Elizabethtown (2005) [PG-13] ***/****

Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) designs running shoes for Mercury, Inc., in Oregon. He has spent the last several years working on the project of a lifetime, and it's turned out to be a monumental fiasco which will cost his company nearly a billion dollars. As CEO Phil DeVoss (Alec Baldwin) tells Drew during his exit interview, it may cause an entire generation to return to bare feet. Drew has decided to end it all when his sister Heather (Judy Greer) telephones with the news that his dad has died of a heart attack while on a visit to his home town of Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

So, painfully but dutifully, Drew takes a night flight east to represent his mother Hollie (Susan Sarandon) at the funeral. During the flight Drew meets Claire Colburn (Kirsten Dunst), a light-hearted and compassionate flight attendant, who intuitively understands what he is going through, and tries to cheer him up.

Arriving in Elizabethtown, Drew begins to appreciate how much his father was loved by his family and friends. Drew also reconnects with Claire, who lives in nearby Louisville, and their relationship grows deeper. As the days pass, the dual tragedies of his personal failure and his father's death begin to melt away as Drew is strengthened by the warm acceptance of his relatives and by Claire's growing affection for him; he also comes to realize that neither Claire nor his relatives care about his past failure.

Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, this is the tender story of a young man's journey of growth and self-discovery, a journey from failure, to life and love. It's also a delightful romance, and there is great chemistry between Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. Screenplay and direction are excellent, there's a terrific soundtrack, and Jessica Biel has a supporting role as Drew's girlfriend. If you enjoyed Wimbledon I can highly recommend Elizabethtown. 

Labels: comedy, drama, reunion, rom-drama-faves, romance     
Internet Movie Database 63/100     
MetaScore (critics=45, viewers=61)
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=47, viewers=72)

Blu-ray

James Berardinelli's review (2.5 out of 4 stars)

Pride & Prejudice (2005) [PG] ***** (updated 21MAY2025)

Elizabeth Lizzie Bennet (Keira Knightley) lives with her father, mother and four sisters in a dilapidated English country estate, around the year 1800. The estate provides a limited income, however, according to inheritance law after Mr. Bennet (Donald Sutherland) dies, the estate will pass to Mr. Collins, a distant cousin. Mrs. Bennet (Brenda Blethyn) and her five daughters will be homeless and destitute. Thus, the daughters need to secure their future by making good marriages.

One day, word arrives that a nearby estate has been leased; Mr. Bennet invites the new residents, Mr. Charles Bingley (Simon Woods), his sister Caroline (Kelly Reilly), and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), to a local ball, where he hopes the two young gentlemen will find his daughters irresistible. Mr. Bingley is captivated by Lizzie's beautiful older sister Jane (Rosamund Pike), but the very wealthy, and very proud, Mr. Darcy finds Lizzie barely tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me. Lizzie overhears Mr. Darcy and, quite prejudiced, declares I wouldn't dance with him for all of Derbyshire.

How Mr. Darby improves his manners and Lizzie changes her mind about him form the core of this incomparably beautiful romance that has, since its publication in 1813, been considered Jane Austen's most popular novel. Keira Knightley perfectly captures the essence of charming, irrepressible Lizzie, to whom Mr. Darcy later admits you have bewitched me, body and soul. Knightley and Macfadyen have terrific romantic chemistry; your attention will be riveted on them as their eyes sparkle and they toss witty, ironic dialogue at one another. The screenplay, direction, editing, costumes and sets are outstanding; the supporting cast is uniformly excellent, including the three younger Bennet daughters Mary (Talulah Riley), Kitty (Carey Mulligan) and Lydia (Jena Malone), Mr. Wickham (Rupert Friend), Mr. Collins (Tom Hollander), Charlotte Lucas (Claudie Blakley), and Lady Catherine de Bourg (Dame Judi Dench). The cinematography is breathtakingly beautiful; the landscapes look like paintings by John Constable (1776-1837), and you will feel as though you've been transported to the 19th Century English countryside. If you enjoy period romantic drama, don't miss Pride & Prejudice.

* * * * * 

This is the YouTube video of the gazebo scene in the rain, in which Fitzwilliam asks Elizabeth for her hand in marriage. I consider this a pivotal scene because the story pivots or changes upon it, there is a strong flow of emotion between the leads, the director tries to capture it in one take, and the credibility of the story depends upon the viewer believing it. LINK TO VIDEO

This is the YouTube video of the last nine minutes of the film, including Fitzwilliam's early morning walk across the field, his declaration of love and Elizabeth's response, asking Mr. Bennet for her hand in marriage, and the night scene at Pemberley just after they are married, found only on the U.S. version of the film. LINK TO VIDEO

Indulging my fondness for epilogues and sequels, in the candid picture below, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam have been married for a week or two. They are enjoying getting to know one another, finding the rhythms of their life together. You can tell that he is totally in love with her, and very protective of her. You can also tell that she is not overly impressed with his wealth, or the grandeur of Pemberley. What is important to her is to understand his heart and mind, how he feels and thinks; this is what she wants and needs.

