Movie Review: Gabriel's Inferno Part I, II & III

Gabriel's Inferno

Part I, II & III

An intriguing exploration of seduction, forbidden love, and redemption, a captivating and passionate tale of one man's escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the impossible: forgiveness and love.

| IMDb | Passionflix | Amazon |

My Review:

Let's start off with a misunderstanding of mine: This was only the first book in the series. I was under the impression that these three movies were books #1 - #3. Thanks to the end credit of part III for setting me straight and basically letting me know that all the subplots that were left unresolved in the background weren't shoddy storytelling.

Part I was okay. I was (still am?) Team Paul. Gabriel comes off as a complete and utter jackass. Call me crazy for wanting a guy to treat me with respect and like a human being even before he has feelings for me. Julia was a bumbling idiot for the whole first part. I hated that she got tongue-tied if Gabriel so much as breathed in her direction.

Part II was better. Paul was nothing but a sweetheart and I'm sad he doesn't get a happy ending (as far as I know in the books which is nothing because I have not and will not be reading the books this is based on). Julia found her backbone somewhere and proved herself to be a much more interesting character but not by much. Gabriel started treating her like a human being because he stopped denying their attraction to each other. This part also ended with a bang! 

Part III picked up right where Part II left off. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the other shoe to drop and even though it did it wasn't at all that satisfying. The conflict seemed to be put on the backburner because Julia and Gabriel were finally together, together. That was where I thought it started to become shoddy storytelling because I legitimately thought this was it. Apparently, this was just the first book divided up into 3 parts. I waited for all 3 parts to release because I wanted to binge everything at once. So I guess I'll have to set my 2021 calendar because I'm invested in the story and the character's after this 5+ hour movie of book #1.

Things I noticed during the movie
that made me laugh out loud:

- Why were Gabriel's clothes (a lot of the time) an inch or two too short in the legs and arms? 

- I thought that the actress who played Julia was super short compared to the actor who played Gabriel. Turns out she's 5"8' and he's 6"2'. She's not short by any means but he literally swallows her up when they're in the same space. I don't know why I found this so hilarious!  

- The book that this movie is based on was released in 2011/2012. I couldn't help but compare Julia to Twilight's Bella which released in 2005 (the movie released in 2008). Julia is really similar in clumsiness, in appearance, and introverted/shy around other people to the point of being awkward. #FoodForThought

My Rating:

Movie Review: 365 Days

365 Days

Massimo is a member of the Sicilian Mafia family and Laura is a sales director. She does not expect that on a trip to Sicily trying to save her relationship, Massimo will kidnap her and give her 365 days to fall in love with him.

| IMDb | Netflix |

My Review:

Where's all the eye bleach everyone keeps talking about? I'm going to need a couple drops myself after watching this so-called "movie". I would expect this movie to have come from PassionFlix, not Netflix.

I like to think that most romance novels would make drastically different and amazing movies but... I think this movie blew that out of the water for me in an eye-opening way. If the screenwriter was being true to the original material I can definitely see a book being exactly this with minimal changes and that's me being very generous.

Onto the actual storyline....Where was it actually? There was very little sprinkled about the backgrounds of both characters and that's about all we got. I would have loved to have some scenes depicting how the mafia actually works and their hierarchy and whatnot. Maybe get to know other players to spin off a few more movies? I would have also loved to have gotten a few scenes of the heroine being a boss at her job, which I'm still scratching my head at because I know it was mentioned during the movie but I just can't remember it because it wasn't part of something bigger.

The characters were okay. The heroine when she was being sassy and sarcastic was amazing. Her comebacks were wonderfully witty and made for some surprising chuckles from me. I just wish that was her 100% of the time because other than that she was bland. The hero was creepy, stalkerish, and domineering in a very bad way. He came off as/ actually was(?) a creep. I don't know how people find that sexy because it scares me into running in the other direction. And when he would call her "Baby girl", I swear I had to curb my gag reflex every. Single. Time.

