Love Happens

A man who has made a career out of helping others grieve the loss of loved ones finds out that perhaps he has some work to do of his own to mourn the passing of his wife.  With the help of a woman he just happens to meet in Seattle he is pushed to confront his own issues and is surprised to find that he might even be falling in love.

• This movie was pretty good.  There isn't much else to say.  I enjoyed watching it and found it to be......pretty good.
• I like Jennifer Anniston.  This movie just sort of ......happened.  There just really isn't much else to say on this one.

3 STARS

Dear John

Starring:  Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried
Romance, 2010 (Rated PG 13)

John (Tatum) is a young Soldier home on leave when he meets Savannah (Seyfried) who is home from college for the summer just by chance on the beach.  They strike up a conversation and a very smitten John asks her out on a date.  So begins an intense yet very short lived romance.  When it's time for John to leave they decide that they will stay together and Savannah will wait for him to finish his military service.  They exchange letters back and forth to stay in contact and keep their love alive.  Can a two week love affair survive a one year military deployment?  They certainly give it their best shot but find out that sometimes love isn't enough.

• This was such an intense heart felt movie.  I immediately felt the chemistry between Savannah and John. 
• Tatum is such a good looking guy.  My, oh my!  And it's good to see that not only does he look good and can dance as we have seen him do in his other dance centered films but he can really act and carry a movie too.
• Amanda Seyfried is just a delight in this movie-and I don't normally even use that word!  She is so sweet, pretty, and kind hearted.  She plays that kind of role perfectly and that character comes shining through her blue doe eyes.
• This movie pulled on my heart strings.  I know what it's like to love, miss and worry about a deployed soldier and the pain that it brings.  But even if you don't.  Even if you just have a soft spot for love then this is the movie for you.
• Love is a tenuous thing.  Not only does it takes two people but timing is key and sometimes timing really is everything.

5 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

The Time Traveler's Wife

Starring:  Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana
Romance/Drama, 2009 (Rated PG 13)

Henry (Bana) is a Chicago librarian who is afflicted with a rare genetic disorder that causes him to time travel inexplicably and beyond his control.  He meets Clare (McAdams) in a meadow while she is still a little girl and periodically meets her over the years so that they form a bond and eventually fall in love and get married.  Being married to a time traveler is no bed of roses and while she is willing to accept it to be with the man she loves Clare struggles with the unpredictablility of a husband who regularly disappears without notice. 

• I naturally like to figure things out and this time travel business seemed to have no rhyme or reason that I could unravel.  He could go backwards and forwards and even be himself from two different time frames at the same time.  I could never figure out where he was in relation to her or anyone else and after awhile I gave up trying to figure it out and just enjoyed the story.
• The chemistry between Bana and McAdams was tangible.  I felt the love between them and it made me believe in their totally unebelievable situation.
• My eyes were welling up with tears as the credits rolled.

5 Stars