Movies Galore!

One perk of having one day's notice to attend a customer meeting in Japan - lots and lots of movie at your fingertips during the 10+ hour non-stop flight! (Economy, by the way... so I'm just making lemonade out of lemons here...)

Run Fatboy Run: Being a "marathoner" (heehee), I was so excited to find this movie on the list. It was hilarious and I totally recommend it to anyone, even if you don't care about running. It's set in London and is about this dude (Simon Pegg) that decides to run a marathon to try to win back the girl (Thandie Newton) he left at the altar (pregnant!) several years ago. Her new honey is an American (Hank Azaria) who, by the way, has a really funny locker room scene. And surprise, surprise, the film was directed by Ross Gellar!

Cars: I've been behind in my Pixar films - the last one I saw was "The Incredibles". I don't know why I waited to see "Cars" - it was so cute! I'm always impressed with these animators, the characters were just so lovable in the way they were drawn. As usual, I kept picturing the actors behind the voices so it was a little weird to picture Bonnie Hunt and Owen Wilson as a romantic couple, but whatev. And now I have some weird desire to travel Route 66. But I get carsick during long road trips, so that probably won't happen. If you catch the movie, better stay toward the very end - there's a funny bit highlighting how John Ratzenberger (aka Cliff from Cheers) is often utilized in Pixar films. On a side note, I knew Sarah and No Name had bit parts in the movie and it was so cool to hear their roles. No Name did a great job! ("My name is not Chuck!")

21: I actually enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. I found the lead actor, Jim Sturgess, quite likeable and it was cute to see him go from nerdy robot kid to the guy dating the prettiest girl in school. (Kate Bosworth is cute but sickly skinny in this movie.) There were also some fun twists in the movie. I recommend this one as well.

I also tried watching "Smart People" but it was pretty slow, so I ended up napping through it instead. If it's good, let me know.