The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

A hilarious film. Andy (Steve Carell) is the inventory manager at a local electronics store. One night while out with the guys from work he announces that he is still a virgin. Of course the guys decide that they must help him overcome this horrible fate. The proceed to take him to sleazy bars and give him "help" in picking up women. Of course none of this is working and Andy just ends up embarrassed. One day a beautiful woman, Trish (Catherine Keener), walks into the store and Andy falls head over heels for her. He decides that he wants her to be the one but his friends have other ideas.

This movie was very funny. However, if you do not like crude humor then you should not see this film. Carell was very sweet in his portryal of the virgin Andy. Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen and Romany Malco were hilarious as Andy's friends who will stop at nothing to get him laid. If you like silly and crude movies (like I do) then you need to see this one.

A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber - #7

The second of the knitting books by Debbie Macomber. This time it is a year after Lydia Hoffman has opened her yarn shop, A Good Yarn. After her first successful class she has decided to hold another class on how to make socks. Once again she has an eclectic group of people in her class. Courtney is an overweight teen who has moved to town to live with her grandmother for her senior year of high school. Bethanne is a recently divorced mother of two teenagers who needs to finally do something for herself. Elise is a retired librarian who has lost her life savings and is living with her daughter's family. When her pro-gambler ex-husband shows up there is trouble. Through the process of making socks these women become friends and knit their lives together (pun intended).

I loved the first book in the series, The Shop on Blossom Street, so I knew I would like this one. I like how Macomber introduces these new characters as well as keeping us updated on the three students from the original book. A third book in the series, Back on Blossom Street, was released earlier this year. Macomber is quickly becoming on of my favorite authors and I can not wait to read some of her other books.

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

This is a very cute movie. Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) leads a very boring life. He does the same thing every day at the same time. His life is all about numbers - he is an IRS agent after all. Soon his world is turned upside down. One morning he begins to hear a woman's voice (Emma Thompson) narrating everything he does. eventually she states that Harold is going to die. He tries to go about his life as normal as possible but that is very difficult. He turns to a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman) to help him make sense of what is going on. He also has a new challange in his way - a beautiful young woman named Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal) he is auditing. Now he needs needs to find a way to stay alive as well as a way to win over Ana's heart.

This movie was not at all what I was expecting. It was funny but not your typical Will Ferrell slapstick funny. He was excellent though and made you forget his usual zaniness. Maggie Gylenhaal was also terrific as the tough Ana Pascal. Finally, the Emma Thompson storyline was also very interesting. I recomenmd this film highly.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling - #6

I am not going to spoil this for anyone who has not read it yet. I will say that I loved this and thought it was a wonderful way to end the series. I laughed and I cried (a lot) and really enjoyed reading it. I will read it again sometime soon because I know I missed some things reading it so fast. If you have not read it yet you need to run out and do so soon!

Side Order of Life

A very cute show. Jenny McIntyre (Marisa Coughlan) is a photographer for a popular magazine. She is about to be married to businessman Ian (Jason Priestley). Her life is going well until her best friend, Vivy (Diana-Maria Riva), tells her that her cancer has returned. Now Jenny is questioning everything in her life. Vivy is trying to get Jenny to realize that life should not be taken for granted and that Jenny needs to wake up and live her life. Of course the guy on the other end of a wrong number she dialed is not helping her any. Now she is torn between her fiance Ian and a guy she has never met but who makes her feel wonderful.

I was not sure about this show but I am glad I decided to give it a try. Coughlan is wonderful as Jenny, the woman whose world is turned completely upside down. Riva is also very entertaining as the spunky Vivy who tries to live life to its fullest while she still can. All in all this is a great show.

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling - #5

It is now the sixth year at Hogwarts for Harry and his friends and things are not going well. Everyone now knows that Harry was telling the truth about Lord Voldemort's return but there are other problems. Many deaths have occurred and parents are naturally frightened to send their children away to school. Now Harry has to be concerned with what Draco Malfoy is up to. They see him in one of the Dark Arts shops outside of Diagon Alley and they know he is trying to fix something. Now Harry is concerned about Draco, is buried in homework and he has private sessions with Professor Dumbledore. The professor is hoping to show Harry the connection that exist between him and Lord Voldemort so that Harry can know how to destroy the Dark Lord.

This was a wonderful set up to the last book of the series. I cried so hard at the end of the book. It was nice to reread this before the end of the series.

Scott Baio is 45 ... And Single

This show is quite hilarious. Scott Baio of Happy Days and Charles in Charge fame has never been married. In fact, he has never even been fully committed to a woman. Now he is dating a woman he feels could be the one and he wants to make sure he does not blow it. He hires a life coach to help him figure out why he is 45 and still single. She makes him break off all communication with his girlfriend as well as take a vow of celibacy during the 8 week process. He must go back to his former girlfriends and find out what went wrong in their relationships. Some of his friends think this may help him but his one friend. Johnny V, is not happy. Scott it seems is the only reason this guy has ever gotten laid so he is not to happy about losing his pick-up buddy. Now he is doing everything in his power to make Scott fall off the wagon.

I love these cheesy reality shows. Especially the ones that try to make us feel sorry for celebrities and the difficult lives they lead. This show is pretty funny to watch but do not expect high brow entertainment while you are checking this out.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

This was a pretty good adaptation of the longest book of the Potter series. I think the screenwriter did an excellent job in condensing the non-essential parts of the book and getting to the really important parts. This film had a new director, David Yates, and I loved what he did with the film. The last two films were very choppy to me and this one flowed better. I loved what he did with the climatix battle scene at the end of the film. This is one of the better Potter films in my opinion.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling - #4

This is the fifth installment of the adventures of our favorite boy wizard. This time Harry is rescued from the Dursley's by the Order of the Pheonix - a group of wizars reunited to fight Lord Voldemort. Not only is the deadliest wizard ever known looking to regroup his Death Eaters Harry has other problems. The Ministry of Magic does not want to admit the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back so they are working very hard to discredit Harry. Now he must deal with the strange looks from his fellow students at Hogwarts as well as prepare for his Ordinary Wizarding Level exams. Plus, to top it all off their is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge, who also works for the ministry who thinks Harry is a liar and wants to make an example out of him.

