Overbooked Reader

Her (2013) is a 126-minute science-fiction-romance film that follows the success of writer-as-protagonist films like Stranger than Fiction (2006) and Ruby Sparks (2012). Written and directed by Spike Jonze ( Being John Malkovich , Adaptation ), the film takes a sincere and serious look at the nature of human relationships in a world set in the near future.  Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore Twombly , a professional letter-writer who falls in love with an intelligent computer operating system called Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson ). For Samantha, the feeling is mutual. Theodore thinks he's found the perfect woman. However, he soon realizes that loving an OS can be as challenging as loving a real person. Supporting characters include Theodore's wife Catherine ( Rooney Mara ), who is asking her husband for a divorce; his friend Amy ( Amy Adams ), whose marriage in on the rocks; and a friend of a friend ( Olivia Wilde ) who goes out on a blind date with Theod...

I was having dinner with a friend a week ago when she asks me if I've seen Ruby Sparks , a romantic comedy-drama directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the same people behind Little Miss Sunshine . Unfortunately, I've watched neither, until I watched the first movie   his evening. Ruby Sparks , written by Zoe Kazan who doubles as the female lead, tells the story of Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano), a writer struggling to write a follow-up to his successful first novel. Calvin has no friends other than his dog Scotty and brother Harry (Chris Messina). He regularly sees a therapist named Dr. Rosenthal (Elliott Gould). The therapist recommends that Calvin could use Scotty as a reason to talk with women while they walked around the park. Unfortunately, Scotty is a very shy dog that women don't seem to like. Thus, Dr. Rosenthal tries something else. He gives Calvin an assignment: write about a woman in the park, a special woman who actually likes Scotty. Inspired b...