Parents should be forbidden from fucking up their kids. That’s the message I kept finding in this movie about a girl under a curse. Played by Christina Ricci the title character of this 2006 romantic comedy is by far the prettiest pig girl you could ever imagine – Miss Piggy and furry enthusiasts jump back! Though the cause of the initial curse (valuing class over personality) doesnt quite fit with the curse itself (valuing inner beauty over outer beauty) the film is adorable enough for you to forget it.

        Great characters are what make this movie really shine: Reese Witherspoon on a vespa, a mamma’s boy with some serious issues, a little person photographer with one eye and an agenda, and parents who push you from amused to outraged and back again. Whoever did the makeup and prostetic was great. The butler in sneakers is a really cute touch, and the modern fairy tale atmosphere makes me want to watch it again.

        Penelope is an adorable film perfect for combining with chocolate therapy, a rainy day, or a fuzzy blanket and skeptical boyfriend who isnt really sure about this pig-girl movie.

        I give this film FOUR STARS.

The Ramen Girl is a 2008 indie comedy that follows the adventures of a girl named Abby as she aprentices herself to a harsh ramen sensei (see general plotline above). Here in the U.S. we tend to think of ramen and think of little orange packets with so-so noodle soup inside. In Japan, the movie shows us, the view is drastically different: the sensei describes it as ‘the universe in a bowl’ and eventually Abby comes to see it as a process of getting closer and closer to achieving perfect soup every time you make a bowl.

In many ways the film is unrealistic but overall it’s charming and cute. The ending is a bit unorthodox for those of us used to the standard cinematic endings where all the parties bear their souls just before the big climax and everything goes beautifully because of it, but overall it’s a cute film.

I give this film THREE STARS and one big bowl of American style microwavable ramen.