Mrs. Magoo Reads

Pretty Little Liars: Season One

One year ago, Alison mysteriously disappeared, and her four best friends were left to wonder what happened.  Now, her dead body has turned up- but high schoolers Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna have hardly found closure.  They have started to receive texts from an anonymous "A" who somehow knows all of their secrets.

The girls had grown apart after Alison's disappearance, since it seemed that the manipulative popular girl was the only thing holding them together.  As they search for the truth behind Alison's murder, "A" haunts them with their potentially life-ruining secrets, both old and new.

Pretty Little Liars seems silly at first, but is actually extremely addictive and surprisingly clever.  The audience is kept guessing and enthralled by the show's many mysteries, and every character is well-developed and relatable.  Each show usually ends on a scary and suspenseful note, with a twist thrown in to entice the viewer to come back for more.  After watching an episode, it's almost impossible not to return for the next one.

Teenage girls will most enjoy Pretty Little Liars, as they can best relate to the four main characters.  Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna all have distinctive styles and are dressed extremely at all times.  While this might seem a little unrealistic, it keeps the show interesting when the plot slows down.

Although the show is based off of a book series, the TV show's plot strays away from that of the novels, so that even the books' readers won't know all the answers.

Young Adult

It all starts when Mavis opens an email.  Her ex-boyfriend, Buddy, from high school and his now wife have just had a baby.  Utterly disgusted by the thought of settling down or having a baby, Mavis decides to head back to her hometown to rescue and win back Buddy.

While there, she meets Matt, someone who queen bee Mavis never even noticed in high school.  Overweight and handicapped, Matt seems to be a confidant but not a real person to Mavis, who rarely considers anyone but herself.  Despite Matt's urging to leave Buddy be, Mavis comes quickly storming into his life with little regard for his wife or baby.

Young Adult is a hilarious comedy, but it is also dark.  Charlize Theron portrays Mavis perfectly, and the audience alternates between disliking her and feeling sorry for her.  Now in her thirties working as a writer, she is still stuck in high school, and has an entirely disproportionate sense of self.  Downing alcohol throughout the film, she describes her dying book series as "disgustingly popular" and remains convinced that Buddy wants to start a new life with her.

The saddet part of Young Adult may be that it conforms more to real life than Hollywood movie standards.  We don't see Mavis redeem or herself or have an epiphany; we only see her depicted as a real person, which makes the movie much more poignant.

Bridesmaids

Annie's best friend Lillian is about to get married, and Annie is thrilled to be her maid of honor.  The other bridesmaids, while quirky, don't seem threatening-- until Annie meets Helen.  Gorgeous, pro-active, and successful wherever Annie has failed, Helen irks Annie from the beginning.  Soon, Helen begins to take over the wedding planning, and eventually Lillian's friendship.

Bridesmaids is a hilarious movie that will appeal to women of all ages.  Although viewers sympathize with Annie, it's impossible to keep from laughing as her life completely unravels.  While the drama between Annie, Helen, and Lillian moves the plot along, the other bridesmaids are also a source of humorous characters and lines.

While Bridesmaids is clearly a comedy, viewers can also relate to Annie in a more serious way.  The maid of honor had started a bakery, but it recently went out of business.  We see that Annie has lost some of her spunk after watching her passion turn into a failure, and this translates into the way she handles the wedding planning and Helen.

Besides the more meaningful moments, I was laughing nonstop throughout the course of the entire movie.  Cleverly written and perfectly executed, Bridesmaids is a wonderful movie to go see with friends.

Buy this movie: Bridesmaids

The Fighter

Micky Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg, is struggling to make a name for himself as a boxer.  He has talent, but is being held back by the people that want him to succeed most of all: his brother (Christian Bale) and his mother (Melissa Leo).  His brother, Dicky, an ex-boxing champ and now a crack addict, is Micky's trainer.  The problem is, Dicky never shows up to training sessions on time- if at all- and sticks Micky in hopeless boxing matches.  Their mother, Alice, is Micky's manager, but so far has done nothing to further his career.

Then Micky begins dating Charlene (Amy Adams), and she urges him to take the necessary steps if he truly wants to succeed as a boxer.  When Dicky is thrown in jail, Micky- to the intense anger of his mother- hires a new trainer and a new manager.  What follows is a riveting boxing and family drama in which Micky must learn how to keep close everything he holds dear.

