Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: I saw a preview for this movie when watching another movie and decided I needed to see it. I just got it from the library yesterday, watched it and loved it. It was an absolutely wonderful movie! I loved it's feel good story, I loved the way it was filmed, I loved hearing Ewan McGregor's Scottish accent, pretty much the only thing that I didn't like about this movie was that like many movies or plots of late, a marriage had to be broken up for the happy ending to occur, I wish that wasn't such a norm, I don't like to be rooting for divorce or break ups while hoping for the characters to find happiness. See this movie though, so many good messages.

Kung Fu Panda 2: As far as two movies go, it was pretty good, I still laughed a lot, but something was missing and it wasn't as good as the first.

Kung Fu Panda: The first time I saw this movie I had very low expectations, but this movie surprised me, I loved it. It's funny, there's kung fu and good messages.

Casino Royal: This was the first Bond movie I ever saw, I don't know that I'd ever really been interested in Bond before this movie. I've only seen two Bond's (well three, I've seen part of some movie where Pierce Brosnen was the Bond) and those two are Sean Connery and Daniel Craig, it's hard to choose a better Bond between the two as Connery was the original but even so I think I lean a bit more towards Craig. I think this is a great movie, so many years later, it doesn't look very out dated, there is sometimes computer animation that's pretty obvious but the movie still looks pretty fresh and was filmed very well. Also there weren't too many of the cheesy Bond lines, I see that as a plus.

Clueless: I know this movie's well known and been around for ages, but I saw it for the first time this weekend. I wasn't sure that I would like it, I figured I wouldn't but I really liked it. I loved the satire and the Jane Austin basis (it's loosely based on Emma.)

Brave: I loved this movie. This movie was hilarious, beautifully animated, it had a good plot and most of all, Merida isn't the standard princess. I was not the girl that fully got into the Disney princesses, I like a female character that I can relate to more, one that isn't a damsel in distress so to speak.

Pure Luck: This movie was recommended to me by a friend as a very funny movie and it did not disappoint. There is a lot of slapstick and physical comedy and to be honest, there were multiple times that I felt bad about laughing because the character was being injured, etc. but I still laughed. I recommend it.

Beauty and the Beast: I don't think I've written about this in here before. It is a pretty good show, but then it's a Disney movie. I think over all I prefer the musical, it has more songs which I love. Favorite line in the movie, Cogsworth is giving a tour and says "if it's not baroque, don't fix it." As I child it went over my head I'm sure, after an art history class, hilarious.

Barbie: Princess and the Popstar: I got to watch this while babysitting the other day. Barbie movies, and sadly I have seen quite a few, are very formulaic and this was no different, magical items, pets that talk to each other, pretty barbie girls and villains. It made me decided that I don't want barbie to be a part of the lives of any children I might have.

The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain: Yes, that is a very long title and yes that is the title. It's set in Wales near the end of WWI, a preface at the beginning said that so many people in Wales have the same last name that they call them things like Morgan (the last name) the goat (the identifying name), I believe the title had something to do with this. Anyway, these two Englishmen have been sent to make a map and survey the local mountain, if it's not 1000 ft or more, it's a hill not a mountain. The mountain is discovered to be a hill and the town decided to make it tall enough to be considered a mountain. A cute movie about rallying a community.

The First Grader: This movie was heartbreaking but also really beautiful in parts. This is not a movie for everyone, there were parts where I was covering my ears and looking away. A man who's name I probably would misspell if I tried, is 84 and living in Kenya when free education for all is announced. The man turns up at the primary school near him to get enrolled. He's turned away because he's too old and because he doesn't have the school supplies. The next day he shows up with school supplies but is told that he needs a school uniform and that he should just go home and enjoy what time he has left. He gets himself a uniform and the headmistress lets him into the school. The movie is about his journey and the repercussions of his being allowed to attend school. There are also flashbacks to his past, his family was killed by the British, he is of the Mau Mau tribe and they rebelled against the British and helped win independence for Kenya. (Flashbacks are often violent because terrible things happened, this movie is based on actual events.) This movie made me appreciate so much about my own life and somewhat guilty that I sat through many class periods bored out of my mind, rather than full taking advantage of them.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: I have been waiting to see this movie for a while, it just got to the dollar theater near me. I had high expectations because it's got tons of wonderful actors like Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. I was a little worried that it couldn't live up to my expectations but it was wonderful, I loved it, one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Several senior citizens, through various circumstances, end up in India at The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a hotel designed for seniors. The hotel doesn't turn out to be quite like anyone had hoped, it's trying to start up again from a former life and it's not really like anyone was expecting. Mostly the movie is about life and people as friendships form between the hotel's residents.

