Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Directed by David Yates
Written by Steve Kloves, based on J.K. Rowling's novel
Cast Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Jim Broadbent, Bonnie Wright, Helena Bonham Carter
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417741/



Reviewed by Paivi
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth installation of the Potter -series is a story of Harry's (Daniel Radcliffe) sixth Hogwarts wizard school year. The evil lord Voldemort has gained more and more strength and his impact has reached even the muggle world - bridges are collapsing and people are dying because of the work done by his Death Eaters. This affects also the wizarding school and the school is covered by extra protective spells to prevent the evil from coming inside the school grounds. However, even the best is not always enough, the evil has its ways, and this leads to events that make Harry once again lose someone important to him.

Voldemort and his Death Eaters are not the only pain the students in Hogwarts face. They are growing up and it is no less than sex that causes them trouble and heartache.

Hogwarts school gets a new Potions teacher, professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) and former Potions master, professor Snape (Alan Rickman) gets to teach the Defence against the Dark Arts (it's a pity all of the actual classes have been cut of the movie). Slughorn is not asked to Hogwarts by professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) without a reason, but he holds a secret Harry must find out, as this secret may help in destroying lord Voldemort.

Finally - professor Dumbledore takes Harry along with him in the action. The headmaster gives Harry a lot of new information on Voldemort and together they continue discovering the Evil Lords secrets in their attempt of destroying him once and for all.


Half-Blood Prince continues the Potter-saga in a very similar fashion as the couple of previous movies have done - it leaves most of the book's complex plotlines out. This is good in a way that it is impossible to squeeze everything from those enormous novels into a bit over 2-hour-movie. But even though something has been gained, something is also lost in this process, and Half-Blood Prince feels a bit hollow, as if it was made without a heart totally involved. The biggest flaw is probably the fact that even though the name of the movie is Half-Blood Prince, the mystery around the Prince is totally left out and the discovery of the Prince in the final scene seems almost corny.

The pains and sorrows of growing up are very prominent in the movie, so much it made me ask were they really that important? That so many scenes were included in the movie in the expense of the actual Harry-Voldemort -story? I would have preferred a deeper digging into the storyline that really matters, and leave the love life of the young ones less visible - after all it is not that much visible in the original story either.

The main trio of the saga have really grown up, but they still fit into their roles as before. Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) has grown up to be a total stunner and Rupert Grint's (Ron Weasley) talent as a comedian has strengthened on. Radcliffe has always had a bit stiff style of acting, and he continues the same way. Tom Felton (Harry's arch enemy Draco Malfoy) however looks perfectly like his father's son in his suit. Rickman as Snape and Gambon as Dumbledore are brilliant as always. It is wonderful to see these classic actors work so well in a movie targeted to young audiences.

Half-Blood Prince offers the fans of the saga a nice and working piece of magic and action, but don't expect to see a masterpiece.

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009)

Directed by Jan Kounen
Written by Carlo de Boutiny and Jan Kounen
Cast Mads Mikkelsen, Anna Mouglalis, Yelena Morozova, Anatole Taubman
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1023441/




Reviewed by Paivi
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There are two Coco Chanel biographies released this year. Coco avant Chanel stars Audrey Tautou (Amelie) as the leading lady and the movie is released later this year. Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (starring Anna Mouglasis as Coco and Mads Mikkelsen as Igor) shows only a small part of Coco's life and focuses on her relationship with the Russian composer.

Coco Chanel was a very independent woman for her time. After her lover called Boy (Anatole Taubman) was killed in a car accident, she decided to live alone in her huge mansion, interiors designed by herself. The actual Chanel mansion is used in filming the scenes. Coco is a fan of music and an admirer of everything brave. When she witnesses the almost riot that follows the "scandalous" premiere of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, she wants to get to know the composer.

Stravinsky lives with his wife (Yelena Morozova) who is sufferfing of tuberculosis and children in a small flat and Coco invites them all to live in her mansion - allowing Igor a possibility to more space for his musical creativity. Coco and Igor are drawn to each other and finally end up having an affair.

