what to watch

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

June 4, 2019June 4, 2019 by Margaret Tengan, posted in Book, Movie

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is one of my favorite Harry Potter movies of all seven. Harry is now going into his fourth year at Hogwarts and stays with the Weasley’s for the end of his summer. They take him to the Quidditch World Cup where Harry sees one of the most famous seekers in the world, Viktor Krum. Harry has so much fun at the match with the Weasleys and Hermione, but after something terrifying happens. Death Eaters, Voldemort’s servants, start attacking people. Harry, Ron and Hermione have to run and hide. But, someone conjures the Dark Mark, which is Voldemort’s mark. This scares many people and this event was all over the news.

When they arrive at Hogwarts, they had almost forgotten this event. Harry was so happy to be back at school and there was a surprise for them when they got there. Dumbledore announces that the Tri-Wizard Tournament is going to be held at Hogwarts and two other schools were going to join them. First, an all girls school called Beauxbatins and an all boys school called Durmstrang. This is the school Viktor Krum goes to and everyone is very excited to see him. If a student over the age of 17 wanted to participate in the tournament, they had to put their name in the Goblet of Fire and it would pick who the champions were.

Everyone is excited to see who will get picked. When it is time to find out, Dumbledore brings out the Goblet of Fire and everyone watches it excitedly. The first champion, from Beauxbatins is Fluer Delacour. The champion from Durmstrang is Viktor Krum. Finally, the Champion from Hogwarts is Cedric Diggory. Everyone is so excited and talking. But, when the Goblet of Fire starts to spit out one more name, the crowd goes silent. The Goblet of Fire emitted another paper and it said Harry Potter.

The whole crowd is silent in shock. Harry wasn’t even old enough to apply and there had already been a Hogwarts champion. Even Harry doesn’t understand because he didn’t put his name in. But some people don’t believe him, including Ron. They all think that he somehow put his name in. But, because the Goblet picked his name, he has to participate in the tournament.

The first task was when they had to get past a dragon to get an egg that is was guarding. Professor Moody, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher helps Harry prepare for this task. When it is time for the task, Harry finds out he has to battle a Hungarian Horntail. He summons his Firebolt, and flies around the grounds to try to shake off the dragon. He finally manages to loose the dragon and grabs the egg. Every one is very excited because they all thought Harry was going to die because he was so young. When he gets back to the common room, he opens the egg to find the next clue, but it just screeches. Ron, who has been mad at Harry this whole time, finally realizes that Harry wouldn’t be stupid enough to put himself in that kind of danger on purpose. They finally start talking again.

Part of the tradition of the Tri-Wizard Tournament is the Yule Ball. It is a big dance that the students can go to. Harry really wants to ask Cho Chang, the girl he has a crush on. But, he can’t get her alone to ask her. When he finally finds her alone, they almost run into each other on the stairs. When Harry asks her, she looks really sad and says she can’t. This breaks Harry’s heart, but he tries to pretend it is all right. He and Ron both don’t have dates and almost everyone is already taken. Ron finally thinks to ask Hermione, but she is already going with someone, but she won’t tell him who. Harry decides to ask the Patil twins to go with he and Ron and they accept. At the ball, Harry sees that Cho went with Cedric, and this makes him very jealous. Then, Hermione comes down the stairs with Krum! Everyone, especially Ron, is very surprised. But, Ron is mad because he thinks Krum is too old for Hermione.

For the second task, Harry has to figure out how to hear the egg. Cedric tells him to listen to it in the bathtub, and sure enough it is clear underwater. The clue tells his that he will be in the Black lake and have an hour to rescue something important. Neville helps him figure out to use gillyweed to hold his breath under water for that long. During the task, Harry has to rescue Ron from the bottom of the Black Lake. He completes the task and all the champions move to the third task.

