The Wolfman

Starring:  Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins
Sci Fi/Fantasy, 2010 (Rated R)

An actor (Del Toro) returns home after being told that his brother is missing.  He arrives home to find his brother has been found dead and the town is in an uproar and on the hunt for the vicious creature they believe is responsible for his and other murders.  He finds himself the target of the hunt after being bitten by a werewolf himself.  He finds out some terrible family secrets as he tries to avenge his brothers death as promised to his brother's wife Gwen (Blunt).

• The lighting in this movie is horribly dark.  I get it that it is supposed to be ominous and scary but I could hardly see what was happening on the screen.
• This movie is not as good as I expected it to be.  It was just OK and hardly even held my attention throughout. 

3 STARS

The Young Victoria

Starring:  Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend
Drama, Romance-2009 (Rated PG)

Emily Blunt plays Queen Victoria who began her reign of England at the young age of 18.  As the only child of three uncles she was as protected as she was the object of a power play among many who would try to manipulate their way into her good graces as a means to exact some type of control over the crown.  When she finally does take the crown she insisted she was not too young to handle it does not go as smoothly as she had hoped.  The Queen is feisty, stubborn, and independent which is likely a direct result of her isolated, and controlled upbringing.  Finally free of the clutches of her mother and her hated advisor she is reluctant to take on a husband. Prince Albert courts her from Germany at the request of his family and waits patiently for her to make her decision.

• It was really interesting to take a look inside the world of Royalty with it's ladies in waiting, petty coats, formal dinners and familial obligations of marriage and gender roles.
• I loved it that Queen Victoria refused to sign over her crown and was her own woman at a time when woman were kept and considered the inferior sex.  She was a feminist at a time when the meaning of that word was not known.
• It was also interesting to see what it might look like when the roles are reversed and it is the woman who is the leader and the man who is relegated to the ruler's spouse.  She was so adamant that her role not be usurped by her husband just because she was female.  So intent was she on keeping him in his place that she overlooked the possibility that he might have something of value to contribute.
• The acting was great.  This was basically a love story and although there really wasn't too much of a plot or storyline I still found myself engaged throughout.

4 Stars

Sunshine Cleaning

Comedy/Drama, 2008 (Rated R)

Starring: Emily Blunt, Amy Adams

Rose was the popular cheerleader in school but her life has not exactly panned out the way she had hoped. She enlists her sister Norah to go into business together in the "niche" industry of crime scene post-mortem clean up in their small town.

• Rose is a 30 something single mom struggling to make it. She just wants to feel good about herself and her life. It's a story about a woman finding her way but without all the glitz of movies like Confessions of a Shopaholic.
• So many woman including myself can probably identify with Rose. Nobody wants to be the popular cheerleader who ends up a failure.
• Oh boy, I would not have the stomach to do what they do. Just regular cleaning up after folks would be hard for me without all of the blood and guts.
• There is a scene in the movie where Rose (Amy Adams) is in bed waiting for her lover and she is wearing a lavender chemise with white polka dots from Victoria's Secret. I know this because I have the very same one!! It's one of my favorites.
• I really liked this movie.

4 STARS