“Priceless”

Netflix’s liner notes for “Priceless” call it a “wacky French farce.” I didn’t find it particularly wacky. And while it does have it farcical moments, it’s a really a romantic comedy – a pretty charming one at that. Part of its charm has to do with its set up. Irene (Audrey Tautou) is a gold digger plying her trade on the French Riviera, trying to land the big fish. One night Irene mistakenly assumes that Jean (Gad Elmaleh), the hotel’s bartender, is a rich playboy. It’s only after her behavior toward Jean causes her current relationship to fall apart that she discovers the truth. That forces her to go back on the hunt. But Jean, hopelessly smitten, follows. Once she drains his bank account with her expensive tastes, Jean succumbs to an older woman advances and becomes her gigolo. And pretty soon, the two of them are comparing notes and falling for each other. It’s all in good fun, with a great setting and an appealing cast. My rating: 7 (out of 10)

“Priceless”

Released: 2006

Rating: R

Length: 104 minutes

Cast: Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Vernon Dobtcheff, Marie-Christine Adam

Director: Pierre Salvadori

Genre(s): Romantic Comedy, Foreign

“Enchanted”

Hands down my favorite Amy Adams movie. In fact, she carries “Enchanted” with an unbelievably believable performance as a fairytale princess who finds herself stranded in the very unenchanted New York City. Once in the city, Giselle (Ms Adams) retains her pluck along with the rose-colored view of the world of someone who believes in happy endings. She’s rescued and reluctantly taken in by Robert Philip (Patrick Dempsey), a jaded divorce attorney who has no reason to believe in happy endings. But, surprise! there is a happy ending. However, this modern twist on the classic Disney fairytale from Disney itself is a knowing, post-modern update. Prince Edward (James Marsden) is Giselle’s vacuous sword-wielding suitor, unable to decipher modern New York. The evil Queen’s (Susan Sarandon) henchman Nathaniel, (Timothy Spall) obediently does the Queen’s bidding but, according to a call he places to a talk-radio psychologist, he feels unappreciated. And when Giselle calls for the local critters to help with her cleaning chores, she’s greeted by New York’s own pigeons, cockroaches and sewer rats. This particular event leads to one of the film’s musical numbers and, critters aside, it’s the kind you’d expect from Disney. There are also plenty of references to other films in the Disney catalog for Disney-philes. But even if you’re not, there’s a lot to like in “Enchanted.” It may be a little “Shalit-esque,” but I found it enchanting. My tweet: Enchanted-When an evil stepmother strands her in New York City, Disney Princess Amy Adams makes it her own magic kingdom. 8.5 (out of 10)

Other Amy Adams movies worth a look: Julie & Julia, Doubt

“Enchanted”

Released: 2007

Rating: PG

Length: 108 minutes

Cast: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel

Director: Kevin Lima

Genre(s): Comedy, Romance, Adventure

“Julie & Julia”

I’m probably not the only reviewer who liked one half of “Julie & Julia” better than the other. (For those who are wondering, the “Julia” half.) But then, who is Julie Powell (Amy Adams) in comparison to Julia Child (Meryl Streep)? Julie Child is an icon – her kitchen is in the Smithsonian, for Pete’s sake. Julie Powell is a frustrated writer in an unfulfilling job looking for a creative outlet. For Julia, cooking is a passion. While perhaps no less a passion for Julie, her feat is more of a stunt, as she cooks her way through Julia’s classic, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and blogs about it. The truth is, the story of Julia Child and how she became “Julia Child” is just more interesting. The love affair between Julia and her husband, Paul (Stanley Tucci) is charming and something I’d never heard about. So it adds a new dimension to the character we know from “The French Chef.” Post-war Paris, where the Childs live when Paul is a diplomat, is much more picturesque than Queens, N.Y. And Amy Adams is simply outgunned in the acting department. Not only does Meryl Streep have more to work with in Julia Child, she performs the feat of bringing this larger than life character down to earth. In contrast, Amy Adams (who I usually love) feels like she’s trying to keep up, just as Julie is trying to keep up with Julia. Director Nora Ephron does a great job of knitting the two stories together and making them move in parallel paths. And it’s actually quite enjoyable, hence my rating. But I think it would have been even better if it were titled “Nobody & Julia” or better still, “Paul & Julia,” hence my tweet: Julie & Julia-Nora Ephron blends Julia Child’s story with that of blogging admirer Julie Powell and creates a lopsided soufflé. 7.5 (out of 10)