I Have Found It/ Kandukondain Kandukondain: This movie is Bollywood, or maybe a cousin to Bollywood? It's an adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, I guess I was expecting it to be more like Bride and Prejudice but I can see now that that was a lot more westernized. It wasn't a bad movie but it may be the first true Bollywood movie I've ever seen and Bollywood is pretty drastically different from western movies. I feel like there's a lot that I might have missed by not being familiar with Indian and Bollywood culture.

Behind Enemy Lines: I didn't think I was going to like this movie, maybe thinking that made it so. Owen Wilson is the star, I don't care for him and his movies, this wasn't like the two movies with Will Ferrel that I like though I don't normally like him or his movies. Anyway this movie was about a navy pilot and navigator that get shot down behind enemy lines during the Bosnian war/incident. They did something they weren't supposed to do and consequently saw things that they weren't meant to see which caused the group occupying the area to try to kill them. The first half of this movie was like Top Gun with Owen Wilson instead of Tom Cruise (and no volleyball scene as was pointed out to me when I brought this up (I never said it was as good as Top Gun)). The second half was Owen Wilson running and trying not to get killed or shot. This movie was based on actual events and there were some rather graphic elements and hard things to watch. My biggest issue with this movie though may be due to my inability to see eye to eye with the military.

The Artist: I have been waiting a long time to watch this movie and wasn't disappointed. This movie is a silent movie, made in black and white about two actors in the transition from silent movies to talkies, think Singing in the Rain, but this isn't a musical due to it's silent nature. This movie was so well made, it's a masterpiece and deserves every Academy Award it's received. I really love a truly well made movie because, while I may still enjoy them, so many movies, aren't all that well made. I don't know that The Artist is a movie that I'd watch over and over again, but I still loved it.

Down With Love: This movie caused me to think a lot. The movie is set up to be like a sort of Dorris Day/Rock Hudson movie and I think they did a wonderful job of it, in extended features they talk about the pains they went to, to make it so great, from experimenting with period filming techniques, to making all the wardrobe for the movie as it would have been done in the 60s. It's a battle of the sexes movie in a way that never would have made it past the sensors in the 60s, it's fairly risque. I don't agree with a lot of what the movie was about and it caused me to think about why. A complaint with this movie is that about half way through the movie there begins a series of switches (and a switch on the switch on the switch, to quote Paris When It Sizzles) get so complicated and a bit silly that it sort of goes against the first half.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: I don't know how to rank this movie with other chick flicks, I can't quite decide if it was better than The Proposal or at the same caliper. It's a ridicules story of course, I'm not sure you can really have a chick flick with out the story being somewhat far fetched.

Waking Ned Divine: This movie was recommended to me but I didn't know quite what to expect, except that there was a part with a phone booth going over a cliff (which there is). I didn't not like it but I think it would take a few more times to really appreciate it. It's a foreign film and that changes up the pace and usual suspects of American movies. Warning, there is some old man nudity.

Invincible: This is another one of those inspirational sports movies, but I generally seem to enjoy those. I was thinking about the irony of enjoying movies about football and basketball when I never watch the sports themselves. It was a good movie  though.

The Moon Spinners: I had watched this movie several years ago and wasn't too impressed with it. I saw it at the library and got it for some reason. I think the first time I got the movie, the best thing about it was the handsome leading man. He wasn't so handsome this time around. The back of the case compared the movie to Hitchcock, no, not even close. It was okay at best, not terribly suspenseful (though it may have been more so the first time I saw it) I really was annoyed by the leading girl who was the poster child for pathetic and useless female leads. Also the leading man was supposed to have been shot in the shoulder but his arm seems to be fine in the many fights he's in, etc. Also why did none of the people fighting him punch him in the arm where they'd get the upper hand? Perhaps these things weren't taken into account in 60s/70s violence?

The Proposal: There seems to be a sort of morbid curiosity about movies that you know will be stupid. I knew this would be a dumb chick flick and yet I watched it any way. A warning to those like me that didn't read the reasons for the pg-13 rating, there is significant nudity or partial nudity, far more of actors and actress then I ever wished to see. It was a dumb chick flick and is highly implausible.

What Did You Do in the War Daddy?: This movie was utterly ridiculous.  An American company captures an Italian company in WWII, the Italians are willing, if they can have a festival first... it sort of spirals out of control from there.

Wild Target: This movie was funny but... not a great movie overall, it was okay but not great. Also there was far more of Rupert Grint in the tub than I ever cared to see - not that but just much more than I care for. It was kind of a cute and quirky movie though. Also did I miss something where Rupert Everett just decided to be a character actor or something?

