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Film Review: The Nut Job

In the Name of Nuts

Surly the squirrel was unwanted by all the other animals in the park as he frequently causes sorts of trouble. Also, he doesn't want to be an animal who just nods to the laws or orders of someone. He lives for himself. Inspite of this, Surly never feels alone for he always has his rat friend Buddy.

The conflict starts when Raccoon, the leader of the animals at the park, asks squirrels Andie and Grayson to look for nuts which they can store for the coming winter. But as they came across Surly, a lot of mess happened. This then led to the banishment of Surly from the park.

But it doesn't end there for it was just the beginning. As soon as Andie and Surly met again in a nut shop owned by a group of men who plans on robbing a bank nearby, a lot of revelations soon began. Surly on his own, had to struggle between his own safety or the state of all the other animals at the park while Andie has to find out what Raccoon is really up to.

Inside the Nut

Basically the story has a very simple lesson. Learn to share what you have. And while doing favor for the others, you need not to brag about it for that is the real spirit of helping. As for a child, the movie can be recommended. But for adults, the movie is a complete bore.

Yes, there are humors injected in it but it wasn't that remarkable. For kids maybe. But way too childish for adults. In fairness, the movie's target are the kids, not adults.

The plot doesn't have much of the suspense element. The conflict was pretty easy and way too predictable. Some characters were unnecessary. Plus, it's a cliche.

Nothing but Nuts

The Nut Job is the most expensive animated film co-produced with South Korea with a budget of 43 million US dollars. Sadly, the movie's tagline "No Nuts, No Glory" was not justified by the story nor by in any scene. It lacked insanity, intensity and most of all, uniqueness.

It didn't reveal anything new. Children who watch this may even tell their mom that they are pretty bored with its over simplicity. The audience won't go nuts about it.

Movie Review: X-Men:Days of the Future Past

It lacks something.

Maybe the "umpf factor", the point wherein you just can't help but to hold on to the arms of your seat and you just can't take your eyes away from it even for just one second.

The reason? Well, it was more of talks than action. And those conversations are as well necessary for all the dramas and for the audience to fully grasp what is happening. The conflict is not just a battle between someone just like before. It was a series of problems which affects both the past and the future.

The movie starts of with the near extinction of mutants because of something that was created from the past called Sentinels. In order to fix things, Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman was sent by Professor Charles and Magneto into the year when Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) made her first kill. As wolverine dares to change the past, the surviving mutants in the present also struggles to battle with the sentinels who are about to exterminate them all.

The effects, from the first x-men movie up to now are consistent in making the eyes of the audience feel at awe. The plot was made very clear but was quite boring at some point. Somehow, it lacked the showcase of the mutants' powers which could have been a way to entice the viewers.

It was good but is not breathtaking just how we anticipated.

It won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. What should you expect?

Well aside from expecting a two thumbs up story, you should also make yourself ready for the unique twists prepared to make you say "This is a damn crazy good novel"

The author's  style in creating that very clear vision of what he wants the reader to imagine is so creative that you could almost feel like you were always there on the scenes.  You can also feel his passion in writing because of the explicit details that he added to show how every kind of movement, how every moment changes a person's vision about life.

Three women from different eras were presented by Cunningham to show his brilliant style in executing very smooth transitions necessary to describe the incredibly different elements that he wants to combine.

Mrs. Dalloway, Mrs. Woolf and Mrs. Brown, the characters, are representations of a woman's genuine side that most men find difficult to understand. The novel depicts how great a woman's love can be and how brave she can be to fight for what she really wants. With the struggles that these women have to face, readers will definitely become aware of how fragile and at the same time, dangerous, a woman can be.

This very open minded perspective about how a woman struggles being a woman is another reason why Cunningham should be considered a genius with this masterpiece. Despite having a point of view as a man, still, he has clearly manifested the feminine side of his characters.

The ending is not the time for you to be happy with what happened and yet, it'll be inevitable for the reader to feel that kind of joy in witnessing the art that he/she has been through.

Later in 2002, the novel was adapted on the big screen starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore which will soon be reviewed by this site also.

One of the best books so far.

You cannot recommend an amateur reader to spend his time trying to understand and appreciate Paolo Coelho's Aleph.

There are a lot of reasons for this. The first one is that it is not a page turner, unless you are really a fan of Coelho, if you're a certified bookworm or if you do relate to what this book is saying.

Aleph is said to be the most personal book of Coelho because it narrates how the author himself journeyed to find or rather fix something which is in touch with his spirituality. 

It talks about reincarnations and 'a-time-travelling-sort-of-feeling' which is not believed by everyone. Since Aleph is an almost diary-novel, it is possible that there are certain points where a reader, who has an opposite belief, may loses his passion to read this book.

Aleph is full of unique perspectives about everything we commonly know about life. It is overflowing with meaningful statements and events where Coelho showed his talent and love for his passion.

