The Holiday (2006)

Dir: Nancy Myers
Writer: Nancy Myers
Starring: Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black

Over the holiday break back at home, I picked The Holiday to watch because I hadn't seen it in a while, and hey, it has to do with Christmas...sometimes. My husband reminded me of the first time we watched the movie, which was about a month into our relationship. The next day he left for tour for the first time, and also told me he loved me for the first time. I think that's why he likes the movie. (Plus, he gifted me the DVD several Christmases ago.)

I like it for that reason, too, but I also just enjoy a good rom-com with the likes of Kate Winslet. Her character is not as pathetic and amazing as Bridget Jones, but she'll do. The rest of the cast holds their own, though Diaz can be grating and Black isn't that believable as a love interest, but the light comedy does the feel-good trick.

When I saw This is 40 this weekend, there was a line in the movie about widowers and how everyone loves a widower more than a single guy or divorced guy. I immediately thought of Jude Law's character in this movie (perhaps it signaled my DVD choice the next afternoon). The characters are all extremely 'set up,' as is the house-swapping plot, but suspending my disbelief is one of my favorite things to do. As the Beach Boys put it, wouldn't it be nice?

The Best: Winslet. I love when she's on screen and when the focus is her character. I do wish she'd been given a love interest she had more chemistry with (oh would that Leonardo DiCaprio even considered doing a rom-com!), but she's still dazzling.

Fact: Dustin Hoffman had been driving by the Blockbuster used in the movie when he saw all the cameras inside. He knew the director, Myers, and they filmed his cameo on the spot, which made the final cut of the film.

Rating: ******* (7 out of 10)

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

 



Dir: Colin Treverrow
Writer: Derek Connolly
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson

I saw this movie this past summer and it was quite the difference from the movie I'd seen earlier in the day -- Prometheus. However, I took to the small, independent, and heartfelt movie. It may also be because I love Mark Duplass in everything.

The movie is about a loner magazine intern who doesn't quite fit in with her surroundings, no matter what they might be. Plaza plays Darius with her usual acerbic wit, but the softer side of her was there, too. Her boss (Johnson) brings her along on his assignment to seek out the author of the 'Safety Not Guaranteed' ad (on the poster), and that's where we find Duplass as Kenneth, a slightly weirder loner, but one that Darius instantly connects with.

While the plot was a bit shallow--never diving too deep--the movie was enjoyable, especially the scenes betwen Darius and Kenneth. I was not as taken with Johnson's secondary plotline of finding an old love, but it makes sense with the themes of the movie.

The ending was probably the part that really got me. I liked the movie, but then the end had me grinning from ear to ear. It's not the year's best movie, but it might be its most feel-good. At least for me.

The Best: Mark Duplass. Because he's having quite a year, for good reason! See his other 2012 roster: Your Sister's Sister, Darling Companion, People Like Us, The League, The Mindy Project, Zero Dark Thirty.

 



Fact: The ad that the movie revolves around is a real ad that was run in a 1997 issue of Backwoods Home Magazine. It was a last-minute filler by a guy who worked at the magazine, and eventually circulated on television and the internet. In the movie, the original author of the ad makes a cameo as the first guy to open a PO box that Darius and her co-intern are watching.

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

The Princess Bride (1987)

 



Dir: Rob Reiner
Writers: William Goldman
Starring: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Christopher Guest, Andre the Giant

A couple of months ago, my friend Jaime and I started watching Homeland and when Mandy Patinkin as Saul came on the screen I looked at her and said, "My name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my father, prepare to die!" Jaime stared back at me quizzically, and I understood the horrifying fact that she had never in her thirty five years of life seen The Princess Bride.

"Inconcievable!"

My dad happened to call me on that fateful night and also joined in my absolute astonishment. Since the following week was my birthday, he happened to send a copy of the DVD, since I had lamented my last one had been stolen (right off my DVD shelves!). I invited Jaime over recently to finally introduce her to Wesley, Princess Buttercup, and all the favorite lines I grew up with.

The movie really does stand the test of time; I remember watching it repeatedly as a kid (this, and Big). Watching it as a twenty-nine year old was just as enjoyable. Jaime and I laughed out loud, I slapped my knee a few times, I said the lines I remembered so well, I pointed out who the actors were to Jaime (that's Billy Crystal! That's Christopher Guest!), and we even thought of what a great group costume the characters of movie would make for Halloween. It was fun to rewatch it, and even more fun to watch it with someone seeing it for the first time.

The movie is a bit of a fantasy, but grounds itself with the storytelling of a grandfather (Peter Falk) to his grandson (Fred Savage). The script nor actors ever miss a beat, and the movie is a great adventure from start to finish. It defines the word enjoyable for a film!

The Best: Cary Elwes has never been as good as Wesley, though I still love Robin Hood: Men in Tights. I just love when he reveals himself to Princess Buttercup while falling down a cliff: "as youuuuu wiiiiiish!"

Fact: When Count Rugen hits Westley over the head, Cary Elwes told Christopher Guest to go ahead and hit him for real. Guest hit him hard enough to shut down production for a day while Elwes went to the hospital.

Rating: ********** (10 out of 10)

Friends with Kids (2012)

Dir: Jennifer Westfeldt
Writers: Jennifer Westfeldt
Starring: Jennifer Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Kristin Wiig, Scott O'Down, Jon Hamm

I saw this movie earlier this year in the theaters, but my thoughtful brother sent me the DVD as a birthday gift a couple of months ago.

I've been a huge fan of Jennifer Westfeldt since I saw Kissing Jessica Stein when I was in college, and a few years ago when I saw Ira & Abby. She wrote both of those movies, which are smart, funny, and not your run-of-the-mill rom-com or lady comedy. Friends with Kids is her directorial debut, and I liked it a lot, too.

