Movies According to Christine

Yes, I know...I've said it before...I know you can't make your entertainment decisions without knowing what Christine's thoughts are on the movies you want to see. As if I'm a Leonard Maltin or a Roger Ebert. My biggest rule of thumb: Don't pay attention to the critics--especially not that woman who is named after a sandwich garnish.

You can probably skim through this list of the movies I've seen over the last 3-4 months and see somewhat of a pattern. I enjoy some silliness. I enjoy romantic comedies. I also enjoy a good cry sometimes. I like to escape, I need a laugh and I need to feel uplifted in some way when I walk out of that theater.

On the big screen:

The Love Guru--pure Mike Myers silliness. Though the underlying message is actually a serious and important one, Mike Myers never takes himself too seriously. There are parts of this movie during which Shalane and I were laughing so hard, I was in tears and we again asked ourselves, "Are we the only ones laughing?"

Then She Found Me--sweet story about a 39-year old woman whose birth mother finds her and how that relationship evolves (or doesn't at times). It's not as sappy as it sounds. A mom dies in this movie, but it's early on and we hardly have enough time to appreciate the mom or the mother-daughter relationship, so no tears here. That's okay. This is a pretty light movie. The acting is good (Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Bette Midler and Matthew Broderick). The ending is happy and sweet. I'm a sucker for a happy ending. This was one of my self-indulgent movie-by-myself matinees.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull--Normally I avoid the movie reviews and disregard what others tell me about a movie. I made an exception for this one. I read several reviews prior to seeing this. I needed to know that this was a good investment. There were differing opinions of the movie and they seemed to correlate to the reviewer's generation. Roger Ebert, for example, was pretty okay with it. Other younger reviewers (by my assessment of their young-looking photos) didn't like it so much and called it a disappointment.

My take: This is a continuation of the adventures that began in 1981. It did not open with an action sequence and that was disappointing. It was somewhat predictable and a little over the top with the prairie dogs, monkeys and aliens. Overall, though, I enjoyed it. Good triumphs over evil. Guy gets the girl. Happy family lives happily ever after. At least until the next sequel.

What Happens in Vegas--romantic comedy...happy ending...good message about what is important in life. Hint: it is NOT working all the time.

Sex and the City <-- click here for previously posted comments. In short: great closure.

Smart People--this is one of those dialogue-intensive character studies I am so often drawn to. (Yes, I know I shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition.) This is about finding love and happiness. It's about hope, intimacy, relationships and living happily after ever once you've figured that all out.

Baby Mama--actually pretty good! The trailers are a bit misleading, because this turns out to be a romantic comedy of sorts. It's not all about the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler characters. The main character, it turns out, can get pregnant...has a baby...ends up with the Baby Daddy (Greg Kinnear). The once-a-surrogate character embarks on a path of self-improvement. Everybody lives happily ever after. Appearances by Sigourney Weaver and Steve Martin add a little amusement and more familiar faces.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall--another romantic comedy with a happy ending. Very funny and sweet. Best part is the guy is not sucked back into the relationship with Sarah Marshall after she stomped all over him. He gets happy and gets a great girl.

On DVD:

Grace is Gone--a mom dies. I rented this knowing exactly what I was getting myself into. Young father of two daughters loses his soldier wife in the war and puts off telling them...he instead takes them on a road trip. Not sure what my opinion of this is...I just needed a good cry and it did the trick. Sort of.

August Rush--orphaned kid finds his birth parents. Fairytale-ish, but I don't care. It's a sweet story with a tear-jerker happy ending.

Juno--another movie that got lots of attentions at the Oscars and Sundance. This is another of those movies where I just don't get why people thought it was so fantastic (like Sideways, for example). Teen gets pregnant. Teen chooses to place child for adoption. Miscellaneous not-so-dramatic plot turns that are just enough to keep the viewer's interest. It was okay.

Other recent movie rentals and previously "reviewed-by-me": Atonement and Dan in Real Life. Click on the links in case you missed those posts.

On TV:

This is my list of "You're Still Grieving, So Don't Watch This is if You Don't Want to Cry Real Hard All Over Again." I had forgotten about a few key scenes in the first two and was sort of taken by surprise...especially since I really wasn't watching these from start to finish...I just happened to stop the channel changing at a key moment. The rest I have seen so many times that I know to avoid them.

Hope Floats--a mom dies
Stepmom--a mom dies
Beaches--a mom dies
Terms of Endearment--a mom dies
Steel Magnolias--a mom dies

Sometimes a good cry is great. In fact, sometimes I just feel like there is this huge pot of boiling grief way down in my gut. Eventually, it has to come out (again). And when it does, there will be flailing and wailing and screaming and crying. A little trigger like a "mom dies" movie helps a little, but sometimes I don't expect it and don't want to put myself through it. I sound a little warped, I know...especially since I rented Grace is Gone with just that intention.

End of reviews. Now, you can make informed entertainment decisions based on Movies According to Christine.