022. Silver Linings Playbook ★★★★★
I don’t even know where to start with this movie honestly. I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into the theater outside the few scenes I had seen reblogged here on Tumblr. I wasn’t expecting to see such a raw and true love story unfold right before my eyes. The very idea that two brokenhearted people can mend each other without even realizing it touched my heart. Honestly, this movie was just perfect.
023. Happy Gilmore ★★★★☆
First of all, you have to be an Adam Sandler fan to enjoy this movie probably. It was cute and heartwarming. Honestly, it was a very feel good movie with a side of funny.
024. Big ★★★★☆
I didn’t expect to like this movie as much as I did. It was hilarious to watch a thirteen year old who had been magically transformed into a man try to learn how to live as an adult. It was cute, but I didn’t find it to be anything that special really.
025. Iron Man ★★★★★
Okay, so I’m behind the curve with finally seeing this movie, but I loved it! I had never read the Iron Man comics or anything, but the movie seemed pretty damn amazing. I felt like Iron Man had depth to it that no other super hero movie had been able to give to its characters and the story developing between Tony and Pepper wasn’t rushed or forced.
026. Cheaper By The Dozen 2 ★★★★☆
This movie is certainly cute, but it is just another sequel that doesn’t have too much to offer in the way of a plot. Honestly, it was just the way it made me laugh that even kept my interest.
027. The Incredible Hulk ★★★★☆
Had I not watched Iron Man first (yes, I’m watching them in proper order) this movie was kind of a let down. Yes, it was good and did have a story, but, I don’t know, it didn’t seem to be on the same level. I don’t know if even would have watched it if it had been a stand alone film.
028. Despicable Me ★★★★☆
I truly only watched this movie because when I was at the theater I saw a preview for Despicable Me 2 and that got my attention (I’m one of those types of people that have to see movies in the correct order or else it drives me insane). It was cute, no doubt, and it was certainly a twist on the classic super villain story.
029. Bratz ★☆☆☆☆
I only watched this for Janel Parrish. I try to watch the work of Pretty Little Liars cast members whenever I can, but this one was almost painful. Yes, Janel is cute and everything in it, but the singing done, for the most part, makes your ears bleed, the movie plot is honestly corny, and most of the acting could have been improved on. Basically, don’t watch unless you’re a diehard Janel fan and feel you have to.
030. Another Cinderella Story ★★★★☆
Honestly, the way they keep remaking basically the same movie is getting a little ridiculous, but I’m a sucker for Selena Gomez so I watched it, again. What captured me this time around was the casting. Jane Lynch in the evil stepmother role? Perfection. But, really, there’s only so many things that can be done to the basic Cinderella story to keep people interested.
034. What a Girl Wants ★★★☆☆
Honestly, this film seemed like a cross between The Parent Trap and Cinderella with maybe a little bit of The Princess Diaries thrown in. Which probably would have been fine, but recently there’s been too many cinderella story movies on TV (thank you ABC Family), so I found myself not really enjoying it. It was decent, but nothing too special
035. Call Me Crazy: A Five Film ★★★★★
My love for this film was unexpected to me, but it was so raw and real that I couldn’t help myself. Truly, one of the five stories is told in a bigger context because it weaves into two of the other stories (quite beautifully really). It was so amazing to see Brittany Snow in such a different role as well. Truly a must watch as long as you can handle movies about mental illnesses; this movie doesn’t sugar coat anything.
036. Enchanted ★★★★☆
As I was watching this movie I realized how much it was based off of Snow White. Sure, I like Snow White and her little dwarfs as much as the next person, but Disney had already done a movie about that story. I loved the costumes and songs and the idea of the princess coming to the “real world”, but I just think the story could have been a little more creative.
037. Iron Man 2 ★★★★★
I was expecting this movie to be a little bit of a let down because it was a sequel and that’s just what sequels do, but I was wrong. It was a story all it’s own and very, very entertaining and it did a very good job of keeping my attention. Of course that could have just been Robert Downey Jr.’s face.
Masson Mills
As part of the Impossible Machines project, I went to visit the Masson Mills over in Matlock. I needed some inspiration and I figured seeing 200-odd year old machinery would be a great foundation for the rest of the project. I’ve been to the more commercial shop-based side of the Mill many times in the past, but I’ve never before been to the museum.
The museum itself was bigger than I thought; chilled by the winter air it was a treasure trove of mechanical gears, spikes and looms. Entering the museum I was met with a room that was narrow but very long and filled with rows of machinery I don’t have a clue what purpose it served when the mill was running. A gas mask was hidden amongst other odd bits-and-bobs on the shelving in this first room. On a side table was a series of metal cogs, arranged to illustrate how some of the machinery worked. Further along this room was an even greater number of machines used to process the cotton. In a side passage cutting through a medium dark and dank room was filled with expansive machinery with a variety of archaic tools hung up on the wall, clearly untouched for a long time. This was a machine shop where the machinery in the main shop was repaired.
The last rooms I looked in were even bigger and longer than the first; about the width of a house but perhaps the length of half a football pitch! It was filled left and right with giant metal machinery. A series of looms to the left and a machine that had a series of hundreds of threads ready to be threaded together and made into sheets of wool or cotton to be used for clothing. Lastly there was a boiler room, the energy centre of the facility at one point. There were 3 boilers painted black and red that were as big as the first floor of a house.
Overall it was good to go and see the big machines, even though it would have been more enlightening to have been taken on a tour of the facility by someone working at the museum. Unfortunately I went at the wrong time for this. I still got some great pictures and most importantly of all it got the cogs in my head spinning, giving me some great ideas that I can take forward into the rest of the project.
031. A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song ★★★☆☆
Honestly, I mainly watched this for Lucy Hale. I did enjoy the fact that they changed up the dynamics of the classic Cinderella story (there weren’t two step sisters and the step brother wasn’t completely against Katie). But, again, it’s a story that’s been told a million times.
032. Just My Luck ★★☆☆☆
I wasn’t expecting to like this movie because of Lindsay Lohan basically. But, honestly, it wasn’t horrible. Was it a perfect, flawless movie? Not by a long shot, but it was enjoyable. And it was nice to see love being more important than being lucky.
033. Hairspray ★★★☆☆
Honestly, I found myself getting bored and thinking this movie was pretty corny. Yeah, the singing was good for a movie musical, but it certainly didn’t hold my attention for more than a few minutes at a time.
