Marietta @ the Movies

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:48:00 +0000

Taking a little "time out". Thank you for your patience.

Book of Eli

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:31:00 +0000

A strong cast: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, and Jennifer Beals, makes The Book of Eli a superbly crafted story. The film follows Eli (Washington) as he carries a book with him west through the devastation of earth and humanity left after the Apocalypse. Eli crosses the path of Carnegie (Oldman), the thug who runs one of the few towns with water. Carnegie has had his "crew" foraging out into the wasteland to find this book ("It's not a book. It's a weapon!"). You have to pay attention, or you might miss some nuances of the story, but it is worth the effort. I'll see this one again on rental.

Check it out... Denzel Washington in Courage Under Fire (DVD COU), Glory (DVD GLO), John Q. (DVD JOH), Much Ado About Nothing (DVD MUC), Philadelphia (DVD PHI), Remember the Titans (DVD REM), The Taking of Pelham 123 (DVD TAK), and Training Day (DVD TRA) all at the Nesmith Library.

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Leap Year

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:10:00 +0000

Amy Adams recaptures my belief in her as a romantic heroine in Leap Year. Matthew Goode plays opposite Adams as the Irish innkeeper who agrees to take her to Dublin to propose to her boyfriend. There is great chemistry and lots of fun between these two. Even though you know how this will end, the journey and scenery are worth the ticket price.
Check it out...If this flick makes you want to visit the "Emerald Isle" you'll find several travel guides at the Nesmith Library (914.15).

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The Princess and the Frog

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:15:00 +0000

Perhaps the reason I wasn't thrilled with the musical Nine (see previous post) is that I've grown up on too many Disney musicals like this one. The Princess and the Frog is full of bright colors, light, memorable tunes and, of course, a happy ending. Keeping in mind that it IS made for children to enjoy. Thank goodness they don't restrict its audience to 16 and under! This movie is a delight for all, but if you are disturbed by shrieks of glee or shouts of surprise I suggest you wait to rent it.

Check it out...Nesmith Library has several children's musicals you can borrow for free. Here's just a sampling, all produced by Disney: Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Country Bears, Lion King 1-1/2, Little Mermaid, and The Muppet Movie.

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Nine

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 03:18:00 +0000

As musicals go Nine is more like Moulin Rouge than Mama Mia. Personally, I prefer the later. I felt the music was hard and harsh, which I suppose is appropriate in this Faustian tale. Daniel Day Lewis is certainly in good company here: Judy Dench, Sophia Loren, Penélope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Fergi, Nicole Kidman, and Kate Hudson. Kate is definitely her mother's daughter, she really shakes it up, must be the genes.
Check it out...Nesmith Library has over 100 musicals to entertain you, just type "Musical Films" and press the SUBJECT button on the online catalog.

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It's Complicated

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:34:00 +0000

Life's complicated, but It's Complicated is just exhilarating! A "laugh-out-loud", sides hurting, thoroughly entertaining film. See it!
Happy New Year Movie Lovers! Wishing you a year with just enough adventure to keep life interesting, romance to keep your heart warm, comedy to tickle your funny bone, and drama only on the big screen.

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Sherlock Holmes

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:41:00 +0000

If you are looking for an adventure, Sherlock Holmes is just the thing! I think Robert Downey Jr. was born to play Holmes, the quintessence of the famous sleuth. Of course, I thought the same thing when he played Chaplin. Downey is reborn every time he goes on stage. Jude Law's Dr. Watson is the perfect foil for Downey's antics. Rachel McAdams is stunning as Holmes' love interest. Mark Strong played the villain, Blackwood, as well as Basil Rathbone would have. The 1800's set and costumes were a bonus. I would definitely put this one on your "after-Christmas" events.

