Rest in Peace - December 2008

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Rest in Peace
Dec-25-2008
Eartha Kitt, 81, American singer and actress (Batman), colon cancer.

Dec-20-2008
Robert Mulligan, 83, American film director (To Kill a Mockingbird), heart disease.

Dec-18-2008
Majel Barrett, 76, American actress (Star Trek), widow of Gene Roddenberry, leukemia.

Dec-16-2008
Sam Bottoms, 53, American actor (Apocalypse Now), glioblastoma multiforme.

Dec-12-2008
Van Johnson, 92, American actor (Battleground, The Caine Mutiny, Brigadoon, Batman), natural causes.

Dec-05-2008
Nina Foch, 84, Dutch-born American actress (Executive Suite), myelodysplasia.
Beverly Garland, 82, American actress (My Three Sons), after long illness.

Dec-01-2008
Paul Benedict, 70, American actor (The Jeffersons).

My December 2008 Viewings

Recommended DVDs marked with *. Underlined titles are direct links to review.

The Late Shift 12/31/08 (B-)
Ghost Town 12/30/08 (B-)
* Runaway Jury 12/29/08 (B)
* Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School 12/28/08 (B)
Last Days of Summer Wine: 3 12/27/08 (B-)
August 12/26/08 (C+)
* Hancock 12/25/08 (A-)
Living in Oblivion 12/24/08 (B-)
Step Brothers 12/23/08 (C)
* Shadow of a Doubt 12/22/08 (A)
* The Dancer Upstairs 12/21/0 (B)
That Thing You Do! 12/20/08 (C+)
Save the Last Dance 12/19/08 (B-)
* And When Was the Last Time You Saw Your Father? 12/18/08 (B)
The Long Good Friday 12/17/08 (C+)
Birds of America 12/16/08 (C)
* Chef! 12/15/08 (B)
* Edges of the Lord 12/14/08 (A-)
The Practice 12/13/08 (B-)
* Before Night Falls 12/12/08 (B)
The Dog Problem 12/11/08 (B-)
* An American Crime 12/10/08 (B)
* Boston Legal: 4:5 12/09/08 (B)
Mrs. Dalloway 12/08/08 (B-)
* The Closer: 1:2 12/07/08 (B)
* Bandits 12/06/08 (B)
* Pushing Tin 12/05/08 (B)
Peter's Friends 12/04/08 (B-)
The Man Who Knew Too Little 12/03/08 (B-)
* Boston Legal: 4:4 12/02/08 (B)
Midnight Clear 12/01/08 (C+)

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The Late Shift (1996)

"Gentleman, we are just going from one bizarre circumstance to the next."

Based on the incidents revolving around signing a replacement for the legendary Johnny Carson of the Tonight Show.

David Letterman (John Michael Higgins) and Jay Leno (Daniel Roebuck) were once involved in fierce rivalry to win the seat Carson was vacating after a 30-year reign as the King of Late Night TV.

Leno's aggressive manager, Helen Kushnick (Kathy Bates), fought tooth and nail for Leno's contract and as a producer of the Tonight Show, she also did whatever she could to assure that Letterman remained out of any contention for the job or as a competitor. Meanwhile, Letterman brought in superagent Michael Ovitz (Treat Williams) who negotiated Letterman's move to CBS.

Appearing as various network executives are: Bob Balaban as Warren Littlefield, Ed Begley Jr. as Rod Perth, Reni Santoni as John Agoglia, Steven Gilborn as Peter Lassally, John Getz as Brandon Tartikoff, Paul Elder as Rupert Mudoch, Kevin Scannell as Dick Ebersol. Rich Little portrays Johnny Carson and Aaron Lustig plays Letterman's musical director Paul Shaffer.

Directed by Betty Thomas.

This made-for-TV movie originally played on HBO.

Run time: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Rated R for language.

My personal rating: B-

Ghost Town (2008)

"The dead have a lot of unfinished business, which is why we're still here."

