Saturday Review: Avatar and Green Zone

To prove that I don’t only watch dumb romantic comedies (like those in last week’s Saturday Review), today’s post is about two serious movies.

Or, should I say, movies with Very Serious Messages.

A quick summary: I found both movies to be interesting, thought-provoking and frustrating. And one of them was way too long.

Avatar: Seriously, could this movie BE any longer? More than two and a half hours seems to be overkill, if you ask me. But I’ll move past that, I suppose. After all, the beauty of waiting seven months to see a major blockbuster that everyone else has already seen is that you get to pause it whenever you need a bathroom break. Or a snack.

Ahem.

The effects were pretty cool, and the animated part wasn’t as weird or childish as I was afraid it would be. Smitty said seeing it in 3D wasn’t as good as she expected, but I still wish I could have tried it.

The characters were good – likeable enough that I cared about them for the good part of three hours. (I'm just saying!) It was interesting to see who “played” Neytiri, the female lead, since we only saw her avatar. Also interesting was the way the male lead somehow got cuter toward the end of the movie. Maybe it was the constant contrast between his weird blue avatar form and his normal, scruffier by the minute human form?

But the most important part of Avatar is, of course, its Very Serious Message. I read several articles back when the movie was released comparing the storyline to Pocahontas, which as an expert these days on all things Disney Princess-related, I can see. What it really reminded me of, though, was Fern Gully.

Remember that movie? Back when I thought Christian Slater was cute and Robin Williams hadn’t gotten weird yet, I loved that movie.

Watching Avatar – and remembering Fern Gully – reminded me how much I love this Earth that God has created. And even made me think I should try being a little more “green.”

So, score one for the Very Serious Message, I suppose.

Green Zone: I didn’t finish this movie nearly as inspired. As a matter of fact, I finished it frustrated and confused. And embarrassed by my lack of knowledge regarding the war in Iraq.

I know Mark was annoyed with me, because I kept making him pause the movie. Not for snacks this time, but to ask questions.

“Is that really what happened?”
“Is that true?”
“Does high-value targets mean what I think it does?”
“What if that is what happened? Why would they do that?”
“Do you think that Iraqi is right?”

I’m the first to admit that I’m ignorant when it comes to politics. I shouldn’t be. It’s a shame that I am. It’s hard to figure out what’s true and important and real when it comes to these topics, though. And I tell you what: watching movies like this don’t make it any easier.

A review in Salon.com says it perfectly: "Green Zone [is] a fictional movie teased from the tangle of facts, almost-facts and squelched facts surrounding the search for weapons of mass destruction in the early days of the Iraq war… This is a movie that recognizes there's no straight line to the truth, which is part of what makes it vaguely unsatisfying – though it's also what keeps it honest.”

This time, the Very Serious Message almost completely overshadowed the movie itself for me. It didn’t have cool special effects, unless you count the shaky cam and gritty film. And Matt Damon was his usual Jason Bourne self, but none of the characters – Damon included – were so compelling or lovable that I really cared about what happened to them.

I was too busy trying to figure out which part of the movie was based on truth and which part was completely made up. Even now, after reading several reviews and commentaries, I’m not sure.

Which I guess was the point.

I’m really enjoying this movie binge that we’ve been on lately. But I have got to find something to watch that is both entertaining and good! (As opposed to entertaining and lousy, or difficult and good. In case you weren’t paying attention.)

Have you seen these movies? Did you find their Very Serious Messages to be too heavy-handed or just right?

Affiliate links were used in this post.

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Saturday Review: Bounty Hunters & Killers

We’ve seen quite a few movies so far this summer. That’s not normal. I hadn’t stepped into a theater for about six months before we saw Date Night. But I’ve just been on a movie kick lately, and summer schedules make it a little bit easier to actually see them.

Note that I didn’t say I’ve seen quite a few good movies lately. Because while I have enjoyed myself immensely, I don’t expect to see these films winning any awards. They were both highly entertaining, but neither one was actually good.

Bounty Hunter: As I’ve mentioned before, Gerard Butler is Smitty’s movie star boyfriend. So for her birthday I took her to see him in this movie. We laughed a lot, and afterward debated the pros and cons of things such as Gerry’s accent, abs and hair. The premise of the movie is that Milo is a bounty hunter and he has to pick up his ex-wife, Nicole, and take her to the police station. Of course they’re chased by various bad guys throughout the movie. And course they’re still in love.

I’m a big fan of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books, and I found it interesting to compare those to this movie, since both are about a bounty hunter from New Jersey. When I realized the movie was in Jersey, I had to wonder: is that the only place that has bounty hunters?

And, my apologies to Smitty and all of Butler’s fans, I’m just not sure he’s aging well. Maybe it’s because the last two movies I’ve seen him in, he played a rude, schlubby guy. (Yes, that’s my technical term.) But I’m not sure about him.

As for Jennifer Aniston, I don’t know. I loved Friends, of course. And I don’t hate her. But while I think she’s okay, it seems like most of her movies kind of stink. Salon.com said something that makes sense: “[Aniston] doesn't just sleepwalk her way through these half-baked roles, she actually works at them, and her gumption, at least, is admirable.”

Anyway, about the movie. Was it great? No. Was it a little bit hard to like either one of them at times (ala The Breakup, another Jennifer Aniston movie)? Yes. But did we have fun watching it? Sure.

Killers: I saw this movie compared to Mr. & Mrs. Smith in several reviews. I can see the similarity. The husband character is a spy! His wife doesn’t know! Bad guys show up, and action and hilarity ensue!

Unfortunately, as most the critics noted, the leads of this movie have way less chemistry. In other words, don’t look for Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl to be running off and adopting a bunch of kids anytime soon. (At least, together. They may, in fact, adopt kids with their respective significant others. I really can’t speak to that.)

But again, I really enjoyed this movie. Mark and I went to see it when Annalyn spent the night with my parents. I don’t know if it was the novelty of going to a movie or going somewhere in the middle of the week, period, but we had a great time.

One review said it perfectly: "Somehow Kutcher and Heigl and Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara (as her parents) are all fun to watch a fair amount of the time, without the movie they're in being any good at all."

Tom Selleck and his mustache are hilarious, and Catherine O’Hara is a riot, too. I’m pretty sure I’m not a fan of Katherine Heigl (Crazy Izzy on Grey’s pretty much ruined her for me.), but I can’t argue with Ashton Kutcher. Nope, I can’t.

