1996 - The Vow

Michael Sucsy, the director, has a great eye for Canadian talent - I didn't catch Toronto locations, but I did catch some amazing Toronto talent in supporting roles, including Joey Klein, Tatiana Maslany, Dillon Casey, and Wendy Crewson to name a few.
I was pleasantly surprised by this film.  It tells the story of a woman, madly in love with her husband, who loses her memory of him and the struggles they face with that fall-out.  It essentially asks the question, "If you met the love of your life at a different point in time, would you still chose them?"  I like that this film didn't go for easy answers and that it didn't wrap up everything in a pretty bow.  It feels honest and authentic.  I was worried that it went too far in one direction, but it managed to pull back at the end - which is really just a testament to good storytelling.  Tatum and McAdams are paired well here, and they're sweet together when they need to be, and their awkwardness work well rooted.  It's a charming little love story and should even appease the cynical amongst you.   And it's no netflix, so give it a shot!

1807 - Sherlock Holmes

I missed this in the theatres and got the Bluray on sale a while back and for whatever reason just never got around to watching this.  It's so much fun.  Guy Ritchie did a pretty great job of turning Holmes into an intelligent action adventure star, and Downey infuses the role with gusto.  His interplay with both Jude Law and Rachel McAdams is really enjoyable to watch.  I'm not a big Holmes nerd so I can't tell you how much they strayed from the originals, re-invented, etc... but what was going on here was a shitload of fun - and I found myself believing that Blackwood might actually be a sorcerer as well.  I have to say though that all of Holmes "deductions" came a bit after the fact and a fair amount was left from us - but I'll take it to get caught up in it like this.
Looking forward to the follow-up!

1680 - Midnight in Paris

Emily missed this while it was in the theatres and she got it for me for Christmas so I've been excited to revisit it ever since.  Woody Allen has two types of comedic films.  The first is complete character comedy - stuff like Annie Hall, Manhattan, even the one before this You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, and then he has situation (high concept) comedy like Zelig, Bullets Over Broadway, and of course this film.  And we're lucky enough that he excels at both of these - but this may very well be one of (if not) his best of the situation comedies.  The entire cast is completely wonderful here.  Owen Wilson is, in a word, adorable.  Rachel McAdams has to play the uppity cunt, but I don't think you hate her - that job is done wonderfully by Michael Sheen.  Alison Pill is really fantastic as Zelda Fitzgerald, and I could just go on and on about the rest of the supporting cast.  I'm honest enough to admit that while I get a lot of the references I'm by no means cultured enough to get them all.  What I love most about this is just Allen's decision to make a film about nostalgia and what that means to people, and I love that he explores the different aspects of it.  The idea of living in the past and realizing that everyone feels like there was a better time, it's one of his strongest themes and I think it has a lot to do with why the film is as successful as it is.  I think the films where Woody hits really universal films are the ones that strike a nerve with audiences. 
I'm deliriously excited that Woody has seen the biggest hit of his career at this point.  As if it wasn't already, I think this absolutely cements his ability to make the films he wants for the rest of his life.  And I'll enjoy them as they continue to come along!

1631 - The Time Traveler's Wife

This is a re-watch from after having read the book - feel free to search for my previous thoughts. 

All you need to do to understand the difference between good and bad acting is watch the first scene between Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.  She is phenomenal.  You believe in an instant that she is head over heels in love with this man, that she is experiencing a miracle by seeing him here.  And he… is dead.  And it's not just about situation he's in and he's aloof - he's just… not good.  Not charming, not interesting, nothing.  It should be the moment where the lover's meet and you want them to be together, and the only reason you do is because you like her.  Let me get this straight - I don't dislike Eric Bana - but he's not well cast here - it's a shame, really.

Having now read the book, this is a crappy adaptation.  That sounds harsh.  There's a lot of stuff that's here in the movie just because it was there in the book.  The book has this thread where Clare is a terrible cook, and near the end Henry teaches her how to cook.  In the book there is a scene where we watch her seemingly learn how to cook.  And it's absolutely meaningless due to the fact that there is absolutely no context.  Most of the film is like this.  And he spends a lot of time talking about how he can't change the things that are meant to happen, yet he can't change anything, and yet he can somehow rig the lottery?  Again, the film is full of these inconsistencies. 

The worst part about this film is that it's not really about anything.  I'm not sure why we're supposed to care about this relationship.  It has a lot of ideas but doesn't lock down onto anything that you can grasp to.  It gives itself these big emotional moments, but nothing clings and it just feels like they're well photographed as opposed to well maenad.  It's a gorgeous looking film, but a crane shot doesn't do anything for me if I don't give a damn.

Both the book and the movie set up a premise that they just don't know what to do with and both, sadly fall short.  The only real reason to watch this, I think, is Rachel McAdams.  I praised her at the top and I'll do it again.  She's fantastic here, it's just a shame that she wasn't given a bit more to work with.

