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Showing posts from June, 2014

Blu-ray Review: Kissing Jessica Stein

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I was excited to receive Kissing Jessica Stein  in the mail, because it has a great cast and it's a movie from 2001 that I hadn't previously seen. A young Jennifer Westfeldt ( Friends with Kids ) stars, but you'll notice other random actors pop up in cameos, too: Jon Hamm (who also stars in Friends with Kids  with Jennifer), Stuart from Big Bang Theory , and others. Official synopsis: Sex and the single girl gets a fresh new spin in this "very funny movie"! (Joel Siegel, Good Morning America) Fed up with her fruitless search for "Mr. Right" and tired of blind dates from hell, attractive journalist Jessica Stein whimsically responds to a classified ad - from Helen! Making and breaking new rules of dating as they go, the two women muddle through an earnest but hilarious courtship that blurs the lines between friendship and romantic love in this "smashing romantic comedy" (Rolling Stone) This movie has been touted as similar to Sex and the Ci

GIVEAWAY: 5 pairs of tickets to The Maple Theater's Secret Cinema [7/3], ends 7/2

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Five of my lucky readers will get to see Secret Cinema at the Maple Theater this Thursday, July 3rd  - but you have to act fast. So what's Secret Cinema, you may ask? Secret Cinema is The Maple's classic film series with a twist - you won't know what you're watching until the lights go down!   Join your fellow cinephiles every first and third Thursday of the month for another unnamed classic. We've split the series into two nights: Old Hollywood and New Hollywood, employing the pivotal year of 1967 as a historical and thematic dividing line.   If you want to buy tickets ahead of time, they're only $5 , and can be bought here . This Thursday's showing is at 7:30pm  and is "Old Hollywood," which means that we know it's a film from 1967 or earlier . Presenting the Old Hollywood selection for July is Maple Theater owner Jon Goldstein. The clue from the Maple's newsletter is that this feature is suitable for ages 12 and up  and is a movie f

Movie Review - Transformers: Age of Extinction

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I have always been a fan of the Transformers movies : they do "big" well, and they're always entertaining. For a movie that's supposed to be the first true summer blockbuster, however, Transformers: Age of Extinction felt overly long and more bloated than the previous three in the series, and I was not as entertained by it as I thought I would be. Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) and his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz) live a mostly quiet life in Texas, with him (trying to) work as an inventor. One day, he buys an old truck that ends up being an Autobot (Optimus Prime, to be precise), and the CIA - or some bad people from the CIA, anyways - invade and blow up the Yeagers' house. Tessa's professional driver boyfriend, Shane (Jack Reynor), happens to be on the scene, and before they know it, they're on the run from the government and whomever else is chasing them, with Optimus; their travels will take them to Chicago and eventually China, where a war between t

Cinetopia Film Festival Movie Reviews - OJ: The Musical + Buzzard

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I bring to you the last two of my movie reviews for the Cinetopia International Film Festival 2014 , the first film fest I had the pleasure of attending. For these two movies, I wanted to write reviews even though they were my least favorite of the festival. Both still have good things to recommend about them, but overall I wasn't a fan of either, though I will say they are both so off-the-wall that they are still stuck in my head, two weeks later, especially Buzzard , which was filmed in Grand Rapids, MI. Official synopsis : ( OJ: The Musical ) Every small town has that one son who has made it big, and for Orrville, Ohio, that son is Eugene Olivier. From grade school pageants to high school plays and on to the bright lights of New York City, Eugene has made a name for himself in the world of theater. Literally, just for himself. OJ: The Musical follows Eugene as he recruits hometown friends and sets up funding for his musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Othello.” Whether he’

Movie Review: Jersey Boys

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Jersey Boys is based off the musical of the same name, about the Four Seasons (led by Frankie Valli), and is Clint Eastwood's newest. I had a feeling the movie would be good, as I love their music, and Eastwood's movies usually are; I ended up enjoying the film a lot. Frankie (John Lloyd Young) and his boys grow up in New Jersey together, and once they find out he's a good singer, he starts playing small venues. His mob friend Angelo (Christopher Walken) hooks him up with some performances as well. Frankie, Tommy (Vincent Piazza), Bobby (Erich Bergen), and Nick (Michael Lomenda) eventually come together to form the group Four Seasons, with Frankie as lead singer, Tommy as the songwriter/pianist, and Bobby and Nick on guitar. They take off slow at first, but soon have a few hits under their belts; after a while though, the group dynamic tends to shift, and there are problems within the group.

