Anywhere But Here, Liberty Heights, End of Days, The End of the Affair.
by
George Shaw
Anywhere But Here
Fleeing small-town boredom, a restless mother drags her reluctant teenage daughter to Beverly Hills and a new and sometimes difficult life. Adjusting to their new environs and ever-changing relationship, mother and daughter struggle together. They finally reach an understanding as the daughter prepares to leave for college.
Starring Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Hart Bochner, Shawn Hatosy and Ashley Johnson. Mona Simpson's acclaimed novel comes to the screen in an adaptation directed by Wayne Wang.
Liberty Heights
It is Baltimore in 1954 and everything is changing. In this year, school desegregation is happening for the first time, bringing black and white children from different neighborhoods into the same classrooms. In this year, the dawning of rock'n'roll is giving teenagers their first slice of a musical world that will become uniquely their own. In this year, the influx of automobiles becomes a powerful force in America, allowing people the mobility and privacy to travel at will--to see things right in their own hometown that were previously unknown to them. And in this year, the Kurtzman family developed a newly heightened understanding of what it means to be Jewish in a rapidly growing world in this story which examines the changing times of the mid-1950s and issues of race, class and religious distinction as seen through the eyes of a particular American family.
Joe Mantegna and Bebe Neuwirth play the parents, with Adrien Brody, Vincent Guastaferro, Orlando Jones, David Krumholz, and Kiersten Warren also topping the cast. Tom Waits wrote several original songs for the film, while Ennio Morricone wrote the score. Directed by Barry Levinson.
End of Days
Jericho Cane, a beaten down ex-cop, is the reluctant hero of End of Days, a chilling, horrific thriller set at the cusp of the millennium. When the ultimate personification of evil is unleashed upon the world, Cane is unwittingly drawn into a heart-stopping supernatural game of cat and mouse. Now, as the countdown to the end of days approaches, all that stands in the way of mankind's destruction is the salvation of one women, whose fate comes to rest in Cane's shaky hands. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. I have to admit that this is a really nice film. Arnold's films are always entertaining and this is even better. Don't miss this one!
The End of the Affair
On a rainy London night in 1946, novelist Maurice Bendrix has a chance meeting with Henry Miles, husband of his ex-mistress Sarah, who abruptly ended their affair two years before. Bendrix's obsession with Sarah is rekindled; he succumbs to his own jealousy and arranges to have her followed. As the investigation progresses, we learn the reason for their separation. During a bombing raid, Sarah struck a bargain with God to sacrifice their relationship-in exchange for Bendrix's life. When Bendrix reappears in her life, Sarah realizes that her promise to God has become impossible for her to keep. She is placed in a spiritual dilemma as she struggles with her continuing love for her former lover in the face of the realization that she is fatally ill.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea, Heather Jay Jones and James Bolam. Directed by Neil Jordan.
Jennifer Lopez has made history, claiming the number one spot with her new album "J.Lo" and her new feature film "The Wedding Planner", in the same week.
