Cadillac Records

Good movie and great music about the inception of the Chess recording studio with Adrian Brody as the owner, Leonard Chess and the start of some of the greatest blues/R&B musicians: Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter, Howling Wolf, Chuck Berry and Etta James. The previews lead you to believe it is all about Beyonce as Etta, but she doesn’t appear until the latter half of the movie. Beyonce has a beautiful voice –probably the best singing performance by her I’ve ever seen - but I’m afraid nobody can match Etta’s wonderfully gritty pipes. Good movie; but if you have a good sound system at home it can wait until it’s out on DVD or TV.

Slumdog Millionaire

Excellent movie. Accused of cheating on India’s version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, a young contestant must recount to police the tragic and horrific events of his life that explain how he knew the answers to each of the show’s questions. Some scenes are violent and hard to watch and it is definitely not a flattering view of India, but it is an excellent portrayal of perseverance and undying love.

Australia

Good movie, but not the epic it was hoping to be. Someday I will learn to go to a movie without expectations, but I haven’t learned that lesson yet; I’m a late bloomer. Kidman and Jackman try to beat a competitor by herding cattle to the troops during WWII. Australia begins as sort of a corny comedy, where prissy Nicole Kidman and tough guy Hugh Jackman behave just like Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in African Queen. Then the movie switches back and forth from corny, to serious drama, to overly dramatic, even stealing a bit of the plot from South Pacific. Overall, I liked the movie but not as much as I would have had I not watched the constant previews that led you to believe it would be the next Gone With The Wind. Good movie, but very long – don’t drink too much of your soda or you won’t be able to hold it!

Milk

Excellent adaptation of the true story of Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay man to be elected to a major office. Sean Penn is awesome as usual, and it’s kinda funny to him smile in a role for a change. There are quite a few kissing scenes and loving glances that I found a little uncomfortable to watch, despite the fact that I am definitely pro-gay rights. Excellent movie.

Four Christmases

Disappointing and even cornier than I expected it to be. Too bad, because I actually found Vaughn’s effort last year, Fred Claus, amusing. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon must visit each of their divorced parents on Christmas Day and endure their dysfunctional families. Really, really dumb.

Twilight

Good teenage vampire movie. I love vampires, so I am biased – though I never read the book so I can’t compare. Kristen Stewart plays a human newcomer to Washington State who never smiles but manages to attract the school hunk harboring a secret, Robert Pattinson. I’ll have to read the book to learn why Stewart always looks so miserable despite having some cheerful human friends. There’s some good vampires, bad vampires, a forbidden romance and a really cool baseball game! Only for vampire lovers who don’t mind that these blood suckers have reflections and don’t burn to death in the sunlight. I enjoyed it, though as I pointed out, it’s not a traditional vampire movie.

Role Models

Mildly amusing movie starring Seann William Scott (Stifler from American Pie), Paul Rudd and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin from Superbad). Scott and Rudd must act as “Big Brothers” to two young social misfits. While Scott’s charge is a cute kid with a foul mouth, Rudd’s charge – Mintz-Plasse - is a teen obsessed with this strange group that dresses in medieval attire and pretends to do battle with each other. Wait for it to come out on TV; although the copious profanity will all be bleeped out, which is almost as annoying as tolerating the vulgarity in the first place.