Latest movies

One for the Money - I never read any of the Janet Evanovich novels, but I think I might have to check them out, because the movie was quite entertaining.  Katherine Heigl was great in the role of Stephanie Plum, and the other actors were terrific too; it was smart, lively and fun.

Contraband - Larry and I saw this one for his birthday.  It was terrifically entertaining, if cliched and formulaic (in the best possible way). Crammed with appealing performers, which definitely elevated the material, my only complaint was the waste of Kate Beckinsale, who was given nothing to do besides be beaten up by various villains (and there's a couple of plot holes that you could drive a Mac truck through); ironic that Kate's other movie in theaters now is Underworld: Awakening, where she plays the action hero.

Albert Nobbs - Like most of the Oscar bait that I've seen this season, I thought the performances were terrific, but this was not a wholly satisfying film. Sort of an interesting study in the ways people can be kind and altruistic, and the ways they can be selfish and cruel; ultimately sort of a depressing experience (though the movie does end of a basically hopeful note). Good, but not exceptional; could have said more about the roles and choices of women in a certain place and time, instead of focusing on a foolish romantic attachment that went nowhere.

On video:

Bad Teacher (2011) - It's totally fair to call this a Cameron Diaz vehicle because she's in virtually every scene, and the other actors are tragically under-utilized, especially Justin Timberlake and the adorable Jason Segel.  The movie tries to have it both ways - Miss Halsey is terrible, so it's very hard to root for her, but as the movie winds down, she starts to be the hero somehow, and I felt a little uncomfortable that she comes out on top, after all that has gone before.  The movie isn't funny enough to pardon this rather glaring sin, and, overall, the movie is only mildly entertaining - it could have been much better.

Life As We Know It (2010) - Not a bad movie at all, but I can see why it wasn't a big hit - the pacing is off - it sort of grinds to a halt 3/4 of the way through after moving along at a lively clip up until then. Appealing leads (Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel) and not excruciatingly contrived, but not especially memorable.

I would have seen more movies, but I'm completely obsessed with Showtime's series, Shameless, and I've been watching Season 1 On Demand every chance I get. It's funny and very adult, though I would enjoy it more if they didn't cram a lot of dirty sex into every episode - it starts to feel very contrived after awhile, and only some, certainly not all, of it is essential to the plot.  (I blame True Blood for raising the raunch standard in cable shows.) Two bits of trivia - the show is a remake of a British show, and John Wells, the ER wunderkind, is one of the writer/producers.