It's Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus

The last few days of summer are coming to a close and for most of us the chill of autumn is already in the air. I love this time of year! The leaves are turning from green to glorious red and vibrant orange, pumpkin and squash are abundant, and the wonderful aroma of wood burning fireplace smoke fills the air. Halloween (my 2^nd favorite holiday, with Christmas winning by only a nose) is right around the corner. To pay homage to my runner up, I’m going to review my all-time favorite Halloween movies.

We’ll get this fright-fest started with the classic Disney movie Hocus Pocus (ok ok so maybe “fright-fest” wasn’t the right word to use when describing this movie, but…)

The Movie:

Hocus Pocus

Movie Summary:

300 years ago, The Sanderson Sisters were sentenced to death by the townspeople of Salem for practicing witchcraft. Before the sentence could be carried out, they vow to return to Salem on All Hollow’s Eve to take their revenge. Legend has it that a virgin must light The Black Flame Candle on Halloween night in order for the 3 sisters to return. Now, it’s 1993 and Max Dennison, a Halloween-hating teenager, lights the candle to scare his little sister Dani and his love interest Allison, and brings the sisters back from the grave. They have their sights set of immortality and must suck the lives out of the children of Salem by sunrise in order to get it. Max and his friends, along with a cursed talking cat named Thackery Binx, try to hold the witches off until dawn when the spell will be broken.

Starring:

Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, and Thora Birch

My Thoughts:

I adore this movie and would watch it over and over and over again (and most times I do!). Hocus Pocus is a childhood favorite and never fails to put me in the Halloween spirit. Sure, it’s cheesy at times and may be a tad childish but I love it and always will.

The Road....to nowhere

Movie: “The Road”

Based off the novel by Cormac McCarthy “The Road” is about a father and son’s struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptical world. This film stars Viggo Mortensen as “The Man” and Kodi Smit-McPhee as “The Boy” with appearances by Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, and Charlize Theron. Realizing that they may not survive another winter where they are, The Man leads The Boy south in hopes of finding warmth and safety with just a pistol and 2 bullets to protect themselves from the cannibalistic groups that haunt their path.

This movie got rave reviews which, to be honest, I really don’t get why. “The Road” was very raw and an incredibly depressing movie. If this movie had a point I sure couldn’t see it. Perhaps if I had read the novel first I would have enjoyed the movie more. However, after seeing the movie all hopes of reading the book have vanished for me.

Whip It Real Good!

Movie: “Whip It”

I thought I might as well do the last movie I watched for my first movie review.

Based off of the book Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, ‘Whip It” stars Ellen Page (the girl from ‘Juno”) as a young misfit who wants nothing more than to get out of small-town, USA and break free of the mold by joining an all girls roller derby league.

Drew Barrymore sure has a talent for acting and I think she’s struck something with her directing as well. Ellen Page gives an excellent performance and reminds us all why she’s on her way to the top. Of course, Page and Barrymore aren’t the only ones: Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis, Daniel Stern, and Alia Shawkat also lend their talents to the movie.

I’ve heard mixed reviews about the film, but I really enjoyed it. While it may be a little predictable, it was funny, energetic, and had a good, albeit cheesy, message to just be yourself. “Whip It” keeps your attention and tickles your funny bone. I’d recommend it to anyone.

A Fresh Start

Yes, yes. I know I have been the worst blogger in the entire universe. I know this, you know this, now let’s put it behind us. I know I’m already forgotten it.

Now I originally intended this to be a cooking blog with the occasional “life story” thrown in. However, it’s quite difficult to blog about cooking when you do not have your own kitchen. I’ve been living in several different places the last few years and all of my amazing cooking gadgets are either packed in boxes in New York or packed in boxes in England. Now that I’m in a place that I’d assume I’ll be for at least a year, you’d think I could finally get down to it and cook, cook, cook. You’d be mistaken. The house I’m in now has no oven…you heard me right…no oven. The man who built the house decided that he no longer needed an oven and would be content with just a microwave and stove-top. Yeah, it’s complete madness I know.

Anyway, I miss the blogosphere too much to stay away any longer. I’m now going to blog about whatever I want! Neener, neener, neener!

I pick movies! I adore movies. Scary movies, funny movies, bad movies, good movies. I’m constantly on the hunt for movies. I always thought it would be so neat to be a Movie Reviewer, and now I get to be one (for the few remaining readers I have).