The third task is a maze that has many different obstacles in it. Professor Moody is the one who places the cup in the maze and whoever finds it first will win. As they go through, Harry and Cedric find the cup first and decide to touch it at the same time to tie. However, when they touch it, it transports them to a graveyard. It is very scary and Harry knows they should go back. Then Wormtail approaches and kills Cedric. He ties Harry up and gets blood from him. Then, he puts a bunch of things in a pot and Lord Voldemort is reborn. Voldemort calls his Death Eaters and they come to join their old master. Voldemort then releases Harry and they duel. Harry somehow manages to escape and get back to Hogwarts. He brings Cedric with him and this makes everyone very sad. They then find out that Professor Moody was actually a Death Eater in disguise and the real Moody was locked up in the classroom.

With the rise of Voldemort and the death of Cedric, it was a very terrible end of the year for everyone at Hogwarts. Harry did win the tournament, but at a terrible cost. The two other schools go back and Hogwarts is normal again. However, Harry, Ron and Hermione’s lives will never be the same. They are bracing themselves for something even worse to happen in the future.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

May 21, 2019May 21, 2019 by Margaret Tengan, posted in Book, Movie

The movie/book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban the third movie of the eight Harry Potters. It is a great movie, although not my favorite Harry Potter. Harry, Ron and Hermione start there third year at Hogwarts with a killer on the loose. Sirius Black, believed to be a faithful servant of Lord Voldemort. After Voldemort’s fall, Sirius was sent to Azkaban but now he has escaped and is on the loose. Harry doesn’t know much about him, but many believe that Harry is in grave danger. They think that Sirius will come after Harry to get revenge for who is believed to be his former master.

At Hogwarts, Hagrid was made the teacher of Care of Magical Creatures. In his first lesson, he wants to make a good impression on the students. He brings a hippogriff (Buckbeak) to class and shows the class. Everyone is afraid of the great beast but Hagrid chooses Harry to approach it. Harry bows to Buckbeak and he lets Harry pet him. Then he lets Harry fly on his back and they go around the castle. When they get back, Malfoy wants to pet Buckbeak too, but he gets attacked because he didn’t approach him right. Malfoy gets seriously hurt and is rushed to the hospital wing.

The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is Remus Lupin. He was an old friend of Harry’s father and is very fond of Harry. He tells Harry stories about his parents and his memories of them. Harry also finds out that Sirius Black was a friend of James and Lily. This makes Harry very upset. He thinks that Sirius betrayed his parents and is the reason they are dead. Meanwhile, Buckbeak has been sentenced to death because of his attack on Malfoy and Hagrid is very upset about it.

On the day of Buckbeak’s execution, Harry, Ron and Hermione go down to Hagrid’s hut to support him. When they see Dumbledore, Fudge and the executioner coming, they leave because they are not supposed to be there. As they watch from the top of the hill, Scabbers, Ron’s rat, escapes from Ron’s hands and start to run away. As Ron chases after him, Harry and Hermione chase after Ron. When Ron finally catches Scabbers, he sees a big dog behind Harry and Hermione. The dog starts attack Ron and pulls him into a secret passage way in the Womping Willow. When Harry and Hermione finally get into the passage way they follow the blood trail into the Shrieking Shack. There, they face none other than Sirius Black, the mad killer who is thought to be after Harry.

Harry is filled with so much rage seeing Sirius, that all he wants to do is kill him. However, he is stopped. Remus Lupin barges in and appears to start helping Sirius. But, they soon explain that Sirius never really betrayed Harry’s parents and he was definitely not loyal to the Dark Lord. There was actually another man who was both of these things, Peter Pettigrew. Sirius lunges at Scabbers and Ron is very confused. It is soon made clear that Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew as an animagus, someone who can turn into an animal. Pettigrew had faked his own death and fled as a rat. He had been hiding as Ron’s pet ever since, waiting to help Lord Voldemort come back to power. Sirius and Lupin try to kill Pettigrew, but Harry stops them. He doesn’t think that his dad would want them to be killers.

