In the Loop

September 26.

"In the Loop" is a quirky political comedy about the people behind the scenes during the time just before the U.S. and the U.K. entered the Iraq war in 2003.

Now, that's not really a funny topic, but the writing is smart and the story sheds light on some of the ridiculousness of the political machine.

My favorite character is Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), the British Secretary of State for International Development, who accidentally backs military action during an interview. Even though Simon has a big title and gets called up to be 'room meat' in some important meetings across the pond, he still has to deal with his constituents and their problems in small-town England.

I also love the grown-up Anna Chlumsky of "My Girl" fame. She's great in the movie and I hope she keeps acting.

Hors de Prix (Priceless)

September 25.

J'aime "Hors de Prix" at les films Francais. J'aime aussi Audrey Tautou.

Cette série adorable de film dans Monte Carlo me rappelle d'un autre film préféré qui joue le rôle principal un autre Audrey préféré, "Déjeuner à Tiffany's."

Tautou joue Irene, une femme qui date des hommes avec l'argent comme un mode de vie jusqu'à ce qu'elle va accidentellement après un barman, Jean (Gad Elmaleh), parce qu'elle confondt avec lui un client de l'hôtel. Jean tombe dans l'amour et se maintenir il se trouve une femme avec l'argent, qui fait Irene un peu jaloux.

Ce film est juste amusant avec un beau toile de fond.

**********English Subtitles**********

I love "Priceless" and French films. I also love Audrey Tautou.

This adorable movie set in Monte Carlo reminds me of another favorite movie starring another favorite Audrey, "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

Tautou plays Irene, a woman who dates men with money as a way of life until she accidentally goes after a bartender, Jean (Gad Elmaleh), because she mistakes him for a hotel guest. Jean falls in love and to keep up he finds himself a woman with money, which makes Irene a little jealous.

This movie is just fun with a beautiful backdrop.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

September 25.

Most of the business talk in "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" went right over my head. Even though the movie fictionalized actual current events, I still couldn't follow. But the general story wasn't hard to get into. It was just hard to get out of.

I recently saw the original "Wall Street" in preparation but I don't think it would have mattered if I hadn't seen it. They make a few comments about things that happened back then, and Shia LaBeouf wears a few 80s-inspired ties, but other than that this is a pretty current movie. Still, the movie has two big flaws.

#1. It is (painfully) an hour too long.

#2. Jake Moore (LaBeouf) is a young, ambitious Wall Street broker who is designed to remind you of what Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) was like at 25. The problem: Jake is engaged to Gordon's daughter, Winnie Gekko (Carey Mulligan), and she hates her father and everything he stands for. So I never buy into her love for Moore. She just wouldn't be with him. Plus, there's that extra dragging 60 minutes of blah that makes me givw up trying to find the reason she's with him.

Moonstruck

September 19.

It's funny watching "Moonstruck" so many years after it was released. The idea that a 37-year-old woman is a desperate spinster who is waaay too old to have children doesn't seem to make sense since Carrie Bradshaw took over New York City.

But, this crazy Italian family played by Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello, and on and on ... is still so much fun to watch. They are over the top and almost cartoonish. And I don't care that the whole movie is wrapped up in a neat little package at the end. It's still great.

Le Diner de Cons (The Dinner Game)

September 18.

I was surprised how much "Le Diner de Cons" was like the American version, "Dinner for Schmucks" but how much more I liked it.

A few characters were different and they never made it to the dinner in the original, French version, but the story is the same. Pierre Brochant invites Francois Pignon (who makes models of engineering feats out of matchsticks) to a dinner party for idiots. The biggest idiot wins.

Pierre throws his back out before leaving the house, his wife walks out on him, and Francois is there to help. Although he means well, you feel for Pierre because Francois just keeps making everything worse.

The French film works better because it doesn't try to apologize for what it is. The people who invite idiots to dinner to make fun of them are mean. Pierre's wife tells him he's mean and he says, "OK, but it's fun." And, the story doesn't have a need (as American movies seem to) to be wrapped and happy by the end. There's no way Pierre and Francois are ever going to be buddies. Maybe that's why the Steve Carell/Paul Rudd version didn't work. It just wasn't believable.

The Town

September 18.

Who knew Ben Affleck would be such a good director and even a really good actor? He does both brilliantly in "The Town."

The action-packed first scene drew me in and I stayed there the whole time. The story about a gritty bunch friends robbing banks in Charlestown, a neighborhood in Boston, reminded me a lot of a Martin Scorsese film. Affleck uses a mix of great actors and real Boston people to let the viewer into the lives of these people who have never even imagined living any other way.

The story starts with a bank robbery gone awry and a hostage being taken. To make sure she's no threat Doug (Affleck) follows the hostage and starts a relationship with her. I will always get caught up in rooting for relationships like this but she has to find out that he was her kidnapper, doesn't she?

Although that is the main story there are a lot of side stories based on the relationships of the makeshift family and an additional side story involving Jon Hamm as the FBI agent out to find the group of robbers.

I'm sure this is just the beginning of Affleck's movies and I wonder if he'll ever make one set outside of Boston, but either way, I can't wait to see more.

Going the Distance

September 5.

"Going the Distance" is an OK romantic comedy. It's a lot funnier than most chick flicks but the story is a little weak.

Drew Barrymore plays a :::cough::: 31-year-old :::cough::: intern at a New York newspaper, who actually lives in San Francisco where she is finishing her master's degree. A few weeks before she's headed back home she meets Justin Long and they fall in love. Awe.

For most of the movie the two are in different cities trying to work out if they will ever really be together. It doesn't really matter. The jokes are good though. Long and Barrymore are cute and funny. And, the supporting cast of their friends and family, including Christina Applegate, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, and Jim Gaffigan, is great.

La Reine Margot (Queen Margot)

September 4.

I love movies about the Royals. Usually the British Royals, but Margot, the spoiled, slutty, sister of the King of France, who ruled while Queen Elizabeth 1 was ruling in England, has an incredibly interesting family worthy of many more movies.

"La Reine Margot" is an adaptation of the novel by Alexandre Dumas. It starts on Catholic Margot's wedding night to the Protestant King of Navarre, Henri. The wedding is a political ploy to unite France, which is split because of ... religion.

The movie isn't great. It's seems like a made-for-tv movie, low budget and too much going on for the length, but I loved the story and the characters as Dumas presented them. I hope someone will make a better quality version of this story. Maybe even a four season Showtime series.

The American

September 4.

I think I liked "The American." It wasn't what I thought, but, I didn't hate it.

It started with George Clooney and a gun fight, so I thought it was going to be an action-packed movie. Even the poster <--- shows Clooney on the run. But, it is not an action movie.

There's a lot of quiet waiting and even the gunfight scenes are quick and clean. Clooney hides out, waiting for his next assignment, in a small Italian village where he befriends a priest and a prostitute.

There's something very cool about the movie, but also something missing. Some sort of ... energy, I guess. I don't think Clooney smiles once. There's no levity.