2010 Movie List - January

I thought I would keep this list updated monthly this year for those interested in what I am doing in my spare time. And so I wouldn't forget by December what I watched in January, I decided to write a brief review of each movie and rate it on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna. As a matter of reference, my 5 star movies include "The Graduate," "Shawshank Redemption," "The Godfather," and "Animal House," just for starters. I just love the movies! Here's what I have seen so far this year.

MOVIE LIST 2010

January

1. It’s Complicated (with Nancy @ Hillsborough) – As my favorite sister always says, “Meryl never disappoints.” Alec Baldwin was great, too. Very funny movie with perfect references for the over-50 crowd. Loved it. 4½ tuna cans
2. The Bridges of Madison County (TV) – It’s my personal Meryl Streep film festival with this classic romance between Italian-accented Meryl and Clint Eastwood. Nothing like a good cry to start the new year. When she has her hand on the door handle of the car, I always think, “Go!” but the ending is always the same. Love this movie. 4½ tuna cans
3. Cinema Paradiso (Ovation TV – too many commercials) – This movie is charming enough to let me enjoy it despite having to read subtitles. The music is soaring and magnificent, the story heart-warming and the whole experience reminds me of going to the Cort Theater as a kid. It makes me think of dear friend Katherine, too. 4½ cans.
4. Four Weddings and a Funeral (TCM) – Hugh Grant at his befuddled, mumbling best, before his act and his unruly hair grew repetitive. 3 tuna cans.
5. Charlie Wilson’s War (HBO) – A preachy political story about an undistinguished Congressman (Tom Hanks), pushed by a rich constituent (Julia Roberts) to secure Congressional dollars to support the Afghan troops against the Soviets in the 1980s. Typical Aaron Sorkin dialogue – too glib and sometimes unintelligible – and too much politics for my taste. 2 tuna cans.
6. While You Were Sleeping (TV) – Why does Sandra Bullock play parts that call for her to feel she is unattractive and undesirable? She is charming in this cute comedy about a woman with a secret crush on a man she doesn’t know but ultimately saves from an oncoming train. Then she proceeds to fall in love with his family, who thinks she is his intended. Cute, fun and Sandra Bullock. 3 cans.
7. Annie Hall (TCM) – Woody Allen and Diane Keaton at their la-di-dah best. Though I know every line from this movie, it still makes me smile. 4½ cans.
8. The Soloist (HBO) – Anything about mental illness is off-putting, and this movie is no exception. More about the character played by Robert Downey Jr. than the actual musician, it is also an indictment of a society where 90,000 people in one city are homeless and helpless. Not really my kind of movie, so it gets just 2½ tuna cans.
9. East of Eden (TCM) – The classic Cain & Abel story with a very young (but surprisingly modern-looking) James Dean is about sibling rivalry and parental approval. Dean is good playing bad, but sometimes he looked like Frank Gorshen playing James Dean. Also starring a very young Julie Harris as a love interest. 3.5 cans.
10. Miracle in the Rain (TCM) – Classic four-hanky tearjerker starring a plain Jane Wyman and exuberant Van Johnson in a boy meets girl, they fall in love and he goes off to war. These things can never end well, unless you are looking for a good cry. First time on TCM and first time I have seen this movie in at least 20 years. 4 cans.
11. The Heiress (TCM) – Truly a classic. Olivia de Haviland transforms from a shy, mousey girl to a strong woman after falling in love with and being deserted by Montgomery Clift. But the real change agent is her unloving father, played by Ralph Richardson. I never get tired of that last scene. 4½ cans.
12. Howard’s End (TV) – My first time seeing this Emma Thompson-Anthony Hopkins tale of two sisters getting their lives entangled with a poor clerk and a rich businessman. Interesting to see them argue, which seems rare for a British movie of that period. Glad she got the house in the end, because that’s what her friend, Vanessa Redgrave, had intended years before. I liked “Remains of the Day” with Thompson and Hopkins much better, but this one gets 3½ cans.
13. My Sister’s Keeper (Blockbuster rental) – Interesting bioethical dilemma about raising a child for her genetic similarities to her fatally ill sister. Cameron Diaz was excellent in a serious role and Abigail Breslin is a wonderful young actress. A bit gut-wrenching to take, but with a thought-provoking premise. 3½ cans.
14. Sunshine Cleaning (Blockbuster Rental) – Two down-on their luck sisters (the normally perky Amy Adams, risking overexposure, and a mainly dour Emily Blunt) start a service cleaning up trauma sites. Alan Arkin is their equally down-on-his-luck father. Grime story? 3½ cans.