Socially awkward, curmudgeonly dentist Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) demands a general anesthetic when he goes to the hospital to have a colonoscopy. On his way home, he is suddenly being followed by dead people who are incredulous that Pincus can see them. Pincus can't begin to fathom why he is seeing dead people until his surgeon (Kristen Wiig) tells him that during the medical procedure, he died for fully seven minutes before being revived. Pincus is stuck between the living and the dead.

Several of the dead want Pincus to carry messages for him to their living family and friends because they cannot leave this earth with unfinished business. But Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear) beats out all the other NYC ghosts who have unfinished business in getting Pincus to do a favor for him.

Herlihy is disturbed by the fact that his widow Gwen (Téa Leoni) is now engage to Richard (Bill Campbell), a human rights attorney and professional do-gooder. Herlihy wants Pincus to run interference and break up this relationship.

Dana Ivey is also in the cast as an elderly ghost who needs a message taken to her daughter to settle a misunderstanding.

Co-written and directed by David Koepp.

Run time: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Rated PG-13 for some strong language, sexual humor and drug references.

My personal rating: B-

Runaway Jury (2003)

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"Trials are too important to be decided by juries."

When a day trader (Dylan McDermott) is shot to death at his office in New Orleans, his widow hires an idealistic attorney, Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), to sue the gun manufacturer.

The defense team is lead by (Bruce Davison), but the real power of the team lies in the ruthless jury consultant Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman) who stops at nothing to discover everything he can on every potential juror and even more on those selected to serve on the jury.

Juror Nicholas Easter (John Cusack) and his girlfriend Marlee (Rachel Weisz) on the outside of the courtroom are collaborating to sell the verdict to either the prosecuting or the defending attorney. But what is their agenda?

Complex, with many twists and turns, and much suspense.

Others in the stellar cast include: Bruce McGill, Jeremy Piven, Jennifer Beals, Nora Dunn, Rusty Schwimmer, Luis Guzmán, Celia Weston.

Based on a novel by John Grisham. Directed by Gary Fleder.

Run time: 2 hours, 7 minutes

Rated PG-13 for violence, language and thematic elements.

My personal rating: B

Marilyn Hotckiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (2005)

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"Dance is a very powerful drug, Mr. Keane. If embraced judiciously, it can exorcise demons, access deep seated emotions and color your life in joyous shades of brilliant magenta that you never knew existed."

Frank Keane (Robert Carlyle) has been dragging through life since his beloved wife's death. Basically he goes to work as a baker and he reluctantly participates in group therapy with other grieving widowers under the direction of Dr. Rafael Horowitz (David Paymer).

One day, while driving, Keane comes across the scene of a serious accident and attempts to comfort the injured driver, Steve Mills (John Goodman). Mills was enroute to fulfill a promise he had made 42 years before -- to meet up with Lisa Gobar, his first love, at Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School where Mills and Gobar had their first tender pre-pubescent flirtations.

Keane stays right with the seriously injured Mills for the long ambulance ride and hears Mills recount the story of the young love and the importance to him of fulfilling the promise he'd made. Mills pledges Keane to please go to the dance school and explain to the adult Gobar what had happened so she won't be left thinking he'd forgotten her.

Upon arriving at the dance school, Keane finds that Marilyn was long since deceased but her daughter Marienne (Mary Steenburgen) continued her mother's tradition. Will Keane find Mills' first love? Will he find something else?

A charming little story packed with well known actors. Appearing in various other roles including other widowers and dancers at the dance school are Marisa Tomei, Donnie Wahlberg, Sean Astin, Danny DeVito, Sonia Braga, Camryn Manheim, Adam Arkin, Ernie Hudson, Kate Mulligan.

Written and directed by Randall Miller.

Run time: 1 hour, 43 minutes

Rated PG-13 for mature situations and language.

