The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler: This was an interesting novel chronicling the marriage (and dissolution of said marriage) of Michael and Pauline. I really enjoyed how each chapter represented a different period of their lives; no awkward transitions or unnecessary info to slow things down. The book follows them from when they first meet at the outset of World War II through 1990. The chapters bound forward, aging children and spouses and the times. But ultimately, there was something too flat about the characters. I found the ending a tad unsatisfying, but then again, Tyler chronicles the tedium of life so well, perhaps that was not completely unintentional.

Wall-E: I took the kids to this on a rainy Sunday. It was Pie's first movie. Pie was not a fan, and she spent the whole time with her head buried in my shoulder until she actually fell asleep. She was the only one who was not a fan. I think much of the movie went over Doodles's head, but he did get the gist of it ("people put a lot of trash on Earth, so they couldn't live there"). I was wondering if it would be a bit slow for him, but he was clearly captivated. I'm not sure how they made a dirty and desolate Earth so beautiful, but the film was gorgeous and really moving. This movie is as good as all the reviews say it is.

The Bubble: I'm not sure what I was expecting from this film, but wow! It completely blew me away. The story of an Israeli man who falls in love with a Palestinian man and their attempts at making their relationship work amid the Israeli/Occupied Territories situation. The story was incredibly moving and I feel like it exposed me to a much more human version of the political situation than I've had in the past. The ending at first disturbed me (I won't give it away) but as I thought about it later (this film really lingered with me), it made such utter sense. Highly, highly recommend this film!

Melinda and Melinda: I love the device in this Woody Allen film of showing the same story from two different perspectives (rather like Sliding Doors). The stories themselves were both interesting and well done and I loved how he used tiny elements (such as props or throwaway lines of dialog) in each one to tie the two halves together. The main weakness came in the framing device, which was too blunt. I felt rather hit over the head with the "message" (much of life depends on how you view it--as comedy or tragedy). Also, Will Ferrell had the Woody Allen role, and as much as I love Ferrell, I just didn't buy him as a Woody Allen schmuck. Still, an enjoyable watch.

Disobedience: A Novel by Naomi Alderman: An interesting story of an English woman, raised in a traditional Orthodox Jewish setting, who flies back to England, from her adopted home in New York, when she hears of her father's death. Her father had been a prominent rabbi and she, as a gay woman, had been ostracized from her community. The story was quite insightful on how a traditional community might deal with a strong woman, never mind a lesbian, and I found the writing to be quite beautiful. I wanted more in places, but was also satisfied that not everything was completely spelled out. Worth the read if you're interested in either traditional Judaism or books about being gay.

Reality Bites: I was too tired to watch a whole movie and this was free on demand, so I decided to watch it, knowing I could turn it off at any time. I, of course, couldn't though, and ended up staying up too late to watch it. This movie still really holds up for me, but mostly because I so identified with the characters of the film at one point of my life. This film was such a part of my young adult years that it's hard to separate it from it's actual qualities as a film. But I will say, very odd to have a film about twentysomethings with nary an iPod, text message, or Internet connection in sight.

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner: This sequel to Good in Bed is interesting. I love that it takes place thirteen years later (before Cannie's daughter's bat mitzvah) instead of just jumping right back into the story. I also found the two sides of the mother/daughter relationship to be insightful. I thought Weiner did a good job capturing both sides. Ultimately, though, there were too many loose ends to make this satisfying and some of the twists seemed to really be a stretch. Just a so-so vacation read.

Young@Heart: Oh my. I had read on my friend Alisa's Twitter that she sobbed through the Coldplay song in this documentary about a chorus of older folk. I secretly mocked her, thinking, "Yeah, a Coldplay song. Silly pregnancy hormones." Well, I can tell you that I'm definitely, absolutely not pregnant and this movie made me so weepy and the Coldplay song just about put me over the edge. The trailers show a bunch of old people singing rock songs (the Ramones, the Zombies, Sonic Youth), and yes, there is that element and it's fabulous, but the documentary also touches on some of their lives and illnesses and the ending concert feels like an absolute triumph. I'd put this on one of my top documentary lists, absolutely!