Brilliantly filmed movie uses beautiful visuals. Every single frame is like a work of art. However, the story itself is missing the passion that should be present between the two artists. Coco even though very well presented as an independent woman feels calculating and cold without any emotions.

The Danish actor Mikkelsen makes Igor a vulnerable man, a man drawn to two directions - the wealth and love of Coco and on the other hand his loyalty to his wife and children. Also for a man and an artist it is difficult to accept the fact that the woman is also an artist and with her own will and self esteem.

UP 3D (2009)

Directed by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson (co-director)
Written by Bob Peterson (screenplay)
Cast Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo, Jerome Ranft, Elie Docter, Jeremy Leary
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049413/



Reviewed by Sari
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UP 3D is yet another 3D-animated film on the theaters and it's also the latest Disney-Pixar production from the makers of Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Cars. This colorful story starts from the early childhood of an old man, Carl Fredricksen (voices, young Carl by Jeremy Leary, old Carl by Edward Asner), who is the leading character in this animated film.

He once was a quiet little boy, who meets a rascal girl called Ellie (voice by Elie Docter), falls in love with her and finally marries her. So it's the classic love story, so to speak. Carl and Ellie are one extremely happy couple, and they share the same dream of going on an adventure to South America one day. They even dream about having their house at the edge of The Paradise Falls. But their life passes by and the adventure seems always to be postponed further. Until the day Ellie gets seriously ill and passes away.

Carl is now alone, being an 78-year old man and is facing the fact that the adventure they so wanted to experience never took a place in their life. But things start to change for him and one day he decides to literally "take off" and is soon flying high on the sky in his house, thousands of balloons carrying him to his destination, South America.

For his suprise a young wilderness explorer Russell (voice by Jordan Nagai) is going to share this experience with him and these two soon find they way to South America and face the most interesting situations and characters while trying to move Carl's house to the right spot, next to The Paradise Falls, that Ellie so dearly loved.

On their way to the falls they run into a rare bird species, a pack of talking dogs and end up inside a large cave, where Carl's childhood hero, the ultimate explorer Charles Muntz (voice by Christopher Plummer) lives and has trained all these obedient dogs. Carl is excited to meet him, but it's soon quite obvious that Charles is not a good man, but he is actually after something they possess and this leads into an exciting and intense chaise.

The story starts quite smoothly and takes you to the early years of Carl's life, giving you a nostalgic feel of his past. It's also quite funny to see him and Russell battling their way to South America flying on a house carried by colorful balloons, trying to find the perfect spot to that beautiful, old house. At some point the story gets a bit chaotic though, especially from the point where they run into a talking dog called Dug, and then into a whole pack of talking dogs, leading their way to an old explorer behind them, Charles Muntz. I wasn't sure if I understood the funniness behind the talking dog theme, but then again, I really loved that old man Carl and his little companion Russell and felt that those two were meant to be together on this adventure.

UP being and animated film is of course a film made for the whole family and especially children, so perhaps the storyline and all the peculiar characters will open up better for the younger age groups than us grown-ups. Visually the 3D-film is just stunning and I especially enjoyed all the vivid colors, the high-quality animation and all the 3D-effects, which we could all expect to be excellent after seeing all those previous Disney-Pixar films.

UP is an entertaining animation which you want to take your kids to see and let them enjoy all the craziness and chaos of this everyway colorful, animated film. And don't be suprised if you enjoy it yourself, too.

Angels and Demons (2009)

Directed by Ron Howard

Written by David Koepp, Akiva Goldsman, based on Dan Brown's novel

Cast Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgård, Armin Mueller-Stahl

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808151/

Reviewed by Päivi

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Like so many others, I started my friendship with the author Dan Brown with his novel Da Vinci Code. Few years ago when I was traveling in New Zealand and had already almost two months behind me, I needed something to read and rest my head. I found Angels and Demons from a bookstore and after that the next few days I spent sightseeing the amazing New Zealand by day and adventuring in Vatican by night. After that experience I thought, wow, this would be great to see as a movie!