My personal rating: B

August (2008)

implosion.com

Brothers Tom (Josh Hartnett) and Josh (Adam Scott) have taken their innovative dot.com public, and in four short days, the stock has risen 500%. Their plan is to wait the requisite 30 day lock out and then sell their own stock and become millionaires for real instead of on paper.

But it's less than a month before the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Can Landshark.com sustain? Can they survive?

Also appearing are: Naomie Harris as Tom's former lover who has just returned to the city, Rip Torn as the Sterling boys' father David, Caroline Lagerfelt as their mother Nancy, Emmanuelle Chriqui as Josh's wife Morela, Robin Tunney and Andre Royo as company strategists Melanie Hanson and Dylan Gottschalk, David Bowie as Cyrus Ogilvie who is determined to take over the fledgling company.

Directed by Austin Chick.

Run time: 1 hour, 22 minutes

Rated R for language and some sexual content.

My personal rating: C+

Hancock (2008)

"Fate doesn't decide everything.

People get to choose."

John Hancock (Will Smith) is rude, crude, slovenly, profane -- and a superhero. Able to leap tall buildings and all that. Impervious to bullets. Stronger than anything known on earth. While much violence and murder has been stopped in LA by Hancock's powers, his destructive methods have made him a wanted man by the police.

When he saves the life of a do-gooder public relations guru Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), Hancock finds someone who really cares about him and is intent on improving Hancock's public image. Despite his commitment to alchohol rehab and anger managment, Hancock is still imprisoned where life is diffult among many of those who have been imprisoned by Hancock's previous actions. Ray continues to work with Hancock to earn his early release provided Hancock turns over a new leaf as a more polite and helpful superhero.

But Ray's wife Mary (Charlize Theron) is very leery of Hancock and concerned about Ray's involvement with the man of iron. But why? What's Mary's secret?

Also appearing are: Eddie Marsan and Jae Head as the Embrey's young son.

Directed by Peter Berg.

Run time: 1 hour, 32 minutes

Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language.

My personal rating: A-

Living in Oblivion (1995)

Independent filmmaking is a rough go. Money is tight. Schedule is intense. Not a penny to waste on many re-takes. For an avid film fan like me, this is an interesting look into that world of filmmaking.

Nick Reve (Steve Buscemi) is directing a low-budget indie and has to deal with actors who are prepared and ready but who are delayed due to techinical difficulties, actors who are prima donas, techs who are bubbleheads, and a cranky dwarf.

Others in the cast include Catherine Keener, Dermot Mulroney, Danielle von Zerneck, James LeGros, Rica Martens, Peter Dinklage, Kevin Corrigan, Tom Jarmusch.

Written and directed by Tom DiCillo.

Run time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Rated R for strong language.

My personal rating: B-

Step Brothers (2008)

Dale Doback:

I manage a baseball team.

Nancy Huff:

Oh, little league?

Dale Doback:

Fantasy league.

When two totally immature and spoiled men -- Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell, who co-wrote the script) and Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) -- find themselves thrown together as step brothers when their parents (Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins) marry, the result is fierce bickering and aggression towards each other, lots of farting, crude, rude and flat out nasty behavior.

Can these two morons ever get along with each other and get along in real life?

Adam Scott appears as Brennan's arrogant brother.

Co-written and directed by Adam McKay.

Run time: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Rated R for crude and sexual content, and pervasive language.

My personal rating: C

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

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What's the use of looking backward? What's the use of looking ahead? Today's the thing -- that's my philosophy. Today."

Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten) leaves his home in Philadelphia to spend some time with his sister's family in Santa Rosa, California. He's a man with something to hide and his namesake niece, Charlie Newton (Teresa Wright), who adores her uncle Charlie, begins to suspect her uncle is in trouble.

When two detectives (Macdonald Carey, Wallace Ford) arrive, young Charllie is alarmed and begins to worry that her beloved uncle is a serial killer -- "The Merry Widow Murderer." But is he? In classic noir style, the story unfolds, full of mystery and surprises.

