My Ten Favorite Movies About Writers

My being a writer probably explains my fondness for movies about writers.  Today, I'm sharing the list of my ten favorite movies about or involving writers -- some authors of fiction, some screenwriters, some columnists or newspaper reporters, but all writers!

1. Laura (1944)  While solving the murder of beautiful Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), Detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) falls in love with her memory, mainly thanks to the worshipful reminiscences of Laura's mentor, venomous columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb).

2. Saving Mr. Banks (2013)  Author P. L. Travers (Emma Thompson) struggles to let go of her specific vision for her book Mary Poppins as Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) works to make it into a movie.  My favorite description of what writers do ("We restore order.  We instill hope, again and again.") comes from this movie.

3. The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) needs money. And he needs his career to stop fizzling. And he needs these grumpy characters in his head (especially Scrooge, played by Christopher Plummer) to cooperate. And he needs people to stop pestering him so he can just write his next book. A completely charming, relatable look at the writing process!

4. The Gazebo (1959) A playwright (Glenn Ford) gets blackmailed over some scandalous old photos of his actress wife (Debbie Reynolds) and decides to kill the blackmailer rather than keep paying him. Which leads to very dark comedy that has me in absolute stitches, though my husband didn't find it nearly so funny because he said that Glenn Ford was too good at portraying fear and worry, and so my husband just kept feeling afraid and worried for him. YMMV.

5. Romancing the Stone (1984) Bestselling romance novelist Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) sets out to rescue her kidnapped sister from the South American drug lords who kidnapped her.  A disillusioned mercenary (Michael Douglas) reluctantly helps her out in exchange for a treasure map Joan's sister sent to her before she was kidnapped.  Romance and adventure and some pretty funny dialog ensue.

6. Moulin Rouge! (2001) An aspiring novelist (Ewan MacGregor) falls in love with a consumptive courtesan (Nicole Kidman) and courts her with the help of Toulouse-Latrec (John Leguizamo) in 1890s Paris, while singing and dancing to modern 20th-century music because director Baz Luhrmann can make that work.

7. Paris When it Sizzles (1964) A screenwriter (William Holden) tries to cure his writer's block and write his next smash hit with the help of a typist (Audrey Hepburn) with quirky and funny results. I feel like Alex and Emma (2003) is basically a remake of this movie, though I suppose they might both just be inspired by the true story of Fyodor Dostoyevsky writing a book under a tight deadline with the help of a stenographer that he fell in love with and subsequently married.

8. Miss Potter (2006) Beatrix Potter (Renee Zellweger) falls in love, writes stories, paints cute pictures, publishes books, and refuses to let anyone stop her from doing any of those things. It's a sweet, fun mix of cuteness and determination.

9. Roman Holiday (1953) Bored and lonely Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) runs off alone in Rome to have a taste of what life is like for ordinary people.  American newspaperman Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) takes her under his wing before anything bad can happen to her, and he thinks he's got the scoop of a lifetime once he realizes who he's rescued. 

10. Knives Out (2019) A wealthy mystery author (Christopher Plummer) dies, and everyone in his large and weird family (Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, et. al.) suspects everyone else of having killed him. Only an enigmatic private detective (Daniel Craig) has any inkling of the truth for a long time. 

Are there any movies about your particular profession?  Or, are there any jobs you really love to watch movies about?

This has been my second entry for the On the Job Blogathon hosted by myself and Quiggy at the Midnight Drive-In this weekend!

My Ten Favorite New-to-Me Movies of 2018

Here we are again, at the end of another year.  According to my records, I watched 89 movies over the past year.  That's not 89 separate titles, as I always do a lot of rewatching.  But I watched 89 movies.  Yay!  Here are the ten that I liked best of the ones I'd never seen before.  As always, I've linked the title to my review if I've done a review of that film already.

1. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)  A young viking named Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) defies tradition and saves a dragon instead of trying to kill it.  His newfound knowledge and understanding of dragons ends up saving his village and gaining his father's (voiced by Gerard Butler) respect.  Oh, wow, this movie is every bit as good as everyone says it is.  Possibly better.

2. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)  Time and again, all that stands between young street rat Han (Alden Ehrenreich) and doom are his moxie, his street smarts, and his luck.  I happen to love heist movies, and this movie has heist after heist after heist, so it pleases me from just about every angle.

3. A Bear Named Winnie (2004)  The true story of how and why a military veterinarian (Michael Fassbender) brings a Canadian bear to Europe during WWI.  Sweet and lovely movie.

4. Darkest Hour (2017)  Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) and the rest of Great Britain must decide whether to defy Adolf Hitler or make peace with him and their own consciences.  Fabulous supporting turns by Ben Mendelsohn, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Lily James.  I ran right out and bought a copy of this the day after I saw it at my parents' house.

5. Jane Eyre (1943)  Plain, humble governess Jane (Joan Fontaine) cares for the ward (Margaret O'Brien) of wealthy, unpredictable Mr. Rochester (Orson Welles).  Possibly my favorite Welles performance ever, and so good I had to add a copy to my collection of good adaptations of my favorite novel.

6. Black Panther (2018) T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) learns what it truly means to be a man, a leader, and a hero.  One of the coolest, most sophisticated MCU movies so far.

7. Murder on the Orient Express (2017) Legendary detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) solves a mystery on a train, and we all enjoy the ride because of how many cool people show up in the various roles.  I really enjoy Branagh as a director, maybe even more than I do his acting, and I'm looking forward to 2020's Death on the Nile (not least because Armie Hammer's supposed to be in it).

8. Red Mountain (1951) Near the end of the American Civil War, a Confederate officer (Alan Ladd) is sent to Colorado to aid General Quantrill, but ends up involved in a murder, a rebellion, and a love triangle.  I need to watch this again so I can review it, because it's a totally different movie than I was expecting, but not in a bad way.

9. Christopher Robin (2018) Adult Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor), his wife (Hayley Atwell), and their daughter (Bronte Carmichael) gain some much-needed assistance from Christopher Robin's childhood friends, Winnie-the-Pooh and Co.  This is sweet and whimsical and heart-warming, and McGregor is so perfectly cast that I want to hug him.

10. Along Came Jones (1945)  A slow-talking, easy-going cowpoke (Gary Cooper) gets mistaken for a vicious outlaw (Dan Duryea) and falls for the outlaw's girl (Loretta Young).  This is a charming western comedy that amuses me greatly.


If you'd like to see what my favorite movies were for the last few years, click on the year to see the list from 2017, 2016, 2015, or 2014.

What were your favorite movies this year?

Happy New Year!  I'm not a big one for resolutions, but one thing I intend to change in the coming year is how present I am in the blogosphere.  Life has been hectic this year, but I'm working on streamlining it and getting back to things I love, like blogging and reading blogs, and doing less of busybusybusy stuff.  We'll see if that happens.

The 10-Day Movie Challenge

Ten days ago, a friend nominated me for the 10-day Movie Challenge on Facebook. Every day, I had to select an image from a film that has impacted me in some way, present it without a single explanation, and nominate somebody else to take the challenge.

I finished the challenge today, but it was HARD!!!  Why?  Because I couldn't talk about the images!  When I share about movies that have affected me in some way, I want to use words.  I want to explain.  And I couldn't.

Well, ha ha ha, this right here is MY blog where I make the rules, and so I'm going to share all ten pictures here too and talk about WHY I chose them and HOW these movies have impacted me.  SO THERE.

Day One

That's Richard Burton in Hamlet (1964).  It's a little bit of a cheat because that wasn't technically a movie, it was a stage performance in NYC that got recorded and broadcast to theaters, but... I really love it, so I included it.  It's the first stage performance of Hamlet I ever saw, albeit on film and not live, and it made such an impact on me!  (I'll be reviewing this for a blogathon next month, btw.)

Day Two

It's the schwarma stinger at the end of The Avengers (2012).  Which still doesn't fail to crack me up.  I've seen The Avengers in the theater more times than any other  movie -- I'm up to seven viewings now, and I still adore it.  Three of those were in its initial run, one was when they brought it back for Labor Day weekend that year, one was for a Thorsday Marathon, one was when it was paired with Age of Ultron for a double feature, and one was when they brought it back earlier this year for the ten-year anniversary of the MCU.  Would go again in a heartbeat if it showed up at some theater nearby this evening.  Man, this movie taught me so much about how to weave a story together!  Plus, of course, it introduced me to Thor.  In fact, it was my introduction to the MCU as a whole!

