Go See: "Water For Elephants"

I think I'm still on my "high" of seeing this highly emotional film, "Water For Elephants", which was based on a #1 NY Times best-selling book, written by Sara Gruen. This is yet one in a million times that I had wished I had discovered the book before the film was made. Mental note to self: Read "The Help" written by Kathryn Stockett before seeing the movie which comes out this fall starring Emma Stone and Viola Davis.

I went into this film thinking it was going to be a charming, romantic film between the two main characters, Jacob (Edward Pattinson) and Marlena (Reese Witherspoon) but there was so much more to this story - drama, touch of comedy and yes, romance (more like a love triangle). There is also a bit of animal cruelty (assimilated, of course) so if you are an animal lover, you will have a hard time stomaching some of the scenes. And, there's always a bad guy in every romance story so who better to play than "Inglorious Basterds's" Christoph Waltz. Mr. Watlz is amazing at playing a bad guy and well, let me just say that karma comes back around for his character in this film.

I won't give anything away but at the beginning of the film, it does start out with an old Hollywood icon, Hal Holbrook reminiscing about his early days, regailing his tale to a young fellow circus guy. It reminded me of "Titanic" where you hope the narrating character doesn't keel over before she finishes her epic tale of forbidden love.

Spoiler alert! (Ok, so I lied!) I will tell you this - there is one female lead in this film and she steals the show, even right out from under Reese's feet. I will say that she is 42 years old, is about 8'8" and weighs 9,000 pounds. No, I'm not talking about a cast-off from "The Biggest Loser" but I will tell you that her name is - Tai. You can read more about her here.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, step right up and feast your eyes on this amazing trailer!

Can't Wait: Midnight in Paris

Sometimes Woody Allen films are like a sweet, sweet indulgence as they take you on a journey into an international fantasy world. That might sound creepy coming from an asian gal with a middle name similar to the likes of Woody's ex-adopted-stepdaughter-now-turned-wife. Oh get over it, will you?

I'm excited to see his upcoming film, "Midnight in Paris", which stars Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen (hmmm, now it makes total sense how him and Rachel hooked up in real life!), Marion Cotillard, Alison Pill, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody and even the First Lady of France, Carla Bruni. What a freaking kick-ass cast!

I am overall a huge fan of Woody Allen but sometimes he can go a bit far off the deep end to where I just don't have the energy to participate in. But lately, I have grown so fond of the way he brings an audience and viewer in by creating these gorgeously shot films on location in the perfect international cities. For instance, when he shot on location in Barcelona (ummm, hello - "Vicki Christina Barcelona") and shot in London for "Scoop" and "Match Point" with his muse in both films - Scarlett Johansson, you really felt like you were there in that city, experiencing what those characters felt in their own visual journey. I feel like it's similar to Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation", where in some certain scenes, she showed you a Tokyo that you might not have been familiar with.

So save the date of May 11th when this film releases in the U.S. and go see it!

Finally Saw: "Love & Other Drugs"

Aw yes, let me first start by saying that I took a hiatus away from life and writing. But I am now re-energized after taking a mini-break to London last week where in a future post(s) will explain my love for british tv sitcoms and dramas. But that's a whole 'nother time, so I digress while I sit here eating my Maltesers and Wymans Wine Gums...

...I must give a shout out to Air New Zealand as I was a bit hesitant at first with this airline, but I give them a hefty two thumbs-up if you're taking a non-stop trip from LAX to Heathrow. With it being such a long flight, you are offered a plethora of newly released films which made me salivate. I fought my chronic narcolepsy on a plane as much as I could and in the end, only one film won in it's entirety and that was "Love & Other Drugs" which stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. I enjoyed this film, as I usually would enjoy any film where you might catch a glimpse of a nearly naked Jake, and found the relationship between his character, Jamie, and Anne Hathaway's character, Maggie, quite the opposite as to what happens in real romantic relationships. Never would you find the ultimate "player" guy falling for a girl with parkinson's disease who chooses to only use him for sex and denies him the right of being his girlfriend. Never would you find a girl who is afraid of commitment after this guy actively pursues this girl and even confesses that he loves her. Okay, I may sound a tad cynical but I liked this film because it showed a complete reversal of emotion in how we generally perceive how a "player" operates. This is also a fictional film, might I remind us of that.

"Love & Other Drugs" was directed by Edward Zwick and I found it a nice departure from his previous epic and profilic films such as: "Defiance", "The Last Samurai", "Courage Under Fire" and "Legends of the Fall". I enjoyed the cast which included Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria (loved him from my "Simpsons" days - yes, I used to work on the show and no, I was not the voice of Bart), Josh Gad (why does he seem familiar? He played Jonathan Ame's arch-enemy ex-BF of his lover on "Bored to Death" and was also in "21"), George Segal, Gabriel Macht and Judy Greer.

So go see this film - and thank me later.