Henry Travers and Patricia Collinge play young Charlie's parents. Hume Cronyn is her father's crime mystery critique friend.
Masterfully directed by Alfred Hitchcock with those stunning musical interludes and bold crescendos by Dimitri Tiomkin. Screenplay co-written by Thornton Wilder, who brought a certain Our Town element to the family and town.

Run time: 1 hour, 48 minutes

Not rated by MPAA.

My personal rating: B

The Dancer Upstairs (2002)

"Half the people we meet, we get wrong."

Agustín Rejas (Javier Bardem), a former attorney in search of a more honest way of practicing the law, is now a police detective trying to track down the revolutionary Ezequiel, an anarchist who has incited the downtrodden to overthrow the fascist government. The elusive Ezequiel inspires children and teenage girls to carry bombs into the center of activity and to shoot goverment leaders.

Rejas has his self respect, a beautiful but shallow wife (Alexandra Lencastre), a talented young daughter (Marie-Anne Berganza), and the intensity of his work. With the increase of Ezequiel's directed violence and the declaration of martial law, Rejas becomes quite smitten with his daughter's dance teacher, Yolanda (Laura Morante). But is she a shelter in the storm or is she the eye of the storm?

Others in the cast include Juan Diego Botto and Elvira Mínguez as two of Rejas' fellow detectives, Oliver Cotton as the chief of detectives, Abel Folk as Ezequiel Durán, and Luís Miguel Cintra as Calderón, the military investigator.

This first directorial effort of John Malkovich spun an interesting story that held my interest, however it could have been edited down by about 30 minutes. I suspect it earned my personal rating on the basis of Bardem's bedroom eyes and dimpled cheeks.

Run time: 2 hours, 12 minutes

Rated R for strong violence, and for language.

My personal rating: B

That Thing You Do! (1996)

In every life there comes a time when that dream you dream becomes that thing you do.

It's the year after the Beatles landed in the USA and garage bands are flourishing and rising to the top of the pop charts. Even Erie turns out a a four/four beat band -- the One-ders.

Jazz musician Guy Patterson (Scott TE) recruited into the band the One-ders when the regular drummer, Chad (Giovanni Ribisi), breaks his arm. Patterson father, who owns an appliance store where Guy works, isn't happy about this turn of events as the band wins a local talent contest and is a hit playing at a local Italian restaurant. But when an agent signs up the One-ders with the promise of huge success, what are four teenage boys to do?

It doesn't take long for a big record executive, Mr. White (Tom Hanks, who also wrote and directed this film), to sign the boys to PlayTone records and take them on tour with the PlayTone stable to state fairs around the country. But when their hot record, "That Thing You Do," takes the nation by storm, the boys really break out in the big time.

Other band members include Jimmy Mattingly (Johnathon Schaech), Lenny Haise (Steve Zahn) and T.B. Player (Ethan Embry).

Others in the cast are Liv Tyler as Jimmy's girlfriend Faye, Charlize Theron as Guy's girlfriend Tina, Alex Rocco as the top PlayTone dude, Clint Howard as a disc jockey, Kevin Pollak as Boss Vic Koss, a stage show manager and host, plus Peter Scolari, Rita Wilson, Chris Isaak. Hanks' kids Colin Hanks and Elizabeth Hanks even got bit parts.

Run time: 1 hour, 44 minutes

Rated PG for some language.

My personal rating: C+

Save the Last Dance (2001)

"You're my best luck."

On the brink of being accepted into the Julliard School of Dance, teenage ballerina Sara Johnson's (Julia Stiles) beloved mother and best supporter is killed in an accident. Her dreams dashed, Sara must move across town from her suburban home and upscale school to live with her father, Roy (Terry Kinney), a musician, in a seedy apartment in a tough neighborhood in Chicago.