Overall, this film is about three couples, two who are in romantic relationships and have kids, and another who are strictly platonic but decide to have kids due to the ol' biological clock and because they observe that kids can take all the romance out of a relationship. It can seem a bit winded when typing it all out. But the movie is funny and charming, while there are some things I have to ignore in order to like it, but that's the case with most films, isn't it? I think Westfeldt understands that her characters are not the most realistic or smart -- but there wouldn't be an interesting movie without these two best friends agreeing to a slightly kooky life plan. So, I have to suspend my disbelief, and Westfeldt puts in some great scenes to demonstrate that yeah, this is kind of crazy. The supporting cast (all plucked from Bridesmaids) are particularly great in these scenes.

Westfeldt and Adam Scott play off each other really well, and I love them both. You root for all the characters, and there are moments of sadness throughout, even though it's more of a comedy. I do like how odd and different the plot was from most movies out these days--it seemed more thoughtful--but the ending still seemed a little trite against the rest of the movie. I mean, I feel great that it all works out, but sometimes I want the characters to be challenged a little more!

The Best: When the other two disapproving couples come over to the new parents' apartment for the first time and think they're about to walk into a harried scene, but it ends up exactly the opposite. The outtakes on the gag reel from this scene are also hilarious.

Fact: Westfeldt's been dating co-star Jon Hamm in real life for over ten years. He had bit parts in all of her movies pre-Mad Men era!

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Arthur C. Clarke (story, screenplay), Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester

This film was a rarity from my collection: I hadn't seen it when I purchased it. However, the blu-ray was sitting in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart for $5, I simply couldn't pass up that deal on a movie with such a reputation. That was a couple of years ago.

I finally picked it out of my collection to watch because Hurricane Sandy was descending on New York and my cable went out. My power and blu-ray player still working, I decided this would be the best time to settle in for the three hour film; it's not like I could go outside.

The movie is certainly an enigma, but watching it I understood everything that could be attributed to it. It was truly a a giant step for film innovation. The pristine shots of the spacecrafts from space are beautiful (like much of the film's visuals) and there would be no Star Wars or Alien space shots without Kubrick's 2001. In fact, I was amazed this film was made in 1968. The technology seemed so far advanced, and that's when I realized this was the first.

The film itself has an abstract story, but it's momentous to take in from the visuals to the music to the nearly philosophical aspect of questioning humanity. The dialogue is barely audible at times, but that's because it's not the point. While it may be hard to keep your attention because there's not much story happening, the images, production design, cinematography and directing kept mine.

I loved the iconic music over the man-ape throwing his tool into the air in the beginning and I also loved the shot-to-shot cuts in the room in Jupiter near the end.

The Best: Obviously HAL's meltdown is the most plot this movie has; my favorite moment in the film is a mechanic that Kubrick repeated and many others copied. When the astronaut is trying to get back onto the spacecraft with his friend and HAL won't let him in, he has to let the other man go and blast back into the spacecraft without his helmet. Such an intense scene would usually be paired with loud and bombastic music -- but it's all played in silence though the image vibrates with flashing lights and the actor flying across the screen. The silence made me hold my breath. It was beautiful.

 



Fact: HAL 9000 never once says, "Good morning, Dave," despite this line being one of his most recognized quotations. It is hard not to think about 2001 when watching many sci-fi movies, even this year, Prometheus' character David opens a computer and it greets him with "Hello, Dave."

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

Gentlemen Broncos (2009)

Dir: Jared Hess
Writers: Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess
Starring: Michael Angarano, Jemaine Clement, Sam Rockwell, Jennifer Coolidge

This is one weird movie. But I love it.

I remember seeing the trailer for it in a theater and thinking "well, that looks dumb." Cut to last year when my friends Jaime and Andrew had me over to their apartment and decided I needed to watch. They were reciting the lines during the movie, and then afterwards when we went to a bar they continued. Many lines are now inside jokes between friends; sometimes when I say bye to a friend in-the-know, I say "Remember who you are and what you stand for!" while flashing two metal signs, as Jennifer Coolidge's character says to her son Michael Angarano as she sends him off to a writing festival for homeschooled kids.

I digress.

The movie is about the Benjamin, living in the bland surroundings of Utah, much like director Jared Hess' previous film, Napoleon Dynamite. He's a teen sci-fi writer who has hopes for his first novel with a lead character named Bronco who fights evil on distant planets. The great hilarity of the film centers on the fact that his novel is played out on screen several times -- as his own version with Sam Rockwell as a long-haired, tough Bronco, as a version low-budget filmed by his friends, and as a version stolen and plagiarized by his idol, Chevalier (played so well by Jemaine Clement). In Chevalier's version, Bronco is now Brutus, and Sam Rockwell plays him as well, but this time in a pink suit, long blond hair, and lispy accent.

When you have Sam Rockwell saying lines like--"Oh my holy crap, surveillance does... I hate those. This is ridiculous, that's the most well guarded yeast factory I've ever seen!"--you know it's a different kind of movie. But Rockwell owns both characters and all their ridiculousness. If you haven't gotten it yet, this movie is absolutely crazy. And not everyone will like it, enjoy it, or even get why people are laughing at the random (and sometimes gross) jokes. But I did!

Proceed at your own risk. If you enjoyed this movie for what it is, we'd probably be friends.

The Best: Sam Rockwell, hands down. The guy puts everything into his roles no matter how weird. His tackling of two roles is the best part of the movie.

Fact: The opening credits have a series of fake sci-fi novels to showcase the stars. The cover artwork was created by acclaimed fantasy and science fiction artists Kelly Freas and David Lee Anderson.

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Dir: David Frankel
Writers: Lauren Weisberger (novel), Aline Brosh McKenna
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt

[Editor's note: time to get this blog back on track!]

This film is one of those highly enjoyable flicks that never feels too corny--mainly because you've got great acting and a fun premise. Hathaway plays Andy, a burgeoning "serious" journalist who lands herself an assistant-to-the-editor job at Runway magazine (a stand-in for Vogue). She's out of her element: as colleagues clack around in their stilettos and throw their shiny hair over their shoulders, Andy wears clunky shoes and doesn't look like she believes in getting her hair cut. This set-up leads to meeting her boss, the Anna Wintour-based character of Miranda Priestly, played to Oscar-nominated level by Meryl Streep.

