cornishogre-1

Pretty small audience when my husband and I saw this.

If you giggle hysterically over a teen girl deciding that maybe her Justice Ruth Ginsberg costume needs to be updated to a "sexy Justice Ginsberg", this movie is for you. We loved the nerdy humor.

If that joke, or the running one with an 8 year old deciding to be a one-armed Spidey (complete with bloody plastic severed arm) doesn't fill you with mirth, skip this film. We loved it.

Of course, we also loved Hudson Hawke, Howard the Duck, and The Stupids.

Happy Halloween!

After Black Swan, Brothers, and the Other Boleyn Girl, I was really worried about Natalie Portman becoming the go-to girl for suffering. Whew! So glad she did this movie! She laughs! She smiles! She eats! She makes wisecracks! She and Ashton Kutcher are very funny together.

I laughed out loud and thoroughly enjoyed it in all of its raunchy and embarrassing glory. Each of the supporting cast is great fun and has a chance to shine.Possibly the funniest idea for a mix CD. And a satisfying ending for all concerned.

Worth the price of admission for the scene involving periods!

Don't charge right out when the end credits come up - scenes come right after the first credits, though no post credit goodies.

I went with fairly low expectations, and ended up laughing loud and hard in many places. Go, have fun, be 12 and take a few friends who loved 1960's comics as much as you do.

Yes, there were some plot holes, but Rip Torn is dour and funny, the little girl with the super- strength is very cute (gotta love that juxtaposition!), the bits with the flying saucer made us laugh out loud, and Courtney Cox has too much fun playing the ultimate comic book nerd. Tim Allen does his usual shtick, and the rest of the cast holds up their end.

Don't pay full price - but for a hot afternoon it's fun for a matinée.

When I read some four years ago that Diana Wynne Jones had sold the rights for Howl's Moving Castle to a Japanese animator, I wondered. The book (one of my very favorites, which I re-read at least once a year) takes several fairy-tale conventions and merrily turns them upside down. Ms Jones refuses to allow her imagination be neatly pigeonholed as hard sci-fi or straight fantasy, juvenile or adult. This story (as all of her stories) revels in word play. I really wondered how it would all come out translated into Japanese.

I'd never heard of Miyazaki. Then I saw Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, The Cat Returns, and Kiki's Delivery Service. Wow. I think Ms Jones and Mr. Miyazaki must be kindred souls. His movies share a lot with her novels – a whimsical sense of humor, impossible to pigeonhole into a category, magic and mischief, and a firm respect for the audience's intelligence. I began to pace the floor in anticipation of the movie.

I saw the movie today. I was not disappointed. The soul of the story is intact, Sophie and Howl and Calcifer are nearly as I imagined them. Yes, there are some plot adjustments. Think of it as the Series 12C version (for those who have read Ms Jones' Chrestomanci books.) The main elements are there, some re-arranged, some changed, yet with a full understanding of the original. Much like the 2004 version of Peter Pan – much was changed, but the soul is the same.

For those who wonder, here are the differences between the movie and the novel. I've tried to phrase them carefully to avoid spoilers for either fans of Ms Jones's work who have yet to see the movie, and those who have seen the movie and have yet to read the book:

• Why the witch bespells Sophie

• Where the door opens when the dial points to black

•Sophie's sister Martha, and the plot line involving sister Lettie are not in the movie • Mrs. Pentstemmon, Miss Angorian, Mrs. Fairfax are also missing, but elements of each are woven into other characters in the movie • Michael (Markl) is a different age • The battles – magical and military – are quite different (but equally spectacular) • The dog appears at a different time, with a different, yet just as mysterious, agenda • The scarecrow's relationship with Sophie is different • Thelevel of technology is different. (I did miss the 7-league boots)

My advice: go see the movie. It's magical and beautiful and funny. Then, if you are a Diana Wynne Jones fan, check out the rest of Miyazaki's films. Now is a great time, as many of his films are available on home DVD. If you are a Miyazaki fan, hie thee to a library or bookstore try Ms Jones' books. (There is a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle – Castle in the Air.)

And enjoy!

I will admit that I was a bit dubious about this movie. I was one who fell on the floor in hysterical giggles when I saw stills of the costume.

But the trailer looked interesting, so we went. And enjoyed it tremendously!

I really enjoyed the bits when Patience is bewildered then delighted by her feline abilities. Halle's expressions at each new experience are wonderful to behold! The supporting characters are fun, the villains suitably villainous...

a fine tribute to Bob Kane's jewel-thief but not all bad Catwoman. Check your brain at the door and enjoy!

Well, I have to admit this movie got under my skin. Not sure I can say I liked it - the ending was disturbing. Even a week after seeing it, it nags at me.

About half-way thru' the movie, it struck me - these two are Catherine and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights!

Now that I'm half-way thru' re-reading Wuthering Heights, I'm sure of it. Gender- switched, modern update, but definitely Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is teased by others for being a Gypsy - Sophie is tormented for being Polish. Cathy, member of one of the local well-off families, comes to his rescue, as does Julien. They have an imaginary castle on the moors and a rich fantasy life, share the same be for 12 years...Heathcliff is jealous of Cathy's husband, Cathy wants her husband and Heathcliff to be friends - Julien asks Sophie to be his witness at his wedding....even the ending is way too similar. (Don't want to spoil the ending by being too specific)

How you feel about the ending, and the characters, will be determined by your view of romantic love. If you believe in grand passion, love before all, you'll love it. If you idea of love is warm and gentle, and that the world should be a better place because these lovers are together, it'll drive you nuts.

Either way, it's a hard movie to forget!