MOVIE: Nothing Like the Holidays

Rating: I liked it a lot
Viewed: Dec. 16, 2008 wtih Sheila
El Con, Tucson
Rotten Tomato rating: 47
Mine: about 80
EW: B (others B- to C+)
mine: B+
Drama
Released 12/12/08
PG-13 (1 hr. 39 min.)
Director: Alfredo deVilla
Freddy Rodriguez, Debra Messing

Freddy Rodriguez comes home from Iraq to spend Christmas with his family in Chicago. These are real people protrayed in real ways, very human people. There are some laugh-out-loud parts and some really poignant places as well. There's a NYC brother and his wife, a sister, an old girlfriend, a cousin, a close friend, and a very interesting set of parents.

(There was one stupid, part - the father let the mother think he was having an affiar rather than let her know he had colon cancer???? Give me a break!)

MOVIE: Bottle Shock

Rating: Lots of fun
Viewed: Friday, Oct. 24, 2008
Crossroads (Good 'ole $3.25 movie)
Rotten Tomato Rating: 45%
Mine: Higher, at least 75%
EW: D+ cag: A-
Genre: Comedy/Based on a true story
Released Aug. 6, 2008
PG-13 (1 hr 46 min.)
Directed by: Randall Miller
Freddy Rodriguez !

Set in 1976 Napa Valley, this movie tells the story of a California winery just getting on its feet and a snobby Brit with a Parisian wine shop who, in order to improve business, holds a "blind" competition pitting French wines against California wines. This Brit, played snazzily by Alan Rickman (yup, greasy Snape from Harry Potter) comes to America to search out the best tasing wines. He is surprised at how good they are! That's the main plot, I guess. A secondary plot is the relationship between the father (Bill Pullman) who is totally in hawk trying to start his winery, and his "loser" son (Chris Paine). My biggest complaint - this guy's long blonde "hippy" hair was the fakest looking do I've seen in a long time. A third plot, the one I liked the most and would have loved to see more, was about a young Mexican American employee of Chateau M......(can't remember the exact name, what a dunce) (Freddy Rodriguez). who loved making wine and was a real afficienado. Happy endings all around, our California vineyard won first place, which made them popular all over the US and gave it the boost it needed to get on its feet.

Filmed in Calistoga, Glen Ellen, Napa, and Sonoma (I've been to all those places! !) with soaring birds-eye-view flights across gorgeous vineyards, the setting was realistic and believable. I went to the movie to get lost in someone else's story for a little while, and that's exactly what happened. I enjoyed this movie a lot, and don't agree at all with many of the reviews I read on the Rotten Tomato sight. As usual.

Go see it. There doesn't seem to be much else out there right now that appeals (to me), this was entertaining, interesting, and loaded with great actors.