I Am Legend

If you like suspenseful, gut wrenching sci-fi movies, you'll like this one. I thought the storyline was interesting and the way they presented it was good, but the suspense about killed me. Scared the crap out of me! So only go if you like that kind of thing. Will Smith is great as always.

Alvin and the Chipmunks

This is a fun kid movie, not offensive or violent or scary. My 3 year old even sat through it and he has an attention span of a knat.

Atonement

This is another movie that is just amazing and I'll have a hard time putting it into words. First off the actors are great. James McAvoy, who I first loved in Becoming Jane, is wonderful. He's not gorgeous in a Brad Pitt sort of way but he has the most entrancing eyes. And the way he brings the characters to life just pulls you in.

The story is wonderful in it's originality. I think it's the filming and the score though that makes it so enjoyable. They use really interesting camera work that is beautiful and suspenseful in a gentle way.

I loved it, I think you will, run to see it.

Into the Wild

I loved this movie but I don't know how to explain why. I guess it starts with a well-written story. Kudos to Sean Penn for screenwriting this one. I haven't read the book but I have to imagine this would be a hard story to convert to a screenplay. He uses some unique techniques to bring to life this young man's story and struggle.

He also didn't chintz on the scenery. The story follows Christopher McCandless' journey across the US. They could've cheaply let California substitute for many of the locations (like South Dakota) but they didn't and the effect is magical. You feel like you are experiencing everything he did and it made me want to chuck it all and hit the road too (for a few minutes anyway). Again, kudos to Sean Penn.

This is really a movie you NEED to see on the big screen. Watching it in a theatre I was truly lost for two hours in the experience. That doesn't happen very often and it was great.

The latest in kids flicks

I took Kennedy to both the Bee Movie and Enchanted.

The Bee Movie is a great kids flicks. No parents are killed violently, no one is an orphan, it's just good clean adventursome fun (ala Toy Story or A Bugs Life). Seriously, if someone could please explain the benefits to me of showing a mother getting killed in a cartoon movie (ala Finding Nemo), I would love to hear it!! It's so hard to find movies that do not have that.

So this one is good and it's got some cute lines in it for the parents too!

We also saw Enchanted. This is the princess movie with Patrick Dempsey in it. Ok, whoever created this one KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. Make a princess movie for the little girls and put a gorgeous 40-something guy in it so that all the moms will be glad to take their daughters to see it 5 times. BRILLIANT!! And it was just plain fun, well done and original, if you can believe that!

American Gangster

Nathan and I actually found time to go to this one together (amazing, happens once a year!). But I knew he would love it. And we both did.

It's great for many reasons...it has two fabulous actors in the gritty roles they do best. It's a true story that is amazing. It's well written and produced. It's not gory and bloody like The Departed. The story is about the thin and often blurry line between good and bad. It's like the Sopranos, how you start to like Tony and forget that he's a killer.

The only thing I was disappointed by was that Denzel and Russell didn't have more onscreen scenes together (not that I would change the movie, I just love seeing them act together). The entire movie is about their lives working toward each other. It's only in the end that they are onscreen together and it is amazing. The dialogue and interaction just sizzles. They just look like they're having fun and you want to be there!

Great flick! Make sure you see it!

Dan In Real Life

This is a really wonderful movie. The title says it all...it's about real life and how messy it can be but yet how great it can be. I laughed and I cried, but it was a good cry.

The characters are so human, they could be (and probably are) your friends, relatives, neighbors.

Steve Carrell is so funny and sweet. Juliette Binoche is naturally beautiful and smart.

I won't give you a synopsis, you can find that on Moviefone.com. I'll just say that this is not the usual Steve Carrell dorky comedy. It's a beautifully written family drama/comedy that is perfect for the holiday season!