Saturday Review side note: Critics panned both these movies, according to the handy summaries at Metacritic.com. [Bounty Hunter | Killers] I love that I can see in a glance what the general consensus is. But what I don’t love is the way Variety has recently decided to only offer a handful of articles for free each month. I find their reviews to be intelligent, fair and often accurate – and now I may or may not be able to read them. Boo. [I feel like I read somewhere that they were bought out by someone recently, but Google and Swagbucks failed me in my search for evidence. So...who knows.]

Have you seen these movies – or any other ones – this summer? Do you think Knight & Day will complete the season’s trifecta of entertaining but actually lousy romcoms?

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Saturday Review: Date Night

Short version:
Great movie. Really funny. Highly recommend.

Long version:
From the second I saw that Steve Carell and Tina Fey were starring in a movie together, I’ve been determined to see Date Night. The premise looked funny – boring married couple stumbles into crazy adventure – but it probably wouldn’t have mattered.

Teaming up the lead characters from The Office and 30 Rock was a comedy dream come true.

Of course, I can identify with a boring married couple struggling to maintain a regular date night. I had a hankering to see a movie for a few months before we managed to get this outing on the calendar.

But I never expected to identify with the unexpected adventure part of the movie.

So excited for our upcoming date (and a bit of a control freak planner, if you haven’t heard), I looked online for movie times early in the week. I had free movie passes for the new theater/restaurant combo, but just in case we decided to do something different, I wrote down the showing times for three different theaters.

After hearing a friend’s review of the theater/restaurant and realizing that this date would serve as our anniversary celebration, we decided to eat dinner at Bravo and then go to the movie (instead of eating at the theater while eating).

Side note: I’ve been to Bravo maybe three other times, and I think I’ve gotten the chicken marsala every time. And loved it. But this time, I didn’t love it nearly as much – I only ate about half of it! Next time, I will definitely be ordering myself some pasta.

We enjoyed our dinner, eating and chatting and generally taking our time. Afterwards, we (okay, I) did a little shopping, because the movie didn’t start for another hour. Then, we headed to the theater.

When we got there, though, we found out that the theater wasn’t showing our movie! According to the cashier at the ticket counter, they’d never shown the movie. You’re telling me The Internet was WRONG? WHAT?

Okay. New plan.

The movie we’d planned to see started at 7:35, while the movie at the new theater (right across from Bravo, incidentally) started at 7:10. It was now 7:02. And even though they’re just a mile apart, the traffic between the two theaters is always ridiculous – and even more so on Saturday night.

But Mark thought we could make it. So we ran (fast walked) back to the car and hit the road. Mark dropped me off at the door, and when I ran (fast walked) into the theater, their clock read 7:12.

“Are you still seating for Date Night?” I asked.

No. They were not. Because the movie was sold out. And the next showing wasn’t until 9:25. “Ugh, that’s SO LATE!” I whined to the cashier, sounding like half of a boring married couple on their date night.

Okay. New plan.

Theater #3 had a 9:10 showing, and somehow that seemed infinitely better than the 9:25. We got back in the car and headed downtown. This time I was driving, so I dropped Mark off at the door while I headed to the parking garage.

And then my cell phone rang. It was Mark. The movie was sold out. Already. And had been for hours.

Seriously? What the heck? It’s not like we were trying to see Harry Potter 14 or something! But apparently I was not the only person whose Facebook friends had been raving about Date Night.

Okay. New plan. Again.

We drove BACK to the theater/restaurant, bought tickets for the oh-so-late 9:25 movie. Then we spent the next hour walking around Marshall’s like a regular boring married couple.

Finally we got to see the movie. And while we didn’t like the new theater/restaurant and their logistics/seating/etc. (and did I mention that I left our free passes at home, because we’d decided to go to the other theater?), we loved the movie. It might have been past our bedtime, but we laughed through the whole thing!

Only a few times did it seem like we were watching Michael Scott and Liz Lemon. And only one scene – in a strip club of sorts – was annoyingly inappropriate for this boring married couple’s viewing. But married or not, if you’ve ever been bored with your life and longed for some excitement, you’ll identify with these funny characters.

Overall, Date Night (and our date night) was so funny and so worth our driving all around town to get tickets!

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Saturday Review: Make sure you do the dollar rental.

We’re going to see a movie tonight. It’s a date night. And we’re going to see Date Night.

Iron Man 2 looks more exciting, but it doesn’t have the same sort of ring that “date night to Date Night” does.

I’ve read some reviews of Date Night, and they’re not all great. Some were pretty good, though. And more importantly, my friends on Facebook (and friends of friends who commented after me) have loved it. So, Date Night squared it is.

All this movie thought reminded me that I haven’t reviewed any movies for quite a while. Unfortunately for us both, I remembered why when I looked at my list of recently watched movies.

Mainly – I haven’t seen any great movies lately. But, I do make it a goal (why, I don’t know, so don’t even ask me) to tell you my take on just about every movie I watch. So, here goes:

Post Grad: I loved Gilmore Girls, and this movie stars Alexis Bledel. On top of that, the preview made the movie look like it was about a girl trying to figure out her career path. And you know that’s something I’ve struggled with. The difference? I’ve been struggling for a decade and still don’t have an answer. The character in this movie struggles for a summer and – don’t worry, I’m not really spoiling anything here – finds an answer. So, instead of being helpful or inspiring, this one ended up being a little depressing for me. Almost as discouraging as reading another story about another “not yet 30” person finding wild success.

On a positive note, Rory is still as cute as ever. And her family was a larger focus of the movie than I expected, which I really liked. In fact, I think the family situations and relationships were my favorite part.

Did You Hear About the Morgans? I knew it. I knew this would be stupid. But I just can’t resist a romantic comedy. I should have, though. I don’t like Sarah Jessica Parker. I just don’t. I don’t think I ever need to see her in another film again. And Hugh Grant? Well, I like him and all. But really – and I know this is terrible, and I’m no spring chicken myself – I think he’s a little bit old to be playing the same old romantic lead character he has for years. YEARS.

Leap Year: Speaking of year . . . Do you see how that happened? I didn’t even plan it. It just . . . happened.

Anyway, this was cute. Silly, yes. Predictable, of course. But hello! It has Irish accents and Irish landscapes and even an Irish castle. You pretty much can’t go wrong with that. I do wish I’d watched it with the subtitles on, because the accents are pretty thick and I was pretty tired. But even though the whole thing was clichéd and silly, I liked it well enough.

(Ugh! Don’t be put off by my faint praise! If you like chick flicks, it really is fine. And, really, for a dollar?)

The Informant! I saved the best for last, but WOW, this was not what I expected.

I expected laugh-out-loud funny. I expected exciting caper. I expected to enjoy it much more than Mark and Smitty, who both had the nerve to (separately) watch the movie without me and then went on to say things like, “It wasn’t what I expected.”

