Fifty Shades of Grey is definitely not about what I thought it was about. After hearing about the book, I thought I was in for two hours of pure, unadulterated, uninterrupted sex like I had never seen before. To my surprise, it was bordering on a sick man’s love story, starring Anastasia “Ana” Steele, a twenty-one-year-old (Dakota Johnson) babe in unexplored territory. I would imagine by now, everyone has read the book or seen the movie or both. I had done neither until the movie got an Oscar nod — and not even a major one. I’m so glad I did see it so that I’m in the loop. I really don’t get what the brouhaha was all about. I don’t want to give away anything to those of you who haven’t seen it but REALLY? I’m not sure Fifty Shades of Grey deserved the R rating it received. Then again, I wouldn’t want my grandchildren, under 17 watching it. I wouldn’t want any of them getting ideas about using women as sex objects. The story was descent and I loved the fact that the young lady didn’t get caught up like some women do. She was able to maintain her self esteem and that sent a great message. I also liked the fact that she wasn’t dumb or needy or uneducated. You might say, she was my hero in all of this. Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), a 27-year-old billionaire entrepreneur who badly needed therapy. Half the problem is admitting you have a problem, which he did. The sex was not earth shattering, Christian was not that good looking (in my opinion) and the movie didn’t rock my world. In other words, it was 50 shades of hype with an okay story line. I wouldn’t say the movie was a waste of time because I actually did enjoy the outcome and the acting wasn’t bad. Fifty Shades of Grey is available on DVD.
[FIFTY SHADES OF GREY is nominated for Original Song]
Amy Winehouse, a dynamic song writer and jazz and pop singer, found dead from alcohol poisoning at the age of 27, is documented in this sad but clear story of her brief life and career. I’ve formed a strong and definite opinion of Amy’s life and reasons for her early demise. “Amy” was quite painful to watch, especially after reading that her father (Mitch Winehouse) was protesting the film because he felt it made him look bad and also, at times, showed Amy in a bad light. I found his words hard to believe. In the documentary, her mother admitted she was unable to handle Amy with a simple no when needed. The film brilliantly showed times when Amy acted up as a small child, needing guidance and discipline and her mother (Janis Winehouse) giving up and giving in to Amy’s pressure tactics. I would say Amy was one of those special children, overactive, or what we call a “D” child. Hard to control, aggressive and in need of a disciplinarian. I felt watching her story that her parents were ill equipped to handle her. At 16 years old Amy and a friend had their own flat. That says a whole lot right there. As Amy got older and more popular with more responsibilities, she became more withdrawn from adulthood and was handling her life in a way most adolescence without proper training would. Adding booze, drugs, sex and a “I don’t care” attitude on top of everything just for the fun of it. Friends and family tried to intervene but she didn’t really want their help. She was in and out of rehab but she attached to mates who kept her where she didn’t want to be, even marrying Blake Fielder who really aided in bringing her to rock bottom by introducing her to drugs. She actually served as a gravy train for a few family members who looked out for themselves instead of Amy. When she started to grow up, it was really too late, she was unable to deal with all the problems she had created for herself which included bulimia, drug addiction, alcoholism and depression.
Has anyone noticed when Chris Rock makes a movie, he always seems to narrate as though it’s a documentary. While I don’t see a problem with this, I just wonder why he does it that way. I guess he can make more jokes and probably give the film a more humorous aura. Having said that, I thought Top Five was pretty funny. The story has a nice ring to it as well as an enormous cast of comedians. Expect to see Tracey Morgan, Sherri Shepherd, Adam Sandler, Kevin Hart, Cedric the Entertainer, J.B. Smoove, Jerry Sienfeld and 
A nice, funny summer comedy. I expected Sex Tape to be stupid and unfunny. Despite my feelings, I laughed by tutus off. 
I’m giving Rake a rating of 8 because it so entertaining, I can’t give it any less. It’s wild, crazy and totally unrealistic. It’s almost bordering on being a fantasy. Keegan Deane played by Greg Kinnar, is a lawyer with a gambling and sex problem. He really belongs nowhere. He’s estranged from his wife and son but remain friends. He had a tiny practice, but lost it all to gambling debts that he still hasn’t paid. He has more than his share of true friends and a very loyal assistant named Leanne Zander played by British actress, 
Every time I sit down to watch this HBO series, I brace myself for the introduction theme which I think is totally evil. I tell myself once I get past the start up, things will get better. I really enjoy True Blood even though I don’t like the lead in. I think I like the series because of some of the hot characters and because it’s written so you’ll have some compassion for their situation due to no fault of their own.
House of lies is about Marty Kaan, played by Don Cheadle, who now leads his own consultant firm. Marty is cut-throat and clever and will stop at nothing to get a high paying client. His team, formulated from his former company worships his antics and will stop at nothing to get the job done. It’s all about the money. The team consists of Marty, Genie (Kristen Bell), Clyde (Ben Schwartz) and Doug (Josh Lawson). Marty has an estranged wife, Monica (Dawn Olivieri) who’s not so estranged, a wanna be gay son, Roscoe (Donis Leonard Jr.) and a semi-quasi dying father, Jeremiah (Glynn Turman). Marty has more sex than a hooker and strikes up more meaningless relationships than “The Bachelor”. To complicate matters, Marty and Genie managed to sleep together and are now so uncomfortable around each other they can barely be civil. The fast talking, cleaver team is something to watch. Marty is a legend and together with his team are unstoppable. This series is aired on Showtime and is only 30 minutes an episode.
Nicely told. Dallas Buyers Club is about a partying, drinking, drugging, gambling, sex addicted cowboy who tested positive for AIDS. Back in the 80’s the stigma was awful and information limited. ATZ was the popular treatment, which actually did more harm than good. Watching this cowboy’s life unfold was pure genius. Matthew McConaughey portrayed this HIV positive cowboy brilliantly. I didn’t know what to expect from this movie, especially since I had no idea what it was about. I was schooled on so many levels and found myself extremely emotional due to his plight and the plight of many others who are going through living with this horrific decease. I think Dallas Buyers Club is a must see film. I won’t say it’s entertaining, given the subject matter but I will say it’s intense and informative. Dallas Buyers Club is most defiantly worthy of an Oscar, I say check this one out!
The Wolf of Wall Street (“TWOWS”) is based on the true story of Jordan Belfort and is among the best of the Wall Street sagas. It is 1 minute shy of 3 hours long. I didn’t find it the least bit boring or uninteresting. In fact, it is a roller coaster of greed, dishonesty, crime, drugs and sex — not that this is a good thing but it’s real. Leo DiCaprio has fulfilled the role of a life time. His character was somewhat similar to his role in the Great Gatsby, only bumped up 10 fold to round out his performance as an up and coming financial broker. I haven’t seen the likes of “TWOWS” since Johnny Depp’s “Blow”. Jonah Hill was equally as brilliant as Leo’s loyal side kick who will do anything to make a buck. This movie shows us the real risk of investing in the stock market. Of course all is not corrupt, but that’s something one needs to investigate before jumping in, feet first!
CAROL's WORLDS 