Femme Fatale Friday: Veruca Salt

"A femme fatale, translating to "Deadly Woman" in french, is an alluring, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire.  Often this leads them into compromising, dangerous   and deadly situations." ~ Wikipeda

  
Veruca Salt is a spoiled child, who is the apple of her father's eye.  When the hunt for Willy Wonka's Golden Tickets  become a world wide hunt it is only natural that Mr. Salt's company goes from shelling peanuts to chocolate.  Ultimately, a ticket is unwrapped.  Things start off rotten once entering the factory, immediately questioning Mr. Wonka's inventions "Snozzberries? Who ever heard of a snozzberry? "  Things go from bad to worse when she looks at the tour as a souvenir shop wanting an Oompa Loompa, and a golden goose.  This only leads to her becoming a bad nut and falling down the garbage chute.  Upon leaving Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, Veruca and her father are covered in garbage.

The Amazing Spiderman 2 (2014)

I really hadn't heard much about the new Spiderman movie, and probably wouldn't have seen it except that a good friend wanted to.  A theater about thirty minutes away was having a late Thursday night showing but as I wasn't over the moon about watching it we decided to  go to our local theater tomorrow.

It started out okay, accomplishing the almost impossible --having a legit, good plot outside of the actions scenes -- or at least it did for the first half.

After Electro and Harry hooked up things started to fall apart.  It is hard to put my finger on it but Spiderman became a hot mess.  Any storyline was abandoned and action after action scene ensued.  This would have been okay if it had been done well, unfortunately it was sub par.  The special effects were lackluster at best and segments between Electro and Spiderman felt forced.  Overall it was cheesy.

Jamie Fox was the film's saving grace.  He knows how to play a crazy man, and with a substandard plot and disappointing acting he was the shinning element to the film.

At the conclusion of Spiderman I left feeling eh and was glad not to have spent the gas money.

On the Queue #2

On the Queue is a weekly post in which I highlight the movies I watched from my Netflix queue recently, to keep these posts short and sweet I am going to sum up my thoughts in one or two sentences.

Gravity (2013):  Huh?  This movie mainly consisted of Sandra Bullock floating around in her underwear and breathing heavily.  I also got a kick out of the Sandy floating in the fetal position with what looks like an umbilical cord behind her.

But I'm a Cheerleader (1999): Another huh.  I'm not sure why I took up a friends recommendation on a movie on a fictionalized Michelle Bachmann's "help centers" instead it was two hours I'll never get back

Rent (2005): I so wanted to see this despite mixed reviews but turned it off thirty minutes in.  It was just too hectic for me.

Femme Fatale: Charlotte Vale

A femme fatale, translating to "Deadly Woman" in french, is an alluring, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire. Often this leads them into compromising, dangerous and deadly situations." ~ Wikipeda

Femme Fatale Friday is a weekly meme to feature femme fatales in film.  Try saying that ten times fast. Considering "We Have the Stars" is a quote from Now Voyager I found it fitting to beginning with Charlotte Vale.

Charlotte Vale, poor plain Aunt Charlotte, a trailer baby and therefore must take on the responsibility of caring for her cantankerous mother.  Charlotte, the butt of family jokes and will surely die a spinster.  Until she goes to a facility for the depressed and emerges from her cocoon.  How could a women coming into her own be a femme fatale?  

She is a femme fatale because she falls for a married man and later becomes a surrogate mother for her lover's youngest daughter who also suffers from depression.  Charlotte becomes independent, with men fluttering around her.  She rebuffs these men as her heartbelongs to another, Jerry Durrance.  Upon returning from her retreat, her mother becomes bitter, resentful, and betrayed eventually being the death of her (although let me tell you, this is no loss).  The difference between Charlotte Vale and lets say Phyllis Dietrichson is that Charlotte is likable.  You actually route for her, but the qualities that open her like a dewy flower are also the ones that make her a femme fatale, Charlotte Vale is a force to be reckoned with.

A Million Ways To Die in the West (2014)

A few weeks back, I saw One Hundred Ways to Die in the West.  I had low expectations going in and coming out, they were met.  And to add insult to injury, I saw a doubleheader of suckyness by seeing Maleficent.  Here is dose two of awfulness.

 The not on sex scene was funny but they dragged it on, and on, and on not to mention the fact that every time Sarah Silverman came on screen we had to be reminded that she was a prostitute, yes we get it, she gives blow jobs for a living but do you have to wipe cum off her face in every shot.

These two just annoyed me, their romance (I felt) wasn't believable and could have done without it.

Seth MacFarlane takes things a step too far, he drags on scenes that could have been shot in half the time and could have reduced the film by 30 minutes, but no, he had to get that shot in with a character tripping and falling into the water bin.  Note: I'm not sure that actually happened but it is the general idea.

For me, One Hundred Ways to Die in the West fell as flat as his Abraham Lincoln joke at the Oscars a few years back.  This was not my cup of tea and couldn't end soon enough. 

Maleficent (2014)

I saw Maleficent last night and saying it was "pretty bad" is putting it lightly.  I kept hoping it would get better even though I knew it was a lost cause. 

I watched the movie with a friend who was equally if not more appalled than I, here are a few of the comments we whispered during the film. 

Note: comments in blue where made by said friend.

This movie is horrible

Never Mess with a Jilted Lover

"You're my Fairy Godmother." Seriously Aurora, how daft can you be, when has a Fairy Godmother ever had horns?  

That was hardly a kiss /does this mean Maleficent and Aurora are lesbians?

Flounder and Sebastian could have done it faster

Just turn into a dragon and die already!

And they lived happily ever after with the fat fairies

I want my money back

Labor Day (2013)

Labor Day had an implausible storyline and more Lifetime Movie material.  If this fast paced/on the run/love story weekend had happened in over a month's time instead of three days it may have been better (notice how I used the word may)

Another disappointment were the actors, Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet who I expected more from, it felt like they were phoning it in. I have little to say that wouldn't sound repetitive, so I will conclude by calling Labor Day ridiculous and would be much better off outside barbecuing that watching this film.

Although it did have a "Ghost" moment, you know the one.

1990s retro