Spy flick meets romantic comedy in this surprisingly entertaining film about two CIA agents who find themselves in competition for the affections of the same beautiful woman. Agents FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) are accustomed to using whatever means necessary to complete a mission--and that mentality has a tendency to bleed over into their personal lives.
A solid and entertaining biopic, Walk the Line works less as a movie than an actors' showcase for its stars. Joaquin Phoenix's total immersion into the skin of singer Johnny Cash is startling--watching it, you can't believe this is the same guy who whined about being "vexed" in Gladiator. As he evolves from a farm boy to gospel croonin' plunker to the Man in Black, Phoenix disappears into Cash's deep baritone, his way of slinging the guitar onto his back, and his hunched-up style of strumming.
The corsets and high waists of the 19th century meet the lush colors and visual splendor of India in Vanity Fair, a classic novel translated into modern celluloid by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding). The very contemporary Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde, Election) at first seems to hit the wrong note as Becky Sharp, an orphaned girl who rises to the heights of society using her quick wits and feminine wiles. But as Vanity Fair unfolds, the movie's tone embraces both period decor and modern attitudes, searching for a bridge that will carry us more deeply into a different time.
Melanie leaves her small, Alabama town for the glamour and fame of the New York fashion world. Successful in the business and in love, her boyfriend proposes. It should be a happy moment, but Melanie can't marry him until she gets a divorce from her husband, still in Alabama. As her first marriage is unbeknownst to her NYC friends, Melanie returns to her hometown to demand a divorce. There is something about getting back to your roots and Melanie realizes maybe her fast-track life isn't exactly what she wants after all.
When '90s teens David and Jennifer (Maguire and Witherspoon) get zapped into the perfect suburbia of the black & white '50s sitcom, Pleasantville, what results is a "visionary adventure" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) that Siskel and Ebert give "Two big thumbs up!" Pleasantville's perfect people includes a mild-mannered soda jerk (Daniels), a socially repressed mom (Allen) and a father who always knows best (Macy). But, when '90s pop culture clashes with '50s family values, chaos ensues, turning the town of Pleasantville upside down and black and white into color.
The winning comic finesse of Reese Witherspoon drives Legally Blonde 2: Red White and Blonde. It's astonishing that the sequel could possibly be daffier than the first movie, but Legally Blonde 2 leaves reality behind like an unflattering outfit. Unemployed lawyer Elle Woods (Witherspoon) sets off to our nation's capitol to ban cosmetics testing on animals, after discovering that her beloved chihuahua's own mother is being used as a test subject.
When her boyfriend (Davis) ditches her simply because she's "too blonde," a beautiful fashion major (Witherspoon) vows to do anything to get him back, even if it means going to law school Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is a self-absorbed sorority president and fashion major who expects to marry her college sweetheart Warner (Matthew Davis).
Based on Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance Of Being Earnest is the hilarious adventure of two young bachelors who create alter egos in order to find romance. Worthing is a wealthy chap who resides in the country but often visits the city as his "brother" Ernest. There he falls in love with the beautiful Gwendolyn. Montcrieff is Worthing's boisterous friend who lives in the city and spends money beyond his means. In order to escape bill collectors and boring dinner parties, Montcrieff creates "Bumbry," a sick friend whom he often visits out of town.
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe sizzle as a pair of unscrupulous siblings in a deliciously sexy tale of seduction, revenge and conquest. After cleverly seducing and ruining the reputation of an unsuspecting classmate (Selma Blair) the sparks fly when Kathryn (Gellar) poses the ultimate challenge to her insatiable stepbrother Sebastian (Phillippe): deflower the Headmaster's beautiful, virgin daughter Annette (Reese Witherspoon). If he fails, Kathryn gets his most prized possession, but if he succeeds, Sebastian gets to possess and bed Kathryn.
