How do You Know

M: I really kind of enjoyed this silly romantic comedy. Reece Witherspoon and Paul Rudd were really cute, and Paul Rudd was hilarious. Perhaps not the most romantic couple in the world, but very cute and fun. Owen Wilson was also very funny. I generally liked the movie quite a bit. I considered going with a 3 1/2, but I couldn't quite go that high. Worth seeing. 3 stars.

V:  This had a lot of original humor.  The cast was great.  Loved Tony Shaloub's short but sweet scene. Paul Rudd is funny, funny.  Loved the very short scene of him BBQing.  It was cute.  3 stars.

Take a Chance

M: This is another in the series of Mormon movies. But, although it has all the same actors as the other Mormon movies, and although it is clearly filmed in Provo, Utah, the characters in the movie aren't Mormon. Or, at least, it is pretty vague. I guess they hoped to expand the viewer base. Whatever. It made it a bit weird. So, two guys from Texas meet a guy from Idaho who looks like a missionary. Texas guy falls in love with Idaho guy's sister after looking at a picture of her. So he goes to Idaho and pretends to be an exchange student to meet her. Pretty funny. Not great, but good. I liked the main guy and the main girl. The story was tough to buy, and I didn't care for some of the secondary characters. 2 1/2 stars

V: It was pretty cute. Both the main guy actors were fun. One problem was that a girl who tells this guy that she'll help coach him so he can successfully woo her roommate gets mad at him because, and I quote, "You were just using me to get to her!" Uh, yeah, that was your plan. So a tighter script there would have been good. But, it was still pretty enjoyable. 2 1/2 stars

The Proposal

M: The Proposal is not going to change your life. Not great, not terrible. Just another rom-com where boy meets girl, boy and girl don't get along, but through a series of humorous events they start to appreciate and love each other, conflict develops, conflict is resolved, all past injustices are quickly forgiven, and they kiss (or more); end credits. Here, I appreciated that they didn't go beyond the kiss, although V commented on how it is simply expected and inferred that they would, but it just didn't make the screen. I liked the couple alright, they looked good together, but I didn't buy the romance. I am sorry but years of cruel treatment followed by extortion can't be so easily overcome, can it? A few overly silly parts and a bit of real predictability also hinder the movie. But, it is fairly harmless (well, one partial nude scene) and worth a few laughs. 2 1/2 stars

V: So if you had to convince an INS agent that you were actually engaged, but wanted to wait to have sex until after you were married, you'd be out of luck? They wouldn't believe the engagement was real? And the families just assume you will be sleeping together? That bugged me. Some stuff was funny. Some stuff was really silly. It's hard to believe Sandra Bullock as a really mean, bitter person. But I guess that's to her credit. It was okay. 2 stars.

Leather Heads

M: A movie about the coming of age of professional football starring George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, and John Krasinski (Jim of the Office). A relatively funny and quirky movie that at times tried too hard to be quirky and came off silly. I enjoyed Clooney and Krasinski's characters, but did not care for Zellweger's character and did not believe the romance side of the film. It also bugged me when they tried to turn Krasinski's character into an antagonist. It felt awkward for the movie to try to force me to root against the character that was the most likable and that I most liked. 2 stars

V: It's fun enough, but it tried to go in too many different directions and fit into too many different genres at once. The effect is a pretty discombobulated show. The actors are fun. I always say I don't like Rene Zellweger, but then usually find that I lose the actress in her character. So she is a good actor, after all, I admit. George Clooney and John Krasinski are loveable actors, and their characters are fun, too. But it still is jumbled, ending in a joke that was fun, but still, what's all this running around about? Seems like Clooney, as director, was trying to sandwich the slapstick from his 20 favorite old movies into this show, and it just got silly sometimes. 2 stars.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

V: Another film we saw on the plane - I think I missed the very beginning - and of course, kinda hard to hear in parts, blah, blah, blah. But, I thought it was pretty charming. I really like Francis McDormand (Pettigrew). Amy Adams plays a young singer trying to make it in London - laid it on a little thick at times, but okay. Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) plays one of her 3 (or 4?) lovers - and was really cute and likable. I like how it all turns out, so I say it's an enjoyable show to see. I'm sure it's better seen not on a plane. 3 stars.

M: Pretty good, for a flight movie. You should take any review of a movie viewed on a plane with a grain of salt. I did not really like Amy Adams character very much. She was overboard, and kind of slimey. But, the movie was pretty good, and Francis McDormand was great. 2 1/2 stars.