Movie Review: Think Like a Man Too

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It wasn't until I did a Google search that I realized I had reviewed the original Think Like a Man back in April 2012, showing that the movie wasn't particularly memorable. Unfortunately, neither is this sequel, even though there are definitely funny moments throughout Think Like a Man Too. The gang is back again in this installment, in which Michael (Terrence J, or Jenkins) and Candace (Regina Hall) are getting married in Vegas. Cedric (Kevin Hart) rents out a lavish room at Caesars Palace, and both the girls and the guys have major bachelorette/bachelor party plans. Ms. Loretta (Jenifer Lewis), Michael's mom, wants the girls to have a ladylike tea party and then "take in a show," but that's not exactly what they want to do; only Candace's Uncle Eddie (Dennis Haysbert) is enough of a distraction so that they can slip away unnoticed. The boys want to, of course, see some strippers, but the girls hijack their bus, so they have to walk instead. A lot of

GIVEAWAY: $60 Applebee's gift card, ends 6/25

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Welcome to the Applebees Seasons Best Giveaway Hosted by My Best of Both Worlds Disclosure: Applebees invited My Best of Both Worlds to be their guest and experience their new Season’s Best Flavors menu items. The food was provided compliments of Applebees in order to facilitate a review. No other compensation was provided in exchange for this publication. All opinions expressed are true and my family’s own. If your family is anything like ours you enjoy going out to dinner, and that’s what this giveaway is all about. Discovering Applebees new Season’s Best Flavors. You can read all about our review of Applebees' new dishes containing fresh and fabulous ingredients in Applebees is our go-to neighborhood restaurant. I've partnered with a few other bloggers to bring you this giveaway - Applebee's is a great stop before or after seeing a movie!  The AMC John R (Madison Heights), UA Commerce Township, and MJR Marketplace, among other theaters, are within a 5-min

Cinetopia Film Festival Movie Reviews: Hellion + The Sublime and Beautiful

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You didn't think I was done writing Cinetopia International Film Festival movie reviews, did you? (and you can check out my previous reviews and coverage here , too.) Things have been busy lately, but I have this review and will also be doing a joint OJ: The Musical / Buzzard  review later this week, too. Hellion was one of the movies at the fest that had the most recognizable cast: Aaron Paul ( Breaking Bad ) and Juliette Lewis ( August: Osage County ) star, but it's the child actors in this film (Josh Wiggins, Deke Garner, and others) that steal the show. Official synopsis: Aaron Paul and Juliette Lewis star in this heartbreaking drama that acutely captures the misdirected angst of teenage years. Thirteen-year-old Jacob is spiraling out of control. Motocross-obsessed, he and his delinquent friends trash things out of boredom and frustration that they hold inside because of the dire circumstances of their lives. All hell breaks loose when Jacob enlists his younger broth

GIVEAWAY: The Lego Movie on Blu-ray, ends 6/27

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Everything is awesome ... because I have a copy of The Lego Movie  on Blu-ray for one of my lucky readers to win! In case you live under a rock and somehow haven't heard about this film: The LEGO® Movie, the first-ever, full-length theatrical LEGO® adventure, directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller is an original 3D computer animated story that follows Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared. Chris Pratt ( Moneyball ) stars as the voice of Emmet. Will Ferrell ( The Campaign ) stars as the voice of his primary adversary, President Business, an erudite, anal-retentive CEO who has a hard time balancing world domination with micro-managing his own life; while Liam Neeson ( Taken ) voices the p

GIVEAWAY: 5 pairs of tickets to The Maple Theater's Secret Cinema [6/19], ends 6/18