But when Mark was sweet enough to secretly rent this for me after my second weekend of verge-of-death (also known as “sinus infection,” but really, that does not sound serious enough to describe my illness), I found myself saying the same thing: “It sure wasn’t what I expected.”

Was it funny? Yes, really funny. But in a smart, make-you-think sort of way. And definitely not in a laugh-out-loud sort of way.

It’s long, it’s interesting and it has more surprises than I can even tell you here. So, all in all, I’d highly recommend renting this one. Just don’t be expecting . . . well, anything.

Have you rented any good – or not good, if it so happens – movies lately?

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Saturday Review: A bunch of movies

I heart Juno. Even in her other movies.

Does it seem like I watch a lot of movies? My friend Mandy would say so. But then again – and I can say this, because she doesn’t read my blog and that’s what you get – I’d say she never watches movies.

So there.

Anyway, this is quite a long list of movies to review, but it’s everything I’ve watched in the last three months. So really, it’s not that many.

[Wow, who’s feeling defensive today? Weird.] – Feel free to say that in a Jim Gaffigan whisper.

Can I just tell you that I really want to segue into the reviews by saying, “Without further ado.” But I find myself wanting to say that a lot, and I’m pretty sure I’ve broken down and written it before. So I’m going to restrain myself.

[Insert smooth, not cheesy transition here.]

Sherlock Holmes: Mark, Smitty and I planned to see this movie for months. If we hadn’t had silly family obligations on Christmas Day, we might have gone to see it on opening day. But of course we didn’t. We have priorities, you know.

The movie was really good. It wasn’t as exciting as I expected, but the dry humor was right up my alley and the action scenes were interesting. I didn’t care for a particular scene that involved dead pigs, but I survived. The story itself was okay, but it was mostly the characters and dialogue that I enjoyed. Without giving anything away, I’ll tell you that the way the movie ended left it wide open for a sequel, and I’m sure we’ll want to see that when it comes out.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: I love Redbox. I really do. But sometimes they don’t have any good movies to rent. On a night when this happened, we rented – out of desperation – something we’d never heard of. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is a remake of a 1956 movie, and it’s about journalism and politics and murder and romance. From the description, it sounded like my kind of movie.

It wasn’t terrible. But it wasn’t great, either. And it certainly didn’t have an unrealistically happy ending, which, as you know, is what I prefer.

Another review I read of this movie mentioned that it’s film noir, and I decided to do a little research. I wasn’t sure exactly what determines that a movie falls into that category. Is it the thunderstorm? The pencil skirts? The low lights or the gravelly voice asking, “What’s your problem, sweetheart?”

It turns out there’s not much of a definition. At least according to Wikipedia, film noir is a difficult genre to define. So much for my independent film study project.

Invention of Lying: I promise I’m going to get back to movies I liked here in a minute. But not yet. The Invention of Lying was terrible. The acting wasn’t necessarily terrible, but the premise is just awful.

Basically, a man lives in a world that has never discovered lying. He does and then ends up telling the world a bunch of “lies.” What they didn’t show you in the funny commercials for this movie is that the lies he tells are what we would call religious truths. You know, like God made us. Like God’s in control. Like there’s a heaven and hell.

The movie made me mad, and I considered delving into a deep discussion on the whole thing. But then I remembered that I’m not a communication student with papers to write anymore. And so I didn’t. But if you saw this movie, I’d love to hear what you thought about it.

Whip It: Loved it! Yay! I loved this movie! I thought the interactions between characters were written and portrayed authentically, and I thought the story was realistic but still inspiring. I can’t wait to watch it again.

Rudy: Mark loves this movie, and it’s been on my list of “I Can’t Believe You Haven’t Seen That Movie; Where Have You Been, You Weirdo?” movies. Lucky for me, it was on cable a few weeks ago and we ran across it in the middle of watching taped episodes of Psych and Burn Notice. So I watched most of it. And now I’ve seen it. And yes, it’s inspiring. Okay?

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard: I had no desire to see this movie. So Mark rented it one night when I went to scrapbook with some friends. I didn’t end up staying very long at all, and he had just started it when I got home. I watched most of it with him, and I have to say, it was darned funny. Vulgar? Yes. So if that’s not cool with you, don’t rent this one. But if you can stand bad language and need a good (no pun intended, I promise) laugh, you might try it out.

When in Rome: It was a toss-up between this movie and Valentine’s Day when we went out with our good friends, Zac and Mandy. We picked this one, and I’m glad. It was not a good movie in a lot of ways. The acting wasn’t awesome, the premise was silly, and the way it all wrapped up was nothing short of ridiculous.

But did we laugh? Oh my goodness, yes. We laughed throughout the whole movie and all enjoyed ourselves. This may be because we were almost giddy about being out, sans kids, for a whole evening. But it was also just a fun (stupid) movie.

Couples Retreat: Last, but not least (see my review of the Lying movie), we rented this last weekend on our family date. (And by family, I mean that Annalyn went to the car show and dinner with us. But she was in bed when we watched this movie. So don’t even start telling me about what she shouldn’t watch. Believe me. That girl isn’t interested in anything that doesn’t involve princesses or Elmo anyway!)

This movie was long and not that funny, and I’m bummed that it wasn’t any better. Also, I kind of wish I had watched a great movie since then, so I wouldn’t be ending on such a Debbie Downer note.

Hmmm. Maybe I should talk about the upcoming movies I want to see? Um, no. Just looked at my word count. I think I’ll stop here, downer or not.

Tell me: what’s the best and/or worst movie you’ve seen recently?

[Disclosure: Some of the links are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you buy the movie, I get a teeny tiny percentage. (Believe me, when I find something that gives me a huge percentage, I'll tell you!) Interesting fact, while we're down here talking about these links: Whip It is on sale for less than $10. Just so you know.]

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A Valentine's Day Date Night

One of my goals for the year is to have a monthly date with Mark. January’s almost over, and we’re not off to a good start. But next month is February, and we’d really be in trouble if we couldn’t even figure out a way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

[Yes, cynics, I know it’s a fabricated holiday that only benefits card makers and chocolate bakers. But I’m a girl, and I like it. Got it?]

It should come as no surprise that Hollywood is offering up several options for a movie date night. (Including one called “Date Night,” strangely enough.) But after being so disappointed at the lack of movie options for my birthday, I’m still excited to have so many to choose from! Here are my (yes, predictable) favorites so far:

• Date Night
• Dear John
• Leap Year
• Valentine’s Day
• When in Rome

What about you? Do you have plans to see a movie anytime soon? Do any of these look good to you?

