Dear John

PG-13
Starring: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried & Richard Jenkins
1 Hour & 48 Minutes

This is a romantic, highly-anticipated chick flick geared directly for young women. The story is about a young and handsome soldier named John who is very troubled and confused about his past and his childhood. His mother left he and his father when he was a small child, so he was raised exclusively by his father. His father was very quiet and hardly ever spoke to him. His father immersed himself in coin collecting. John's childhood memories revolve completely around his father's coin collecting.
He enlists in the Army's "special ops" division and is sent to dangerous places all over the world. Many of his mission's are highly classified. While he is sent home for some R & R, he meets a beautiful young woman whom he starts a relationship with. She comes from a well to do cultured family and background. Her friends are not happy that she is seeing this new stranger. He keeps pursuing her and she falls for him. A confrontation and physical fight ensues between him and her friends and he is labeled by them as an outsider.
Their love continues to grow stronger and they cannot stop seeing each other. She insists on meeting his father who is pretty much a recluse. He is reluctant and finally allows her to meet his father. He has to go back to his special ops mission and they cannot bear to be apart. He waits everyday to receive letters from her. When he finally receives his infamous "Dear John" letter, he is devastated. She decided to marry another man! He is severely injured in a roadside bomb and he is sent home. His father also passes away and he is very lonely! He decides to go and visit her and she did not marry the man he thought she had. She married a man who was very ill and had a young son with special needs.
They finally end up together after many years.
This was a movie that was very touching and really gave you insight into a soldier's life in the battlefield.
I would recommend this movie to people thirteen years and older. Be advised that there is a love scene with kissing and intimacy.
There is some mild profanity and some physical violence as well as realistic violence on the battlefield. There is also drinking. I really enjoyed this movie and it really made me appreciate living in America!

The Blind Side

PG-13
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates and Quinton Aaron. 2 Hours & 6 Minutes
This is the outstanding true sports drama about all American football star Michael Oher.
Michael Oher played by Quinton Aaron stars as a practically homeless struggling high school student. He has had a very difficult childhood. He has been raised by his mother who has drug and alcohol issues and is incapable of being depended on. They live in a very depressed area where crime runs rampant.
He is found walking down the road on a cold and dreary night when he is taken in by the Tuohy family of Nashville, Tennessee.
Leigh Ann Tuohy played by Sandra Bullock is a great person and a very caring mother and immediately takes him under her wing. The whole Tuohy family finds themselves drawn to Michael and they decide to ask him if he would like to stay with them.They each form their own special relationship with him. Mr. and Mrs. Tuohy become his legal guardians. They hire a tutor to help him with his education and to raise his GPA. They also talk to the football coach and get him on the high school team. After working and practicing very hard he starts to succeed. Mrs. Tuohy has to show him how to guard his teammates so he finally understands his position. Then he really excels and helps them to win many games. When the college coach's hear about Michael, they all become interested and they all beg him to attend their universities each with prestigious football programs.
He goes on to graduate from high school and he decides to attend "Ole Miss"(the Tuohy's alma mater) for his university career. Michael succeeded at "Ole Miss" and was drafted by the NFL to play for The Baltimore Ravens in 2009. This was a great heartwarming story that just makes you feel good and believe in mankind again. I would recommend it for anyone over 13 years old. It is rated PG-13 for brief violence, sexual and drug references. Blind Side has been nominated for two Oscars. One for The Best Picture category and the other for The Best Actress category. I personally think Sandra Bullock deserves this award. She was spectacular in this role.

When In Rome

PG-13
Starring: Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel and Dax Shepard
1 Hour & 31 Minutes

A fun and happy movie to help beat the winter doldrums. This story is about a darling young girl who is a workaholic. She is recovering from a relationship that has gone bad. She goes to Rome to attend her sister's wedding. While she is there she makes the mistake of taking several coins out of a fountain and taking them back home with her. Each coin represents a man who automatically falls in love with her. They will go to any length to earn her affection. Two of the characters are Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez from the Napolean Dynamite movie. It was fun to see them reunited on the big screen again.
Her sister informs her that all of the men who are chasing her are doing so because of the coins she took from the fountain.
Her heart is stolen by Josh Duhamel. However she is under the impression that he only loves her because of the power of the coins. She finally realizes after many twists and turns that he is genuinely in love with her.
This is a movie that is appropriate for ages 13 and up.