Pacific Rim: Directed by Guillermo del Toro

Today at the edge of our hope, at the end of our time. We have chosen to believe in each other. Today we face the monsters that are at our door, today we are cancelling the apocalypse!

i saw this movie yesterday with my sisters and a guy friend. Pacific Rim was one of the best action movies any of us have seen in a long time. while it’s true that the story wasn’t particularly unique from any other action apocalypse movie, the special effects were brilliant! the last thing anyone wants is shoddy and overdone CGI ruining a movie (the best example for me is the most recent Indiana Jones movie, the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which came out in 2008). the movie received 71% positive reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 86% positive reviews from average users. who doesn’t enjoy watching giant robots clobbering enormous sea monsters in a hard crushing, scrappy manner and crashing into buildings and bridges and smashing cars? (a lot of action words there, I feel like I need to look in a thesaurus for some better ones). the film screams testosterone except for the occasional feminine (and admittedly cheesy) touch of the female lead who holds her own against the men who surround her. a couple of touching and heart wrenching moments help to ground the film amidst the flurry of action-packed fight scenes, and a pair of dorky and extremely nerdy scientists help add a touch of humor to the film.

overall, I would say that I am satisfied with this film, and is one of the best I’ve seen all summer. while comparisons can be drawn to the transformer movies, I would rate this film above transformers in terms of effects, music and the overall entertainment factor. I recommend seeing it to get your fill of smashing, messy, destructive action for the summer.

let me know what your opinion was of the movie if you’ve seen it!

xoxo,

Kayla

42: Directed by Brian Helgeland

You give me a uniform, you give me a number on my back, I’ll give you the guts.
– Jackie Robinson from the film 42

i finally got to see this film today. it’s a very inspiring film and along with going to a couple Mariners games recently it has renewed my interest in baseball. it really is a great sport, it’s a shame the franchise in Seattle doesn’t actually give us much to cheer for. I’ve seen several games that were well within our grasp but which we threw away out of incompetence, it’s very disappointing. while this film was no different from any other sports drama where tears, sweat, struggle and ultimate success in some form are the foundations of the story, it did add a much-needed story to the baseball film collection. a solid film, props to Harrison Ford and Chadwick Boseman.