Tag: My Movies

Movie Review: Forever My Girl

Posted April 12, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 6 Comments

Forever My Girl (2018)
Starring: Alex Roe, Jessica Rothe
Director: Bethany Ashton Wolf
Release Date: 19 January 2018
Rating: PG
Run Time: 1:48
Movie Type: Drama, Music, Romance

After being gone for a decade a country star returns home to the love he left behind.

Brenna and Makenna could not wait to see this movie. We made plans to see it but those assholes went and saw it without me with their friend Nao but wanted to see it again when I bought my tickets. And then Brenna’s weird ass dragged her boyfriend with us and he didn’t even want to see it. Poor guy.

Anyway, on with the review. So the movie starts off with a Liam Page concert. He’s up there performing his little heart out and when the concert is done, he just wants to be left alone. You see, Liam left his hometown to pursue his dream of becoming a country music superstar. He also left town on the day of his wedding to Josie and she found out that he left when he didn’t show up to say I do. A whole decade later, he’s the big country star that he hoped he’d become and while that’s great and all, you can tell that he’s lonely.

He’s surrounded by fans, by people who want something from him but there aren’t a lot of people surrounding him that are there for him, and him alone. They’re either paid to be there for him or they want something from him and Liam has become so jaded that he drinks too much. He seems to be spiraling out of control and when he sees a news report about the death of his childhood best friend, Liam decides that he needs a break from his life. He needs to go home to regroup.

When Liam gets home, he is not sure what he would find. He realizes when he gets there that he’s hurt a lot of people, more people than just Josie. His entire hometown is pissed at him and he’s got his job cut out for him because one of the people he left behind is…a daughter he didn’t know he had. The movie isn’t really a romance even though there is a happy ending. The movie is more about Liam’s journey home than it is about his second chance romance with Josie and it’s a pretty good movie. I enjoyed it.

I enjoyed seeing Liam come into his own, make things right with those he hurt and I really enjoyed seeing him get to know little Billie. I also became a fan of the movie soundtrack because the music in this movie was freaking great. My favorites are Enough and Finally Home. The acting in this movie was fantastic and to date, this was probably my favorite romance novel brought to life. Lord knows it’s a lot better than the stuff they’re pushing out at Passionflix. *shrugs*

So yeah, this was a great romantic movie about a country star who goes home to right the wrongs of his past. Alex Roe was a fantastic Liam Page and Jessica Rothe was a fabulous Josie and the young girl that plays Billie stole the thunder because she was fantastic! This was a gem that I enjoyed and will definitely be seeing this over and over. I definitely recommend this one.

Movie Trailer

My Rating

4 out of 5

6 Comments
Tags: 4 Reviews, Alex Roe, Books to Movies, Drama, Heidi McLaughlin, Jessica Rothe, Movie Reviews, Music, My Movies, Romance

Monthly Recap: March 2018

Posted April 3, 2018 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

What I Did

Brenna turns 19. Brenna turned 19 last month and we celebrated first thing that morning with breakfast with the family before she headed to Mt. San Jacinto to take an L in the second round of playoffs.

Caiden turns 1. Baby Caiden comes to California by himself! Caiden’s parents rushed to Samoa to be with family after the death of one of their family members and Caiden came to stay with us. You guys, coming home to this little guy has been such a delight. His happy, smiling face and his cute baby voice shrieking has been such a treat and we were lucky enough to celebrate his first birthday. What a fun night that was, too. Chuck E. Cheeses, pizza, endless salad bar and cake! Best party!

Meghan went to Nationals, Brenna and Kenna advanced to Round 2. This is what I chose to picture this month. The girls work so hard during the season and try to do as little as possible in the off-season and their work paid off. They each had such great seasons and though it wasn’t easy, they worked through all of their issues and were proud of the seasons when all was said and done. Meghan’s team made it to the Elite Eight and Bren/Ken’s team made it to the second round so there is much to be proud of and I can’t wait for next season.

What I Read

1. Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy #1) by Ilona Andrews | 5 out of 5
2. White Hot (Hidden Legacy #2) by Ilona Andrews | 4.25 out of 5
3. Wildfire (Hidden Legacy #3) by Ilona Andrews | 4.75 out of 5
4. Over Us, Over You by Whitney G | DNF
5. Hello Stranger (Ravenels #4) by Lisa Kleypas | 4.5 out of 5
6. On the Edge (The Edge #1) by Ilona Andrews | 4.5 out of 5
7. On Hart’s Boardwalk (On Dublin Street #6.7) by Samantha Young | 4 out of 5
8. Bayou Moon (The Edge #2) by Ilona Andrews | 4.25 out of 5
9. Jock Blocked (Gridiron #2) by Jen Frederick | 4.75 out of 5
10. Hot Response (Boston Fire #4) by Shannon Stacey | 4 out of 5
11. Suddenly Forbidden (Gray Springs University #1) by Ella Fields | 4 out of 5
12. The Love Coupon (Stubborn Hearts #2) by Ainslie Paton | 4 out of 5