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More of the important stuff

One thing this blog is good for is keeping me from doing the dishes after dinner keeping track of what I’ve done over time. Thanks to the excellent record-keeping I’ve done here, I can tell you that last year, I watched 40 movies (including seven holiday movies ranging from saccharine to Splenda).

I’ve thought about it, and I decided that I don’t feel bad about it. I haven’t counted, but I’m sure I read more books than that. And after all, I’m pretty sure somebody out there is relying on my movie reviews. (No? What? Oh, sorry, I can’t hear you, lalala!)

Now that we’re well into 2010 and have settled somewhat comfortably into the year, no longer limping from our brand-new-gotta-do-it-this-time workouts and coming to a tentative agreement that we’ll call it twenty-ten, I’m going to do a little recap of my 2009 viewing accomplishments.

Not the regular movies, because we’ve already gone over that. And not the holiday movies, because I’m serious: I’m talking Lifetime and Hallmark movies here. No need to rehash that. Nope. Today I’m going to tell you about the old movies and TV shows I finally got around to watching.

The ones that everyone else and their little brother who was too young to watch them have seen.

First, the movies:

Matrix: I watched this one over Labor Day with college friends. And I have to say, I still have not gotten over the fact that I hadn’t watched it before. I really liked it! It was weird and complicated, but thankfully, our friends have seen it a million few times, so they knew how to answer all my questions.

Flashdance: One night when nothing else was on TV, this was. I’m glad I finally saw it, but I can’t say I loved it. I liked it – and the soundtrack, of course – a lot, but Dirty Dancing, Step Up and Save the Last Dance are in no danger of being knocked off the top of my dancing movies list. (Don’t you have a list like that?)

Say Anything: I read an article about 2009 being the 20th anniversary of Say Anything, and I thought about how ridiculous it is that I haven’t watched it. And after I rented it, I have to say: I still think that. How did I miss this movie? It kind of reminded me of my own high school romance, if you can call it that. And I had a brilliant post written about how Mark was just as sweet as Lloyd Dobler, all ready to share with you. Except – it was only written in my head, and it just never made it to paper/screen.

And now, the TV:

Freaks & Geeks: I know I already talked about this one, and I wish I wasn’t too lazy to link to those posts. But regardless of my linking lethargy, I loved this show. Big, huge, redundant thanks to Triple and Chelley for giving me the entire season on DVD. I anticipate another full viewing this summer.

Veronica Mars, season one: Next to my beloved Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars is one of my all-time shows. But I actually didn’t start watching until the second season. Watching season one (in one fell swoop over a weekend. Yes, I was quite productive, thank you.) just made me love the prematurely canceled show more. I never really understand where Logan was coming from, what happened to Lily or why we cared about Duncan. And now? Now, I get it.

Arrested Development: I’ve made a big mistake. I’m kidding! The only mistake I made was not watching this show sooner. After watching all three seasons (thanks to Hulu and my local library), I can see why fans are still lamenting this show’s treatment by Fox. Dry, dark and sarcastic – this smart show was hilarious!

Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, season one: I read a lot about TV. [Insert mock gasp of surprise here.] And all my favorite critics name Buffy as one of the best shows of the 90s, the century, the whole forever of television history. So over the holidays, when nothing was on except Rudolph and Nick Lachey, I thought I’d see if it was available on Hulu. And it was – for only three more days. I’m sure you know what I did next. Yep, I watched the whole first season (minus a couple episodes in the middle – a girl has to sleep, you know!) in three days. I liked it. But I don’t need to watch the other six seasons. I mean, six seasons! That’s a big commitment for vampires. And, like the last three Twilight books, I just don’t care that much.

Better Off Ted: Ohhh, this is a good one. And a sad one. Because it’s actually still on, at least for a couple more weeks. But from what I hear, ABC is burning off the remaining episodes of season two, and then the show will be kaput. It’s too bad. A dry, dark comedy about the absurdities of the workplace is just my sort of thing. (Obviously, I have a thing for dry and dark. Hm.) I’ve been watching on Hulu, but you might see it pop up over the next few weeks on ABC.

And now to move on: if you’ve been wondering about my spring TV watching schedule, well, you might be weird. But I’ll tell you about it anyway. I have several shows I’m watching live, but I’ve discovered the convenience of watching several others online. And a handful I’ll tape and watch over the weekend with Mark. Here’s the rundown:

• Watching live: Chuck, Life Unexpected, Castle, NCIS, The Good Wife, Glee (when it comes back on), and Bones (taped, but still watching it that night).
• Watching online: How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Community, The Office and 30 Rock.
• Watching over the weekend: Chuck (yes, again), White Collar, Psych and Burn Notice.
• Show I want to watch but have no idea when: Parenthood.
• Show I'm watching on DVD: Firefly.
  
• Casualties of having a life and trying not to let it be ruled by TV, despite this ridiculous post: Big Bang Theory and Grey’s Anatomy. And possibly American Idol.
  

{Insert sad face here.}I never said it was going to be easy, people. It’s about sacrifice, you know.

So – have you watched any TV shows on DVD? What are you watching this spring?

This post will be linked to Things I Love Thursday. Because, obviously.

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Saturday Review: Movies on DVD

With two long weekends coming up, I anticipate renting more than one movie from the old Box of Red. I’d really like to see Paper Heart, and I’d be lying if I said that watching guinea pigs save the world in G-Force hasn’t crossed my mind.

What movies will you be watching over the holidays? Are you even a movie over the holidays type of person? I’m here to help you pick out a good movie – or, at least, avoid the bad ones.

The Accidental Husband wasn’t terrible. Honestly, it was a pretty typical chick flick. Silly premise introduces boy to girl, who’s already seeing another boy, and so on and so on. But, just like I won’t lie about being intrigued by talking guinea pigs, I won’t lie about this: I’m a big fan of the formulaic romantic comedy.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan was cute, although I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Colin Firth. I mean, is he that stuffy in real life or does he just get stuck playing characters with that personality? Overall, I’d say at least one solid thumb up.

We rented GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and we watched it, start to finish. But I do not even know what the movie was about. Granted, I was on the computer part of time. And sure, I only thought it might be good based on two things: 1) I usually like superhero movies and 2) I quite enjoyed Channing Tatum in Step Up. It turns out those facts were not enough to salvage this movie for me.

It was dark (visually, not spiritually) and confusing and boring and silly. Two thumbs down. Sorry, Channing.

I’d heard that Four Christmases was bad. I wouldn’t necessarily say “bad.” But I won’t say “good,” either. The worst part for me was when the main characters visited Vince Vaughn’s dad and brothers. It hit WAY too close to home for me to find it humorous in the least. If you’ve seen this movie, you’ve seen a glimpse of my in-laws. (For the record, they’re not that bad. But still.)