Check it out...Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's adventures in print and on DVD are available at the library. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"(DVD ADV), "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (AB/CD MYS DOY), "The Complete Sherlock Holmes" (MYS DOY), "The Horror of the Heights & Other Tales of Suspense" (F DOY), "The Hound of the Baskervilles; Another Adventure of Sherlock Holmes" (MYS DOY), "The Lost World" (AB/CD DOY), "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" (F DOY), "The Return of Sherlock Holmes - DVD Collection" (DVD RET), "Round the Fire Stories" (F DOY), "The Sign of Four" (AB/CD MYS DOY), "The White Company : Sir Nigel" (F DOY).
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Up in the Air

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:11:00 +0000

George Clooney is, I believe, the "Cary Grant" of the 90's. He is suave, debonair, charismatic and in Up In the Air emotionally unavailable. I was prepared to see a romantic comedy but this flick, directed by Jason Reitman, is not an uplifting film. Ryan Bingham (Clooney) is an HR administrator who spends his life flying from one downsizing company to another doling out pink slips and platitudes across the country. Something we all fear in this economy. Bingham is rarely in the office or on the ground. His only goal is to reach the elusive 10-million-mile mark. His reward: his name on the side of a plane and a meeting with legendary pilot Maynard Finch (superbly played by Sam Eliot). Along the way he tries to relate to a young HR initiate, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick). Bingham does make connections along his way with Alex Goran who tells Ryan to "think of me as you, with a vagina" (delightfully played by Vera Farmiga) and a feeble attempt to show interest in his siblings lives by showing up at his sister's wedding. He redeems himself somewhat by calming the groom's cold feet with an awkward pep talk. I really liked this well acted film. A grown-up comedy with realistic grown up problems.
Check it out... Jason Reitman also directed for The Office and Saturday Night Live TV series. Two of his films are available at the library: Juno and Thank You For Smoking.

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Avatar

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:02:00 +0000

Director James Cameron's expensive and long awaited Avatar was well worth the cold, early Saturday drive to Reading, MA and the $13.00 ticket to see it in an IMAX theatre. I liked the story, the social commentary, the acting (Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver), and the amazing special effects. I was swallowed up by the scenery and bigger than life characters. For two hours and forty minutes I was thoroughly engrossed in the struggle for survival of Pandora's indigenous Na'vi race. Avatar is definitely a Christmas treat worth seeing.
Check it out...A few of James Cameron's movies are available at the Nesmith Library: Aliens (DVD ALI), Solaris (DVD SOL), The Terminator (DVD TER), Titanic (DVD TIT), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (VIDEO TER), and True Lies (VIDEO TRU).

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Christmas Flick List

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:44:00 +0000

My present to you is a list of films making their debut this holiday season. My most awaited flick is The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Dec 25th), Heath Ledger's last film. Ledger plays Tony, who passes through a magic mirror and reappears looking like Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell. Not bad, huh?
Second on my list... Sherlock Holmes (Dec 25th) with Robert Downey Jr., Rachel McAdams and encore, Jude Law! Need I say more?
Of course I have to include the overly promoted animated SciFi flick, Avatar (Dec 18th), in 3-D, obviously...
I can not miss Invictus (Dec 11th). Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, this is the most serious film in my list: Nelson Mandela, apartheid, and rugby.
Up in the Air and It's Complicated, (both Dec 25th) get listed here for pure star appeal. Who can miss a chance to watch George (Clooney, that is) jet around the world? Or delight over the antics of real grown-up people (and wonderful actors) Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, and Rita Wilson?
Did You Hear About the Morgans? (Dec 18th) with Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. Sorry, I just love SJP. Do you remember Parker and Helen Hunt in Girls Just Want To Have Fun, circa 1985? (Spoiler alert! Guess you can guess what generation I'm from.)
For animated fun, I choose Disney's Princess and the Frog (Dec 11th), with the voices of Keith David, Oprah Winfrey, and John Goodman.
(Drum roll, please) The finale is of course this years Broadway-play-on-film, "Nine". Rob Marshall directs Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Fergie, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, and Sophia Loren in this play about players on and off the stage.

So everyone, have a wonderful Christmas! and may your New Year be filled with great movies (ok, peace, health, and happiness too).

