I am Number Four

Wow! I LOVED this movie. (I've seen it twice so far - I think it's important to support non-3-D movies - plus I loved it). It has everything - romance, action, explosions, aliens - everything! Alex Pettyfer (from "Alex Ryder: Operation Stormbreaker" and "Wild Child" with Emma Roberts) and Diana Agron (from "Glee" of course, and she was also in "Burlesque") are fantastic. I think they should win "Best Kiss" on the People's Choice awards.

I'm not going to give away any of the plot but one suprise that won't hurt anything is to look for Teresa Palmer ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Bedtime Stories"). She is using her native Austrailian accent in this one and she is fabulous. Also, Timothy Olyphant was driving me crazy because I knew I had seen him but I couldn't remember where. He plays the evil mastermind in "Live Free or Die Hard" and he was also in "Deadwood" (on TV) - so that you don't have to suffer like I did. lol.

There are a couple of swear words and, like I said, explosions and stuff but I would definitely take my boys to see this (if they wanted to go) and I think my husband might even like it.

The Eagle

I'm not sure why this movie isn't more well known. Most people, when I say, "Hey, I saw The Eagle last night..." say, "I've never heard of it." Maybe it's just that I am a book nerd. When I saw the poster go up, I got very excited because I was hoping it was based on a wonderful book I read several years ago. And it is!

The book is called The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (who unfortunately died in 1992) and it is the first of a trilogy. It is available on http://www.amazon.com/ for $8.99 though there are some used ones for cheaper. I'm sure it's in your local library too. I recommend anything Rosemary Sutcliff wrote (which is not enough!) All of her books were written for young adults and the movie stays true to the "non-graphic" nature of the book.

It takes place during the Roman occupation of Britain - about 124 A.D. The back-story for the movie is that several years earlier, 5000 Roman soldiers (the Ninth Legion) marched into northern Britain following the golden eagle - symbol of their power and glory - and never came back. The Romans were so shaken by this apparent defeat that they built a wall across Britain (named for the Emperor at the time - Hadrian) and never ventured beyond it again. You can still see parts of Hadrian's wall in Great Britain although many of the stones were taken by local people over the years to make their own walls.

The main character, Marcus' father was with the ninth when they disappeared and the movie is about his efforts to restore his family's honor. His eventual friendship with a British slave, Esca, is another main theme of the movie. I really liked the movie and recommend it. I came out of it thinking about honor and loyalty and other good charater traits. (Also, it's not in 3-D which is a plus).

One caveat - there is a scene where a young boy is killed by his father. It doesn't show the actual killing, just before and after but the idea of a father killing his son may stick with you for longer than you want it to. I don't remember that happening in the book but it could be that seeing it actually acted out is just more impactful.

However, if you are going to see the movie, DO NOT read the book first. I think it will ruin the movie for you. Fortunately, I read the book so long ago that I have forgotten much of it. I haven't forgotten the feeling it gave me and I don't think I ever will. The movie gave me a similar feeling but nowhere near as strong. I'm planning to read the book again soon.

Just Go With It and Gnomeo & Juliet

As usual, Adam Sandler takes sexual crudeness right over the line. Of course, it's not HIM being crude - it's his friends from SNL. I'm planning to write him a letter to explain that the crudeness that he allows in his movies really detracts from the sweet and funny romance.

There were some HYSTERICAL parts of this movie. Some highlights: what Jennifer Anniston's kids say when they need to use the bathroom, saving the dying sheep and the hula contest (especially the tie-breaker). Adam Sandler does a riff on "Piano Man" that was hilarious too.

The romance of the movie is also great. Sandler is really good at being a sweet, good guy. I don't know if I would give this two thumbs up (is that copyrighted or anything?) and I'm definitely not letting my kids see this but if you're willing to overlook a few crude innuendos and one or two outright "Oh MY!" references to sex, go see it. On the other hand, it will be just as good if you wait for it to come out on video and probably even better if you wait for it to be edited for TV.

Speaking of editing, I hope you all know about cleanplaydvd.com. They take all the movies that look good (except for the swearing and the sex and the violence) and edit them so that you are not embarrassed to watch them with your kids. I recently got "Inglorious Basterds" from them and while I could tell where the original movie probably had sickening or crude scenes, I wasn't bothered by them and could concentrate on the story. I highly recommend them.


Gnomeo and Juliet is rated G so I took all my kids to see it for a little family entertainment. It's also in 3-D (completely un-necessarily as usual). I do hope that frequenting G rated movies will encourage studios to make more of them.


I really wasn't looking forward to seeing this movie (but see above for a good reason to do so). I thought the previews looked ridiculous and I hate garden gnomes. HOWEVER, this was really cute. I laughed, I cried, I groaned and cheered. It was really entertaining (which is what I look for in a movie) but it also had some universal themes that you could discuss with your kids or just think about on your own.

I don't want to ruin it for you but it doesn't exactly follow Shakespeare's classic "Romeo and Juliet." It does, however, have several very clever references to many of Shakespeare's plays. (Look for Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Moving Company, a "Tempest" in a teapot, 2B or not 2B and several others). I think it is a much better ending than the classic play (and so do they).

Most of you have already seen True Grit but for those of you who are still wondering if it is for you. It is. Even if you don't usually like Westerns, this is a great movie.

I admit, I didn't really want to see it. I don't like John Wayne and I thought that a movie made popular by him would be annoying. I was wrong and I might even get the John Wayne version just to see what it's like.

It's unfortunate that Hailee Steinfeld doesn't get top billing because she does an outstanding job. She is stubborn, very determined and speaks her mind, all while talking in the more formal language used at the time. I even had to leave the theatre at the climactic part because I was so worried for her (it was too real).

Matt Damon is great as a Texas Ranger. He adds just the right amount of levity when it's called for and his being along made me less anxious for the young girl alone with the grizzled, tough, US Marshall Cogburn.

Jeff Bridges takes it to a whole new level. Sometimes I like him in movies and sometimes I think he's just playing himself. But in this movie, he IS Rooster Cogburn. There were times that I didn't understand his accent so I'll probably get it on DVD and watch it again but it wasn't really necessary. I could understand the story.

There are so many good parts that I hesitate to name my favorite but the very end when the girl has become a woman and goes to see Mr. Cogburn. . .I cried (of course, I hid it from Kiki who went with me so don't tell her).