When they get out of the Shrieking Shack, there is a full moon. This is very bad because Lupin is a werewolf and starts transforming. Everyone tries to stop him, but it is too late. He injures Sirius and runs off into the forest. Harry goes after Sirius but they are attacked by dementors and taken to the hospital wing. In there, Dumbledore tells Harry and Hermione to go back in time using the time turner. Hermione has been using it to get to all her classes that are at the same time because of her loaded schedule. When Harry and Hermione go back in time, they are able to free Buckbeak and Sirius. Sirius rides off of Buckbeak and is free. Harry is happy that Sirius is free and innocent and hopes to see him again.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

April 30, 2019April 30, 2019 by Margaret Tengan, posted in Book, Movie

One of my favorite movie series, if not my favorite, is Harry Potter. The actors are perfect for what is described in the book and all the sets are excellent. I recommend reading the books before watching the movies because you get more detail and information about things that they didn’t put in the movie.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is just the second one of the series and I have seen too many times to count. It starts when Dobby the house elf tries to stop Harry from going to Hogwarts. However, he fails and Harry is rescued from his Uncle and Aunts’ house by the Weasleys. They take their dad’s flying car to get Harry out of there. It is Harry’s first time to the Weasley’s home, the burrow, and he is amazed at how magical homes are different than Muggle homes. They then go to get their schoolbooks from Diagon Alley and they see Hermione there. They also run into Lucius and Draco Malfoy, which is a very unpleasant surprise. Lucius finds a way to slip a diary in Ginny Weasley’s bag without anyone noticing and they leave before any real trouble is started.

When Harry goes with the Weasleys to Platform 9 3/4, something odd happens. The barrier that usually opens when a witch or wizard runs though is closer. Harry and Ron then decide to take the flying car all the way to Hogwarts. However, they are spotted by Muggles and when they get to school they are in big trouble. Ron’s mom is very unhappy with them and worried too. They both get detentions and Harry has to serve his with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart. After his detention, he is leaves the room and starts to hear a voice in the walls. He follows the voice and runs into Ron and Hermione. He continues to follow the voice and runs into an alarming sight. There is blood on the walls and Mrs. Norris is petrified on the wall. The blood writing reads, “The Chamber of Secrets has been open. Enemies of the heir, beware.”

This is not the only time this happened. Three more students were petrified, including Hermione. This makes Ron and Harry very scared and they don’t know if they can solve the case without her. However, she had been doing some research on the day she was petrified and found out what type of creature was in the Chamber of Secrets. It was a basilisk. If you looked at it directly, it would kill you, but if you didn’t look directly into its eyes, you would only be petrified. She also realized it was traveling through the pipes. Then, another note is written on the wall in blood. It says, “Her body will lie in the chamber forever.” It is Ginny that the note is talking about. So, Harry and Ron find out that the entrance to the chamber is in one of the girl’s bathrooms and the two of them along with Lockhart go down to stop the basilisk. However, Lockhart looses his memory in the chamber and is really on help. Ron gets stuck behind some rocks so Harry is on his own.

In the chamber Harry finds Ginny and she is almost dead. He also finds another man, Tom Riddle. Riddle reveals that he is a younger version of Lord Voldemort and he says that he used the diary, which Lucius Malfoy put in Ginny’s bag in Diagon Alley, to posses Ginny and open the Chamber of Secrets. Then he says that the basilisk is going to kill Harry and Harry starts to run as the basilisk approaches. After a long battle, Harry stabs the basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor. He then stabs the diary with one of the basilisk’s fangs and gets rid of Tom Riddle. Once they get out of the Chamber of Secrets, Hermione is back and everyone is very grateful for them. Ginny is alive and all right. The ending of this movie is really good and is very exciting.

Legally Blonde

April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 by Margaret Tengan, posted in Movie

The movie legally blond is such a great movie. It is a great mix of humor and love and it gives you that feel-good feeling. It is about a girl, Elle Woods, who is the president of her sorority and really into fashion. She has a boyfriend, Warner, who is a very smart man on his way to law school. He asks her out to a very fancy dinner and she gets very excited. She is sure he is going to propose. But, he hits her with some unexpected new. He says that if he is going to go to law school and be a lawyer, he needs a serious relationship and a girl who can give him the support he needs, and he breaks up with her.

