Charles (Steve Harris), a successful Atlanta attorney attends an awards dinner in his honor with his wife Helen (Kimberly Elise). Hers is the voice-over as she writes in her diary about her childless marriage of 18 years. On the way home from the dinner, Charles practically pushes Helen out of the car in front of their huge mansion. Helen knows he has a mistress, but he will not admit it.   The next day, their anniversary, Helen takes lunch to... Read more

Texas Ranger Roland Sharp (Tommy Lee Jones) and his partner are trying to track down a witness who can testify against a drug lord. They visit the ex-con Reverend Percy Stevens (Cedric the Entertainer) at his church because he was in jail with the witness. He denies being in touch with his former cell-mate and tries to run just when the witness calls the Reverend on his cell phone. The Reverend hides the phone up the behind of a cow,... Read more

Hitch (Will Smith) is a romantic comedy about  a New York “date doctor” or “consultant” who advises guys on how to get to first base, and then maybe second or third, with a girl.   Hitch won’t take on just anyone, however. He turns down a financial executive, Vance (Jeffrey Donovan), because he makes it obvious he only wants to use women, not woo them in view of a commitment.   Then, across town, there’s a gossip columnist, Sara, (Eve... Read more

Oscars 2005: Who will win? Here’s my best guess list based on buzz as well as the quality of the productions. Sometimes I may not like the message or subject matter of a film, but it would be impossible for me to ignore its artistic or emotional impact. I did not see BORN INTO BROTHELS but have read about it and heard about it from friends; AUTISM IS A WORLD is another one I didn’t see, but a favored topic (as is the... Read more

Given the nominations, there are no clear front-runners for any category, except Best Director, which I think Martin Scorsese deserves. However, I live in hope. I have seen all these films except BORN INTO BROTHELS, SR. ROSE’S PASSION and THE CHORUS, but I am going by what I have read and heard from friends- which can be risky, true, but I am hoping for the best. I eliminated a couple of categories because I hadn’t seen nor heard of them before. I... Read more

  John Constantine is a Vertigo/DC comic book hero who came into being in 1985. He is a supreme “mage”, or magician, part scoundrel, part good guy.   In Constantine the movie (2005) Keanu Reeves plays a kind of anti-hero, a Catholic named John Constantine (note the initials JC), who as a young man committed suicide but hell didn’t want him. He is still roaming the earth, seeking redemption. He has a wry sense of humor and a really bad... Read more

Because of Winn-Dixie is the story about a lonely little girl and the stray dog she adopts, their adventures, and especially the friends they make, over one long summer.    Opal (AnnaSophia Robb) rescues Winn-Dixie from the dog pound (she names him on the spot at the supermarket where he is joyfully wreaking havoc), takes him home to her preacher father (Jeff Daniels) who only reluctantly agrees to keep the orphan Winn-Dixie until the owner can be found. The preacher... Read more

After Dr. David Callaway (Robert DeNiro) discovers his wife’s (Amy Irving) body in the bathtub, with her wrists slashed, he decides that he must move outside of New York for the sake of his daughter, Emily (Dakota Fanning). She has been in therapy for several weeks after her mother’s death, and her doctor, Katherine (Famke Jansenn) a former student of David’s, doesn’t think it’s a good thing to do. But they go anyway.   David and Emily move an hour north into a... Read more

The Steed family moves from Vermont to Palmyra, New York in the late 1820’s. Once there, they settle on some land outside of town and start to clear it for farming. The two older sons, Nathan (Alexander Carroll) and Joshua (Eric Johnson) are attracted to Lydia (Tiffany Dupont) the daughter of a shop owner. The work is difficult and Mr. Steed (Sam Hennings) hires the two Smith brothers, Joseph (Jonathan Scarfe of ABC’s 2004 telefilm Judas) and Matthew (Colin Ford),... Read more

In 1999, sports store owner Ken Carter, played by Samuel L. Jackson, took over as basketball coach at Richmond High School in California. He led the team with strength, taught the young men discipline with dignity and made them champions. But the team had to sign contracts to attend class, sit in the front of the class and keep up their GPA’s. When they failed to keep their end of the bargain, Carter cancelled games and locked the gym. Not... Read more