Wall-E

M: Loved it. Wall-E is the funnest character. Very sweet. The movie is simply fun, clever, and worth seeing and owning. 4 stars

V: I really wanted to watch this movie again almost as soon as I was finished seeing it. That's a good sign. It was so sweet and clever. I've got a soft spot for that little trash compactor. One thing I appreciated was that - though there was an obvious environmental message - there was no preaching or moral-stating, they just told the story. Wall-E, so darling and love-starved, just kept shoveling away through centuries. I loved the plucky way the people approached their "new" home at the end. It was very optimistic. 4 stars

Kung-Fu Panda

V: I know everyone else has already seen this. Like I said, we're red-boxers. Hey, did you get to make Gyoza and eat them while watching this show in the theater? I didn't think so! I'm a big Jack Black fan, so I was pretty sure I was going to love this. And I did! Great characters, some hilarious lines. Good moral. My 4-year-old adds, "It was pretty fun, and just a little bit scary." We might even buy this one. (We kinda hate collecting movies, so that's saying something.) I wrestled with this a bit, but decided to just embrace the joy: 4 stars.

M: This legendary movie was the stuff of legend. 4 stars.

Baby Momma

M: I like Tina Fey, and to a lesser extent, Amy Poehler. I love them on SNL's weekend update, where the writing is funny, and they play off each other very well. This movie was ok. Parts were touching, parts were very funny, and parts were silly. A very light movie. Probably worth a redbox. 2 1/2 stars.

V: This was better (and less crude) than I expected. There were lots of people in it that I really like: Fey and Poehler (of course) and Steve Martin, Greg Kinnear and Sigourney Weaver. It was a fun watch. Definitely a red-boxer. (Course, we pretty much always red box it.) 3 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.

The Visitor

V: We saw this on a looonng plane ride. It was really the only one of eight movies I watched during our trip to and from our far-away destination. This movie is about a depressed, middle-aged widower who meets and befriends a couple of immigrants who have taken up residence in his Manhattan apartment. This is a slow, sweet, troubling, but ultimately positive story that I really liked. Particularly Richard Jenkins, who plays Walter, does a really terrific job. I loved watching his subtle reactions and how he changes throughout the movie. This is a realistic story; some may resent its lack of neatly tied-up ends. I found this movie interesting and touching. 3 1/2 stars.

M: Take this with a grain of salt. Planes have a way of lessening the enjoyment of a movie, maybe it is the cramped seating, or the fact that the screen is so far away, or the poor sound quality of the headphones, or the guy that keeps standing in the way. The movie was ok, the main character was quite likable. But the movie was a downer, and the ending was a downer. Not my bag of tea. 2 stars.

Evan Almighty

V: I had not heard good things about this movie - so maybe it was low expectations - but I really enjoyed it! Particularly, the first half of the movie had many truly funny things in it. How can Steve Carrell not be funny? The end was a little silly, but still an interesting resolution. So it was a light, entertaining show, all in all. 3 stars.

M: I thought the movie was hilarious. I laughed out loud several times. Micheal Scott (some call him Steve Carrell) is so funny, it is hard to go wrong. There were a few over the top, kind of silly moments. But as a light hearted, nice, and well intentioned film, I loved it. Don't take it to seriously. 3 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.