Old
Reviews
____________________________
About a Boy
- visit the movie's web site -
watch the preview
Stars Hugh Grant, Toni Collete, Rachel
Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, and Victoria Smurfit.
This is a delightful movie, that you
must see. I long ago stopped liking Hugh Grant, but he is simply
fabulous as Will, a 38 year-old bachelor who revels in being shallow
and avoiding all forms of commitment that last longer than a couple of
weeks. We catch up with Will shortly before he decides that the best
form of dating is with single mothers. He invents a fictitious son as
an excuse to attend a midday single parents support group, where he
successfully flirts with Suzie (Smurfit of Ballykissangel's Orla
fame). Will's life reaches a watershed moment when he heads off on a
picnic with Suzie, her daughter and her friend Fiona's 12 year-old
son, Marcus (Hoult). Marcus decides that Will is just the antidote his
depression ridden mother needs, and sets about to befriend Will in
ways that only a committed and well-meaning 12 year old can succeed
against all the instincts and defenses of such a rogue as Will.
Grant does a superb job in a convincing
performance that is all about the awakening of a soul to love and
friendship. Hoult is also excellent, and the bond that he develops
with Grant's character really carries the show. Weisz appears later in
the movie as another love interest for Will, but she isn't given much
room to develop her character. Collete plays Marcus' well meaning,
suicidal, vegetarian Mum to a T. This is a fine story based on
Nick Hornby's book
, and it's turned into an excellent movie thanks to great acting
and steady directing.
A Walk To Remember -
visit the movie's web
site - watch
the preview
Stars Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote, Al Thompson and Daryl Hannah
Shane West and Mandy Moore star in this
teen romance movie about love sparks that comes from two unlikelies
crossing paths. Landon Carter (West) is a bit of "in-set"
trouble, having landed someone in hospital after a prank goes wrong.
Landon's punishment is meant to teach him some responsibility and
humility - to tutor a young student and take part in the Drama Club,
where he meets Jamie Sullivan (Moore). Jamie is the local
Baptist Minister's daughter and is about as opposite to Landon as one
finds. However, Landon falls for Jamie and sets out to win her heart -
which she doesn't make an easy task. Along the way, they both
learn lessons of life and love that ends up transforming each of them.
Crush -
visit the movie's web
site - watch
the preview
Stars Andie MacDowell, Imelda Staunton,
Josh Cole, Anna Chancellor, and Ken Doughty
Kate (MacDowell) is a headmistress of a
pretty county school, forty years old, successful and respectable and
on her own. Every Monday, she gets together with her single,
successful friends, Molly (Chancellor) and Janine (Staunton), and
drink gin, eat chocolate and decide who
is the "Saddest of the Week." Molly and Janine think Kate is teetering
on the edge of something - they notice Kate is starting to hang around
the local baby store!
Then she meets Jed, twenty five years old and an ex-pupil. And has sex
with him. What can she tell her friends? And worse, what will Molly
and Janine do when Kate starts to fall in love with this unsuitable
young man, and is no longer "Sad" at all..? (In limited release)
Birthday Girl -
visit the movie's web
site - watch
the preview
Stars Nicole
Kidman and Ben Chaplin
In this age of Internet romance, you
should go and see this movie - Chaplin co-stars as John, a quiet bank
teller who decides to end his loneliness by ordering a Russian bride
from a web agency. When Nadia (Kidman) arrives, John soon
discovers that her lack of English may be the least of his worries.
After the sudden appearance of Nadia's Russian connections, John's
life flies off the rails. Crime, heroism, and some hot chemistry bring
Nadia and John into - well, you will just have to see what happens...
Charlotte Gray -
visit the movie's web
site - watch
the preview
Stars Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup,
Michael Gamon, Rupert Penry-Jones, Ron Cook and Anton Lesser
Blanchett stars as Charlotte Gray, a
British woman in World War Two who sets her mind on following the man
she loves into German occupied France in the hopes of rescuing an RAF
pilot whom she loves. She volunteers for duty with the special forces
to work with the French Resistance in the hopes of tracking him down.
This romantic drama is based on the best-selling book by Sebastien
Faulks.
The Importance of
Being Earnest -
visit the movie's web
site
Stars Rupert Everett, Colin Firth,
Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon, and Judi Dench.
Oliver Parker's version of Oscar
Wilde's classic comes close to succeeding, but in the end the movie
ends up as a series of good scenes rather than a rollicking tale that
roars to its happy ending. Perhaps Parker thought it a good idea to go
against the grain of the campy over-acted versions of Earnest
that have become the stock and trade of many theater renditions of
Wilde's play. He gets his actors to play the story almost straight,
but in the end it falls flat. This is a story that is
supposed to be taken over the top. Firth and Everett both do well,
as one would expect with their acting skills - but ultimately, they
are kept from doing their best with their roles. Dench is solid as
Aunt Augusta, almost too believable for this romp. Witherspoon and
O'Connor, however, are very good in their roles as Cecily and
Gewndolyn. Witherspoon is the best surprise among the lead characters.
Honors are also due to Anna Massey as Cecily's tutor, Miss Prism, and
Tom Wilkinson as artist-clergyman Chasuble - even though they don't
even rate a mention on the official film site, they are excellent in
their supporting roles. Ultimately, Parker fails to get anywhere near
the success of his previous Oscar Wilde movie, An Ideal Husband.
