How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (1967)

Oh, my gosh. I like a fluffy musical! *gasp* I must officially die now... Oh, wait - it's a witty bit of fluff with Frank Loesser songs. *sits back up* That makes it okay. No, seriously, this is about as silly and meaningless as you can get, but whoever wrote the book was a genius because 'twas VERY fun in spite of its silliness. And again, Frank Loesser...how can you go wrong with Frank Loesser? 3.5 stars.

Big Fish (2003)

I LIKED this movie. A LOT. It mixes sweet with comedic and while that sometimes doesn't work, this did. Yeah, it was a "weird" movie, but it was an awesome weird. The penultimate scene, where the kid tells the story back to his father, almost had me crying, it was so touching. I'm really baffled by the people who hated it. I thought it was pretty darn close to "brilliant." However, note to Naomi L: I am still not wowed by either EM's looks OR his acting. 4.5 stars.

Ella Enchanted (2004)

Um. Cute, but my theory is that someone started reading the book, got three chapters in and said, "This would make a great movie!" and went off to make the movie, thereby forgetting to finish the book. It follows the story with only a few deviations (well, and a minor plothole) for a short time. Then suddenly we've got a heroine with an enormous interest in politics of the kingdom, an elf who wants to be a lawyer, Mandy's boyfriend who has been turned into a magical book, an evil advisor-to-the-soon-to-be-king, a really creepy-looking talking snake... not to mention the abundance of song-and-dance scenes (although they DID sing "Let Me Entertain You" which was a plus). And the many, many pop culture references. Hello! Whatever happened to the Gail Carson Levine version? There's very little reference to the original story after the first ten minutes, and while it's mildly entertaining, the fairy tale atmosphere is mostly gone, as is the original plotline, and we're left with a style more along the lines of Shrek than Cinderella. 1 star.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

What a strange movie. It's a cut above sci-fi B-movies as far as effects go, but plotwise? I don't think so. I mean, that main woman...I wanted to strangle her. What kind of a mom is she? If my kid were acting like hers was, I would NOT be acting like her! Yeah, she really, really bugged me. 2 stars.