Tag Archive | movie

I would rather not shake your hand because I don’t want to die

Last night I saw Contagion.

For a germaphobe like me, this was a cautionary tale. I already freak out if someone coughs too much or sneezes too often. I look at that person warily and ask, “Are you sick?” Usually without waiting for a response, I pull out the sanitizer and cover my own mouth and nose. This movie has taught me that I am not being overly paranoid, I am being safe because I don’t want to get sick and DIE!!! Okay, maybe I am overreacting a wee bit, but the movie was so realistic that I feel it could happen. In retrospect, I guess that means the screenwriters and directors did their job well.

The movie starts off with Gwyneth Paltrow’s character sitting in a restaurant bar waiting for her flight. She is talking on the phone and looking quite pallid, which she attributes to jetlag. She gets home, still not feeling well and next thing you know, she is dead.

Whoa! (umm yea it was over for her that quickly)

No sooner does her husband (Matt Damon’s character) have the chance to process that depressing information, his son dies as well. Scenes from all over the world show similar occurrences.

The CDC and WHO (played by Lawrence Fishburn, Kate Winslet, and others) are faced with a global dilemma. It was bizarre that a seemingly non-threatening head cold morphed into a killer disease. This is the battle of science vs. bacteria (and the time it takes to kill the host organism). CDC and WHO need to understand what is happening so that they can treat the illness. Without a vaccine, humankind is defenseless and the number of people are dying increases exponentially. It is even more difficult to contain whatever it is with the movement of people on every possible mode of transportation. From one infected person in an airport, there are outbreaks in many other parts of the world. I guess the scariest part of this movie was the fact that disease’s initial symptoms had the appearance of something as innocuous as a mild cold but was highly contagious and extremely deadly .

How many times have people in the office came to work with a slight head cold? I don’t like to take chances, but who knows when I have touched something that they touched? Elevator buttons, refrigerator door in the canteen, etc.

Even though I try not to consciously touch my face, how many times have I done it unconsciously?

And let’s not even begin to analyze what we touch when we are on public transportation.

As I type this, I took a minute to apply more anti-bacterial sanitizer.

Yea, this movie messed with my head more than I anticipated. Or maybe I knew on some level it would be like this and that is why I waited so long to see it. In the end, the outcome was kind of what I would have expected, meaning it seemed to be a very realistic ending.

The genre of this movie is thriller and I can say it was a thrill to watch it.

Most importantly, I was making mental notes of what I need to do in the event of a global contagious disease that begins killing people like flies. Don’t shake hands. CHECK.

Don’t take public transportation. CHECK.

Have gun loaded. CHECK.

Increase inventory of , , and , . TRIPLE CHECK

Unlike the movies with radioactive bugs or other giant monsters, the villainous bacteria in Contagion could actually exist. Would real life imitate a fictional movie? I hope that it never happens. But knowing how unsanitary people can be, I am not convinced we would be any better off.

Overall: The movie is worth watching if you have not already done so. And seeing what started the deadly virus ball rolling will make you want to go wash your hands and apply sanitizer just to be cautious.

Burlesque (movie with Cher and Christina Aguilera)

Dec26

This is the typical story of a young girl from the mid-west that is determined to make it in the big city. And as always, she finds a boyfriend who respects her mind too. The story is the same, but the names are different.

I thought that this would be a movie for my and hubby to watch- chick story for me and eye candy for him. Well I was wrong. There were not enough skimpy outfits and eye candy to amuse him and distract from the fact there was not a lot of quality acting or mediocre script writing. And Cher’s face was so taut, I could not pay attention to her acting. Half way through the movie, even I was getting bored and starting playing Farmville (I can only take so much).

All in all, it was a major CHICK FLICK. Girls, keep that in mind if you were thinking this would be a good date movie. I suggest saving it for Ladies’ Night. Straight men will probably not be impressed with this movie since there is not enough scantily clad women to compensate for the film’s shortcomings.

If you like to hear Christina Aguilera wailing (or as some would say “hitting those high notes”), you will probably love this movie.

Gnomeo and Juliet

Dec8

Gnomeo and Juliet was a cute movie loosely based on the Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet. In this case, the characters were opposing families of garden gnomes and other statues that come to life when humans are not around. A gnome is a red or blue based on the color of their hat. For as long as they can remember, there has been an ongoing feud of red versus blue. No one can remember how it got started, but they are sworn enemies. This lead to all sorts of destruction and mayhem on both sides in the name of defending the family’s honor. Because of a series of circumstances, Gnomeo and Juliet meet each other in another garden. The attraction is apparent before they know that the color of the other gnome’s hat. But even after the knowing that bit of information, they are still drawn to each other.

Like the play, their love is doomed to fail. But since this a children’s movie, the ending is not as tragic as the play.

This movie was a cartoon for children. There were very few jokes or innuendos that would be understood by the adults only.

Overall: If I had children, I would buy this for them because it was a cute, wholesome movie. As an adult without children, I do not think I would buy for myself.

28 Weeks Later

Nov23

This the third movie in the series 28 days, 28 days later, and now 28 weeks later. All of these movies deal with a period of time after an outbreak in London and the surrounding areas. From what I can remember of the first two movies, there might have been one or two deranged people, but for the most part, the main characters had some common sense.

As this movie opens, there is a farm house in the country and the occupants are getting cabin fever after being confined there for a number of weeks. I should have taken a clue from the dumb girl in the beginning, pining for lost boyfriend, who gave away their location to the rage infected zombies. For the rest of the movie, I was annoyed by the two children who consistently acted in a way to endanger their lives and the lives of the adults trying to keep them safe. The 28 weeks later outbreak was pretty much the fault of the two disobedient, hard-headed kids. By the end of the movie, I was wishing that something would happen to them. That is how exasperated I was with their behavior.

Maybe I am too hard hearted or too much of a realist, but if a zombie apocalypse happens, there is no time to hesitate and try to save everybody. In a stress filled situation, not staying with the group will increase your chances of getting killed. If you do not listen when instructed to stay with the group, you get left behind. PERIOD. None of this “they are only children” nonsense. If they are tweens and teenagers like the kids in this movie, then they are old enough to understand what they are being told to do.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Nov17

Labeled by Netflix as a Romantic Independent Comedy – 2 out of 3 wrong = not romantic and not a comedy

The premise is that a professor working on her doctorate is interviewing men with different personalities as part of her research. The movie seems to go nowhere. Men talk about their fantasies, women, sex, etc. While she is performing the interviews, she is also dealing with the demise of her own relationship (her ex cheated on her) and that does not contribute to her being Miss Sociable. The movie is very quiet with little background noise when the actors are talking or thinking. So there are seemingly long moments of silence throughout the film.

And then there was a weird part where a guy is explaining his research paper about the bright side of a brutal gang rape. Although they tried to incorporate it into the plot, it was so random that it seemed to be incongruous.

If you like weird, independent movies that think they are funny by their directors, then this movie is for you. Maybe you will understand the meaning of the film.

For everyone else, pick a different movie and not waste your time. Life is too important to lose an hour and half on something like this.