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What I Watched in October (A TON of Good Movies!)



Even though I didn't read a lot in October, I certainly watched a LOT of good movies in October. I love all sorts of films and for whatever reason we seemed to hit a lot of the movies I've had on my list for awhile when we were in Nebraska. I loved almost all of them and wanted to share the links and plotlines with you in case you'd be interested, too. Those links will take you right to the trailers.

*The Drop Box (trailer above) - Break out the tissues and expect to have a sinus headache afterward, because this movie will slay you with all the feels. It's a documentary on a South Korean Pastor Lee Jong-rak and his wife who installed a box where infants could be left at any hour, and they would be taken care of, instead of disposed in an inhumane manner. The box normally 'rings' in the middle of the night, when young women feel they have no choice left. The family often receives disabled children, and throughout the last 6 years, they have helped place hundreds of children in safe families and have kept many disabled children themselves. This movie is exceptional. It is a picture of God's love for all in one of the most heartbreaking and tender films I've ever seen. Watch it and be amazed with how much God loves even the smallest and the 'least of these'.

*Cinderella - We watched Disney's new live production with some friends, dressed up, and had a tea-party! It was really fun to experience this movie that way, and the four kids had a blast. Cinderella is played by Lily James (Rose from Downton Abbey, a perfect choice!) and is surrounded by an all star cast including Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, and Stellan Starsgard. Although I think I prefer the animated version (it was a favorite movie of mine when I was a child), they did a lovely job creating the magic and the pomp! in this movie, which was fun to watch with my kids.

*Comet  (full movie link on youtube)- Comet was a movie Stefan and I watched when we were on our getaway, and we just watched it on Netflix on our laptop in the hotel when we wanted some downtime. We'd heard of it from a friend, and while Stefan really liked it, I thought it was okay. It's a fantastical love story between two people who really do belong together but can't figure it out until it's too late. It's about fate, the universe, selfishness, and desire. It was interesting enough to keep my attention during, but not one I'd watch again.

*The Martian - When I first heard of The Martian (the book), I knew I wanted to read it. When I found out it was going to be a huge blockbuster movie, I couldn't wait. I read it beforehand (and of course, like most, the book is WAY better than the movie) but I still really enjoyed the screen adaptation. I thought the actors for the crew were great choices, and they were almost exactly as I had imagined them (especially Jessica Chastain as Melissa Lewis) and although they omited one really big part in the movie that is climactic to the story, they did a really good job with the movie. Mark Watney (Matt Damon) gets stuck on Mars after a fluke accident involving his space crew, and he has to learn how to science his way to surviving on a lonely, desolate planet where nothing grows until NASA can figure out how to get him.

*Insurgent - This is the second movie in the Divergent series. I haven't read the books, and I don't have a desire to, but I really enjoy anti-utopian stories. I always have. I read Brave New World in high school and it was one of my favorite books for a long time! The two heroes of the Divergent movie, Tris and Four are on the run from the government and the leaders need Tris (a true Divergent) to unlock a box where the secrets of the past and future are held. The acting and dialogue aren't great in this series, but I enjoy the plot, and of course, I've seen two of them, I'm going to see the third and final installation. It's not a series I'd recommend to anyone. Did you like 1984? Did you like The Hunger Games? If yes, you'd like the Divergent series, if no, skip it.

*St. Vincent  - I can't remember if I watched St. Vincent right before our trip (which would have been late September) or right after we got back, but this movie practically deserves an entire post on it's own. It's fantastic. I have no idea why I started watching this, but Melissa McCarthy having a strong role and Bill Murray as the main character. I think I saw it at the library and had never even heard of the movie before, and after watching, I have no idea why. This movie is SO GOOD. It's about a single-mom who needs help with after-school care for her son, and she relies on her scruffy next-door-neighbor, Vincent (Murray). In the hours Vincent and Oliver spend together, they become good friends and have some pretty hilarious adventures that you'd never want your kids to have before the age of 18. Vincent helps Oliver in a number of ways, and throughout the movie you learn what kind of man this halfway drunk is, but I can't give anymore details away. Watch this with a box of kleenexes and assume you're going to do an all caps facebook post of how much all your friends should drop everything and WATCH THIS MOVIE RIGHT NOW FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. It's probably the best movie I've seen in 2015.

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