Go See: The Fighter

On average, I am blown away by one film a year and this year, already, I nominate "The Fighter" as taking that honor. Last year it was "The Social Network" and did I not predict Oscar noms for that film. Come on, hello! I recently saw (since I'm still behind on all the Oscar nominated and Oscar winning films) what was a freaking brilliant performance by not just the ever-so-talented character actor, Christian Bale, but a kick-ass performance by Mark Wahlberg, Melissa Leo and Amy Adams.

I was surprised that David O. Russell directed this as I think of quirky comedies when he comes to mind such as "I Heart Huckabees" (wait, didn't you remember that Mark Wahlberg was also in this flick?) or the Ben Stiller comedy "Flirting with Disaster". But let's not forget that he directed the war drama, "Three Kings" starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark love affair brewing non-stop here!) and Ice Cube. I noticed that Mr. Darren Aronofsky is an executive producer of this film. Come on, Darren, aren't you getting enough attention from your little ballet film, ahem, "Black Swan"?

I find this film even more intriguing as it's based on the real story of the famous boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his older half-brother Dicky Eklund . Rumor has it that Christian Bale never broke character, even when he wasn't filming. And it was all worth it as he won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and Melissa Leo won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role.

Check out the trailer - and catch this film while it's still in the theaters.

Go See: "Black Swan"

Man, oh man, where to begin? I went to a screening of "Black Swan" tonight and I'd just like to say that I truly believe that Director Darren Aronofsky is truly a cinematic genius. Having directed films from "The Wrestler" to "Requiem for a Dream", Aronofsky has the ability to get inside your head and play with your raw emotions psychologically and visually. With only just seeing a two minute trailer on the highly anticipated, Oscar buzzing film, "Black Swan", I went through such an incredible range of emotions, I'm almost left speechless. There is desire, fire, passion, gore and suspense in this film. And who knew that Ms. Winona Ryder was in this film? So lovely to see her back in action.

Natalie Portman most definitely will get an Oscar nomination for this film. You see her dead on performing difficult ballet steps, making you believe that she is this cowardly, delicate bird-like creature. She also looks like she lost about a million pounds - so teeny tiny. The rebellious Mila Kunis does a great job co-starring alongside the very handsome, ballet prick coach played by the french actor Vincent Cassel and lest we forget the actress Barbara Hershey who plays the kooky, over-protective mother of Natalie Portman's character.

I won't spoil anything for you but be prepared to be surprised by this film. Across the board!

Can't Wait: "Morning Glory"

I was such a news junkie when I was a kid. I even attempted to major in broadcast journalism and after landing an internship at a local news station, I still thought it was the dream job. There are so man fun politics and behind-the-scenes antics that go on in a newsroom which is why I'm excited to see "Morning Glory". I'd like to know how you could go wrong with the stars Diane Keaton, Harrison Ford, Rachel McAdams and Patrick Wilson. All incredibly talented actors just waiting to one-up each other in this film. Oh, and let's not forget "The Fly's" Jeff Goldblum.

But let's talk classic TV news movies. How about "To Die For", where Nicole Kidman plays the crazed weather gal. Speaking of crazed meteorologists, you can't forget "Groundhog's Day". That was a classic Bill Murray movie. Or the depressing flick, "The Weather Man" with Nicolas Cage. For those classic film aficionados, we can't forget the James L. Brooks classic film of the 80's, "Broadcast News", starring William Hurt, Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks. One of my personal favorites was Michelle Pfeiffer's "Up Close and Personal", with the amazing Robert Redford.

So, roll the entertaining trailer now for "Morning Glory". Enjoy folks!

Go See: "Life As We Know It"

I love a good romantic comedy! I can't help it and I surprisingly fell in love with this heavy-at-moments, RoCo "Life As We Know It", starring the RoCo queen Katherine Heigl and "Tad Hamilton's" Josh Duhamel. Whoa, be still my beating heart. That Fergie is one lucky lady.

This film touches you on so many levels, from romance to death to raising a child and balancing your life and falling in love. Okay, it sounds like a recent episode on "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" but you get the drift. The film begins (no, no, don't worry, this is not the beginning of a review...!) with the "perfect" couple played by Mad Men's Christina Hendricks and Hayes MacArthur. Ummm, is that his real name? Sounds like a President's name. And this couple has the perfect baby, Sophie, who in real life is played by triplets, Alexis, Brynn and Brooke Clagett. Now see, I bet the Octomom could hussle some Hollywood work if she wanted.

I loved the cast in this film - you've got the sarcastic and empathetic social worker played by Sarah Burns, and might I mention a now RoCo Alumni as she was in "I Love You, Man" and "Going The Distance", to funnyman comedian DeRay David who plays a baker in Holly's bakery, Fraiche, and the nosy but informative neighbor, DeeDee, played by Melissa McCarthy.

It was also a mini reunion for some actors in this film as Jean Smart (who seemed to have taken an uncredited role) and the suave southerner Josh Lucas are "reunited because it feels so good". Remember them playing mother and son in "Sweet Home Alabama".

But watch it, I honestly believe that you will enjoy and ladies, I even think your men will like it, too!

Take a peek...