Day Three

This is Alan Ladd in Whispering Smith (1948), aka the movie that made me start falling for Ladd.  Look at those beautiful, soulful eyes!  His character in it, Luke Smith, is proooooobably my favorite Ladd character, even though this is not my favorite of his movies.  He's so honorable, loyal, brave, and kind.  Everything I look for in a character, really.

Day Four

Slow West (2015) is one of those movies that gets inside you, and the more you think about it, the better you like it.  It's a phenomenal bit of modern western filmmaking, and Michael Fassbender's performance in it is one of his finest.  Weird, quirky movie that has been inspiring me in so many ways since the first time I saw it.

Day Five

Ahhhhhhhhhh, 3:10 to Yuma (1957).  It's one of those movies I didn't like at all when I saw it as a teen, and now I adore it.  I'm running into more and more of those lately.  It's a fabulous bit of cowboy noir, lean and strong, and so achingly beautiful with its deep shadows everywhere.

Day Six

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) gave me Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans), my Middle-earth ME character.  I shall love it forever.  I once drove through an ice storm to get one last viewing of it onscreen, it's that important to me.

Day Seven

I bought Blackboard Jungle (1955) on VHS when I was a teen because it was Vic Morrow's first film.  Surprise, surprise, I fell in love with Sidney Poitier and Glenn Ford in it instead.  Though I AM blown away by Vic's performance as well -- but he's playing the Bad Guy, and I just have a really hard time liking Bad Guys.

Day Eight

The Greatest Showman (2017) filled my winter with joy.  My kids love it, I love it, we sing the songs constantly -- it's just such an uplifting, inspiring film! 

Day Nine

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) gave me Dana Andrews.  And, more importantly, gave Dana Andrews to my best friend.  Together, we fangirled over him for years and years.  And this movie is just one of the most amazing movies I've ever seen.  Of all the movies in this post, this is the only one I would label a MUST WATCH.  Everyone should watch it.

Day Ten

Emma (1996) convinced me that I liked Jane Austen's stories when I was a teen.  I have watched it countless times, I listen to the soundtrack frequently, and it's one of the few movies that I actually like better than the book that inspired it.  (GASP!  It's true, though.)  Also, this was the first movie I saw Gwyneth Paltrow in, and the first one I saw Ewan McGregor in!  I've become such a fan of both of them.

THERE.  Now I've gotten to say my words about these ten movies.  I feel better now.

"Beauty and the Beast" (2017) -- Initial Thoughts

Yes, I went to see this after all.  I'm happy to report that my misgivings were for naught, my whinings were in vain.  Gaston as portrayed by Luke Evans was not a boorish, ridiculous joke.

He was so much worse.  But in a good way.  I'll get to that.

I have only seen the animated Beauty and the Beast (1991) all the way through twice.  The first time was in college, and the second was a couple of years ago when a friend loaned me her copy because it is her favorite movie of all time.  I just have never liked it all that well -- and the fact that so many people expect me to like it has irked me for a long time.  Belle loves books.  I love books.  I must be just like Belle, right?  I must love Belle!  She must be my favorite Disney princess, right?

Wrong.  And I never quite knew why Belle and I didn't click.  Today, I think I figured it out, though!  It has to do with how she spends so much of the first part of the movie insisting "there must be so much more than this provincial life."  She hates living in a small town where everyone greets her in a friendly way.  (How dare they?!)  She looks down her nose at everyone who lives there.  She laughs up her sleeve at them because they're different from her, then gets all insulted when they don't like her because she's different from them.  Like the Beast, she needs to quit assuming she's better than everyone around her and stop judging people based on their appearances.  Sure, sure, the villagers are close-minded and don't like it when girls learn to read.  But it feels like Belle has spent the whole time she's lived here feeling -- even saying -- she's better than everyone around her, and that's not going to make you any friends.  That's not a kind way to live your life.

Belle, in my opinion, is not particularly nice in the beginning of this movie or the animated version.  In her own way, she's just as self-absorbed and conceited as Gaston.