Christian Bale was absolutely fantastic as Dicky, and the way he played his character was very interesting to watch.  I thought Dicky's downward spiral, his constant living in the past, and the way his actions influenced the people around him some of the best parts of the movie.

I didn't particularly like the boxing scenes, but they help the movie appeal to a wider audience.  I would definitely recommend The Fighter to teens and adults.  The characters and acting were particularly strong, but I also loved the story itself.  The story progressed both hilariously and poignantly, and the ending ultimately wrapped up everything perfectly.  The Fighter is a must-see!

Buy this movie: The Fighter

Glee: Season One

One might not expect there to be much talent at an unremarkable Ohio high school, but talent- and lots of it- is exactly what Will Schuester finds when he decides to start a glee club at the school he teaches at.  As a result, every episode in season one of the extraordinarily popular TV show Glee features enjoyable music sung by the members of the glee club.

It soon becomes clear that the two members of glee club who will be receiving all the solos are Rachel and Finn.  Rachel is an unpopular, ugly-sweater wearing, ruthlessly ambitious girl whose sights are set right on Broadway.  Finn, on the other hand, is a football player risking his hard-earned reputation by singing in glee.  Other big singers include Mercedes and Kurt, who are both outcasts at school.

Rachel and Finn develop feelings for each other, and although Rachel would date Finn in a moment, it's not so simple.  Finn is dating popular cheerleader Quinn, who also joins glee club flanked by Brittany (the stereotypical dumb blond cheerleader who every so often delivers unwittingly hilarious one-liners) and Santana.  As if the Rachel-Finn-Quinn triangle isn't enough, drama rapidly ensues involving Quinn and Finn's best friend Puck.

However, the plot is not contained to only the teenagers.  Although Schuester is married (his wife is hilarious, and I wish she had gotten more air time!), he has undeniable feelings for the school counselor, Emma, who suffers from OCD.  And then, of course, my favorite character: Sue Sylvester, the seemingly heartless cheerleading coach who is determined to bring down glee club.

While all of this is going on, glee club prepares its numbers to compete in sectionals, regionals, and (possibly) beyond.

I absolutely loved the first season of Glee.  The musical numbers were diverse and original, and every single actor did well.  Every character started out strong, and although many continued to please (most notably Sue), some began to get on my nerves midway through the season.  Rachel is the most obviously annoying, as her character is written to be obnoxious, but after a while Mr. Schuester began to come across as corny and irritating.

Glee can be watched on a variety of levels: the music and jokes will be appreciated by a younger audience, but deeper issues and questions also surface on the show.  Glee is off to a strong start, and I'd recommend it to teens and adults of all ages.

Buy Glee: The Complete First Season

Burlesque

Ali (Christina Aguilera) has had enough of life in the slow lane.  She buys a one-way ticket to Los Angeles, and once there stumbles upon a burlesque club run by Tess, a no-nonsense woman played by Cher.  Ali immediately falls in love with the style of burlesque, and begs Tess to let her try out to be a dancer... and is promptly rejected.

As Ali vies for a chance to take the stage, she becomes close with the unfortunately engaged Jack (Cam Gigandet), and Tess struggles to keep the club running due to bad finances.  Ali's talent is undeniable, but once it is released, will it serve to help Tess save the club, or will it be too late?

Although all of the characters are well-developed and well-acted, Ali lacked likability.  Without ever facing any significant problems for an extended period of time, she continually makes selfish decisions while maintaining a façade of innocence.  She fortunately redeems herself in the end, but it seems that Aguilera focused on her musical numbers and didn't develop Ali's character beyond the words written for her.  Even if Aguilera had chosen to focus on it, Ali's relationship with Jack would have been unsalvageable for either actor as it was entirely unrealistic and unbelievable.

Burlesque's true strength lies in its music.  The dance numbers were fun and entertaining, and Aguilera's voice was absolutely stunning.  Although the movie will appeal to many teenage girls, if you can't catch a showing, I'd recommend listening to the album instead.  Ten tracks long, my favorites are Aguilera's "Show Me How You Burlesque" and Cher's "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me".