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Five of my lucky readers will get to see Secret Cinema at the Maple Theater this Thursday, June 19th  - but you have to act fast. So what's Secret Cinema, you may ask? Secret Cinema is The Maple's classic film series with a twist - you won't know what you're watching until the lights go down!   Join your fellow cinephiles every first and third Thursday of the month for another unnamed classic. We've split the series into two nights: Old Hollywood and New Hollywood, employing the pivotal year of 1967 as a historical and thematic dividing line.   If you want to buy tickets ahead of time, they're only $5 , and can be bought here . This Thursday's showing is at 7:30pm  and is "New Hollywood," which means that we know it's a film from 1967 or later . Presenting the New Hollywood selection for June is Oakland University Cinema Studies Professor Courtney Brannon Donoghue. Moviegoers also get free popcorn  (yes, free!) with any other concessions

Movie Reviews, Most Unique of Cinetopia: R100 + The Congress

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The two weirdest most unique films I saw at the Cinetopia Film Festival were definitely R100  and The Congress . R100  showed at the State Theater at 11:30 p.m., and it's the type of movie that probably should  be watched late: it's bizarre yet also interesting. I didn't know what the title meant until recently, when I read this review : apparently the Japanese rating system for movies has such like R-15 and R-18 (like our PG-13 and R, I'm assuming), so R-100  is suggesting that it's far beyond these in terms of content. Official synopsis: Any way you look at it, Takafumi’s life is boring. He gets up, makes his son breakfast, sells upholstery downtown, stops by the hospital to see his comatose wife, and picks up dinner on the way home. He needs… adrenaline. When he stumbles upon a mysterious club with the word “Bondage” inscribed on the front door, it seems his routine may change. Before Takafumi signs away, the administrator gives him a glimpse of what’s to c

Movie Review: 22 Jump Street

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I saw 21 Jump Street at a screening back in March 2012, and it was funny but very raunchy. This installment is a bit more toned down, and does have some laughs, although not quite as many as its predecessor, unfortunately. If you missed the first Jump Street , you're in luck, because the movie starts out with a "last time on Jump Street " TV-esque montage of the first movie. Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are being sent to college to investigate the "WHY-PHY" (Work Hard Yes, Play Hard Yes) drug being sold there, as one student died from it. They head to MC State together, with their cover being that they are brothers, but they soon find themselves in opposite crowds: Schmidt joins the "art kids" scene, where he meets Maya (Amber Stephens), whereas Jenko is recruited for the football team. The two start to realize they are more dissimilar than they originally thought, but they still must stick together to try and find the distributo

Movie Reviews, The Best of Cinetopia: Lilting + Obvious Child

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My two favorite movies I saw at the Cinetopia International Film Festival  were Lilting  and Obvious Child . The funny thing about Lilting  is that I almost didn't see it: it wasn't on my list of movies I wanted to see, even though I had heard good things about it, but then a fellow movie blogger pulled myself and my friend in to the line to see it, so we saw that instead of Jingle Bell Rocks . Lilting  actually won the Cinematography award at this year's Sundance Festival, as well. Official synopsis: What would you do if the only person that could help comfort you from the sudden death of a loved one spoke an entirely different language than you? That’s the dilemma facing the main characters of Lilting , as Junn, an old Chinese woman, and Richard, the English boyfriend of her late son, must try to overcome their inability to communicate—and their dislike of one another—in order to deal with their grief and honor their memories. The winner of the Cinematography Award at th

Cinetopia Film Festival Movie Review: The Skeleton Twins

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The first movie I had the pleasure of seeing at the Cinetopia International Film Festival this month was The Skeleton Twins , which I was definitely anticipating. I love Kristen Wiig, even though I rarely see  SNL , and Bill Hader is usually funny as well. Unlike most of the screenings at the festival, The Skeleton Twins  only had one showing, at the State Theater (Ann Arbor), and because of that, the screening was packed. Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader in The Skeleton Twins Official IMDb synopsis: After many years of estrangement, twins Maggie and Milo lead separate lives on opposite sides of the country. When both feel that they're at the end of their ropes, an unexpected reunion forces them to confront how their lives went so wrong. For Maggie, that means re-examining her marriage to sweet "nature frat boy" Lance and her own self destructive tendencies, while Milo must face the pain of an early heartbreak he never quite got past. As the twins' reunion reinvig

That's a wrap! Cinetopia International Film Festival, June 2014

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After a crazy weekend filled with 12 feature-length films and a few short films as well, I have made it through my first film festival: the Cinetopia International Film Fest, held in Ann Arbor and Detroit. I only attended the Ann Arbor screenings, but many people I met there attended screenings in both cities. If you read my pre-fest post , I told you my Top 5 list, and the good news is that 1) I was able to make it to all five of those movies, and 2) I enjoyed all of them. Without further ado: *not included: Detroit Voices short films, including high school and adult divisions.

