JULY 17
Double Take
In this action comedy, Orlando Jones and Eddie Griffin star as a mismatched pair of guys thrown together by circumstances. Daryl Chase (Jones) is a New York investment banker who suddenly finds that no matter where he goes, a jive-talking street hustler named Freddy Tiffany (Griffin) turns up. When Chase is wrongly accused of murder, he flees and exchanges identities with Tiffany in an effort to avoid being caught. Posing as Tiffany, Chase heads for Mexico, but soon discovers that his troubles are deeper than ever since Tiffany is sought by Mexican authorities for the murder of a governor.
The Family Man
This romantic comedy stars Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni. Jack Campbell (Cage) is a well-to-do, career-oriented, Manhattan-dwelling bachelor who split up with a girlfriend named Kate (Leoni) thirteen years ago. But one morning Campbell awakens to find himself in a parallel universe where he has been married to Kate for years and lives modestly in New Jersey with her and their two children. At first Campbell is miserable, but as he gradually gets used to being a middle-class, suburban family man, he begins to wander if his new life isn’t better for him after all.
The Gift
Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Greg Kinnear, and Hilary Swank star in this thriller, which is set in a small town in Georgia. Annie Wilson (Blanchett), a widow with three children, is a psychic who is consulted about a missing woman. When Annie helps to locate the woman’s dead body, some of Annie’s clients, as well as Annie herself, are suspected of murder. Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson, The Gift offers fine acting, a clever plot, and interesting characters.
Saving Silverman
In this lowbrow comedy, Darren Silverman (Jason Biggs), Wayne (Steve Zahn), and J.D. (Jack Black) are young adult men who have been buddies for years. But Silverman becomes involved with a demanding girlfriend named Judith (Amanda Peet), who totally dominates him. To keep Silverman from ruining his life, Wayne and J.D. come up with a desperate scheme: They kidnap Judith and try to get Silverman back together with his old girlfriend (Amanda Detmer), who is training to become a nun. Singer Neil Diamond appears in the film as himself.
Sugar & Spice
This teen comedy is about a high school cheerleading squad who organizes a bank robbery. The squad consists of: Diane (Marley Shelton), who becomes pregnant by the football team’s quarterback (James Marsden); Kansas (Mena Suvari), whose mother is in prison; Hannah (Rachel Blanchard), who comes from a devoutly religious family; Lucy (Sara Marsh), who excels at academics; and Cleo (Melissa George), who idolizes Conan O’Brien. The story of how the caper works out is narrated by Lisa (Marla Sokoloff), a cheerleader on the B-squad.
JULY 24
Pollock
Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden give brilliant performances in this biopic about Jackson Pollock, one of the greatest painters of the 20th century. In 1940s Greenwich Village, struggling young American painters Pollock (Harris) and Lee Krasner (Harden) meet and marry. Despite a drinking problem, Pollock achieves some limited success in selling his paintings, and he and Krasner move out to eastern Long Island. There Pollock reaches his artistic peak and becomes internationally famous before his alcoholism sends him into decline and his life ends tragically.
Sweet November
This romantic drama stars Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron. Sara (Theron) is a beautiful young woman who each month has a different man live with her, during which time she tries to help him learn how to get more out of life. Nelson (Reeves) is an unhappy, recently fired advertising executive who meets Sara by accident and accepts her invitation to move in with her for the month of November. Nelson quickly falls for Sara, but soon something happens that forces Nelson and Sara to examine their feelings for each other, and the movie becomes a tearjerker.
Valentine
This is a campy horror movie with a Valentine’s Day theme. Paige (Denise Richards), Kate (Marley Shelton), Shelly (Katherine Heigl), Dorothy (Jessica Capshaw), and Lily (Jessica Cauffiel) are single women in their twenties who are all old friends. Shelly is murdered, and the other women begin to receive valentines with threatening messages. As a serial killer in a cupid mask wanders dark corridors, others among the women are murdered. One of the possible suspects is Kate’s alcoholic boyfriend Adam, who is played by David Boreanaz.
JULY 31
The Brothers
This romantic comedy is about four African American professional men dealing with the women in their lives. Jackson Smith (Morris Chestnut) is a single pediatrician who falls for a photographer (Gabrielle Union), but events in their pasts complicate the relationship. Single attorney Brian Palmer (Bill Bellamy) dates a white martial arts expert, leading to an ugly incident with one of Brian’s black ex-girlfriends. Terry White (Shemar Moore) is a womanizer who becomes engaged to a gun enthusiast. Derrick West (D.L. Hughley) is a husband and father whose marriage is troubled because of his wife’s refusal to perform oral sex on him.
Head Over Heels
Aimed at younger audiences, this romantic comedy stars Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter. Amanda (Potter), an art restorer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, moves into a Manhattan apartment with four beautiful models and falls hard for fashion executive Jim Winston (Prinze). Later, while looking out of her apartment toward Winston’s window across the street, Amanda sees in silhouette what appears to be a murder. As Amanda and her roommates try to find out exactly what she witnessed, Amanda must decide how she feels about Winston.
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