Love, your Movie Maven

Everybodys Fine

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 02:00:00 +0000

How can you go wrong spending the afternoon watching one of Hollywood's biggest actors. Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) finds that after loosing his wife he has little connection to his four grown children (Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, and Sam Rockwell). Yes, I said four... however, the whereabouts of his son Jack is just the focal point of all the small lies, omissions, and deceits we all tell to protect those we love. Frank, not in the best of health, is disappointed when all his children cancel a visit to their childhood home so against doctor's orders he sets off on bus and train to reconnect with each of them. Great acting tells this family story with great heart and honesty. This drama is worth the ticket.
Check it out... Robert De Niro flicks worth borrowing from the library: Awakenings, Midnight Run, Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, 1900, Goodfellas, The Deer Hunter and The Untouchables, to name just a few. The Nesmith Library owns 18.

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New Moon

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:44:00 +0000

I have to admit here that I have not read Stephanie Meyers' books.
New Moon, or The Twilight Saga: New Moon, was a step up from the first movie, Twilight. Cinematically, I enjoyed the scenery and the couple of times the camera was used to enhance the emotion of the scene. Special effects weren't flawless, but exciting all the same. Otherwise, it was an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon, keeping in mind the storyline is written for teenagers. I am sure the next episode in this "saga", there are two more Twilight stories, will be even better.
Check it out...All Twilight titles ("Twilight", "New Moon", "Eclipse" and "Breaking Dawn") are available in the Young Adult section of the Nesmith Library and as an audio book on CD.

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2012

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:10:00 +0000

Okay, you know what to expect here. You've heard all the chatter about the Mayan calandar ending December 21, 2012, listened to various doomsday theories, and watched movies like Meteor and Day After Tomorrow. 2012 is a like-minded roller coaster ride of world-wide cataclysmic destruction. The special effects are great making this a big-screen flick and worth the ticket. I did appreciate the scene where the scientist questions the government officials about using an inhumane policy to save humanity. I won't spoil it for you...
Check it out...

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Men Who Stare at Goats

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:27:00 +0000

I've been reading the book, "The Men Who Stare at Goats". The Nesmith Library lists this title in the non-fiction section (355.3434 RON) with subject headings "Psychological warfare" and "Parapsychology / Military Aspects". First published in England in 2004, British journalist Jon Ronson's book is an expose of a secret fringe military unit performing psychic experiments at Fort Bragg, NC. This "off-the-wall" movie starring Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, and Jeff Bridges will tickle your funny bone. Including "bleat-less" goats that are used to train recruits how to field dress a wound. Of course you have to shoot the goat first. Goats were chosen because evidently it is more humane than practicing on dogs, and soldiers found it easier to shoot a goat in the leg than a dog. Even more bazaar, stopping a goat's heart by staring at it (hence the title). There are some great lines and silly gags but these talented actors pull it off. Considering this is a true story... I'm even more concerned about what our military is doing behind those tall chainlink fences. See this one. It will leave you wondering.

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Where the Wild Things Are

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:48:00 +0000

This film version of the children's book Where the Wild Things Are isn't a children's movie. It is a story of a child who runs away to a pretend place where he learns about community, and love, and controlling your anger for the benefit of the family. The film is beautifully done using a mixture of real actors, computer animation, and live puppeteering. Of course it is different from the picture book, a mere 338 words, adding background information about Max's life in the real world. In the film version Max bites his mother in a fit of frustration and then runs away. The book only says that he is behaving particularly wild so he imagines himself in a "wild world". Where the Wild Things Are is worth seeing, in the theatre or at home, especially if parents watch with their children and take time to discuss the story with them afterwards.
Check it out...
"Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak (JP SEN)

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Couples Retreat

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:07:00 +0000

Well, Vince Vaughn has grown up a bit since The Breakup and certainly matured since The Wedding Crashers, and I say it's about time. Vaughn (Dave), Jon Favreau (Joey), and Dana Fox wrote the script, and Peter Billingsley (Four Christmases, Iron Man, and The Break-Up with Vaughn) directs. In Couples Retreat four couples spend a week in paradise (insert luscious scenery here) alternately seeking or denying what state their relationships are in. The story is a simple but revealing look at romance and relationships, which can be very funny... and is in this entertaining film. A few other faces you'll recognize from the small screen are Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Kristin Bell (Veronica Mars), Kristin Davis (Sex in the City), and from the big screen Jean Reno (DaVinci Code). This is a good one that's not too deeply emotional to take a guy to, but leave the kids at home.