She is devastated. She can’t imagine life without Warner, and doesn’t leave her room for a whole week. Finally, her friends convince her to get out and they go to get her nails done. While they are at the salon, Elle reads something about Warner’s older brother. It says that he just got proposed to another law student. That is when Elle realizes what she has to do to get Warner back. All she needs, is to go to Harvard Law School and show Warner she can be his wife.

She applies and studies very hard to get in, and surprisingly she get in! On her first day of school she is very unprepared. She doesn’t even have a laptop, and doesn’t even know anything about law. She gets kicked out of her very first class for being unprepared. When she is crying on a bench, she meets a very nice guy who gives her some advice about classes.

She begins studying harder and catching up to everyone else. She starts to get the hang of things and even starts to excel and do good as a law student. She even gets offered a spot on one of her professor’s internship teams. She is very excited but Warner and his new fiancee is on the team too. They are defending a woman in a murder trial. Elle actually knows her because she took a fitness class of hers once. So, even when Elle’s professor thinks she is guilty, Elle knows she is not.

Elle is very helpful in the case and she gets them very close to winning. However, one night her professor calls her into his office and hits on her. She then realizes that the only reason she has gotten the internship is because he thinks she’s pretty. She then quits and is devastated. When the person they are defending finds out Elle quit, she decides to fire the professor and hire Elle instead. Elle then is able to win the case for her and everyone is very impressed. Then, Warner asks for her back and she declines. It is such a great ending and Elle and the nice guy she met get engaged. Overall, this movie was one of a kind. It made you happy and kept you on the edge of your seat.

Bedtime Stories

March 18, 2019March 18, 2019 by Margaret Tengan, posted in Movie

Bedtime Stories is a story about an uncle and his niece and nephew. It is truly a feel-good movie that will also have you laughing the whole time. I recently watched it again and remembered how much I love it. I highly recommend watching it if you like comedy, action and a little romance.

The story is told by the father of Skeeter, the main character, and he owns a motel. However, when he sells it the new owner promises that one day Skeeter will run the new hotel. But, when the time comes and the owner is going to find a new person to run the hotel, he does not choose Skeeter because he is just a handyman. Meanwhile, Skeeter needs to babysit his niece and nephew because his sister needs to go out of town to find a new job. She is a principal but her school is being shut down. Skeeter watches the kids at night and his sister’s friend, Jill, takes them to school in the morning. Jill is a teacher at the school and she and Skeeter don’t like each other.

The first night Skeeter spends with the kids, he tells them a bedtime story. In the story, Skeeter is given a chance to run the hotel and it rains gumballs. The next day, Skeeter goes to work and his boss tells him he has a chance to run the new hotel. Then, when he is driving home, it starts raining gumballs. Skeeter can’t believe it. He decides that that night, for the story, he is going to make all his dreams come true and then in real it will actually happen. So, that night when he tells his story, he makes himself get a Ferarri for free and save a pretty girl. But, in real life he realizes that only the parts that the kids tell, Bobbi and Patrick, is what really happens. So, the last night he decides to let them tell the story. He wants them to say that he wins the competition for the hotel. However, they say that he wins, but then he catches on fire. So, at the presentation when they are going to pick a winner, he is very wary about catching on fire. He ends up winning the competition, but he ends up getting fired from his job.

Skeeter and Jill have also started liking each other because they spent a day together at the beach. But, she get’s mad at him when they find out the new hotel is replacing the school Jill and Skeeter’s sister works. However, Skeeter doesn’t let this stop him. He talks to someone and finds a new place to move the hotel and saves the school. He and Jill ride on a motorcycle to get to the school to stop them from demolishing it. They get there just in time and Skeeter gets the girl. The ending to this movie was perfect and it was a great finish to such a great story.

High School Musical

February 26, 2019February 26, 2019 by Margaret Tengan, posted in Movie

High School Musical is a Disney Channel Original, the first of a trilogy, that is directed by Kenny Ortega. It stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu. It is filmed at After its release in January of 2006, it quickly became Disney’s most successful film. This musical became Disney’s most watched film so far.

