I'm 43, darling. No one will love me for very much longer. Not even you.

This week's trip down the rabbit hole helps me recall that you just cannot win 'em all.

Valentine's Day (2010) - "More than a dozen Angelenos navigate Valentine's Day from early morning until midnight. Three couples awake together, but each relationship will sputter; are any worth saving? A grade-school boy wants flowers for his first true love; two high school seniors plan first-time sex at noon; a TV sports reporter gets the assignment to find romance in LA; a star quarterback contemplates his future; two strangers meet on a plane; grandparents, together for years, face a crisis; and, an "I Hate Valentine's Day" dinner beckons the lonely and the lied to. Can Cupid finish his work by midnight?"
source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: I was in Queen Latifah mode
IMDB: 5.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 18% Audience: 47%
my IMDB: 3/10

notable quote: "You don't step in to love, you fall in. Head over heels. Have you ever seen someone fall head over heels in love? It's ugly, bro. Toxic, septic."

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Garry Marshall

my notes: gag! I would have reviewed this earlier but was in a diabetic coma from the sugary sweetness. Terrible.
overall: not  recommended

My Week with Marilyn (2011) - "Sir Laurence Olivier (Sir Kenneth Branagh) is making a movie in London. Young Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), an eager film student, wants to be involved and he navigates himself a job on the set. When movie star Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) arrives for the start of shooting, all of London is excited to see the blonde bombshell, while Olivier is struggling to meet her many demands and acting ineptness, and Colin is intrigued by her. Colin's intrigue is met when Marilyn invites him into her inner world where she struggles with her fame, her beauty, and her desire to be a great actress."

source: I borrowed the Blu-ray from the public library
I watched it because: I had wanted to see it, and it landed in my list when searching for Julia Ormond movies
IMDB: 6.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 83% Audience: 71%
my IMDB: 4/10

notable quote: "'Did she break your heart?'

    'A little.'

    'Good—it needed breaking.'"

MPAA rating: R

directed by: Simon Curtis

my notes: tedious. In attempting to convey the depth of Monroe's insecurities (and worse), she was simply unwatchable. Branagh, Ormond, and Redmayne do their best but cannot keep this afloat.

Academy Award nominee:
• Best Actress—Michelle Williams
• Best Supporting Actor—Branagh

overall: not recommended

Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) - "A dashing officer of the guard and romantic poet, Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane without her knowing. His one curse in his life, he feels, is his large nose and although it may have been a forming influence in his rapier-sharp wit, he believes that Roxane will reject him. He resorts to writing letters to her on behalf of one of his cadets, Christian, who is also in love with Roxane but just doesn't know how to tell her. She falls for the poetic charm of the letters but believes that they were written by Christian."
source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: I'm curious about Gérard Depardieu
IMDB: 7.5/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 90%
my IMDB: 7/10

notable quote: "My life's work has been to prompt others and be forgotten. Remember that night when Christian came to your balcony? That moment sums up my life. While I was below in the shadows, others climbed up to kiss the sweet rose."

MPAA rating: PG

directed by: Jean-Paul Rappeneau

my notes: gorgeous, beautifully shot, and incredibly romantic.

Academy Award winner: Best Costume Design
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Actor—Depardieu

• Best Art Direction - Set Decoration

• Best Makeup

• Best Foreign Language Film
overall:  recommended

Son of the South (2020) - "In this poignant true story set in Montgomery, Alabama, a Klansman's grandson must choose which side of history to be on during the Civil Rights Movement. Defying his family and white Southern norms, he fought against social injustice, repression and violence to change the world around him. Son of the South is from executive producer Spike Lee and based on Bob Zellner's autobiography, The Wrong Side of Murder Creek."
source: I borrowed the Blu-ray from the public library
I watched it because: it popped up in my Julia Ormond searches
IMDB: 6.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 61% Audience: 72%
my IMDB: 7/10

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Barry Alexander Brown

my notes: a tough subject, handled with grace and intensity. I liked this very much.
overall:  recommended

[the title quotation is from My Week with Marilyn]