Check it out...see more of Vince Vaughn in Into the Wild (DVD INT), The Lost World Jurassic Park (VIDEO LOS), and Starsky & Hutch (DVD STA).

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Whip It

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:55:00 +0000

Anyone who's ever roller skated will love this movie. I remember strapping on my skates, key around my neck, no pads or helmet, flying down the hill in front of my house, hair flying. The sense of freedom plastering a big smile on my face. Roller derby was on the tube once a week. The girls were bruisers. I can't remember if they were a local team or not. Ok, I'm dating myself. Written by roller derby star-turned-author/screenwriter Shauna Cross Whip It tells us how Bliss Cavendar (played by Ellen Page, think "Juno") beauty pagent princess rebels against her parents (Marcia Gay Harden and Daniel Stern) by becoming Babe Ruthless of the Hurl Scouts, an Austin Roller Derby team. I'm impressed by Drew Barrymore's ability in her directorial debut. I liked that she played a small part as one of the team. Barrymore has been around since she was a child and watching this film you get the sense that they, the newbies and the stars we love, are all working as a team and enjoying what they are doing. Bonus, the music was great. I'd pay to see this again, or use the money to buy the CD. So strap on your gear and head to your local small town theatre for a great ride.
In case you've forgotten how...
Check it out...
Wheel excitement : the official Rollerblade guide to in-line skating by Neil Feineman (796.2 FEI).

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Surrogates

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 02:12:00 +0000

I really enjoyed this film. Oh, sure, it's still the standard Sci-Fi cautionary tale: loss of humanity through overuse of technology. However, it's also a sad story of a married couple, who after losing their only child, retreat from each other emotionally, communicating only through their surrogates. Personal surrogates, operated their "owners" go to work and socialize. Operators experience daily life via their surrogate while isolated in their homes. Some humans reject the "surrogate lifestyle" and create their own "territories" where only humans may enter. When an operator dies while "linked" to his surrogate FBI agent, Greer (Bruce Willis), sends his surrogate in to investigate. His surrogate is destroyed by the humans there, but not before Greer disconnects from it. Willis does a good job playing deadpan surrogate Greer, but an excellent job playing the human Greer searching for connections with his wife and trying to get his wife step out from behind her surrogate to face their pain together. He is not the only human trying to deal with the death of a child. James Cromwell plays the inventor of the surrogates and even before his son dies (when his surrogate is killed) he regrets where his invention has taken human kind. Both men try to redeem themselves with varied success. I think this film has something to offer on many different levels. See it in the theatre for the action and special effects, or rent it for the story.
Check it out...I really enjoyed Bruce Willis in this film. Here's some more of his action: Armageddon (DVD ARM); Friends - the complete 6th season (DVD FRI); Pulp fiction (DVD PUL); The sixth sense (DVD SIX); Twelve monkeys (DVD TWE); The whole nine yards (DVD WHO); Die hard (VIDEO DIE); Mercury rising (VIDEO MER).

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Fame

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:59:00 +0000

Fame is a remake of the 80s movie/TV series of the same name. Great music, wonderful dancing, and a little bit of high school drama. Veterans Debbie Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally, and Bebe Neuwirth portray the instructors. A group of very talented young actors portray the students. You might recognize Kay Panabaker (Jenny Garrison) from such TV series as Lie to Me, Grey's Anatomy, CSI, Ghost Whisperer, Boston Legal, etc., etc. Even though the students' stories were a bit thin I did thoroughly enjoy watching and listening to them dance and sing and grow up. This is a great family film with an upbeat finale'. Worth the price of a ticket for the production scenes.

