ella enchanted

the year: 2004

the genre: fantasy


the cast: Anne Hathaway (Ella); Hugh Dancy (Char); Cary Elwes (Edgar); Aidan McArdle (Slannen); Minnie Driver (Mandy); Eric Idle (Narrator); Vivica A. Fox (Lucinda)


the plot: This is the story of Ella, a young woman who was given a "gift" of obedience by a fairy named Lucinda. Anything anyone tells her to do, she must obey. When her mother passes away, Ella is cared for by her thoughtless and greedy father who remarries a loathsome woman with two treacherous daughters. This modern-day, fantasy Cinderella features fairies, ogres and elves...as well as a hero in the guise of Prince Charmont, whom Ella falls in love with. Unlike Cinderella though, Ella must depend on herself and her intelligence to get her through her troubles and find Lucinda in order for her "curse" to be broken.


did you know: Lamia, where Prince Char lives, is modeled after downtown Manhattan, with castles in place of skyscrapers - check out the skyline.


listen for: "You shouldn't believe everything you read in Medieval Teen."


watch for: the prince's fan club.

when in rome

the year: 2010

the genre: comedy


the cast: Kristen Bell (Beth); Josh Duhamel (Nick Beamon); Anjelica Huston (Celeste); Will Arnett (Antonio); Jon Heder (Lance); Dax Shepard (Gale); Danny DeVito (Al Russo)


the plot: Beth is a young, ambitious New Yorker who is completely unlucky in love. On a whirlwind trip to Rome, she impulsively steals some coins from a reputed fountain of love, and is then aggressively pursued by a band of suitors.


don't miss: Gale. He's a humble son-of-a-gun.


listen for: "This is crazy. I don't know whether to look at my own reflection or to look at you. That's how beautiful you are!"


watch for: all of the coins in the Roman fountain-they are US currency.


watch for: the swingin' ending credits:




also watch for: the cameo appearance by Efren Ramirez (Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite).


also listen for: "...the padre cleaned me out at the poker table. Yeah."

the best: romance

According to the American Film Institute, the top ten romance movies are:

10. City Lights (1931)
9. Love Story (1970)
8. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
7. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
6. The Way We Were (1975)
5. An Affair to Remember (1957)
4. Roman Holiday (1953)
3. West Side Story (1961)
2. Gone With the Wind (1939)
1. Casablanca (1942)

I don't know about you, but I like about two of those.
MY ten fave romance movies are:

10. I'd Rather Be Rich


9. Guys and Dolls


8. Charade


7. The Clock


6. I'll Be Seeing You


5. Stranger Than Fiction


4. Goodbye. Mr. Chips


3. I Love You Again


2. Walk, Don't Run


1. How to Steal a Million


What are yours?

guess who?

She was largely home schooled, but did attend Bryn Mawr College.

She was nearly decapitated by an airplane propeller when she was trying to avoid the press at an airport.

A leading contender for Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, she later served as Maid of Honor at Vivien Leigh's wedding to Laurence Olivier.

After a scene in which her character fell into a Venetian canal, she developed a permanent eye infection from the contaminated water.

She had a fear of fire.

She was a natural redhead.

She often wore slacks instead of dresses, decades before it became fashionable for women to do so.

RED

the year: 2010

the genre: action/comedy


the cast: Bruce Willis (Frank Moses); Mary-Louise Parker (Sarah Ross); John Malkovich (Marvin Boggs); Helen Mirren (Victoria); Karl Urban (William Cooper); Morgan Freeman (Joe Matheson)


the plot: Frank is retired, bored and lonely, living off his government pension in a nondescript suburb in an equally nondescript house. The only joy in Frank's life is when he gets to call the government pension processing center and talk to his case worker Sarah. Sarah is as bored and lonely as Frank and marks conversations with the unknown Frank and spy novels as the only fun things in her life. When something in Frank's past forces him back into his old line of work and puts the unwitting Sarah in the middle of the intrigue, they begin a journey into Frank's past and the people he used to work with. Like Frank they are all RED ... Retired Extremely Dangerous.


don't miss: how Frank takes care of keeping Cooper busy while he leaves New Orleans.


listen for: "People get shot all the time." "No they don't. They get... paper cuts." "...I mostly get shot."



also don't miss: Frank's avocado.



did you know: In Bulgaria the film is distributed under the title BSP (Besni Strashni Pensii - which means Furious Frightful Pensioners).



also listen for: "Wanna go get pancakes?"

galaxy quest

the year: 1999

the genre: comedy


the cast: Tim Allen (Jason Nesmith); Sigourney Weaver (Gwen DeMarco); Alan Rickman (Alexander Dane); Tony Shalhoub (Fred Kwan); Sam Rockwell (Guy Fleegman); Enrico Colantoni (Mathesar)


the plot: Eighteen years after their sci-fi adventure show "Galaxy Quest" was canceled, actors Jason Nesmith, Gwen DeMarco, Alexander Dane, Tommy Webber, and Fred Kwan are making appearances at sci-fi conventions and store openings in costume and character. They're wallowing in despair and at each other's throats until aliens known as Thermians arrive and, having mistaken the show for fact and consequently modeling their entire culture around it, take them into space to save them from General Sarris and his armada.


count: how many times Alexander Dane says, "By Grapthar's hammer."


listen for: "HEY! Don't open that! It's an alien planet! Is there air out there? You don't know!"


did you know: the scene when Tim Allen is in the men's room and overhears how the cast of Galaxy Quest are nobodies and all his co-stars can't stand him mirrors an actual event in William Shatner's life. He overheard the exact same things about himself when he attended a Star Trek convention.


extra bonus points: if you know what sound the NSEA Protector's automatic doors were given - instead of ripping off the standard Star Trek "Swooosh-thweep" sound.

hitch

the year: 2005

the genre: comedy


the cast: Will Smith (Alex "Hitch" Hitchens); Eva Mendes (Sara Melas); Kevin James (Albert Bernnaman); Amber Valletta (Allegra Cole); Adam Arkin (Max)


the plot: Alex Hitchens, better known as Hitch, is the date doctor. His latest project, Albert Brenneman, is a nerdy financial consultant who fell in love with the famous Allegra Cole. While Hitch helps Albert with his love life, he struggles with is own. He starts falling for work-a-holic, Sarah Melas.


don't miss: Hitch and Albert's discussion on dance:



listen for: "Any man has a chance to sweep any woman off her feet. He just needs the right broom."


count: how many basic principles there are, according to Hitch.


also listen for: "When your wondering what to say, or how you look... just remember... she is already out with you. That means, she said yes, when she could've said no. That means she made a plan... when she could've just blown you off. So that means it is no longer you job to make her like you... It's is your job NOT TO MESS IT UP."


did you also know: Allegra Coleman was a fictitious actress created by Esquire magazine in their Nov '96 issue, designed to spoof other magazine's fawning obsession with new stars. The article written about her new "It Girl" status prompted calls from studios and talent scouts eager to offer her scripts. Ali Larter provided the face and body shots for the faux starlet.


extra bonus points: if you know what Hitch prefers to call the seafood appetizer Coquille St-Jacuqes.