It's Complicated

Pam: Two fine actors make this movie fun to watch. I love Alec Baldwin's comic sharpness and lovability and of course, Meryl Streep is perfection as a capable yet vulnerable divorcee. Many perspectives are presented and it's easy to understand the situation from all sides. For example, you understand the feeling of being carefree and taking a risk from Jane's (Streep) point of view. She's had to be the strong single parent for so long while building her own business, that it feels like time to cut loose for her. She giggles as she tells her best friends about sleeping with her ex-husband and you can enjoy her naughtiness. But then, other factors begin to play into this unfaithful scenario. You hear about her grown children's pain as they experienced their parents' divorce years ago. Not much time is spent on this, but it is geniune emotion. You see Jake's (Baldwin) wife and stepson and how his infidelity affects them. You see the affair begin to take on a domesticity that has long-term implications that Jane is not ready or willing to have in her life again, just as she has gained her independence both emotionally and financially. The fun, silly romp turns serious and the couple begins to see how their actions affect others. A funny turn from Steve Martin, who has the job of the thankless possible (appropriate) boyfriend for Jane. John Krasinski plays Jane's future son-in-law who ends up knowing more than he wants to know about some of Jane and Jake's indescretions, which makes for some comical moments. 3.5 stars out of 5

Spread

Pam: This was recommended to me on blockbuster.com, I guess because of Ashton Kutcher, but it was not very good. Let me clarify this - it wasn't very good as far as plot and believability, but if you're an Ashton Kutcher fan and want to see him and Anne Heche get it on (quite a lot), then you might think it's a good movie. I stopped watching it after about 2/3 of the way through, and Nelson watched the end and he said it was okay. Kutcher plays a male prostitute who hooks up with wealthy women who support him by giving him a place to live, a car to drive, clothes and some respectability. He ends up with Heche who ends up falling for him. He falls for another younger girl and tries to break it off with Heche who goes a little wacko. I won't tell you how it ends, because I don't really know. Rent this one at your own risk. 1.5 stars out of 5

Crazy Heart

Pam: I find it hard to believe that anyone ever really changes - especially a washed up alcoholic singer/songwriter who decides one day that he's ready to become sober to win back a woman he loves. There's no one who can cause that kind of change within another person, and it's certainly not believable in this movie. That being said, the movie is pretty good. The beginning is difficult to watch as Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) ruins his performances and life with hard drinking. His agent has a hard time booking him anywhere, so he ends up playing in a bowling alley and other various honky-tonks along the way. He gets a call one day that reveals something deeper about this character: we find out that his one-time protege is now a major star and Bad's agent wants Bad to open for him. What a dilemma he faces. ("A Star is Born" anyone??) On top of that, he's falling for a much younger girl who has been doing some interviews with him. A series of events illustrate for us the downward spiral of Bad's life until he's left with nothing - AA calls this "hitting bottom." It's nice to see Bad at the end where some things work out for him and some don't. The movie has some cliches, but the jewel is Bridges' performance. He makes the cliches believable. 4 stars out of 5

Role Models

Pam: This movie is from 2008, and I resisted renting it because it looked like a movie along the lines of Judd Apetow's over-the-top, sometimes profane, gross-out humor, but I was wrong. It is a little profane, and believe it or not the profanity comes from an eight-year-old little boy, which plays funny rather than offensive. In fact, that kindof sums up the whole movie: what could potentially be offensive comes off as very funny. A lot of that has to do wtih the tone of the movie, which is respectful, even as it makes fun of its subject matter. For example, Jane Lynch plays a reformed drug addict who runs a "big brother/big sister" type of organization and when she describes her former plight with drugs, it's believable and funny. These two guys join her organization as part of their required community service and take on "little brothers," one of which is the little boy who curses and insults these two at every opportunity. The other "little brother" is a geek (McLovin' from Superbad) who, to the dismay of his parents, is into role playing. There is a lesson to be learned and that is do what you love, no matter what other people think. If medieval role playing is your bag, then go for it and be the best costume-wearing, foam-sword wielding knight you can be. Fun movie. 2.5 stars out of 5

Sherlock Holmes

Pam: I love it when a movie is marketed as a "re-imagining" or a "re-interpretation" because what they're saying is, don't expect the movie to honor the original characterizations or plotlines. At least they're warning you. If you're a major Sherlock Holmes fan, don't expect a faithful rendition, but if you're a fan of a good adventure story, you're in luck. There's a couple of positives to this movie: first, Robert Downey, Jr. is quirky, funny, and smart, although some of his investigation methods are a little questionable (was the original Holmes so weird? maybe so...), and second, Guy Ritchie is directing. If you're a fan of Ritchie's other movies, then you'll like this one. It's got the same frenetic energy, snappy dialogue, and dark atmosphere but it's a little more polished than some of Ritchie's other work. The plot is a little silly, but just go with it and have fun. Jude Law is a respectable Mr. Watson who frequently gets put out with Holmes, but stays around for the action. Rachel McAdams is miscast as a potential adversary/love interest for Holmes - she's just too "apple pie" to be walking the streets of 1800's London. Good movie overall - fun and entertaining. 3.5 stars out of 5.

