Alfre Woodard is Alice Pratt, a modest woman who owns a small, homey diner. Kathy Bates is Charlotte Cartwright, the much-divorced board member of a top corporation founded by one of her husbands. Viewers are asked to suspend their beliefs in reality that this mismatched pair from different socioeconomic, moral, and ethnic backgrounds could have enough in common to put up with each other, much less be best friends. And yet in his homespun way, writer-director Perry–who also has a small role in the film–makes it work.
Loosely based on the 2001 Korean romantic comedy of the same name, My Sassy Girl follows a young couple that was brought together by unusual circumstances. Charlie (Jesse Bradford, Flags of Our Fathers) finds Jordan (Elisha Cuthbert, 24) drunk and passed out in a subway station. Worried that she’ll be harmed, he makes sure she gets home safely.
A tale of two sisters competing for the same king, The Other Boleyn Girl uses historical facts as window dressing for this work of fiction that is entertaining, if not wholly believable. Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) is the doe-eyed vixen ordered by her power-hungry uncle to bewitch King Henry VIII (Eric Bana). Her shy sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) has always been in Anne’s shadow; Anne is prettier, more accomplished, and desired by many men.
Set in the 19th century, when Japan was closed to the West, “Silk” offers an unusual love story revolving around Herve (Michael Pitt), wife Helene (Keira Knightley) and the young unnamed beauty to whom he has never shared a conversation (played by Sei Ashina).
Since winning the Academy Award for her breakthrough performance in “Children of a Lesser God,” Marlee Matlin has been renowned for her acting. But Matlin also is an accomplished author of children’s books.
Equal parts whimsical and bittersweet, “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” is a family-friendly movie that will charm youngsters. Dustin Hoffman stars in the titular role of an eccentric 243-year-old owner of a magical toy store.
For all intents and purposes, Noel and Liam Gallagher are Oasis. So in Oasis: Lord Don’t Slow Me Down, it doesn’t really matter that the rest of the band (which includes Ringo Starr’s son Zak Starkey on drums) wasn’t in the lineup when the group made it big in 1995 with songs such as “Wonderwall.” The two-disc DVD offers a documentary as well as a concert filmed in the group’s native Manchester, England, in 2005. In its heyday, Oasis was at the top of its game.
With his film adaptation of his play of the same name, Tyler Perry asks the question, “Why did I get married?” The answer is different for each of the four couples featured in this relationship comedy, which includes Janet Jackson as a psychologist whose own marriage is on shaky ground. Not known for subtlety, Perry hammers in the point that no marriage is perfect–just as no one is completely blameless.
Set in two dichotomous worlds, “Shanghai Kiss” tells the story of a Chinese-American actor who doesn’t quite fit in anywhere. In his hometown, he’s considered a foreigner even though he’s American. And in his family’s native China, his mannerisms make him stick out in sea of familiar faces.
Set against a backbeat of reggaeton music (which combines elements of reggae, hip-hop, and salsa), the film has its work cut out. The genre is little known to much of the film’s demographics (teenagers), and Grandberry is likeable, but he’s not a convincing leading man. His role requires simmering sexuality; he provides adorableness, but the moviegoer is never convinced that he is anything but a nice boy.