“Julie & Julia”

Released: 2009

Rating: PG-13

Length: 123 minutes

Cast: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Jane Lynch

Director: Nora Ephron

Genre(s): Adaptation, Romantic Comedy

“Ghost Town”

The reason to rent this DVD, in a word (two, actually): Ricky Gervais, who does another spin on the socially-awkward character he perfected on “The Office.” In “Ghost Town” he plays Bertram Pincus, a dentist who dies on the table during a colonoscopy and is revived, only to discover that he now can see and communicate with dead people. One particular member of his new group of friends is Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), a recently-deceased cad who “convinces” Bertram to break up his widowed wife’s (Tea Leoni) pending marriage. And as is the law in the world of romantic comedies, Bertram must eventually fall in love with the widow and she with him. But that’s a little difficult when Bertram is an “anti-people” person who has a gift for saying and doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Gervais himself has a gift for making these cringe-inducing characters watchable. Just as in “The Office,” you’ll watch a scene unfold and think to yourself, “he’s not going to do that… oh please don’t do that” and when does, you think to yourself, “I can believe he just did that.” And that’s the fun part in an otherwise pretty tame romantic comedy. My favorite scene: The dog with bad breath. My tweet, inspired by Bertram’s ability to see dead people: Ghost Town-Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni & Greg Kinnear star in this romantic comedy loosely based on M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense.” 7 (out of 10)

“Ghost Town”

Released: 2008

Rating: PG-13

Length: 102 minutes

Cast: Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni

Director: David Koepp

Genre(s): Comedy, Romantic Comedy

“Mamma Mia!”

I’ve always thought that ABBA’s music was danceable, if vacuous. But I never realized how little the music had to say until it was knit together to support the narrative behind the movie “Mamma Mia!” (Their exclamation point, not mine.) The plot revolves around Sophie Sheridan (played by Amanda Seyfried, who’s great on HBO’s “Big Love”) planning her wedding. She dreams of being given away by the father she never knew. But in this case there are three possible fathers (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård). So she invites all three while somehow managing to conceal the real reason they’ve arrived from both them and her mother (Meryl Streep). It’s occasionally amusing, but never really funny. There were also two musical surprises in “Mamma Mia!” worth noting: Meryl Streep can sing, Pierce Brosnan shouldn’t. Frankly, I’m not sure why this movie became such a hit, or why the Broadway show in New York City packs in the tourists. So maybe I’m missing something. But I stand by my tweet: Mamma Mia!-Of all the movies featuring an ABBA-exclusive soundtrack, this is the best. 4.5 (out of 10) If you’re looking for a movie with a song catalog-backed narrative, I’d recommend “Across the Universe.” The music is better and the staging is much more inventive.

“Mamma Mia”

Released: 2008

Rating: PG-13

Length: 108 minutes

Cast: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Genre(s): Adaptation, Romantic Comedy, Musical

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”

Like a lot of married couples, John and Jane Smith (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) are trying to reignite the passion that’s evaporated from their quiet suburban lives. They’re even in counseling, which, from the looks of it, doesn’t seem to be helping. But the excitement returns once they discover they’re both professional assassins working for competing agencies with each other as the target. (What spices up a relationship better than a little gun play?) Feeling betrayed, John and Jane shoot up their home only to realize they can’t shoot each other. When their employers decide to finish the job, it brings John and Jane even closer. They finally open up and communicate, which includes some amusing revelations during a high-speed car chase in the neighbor’s minivan. “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” is a slick, sexy romp that rarely slows down and the heat between the two stars can make you understand the off-screen pyrotechnics that “Brangelina” set off. Which, of course, is the inspiration for my tweet: Mr. and Mrs. Smith-Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie are hired to kill each other. And in the end, Jennifer Aniston wants to kill them both. 7.5 (out of 10)