Definitely, Maybe

M: I liked the love interest, the one ultimatly ends up with. The two other love interests were not likable, and the main character was not all that likable either. All and all, I just couldn't get behind this movie. 1 1/2 stars.

V: There were some good parts to this movie. Ultimately, though, it was just a little too long - too spread out - the story didn't warrant it. I didn't feel particularly sympathetic toward any of the characters. So it was just OK. 2 stars.

What Happens in Vegas

M: Tough one. On the one hand, this movie represents everything I don't like in a movie. It was at times crude, mean-spirited, and overly silly. It had potty talk, an unusually easygoing investment banking firm, and it heaped abuse on the institution of marriage. And yet . . . I kind of enjoyed it. Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher worked as a romantic couple, at least toward the end of the movie when the movie allowed for a spark of romance. The movie also had its laugh out loud moments (often followed by a make you cringe moment). All and all, probably worth seeing if you have a night you want to give your brain and your sense of shame a rest. 2 1/2 stars.

V: I don't think I can top M's review. He pretty well summed it up. And I did decide on my rating before I looked here. I guess we are of one mind. So yeah, there are a lot of dumb/inappropriate/crude things in this movie. And there are also a lot of pretty genuinely funny things that made it kinda charming. 2 1/2 stars.

The Jane Austen Book Club

M: The movie had its share of downers, particularly in the beginning of the film. And not a single explosion or car chase, so not for everyone. But the characters grew on me and I found myself liking them and enjoying their little book club adventure. You wouldn't think you could do much with a movie about a book club, and at times the movie took itself too seriously with mega cheesy lines meant to inform the viewer that Jane Austin's books are really, really, deep and important. Nevertheless, in spite of myself, I enjoyed the movie. Highly recommended to some. Moderately recommended to many. To which club to you belong? 3 stars

V: This movie had a lot of charming, refreshing things about it. The cast is good, particularly Amy Brenneman, Hugh Dancy, and Emily Blunt. (Emily Blunt is really good, she really can take you wherever she wants - her character is great in this.) It's a nice little journey the characters take together, as they read all the Jane Austen novels together. They change and grow and learn to understand each other better. Lots of fun lines and quirky things - (like the pan to the robot on the couch - hee, hee!) Do not think squeaky clean, just because Jane Austen is in the title. I could have done without a few parts. The final scene was a little disappointing (cheesy). But otherwise, I enjoyed this movie. 3 stars

Midnight

V:This is an olllldie, but goodie. It was recommended to me by VSL (Very Short List) so I thought I'd give it a try. This 1939 movie stars Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche and John Barrymore (Drew's grandpappy). A penniless singer poses as a wealthy baroness and has to decide between marriage for love or money. This is a fun little romantic comedy. I liked Claudette Colbert, she was very charming. There were some funny, silly parts in the thick of the mix-up. Like a lot of romantic comedies, there is a lot of silliness, and not enough development of the romance. But it was cute. 3 stars

M: This is an oldie . . . .

I find that sometimes when I watch an older film I rank it on a sort of scale. I say to myself "that was good . . . considering how old it is." But, I don't think that is a fair way to rank a movie, so I am trying to base my review strictly on how the movie struck me, today. I have to say, it didn't strike me all that well. I don't know exactly why the romantic couple ever fell in love. So he drove her around in a cab for a few hours, and threatened her with a little physical abuse and kidnapping. Does that love make? Maybe in the 30's. In fairness, there were a few pretty funny parts. But mostly silliness and overacting. 2 1/2 stars

The Waitress

M: For me, this movie was a lot like Johnny Depp's Chocolat. Everybody around me seems to be nodding their head in a deep and understanding way, as the actors talk of, and passionately cook, some sort of food product. I just sit there, thinking to myself that I must be missing something. Is it just me? Is food production really that meaningful and sexy. I don't get it. Also, I am not a huge fan of affairs in a movie. If one is going to happen, I like the spouse that is cheated on to sort of have it coming. Maybe I am naive in that way. This show had two spouses who were cheated on. One had it coming, the other, as far as I could tell, didn't. This made it very difficult for me to like the main characters. And when you don't care for the main characters, that can't be a good sign, can it? 2 1/2 Stars