Also, I happen to like small towns and open countryside.  I was ever so much happier living in a small town than I was in the two big cities I've spent too many years in.  When we bought a house, we found one with trees and a back yard and the illusion of not being in a city because I can breathe easier here.  So nope, I don't have a ton in common with Belle, folks.  EDIT:  I don't mean for this to sound like I dislike Belle!  As she grows and changes, I like her better and better.  I really enjoy how her character arc mirrors the Beast's.

Her dad (Kevin Kline) was really awesome, though.  I would totally be friends with him.  But he was not my favorite character in the film.  The Beast was.

In the animated version, I liked the Beast okay.  Mrs. Potts was probably my favorite character in the animated movie, and I definitely do dig her here (Emma Thompson is high on my list of favorite actresses!).  But in this new movie, the Beast is hands-down my favorite character.  Which makes sense, right?  Sad backstory.  Lonely.  Broody.  The most Byronic hero of any fairy tale I have yet encountered.  How am I not going to like him?

So, yeah, the CGI wasn't always on.  Actually, I thought his facial animation was excellent -- it was the wide shots where his movement didn't always look natural.  Coulda used the Andy Serkis touch, I guess.  But there weren't a ton of wide shots anyway, so oh well, not a big deal for me.

But back to what was a big deal for me, namely an actor I very much admire playing a character I very much despise.  Happily, I am no longer mad at Luke Evans for taking this role because it is sooooooooooooo much better than the animated Gaston.  This Gaston has issues, folks.  He was a captain in a war, and he has come home feeling like he no longer fits in.  He's tense and edgy and dangerous.

In the animated version, I find Gaston annoying and irritating.  He's not much of either here.  Yes, he pursues Belle against her repeated insistence that she won't marry him.  But he's not so much clueless as relentless.  He knows she doesn't like him, and he doesn't particularly care.  He wants her, he gets what he wants, so he's going to get her.  He's still a bully, but a believable and therefore a frightening one.

Years ago, I went from "I like Luke Evans as Bard in the Hobbit movies" to "I Need More Luke Evans Right Now" when I discovered he could sing, and sing well.  And what really convinced me I needed to go see this after all was Luke's wonderful voice.  I went to Barnes & Noble all by myself (a rare treat) right after the store opened one morning, when it was so quiet inside, I could hear the music they had playing.  Which happened to be the soundtrack to this.  And every time I knew Gaston might be singing, I'd drift toward a speaker and stand under it, enjoying Luke's voice.  By the end of the soundtrack, I'd decided to go see this after all.  And I'm glad I did.  It was fun.  Not a movie I loved, but one I did enjoy.

Though, interestingly, my favorite song is not one of Luke's, but "Evermore," the Beast's big solo.  Man, that song gets to me!  I also listen to "Be Our Guest" a lot because I just 100% love Ewan McGregor's voice.  His Lumiere was a constant delight, as was Ian McKellen's Cogsworth.

Lots of people have talked about the whole "exclusively gay moment" controversy.  Yeah, it was there, and yeah, I was annoyed.  Just like I was annoyed by the cross-dressing cowboy in Disney's The Lone Ranger (2013).  Unnecessary to the plot and only there to make a statement.  Grr.  If you want to read a really good article about not only the LGBT content, but also about the Christian themes lurking between the story's obvious layers, I recommend this one.

Is this movie family friendly?  Erm, sorta?  Scary, scary wolves.  Angry and violent villagers.  Some vague, campy LGBT content played for laughs.  I'm not taking my kids, mostly because of the scariness level.  They haven't seen the animated version yet, so I've promised I'll let them watch that because I can fast-forward through the wolves here at home.  I'll just have to close my eyes for the Gaston parts and imagine Luke Evans instead.

"Emma" (1996)

This movie was not my first Austenian experience -- that distinction belongs to Sense and Sensibility (1995).  However, this is the first Austen-related thing that I loved.  I can't remember the first time I saw it -- I think I probably watched it with my two teen-years best friends.  I do distinctly remember driving to town with my younger brother to rent it so we could watch it with my mom.  I loved it so much, I bought my own copy to take to college with me, where my new friends and I just about wore out that VHS tape.  I've seen this at least a dozen times -- maybe closer to twenty.  However, I think my last viewing was seven or eight years ago, and I'd never seen the widescreen version before.  I bought the DVD a year or so ago, when I found it for an enticingly low price, but never got around to watching it until now.  So when Heidi announced her Discovering Emma Week, I eagerly signed up to review this.  Finally!  A really good reason to sit down and rewatch it!

