Dan in Real Life 2007  PG-13, 98 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Director: Peter Hedges
Cast: Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Alison Pill, Brittany Robertson, Marlene Lawston, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney, Emily Blunt, Norbert Leo Butz, Amy Ryan, Jessica Hecht, Frank Wood
Widowed Dan Burns (Steve Carell) is a New Jersey newspaper advice columnist who is raising his three rebellious daughters–Jane (Alison Pill), Cara (Brittany Robertson), and Lilly (Marlene Lawston). Dan and the girls head for a family reunion in Rhode Island, and after settling in Dan takes a break from the festivities and visits a local book store. While looking for a newspaper, Dan meets and is instantly attracted to Marie (Juliette Binoche). However, a few hours later Marie shows up at the reunion, and Dan learns that Marie is his brother Mitch's (Dane Cook) new girlfriend. Now, amidst awkward moments, the fun and suffering begin as Dan and Marie try to hide their attraction to each other.
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 The Forgotten 2004  PG-13, 96 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Joseph Ruben
Cast: Julianne Moore, Dominic West, Gary Sinise, Alfre Woodard, Linus Roache, Anthony Edwards, Ken Abraham, Kathryn Faughnan, Christopher Kovaleski, Matthew Pleszewicz, Tim Kang, Jessica Hecht
While Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore) is in the grieving process following her young son's death during a plane crash, her psychoanalyst (Gary Sinise) informs her that her son never lived. But, Telly won't settle for that explanation and begins an investigation on her own in an attempt to prove her sanity.
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 Harvey 1998 TV, 90 min.
Genre: Family / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy
Director: George Schaefer
Cast: Harry Anderson, Swoosie Kurtz, Leslie Nielsen, William Schallert, Robert Wisden, Alf Humphreys, Ingrid Tesch, Jonathan Banks, Brendan Beiser, Jessica Hecht, Lynda Boyd, Lisa Akey, Dolores Drake, Alex Ferguson
In this made-for-TV version of "Harvey," Harry Anderson takes on the role of Elwood P. Dowd whose relationship with invisible rabbit Harvey may get him committed to an insane asylum.
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Saving Face 2004 R, 96 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Alice Wu
Cast: Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec, Lynn Chen, Jin Wang, Guang Lan Koh, Ato Essandoh, Mao Zhao, Brian Yang, Jessica Hecht, David Shih, Richard Chang
Chinese-American lesbian Wil (Michelle Krusiec) listens to her mother Ma's (Joan Chen) advice on how to meet a man, but she is, in fact, beginning a romance with Vivian (Lynn Chen). One day, pregnant 48-year-old Ma shows up at Wil's doorstep, moves in, and the situation heats up when the truth is learned.
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 Sideways 2004  R, 123 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Director: Alexander Payne
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh, Marylouise Burke, Jessica Hecht, Missy Doty, M.C. Gainey, Alysia Reiner, Shaun Duke, Patrick Gallagher, Shake Tukhmanyan, Shaun Duke, Robert Covarrubias, Stephanie Faracy
Suffering from failed professional and personal lives, former college roommates Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church) take a trip through California's wine country. But, while Miles plans to play golf and drink wine, Jack has very different plans: he is looking for one last fling before marriage and plans to drag Miles along. The film won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and received four other nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actress (Virginia Madsen) as the waitress who Miles falls in love with, and Supporting Actor (Thomas Haden Church).
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Starting Out in the Evening 2007  PG-13, 111 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Andrew Wagner
Cast: Frank Langella, Lauren Ambrose, Lili Taylor, Adrian Lester, Jessica Hecht, Michael Cumpsty, Jeff McCarthy, Patti Perkins, Karl Bury, Anitha Gandhi, Dennis Parlato, Sean T. Krishnan, Joel West
The life of aging, out-of-print novelist Leonard Schiller (Frank Langella) is changed when grad student Heather Wolfe (Lauren Ambrose) enters the scene. She wants to write her master's thesis on Leonard's novels and asks for his assistance. Leonard is flattered and agrees to help, but his reclusive 34-year-old daughter Ariel (Lili Taylor) is suspicious of Heather's attentions. Ariel is also just coming out of a long depression and worries over whether or not she wants ex-boyfriend Casey (Adrian Lester) back in her life and fathering the baby she so desperately wants. Will these four mismatched people find the steps necessary to help themselves find new beginnings?
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Stay 2005   R, 98 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Marc Forster
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, Naomi Watts, Kate Burton, Elizabeth Reaser, Bob Hoskins, Janeane Garofalo, B.D. Wong, John Tormey, Jose Ramon Rosario, Becky Ann Baker, Jessica Hecht
A New York psychiatrist, Sam Foster (Ewan McGregor), strives to save a college student patient, Henry (Ryan Gosling), from committing suicide on his 21st birthday and, in the process, finds himself in a world beyond reality. 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | A very skilled, very deliberate presentation | 1fatts 03/07/2007 | Critics were divided on this one, and it seems to have come down to whether they "got it" or not. I got it. I frankly have trouble understanding how a professional movie reviewer could have missed it.
The construction is thoughtful and very well executed. People seem to be not exactly where they should be; time moves too quickly and then too slowly; voices are heard at the wrong time and the wrong place; the confusion encompasses not just the characters, but the camera, the weather, the flow of time.
It is all wonderfully arresting, and I think it all comes together beautifully just when it should.
Well worth watching. Make up your own mind. |
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Whatever Works 2009 PG-13, 92 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Begley Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Conleth Hill, Michael McKean, Jessica Hecht, Christopher Evan Welch, Henry Cavill, Carolyn McCormick, John Gallagher Jr., Samantha Bee, Yolonda Ross, Adam Brooks, Lyle Kanouse
Retired physicist Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David) moves to Chinatown to take up a bohemian existence. He meets and falls in love with 21-year-old former beauty queen Melody (Evan Rachel Wood). They marry, but life changes when Melody's mother Marietta (Patricia Clarkson) comes to visit from Tennessee. Melody's father John (Ed Begley Jr.) shows up a short time later, and romantic entanglements become the name of the game.
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| 1. Dan in Real Life (2007)
2. The Forgotten (2004)
3. Harvey (1998)
4. Saving Face (2004)
5. Sideways (2004)
6. Starting Out in the Evening (2007)
7. Stay (2005)
8. Whatever Works (2009)
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