The Help

"The Help" A-

There are a lot of movies that have been made that really reach out to you. Some more than others, but a movie that I saw recently reaches out to you in a way that you never thought possible. The movie "The Help", is the type of movie that can make you laugh, make you sad and sometimes even really angry. This movie is based on a book by Kathryn Stockett, and it takes place around the time when blacks and whites were still separated. It is a story about The Help, when blacks were maids for white families, most of them rich families. The story mainly centers around one of the maids by the name of Abileen Clark (perfectly played by Viola Davis), who was the first to tell her stories about what when on when she would work as a maid. Her best friend, Minny, was the next one who told her stories about how she was mistreated and was fired from Hilly Holbrook's house for using her bathroom. There is also a funny scene with them involving a chocolate pie. You will just have to see the movie to know what I'm talking about, but let's just say you will never look at chocolate pie the same way again. A real stand out star in this movie is Emma Stone, who played Skeeter, the one who did the interviews and wrote the book that certainly was "scandalous", as a character said in the movie. This movie makes you laugh. There are a lot of funny parts that make you smile, especially with the character Minny Jackson, played by Octavia Spencer. It makes you sad because of how the maids were treated and the act of racism was really sad. There are characters in this movie that are really likable and there are some that make you so angry. It is a really good story and it really does reach out to you.

Captain America: The First Avenger

"Captain America: The First Avenger" A

I remember when I was in college, I watched the Indiana Jones trilogy in one weekend with them and I recalled watching Raiders of the Lost Ark before, but the other two I did not remember as much. As I watched them, I thought to myself, now these are old fashioned, fun adventure movies. Then they came out with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and once again, it was old fashioned and fun. What came to mind when I was watching the new long awaited Captain America movie was, this is like another Indiana Jones movie, but it is not only old fashioned and fun, but it is about one of the coolest superheroes in Marvel Comics. Yes, it is finally here, the Captain America movie and I must say, it was a near perfect movie. I was really impressed with it and it certain was spectacular in so many ways. To start out, the cast was magnificent. Chris Evans was perfectly cast as Steve Rogers/Captain America and he did a good job as a guy who wanted to fight in the war but was too small. So, he entered the supersoldier program led by Colonel Philips (played by Tommy Lee Jones who was better than ever in this role). Another standout in this movie was Hugo Weaving of Agent Smith fame from the Matrix. He played Johann Schmitt/Red Skull and while he always plays a good villain in his movies, he added some charisma to his role here. The movie looked awesome, even without the 3D, and the acting was perfect along with the casting, and the action scenes were fun to watch too. This isi not only the best movie of the summer, but also the best movie of the year so far in my opinion.