Tommy, Back rubs, and Ben & Jerry's

"Tommy, Back rubs, and Ben & Jerry's" Paul says, This is how a wise movie loving husband will convince his wife to sit down to a science fiction movie. These were the enticements to at least try to watch Edge of Tomorrow:Live, Die, Repeat starring Tom Cruise. I was very skeptical if I was going to enjoy this movie when he told me it had aliens. I think it may have been a childhood memory of sleepovers. In fact, my Dad convinced me to rent Alien at a little store known as Blockbuster. My girlfriends were sitting huddled together on the couch. The music was tense and at just the right pivotal moment my Dad popped up in our basement window with a flashlight glowing under him and all sorts of chaos erupted. 
So, for this movie, I sat all cozy with a kid cup of Cherry Garcia. We had to split the movie up in to two nights (which Paul really doesn't like to do), but the first night we started the flick I had to say "time for bed" because I try to unwind for an hour prior to bed. I held my ground that watching alien spiders pop out and try to take over the world is not unwinding 
The plot of this movie is really interesting in that Tom Cruise starts the flick as a completely unlikable character. He's a slough. As the movie continues though I realize how much more his character foibles are in all of us. He is the most unlikely person to become a war hero against alien invaders. In fact, the heroine, Emily Blunt in this story makes it clear that she "volunteered" to go to the front lines against the enemy. Most of us prefer to stay in our comfort zones. We let fear dictate our lives and as a result we are act cowardly: dodging responsibilities, difficult conversations, and making up lame excuses. 
This movie also made me think of time in the concept of one day of our lives. It's a reminder of how important it is to spend time reading the Bible to have a clear sense of God's calling and purpose for your life. That way when interruptions or disappointments come you can put them in perspective. So, in case you have your ice cream melting in your hand, I will wrap up my review of why I think this is the only science fiction movie I can remember liking this much and here is why: 

1. Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise in a uniform. Swoon. 
2. Emily Blunt. Okay, she is amazing.  She totally kicks butt in this film and the time lapses create an interesting quirky romance. 
3. A  plot that keeps this story and character development moving along as new details are revealed within action scenes. There was a repetitive nature to it that built momentum and plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. 

Great date movie. Goes well with Cherry Garcia. 4 stars. 

Red : A Fun Movie to Check Out

This movie is not your typical.  It falls into the action-comedy genre and it features a lot of gags and over-the-top action sequences with a decent storyline and plenty of acting talent throughout.

The movie centers around a retired character played well by Bruce Willis who is considered R.E.D (Retired and Extremely Dangerous).  Although older, he still knows how to kick some rear and has many friends who are also interested in staying in the action.   Bruce Willis' character Frank is being pursued by some bad people who want him dead - so he gets together with some old pals in order to defend himself and find out who is really behind the violent attempts on his life.  I think this movie was great.  I enjoy movies like The Mask of Zorro, and the Indiana Jones series because they have plenty of action, but they also throw in the fun jokes along the ride.  This movie is in the same vein.   Great stunts, exciting weapons used in the movie, and funny moments throughout the movie.  I think my two favorite players in the movie were John Malkovich and Helen Mirren.  They both did a great job with their parts and I thought John Malkovich was one of the funniest actors in the movie.  Mr. Malkovich played a secluded guy who was a conspirator theorist about everything government.  He added a lot of humor to the story and even went as far as concealing some weapons in a stuffed pink pig during part of the movie.  I don't want to reveal much more - but I think I may have watched it if John was in it alone.  If you add in Morgan Freeman, Richard Dreyfuss, and some of the other big names in this movie - you end up with a great story with plenty of star power.

This wasn't a deep movie, but for what it set out to do - it did it well.  I recommend RED if you are interested in watching a fun movie with a lot of over-the-top action.  Two thumbs up.