I just watched You Got Mail. It is a shameful thing to admit but there is something about that Meg and Tom combo that just slays me. They are so deliciously cute and good and wholesome with just enough zing to make it interesting. There is something about watching this movie that is so healing and life affirming it makes me completely happy. I am still smiling. I just love Tom Hanks doing his goofy thing and Meg Ryan is so delightful on screen, even if she is an awkward mare off screen. The ending is just perfect: “I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly.” with Somewhere Over the Rainbow in the background. Sigh.

How have I not got Sleepless in Seattle in my collection?

I really oughtn’t like this film as the premise is a bit barmy but I am a sucka for Keanu and Sandra.  They have great chemistry and its a real whimsy film for the romantic at heart.  Which I am.  I watched a snippet of it last night as I caught it on Sky movies and was very glad to know that I had the DVD so that I could watch the end again since I had to turn off.

I suppose it is debatable whether Adam Sandler is actually a talented comedian or just a total douche.  I cannot deny my love for his earlier oeuvre – Little Nicky, Big Daddy et al.  I really enjoyed his more serious work like Punch Drunk Love and 50 First Dates, but what on earth was he thinking when he made (and his production company did make it) Click?  It is just awful.  His range as an actor not broad enough to make the potentially poignant middle act believable.    The funny parts were just not that funny.  Kate Beckinsale was hopelessly miscast since you had no idea why such a beautiful woman would ever spend time with such a loser (Sandler obviously doesn’t have any self-esteem issues if he cast her himself).  The film was saved by the typically quirky Angel of Death played by the superb Christopher Walken.

Do not wast 2 hours of your life watching this.  If you have already made this mistake, I sympathise.

We just rented the blu-ray version of Eragon. This movie didn’t set anything on fire when it was released but this was probably as much to day with fantasy-fatigue following the LoTR trilogy as it was to do with the quality of the film making. Having said that, I still wasn’t blown away by Eragon. I am not exactly sure what it lacked. Despite an excellent turn by Jeremy Irons as the former dragon rider, the film failed to really draw me in which meant that I was not ultimately bothered what happened. Now I am usually pretty easy to please, but I just didn’t get into this tale of good and evil, dragons against baddie, magic and destiny. I did notice that the soundtrack was particularly unremarkable which just goes to show how important music is for building tension, setting the scene and drawing on the emotions of the viewer. I also think that Rachel Weisz and her ghastly mid-atlantic voicing of the dragon, Saphira, was hopelessly miscast.

The weak lead and the CGI dragon were given far too much screen time at the expense of other characters that could have been interesting but were scarcely featured such as John Malkovich’s fairly menacing Galbatorix and Sienna Guillory’s Ayra. Robert Carlyle’s Durza was suitably sinister but again not featured enough. It must be said that the visual effects were pretty excellent, especially the animation of Saphira. It is very easy to be blasé about these effects but if you compare this to previous dragon films, this creature is very much more lifelike. On a superficial level, I enjoyed this film but I won’t be rushing out to buy the DVD. If you haven’t seen it, only watch it if you have a spare couple of hours and can’t be bothered to do the ironing. Alternatively, you could just watch this instead:

I love Zach Braff. Let me just get that out of the way. I was ready to love this film too. I was not disappointed. The main three characters were perfect. Zach played the slightly unfortunate, cute, principled Tom to perfection. Amanda Peet did a great job as his attractive, smart wife. Jason Bateman, however, stole the show as the insidious, sneaky, down-right mean ‘ex’, Chip, who is in a wheelchair. There is nothing complex about this film but it was hil-arious. It had all the cringeworthyness and eventual comeuppance that you could ask for. If you haven’t seen it, you should (but if someone throwing a disabled person down the stairs might offend you, you’d be best to give it a miss). The blooper reel is worth a watch too!