An action-packed comedic movie, directed by Peter Segal and produced by Leonard B. Stern. This is the kind of movie (and these are rare) that both my parents and I all enjoyed. I was cracking up the entire time. It was light-hearted, but had a few sweet moments to give it some umph. The humor had undertones of a slap-stick with some physical comedy, and there were some clever lines, as well. Well-rounded on that front. Also, the lead is Anne Hathaway who is amazing, gorgeous, talented, and all around adorable, playing a badass character- the movie was worth it just for that alone. Synopsis (no spoilers) There was a spy government agency, until the bad guys blew up the building (and all their covers). The only two agents who’s covers haven’t been blown, who can do the mission, are Agent 99 and 86. Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) is experienced and one of the best in the field. She was safe because she recently had dramatic plastic surgery, so the bad guys didn’t know who she was. The second person was brand-spanking new to the job, Agent 86. Max (Steve Carell) had always dreamed of becoming an agent, and on his eighth try, he passed the field test to become one. Unfortunately for him, the boss wanted to keep him behind the desk, in analytics, because he was so good. But, in the aftermath of the explosion, in the moment of crisis, he was promoted. And, so, the two agents set off. As you can imagine, things went less than smoothly… It’s rated Rated PG-13 for “some rude humor, action violence and language” (IMDb). It was still a great family movie for us, though.
If you like movies like this, I highly recommend: Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson, 2003) and The Spy Next Door (Jackie Chang, 2010).
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Where do I start? Ibi Zoboi might be the most amazing writer of all time. I’m not exaggerating- okay, maybe I am, but she’s really, really good. After the first chapter or two, I realized the book was heavy with exposition. But, hear me when I say that I hadn’t been noticing it. Ibi wove the details of the character’s family, world, and mind in flawlessly, it flowed like water into the action of the book. The writing, overall, gave my this feeling: imagine you are carrying a heavy-but-not-terribly-heavy cardboard box around. It’s big, but fits perfectly in your hands, and against your body. Dust slips off, but you keep walking forward. It is a constant reminder as to what you are doing, what you are tasked with- bringing this box to its destination. The writing was strong and held its own, I couldn’t stop reading it. Zuri’s (1st POV) was incredible. She is a 17-year-old badass, black Haitian-Dominicana with four sisters and two parents and a landlord that everyone called Madrina (“godmother” in Spanish). She has opinions and biases and mistakes and dreams. The writing made her feel real, like she was talking to me. She was strong and her voice matched it and- I want to meet Zuri! She grew up in Bushwick, a neighborhood in Brooklyn or, as she calls it, just the hood. She loves the tight-knit community and the music and the people and the bookstand on the corner. The story begins with a family moving in across the street. The thing is, the house they are moving into didn’t used to be there. It used to be a beautiful, collapsing, rotting, old house, but now it’s a brand-spanking-new mini mansion that does not fit in it at all. Neither does the rich family that comes along with it. Will Zuri clash with the new boys next-door? Oh, you bet she will- she never backs down from a fight. But, what happens when it turns out to be something else? I don’t want to sound like a broken record, okay? but, I cried. I finished it in the car, just as I got to the house, and I for sure screamed. I definitely worried my father. The book just left me with so much emotion and so much to mull over that I didn’t know where to put it. I didn’t know how much I was going to be able to relate to Zuri, it ended up being a lot. Now, I worry I don’t have much credibility left, as a reviewer- mostly given to the fact that I get really excited about pretty much every book I read- but you have to read this one. Trust me, you won’t be able to put it down. If you're anything like me, you will laugh, cry, want to scream (and then maybe scream), but just don't forget to breathe. Ibi is telling an important story here. She’s telling the story of a character that doesn’t often have a voice. A story that is too often forgotten. |
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