GIVEAWAY: Assorted SNICKERS bars + a pair of movie tickets, ends 6/17

*This post is sponsored by SNICKERS Brand. Snickers wants your help in deciding the name of its new chocolate bar! A delicious new SNICKERS® Bar is coming. It has more peanuts, more caramel, and more chocolate. It has more of everything people love most about SNICKERS – except nougat and a name. And guess what? For the first time EVER, consumers like ourselves get to vote for its name. The new bar includes a single layer of crunchy roasted peanuts, blended with caramel and enrobed in milk chocolate. You can visit the SNICKERS Facebook page , through June 13, 2014 , to choose from one of five possible names: SNICKERS Go Nuts SNICKERS Xtreme SNICKERS #MoreNuts SNICKERS Nuts Galore SNICKERS Nuts! The new bar will be out in stores in 2015.

The perfect Father's Day gift: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, in stores on June 10th! #JackRyanBluRay

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I reviewed Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit  back in January, and it was a great action-packed film. The movie is coming to DVD and Blu-ray on June 10th, and it would make a fantastic gift for Father's Day. The film stars Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, and Kevin Costner, along with other A-listers, and it's a fast-paced thriller. If your dad is a movie fan like mine is, you could pair Jack Ryan  with a few other action movies and make a day out of it - no trip to the theater required!

Movie Review: Words and Pictures

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You most likely haven't heard of the movie Words and Pictures , but it's a film that you should check out. With veteran actors Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche in the lead roles, the movie sizzles with chemistry, and although the pace is a bit slow, the story itself is a good one. Jack Marcus (Owen) teaches English at a prep school in Maine. Renowned artist Dina Delsanto (Binoche) joins the faculty to teach Art Honors, and everyone is intrigued by her; she keeps to herself, and rumor is that she's partially given up painting due to her arthritis. Jack challenges Dina with his opinion that words are more important than pictures, and just like that, they start a school-wide war between the Honors English and the Arts Honors students, one which must be seen until its conclusion. Jack is also besotted with Dina, but he has a drinking problem, which is hindering his ability to do his teaching job, as well.

Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow

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Edge of Tomorrow has a lot to recommend about it, as well as a lot of plot holes that left me frustrated, but in the end, it's a film that I was still thinking about the next day - as most good sci-fi movies should affect you. The movie is almost like a dramatic version of Groundhog Day , but with more at stake, and it was very intriguing. Major Cage (Tom Cruise) is a PR person in the U.S. Army - meaning, he's never actually been in a battle, but goes on TV and talks about the war a lot - until, one day, he's brought to General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) who orders him to the front, in France. He tries to run away, and the next time he wakes up he's at an army base, preparing to go into battle. He has no idea how to use his weapons or highly-technical suit, yet when he drops on to the beach in France he manages to kill one of the more important aliens, who then inadvertently transfers its time-controlling abilities onto him. He dies that day on the beach, but in the

TWIX Bites on-the-go: the movies, the outdoors, and more! #EatMoreBites

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There are never enough hours in the day for me. I have a full-time job, and I write both this blog and my book blog , which are like two part-time jobs combined; if you add them all up, I probably work 50-60 hours a week. To top that off, I am always on-the-go, whether it be for movie screenings, meeting up with friends, or running around doing errands - and sometimes, when you leave the house at 9am and don't return until 10pm, you get hungry for some snacks. I also have a huge sweet tooth, but eating a large candy bar, which can top out at 250-300 calories, is not really in my weekday caloric budget, either. I was shopping at Wal-Mart the other day and saw that TWIX has a new product out - TWIX Bites. They're basically unwrapped TWIX bars, but tiny: a serving is five or six, and has less calories than two TWIX Bars would be. So of course I had to buy them - and I threw in a bag of Snickers Bites too, for good measure - and I've been eating them everywhere