One of the reasons I like this movie so much is that I do see a bit of myself in it. When I first moved to New York, I had a job interview at Conde Nast, though not for Vogue, but for another fashion magazine. I, too, was severely out of my element, and though I've moved on to another fashion-centric job, I am still  unable to keep up with my colleagues. I mean, I don't have a giant closet at work from which to handpick designer clothes. I digress.

The movie shows Andy choosing her career over her relationships, high-end over bargain bin, and many other classic tropes. However, Hathaway is charming and Streep is wonderfully menacing and they are both fun to watch even though it can be predictable. Each scene and montage works to pace the movie just right and I found myself laughing out loud all over again in rewatching the DVD.

The weakest element was the supposed romantic storylines of her boyfriend played by hum drum Adrian Grenier and a journalist flirt played by a not very charming Simon Baker. But they're pretty peripheral, and their scenes go by quickly. I understand their need, but always wanted to get back to the work scenes between Andy, Miranda, and Emily (played by Emily Blunt).

The Best: can anybody best Meryl Streep? It's hard to, and I loved the scene in which she asks Andy to get her daughters the next unreleased Harry Potter book--a revenge move for having overheard a private conversation.

Fact: Helen Mirren and Kim Basinger were both considered for the role of Miranda. But again, would either of them been able to best Meryl?

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

27 Dresses (2008)

Dir: Anne Fletcher
Writer: Aline Brosh McKenna
Starring: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns

After watching some pretty heavy movies, I turned towards the lighter side of my collection (but also just tried to get back on the alphabetical nature of this endeavor). The husband was off on tour, and this meant I had full reign of the usual "to watch a rom-com or not to watch a rom-com" argument I have with myself--they can be the guiltiest of guilty pleasures, and the husband won't usually join me in such viewings.

There have been a lot of wedding-based rom-coms in the 2000s. You could make the argument that most rom-coms are about weddings because that's usually what happens in the end. But, the wedding-centric ones came fast and furious. I'd say this is one of the best of the bunch. It has a likable protagonist with a sarcastic best friend, a villain wrapped up in a too-perfect sister, a hunky crushworthy boss, a cute journalist and a whole lot of bad bridesmaid dresses.

Of all the wedding rom-com movies I recieved as gifts for becoming engaged years ago, I think this is the only one I kept. Bride Wars and Made of Honor were awful, awful films that had none of the pleasure you're supposed to get out of a rom-com. I had to give them away; they weren't even unintentionally funny. But Heigl's character here is relatable, smart, and seems like perhaps the best friend a girl could have should she be planning to get married. I also like that Marsden finally got the girl after several movies of being the nice to guy who loses out. Enjoyable, through and through.

The Best: The opening of the movie where Heigl races between two different weddings--one in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn--and has to change her bridesmaid dress in the cab rides between.

Fact: Malin Akerman plays Katherine Heigl's much younger sister in the movie, but she's actually older than Heigl in real life.

Rating: ****** (6 out of 10)

Closer (2004)

Dir: Mike Nichols
Writer: Patrick Marber
Starring: Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Clive Owen

Maybe the ultimate Rorschach test of a movie for all people. Or, specifically, in terms of men and women? The film has no redeemable characters. There's something amiss with each one. There's no saving here (thought it's discussed often) and there's no rising above the ugliness of humanity. It's because human behavior, especially in regards to romantic relationships, is ugly.

I decided to pluck this DVD out of my collection to view because I had just watched Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? via Netflix. I realized that they shared the same director, Mike Nichols, and as I watched Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton verbally spar, I was reminded of Closer and how it, too, portrayed verbally sparring relationships. Both are based on plays and centered on four people--two men, two women. They are both bleak films, but I'd say Closer is outrightly cold.

My husband completed a project while I watched Woolf and at the end all he could say was, "I wasn't paying attention but were those people all crazy? Like, they were in a looney bin, right?" After watching Closer with me, he remarked, "Well, that was the most depressing movie I've ever seen," and we discussed which character was the least-hated. We had differences of opinion there, and that's what leads me to think the movie is so uncomfortable for people to watch because these characters are awful--but inherently human, like the viewer. There may be slivers of your own behavior in Anna, Dan, Alice, and Larry...though I don't know any one who would admit ties.

All the actors are exceptional--I personally think Clive Owens' Larry to be the most remarkable performance. (Natalie Portman's Alice a close second!) He's an outrightly disgusting man: he's a doctor but he gets involved in online sex-chats at work, he uses brutal language and his presence is so visceral though he never moves a finger to hit anyone. But out of all four, he's the most honest character. But I do think he lies a few times, simply as a means to an end....in my own interpretation. Perhaps his fantastic acting was because Owens played the character in the original play; he nailed the simmering temper, the brash masculinity and disconcerting behavior of Larry. The other actors are great as well, but Larry was the most fun to watch. ('Fun' may be the wrong word...)

I hadn't watched this movie in my collection for years--I think probably because it does have a lasting psychological, depressing impact. I must have been in college the last time, which was a very different point in my life. Now that I'm married and, honestly, more secure about many things, including my relationship, I'm fascinated by the film in a completely new way. Again, this goes back to the way it acts as a Rorschach test. Days and weeks later, I'm still thinking about it. I wonder how I'll feel about it ten years from now?

The Best: There are so many great moments in the movie, it's hard to choose with the beautiful music playing over the slo-mo opening or Anna and Larry's marriage-breaking fight or Larry turning the screw deeper into Dan's pathetic psyche or Dan fixing upon a name on the wall or... okay, I will choose one: when Alice meets Dan at Anna's apartment and knowing that Dan has betrayed her, forces Anna to take a portrait of her in tears.

Fact: Casino Royale femme fatale Eva Green was originally going to make her Hollywood debut in this film as Alice, but she dropped out and the role went to Natalie Portman--who garnered a Best Supporting Actress nomination.