In the formal yet intimate picture below, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam are settling into married life and becoming comfortable with the rhythms of their life together. With his head in her lap Fitzwilliam is thinking "Yes, she married me, and I am the most fortunate man in the world." With her hand on his forearm, Elizabeth is thinking "Yes, we are married now, and he is a treasure. He is all I will ever need or want, and I will love him and take care of him for the rest of our lives together."

In this picture below, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam have been married for nearly a year and have settled nicely into married life. They have begun to anticipate each other's thoughts and feelings. Fitzwilliam cannot believe how much he relies upon Elizabeth's judgment; he can hardly remember what his life was like before they were married.

Labels: drama, Keira Knightley, period, romance, rom-drama-faves   
IMDb 78/100    
MetaScore (critics=82, viewers=82)    
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=75, viewers=86)     
Blu-ray1    
Blu-ray2 
James Berardinelli's review 3.5 out of 4 stars

The recent popularity of the film and this review has encouraged me to add this footnote. I hope you will indulge me.

Late in 1985, Tom Hanks went to Israel and made the romantic drama Every Time We Say Goodbye (1986), based on a true story. Hanks plays David Bradley, a Presbyterian minister's son from Missoula, Montana, who is flying Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft for the British RAF in North Africa in 1942 during WWII. In Jerusalem, while convalescing from an injury he sustained after being shot down in combat, he meets and falls in love with Sarah Perrera (played by Cristina Marsillach) a Sephardic Jewish girl, but it is a forbidden love and ends sadly.

In 2022, I became inspired to write a sequel to the film and gradually realized I was channeling David (1917-2002) and Sarah (1924-2017), who wanted me to tell the story of their life together after the film ended. I will not publish it, but you are welcome to read it here.

LINK TO SARAH AND DAVID: THE SEQUEL

Beach Girls (2005) [UR] ***

Jack Kilvert (Rob Lowe) is a Boston attorney. He and his sixteen-year-old daughter Nell (Chelsea Hobbs) are grieving after the loss of Emma (his wife and Nell's mother) nearly a year earlier in a tragic automobile accident. Jack thinks his sister Maddie (Katherine Ashby) was at fault because she was driving the car and she's an alcoholic; but there's a lot he doesn't know about Emma and their marriage.

As part of the healing process Jack has leased a summer home in Hubbard's Point, Connecticut, a picturesque Long Island Sound beach community where he had grown up, and where Emma, Maddie and their close friend artist/writer Stevie Moore (Julia Ormond) had bonded as beach girls twenty years earlier. Jack and Nell's return also gives Nell an opportunity to learn more about her mother's past, by getting to know Stevie, who is a year-round resident of Hubbard's Point. During the summer, Nell also befriends two Hubbard's Point girls, Clare (Kristin Adams) and Skye (Kristen Hager), and the three girls form a new generation of beach girls.

Based on the novel Beach Girls (Hubbard's Point) by Luanne Rice, Beach Girls is a Lifetime TV miniseries. The main story thread is the growth process through which Jack learns the truth about Emma, and strengthens his relationships with Maddie and Stevie. There are several sub-plots involving youthful sexual awakening, a developer's planned highway through the village, and mother-daughter miscommunication. The message of Beach Girls is that the friendships we form as adolescents can be stronger and more enduring than the relationships we form as adults; that they can sustain and nurture us for our entire lives; and that these friendships are developed through trust, open communication and forgiveness. If you enjoy summertime teen girl films like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequel, you'll definitely want to see Beach Girls. 

Label: drama   
Internet Movie Database   
Metacritic NA/100   
Tomatometer (critics=NA, viewers=65)

One Last Thing… (2005) [R] ***

Dylan Jameison (played by Michael Angarano) is a high-school sophomore, living with his mother Karen (played by Cynthia Nixon) in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Dylan has terminal cancer; he's been through chemotherapy and radiation treatments and has only a few weeks left to live. The Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted him a final wish, and while he initially wanted to go fishing with his Philadelphia Eagles football hero, at the last minute Dylan decides to change his wish - to a weekend with hot, young supermodel Nikki Sinclaire (played by Sunny Mabrey). What Dylan doesn't know is that Nikki is as damaged as he is ill. Her fiance was killed in an auto accident, and Nikki has turned to alcohol and drugs to dull the pain, with the result that she's destroying her modeling career and herself. Nikki's agent Arlene (played by Gina Gershon) convinces her to make a brief appearance at Dylan's home, for a publicity photo. However, their few minutes together only increases Dylan's obsession with Nikki, and he decides to go to New York City with his two closest buddies to find her. While in NYC, Dylan meets a spiritual seeker (played by Michael Rispoli) who imparts some wisdom about life and death including this: When we're born, we cry and the world is happy. When we die, the world cries and we're happy.

