Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) is the new art teacher in a British secondary school. An older teacher, almost ready to retire, Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) befriends her. Cate invites her into her home to have dinner with her husband, Richard, (Bill Nighy) and their two children, one of whom has Down Syndrome. But Barbara misunderstands Sheba’s friendship – or rather, Sheba doesn’t get Barbara’s overtures.     Barbara wants Sheba all to herself. She turns especially predatory when she catches... Read more

In the late 1950’s Detroit, three young women, Deena (Beyonce Knowles), Lorelle (Anika Noni Rose) and Effie (Jennifer Hudson), who have sung together since they were twelve-years old, get a break singing backups to James “Thunder Early (Eddie Murphy). When they are finally ready to go out on their own, helped by their manager and record producer Curtis Taylor (Jamie Foxx), C.C. (Keith Robinson), Effie’s brother, writes their music and she sings lead.   It’s proves difficult for the trio... Read more

This DVD (or video) set is extremely helpful to media literacy educators because of the numerous clips, and brief and entertaining presentations of just what media literacy is, e.g. The House Hippo and the BBC April Fool’s special about the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest. This is a must have if you use clips in your presentations. – Rose    ScanningTelevision Celebrating the 10th Anniversary A special offer for educators Second set of Videos Free Save $200 Dear friends and colleagues Ten years ago... Read more

  (I have been getting several emails about FARGO (1996) because it was just on TV … I wrote this short essay for the City of Angels Film Festival in 2001 and I thought I would post it here. It’s on the AFI top 100 films list.) _____________________________________________ That was Mrs. Lundergaard on the floor in there and I guess your accomplice in the wood chipper…. And three people dead in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of... Read more

Best and Worst Films of 2006 (of the 98 I saw…)   As usual, a flurry of promising films is being released before the end of the year so they can be considered for the Golden Globes Awards (January 15, 2007, NBC) and the Academy Awards (February 25, 2007): Miss Potter, The Good German, Dreamgirls, Children of Men, Perfume, Notes on a Scandal, the Painted Veil, Letters from Iwo Jima, etc. Volver, with Penelope Cruz, is getting a lot of buzz,... Read more

Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) is recruited for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services; precursor to the CIA) while at Yale University. He had witnessed his father’s suicide, a U.S. senator, as a child and kept hidden the suicide note, without reading it, for years. He seems born to secrecy. As a student he was tapped for membership in the secret Skull and Bones Society at Yale (George H.W. Bush and John Kerry are said to be members), a group to... Read more

Larry Daly (Ben Stiller) is a divorced dad living in New York City struggling to make a living from his various get-rich schemes. His former wife Erica (Kim Raver) doesn’t want to continue letting their son, Nick (Jake Cherry) visit him until he shows more stability.   Larry takes a job as the night watchman at the museum. The three retiring watchmen played by Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, and Bill Cobbs, show Larry the ropes, and on their way... Read more

Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are on vacation in Morocco to heal the wounds of the death of a child. Two young brothers, trying to hit a target at 3km with the rifle their father bought to kill jackels, shoot at the tour bus and a bullet hits Susan. One of the guides directs the bus to his village where Richard scrambles for help. He calls his home in San Diego to make sure his two older children,... Read more

As a plane filled with members of the Marshall University football team, boosters, family members, coaches, staff, and airline crew, was about to land at the airport serving Huntington, West Virginia on November 14, 1970, it crashed during a storm. 75 people lost their lives. The small town was devastated.   Dean Donald Dedmon (David Strathairn) and some of the university’s board members want to close down the football program to honor those who died. But one student and team member,... Read more

This review was posted on the www.signis.net (SIGNIS is the Vatican-approved international Catholic organization for communication) website today (December 21). “Stampita” = holy cards. The writer goes to the heart of this Christmas film. I love the familiar style the writer uses for her readers. R “The Nativity Story” Seen from the Philippines Manilla, November 25, 2006 (OCDS/Teresa R. Tunay) – The creative and realistic depiction of Mary and Joseph in The Nativity Story can teach the Church a thing or two about... Read more