Rating: ********** (10 out of 10)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Dir: David Fincher
Writers: Stieg Larsson (novel), Steve Zaillian
Starring: Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard

Having seen Stieg Larsson's novels all over the subways a couple of years ago, I did some research into the brightly-covered book and learned that it might be something interesting to read. If anything else, I'm a sucker for cultural phenomenons--I begrudgingly read the Twilight novels, after all. So I read all three books pretty rapidly, watched the Swedish films, and though I wouldn't call the books or the Swedish movies my favorites, I do think Lisbeth Salander is one of fiction's greatest characters.

When I heard Hollywood would be adapting the book, I was sure to be disappointed with their directing choice, since the book was so mainstream, and they'd probably want to make it palpable to a broad movie-going audience. I almost jumped with joy when they named my favorite gothic auteur, David Fincher, as director. He's directed some of my favorite films of all time, like Seven, Fight Club, and The Social Network. If there's something Fincher readily understands it's human darkness and high-tension atmosphere.

I liked Rooney Mara as Salander, who admittedly played Lisbeth completely differently than the stellar Noomi Rapace in the Swedish versions. The extras on the blu-ray show how closely she worked with Fincher on getting this character across on screen - with the clothes, make-up, sideways glances, demeanor, and telling camera angles. One of my favorite angles was in the scene after Lisbeth is raped by her government-appointed guardian, after she has washed away the pain, and she sits smoking, thinking and the camera zooms from above and goes over her until her face is up-close, but upside down. She's hatching a devious plan.

And though Lisbeth is the epitome of darkness, Mara still plays her with vulnerability just under the surface. She's intelligent, offputting, and cold but she can still feel sadness, pain, and even love. Daniel Craig also impressed me as Lisbeth's foil--the straight-laced, kind of metro journalist. When I think of Craig, I think of Bond, and he easily shed that persona here with his somewhat bumbling ways. When he gets scraped by a bullet, leaving a slight gash, he is frightened and needs Lisbeth to take care of him. Bond would have kept running after the bad guy, and save the girl for after.

All in all the film impressed me more than the Swedish film and even the book. The story might have been hard to follow at times, but Fincher still had me. I hope he gets to direct the sequels!

The Best: Rooney Mara. She redefined Lisbeth and carried the entire movie; you couldn't look away when she was in a scene. I'm eager to see her in her next role...I hear she's already filmed a Terrence Malick flick with Ryan Gosling (though I'm sure that won't come out any time soon) and she's currently filming mere blocks away in Central Park with Steven Soderbergh for something called The Bitter Pill.

Fact: While filming a scene in a diner, the cast and crew were surprised to find out that Ellen Nyqvist, daughter of Michael Nyqvist, the first actor to play Mikael Blomkvist, was working there as a waitress while attending school. Upon finding out, they wrote in a few extra lines for her, allowing her to interact with her father's successor, Daniel Craig.

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

Dir: Kenny Ortega
Writer: Peter Barsocchini
Starring: Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale

Some movies in my collection are "social movies." They are movies I've curated only to watch with certain friends. This is the perfect example. By far the best film in the High School Musical trilogy - yes, I can call it that - because it was the first one to be released in theaters as opposed to premiering on the Disney Channel. My girlfriends and I love this movie because of two words: Zac Efron.

Let's be honest: Zac Efron's good looks and rising stardom (made by Disney ventures such as this as a teenager) is the reason this movie got a bigger budget and everyone was able to see their favorite tv actor on the big screen. As corny and sophomoric as this series is, there's no denying Efron's star quality. He's confident even when he's singing by himself in the hallways of his school, choreographed with moving walls and a basketball, literally screaming out his emotions about whether to choose basketball or drama as his college career focus. Yes, seriously.

But that's the thing, the movie is all schlock but competent and positive in its message. There's no harm here (this isn't Twilight) -- it's all good fun. And some of the songs, I have to say, are pretty catchy. Though you'll never find me watching this alone, because it's best shared with those who understand the power of the Efron. I'm pretty excited for his next (adult) venture, too.

This movie is definitely not recommended for everybody.

The Best: Efron's solo song 'Scream,' - it's amazing.

Fact: Holds the record for best box office opening for a musical, ever. Previously Mamma Mia! held the record.

Rating: ******* (7 out of 10)

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Dir: Bryan Singer
Writer: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwait, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollack

There is probably no other movie that I've seen more than The Usual Suspects. I know the script by heart, the beats of the music as it coincides with a beat in the editing (coincidentally, I just found out the editor was also the composer on this movie - no wonder it works so beautifully!), and nearly every intricacy in the plot. I use the word 'nearly' because this movie is more rewatchable than any other movie: there's always something new to ascertain.

In fact, when I sat down to write this the line running through my head was when Verbal Kint looks up at Dave Kujan with his bad hand and says, "How do you shoot the devil in the back? What if you miss?" How am I supposed to write a review of one of my favorite movies of all time? How do I get it right?

For starters, my thirteen-year-old self watched the rented movie in the basement of our family's house in Leavenworth, Kansas. I remember following along raptly, sometimes confused, but always curious. When it ended, I was dumbfounded. I rewound it and watched it again. I probably said something to myself like "That was the best movie ever!" I saw this movie in the midst of my introduction to Hitchcock, and it makes sense since this movie has a very updated 'noir' feel to it. There's no icy blond, but there is something dark to unravel at hand.

Kevin Spacey gives one of the best performances of his career as Verbal Kint, and along with his other 1995-starring roles in Swimming with Sharks and Seven, I became a bonefied fan. For a time, there was nobody more chameleon-like than him. This movie also marks major debuts for director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie; unfortunately I don't think either of them have topped this masterpiece since.

This maze of a movie is taut, sometimes funny, and always mysterious. It also has one hell of a twist ending. It was great rewatching it with a friend who had never seen it (but the ending was spoiled for him). It still hasn't lost it's power nearly 17 years later (woah!), and because they keep on releasing different version with new extras, I currently own three copies of The Usual Suspects on DVD. Rewatchability is always a major factor for owning a DVD--I know I have some movies that have little rewatchability factor.

