Bride Wars (is a Bust): Opened January 9, 2009 | Runtime:1 hr. 30 min.

Cast: Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Bryan Greenberg, Chris Pratt, Steve Howey, Candice Bergen

When I saw the previews for this movie, I’m not going lie, I was super excited to see another romantic comedy with Kate Hudson. Unfortunately, after this I left the theater wanting to re-watch “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” The movie centers around Liv (Kate Hudson) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) who are childhood friends who have both dreamed of having June weddings at the Plaza Hotel in New York. At age 26, both are somehow engaged at the same time and decide on two different dates in June, but when one is forced to change her date, the real claws come out. The pranks they play on each other are classic, like extra tanning oil or blue in the hair dye, which is pretty hilarious. Unfortunately, I knew all these parts were coming because they were in the previews. I agree very much with Betsey Sharkey of the LA Times who says the movie, “…keeps searching for a heart, but never quite finds it, and the movie loses its way as a result.” The film is funny at times, but as a whole I would recommend DITCHING it.

Inkheart: Opened January 23, 2009 | Runtime:1 hr. 45 min.

Cast: Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis

Now this is a fun movie! I love anything that brings Fantasy and a love of reading together. If you enjoyed bedtime stories as a child, then you will love this movie because all of my favorite tales came alive on the screen. Mo Folchart (Brendan Fraser) is a father who is referred to as “Silver Tongue” because when he reads a story aloud he can bring a character to life. Everything is fun and games until a villainous character that Mo accidentally read out of a book kidnaps his daughter and demands that he read out other villainous characters as well.  Helen Mirren plays the part of a rich aunt perfectly, who is forced to accompany Mo on his crazy journey filled with unicorns and the flying monkeys from “Wizard of Oz.” This movie made me want to sit down and re-read some Classic Children’s book because the characters from those stories looked so intriguing on screen. Although this movie was disliked strongly by critics, I believe it was a movie made for the audience and they did indeed love it. Fandango.com gave it a GO rating, which is based on audience ratings. One user from Fandango.com said this about the movie, “I loved it. Lots of excitement — but not “real life”. Real life today can be a bit sad. I would recommend it to all.” I totally agree with that, which is why I say SEE it.

It Happened One Night: Opened February 22, 1934 | Runtime:1 hr. 45 min.

Cast: Claire McDowell, Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Jameson Thomas

The premise of this 1934 classic is very simple, but that’s why it’s so good. These days movies have so many bells and whistles that it’s hard to focus on the story and character development. The film centers on a newsman (Clark Gable, who is in my opinion the COOLEST guy to ever grace the screen) who finds a rich Wall Street heiress (Claudette Colbert) who is trying to escape the grasp of her tycoon father (Walter Connolly) who will not let her marry a man by the name of King Westley (Jameson Thomas). The movie follows the journey of this newsman and the fugitive heiress on a bus together trying to both make it to New York for different reasons: hers is to find her love and his to get ahead in the newsroom. Throughout their journey they encounter some interesting characters and begin to grow close and eventually fall in love. The movie is a fun black-and-white film and it’s nice to go back to the roots of film-making. Movies these days can be epic, but distracting when you add in the excellent graphics. It’s not always a bad thing, but now and then an oldie is a goodie. I definitely recommend RENTING this.