The movie starts out at a ski resort where Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) are both there but don’t yet know each other. Troy is the star basketball player at East High, and Gabriella is a nerdy, sweet girl, who is about to transfer to East High. They are forced to sing together and immediately feel a spark. When they get back to school, they have already forgotten about the karaoke night, until they see each other at school. Troy shows Gabriella around the school and this make Sharpay Evan (Ashley Tisdale) very jealous. As they continue to become friends, Gabriella and Troy try out for the spring musical. This makes Sharpay even more upset because her and her brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), are always the stars in the musicals.

As Troy and Gabriella are working on their audition pieces for the musical, they also have lots of other things on their minds. Troy has the championship basketball game, and Gabriella has an academic decathlon on the same day. The auditions for the musical are the day before, but Sharpay is worried that they will get the part, so she convinces the director to change the auditions to the day of the basketball game and academic decathlon. This doesn’t stop Troy and Gabriella though. Them and their friends help them to create diversions so they could go to the audition and get the part!

This movie not only has great music and a very entertaining storyline, but it has very valuable lessons that can be learned. One is to never let your friends, parent, or teachers discourage you from doing what you love. Troy was embarrassed when he auditioned for the musical because he wasn’t a singer, he was an athlete. His friends and parents didn’t understand, but that didn’t stop him. He decided to go for it and sing with the girl he love, instead of giving in because his friends told him to. Another example is when Sharpay tried to ruin Troy and Gabriella’s chance to audition by making it the same time as the game and decathlon, but that didn’t stop them.

Overall High School Musical is an amazing movie and it is one of my all-time favorites. From the musical numbers, to the actors, they all add together to create a wonderful movie that I can never watch enough. Even the music alone is so good and I listen to it all the time. I highly recommend watching High School Musical if you are in to a heartfelt romantic musical.

Coco

January 15, 2019January 15, 2019 by Margaret Tengan, posted in Movie

I recently watch the new Disney movie Coco. It was amazing. The music was very good, the character were sweet and the story line was cute and tear jerking. I really enjoyed watching it and I have seen it multiple times and loved it just as much. The movie has lots of Mexican culture and phrases.

The whole movie is based around the Mexican tradition of Día de los Muertos. Miguel, the main character, loves music. But, because of his great-great grandfather who left his family to go play music, it is banned from his family. However, this does not stop Miguel. On Día de los Muertos, he runs away from his family and goes to steal the guitar of a great musician, Ernesto de la Cruz, who has passed away. He also thinks that this is his great-great grandfather because of a picture he found that had his guitar in it. When he steals the guitar, he is suddenly transported into the world of the dead.

No one from the real world can see him, however he can see a bunch of skeletons and they can see him. He is very scared, until he runs into his deceased family. They are frightened to see him, but they want to find a way to get him back to the real world. So, they take him back to the land of the dead and this is wear the majority of the movie takes place. He finds his great-great grandmother who gives him her blessing. However, she makes him promise to never play music again, and he disobeys. He is immediately is transported back to the land of the dead. He decides he wants to get his blessing from Ernesto de la Cruz.

As he is running away from his family, he runs into someone, Hector, who tells Miguel he can help him find Ernesto de la Cruz, if Miguel will put his picture on the ofrenda. Miguel agrees and they go off on their journey together. They run into many obstacles but they eventually reach de la Cruz. When they do, Ernesto is more that pleased to find out he has a great-great grandson. However, when he sees Hector, things get tense. They used to be friends and they toured together. But, when Hector told Ernesto that he wanted to go home to his family he got worried because Ernesto was using all of Hector’s songs and he knew he couldn’t do anything without him. So, he poisoned him and stole his songs. After Hector and Miguel find out, Ernesto throws them into a pit and is going to leave them there.

