Since I have a Master of Education and am in the schools, I feel as though it’s my duty to watch films that are based on the educational system in America (like the time I posted the Waiting for Superman Movie Review). That’s why I was happy to watch the Won’t Back Down movie this week with my mom. Prior to watching the movie, I’d read some articles online where teachers (and unions) were upset by this film. I try not to pass judgement before I watch something, so I was interested to see why there was such an outcry over the film.

After viewing the film, I can say that I completely understand why teachers (and unions) don’t like the film. I thought the way it portrayed today’s teachers was wrong. I don’t know many teacher who get to leave as soon as the bell rings and I know even less who would refuse to stay after to help a student who needed/wanted it. This movie makes it seem like the unions are keeping the teachers from actually teaching. Rather, they baby-sit kids and go to the teacher’s lounge all day. My mom asked me if the lounges were actually that big with a kitchen area. I thought for a moment and realized that I didn’t know because I’ve spent hardly any time in them. Teachers today are busy teaching (among other things) in the classroom. They are required to teach content for state assessments and their evaluations.

While I might not have agreed with the movie’s political leanings, I will recognize the movie and its actors. The movie had a touching story with a happy ending for the characters. It was a bit hard to believe that they were able to pull it off (even my mom questioned that and she’s not in education). However, I loved seeing Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis in those roles. They did a fabulous job in this movie and I enjoyed the movie because of them.

Overall, I thought the Won’t Back Down movie was ok. I loved those actresses (and so did my mom) and the story was good. However, lots of things were overly dramatic or unbelievable. Also, I don’t like that it tries to stay that teachers today are doing such a poor job that parents should come in and takeover schools. Then again, that’s my own personal belief. So, did you view this movie? What did you think of it?

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this movie. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

You know I love to sit down and watch a new film. I especially like movies with people that around my age as they are easy to relate to. When I heard about Lola Versus, I thought it might be fun to view. It released to DVD and Blu-Ray from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on September 11th. In a very brief overview of the plot, I’ll say that it’s about a girl (Lola) who is engaged and then her fiance calls off the wedding three weeks before the big day. The movie follows her journey from a heart-broken and confused 29-year old to a better 30-year old woman. In fact, check out this list of things to do before you turn 30 which was inspired by the film.

I thought it was interesting yet somewhat predictable to see Lola deal with the break-up. I mean she saw a couple of different guys and ate different foods. She tried all of the old cliche things you’re supposed to do after a hard break-up. If you are going through one, I’m sure you might find solace in the film by seeing someone else surviving it and making mistakes. You can also enjoy the Modern Post-Breakup Songs – Songza Playlist to entertain you and help you.

Overall, it was an ok film. I don’t think I’ll watch it a second time, but it was good enough to see once. Anyone who has suffered a break-up can relate to it. Plus, anyone about to turn 30 might understand the need to accomplish a few things off your bucket list before it happens. So, have you seen it? What did you think of it?

Disclosure: I received a free copy on DVD. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

Last week, I told you that I had The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Review Coming Soon. I was finally able to sit down and watch it tonight (as you might have seen me mention on Twitter). Prepped with some cool goodies, my mom and I were really looking forward to watching the film. I received a nice basket with:

· Marigold Seeds
· Branston Pickles
· PG Tips Tea
· Marmite
· McVitie’s Biscuits Value Pack, includes hobnobs
· Indian Spices

Isn’t that a great way to get excited for this film? I enjoyed trying the McVitie’s Biscuits and PG Tips Tea. We’re saving the marigold seeds to plant at the proper time. Once we had snacks, we were ready to view the film. We were looking forward to what my dad thought was sure to be a “chick-flick” based on its box description. However, I think it’s just a plain good movie. I love that it mentioned actual foods which I enjoyed in my basket from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. It was neat to eat a biscuit when they mentioned them. Also, for your information, those biscuits are good. I even Tweeted about them.

