I like baseball, movies, good clothes, whiskey, fast cars... and you. What else you need to know?

I know I have neglected my duties as a purveyor of movie knowledge. There have been so many summer movies this year that I haven't really been writing about them I have just been watching them. If I didn't have my one and only reader (you know who you are) hounding me to write something for her I might not have the motivation to sit down and actually do it.

I am lucky enough to be married to a proud movie nerd such as myself, so going to the movies is not necessarily a chore for him. we are able to see a lot of the movies that come out in the big seasons (summer, fall, Christmas). So this year we have seen quite a bit of the blockbusters that have raided our movie theaters and TV set. This should be the first of several movie reviews that will be coming.

As most of you have guessed from the above quote, I'm going to talk a little bit about Public Enemies. This was the much hyped Michael Mann summer blockbuster starring the two big summer smash stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. Unlike a lot of over hyped summer movies ( Transformers2), this movie actually lived up to the excitment.

For those of you who may not know, this is the story of the rise and fall of the Dillinger gang. John Dillinger, played by Depp, was declared Public Enemy #1 by the head of the FBI at the time, J Edgar Hoover, played by, one of my favorites, Billy Crudup . A lot of historical liberties have been taken to make it a more interesting story, but it is delightful all the same. Hoover sends his best man to bring in Dillinger. This is a young gunslinger by the name of Melvin Purvis (Bale). Unfortunately, Purvis is incapable of thinking like a criminal and needs to bring in help from Texas.

The story itself has always captured the American public's heart. we love our gangsters. Our own Robin Hoods as it were, with larger than life personalities and devil may care smiles, they have always been played by some of the best Hollywood has to offer. (Gable, Cagney, Flynn) Add Depp to that list and you have it rounded it out, but this picture offered us something more.

There seemed to be no good or bad guy. Everyone had on gray hats. Each had their own trouble and their own demons, and neither ened well.

Margaret, will you marry me? Because I'd like to date you.

I think the start of the "summer blockbuster" was back in the 1930's when the only place that was cool in the summer time was a movie theater. Movies made a lot of money in the summer because the heat was so unbearable (esp. in the south) that people would pay their nickle just to get relief. So movies that really wouldn't have otherwise made a lot of money did pretty well in the summer. Now, everyone has cool air piped into their homes, so we need more of a reason to go to the movies...let me back track...most people need a reason. I, however, just need a willing body to go with me. (I'm too much of a chicken to go by myself.)

My case in point is the movie that I dragged my baby sister, Etta, to this past week. We saw The Proposal. This is one of those sweet, funny romantic comedies that feed my need for escapism. No matter how unbelievable, predictable and formulaic it may be, it is still fun to watch.

For those of you who don't know, the premise for this movie is; Sandra Bullock is Margaret Tate, a poor excuse for a human being that uses fear and blackmail to get whatever it is that she wants. Ryan Reynolds is Andrew Paxton, her long suffering assistant who is hanging in there waiting for his big break, that he is convinced she will give him if he does everything right. Margaret is Canadian, and about to be deported because she willingly broke the law because she honestly didn't think anyone would care. Faced with losing her job, she blackmails Andrew into agreeing to marry her to keep her in this country. Since her family is all dead, they must convince the federal government and Andrew's family that they are in love, so they travel to Alaska for Andrew's grandmother's birthday. Let the fun begin.

This movie had a lot of potential, because once they get to Alaska, you find out why it is that Andrew is willing to endure all that Margaret dishes out. Andrew's father, Joe, (played by Craig T. Nelson) is just a big a bully as Margaret. So, I guess he is kinda used to it. This is not explored enough to make it a major part of the movie, however, I thought it an interesting twist. The Paxton Family is still very loving and fun, even with the jerk father, and it is always fun to watch Betty White still be funny even into her 80's.

Although I did enjoy this movie, it is very hard to believe. Sandra Bullock is so soft looking and has such a sweet, expressive face that it is hard for it not to show how much she doesn't like being who she is, and maybe that is the point. Another unbelievable aspect is, in the words of Etta, WHO doesn't want to marry Ryan Reynolds?!?!? Are we really sure this wasn't contrived so that she could wiggle her way into his life? I think maybe Etta would.