Iron Lady: I heard this movie was very good and so I wanted to see it, I don't think I'd even seen any previews, just heard the oscar talk. This movie was quite good, even though all I knew about Margaret Thatcher previously is that she was the first woman to be prime minister. I'm sure there's more to appreciate about the movie if you know more about Margaret Thatcher but I thought it was quite good and that Meryl Steep did a wonderful job. I did not expect though to be moved to emotion by a biopic about a British politician but I was.

Mao's Last Dancer: Apparently this movie was based on the autobiography of the main character, about his life, being taken to Madam Mao's dance school at age 11 or so, to be trained as a communist and a ballet dancer, later to get to go to America and to defect to the west and become a famous dancer. At first I wondered how much American slant was being given to the communists as the bad guys and the American's as the good guys, finding out that it was an autobiography I feel like if it is a slant, that it's at least more justified. It's very interesting to consider a life so wholly different from mine or any around me. Ps beautiful dancing.

Kiki's Delivery Service: This is probably the second Miyazaki movie that I ever saw. It's a fun movie and of course beautifully animated. As a kid I didn't notice or think about it but watching it now I noticed discrepancies in in the time periods represented but that's part of the fun in Miyazaki movies.

Castle in the Sky: Another Miyazaki movie, another one of the first that I saw. There are parts of this movie that I love, like airborne pirates, there are also parts that I don't like, which are too much and perhaps make the point a little too strongly for me. Overall it's a good movie but it's not my favorite

The Lodger: This was apparently Hitch's first thriller, it's a silent movie and as it began I wasn't too impressed, the quality was not very good (film quality, not movie) and it is an adjustment to watch silent movies where you don't always get a write up of what's being said. It was good thought.

Empire of the Sun: This is a really good movie, a great story, great acting and sets. It's great, it's also a little weird seeing Christian Bale as a kid.

The Lady and The Highwayman: This was made late 80s early 90s and seems to be absolutely a product of it's time. It's okay I guess but mostly forgettable. I love Hugh Grant but he didn't make for a wonderful action hero.

Son of the Pink Panther: I wanted to watch this movie because Roberto Benigni is in it and it's a pink panther movie. I enjoy the original pink panther movies, no offense to Steve Martin but Peter Sellers is my pink panther. Anyway this was not a stellar movie by any stretch of the imagination but it was enjoyable and there was some fantastic gag and physical comedy that Benigni did, he even did a pretty good job at imitating Seller's Clouseau.

The Lorax: This movie was pretty good, it was absolutely a movie with a moral or statement but it was a lot better than I was expecting. I wasn't expecting it to have so many musical numbers but it was pretty good.

I Am Number Four: This movie was an action/alien movie. I didn't really love it, I'd class it with Prince of Persia maybe.

Someone Like You: This is another movie that I caught some of on TV and decided to watch. It was pretty good but not a classic, it is a somewhat unique plot though. I didn't like Greg Kinnear in this movie, I haven't seen him in tons of movies but to date, You've Got Mail, is the only one I've liked him in.

The Hunger Games: I hadn't read the books at all but I ended up seeing the movie and it was alright, I felt perhaps like maybe I was missing a fair amount, perhaps not. I'm not a huge fan of dystopian things. The jury's out I suppose.

Notting Hill: I came in for the second half of this years ago at some friends and then it was on tv a while ago and anyway I recently saw it not on tv. I liked parts of it, I didn't like, nor was I expecting the F-bombs there were. I don't really think I'll be coming back to this movie though I am a fan of Hugh Grant.

The Secret World of Arrietty: This is the latest Miyazaki movie and I thought it was great and beautiful. The story is based on The Borrowers. I love the way that Miyazaki movies capture the imagination and take you to fantastic places

The Family Stone: I didn't really realize that this was a Christmas movie, I probably should have but oh well. This movie was really good, really well crafted. This movie was funny and sad and made me cry a lot. I loved that one of the characters was Deaf and that ASL played a part in the movie. This movie made me think a lot and think about how I view or perceive things. I don't know that I'd watch it again because of how much it made me cry but I really enjoyed this movie.

Princess Kaiulani: This is a movie about the last princes of Hawaii. The movie is based on Kaiulani's life and about the events leading to Hawaii's annexation, an event that was not desired by the native Hawaiians but was rather a move of finance, politics and power to benefit the US. The one thing that stuck out to me most in this movie, was a scene where a former teacher from the school in England that Kaiulani was sent to, (a teacher who earlier in the movie had been quite cruel to Kaiulani) the teacher now found herself in reduced circumstances and Kaiulani was able to treat her kindly, even as her friend reminded her how cruel this woman had been. What a powerful scene, what a legacy to leave behind.

