The Blind Side

If you skipped this movie in the theaters because it looked like a football movie, you missed the point. This is a movie about family with a few minutes of football included. It is a bit of a tearjerker but those parts are mixed with a generous dose of some very funny moments.

Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for her work here but the whole cast was great. Especially Jae Head the kid who takes the first steps to bring Michael Oher, the main character, into the mainstream. Country singer Tim McGraw plays the Dad close enough to reality.

I can't say enough nice things about how well Quinton Aaron played a homeless traumatized kid who it taken in by family with means and a whole lot of heart. This is a feel-good movie of the finest kind.

Even if you don't know anything about football, like the main character didn't, it's okay because everything you (and he) need to know is explained.

Watch this movie with family and make sure everyone feels included.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Who would have thought the best thing to happen to Guy Ritchie's work would be to dump Madonna? In my opinion, everything he has done since their break-up is fun to watch. If nothing else, his movies are way more marketable than before. Any ideas why?

Any other ideas why he used an American to play Holmes however? Okay, fair enough, perhaps only the massive ego of Robert Downey, Jr. could replicate that of the fictional Holmes. What? Am I wrong about that?

Jude Law is perfect as the faithful Dr. Watson, and Rachel McAdams is devilish as Irene Adler, the only woman Holmes ever saw as an "equal" in the original series of stories.

The bad guys in this tale are played well by Mark Strong (a Guy Ritchie regular) and Ed Tolputt, though we never see Tolputt's face.

What seems odd to me here is that the story spins as if Holmes had never heard of Professor Moriarity before. In the original Conan Doyle stories he was the arch-nemesis of Holmes. So one might think this story a prequel. But wait, at one point in the story Watson reminds Holmes that Ms. Adler is the only criminal to outwit Holmes twice. These stories are part of the well-known Holmes lore. So the coexistence of those two characters in the same story under these conditions is a little inconsistent. That is by no means a spoiler by the way.

Watch this movie with someone who knows the basic characters and can keep up with the rapid fire dialogue.

The Young Victoria

If you like period pieces with lavish costumes and semi-authentic sets and locations, you will probably like this unusual love story. I say unusual because it is a real story about an unusual relationship for it's time. Arranged marriages of this time at this level rarely had so much genuine love and respect.

Emily Blunt plays an strong Victoria beginning at the age of 17. Rupert Friend is her supportive Prince Albert. Paul Bettany is their cunning Lord Melbourne. Mark Strong plays the rotten Sir John Conroy and the stage is set for a very public power struggle. Queen Victoria's great great great great granddaughter, the Princess Beatrice of York, has a small role.

Even if you are not familiar with the realities of this story you might enjoy this story. They certainly don't get in the way, but that is not to say the movie strays too far. The sets are elaborate if flawed. The locations are as authentic as possible. The costumes earned the Oscar.

Watch this with someone who likes to waltz.

Moon

How long could you live in solitary confinement? Sam Rockwell plays a guy who signs on for a 3-year (or so he thought) gig on a moon-based mining facility by himself (or so he thought). No spoilers here, but a few things in the story are not what they seem - or there would be no story.

Basically this is a story of corporate greed with a 2001: Space Odyssey facade. In fact given the movie feels like an homage to Stanley Kubrick. Classical music in space scenes and an always calm monotone computer, voiced by Kevin Spacey, are just two examples.

SciFi fans will most likely enjoy this unless they are also action junkies. This is an old-school sci-fi film where bad things happen to good people in space.

Watch this movie with someone who will enjoy pointing out all the 2001 similarities.

Pirate Radio (The Boat That Rocked)

Everywhere else on the planet but here in the US this movie was called The Boat That Rocked. A more fitting title. These guys rocked the UK in the mid 1960s but they were as far from pirates as you and I. That said, this is the best movie I've seen in a while.

Bill Nighy plays the crusty but dignified financier of a floating radio station that beams banned music into the UK. His gang of DJs includes some great performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman as the only Yank; Nick Frost as Doctor Dave; Rhys Darby as Angus Nutsford; Chris O'Dowd as Simple Simon; Tom Brooke as Thick Kevin; Tom Wisdom as Midnight Mark; Will Adamsdale as News John; Ralph Brown as Bob Silver; and Rhys Ifans as Gorgeous Gavin Cavanagh.

Also featured are Kenneth Branagh as the cabinet member charged with shutting the station down and Jack Davenport as his "private assassin". Tom Sturridge plays Young Carl who comes aboard ship at the beginning of the story when he is kicked out of school. His mother is played briefly by Emma Thompson. Too many names already?

The music they play is mostly authentic period stuff, but the non broadcast soundtrack was mostly recorded after the time covered in the movie and intended for familiar dramatic impact. It works. There are too many other little mistakes to count, but the movie moves so quickly you may not catch them.

Watch this movie with someone who knows the words to at least half the songs. Make it a sing-along?

The Black Balloon

An actual black balloon makes only one appearance in this film. I have no idea why that garners a title role. Please enlighten me?