Oh my goodness.  I loooooooooove the widescreen version!  I kept thinking things like, "I never saw Mr. Knightley's reaction there!"  "I never saw that part of the dance!"  "I never saw Emma have that little moment of realization!"  Splendid, I tell you.

So anyway... you probably know this, but Emma is about a rich, headstrong girl named Emma Woodhouse (Gwyneth Paltrow) who loves matchmaking.  Her rich, handsome neighbor, Mr. Knightley (Jeremy Northam) tries to help her grow and mature into a nicer and better person.  And then she realizes he loves her and she loves him and we all throw flower petals in the air at their wedding.

Right, so anyway, why do I love this movie?  Why is it, in fact, my favorite Austen adaptation?  Why do I like it better than the book?  So many questions, so little time.

I love this movie because it is beautiful.  I want to live inside it.  Hartfield entrances me.  I want to hang out in this room in the evening and read books:

I want to sit in this pavilion and do needlework:

I want to figure out what all these random thingamabobs are that are cluttering up this room:

I want to sit quietly in this rustic corner of the estate and write:

I even want to own chairs like these, though I think they belong to Mr. Knightley at Donwell Abbey, not to Emma at Hartfield:

I'm telling you, I would love to live inside this movie!  And I can't say that about very many movies, certainly not about any of the other Austen adaptations I've seen.  I usually only feel that way about westerns.  So this makes Emma something of a rarity.

And the cast could not be more perfect.  I have to admit that in my teens and early twenties, I would have loved to look like Gwyneth Paltrow in this movie.  She's still kind of my epitome of graceful, elegant womanhood.  I wish I could get my hair to do the pretty things her hair does.  Really, I'm almost a bit obsessed with her hair.

Also, Gwyneth Paltrow makes Emma Woodhouse much more sympathetic than in the book.  She's saucy and meddlesome and spoiled, but she's also sweet and kind and cheerful, and so devoted to her father (Denys Hawthorne), all of which makes me like her quite a bit.

Then there's Jeremy Northam as Mr. Knightley.  He's not nearly as combative as he is in the book.  Still bossy, still always chiding Emma for her faults, but he doesn't constantly pick on her.  And I feel like he knows himself so well in this, that already fairly early on in the movie he knows he loves Emma, and he's just waiting to be sure of himself and more sure of her before he takes any action.

But as handsome as Jeremy Northam is, the first time I saw this, I was really watching it for one person:  Ewan McGregor.  And he still delights me:  the smiley-est, most obliging Frank Churchill you'll ever see.  He actually manages to give the character some depth, which is saying a lot considering that Frank is a vain trickster.  But such a charming and happy trickster!

Even though he has the most appallingly bad wig:

Then there are Toni Collette as the sweet-but-shallow Harriet Smith and Alan Cumming as the unctuous-and-clueless Mr. Elton.  They never fail to make me laugh in almost their every scene.  Brilliant.

And Sophie Thompson as Miss Bates!  Oh, she makes me laugh and cry.  Poor, dear thing.

Also, I love the costumes.  I would love to wear some of these dresses.  And I'm not really all that interested in costumes or clothes or fashion!  But wow, I love these.

My #1 favorite (Emma's, not Harriet's)

My #2 favorite

My #3 favorite

But I think what really sets this apart from other Austen adaptations is how much it makes me laugh.  There are so many moments that I laugh aloud during, and even simple images that set me giggling.

I love how the filmmakers kind of gloried in the absurd in a gentle way instead of taking the story oh-so-seriously.  I can never decide if I should shelve this with the comedies or dramas.  But I generally shelve it with the dramas because when I think of this movie, the first scene that comes to mind is the scene where Mr. Knightley scolds Emma for being rude to Miss Bates at the strawberry-picking picnic.  The first time I saw this, that is the scene where I went from liking to loving it.  It adds such weight to the story, and shows that Emma is not merely a spoiled, heedless girl.  She can feel for other people, she can acknowledge she's been wrong.  She can change.