Was this as bad as a lot of people are making it out to be? Not necessarily. Is it as amazing as some are saying it is? No. After watching this movie would I read the books? Heck no. After that cliffhanger would I be interested in a followup? Heck yes.

P.S. I can't stop thinking about how much viagra the hero must have had to take to keep it up for the yacht scene that seemed to last days. Plural. *insert maniacal laugh here* I think my inner middle grader is showing!

My Rating:

Movie Review: The Matchmaker's Playbook

The Matchmaker's Playbook

In Rachel Van Dyken's Best Selling novel, former NFL recruit Ian Hunter is one of the masterminds behind Wingmen, Inc., a word-of-mouth dating service, that helps the girl get the guy she's always wanted. But when Blake Olson requests the services of Wingmen, Inc., and she begins the transformation from hot mess to smokin' hot, Ian realizes he's in danger of breaking his cardinal rule...

| IMDb | PassionFlix | Amazon |

My Review:

I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. This movie has just the right amount of cheesiness in it to be entertaining and distracting from the, at times, robotic lines and slightly off acting.

I haven't read the novel that this movie is based on because it's not the type of storyline I usually go for in my novels, but if it's half as entertaining as this movie then it's a keeper. Keep in mind this is coming from someone who hasn't watched a romantic movie in the last 7 years.

I loved the look to camera narration shots because it usually broke the tension by over explaining a specific storyline. The way they found to incorporate that and make me like it was fantastic.

This movie was produced by Passionflix. It's a company whose focus is to bring books to life in the form of a movie or series. It's trying to get right was so many other companies got wrong with so many books, which is amazing of them! They're slowly releasing new content and have a great lineup of future releases set. I hope Passionflix gets big enough to branch out into other book genres like paranormal romance, urban fantasy and a little bit of sci-fi.

My Rating:

Movie Review: Fallen (2016)

Fallen
(2016)

Rating: PG-13

Based on the worldwide bestselling book series, "Fallen" is seen through the eyes of Lucinda "Luce" Price, a strong-willed seventeen-year-old living a seemingly ordinary life until she is accused of a crime she didn’t commit. Sent off to the imposing Sword & Cross reform school, Luce finds herself being courted by two mysterious students to whom she feels oddly connected. Isolated and haunted by strange visions, Luce begins to unravel the secrets of her past and discovers the two men are fallen angels, competing for her love for centuries. Luce must choose where her feelings lie, pitting Heaven against Hell in an epic battle over true love.

Not available for purchase in the US as of this post being scheduled. 

| IMDb |

My Review:

I remember reading this book a few months after I finished reading Stephanie Mayer's Twilight series a few years ago. This was around the time I had finally discovered that I really enjoyed paranormal novels. At the time I can confidently say that I was indifferent to the novel, too bad I can't say the same of the movie.

Somethings just felt off about this movie. I don't know how to put it into words. I think it was way too fast paced and glossed over too much of the story. At times it felt like the acting was strained because everyone seemed monotoned and emotionless. I'd also like to point out the CGI wings. What was up with those? They were so strange. I also didn't understand the random fog in the pool scene. If it was to add drama and make the scene overall spooky, it did the complete opposite for me.

From what little I remember of it all Cam was a much bigger part of the initial storyline. It felt like he had 5 scenes in this whole movie. I despise movie Daniel more than book Daniel. I can't tell you how Daniel is in the books because (let's be honest) I didn't like him all that much. If he's half the jacka** in the book as he was in the movie I'm better off alone.

Conspiracy Theory: For a moment (when Luce was "picking") I thought it would have been fascinating to make her pick Cam. It's a fantasy and most people will probably hurt me if it ever came true, but I still think it'd be a better story. Luce and Daniel's love seemed so forced in this movie.