The Best: the final scene. It's perfect. And also? The eerie ghostlike presence when the name 'Keyser Soze' is uttered in the film. The lines are great! The art direction, too! The music! The editing! Fenster's unintelligible accent! Seriously, everything is great.

Fact: Al Pacino read for the part of Dave Kujan (Palminteri), but had to pass due to scheduling conflicts. Pacino has since noted that this is the film he regrets turning down the most.

Rating: ********** (10 out of 10)

Bridesmaids (2011)

Dir: Paul Feig

Writers: Annie Mumolo, Kristin Wiig

Starring: Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd, Rose Byrne

I remember seeing this movie in the theater last year on opening weekend with a group of my best girlfriends, all of us giddy at our recently engaged friend choosing us to be her bridesmaids. We all laughed to the point of crying, and I noticed many other movie-goers were busting up as well. I left the theater thinking, yes, finally a good comedy that isn't filled with a bunch of man-boys who refuse to grow up (Apatowian film culture).

Last weekend I watched it again with the one bridesmaid who didn't come with us that first time, and hadn't seen it yet. And though it was perhaps my tenth time watching the film in the past year, I still laughed to the point of hysteria.

Annie (Kristin Wiig) and Lillian (Maya Rudolph) are best friends--and Annie is floundering in adulthood with a failed bakery, creepy roommates, and the worst 'friend with benefits' situation ever (except for the fact that he is played by, and therefore looks like, Jon Hamm). Lillian just got engaged to some nothingburger and has asked Annie to be her Maid of Honor. Cue the hilarity.

The group of bridesmaids, even called by Lillian at one point as a "stone-cold group of weirdos," brings on the laughs from the engagement party to the wedding. Rose Byrne's treacherous Helen serves as a threat to Annie, but comes around by the end. Melissa McCarthy's Megan steals every scene she's in.

The Best: Kristin Wiig, hands down. Not only for her wonderful script, but for her acting. The airplane scene alone in which she becomes inebriated midflight and thinks she sees a colonial woman on the wing? Priceless. (I also have to mention that her impression of a penis had me gasping for breath.)

Fact: The woman sitting next to Kristin Wiig on the plane, who talked about having a dream with Annie in it, is the co-writer, Annie Mumolo. And Melissa McCarthy's air marshal is her real-life husband.

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

13 Going on 30 (2004)

Dir: Gary Winick
Writers: John Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Judy Greer, Mark Ruffalo, Andy Serkis

On Saturday I met my friend Jaime for brunch and when we realized that the L train was not running into Manhattan from Brooklyn, we decided to spend the afternoon on the couch watching movies. While I was scanning my DVD collection, I mentioned, "Well, you've probably already seen 13 Going on 30..." and to my astonishment, she had not. I popped in the DVD and gleefully jumped onto the couch next to her, to watch her watch it for the first time.

I want to say that this movie was critical to my adolesence, but since it came out when I was 21-years-old, I think that statement is probably pushing it. There are many things wrong with the 'rom-com' genre, but I absolutely love some of them--usually the least offensive ones to my tastes as a woman who likes good comedy.

13 Going on 30 is probably one of the most sugary rom-coms in existence - it stars Jennifer Garner as Jenna Rink, a girl who at 13 faces all those awful mean girls, and then wakes up at age 30 in a swanky apartment with her dream job--but finds out all the things she wanted at 13 aren't as glossy as they seemed. Garner is absolutely perfect in her role; I may even use the word delightful.

I've loved Garner since the tv show ALIAS, and this movie made me love her even more. She plays the 13-year-old brain in a 30-year old body so well! Add in perennial sidekick Judy Greer (who really needs a starring role already, she's so good) and  a romantic interest played by Mark Ruffalo (hubba hubba - I am not ashamed), I'm smiling the whole way through!

The plot sure is sweet, but I enjoy the lighthearted every once in a while. Garner and cast are pretty convincing, and in the land of the woeful rom-com, it's 10 stars. When it was over, Jaime exclaimed, "Why haven't I seen that?!" in the way that one does when she's a rom-com lover that hasn't seen a good one in a while.

Best: Garner, in every scene. There are so many good scenes to love, too. The scene where she wakes up as a 30-year-old, the scene where she makes an entire elitist party of magazine snobs dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," the scene where she has a sleepover with other 13-year-olds as a 30-year-old and teaches them that "love is a battlefield," or the scene where she finds her massive walk-in closet--I can't choose!

Fact: The girl who plays young Jenna Rink is currently on my favorite new television show, Revenge, and also played the younger Jennifer Garner in Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past--an example of a truly terrible, no good rom-com.

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

Reprise (2006)

Dir: Joachim Trier
Writers: Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt
Starring: Anders Danielsen Lie, Espen Klouman-Høiner, Viktoria Winge

While packing for Paris, I looked at my DVD collection scanning for something that Jesse and I could watch together. I picked Reprise because Jesse grew up watching foreign movies with his father (it's Norwegian), and there are a few important sequences that happen in Paris that I wanted to rewatch. On our third night in Paris, after three days of constant walking and exploring and reveling in the nightlife, we chose to get into our comfortable hotel bed and watch the movie.

The film centers on two best friends, Phillip and Erik, who are writers. The film opens with both of them dropping their novel manuscripts in a mailbox in Oslo, Norway. From that moment the viewer jumps to an imaginary sequence (narrated) about their impending fame from being intellectual writers with published novels, to the reality set six months after that fateful send-off. It's an interesting premise, and the characters and setting of Oslo really guide the film through it's many plots and subplots.

What's most relevant among these plots is the major theme (the titular subject) that sometimes we'd like to do things over. That perhaps we don't have regrets, because through no fault of our own, something disastrous lay in the path we had set for ourselves and we can't go back. One character tries to adjust to his new path, the other tries to repeat everything as it was when it was 'good.' It's definitely a universal feeling, to want things to turn out differently--but, sometimes it simply doesn't.

It's not the best film in the world, but it's an interesting film from a young filmmaker. It finds influences in Jean-Luc Godard's French New Wave style and even Jean-Pierre Jeunet's more updated slick directing. But though it has many elements that sometimes collide over the narrative, I love it. It's sometimes frenetic, sometimes slow, but I'm always curious as to where the story and the characters will go next. The movie may have its flaws, but it's successful. I probably love it more because of it's weird nuances. And I'm looking forward to Trier's next endeavor.