Kate & Leopold
- visit the movie's web site
- watch the
preview
Stars Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman
Romance with a time travel twist, Kate
& Leopold unites Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman in a charming romance
that's bound to lift you out of the Xmas shopping blues! Meg Ryan
stars as a Big City advertising professional, Kate, who is tired of waiting for
love in New York City. Her ex-boyfriend discovers a time portal through
which Leopold, the Third Duke of Albany, falls into modern day New York and the fun begins. Our
contemporary ways are gently poked fun of by Jackman's character as he
tries to adjust to a 100-year leap in culture shock. Today's men should
see this movie, if only to see how gentle chivalry of yesteryear can win
a heart. Sparks start to fly
between Kate and Leopold as the two flirt and are drawn together in a
way that time itself is stood on its head.
This is a fun romantic romp that's well worth going to see.
The Majestic
- visit the movie's web site
- watch the
preview
Stars Jim Carrey, Laurie Holden and
Martin Landau
The Majestic is charming movie set in the
1950's. Jim Carrey stars in a dual role, as he plays Peter Appleton who
is a movie screenwriter who is called to testify before the McCarthy
hearings. Trying to escape Hollywood, Appleton has a car
accident that leaves him with a full case of amnesia. He turns up in a
small town where the locals believe he is Luke Trimble, whom they'd
believed had died in the war. Laurie Holden plays Luke's girl
friend with disarming grace, as Luke/Peter struggles with a blossoming
romance while trying to regain his identity. This is a good
holiday film to take in and enjoy.
My First Mister
- visit the movie's
web site
Stars Leelee Sobieski, Albert Brooks, and Carol Kane.
Recent high school graduate, Jennifer (Sobieski) gets a job at an
upmarket boutique and for her her much older boss (Brooks), who hides
some deep personal secrets by trying to maintain the rituals of a quiet
life. (Limited Release)
Serendipity -
visit the movie's web
site - watch
the preview
Stars Kate Beckinsale, John Cusack, Jeremy Piven, Molly Shannon, Eugene Levy and Bridget
Moynihan.
Jonathan (Cusack) and Sara (Beckinsale) met
ten years ago in their twenties, but Sara wanted
to leave it to destiny to decide if they should stay together. We come
upon them when it's time for destiny to make a decision. The movie
unfolds in a pleasant, if predictable way.
Shallow Hal
- visit the movie's web site
- watch the
preview
Stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black
A serious comedy about a womanizing guy
who is hypnotized into seeing the "true" woman inside,
regardless of their outward looks. He falls for a woman whom he
sees as Gwyneth Paltrow. But then his hypnosis is broken and
he has to deal with his feelings for the woman as she really
is. Given this movie's twist on beauty, some will find it an
amusing story with a moral inside it, but others will find it soon wears
thin well before it's over.
The Shipping News -
visit the movie's web
site - watch
the preview
Stars Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi
Dench, Cate Blanchett, and Gordon Pinsent.
Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize winning
novel makes a fine transition to the big screen with this release. After
the death of his wife, Quoyle (Spacey) moves back to his ancestral home
in a Newfoundland fishing village with his daughter and aunt (Dench), after the
death of his adulterous wife. Quoyle sets about rebuilding his life and
writing shipping news stories for the local paper. Moore plays the local
school teacher, who opens Quoyle's heart to love and life once more.
Under Lasse Hallestrom's direction, the bleak scenery of Newfoundland
also plays a prominent role in this movie as a both hauntingly
attractive and mysterious presence.
Spider-Man -
visit the movie's web site -
watch the preview
Stars Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst ,
Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, and Cliff Robertson.
Wait to see this on video, or go to the
cinema if you have a youngster who must see it. Overall, this is
a disappointing movie - despite the buckets of cash it has been making
at the box office. Perhaps it was the lack of competition in the first
couple of weeks. The story is fine and the special effects are
generally quite good - although Spider-Man's costume should not hang
toward the wall in the scenes he is supposedly climbing them...
Where this movie fails to satisfy is in the two lead actors. Much of
plot hinges on the romance between Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Mary
Jane Watson. Although Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst have some very
good scenes, they fail to engage at times that should have made the
movie gel. James Franco is simply annoying as Peter's best friend - in
fact, he makes it unbelievable. Willem Dafoe, however, is a bright
spot in the movie, as the evil nemesis.
The Sweetest Thing -
visit the movie's web
site - watch
the preview
Stars Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate,
Selma Blair, and Thomas Jane.
This is a really fun movie which may at times be a rude and crude movie, but
it is made from a woman's perspective for a change - and it flies, as
really refreshing change from the normal. Diaz and Applegate
manage to create a believable buddy movie atmosphere as they set out
to catch and release guys on their nights out on the town.
Christina (Diaz) has her world knocked for a loop when she meets Peter
(well played by Thomas Jane) in a bar - actually she tried to set him
up with her roommate Jane (Blair) and the plan sort of backfires.
Christina just can't get Peter out of her mind, which sets her best
friend Courtney (Applegate) hatching a plot to reunite Christina and
Peter. Overall, The Sweetest Thing is worth seeing but
it's not destined to be another There's Something About Mary...
Movies About
Love & Romance