My Rating:

Movie Review: This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous

This Is Everything:
Gigi Gorgeous

Are there limits to your love for your family? One family's acceptance is tested when a champion diver, destined for the Olympics, announces they're transitioning from male to female and invites their YouTube followers along for every moment. It's a story about unconditional love and finding the courage to be yourself.

| IMDb | 

Available At:

| Youtube Red |

My Review:

I'm not a regular watcher of Gigi Gorgeous on Youtube, but that doesn't take away from anything this movie showed. This movie/documentary took me on such an incredible journey. I adored every minute of it. Her percevirence and take-no-sh*t attitude is inspiring. I loved seeing her evolution because she always stays true to herself.

I also liked seeing her father's reaction to all that was happening. From the beginning (when she started doing makeup on Youtube, before she came to the conclusion that she was transgender) you could see the emotion on her dad's face. I respect him all that much more because deep down it seemed like he didn't really approve of it all, but loved her enough to stay beside her through all the surgeries and life choices she made. That's not something most people in the LGBTQ+ community have unfortunately.  

To this day I still don't understand what so many people find so wrong in the LGBTQ+ community. At the end of it all, they are still people and they deserve, at minimum, your respect. It's their bodies and if they want to change something on it, they have a right to do that. Someone's happiness should always be valued over everything else (including your personal beliefs).

In conclusion, I think we should love people more. Independent of personal beliefs. Life isn't easy, why can't we help each other out instead of tearing them down?

My Rating:

Movie Review: Deadpool

Deadpool

This is the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.

| IMDb | Amazon |

My Review:

I took my sweet time to finally get up and watch this movie. The reason behind all that is simple: I'm getting sick of 'superhero' movies. I've watched Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and so many more and I agree that all of them were amazing, but it's like getting too much of something good. You eventually get tired of it and that's what happened between me and 'superhero' movies.

I'm so glad I put all that aside and watched this. I adored all the sexual puns, the self deprecating humor and the witty banter straight to the camera (to the viewer). I'm so late to get onto the bandwagon and I can't help but be angry that I didn't watch this sooner.

I have so many favorite scenes, but most of them are spoiler filled and I will not be THAT person. I'll just mention one thing: the second or third taxi scene with the trunk. I had tears streaming down my face because of how hard I was laughing. 

Overall, this was a fabulous movie and I can't wait for the sequel which Google has informed me will release sometime in 2018. 

My Rating:

Movie Review: A Trip To Unicorn Island

A Trip To Unicorn Island (2016)

Lilly Singh, YouTube's iisuperwomanii brings her happy place to life in an ambitious 27 city world tour where she hand delivers an inspirational message to her 7+ million fans while learning what it takes to become a world class live entertainer and boss.

You can watch this movie with a subscription to Youtube Red (US). If you're outside of the US you can buy the movie in a select number of countries. 

| Youtube |

My Review:

I started watching Lilly's videos about a year and a half ago. Since then she's still surprising me with her original videos and pointing out things that I relate to, but would never have thought of saying in a video. I specially love 'I'm The Worst Girlfriend Ever', '#GirlLove Challenge', the 'Clean Up Anthem' and all her other song videos.

I adored this movie and found myself tearing up during the whole thing. It's amazing to see someone you admire go on this wonderful world tour to spread positivity in the cold money-driven world we're currently in.  It showed a lot of truths and emotional roller coasters that, we as humans, go through. We question ourselves, we question our worth, and most importantly, we question our unhappiness. 

The idea that everyone has a happy place (referred to as a Unicorn Island) is very true. Each individual has a place where they can mentally go to to get away from the hardships life may throw at them. I love how Lilly Singh thinks and I would jump at the chance to one day meet her. As the credits of the movie was rolling I saw that she visited Boston, MA. The first thing that went through my mind? Why is it that when I lived remotely close to Boston that NO ONE I liked performed there?

My Rating:

Movie Review: Cinderella (2015)

Cinderella

(2015)

A girl named Ella (Cinderella) has the purest heart living in a cruel world filled with evil stepsisters and an evil stepmother out to ruin Ella's life. Ella comes one with her pure heart when she meets the prince and dances her way to a better life with glass shoes and a little help from her fairy godmother of course.

| IMDb |

My Review:

This movie was SO cute! The story was a bit off when compared to the original, but I was happy to discover that there were no cheesy musical pieces during the movie! That was the best part. The cover of this movie is even more awesome now that I saw that that dress actually exists and that photoshop isn't wholly responsible for how it looks. 

