Movies on the Road

Step Up is a cute movie with good-looking people starring in it. "Bad" boy with good heart meets perfect ballerina. Together they dance their way up to fulfill her dream, and he gets one. It is a pleasant enough copy-cat movie, but lacks the oomph of the Eight Mile, Billy Elliot, Flashdance or even Save the Last Dance. I will rate it 2/5 acorns and no clives.

The Illusionist stars Edward Norton, one of the best of actors these days, imo. This movie is very intriguing, dark and romantic and is perhaps the best movie I've seen at a theater for awhile. A boy of low birth falls in love with a countesss and she loves him. They plan a life together but their plans as stymied by her parents. The story is told from the eyes of a detective played by very well by "Sideways" actor Paul Giamatti. When the Illusionist reappears and finds his true love is betrothed to a cruel and coniving man, and that she recognizes him and returns his love, the story that unfolds is exciting and mysterious and so well done.
I highly recommend this movie. I do love periods pieces and to have fantastic mystery is even better. The intensity of this movie reminds me of the Johnny Depp movie "From Hell", but while I would give that movie a clive, this movie has no clives. I rate it 4/5 acorns.


Little Miss Sunshine has a lot of great actors and actresses in it including Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Toni Colette (mom from Sixth Sense and About a Boy), Abigail Breslen, and Steve Carell. The older brother played by Paul Dano and this character is my favorite in the movie. I enjoyed this movie about an offbeat family who unite to back Olive in her quest to become Little Miss Sunshine.
The timing of seeing these caricatures of the little beauty queens is creepy considering the recent news regarding Jon Bonet.
I will give this 3/5 acorns.


I saw the hacked of verions of Just My Luck on the plane. Lindsey Lohan is very cute and not quite grown up in this romantic comedy about a very luck woman who loses he luck to a very unlucky man when they kiss at a masquerade ball. She is supposed to find and kiss him to get her luck back. This is a chick flick that I enjoyed especially since I didn't have to pay money to see it.
I will rate it 2/5 acorns.