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.

Vicky Christina Barcelona

This movie is about crazy people. You may feel free to define crazy any way you like and it will still probably apply. There is a good deal of comparison here as to who is crazier. Is it the Yuppie couple who want the house in the burbs with a pool and tennis court? Or is it the free-spirit American tourist who claims to want the opposite? Perhaps its the suicidal artist who is jealous of her ex-husband and tries to kill him frequently. Is it the American ex-patriots living in Barcelona or the local guy who paints and loves and lives his life?

You decide.

I think the least crazy person in this film is the painter, and then maybe his father. Everyone else is pretty much delusional, pretending to be, or wishing they were, someone, or something else. Only the painter and his father are exactly who they want and totally honest.

Woody Allen is still a genius.

Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson are two very confused American tourists who go to Barcelona. They meet other confused people, but they both fall in love with the same guy. The painter.

Javier Bardem is the painter. Remember this is the same guy who played the creepy killer in "No Country for Old Men". Bravo Mr. Bardem. This is great work.

Watch this movie with someone who will see past the stereotypes into the deeper meaning of restless souls.

No Country For Old Men

This is NOT your normal "Best Picture" winner. This is not even your normal movie. The characters are deeply disturbing. It is a brilliant piece of work. But, like other work of the Coen brothers, it is not for everyone. This movie will most likely leave you with more questions than it answers. If it does, then it has succeeding in defending itself. What other movie from last year are people still talking about?

Has crime and criminals changed so much over the years that there is no place any more for the techniques and attitudes of old-time law enforcement officers? This is just one of the questions posed by the Coens in this script.

When I said the characters were disturbing, I meant all of them. The good guys AND the bad guys here are all deeply flawed individuals. There are no white-hat-wearing heroes. The villain is as dark and fearsome as they come.

Javier Bardem truly earned his Best Supporting Actor Oscar here. Cold-blooded is the only way I can think to describe his character. The Sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) trying to figure out what is going on in his county calls Bardem's character a ghost. But the string of dead people across West Texas is real enough. The paradox here is the common sense of the "old men" are not shared by the new techniques of the new cops. Neither alone is enough to catch or hold the bad guy. He is too smart and too fast.

Josh Brolin is perfect as the Viet Nam vet living out his days in rural Texas. His instincts and skills keep him alive, and few steps ahead of the bad guy. But, it's not just the bad guy who is after him. No spoilers here.

I'm guessing you will not be happy with the ending of this movie. It is abrupt and at a very odd place. I even fast-forwarded through the credits to see if there was more movie after them. Nada. And this is where the real questions may begin for you as they did for me. What just happened? What does that mean? Can they really leave it at that?

Watch this movie with someone who does not need to tidy ending.