Happy Weekend!

Looking for a good movie to rent this weekend? Check out some of these flicks that have been nominated for an Academy Award and reviewed by yours truly! Not only are they great movies, but you'll have something to root for on Oscar night.

Moneyball- picture, actor, supporting actor (yay Jonah Hill!), adapted screenplay

The Help- picture, actress, supporting actress

Midnight in Paris- picture, original screenplay, directing

Bridesmaids- supporting actress, original screenplay

Ides of March- adapted screenplay, best performance by NoahCalhoun (okay, I made that one up)

Happy Weekend!

The Help Review

Today I finally saw The Help! Yes, it came out on Wednesday but I have been anticipating the movie's release since I read the book last August. Usually I try to avoid reading too much about a movie before I see it. However I've read about the casting process, relationship between the book's author and movie's screenwriter, and of course, the controversy. I think this and this sum it up best.

The Help is not a comprehensive view of black maids, race relations in Mississippi, or civil rights in the 1960s. I don't think Kathryn Stockett or Tate Taylor intended it to be. Its just a story- a great story.

What I LOVED about the movie is exactly what I LOVED (even more) in the book. I was 100% invested from the minute Skeeter scribbled "The Help" in her notebook. I cared so much about these characters. I cried and laughed, and laughed until I cried. Towards the end my boyfriend leaned over and whispered " its clear to me that you are on an emotional roller coaster right now."

I was thrilled to watch some of my favorite chapters to come to life thanks to an excellent acting ensemble and a great screenplay. But I couldn't stop thinking about the book. It would have been impossible to include every word in a marketable movie but parts were missing that were hard for me ignore.

When I first wrote about The Help I hoped I would be "pleasantly surprised" by the movie. I was completely captivated! Although its difficult to forget about the novel I loved, and the articles I read, I'll try review the movie for what it is. A great story.

The Help, rated "PG-13,"drama, starring Emma Stone and Viola Davis, A-

Chick Flick Chic Book Club: The Help

If I was to compose a list of rules to live by, #8 on that list would be "ALWAYS read the book before you see the movie." Yes, this blog is about movies, but books are my first love. Although its exciting to hear one of your favorite stories is coming to the silver screen, rarely can a movie capture the magic of a really great book.

I read The Help last summer and like the rest of America, immediately became obsessed and could not put it down. My mom came to visit me and I made her sit in silence for an hour while I finished the book. To make matters worse, I spontaneously burst into tears reading the last few pages. Then I immediately handed the book to my mom and told her she must start that night. It's that good.

While the previews promise what looks like a fun movie, the trailer does not give me MTAD. It just looks so darn. . . happy. The book was not necessarily depressing, but it was frustrating, heartbreaking, and inspiring. The Help is about change and reading it makes you restless for your own personal revolution. Not your own personal Colbie Caillat soundtrack.

Of course I am anxious to see this movie when it hits theaters on Wednesday and I hope I am pleasantly surprised. I'm just glad I read the book first!