Gerda

I watched Gerda, but my Roku tv has the movie listed as The Student. I watched it on Tubi. It has Anastasiya Krasovskaya, Darius Gumauskas, Yuriy Borisov,
Yuliya Marchenko, Mariya Leonova, and Mariya Ivanova in it.

Big Warning: this is a weird movie, but a good one.

In this movie, a woman named Lera is a sociology student. She has an assignment of going around asking crazy questionnaire questions. She meets some rude people, some people who are alcoholics, and some that are hoarders. She sometimes fills out the questionnaire herself instead staying for a long while with the people. She evens meets a lonely little girl which is sad. At night Lera is a stripper. Her stripper name is Gerda. (Gerda is from the fairy tale The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. I did read a translation of the story.) Lera also has a mother who is mentally ill. She believes in miracles and she sleepwalks. Lera begins to dream about a forest. These dreams end up in the real world and at the end she has wings. Also at the end she is not careful with her mother like she was before.

Even this was a crazy movie, I liked it. Next week I’m watching Student Bodies.

Flowers in the Attic: The Origin: The Mother

I watched the second part of Flowers in the Attic: The Origin: The Mother. It is based on the book Garden of Shadows which was written by Andrew Neiderman who is the ghostwriter of V.C. Andrews. Yes, I have read that book, but it’s been awhile since I read it. It has Jemima Rooper, Max Irons, T’Shan Williams, Peter Bramhill, Alana Boden, Evelyn Miller, Buck Braithwaite, Luke Fetherston, Hannah Dodd, and Kate Mulgrew.

Big Warning: there is some hints of incest.

In this movie, Olivia does pass on that Corrine is her daughter. Alicia does leave with Christopher. When Alicia gets sixteen, Malcolm does looks at Corrine in a terrible way but doesn’t touch her thank goodness. She wants to go to a party, but Malcolm refuses and Olivia sneaks her out anyway. She gets pregnant and Olivia takes her to get an abortion. Olivia discovers that there are some poison plants in a garden near the house. She thinks about poisoning Malcolm, but doesn’t. But Corrine does try to poison him. Then on Mal’s wedding day, Malcolm kisses Mal’s bride and Mal sees it. He accidentally gets the poison thinking it’s pot and gets killed in a car wreck. Then Alicia comes back.

I sorta liked this “episode.” Next week I’m watching Flowers in the Attic: The Origin: The Murderer.

Paradise Hills

I watched Paradise Hills. I taped it when it was on TMC. But I watched it on Netflix. It has Emma Roberts, Danielle Macdonald, Awkwafina, Eiza González, and Milla Jovovich in it.

Big Warning: Weird movie, but great. Warning 2: cliffhanger ending

In this movie, Uma’s mother sends her to an elite school so she would change her mind about marrying a man to who she really doesn’t want get married to. But in the beginning, it shows her getting married to the guy. What? So you think the school helped, but they didn’t. Then the movie goes back to three months before the
so-called wedding. At the school, she meets three other girls who become her friends. Then one of them is called away, and she finds out the girl she knew is completely different. Then she learns the dark secret of the school.

This movie reminds me of Alice in Wonderland a little bit. I loved this movie. Next week I’m watching Ginger & Rosa.

Dors and the Lost City of Gold

I watched Dora and the Lost City of Gold. I had taped it when it was on Epix. (I originally didn’t want to see the movie after hearing how stupid it was. Before I moved, I decided why not see how stupid it is. So I taped it.) It has Isabela Merced, Eugenio Derbez, Michael Peña, Eva Longoria, Benicio Del Toro, Madelyn Miranda, Malachi Barton, Jeff Wahlberg, Joey Vieira, and Pia Miller in it.

In this movie, Dora is six years old and she has imaginary adventures with her cousin. Her cousin leaves the jungle and grows up. Dora is still in the jungle. Her parents decide to go on a mission to find a lost city. So Dora has to live in the jungle. Dora doesn’t really adapt to city life good. But then she gets kidnapped with her cousin and two other teenagers. They get “rescued”, but they later find out the man who rescues them is a bad guy. They do find the city and the gold. Dora ends up being friends with the teenagers and decides to stay in the city.

This movie was stupid at first, but it ended be good at the end. Next week I’m watching Jexi.

Zathura: A Space Adventure

I watched Zathura: A Space Adventure a few weeks ago. It is a book by Chris Van Allsburg (who also wrote Jumanji). I haven’t read the book. The movie has Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim Robbins, and Frank Oz in it.

Big Warning: there is some violence.

In this movie, a boy named Danny who is bored finds a mysterious board game called Zathura. He tries to get his brother to play with him, but his brother is too busy watching tv. So he tries to play the game by himself. Suddenly sparks fly into the house. Danny’s brother ends up playing the game too. Their sister gets frozen solid at one point and they meet an astronaut who saves them a few times. Danny’s brother wins the game and the day resets itself. His brother stops him in tome before Danny plans the game again.