Rhys Wakefield plays the 15-going-on-16 son of a military father. The boy tries to fit in when his family moves to the new town. Many of us can relate to that awkward position. Complicating matters however are a PPD-NOS Autistic older brother, a pregnant mother, and a father who takes his orders from a teddy bear - literally. This otherwise nuclear family teeters on the edge of dysfunction and disintegration.

Luke Ford plays the otherwise-enabled older brother. Australian super model Gemma Ward plays the long-suffering new girlfriend of the younger brother. Everyone puts in a excellent performance which is why it's so hard to watch sometimes.

The gist of this movie? It's a roller coaster ride between the love/hate relationship of two brothers. My problem with it is that nobody really changes. There is no character evolution. The Dad keeps taking orders from the teddy bear. The Mom continues to be the only thing holding the family together. The older brother makes no improvements and the younger brother appears that he will go on bouncing from loathing to loving his autistic sib.

Watch this if you dare with someone who think THEY have a difficult family situation.

Defendor

If you can make it past the first 40 minutes of this movie there is a pretty nice pay-off. The message is short-lived but sweet, then it's back to the insanity. Maybe it's seeing Woody Harrelson playing a mildly retarded guy who likes to act like a super hero. Maybe it was seeing how many bad choices Harrelson's character makes in the first 30 minutes. Maybe it was lack of any really likable or pleasant characters. Either way, this movie was a little tough to watch.

But then, 40 minutes in, the audience is treated to a very tender scene between 2 of the main characters. They totally relate to each other for just a moment. It ties them and their stories together and makes sense of the first half of the movie. Then it's over the the story goes back to it's odd origins. But armed with the knowledge that these two characters have made a real connection it "feels" different.

Kat Dennings plays the other half of this very odd crime-fighting couple. Her character is a drug-addicted low-rent hooker who bears a grudge against every bad guy the Defendor goes after. That makes it more interesting but also more pathetic at the same time.

I do however like the way things end. I bought it. No spoilers here but there are no happy endings despite the R-rating. That is mostly for language and drug use.

Bottom line? This movie is about vigilantism, a popular movie theme. The characters are all very unlikely however.

Watch this movie with someone who feels like they don't belong or afraid.

The Time Traveler's Wife

If you like tearjerker movies with lots of kissing, you will most likely like this one. Rachel McAdams plays the girlfriend and wife of a guy who bops in and out of her life from the age of six. Her age not his. The story bounces from present to past to future. Pay attention.

Eric Bana, who has been very selective in his projects of late, plays the time-traveling husband with great passion. I very much enjoyed his performance here. You may have to just watch the movie to get how it works.

Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt may have owned the rights to this story, but the actors owned the audience hearts. This is not to say there are not plenty of points of confusion. This movie is best if you don't think too much about it. But that is the case with much of Hollywood these days.

The movie gets better and more gripping as you go along. Patience is required.

Watch this with someone who likes the kissing and won't worry about whats missing.

Everybody's Fine

Robert De Niro has picked some interesting projects lately. In a nutshell, this movie goes from one awkward conversation to the next. It is a slow-moving family drama. The good news however is that every character is real, believable, and there may be someone here for each of us to relate to. Oh, and nevermind that it's a huge commercial for Amtrak and Greyhound.

De Niro plays a recent widower who is totally out of touch with his kids. As one of his sons puts it "People are polite. They don't always tell the truth." He has been told pretty much what he wants to hear. When his kids don't show up for a family weekend, he goes on a cross-country trip to see them.

Kate Beckinsdale, Sam Rockwell, and Drew Barrymore play his kids. They talk to each other but not really to their Dad. Sometimes it's like that. The payoff comes an hour and 15 minutes into the story when they finally get around the table for the first time if only fictionally. Everybody's not fine. But, I believe the best way to describe the ending of this movie is - bittersweet.

Watch this movie with someone who either needs to feel better about their family situation or needs a reality check to see how much of the rest of the country lives.

My One and Only

Big names help this story, but the story itself is worth telling. Merv Griffin was the champion of this project from the beginning and although he did not survive to see it's completion, I hear his fingerprints are everywhere. Merv was a perfectionist and it shows.

Renée Zellweger plays the main character of the jilted mother of two boys, one of whom grows up to be celebrity George Hamilton. The young George is played smartly by Logan Lerman. Lerman is no newcomer to the big screen. His gay brother is played by Mark Rendall. His character is about the best comic relief this movie has.

Billed as a comedy this is really more of a dramedy. There is more drama than the marketeers would want us to think. Be prepared.

Other recognizable faces include, Kevin Bacon, Chris Noth, David Koechner, and Eric McCormick.

Even if you don't know who George Hamilton is you may enjoy this story of youthful evolution and discovery. Keep in mind that Hamilton was known for his otherworldly tan. This makes his mother's comments about him going to the beach to get some color and his later remarks that LA is too sunny all the more amusing. It really is a good story of keeping family together and making the best of difficult situations.

Watch this movie with someone who has always dreamed of a cross-country road trip ending in Hollywood stardom.