The Escape of the Movies and Julie and Julia

photo found at: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/julie_and_julia/

You stand in line for what sometimes seems like hours and finally have a ticket to the show. You walk past larger than life posters of famous people who truly are larger than life. The smell of buttery popcorn wafts through the air inviting you to spend even more money in order to enjoy the whole cinematic experience. A young man in a silly black vest and bow tie greets you, rips your ticket in half, and gently guides you to the theatre, which is usually in the furthest corner of the building. Excitement builds as you walk to your seat, which if you are lucky, lies in the second row. You know the row I am talking about: the one with the bar in front of it especially made for you feet. You sit down and patiently wait for the commercials to end and the lights to dim. You almost forget what movie you have come to view because you are so distracted by the future releases of movies. Then the previews come to an end and you are whisked away into another time; another place. A place where good things often happen to deserving people. In the dark it is safe to experience true emotion, whether that be laughing out loud or crying real tears. The movie theatre is a true escape. For two hours you sit and become friends with the characters. You laugh with them. You cry with them. All of your troubles are in a different sphere and even just for a few hours they don't seem that bad.

This is what the movies mean to me. I have an escape every time I sit down and immerse myself in the story. I figure I go to a lot of movies and I feel I am pretty good at knowing which ones are good and which ones are not so good. Of course, each person brings different experience and preference to the cinema and these are just going to be my biased reviews. Take them at face value. I rarely will skip a movie because some critic says it was only worth one or two stars. I like to make my own judgement of movies. I hope you are willing to do the same. I am not the boss of you and your movie viewing. I am but a guide and you are the judge. I hope you enjoy this blog and find it to be a good reference.

Get out and Escape to the Movies!


Review of Julie and Julia staring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams:

The more movies I see that feature these actresses, the more impressed I am by them both. Meryl Streep didn't win me over in Mama Mia! Of course that was one heck of a cheesy film and serious acting wasn't intended. It was a fun part for her but I didn't find any depth in the acting. In Doubt, the seriousness of the subject only added to Meryl Streep's depth. In The Devil Wears Prada, I could only love Streep's character even though she was anal and often mean. In Julie and Julia, again I saw how amazing Streep's skills truly are. She got the voice, and the body actions of Julia child down completely. Amazing work. Some may be put off by the voice of Child but it was completely necessary to pull the part off. Delightful. It was awesome to see Child as a real person not just somebody on TV who loved to throw around ingredients and be silly in the kitchen. She was a strong woman who loved hard and was passionate about making a difference in the world.

Ever since I saw Amy Adams in Enchanted, I was just that, enchanted by this young actress. Not only is she beautiful but she has amazing comical timing and can play many parts. I loved how she was able to poke fun at Disney's idea of Princesses as she was so innocent and charming in that movie. In Doubt, she played a nun, and was believable. She was able to be serious and not just a candy type actress. In Julie and Julia, she plays a New York woman who is trying to find meaning in her life. She hates her job and just feels like she need more excitement in her life in order to be viewed as successful like her friends appear to be. She takes on the challenge of: "364 Days, 524 Recipes." Her goal is to blog about her experiences of cooking the recipes from Julia Child's book: Mastering the Art of French Cooking and doing all the recipes in a year. (The book is well over 700 pages!)

The food in the movie looked so yummy. It made me almost want to try to cook some of the recipes myself, even though I don't really enjoy cooking all that much. It was almost as I could smell the wonderful aroma of the good food. It was fun to see how Child's life developed as she found purpose through cooking and to see how Julie's story reflected the same healing through cooking. I love how passion can help develop people.

I won't give too much about the movie away but here are a few of my favorite quotes:

Julia: "Shouldn't I find something to do?"
Paul Child: "What is it you REALLY like to do?"
Julia Child: "Eat!"

Julie: "I could write a blog; I have thoughts."

There was also an awesome conversation between Julia Child and her sister which went something along the lines of: We were expected to marry Republicans and have lots of babies, but we were too tall! I thought that was hilarious.

I would give this movie a thumbs up and recommend it as a real feel good movie.

view the trailer at: julieandjulia.com