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.