1. My FAVORITE movie of all time : LOVE ACTUALLY - 2003   See review below ( my rating 4.0*** out of 4.0****)

This is not my review. It appeared in USA Today but expresses my thoughts perfectly.     

Love Actually is irresistible. You'd have to be Ebenezer Scrooge not to walk out smiling. the combination of the clever script, top-notch talent and engaging subject — love in its many forms — makes Love one of the more entertaining experiences a moviegoer is likely to have especially during the holiday season.

It's hard to fail when you have the cream of the U.K. crop signed on. Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightly and Colin Firth are all in top form. Laura Linney, the lone American major player in the film, was a brilliant addition. (Billy Bob Thornton makes a cameo appearance as a Clintonian American president.) As good as all of these actors are in their various roles, the movie is nearly stolen from them by Bill Nighy. As an aging rock star, he stages a comeback with an awful Yuletide rendition of the Troggs' '60s song Love Is All Around. His elder stoner swagger is hilarious.

Writer Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill) makes his directorial debut, wisely choosing an ensemble romantic comedy with several intertwined stories  And as is usually the case with these patchwork stories, some of the pieces are more compelling and enjoyable than others.   

Among the better scenarios are Grant as a bachelor prime minister who is too busy to look for a wife. He surprises himself (and everyone else) by being smitten with a down-to-earth staffer (Martine McCutcheon), a slightly more full-figured gal than average. There's an unexpectedly bittersweet bond between the luminous Keira Knightley and her husband's reserved best friend (Andrew Lincoln). And for tear-jerking moments, no one can beat Thompson's performance as the stalwart wife of the straying Rickman. A Christmas Eve scene showcases her talent for comedy, pathos and pluck, all the while breaking our hearts.

The sum of Love Actually is greater than its parts. The film is bookended by shots of ordinary people affectionately greeting and tearfully seeing each other off at an airport. This device is very touching. The same could be said for the movie as a whole, which winningly demonstrates that despite all odds, love is indeed all around us.

Rating: R for sexuality, nudity and language