Now my wish has come true - Angels and Demons is released as a movie version. Tom Hanks continues as the professor Robert Langdon specialised in symbolism as he did in the movie version of Da Vinci Code. (I have always had problems with Hanks as Langdon because he is not at all that convincing, handsome professor I pictured him in my mind...) Langdon is invited to Vatican City after the Pope has died and four cardinals - preferiti, the most popular choices to become a new Pope - have been kidnapped by an ancient secret society called Illuminati. A cryptic message is left behind and the Vatican wants the world famous symbolist to help them in saving the lives of the cardinals.

At the same time a container of antimatter is stolen from the LHC lab (Large Hadron Collider) in CERN Switzerland. A physicist studying the antimatter, Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer), has traveled to Vatican as well because not only have the cardinals been kidnapped, also the whole Vatican is in danger of exploding because the antimatter may work as a bomb.

While the Pope's camerlengo (Ewan McGregor) heads the papal office and leads the cardinals into a conclave to try to elect a new pope. Langdon and Vetra run around the Vatican and Rome in search of the ancient Path of Illumination, the kidnapped cardinals and the antimatter container.


Angels and Demons the movie is filled with action. Everything happens within five hour timeframe and as the pretty complicated story is squeezed into two and a half hours, the action is at times breathtaking. The screenplay is written well, it sticks together and does not fall apart despite the various possibilities. The focus of the story is mainly in the riddle of the Path of Illumination, the four elements of science and how they are combined with the four missing cardinals and pretty much everything else from the book is left out.

For someone not familiar with the novel, this is one hell of an action ride with interesting twists and turns and a very different angle for a mystery thriller. It is fascinating to see how the Vatican works and see a glimpse of the secrets vaults of Vatican (which are of course not real because director Ron Howard was not allowed to film in Vatican but he had to recreate Vatican elsewhere). But for those who know the story. the thrill gets lost at times, and it is often difficult to really stay interested in what happens to who.

Overall, Angels and Demons is pretty loyal to the original story, is well acted, has good action sequences, interesting twists, introduces us to the art and history of Vatican and Rome, but is a bit soulless. It runs it's course in a decent way, but instead of being either black or white, it leaves a somewhat grey feeling.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Directed by Gavin Hood

Written by David Benjoff, Skip Woods

Cast Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Ryan Reynolds, Lynn Collins. Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney, Dominic Monaghan, Kevin Durand, Will i Am

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458525/

Reviewed by Päivi

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When I was a teenage girl, I loved reading X-Men comics (and other Marvel-comics as well). My two favourite characters were Wolverine and Storm - Storm for being so beautiful (especially when her hair was cut and she was wearing it as a mohican) and so powerful with her talent on controlling the weather, and then Wolverine - for being the tough guy with those magnificent claws and a skeleton made of some fancy sounding adamantium. Also, what combines these two characters was that their past is interesting: it holds secrets only few people know.

When they made movies of X-Men, I was happy to find my other favourite character performed by an actor that suits the character perfectly. Yeah well, Hugh Jackman is a lot taller than Wolverine in the comics, but that did not matter. He did a brilliant job.

A movie of this character's origins that so many I've heard thinks as their favourite character, was more than justified. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is exactly what the name tells: how Logan became the adamantium-skeletoned Wolverine.

The story begins with events that lead to young James (Troye Sivan) first witnessing the claws coming out of his hands and killing a man. Terrified of what happened, James and his older brother Victor escape from home. Both of the boys have the skill of healing fast and eventually they end up fighting back to back in many wars. It is not until in Vietnam war when the then grown up brothers (Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber) are spotted by a certain William Stryker (Danny Huston) who recruits the brothers to his secret group of overly skilled soldiers.


