day 3.201

movie review: monte carlo

selena gomez, movie star? the disney starlet makes a case for herself in monte carlo, a tween-centric rom-com. gomez plays grace, a texas high schooler who can't wait to escape her small-town life, even for a week. after graduation, grace, her best friend emma (katie cassidy) and step-sister meg (leighton meester) jet off to paris. the girls seek out adventure on a lack-luster tour, coming up empty. then, adventure finds them, when grace turns out to be a doppelganger for british socialite cordelia. when cordelia decides to blow off a trip to monte carlo, the three girls swoop in and jet off to play pretend. romance, mystery and chaos ensue. monte carlo's the perfect escape film- the movie itself is beautiful, the director's very own love letter to france. while the plot's been seen before, it's a story that holds up and holds interest. at just less than two hours, monte carlo met my watch test, mixing just the right amount of laughter and heart. while it might be targeted toward tweens, don't skip out on it- gomez's turn on the big screen is worth checking out.

movie review: larry crowne

tom hanks and julia roberts together? movie magic. tom hanks stars as, you guessed it, larry crowne, a big-box store clerk who loses his job when he doesn't have the college education to move up the corporate ladder. crowne decides to head back to school in order to regain his life. and who should his teacher be but julia roberts. while most of the movie's given away in the trailer (above), larry crowne is well written (co-scribed by hanks and my big fat greek wedding's nia vardalos) and well acted, with a supporting cast including gugu mbatha-raw and george takai. it's a rom-com with a lot of heart and a lot of smiles. while you might not laugh out loud from start to finish, you'll definitely leave the theater feeling like you just watched a movie from the 90s. at an hour and 40 minutes, larry crowne's the perfect summer comedy for every and anyone.

day 2.256

eat, pray, love. skip.

unless you read the book, i don't see you liking julia robert's return to movie stardom. eat, pray, love is a good adaptation of a so-so book by elizabeth gilbert that follows her journey to regain balance in her life after a divorce. elizabeth traveled to italy, india and indonesia to regain the joy of eating, praying and loving in each of the respective countries. because the book is so much of a personal love letter to the reader, i didn't see how it would translate onto the screen. elizabeth is alone and analyzing her experiences within the confines of her own mind; how can that be fun to watch? well, it isn't. though julia and her toothy charm bring some life to the story, it's hard to sympathize with self indulgence and one's personal journey. glee creator ryan murphy directed the pic but didn't seem to find the right balance between serious and light. the movie isn't enough fantasy or enough reality for the viewer to get sucked in. murphy isn't really in touch with being a motion picture director either, with many of his shots looking amateur or experimental. at over two hours long, you're ready to be done with elizabeth's journey long before she it. having read the book and seen the movie, i could do without one-third of each: india. elizabeth is alone the whole time doing self-reflection. snooze fest. so unless you loved (or liked, or even tolerated - like me) the book, wait for something else to get your julia roberts fix.

day 2.120

video overload

what are sure to be two of the summer's biggest movies - eat, pray, love and ramona and beezus - released their trailers today. both movies are based on bestselling books, but are for two very different audiences. eat, pray, love stars julia roberts and ramona and beezus stars selena gomez. i guess they're comparable in star quality for the two audiences they're serving? ok, that's kind of a stretch. check out the two trailers below. i'll probably see both movies. now isn't that a sad commentary on my life...

the other video that hit the internets today was this teaser clip from hot in cleveland, tv land's first scripted sitcom that stars valerie bertinelli and, now, betty white. check out the ladies below. betty looks like she'll be stealing every scene she's in. every scene.