On a sidenote, the subject matter of the film, and perhaps even the way it is filmed was particularly inspiring to me when I saw it a couple of years ago on a random Netflix recommendation. I was then working on my first attempt at a novel (NaNoWriMo), and I thought back to this movie frequently and believe it did motivate me and influence the narrative in certain ways.

The Best: There's really so many great elements in the film, from the interesting voice-over narration and quick cuts to the performances. I suppose the sequence I enjoyed the most was the heartbreaking 'reprise' trip to Paris that Phillip takes with his ex-girlfriend Kari, played with alien beauty by Viktoria Winge. It made me shudder with relatable emotion.

Fact:  In the movie, there is a reclusive Norwegian author both Phillip and Erik idolize and want very much to meet and follow in his footsteps. In the movie his name is Sten Egil Dahl, and apparently he's based on Norwegian writer Tor Ulven. Ulven gave only one interview in his career, but he is regarded as one of the most important writers in Norway during the eighties and nineties.

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

Before Sunset (2004)

Dir: Richard Linklater
Writers: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater
Starring: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke

Perhaps one of the best sequels ever made--isn't it rare to get a sequel to a genuine, romantic film? Most of them seem to fade away into their happy endings. Before Sunrise's ambiguous ending left so much room for a follow-up, and follow up these creators did. This time actors Hawke and Delpy helped write the script (and they were Oscar-nominated for it!) and their characters Jesse and Céline meet again--somewhat by chance--in Paris.

This film happens in 'real time' - they have a 90 minute conversation as they walk through Paris, catching up. We learn that Jesse was indeed waiting for Céline in Vienna nine years ago. Céline never showed up, but there's more to it than that. Hearing the two characters catch up was fascinating as we, too, were catching up with them. They've matured, but still harbor this remembrance for that one night. It's almost as if they feel silly for holding onto this one memory from their youths, but it was just as genuine for the other.

As I am about to embark on my own trip to Paris tonight, I watched this film and still love it so much. There's much here about relationships and missed opportunities and taking chances. I've worked my own Before Sunset Tour into our itinerary in Paris--I want to meet like them at the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore and walk by the Seine and sit on a bench on the Promenade Plantee. And we shall.

The Best: The script is beautiful; it still feels like two regular people talking, but in a way that you know this is not how they talk to other people. Jesse and Céline each have their own brilliant moments (Jesse's talking about how he might break apart if someone were to touch him, Céline discussing the sad cynicism that came with getting older). I become wistful just thinking of these two and this movie and their conversation. The two ending lines are perhaps my favorite two ending lines of ANY movie. Bravo to the three writers, bravo!



Fact: It only took 15 days to film this movie.

Rating: ********** (10 out of 10)

Before Sunrise (1995)

Dir: Richard Linklater

Writers: Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

This movie is a conversation. If you're interested in fast-paced or action-packed movies--this movie is not for you. Young, American 20-something Jesse (Hawke) is on a European rail when he meets Céline, a beautiful French girl. They talk. Everybody at some point has felt that energy when your conversation with a person just goes on and on and there's no pause or stalling. Those conversations are quite honestly some of life's best moments, aren't they?

And so we get to witness Jesse and Céline's. He asks her to spend the day with him in Vienna before he flies back to America, and she accepts even though she's on her way back home to Paris via the train. What ensues is a beautiful, spontaneous series of activities with Jesse and Céline as we listen in on their conversation--oh, and Vienna, Austria is the background.

Their characters seem so genuine and they are funny and flawed but I want to be their friends. I want them to be together. By the end of the movie, they decide not to share their phone numbers and addresses but because their connection is so strong they make a pact to meet back at the Vienna train station in exactly six months. The ambiguous ending leaves it all up to the viewer: do Jesse and Céline rejoin and continue their burgeoning romance? Does one make it and the other doesn't? Do neither make it out to Vienna? It's almost a Rorschach test for how idealist or realist you are as a person. I always thought they'd meet back up.

The Best: The chemistry between these two characters just oozes off the screen! I love them both and they are both played wonderfully by Hawke and Delpy.

Fact: Linklater based the film on an evening he spent with a woman in Philadelphia. That just makes me think he probably took the Amtrak, on a line I'm very familiar with, and it amazes me when I think about how un-magical Philadelphia and the Northeast Corridor rail-line is in comparison to Vienna, Austria. The backdrop really adds to the movie's magic.

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

2 Days in the Valley (1996)

Dir: John Herzfeld
Writer: John Herzfeld
Starring: James Spader, Danny Aiello, Jeff Daniels, Eric Stoltz, Teri Hatcher, Charlize Theron

This movie isn't quite remembered by many people. It's odd, given that it's a decent movie, but perhaps it's because it was trying to be as slick as Tarantino after Pulp Fiction. Not very many movies come close to that one. It's got some comedy simmering there beneath the crime thriller it's masquerading as.

The many characters in the film are all caught up in a web of intrigue starting with two hitmen (Spader and Aiello) whose interests diverge, so to speak, after the first scene. The movie then follows the cool (to the point of frigid) and stylish Spader to his waiting-in-the-wings girlfriend played by Charlize Theron in one of her first roles. Aiello ends up in a less-controlled situation and his bumbling character Dasmo falls into some bad luck but also the funniest parts of the movie.

And then there's Eric Stoltz and Jeff Daniels, vice cops who stumble on the hitmen's work. Daniels is so ferociously angry, it's strange after seeing him in something like Dumb and Dumber. He does it well, though. Stoltz seems to have been playing the same role for years, but his perceptive cop gets him into trouble, too.

The ride is enjoyable, but this writer/director did nothing quite as good as this. This type of movie was, in my opinion, later perfected with Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight, and to an extent, Ocean's Eleven. 2 Days in the Valley goes just a bit more grittier in the California heat, but Soderbergh was able to slick it up. In the end, the movie plays well, but I can't help but compare it to all the better movies that came before and after.