Up In The Air

Pam: I really, really wanted to love this movie. And I did, up until Ryan (George Clooney) walks up the steps of Alex's brownstone. Up until that point, I was rooting for Ryan and Alex - a couple who seem to find a connection in a world of fast paced travel and jobs that keep them disconnected, especially from people they love. Ryan takes pride in his frequent flyer miles and enjoys hanging around in the fancy lounges at the airports he passes through - turns out to be not much of a life. His sister is getting married, and it's hard for him to even have a meaningful conversation with her about her life because he doesn't really know her. Then he meets Alex and finds a soul mate - she seems as lost and lonely as he is, and more importantly, just as eager to find a connection. Throughout all of this, Ryan is asked to train a new recruit, Natalie, on how to fire people at companies that are downsizing. She is eternally optimistic about life and love, and is a great foil for Ryan. You wonder - will he change her, or will she change him? The ending was a shock and a disappointment at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I understood and appreciated it. One of Clooney's best performances and well-deserving of the hype at the Oscars. 4 stars out of 5

The Princess and the Frog

Pam: Every Friday night we have Family Movie Night at our house. We let the kids eat dinner in the front room (a major rule breaker!), or at least have popcorn and a drink and we all watch a movie together. We did not see this in the theater, so I put it on our Blockbuster queu. It's about time Disney created a princess of color, and they did a beautiful job with this one. The setting of New Orleans, LA is perfect for tying in many different influences: voodoo, bayou, cuisine, big daddy's money, and a poor working class daddy. The time period is turn of the century, but the ideals and opinions of the princess are decidedly modern. She wants to open her own restaurant using her dear daddy's gumbo recipe, which is symbolic of the varied mixture of cultures represented in the Louisiana society. Her best friend is the white daughter of a family that her mother cleans house for (hmmm?) who is set on marrying a visiting prince. The hilarity ensues at the girl's engagement party - the humor comes from a mixture of magic and mistaken identities. There are cute side characters, one of my favorites being a lightening bug named Ray. Sweet story with a good message - classic Disney. 4 stars out of 5

Love Happens

Pam: Aaron Eckhart has always been one of my favorite actors, ever since Erin Brockovich. His character is very interesting in this movie - he's not comedic, and is rather serious as he's dealing with the death of his wife. The viewer doesn't know the whole story, and you won't until the end, so some of his behavior is a little hard to understand at first, but he does keep your interest. Jennifer Aniston spends the whole movie letting him know how they are not suited for each other, and yet continues to spend time with him. It makes you wonder why he pursues her, but maybe he's just looking to make a change in his lonely life and she's the one he chose to try it out on. Her break-up at the beginning of the movie with her live-in boyfriend seems a little contrived, and I would have appreciated more time spent exploring her sense of betrayal and sadness, but that would have made her less available for Eckhart's character, so in movieland, she resolved those feelings rather quickly. There's a great supporting appearence by Martin Sheen, another of my favorite actors. Overall, the movie is watchable, but I cannot wholeheartedly recommend it. 2.5 stars out of 5

Zombieland

Pam: You'll have to be in the right frame of mind for this one, and if you are in the right mindset, it's really funny. The world is full of flesh-eating zombies, except for the narrator, Jesse Eisenberg (reminds me alot of Michael Cera), who gives the viewer his rules for staying alive in this post-apocolyptic world. Luckily, he comes across another human survivor played by Woody Harrelson. They pair up for some pretty hilarious adventures, but like I said, you have to be in the mood for a bit of campy gore and violence. Bill Murray has a very funny cameo appearence - don't get up for a coke or a pee, or you'll miss it. 3 out of 5 stars

Law Abiding Citizen

Pam: Jamie Foxx cuts a fine figure as a district attorney in this movie that pitts him against a "law abiding citizen" turned criminal. Gerard Butler is an okay actor - there's something about him that seems disingenuous, but a lot of people really like his movies, so maybe it's just me. Could be that he's gorgeous to look at, but eventually you have to act if you're going to carry a movie. Although it starts out with a lot of suspense, this movie begins to unravel toward the end. About half way through, I started looking at Nelson saying "no way, there's no way he could be doing that." Once I started doing that, the movie lost me. I kept watching because Jamie Foxx is engaging and it was fun watching the interplay between him and Butler. I will warn you, the ending is far fetched and will probably disappoint, but it wasn't a complete waste of my time. 2.5 stars out of 5

A Serious Man

Pam: The Coen Brothers wrote and directed this movie, and it has their quirky flair. This "serious man" is a professor at a college in the midwest somewhere and has a series of bad things happen to him that seem to test his faith. He's a Jew and seeks advice from three rabbis who don't seem to help him much. He's dealing with a troubled brother who lives with him, a daughter that doesn't want much to do with him, a bratty son, a wife who wants a divorce, a betrayal by a best friend, a threatening neighbor, and on and on. It's funny in a dark way, typical for the Coen brothers, but in the end it's a little depressing. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.