I like Jason Segel in “How I Met Your Mother”, so I was looking forward to his movie.  It was funny, but with just a tad too much full-frontal nudity.  Segel must be very comfortable in front of the camera.  The star of the show, though, was Russell Brand who plays Sarah Marshall’s British boyfriend.  Some of the funniest scenes were the ones that included Brand and Segel.

Rating: ***

Twilight is based on the first book in a series I read last year.  I thought the books were great and was looking forward to the film.  For all of the negative press it got, it really wasn’t that bad.  Kristen Stewart did a decent job of playing Bella.  I wasn’t impressed with Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of Edward, though.  He wore this bizarre pained look on his face for most of the movie and it irritated me.  Plus, I pictured an Edward who was more handsome and mysterious.  In the book, Bella describes Edward as being “impossibly beautiful”.  I think someone more like Henry Cavill would’ve been a better pick, but I digress.  Overall, I enjoyed the film and will probably watch it again soon.

Rating: ***

Bill Maher’s interesting documentary examines faith and politics, presenting a large amount of statistics and arguments against organized religion.  While I don’t know the accuracy of those stats, there was an interesting one: 93% of scientists in the American National Academy of Sciences are atheist or agnostic.  I didn’t expect that number to be so high.

Bill Maher knows his stuff.  He’s well read, and although opinionated and an athiest, he is knowledgeable about religion and he makes some of the priests/ministers/religious leaders look foolish.  Some of that is probably film editing, but in general, he didn’t come across anyone that was able to really come up with any valid arguments to Maher’s questions.

Rating: ***+

Anne Hathaway plays an interesting role as a recovering addict leaving a rehab home and returning to her family’s home, where her sister, Rachel, is getting married.  While Rachel feels a deep love for her sister, Kym’s return brings out a lot of issues from the past and fills the wedding weekend with tension.

Rating: ***+

This 11-minute movie won the Academy Award for best animated short film.  For only 11 minutes, it was a really moving film.  An old man lives in a town submerged in water.  He must continually add bricks to the top of his house to keep up with the rising water.  When he swims down to a lower, submerged level of his house to retrieve his pipe, the memories associated with each level of house come back to him.  There’s no narration or dialogue in this film, but the piano music conveys a sense of sadness and longing as the old man relives his life.

Rating: ****

I saw this movie the day before it won an Academy Award for best documentary.  It was good – especially the old footage from Philippe’s early days.  And the build-up as Philippe and his friends plan to sneak into the World Trade Center to set up a high wire for Philippe to cross is suspenseful, even though I knew the outcome.  The enthusiasm of Philippe and his friends, especially during their interviews, is exciting and even though this event occurred more than 30 years ago, they talk as if it happened just last week.

Rating: ***+

The title of this movie tells the premise of the entire film: two friends, Vicky and Cristina, go to Barcelona for the summer.  While the girls are very close friends, their opinions on love and relationships differ greatly.  Vicky prefers long-term, committed relationships, while Cristina flits from relationship to relationship,  and quickly falls in and out of love.  Despite their differences, they both fall for the mysterious Juan Antonio, a painter with a murky past.  Another great flick by Woody Allen, set in beautiful Barcelona with a fantastic cast.

Rating: ****

W. was an interesting movie.  It was less about George W. Bush’s presidency than it was about how he got there, with a focus on his relationship with his father.  The movie was not an overly condemning film of our 43rd president, but it also didn’t portray him in a great light, either.  The best part about this movie was watching Josh Brolin.  He nails his portrayal of W.

Rating: ***

One user on IMDb wrote a comment, which I thought summarized this movie well: “Cute enough for an evening’s mindless entertainment, but exactly that and not a penny more.”  I was never a huge fan of the television series, but I watched it occasionally.  I find it really hard to relate to the obsession with fashion, purses, name brands, etc.  And I don’t see what Carrie sees in Big.

Rating: *

While I’ve never seen the original film, this remake wasn’t that great.  A few lines and scenes were funny, but the characters were unbelievable and unconvincing.

Rating: **