For me, part of the fun of this film was seeing Rupert Grint and Julie Walters together playing different characters. If you do not recognize the names, let me help you–Ron Weasley and his Mom, Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter movies! Julie Walters was wonderful in this movie as Evie Walton, an aging, over the top theatrical actress. Rupert played Ben Marshall, a sheltered 17 year old who had answered her ad for house cleaning. What ensued was a journey that went from madcap adventure, to self discovery, to a caring friendship.  As a bonus, at least in my book, was having Laura Linney (Mystic River, The Savages) playing Ben’s conservative Mother. Despite having the image of Mrs Weasley and Ron in my mind, I thoroughly enjoyed this film.  Or should I say, to keep it in the British vein, this was simply, a jolly delightful movie to experience.

2 3/4 stars — DVD

As I sat watching the credits scroll by, I had to wonder if Garry Marshall directed this movie, just so his family members could get some pocket change. For example, his sister Penny Marshall had a cameo, along with a couple of other Marshall names I saw in the credits. And in regards to the actors; I simply did not get it. A much older Michelle Pfeiffer recreated her mousy character, similar to her catwoman role–prior to donning her skin tight, leather outfit. Then we have Ashton Kutcher, who must have agreed to do this film, knowing he would need a good chunck of change for his future bachelor pad. And what is going on with Lea Michele from Glee? She so desparately wants to do the remake of Funny Girl, that she will do anything to get herself noticed.  And don’t get me started on Robert De Niro. This movie was for the most part visual gruel with little substance. I was bored and found the story sophomoric. For the most part we were fed small vignettes of how several people make plans or deal with the New Year’s Eve holiday. This is a movie you would want to see on DVD, playing in the background, as you were cleaning out your closets.

1 1/2 stars

What I admire about Charlize Theron (The Burning Plain, Monster) is how she does not let her looks interfere with her acting. Her character, Mavis Gary, is a dark, twisted role written by Diablo Cody (Juno) and Charlize does a wicked job with the words written for Mavis. Essentially, she gets the idea that what her lonely life needs is to reconnect with her old high school boyfriend; despite the fact, he is married with a new born child. But that doesn’t deter her from traveling back to her small Minnesota town, where they grew up and where he still lives, to carry out her plan with the determination of a rabid dog. As a counterweight to Charlize’s strong, out of touch character is Patton Oswalt (Big Fan) as Matt Freehauf, a broken soul who has never left the town. With this movie, Diablo recaptures some of her Juno smart, snappy dialog; however, it grows tiresome towards the latter part of the movie. Despite this, I feel the film is worth seeing, simply to marvel at Charlize’s performance. Could an Oscar nomination be kicking at her door?

3 stars

Think about it; it was the 1960’s, the civil rights movement was in its infancy and Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone) was back from college and wanted to interview the black maids from her small Mississippi town. With any luck, Skeeter hoped to get the stories published. Can you imagine, writing a story from the black maids’ perspectives during this time? To have them utter out loud what it felt like to cook, clean, raise the children; yet, not even being allowed to use the same bathroom in the house–what maid would jeopardize her job, even her life to do it? What in the world was Skeeter thinking?! Well let me tell you: Skeeter is a character who looks beyond the surface; has a determined fire inside of her and the actress Emma Stone (Easy A, Crazy Stupid Love) nails the performance as she is unwavering to get their story out. The acting in this movie is truly wonderful: from Viola Davis (Doubt, Eat Pray Love) as Aibileen; to Octavia Spencer (Being John Malkovich, Seven Pounds) as Minny, who has a gift for comedic timing; to Bryce Dallas Howard (50/50, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) as Hilly Holbrook, the steely, snooty, better than thou housewife. I have not read the book this movie was based on; however, I have heard it closely followed the story. Whether it does or does not, I feel you will be just as enthralled as I was, when I viewed this film.

3 2/3 stars

Being an animal lover, I thought this was going to be a fun movie. I figured it had a lot going for it: based on a true story, Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, along with animals. Really, what could be so bad?  Unfortunately, the movie was not very fun. Besides being predictable, I found it was trying to hard to get every movie cliche into the story. Matt Damon as the single Dad who has to raise his 2 children by himself; Thomas Haden Church as the brother to Matt’s character, who can only speak in sarcastic tones; and then there is Scarlett, who I felt was miscast as the head of the zoo’s staff. If you are looking for a movie that you can take the whole family to, I guess you could say, this would be one you could all go and see. For me, it was just a light fluffy movie to pass the time.

2 1/4 stars

So hear is the exciting news:  this is a 4 star movie! I loved everything about it. First off, this was George Clooney’s best role, I have seen to date. Playing a detached father, George is forced to be the primary parent to his two daughters, when his wife is hospitalized from a boating accident. Next, the story was real and filled with real emotions. Watching the relationship between the father and oldest daughter was great chemistry between the two stars. The directing was perfect with scenes unfolding in a gentle progression. This is not a fairy tale family; this is a dysfunctional family, trying to find their way in life. Do not miss this movie, since George Clooney should be nominated for best actor. And I would not be surprised if the older daughter, Shailene Woodley, gets a nomination her way, too.

4 stars

Based on Hunter S. Thompson’s novel of the same name, starring Johnny Depp; I’m guessing Hunter would not be pleased with this meandering movie. Johnny is Paul Kemp, a writer who decides to leave New York City for Puerto Rico, hoping to write for the San Juan Star newspaper. Truthfully, that is about all I got out of this film with its scenes of drunkenness, fights with locals and Johnny Depp following the Johnny Depp method of acting–I was bored for most of the time. From what I briefly know about Hunter S Thompson, he was credited with being the creator of Gonzo journalism, a form of writing where the reporter places himself into the action he is reporting on, becoming almost a central character to the event. If Johnny Depp’s character was supposed to be similar in this movie, it did not come across.

1 1/4 stars