the lucky one

the year: 2012

the genre: drama

the cast: Zac Efron (Logan); Taylor Schilling (Beth); Blyth Danner (Ellie); Riley Thomas Stewart (Ben); Jay Ferguson (Keith Clayton)

the plot: U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault returns from his third tour of duty in Iraq, with the one thing he credits with keeping him alive - a photograph he found of a woman he doesn't even know. Discovering her name is Beth and where she lives, he shows up at her door, and ends up taking a job at her family-run local kennel. Despite her initial mistrust and the complications in her life, a romance develops between them, giving Logan hope that Beth could be much more than his good luck charm.

listen for: "Start appreciating the memories you have and stop begrudging the ones you never got to make."

did you know: theaters on military installations were given an advanced showing of the film.

a shout out to: Blaine, Scott, Logan, and anyone else who has made it so I now view all Nicholas Sparks' movies skeptically.  My two thoughts after watching this: 1) could someone please get that girl a bobby pin so she could pin back her bangs?! and 2) let me get this straight: this guy can repair boat engines, play the piano, train dogs for agility courses, do dishes, good naturedly lose at chess to a kid, dance, single-handedly renovate a house, lift three 50 pound bags of dog food at a time without breaking a sweat, and is great with dogs AND kids?  Guess they've got their chick flick formula pegged.

disclaimer: there are a few make out scenes in this one.

hairspray

the year: 2007

the genre: musical


the cast: John Travolta (Edna Turnblad); Michelle Pfeiffer (Velma Von Tussle); Christopher Walken (Wilbur Turnblad); Amanda Bynes (Penny Pingleton); James Marsden (Corny Collins); Queen Latifah (Motormouth Maybelle); Brittany Snow (Amber Von Tussle); Zac Efron (Link Larkin); Elijah Kelley (Seaweed); Allison Janney (Prudy Pingleton); Nikki Blonsky (Tracy Turnblad)


the plot: Tracy Turnblad, an overweight teenager with all the right moves, is obsessed with the Corny Collins Show. Every day after school, she and her best friend Penny run home to watch the show and drool over Link Larkin, much to Tracy's mother Edna's dismay. After one of the stars of the show leaves, Corny Collins holds auditions to see who will be the new dancer. With the help of her friend Seaweed, Tracy makes it on the show, angering the evil dance queen Amber Von Tussle and her mother Velma. Tracy then decides that it's not fair that the black kids can only dance on the Corny Collins Show once a month, and with the help of Seaweed, Link, Penny, Motormouth Maybelle, her father and Edna, decides she's going to integrate the show.....without denting her 'do!


don't miss: Corny Collins.



did you know: most of the cast jokingly called "You Can't Stop the Beat" "you can't stop to breathe" because of its pace and fast-moving lyrics. Queen Latifah said she had no trouble singing a lot of words very quickly because of her background as a rapper.



listen for: "You two better brace yourselves for a whole lotta ugly comin' at you from a neverending parade of stupid." "So, you've met my mom?"



extra bonus points: if you know why it's cool that Ricki Lake plays one of the talent agents and Jerry Stiller plays Mr. Pinky.


also listen for: "I was just at home, practicing my new twist on The Twist, when I overheard it on the news. I can't believe Tracy savagely bludgeoned an Eagle Scout. That's just not like her."



even MORE extra bonus points: if you can name "The Nicest Kids in Town".



And my favorite scenes here and here.

high school musical

Mock me if you will, but I like this happy little ditty of a movie. And while I can't recommend the sequels as highly, if you haven't seen this - give it a chance. You might like it.


the year: 2006

the genre: musical


the cast: Zac Efron (Troy Bolton); Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella Montez); Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay Evans); Lucas Grabeel (Ryan Evans); Monique Coleman (Taylor McKessie); Corbin Bleu (Chad Danforth); Oleysa Rulin (Kelsi Nielsen)


the plot: Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez meet over winter break after being forced to sing together at a party. They become friends, but don't expect to see each other again. When Gabriella's mother is transferred before the spring semester starts, Troy and Gabriella end up at the same school. They decide to audition for the school's musical, which puts them on the hit list of Sharpay and Ryan Evans, the star siblings of every previous school musical.


don't miss: Zeke's creme brulee.


listen for: "Look, you're a hoops dude. Not a musical singer person. Have you ever seen Michael Crawford on a cereal box?" "Who's Michael Crawford?" "Exactly my point. He was the "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway. Now my mom, she's seen that musical 27 times and she put Michael Crawford's picture in our refrigerator. Not on it. IN it. So my point is, if you play basketball, you'll end up on the cereal box. If you sing in musicals, you'll end up in my mom's refrigerator."


did you know: "High School Musical" was just the working title for the film while a better name was thought up. However, by the time post-production came, a better name had not been thought of so the producers unwillingly went for "High School Musical."



count: how many hats Ryan wears during the film.

charlie st. cloud

the year: 2010

the genre: drama


the cast: Zac Efron (Charlie St. Cloud); Charlie Tahan (Sam St. Cloud); Amanda Crew (Tess Carroll); Donal Logue (Tink Weatherbee)


the plot: Charlie St. Cloud is a young man overcome by grief at the death of his younger brother, Sam. So much so, that he takes a job as caretaker of the cemetery in which Sam is buried. Charlie has a special bond and can still see Sam, so he meets up with him each night to play catch and talk. When Tess comes into Charlie's life, he must choose between keeping the promise he made to Sam, or going after the girl he loves.


don't miss: Charlie's geese-management program.


watch for: Charlie's co-worker and friend Alistair. He's a good pal.


listen for: "Trust your heart if the seas catch fire, live by love though the stars walk backwards."



hanky rating: 2 out of 5.