In her new school, Sara is one of the few white students but Chenille Reynolds (Kerry Washington) takes Sara under her wing and introduces her to Chenille's crowd, but not before Sara and Derek Reynolds (Sean Patrick Thomas), Chenille's brother who is academically talented, fall into a discussion of great recent American writers.

Chenille steers Sara away from those she shouldn't hang out with, teaches Sara the lingo and the dress of their peers, and takes her to a 21-club after securing fake ID for Sara. Sara quickly learns the street ways for a girl to deal with a guy, and also learns more than she thought possible about rap and hip hop.

Others in the cast include: Fredro Starr, Bianca Lawson, Vince Green, Garland Whitt, Elisabeth Oas, Artel Kayàru, Dorothy Martin.

Directed by Thomas Carter.

Run time: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content, language and brief drug references.

My personal rating: C+

And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)

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"It's stupid really.

You spend your lifetime trying to avoid talking to someone and then, all of a sudden, it's too late."

Based on Blake Morrison's reminiscences of his own father.

Arthur Morrison (Jim Broadbent) is dying. His son Blake (Colin Firth) arrives to be with him. As the days pass, Blake recalls the years with his father, the love and the frustration, the irritations and intimacies of their relationship, and questions the nature of of the relationship between parent and child.

Tender and poignant.

Bradley Johnson and Matthew Beard are touching as Blake as a child and as a teenager. Also appearing are Juliet Stevenson and Claire Skinner as Arhtur's wife and daughter, Elaine Cassidy as Blake's first love,

The music, which ranges from classical and opera to rock 'n roll, is finely tuned to the tone of each scene.

Directed by Anand Tucker.

Run time: 1 hour, 32 minutes

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, thematic material and brief strong language.

My personal rating: B

The Long Good Friday (1980)

Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins, in his breakthrough role), is the leading London gangster. He's forming an alliance with shady Americans to fund the London canino development. But when bombs destroy some of Shand's properties and some of his staff are found murdered, he's driven to find out who is responsible.

Others in the cast include Helen Mirren as Shand's moll, Pierce Brosnan in a non-speaking, small but pivotal role, Paul Freeman, Charles Cork, Eddie Constantine, Leo Dolan.

Directed by John Mackenzie.

Run time: 1 hour, 54 minutes

Rated R.

My personal rating: C+

Birds of America (2008)

"My father left me this house. And the mortgage when I was 18. Along with his first edition of Audubon Birds of America. a dying mother, a 12-year-old sister, and a 7-year-old brother."

College professor Morrie (Matthew Perry) is a regular guy -- well, maybe an uptight and worrying kind of regular guy -- who lives with his wife Betty (Lauren Graham) in his childhood home. She wants to have a baby but he's worried about getting tenure first and that goal drives him.

They live next door to Paul (Gary Wilmes) and Laura (Hilary Swank). Paul is Morrie's mentor and put Morries name up for tenure. Morrie is not only indebted to Paul, Morrie also feels compelled to suck up to Paul in order to get tenure.

Life gets complicated when Morrie's unstable younger sister Ida (Ginnifer Goodwin) and brother Jay (Ben Foster) hit rock bottom and both come to live with Morrie in the family museum -- errrr, make that family home.

Morrie had basically raised Ida and Jay due to their father's suicide and their mother's illness and early death. He feels obligated to them even though their problems are significant and may compromise Morrie's marriage and his career.

Others in cast include Daniel Eric Gold, Vivien Kells, Zoë Kravitz, and Stacie Theon.

Directed by Craig Lucas.

Run time: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Rated R for language, some sexuality and brief drug use.

My personal rating: C

Edges of the Lord (2001)

When the Germans occupy Poland, a Kraków couple send Romek (Haley Joel Osment), their 12-year-old son, to the countryside to live with a Catholic family to escape near certain horrors at the hands of the Nazis. His father had tutored him in the tenants and prayers of Catholicism in hopes that he can blend in.

