
Monday, April 11, 2011
THE MODEL COUPLE

THE MIDDLE OF THE WORLD

THE MAN OF THE YEAR

THE LAST KISS

MT FAIR LADY

MURDER MOST FAUL

MURDER AT THE GALLOP

MURDER AHOY

MR HULOT'S HOLIDAY

MOUSEHUNT

MISS POTTER

MEN IN BLACK II

MELINDA'S WORLD

ME, YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW

MASCULIN FEMININ

MAR ADENTRO

LE MAGNIFIQUE

GIGI

(1958) G
Leslie Caron stars as Gigi, an avant-garde French waif being groomed as the fille de joie of affluent and handsome Gaston (Louis Jourdan). Soon Gigi metamorphoses into a stunning beauty, and the head-over-heels Gaston asks for her hand. But Gigi's courtesan grandmother is aghast: No one in the family has ever considered something as plebeian as matrimony! This 1958 gem won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director (Vincente Minnelli).
A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH

Wallace & Gromit: Loaf and Death
(2008) NR
The bread business booms for Wallace and his clever pooch, Gromit, when they open their windmill-powered bakery, Top Bun. But danger looms when local bakers begin disappearing without a trace in this tongue-in-cheek mystery. Convinced that Wallace's new lady friend, Piella Bakewell -- a former model for the Bake-O-Lite bread company -- is behind the crimes, Gromit enlists the help of Piella's own dog, Fluffles, to save his beloved master.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2

THE NAVIGATOR

MR. TOAD'S WILD RIDE
MONSTERS VS ALIENS

MERLIN'S APPRENTICE

FULL MOON IN PARIS

A NOUS LA LIBERTE

THE HOLY GIRL

MANSFIELD PARK

MY SISTER'S KEEPER

PRETEND YOU DON'T SEE HER

1900

1900
Novecento
(1977) NR
Bernardo Bertolucci's epic tale follows the lives of two Italian men -- a peasant (Gerard Depardieu) and a landowner (Robert De Niro) -- both born on Jan. 1, 1900. Friends as children, the two become estranged as their differing social status pulls them apart. Their personal conflicts mirror the political events in Italy, as both fascism and socialism gain footholds in the country. Sterling Hayden, Donald Sutherland and Burt Lancaster co-star.
METROPOLITAN

Metropolitan
(1990) PG-13
Writer-director Whit Stillman's witty comedy of manners (which won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature) pokes gentle fun at a group of upper-class Manhattan preppies who gather regularly to play bridge and engage in intellectual discussion. Led by acerbic cynic Nick (Christopher Eigeman), the coterie adopts "proletariat" Tom Townsend (Edward Clements), who has reservations about his new socialite friends and what they represent.
Friday, April 1, 2011
THE DUCHESS

Keira Knightley stars as Georgiana Spencer, a young duchess who indulges in extravagant vices and begins a scandalous affair with politician Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper) to balance her unhappy marriage to the duke of Devonshire (Golden Globe–nominated Ralph Fiennes). Director Saul Dibb's lavish adaptation of Amanda Foreman's novel about the real-life 18th-century femme fatale received an Oscar for Best Costume Design.Genre:Romantic Dramas, Pre-20th Century Period Pieces, Dramas Based on Contemporary Literature This movie is:Emotional, Heartfelt, Romantic Format:DVD and Blu-ray
THE LITTLE FUGITIVE

Sibling relations get tested when Lennie Norton (Richard Brewster) must care for his younger brother, 7-year-old Joey (Richie Andrusco). Lennie and his friends soon tire of Joey always being around, so they pull a practical joke on Joey: They tell him he killed Lennie. Believing Lennie's pals, Joey heads for one of the world's largest playgrounds -- Coney Island, where the amusement park and its characters come to life through a child's eyes.Genre:Classic Dramas This movie is:Understated Format:DVD

Barry Grimes (Robson Green) should be happy; he's just received a promotion at his job. Instead, he's dreadfully disappointed because he hasn't climbed ranks within the Metropolitan Police, which is what he had hoped for. He's now on bodyguard detail, protecting His Royal Highness (Rupert Penry-Jones) while he attends the university. And when the prince falls in love with a feisty American (Tara Fitzgerald), Barry's right in the thick of it.Genre:Romantic Comedies, Made-for-TV Movies This movie is:Romantic Format:DVD
WIVES AND DAUGHTERS