While there really are no surprises in this film - Nikki grants Dylan's wish, and he rescues her before he dies - the ending is sweet and uplifting, and there are three valuable messages: (1) Don't settle for what you know you can get, go for what you really want; (2) Impossible dreams do come true; and, (3) Treat every day as though it might be your last, because one day it will be. Production values are excellent, the soundtrack is terrific and Michael Angarano does a credible job of carrying the film, with support from Sunny Mabrey and Cynthia Nixon. If you enjoyed John Cusack in The Sure Thing and Say Anything..., you probably will enjoy One Last Thing…. 

Labels: comedy, drama  
Internet Movie Database   
Metacritic 44/100   
Tomatometer (critics=11, viewers=45)   
Blu-ray

HD Window: Hawai'i (2005) [UR] *

As a visual demonstration of your HD home theater, as a study of landscape pattern and texture, or as the television equivalent of a slow-motion computer screen saver, this 50-minute production is successful.

Unfortunately, there is very little in HD Window: Hawai'i that is recognizably Hawaiian, other than a picture of the Na Pali Coast of Kaua’i, a couple of distant shots of Honolulu and Waikiki, and a picture of Chinaman's Hat on the North Shore of O’ahu. Other than those few images, this production could have been filmed anywhere that taro, sugar cane and palm trees grow, and one can find tropical waterfalls and beaches. There are no people, other than a picture of some tourists at a lighthouse. And the orchestral and jazz background music does absolutely nothing to enhance the feeling of being in Hawai'i. The At a Glance notes say that you can turn off the music and enjoy the video with natural sounds, and I strongly suggest doing that.

Having lived on the island of Maui for several years, I can assure you that you will NOT see any of these memorable images of Hawai’i: lava flows on the Big Island, sunrise on Haleakala, windsurfing and kite surfing at Ho'okipa Beach Park on the windward side of Maui, board surfing at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of O’ahu, Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial, reefs and underwater wildlife at Hanauma Bay, Honolua Bay or Molokini, humpback whales breaching the ocean surface, Waimea Canyon, hikers on the Kalalau Trail, Hawaiians hunting wild boar, Hawaiians fishing with nets, Hawaiians farming taro, or Hawaiian hula dancers. For these evocative images of Hawai’i, you must look elsewhere. 

Label: adventure  
Internet Movie Database   
Blu-ray   
Amazon

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) [PG-13] ***/****

A film review by James Berardinelli.

The problem with Mr. and Mrs. Smith is that it's really two movies in one. The first is a sly comedy/thriller worthy of Hitchcock, and the other is a big, noisy summer action flick. The marriage of these two, like that of the title characters, is tempestuous, with each side in a constant struggle for dominance. When Mr. and Mrs. Smith is smart and sassy, it's a lot of fun. But when it's loud and dumb (which is too often for my taste), it's mindless and a little tedious. This is mediocre, forgettable entertainment. It doesn't really satisfy, but you probably won't exit the theater feeling gypped.

The premise is simple enough: John and Jane Smith (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) are a happily married couple who work as assassins for rival firms. Neither is aware of the other's occupation, and, to the outside world, they look like a traditional, upper-class suburban couple, albeit without the dog and the 2.5 kids. In fact, to keep the spark in their marriage of five or six years, they visit a marriage counselor. Then, one unfortunate day, a client double-books a hit, with John and Jane unknowingly assigned to eliminate the same target (played by Adam Brody). When their take-down schemes prove to be incompatible, they lose the mark and discover a few things about each other. The resulting domestic strife makes the events of War of the Roses seem tame by comparison.

When director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) focuses on the characters and their non-traditional relationship, he's on safe ground. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie smolder, and their chemistry (regardless of whether it did or did not expand beyond the screen) couldn't be better. Whether they're shooting at each other, tossing around double entendres, or ripping each other's clothing off, Mr. and Mrs. Smith's two stars are sexy and magnetic. Foreplay for the Smiths involves not only disrobing, but disarming. And Simon Kinberg's screenplay gives the actors plenty of delicious lines to chew on.

Unfortunately, the script also calls for too much action, and that's where everything falls apart. Although Liman tries to juice things up by using atypical camera angles, all this does is to lend an artistic flavor to a series of otherwise banal explosions, shoot-outs, and car chases. The film has so much action padding that it becomes tiresome after a while. Ten or fifteen years ago, this sort of thing might have been cutting edge, but the bar has been raised so many times that not even a car racing the wrong way on a freeway can generate more than a half-hearted shrug.