Romek's new foster parents, Gniecio (Olaf Lubaszenko) and Manka (Malgorzata Foremniak), have two sons. The older boy, Vladek (Richard Banel), is not happy about Romek's arrival, but the younger boy, Tolo (Liam Hess), who is somewhat ethereal, takes a liking to Romek.

Under the direction of the village priest (Willem Dafoe), Romek, Vladek, Tolo, and a neighbor girl Maria (Olga Frycz) begin to prepare for their first communion.

In the meantime, the Nazi presence becomes more apparent in the community and many gentile Poles are slaughtered, including Gniecio and Maria's father. As witnesses to these atrocities, the children are terrified and young Tolo becomes like a reincarnation of Jesus. Tolo's faith gives young Romek solace.

Two older boys, Robal (Chiril Vahonin) and Pyra (Wojciech Smolarz), harass Romek, Tolo, Vladek and Maria, and later, while the four friends are spying on Robal and Pyra threatening and stealing from the Jews who are jumping off of trains to escape the Nazi, an incident happens that causes Romek to be caught by the German soldiers. He is terrified he'll be killed but when he is mistaken for a gentile boy, he is paraded around by the Nazi commander as a hero.

Though he is embarrassed about being mistaken as a gentile, Romek doesn't deny it, however one of his young friends makes the ultimate sacrifice.

This is an intense, powerful film and the children actors are just incredible in such difficult roles.

Written and directed by Yurek Bogayevicz.

Run time: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Rated R for some violence and sexual content.

My personal rating: A-

Before Night Falls (2000)

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The Child of Always

Based on the memoir of the legendary Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas (played by Javier Bardem) who was vilified in Castro's Cuba because he was homosexual. After his imprisonment and torture in Cuba, Arenas self-exiled to NYC.

Also starring Giovanni Florido as the young Arenas, with small roles played by Johnny Depp and Sean Penn. Also appearing: Olivier Martinez, Andrea di Stefano, John Ortiz, Santiago Magill, Michael Wincott.

Directed by Julian Schnabel, who also co-wrote the script.

Run time: 2 hours, 13 minutes

Rated R for strong sexual content, some language and brief violence.

My personal rating: B

The Dog Problem (2006)

"Life is a delicate negotiation."

Neurotic writer Solo Harrington (Giovanni Ribisi) can no longer afford the five visits a week he paid to his strink, Dr. Nourmand (Don Cheadle), over the past year. He's in debt to a thug named Benny (Kevin Corrigan) and struggling to complete a book so he can pay off the debt.

When Dr. Nourmand suggests Solo get a pet, Solo is skeptical but goes to the pet shop looking for an easy to keep, non-demanding dog who can go poo on the balcony of Solo's LA apartment. He ends up with a scruffy Tongan terrier who drives him crazy. The pup messes in the house, chews things, and barks. Solo has a lot of trouble bonding so his friend Casper (Scott Caan, who also wrote and directed the film) urges him to get rid of the unnamed dog.

Despite his desire to get rid of the dog, Solo feels nobody is right to take him so, in time, the pup starts to grow on Solo and his life begins to change.

Others in the cast include: Mena Suvari, Lynn Collins, Tito Ortiz, Kimo Leopoldo.

Music by the Devo man Mark Mothersbaugh.

Run time: 1 hour, 22 minutes

Rated R for language, some sexual content and nudity.

My personal rating: B-

An American Crime (2007)

Based on the 1965 true story that shocked the nation.

When Lester and Betty Likens (Nick Searcy, Romy Rosemont) need to leave their two girls behind while they travel the carnival circuit, they pay Gertrude Baniszewski (Catherine Keener) $20 a week to care for the girls, Sylvia (Ellen Page) and Jennie (Hayley McFarland).

Gertrude was raising six children on her own in Indianapolis, so the added money was most welcome. Little did Sylvia and Jennie's parents know, however, how mentally unstable Gertrude. What resulted was one of the most horrendous crimes of child abuse in the nation.