While they are in the pit, Hector is telling Miguel about his daughter, who is the reason he wanted to return home that night. They soon figure out that his daughter is Coco, Miguel’s grandmother! So Hector is really Miguel’s great-great grandfather. After finding this out, they gain a new hope. They start shouting for someone to rescue them and Miguel’s family comes.

After being rescued, they have to find Ernesto to get the photo of Hector back. After much struggle, they end up without it. But Miguel has one more hope to keep Hector’s memory alive. His great-great grandparents give him their blessing and send him home. When he get back to the real world, he rushes to Grandma Coco. He begs her to remember her papa, but she can’t. Finally he starts to sing a song to her, the song Hector sung to her every night, “Remember Me.” Her face starts to brighten and she starts to sing along. By now, the rest of the family is in the room too, witnessing this beautiful moment. Coco pulls out a picture of her papa and it indeed is Hector. The rest of the family is so happy to have Miguel back, and he has saved the family from forgetting how much they loved music!

Father of the Bride: Part II

December 18, 2018December 18, 2018 by Margaret Tengan, posted in Movie

I have already talked about Father of the Bride: Part I, but the sequel is just as exciting. My usual opinions on sequels is that they aren’t as enjoyable, but not this one. Father of the Bride: Part II is even more comical, more heartwarming and overall, I enjoy it more. In this movie, Annie and Brian are going to have a baby, and Nina is thrilled. But, George is not so thrilled. He thinks they are too young and aren’t ready to take care of a baby.

However, this isn’t the only surprise for the Banks family. Nina starts to feel sick and tired all the time and they don’t know why. They finally realize she is probably going through menopause, so they go to the doctor. At the doctor, they get some very exciting and surprising news. Nina is pregnant! George is shocked, he doesn’t know what to say or how to react. However, the way he does act is definitely not helpful. He starts saying how they are too old to have a baby, how their child will grow up and have grandparents for parent, they won’t be able to hear their kid coming home late at night, etc. It is a hilarious scene, but Nina does not think so. She tell George that she feels excited, scared, and alone, because she doesn’t feel like she has her husband’s support. They continue to argue about the new baby and whether or not they can handle it.

Nina storms off and goes back to the McKenzies’ house, because they were staying their because they sold their other house. George goes for a drive through their old neighborhood and drives by their old house. He sees the new owner about to destroy it and thats when he makes a big move. He buys his house back, for a fortune, and goes to tell Nina. He asks for her forgiveness and tells her he bought the new baby a gift. He now thinks and knows that they can do it and that they are ready to have a new addition to the family.

As the months go on, Nina and Annie are pregnant together, and because Brian went out of town for business, Annie is staying at her parents’ house. George still has to go to work everyday, but Franck is there with the girls. He is there because he planned the baby shower, and constructed the baby’s new nursery. As the weeks go on, Annie and Nina are getting ready to deliver. They are both as big as beach balls and need a lot of attention. One night, George is so tired, he asks Franck for some sleeping pills, which worked a little too well. He was out cold and Annie suddenly started going into labor. Everyone was freaking out, and George was still asleep. So, Franck dragged George into the car and he drove everyone to the hospital.

At the hospital, George finally wakes up, and then something else happens. Nina was having some complications with her baby so they decide to deliver her baby the same night. By this time, George is very stressed and Brian is still not back. George and Franck switch back and forth between the two girls and they do the best they can. The doctor decides Nina needs a C-section or else the baby might die, and Annie is right about to deliver. As they are wheeling Annie to the deliver room, Brian comes out of the elevator and he makes it just in time to be with Annie. George waits outside while his daughter and grandson are being born. They finally arrive.

George first meets his daughter, Megan, named after the doctor. Then, he meets his grandson, George. It is a very touching moment and warms your heart. This is one of my favorite movies and I highly recommend it.

Father of the Bride

December 4, 2018December 4, 2018 by Margaret Tengan, posted in Movie

One of my favorite old movies of all time is Father of the Bride. As you can tell from the title, it is about a father of the bride. The father is played by Steve Martin and the bride is Kimberly Williams-Paisley. It is such an amazingly funny movie and I always laugh no matter how many times I have seen it.

