CONCLAVE – A masterpiece! Worthy of all the Oscar nominations and destined to win quite a few. Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci turn in compelling performances as two priests among the entire flock congregated to select a Pope in an ancient clandestine ritual fraught with secrets, deceit and treachery. The shrouded process of choosing a Pope in itself was fascinating to me. That aside, it’s a marvelous film on its own and I loved every minute. So did Francine. Don’t miss it! Cheers!! (With blessed wine, of course). Boyfriends & Girlfriends – 0.

A PERFECT COUPLE – Not! In fact, obviously a most imperfect couple or there would be no story, which is based on the book by Elin Hilderbrand. Predictable premise – wealthy Nantucket family becomes embroiled in scandal when there is a murder on the beach in the wee hours of the morning on the day of a society wedding. The usual stuff. Who did it? Who cares. They’re all obnoxious and deserving of the honor. Fans of Elin’s books, or Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber, may enjoy it. It wasn’t my thing….although Liev was quite tasty in his role. Overall – skip it! Boyfriends -1; Girlfriends – 0.

MARIA – Not a fan. Not of the movie and not of famed opera star Maria Callas. Angelina Jolie delivers a good performance, but it’s not enough to save this arduous, weird film. Apparently Angelina’s real singing voice was blended with Maria’s for the desired effect. Kudos to Angie. But when the film is not displaying opera performances (which were overused), it is underscored with slow, depressing music. I’m sure this was to set the tone of Maria’s final days, but it bored the hell out of me. Some of the dialogue was muffled, silent scenes were excruciatingly long and the use of an actor to portray a drug Maria was dependent on was confusing. Perhaps this was used to symbolize her apparently frequent hallucinations, but it didn’t work. Diane and Chris both hated the film…and Chris is an expert on Maria Callas who has written his own screenplay of Maria’s life story. He also mentioned things were factually wrong in the movie. So you guessed it kids – skip it! Boyfriends – 0; Girlfriends – 0.

MARTHA – Love her or hate her, kudos to Martha Stewart’s shrewd, savvy determination and steely grit! You’ve got to give it to her. She built a billion dollar empire in a man’s world, only to see it shattered when she ended up in prison for an illegal stock trade. Then she rose from the ashes, slightly humbled…but just as determined, and rebuilt her life. And amazingly, she is just as beautiful today in her eighties as she was in her 20s. I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary delivered to us courtesy of Martha herself who unabashedly gives us a glimpse of her rare vulnerability and pain, but remains steadfast in her typical Martha mindset. A fascinating life story. Darlene, Jen and Norma concur. Cheers! Boyfriends – 0; Girlfriends – 0.

CARRY-ON – Stupid, impossible, ridiculous, lame. And it took forever to get going. I did like Jason Bateman as the villain. On the flip side, Mike enjoyed it as just a fun ride even though it was incredibly far-fetched. John said it had potential, but it was still God awful. Y’all know what I say….skip it. Cheers! Boyfriends – 1; Girlfriends – 0.

SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY – Moving documentary about the life of Superman star Christopher Reeve. The story of his childhood and life before the horrific riding accident which left him paralyzed from the neck down is touched on, but the bulk of the documentary, naturally, is focused on his life afterward as a quadriplegic. The challenges, suffering, despair and inspiration are revealed honestly by his adult children. Lots of footage documenting his pursuit of walking again and helping others to remain hopeful is available and put to good use here. Even the last cruel twist in his family’s story, the death of his beloved wife, Dana, from stage four lung cancer shortly after Chris’s death is discussed. She was his unwavering support throughout his ordeal only to die months later herself from a disease she didn’t even know she had until it was too late. The peeps highly recommend this one, but as Kelly says, bring the tissues. Cheers to the ordinary true heroes among us! Boyfriends – 0; Girlfriends – 1.

SURVIVING CHRISTMAS – I barely survived this movie! It’s awful. I don’t know how it fared at the box office when it was released in 2004, but it’s a dud now and beneath the skills of a talented cast. I did enjoy the interactions between a young, attractive Christina Applegate and Ben Affleck. And James Gandolfini is always delightful to watch even though I still see Tony Soprano in every role. I miss his work. And David Selby (Quentin from the original Dark Shadows TV series) was a fun surprise in a featured role. As for Christmas pics……skip it! But you knew that, didn’t you. (wink) Cheers! Boyfriends – 1; Girlfriends -1.

THE LOST CITY – Fun, romantic adventure knock-off of “Romancing the Stone.” Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum are adorable as romantic leads. Daniel Radcliffe is an excellent villain. And Brad Pitt, my boyfriend, turns in another charming, witty performance as the guru. My only complaint is his screen time is too short because he kinda steals the scenes….and he’s lovely to look at. As John says…..Sheer, much needed, entertainment! Cheers!! Boyfriends – 1 (Obviously); Girlfriends – 1.