Hugo: I expected good things from this movie from the previews I'd seen and it was far better than I had expected. So many movies these days are rather slap dash or without much substance but this movie truly was marvelous. There was mystery to the plot that was thrilling and complex. The movie was also visually stunning, even in 3D, which is how I saw the movie, I don't really care for 3D and it really didn't enhance the movie. I highly recommend Hugo.

Cats: I love watching the performance of Cats that you can find on video(etc.). Cats may make a lot of people roll their eyes but I enjoy the songs and I love the dancing, there is some amazing dancing that happens in this show.

13 Going on 30: Curiosity drew me to this movie and, I may be really critical of movies of late but it was okay, not amazing, not totally stupid but okay. The concept was sort of hokey but there were some good messages in there.

Walk the Line: This is a movie about Johnny Cash's life. I find this movie sort of hard to watch as Cash's career and destructive behavior progress. I do like that Cash was able to turn his life around with the help of friends and family. I also like the music in the movie though I'd never really heard of Cash before the first time I watched the movie.

Morning Glory: I didn't really expect a lot from this movie and it was okay with some good messages but it wasn't amazing.

The Help: I read this book about six months ago and really loved it but it's taken me until recently to see the movie. I thought the movie was really good and about as good as a movie adaptation could get. My only issue with the movie is that so many things had to be condensed, so much that my friend who hadn't read the book was left confused about some things.

Muppet Movie: It was okay. Frankly for me the Muppets have been lacking something the last several years, maybe charm? My favorite part was Jim Parsons' cameo in "Am I a Muppet or am I a Man?" I also enjoyed the Toy Story short before the movie.

How To Train Your Dragon: This movie was cute and pretty funny but I found it hard to watch at points. I'd watch it again but I don't think it's something I'll be running back to. It did have a good message but said message got a bit preachy in parts.

Runaway Bride: I remember watching this with a friend in the dorms, sitting on a bed and viewing on a laptop (beds double as couches in the dorms). I think I enjoyed this movie then and I don't really think I've seen it since then. I found I was disenchanted with the movie this time around, it may be somewhat due to my dislike of Richard Gere and my growing apathy towards Julia Roberts but the movie just didn't sit well with me. It did have a good soundtrack though.

Jane Eyre: This is the mini series made around 2006. I like this pretty well, certainly better than the version made in the 70s that I got from the library by mistake. I was surprised though at the ways the show departed from the plot of the book, creating more drama and sex. There is no actual sex portrayed in the movie but I was disappointed that they changed a scene that was so important in the book, in the book something happens to disrupt a wedding and the girl refused to just remain on as a mistress. It's a hard thing for her to do but she stands firm to what she knows, in this version she's making out on a bed with him while she's telling him this, I find that problematic. Over all I liked this version but still prefer the movie made in 2011.

Rocket Man: This is a little known Disney movie that came out when I was a kid, I have fond memories watching it with my cousins at sleepovers and I was happy to find that it's still an enjoyable and funny movie, somethings aren't as good when you're more grown up but Rocket Man was still great.

Torn Curtain: A good, suspenseful cold war thriller. Julie Andrews, Paul Newman both do a good job. Perhaps not my favorite Hitchcock film, but the man's a master, they're pretty much all good.

Jack and Jill: Do not bother to see this movie. I thought from the previews/commercials I saw that it would be stupid but I went because a friend wanted to go and it was at the dollar theater. The movie is Adam Sandler portraying fraternal twins, so most of the movie you're seeing Adam Sandler in drag, which is just not pretty. There's a good message buried deep in the movie but I just don't think it's worth slogging through the awkwardness and stupidity to get there.

(500) Days of Summer: I enjoyed this movie, Joseph Gordan-Levitt and Zooey Daschell were both great.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief: I don't know that that's the exact title but it's close enough. I haven't read the books at all but I just don't know how I feel about the whole concept. Parts of the movie were cool, a lot of it was weird and a lot of it seemed like it was a bit much for what I perceive the target age group to be.

Rio: I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie but I did enjoy it and I did laugh out loud while watching it. I was pleasantly surprised I also thought it was weird.

Foreign Correspondent: Another Hitchcock movie, I believe this was his second movie made in the US, possibly the third. This movie was good, and it was probably more exciting in it's day, due to what was going on in the world (WWII) and compared to what was going on in movies of the day. It's not my favorite Hitchcock movie but it's not at all a bad movie. It's very similar to North by Northwest, or rather the other way around.