Julie and Julia

I watched Julie and Julia for the first time yesterday and loved it. The film left me with a warm goodness and a strong craving for fabulous foods. Being an amatuer cook myself I found the challenge of Julie's task so daunting and so brave. I loved the journey she went on, the learning to love her life to find time for something fun. The finding of herself. Amy Adams did a brilliant job. At some point in the film I turned to my sister and said "she looks normal". Amy has such an etherial glow about her often distracting from the rest of the cast and sometimes her character. Meryl Streep. Increadible. What I loved most about the film was the relationship between the couples, Eric & Julie, Julia & Frank. I loved the fact that when there were two very strong female characters they didn't forget about the guys. And what great guys too, they were just as strong as the women, not whipped puppy dogs. Stanley Tucci was wonderful, well he usually is. And Chris Messina, what a great fresh face, to me anyways I'm sure he has quite the following already.


All in all a good film, especially for fellow foodies.
-- Posted From My iPhone so please excuse the typos!

NCIS Los Angeles -Pilot

Not being a fan of the NCIS series but being a fan of both LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnel I decided to give this show a go. The plot was intriguing, enough twists to keep you guessing,  good pace, and they did not give away the answers until the end. However spoken script was weak, the set was cheap and the props seemed out of place. The techno-nerd kept his bluetooth in the entire time yet he never used it once. It appeared that the prop department wanted him to look more nerdy so they said "here don't all you nerds wear these all the time". The video link screen looks like something I could have pulled up on Skype and I have a sneaky suspicion the government doesn't use Skype. If the network wants it to last they are going to need to put in more effort to make it look legit. 

Born Yesterday

"Born Yesterday" Starring Judy Holiday and William Holden 1950

Fantastic funny film! I was really surprised how much I enjoyed this movie. I had heard nothing of it other than the fact it won an Oscar for Best Actress years ago so I thought what the hey I'd give it a go. I laughed and cheered and fell in love with the characters. The passion for learning that was produced in the was contagious and I wanted to run out and read up whatever I could. Set in Washington DC in the 50's they took you on a journey of an American History lesson that is not always taught in film. Instead of focusing on the like of Washington and Lincoln their main man was Thomas Jefferson. The Bill of Rights was played a major role in enlightening of Billie (Holiday) and so was current politics. The most fascinating part of this film is how the political issues are still so relevant in today's scene. It is amazing how many things change and how many things stay the same as the years go by.

17 Again

Cute film. Funny quick lines. Good characters. I mean really good people were portrayed in this film. Mike O'Donnel (Perry/Effron) was a good guy. He made the right choice when he was a kid, worked hard, raised a couple of kids, had a dead-end job but it paid the bills so he kept at it. He never cheated on his wife, he had a strong moral compass. His wife was a good Mom she cared about her kids and raised good kids yeah sure they were still kids they made their share of stupid decisions but when it came to tough choices they had their heads screwed on right. The health class scene was different than the normally portrayed awkward sexual undertones but put forth a postitive spin on abstinance that is often laughed at in films so it is nice to see the other opion portrayed. I think highschoolers and parents of said will thoroughly enjoy the movie. And in a final thought I think what I liked most about this script was the fact that the kids were portraying what you would hope a 17 year old would be. You have the likes of "Gossip Girl" and "One Tree Hill" portraying these 17 and 18 year olds more or less as college upperclassmen so it was refreshing to see a film that was more set in reality.

-- Posted From My iPhone so please excuse the typos!

It Happened One Night

This is one of my favorite classic films. Starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable this comedy will have you laughing along their journey. Witty humor that stands the test of time. Some "oldies" you have to pay closer attention to in order to grasp the spoken humor but even though this film was written in the 30's the language is so similar to present day that all the jokes are right there in your face. Claudette of course is fabulous and who to be better opposite than Gable?? There banter on screen was fast their chemistry tight. The assistant roles are funny sometimes outrageous but always stellar. A good classic chic-flic comedy perfect for a stay at home date night.

Paul Blart Mall Cop

OK so it is funny. But I didn't laugh out loud save once through the film's entirety. I am a Kevin James fan but I felt like this was not his best work. I suppose I had high hopes for the film seeing as it had been at the top of the charts for so long when it was first released. At the end of the film I looked over at my sister and said, "Huh, don't know why so many people saw it in theaters." Paul's daughter was annoying, I am terribly sorry, but they could have found a kid who could act a wee bit better to make the scenes more believable. The random references to drunkenness leading to random tattooing experiments and well, the entire drunk scene was more odd and often disturbing than anything. Wrapping up, funny enough if it happened to be on TV I might watch a scene but I don't think I would sit down and watch the whole film again.

Bollywood Queen

While standing in the checkout line at Blockbuster in their bargain movie bin for 3.99 I saw a familiar face, James McAvoy, in a Bollywood flick. Well I had to pick it up. And James, as usual, was his marvelous self. All gushing aside, it was a sad homage to Bollywood. Supposedly a Bollywood version of West Side Story, which in all honesty what Bollywood movie isn't and so since they were attempting to mirror such a great tale I was hoping to see the Jets and the Sharks face off in London, none such luck. If I hadn't read the back I never would have made the connection to Romeo and Juliet. Apparently James cannot sing, or if he was singing they made it sound like a cheap voice over. The girl billed as being from Bend It Like Beckham was not Parminder Nagra, she was in Bend it Like Beckham, she was a cousin with possibly 2 lines. It should have been made into a kids movie, a modern day fairy tale like film but instead they attempted with weak character development to add more adult issues, having a drunk father obsessed with James Dean, or a bother dealing on the black market of knockoff suits. I won't tell you not to see this film, I watched it with a silly grin on my face. But if you are looking for some great cinematic experience, you won't find it here.
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