Currently browsing the "Meryl Streep" tag.

The Iron Lady

Meryl. I think she deserves to be known by one name by now. What an actress! What an amazing variety of roles she has played in the past few years: It’s Complicated, Julie & Julia, Doubt, The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia! and so many others. Now she brings us another of her memorable performances as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Unfortunately, it is not all that good a movie. Yes, Meryl is her usual great self, but Maggie just is not likable or layered. And the script does not help.

It’s Complicated

It’s Complicated is a good, solid chick flick – a romantic comedy with two endearing leads in Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. It’s also the tamest ‘R’ rated movie I think I’ve ever seen. I’m told the rating had something to do with the inclusion of a pot-smoking scene, which is ironic since unlike The Hangover or Pineapple Express, I highly doubt anyone younger than 40 will attempt to sneak into this one! It’s purely an adult movie with adult themes and humor. Streep plays Jane Adler, a successful, attractive middle-aged divorcee who hooks up with her married ex-husband Jake (Baldwin) while celebrating their son’s graduation from college. Jane and Jake embark on a clandestine affair known only to their soon-to-be son-in-law Harley (played with scene-stealing appeal by The Office’s John Krasinski).

And the Award goes to…

It has begun. The film awards season is upon us. The Academy Awards aren’t until March 7, but in the past couple of days, the film societies have begun releasing their picks for 2009. (The Oscar nominations don’t come out until Feb. 2.) Now, I really wish I’d seen The Hurt Locker when it was here, but I blinked and missed it. There seem to be a lot of nominees and/or winners that have not come out yet, or have only opened in limited release. I guess that is the way they always do it, so the voters remember the films.  But it makes it hard for those of us not in LA or NY to know if they are right when we haven’t been able to see the films yet. Then again, it makes the holiday film season all the more fun, trying to see all the nominees in theaters in the coming weeks.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

It shouldn’t come as any big surprise to Chickflix fans that Fantastic Mr. Fox has made its way onto our friendly little blog. After all, it stars the voice of George Clooney. And sure enough, listening to George Clooney for an hour and a half is almost as entertaining as watching him. On second thought, watching him is still way better. But as an animated flick, Mr. Fox does deliver.

Julie & Julia

Meryl Streep has channeled Julia Child. She is marvelous. I love her. Like Julia, I love food and I love cooking, so this movie spoke to me, though I am sure you could be culinarily impaired and still enjoy it on many levels. It is very frequently very funny and just plain fun to watch.