Drama > Roberts, Julia Drama

Advantages: Great Story, interesting direction and thought provoking
Disadvantages: possibly a complete set of lies

The little known Sam Rockwell plays Chuck Barris the creator of many of America's most famous gameshows in the 50's and 60's including the Gong Show, The Dating Game (Blind Date) and a very long list of other shows, of which many made their way across the Atlantic to our shores. However, although his lifestory may make interesting viewing based on this amount of information in itself, Barris himself has made an even more amazing claim in his book ...
...America's most famous television producers but he was also a CIA assasin who murdered numerous enemies of the state. The films co-stars and was directed by George Clooney, a director who certainly has an eye for an interesting story, and this, his debut, was certainly one of them. The film starts with Barris moving from job to job and woman to woman without any real sucess in either department, until he lands a job giving people tours around the ... Read review

Advantages: Happy Ending
Disadvantages: The story-line is nothing we haven't seen before.

Erin Brockovich is a trashy singgle mother who is not able to get a job because of her little experience. One day while driving she gets hit by another car and which is how she meet and convinced her lawyer to giver her a job. She uncovers evidence that implies that a local factory is poisoning the water supply and hiding it for the local residents. Erin then digges up enough evidence to kick the factorys fat behind and restore the local residents ...
...does not seem realistic that Erin manages to keep her job for as long as she did while dressing like she did and swearing at her boss which should realistically lead to her unemployment. Most of the Characters were well played out however it would have been more entertaining to see more girl fights with Erin and her colleges. Because lets be honest a movie about companies gone bad is not exactly the most entertaining concept we could think of. However ... Read review

Advantages: Intellectual, Compelling
Disadvantages: Hardly cheery

It was early 2005 and I was bored so decided to go to the cinema and had no idea what to watch. 'Closer' was a film that I did not feel entirely enthused about going to see but I was sure that the star power would see me through it. The film is essentially a tale of four people intertwined by their own confusion as to who it is that they love or lust after. Dan (Jude Law) is a smart journalist (well, obituary writer) who is in a relationship with ...
...desire for enigmatic photographer Anna (Julia Roberts). Anna is torn between aforementioned Dan and the very much rough and ready doctor Larry (Clive Owen). The pitch sounds cheesy and terrible. Sounds like a typical 'we've got no clue what we are filing but lets stick a load of HUGE stars in it and we've got a guaranteed box office hit' and this is how I feared it would turn out. What seems to keep interweaving the characters and their own respective ... Read review

Advantages: Looks great, nostalgic look at a narrow section of US life
Disadvantages: Period details may not be that accurate, very soppy

Mike Newell directed "Four weddings and a Funeral", "Donnie Brasco", "Pushing Tin" - so he's made quite a variety of movies... comedy, gritty drama, drama/comedy. And now (some would say) he's turned his hand to one of those "soppy dramas". Yes, the soppy drama is a genuine movie genre, doncha know? Not to prejudge these things, however, I went to see the movie. I knew it was set in a College for Girls, and I knew it starred Julia Roberts, as well ...
...Dunst, and also Juliet Stevenson). So it seems logical to think of it as a "women's movie" - and having seen it I concluded that I was right - it's definitely going to appeal to women a lot more than it is to men. Not necessarily a problem, and there are plenty who enjoy seeing a soppy drama or two. Having said that, the story has a serious, more political side, however much it is dealt with in a lightweight way. The date is 1953, and the story ... Read review

Advantages: Very watchable and fine casting
Disadvantages: You need to have tissues at the ready!

This film is about 6 strong women who endure life's ups and downs with friendship, love and wit, and emerge through the other side stronger - hence the name 'Steel Magnolias'. The film, directed by Herbert Ross, was brought to film in 1989, and set in the deep south of Louisiana. Truvy (Dolly Parton) owns the beauty parlour which is the hubbub of all life and gossip. Everyone seems to go there for more than a haircut - they also go for gossip, ...
...on Annelle (Daryl Hannah), whose first day also happens to be Shelby's (Julia Roberts) wedding day. Shelby has diabetes and has been told by doctors not to have children as it will damage her kidneys. Her bond with her mother is a very close mother-daughter one and her mother, M'Lynn (Sally Field) will do anything for Shelby. The other two characters are Clairee (Olympia Dukakis), who is a widow, and bad-tempered Ouiser (Shirley MacLaine) who mood ... Read review