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”

Released: 2005

Rating: PG-13

Length: 120 minutes

Cast: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn

Director: Doug Liman

Genre(s): Romance, Adventure, Action

The Graduate: Here's to you, Dustin Hoffman

“The Graduate” is one of my all-time favorite movies and I've seen if more times than I can count. This time I made note of how brilliantly miscast Dustin Hoffman is as Benjamin Braddock. He’s a California native, but sounds like he was raised in New York. He doesn’t look like either one of his parents, William Daniels or Elizabeth Wilson. And he’s supposed to be a track star and “ladies man?” Director Mike Nichols took a tremendous leap of faith, because Dustin Hoffman is a disaster on paper. But on-screen he’s perfect. His fumbling responses to Mrs. Robinson’s (Anne Bancroft) seduction, the awkwardness of their first “meeting.” The way he tries to disgust daughter Elaine Robinson (Katharine Ross) on their first date only to apologize for his boorish behavior. His frenzied drive up and down the California coast as he tries to track her down and that final smile on the bus. The point is, there were a lot of actors in Hollywood who looked the part. (In fact, Robert Redford was originally considered.) But I can’t imagine anyone occupying it as well. My Tweet: The Graduate-Dustin Hoffman beds his father’s business partner’s wife and falls in love with their daughter. Then things get complicated. 10 (out of 10)

“The Graduate”

Released: 1967

Rating: PG

Length: 106 minutes

Cast: Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Katharine Ross, William Daniels

Director: Mike Nichols

Genre(s): Drama, Adaptation, Comedy

“Penelope”

This is a charming ugly ducking tale you can share with your kids because it deals with “values” themes like self-esteem and vanity. In “Penelope,” the title character (Christina Ricci) is born with the face of a pig to pay for the past sins of her wealthy family. She’s been sequestered in her family’s mansion since birth because of her appearance. Her mother (Catherine O'Hara) believes that the only way to break the curse is for Penelope to find true love. Yet despite a sizable dowry, suitor after suitor runs off once Penelope reveals the curse. (Frankly, her face is more cute than scary.) Eventually, she runs away from her overprotective parents to explore the world, makes real friends and finds the happiness that has eluded her. This being a fairytale, of course “Penelope” has a happy ending. But not without teaching a valuable lesson that that beauty and, I guess, love are more than skin deep. My Tweet belies the sweetness of the movie: Penelope-In this modern fairytale, Christina Ricci is cursed with the face of a pig. She must have really ticked off the makeup people. 7 (out of 10)

“Penelope”

Released: 2006

Rating: PG

Length: 101 minutes

Cast: Christina Ricci, Catherine O'Hara, James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon

Director: Mark Palansky

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Fantasy

The Top 8 DVD Reviews (so far): “What's Up, Doc?”

Article 7 of 8

Here’s the number 2 DVD (so far) in the Top 8 countdown of the first 100 TweeterFlix DVD reviews:

What’s Up, Doc?

What I wrote on Twitter: Peter Bogdanovich’s screwball comedy is a reminder that Barbra Streisand used to be funny. I recommend she see it. 10 (out of 10) Ryan O'Neal used to be funny, too. And Madeline Kahn always was. “What’s Up, Doc?” is a throwback to the comedies of the 1940s and centers around at a hotel in San Francisco, when four identical red plaid overnight bags containing rocks, diamonds, top-secret papers and Streisand’s clothing get mixed up. There’s a great supporting cast and funny bits throughout the picture. But the chase scene alone is worth the price of admission.

Number 3: "An Inconvenient Truth"

Number 4: "The Fog of War"

Number 5: “Splendor in the Grass”

Number 6: “Thirteen”

Number 7: “The King of Kong”

Number 8: “The Dark Knight”

Coming up next: “Fail Safe”

“What's Up, Doc?”

Released: 1972

Rating: G

Length: 94 minutes

Cast: Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Austin Pendleton

Director: Peter Bogdanovich

Genre(s): Comedy, Family