Gray Matters (2006, U.S.)

I previewed this one to decide whether to add it to the library collection. It's a romantic comedy about Gray and Sam, a brother and sister who are best friends, so in sync that people think they're dating. They decided she'll find a girl for him and he'll find a guy for her. Then they meet Charlie, a girl who's perfect—for both of them. When Sam and Charlie get engaged, Gray eventually realizes that she might be in love with Charlie too.

At one point, Gray is feeling lonely, as she says, "Because I'm never going to be able to walk down the street, holding hands with my partner without the rest of the world giving us a look. And me never have the wedding that I once dreamed of and I may never have children. And one day when I die people will never give as much respect to my grieving lover as if she were my husband." Profound and beautiful words from the lips of Heather Graham in a film billed as a romantic comedy? Incredible.

This was a sweet, touching film; not quite as good as Imagine Me & You, but not bad... What is it about adding the element of homosexuality that makes a romance more realistic? Perhaps it's because it isn't just a case of man and woman doing stupid things before finding each other, but instead women dealing with issues of identity as well. (Side note: why do gay men get the serious movies and gay women get the romantic comedies? Realism versus chick lit?)

I really like this one. It would have been better if they'd gone a bit farther, giving Gray and Charlie the opportunity to have the big conversation so Gray could move on with her life and accept her identity a bit more. But I guess it wouldn't be a romantic comedy then.

Rating: 4.0

Prime (2005, U.S.)

Well, this movie had a great premise. A 37-year-old woman meets and falls in love with a 23-year-old man, which is bad enough. The man turns out to be the son of her therapist, who has unwittingly been encouraging the woman to pursue something with the man in order to work through her intimacy problems.

The execution was terrible. It took the comedy right out of romantic comedy. In fact, it took the romance right out of romantic comedy too. Not even the bloopers were funny, even though I'd had several glasses of wine first. Terrible.

Rating: 2.0

Scoop (2006, UK)

Here I am, nearly two years after starting blog, saying the same thing. What the hell, Woody Allen? You think you know what's going on and then he just tosses in the most random twists and turns in the plot.

A famous British journalist dies before he can reveal his big scoop, the identity of the tarot card serial killer of London. He cheats the Reaper and appears to American journalism student Sondra, passing his scoop on to her. She's on stage at a magic show featuring magician Sidney. Sidney and Sondra embark on an investigation to verify the dead journalist's story, which has a wealth aristocrat pegged as the murderer. Things are complicated when Sondra falls in love with the prime suspect.

It's hard to say much without giving the ending away, but I will say that the acting was top notch. Allen himself stole the show. He was very funny with his stutter and repetitive phrases and odd mannerisms/demeanor. Johannson was the perfect nerdy co-ed, while Jackman was a perfect suave aristocrat. (I love Hugh Jackman. He is so yummy and such a good actor!) The plot takes all kinds of unpredictable twists and turns, and it is very laugh-out-loud funny. I read one review that called it a "top-notch 'Woody-Lite,'" which is a perfect description. And as always, Allen chose a fascinating soundtrack that completely set the tone of the film. Wonderful.

Rating: 3.5

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010, U.S.)

You should never judge a book by its movie. One of my mantras, and that definitely goes for this one too.

I will say there were some great things about it, namely Logan Lerman. Ever since I saw him in The Patriot, Riding in Cars with Boys, Jack & Bobby, and The Butterfly Effect when he was kid, I've loved him. If you can act that well when you're 8, you can only get better. He was great in this as Percy. (Although he was actually a bit old to be playing Percy, who's supposed to be about 12 or 13 in the first book. And wow, Lerman's sexy 18-year-old muscles should not be allowed!) His sidekicks were also pretty good. His centaur mentor, played by Pierce Brosnan, was pretty awful—although that could have been partially due to some pretty awful CGI.

The film did capture the adventure and humor of the books to some extent, although a lot of it would be lost if you weren't able to fill in plot holes with knowledge of the book. On the other hand, it also brought some of the settings more alive than I was able to with my imagination when reading the book—namely the Lotus Hotel (wow!), and to a lesser extent Medusa's lair and Hades. And speaking of the Lotus Hotel... Brandon T. Jackson as Grover the Satyr dancing to Lady Gaga was puh-riceless.

It's hard for me to judge whether it could stand alone as a movie since I read the book first, but it was pretty entertaining. Toward the end I found myself glancing at my watch quite a bit, but hey. It wasn't any worse of an adaptation than the later Harry Potter films.

Wonder if it was successful enough to finish the series or whether it will die a painful death like the His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass).

Rating: 3.5

It's Complicated (2009, U.S.)

Jake and Jane, a couple that's been divorced for a decade really reunites at their son's graduation, despite the fact that the man is remarried to a younger woman. Surprisingly, the affair goes on. Meanwhile, Jane also finds herself attracted to Adam, an architect who's remodeling her kitchen and is very passionate about his work.

This has to be the most unique romantic comedy of all time, and it was absolutely hilarious. Not only were Baldwin and Streep funny, but the rest of the cast, especially the daughter's husband Harley (John Krasinski), was funny too.

It has a kind of amusing suspense as you wait to see whether the children will find out, whether Jake or Adam will find out about each other, and ultimately who Jane will pick.

I loved the ending, and I loved having a romantic comedy that said you don't need a man to be happy. What an interesting breath of fresh air.

Rating: 4.0