The many wars have made their mark on the brothers: when James (now known as Logan) has grown to hate all the killing, Victor has learned to love his power. When Stryker takes them on a mission that is morally questionable in nature, James leaves the group and for many years lives a harmonic and peaceful life in the Canadian Rockies with beautiful Kayla (Lynn Collins). But Logan is not meant to live in peace, and after six peaceful years his brother finds him which leads to events that give birth to the Wolverine we all know.


X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a dark story with a lot of emotions. It is a very well made action flick with all the compounds an action fan would enjoy. But it has also flaws that made me drop off one star from the review.

South-African born and awarded director Gavin Hood has all the tools to make a great film of one of the most-loved comic characters ever, but sometimes he relies too much on the old action cliches where the hero walks out of a scene of an exploding helicopter just a few meters behind without looking back for example.

Also the visual effects are often not at the level they should be. For example the scene when Wolverine admires his new adamantium claws for the first time, they look fake, and with all the technology available today, this kind of essential thing from the story's point of view should be pretty basic to make look real. In some scenes I was really wondering how the effects could be so poorly made in a movie of this big budget.

But overall, Wolverine is a decent piece of entertainment. The story rests on Jackman's charisma pretty strongly, which is understandable because of the awesome charisma of last year's sexiest man on Earth. Jackman makes Wolverine the character we know from Marvel's comics, and even though he still brings some new life to the character, he does it in such a subtle way that the audience is totally bought.

Of the other mutants seen on the flick, we can see among others Ryan Reynolds' swordman Wade, Kevin Durand as Blob, Dominic Monaghan as Bolt, Will i Am as John Wraith, Daniel Henney as Agent Zero and Tim Pocock as young Scott Summers (future leader of the X-Men, Cyclops). Also Taylor Kitch's Gambit does some cool stuff with his cards.

17 Again (2009)

In 1985 Michael J. Fox went back in time to find himself coping with his then-teenage parents; in 1988 Tom Hanks grew Big overnight, from 12-year-old to adult; in 2004 13-year-old Christa B. Allen made a wish to be an adult and woke up as 30-year-old Jennifer Garner. This spring 37-year-old Matthew Perry wishes he was young again - and to his surprise (with the help of an elf disguised as an old janitor of his school) turns into 17-year-old Zac Efron.

Mike O'Donnell (Perry/Efron) was a brilliant basket ball player in high school, who had a wonderful career in front of him as a professional player. But as destiny has a habit of messing with things, his girlfriend Scarlett (young Allison Miller / adult Leslie Mann) informs him they have fooled around with unsafe sex and that she's pregnant. Mike gives up his own dreams and marries the girl and raises a family.

At the age of 37 Mike is frustrated, depressed man whose family life is getting ruined because of his constant self pity. Scarlett wants a divorce and Mike is forced to move to live with his best friend Ned (Thomas Lennon) - a software developer, rich guy and a grown up fanboy living in a house full of memorabilia from Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.

When Mike does not get the promotion at work that he was so waiting for, he thinks everything is over. He goes to his old school (where his own kids now go to school) and sees his glory in the 20 years old photograph. Suddenly an old janitor (Brian Doyle-Murray) asks him if he would want to be young again. Mike says yes, of course, and suddenly he's turned into his 17-year-old self - but current time, not by going back in time.

A lightsaber duel is needed for his friend Ned to believe who he really is, and agrees to pretend to be his father when he goes attending the school again. In school Mike becomes friends with his own son and discovers the lives of his children are not as good as one might think, and starts helping them out.

Adult Scarlett is amazed by how his son's new friend looks so much like her old husband, and feels strangely attracted to the young boy. As does the boy towards Scarlett.

Does Mike manage to fix his children's lives? Does he stay 17 forever? Does he become a big basket ball hero? Does Scarlett get her divorce? - See for yourself!

Much of the movie's appeal rests on Efron's young shoulders: without his charisma and very unique "presence" the movie would be much duller. But he makes the movie an enjoyment. 17 again is very harmless Hollywood comedy that does not really bring anything new to the genre, but it is very well done, the story works and the actors are really good. Well, imagining cute Efron becoming a boring looking Perry is not that fun, and I don't understand why on earth Perry was cast as adult Mike.

