You do know what you're drinking is meant for eye surgery?

Hi ya sports fans----vacation is over and now it is time to get back to work! Did ya miss me? All three of ya??

As is tradition on Christmas day in my family (those that didn't have beautiful children to take home and put down for a nap anyway), after the presents are opened and the goose is cooked (or Honey Baked Ham in this case), we head off to the movies...and this year was no exception. Like many Christmas thrill seekers (those that didn't see Avatar) we saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie. 

Let me start out by saying that I have never really been a fan of Doyle's work. Don't get me wrong, I love intrigue and mystery, but I get lost in the technicalities. Much like Crichton and Clancy, I get lost in the why and wherefores of the detailed stories. That being said....like much of the ADD nation I LOVE the movies that come from the books!

Sherlock Holmes is no exception. This is not really your dad's Holmes... as evidenced by the fact that MY father was not that knocked out by it. I, however, thought it was great. I enjoyed the banter, the wit, the minor love story coursing just under the surface, and I loved the buddy-movie chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law! In my opinion, they were the most believable pals. Law's Watson truly shows the passion for problem solving that I think a lot of past movies leave out. Watson wasn't just a spectator or a babysitter... he was a genuine HELP to Holmes. This Holmes couldn’t survive without Watson, and that’s something the older film versions have not captured. Downey's Holmes shows the true friendship and respect that Holmes had for Watson. I completely enjoyed their relationship. 

Rachel McAdams is beautiful and intriguing as Holmes’ one and only "love", Irene Adler. Holmes had very little use for the “gentler” sex in general; he would help them only as a means to an end or a problem to solve. He found most women boring and silly with very little true sense about them. (What do you expect from a character written by a Victorian man, anyway?) Irene, however, was a different sort. She thought, in Holmes’ words, "like a man" and that delighted him. She was a thief... a con (wo)man… the only kind of profitable "criminal" a women could be at that time (politics and multi-national corporations being unavailable at the time). Homes didn't trust her, but I think he loved the puzzle she presented. McAdams adds just enough heart to this woman to make you want them together.

The story, like most Holmes stories, starts out seeming supernatural. It is a tale of demons and ghosts and rising from the grave to take over the world (taking a subtextual poke at Christianity? Perhaps… that too would be in step with Doyle’s writing). However, by the end, the simplicity of the plan is strangely obvious once it is expounded in true Holmesian fashion. The ride is fun, the story is strong, and the characters are delightful. I highly recommend this movie -- it was well worth the wait! (And yes, for you true Holmes aficionados… the good Prof. appears just long enough to tantalize!)

Well, dear reader(s)... that is all that is fit to print! Until next time...

I will love you my whole life...You and no other

This is my cell phone id for my house. Since no one but Nicky calls me from there, I thought it was sweet. Nick's cell id is the dialog between Leia and Han about being a scoundrel...but that is a whole another post....

I'm a sucker for GOOD love stories..(Braveheart, Shakespeare in Love, Becoming Jane...etc.) So it really shouldn't have been a surprise that I enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife, but it kind of was! I have been disappointed of late with the lack of "believable" romance in movies. I know, I know...time travel is not really what most people would call believable, but somehow it worked.

I have a theory..even if the story is not credible, as long as you have characters/actors that make you can care about them it will almost always work. That is what this story has going for it. Henry (Eric Bana)and Claire (Rachel McAdams) DeTamble are very much in love and not by any choice of their own. Claire meets Henry when she is six and he is thirty-six. Henry is a research librarian (like him already, right???) who has a genetic anomaly that allows him to travel to certain important times in his life. It is kind of hard to explain, but suffice it to say, unlike Dr. Sam Beckett, he can never change anything. No matter what he does or who he talks to, he has no control over the future. So his death is inevitable and unchangeable, but he sees it happening. Sometimes he shows up older with a little gray and sometimes he shows up younger with a little longer hair. On his wedding day, young Henry "leaps" out and is replaced by older Henry with graying temples and the reaction of the wedding guests is kinda cute.

This story is hard to sum up or explain without giving the whole movie away, but you see the difficulty that they face and the love it takes to overcome it all. So..... if you are in a mood for a nice cryfest, this is your movie.

Little side note, Eric Bana looks really good at any age!!

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.