Julie & Julia

[Bourne101]

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Directed by Nora Ephron

Written by Nora Ephron

Genre: Drama

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Plot Outline: Based on two true stories, "Julie & Julia" intertwines the lives of two women who, though separated by time and space, are both at loose ends until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible.

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Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Jane Lynch

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sensuality.

Runtime: 123 minutes

Looks alright I suppose, but what really got my attention from the trailers was the food. This movie is going to make me fucking hungry.

[Tweek]

I like Streep, I like Adams...I can't stand Ephron's movies though.

[ilovemovies]

This does not look like a good movie to watch with an empty stomache. I'll have to sneak some food with me when I go see this.

[anakinsrise]

The trailer gets zero response each time i've watched it in a theatre so it will be interesting to see its box office numbers

[Beard_of_Meat]

I don't know why but I kind of want to see this flick...Streep seems to be perfectly cast..I will probably wait though until it goes on the "Five-Buck Club" Keresotes Theaters offers but I will see it

[Strider]

I'm not in a hurry to see this one, but I will see it eventually. I think it looks like a solid dramedy. Not to mention I'm a fan of Streep and Adams.

And I'll probably have to eat something before as well. ;)

Strider

[phelonious]

Enjoyed it. The Streep part is the biography of Childs and her hubbie arriving in Paris til they move to Cambridge, Massachusetts and her book is at long last published. Intercut with the year long blog the Amy Adams character writes. But there is zero interaction between the two actress'. Streep looks like she's enjoying herself with this part.

I have a question for anyone who's seen the film.

When the article comes out in the New York Times, She gets a lots of attention. One of the callers mentions, He's in contact with Julia Childs and Julia Childs didn't have nice things to say about her blog. Which crushed her. I assumed that this was a crank call. But this question was still left unanswered by the end of the film. That would be really ironic and more than a little funny if this was true. Did she actually meet her in real life? Anyone got any dish?

8/10 - Julia & Julia

[Highspeed]

Meryl Streep rocks my socks. But I think I'm gonna wait to rent this bad boy.

[Bourne101]

Julie & Julia - 7/10

Splendidly entertaining film. Meryl Streep continues to show why she is one of the greatest actresses of all-time. Her performance in this film is absolutely perfect, and I wouldn't be surprised if she got an Oscar nomination, or at least a Golden Globe nomination. Amy Adams is also great and her character's story was more interesting than I thought it would be. It's really just a very smoothly flowing film that is insanely entertaining and very easy to watch. Not incredibly complex or out of the ordinary, but it's a very well-made film that takes a simple premise and really makes it interesting. The ending may have caught me off guard a little bit (I had no idea Julia Child actually didn't like Julie Powell's blog, etc., which made it a bit awkward toward the end), but otherwise, Julie & Julia is one of the most entertaining films of the year, filled with great performances and a couple of interesting stories. I definitely recommend it. I do warn you though, if you go into this film with an empty stomach you are in trouble. :D

[SpikeDurden]

This is indeed a truly lovely film. Meryl Streep is simply divine in the film and deserves every accolade that comes her way, but Amy Adams, Chris Messina, and Stanley Tucci are all also excellent and make for a very fun, delightful, enjoyable film. The intertwining stories work better than I had imagined and the parallel action and the way in which the two women's lives mirror each other makes for a very clever cinematic structure. I was invested in both character's lives, I loved watching them cook the food, and I couldn't wait to see what happened to them next. Simply put, this is a film that is filled with intelligence, loveliness, and simple splendors, and it is a sumptuous treat for any film fan or foodee.

8/10

[dfd3657]

Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci were amazing in The Devil Wears Prada, and once again, they were fantastic in this. As an earlier poster said, Meryl Streep was absolutely divine. She totally WAS Julia Child. Amy Adams was fantastic as well; she's my absolute favorite actress, but it's not hard for even her to be overshadowed by Meryl Streep. Wonderful film. Chalk another one up on the list of awesome Amy Adams movies.

8.5/10

[Common Sense Man]

I have a question for anyone who's seen the film.