The supporting cast, especially Lennon as Mike's weird friend Ned and his love interest, the school's principal Jane Masterson (Melora Hardin) make some extremely fun scenes, for example during their first dinner together. Recommended to fanboys and -girls ;-)

If you want to see a well made, but totally harmless feel good movie, 17 again is a good option. It gives a few laughs, but performs it's humour in a thoughtful manner. Some overacting is of course visible, but not so much it would ruin the entertainment. And the story has a warm heart.

Directed by Burr Steers
Written by Jason Filardi

Cast Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Matthew Perry, Michelle Trachtenberg, Sterling Knight, Melora Hardin

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0974661/

Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

Sunshine Cleaning is a movie about a young mom Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams), who raises her son Oscar (Jason Spevack) by herself and is living in a small town, close to her father Joe (Alan Arkin) and her younger sister Norah (Emily Blunt), who still lives with their dad.

Rose was once the head cheerleader and got all the attention of the boys back then. But now she is facing the fact that she is a single mom, still having affair with former football player Mac (Steve Zahn), now a husband to another woman. If this already makes her feel bad about herself, what about the fact that all the other girls from high school have families and careers and she is simply a maid in a small cleaning company, going from house to house and cleaning other people's (also her former school friends) homes.

Then suddenly she hears from Mac that there is a need for crime-scene cleaners and decides to try this thing out with her sister Norah. Norah is a bit rebellious young lady and first laughs out loud at the whole idea, but soon they both find themselves at the crime scenes, cleaning up after all those deadly crimes. Things start to get better for Rose and the business is growing, until Norah messes things up and Rose is facing a new challenge and tries to figure out how to sort things out again and how to forgive her sister.

Sunshine Cleaning is a comedy all right, but I would say that this film is a mixture of both comedy and drama. Okay, it sort of plays around the peculiar lifestyle Rose and her family has and gives you a grin every now and then, but there is also some deeper aspects into this film. It's also a story about sisterhood and motherhood, the family ties and the freedom and acceptance to be yourself amongst your family members. It's also a story about new opportunities and the fact that it really doesn't matter what you do for a living, as long as you enjoy it.

Cast is well-selected and believable. I myself especially enjoyed Emily Blunt as Rose's sister Norah. She really caught my attention and I'm very curious to see more roles from this young lady.

The storyline is bubbly and colorful, but does also have its melancholy moments. It keeps your interest alive till the very end. This is a good choice for a movie to see if you want to experience a mixture of comedy and drama combined with everyday humour and some very interesting career choices.

Directed by Christine Jeffs
Written by Megan Holley

Cast Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn, Mary Lynn Rajskub

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0862846/

Fast & Furious (2009)

Fast & Furious is the fourth installment of the Fast & the Furious franchise that introduced us to the action couple Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in 2001. After the first movie, Diesel decided to move on and the second movie 2 Fast 2 Furious was made without his involvement. The third, movie named Tokyo Drift was missing both of its original leads.

The fourth movie feels like a direct continuation to the first as it reunites Diesel and Walker, the odd pair of a strangely warm-hearted even though tough crimimal Dom Toretto (Diesel) and a cop with a soft spot to fast cars Brian O'Conner (Walker). Also the girls from the first movie are there: Dom's sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and his love Letty (Michelle Rodriguez).

After five years Toretto and O'Conner meet again. This time they end up fighting against a common enemy and have to bury their hatred (if there ever really was any) against each other. Along the way to the punishment a lot of cars are smashed, and a lot of fast driving is seen, both on the streets of a big city and the empty, sandy Mexican desert.

Fast & Furious is not even trying to be a masterpiece but a decent piece of action. Filled with cool guys, sexy girls and fast cars, it must be young boys' wet daydream. Recommended to people who don't want anything too serious but purely entertaining action. Check out especially the gasoline robbery in the very beginning of the movie - and that looks very cool indeed.

