Chic Movie Reviews

Because I Said So

With Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Lauren Graham, Piper Perabo, Stephen Collins

My excitement for this movie and even seeing it with my mother and sister did not help my viewing experience.  Despite its fabulous cast and cute mother-daughter love/hate relationship premise, Because I Said So failed to live up to its potential.  As Milly, Mandy Moore plays a chef who is unlucky in love until her overbearing mother, unbeknownst to Milly, steps in and grants her daughter with—not one, but two—gorgeous guys.  Diane Keaton’s Daphne is overwhelmingly annoying, although when she finally loosens up a little with her daughter’s boyfriend’s father, it is fun to watch.   There are also some touching moments when Milly and her sisters spend quality time with their mother.  Overall, though, while this film was based on a good idea, what it lived up to is not worth seeing in theaters…because I said so. 

Chic Stars: * ½  
 

The Queen

With Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromell, Sylvia Syms

This look into the events taking place in the home of the British royal family following Princess Diana’s death in the summer of 1997 is interesting and eye-opening.  As Queen Elizabeth II, Helen Mirren deserves her Oscar for Best Actress; she delivers a performance for which audiences, like the British public at this time, first can’t stand her but then come to understand and appreciate her.  Because she had personal problems with her former daughter-in-law, and Diana and Prince Charles had been divorced for a year, the Queen did not deem it necessary to give the younger woman royal treatment.  While the Queen’s behavior is at first frustrating, especially when audiences are given the perspective of Prime Minister Tony Blair, viewers soon gain insight into the Queen’s love for her family (particularly her desire to protect her grandsons) and her high regard for dignified tradition.  Diana fans may especially enjoy the film. 

Chic Stars: ***