Because I Said So

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: February 2, 2007

DVD Release Date: May 8, 2007

Plot 411: A helicopter mom creates an online dating profile for her daughter and screens the applicants to find the perfect match.

Review: Daphne (Diane Keaton) is a single mom who raised three girls - Maggie (Lauren Graham), Mae (Piper Perabo) and Milly (Mandy Moore). She is worried that her youngest daughter Milly isn't happy and will never get married. Thus, Daphne gives in to her overbearing nature (aka helicopter mothering) and takes matters into her own hands. I love Diane Keaton and this movie truly plays up her uncanny ability to be neurotic and insane. She is the stereotypical mom who just wants the best for her kids but ends up loving them too much. They become resentful and often feel guilty about it. Yet, in the end, they all love being family. Amazing how much cinema imitates life huh? While this movie is supposed to focus around Milly's search for love, I can't really say that Moore is one of my favorite young actresses. However, I really enjoyed the character of Daphne so much more. Also in this film are Gabriel Macht and Tom Everett Scott.

Watch It: At a movie night with the girls, then dish about all the horrible things your moms' have done.

Skip It: Because it's pretty brainless fun and will probably turn your noggin into mush.

Whiteout

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: September 11, 2009

DVD Release Date: January 19, 2010

Plot 411: The first-ever murder on Antarctica forces a U.S. marshall to confront her past in order to resolve her current problems.

Review: In this thriller, U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) must investigate a murder, just days before she is supposed to rotate out of Antarctica, when a scientist is found dead miles away from any kind of research base. One death leads to another and now things are getting serious in the coldest place on Earth. A U.N. rep, played by Gabriel Macht, shows up at a crime scene to investigate, but he has his own secrets that he doesn't share with Stetko. Also in this film are Tom Skerritt (looking extremely old these days), Alex O'Loughlin (complete with his yummy Aussie accent) and Columbus Short. This was a middle-of-the-road thriller because while it had some suspenseful scenes, it was also predictable as hell. There was a fair amount of action, especially considering the setting of minus 55 degrees celsius, being totally isolated and being confined to only a few different sets. One negative was the CGI snow and blizzard. Sometimes it looked fine and other times a child could see it was fake. I don't really know how it works so maybe some parts are harder to animate than others?

Watch It: And marvel at how Beckinsale manages to still look beautiful in the harshest weather conditions ever.

Skip It: Because somehow Beckinsale doesn't manage to pull off the cop role despite trying to be all hardcore. There's something about her that is too fragile for me to believe that she's lived in the ice and snow of Antarctica for a couple years.