Afterlife Delight: Spirited Movie Review

Well it’s that time of the year and as much as I love watching the old classics, I always like to see what kind of new variations of holiday films come out.   Last year, Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas won me over and as it stands right now, not even into December yet, Spirited has me awaiting the dvd release to come out so I can buy it and add to our growing movie collection!

Directed by Sean Anders, Spirited takes Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and flips it on its head, spins it magically around while adding plenty of musical numbers and modern-day relevance that deserve their own hashtag. 

Ryan Reynolds, who plays Clint the “nonredeemable” is a perfect match for Will Ferrell, The Ghost of Christmas Present.  As they dance and sing, revealing vulnerabilities, it’s just a joy to watch. When we add in Octavia Spencer, who is Clint’s assistant and the apple of Christmas Present’s eye, it’s a triple threat of happiness that you feel in your heart.  

Then we come to the songs, which I will mention my top 3. 

🎶Good Afternoon is a hoot and the amount of choreographed work is exceptional, including both Will and Ryan learning how to actually tap-dance and spending many gruelling sessions perfecting their techniques. If you are a performer, or even have watched like a fly on the wall of the physicality that goes on, you can applaud these guys.  

🎶View From Here (Riverwalk), an introspective song that sings like one’s diary or even our inner conscious, which includes a brief yet whimsical scene that just gets you feeling even more warm and fuzzy.

🎶Ripple is another hit, and I think a real earworm that holds a lot of meaning especially lyrically. It’s a big and bold production, as it should, and gives hope in a world that is just so confusing to navigate sometimes.

And so friends, not just during the holidays but all year round, let’s try to do a little good. 

💜Spirited Trailer

*Side note: Now the movie isn't all egg nog and jazz hands. It is heavy-handed with profanity at times, and does include some heavy topics that people may feel uncomfortable with. So, if you are watching with young kids (rating is PG-13), that's something to keep in mind. However, we all have to learn and grow, so instead of shying away and pretending these realities don't exist, open up the dialogue.

Chaos Theory Movie Review: It Transcends Blood, It Transcends Betrayal

Movie Review:

Chaos Theory tells a gripping story about Frank (played by Ryan Reynolds) an obsessive and perfectionist man, who has a career teaching others how to be efficient and organized. He lives by his words and there is no room in his life for spontaneity. 

One morning, as a practical joke, his wife decides to shake things up and turn back the clock by 10 minutes. A simple prank spirals out of control, as Frank begins to see his orderly routine crumble, not to mention his sanity, after learning devastating secrets that were kept from him. 

The movie has tons of dark and quirky humour, serious moments as well as several endearing scenes between Frank and his daughter. I'll also add the concluding speech about chaos theory was extremely touching and kudos to the script writers for including it. 

I didn't really know what Frank's destiny would turn out like, but sometimes those surprises have the best endings.