fresh scratch

One of the zillions of cool things about traveling internationally is that you get lots of time to watch lots of movies on the flights. While flying – well – sucks, we can at least all agree how awesome it is that there is rarely a movie playing overhead anymore for all {including small, curious children} to see. The advent of the movie player in the back of the headrest in front of you is a game-changer.

And because I know you’ve been dying to know what I watched, here you are. All of these are available to watch at home, so make a date with your hubby or your bestie, pop some popcorn, put your kids to bed {in no particular order}, and have a date night at home, will you? Because it’s summer. And you should stay up late.

“Silver Linings Playbook“: For some reason, I want to start off saying that I am not one of those ladies who is ga-ga over Bradley Cooper. Back when he was on “Alias,” he was cute, but baby ducks are cute. And Jennifer Lawrence? I wasn’t super-impressed with her in “The Hunger Games.” So when she won the coveted Best Actress Oscar this year for her role in this film, my curiosity was piqued. And when the camera kept cutting to Mr. Cooper in the front row, crying and laughing and hanging on her every word, it was clear to me that they had experienced a huge connection while working on this film.

With Robert DeNiro.

Plus, she seems lovably dorky in real life, and I may know some people like that. Um, sign me up.

I watched this before I took my Ambien on the way to London: totally worth staying up for.

Here’s the thing: it’s gritty. It doesn’t quite seem locked to any one time period. It’s not flashy. It almost feels low-budget in the way “Good Will Hunting” did – they don’t need to hook you with anything but the awesome storyline. And hook you they do.

You’ve got Bradley Cooper’s character: he has spent eight months at a mental facility after going ape on his wife’s lover and discovering he has been living with bi-polar for his whole life. He’s released to the custody of his parents, who certainly have their own issues. He is trying hard to be a better man for his wife, with whom he really wants to get back together. He is like a walking self-help book, but also a ticking bomb at the same time.

And we’ve got Jennifer Lawrence’s character: she has recently lost her young husband in an accident. She’s been escaping by sleeping with everyone she knows. She loves ballroom dancing, but has never had a partner. She’s got a mouth on her and also suffers from mental illness.

They make a deal that forces them to spend time together, and it just breaks your heart in all the best ways. And Robert DeNiro playing his dad? So vulnerable. This film was just absolutely brilliantly cast. I loved every second of it. If you’ve been afraid that it’s too heavy and therefore haven’t watched it, it’s not what you think.

You can do it!

“Marvel’s The Avengers“: Meh. I know! I know! Everyone loved this flick last summer, and it made serious bank. Here’s why I think I diverged from popular opinion…

…I love Pepper Potts. You by now know that I love all things Gwyneth, and her nerdy – yet flirty – turn as Pepper is so incredibly entertaining. And I find Robert Downey, Jr.’s “Iron Man” to be absolutely lovable. He is funny and really an unlikely hero. And he needs Pepper to make it all work. I loved all of his scenes in this film, but there just weren’t enough. And there wasn’t enough Pepper Potts! I guess that’s why it was not called “Iron Man.” Or “Pepper Potts.” Hello – I am slow sometimes!

Will you be mad if I say I fell asleep near the end?

“This Is 40”: Out of all the movies I watched on the return flight from Munich {a day of travel where I succeeded in staying awake for nearly 24 hours so as to stave off jet-lag!}, this was by far my absolute favorite. If you haven’t seen it, you must. Today. And then tomorrow. It’s that good.

It made me laugh out loud over and over {on a plane full of sleeping people}, cover my eyes, groan, gasp, cringe, get a little teary, and probably yell, “No he/she didn’t!!” more than once. The last movie that did this to me was Meryl Streep’s “It’s Complicated,” so it’s been a few years. And my poor co-worker Steve – he watched it on the plane, then he told me to watch it so we could talk about it, then I kept hitting him while I watched it or pausing my movie and his to be like, “What!!?? This is so good!” And when it was over we had a four-hour conversation inspired by the film, and he never got to finish the movie he was watching. I am sure he will be oh-so-happy to see me at the end of the summer when we are back at school.

This story – minus a few things and plus a few things – is what my life is like. Except I am not forty. Not YET. But it’s out there, man.

It touches on everything about being part of a marriage with kids and being an adult in mid-life: body-image, time alone, raising kids, having a career, wanting to be wanted, wanting to still be you, money, your parents still driving you nuts, date night – you name it. It’s all right here. No one knows what the heck they’re doing as a spouse or parent or even as a grown-up, and this movie is not afraid to show you.

I could point out the specific parts of the movie that I totally related to, but I have to keep some mystery from Mr. Fresh Scratch, who is so sweet that he reads this every day. We’ll talk later, okay?

“Jack Reacher”: Co-worker Steve had this on his iPad, and the domestic part of our journey had no free movies, so we grabbed a splitter for the head phones and watched this.

Are you a fan of Tom Cruise? I am a fan of his acting. And I think he did not smile even one time in this movie, which was too bad, because it is Tom Cruise we are talking about. But I digress.

This had brilliant cinematography and awesome chase scenes while he was driving that sweet ride in the picture above. And the plot kept turning in on itself, making me re-think everything I thought I had figured out, which I like. I enjoy a movie that keeps me on my toes.

The basic plot is that Jack Reacher is a rogue investigator who is super-smart, and he comes in to help exonerate an old Army buddy who is being charged with a killing-spree. There are meth-heads who are plotting against him, but you know it will be okay in the end, because, hey, it’s Tom Cruise. Right?

Very entertaining. Just the kind of movie that would’ve been fun to see at the drive-in.

What about you? Seen any good rentals lately? I’m always up for suggestions!