Best: I have to give it to Danny Aiello and his scenes with Glenne Headly. He's a lovable gangster and defends Headly's assistant character from her mean-spirited boss. Plus, he's the best comic relief in the movie.

Fact: This was Charlize Theron's first credited role in a film; previously she had an uncredited role as Young Woman in Children of the Corn III. Later in 1996 she appeared in That Thing You Do! and the following year in The Devil's Advocate.

Rating: ******* (7 out of 10)

Rango (2011)

Dir: Gore Verbinski

Writers: John Logan, Gore Verbinski, John Ward Byrkit

Starring: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Timothy Olyphant

What a strange, enjoyable film! Last year when I saw the previews, I was like, oh that looks like it'll probably be an interesting children's movie. However, upon my husband's insistence that I watch the movie--he even went out and bought the blu-ray DVD to make me--I did. He had seen the movie on a flight last year, and as he is a lover of Westerns, he thought this captured the fun of a Western in an animated movie. Also, who doesn't love Johnny Depp?

But here was my first reaction upon completion of the movie: wow, that is NOT a movie for children. Directed by Gore Verbinski (The Ring, Pirates of the Carribean), the tale of Rango the lizard starts out with a scene that would never keep a child's attention: a monologue. And in this monologue, most of Depp's career roles have been dusted off for the tongue-in-cheekness, and there's even an appearance at some point in the movie by Hunter S. Thompson and his lawyer. Yeah, not exactly kids stuff.

Which is probably why this movie, while making a lot of money, did not resonate well with audiences. You have to be adult-minded and enjoy animation (which is really wonderful, by the way). This is not The Incredibles or Wall-E, which are children's movies with enough jokes to fly over kids' heads to hit the parents with enjoyment. Nope. The story moves like a Western, and while comedic, there are storylines you have to piece together along with our hero. It requires a lot of comprehension skills. That said, the character of Rango and his assimilation in the town of Dirt are endearing and I enjoyed it though there were some parts that felt a little long.

Good job, husband.

The Best: The animation was superb! And I also have to say that I giggled every time the little owl mariachi band narrated the story, and about how the hero was obviously going to die the whole way through.

Fact: The Mayor's suspenders, hat, shirt, and voice is an homage to Noah Cross, the character John Huston portrayed in the movie Chinatown. Chinatown's plot also revolved around a mystery about stolen water. (Oddly, I don't own Chinatown though I would consider it one of my favorite movies. Maybe I should remedy that.)

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

Belle de Jour (1967)

Dir: Luis Buñuel
Writer: Joseph Kessel (novel), Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Pierre Clémenti

I remember seeing this movie as a teenager, and though it's not particularly racy, it was still about something taboo to me at the time. It was also my introduction to one of my favorite French actresses, Catherine Deneuve.

The film centers on Séverine (a name I've come to love, it's so French!), the frigid and elegant housewife to Pierre, a handsome surgeon. They look the perfect couple, but Séverine has a lot of inner turmoil regarding her sensuality - she brushes off her adoring husband constantly, but dreams of being dominated sexually. So, she does what anybody would do and decides to become a prostitute--but only during the day! Thus, Belle de Jour is her name.

Directed by Buñuel, who was famous for working on psychological and surrealist films with Dalí (Un Chen Andalou - I'll never forget that eye-slicing shot!), the plot definitely fits with his asthetic. He loves exploring the inner mind and the reasons people do what they do. The movie is not abstract but has abstract moments of daydreams, quick cuts, and silence as Séverine ponders her existence. It still has a very '60s feel, and I enjoyed it for that, but also because I was intrigued by this female central character and her motivations.

The film looks great, and that also extends to the beautiful Deneuve, whose profile is mesmerizing. I recently saw a screening of the 1965 Polanski film Repulsion and she was in attendance--she's still gorgeous. The DVD was just released on Criterion, and I bought it with good reason since I know I'll be watching this movie several times over and make new observations each time.

The Best: Deneuve, the center of the film, whose seemingly vacant stares evoke so much more to the viewer than to her clueless husband.

Fact: "Belle de jour" is a day lily in French, a flower that blooms only by day, as Séverine is available only during the afternoons. "Belle de jour" is also a sort of pun, as it reminds us of "belle de nuit," an euphemism for prostitute.

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

Beginners (2011)

Dir: Mike Mills

Writer: Mike Mills

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent

I enjoy the quietness of this film. The premise of the movie is simple: a father (Plummer) tells his son (McGregor) that he is gay after his wife dies. He's been gay his entire life. The son not only deals with learning this, but the fact that his father is sick as well. There's a bit of a love story in there, too. In this day and age where films with this kind of plot are usually filmed with the intention of reaping all the manipulative sentimentality they can, Beginners feels genuine and quiet and unassuming. It guides you through a personal story with an intimate lense.

Director Mike Mills accomplishes much with his simplicity. Aparently based on his own life and family, the movie makes my heart stir without making me squirm. Here's just a guy trying to figure it out; 'it' being life, and the guy being just like everyone else. It's sad and poignant but moving in a non-corny way (that says a lot if you know that there is a dog that McGregor talks to through the movie). It was my favorite film of 2011.

Christopher Plummer will surely go on to win an Academy Award for this; nobody else in the category holds a flame to his deep performance. I just wish it was recognized more for the great movie it is--it's just too quietly not tooting it's own horn, but for that I treasure this movie.

The Best: Christopher Plummer as Hal. I can't say more about his wonderful, admirable, and yes--quiet--performance.

Fact: Director Mills is married to writer/director/actor Miranda July in real life. Last summer she also released a film called The Future, which had a cat named Paw Paw that spoke as narrator. They both released movies with verbal pets! Beginners featured the dog Arthur's dialogue in subtitles.

Rating: ********** (10 out of 10)

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

Dir: Marc Webb
Writers: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel

When I first saw (500) Days of Summer, I was fully prepared to write it off as a quirky rom-com without much to it. However, it surprised me in its clever storytelling and assessment of modern romance. More interestingly, the movie acts as a sort of Rorschach test.