In the beginning, George Banks [Steve Martin] is expecting his daughter Annie [Kimberly Williams-Paisley] from Rome where she was studying abroad. What he does not expect to happen, is when she hits him and his wife, Nina, with the news that she met an American and they decided to get married. Nina is thrilled with the new, George is not. He goes off about how she is too young, immature, they don’t even know the guy, etc. However, Nina and Annie are able to get him to calm down and get used to the fact that Annie is going to get married. Throughout the whole movie their are ups and down with Nina and George’s relationship and Annie and her husband’s [Brian] relationship.

My absolute favorite character in the whole movie is Franck. He is the wedding coordinator and becomes a very close friend. He is super funny and has such a heavy accent you can’t understand half of what he is saying. Annie and Nina love him as much as I do, but George has other thoughts. However, George just decides to let the planning go to Franck, Nina and Annie, and just steps in the background.

The wedding day finally comes and they are all ready. The church is stunning and their house, where the reception is, has been decorated and prepared for the big day. The ceremony is beautiful and Annie looks great. However, after the wedding all George wants to do is kiss his daughter. He keeps trying to find her at the reception, but she is always busy. He misses the cutting of the cake, the first dance and the bouquet tossing. He is very bummed at the end of the party after Annie leaves. But, his mood changes around when the phone rings and it’s Annie. She calls just before leaving for her honeymoon and says goodbye to her dad.

This movie is all about growing up and letting go. As Annie grows up, her dad still thinks of her as a little kid. He finally realizes she is not so little anymore and is able to let go. This is a very feel-good movie and will really touch your heart.

Elf

November 10, 2018November 10, 2018 by Margaret Tengan, posted in Movie

Since we are entering into the Christmas holiday, I feel it fitting to discuss a Christmas movie. This is one of my favorite of all time. It is hilarious, childish and heartwarming. It is a movie the whole family can enjoy together and people of all ages can enjoy.

Elf is a movie about an orphan who sneaks into Santa’s sack of toys one Christmas night, and ever since then, the North Pole has been his home. He is raised by elves, but he doesn’t fit in. He is bigger than everybody else, he doesn’t fit in the bed or shower and he can’t make toys as fast as everyone else. He begins to wonder if he really is an elf, because he still believes he is. One day, his “Papa Elf” sits him down and tells him he was adopted. He explains he is not really an elf and that his real dad doesn’t even know he was born. This is when Buddy, that was his name, decides it is time to find his dad in New York. However, before his adventure, Santa tells him that his father, Walter Hobbs, is on the naughty list.

Buddy travels to New York and is amazed at the huge city and tall skyscrapers. He finds his father in the Empire State building. However, because he is still in his whole elf outfit, his father thinks he is a Christmas telegram. When he finds out who he really is he is furious and immediately takes him to a doctor. He doctor confirms he is his son, and so he takes Buddy home. He is still not happy with this situation, but his wife tells him he needs to take care of him. It turns out Buddy also has a step-brother Michael. At first, Michael is embarrassed of Buddy because he is so different and stands out so much. However, after Buddy helps Michael win a massive snowball fight with some bullies, they become best friends.

Buddy also falls in love with a beautiful woman named Josie. They meet at the mall because that is where she worked. They go on a date and Buddy tries to convince her that Christmas is a great holiday. However, she is very pessimistic about the holiday and doesn’t have any Christmas spirit. Buddy and his father become friends and they become a close family, but then they get in an argument causing Buddy to run away on Christmas Eve.

The night Buddy ran away, Santa’s sleigh crashes in New York Central Park and it is up to Buddy to save Christmas. The sleigh is not running because there is not enough Christmas in the world anymore. But, Josie brings the town together and sings a Christmas carol and saves Christmas! Josie and Buddy end up getting married and having a baby. They visit “Papa Elf” in the North Pole also.

This is one of my favorite movies because there are so many funny scenes that make me laugh until I cry. However, they movie is not just a comedy. It is a heartwarming family film, that I plan to watch every holiday season.