***1/2

New Year’ Eve –nf  This is a movie that is perfect to see with your lover, young or old and might be especially nice to curl up with this person on New Year’s Eve. It is also a New York film  and a good part of it includes Times Square, getting ready to watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve as well as Mayor Bloomberg. The screen play, by Katherine Fugate, consists of several stories that show people’s various romances and loving situations  which is brought out in anticipation of the new year. So this a romantic film  in the traditional sense  with the usual clichés but it also includes the love between a mother and her young daughter and a daughter and her older father. The new year brings new beginnings and also new chances for the future. However, the film is also a comedy which should not be surprising since the Director is Garry Marshall. Part of the fun of this movie is to identify this amazing cast which is somewhat characteristic of a Marshall film. It  includes Hilary Swank, Zac Efron, Ashton Kutcher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Katherine Heigel, Robert DiNero, Halle Berry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Biel, Seth Meyers, Sophia Vegara, Mathew Broderick, Josh Duhamel, Jim Belushi  and others. These stars don’t just have walk on parts, as each one plays an important role in his or her mini-story. There are also acting and singing roles for Jon Bon Jovie and Lea Michele (of Glee fame). In the film you can also find Garry Marshall’s sister Penny, his wife Barbara, his granddaughter and a couple other people named Marshall. There is a small role for Hector Elizondo, a veteran actor and friend of the director  who     is in many of his films. The movie offers several surprises and in the end you should feel satisfied. If you stay for the credits you get a bunch of out takes which adds to the fun experience of seeing this film. (2011)

**

Lorax: This is a well publicized  blockbuster movie of  a Dr. Seuss book which was just released on the author’s birthday. It is a high tech computer animated film directed by Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda  starring the  voices of Zac Efron, Taylor Swift , Danny DeVito and Betty White.  When we arrived at our local multiplex with two grandchildren ages 8 & 10 to see this movie, ½ hour before show time  we found that the 5pm show was soldout so we got tickets to the 7:40pm ( this was the regular HD –not the Imax or the 3D. )When we came back 40 minutes before show time we still had to wait on long line that snaked around the mall and had to sit up close and a little to the side. Both kids had read the book recently and knew the story, which was ancient history to us. Us  grown ups found the movie, fair, not at all compelling as we recalled feeling about the Disney classics. The 10 year old agreed but said she didn’t expect more. The eight year old liked it a lot but agreed that  the music wasn’t particularly appealing (It seemed splashy maybe even grungy to us). There were a lot of younger kids in the theatre who clearly didn’t have the slightest idea what was going on story wise but liked it when someone crashed down or perhaps when there was a nice furry animal but it wasn’t really a movie for those younger kids. The lesson of the movie is that one should not  destroy trees. The young hero( who looks like a young kid-he is suppose to be 12,  but rides a motorbike) of the movie leads us to this conclusion although his motivation is because he wants to please his girl friend so she will kiss him and marry him . It is not because he starts off believing trees are good for this earth and in fact it is only his grandmother who even remembers trees. What Dr. Seuss ever lacked in a plot, he always made up with his  wonderful language and poetry. This movie didn’t use his language although it certainly tried to capture the spirit. It probably is going to be a big hit although we would suggest that you and the kids stick to the book. (2012)