“Bottle Shock” -
Bill Pullman, Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Rachael Taylor, Dennis Farina

While I enjoy the French, there is nothing more fun than trumping them at the wine game and that’s was this is all about. I loved it! First, I’m a big Pullman fan even if he did look a bit worse for the wear (yikes, he’s my generation so tough to see myself getting older.) Rickman is always bloody brilliant with his arrogance and yet ridiculousness. Chris Pine was adequate, I kept wanting to comb and cut his hair and dye his eyebrows, I would never have made it through the sixties (I was not even a tween yet!) Farina is quintessential American in Paris, embarrassing in the plaid leisure suit but perfect for the time and place.

This was a captivating lesson in the history of winemaking a la California, the value of passion and persistence, and the price of perfection. It doesn’t get any better in film and this is a rare gem, sure it will be compared to Sideways, entirely different but equally wonderful, more so in this fans opinion.

“Vicky Cristina Barcelona” -
Scarlett Johannsson, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, Patricia Clarkson

I have to confess that I do enjoy Woody Allen and he has gotten mellower but more sexually overt in his advanced film making. He is also (possibly forced) using overseas settings a lot more often since he created such a debacle in his personal life some years ago. This has a very unique cast, rather like Scarlett is his new Mia and Rebecca his new Diane. I couldn’t take my eyes off Bardem. The last movie I saw him in was No Country for Old Men and he was just as riveting but in grotesque and frightening way, this time I simply wanted his clothes off! HOT.

Two best friends on opposite sides of life and love spend a summer in Barcelona both falling for the same man who is in turn hopelessly and virtually fatalistically captivated by his ex-wife Penelope Cruz. Their relationship only works when a third is in it. This gives new meaning to ménage a trois and the delight it can bring.

Of course it wouldn’t be Woody Allen without poignancy and tragedy to balance the comedic moments. Patricia Clarkson does a brilliant job as the trapped housewife, no longer in love, but too terrified of life and herself to leave her husband. One of those, glad-I-haven’t-yet-married moments for this viewer. The ending sort of fizzled, predictable and not terribly original, felt like Woody got bored and left.

“27 Dresses” -
Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns

Totally not my scenario having never even been a bridesmaid, I couldn’t imagine loving a “job” so much! (Heigl) Jane clearly does as proven by evenings she juggles two weddings with complete changes in the back of a taxi. Such devotion is truly rare, but clearly she has mastered the art of it. Her world comes to an abrupt stop when her younger sister (Akerman) steps in (Cameron Diaz like) and taps Jane’s boss to be her groom. Suddenly Jane’s closet feelings of true love for George (her boss, played by Edward Burns) surface and she is faced with realizing she may not always want to be a bridesmaid at all, but instead rejoice in being a bride. Marsden plays Kevin, the newspaper reporter responsible for the bridal announcements and tracks Jane and her incredible 27 weddings as a bridesmaid story. Okay from here it is a little predictable, but still fun. Boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. . . .

The dresses alone, as most bridesmaid gowns prove, are quite entertaining. And each tells its own story of culture, custom and sometimes downright bad taste. Heigl pulls it all off with aplomb but this did feel like a second tier movie, not an A-lister.

“Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” -
Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Lee Pace, Ciarán Hinds, Shirley Henderson

Can you get a life and discover love, all in one day? This was kind of strange. I love McDormand but honestly putting her as an out of work governess was a stretch even for me. She has so much more depth than this opportunity allowed and she truly carried the movie or what there was of it. The only other one who really captivated my interest was Hinds as the dapper Joe who is smitten by McDormand’s Pettigrew. He is a charismatic Irish bloke who somehow dazzles. The rest of the players were fluff and nonsense, quite silly in character and ability. Felt like I was watching a high school musical on some level. Fun on the set and costume side, wonderful period pieces from 1936 and beyond.

“21″ -
Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo

This was brilliant and Spacey and Sturgess are well matched as the upstart mathematical genius and his OCD college professor with a pricey gambling habit. Fishburne seems to be doing a cameo here and that doesn’t fit his larger than life abilities, he definitely needed more meat than this skimpy bit. Spacey is edgy, angry, and arrogant and pushes all the right buttons. Sturgess leads his fellow MITers on a wild ride of gambling success, teasing the law, and hustling with the cards. He learns lessons in love and friendship and earns his tuition. Money or the love and need for it can give some priceless experiences. This is even better as it is based on a true story. Truth is always stranger than fiction. Harnessing genius when hormones are at play can be dangerous work. Vegas never looked better!

