Starring: Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin, and Abigail Breslin

2009

Rating: 3

A moving movie is always a good bet. Unless of course you're having friends over and don't want them to see you cry.

Abigail Breslin may be only 9 years old, but man is she good. She's probably the best actor in the whole movie.

OK, I have to admit that I've never been a fan of Cameron Diaz, and this movie did nothing to convince me otherwise.

"My Sister's Keeper" will make you think that's for sure.

I recommend that you see it.

I do think that it was a little slow at times. There were 5-6 times where they just played a song, no dialog. Just a song. The whole song. I don't need to listen to music I don't necessarily like, not even in a movie.

Had they done something differently in regards to those "sequences" I probably would have enjoyed the movie a lot more.

by: Elizabeth Strout.

2008; 304 pages,

rating: 3.5

"Olive Kitteridge" is the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction. Awhile back, when I was looking for a good book to read, I decided that I would read my way through the Pulitzer Prize winners.

I mean, if you're looking for a good book to read why not look at what was the "best" book of the year?

I enjoyed reading "Olive Kitteridge". I thought that the writing style was good, nothing spectacular; unique, but nothing revolutionary.

Overall, "Olive Kitteridge" was infinitely better than "The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao," which won the year before.

But, all in all, I never really latched on to a character. I never felt compelled to read on. I did think it was interesting that Olive played a role in all the stores of the book.

(It's a collection of short stories, each with a different narrator. Usually when they're story is done, that's the last that is heard of them.)

Unfortunately, because of this, I had no real desire to continue reading, except to finish the book.

2009

Starring: George Clooney and Anna Kendrick

Rating: 4

"Up in the Air" is not one of those movies that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is however, one that you will be unable to turn off. And, in the days of Netflix, that's saying a lot.

One thing I really liked about this movie is that it was unpredictable. In my mind's eye, I saw things going one direction, and instead they went another way. Not all things, and not all the time, but enough that I was never bored.

I wasn't going to watch this movie at all, until I saw that Anna Kendrick was nominated for an Oscar. I know her from the Twilight series, and always thought she portrayed the teenage girl quite perfectly, so I wanted to see how she could do in something else.

I really recommend that you take a look at "Up in the Air". It's not a fun, airy movie, but it is one that you'll most likely enjoy.

2007

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen , and Geoffrey Rush

Rating: 3.5

I've always been fascinated with this English time period. I think it started when I first learned that Anne Boelyn was rumored to have had 6 fingers on her right hand. (I learned that when I was about 11 years old.)

Anyway, even though it was 11:00pm, and I was really tired, I decided to stay up past 1:00am just to watch Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

What I didn't know until right now was that it was a sequel to the movie Elizabeth (1998). Now I wish I'd seen that one as well.

I really liked how the characters were portrayed. I did find some parts of it a little confusing, but nothing detrimental to the overall flow of the story.

And I thought that the acting was incredible. All of it.

I highly recommend that you watch Elizabeth: The Golden Age. You'll learn just how closely all of us Americans nearly grew up speaking Spanish.

2008

Starring: Harrison Ford and Shia LaBouf

Rating: 2.5

I've never been a big follower or fan of the Indiana Jones movies. You can blame my brother for that. (11 years older than me, he forced me to watch the part in The Temple of Doom where they rip the guy's heart out and drink blood. I've been terrified of the Indiana Jones movies ever since.)

But, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was on one of the few English channels we get here in Ecuador, and my husband wanted to watch it.

So we did. Well, I did mostly. He was working at the same time. Jeez...he chose the movie, and then hardly even watched it.

I sat there and wasted 2 hours of my time watching a really bad movie.

I feel the same way about this movie as I did about Transformers 2. Why spend so much time, effort, money, and create such a loyal following to then drop the ball and come out with a movie that just wasn't quite worth it?

Maybe if I was a fan of the previous IJ movies I'd feel differently. But, I don't think so.

2009

Starring: Hugh Jackman and the XMen gang

Rating: 4.5

I'm not the biggest fan of action movies. I do not care for violence for the sake of violence. X-Men, however, I love.

Not too many wives would ask their husbands if they could watch X-Men together on Valentine's Day. But, that's just what I did.

I had been waiting a looong time to see this movie. I was aching to see how it all started. I was not disappointed.

The plot twisted and turned and jumped around corners, and though I sometimes expected what was coming, it was still a surprise.

I definitely recommend that you watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine, even if you haven't seen the other X-Men movies yet. You'll enjoy it, and it will definitely give you something to think about.

2009

Starring: Sandra Bullock

Rating: 5

I don't remember who the first person to recommend "The Blind Side" to me was, but I thank you.

While browsing through the dvds at the corner store, I saw this one, and knew that I had to see it. I didn't know anything about it. But someone had recommended it to me. And to be honest, it kind of spoke to me.

So, Jonathan and I picked it up and took it home. It took usnearly a week to watch it, but I'm so glad that we finally did.

The Blind Side tells the story of a family. They are a bit of an unusual family, but one nonetheless.

I love the acting (all of it is really good). The story is amazing. And, it's one of those movies that leaves you feeling good, not just about yourself, but about the human race.

Definitely check out The Blind Side as soon as you can. Don't wait like I did.