Featured attraction
Making like a celluloid Certs, Possession offers two movies in one. The first is a contemporary literary detective thriller, as two academics (Paltrow and Eckhart) in England track evidence of a secret, illicit romance between a pair of Victorian poets, all the while falling in love themselves. This is intercut with the more compelling second tale, which shows the affair between the 19th-century lovers (Ehle and Northam). In combination the stories show that while scholars can follow a written trail, life's seismic emotional moments at times leave no markers.
Neither narrative has the dramatic heft to stand on its own, but together they add up to an intelligent, satisfyingly romantic film. What's lacking in this screen adaptation of A.S. Byatt's spellbindingly erudite 1990 novel of the same title is the prickly edge one has come to expect in the works of director and cowriter Neil LaBute (2000's Nurse Betty and 1997's In the Company of Men). More power to him for stretching artistically, but one wonders if proximity to refined English accents and delicate porcelain teacups didn't bring on a touch of Masterpiece Theatre-itis. The film could also drop a clumsy subplot about rival scholars (Toby Stephens and Trevor Eve) who all but twirl their mustaches in evil glee as they try to sabotage Paltrow and Eckhart.
Playing an English feminist scholar wary of her own emotions, Paltrow gives an admirably thoughtful performance and again shows off her spot-on British accent. As the brash American academic wooing her (changed from the book's Englishman), Eckhart (Erin Brockovich) displays a loutish charm, though we are never convinced of his bookish bent. More believable are Northam and a radiant Ehle (TV's Pride and Prejudice) as the Victorian pair, showing a rapture missing from the present-day romance. (PG-13)
Bottom Line: A literate love story
Blue Crush
Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Matthew Davis, Sanoe Lake
Every summer brings with it a guilty pleasure at the megaplex and Blue Crush is this year's. It's Flashdance on surfboards, with hip-hop and reggae tunes subbing for the 1983 film's disco ditties. Anne Marie (Bosworth), the financially strapped heroine of this romantic action drama, is training hard for a big surfing contest in Oahu but keeps flashing back to a watery accident in which she nearly drowned. Will the tough pep talks—"Don't be such a Barbie!"—by her best bud (Rodriguez) and the encouragement of her new, adorable, pro-football-playing beau (Davis) be enough to inspire Anne Marie to make her pipe dreams a reality? Thirty lashes with a wet suit if you can't figure this one out.
If I were a 17-year-old girl, I would love Blue. Well past that, I'll stick with owning up to enjoying the film more than I should have. The acting rarely rises above adequate, but there are still all those phenomenally realistic surfing scenes, taut, tanned youthful bodies (of both sexes) and lush Hawaiian landscapes. (PG-13)
Bottom Line: Fun ride
Mostly Martha
Martha Martina Gedeck, Sergio Castellitto
When Martha, the head chef at a fancy restaurant, misses a few days work because she has to care for a newly orphaned niece, a backup chef is hired. Martha objects, saying, "Two cooks in a kitchen is like two people driving a car—it's impossible," and takes an instant dislike to her supposed rival, Mario, an exuberant Italian who listens to Dean Martin tunes while he sautés.
It doesn't take a dedicated foodie (or veteran moviegoer) to know that Mario (Castellitto) will soon have Martha (Gedeck) eating perfectly cooked pasta out of his hands. Marking a laudable debut by director-writer Sandra Nettelbeck, Mostly Martha is a delicious German (with English subtitles) romantic comedy that tells a sweet story without added sugar. As a bonus, it reveals the workings of a professional kitchen, where the choreography of cooking is as intricate as a Balanchine ballet. (PG)
Bottom Line: A tasty treat
Blood Work Mystery thriller directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as a retired FBI profiler who doesn't let a heart transplant keep him from chasing the bad guy. In a word: workmanlike. (R)
The Château Paul Rudd's amusing turn as a gauche American making a fool of himself in France is the only reason to see this would-be comic trifle. (R)
The Last Kiss Italian ensemble comedy-drama about those twin grown-up preoccupations: the missed chance, the missed romance. An attractive cast, but we've tasted these lips many times before, from The Big Chill on. Subtitles. (R)
Road to Perdition Along with Minority Report, this gangster drama about revenge and redemption is the summer's best big-studio movie. With Tom Hanks. (R)
XXX Other than high-octane stunts and Vin Diesel's I'm-all-attitude line readings, this spy thriller is just so much zzz. (PG-13)
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