Directed by Justin Lin
Written by Chris Morgan, based on Gary Scott Thompson's characters
Cast Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, John Ortiz
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013752/

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

Happy-Go-Lucky is a fresh and humorous movie written and directed by Mike Leigh. It's a movie about a 30-year old school teacher Poppy (Sally Hawkins), who is single, who lives in London and has a lot of friends and very positive and easy-going personality. She's all about happiness and can't really understand miserably behaving, unhappy people.

The story starts when Poppy visits a new bookstore and runs into this quiet bookseller (Elliot Cowan), who doesn't really care to share a word with her. But with her humorous attitude she turns that uncomfortable situation into a laughable matter and is soon out of the door and out of that weird situation. For her disappointment though, she finds out someone has stolen her bike, but hey, being the easy-spirited young lady she is, she doesn't really get too nervous, is just a bit disappointed she didn't have a chance to say goodbye to her bicycle.

The story continues when she gets home, to this nice townhome she shares with her friend for years Zoe (Alexis Zegerman) and starts to talk about the fact that after losing her bike she needs a driver's license. Zoe is okay with that idea as long as Poppy isn't planning to use her car from now on.

It doesn't take too long when Poppy is already taking her first driving lesson from a local driving instructor Scott (Eddie Marsan) who is a bit weird guy, has a pretty bad temper, some serious issues and takes his work as a driving instructor way too seriously. He's favorite saying is: Enraha! Enraha! And that becomes an inside joke between Poppy and her friend Zoe. Enraha! So it's a challenge for both Poppy and Scott, being miles apart with their attitude and personality, sitting in this tiny car for an hour every Saturday, trying to make it work. But for Poppy this doesn't seem to be a big problem and she keeps on coming back every Saturday, even though things are not going too well with Scott or the driving lessons.

The viewer can follow these hilarious driving lessons and the colorful conversations through the entire movie and eventually things go bad between these two, Scott totally loses it and gets violent towards Poppy. This is the final straw for Poppy and she tells him that she doesn't want him to teach her anymore.

Poppy also has some peculiar hobbies. She goes jumping on trampoline's after school and starts taking flamengo lessons with her co-worker. She also likes spending time with her friends and goes to pubs and clubs with them quite often, being a single woman she is. But she's not worried about her situation and doesn't stress about not having a family or a child at her age. She is simply happy like she is, enjoying every moment.

And it's no suprise that also love is about to find her. When she notices that one of her students Nick (Jack MacGeachin) is behaving violently at school, social worker Tim (Samuel Roukin) comes to her help to figure out what is going on with this young man. Poppy realizes that Tim is actually a nice guy and they set up a date. And that thing leads to another... So, you may guess the rest already.

This movie gave me some much needed positive energy. Poppy herself reminded me of a bright yellow balloon that has found it's way to get free from the balloon seller and is flying high in the blue summer sky, so free, so happy and so full of energetic yellow color. Saying this I have to give credit to Sally Hawkins who delivered Poppy's spirit with such an enthusiasm and talent I couldn't but admire her performance. No wonder she won a Golden Globe for her role.

The plot itself wasn't too deep or complicated. It was simple, straight forward and almost diary like. Just going through a period of time in Poppy's life. There were no hidden agendas, no twists and some things were predictable, but that didn't matter too much, since the whole movie was so easy-going and relaxed. And the dialogue in this movie, so bubbly and fascinating!

I think we all need a little bit of Poppy inside us! Darn good movie to watch when you want to lift up your spirits and have a good laugh!



Written by Mike Leigh
Directed by Mike Leigh
Cast Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman, Samuel Roukin
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045670/

He's Just Not That Into You (2009) - Movie review

Don't you just sometimes want to relax by watching a movie that is not so deep, but entertaining an funny? Even though you may run into some clichées and "I've seen it before" scenes? Well, I do and won't hesitate to see these so called Chick Flicks every now and then.