Movie Review: The Fault in Our Stars

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I have a complicated relationship with The Fault in Our Stars . A mere two weeks before seeing the film, I was fortunate enough to be in Nashville for the weekend and able to get media passes for the TFIOS event there , where I got to get up front and close with John Green, Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, and Nat Wolff in the media pen. Before that, I reviewed the book last August, and loved it ; since then, I've been trying to devour all of Green's work, and I also reviewed Paper Towns , which will soon be a feature film with Wolff as the main character. To say I had high expectations for the TFIOS film, then, would probably be an understatement, and I have a feeling most of Green's fans feel this way as well. Our protaganist is Hazel Grace Lancaster (Woodley), who totes an oxygen tank with her at all times. Hazel has lung cancer, but for now it's under control. She meets Augustus Waters (Elgort) at a cancer support group; he lost his leg to cancer a few years back

Blu-ray review: Endless Love (2014)

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Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde in Endless Love I never reviewed Endless Love  (2014) here because I saw it with a few friends after it was released, at the AMC John R (fantastic seats!), at a pretty late showing, I think maybe 10pm. I was surprised by how much I liked it, and so when the chance came up to review the Blu-ray, I didn't hesitate to email back. Official synopsis , from Amazon : When beautiful Jade (Gabriella Wilde) meets charismatic David (Alex Pettyfer), her sheltered world of privilege is turned upside down as the pair’s instant desire sparks a reckless summer love affair. While Jade leaves behind her inhibitions and innocence as she falls for David, he works to prove himself worthy of her love. But when David’s mysterious past and Jade’s overprotective father threaten to tear them apart, their romance will be put to the ultimate test. This movie provides an interesting "chicken and the egg scenario." It reminds me a LOT of The Notebook , from 20

HBO's True Detective - Available at Best Buy on June 10th, just in time for Father's Day #HBOatBestBuy

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*Disclosure: I have been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free in exchange for this post. Back when I had HBO, I watched one episode of True Detective  on HBO GO, and I deemed it to be decent. I'll be honest, though - I watched it while on the treadmill, I was tired and cranky, and just wasn't in the mood for a TV show I really had to watch and listen to, since it's very layered. Ever since then, I have been wanting to rewatch that first episode and the rest of the series, when I finally get the time. Best Buy will have the  True Detective  season one Blu-ray on sale on its release date, June 10th, and I could see it being a great Father's Day gift. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, and Michelle Monaghan, but what's interesting is that it also has a rotating cast - which means that for season two, already picked up by HBO, the cast will be switching up. I'm a huge

GIVEAWAY: 5 pairs of tickets to The Maple Theater's Secret Cinema [6/5], ends 6/4

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Five of my lucky readers will get to see Secret Cinema at the Maple Theater this Thursday, June 5th  - but you have to act fast. So what's Secret Cinema, you may ask? Secret Cinema is The Maple's classic film series with a twist - you won't know what you're watching until the lights go down!   Join your fellow cinephiles every first and third Thursday of the month for another unnamed classic. We've split the series into two nights: Old Hollywood and New Hollywood, employing the pivotal year of 1967 as a historical and thematic dividing line.   If you want to buy tickets ahead of time, they're only $5 , and can be bought here . This Thursday's showing is at 7:30pm  and is "Old Hollywood," which means that we know it's a film from 1967 or earlier . Casablanca Moviegoers also get free popcorn  (yes, free!) with any other concessions purchase. If you are purchasing tickets, you're also able to select your seat on the Maple's webs

Disney Store Celebrates Grand Reopening at Somerset Collection in Style #MagicIsBack

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Yesterday I was able to attend the grand reopening of the Disney store at The Somerset Collection (Troy, MI, right down the street) and check out what they've done with the space. The doors officially opened at 10am, but rumor has it the line started at 7am, as the first 500 guests received a gift (mouse ears). Both Mickey and Minnie Mouse were present to get the festivities started, and a meet and greet with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse was also held in Somerset's Grand Court (middle atrium area of the mall) from noon to 4pm, with guests being able to take photos with the characters. The line almost reached to Macy's at the end of the mall - this was it around 11am The local Boys and Girls Clubs of America were able to shop the store before its opening, and one child got to "unlock imagination" and open the store at 10am - a ceremony that will take place every day, which is pretty cool.