1614 - Morning Glory

I'll see pretty much anything that Rachel McAdams is in, and when you throw Harrison Ford & Diane Keaton into the mix as well - you've guaranteed my viewership. 
McAdams stars as an up-and-coming morning show producer challenged to take a morning show on it's last legs and breathe some fresh air into it.  It's full of the usual work place trappings, like office romance, workaholic natures, etc... but it doesn't fall into the cliches of them, which was a nice touch.  What I love most about McAdams, and what's obvious here, is that she actually likes to play her characters honestly.  This is a big budget comedy, but she looks like a real person - her hair is messy sometimes, she looks slightly disheveled - because she's supposed to be given her job.  A lesser team would have kept her polished the entire time. 
It's easy to forget that Keaton and McAdams played mother/daughter a few years back in The Family Stone, they fit their roles so well, but the big surprise is Harrison Ford - much like his character - you don't expect him to show up at a film like this, and it works quite well.
This is a cute little film worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of any of the headlining talent.
Morning Glory  Morning Glory [Blu-ray]

1581 - Midnight in Paris

Those who know my filmic tastes know that I'm a lover of Woody Allen.  I'll be the first to admit that he's made several films which I'll probably never both seeing more than once, but he's also made more than a dozen films which I regularly revisit.  For my money I'm not sure that there are that many filmmakers that can boast such a feat.
Woody's newest film is about a man living in the past, who on a trip to Paris in present day finds himself wishing that he was there in the 1920's, and then magically, each night, he finds himself getting there via a mysterious stage coach.  So, in theory, it's a time travel film, but it's done so with such simplicity. 
I fell in love with Wilson's character immediately.  Charming, clever, taking the stock Woody character and making it his own in wonderful ways.  Even just his mannerisms elicited sympathy from me.  I think one complaint I had here was that McAdams (whom I adore, and looked gorgeous here) was unlikable from the get-go, and it was a little too easy.  Of course I'm not going to root for him and her to stay together, I'm never given any reason to.  That aside this film is just jam-packed with fantastic actors (particularly enjoyed Alison Pill as Zelda Fitzgerald).  I admit that part way into it I was worried that this film was going to amount to nothing more than a clever wink at a bygone era, but Woody has created a rich film that's ultimately about being happy in the here and now.
It's nice to see the love that Woody is getting for this film and I hope he's able to keep making the kinds of films he wants to make for as long as he can and wants to.
An absolutely must-see for any Woody Allen fan or mild appreciator. 

1480 - The Family Stone

The second film of my little Christmas marathon! I first saw this film when it was in theatres and it just knocked my socks off. I have to say that poking around the old inter-web I was amazed to see that there are some people that just absolutely hate this film. And while I know that there are millions of opinions about millions of subjects I guess I always just find it strange when I discover that something that hits me so strongly can be dismissed by people. That's ridiculously small minded of me, but there it is...

For those of you who don't know, I lost my mother around Christmas time when I was a teenager, and so Christmas sucked for a number of years. The day was always lovely, of course, but there was always this... absence that came along with it. But the years go on, as they do, and Christmas became Christmas again. And it seems that it was at that time when this film came out, and for those of you more intimate with the storyline, you know that there's a thread involving the mother. So this film hit me pretty hard, and in a weird way connected it all for me. I saw this film initially with my father and I think it was hard for him as well, but also a bit cathartic. I don't think we ever talked about it, but we both knew. So I might have some bias towards this film, but I'm okay with that.

I love films about dysfunctional families, and I like Christmas films to boot, so this one was easy to decide to revisit during my little festive watching. A man brings him his uptight girlfriend to meet his tight-knit family and they do not approve of it. Hilarity and heart ensue. This film is one of those that have an amazing, jealousy worthy, ensemble casts. From the always lovely Diane Keaton, to Craig T. Nelson, to Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, Luke Wilson (who I'm normally 'meh' on, but love here) to my personal highlight, the wonderful Rachel McAdams - this cast is just chalk full of people that I would love to work with.

So this isn't your traditional Christmas film (who knows if I'll actually get around to watching any of 'those') but this is the kind of film that I think if you haven't seen it, you just might dig it. The cast alone makes it worth checking out, but the story is what's going to make it work for you. Great characters, great writing, wonderful film.

1417 - The Time Traveller's Wife

I bought this book for my mother-in-law years ago and I've been intending to read it ever since. And now I want to even more. This is a really great premise, and whenever you're adapting something you run the risk of getting bogged down and missing the point of the original. I don't know if they did, but I just feel like this film is dancing around a lot of REALLY great ideas, but it doesn't latch onto them long enough. I felt, as well, that we were told too much information about what will happen to Henry that the tension is muted. Eric Bana is a tad flat here, especially up against someone like Rachel McAdams. I buy in completely that she's head over heels for this man, and I love her because of it. She works the different ages and taps into them that it feels like a time capsel of someone's life. Bana, I just don't know what his character wants and needs - the guy is just floating from time to time. It's hard to say that it's his fault. I still enjoyed the film but now I definitly have to read the book sometime in the near future...

1316 - Mean Girls

I remember when I saw this film in theaters I was just blown away. Never for a second did I imagine it would be as fantastic as it is. Sadly due to reputations of certain cast members it may drift into obscurity, but this film deserves to become a classic. In no small part to Tina Fey's brilliant script (need to find me a copy of it). The script is just full of great characters, lines, and ideas. It's a hyper-realistic look at some of the horrible things that people, especially girls, do to one another in high-school. It launched a lot of it's young cast, and rightly so. If you haven't seen this film yet YOU MUST SEE IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. This was the film that showed the world the promise of Lindsay Lohan. This is why she became a star. What's happened since then... well, who is to judge - but I for one still hope she gets her stuff figured out and a second shot at it - 'cause she's pretty great here.
And as a side note, for those of you who have seen this and are a fan, the same person that made the 'Burn Book' prop, worked on my feature and made some pretty kick-ass things for us - including something in the same vein as the Burn Book.