For the Bible Tells Me So: An interesting, but one-sided, documentary about evangelical Christians and homosexuality. Fundamentalist families with gay children are interviewed, and this part of the documentary is very moving and insightful. However, the arguments against the biblical injunctions against homosexuality 1) would have been more powerful had they actually interviewed someone with an opposing belief (rather than just show clips of rants) and then argued against that and 2) don't stand up to scrutiny when traditional Judaism is considered, and I was hoping for arguments strong enough to stand up to all religions (part of the argument is, "Well, 'man shall not lie with man' is just one in a long list of commands, such as 'don't mix linens,' 'don't eat swine,' and 'don't cut the corners of your field,' which Christians completely ignore." The fault of this argument, of course, being that Orthodox Jews do follow all these other laws). There was also a rather incongruous part in the middle that is a cartoon discussing why people are gay. However, if you're interested in the subject matter, it's worth the watch.

Walk the Line: I'm a big Johnny Cash fan, so this biopic was lots of fun and an excuse to sing all those old songs. I didn't completely buy all the characterizations (Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and Elvis felt forced to me), but the love story was sweet.

Becoming Jane: Damn those English lit classes that gave me the knowledge that Jane Austen ends up alone. Because I so wanted her to find her Mr. Darcy, I terribly wanted her to end up with Lefroy. A lush period piece about one of my favorite authors: What's not to love? Of course, I can't say the same for the friend I watched it with. She fell asleep during it. But that was simply her loss.

Sex and the City: I read the reviews. They sucked. I wanted to see SATC anyway. I mean, these women were a defining part of my young-ish (okay, mid-ish) adult life. They were single and fun-loving when I was single and fun loving. They always were (and still are) a few years older than me, so it was reaffirming to see that there was still hope for me in the work/love/life department and if there wasn't, I wasn't alone. So, despite the miserable reviews I read everywhere, including the Style section of the NYTimes for goodness sake!, I went with some girlfriends to see it. And you know what? It was fun. It was light, it was froufy, it was probably a bit too long, but it was a satisfying film for a fan. Not a fan? Then definitely don't see this. But if you were diehard, you'll enjoy this visit from a bunch of old friends.

The Rabbi's Daughter by Reva Mann: This is one of those memoirs that I read and think, "I want to be friends with this woman." Fascinating account of Mann--who is the granddaughter of the former chief rabbi of Israel--who strayed as far from orthodoxy as you can get but then went to the opposite extreme, becoming an Hasidic wife. She then reverts back to the other extreme. I wish there was more on how she lives her life today, but overall, I learned a lot about the ultra-conservative lifestyle and generally was glued to the book.

The Saturday Wife by Naomi Ragen: I really disliked the other book by Ragen that I had read, but a friend recommended this, so I thought I'd give her another shot. I have to say--and this may be because my expectations were so low--I enjoyed this story of a conniving woman who worms her way into becoming a rabbi's wife. Details of the Orthodox Jewish community were interesting to me, and while the writing wasn't always strong, the character was interesting enough to keep me going.

Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir by Shalom Auslander: I was so looking forward to this book--I even bought it in hardcover--and it turned out to be a real disappointment. Auslander keeps waiting for God to wreak his revenge on him and by the end of the book, I was really hoping he wood. It feels like one very long complaint, without enough supporting material to say why he was complaining. Bummer.

Baby Mama: I felt a little duped by this. All the previews show it as a comedy. So I snuck off with my future sister-in-law on Mother's Day for a lighthearted frolic. But it was as much serious as anything, which would have been fine if that's what I had been expecting. I adore Tina Fey, and in my mind, she can do no wrong, and I did love her here. I just wanted a little more bite to this, a little more oomph. The happy ending as it was presented here just didn't feel true to the story. Don't get me wrong--this wasn't a terrible movie. It just could have been so much more.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri: I was so resistant about this book for so long and now I have to scratch my head and wonder why. I loved her short stories. I think this book was simply overhyped for me, but once I could put all that out of my head, I really enjoyed the story, although the main character, Gogol, never came to life for me like the secondary characters did. But it still swept me away and her writing is so vivid and all-encompassing.

The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania: This quirky documentary about a beauty pageant in a coal town was surprisingly upbeat. This was not your "these girls are freaks" beauty story. The girls in here were genuine and likable and the background info on the coal town was really interesting. Enjoyable.