We laughed. And it was okay. It was short. So . . . one shaky thumb up.

I have been just dying to see Julie & Julia since I saw a preview months ago. Are you kidding me? Food and blogging? You know I’m all over that. And finally, I got to see it last weekend with Chelley.

I wish I’d watched it before 10 pm, because I was way too tired to watch a long movie. But it was worth the wait. I think I’d like to watch it again; I’m pretty sure I missed some good lines in the dialogue.

What I’d heard from several sources was that this movie, more than anything, portrays two solid, loving, realistic marriages. And it did. It was a nice change from most movies and TV! I give this movie two thumbs up, and I can’t wait to see it again.

Sorry not to end on that positive note, but the day after we saw Julie & Julia, we rented another movie starring Amy Adams. Unfortunately, it was not Enchanted. Or, basically, any other movie she’s in. Mark decided we should rent Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and so we did.

It’s probably a good kids movie. I don’t know. For us, though, it was silly. Too silly. I will say that I totally buy Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt, and I tend to like Ben Stiller in most of his movies. But Amy Adams seemed to be channeling some fluffy version of Nicole Kidman or something. And the whole story was just silly. I know I already said that, but it’s about all I got.

Except this: The premise of the movie (museum displays coming to life) is far-fetched, of course. But though we could accept that, Mark was not so willing to suspend his disbelief when it came to a certain scene with an old airplane.

After we’d sat there watching ridiculous scene after ridiculous scene, when the plane took flight, Mark said, “That plane wouldn’t move that way!”

I just looked at him and said, “That’s what you’re not buying in this movie?!”

We cracked up. So, if you include that sort of nonsense, I guess I’d have to give this movie a thumb up!

And that’s all, folks. What movies have you rented lately? What movies are you looking forward to watching?

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Who’ll be my role model, now that my role model is gone?

When I was in seventh grade, I had this civics teacher. He was young and single and fun and yes, I did have a stupid crush on him, okay? He taught us about important things like Vietnam and animal abuse.

I thought he was wonderful.

And then came the day I discovered that, while he may be wonderful, he certainly wasn’t perfect. I found out, through an older friend from church, that he may have smoked pot in college.

[GASP!]

Did I mention that I grew up in a conservative family in a small town? It’s true. I was sheltered. But even though I can look at that piece of information with a completely different perspective than I had when I was 13, I will never forget how disappointed I was to learn that this man I’d looked up to had done something wrong.

I imagine that’s how many people have felt over the past couple weeks with the Tiger Woods debacle.

We’ve all read the stories and heard the commentaries and perhaps even held conversations ourselves. The whole thing has started me thinking about role models and the people we look up to.

Mark heard a man on sports radio talking about Tiger Woods, and he said something to the effect of, “You just can’t trust anyone. From famous athletes to politicians to Baptist deacons, everybody has secrets. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody is human.”

I can’t argue with that. (Especially since I’m not even sure why I put quotes around that little paragraph. Because while Mark did, indeed, tell me about what he heard, I honestly can’t remember exactly what the radio guy said. And so I made up that whole statement. Except the part about deacons. He definitely said that.)

But regardless of that guy’s exact words or if you love Tiger or hate him, all of this raises a valid point: How do we choose our role models?

In the past two weeks, I’ve seen two strong women portrayed on screen. Both hit me with a force that I found surprising; both have stayed with me and made me want to be a stronger person.

But while Sandra Bullock’s Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side) is based on a real person and Julianna Margulies’s Alicia Florrick (The Good Wife) is a composite of many actual political wives, neither is a role model. They’re both fictional, made up, not real. Even though I admire these characters, I still need and want to look up to real people, faults and all. And that’s a hard thing to do.

It’s easier to fixate on Photoshopped celebrities, characters in a book or people portrayed in movies. Those people don’t have blemishes, weaknesses, faults. They always say the right thing, do the right thing, are the right thing.

But they’re still not real.

So, even though I love seeing strong women portrayed in books, movies and TV (Julia Sugarbaker will always have a special place in my heart), I’m thankful for real people to admire. People like my mom, former colleagues, my cousins, my friends.

Even though they’re not perfect. Even though – and because – they’re real.

Who do you look up to? Have you ever been disappointed by a role model?

[For your entertainment, here are my favorite scenes from The Good Wife, The Blind Side and Julia Sugarbaker herself. And in case you didn't win today's round of Name That Tune, the title of today's post is from a song with the funniest video ever. Also known as Call Me Al.]

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Saturday Review: The Blind Side

On Thanksgiving night, Mark’s brother was kind enough to stay with Annalyn so Mark and I could go to a movie. While the impromptu date didn’t relieve us of some pretty severe grumpiness, we did get to see a really great movie.

[Seriously, we are I have been so grumpy and out of sorts the past couple of weeks. I don’t know what the deal is, but I’m ready for it to be over. I’m hoping a little holiday festiveness as we put up the decorations tonight does the trick. Stay tuned.]

Back to the movie. We really want to see Sherlock Holmes, but of course it doesn’t come out until Christmas Day. So we were left with Couples Retreat or The Blind Side. And I believe we chose wisely.

The Blind Side is based on a book that is based on a true story. Here’s the synopsis from IMDB (mild spoiler alert):

The Blind Side depicts the story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle.

When we got home from the movie, I did what I often do: I looked up reviews online. I like to see if my opinion matches up with the pros’, okay? In this case, it really didn’t.

While Variety called the movie an “uplifting and entertaining feel-good, fact-based sports drama,” other reviews labeled it “middle-class pandering at its most shameless” and “a facile, feel-good fable that substitutes cliché for reality at nearly every turn.”

I guess I can see what they’re talking about. But I thought the movie was great. And so did the sold-out theater full of people who watched it with us. Throughout the movie, people spontaneously clapped several times, we all laughed hard, and most of us couldn’t help but wipe away a few tears.

The Blind Side was funny and touching, and it made at least one viewer (ahem, me) really think. It had some sports stuff for the guys, and it was clean enough for most audiences. And Sandra Bullock…or her character…or both were amazing. Overall, it was just a darned good movie.

I give this one two thumbs up. No matter what those critics say.

What’s your favorite sports movie?

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The One with the Thanksgiving Episodes

Chandler: All right I'd like to propose a toast, a little toast here. Ding, ding! I know this isn't exactly the kind of Thanksgiving that all of you planned, but for me, this has been really great. You know, I think because it didn't involve divorce or projectile vomiting. Anyway I was just thinking, I mean, if you had gone to Vail or if you guys had been with your family or if you didn't have syphilis and stuff ... we wouldn't be all together you know, so I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm very thankful that all your Thanksgivings sucked.