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Love Happens

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:48:00 +0000

Love Happens is the story of Burke Ryan, who after losing his own wife writes a self-help book and leads others through their own grief via seminars. While in Seattle he literally bumps into Eloise (Jennifer Aniston), a florist who writes words like "quidnunc" and "poppysmic" under hotel artwork. After a few weak attempts to connect, Burke tells Eloise she is the first woman he's dated since his wife's death. Eloise helps Burke come to terms with his own grief and reconnect with his wife's father (Martin Sheen). Noteworthy, in this otherwise light diversion, is Judy Greer (27 Dresses, Elizabethtown, and all over TV)as Eloise's assistant and John Carroll Lynch as Walter, an ex-contractor grieving over the death of his son. Rent this chick flick for a rainy afternoon.

According to Wikipedia a "chick flick" is typically used only in reference to films that are heavy with emotion or contain themes that are relationship-based (though not necessarily romantic).

Check it out...The Library has many self-help books on grieving. Here's just a few:
After the death of a child : living with loss through the yearsby Ann Finkbeiner (155.937 FIN)
After you lose someone you love : advice and insight from the diaries of three kids who've been there by Amy Dennison (J 155.937 DEN)
Coping with grieving and loss by Sandra Giddens (J 155.9 GID)
Good grief : healing through the shadow of loss by Deborah Morris Coryell (155.937 COR)
The grieving teen : a guide for teenagers and their friends by Helen Fitzgerald (YA 155.9 FIT)
How to survive the loss of a parent : a guide for adults by Lois F. Akner (155.937 AKN)
How we grieve : relearning the world by Thomas Attig (155.937 ATT)
I miss you : a first look at death by Pat Thomas (J 155.937 THO)
This thing called grief : new understandings of loss by Thomas M. Ellis (155.937 ELL)
Unattended sorrow : recovering from loss and reviving the heart by Stephen Levine (155.937 LEV)

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The Informant!

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Finally, a thoughtful, well-played flick you can sink your intelligence into. It's been a long summer of slick 3-D animated flicks, sci-fi dramas aimed at prepubescent minds, a couple chick flicks, and one half-baked drama saved only by well-seasoned actors. As crisp and fresh as the recent early morning dew, director Steven Soderbergh gives us a smart and funny story that opens up like a well tended late blooming rose. In The Informant! Matt Damon plays Mark Whitacre a corporate whistle-blower who is, or isn't, more than he appears to be. Scott Bakula is FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard to whom Whitacre "confides" his corporate secrets. We are made privy to the inner workings of Whitacre's mind via a stream-of-consciousness voice-over by Damon. Surprisingly, this technique doesn't distract from what's happening on screen. However, the wigs that Damon and Bakula sport, do. Which is all a part of the "joke" in this somewhat off-beat comedy based on the true story of an Archer Daniels Midland executive who supplied information to the FBI in a price-fixing investigation. I enjoyed this thoughtful, believable, quirky film. See it now or rent it later. P. S. You might recognize Melanie Lynskey, who plays Whitacre's supportive wife, from TV's Two and a Half Men.
Check it out...Other great films about corporate whistle-blowing, The Insider, Silkwood, and The Firm (which is mentioned in Whitacre's "self talk") can be borrowed from the Nesmith Library on DVD.

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9

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:42:00 +0000

I think I've been over-animated this summer... My latest animated film, 9, based on Shane Acker's 11-minute, Academy Award-nominated short (2005), is a post apocalyptic vision of the world where machines have eradicated mankind. Except, that is, for nine cloth and metal dolls somehow endowed with the last souls of humanity. If these dolls can figure out their creator's plan to save themselves, they can save humanity. I left the theatre wondering if they were successful, and if I hadn't slept through the climax. Thankfully the movie only lasts one hour. I'd skip this one.

Check it out...Sorry, I'm not even sure what you might want to check out after seeing this film.