Okay, I think I've finally run out of things to say here.  Oh yes... is this movie family-friendly?  Nary a hint of sexual content to be found.  There's one scene where some gypsies chase Emma and Harriet and try to steal their purses, and there are a couple of mild curse words, though.

Don't forget to click here or on the button below to visit Along the Brandywine and join in the "Discovering Emma Week" fun!

My Ten Favorite Romantic Comedies

I have all my comedies shelved together, but I decided that since Valentine's Day is only a week away, I would make an extra list from that section, one of movies that revolve around boy-meets-girl.  

You'll notice there are no Classic Hollywood movies here.  I kind of feel like rom-coms are a genre that began in the '80s.  Before, you had romantic dramas, and you had comedies that happened to involve romance, but you didn't really have funny movies that focused entirely on people falling in love.  There are of course a few exceptions -- the original Sabrina has a lot of humorous moments, and I almost put How to Steal a Million on here, except that its focus is really the art thievery, and the romance happens because of that.  Hmm.  Maybe I'm splitting hairs here.  Oh well.

And yes, While You Were Sleeping is on my list of Ten Favorite Christmas Movies too.  Overlaps happen, especially with movies I love very much.

1. While You Were Sleeping (1995)

When a lonely train fare collector (Sandra Bullock) rescues a handsome stranger (Peter Gallagher) from being hit by a train, his family thinks she's his fiancee. I love the entire cast, from Sandra Bullock to Glynis Johns, and it's one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

2. Sabrina (1995)

When Sabrina (Julia Ormond) returns from Paris, suddenly dazzling instead of dowdy, her father's employer (Harrison Ford) pretends to woo her to prevent his younger brother (Greg Kinnear) from having a fling with her.  A lot sweeter than it sounds, and I much prefer it to the 1954 original because the cast has better chemistry and the whole thing works better.

3. You've Got Mail (1998)

Kathleen (Meg Ryan) and Joe (Tom Hanks) are online penpals and real-life bookstore-owning rivals, and they don't realize who each other is until they've started falling in love.  Another remake, this time of a Jimmy Stewart movie called The Shop Around the Corner (1940), and another Greg Kinnear movie where he doesn't get the girl.  Sensing a trend here!

4. French Kiss (1995)

Kate (Meg Ryan) chases her fiance (Timothy Hutton) to Paris to win him back, and enlists the help of impossible Frenchman Luc (Kevin Kline) on the way.  Another Meg Ryan movie -- yeah, I'm a fan, especially of her '90s work.  Also, this is the only rom-com I've ever seen that involves smuggling and chase scenes.

5. Someone Like You (2001)

Jane (Ashley Judd) gets dumped and develops a theory that she thinks explains why men leave women, but her co-worker Eddie (Hugh Jackman) thinks she's both adorable and wrong.  The trend is official!  Greg Kinnear loses the girl again.  This time he's a a bit of a jerk, though, so I don't care.  

6. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Widowed Sam (Tom Hanks) and complete stranger Annie (Meg Ryan) are clearly M.F.E.O (made for each other) even though they don't meet until the end of the movie.  Far-fetched, implausible, and delicious.

7. Mrs. Winterbourne (1996)

Single, homeless, and pregnant, Connie (Ricki Lake) is mistaken for a dead man's wife and taken in by his wealthy mother (Shirley MacLaine), though his brother (Brendan Fraser) remains skeptical of her.  Also far-fetched and implausible, but very sweet anyway.  Especially the tango scene!

8. Runaway Bride (1999)

Maggie (Julia Roberts) has been to the altar three times, but never married, and newspaper columnist Ike (Richard Gere) stakes his career on her running away from her fourth fiance too.  I like this way better than the first Roberts/Gere movie, Pretty Woman (1990).

9. Moonstruck (1987)

Loretta (Cher) falls for her fiance's weird brother Ronny (Nicholas Cage), which throws her Italian family into turmoil.  More turmoil than usual, anyway.  This has all the big-ethnic-family charm that My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) needed more of.