This is the longest of the Potter series but I still enjoyed it. I know many people thought it was to drawn out but I enjoyed the detail this book went into to. This was one of my favorite books of the series. Another winner from J.K. Rowling.

Happy Feet (2006)

A delightful film for people of all ages. Mumble (Elijah Wood) is a young lad born into a colony of emperor penguins. However, from the very beginning is is different from the rest of the colony. When he busts out of his shell everyone soon realizes that Mumble can not stop dancing. As time goes on and Mumble grows up this continues to be a problem. While in school the teachers try to help all the younger penguins to find their heart song, the mating song of the penguins. However, it soon becomes clear that Mumble can not sing and has no heart song. The elders of the colony are not happy with this and it especially becomes a problem when there is a food shortage. The elders feel that Mumble has angered their god and they banish him from the colony. Soon Mumble sets off to find the real reason for the food shortage so he can go home.

I loved this movie. It was very cute and had a wonderful message about accepting differences and environmental responsiblity. The animation was wonderful and I love how it was mixed with live action. If you love animated films this is a must see.

Knocked Up (2006)

This movie is hilarious. Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) is a carrer minded young woman. After she receives a huge promotion she goes out to a club with her sister, who is married with two kids, to celebrate. There she meets Ben Stone (Seth Rogan), a burnout with no job who is in the country illegally from Canada. They have a one night stand and do not see each other for several weeks. Soon Alison learns that she is pregnant and has to tell Ben. They then embark on a complicated relationship - trying to get to know each other while preparing for parenthood at the same time. Now they need to figure out if they really want to be a couple or if it is only the pregnancy keeping them together.

I loved this movie and laughed a lot. however, I will warn you that if you can not stand a lot of cursing and frank sexual talk then you will want to stay away from this movie. The acting is not that great but that is ok. I was happy to see one of my favorite underrated actors, Paul Rudd, as Alison's brother-in-law Pete. If you like stupid humor then you will like this film.

Harvey (1950)

The Jimmy Stewart comedy classic. Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart) lives in a small town with his sister, Veta (Josephine Hall), and niece, Myrtle Mae (Victoria Home). Of course there is also his buddy, Harvey, a 6'3" white rabbit that only Elwood can see. of course his sister and niece are very embarrassed by Elwood's invisible friend and after he embarrasses them at a luncheon they decide to send him away. Of course nothing goes as planned. The psychiatrist believes that Veta is the one who is crazy and puts her in the asylum. Once the doctors realize their mistake they must do everything in their power to find Elwood and keep Veta from suing.

This movie was very fun. Even though it is considered a comedy it is somewhat sad. It was nice to see Jimmy Stewart in a different role than we are used to seeing him in. Josephine Hall was also wonderful in her Oscar winning role of Veta. There have been 3 made-for-tv remakes of this film in 1972, 1985 and 1998. However, nothing can compare to this movie classic.

The Awful Truth (1937)

Another cute Cary Grant film. Jerry Warriner (Grant) has been away on holiday. He told his wife, Lucy (Irene Dunne) that he was in Florida but that is not true. When he returns from his "vacation" he learns that Lucy has not been sitting at home counting the days til his return. She has been out with her vocal coach, Armand (Alexander D'Arcy), and even had to spend the night with him after being stranded on their return from a performance. Soon Lucy learns that Jerry was not telling her the truth about his trip and they file for divorce. Soon Lucy and her aunt, Patsy (Cecil Cunningham), move into an apartment. There Lucy meets a oil tycoon named Dan Leeson (Ralph Bellamy), who is visiting New York from Oklahoma with his mother. Soon Lucy and Dan are engaged and Jerry does not like it. Can Jerry and Lucy overcome their suspicions of each other before it is to late?

This was a very enjoyable movie. Grant and Dunn had great chemistry together, which explains why they worked together two more times after this film. Bellamy stole the movie as the sweet but ditsy oil tycoon. There were tow earlier version of this film made in 1925 and 1929. There was also a remake made in 1953 called Let's Do It Again. However, this film is worth watching for Grant and Dunne alone.

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

The screwball comedy classic. Dr David Huxley (Cary Grant) is a scientist at a large museum. He works there with his fiance, Alice Swallow (Virginia Walker). He is working on a fossil recreation of a dinosaur in for the museum and is waiting on the last bone he needs. In the meantime he must meet with the lawyer of a potential benefactor for the museum. While on the course he runs into a young lady by the name of Susan Vance (Katherine Hepburn). This meeting, along with all the other times they meet, is a complete disaster. However, Susan begins to fall in love with David and does everything in her power to keep him around. On the other hand David tries to escape every chance he gets. Soon David learns that Susan is the niece of his potential benefactor, Elizabeth Random (May Robson). Now the aunt's dog has stolen the bone David needs to complete his skeleton, Susan has a leopard named Baby roaming her house and Aunt Elizabeth thinks David is off his rocker.

While I did not find this movie highly amusing I can appreciate it for the classic it is. Hepburn was very annoying as Susan but that was her character so she played it perfectly. It was nice to see Cary Grant play a dowdy character instead of the suave ladies man. There have been several movies spun off from this film. Including the terrible Who's That Girl? starring Madonna (which I LOVED as a kid). However, as always the classic is what you should see.