Screens & Scenes: April-May 2015

I decided earlier this month that I wanted to tweak this feature, just so it's a little more in line with what I'm envisioning for the blog. I'll be posting once a month, instead of every two weeks, and I'll be sharing my top three picks right off the bat. Also, I'll be separating everything into three sections - movies, Broadway & ballet, and TV shows, where I'll write brief thoughts on each item. I hope you enjoy the new Screens and Scenes!

FAVORITES

Avengers: Age of Ultron / La Sylphide / Finding Neverland

MOVIES

Puss in Boots (trailer) - I enjoyed the Shrek movies back in the day, and Donkey and Puss in Boots were always my favorite secondary characters. I was curious about this film, and loved how it explored Puss' origin story. It had very fun moments, but overall, it was regrettably forgettable.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (trailer) - I'm a sucker for the Marvel films, and I adored Avengers: Age of Ultron. I'm not much of a comics reader, so I only know the barest basics of these characters and their stories (plus whatever I gleaned from other Marvel films). I really liked how it was done, and it left me eager to see what the next movie will bring!

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (trailer) - I'd consider this film a classic, and I love how the story holds up for me, even all these years later. For its time, this film has some pretty savvy special effects. It's kind of cool to see how they managed to convey all the space-y things with what technology they had at the time! Plus, it's so much funnier than I remember it being when I was a kid!

X-Men: Days of Future Past (trailer) - I don't know why I hadn't watched this one before now, but I'm happy I finally have! I love the way it brought together a lot of my favorite mutants, the way it played on the "past" and how changing it warped the entire future of the X-Men. It's one of the best movies of the X-Men franchise, though still not my favorite one.

Pitch Perfect 2 (trailer) - I laughed a lot. I cried a lot. And most of all, I just fell in love with these characters all over again (and fell for Hailee Steinfield too). It's got so many fun moments, and throwbacks to the first film! While it hasn't eclipsed my love for its charming predecessor, it was certainly worth seeing in theaters. (I'm obsessed with the finale from the Bellas, by the way.)

BROADWAY & BALLET

Finding Neverland (video) - I love when Broadway shows are related to books in some way, and this one was no exception. Even though I'm not a big Peter Pan fan, it was fascinating to see this creative take on J.M. Barrie's life. Matthew Morrison was amazing, as was Laura Kelly. I really found the story to be the right mix of sweet and emotional and funny, and I totally cried during the Finding Neverland (Reprise) (and you'll know it when you watch it). 

La Sylphide (video) - I finally got to see a ballet in New York! La Sylphide is the tragic love story of a man in love with a sylph, who is determined to capture her. I won't say more for fear of spoiling this story, but the execution is spot on. There's a lot of charm and humor, a lot of romance and whimsy - and Tiler Perry, who danced as the Sylph during the show we watched, was phenomenal.

TV SHOWS

The Legend of Korra (Book One: Air) (trailer) - I finally got my act together and watched the entire first season of this follow-up to Avatar: The Last Airbender (which I'll talk about in some future post, once my feels are coherent and manageable... which may never happen). Korra is completely different, in terms of setting, story and even Korra herself. It took me a while to really get invested in Korra, her friends and her story - but the first season turned out to be so impressive by the time it finds its stride. Plus, I loved the nods to A:TLA that were sprinkled all throughout the show! Looking forward to checking out the next three seasons!