“Fool’s Gold” -
Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Donald Sutherland, Ewen Bremner, Alexis Dziena

Okay, party movie! Yes, they all had a good time making this one. Seems this is what McConaughey fills his spare time with because it certainly doesn’t belie the depth of his talent. Hudson is always good at light comedy so this is a fit for her. Sutherland seemed a bit out of place as the tired billionaire with the daughter who doesn’t love daddy but uses him for his money. I am disappointed these days to see so many of the genuine talents of my age being relegated to barely supporting roles when they are capable of so much more. I know they are in it for the love of the art, but it still seems beneath them.

Typical boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. The theme is a swashbuckling tale of sunken treasure, modern day pirates, and mild torture. No big surprises, likely a better late night TV view, than bothering in the theatre. I caught this on a hotel stay.

McConaughey is always easy on the eyes, but ever since I heard he doesn’t wear deodorant, the charm has really worn off!

“Juno” -
Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons

When a teenage girl is faced with an unexpected pregnancy, she enlists the aid of her best friend in finding the unborn child a suitable home in this coming-of-age comedy drama.I don’t get what all the fuss was about? Yes, this was engaging but it certainly didn’t rock my world. I think the idea that a first time writer crafted this is really where the hype came in. In this day and age, unfortunately, unwed mother’s in high school are simply not as rare as all that. Her parent’s being as understanding as they were was rare, it felt a bit like a Valley Girl remake, though Deborah never got pregnant, her folks were very “groovy.”

To see Jason Bateman grown up was kind of a shock, I’m sure he’s been all over TV but I’ve missed him as that isn’t my medium of choice. I wasn’t surprised when he and Garner as the happy couple turned out all too quickly to be the couple headed for divorce. Garner has an intensity that is palpable and almost painful to watch. They were clearly a mismatch and then adding Juno into that mix kind of makes you squirm.

Yes, betting there are lessons to be learned here, but more for filmmakers and writers than for the audience in this viewers opinion. I actually kind of wanted this one to get over with, it wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t sad either and I just didn’t love it.

“Dan in Real Life” -
Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, John Mahoney

Finally, a feel good movie! While Carell will never have the depth and comic genius of Tom Hanks or Jim Carrey, his is sort of a reality version. His humor is less expected and less quirky. This was wonderful and Binoche is always a delight. Widowed Dad to three girls is home for a reunion when he meets gorgeous mystery woman in the bookstore; he returns to the house to be introduced to the same woman (who completely captivated his heart) as his brother’s new and best girlfriend. Torture for the week as he sees the object of his affection romping with his brother, but can’t lay a glove. Even his daughter see the sparks fly. This is a fun take on guy meets girl, guy loses girl, guy gets girl back. The best line in the whole show is spoken by the teenage daughter’s boyfriend “Love isn’t a feeling, it’s an ability.” Brilliant, now if we could just live our relationships like that, it would be significant.

“No Country for Old Men” -
Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson

This was more like no movie for the audience. And this won Oscars? The Coen Brothers have found their new ghoulish muse in Bardem, he is like a Vampirish version of Bandera, and needs a new hair cut badly. Jones has seen better days, he isn’t aging gracefully and as much as I’ve always enjoyed his talent, it is now painful to see him on the screen. Brolin still can’t carry a movie and they seem to keep expecting him to. I know they are saying he is truly hitting his stride, unless that is his stride off the screen, I don’t see it. Harrelson was the light point in this. He always delivers unexpected performances and this was no exception even for a cameo. I grant you that the plains of Texas, windswept, littered with bodies, lawless in a world of drug smuggling and lies is No Country for Old Men, but clearly it isn’t a country for young men or women either as evidenced by the demise of Brolin and his screen wife. This was dark, bleak, and not entertaining in the least. Fargo is still their best and most creative, at least they gave Bardem a nail gun instead of a gun through half of this as an original weapon of choice.

“Vantage Point” -
Matthew Fox, William Hurt, Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver

This was Memento meets Ground Hog Day but not as mind twisting or as funny. I think I could have lived with 3-5 vantage points but felt more like 17 and that was too many. I actually left the theatre laughing out loud at the absurdity and I don’t think that was the reaction the makers wanted. The cast was all star, Hurt aging well looking more and more translucent in his own skin; Whitaker playing the innocent bystander and hero; Weaver has definitely had work done and looked fantastic sans makeup as the mobile newsroom director; Quaid looked rode hard and put away wet, he needs to have work done! He also was the superhero and that was the laughable part. This was disjointed, lots of gaps, and I didn’t recognize any of the bad guys so I never got attached.