The film also doesn't have the decency to give us a legitimate payoff. The film just… ends. There's a big, violent action scene, complete with John Woo-inspired choreography and more ammunition than Rambo ever laid eyes on, but the opponents are faceless. There's no uber villain to rub out in a climactic showdown. And, the more you think about it (I know, I know… not something we're supposed to do with this kind of movie), the less sense it all makes. I mean, how can this really be over when it's over? What about all the loose ends that the interior decorator and marriage counselor can't resolve?

For the most part, the movie belongs to Pitt and Jolie. The supporting cast, includes Vince Vaughn and Michelle Monaghan as Pitt's teammates, and Kerry Washington, Stephanie March, Jennifer Morrison, Theresa Barrera, Perrey Reeves and Melanie Tolbert as Jolie's teammates. They play their respective best friends/cohorts, but they don't have a lot of screen time. Vaughn makes the best of his. This may be the actor's most entertaining performance in a long time. He has his share of funny moments, but Liman wisely keeps him in check. Washington doesn't fare as well. Unlike Vaughn, she doesn't have a single memorable scene.

This is one of those films where the pluses and minuses almost exactly counterbalance each other. For every scene that works because of the snappy dialogue or the Pitt/Jolie rapport, there's a drawn-out action scene that causes everything to grind to a halt. Mr. and Mrs. Smith's need for blockbuster pyrotechnics undermines the black comedy (there's plenty of that) and the offbeat romance, both of which are strong enough to form the foundation of a quieter motion picture. The only legitimate tension in the story is between Mr. and Mrs. Smith. When they are turned into superheroes fighting against teams of nameless, clad-in-black foes, the time has come to tune out. It's too bad that Liman didn't streamline his production better and leave the fireworks for the Fourth of July. [Berardinelli's rating: ** 1/2 out of 4 stars]

Blogger's comments: I enjoyed Mr. & Mrs. Smith much more than James Berardinelli. For me, the lack of an arch-villain is refreshing. Every James Bond, every Spider-Man, every Mission: Impossible, every Jason Bourne, they all come with an arch-villain, and after a while it becomes a little tedious. Actually the ending of Mr. & Mrs. Smith reminds me of the ending of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but with a positive, upbeat outcome.

Berardinelli also refers to the on-screen chemistry between Pitt and Jolie, and he probably wrote his review (there's no date) while the whole off-screen drama was playing out. But it was the Pitt-Jolie locationship that ended the Pitt-Aniston marriage and began the real-life love affair that ended in 2016 when Jolie filed for divorce.

Labels: action, Brad Pitt, comedy, rom-com-faves, romance, spy, thriller
IMDb 65/100 
MetaCritic (critics=55, viewers=60)   
RottenTomatoes (critics=60, viewers=58)  
Blu-ray  

The Deal (2005) [R] **

In the near future, the U.S. and its allies are waging war against the Confederation of Arab States (CAS). An oil embargo makes it illegal for U.S. oil companies to buy CAS oil, because the purchases would help CAS fund the war. The U.S. is starved for oil; there are gasoline lines and the economy is sinking into a depression. Then a business associate of investment banker Tom Hansen (Christian Slater) is murdered, and the following day Hansen is offered an opportunity to put together a $20 billion deal in which a U.S. oil company would buy a Russian oil company with proven reserves in Kazakhstan. While Hansen is investigating the Russian oil company, he uncovers some disturbing facts which cause him to doubt the existence of oil. Is this actually an illegal deal to allow the U.S. to import embargoed oil? Is Hansen's life and that of his girlfriend Abbey (Selma Blair) in danger? Was his associate murdered because he threatened to expose the deal?

While the film's concept is good, there are several holes in the plot. Also, Hansen is far too trusting and naive; it takes him much too long to figure out that he was picked to investigate the Russian oil company specifically because of his ignorance of the industry and the global region. And, finally, there isn't a lot of chemistry between Slater and Blair, so we really don't become emotionally invested in them or their story. Nevertheless, if you enjoyed political thrillers like The International, Lord of War, Sentinel, Shooter, State of Play or Syriana, you might enjoy The Deal. As a note, this could be a prophetic film. There is a heightened risk that Israel and the U.S. might attack Iran in order to destroy its capacity to produce nuclear reactor fuel, fuel which could also be used to build nuclear weapons. If this happens, Iran would likely retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which travel supertankers carrying 20% of global oil supplies. The result might be the same as that depicted in this film. 

Labels:  crime, drama, thriller  
Internet Movie Database    
Metacritic 46/100    
Tomatometer (critics=21, viewers=21)