Movie Review: Pitch Perfect 3 (2017)

Plot: Following their win at the world championship, the now separated Bellas reunite for one last singing competition at an overseas USO tour, but face a group who uses both instruments and voices

In 2012 someone had the idea to create a movie about an Acapella university group with an essentially all female cast. It was a surprising success, people (mostly females) driving out to see women be funny, silly, talented and live in a sisterhood. They returned in 2015 with lesser men in the cast, and their hilarity continued to an extent that personally, for me, it surpassed the 2012 film in terms of quality.

Nothing would stop a production company from milking a successful movie for a number of sequels, so Universal Pictures granted the production of a final, third Pitch Perfect. I collected my own girl squad (men were welcome, they simply weren’t keen), and set off to watch this final film.

I laughed. Rebel Wilson steals the show, again, with her fabulous return to Fat Amy. She’s got a massive agenda in this film – her father Fergus (John Lithgow) reenters her life and we get to see something of Amy/Patricia’s past. Is her father really reformed or is he there for some nefarious reason? I won’t tell you everything, but Rebel Wilson stunned us and she made us cry with laughter in the cinema with her amazing skills.

Naturally Beca (Anna Kendrick) has her issues being a know it all and a bit of a snob. She’s landed a promising position at a record label, but that is not good enough for her because she has all the opinions and also has never had a real job – that would have made her realize that new staff can’t always have their opinions listened to at the first go. She resigns, because finding another job is easy in the Pitch world, and when Aubrey (Anna Camp) has a proposition for the team to go sing at a military base for the troops she and the other Barden Bellas grab it with both hands.

Off they go to a number of improbable situations that will still make you laugh extra hard. Hunky Theo (Guy Bernet) has a thing for Beca and army officer Chicago Welp (Matt Lanter) develops an interest in Chloe (Brittany Snow), who is hilarious on her crush on him.

More usuals are also there – Hana Mae Lee returns as Lilly, the really supremely strange Bella. Kudos to Lee, she has worked this awkward and hilarious character excellently. Ester Dean brings cultural and sexual diversity to the Bellas and is one of the most talented cast members in the film. Jessica, or Kelley Jakle, had me laughing at her comments, especially the “shot of white privilege” one.  John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks also returns to their respective roles as John Smith and Gail Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger, the hilarious and desperate commentators who follow the Bellas everywhere they go.

Pitch Perfect 3 is a closing chapter for the franchise and they send their characters of in ideal, if a bit too perfect, fashion. Everyone ends up where they always wanted to be – vet school, owner of a franchise, a singing career, or Amy, as we all do, with tons of cash and not having to answer to anyone. Some of the jokes are a bit skew, they aren’t as hilarious or as original as they were in the first two films, but these characters have become part of very fond memories for me. I watched the first one with quite a hangover and had to rewatch to actually like it, and the second one had me crying with laughter. This one? A bit lame but it was like watching old friends drive off in to the sunset.

Have you seen Pitch Perfect 3? Let me know what you thought!

Rating: 6/10

January 9, 2018January 9, 2018 by Natasha Categories: 2017, Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: acapella, Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Elizabeth Banks, Ester Dean, Fat Amy, Gail Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger, Guy Bernet, Hana Mae Lee, John Lithgow, John Michael Higgens, John Smith, Kelley Jakle, Matt Lanter, Movies, Pitch Perfect, Pitch Perfect 3, Rebel Wilson, Reviews, Ruby Rose, The Barden Bellas 6 Comments

Book Review: The Rise of Nine (Pittacus Lore)

Plot: The Mogadorians who destroyed the planet Lorien continue to hunt for the Garde, the small group of Loric survivors who have taken refuge on Earth. During a dangerous mission at a Mog base in West Virginia, John found and rescued the brutish Nine. But even with their combined powers, special abilities known as Legacies, the pair barely escaped with their lives. And in the process, John’s best friend, Sam Goode, was lost and taken captive by the enemy.

In order to save him—and our world—John and Nine must join forces with Six and Seven who have been battling the Mogs in Spain, and who are now trying to locate Number Eight in India. The Garde must come together before it is too late. They are Lorien and Earth’s only hope.

Firstly, it took me ages to write this review. Analyzing how I felt and whether the book was good took me a chunk of time. This is the third book in the series, and I would love to continue until I have finished the entire set. (Read reviews here and here or the first two books). Of the three novels I liked this one second best, after I am Number Four, although I still felt that it had plenty of mistakes.

Despite the title suggesting that The Rise of Nine is focused primarily on the adventures of Nine; the book shifts between the members of the Garde.  You barely get to know Nine – he just seems like a big brash teenager with way too much ego and way too little sense. He frankly irritated me, and he is by far not my favorite. His pissing contest with Fouris ridiculous, and if I wanted to watch Fast and The Furious for a battle of the penis, I would have. I see Michael Bay had a favorable review of these books, and it makes sense – there is a lot of bang and smoke but very little effect. Reading “The Rise of Nine” was like reading a Michael Bay film – not something I’d actually recommend that often. The book has so many drawn-out fight scenes it feels like I would guess how a book version of his work would read.