27 Dresses: I'm hanging with two of my good peeps. We've each got a glass of a lovely port. The kids are all tucked into their respective beds and the husbands are buried in their respective dens. And on pops 27 Dresses. Just the right kind of movie for just that night. Not taxing mentally. Amusing in a chick flick kind of way. Slightly unjustified ending. Totally predictable. Just right. (Although, for the record, I don't find James Marsden in the least attractive. Katherine Heigl needed a better looking leading man.)

Wordplay : A nice little documentary about crossword puzzle doers. I enjoyed the heart of this film, but there was a lot of celebrity commentary that I just didn't care about. I wish it had been more like Spellbound and just concentrated on the stories of the players, who didn't need commentary from Jon Stewart or Bill Clinton to make their lives more interesting. A solid film that could have been so much more...

Juno: Everything that was promised. And so much more. Loved, loved, loved it. When I'm a kid next time around, I so want to be Juno.

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir: I confess to be sorely lacking in my history knowledge, so from that standpoint, I found this story of Lady Jane Grey to be quite interesting. But as a novel, it didn't completely pull together. It's told from multiple perspectives, including Lady Jane at the age of four. I'm sorry--I've got a four year old. I'm sure Lady Jane was an incredibly gifted child, but please! I can't believe she was that articulate and had such coherent intricate thoughts. And the language didn't feel true to the era. Finally, the ending was too sentimental. That said, I'd be interested in reading some of Weir's nonfiction, because she seems to know her stuff.

Ushpizin: This is a really interesting Israeli film about a haredi couple in Jerusalem who don't have enough money to build a sukkah. They are not "frum from birth," but have a past to deal with and the husband, Moshe, finds himself with a guest from his old days. The movie was fascinating from a cultural aspect--seeing this aspect of ultra-Orthodox life. It's definitely a movie about faith and people's ability to change and the ending was moving. The characters are very likable and the whole movie has a sort of Yiddish folk tale-feel to it. I'd recommend to anyone interested in Israeli/Jewish film.

Pieces of April: Katie Holmes plays April, a funky NYC type who tries to make some peace with her family over Thanksgiving. I liked the general story and found Holmes so likable here, but the premise is that April was this incredibly difficult, troubled kid, and I just didn't buy it. She probably wasn't an angel, but as portrayed here, she seemed like she was probably just a normal kid who was on the difficult side. But her mother claims she set fires, was obnoxious, and horrible, and it's just not there. That said, the film was sweet without being sappy and I did enjoy it.

The Break-Up: This was free on-demand, I knew Adam would fall asleep, so I turned it on... and, Surprise! I enjoyed it. It wasn't as sappy as I had thought it would be and I thought it hit some realistic notes on breaking ups. I admit I'm a Jennifer Aniston fan, which probably biased me, but I would recommend this for a froufy kind of film night.

Margot at the Wedding: Just the kind of bleak film that I can sink my teeth into. I love dysfunctional family stories. And this was definitely one!

Away by Amy Bloom: The writing in this saga of a young Jewish woman fresh in New York from the Old World is captivating. Lillian Leyb discovers after a short time in New York that her daughter, whom she had thought to be dead, was still alive, and she treks across the country in hopes of making it to Alaska where she will sail across to Siberia to find her. The story lost me a little on the journey, but the writing kept me going and by the end, the story was once again delectable. Beautifully done.

The Pursuit of Happyness: A guilt-inducing film. I feel too guilty and privileged to say I didn't like it, but the truth is, not my favorite.

Sliding Doors: I needed something to watch while Adam dozed in the living room chair, and this was free On Demand. I'd seen it once before years ago. It's a flawed film and I'm not a Gwyneth Paltrow fan, but this film strikes a nerve. I love the concept (how the smallest thing can completely change your life) and I love a lot of the characters. I feel like I shouldn't really like this film, but the fact is, I do.

Class: So, in my defense, there was a writers' strike. So there was nothing on TV. I mean nothing. So Adam and I were watching Lipstick Jungle, when Adam said, "I don't like Andrew McCarthy. His eyes are too squinty." I was horrified and said, "Don't you dare dis Andrew McCarthy! Ohmygod, I've been in love with him ever since Class!" At which point it came out that Adam had never seen Class. I sent him immediately to two video stores, but they didn't have it, so I was forced to buy it used off of Amazon. It took forever to arrive. But it did. And we watched it. And Adam stayed awake for the entire movie. A first, I think. And I thought Andrew McCarthy was just as dreamy as ever. Sigh. I heart Andrew McCarthy. I heart Class.

Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham: Total chick lit. Fun for escape from the little ones, but really, just chick lit.

Joy Comes in the Morning by Jonathan Rosen: The writing in this story is so seamless that I was engaged even when the plot stretched my patience a bit. The story focuses on a Reform female rabbi and the man she becomes involved with, however, it is much more than that. The man's father had a stroke and seems to struggle with coming to terms with his feelings about Judaism against the devastation of having lost his family in the Holocaust. The man's best friend had a schizophrenic breakdown. The rabbi's family isn't as religious as she is and are wary of her and her devoutness. Issues of competency and feeling a fraud play a large role in this novel. Beautifully written and a satisfying ending.

Ira & Abby: This quirky love story was definitely heavy handed at points, but it was also rather charming and I very much like where it ended up. In a nutshell: uptight neurotic Jew decides to marry free-spirited woman after knowing her for a few hours. I like Jennifer Westfeldt, who was also in Kissing Jessica Stein and is in Notes from the Underbelly.

Sotah by Naomi Ragen: A sotah is a woman accused of adultery and this story is about three sisters in the haredi world of Israel as they are matched off in marriage. The middle daughter is the main character and the one "sotah" refers to. I'm interested enough in the subject matter (the haredi world; not adultery) that I was willing to overlook the choppy writing and lack of depth in the characters. But the ending was so ridiculous and so facile that I actually felt angry at the book for not being better. The characters were cardboard and one-dimensional to the point of ridiculousness. I so wanted to like this book....

The Up Series, Vol. 1 (Seven Up and Seven Plus Seven: I've been meaning to watch this for quite some time and I found it interesting, although the second one more so (it's a series of films, done at seven year intervals, chronicling the lives of a group of kids from different socio-economic classes in Britain, beginning in 1969, based on the idea of the quote, "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man." ). I'm eager to see more, to discover where the kids end up.

Throw Like a Girl: Stories by Jean Thompson: I was slow to warm to the stories in this book, but by the end, I was captivated. The protagonists are mostly older, everyday women, but Thompson captures the nuances and voice of these women in an incredibly compelling way. "Pie of the Month" is an incredible story about an older woman who makes pies and the political turmoils of her town, but it's done on such an earthy level that it's never bat-you-over-the-head with politics. The title story is incredibly moving. A great collection.

Once: I don't know how many times I'd read in my friend Weegie's blog how much he liked this movie, so I finally rented it. All I can say is, "Wow!" I don't usually like movies that are so heavy on the music, but the music is such an integral part of the story, I became completely sucked in. The story is both bleak and uplifting and I can't get it out of my mind.

Failure to Launch: This was free on demand and I knew Adam would be falling asleep, so I watched it. It was... fine. For what it was. I do like SJP, so that was fun, and Zooey Deschanel is likable. But the movie was a little flat and unsurprising.

For Your Consideration: Not quite as funny as their other movies, but still very entertaining.

Music and Lyrics: What is up with this movie? There was not an iota of chemistry between Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. It was just a tad over the top.

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer: I was fascinated by the story of Morman Fundamentalism, although I felt that Krakauer was unfair to the more mainstream Mormonism; while I have concerns about any religion in the extreme, I thought that he used the fundamentalism to paint a really negative picture of Mormons in general. That said, the story of the murder that's the center of this account is horrifying. I will say, I found it very difficult to keep track of all the players in this book, as everyone had many wives and married stepchildren and whatnot that I found myself just sort of guessing who was related to whom.

Waitress: Go watch this film. NOW! I mean it. I loved, loved, loved this film. I've been a huge fan of Adrienne Shelley ever since The Unbelievable Truth and she does an amazing job with this film. On the surface, it's a fairly bleak movie: a waitress becomes pregnant by her abusive husband, thus trapping her in her marriage. But--much like those Hal Hartley films--Shelley finds the humor in it all and it turns into quite the empowering, uplifting story. Everyone in it is so good: Keri Russell (not a hint of Felicity here!), Cheryl Hines, Shelley, and even Andy Griffith! Are you still reading this? Damn it, stop! Go rent this!

