Movies for the Holiday Season

It being the holiday season, many of us are off from work or school and besides taking in the post holiday sales, this is a time of year where many of us like to take advantage of the many movies coming out before the end of the year (so they can contend for an Oscar).

Back in the 1930's when the world experienced the Great Depression, the movies were the way that people escaped from their problems. It even brought on the great Hollywood Musicals where large doses of optimism and fantasy scenes helped Americans think that one day things will be good again. Well now with our current economy on a down swing Americans are once again flooding to movie theaters to forget their troubles and Hollywood has turned to dogs as the new stars of the screen. This year we have seen such movies as "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", "Bolt", "Wendy and Lucy", "Hotel for Dogs" and the top grossing movie for this Christmas is "Marley and Me", a story about a white Labrador retriever and the adventures he brings to his family. Hollywood is realizing in these hard times that movie goers don't necessarily want to see a big block buster movie with lots of violence. Movie goers are wanting "comfort movies" the same way they would eat "comfort food" during difficult times and this means story lines that include the love of a good dog. I for one understand that line of thinking. It's about time!

While I am not allowed in movie theaters (I get my movies from DVD's and TV's) I do like to hear from my family and friends on what are their movie recommendations. I discuss their recommendations with my mommy and then we make a list for all our friends to see. Movies are very expensive in New York City so we like to make sure if a movie is bad that you are not wasting your money. I will divide the movie recommendations in two sections; paws up for good movies and paws down for no so great movies.

PAWS UP!
- Marley and Me: Although some of the people I know who have seen this movie did not like it because they said it wasn't funny at all and they wouldn't recommend it, I as a dog have to recommend it as I am looking for doggy advertisers for my blog. Can't bite the hand that feeds you :)
- Slumdog Millionaire: Okay I was tricked about this movie as I thought it was about a rich dog from the slums but it is a movie about a poor young man from India who is on the verge of winning a large jackpot based on his ability to answer questions correctly on a game show and how authorities think he is cheating because he grew up in poverty. Everyone we know who saw this movie said it was their favorite movie this year.
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: This movie is based on a short story from F.Scott Fitzgerald about a baby born an old man and as time goes on, the younger he becomes. It also has a love story attached to it so me and mom are into that because we are both romantics at heart (plus it's Brad Pitt - my mommy made me type that).
- Milk: I thought it was a story about the history of cows but it's about gay rights. My mommy and Uncle Adrian went to see this movie and they both raved about it as it a really relevant story about Harvey Milk (the first openly gay elected politician in USA) and gay rights. They said Sean Penn was top notch.
- Frost/Nixon: This sounds like a real yawn to me but my mom has always had a crush on Frank Langella who plays Richard Nixon being interviewed by David Frost after he resigned from his Watergate scandal. The story and acting is superb.
- Revolutionary Road: Another good movie about a topic that has nothing to do with me. A couple marry in the fifties and find themselves being molded into what society expects from them as a married couple instead of the ideas they had when they first got together as a couple. A downer yes, but well done.
- Valkyrie: Although mom intends to see this movie because it is based on Aunty April's boyfriend's family, I hear Tom Cruise is the weak link in this movie that otherwise has been well done and well acted by the other actors.

Some other good choices are "Doubt", "The Reader" and "The Spirit" (for escapism).



PAWS DOWN:
- The Day the Earth Stood Still: One would think Keanu Reeves would excel in a movie where he plays a robot. Heck, sounds to me like he just has to phone this one in but I heard from everyone who saw it that they hated it.
- Four Christmases: Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, need I say more? My grandma saw this movie and hated it (and she always gives movies a chance).
- Seven Pounds: I don't know what this movie is about but JB had to email everyone from Brazil to warn us against going to this movie so I will consider myself warned and pass the good karma onto you.

So that's my picks for holiday seasonal movies. Don't say I didn't warn you! Chow for now!