What I Reviewed

On Hart’s Boardwalk (On Dublin Street #6.7) by Samantha Young | 4 out of 5
Wildfire (Hidden Legacy #3) by Ilona Andrews | 4.5 out of 5
White Hot (Hidden Legacy #2) by Ilona Andrews | 4.25 out of 5
Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy #1) by Ilona Andrews | 5 out of 5
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory | 2 out of 5
So Over You (Chicago Rebels #2) by Kate Meader | 4.25 out of 5
Irresistible You (Chicago Rebels #1) by Kate Meader | 4 out of 5
A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux | 4 out of 5 for story, 1 out of 5 for ending
Love Between Enemies by Molly E. Lee | 2 out of 5
Hurts to Love You (Forbidden Hearts #3) by Alisha Rai | 4 out of 5
Silk is for Seduction (The Dressmakers #1) by Loretta Chase | 4.75 out of 5
The Trouble with True Love (Dear Lady Truelove #2) by Laura Lee Guhrke | 4.25 out of 5
The Truth about Love and Dukes (Dear Lady Truelove #1) by Laura Lee Guhrke | 3.75 out of 5
Burn for You by Ilona Andrews | 4.5 and 5 out of 5

What I Got

What I Got for Review

What I Listened To

March was for old-school slow jams that I used to love. I listened to a lot of Mariah Carey, Brian McKnight, New Edition, Justin Timberlake & NSYNC, Pebbles, Eric Benet, Tamia, etc… Baby making music, haha. I blame all of that on my friend Theresa, who sent me the Mariah Carey March Madness thing. You’ll read all about that below.

What I Watched on TV

My favorite TV shows right now are The Resident, 9-1-1, and For the People. I’m still watching Jane the Virgin, Chicago PD and Grown-ish but it’s more out of loyalty than anything.

What Movies I Watched

What I Loved

My bestie Therese and I used to be obsessed with Mariah Carey songs from a really early age. I’m talking elementary school, middle school, high school, after high school, we loved us some Mariah Carey songs. So when Therese sent this March Madness bracket to us (she sent it to me and her two sisters), we tackled this and it was hard. We shared our results with each other and I laughed a lot, comparing, arguing and just having an absolute blast with old friends. I loved it and it was my favoritest thing of the month.

There it is, the month of March in my life. How was your month? What were your favorite books, movies and TV shows? Did you do anything fun with your family? Share in the comments.

4 Comments
Tags: Book Nerd Things, Books, Monthly Recap, My Books, My Movies, My TV Shows

Movie Review: The Greatest Showman

Posted March 30, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

The Greatest Showman (2017)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Zendaya, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams
Director: Michael Gracey
Release Date: 20 December 2017
Rating: PG
Run Time: 1:45
Movie Type: Biography, Drama, Musical

Orphaned, penniless but ambitious and with a mind crammed with imagination and fresh ideas, the American Phineas Taylor Barnum will always be remembered as the man with the gift to effortlessly blur the line between reality and fiction. Thirsty for innovation and hungry for success, the son of a tailor will manage to open a wax museum but will soon shift focus to the unique and peculiar, introducing extraordinary, never-seen-before live acts on the circus stage. Some will call Barnum’s wide collection of oddities, a freak show; however, when the obsessed showman gambles everything on the opera singer Jenny Lind to appeal to a high-brow audience, he will somehow lose sight of the most important aspect of his life: his family. Will Barnum risk it all to be accepted?

I grew up watching musicals so I love a good musical. Old Elvis Presley movies? Love them. Sound of Music? Love it. I will watch the heck out of musicals because I come from a musical family (as in we all love music, not that we’re musically talented) but with that said, when this movie was being promoted, I had no interest in watching it. Mostly because I have no interest in the circus. I’m not a fan of clowns and even though this circus doesn’t have any clowns, I still didn’t want to see it.

But then I saw a video on Facebook, the lyrics video for This is Me. This video in particular:

I watched this video and cried and just like that, my mind changed. I had to see this movie at the first opportunity so that weekend, I dragged Brenna, Kenna and our family friend Nao to the movie theater to see this.

So this movie is the story of Phineas Taylor Barnum and how he built his life as a circus owner. You see him as a poor child with a dream and a crush on the rich girl. You see him grow up and work hard to build a life for him, that girl he had a crush on as a child that would become his wife and the family they created between the two of them. You see him strive to be successful, at the expense of a whole lot of things.

Aside from the life of P.T. Barnum, we get some side stories that made this movie all the more lovely. The side romance between Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) and Anne Wheeler (Zendaya) was sweet and made me cry, the individual stories and struggles of the people in the circus were great as well.

This movie took me by surprise because while I expected to enjoy the movie, I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. The music was fantastic and I loved each and every single song. Michelle William has a lovely singing voice as does the rest of the cast. The entire production was just out of this world great and this movie is one of my favorites that I’ve seen this year so far.

This movie came out months ago and I’m still listening to the soundtrack, that’s how much I love the music. If you’re a fan of musicals and am in the mood for a fabulous movie, look no further. This one shouldn’t be missed. So good!