Also appearing are Ari Graynor, James Franco, Scout Taylor-Compton, Tristan Jarred, Hannah Leigh Dworkin, Bradley Whitford, Michael O'Keefe.

Co-written and directed by Tommy O'Haver who grew up in Indianapolis and remembers this crime well.

Run time: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Rated R for strong and disturbing depiction of child abuse and torture.

My personal rating: B

Mrs. Dalloway (1997)

An interesting story of contrasts about what's really important in life, based on a story by Virginia Woolf.

Matronly Clarissa Dalloway (Vanessa Redgrave) is planning a party and on the day she heads out into 1923 London to buy flowers. On the trip she reminisces about her youth (played in flashbacks by Natascha McElhone), her youthful friend Sally (Lena Headey), her first love with the young Peter Walsh (Alan Cox), and her eventual marriage to the young Richard Dalloway (Robert Portal, played as a mature man by John Standing).

As the day progresses, Clarissa discovers that Peter Walsh (played as a mature man by Michael Kitchen) has just returned to London after years of living as somewhat of a playboy in India.

Meanwhile, Septimus Warren Smith (Rupert Graves) and his wife Rezia (Amelia Bullmore) are struggling with the horrendous post traumatic shock Septimus suffers from his brutal experiences in the Great War.

Sumptuous costuming and lovely cinematography

Directed by Marleen Gorris.

Run time: 1 hour, 37 minutes

Rated PG-13 for emotional elements and brief nudity.

My personal rating: B-

The Closer (TV Series)

When detective Brenda Lee Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) moves from Atlanta to LA to become the Deputy Police Chief running the Priority Homicide Division, her brusque style and unorthodox methods cause her mostly male team of detectives to be highly critical of her. But their success rate is high in solving the city's toughest and most sensitive cases.

Also appearing in the series are: J.K. Simmons, Corey Reynolds, Robert Gossett, G.W. Bailey, Jon Tenney, Anthony John Denison, Phillip P. Keene, Michael Paul Chan, Gina Ravera.

This series, created by James Duff, premiered on TNT in 2005.

My personal rating: B

Bandits (2001)

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Butch & Sundance

Join

Barnum & Bailey

A daring but spontaneous prison break sends two criminals out into the world to make their way. And, of course, that means a life of crime until they can get from Oregon to Mexico, buy a resort, and spend their days wearing tuxedos and serving margaritas to tourists.

The bold and charismatic Joe Blake (Bruce Willis) and neurotic Terry Lee Collins (Billy Bob Thornton) make quite a team as they become known as "The Sleepover Bandits" for their penchant for taking bank managers and their families hostage in the evening so they can gain early morning access to the banks and vaults.

Add Joe's idjit nephew Harvey "Dog" Pollard (Troy Garity) as their get-away driver and a distressed and eccentric housewife (Cate Blanchett) who Terry Lee carjacked only to have both Terry Lee and Joe fall for her as she joins their band.

A clever and funny film with lots of subtle moments.

Willis' daughters Scout LaRue Willis and Tallulah Belle Willis appear as the daughters of one bank manager. Also appearing are January Jones and Brian F. O'Byrne.

Directed by Barry Levinson.

Run time: 2 hours, 3 minutes

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content, language and violence.

My personal rating: B

Pushing Tin (1999)

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"You land a million planes safely, then you have one little midair and you never hear the end of it."

When air traffic controller Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton) transfers to the NYC area from Colorado, a one-upsmanship match begins between Bell and Nick "The Zone" Falzone (John Cusack), the self-proclaimed king of the tower. Bell is quiet but has a reputation as of recklessness while Falzone is cocky and precise.

In short order, the competition leads to the bedroom when Falzone has an affair with Bell's exotic wife Mary (Angelina Jolie) thus compromising his own marriage to Connie (Cate Blanchett).

Also appearing as controllers are are Jake Weber, Matt Ross, and Vicki Lewis, with Michael Willis as their boss.

