mother figure, also seem to hold the view that a little fun (reckless and stupid as it might be) isn't really a big deal and is just something kids will do.
• David states, "I know I'm not good enough for you, but I'm not gonna spend my entire life proving that I am."
• Jade is t-boned and breaks her wrist. She has multiple minor cuts and bruises on her face.
• The father has a restraining order put on David.
• David believes in a policy where there is only one girl he is meant to be with and he is afraid of missing that chance.
• The words d*** and a**hole.
• The father sabotages David's chances at a future by getting him in legal trouble and not mailing his wife's letter of recommendation--all out of spite.
• Jade cheats on David because they have not officially broken up and she starts dating another guy. Then, she cheats on that guy by kissing David when she hasn't broken up with the new guy.
• A wife and son walk out on the father because he is so angry and controlling. It is implied the mother is going to get a divorce but that's seen as ok and everyone is fine with that. The son elopes with his girlfriend.
• The father chases David with a baseball bat and almost hits him.
• David and the father are caught in a house fire. A window explodes at David. The two almost die.
• The father is obsessed with his dead son and won't let go.
• The movie promotes a strange view of love that proposes there is only one person with whom you are "meant to be" and with whom you can truly be happy. While it also promotes the idea of love that never ends, it sees this more as a feeling and less as an ideal that both people have to work at to achieve. The movie leads the audience to believe that this "meant to be" yet all-feeling love is the only true kind of love and it is attainable.

My Thoughts
Honestly? I think the list above said it all. Aside from my frustration with the trailer making this movie look semi-decent, I still can't get beyond the dysfunctional family (which is making no effort to heal itself) and the sparkly and unrealistic view of love this movie promotes.
But let me take a moment to find goodness in the movie. Because there is goodness in everything, since evil is only goodness used for a selfish purpose.
David's attempts to reconcile his relationship with Jade's father is the goodness I find here. He honestly tries his best to get on her father's good side.
Other than that, the movie was a disappointment. The plot was poorly done, kids running around having fun in reckless ways was seen as acceptable, and the dysfunctional family knew it was not right but made no effort to fix itself.
It was sad, really. There probably is a good way to tell this story (or one similar). The actors were fantastic. It just didn't come together right.
It didn't really come together at all.