Movies in and around Thanksgiving

Nearly every Thanksgiving for many, many years I have gone to a movie on Thanksgiving with my cousins. This Thanksgiving was no exception, except that I expanded my viewing to days before and after one of my favorite holidays. I also wasn't limited to cousins, but friends as well. And since this blog was originally supposed to contain movie reviews, I thought I'd finally write some. Since I saw six movies in the last week in the theater this seems like the time to do it. Here are the movies in the order I saw them with my rating out of 4 stars:

Where The Wild Things Are (4 Stars)

I had wanted to see this movie for weeks and my dream finally came true. Thankfully I wasn't let down by this brilliant adaptation of Maurice Sendak's children's book. My first thought while watching it was that it was the most realistic movie I've seen in a long time. This may sound strange since the bulk of it takes place in a child's imagination. The reason I thought this is that the emotions portrayed are raw and honest. Each of the characters exhibits their emotions so beautifully and it's like watching humanity at its core. Plus, the movie itself is wonderfully shot and it's a joy to see the world of the Wild Things.

The Men Who Stare At Goats (3 Stars)

This was another movie I had been looking forward to. Enough people had warned me that it didn't live up to its hilarious trailer so my expectations were set fairly low, and I'm glad they were. It was a funny movie and I liked it, but it wasn't as good as I had hoped. If you want something in a similar vein (wacky exploits within the U.S. military) check out Buffalo Soldiers. I liked that one quite a bit more.

Ninja Assassin (1 Star)

This was easily one of the worst movies I have seen in a theater in a very long time. I was in the mood for an action movie and thought this one might at least be fun, since I wasn't expecting anything good. Unfortunately it wasn't remotely fun, but just plain stupid. I found absolutely nothing redeeming in this movie.

Fantastic Mr. Fox (4 Stars)

Oh, how I love Wes Anderson! This movie was pure joy with all the wit and attention to detail that one comes expect from Anderson. I never read the book by Roald Dahl, so I didn't know what to expect other than from the previews. I don't know how much of a children's movie this is, but as an adult I loved it. The dialog was fun and the animation unique. I may never swear again, and instead insert the word "cuss" for every bad word I'm tempted to use.

Couples Retreat (2.5 Stars)

This wasn't a movie I was itching to see, but since it was the first movie in a double-feature, and I was with people I liked, I saw it. My expectations were very low for this one as well, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I laughed. It's a pretty standard movie, but I always enjoy watching Vince Vaughn do really the only thing he knows how, which is run his mouth.

Julie And Julia (3.5 Stars)

Yet another movie I had been wanting to see, largely from my fascination with Julia Childs. She was such a kooky person and Meryl Streep portrayed her beautifully. I'm also a fan of Amy Adams and as usual she was great, and very cute. I, like everyone I know who has seen this movie, would have liked more of the Julia Childs story, but I still enjoyed it more than I thought I would, which was a lot.