Directed by Mike Newell.

Run time: 2 hours, 4 minutes

Rated R for language and a scene of sexuality.

My personal rating: B

Peter's Friends (1992)

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The Big Chill

in England

Peter Morton (Stephen Fry) has recently inherited his family estate and is having trouble deciding whether to sell it or not. The only thing he knows for certain is that he wants to have a party.

It's been 10 years since he finished college and quite some time since he and his five best college chums have all been together so Peter invites them for the New Year's weekend.

Even though he lives in her shadow, Andrew Benson (Kenneth Branagh, who also directed) brings his neurotic Hollywood celebrity wife Carol (Rita Rudner, who also co-write the script with her husband). Successful jingle writers Roger and Mary Charleston (Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton), who married fresh out of college, are present though Mary is obsessively distracted by the fact that their young son isn't with them. The beautiful and very sexy Sarah Johnson (Alphonsia Emmanuel) brings her new loose cannon affair du jour Brian (Tony Slattery). Pitifully plain and awkward Maggie Chester (Emma Thompson) attends alone but has ulterior motives.

Vera (Phyllida Law), who had been the housekeeper/cook for Peter's father, agreed to stay on until the first of the year before retiring because Peter asked her to. Her teenage son Paul (Alex Lowe), who has grown up on the estate, is also on hand to help with the guests' needs.

Over the course of a few days, they reminisce about the good old times and the bad, and the joys and angst, bitterness and boldness, and all manner of other emotions spill out between the the six college chums and the two outsiders.

A pretty terrific soundtrack includes Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It," Queen's "You're My Best Friend," Cindi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart," Eric Clapton's "Give Me Strength," The Pretenders' "Don't Get Me Wrong," Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World," Nina Simone's "My Baby Just Cares For Me,: Michael Nesmith's "Rio," Daryl Braithwaite's "As The Days Go By," Elton Johns' "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues," The Pasadenas' "Let's Stay Together," Terence Trent D'Arby's "If You Let Me Stay," and other familiar pieces.

Run time: 1 hour, 41 minutes

This aired on BBC. Not rated by MPAA.

My personal rating: B-

The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)

Wally Richie (Bill Murray), a Blockbuster employee from Des Moines, decides to spend the birthday money his brother sent him for a trip to London to surprise his brother Jimmy (Peter Gallagher). Little does the doltish Wally know that Jimmy is involved in espionage and doesn't need Wally to be in London right at that time.

Jimmy gives Wally tickets to the Theater of Life, an experiemental participatory theater activity, which Wally sinks himself into while Jimmy is hosting a dinner for international leaders.

Unfortunately, Wally is mistaken for a spy and becomes emeshed in plot to assassinate Russian dignitaries just as a treaty is to be signed that would avert a second Cold War. Now the CIA is involved along with a Russian hauncho, Boris "The Butcher" Blavasky (Alfred Molina), a Russian femme fatale, Dr. Ludmilla Kropotkin (Geraldine James), a corpse and a ticking bomb.

Directed by Jon Amiel.

Run time: 1 hour, 34 minutes

Rated PG for language, innuendo, comic violence and sensuality.

My personal rating: B-

Midnight Clear (2006)

Christmas time can be the loneliest and sadness time of the year for many people. This is the story of several people who are facing challenges, feeling alone, depressed and isolated, who cross each others paths on Christmas Eve and how even the smallest things in life can make the difference to someone.

The cast includes: Stephen Baldwin, K Callan, Kirk B.R. Woller, Mary Thornton, Mitchell Jarvis, Richard Fancy, Victoria Jackson, Richard Riehle, Diane Delanom, Wren T. Brown, Dominic Scott Kay, Loren Lester, Patricia Rae.

Based on a short story by Jerry B. Jenkins. Directed by Dallas Jenkins.

Run time: 1 hour, 43 minutes

Rated PG-13 for some mature thematic elements.

My personal rating: C+