Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

Rating: Not Rated

Movie Release Date: September 25, 2009

DVD Release Date: March 16, 2010

Plot 411: A grad student interviews men for her thesis and learns more about herself in the process.

Review: Julianne Nicholson plays Sara, a woman who has recently burned by love and is focusing her efforts on her research project to uncover the motivations of men. Through interviews with subjects, she gathers information about their fears and desires. Their anecdotes help her analyze her own situation with her ex, played by John Krasinski. Even after watching this, I don't really understand what it's all about. So, if you've seen this flick definitely leave a comment and demystify it for me. The movie is quirky because the interviews make it seem like a documentary but there are also characters that speak directly into the camera and serve as narrators. What's the movie really trying to say? Does it even know? The movie featured cameos by Timothy Hutton, Chris Messina, Will Arnett, Will Forte, Dominic Cooper and Christopher Meloni.

Watch It: And help a sistah out by 'splaining it to me.

Skip It: If you don't want to bust your brains on one of these high concept endeavors.

Julie & Julia

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: August 7, 2009

DVD Release Date: December 8, 2009

Plot 411: Two women learn lessons about life and find themselves through a love for cooking.

Review: This film, starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as Julie Powell, tells the story of two women who find themselves through cooking. In parallel stories, we watch as Julia and her husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) accquaint themselves with Paris just as Julie and her husband Eric (Chris Messina) also move into a new place. The women's lives mimic one another despite the decades of time that separate them. In Paris, Julia enrolls in the famous Cordon Bleu Academy after trying several other hobbies that fall flat. Here she truly enjoys herself and her enthusiasm is incredibly palpable through Streep's performance. It is here that she unites her love for eating and French food. Shortly thereafter she meets two women who are writing a cookbook and the three friends collaborate on the project. Sixty years later, Julie is on the verge of her 30th birthday and decides to take on a project of her own by cooking all of Julia Child's Mastering The Art Of French Cooking in 365 days. She starts a blog to document her food journey but ends up really uncovering many truths about life. Throughout the film I found myself really enjoying the Julia segments and wanting to know more about her life. Julia, via Streep's performance, was so alive and almost larger than life (metaphorically and literally speaking). For a woman of those times, she was really something. The Julie plot line was just mediocre at best. I mean I love Amy Adams, but somehow I just couldn't get into her little mid-life crisis and meltdowns.

Watch It: For Streep's amazing performance. She completely embodied the character of Julia Child and looked like she was having fun while doing it.

Skip It: For the rather "blah" plot of Julie Powell. While I definitely think her Julie/Julia Project was a massive undertaking, it didn't seem to translate well to film.

Away We Go

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: June 5, 2009

DVD Release Date: September 29, 2009

Plot 411: One couple's cross-country journey in search of home.

Review: Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are soon-to-be parents searching for a place to start over and raise their family. On their journey, they visit friends and family across the US in hopes of finding the perfect location. As they travel, they encounter a diverse selection of parenting styles, child-rearing issues and potential marital problems. This is a sweet road movie about a couple who is ready for the next big stage in life. They begin by looking toward others for advice about how their lives should be. They wonder if they're screw ups. However, as they go along they grow as a couple and realize that nothing matters besides their family. There's no need to conpare notes with anyone because each family's goals are different. There are some great performances from supporting actors, like Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Chris Messina. But the best supporting role was performed by Allison Janey.

Watch It: For the very cool music by Alexi Murdoch.

Skip It: If you're not into indie romantic comedies because I'd say this is a pretty good representation of that genre.