Everyone Else: That's so sweet!

Ross: And hey, here's to a lousy Christmas!

Rachel: And a crappy new year.

Chandler: Here, Here!

Friends aired a very special Thanksgiving episode every year in its 10-year run. You can actually watch them all on the WB's site. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure why the WB still has a site. But they do. And they’re showing the full episodes until November 30.

But fun Thanksgiving scenes and episodes don’t stop with our six favorite friends. Here are some of my favorites. I hope you’ll share yours, too!

• How I Met Your Mother: Slap Bet – Three years ago, Barney lost a slap bet to Marshall over Robin’s big secret. Hilarious and the start of a running gag that’s lasted all the way to this Monday’s episode, Slapsgiving.
  
• Ed: Something Old, Something New – In the first season of one of my all-time favorite shows evah, Ed deals with his first Thanksgiving after divorce. Mike bets him ($10, of course) that he can’t get the grocery store manager to tell him where the lettuce is in under a minute. The catch? He must pronounce it “let-oose.” I don’t know why, but this particular $10 bet cracks me up every time. Just like it cracks me up every time Mark and I use this alternate pronunciation. Which might be more often than you’d think.
• Gilmore Girls: A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving – You know I love my Gilmores. In season three, they tried to eat four Thanksgiving dinners in one day, and I fell in love all over again. And that was even before Jess kissed Rory!
• Will & Grace: Moveable Feast – This season four double episode has me laughing every time I watch it. Instead of going their separate ways for the holiday, Will, Grace, Karen and Jack take a road trip, trying to fit in visits to each of their dysfunctional families. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a video clip, so here are a couple other clips instead.
  
• Home for the Holidays – I was introduced to this movie in college, and I have loved it ever since. There’s just something special about a family that’s so messed up, isn’t there? This scene isn’t for the faint of heart, so proceed with caution. But it’s darned funny if you don’t mind some holiday freaking out!
  

What are your favorite Thanksgiving movies or TV episodes? Or songs! Let’s not forget “Turkey for you and turkey for me . . .”!

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Saturday Review: Fame, Management & a Shopaholic

Two out of three of us are still sick in my house, so this will be short and sweet. Or, at least, short. (And you know that my version of short is less than 600 words, right?)

Smitty and I went to see Fame after Annalyn’s birthday party. We had pretty high expectations, as lovers of the teen dance genre, and that may have been the problem.

Here’s what I’ll say: If the goal of this movie was to illustrate the difficulties of a young artist’s life that we might not know about or think of, then they succeeded. It was filmed in a gritty way, so it seemed pretty obvious that viewers are supposed to feel like we’re getting a real look at the lives of these students.

But here’s the problem: The movie follows several characters over four years. In less than two hours. It was almost more of a montage than a movie – short clips of characters with no real development. I could hardly remember all the main characters’ names, much less care about what happened to them.

On the other hand, I’m a sap for teen dance movies. So the music, the dancing, the teeny-bopper romance? Totally made me grin (a little bit) and maybe even cry (a teeny tiny bit).

Also, Megan Mullally is awesome in everything she does. And now I’ve added another movie to my need-to-see list: the original.

Mark and I rented Management a couple weeks ago. Redbox didn’t have any new movies out that we wanted to see, and Mark assumed that anything with Jennifer Aniston would be the kind of romantic comedy I like.

(Awwww, so sweet.)

It wasn’t exactly the kind of romantic comedy I normally watch, though. It was about a romance of sorts, and it had funny parts. But it was very dry and not fast-paced.

The gist is this: Jennifer Aniston is a businesswoman who meets Steve Zahn on a business trip at the motel his parents own. He’s kind of nerdy and immature; she’s kind of overworked and lonely. He takes a fancy to Miss Aniston and ends up following her around the country, wearing her down until she . . . well, you don’t want to know the ending, do you?

Somehow it manages to be not really as stalker-ish as it sounds. Really, it’s pretty good. Quiet, but good. Oh, and it also has Woody Harrelson, so if that’s a draw, it has that going for it.


When Chelley visited several weeks ago, we rented Confessions of a Shopaholic. Chelley had already seen it and liked it, although she said the book's different and better. I feel a little bad, because I didn’t really like it.

I think Isla Fisher is adorable, and there’s nothing better than a floppy-haired British romantic lead. (It turns out Hugh Grant was busy – or old – so they went with another Hugh, Hugh Dancy.) But the main character was real annoying to me. I’d like to think that people aren’t really that dumb, but maybe they are. So all I’ll say is that she isn’t the type of person I want to spend 104 minutes with.

Well, to be honest, it would probably be fun to go shopping with her. But to watch her try to dig herself out of the holes she’s dug herself? Not so much.

So – seen any good movies lately?

Saturday Review: Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs

I owe Snow White an apology.

See, the last time I watched this movie, all I could think about was how annoying I found that cartoon girl’s high-pitched, mousy voice. So when One2One Network offered me the chance to review the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Diamond Edition (yes, for free), I’m not sure why I signed up.

No, that’s not true. I signed up because I thought, “This sure isn’t my favorite Disney movie, but maybe Annalyn will like it.”

And I’m happy to tell you that she did. After watching the Elmo video we checked out of the library about 10 times in four days, I couldn’t take it anymore. And since we were stuck at home with the croup, both of us feeling a little bit miserable, I had to do something.

So Snow White it was. And while Annalyn didn’t sit and stare at the television for an hour and a half, she did like the movie. Or, in her words (when I paused it), “Movie! Watch it! Movie! Watch it!”

And, okay, I enjoyed it, too. Those dwarfs (dwarves? I’m not sure…) are actually funny, and it’s interesting to look at the 1937 animation, compared to what we see today. And while I hadn’t forgotten “Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It’s Off to Work We Go,” I had forgotten about “Someday My Prince Will Come” and “Whistle While You Work.”

Don’t think I changed my mind about Snow White’s puny voice. But the songs themselves? Well, just maybe I liked them after all.

But my favorite part by far was hearing Annalyn say (without her “r” as usual), “Pincess sad. Sad pincess.” Awww! So cute! (And yes, I do realize I will be sick and tired of pincesses before long. But for now – super cute.)