The anonymous narrator says from the beginning: "The is a story about love, but this is not a love story."

The relationship of Tom and Summer spans 500 days, and because it is told through the eyes of Tom (with varying amounts of sad moments and funny, imaginary asides), the audience inevitably will root for him. Upon rewatching this, I realized how it really resonates with my generation more than it might with others. It's more than just the Smiths references - it's the fact that Tom builds a relationship on a girl liking "the same stupid crap" he does (Chloe Moretz playing his all-knowing little sister spouts truths throughout the movie).

Many relationships these days begin because of shared interests, but I get the feeling that finding a mutual, obscure band to bond over was not such a prevalent romantic inspiration until these more modern years. And in another part of the movie Tom blames greeting cards, pop music, and movies for leading him astray about romance - and that may be the most universal moment in the whole movie.

Because though Summer embarks on a sort-of relationship with Tom, from the beginning she tells him she does not believe in love, she does not want "anything serious," and when he asks her what they are doing later into their time together, she doesn't give in and tell him what he wants to hear. They continue on, and she breaks it off with him in a scene where she calls herself the Sid to his Nancy - the scene happens early on, and it's hilarious.

The writer Neustadter apparently based this in part on his own relationship, and cringingly calls her out in the opening credits. But the breakup scene happens early on because the movie carries it's audience back and forth between day (1) and (500). We see the promising beginnings to the bleak post-breakup days.

The movie is a Rorschach test because people opine so differently on who they relate to or side with. Some people come away with thinking Summer is a complete and total bitch and Tom is their dream guy. The movie does a good job of making these characters three-dimensional, because I don't think you can make any black-and-white decisions about these two personalities. And Summer, I believe, is so misconstrued as "the bitch" to some people, I can't grasp it - do people hate her character because they are Toms that have been done in by a pretty girl before? Do they not see all of her verbalized views of the non-relationship? Did they also watch The Graduate the way that Tom did in the movie?

Summer is not the villain here - there are no villains - but it's quite telling if someone watches this movie and makes her out to be the bad guy. That's someone that can't see what's right in front of them at all. They are missing the social cues. And Tom, for much of the time, does too. He's the romantic, she's the realist - and that's all there is to it. I think people get a little too caught up in the gender roles we normally see in film, and this movie turns it around.

Fortunately, that's what makes the movie layered and interesting. Not everybody who falls in love are meant to be together forever. Also, it's the prettiest I've ever seen Los Angeles, the editing is perfect, and the script entreats you to consider your own romantic dealings. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel play the main characters wonderfully, and Webb (previously a music video director) makes a strong and beautifully shot feature-length directorial debut. (And bonus points for a GREAT soundtrack!)

The Best: Zooey's all blue-eyed beauty and adorableness, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt knocked it out the park with his emotional wavering between happy-dancing and all-out depression. (He also "knocks it out of the park" during some choreography in a hysterical song-and-dance number!)

Fact: I had noticed all the blue in the movie (particularly the outfits of all those dancers!), but apparently it was a director decision to do so in order to bring out the color of Ms. Deschanel's very blue eyes (which is very hard to miss!).

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Dir: Woody Allen
Writer: Woody Allen
Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates

I remember seeing this movie in the theater last June with my best friend Kelly and my dad. I knew hardly anything about the plot, just that the trailer showed off a great cast and there's nothing I don't love about a movie set in Paris - one of those cities I have felt romantic about all my life, despite never having traveled there. It's all the cinema's fault, really, what with Before Sunset, Moulin Rouge, Amelie, and the Godard and Truffaut and Deneuve.

There's also something about the 'oldness' of Paris. Living in the United States, there's not exactly castles and centuries-old monuments at every turn. Paris, like many parts of Europe I've seen in films, looks like it's out of another era. Which is the perfect setting for this movie.

Owen Wilson plays the screenwriter Gil Pender, who loves Paris and is trying to complete his novel. His novel, and he as a person, seem to revolve around the idea (and ideals) of nostalgia. His fiancé - played to wonderfully bitchy effect by Rachel McAdams - is not amused by Paris, nostalgia, or his attempts at being a novelist (she prefers his lucrative "hack of a screenwriter" career).

I've not been a fan of Woody Allen films for a while - their protoganists, even when not played by him, are usually just as neurotically annoying (save for Vicky Cristina Barcelona), but Wilson plays those neuroses down with his own brand of charm and wonder. I was, indeed, charmed by the whole film. Part of that was the locale, but the other part was the inspiration reverberating across the screen - the characters, the scenes, the glee in partaking of the time-travel adventure with Gil. Yes, time-travel.

To see Gil wander into the good company of the 1920s Paris literary and art scene, was at once shocking to me as someone who had no inkling of the plotline from the trailer (best trailer I've seen in a while in retrospect!) and also as someone who loves literature and art and historical inside jokes. I laughed, a lot.

The movie was wonderfully fun, and I enjoyed the overarching theme about missing the present while being stuck in the past. All of the acting was superb (from Michael Sheen's pedantic character to Alison Pill's Zelda Fitzgerald, it was a great ensemble) and the writing and directing were near perfect. One of my favorite movies of 2011, and perhaps ever.

The good news is that my husband, Jesse, has surprised me with a trip to Paris next month, which was part of the reason I re-watched this. I cannot wait to walk along the Seine like Gil, wait on those steps at the Sacre Coeur, and maybe, just once, feel like I'm in a different time.

The Best: While Wilson was a great protagonist, the real scene-stealer was Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway. He brought to life the giant persona and wordsmith - he spoke as he wrote, it would seem, and I loved it.

Fact: I don't always agree with film critic Roger Ebert (though I love him!), but I just wanted to share a quote from his review of this movie, which I completely agree with - "There is nothing to dislike about it. Either you connect with it or not. I'm wearying of movies that are for 'everybody' – which means, nobody in particular. Midnight in Paris is for me, in particular, and that's just fine with moi."

Rating: ********** (10 out of 10)