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Final Destination

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:19:00 +0000

This 3-D thriller is not for the faint of heart. The first time I saw "Final Destination", it was the second movie of the series, on television. I was fascinated by the writers concept of fate. Do we control our own destiny or do we have a preset appointment with death? If, somehow, we learn the time and situation of our death, can we change it? So... I watched the other two "Final Destination" films, again on TV. For someone who does not watch "scary" movies, I thought I was prepared to step out of my comfort zone, and paid money to see The Final Destination 3-D. Bad decision. The 3-D had me regularly jumping out of my seat. And the "accidents" playing two or three times for each character was just too much to bear. I went home an emotional wreck. So, for those of you with gentler constitutions, I suggest you skip this one. For those of you who love to scare yourselves with pithy scenes of destruction... this one's for you.

Check it out..."The Soul's Code : In Search of Character and Calling" by James Hillman (150 HIL)suggests every person is born with a defining image that affirms his or her inherent uniqueness and destiny.

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Time Travelers Wife

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:11:00 +0000

Last Friday night a girlfriend and I were discussing what to see at the theater. One of the previews I had seen was The Time Travelers Wife. The scenes were very touching and somewhat heart-wrenching, two people very much in love and torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. I warned my friend that there might be tears, armed myself with a handful of tissues and off we went. Surprisingly, I stayed dry-eyed for most of the movie. Henry (Eric Bana) travels through time without warning due to a rare genetic disorder. Drawn from time and place to time and place he continually pops, unannounced, in and out Clare's (Rachel McAdams) life. Clare first meets Henry when she is 5 and he is in his forties. Then Clare introduces herself to a younger Henry when she is in college and he is working at the college library. The two eventually marry and have a daughter. Somehow Henry is able to visit them, via time travel, even after he's dead. Time travel stories are always hard for me to keep up with. The story jumps from era to era, with Henry arriving older or younger. Somehow he and Clare form a very romantic, though somewhat tragic, relationship. Ultimately, this is a great romantic movie definitely worth watching if you believe in true love that lasts a life time, not necessarily in chronological order. Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams have great chemistry P. S. Henry and Clare's friend Gomez, played by Ron Livingston, was a familiar face from HBO-TV's "Sex and the City" (Berger, one of Carrie's boyfriends).

Check it out... The library has over 260 time travel novels, but for more scholarly information about the possibility of time travel check out "Time Travel in Einstein's Universe : the Physical Possibilities of Travel Through Time" by Richard J. Gott (530.11 GOT).

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Julie & Julia

noreply@blogger.com (Terrie) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 05:03:00 +0000

There was such "hub-bub" about Julie & Julia in my little group of friends that I just had to go see this film. So a few of us did. It was a diverse group, those who cook and those who zap frozen food in microwaves. Mdm. Streep was sublime (insert French accent here), she was Julia Child for a few hours. Julia's husband Paul, played masterfully by Stanley Tucci, was so supportive and understanding of her drive to be involved in something. I felt her need to be something more than just a married lady, understood the disappointment of not having a family, something both Paul and Julia wanted. Julia and Paul's relationship was one of loving kindness and shared support. Lucky for us she chose French cooking and wanted to share her joy with all America. Her exuberance (again so artfully played by Streep) was contagious. So even though I fall in the "zapping" form of cooking, I thoroughly enjoyed Julia's story. I have always liked Amy Adams performances in the past and having no idea who Julie Powell is, I was not as engaged in her story as I was in Julia's. Julie has no joy to share, with us or her husband. She doesn't appreciate Eric (Chris Messina)even though he is patient and loving despite his wife's "melt downs". Her self-centeredness and single-mindedness makes her unsympathetic. Despite the inequitable stories, I did enjoy this movie and suggest that you will as well, at least half of it.

If you are interested in "cooking with Julia"...Check it out... at the Nesmith Library: Cooking with master chefs. (641.5 CHI); From Julia Child's kitchen. (641.544 CHI); Julia and Jacques cooking at home. (641.5944 CHI); Mastering the art of French cooking, Vol. 2. (641.5944 CHI); The way to cook. (641.5 CHI); and of course an autobiography: My life in France. (B CHI)

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