Now here’s where my review gets tricky. I’m supposed to tell you how awesome the Blu-ray disc is . . . but as you know . . . I’m a little behind in the entertainment technology department. So just in case you, too, are unaware of the benefits of Blu-ray, here they are:

• Blu-ray provides up to six times better quality than DVD (imagine how much better it is than my ol’ VCR!), as well as surround sound.
• Blu-ray discs include games, activities and tons of special features.
• The disc itself is more scratch resistant (read: kid proof!).
• The Blu-ray player plays both Blu-ray and DVD discs.
• Blu-ray discs also play on Sony Playstation 3 players.

In sum, I believe the Blu-ray is better than my 20-year-old VCR.

Seriously, it turns out I was wrong about Snow White. Sorry, Snow. I guess the American Film Institute wasn’t so crazy when they put you on their list of the 100 greatest American films of all time.

Just don’t tell Belle I said so.

If you’d like more information about the Snow White Diamond Edition, visit the official website. You can also watch a special Blu-ray trailer here.

What’s your favorite Disney movie?

And if he still doesn’t answer, I simply say . . .

It’s no secret around these parts that Dirty Dancing is one of my absolute favorite movies. But I’m not alone.

Just take a look around the internet today for proof of that.

I remember one particular viewing of the movie, back when all the cool kids had VCRs. Also known as, when I was in college. A bunch of us girls, including Chelleybutton and Triplesalchow, had piled into one of our dorm rooms and crowded around the TV to watch Dirty Dancing.

As the movie drew to a close, with Johnny and Baby dancing their hearts out in the final scene, one of our guy friends happened to stop by. He could not understand for one minute why each one of us was staring at the television, heads angled to the side, eyes fuzzy and smiles dreamy.

He could not understand how we could be so in love with a movie.

But we were! And, though I can’t speak for all those girls, I can say that I still am.

I realize everyone and their sister is quoting Patrick Swayze movies today. But since Chelleybutton has so kindly requested it, I’ll share my favorite Dirty Dancing quotes. Most will come as no surprise, since I use them so often that at least four of them have ended up in this blog. But here they are:

• I carried a watermelon. [I carried a watermelon?]
• I won't tell your mother about this. Right now, I'm going to bed. And take that stuff off your face before your mother sees you.
• No, the way he saved her. I mean, I could never do anything like that. That was somethin'. I mean, the reason people treat me like I'm nothin' is because I'm nothin'.
• Me? I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you.
• I've never known anyone like you, you look at the world and you think you can make it better.
• Fight harder, huh? I don't see you fighting so hard, Baby. I don't see you running up to daddy telling him I'm your guy.
• I feel pretty. Or what do the simple folk do. Or I feel pretty. What do you think daddy?
• Nobody puts Baby in a corner.
• When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong.
• I think she gets this from me.

And last, but not least, the monologue when Baby faces her father after revealing her, ahem, relationship with Johnny. My friend Kimi performed this during drama class in high school, and since then, I’ve always remembered these emotional words:

I'm sorry I lied to you. But you lied too. You told me everyone was alike and deserved a fair break. But you meant everyone who is like you. You told me you wanted me to change the world, to make it better. But you meant by becoming a lawyer or an economist...and marrying someone from Harvard.

I'm not proud of myself. But I'm in this family too. You can't keep giving me the silent treatment.

There are a lot of things about me that aren't what you thought. But if you love me, you have to love all the things about me.

And I love you.

I'm sorry I let you down. I'm so sorry, Daddy. But you let me down too.

From Ghost to Dirty Dancing, from Road House to Saturday Night Live and even that strange dance movie you starred in with your wife, you never let me down, Mr. Swayze.

(Please, don’t mention Red Dawn. We just won’t go there today.)

Saturday Review: Flashdance

What a feeling! That’s what I should have been saying after finally watching Flashdance, one of the most famous dance movies of all, right?

Um, not quite.

For all my professed love of dance movies great and . . . not so great, I haven’t actually seen some of the earlier films in this oft-neglected (and mocked) genre.

[Yes, I do realize that we’re using the term “genre” loosely here. Just deal.]

Of course, given my lack of classic movie understanding and, Goonies fans some would say, appreciation, this may not be so surprising.

Either way, I finally got around to watching Jennifer Beals in the 1983 movie about a young girl trying to make it in the city and in the dance world. In other words, pretty young thing welds by day and dances, ahem, exotically by night.

So what did I think? Well, as it turns out, my response wasn’t much different (although not quite as harsh) as the critics of the day. The reviews were, as they say on Metacritic.com, generally unfavorable. In short, the plot is ridiculous and hole-y (not to be confused with holy, which it is most definitely not), the actors are fine but don’t get much to work with, and the dance scenes are comparable to MTV videos, circa 1983.

And there’s the fact that Jennifer Beals had more than one dance double working for her. That fact kinda bummed me out.

But, the plot is really no sillier than that of today’s movies. And the soundtrack did include “Gloria,” “What a Feeling,” and “Maniac,” so it has that going for it.

All in all? I didn’t mind it. And now I can say that I’ve seen it. But if given the choice, I’m still going to pick Dirty Dancing (or, okay, Step Up or Save the Last Dance) any day.

Have you seen Flashdance?

There is no spoon.

Two of the blogs I read – This Mom’s Wired and Dinkypops No More – have made Thursdays their official day for listing random thoughts from the week.

I say if it’s good enough for Sarah and Brooke, then it’s good enough for me.

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• Over the three-day weekend, we took a little road trip to visit friends from college who we hadn’t seen in a few years. It was so much fun catching up and just hanging out. Not so much fun? The four-hour drive with our kiddo. And so we learned that given the choice between a whining toddler and listening to “Five Little Monkeys” over and over and over, these two parents will choose the monkeys.
• Something about having four new friends to play with this weekend gave Annalyn the nudge she needed to let go and walk on her own all weekend. She even stood up in the middle of the room – something she’s been trying but unable to accomplish for several weeks now. Yay!!!
• It’s really cute when Annalyn adds a “y” to random words. In particular, I couldn’t help but laugh when she sobbed about wanting to go “homey” when we put her to bed in a strange (to her) crib Sunday night. She also occasionally says “uppy” when she wants to get up on my lap and “trashy” when she decides any piece of paper belongs in the garbage.
• Some friends really are friends forever (yes, I really am channeling Michael W. Smith right now). We hadn’t seen our friends in a long time, but it really only took a few minutes to pick up where we left off. And we didn’t even have to spend all our time together reminiscing. (You know how it is with some old friends: all you have to talk about is the good ol’ times, right?) Not us. We talked friends and church and jobs and parenting and politics and swine flu and pregnancy and movies, and even though Annalyn wasn’t the only one ready to sleep in her own bed, we could have spent another two or 10 days hanging out.
• On Sunday night, I finally watched The Matrix – a mere 10 years after it was released. Mark watched it for the first time with our friends, and I still remember the night they all went to see the second one in the theater and returned slightly stunned from an unexpectedly graphic scene. As we sat on the couch, watching this movie that they’d all scene numerous times, I couldn’t believe I’d missed it! This is definitely an example of a classic (or at least, very popular) movie that I somehow hadn’t seen. At least I don’t have to put it on my list with Goonies.
• On our way home on Monday, I had the best lunch EVER. Maybe not ever, but seriously, it was good. I wish I had a picture to share, but sadly, I could only manage carrying my purse and the diaper bag into the restaurant. So just take my word for it – that buttery roll? The bacon-infused green beans? The ginormous chicken strips? Dee-lish.
• And yes, I’ll be re-joining Weight Watchers tomorrow.