As Coelho is the own protagonist in this novel, it is a bit intriguing and awkward to read about his 'different kind of affair' with a woman by the name of Hilal who was also with him on his trip across the Trans-Siberian Railroad. With his intimate details about his relationship with this woman, it is inevitable to think that Coelho's wife might curse this book.

Yet on his interview with Metro, the author clarified that he and his wife are totally honest with each other and that his wife is very supportive about it. 

For a person also seeking a meaning to his life, this book might just got the answers you have long been waiting for.

Intircate and inspiring in the most unexpected way.

Film Review: The Art of Getting By

This is not an extraordinary movie. It portrayed a very cliched issue. There were a lot of shaky shots which could have been the style of the director or the cinematographer. You could skip up to 30 seconds without being left out of what has happened. The climax won't make you feel that huge emotion you've been waiting for whenever you are watching. And just when you thought that you've picked up a wrong film for your movie night, The Art of Getting By redeems itself by striking you about its unique beauty.

George Zinavoy, played by Freddie Highmore who starred as Charlie in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is a teenager who is coping up with life issues colored by the symptoms of being in between a young boy and an adult. He is on his last year in high school which he has reached without getting his school works done. A typical rebel child.

And then he meets Sally Howe whose role was taken by Emma Roberts. Sally takes George into a whole new world by involving him in parties and making him feel the emotion every person has to feel- being in love.

But wait. This is definitely not to be considered as a love story. t's just an element of this movie to emphasize its 'realistic style'. In the end, they both have to make the biggest decision of their young life and poof. The end. 

There was this very slow phasing of events in the movie which was a way of showing every tiny thing going on with George all through out those situations he is in. The lines of the characters are a bit bore because it would be too idealistic to make a rebel teenager say glorious things about life. No emotions were exaggerated. As said earlier, even the climax won't make you hold on to your seat.

So is there a good thing about this movie?

In a way, yes. There are a lot of critics who say negative feedbacks about this movie which was written and directed by Gavin Wiesen. Actually, you could really say a lot of negative things about this film especially if you do not have this kind of childhood you can relate with or if you are used to watching mainstream movies with perfect camera tricks matched with musical scoring suited for it.

But looking on the bright side, there is this uniqueness in the "The Art of Getting By".which needs your deep appreciation of art. The issue was common but was delivered in a different way. Most movies about this topic emphasizes emotions such as madness, rage or grief. Here, George and Sally were shown in action. The film shows how they think and how they act about their emotions. So the actions are emphasized and not the mere emotions.

Also, the film was like a reality show wherein you get to see what they see and you get to know everything going on in their mind. And the movie, in this way, is very successful.

The Art of Getting By definitely has the "The art of being bad and good in a crazy way"

There are absolutely a lot of things going on in my mind right after finishing Lust, Money, & Murder Book 1 of Mike Wells. Tons of questions suddenly began popping out. There is certainly something genuine in this story that you just can't stop reading it.

Given as a free book by the generous author himself,  I thought that it was just a trying-hard-to-be-a-damn-good-novel. But hell, no. I was wrong. It was a very huge mistake to underestimate this novel.

The story is centered on Elaine Brogan who had herself tangled in a series of unfortunate events which are both because of "uncontrollable situations" and "wrong decisions". We all know that when we combine these two things together we would only come up with the word disaster. 

Passionately raised by her loving father, as her jealous mother at some time ran away with another man, Elaine grew up treated as a princess. She then, at the age of 16 and after being discovered by a recruiter of Star Modeling Agency, begins her fantasy of being a model.

However, as faith has always been a problem for protagonists, Elaine finds out that the agency was a scam and her actions caused her father's freedom.  Later on, her father killed himself while in jail. She then was left with only one thing in mind- to look for the person who has caused her this grief.

So, is this book about vengeance? Supposedly, I would say yes. What else? That was the point of narrating Elaine's history. Readers are very well informed about this woman's agenda. Yet, as pages are turned, vengeance seems to be left as a mere spice in this novel. 

Lust, Money & Murder depicts the status of a woman wanting to be more than just what normal women are. Elaine is a woman yet she dares to take that courage of a man to face all her hardships in life. At times, she falls into problematic situations, which is somehow realistic, yet she still strives to stand up and continue to thrive for the better.

This novel greatly reminds me of James Patterson's series about the women's murder club. But of course there is a huge difference between these two. The style are so different. Patterson uses a tricky way of exposing the mysteries at the end of each chapter which is a very nice strategy to hook the reader. Wells on the other hand, is more on narrations without further much ado. So as a result, the direct narration of the plot hooks the reader to know more and more.

This might have been the reason why a lot of readers said that they just can't put this book down until they have the reach the end of it. There are a lot of things happening in each chapter unlike the styles of the other novels. There are so many things going on congested in 2-3 paragraphs.  

Lust, Money & Murder is perfect for the readers who are impatient with the cliche types of narrations. If you are not a fan of those authors who uses 3-4 sentences to describe a simple flower, Mike Wells author, my friend, is the person you are looking for.

Direct. Unpredictable. Brave.