V: This show has plenty of charm. It does, however, revolve around an affair, which made me uneasy for the duration. In defense of the food thing, (see above) . . . it's not the food (pies, in this case)- it's the care she puts into making the pies, the nostalgia she feels from when her mother taught her how to make them (she has been missing a caring/nurturing presence in her life), and the genuine interest and appreciation the co-adulterer has for the heroine's talent - those things mean something. Plus pies, specifically, are wholesome and comforting - things also missing from her life at the onset. It doesn't really matter what it is, food, music, art, nature - as long as someone cares about what you care about - it's romantic. Did it work romantically here? Yeah, a little. Mostly the pies were a great device for her to express any kind of emotion, e.g., frustration, gratitude, anger, guilt. And at times it was pretty funny. Keri Russell does a good job in this movie. I think I would recommend this show, with reservations because of the infidelity. 3 stars.

Juno

V: Juno, Juno, Juno. Well, I think it was interesting. I had high hopes. In the end, I thought the story was pretty good. I liked the up-close attention to the main character-- they didn't speed through her conundrum slapstick style. Interesting how some characters changed in her perception (and ours), though it may have been too clean a switch. Ellen Page was very good. The boyfriend is great, we already loved that actor. Her Dad was a highlight, funny, rude, but always loving. It had a lot of crude elements/language, so that cast a shadow over it from the beginning. However, the script was natural and original. Music was fun. It was good, not super. 3 stars

M:I had very high expectations going into this movie, which perhaps put it at an unfair disadvantage. At first, I was a bit surprised at the content (you might say, "what did you expect from a movie about teenage pregnancy," but I didn't see it coming). As the movie rolled on, I grew to really like the characters. Juno is funny, her family is dysfunctional but fun. In the end, I really liked this movie. Of course, Ellen Page did great. I really like Michael Cere (played George Michael in Arrested Development). I wish they had found a way to do more with him. I also liked Juno's dad, cracked me up. I am not going to say that this is the greatest movie of all time, it isn't. But, it is good, the characters are likable, and the content, looking back, wasn't really all that bad. Tough call, tempted to give it a 3, but I will go with . . . 3 1/2 stars.

Dan in Real Life

M: Good Show! We love Steve Carell. The first time we saw him in Bruce Almighty, he stole the show. He is also fantastic in The Office. And now, we find that he makes a good-- weird-- but good, leading man in a romantic comedy. Dan's insecurities and his funny relationship with his family made the show for me. Line of the show: "This corn is like an angel." Makes no sense sitting here on this blog, but watch the show, it is one of many lines that left us laughing out loud. As a bonus, the show had very little swearing, if any, and no sex scenes. A few innuendos, but light. 3 1/2 Stars

PS - I (V) watched the bonus material and it turns out the "corn is like an angel" line was an ad-lib by Carell.

V: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie! Another take on Cyrano de Bergerac, Steve Carell (who does have a pretty big schnoz) is a writer and the less-likely candidate for the affections of the lovely Marie (Juliette Binoche) who is dating a younger, more "manly" man. The humor was perfect - I laughed at everything they intended to be funny. There were also some very sweet and touching moments. (kleenex grab, tear dab) Carell and Binoche, of course, were great. No one in the cast bugged me. The family was diverse and endearing. The script was unique and realistic. I liked the filming, the soundtrack, the story. Almost a PG show, too. I have no complaints - and am so happy to have seen it! Excellent. 4 stars

Enchanted

M: This is a fantastic movie. McDreamy (Grey's Anatomy), Jim's Pam-look-alike girlfriend (the office), and Cyclops (X-Men) all made appearances and all three were great. Particularly Amy Adams who was so sweet and funny and perfect for the part (maybe Jim should have stuck with her, see review of Blades of Glory). The prince, James Marsden, was pretty hilarious, and Patrick Dempsy made a very likeable leading man. The music scenes were great. This is a classic, for adults and children. Nearly a four star movie but a couple of overly silly things, think animal bowels, keep it from perfection. I also wasn't 100% sold on the ending. Having said that, I highly recommend. 3 1/2 stars

V: I also really liked this show. Many funny parts and great references to Disney movies past. Amy Adams as Giselle was so great - you could really picture her animated counterpart. Loved watching her change, too, as she grasped reality. The prince was one of the funniest parts. The chipmunk was the least funny when he could talk - so it was good he could only squeak for most of the movie. Songs were great fun. Very entertaining. 3 1/2 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.