October 4, 2005

"Cinderella"
This is the 1950 classic Disney animated film based on the familiar fairy tale. Badly treated by her stepmother and stepsisters, Cinderella leads a dreary life. But her fairy godmother arranges for her to attend a ball, where she meets Prince Charming. At midnight, she must hastily depart, but she leaves behind one of her glass slippers. The movie has some memorable songs, including "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" and "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes."

October 11, 2005

"Me and You and Everyone We Know"
This is an offbeat low-budget comedy that won prizes at Cannes, Sundance and other film festivals. Performance and installation artist Miranda July wrote, directed and stars in the movie. Christine (July) earns her living chauffeuring senior citizens, but her passion is creating art videos. She meets and is drawn to Richard (John Hawkes), a shoe salesman who is separated from his wife. The film consists of many small interwoven incidents involving quirky characters, some of whom are kids.

"The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"
Based on the novel by Ann Brashares, this drama consists of four stories. Four teenage girls who have been lifelong friends must go their separate ways. Before separating, the girls find a pair of jeans that happens to fit each of them. They agree that each girl will keep the jeans for a week, then send the pants on to another girl. The film tells the story of what happens to each girl during the week she has the jeans. The girls are played by Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrara, Blake Lively and Alexis Bledel.

"Unleashed"
Jet Li stars in this action movie/crime drama that in some countries is titled "Danny the Dog." Written by Luc Besson, the film also features Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins. In Glasgow, Bart (Hoskins) is a brutal gangster who has trained Danny (Li) from boyhood to behave like a vicious attack dog. But meeting a blind piano tuner (Freeman) and his stepdaughter changes Danny, and he desires a more normal life. However, Bart wants to continue using Danny, who must fight for his freedom.

October 18, 2005

"Batman Begins"
Directed by Christopher Nolan, this movie shows how wealthy Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) became the comic-book superhero Batman (also Bale) and took on the task of cleaning up the corruption in Gotham City. Among the evildoers are a crime lord (Tom Wilkinson) and an incredibly malevolent psychiatrist (Cillian Murphy). The film's cast includes Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Katie Holmes, Ken Watanabe and Rutger Hauer.

"Land of the Dead"
Writer-director George A. Romero continues his series of horror movies that includes "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), "Dawn of the Dead" (1978) and "Day of the Dead" (1985). "Land of the Dead," which stars Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Asia Argento and Dennis Hopper, takes place in a fortified city surrounded by zombies. The zombies have grown smarter, and they constitute a continual threat to the city dwellers, who have evolved a peculiar class system for dealing with the situation.

"Mad Hot Ballroom"
This feel-good documentary is about New York City elementary school kids preparing for a ballroom dancing competition. The film focuses on three public schools located in TriBeCa, Washington Heights and Bensonhurst. The classes and competition are part of a program organized by the American Ballroom Theater. The kids are about 11 years old, and they are shown working on dances like the fox trot, swing and tango. In the documentary, we hear from not only the students, but also the instructors.

October 25, 2005

"Melinda and Melinda"
Woody Allen reminds us that tragedy and comedy are not so far apart in this unusual movie, which he wrote and directed, but does not appear in. An anecdote about a young woman named Melinda has been told while two playwrights are having dinner, and they each spin different versions of her story—one tragic, the other comic. Radha Mitchell plays Melinda in both versions, but the surrounding cast is different in each case. Appearing in the film are Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Wallace Shawn, and Larry Pine.