Superbad: Okay, to be honest, I planned to watch this while I finished writing holiday cards. Nope. This film was really funny and deserved more than half my attention. It was so much fun, and the high school dialogue was dead-on. A perfect snowy day film.

Tolstoy Lied by Rachel Kadish: The premise of this book is that happiness can be just as compelling as unhappiness (from Tolstoy's "happy families are all alike" critique in the beginning of Anna Karenina), and while it's an interesting conceit, I just didn't think this book lived up to it's promise. I think the main problem was I found the hero to be rather creepy and pushy, and I wasn't convinced that this strong protagonist would fall for him. That said, the writing was great with some excellent descriptions. This is a notch higher than chick lit, but I found it a bit too chick lit-y to be really great.

My Kitchen Wars by Betty Fussell: Read my review of it here.

Runaway Jury: Watched for work (but enjoyed).

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert: I wanted to love this book. It had every element that I devour: travel, food, romance. But something stopped me. The book was extremely well written and Gilbert is an immensely likable person. Yet, when I put the book down, I wasn't compelled to pick it back up again and finally, I had to say, "Enough's enough; finish this already." Not sure what my deal was with it. I think I'm the only person alive not to go ga-ga here.

Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill: Light. Fun. The best of the "mommy lit" that I've read. No one was totally evil, no one was completely blameless and the ending was spot on even in its utter ludicrousness.

Julia Child by Laura Shapiro: Read my review of it here.

Backstage with Julia by Nancy Verde Barr: Read my review of it here.

The Manny by Holly Peterson: Light. Froufy. Fun. A solid beach read.

Rashi's Daughters, Book I: Joheved by Maggie Anton: What an incredibly disappointing book. I was quite interested in the subject matter--a woman in medieval times studying Talmud--but the writing was heavy handed and uninspiring. I learned little about the Talmud, little about medieval times, and little about the lives of people in the time. The characters were broadly drawn, clearly meant to illustrate a point. I won't be reading the sequel.

Love and Other Impossible Pursuits by Ayelet Waldman: Wow. This book blew me away. A newborn daughter dies of SIDS and the mom must still forge a relationship with her somewhat unlikable five-year-old stepson. Waldman creates such a rounded, believable character--Emelia is immensely flawed and at times the reader wonders about her--but so real. Beautifully written. Superb.

Confetti: I'm a sucker for British films. And a sucker for mockumentaries. So give me a British mockumentary, and I'm a happy camper. This was cute. I wouldn't recommend it unless you too are a fan of either British films or mockumentaries, but it was fun, the story of a three couples competing for the weirdest wedding award.

Daniel Isn't Talking by Marti Lembech: American woman, standoffish British husband, lovely daughter, autistic son: Elements about Daniel's autism are strikingly portrayed, but the husband and the therapist are surprisingly one-dimensional. The romance is too predictable but the aspects of mothering an autistic child make the book worthwhile.

Me, You, and Everyone We Know: Quirky! Almost vignette in quality, the individual stories do tie together, but each person is so lonely and so lost. Ending is as happy as could be, and the feeling is oddly upbeat.

Running with Scissors: Downright tedious.

The Holiday: I love Jack Black but his character in this film was just creepy and I couldn't figure out why Kate Winslet liked him. Speaking of which, I really love Kate Winslet; so why did they give all the screentime to Cameron Diaz? Such wasted potential here...

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult: I was blown away by the writing in this book. The story is of a thirteen-year-old girl, Anna, who sues her parents for medical emancipation because she's tired of being a donor for her sister with leukemia. Anna was a designer baby, meaning she was created with her sister's needs in mind to help her in her fight against the cancer. Picoult really got into the complexities of the matter and while I didn't always buy the mother's character, I found the story incredibly riveting. I stayed up late way too many nights to finish this. The ending felt a little cheated to me (and I won't give that away here), but still, I would kill to write like she does.

Motherland by Vineeta Vijayaraghavan: I appreciated the insights into Indian culture in this coming-of-age story of a teen-aged girl who returns to India to spend the summer with family. The descriptions are beautiful and Maya, the protagonist, is immensely likable. However I felt a political subplot (about Tamil Tigers) felt forced and it detracted from the lyrical story.

Madagascar: This was the guilt movie; the one we let Doodles