Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

Movies

Is the Regal Unlimited Pass Worth it?

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Is the Regal Unlimited Pass Worth it?

Last year I bought a MoviePass. At first, that meant that I would pay around $10 a month to see unlimited movies. I could watch one movie a day, every day for the whole month. This sounded SO amazing!

I love going to the movies. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I will even go by myself, and I find doing so very relaxing. But the cost of tickets, even with a military discount, can add up. But MoviePass was going to solve that problem. And I was here for it.

I got my MoviePass in May of last year, and it worked well at first. But then, sometime in July, things fell apart. That was the beginning of the downfall of MoviePass. After that, they kept changing how the pass worked and would only let us see movies from a list. At first the list idea wasn’t too horrible, but eventually, when the movie for each day was the same all week long, I knew I was done.

I also had heard that Regal was going to add their own subscription plan. I couldn’t wait, and then, about a month ago, it finally happened! I signed up the first day I could.

I am now at the month mark and I am in love with this Regal Unlimited Pass. I saw eight movies during the first month, and I hope this is going to be around for a long time.

I do have to pay almost $20 for my pass. Depending on where you live, you might have to pay a little more. I can see any movie I want, even more than once. I also get 10% off of concessions.

I can easily buy my ticket on my app, and pay a $.50 charge or I can buy the ticket at the theater, showing them my app. I can also buy tickets for my family or friends when buying my own ticket. They make it all super easy.

If I want to see an RPX or 3D movie, I just have to pay a small fee to upgrade my ticket. If I go to Nashville, or even home to California where the theaters are more expensive, I would just have to pay a $1.50 charge for them. If I lived near those places and went often, I could upgrade my pass to pay a little more each month.

For us here in the Fort Campbell area, once I see two movies a month, I have paid for my ticket. I go a lot more often than that, and with the pass, I can go even more than I usually do.

You do have to be 16 years old to have a pass, but hoping they might come out with a family plan in the future. I don’t receive Regal Rewards points for my movie, but I do for any other tickets I buy as well as concessions.

So what did I see in August?

Here is my list:

  • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (saw this twice)
  • Ready or Not
  • Aladdin
  • The Kitchen
  • Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
  • The Art of Racing in the Rain
  • Angry Birds 2

I am looking forward to this fall and all the amazing movies coming out. I love love love having a Regal Unlimited Movie Subscription Pass and think it is 110% worth having.

Should YOU get one?

Well, how often do you go to the movies? Is cost an issue for you? Check out how much your local Regal Unlimited Pass would be and decide for yourself. It quickly pays for itself if you are a movie lover like me.

If you don’t have any Regal Theaters nearby, AMC also has a pass. The AMC pass is a little different but could be worth getting if you like going to AMC. Keep in mind too that both AMC and Regal has a small military discount of $1 off. At our local theater, it is a special, military ticket.

Now, go enjoy some movies! I know I plan to 🙂

Can You Feel The Love Tonight? My Review of Disney’s The Lion King

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Can You Feel The Love Tonight? My Review of Disney's The Lion King

I can remember spending the night at one of my best friend’s houses in the summer of 1994, right after watching the original movie. The songs, “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?” and, “Circle of Life” were now stuck in my head. I fell hard for this movie as a young teenager, and I couldn’t wait to see the new version as a 40-year-old.

The Lion King holds a special place in my heart!

When I was pregnant with my first little boy in 2004, my husband and I went to San Francisco to watch the Lion King Musical. Again, I fell in love with the songs and the story.

We just got back from watching Disney’s newest Lion King movie and I LOVED IT!!!

I started to tear up during the opening sequence and again watching Simba and Nala fall in love. Timon and Pumbaa were pretty hilarious and the storyline pretty much followed the original scene by scene.

I think my favorite part about this re-make is how stinkin cute the Simba and Nala cubs were. I just wanted to hug them. I was even a bit sad when they grew up.

I did have a hard time wrapping my mind around how they filmed this movie. The movie looks like they used CGI animals with a real background, and in some places real animals. But the truth is, they used what is called, “virtual production” which is a mix of CGI and live-action techniques. Jungle Book was done the same way.

Can You Feel The Love Tonight? My Review of Disney's The Lion King

This new Lion King is not an animated movie but also not a live-action movie. And while sometimes the animals looked a little computer created, that didn’t take away from the film as a whole. Maybe this is the movie-making technique of the future?