When the article comes out in the New York Times, She gets a lots of attention. One of the callers mentions, He's in contact with Julia Childs and Julia Childs didn't have nice things to say about her blog. Which crushed her. I assumed that this was a crank call. But this question was still left unanswered by the end of the film. That would be really ironic and more than a little funny if this was true. Did she actually meet her in real life? Anyone got any dish?



Yah I wanted to know the skinny myself after seeing this movie with the wife the other day. I enjoyed the flick and was expecting the big payoff at the end of a meeting with Child, then after the phone call I was expecting at least an explanation, was it real, was it a crank?

So I got on the ole interwebz and did a bit of research. It appears that Julia did not like her blog because she was a potty mouth, did not talk about the results of her cooking, such as how it tasted, what it was like to make it, etc. And she felt it was mainly a stunt. A quote from one of Julia's close friends said she did not suffer fools.

I actually read some of her blog and it was indeed harsh compared to what the movie blog was.

I enjoyed the movie over all but I would have easily enjoyed a Bio pic about Child more.

Tucci was awesome by the way.

Out.........................................

[bsquared318]

“Julie and Julia” is a fantastic movie, one that many will overlook because it is being misleadingly advertised as nothing more than a bland comedy with a stale script and cardboard characters. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This lively film is driven by a script that is full of energy and emotion, its characters far from your typical comedy stereotype.

Written and directed by Nora Ephron (“When Harry Met Sally,” “Sleepless in Seattle”), “Julie and Julia” tells two different stories. The first is that of the Queens-dwelling Julie Powell, who set out in 2002 to cook her way through Julia Child’s bestselling cookbook in exactly one year. Powell is played by Amy Adams, but this performance is bereft of the charm of “Enchanted” and the complexity of “Doubt.” I think Adams wants us to find her character charming in her own way, but not once did I find myself rooting for her. At times I found her obsession with Julia Child to be more creepy and stalker-like than respectful and motivational. Given that it seems she’d do anything for her fifteen minutes of fame, Adams comes across more as a whiny brat who would do anything to get her way.

The second and by far the more engaging story focuses on Julia Child herself in 1940’s France as she works her way to becoming the legend that is recognized as today. Child is played excellently by Meryl Streep, who not once goes over the top with her depiction of Child and is by far the most charming woman on the screen. She throws herself into her character as she always does and even leaves us with a hint of unexpected nostalgia. In contrast with Adams, we don’t see an actor playing somebody else, but a believable character that leaps off the screen and immediately wins our hearts.

The film seems longer than its running time of 123 minutes, but rarely does it drag. This movie has a lot of material to cover, and Ephron takes her time telling both Julie and Julia’s story. However, the segments centered on Julie are the weaker of the two. This is not as much the acting as it is the writing. There is less elaboration and character exploration with Julie than there is Julia, and the script suffers because of this. Where Julie’s story is more streamlined and bleak, Julia’s story is more elaborate and engaging. Where Julia has friends with different sides to them, Julie’s friends seem only to care about eating. The dishes that Julie prepares may be appetizing to the people she feeds them to (and the sound effects team made us very aware of this by amplifying the smacks, slurps, swallows and burps to an almost gluttonous level), but not once are they appetizing to us.

The husbands are of vital importance to both women, and the movie shows us this in the best way possible. Neither marriage is glamorous or over the top. It seems real. Stanley Tucci plays Paul Child perfectly as an aging, reserved man who nonetheless has a passion for what he does. Julia is the center of his life, and we really believe him when he says that he loves her. The two are a thrill to watch and we truly feel every emotion that they are going through. Julie’s husband Eric is played by Eric Messina and he shares an excellent chemistry with Adams. While the majority of his time is simply going along with Julie’s mission and providing comic relief, he does an excellent job at confronting Julie about her narcissism and her misguided motives and how they are affecting him. These and other issues about Julie’s character are never resolved and we aren’t really sure if she has learned anything by the end of her journey, but at least they are acknowledged.

As is the case in many films about historic characters, their facts and achievements are not thrown out at us to make us marvel. Instead, we pick up on them and begin to find things on our own that we respect them for. It makes them more down to earth, and it makes them more human. It is definitely a more appetizing dish than many of the other less appealing outings from Hollywood.

7/10

[redfiretruck]

this was so adorable! i'd hardly classify it as a drama, though.