Buy the DVD
Buy the album

Nothing But the Truth

When journalist Rachel Armstrong publishes a groundbreaking newspaper story, revealing the identity of a CIA agent, Erica Van Doren (whose daughter attends school with Rachel's son) and stating that due to Van Doren's evidence on a mission the government may have acted wrongly, Armstrong knows that the article is going to be big. What she doesn't know is just how big.

The government is determined to discover Armstrong's source for her story, claiming that whoever revealed Van Doren's identity must be a traitor to the nation. However, due to her principles, Armstrong refuses to release the name... and is sent to a jail for it.

What follows is the thrilling, suspenseful story of Armstrong and her principles against the government and its power. As the journalist battles for her release from jail and the acknowledgment of her right to silence, the court continues to beat down on her.

Nothing But the Truth is an incredibly exciting movie, forming questions about power (that of the government and the balance of power between men and women), with a clever, satisfying ending.

Buy this movie: Nothing But the Truth

Letters to Juliet

When Sophie is on a "pre-honeymoon" trip with her fiancee in Venice, she is expecting to spend lots of time with him in the city of love.  But when he quickly deserts her in favor of wine tours and auctions, she starts wandering around the city alone... and unwittingly stumbles into a place in which young lovers write letters to Juliet.

Curious, Sophie starts to poke around, and uncovers a letter written half a century ago, asking for advice from Juliet.  Sophie writes back, and is stunned when the woman, Claire, now much older, visits Sophie with her grandson.

The three of them- with much reluctance on the grandson's side- decide to go on a road trip to find Claire's long lost love that she wrote about in her letter.  Along the way, Sophie learns some lessons about love herself... but will she be able to take something away from those lessons before it's too late?  And will Claire be able to defy the odds and reunite with the man of her dreams?

Although Letters to Juliet was one of the most predictable movies I've ever seen, it was still a cute romance.  It stemmed off of an original idea that quickly drew in the viewer, and, through its various twists and turns, managed to hold the viewer's attention for the remainder of the film.  It was a classic romantic comedy with a happy, satisfying ending.  Young girls will enjoy Letters to Juliet as a fun movie to see with friends.

Buy this movie: Letters to Juliet

The Sixth Sense

The night Malcolm Crowe gets an award for his work in child psychology is the night a former patient breaks into his house, shoots Malcolm, and then commits suicide.

It's now a year later, and Malcolm has a new patient: a little boy who reminds him of the boy who him.  Malcolm is determined to help this strange child, thinking that if he can help him, he can, in some sort of way, help the patient who shot himself.  But as Malcolm gets immersed in the boy's life, his wife drifts further and further away.

When the boy tells Malcolm that he sees dead people, Malcolm knows this is an extremely unusual case.  It's up to him to help the boy before it's too late.

Although the entire movie was suspenseful and engaging, the clever and surprising ending of The Sixth Sense was what made it truly fabulous and catapulted it to my favorite movie list.  This movie was absolutely amazing, and I would recommend it to all viewers who won't be put off by its several gruesome horror scenes.

Buy this movie: The Sixth Sense

The Lovely Bones

Susie Salmon is not particularly unusual.  She is more quiet and shy than some, but is still a healthy fourteen year old girl.  She has a healthy, supportive family, and a romance is just starting to blossom between Susie and a boy she knows.  This is all changed when she is murdered.

When walking home from school, Susie was lured into an underground basement that her neighbor, a middle aged man, had built.  There, he kills her.

Now, Susie is watching her family from heaven, or wherever she is.  It is agonizing to watch their pain as her parents and sister try to locate her, as well as when they must come to grips with the fact that Susie is most likely dead.  Perhaps worst, Susie's killer is passing completely under the radar, and it looks as if he'll get away with the crime.  But now he's targeting Susie's little sister, and there is absolutely nothing that Susie can do...

Stanley Tucci's stunning portrayal of Susie's disturbed killer is what makes The Lovely Bones truly terrifying.  After watching any scene with him, I was left with the chills and a slightly sick feeling.  The Lovely Bones is a fun movie to watch if you're in the mood to be scared, but be warned that it will be frightening!

Buy this movie: The Lovely Bones