I really like Six, and wouldn’t mind a book focused on her. I guess that this series is aimed at teenage boys, which makes that wish highly unlikely to occur, but she’s an interesting character and one of the strongest. Also, least annoying.

I’m not sure where they are heading with the American Government siding with the Mogadorians, but it seems rather vague and silly at this point in the books (though not looking at the current administration, which makes it more likely). While I remember this sore point for me – the “Mogadorians” or “Mogs” is the stupidest name I have ever heard for a fictional race.

The number of dumb decisions these kids make is very high – you can just see high hormone levels drives their life choices. Particularly the final and ridiculous battle with Setrakus Ra. This “all powerful being” attacked in the middle of the series when half the Garde is seriously maimed and they still escape without a casualty? Stupid stupid.

There are some glitches and the writing is by no means perfect, and I really think I’m just too old now for this, but the books are good for light reading and are a fast thing once you get going. I found that final fight stupid. It is starting to feel that things work out for these kids because they must, not because of some brilliantly revealed plot. I am still enjoying the Legacies the kids develop, that at least remain pretty cool.

I will likely read the rest in due course, because it is good for when you want to read but don’t want to think too much about it. I wouldn’t recommend this series to anyone over seventeen actually, but it isn’t too rough just for some mindless semi-dystopian drama.

Rating: 6/10

October 18, 2017October 15, 2017 by Natasha Categories: 2017, Books, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Bernie Kosar, Books, I am Number Four, John Smith, Pittacus Lore, Review, Reviews, Setrakus Ra, The Garde, The Lorien Legacies, The Power of Six, The rise of Nine 3 Comments

Book Review: The Power Of Six (Pittacus Lore)

The Lorien Legacies #2

Plot:

I’ve seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he’s a mystery. But to me . . . he’s one of us.

Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We’re hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we’ll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I’ve been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.

I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.

And I’m ready to fight.

Rating: 7/10

Before I start this review I have to say that I am really pleased that I am reading new books this year. I’m really a problem child when it comes to reading new books. I love to read my favorite novels on a loop, and while that isn’t an unforgivable crime, it certainly limits the amount of literature you get exposed to.

The Power of Six is the second book in the Lorien Legacies, which co-written by James Frey and Jobie Hughes. I noticed and appreciated that it doesn’t have that thing where the book doesn’t make sense because it received input from too many people. The pacing of the books are good, the content interesting and quite unique in the overpopulated genre where people most often than not “borrow” a few ideas. The characters aren’t as annoying as one might expect teenager characters to be, and the books lack melodrama.

The Power of Six introduces Marina, who is the Sixth Garde that was sent down to earth in a hope to preserve the Lorien race after an attack by the Mogadorians. Her Cepan, Maria, has lost all courage and is content to live in a quiet nunnery in Spain. This results in Marina not being trained or informed properly by her Cepan of her heritage, and she becomes increasingly desperate to escape. Her Legacies are also developing and she has trouble hiding them all the time. A little bit of light at the end of the tunnel occurs when she meets Ella, an orphan who quickly becomes a form of a confidante.

Meanwhile Four, Sam, Seven and Bernie Kosar is still on the run from the FBI after the destruction of their high school in Paradise. Here an irritating little love triangle develops and Four starts to pay more attention to Seven than which would be appropriate considering his good friend likes her and he is already in a relationship. It is a part of the story I really didn’t find enjoyable. I’d really hoped that they would omit love triangles, but I guess that is too much to ask.

For the girls here, I like Seven’s proactive attitude but I do not appreciate her playing with the emotions of both boys. Marina has amazing powers and I thoroughly enjoyed that, but she had a bit of an apathetic attitude that got grating quickly. Ella has to be mentioned because (spoiler): she is number 10. Her gift is by far the most impressive thus far.

The boys: Four (or John Smith) is a pretty cool character and I enjoy him, though he can be too impulsive and selfish at times. I am a huge fan of Sam and he does great work representing the human race. The later inclusion of Number 9 was unexpected but decent too, and I think the next book, which focuses primarily on him if I look just at the title.

A real problem I had with the book is the constant switching between characters without any indication except a font change. It happened more than once that I was confused about why everything was different. I also feel that the fighting scenes really get out of hand. It takes pages to resolve something and I get bored at the third strange animal attacking a character. Ugh.

Overall I enjoyed The Power Of Six. The different Legacies keep me quite entertained, they are really ingenious and fun! I hope the third book continues to interest me. They are fast paced novels that aren’t too intense. I’m planning to get to book three after I finish my current book, so you’ll definitely end up knowing what I thought of it!

Have you read the The Power of Six? Tell me all about it!

February 8, 2017February 8, 2017 by Natasha Categories: Books, reading, Review, UncategorizedTags: Bernie Kosar, Books, Cepan, Garde, James Frey, Jobie Hughes, John Smith, Lorien, Marina, Mogadorians, Pittacus Lore, Reading, Reviews, The Lorien Legacies 4 Comments