He's Just Not That Into You falls into this category. The storyline is bubbly and quite entertaining, and the cast is full of well-known actors and actresses. Names like Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly and Scarlet Johansson. Not to mention some new names (at least for me) like Justin Long, Ginnifer Goodwin, Kevin Connolly and Bradley Cooper.

In this movie there are several parallel stories of singles or couples who are desperately trying to understand each other and read other peoples behavior. This may sound a bit chaotic, and maybe it is, but the cast keeps the story alive and compelling until the very end.

The story begins with the early childhood of Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), when she gets the first clue that men are not that easy to read. Years later she is still struggling to find a perfect match and finds herself always waiting by the phone for THE phone call, from a man who is obviously not that interested. But through a failed date with Connor (Kevin Connolly), she meets Alex (Justin Long), who is able to help her to read the signs men give and she is hoping her love life will get a bit better with his help. And everything goes well until she starts to misread Alex and thinks he's falling for her... Or maybe he is?

Gigi's friend Mary (Drew Barrymore) has her own obstacles when it comes to men and feels that she has been dumbed with every possible gadget that our modern technology offers. But she doesn't want to give up and believes she will find her man, eventually. She just has this problem wanting to share all her love-life details with her "perhaps not so straight" co-workers, which is not always the smartest way to do things.

When a man and a woman decide to be just friends, what do you expect happens...? Ben (Bradley Cooper) and Anna (Scarlett Johansson) run into each other at a local grocery store and sparks fly immediately. Ben tries to hold back and explains that he's happily married with his wife Janine (Jennifer Connolly), but Anna won't give up and persuades him into a relationship, which starts first as a friendship, but you know, who can resist Scarlett? I mean... Anna... ;-)

And what if you have been together for years, let's say seven years, and there is no sign of him to be interested in marrying you? Would you start thinking it's against the nature? Well, at least Beth (Jennifer Aniston) feels this way about his long relationship with his beau Neil (Ben Affleck) who seems to be totally against marriage and Beth can't help but think that maybe this is a bad sign. A sign of something much more serious. A sign that says that he will never marry her and even worse; is not that into you...

And of course ladies love to share their thoughts about all the disturbing details of their relationships and point of views from friends are always highly appreciated. Who else can give you help in these matters than another woman, since they know the best. Don't they?

You can expect to see a lot of new turns and little twists, but don't expect this to be too deep or a life changing experience. Entertaining and funny, but an average movie experience, I would say. And one star goes to the cast, absolutely!

Directed by Ken Kwapis

Written by Abby Kohn, Mark Silverstein
Cast Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlet Johansson, Justin Long, Ginnifer Goodwin, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper

IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1001508/

Changeling (2008) - movie review

The true story of a woman who lost her child is something that I'm sure wakes up every mothers' feelings. Director Clint Eastwood seems to like these powerful stories that are emotionally challenging to the viewers.

Changeling, true story that happened in 1920's is a story of Cristine Collins (Angelina Jolie) who lives alone with her son Walter (Gatlin Griffith). One day she is forced to stay at work for a bit longer than usual, and when returning home she finds to her horror her son nowhere in sight. Night falls and no news come from him. Mother calls the police and the police just tell her to wait till morning.

Days, weeks, months pass and the police is unable to find the boy. Mother is devastated and making everything she can. Suddenly she gets news: they have found Walter! She hurries to the train station, only to find out that the boy in question is not her true son. This starts the battle of a desperate mother in her search for her real son - battle against the corrupted police, and leads to terrible findings.

Jolie's portrayal of a desperate mother is impressive, and she clearly has been able to pull emotions from her real life as a mother. However, from the viewer's point of view all the crying and screaming of wishing to have her son back are not only positive. The movie could have been more efficient if the lenght was not as long as it is now. The film would have hold itself together more as now the excess focus on the suffering face of Jolie starts to lose its emotional power.

I liked the way Eastwood takes into account the role of women during this time. For a feminist as myself it is always a pleasure to see strong women who fight against the corrupt power of men. The scenes in the asylum strenghten this point of view nicely.