Family life changes drastically for the good-natured Molly Gibson (Justine Waddell) when her widowed father (Bill Paterson) decides to remarry, and a woman with her own set of rules (Francesca Annis) -- and a beautiful daughter (Keeley Hawes) -- becomes her stepmother. Award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones's Diary) penned the script to this four-episode BBC miniseries based on Elizabeth Gaskell's unfinished novel. Genre British TV, Pre-20th Century Period Pieces, Dramas Based on Classic Literature
This show is: Emotional, Romantic
- Format: DVD and streaming
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

Eighteen-year-old British royal Victoria (Emily Blunt) ascends to the throne and is romanced by future husband Prince Albert (Rupert Friend) in this lush period film that chronicles the early years of the British monarch's larger-than-life reign. Produced by Martin Scorsese and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, the Oscar-nominated film also stars Miranda Richardson as the Duchess of Kent, Jim Broadbent as King William, and Paul Bettany as Lord Melbourne. Genre:Romantic Dramas, United Kingdom, Biographies This movie is:Emotional, Romantic Format:DVD, Blu-ray and streaming
SECRETS AND LIES

A family confronts shocking secrets and long-forgotten lies in this bittersweet drama. With no man in her life, single mom Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn) finds life with her sullen daughter, Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook), one big disappointment. But everything changes when Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) shows up claiming to be the daughter Cynthia gave up for adoption -- a revelation that shakes Cynthia's entire family. Timothy Spall co-stars.
Genre:Tearjerkers, Social Issue Dramas, United Kingdom This movie is:Cerebral, Emotional, Gritty, Understated Format:DVD availability date unknown
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

When auto mechanic Vince Hopgood (Paul Hogan) learns he owes a bundle in back taxes, he turns to pal Ralph Williams (Michael Caton) for help. It seems there's a new law granting retroactive tax breaks to gay couples, so the two pose as beaus to end Vince's money woes. But they may rue their decision when a suspicious auditor (Pete Postlethwaite) arrives to investigate their claim in this quirky comedy. Genre:Slapstick, Gay & Lesbian Comedies, Indie Comedies This movie is:Quirky Format:DVD and streaming (HD available)
PARIS JE T'AIME

Paris comes to life in this whimsical patchwork of 18 five-minute shorts united by a common theme -- love in the City of Lights -- and helmed by an international cast of filmmakers, including Gus Van Sant, Olivier Assayas and Alexander Payne. Natalie Portman plays an American actress who captures the heart of a blind student; Juliette Binoche is visited by a ghostly Willem Dafoe; Bob Hoskins solicits a prostitute's advice on pleasing his wife.
Genre:Foreign Romance, Foreign Dramas, France This movie is:Romantic Format:DVD and Blu-ray
THE PALLISERS

Get caught up in this BBC drama based on the books of Victorian author Anthony Trollope. Meet Plantagenet Palliser (Phillip Latham) and Lady Glencora (Emmy Award-winner Susan Hampshire), British aristocrats whose lives Trollope aptly renders in his novels (which include Phineas Finn, The Prime Minister and The Duke's Children). The screen versions, like the novels, are rife with intrigue and deep-seated passion.
Genre:TV Classics, Classic TV Dramas, Dramas Based on the Book Format:DVD
NORTHANGER ABBEY

While visiting the degenerate town of Bath, Gothic-romance-novel addict Catherine Moreland (Katherine Schlesinger) gets invited to Northanger Abbey, the ancestral estate of debonair Henry Tilney (Peter Firth), where a foreboding mystery begins to unfold. Catherine's vivid imagination runs wild, while her family tries to focus her thoughts on searching for a wealthy husband in this adaptation of Jane Austen's enduring tome. Genre Romantic Dramas, Dramas Based on the Book, Period Pieces This movie is:Romantic Format:DVD
NINE LIVES