10. A Life Less Ordinary (1997)

Robert (Ewan MacGregor) kind of accidentally kidnaps his employer's daughter (Cameron Diaz), and two wacky angels have to get them to fall in love or lose their jobs.  Yes, it's a very odd, very quirky movie.  But worth seeing for Ewan's rendition of "Beyond the Sea" alone.  Rated R for violence an profanity, though, just FYI.

Also, the soundtracks for While You Were Sleeping, Sabrina, You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and Runaway Bride are some of my favorite soundtracks of all time.  In fact, Sabrina was one of the first soundtracks I ever bought.

"Jack the Giant Slayer" (2013) -- Initial Thoughts

I went to see Jack the Giant Slayer over the weekend, on Deborah Koren's recommendation.  I'm so glad I went!  It's a joyous romp, just the sort of adventure I needed.

You know the basic story:  Jack (Nicholas Hoult) trades a horse for some magic beans that grow an enormous beanstalk that leads to... giants!  This version throws in a princess named Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), a conniving courtier named Roderick (Stanley Tucci), and the leader of the royal guard or something, Elmont (ever-effervescent Ewan McGregor).  And there's not just one giant, there's a whole world of giants up in the clouds, just waiting to eat humans and take over the earth and generally behave like enormous fourteen-year-old boys.

Elmont, Isabella, and Jack

Princess Isabelle winds up in the giant world accidentally, so Roderick, Elmont, and Jack (and a few other guys) climb up the beanstalk to rescue her.  All manner of mayhem ensues.  Great fun!  Some of it does pander to the tweenage boy element, though (a couple of the giants are clearly related to the troll king from The Hobbit).

Jack was sweet and Isabelle was spunky, but it was Elmont that I rooted for through the whole movie.  First of all, there's something so irrepressible, so buoyant about Ewan McGregor that I have loved him from the first movie I saw him in (which was probably Emma).  Actually, no, my fascination with him dates back farther than that -- I read a review of Trainspotting (1996) in my dad's Time or Newsweek when it came out, and there was this picture of him drinking out of a bottle and laughing, and this one of him lying across a railroad track with his head on one track and his feet on the other, and I went, "Who IS this guy?  He looks so happy, and then he's got his head on a train track?  What?"  I didn't see Emma until it came to video, so probably a year or so later.  (Never have seen Trainspotting, and don't intend to.)

Anyway!  Elmont!  He spends the majority of the movie behaving as if he's actually the hero of the whole story.  Since he's head of the royal guard or something, he's in charge of the rescue mission, and goes about giving orders and engaging in manly acts of derring-do with a hilarious mixture of swagger and aplomb.

Helmet hair AND a dandy mustache.

But once more, insane hair for Ewan McGregor!  And a silly mustache with cute little twists on the ends.  He pulls the look off, just like he did the Padawan braid-and-buzz for A Phantom Menace and the pink cotton candy for Emma.  But it's very silly and made me giggle.  Especially since he very clearly doesn't care that it's silly.  I think it's supposed to be a really bad case of helmet hair, as he does get it all smooth and under control once in a while.

It can be tamed!

Random things I loved about this movie:

• The princess doesn't do something dumb that causes all this trouble.  
• The giants kind of had this Easter Island Head look, which was awesome.
• The king chose to do his kingly duty when I was convinced he would take the easy route.  I cheered.
• Every single actor was clearly having bushel-loads of fun.
• Warwick Davis!  I was so surprised, and he was awesome as usual.

I really can't wait for my kids to be old enough to see this, as I think it will become a family favorite.

I say that this counts as a period drama because at the end, they posit that it was occurring in an early England.  Also, the costumes were very fun.  Obviously, this is a fantasy, so you get some unreal things like golden armor for the royalty.  And Elmont's armor is very natty, don't you think?  But commoners like Jack have grubby, work-ready clothes in plain colors that I found very effective.

Is this movie family-friendly?  Fairly.  There are a handful of bad words.  Several people get their heads literally bitten off, though that's usually at a distance.  There's very little blood or gore, though there's a lot of fantasy-style violence.  And, like I mentioned, some juvenile humor involving nasal mucous and such.  There are a couple of pretty chaste kisses too.