The Raven, The Lucky One, & Think Like A Man

              Hello Bloggers!  If you haven’t guessed by the title yet I had another movie day courtesy of a great friend and co-conspirator.  We saw three new movies and had a great time so here are my thoughts on them.

                First we have The Raven, which is about Edgar Allen Poe and a killer inspired by his writings.  This movie is a dark mystery centered around Poe and his works.  A killer uses the writings of Poe to lure him into a dangerous game of trying to figure it out. 

                Poe himself is played by John Cusack and I think he does a great job in the roll and although I was never a huge reader of his work I knew some of the more well known ones and some of the stories about him being very eccentric.   Then you have Detective Fields played by Luke Evans (Oh I love the accent) and he plays the intelligent and intriguing character.  He and Poe have different methods but in the end the same goal, find the killer.

                Overall I enjoyed the movie.  The sets were amazing, took you right back in time.  There is even a masked ball and well I’m a sucker for a masked ball.  The suspense in the movie and the clues are cool and very eerie.  I had the killer figured out about a quarter of the way through and was with my friend who is very quick to figure things out but shockingly enough she didn’t figure it out until the last twenty minutes.  I was shocked I tell you.  So if you like mysteries/suspense movies then check out The Raven. 

Rating: 5 Stars

                Next we ventured into The Luck One, the Nicholas Sparks movie with Zac Efron who plays Logan.  Now my friend is not your average girl.  She doesn’t really do chick flicks as she calls them ‘estrogen inducers’ which I laugh at.  I can watch anything and for the second movie asked her if she wanted to see this or The Five Year Engagement and she knew full well that The Lucky One was a Nicholas Sparks movie.  I just may not have mentioned the whole had Zac Efron in it part knowing she still associates him with High School Musical stuff (as did I though I never saw one it was just everywhere).

                This movie is about a marine who finds a picture of a woman that saves his life.  Literally, him walking over to check it out keeps him from getting blown up.  He tries to find who it belongs to but no one claims it and he wants to meet this woman and thank her.  So he goes to find her and as he’s trying to tell her she thinks he’s there for the job posting.  She runs a dog kennel boarding/training place and he has his pup with him Zeus (I have to ass his Zeus is a German Sheppard just like my old bebe Zeus).  He takes the job, simple life and she needs the help.  Well he starts to get to know her and in true Nicholas Sparks fashion he falls for her, Beth.  Things aren’t easy of course there is conflict and other things going on like her young son and ex husband who has some issues.

                I liked this movie.  Yes it touched my inner girlie girl but didn’t make me cry like The Notebook or A Walk To Remember.  Even my friend who was anti Efron said it was a good movie.  Predictable but good, that is high praise believe me.  There were plenty of good things and so many little funnies in the movie.  I won’t lie some of the time me and my friend were the only ones laughing, maybe an inside joke but still.  Oh and special note to Beth’s grandma played by Blythe Danner.  She was such a great character and I couldn’t see it working without her. 

                Also the ex-husband/cop I’ve read some reviews that say he is an unbelievable character.  He abuses his power and that he wouldn’t be able to get away with that but living in a small town myself, and having worked in the Sheriff’s Office I know that they can get away with so much more than you would believe.  I thought that deserved special note because it does keep the good and bad of a small town in mind.  So if you like a good romance/chick flick then check this one out.

Rating: 4 Stars

                Last but not least we saw Think Like A Man.  This movie has a large cast full of a variety of characters.  It’s a funny movie.  A great laugh.

                Basically the premises of the movie is about these girls who have had it with men and the way they act.  Either they’re in a long term relationship and it just isn’t moving forward or they can’t find a man to meet their standards.  Then they see this book written by a guy Steve Harvey who tells them how to act like a woman but to think like a man so they can know how to get what they want.  No on the flip side you have a group of guys with different styles and problems and they meet these women. 

                They start realizing the game is changing.  Things are as easy as they were before and if they want to get what they want then they have to change.  Until they find out about the book.  They then decide to use the book against the women.  Overall this movie is just a hilarious take on relationships.  I found myself laughing through most of it.  A great cast whom I couldn’t name everyone if I wanted to but they did a great job with tons of laughs.  The audience was a mix of men and women so it’s great for either gender and I’d wager a great date movie. 

Rating: 4 Stars

      

       There you have it my views of three new movies.  What do you think?  Have you seen them yet?  Do you want to?  Tell me what you think.