HUGH GRANT Shares His American Dreams By Brad Balfour Having been AWOL for a while, British comic great Hugh Grant finally resurfaces in the biting satire, American Dreamz. Playing the smarmy host Martin Tweed, he outdoes Simon Cowell in being the heartless destroyer of dreams. Grant has played this part before and virtually defines the character, … Continue reading
The Wiggles Wiggling Around the World By Deborah Wagner When you mention the fab four, most people think of long hair and the 60’s. But, if you have children under five, then you know there are only four fab musicians that matter to your kids. Those are without a doubt the brightly-colored Australian exports, The … Continue reading
GRETCHEN MOL GETS NOTORIOUS AS PINUP LEGEND BETTIE PAGE by Brad Balfour Before making The Notorious Bettie Page, 30-something actress Gretchen Mol had been working solidly, but had not quite found that signature role that would recoup her early momentum. Thanks to her role as 1950s cultural icon – S&M pinup girl Bettie Page – Mol … Continue reading
SHARON STONE BASIC INSTINCTS AROUSED AGAIN by Brad Balfour For Sharon Stone, the first Basic Instinct film, directed by Paul Verhoeven, was quite an odyssey; it established her as a provocative sex symbol, an actress willing to open herself up (and her legs) for the camera. In that film, she played a lesbian crime novelist accused of … Continue reading
SYRIANA (2005) Starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, Tim Blake Nelson, Amanda Peet, Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Mazhar Munir, Alexander Siddig, Kayvan Novak, Amr Waked, Robert Foxworth and Peter Gerety. Screenplay by Stephen Gaghan. Directed by Stephen Gaghan. Distributed by Warner Brothers Pictures. 126 minutes. Rated R. A lot of TV series … Continue reading
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (2006) Starring Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, William H. Macy, Robert Duvall, Kim Dickens, Rob Lowe, JK Simmons, Todd Louiso, Adam Brody and Joan Lunden. Screenplay by Jason Reitman. Directed by Jason Reitman. Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures. 92 minutes. Rated R. Pitch black … Continue reading
SOMERSAULT (2006) Starring Abbie Cornish, Sam Worthington, Lynette Curran, Erik Thomson, Hollie Andrew, Leah Purcell, Nathaniel Dean, Olivia Pigeot, Damian de Montemas, John Sheerin, Anne Louise Lambert, Paul Gleeson, Blake Pittman, Justin Martin and Ben Tate. Screenplay by Cate Shortland. Directed by Cate Shortland. Distributed by Magnolia Pictures. 106 minutes. Rated R. The teen years … Continue reading
FAILURE TO LAUNCH (2006) Starring Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Terry Bradshaw, Kathy Bates, Tyrell Jackson Williams, Katheryn Winnick, Rob Corddry, Patton Oswalt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Kate McGregor-Stewart, Adam Alexi-Malle and Gretchen Cleevely. Screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. Directed by Tom Dey. Distributed by Paramount Pictures. 97 … Continue reading
AN AMERICAN HAUNTING (2006) Starring Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek, Rachel Hurd-Wood, James D’Arcy, Matthew Marsh, Thom Fell, Sam Alexander, Gaye Brown, Zoe Thorne, Miquel Brown, Shawna Shim, Lila Bata-Walsh and Howard Rosenstein. Screenplay by Courtney Solomon. Directed by Courtney Solomon. Distributed by After Dark Films. 84 minutes. Rated PG-13. An American Haunting is the story of … Continue reading
THE 5 BROWNS BREAKING BOUNDARIES BY RONALD SKLAR Fifty fingers on five keyboards. Three girls, two boys, all from the same womb, digging classical music and – through sheer talent and charm — making us dig it too. What is this? Even the most pony-tailed of marketing directors could not dream this up. It is … Continue reading