Directed by Clint Eastwood
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Cast Angelina Jolie, Gatlin Griffith, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0824747/

Definitely, maybe (2008) - dvd review

Definitely, maybe is a sympathetic drama comedy in which 11 years old Maya (amazing Abligail Breslin) requests her divorced father to tell about the times before she was born - after getting so interested in love during the school's sexual education class. Dad (Ryan Reynolds) dresses the story in a mystery, and tells a story of one man and three different women, and how one of them became Maya's mom.

Daddy's past gets more flesh around it's bones along the way and his political past is fun to follow. The mother-mystery remains unique until the end and only in the last half of the movie gets a little bit cliched. Breslin and Reynolds work together amazingly well and they form the story a firm backbone.

Directed and Written by Adam Brooks
Cast Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weitz
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0832266/

Reservation Road (2007) - dvd review

Losing your own child is the biggest of all losses. Reservation road is story of both the family which loses a child in an hit and run and the guilt of the driver. Neither side has it easy.

Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix) and Grace (Jennifer Connelly) are mother and father to a small daughter and son. Dwight (Mark Ruffalo) is a divorced lawyer who tries any ways possible to hold on to his son who is now living with his mother. When Dwight is driving from a baseball game with his son, he accidentally hits a little boy on the road, and decides to risk everything and hurries away without stopping.

When the boy dies and the police can not find the driver, boy's father decides to take the case into his own hands. What is left is just a revenge.

Even though the subject is heartbreaking and the roles are brilliant, Reservation road still does not really convince. There are too many coincidences to make the story feel real. What's missing in the story is replaced by the extremely realistic fathers whose pain you can almost touch.

Directed by Terry George
Written by John Burnham Schwartz and Terry George, based on the novel by John Burnham Schwartz
Cast Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, Mira Sorvino
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831884/

The Bucket List (2007) - review

Life is short and very few of us does what they dream about, what they would really want to do with their lives. When the end draws near, it is the things undone that you regret. This dead serious subject is what the comedy called The Bucket List tells about.

After working his whole life as a car mechanic Carter (Morgan Freeman) hears he is suffering from incureable cancer and his life is ending sooner than later. In the hospital bed he has time to think about things and starts writing a "Bucket List", list of things he would like to experience before kicking the bucket. He gets a room mate with the same medical destiny, a self centered millionaire Edward (Jack Nicholson) and after a while these two very different men find many things in common. And finally they escaoe from the hospital to fulfill their dreams.

The director Rob Reiner (When Harry met Sally..., Princess Bride) draws a sympathetic story of a dead serious subject. What makes the story unrealistic is that as a millionaire it is financially so easy to make your dreams come true. There are some touching scenes, like the "kiss of the most beautiful girl in the world", but as a whole it is just warm hearted entertainment.

Directed by Rob Reiner
Written by Justin Zackham
Cast Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825232/

The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) - dvd review

The Spiderwick Chronicles is yet another movie version of a children's book. However, this time it works and the result is an entertaining movie for both children and adults, with all fantastic and original fairy tale creatures and a well made story.

A reluctant Jared (Freddie Highmore) moves to his great-great-uncle's old mansion with his twin brother (Highmore's double role), sister (Sarah Bolger) and mother (Mary-Louise Parker) after his mother's and father's divorce. The reluctant mind changes when he finds a curious field guide from the attic. It is not a common field guide, but a guide to a magical world with amazing creatures. With the help of the book Jared gets to know all the creatures living in and around the house, both good and evil.

Mark Waters who has previously made mainly comedies (Freaky Friday, Mean Girls) holds the reins very well and the result is an adventure in a fairy tale world inside our own. Arthur Spiderwick's field guide is wonderful and the characters both funny and scary. Even though entertaining, because of the scary monsters I would not recommend this to the smallest of the family.

Directed by Mark Waters
Written by Karey Kirkpatrick, David Berenbaum and John Sayles, based on the novel by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Cast Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Mary-Louise Parker, David Strathairn
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416236/