I loved this movie. I wouldn’t mind if they made a modern version of this like they did with Jumanji.

Mulan (2020)

While Chris was here, one of his Christmas/birthday presents was the new movie Mulan. I told Chris that I had been really wanting to see this new version so we watched it. It has Yifei Liu, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Jason Scott Lee, Pei-Pei Cheng, Jun Yu, and Ron Yuan in it.

Big Warning: there is violence.

Since most people have seen the animated version, here’s a quick summary. Mulan decided to substitute herself instead of her injured father when there is an order for soldiers. She dresses as a man and goes into the battle. Unlike the animated movie, a phoenix follows her to watch over her in this movie. After saving the emperor, she is asked to be part of the army, but she refuses.

I loved this movie. Chris didn’t like it. He kept saying that she wasn’t a real person. But I think some folklore can be based on real people. For example our legend of King Arthur and Robin Hood. Here’s an article about the origin of Mulan: https://time.com/5881064/mulan-real-history/

Frozen 2

My mother , my uncle and I went to see Frozen 2 a few weeks ago. We had seen the first movie when it was out so I wanted us to see the second one. It has Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Rachel Matthews, Hadley Gannaway, Mattea Conforti in it.

In this movie, Elsa keeps hearing a voice calling her. Their father had told them about an enchanted forest when they were little. So Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf go find the enchanted forest and find out more about Elsa’s powers. Elsa and Anna help free some people trapped in the enchanted forest and Elsa finally accepts who she is.

I loved this movie. My mother liked the movie too. She actually stayed awake during the movie.

The Detective (1954)

I watched The Detective yesterday. I taped it when it was on TCM. It is loosely based on a short story called The Blue Cross by G.K. Chesterton. It has Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Peter Finch, Cecil Parker, Bernard Lee, and Gérard Oury in it.

I love watching the Father Brown show on PBS. When I saw this was going to be on TCM, I decided to taped it and watch it. In this movie, Father Brown is arrested for burglary. The police wouldn’t believe that he just talked the the real burglar out of stealing. He was let go though. Then he finds out a thief was going to steal a cross he has in his church. The thief is the famous Flambeau. Instead of letting the police protect the cross, he tries to protect it himself. He meets a another priest which ends up being Flambeau. Father Brown tries to reason with Flambeau. Father Brown does get the cross back.

I did like this movie. Next week I’m watching Wonder Woman.

Hotel Artemis

Hotel Artemis is the movie my mother and I was wanting to see. We watched it on Hoopla. It has Jodie Foster (love her), Sterling K. Brown (love him), Sofia Boutella, Jeff Goldblum (love him), Brian Tyree Henry, Dave Bautista, Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, and Zachary Quinto.

Warning: there is lots of violence.

In this movie, it is 2028. There is a large riot happen in LA. It mainly against a water company which had polluted the water. While the riot was going on, some bank robbers was struggling getting a vault open. They end up taking a pen off a man. One of the bank robbers gets shot badly and his brother calls in to the nurse at Hotel Artemis. It’s not really a hotel.It’s a hospital for criminals. Nurse tries to patch him up, but tells the brother that his brother is dying anyway. Another patient in the hotel is a hired assassin. She tells the brother that the pen belongs to the Wolf King and has diamonds in it. The Wolf King does come to the hotel because he got shot and knows the pen was stolen. The hired assassin causes a power outage and kills the Wolf King. The nurse and the brother made it out of the hotel.

I loved this movie. My mother also liked the movie. They better made a sequel. It deserves a sequel. This Wednesday I’m hoping to watch the remake of Pet Sematary.

Pet Sematary (1989)

I watched Pet Sematary, the 1989 version, on Sunday. It is based on the book by Stephen King. I watched it with my mother. I taped it when it was on AMC. It has Stephen King, Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby, Brad Greenquist, Michael Lombard, Miko Hughes, Blaze Berdahl, Susan Blommaert, and Mary Louise Wilson in it.

Warning: there are some gross parts and some violence.

Quick Summary: A man named Louis Creed moves to Maine with his daughter, her cat, his son, and his wife. They met Jud Crandall who takes them to Pet Sematary. He also takes Louis beyond Pet Sematary to let him bury his daughter’s cat. The cat comes back to life. Louis then uses that secret burial twice to bury his son and wife to bring them back to life too.

There are a few differences:
1. In the book, Jud Crandall has a wife and she dies naturally. Her name is Norma. Missy Dandridge doesn’t hang herself in the book.
2. Rachel’s rental car does break down, but she drives it the rest of the way when a truck driver helps her with the cables.
3. Louis doesn’t find Rachel hanging in the book. She is on the floor like Jud is.
4. Jud is in the kitchen with a butcher knife.
5. Louis stabs Gage twice, one in the lower back and one in the neck.

I asked my mother if she would do the same. She said she would be scared to do it knowing the person come back as a monster. I wouldn’t do it. I did like this movie. I am going to see the sequel on Thursday.