popcorn time!

We haven't had a good popcorn time in awhile, so here's what I've been watching:

--Charlotte's Web: Dakota Fanning and the voices of Julia Roberts, Oprah, Robert Redford, and others. I loved the animated version I had seen as a kid, but this one was a lot closer to the book, I think, and I loved the mix of real animals w/ CGI. You couldn't even tell the difference, which was very cool. Dakota was awesome as Fern, and her brother Avery was hysterical. Her dad seemed a bit too young to be her dad, though. The voice work is also great, and the fact that they're celebrities doesn't detract from it. You're not thinking every time Charlotte talks, "Oh that's Julia Roberts." Her voice is perfect for the part. Very funny, too, especially the geese, and the references to farm animals, like one of the sheep telling the other sheep they don't need to blindly follow each, they can think for themselves! Amusing but also sad, esp. the ending. (If you haven't seen it or read the book--all two of you--I won't ruin it) Excellent, and not just for kids. If you loved the book you will love the movie.

--Return to Me: Wrote about this in the post below, but it really is good. Takes place in Chicago, where Bob Rueland is married to the love of his life, Elizabeth, whom he's been dating since they were 15, and married to since they were 20. On the night of a big benefit for Elizabeth's zoo (she's an ape keeper), they get into a car accident and she dies. In the same hospital, a young woman, Grace, is waiting for a heart transplant. The film then goes to a year later. Grace got the transplant, and Bob's friend Charlie, who used to work with Elizabeth, sets Bob up on a blind date at the Irish-Italian restaurant that Grace's grandfather (Carrol O'Connor, in his last movie role) runs with his friend Angelo, and where Grace is a waitress. Grace and Bob hit it off and Bob comes back. They start dating. You can figure out the rest. Also stars Bonnie Hunt as Grace's friend (and the daughter of one of the restaurant's partners), with James Belushi as her potty-mouth Chicago cop husband (they are a hysterical couple). The old guys who run O"Malley's are also a great group of people, arguing over the best singers and ball players while they play poker in the back. One of the few transplant movies I've seen, and it's very accurate. Love that!

--A Good Year: Haven't finished this one yet, but I like what I've seen. Russell Crowe plays an uptight London stockbroker who inherits an estate and vineyard in Provence from his late Uncle Henry, who he used to spend summers with as a kid. In hot water with the government for some recent trade practices, he starts to think about keeping the place and moving down there. I can't tell you anymore because, liek I said, I haven't finished it, but it's good so far, and there will definitely be a girl involved. Freddy Highmore (Finding Neverland) plays a younger Russell Crowe in flashback sequences, and he's very good. He's good in everything, what am I saying?

Right now I'm watching The Sound of Music, and I don't think we need a review of that. Capt. Von Trapp is taking Maria to task for the Play Clothes Incident. :)