I thought it was fun to watch this movie. At first, it was kind of confusing because there are so many different characters and storylines. However, it gets easier to keep them separate once they each tell their story. I enjoyed the bits of logic found in the movie. One of my favorite quotes was…

Evelyn: Nothing here has worked out quite as I expected.
Muriel: Most things don’t. But sometimes what happens instead is the good stuff.

I’m sure we can all relate to that. Life hasn’t gone as expected for most people. I for one can say that since I don’t have a full time teaching job right now. Rather, I am subbing. As it turns out, I’m really enjoying it so far and I’m staying busy. While the characters were older (for the most part), I think this goes to show that anyone can connect to this story and the characters.

My mother and I particularly liked Maggie Smith in this film. She had several good lines and was humorous. Then again, we loved her in Harry Potter. Once again, she delivers beautifully. My mom and I enjoyed spending time together to view this film. It was a nice break together. I definitely think women can watch this and relate, but so can men.

So, have you seen The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel? What did you think of it?

Disclosure: I received a free copy of the film as well as a basket of goodies to enhance my viewing experience. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

You know I love the chance to see new movies, especially when it’s something my boyfriend will watch with me. We recently had the opportunity to watch the newly released (June 26th) to DVD/Blu-ray movie Mirror Mirror. It stars Julia Roberts as the evil queen in a retelling of the Snow White story. I am a fan of Julia Roberts and the cover with her in an outrageous costume was enough to get me interested. So, I told my boyfriend about it and he was up for watching it too.

We both thought this was interesting spin on the old legend. I thought it was cool to see Julia play this part. It must have been fun to be a mean queen and get to wear such fabulous outfits. We both enjoyed getting to see Armie Hammer from The Social Network as the Prince. I really enjoyed the somewhat predictable ending (my boyfriend predicted it) as we got to see Sean Bean from one of our favorite shows, Game of Thrones. I won’t ruin it for you in case you haven’t seen it, but it does have a satisfying ending.

I will say that I’m not sure I really liked all of the changes they made to this retelling. I understand that somethings need to be updated. I think the dwarfs would indeed be more likely to have the job they have in this story now days than being miners. So, I get that. However, I kind of think they should have kept the old names. Haha! Then again, the new names make it more believable today.

Overall, we found Mirror Mirror to be entertaining and interesting. It’s a unique take on the story of Snow White that not everyone may like. So, have you seen it? What did you think of it and the changes?

Disclosure: I received a free copy of Mirror Mirror on DVD. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

This Means War is coming to DVD and Blu-Ray tomorrow (May 22nd) and I posted a This Means War DVD Giveaway last week. So, I thought now would be the perfect time to post my review of the movie which I recently had the opportunity to watch. I sat down to watch this one night with my boyfriend since it looked funny and because of the two main men (Chris Pine and Tom Hardy). So, the fact that he was willing to watch it with me is a good thing.

In this movie, Reese Witherspoon’s character ends up dating both of these men who are CIA agents. However, she doesn’t know that they know each other or what their jobs really are. Tuck (Hardy) plays the more sensitive guy with a child and an ex-wife while FDR (Pine) is more manly yet appears to not care about who he is with. So, she has to decide which of the two men she would rather be with. I really liked the ending where we find out which one she chooses. I won’t spoil it for you, but I knew she would end up with the guy she did.

The movie makes for a good date night movie with the three stars. I mean most women like Reese and there’s eye candy with the men. Plus, guys will like that it has two strong men cast. I also liked some of the humor in the movie. I think the funniest part was when FDR took Reese on a date to an animal shelter to adopt a dog and he says to get the oldest, saddest one there. Haha! My boyfriend and I think that’s the funniest moment and even paused the dvd to laugh. Granted, it doesn’t sound that funny here but in context it was pretty funny. The plot was also interesting enough for both genders. There’s some action for the men and the whole love triangle for females.

Overall, I thought the movie was ok and I would recommend it for younger couples. So, have you seen This Means War? What was your favorite part?

Disclosure: I received a free copy of This Means War on DVD. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.