This series of revealing vignettes from writer-director Rodrigo Garcia (Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her) peers into the private lives of nine women who are each pointed toward a different destiny. The all-star ensemble cast includes Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Glenn Close, Dakota Fanning, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Holly Hunter, Mary Kay Place, Sissy Spacek and Robin Wright Penn -- with Joe Mantegna and Aidan Quinn providing the testosterone. Genre:Indie Dramas This movie is:Emotional, Dark, Understated Format:DVD and streaming
MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN

In this knockabout Spanish comedy, Sofia (Rosa Maria Sarda) gets married, builds a successful career as a pianist and is a loving mom to her children, then one day, she wakes up and realizes she's a lesbian. Sofia's three grown daughters all react to their "new" mom very differently, but neurotic sibling Elvira (Leonor Watling) takes the prize when she hits upon a scheme to break up her mother's relationship by seducing Sofia's new lover. Genre:Foreign Gay & Lesbian, Spain, Spanish Language This movie isQuirky Format:DVD
MOSCOW DOES NOT BELIEVE IN TEARS

An Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, this absorbing drama from director Vladimir Menshov centers on three women struggling to establish themselves in Russia's massive, impersonal capital city. Lyudmila, Katya and Antonina are bound by friendship and a shared dream that they will find happiness. Their pursuit of professional and domestic bliss begins in 1958, then jumps ahead 20 years to see how many of their dreams came true. Genre:Romantic Comedies, Foreign Romance, Russian Language This movie iRomantic, Witty Format:DVD
MON ONCLE ANTOINE

Canadian director Claude Jutra's bittersweet coming-of-age tale follows Benoit (Jacques Gagnon), a young teen orphan who spends a few days at Christmastime with his uncle, Antoine (Jean Duceppe), who runs the general store in a small Quebec village. As Benoit helps his uncle prepare for the Christmas rush, he's faces the concepts of love and death for the first time. The film is often cited as one of the greatest ever produced in Canada.Genre:Foreign Classics, Foreign Classic Dramas, Foreign Classic Comedies Format:DVD
MOLIERE

Released from prison, French actor-playwright Molière (Romain Duris) learns his freedom was secured by the wealthy but talentless Jourdain (Fabrice Luchini), who wants his help in putting on a play to seduce a comely young widow he fancies. Molière agrees but must pose as a priest to hide his benefactor's secret motives from the household females -- including Jourdain's wife. Laura Morante co-stars in this period comedy set in 17th-century Paris.Genre:Foreign Romance, France, Foreign Comedies This movie iRomantic, Witty Format:DVD
MIDSOMER MURDERS

"Dead Letters" is an episode from the acclaimed British television mystery series based on Caroline Graham's novels, which follow the life and work of Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby (John Nettles). With help from his sidekick, Detective Constable Ben Jones (Jason Hughes), Barnaby investigates the mysterious drowning of a former festival queen's mother during Midsomer Barton's annual Oak Apple Week.Genre:British TV Dramas, TV Mysteries, British TV Format:DVD
MID AUGUST LUNCH

Mid-August Lunch Pranzo di Ferragosto; The Ferragosto Dinner (2008) NR As the Italian holiday of Pranzo di Ferragosto approaches, cash-strapped Gianni (Gianni Di Gregorio) gets help from his landlord, his friend and his doctor, who offer financial relief in exchange for Gianni looking after their elderly relatives over the holiday. Four mismatched Italian mamas at the same table make for an awkward, hilarious and touching mid-August lunch in this film festival favorite from Di Gregorio, who also writes and directs. Genre:Foreign Dramas, Foreign Comedies, Italy This movie is:Quirky Format:DVD and streaming (HD available) .
MERCI POUR LE CHOCOLAT

Merci Pour Le Chocolat (2000) NR Marie-Claire "Mika" Muller (Isabelle Huppert), managing director of a chocolate company, is remarrying André (Jacques Dutronc), the concert pianist to whom she was briefly married 18 years before. But during the time apart, it seems both Mika's and André's lives have taken different arcs. It's high drama when the wedding couple begins to learn just how "extended" their families really are! Directed by Claude Chabrol. Genre:Foreign Dramas, France, Foreign Art House This movie is:Scary Format:DVD and streaming .