The prince (Richard Madden) looked exactly like his animated counter part, though he seemed a little too old in the face to date, let alone marry (what I assume to be), an 18 year old girl. I could see the youth and naiveté of Ella (Lily James). Even though she's well into her twenties, which was a surprise when I looked up her other productions. The Step Mother and Sister's don't really need to be mentioned. They were an annoying presence the entire film. 

Even though the movie was a little over an hour and thirty minutes long, it felt a little rushed. I barely got to see the ball and gawk at all the amazing victorian era dresses that were being showed off.

My Rating:

Movie Review: Insurgent (Divergent #2)

Insurgent

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Director: Robert Schwentke
Writers: Brian Duffield (screenplay), Akiva Goldsman(screenplay)

Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Theo James

One choice can transform you-or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships. Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

| IMDB |

My Review:

When considering the book I read both book #1 and #2. The Book Divergent blew my mind! I remember loving it. The movie was amazing as well. It actually got me to rewatch it 2 times. The Book Insurgent was OK. I remember thinking that it was a whole book of Tris, Four and the "gang" just roaming from faction to faction without anything changing and the danger getting closer and closer.

The movie Insurgent was one huge blur. One moment they were safe. Fast forward 3 seconds and all h*ll was breaking loose and they were on the run again. It was moving better then the book did, but it felt like that was TOO fast.

I also had a problem with Tris's hair. While reading the book I imagined a very choppy and slightly misaligned cut. In the movie Tris get's honest to goodness highlights in the span of a scene. I'll have to tell my hairdresser that. He's probably doing something wrong...

I also didn't understand how Tris made it out of the factionless compound without arousing suspicion or meeting at least one person who would ask her where the eff she thought she was going. I understand Four going after her because that's what he does. I don't understand how the factionless finally showed up to help in the ending when there wasn't even a scene that showed the leader or Four himself speaking to them and mapping out a plan in the first place.

My Rating:

Movie Review: Vampire Academy

**Movie Review**

Vampire

Academy

Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, half human/vampire, guardians of the Moroi, peaceful, mortal vampires living discretely within our world. Her legacy is to protect the Moroi from bloodthirsty, immortal Vampires, the Strigoi. This is her story.

My Review:

Being as I'm stuck in Brazil I had to wait for this to come out on DVD and had to pay a small fortune for this to get to me. I'm also late on all the ramblings this movie has awakening in the Book Blogging Community, but I'd still like to put in my 2 cents.

I just don't know why everyone is so against this movie. I've read Vampire Academy as a book series and sure it was awesome. I must admit that I didn't really have any expectations when I went to watch this movie. The reason behind that is because of ALL the horrible things the bloggers I follow have been saying about it. 

Well here's a news flash guys: NO movie will EVER be able to capture the book in it's original form. If you can get that through your head then you can watch this with an open mind. 

Yes, it's not perfect. Hell, I hated the casting. Dimitri especially. He's looks like he's 30 in the movie. I imagined him as a 23-24 year old when I read the series. So yes, I have issues with this movie, BUT it. Wasn't. As. Bad. As. Everyone. Keeps. Saying.

With that out of the way, let me also say that it seemed VERY rushed. The mood was also too juvenile and pushed to hard to be funny. That took a lot away from the movie. 

Final Considerations:

This movie (for a movie) was OK. It wasn't epic (like the books) and it wasn't awful (like the 2 hour long Harry Potter movies I had to endure watching. I'm not a fan of those, please don't hurt me for saying that!). It was a nice average. If your a hardcore fan and even a detail out of place makes your head hurt I wouldn't recommend this, but if your laid back and just want to see an awesome book series come to life on the big screen without judging, then this is for you. 

My Rating: