Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Set in Paris shortly after Princess Diana’s death, Amelie tells the story of a 23-year-old cafe waitress with a sunny disposition and rich imagination. We begin with a 10-minute vignette of what Amelie’s childhood was like, and how she was isolated and friendless, thus leading her to rely on herself for amusement. That’s an important component of her personality as an adult, and is what ends up driving the film.
One day, Amelie finds a rusty tin box hidden behind the baseboard in her apartment bathroom. Inside, she discovers the type of “treasure” that could have only been valued by a young boy. She decides to track down the owner of the box, who must be in his 50′s by now, and return the item to him. She does, and is so gratified by the man’s overwhelming joy that she resolves to continue doing nice things for people.
We see Amelie’s various good deeds, which include describing city scenes for a blind man and bringing together two lonely regulars at her cafe. Then we see Amelie fall in love with a young man who collects discarded photos at subway photo booths. The young man, Nino, who works at a pornography store, is unaware that Amelie is attracted to him. Instead of just being straightforward about it, Amelie leads him on a wild goose chase, sending him clues about meeting places and so forth. Finally, Amelie gathers the courage to come face to face with Nino, and viewers are left to assume that they begin a relationship together.
Liked:
- Well, there’s no question that this was a very sweet, lighthearted film. It’s a good one to watch when you need a laugh or an escape from the daily grind.
- I thought the gnome storyline was great! I know this thing about stealing a garden gnome and photographing it in exotic places wasn’t original to this film, but it was executed hilariously here.
- How could you not like the main character? She was so nice and innocent, and truly wanted the best for people. I’m glad she found her own happiness in the end.
Disliked:
- I thought the film ran out of steam towards the end, and could have benefited from a shorter run time. Trim off 15-20 minutes, and it would have been much better.
- Though this was good, it wasn’t “OMG, I have to see that again!” good, nor was it something that will likely stick with me for a long time. I saw it last week, but I only remember the most basic details from it. I don’t think the filmmakers intended the garden gnome to be the most memorable point!
Rating:
Overall, I thought Amelie was a very good film. It’s terrific upon first viewing because it is so fresh, whimsical, and fun. But I’m not sure how well it would hold up on repeated viewings. I give it 4 stars out of 5.
Entourage 7×01 — “Stunted”: I know I said I was giving up on Entourage, but seriously… there’s just nothing else on during the summer and I need to watch something so I can keep this blog going!! Actually, this episode wasn’t that bad, though it felt extremely rushed. I liked that there was very little E, because he still bugs me to no end. I also liked that Turtle got a bit more screen time and is actually moving forward with his LimHoes idea, or whatever he called it. It was kind of pathetic to have him be his best friend’s personal chauffeur at age 30.
Burn Notice 4×04 — “Breach of Faith”: I liked this episode, even though the job of the week wasn’t all that exciting. I was more interested in the way the hostage situation allowed us to see Mike and Sam working closely together than in the actual details of the case. I thought the floor safe part was awesome, as was Mike’s comment to the police officer that “it was like that when we got here.” Ha!
Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Toy Story 3 opens with Sheriff Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Mrs. Potato Head (Estelle Harris), Rex (Wallace Shawn), and Hamm (John Ratzenberger) doing what they do best: engaging in some wild imaginary play with their kid Andy (John Morris) at the helm. But alas, this is merely footage from an old home movie that Andy’s mom (Laurie Metcalf) shot when Andy was younger. In reality, these toys haven’t been played with in years. After all, Andy is now 17, and headed off to college.
I watched the HBO series Entourage for six seasons before giving it up this year. I just found the storylines to be repetitive, with the characters exhibiting very little growth or change during all this time. But my husband Jerry still loves the show, and is eagerly awaiting the Season 7 premiere this coming Sunday, June 27. 
Man, I really need to catch up on Glee! I’ve watched about half of the first season, but then couldn’t be bothered trying to figure out the broadcast schedule. I didn’t have the show programmed into TiVo either, so that means I probably have to wait until the DVDs come out in July (or whenever). I know single episodes are available on iTunes, but I just don’t understand how people can watch entire television shows on their 
Seinfeld 6×08 — “The Soup”: Not to be confused with “The Soup Nazi”, I thought Season 6′s “The Soup” was a fairly weak episode for that late in the series. To be sure, there were numerous missteps early on, but by Season 6, Seinfeld was consistently brilliant. I didn’t like this episode at all, however. It’s not that I couldn’t appreciate how annoying people like Kenny Bania are (he gave Jerry an Armani suit, but then held that bit of “generosity” over Jerry’s head), it’s just that the character was only that — annoying, not funny. Sure, I smiled at the idiocy of Bania only ordering soup and wanting to string Jerry along for another meal, but that wasn’t enough to sustain the episode. Plus, the subplots (George trying to date a waitress at Monk’s, Kramer getting rid of his refrigerator) weren’t interesting at all, making this a rather forgettable ep on the whole.