Eat Pray Love (2010)

Most of us don't need to travel to three exotic locations to learn how to eat, pray, or love. This movie is the story of a real person who did however. And, as odd as it seems, all the characters in this story are very easy to relate to.

While it is not a cinematic masterpiece, it is also like a little mini-vacation. And isn't that really what we want from a movie?

Julia Roberts plays a travel writer from New York who questions her identity. After a painful divorce she goes to Italy to learn to enjoy doing nothing, to India to learn to pray and forgive, and to Bali to love.

Along the way, she meets some wonderful people played by Richard Jenkins and Javier Bardem. Viola Davis plays the long-suffering best friend and Billy Crudup the husband.

The music and scenery alone are worth the watch in this movie. Then you get the subtle lessons, little gems really, punctuating the entire story. All combined it is a good movie to watch with people you are close to.

Watch this with someone who needs to learn at least one of these lessons.

Public Enemies

If you can ignore the factual and continuity problems with the movie, it is a great ride. If that sort of thing bugs you - reconsider.

Johnny Depp is excellent as the legendary, much "beloved", bank robber John Dillinger. During the Great Depression Dillinger was the terror of Midwest banks and police departments. When the predecessor of the FBI gets involved, J. Edgar Hoover, played smartly by Billy Crudup, turns up the heat with scientific and method. Christian Bale is the tormented Special Agent in charge of the Chicago office tasked with catching Dillinger.

Marion Cotillard and Branka Katic play the lovely women in Dillinger's life.

This highly fictionalized tale of cops and robbers in the 1930s is fast-moving and quite suspenseful. Though the characters are all based on real people the events are less than verifiable. Don't worry though, unless you are a good student of this period of time you won't notice.

Watch this movie with lots of popcorn and all the moxie you can muster.

Dedication

This movie is about overcoming disabling emotional problems and leading a semi-normal life. No. Wait. Let me try again. This movie is about how literary dedications can spark action on even the most socially bankrupt people. Well, that's not quite right either. How about - this movie is about the dark underbelly of the children's book industry. Okay, I give up. I'm not sure what this movie was about.

Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty, Michael Clayton, and HBO's John Adams) is the glue that holds the cast and the story together. Yes, he plays another crazy guy similar to his character in Michael Clayton, but this one is a sex-obsessed illustrator of best-selling children's books. When he dies, the publishing company forces another illustrator on his writing partner.

The partner, played by Billy Crudup (Big Fish, Mission Impossible III, and The Good Shepherd) is, for the most part of the movie, totally without redeeming qualities. No doubt that is by design. As he begins to change, way too late in the story for my tastes, it is almost too total to be believed, and one wonders how long it will last. The abrupt ending is a bit unsatisfying too. But I did like that he was savvy enough to not use negative weapons to obtain his goal. Yes, I'm being vague on purpose in case you choose to see this movie.

Bob Balaban (Catch-22, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the Seinfeld series), Mandy Moore, Dianne Wiest (Parenthood, The Birdcage, and Practical Magic), and even Peter Bogdanovich are featured in very supportive roles. But, there are no real likeable characters in this story.

The story is a bit along the lines of "Mozart and the Whale" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". So, if you like those types of stories, you may enjoy this one too.

Watch this movie with an open mind and healthy dose of patience.