I love Jane Austen and I love Victorian movies. Many times, those things coincide (cough, Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, cough) but today, Charlotte Bronte is my girl and Miss Austen is taking a back seat. And I had no plans (originally) in seeing the movie I’m about to review, but TC talked me in to it and I’m glad she did. You go girl.

Movie: Jane Eyre

Rating: PG-13

Release date: March 11, 2011

Everyday Adventures’ grade: B+

Summary: Cast out from her extended family and the girls home, Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska) takes a governess post with Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender) and finds her cold heart warmed for the first time ever.

My thoughts: This movie does NOT make me want to live on the English Heath or in 18th-Century England where it’s cold, remote and just…not very attractive. I will take my couch, central heat and standard plumbing. I mean, seriously, if that makes me high maintenance, I will take it.

But despite that, I was really pleasantly surprised by this movie. I liked it a lot. It’s dark, gothic and a little creepy at parts, almost like a haunted theme, but it really works. Wasikowska continues to do really strong work (see Alice in Wonderland and The Kids Are All Right) and she just kills it as Jane. She’s cold and withdrawn but you can see the emotion, fear and anger hidden beneath the surface. Her face is very expressive (which it needs to be) and she just knocks it out of the park. Judi Dench as Mr. Rochester’s house warden is also great, bubbly and the optimist, welcoming Jane to the house. The two work well together and sadly, we don’t see them together enough.

The real love story is with Jane and Mr. Rochester and while it is poignant and sweet (god I LOVE Victorian love stories), it seems a bit rushed. I know you have to suspend some level of disbelief in these romances but this did seem more like a stretch. But it works, the passion between them and the animated Rochester compared to the repressed Jane is really sweet. And the standard “we’re falling in love sequence” between the two is great.

For a little bit, I thought I was watching an Aronofsky movie because no one was happy and I feared it wouldn’t end happily but fortunately, it all came around. Thank god.

Verdict: Worth a day show in the theater or Netflix/Redbox, if you’re a Victorian movie fan, GO SEE IT!

I love Matt Damon. Yes, he is another one of my All-American, clean-cut guy crushes. What can I say, I have a type! And the trailer for this movie immediately grabbed me and threw me in the theater to see my cute Matt Damon in action. Oh yeah and my love/hate crush on Emily Blunt is there too. I love her as an actress (Young Victoria? Die) and hate her because she’s married to my dreamy John K. Sigh. Let’s just talk about the movie.

Movie: The Adjustment Bureau

Rating: PG-13

Release date: March 4, 2011

Everyday Adventures’ grade: B

Summary: On the worst night of David Norris’ (Matt Damon) career, he meets a charming dancer named Elise (Emily Blunt), who sets off a chain reaction in his life. Running in to Elise again has thrown David off his “path” and the men of the Adjustment Bureau are going to get that back on track. Best not f*ck with them and their notebooks.

My thoughts: Oh man I really wanted to like this. And overall, I did, but this also falls in the category of great trailer, good movie. The main theme of the movie was said to be personal choice versus social will but really, I felt it was more about fate. The kind of fate that you feel when you meet your soulmate, find what you are ultimately meant for, only to find out it might not be your real destiny. That I find to be more compelling.

Damon and Blunt have amazing chemistry. They flirt, long and swoon around one another and that feels genuine, even if their story gets a little contrived within the Adjustment Bureau plan for them respectively. Honestly, it’s a little tough to really summarize this movie because it’s a little out there and a lot of pieces to explain.

Verdict: See it but definitely a matinee or Netflix/Redbox

What did you think?