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Have you caught up with any old friends lately?

Movie Reviews - a bunch of 'em

I really don’t see a whole lot of movies. Now Smitty – she’s the movie buff. And I never fail to shock her by my lack of movie experience.

Like when she makes a reference to a classic – say, Goonies or Pulp Fiction or Casablanca – and I hang my head and say, “Ummm . . . yeah . . . I haven’t seen that one either.”

And it happens. A lot.

I don’t know why I feel the need to say all that. I’m sure when you see the quality of movies I’m about to review, you’ll realize – without my over explaining and rambling – that I’m not really a movie expert.

And because I haven’t put off my actual list long enough, I also feel compelled to tell you that at one point I thought I’d be real clever and give you a Twitter-esque movie review. You know, writing a review in 140 characters or less?

But then I remembered how much I like to talk. With lots of characters.

[However, if you’d like to mock me watch as I attempt brevity and some level of hip-ness, please follow me on Twitter. I’m @givingupperfect.]

Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. I present to you The Last 10 Movies I’ve Watched and my not-so-expert opinion on each one:

1. The Proposal – Mark and I watched this movie on vacation, and I loved it. Starring Sandra Bullock (who I love) and Ryan Reynolds (who I like more every time I see him in something), it’s a clichéd chick flick about the uptight woman who needs a guy to help her loosen up and enjoy life. But I loved the transformation of Reynolds’ character from beaten down yes-man who hates his job to a guy who could stand firm, speak up and finally take charge of his life. Watching him begin to open up and be himself was inspiring to me, as I currently have a job where I’m not myself at all.

So yes, I may have gotten a little too deep with this light-hearted movie. But what can I say? It got to me. And it made me laugh out loud a lot. And if you haven’t seen it, you should.

2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop – Yes, I paid money to see this movie. But honestly, it was a cute movie. As the Philadelphia Inquirer so eloquently put it: “The film is completely forgettable, frequently funny and weirdly satisfying in a Jersey Loser Gets Respect kind of way.” And for me, it was nice to enjoy Kevin James in a Hitch sort of way (bumbling, sweet and still pretty funny), as opposed to his stand-up comedy routine sort of way (loud and obnoxious and not all that funny).

3. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day – I’m not sure I really got this movie. It was fun to look at and fun in a light, fluffy sort of way. Plus it had Amy Adams and that guy from Pushing Daisies, which I liked. But it was pretty slow. Mark especially didn’t like it. So, while USA Today called it a good farce, engrossing and cheeky, I can’t quite give this one two thumbs up.

4. Transformers – I am talking about the first one here. I realize most of you saw this a good two years ago, but I didn’t. And I don’t know who I think I am, but when I saw that the second movie was coming out, I was just sure I’d go see it. So, of course, I needed to watch the original first. I thought it was a lot of fun! The more cartoony stuff was silly, but if you take it for what it is, it’s a fun, fast-paced movie. About robots that turn into cars.

5. The International – This movie starred Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, and it’s rated R. I only mention that because we don’t watch a lot of R-rated movies, mainly because I’m opposed to graphic anything. So I read a couple reviews of this movie, trying to figure out why the international spy story needed an R rating. Supposedly, the movie has one extended scene of graphic violence. But I didn’t see it. Not because I watched with my hands over my eyes, Grey’s Anatomy-style, but because we were so bored by this movie that we turned it off after about an hour. The end.

6. The Ugly Truth – And speaking of rated R movies. Smitty is in celebrity love with Gerard Butler, so seeing this was a must. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t turn down a chance to watch a romantic comedy, so it’s not like this was purely selfless on my part. The Ugly Truth wasn’t the best movie, though. It was funny, and had an interesting/annoying idea about what men and women want from relationships. To summarize, if you don’t mind locker-room talk and a possibly disturbing philosophy of romantic relationships, then you might like this movie. Me? I found it funny and fairly entertaining, although I was shocked to end up liking the chauvinistic male lead better than the romantic female character. Weird, huh?

7. 17 Again – Cute movie, reminiscent of Big and Back to the Future. I did have to look up Zac Efron’s birthday, though, to determine just how icky it was. Turns out he’s almost 22, so I guess it’s okay if his future wife – as in, 20 years future – has the hots for him. Right? I don’t know. Just don’t go there and enjoy the fluff.

8. My Fake Fiance – I realize this may be stretching it in the movie department. But this ABC Family movie (starring Sabrina the teenaged witch and Whoa! Joey) has been on my to-watch list ever since I saw a commercial for it four months ago. Because I like ABC Family movies. There. I said it. Anyway, I missed the movie when it originally aired and still have not joined the rest of civilization with DVR, so I’ve been keeping an eye on the TV listings for when it aired again. I finally caught it a couple weeks ago, and it was a typical ABC Family movie. Which is to say it was cute, kinda funny, pretty predictable and slightly more contemporary than a Hallmark movie.

9. Honey – Because we have entered that late-summer vacuum of TV programming, I stumbled onto this one last week. Honey – yes, with Jessica Alba; yes, from 2003 – was yet another dance movie. Not to be confused with Another Teen Movie. Because I’m pretty sure Alba’s character was supposed to be 22. No matter, because it was cute, sappy and predictable – exactly how I like my dance movies.

10. Duplicity – Finally! No, I don’t mean that I’m finally at #10. Although that’s a good thing, too. No, I mean we finally got to see this movie. Mark and I both thought this spy caper with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen looked good, but we just missed it in the theater. It was worth the wait, though. Not quite as fun as Ocean’s Eleven or as action-packed as The Italian Job, but it was fun, smart and overall good.

Whew! That was a lot of talking. I think we’re both wishing I’d opted for the Twitter version now. So now that I’ve used up my words for the day, you tell me: what’s the best movie you’ve seen this summer?

Oh yes, for more - and, I'm sure, shorter - top 10 posts, visit Top 10 Tuesday at OhAmanda's blog.