This is The End

     Picture this: it's the Apocalypse in LA. How will America's greatest celebrities be able to survive the end of the world? The answer: watch Seth Rogen's This is The End. Starring, as themselves, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, and special appearances by Emma Watson, Michael Cera, and Rhianna.
      Jay Baruchel just came to LA  to have fun with his friend Seth Rogen. But Seth persuades Jay to come with him to James Fanco's super housewarming party. Jay reluctantly agrees to go to the party filled with a bunch of celebrities such as Rhianna, Kevin Hart and Emma Watson. Already, Jay felt uncomfortable. While stepping out to a convenient shop with Seth, all hell breaks loose! The Apocalypse occurs! A sinkhole opens outside Franco's house and swallows several of the celebrities. Now, Seth and Jay and the others including Danny McBride (who came to the party uninvited), have to band together in attempt to survive the end of the world. Only question is: will they survive each other?
      This movie is so original. It's a bit raunchy, but that's what you expect from a Seth Rogen movie. I love the fact that all the actors play fictional versions of themselves. I especially loved Danny McBride's performance. He was dark and funny at the same time.The story itself is perfect. Six celebrities trying to survive the end of the world. It works! The scene where the guys do the drugs with the popular song (at the time), Gangnam Style, was unexpected.  I've seen other Seth Rogen movies like Sausage Party and The Interview, but I think This is The End is Rogen's best work. But I haven't seen Superbad or Pineapple Express yet. But I hear that they're cult classics. Oh, by the way, there's a surprise guest at the end of the movie. I'm not gonna tell you who it is. You just have to watch the movie and find out.

Did You Know?: Danny McBride, in real life, isn't a dark person at all. He's actually a sweetheart. The paintings seen in Franco's house were actually painted by Franco himself. The role of Emma Watson was originally written for Mila Kunis (That '70s Show and Family Guy). According to Seth Rogen, fifty percent of the movie was ad-libbed. Originally, Seth Rogen wanted to use Prince's hit song, Purple Rain, in this movie. But he couldn't get the rights. 

Parents Guide: It's rated R. Definitely not for children. It has raunchy humor such as sexual references. Lots of F bombs and major profanity. There's a scene where Michael Cera slaps Rhianna's butt. (Not really, though.) Also, there's lots of weed smoking and some jump scares. 

I wanna dedicate this review to Seth Rogen and all of his costars for making this movie. 

Boyhood

The 12 years of Mason Jr. (2002-2014) 

     From the director of Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly, comes one of cinema's greatest achievements: Boyhood. Nominated for 6 Oscars including Best Picture. 97% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. 100% score on Metacritic.com. Boyhood is a film like no other. It took 12 years to complete. The film stars Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke (Training Day and Before Sunrise), and introducing Ellar Coltrane as the focus of our story.
     This is the life story of Mason Jr. (Coltrane), from his early childhood to his arrival at college. Filmed over the span of 12 years, Mason grows up before our eyes as he journeys through rough stages in his life like his parents' divorce, bad stepparents, falling in love and breaking up, and fighting with his older sister. Mason shall face the reality that his parents won't be together when it comes to divorce, and find his artistic voice and achieving his dream one step at a time, and also face ugly truths.
    Ever since this movie came out in 2014, I wanted to see it. Now, it's 5 years later, and I finally got to see how amazing it is. I can't believe it took that long to make a movie like Boyhood. I mean, no other director has done this before, until Richard Linklater proposed the idea in 2001. I say that it worked. It's amazing how the story progresses as the years literally pass and the actors age.
    The part that gets me was at the end of the movie when Mason leaves for college and his mom has a mental breakdown, because she was afraid of this day to come and after all that she's been through, she doesn't know what to do. This made me cry. And it worried me about when my time will come when I leave home to start a new life. After I watched the movie for the first time, I asked mom how she would feel when that day in my life comes. She replied that she would be very sad. I don't blame her.

Parents Guide: This movie is rated R. There is some sexual talk in some scenes. Major profanity in the movie. Like about 40 or more F bombs. There's a lot of arguing and there's a scene where it's implied that the stepfather hit the mother badly. In another scene, the drunk stepdad throws dishes at his wife and children. There is a scene where Mason gets bullied. There is also some drinking and cannabis smoking in the movie too. And of course, at the end is the mom's breakdown that I recently mentioned above. 

Did You Know?: The movie has no original score. The music is all popular songs. The film takes place from 2002 to 2013. There are 143 scenes in the movie. Each year of Mason's life is covered by an average 14 minutes of screen time. 

The eyes of a child. 

Bewitched

      Classic TV shows are my favorite kind of shows to binge on. Andy Griffith, Dobie Gillis, Family Ties, and Dick van Dyke. Of all the ones I mentioned, the one I like best is the original Bewitched from the 60s. In 2005, a movie remake of Bewitched was released starring Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge! and Eyes Wide Shut) and Will Ferrell (SNL and Elf). It's loosely based on the beloved TV classic we all know.
      Isabel Bigelow (Kidman)  is a modern witch who just moved in to California. She has an objective to live a normal life (kind of like Samantha in the original show). Meanwhile, an egocentric movie star, Jack Wyatt (Ferrell), is having some trouble in his career. Most of his movies bombed miserably. So, Jack tries to revive his former prestige by playing Darrin in a reboot of Bewitched. Jack suggested to cast an unknown to play the part of Samantha. After some bad auditions, Jack runs into Isabel. He is immediately attracted to her for the fact that she bears a resemblance to Elizabeth Montgomery, the original Samantha.   Jack becomes convinced that Isabel can play the new Samantha in his remake. It was fun filming the show until Isabel learns about Jack's real intention. But there's another problem, Isabel is also in love with Jack and she can't decide whether or not she should tell him the truth about her being a witch.
    I can tell that they were trying to make a memorable movie out of a TV classic, but they didn't do a great job. The reason why I watched this movie in the first place was because Nicole Kidman was in it, and she's my favorite actress. Nicole Kidman's performance was good, but Will Ferrell's performance was too much! Literally. Near the end, Steve Carell (The Office and Despicable Me) plays Paul Lynde's character, Uncle Arthur. He does somewhat of a good job, but I think he was trying a bit too hard. If I were to change this movie, I would find someone else to play Will Ferrell's character. Someone like Jimmy Fallon or Dax Shepard. Although there were some laughs in the movie, I have to give this movie a thumbs down. (Sorry Nicole!)

DID YOU KNOW?: Broomsticks were sent out to movie theaters to help promote the movie. Before Nicole Kidman was cast, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Aniston (Friends), Uma Thurman, and Teri Hatcher (Coraline) were considered for the lead character. Mike Myers (Wayne's World, Austin Powers and Shrek) was another consideration for the movie. 

PARENTS GUIDE: There's some references to sex every here and there. Major profanity is included in the film. Not much violence to be concerned about. This movie is rated PG-13.