Yowazzup: A Directory of Happening Things

Woody and Buzz are back! Watch the teaser trailer of Toy Story 3. Toy Story 3 opens on 18 June 2010.

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Confessions of a Shopaholic is a movie based on Sophie Kinsella’s novels — Confessions of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Takes Manhattan.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Isla Fisher in "Confessions of a Shopaholic"

Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) works in an unpopular magazine publishing company in Manhattan as a journalist and she has a strong urge to shop for clothes, bags and shoes all the time. When she sees a beautiful green scarf which she doesn’t have enough money nor credit limit to buy, she cheats her way into buying all the hotdogs from a man with a check in exchange for cash and hotdogs by telling everyone she needs to buy a scarf for her dying aunt. A man from the street purchases a hotdog and gives Rebecca the $20 dollar she needs to buy the scarf. When she goes for an interview with Alette magazine, she is told that the position has been filled and the person who has taken the position, Alicia (Leslie Bibb) walks by. Rebecca is disappointed but admit Alicia has long legs. As she leaves while telling Allon, Dante West’s receptionist she purposely buys the green scarf for the interview, Allon introduces her to a job at Successful Saving. When Rebecca goes for a job interview with Luke Brandon, the editor of financial magazine Successful Saving, she realizes he is the man from who she had borrowed the money.

Feeling disappointed at not getting the job at Alette magazine, Rebecca writes drunken letters to Alette magazine and Successful Saving, but she has wrongly posted them the one another. Impressed by her "out of the box" thinking, Luke Brandon hires her on the spot and she is given another assignment. Instead of completing the assignment, she goes to a clothes sale and ends up with bags of clothes and shoes. After realizing the expensive cashmere pullover she has bought is only 5% cashmere and the rest acrylic, she writes an article about it and uses an anonymous nickname "The Girl with the Green Scarf" and not long, she becomes an instant hit when readers send letters, TV shows invites her for a talk show and even the boss, Edgar West (John Lithgow) calls in to compliment.

Impressed by her success, Luke invites Rebecca to a conference and an important ball in Miami. In the process of picking up the clothes for Luke for the ball, Rebecca finds out that Luke’s mother is none other than the famous socialite Eleonor Sherman and his parents were divorced when he was young.

During a "Live" TV show, Rebecca is publicly humiliated by the debt collector, Derek Smeath who has been chasing her for the debts for almost a year. Luke is hurt to know Rebecca lies to him all this while but he still finds her as a source of inspiration.

When Rebecca goes back to New York, a debt collector arrives at her doorstep. Her housemate, Suzy (Krysten Ritter) warns her through a phone call and she has to enter her apartment through the backdoor. Suzy recommends Rebecca to join a Shopaholic Anonymous group.

Rebecca decides to sell all of her clothes with the help of the Shopaholic Anonymous participants. She hesitates to sell the green scarf but a blonde woman buys it for $300. With the successful sale, she manages to repay her debt and she turns up at Derek Smeath’s office with the $9,000 she owes all in jar of coins.

Rebecca bumps into Luke in the street and Luke gives her back the green scarf revealing he’s the man behind both bidders and Rebecca ends up working for Luke’s new magazine.

Overall, Confessions of a Shopaholic is quite amusing and Isla Fisher who plays the adorable copygirl in Definitely, Maybe plays her role well. Worth watching for the laughs and the satisfaction is almost like when you shop for something using credit card. The feeling is so complete and happy.

My ratings: 7 out of 10.

Popularity: 1%

Martian Child is a 2007 comedy-drama film about a writer, David Gordon (John Cusack) who adopts a strange young boy, Dennis (Bobby Coleman) who believes he is from Mars.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Harlee (Amanda Peet), David Gordon (John Cusack) and Dennis (Bobby Coleman)

David Gordon has recently lost his wife Mary and is looking to adopt a young boy named Dennis who believes he is from Mars. After adopting the boy from Sophie (Sophie Okonedo), he manages to bring Dennis out of the Amazon box in which he stays to hide from the sun by giving him an SPF 45 sunblock and a pair of sunglasses.

Slowly and with a lot of patience, David teaches the boy how to be an “earthling” and earns Dennis’ love in the process with the help of his sister Liz (played by Cusack’s real life sister Joan Cusack). Initially, David has had a hard time of teaching his newly adopted son to become a real “earthling”. But as the movie progresses, David manages to understand Dennis better and Dennis is able to open himself more. In the end, David realizes that Dennis’ worst nightmare is his parents leaving him when he was way too young and Dennis is afraid David will leave him.

Though the film tries very hard at implementing emotional elements into it, it doesn’t really work. Somehow, it’s not really that bad — a little bit touching together with some mediocre acting.

My ratings: 6 out of 10.

Popularity: 1%