Blades of Glory

M: Will Ferrell and Jon Heder star in this show about two figure skating superstars who join together as a couple in pairs skating after being banned from male singles skating. This had some very funny stuff, including some laugh out loud moments . . . but. Crude jokes throughout ruin the show. This show had potential, not a lot of potential, but some potential. This obviously was no Napoleon Dynamite, but it was a lot better than bench warmers (Jon Heders prior films, see our full list of reviews for reviews of both). Jenna Fischer of "the Office" has a role in the movie, and though I love her in "the Office," her character in this film, the sweet likable girl, is neither sweet, nor likable. Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler and Arrested Development's Will Arnett, both hilarious in those shows, don't do much to help this show. I can't recommend, but if you don't mind senselessly crude humor, give it a shot. 2 Stars

V: Amen to what Mike said. 2 Stars.

Ratatouille

M: Good movie. Maybe a little long. Little Rat (voice of spence from King of Queens, Vic can fill in the name, she is good at that kind of thing) likes to cook. As a cooking fan, he doesn't fit in with the other rats, eventually separates from them, and ends up at a fancy restaurant helping a human wannabe cook make fancy dishes. This is very funny, but, if you are like me, the sight of rats cooking is not all that appealing. The only real flaw in the movie is toward the end where there is this sort of false ending that is proceeded by more action, another climax, and a bit of an anticlimactic second ending. Perhaps this unexpected bonus time after my mind thought the movie was over contributed to the feeling that the movie was about 20 minutes too long. See it though, it is good. 3 Stars

V: I really liked it, a great fish-out-of-water/rat-in-the-kitchen story. I do agree that the huge family of rats scurrying around the kitchen was shudder inducing - which is probably the main reason I didn't give this one full marks. When the show looked like it was going to wrap up, I'm really glad it didn't - it would've been too simple, too trite. Instead, it further explored the complications of pride, loyalty, peer pressure - and the reality of the problem of a rat in the kitchen. So I really ended up liking this show. Really fun and unique - The Pixar people don't disappoint. 3 1/2 stars

Transformers

M: Oh man. A piece of my childhood, spoiled. This action-packed movie contained so many cheesy lines that it was one long cringe throughout. The battle scenes were chaos, I couldn't tell who was who. Oh, so disappointing. And when they had Prime giving his lame lines, it was almost more than I could take. But, some cool effects, I guess. 2 stars.

V: This show was way, way too long. (I can do 2 1/2 hours for a really good movie - this one should have been 90 min.) Even with that length there were loose ends. And for a show that I'm sure attracted a lot of 8-12 year-old boys, it had quite a few crude elements. Lost credibility in many parts, with characters making uncharacteristic moves. The effects were cool - but not 2 1/2 hours worth of cool. I thought Shia Labeouf did a good job with what he was given. 2 stars.

No Reservations

Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckart and Abigail Breslin. Story about an uptight Chef (Zeta-Jones) who finds herself surprised and changed by a pajama-wearing newcomer chef (Eckart) and her newly-orphaned niece. Rated PG.

V: First of all, I admit that my viewing of this movie was interrupted many times, which I think lowers my overall opinion of it. I expected a romantic comedy, but it came off as a drama. Fairly contemplative, some tragedy, tension. I guess there were some funny things, and a happy ending, but it still didn't seem comedic, to me. It was very soundtrack heavy. The instrumental background music was distracting and repetitive. And the songs were many and unnatural - almost like they were trying to fit a movie into a movie soundtrack album they'd put together. Not very original stories. We (the three of us who watched it) all said we liked the food parts. The cooking/kitchen was interesting. I do like these three actors, too. So it was alright.

I give it 2 1/2 stars.