Some day my prince will come
Some day we'll meet again
And away to his castle we'll go
To be happy forever I know

(Lyrics from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Some Day my Prince Will Come)

"Enchanted" begins in an animated land named Andalasia, with a young girl named Giselle (Amy Adams) meeting the prince of her dreams, Prince Edward (James Marsden) and preparing to live happily ever after. Andalasia, and large parts of the movie are based on a combination of the Disney worlds of Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, so of course you can count on the appearance of an evil stepmother-wicked witch (Susan Sarandon) to put an end to all the wretched happiness.

As soon as Giselle comes within striking distance of the castle on her wedding day, the witch (disguised as an old hag) zaps her into another world where "happily ever afters" and true love apparently haven't existed for years - present day Manhattan.

Switching to live action, Giselle tries to understand the New York state of mind, and falls into the arms of a McDreamy guy named Robert (I don't have to tell you who the actor is, now do I?) While Giselle begins getting acclimatized and introduces herself to the local wildlife, a rescue party from Andalasia also uses the Manhattan transfer, and soon the streets of New York are stormed by a CGI chipmunk, a prince in search of his missing damsel, and a henchman with a funny accent (Timothy Spall).

If you're a fan of fairy tales, and in particular Disney tales, you'll love the little touches like poisoned apples in the Big Apple, Beauty & the Beast ballroom dancing and glass slippers, but this updated magical, musical, funny fairy tale will be a treat for the whole family.

A definite "YES" for family entertainment, and one you probably should buy when it comes out on DVD. Rated: 4.5 stars

Amanda Richards, December 2, 2007

I love romantic comedies and got really excited when I recently saw the preview for Leap Year. I love Amy Adams and remembered Matthew Goode from a few other movies(Chasing Liberty, Watchmen, Match Point). Lately, there have been a lot of romcoms that don't do it for me, they're just lacking the heart, that certain something. Thankfully, Leap Year had heart, laughs and was just all around a well done movie. 24 hours after seeing it, my boyfriend and I were still talking about how much we liked it.

The premise is that Anna(Amy Adams) has been dating her doctor boyfriend for 4 years, they're buying an apartment together in Boston, and she wants to get engaged, but he hasn't asked. So she plans to surprise him in Dublin while he's away on business on the one day in Irish tradition that says the woman can propose to the man, Feb 29th of a leap year. Of course, her trip doesn't go as planned, and she ends up needing help getting to Dublin from Declan(Matthew Goode).

While predictable as far as romantic comedies go, it was fast paced, funny and romantic. We both really liked Matthew Goode's character and his sense of humor. He was excellent as a multi-faceted leading man. I love Amy Adams because she seems like a regular girl(funny, sweet, not a twig)and she was perfect for the role of Anna. The scenery of Ireland was gorgeous, and makes you want to take a trip there. Definitely a great date movie, worth paying to see.

Unfortunately, no good special features on the DVD, only some deleted scenes. I'm a sucker for "making of" featurettes and thought they might at least have done a little something about filming in Ireland. You'll only find a bare bones DVD here.

Every review I've read has been quasi-negative but not being one to listen to critics, I took a chance. I was very pleasantly surprised. Depending on why you go to a movie, you may not like this because it is not escapism. It deals with real life issues and things most of us can relate to. I found the movie to be very refreshing and all the characters real to life. The main character is a single mom trying to raise a precocious son. She has to deal with a dead-end relationship and an aging father, an irresponsible sister and a job she hates. How she copes and what she does is more believable than most of the "chick flick" films out today. I think this is one of the better movies in a sea of fluff to spend time and money on. Amy Adams is wonderful and it is always refreshing to see Alan Arkin. Please don't dismiss this film because of iffy reviews. It is worth going to see.

Most sequels either fail miserably at trying to "top" the original ("Miss Congeniality 2" springs to mind), or succeed beyond all expectations ("Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan" is a good example).

"Night at the Museum 2, The Battle of the Smithsonian" hits neither of these extremes: it has no pretensions about being a great film. It seems the writers and producers just wanted to make a film that their audience would enjoy, and they succeeded. Certainly, the original film was better and more original in many respects, and there is lots of continuity with the first film, as many of the characters have returned. There are also some notable additions to the cast, such as Amy Adams - who is superb as Amelia Earhart (as many of my fellow reviewers here have noted).

Yet, the scene stealer in the film though is not Ms. Adams, but Hank Azaria, who plays the Egyptian Pharaoh Kahmunrah: the evil and inept older brother of Ahkmenrah (the Pharaoh from the original film). Azaria's Karloff-esque character is really well done. One of the best scenes in the film is when Kahmunrah and Ben Stiller's character (Larry Daley) argue over the fate of Jedidiah (played by Owen Wilson). I heard a rising tide of belly laughs all around me as this scene progressed: a salute to the old time vaudeville comedic dialog routines, played to near perfection by two excellent actors. Laurel and Hardy would have been proud!

Kudos to the Smithsonian for the unprecedented access and support they provided to the producers of this film. I've visited the Washington Mall and Smithsonian Museums many times, and it was great to see them on the big screen, and great fun seeing the havoc and mayhem that special effects allowed the film's characters to inflict upon our national treasures.

I like this film because it is honest with itself and its audience, and consistently delivers laughs and smiles. Is it a great film? No. Is it funny? Definitely. Is it a great way to spend a couple of hours with your better half, or the kids? Absolutely. For that reason I'll give it Four Stars: enjoy!