In this 2019 version of The Lion King, directed by Jon Favreau, you will find Donald Glover as Simba, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, Billy Eichner as Timon, John Kani as Rafiki, John Oliver as Zazu, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, and James Earl Jones coming back as Mufasa. Shahadi Wright Joseph plays a young Nala and JD McCrary a young Simba.

This was a wonderful cast and I think everyone did a decent job. Having James Earl Jones back as Mufasa connected the two movies in a way which I really appreciated.

I loved the songs! I couldn’t help but sing along to them. My favorite was, Can You Feel The Love Tonight by BeyoncĂ©, Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner. Their version of the song was beautiful.

While I love Elton John’s version too, this one will stick with me for a while. I have already added it to my playlist 🙂

As a HUGE fan of the original Lion King, this movie hit the spot. If you weren’t a huge fan of the 1994 animated version, I am not sure if you would enjoy this movie as much as I did. I guess that depends on how much you enjoy these types of films in general.

As far as the scarier scenes go, they might be a little much for some smaller children. Remember that while these are not real animals, they look like real animals and that can be difficult for some people. Knowing the full story of what happens helped with that but for small children and those that are very sensitive to that type of thing, those scenes might be harder to watch.

I didn’t feel like the movie was as different from the original as the live-action Aladdin was. But, I think that was okay. I think this was an entertaining movie where those of us that fell in love with it in the 90s can take our own kids and share a little bit of that magic with them.

Will you plan to go see this 2019 version of The Lion King?

We Went to See the New Live-Action Aladdin and We Loved it

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Aladdin Was So Much Better Than I Thought

I am here for every single Disney live-action remake. I love that they are doing this. I find them so much fun and love taking my kids.

That being said, I wasn’t super excited about this new Aladdin after I saw the preview. I was worried the movie just wouldn’t measure up for some reason. I was worried I would be disappointed.

I was in junior high when the original movie came out in 1992 and I remember loving it back then. I have seen the movie a few times since then but it has been quite a few years.

We went opening night to see this live-action Aladdin and walked out of that theater super impressed. Sure, the movie was a bit cheesy, and Aladdin is a musical, so if you don’t like musicals, you won’t like this movie, no matter what else I have to say about it.

The Plot

The plot is pretty much the same as the cartoon, with some changes. One of the biggest is the reason why Jasmine needs to find a husband. In this one, her father, the Sultan wants to marry her off for alliance reasons. However, she wants to be the next Sultan, even though she is a woman and not allowed to do so.

They also make some clothing changes and have added characters, such as Dalia, who is Jasmine’s handmade.

The Cast

Overall, this was a pretty amazing cast. Since the movie takes place in an Arabian setting, although fictional, most of the main cast is from Arab, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, and Southern Asian descent.

Aladdin is played by Mena Massoud, whom you might have seen in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. I enjoyed him as Aladdin, and I felt like he brought personality to the role. He very much became Aladdin for me.

Jasmine is played by Naomi Scott, who was the pink power ranger in the new Power Ranger movie. She was truly amazing in the role, showing us a very strong Jasmine who knew what she wanted, even if it seemed impossible that she could have it. She sings a new song, “Speechless” which is pretty amazing and I think the lyrics were pretty perfect.

The genie is played by Will Smith. He was pretty funny in his own way and he really worked as the genie for me. I wasn’t a huge fan with the way he looked like when he was in his genie form, something was a little off about it, but not enough to ruin the movie. I think the late Robin Williams would have been happy with the way he played this role.

Dalia was played by Nasim Pedrad, who you have seen on Saturday Night Live. She brings some of her humor to the role and allowing Jasmine to have a friend was smart. And I loved her storyline!

Jafar, played by Marwan Kenzari was okay in the role. Some have said he doesn’t seem scary enough but I thought he was, although a lot of his power came from his staff, not from him himself.

Navid Negahban as the Sultan was also a good choice. He played Jasmine’s father as supportive but also someone who felt a bit stuck in his choices because of tradition, and of course, influenced by Jafar.

My Final Thoughts On The Movie

The setting did look like a set in some ways, but it works and I couldn’t help but start singing along to the lyrics during the songs. I loved too that they kept the same animal companions and there were many laugh-out-loud moments.

If you have small children, they will probably do okay in the movie but there are just a couple of darker scenes having to do with Jafar.

One of the things I love about these Disney re-makes is remembering the original movies, and watching the stories in a different light, and this movie checked that box. I loved how much more modern Jasmine was, how she went after what she wanted, and what she brought to the film. I don’t want to spoil anything for you, so I will stop there but I think if you are a Disney fan, you will like this one.

Have you seen the new live-action Aladdin yet? What did you think?