'The Company You Keep' **stars

i hate to say it but i must: this julie christie, robert redford vehicle is a damn bore. sorry jules. it goes nowhere much to slowly. it got lost between political thriller and docudrama and never found it's true way. what could have been an intelligent film has been embalmed.
i am left wondering howerver, what a christie/redford film might have been once upon a time. this is not it. wait for cable or whatever.

julie in 'the company you keep'

'The Back Up Plan': **stars

i have a thing for jennifer lopez in her romantic comedies. i find her absolutely charming in them. even in this bit of a miss and mess she shines. alex o'laughlin is another charmer. they just have a lousy script to work with that's all too formula and familiar.

rent it on a rainy day. it will pass the time.

'Valentine's Day' **stars

a slight fluffy concoction that's sticky as cotton candy and like that candy will leave you basically unfulfilled. but it is a confection that you might enjoy if you happen to enjoy cotton candy.

vignettes is too broad a word to use here as it is all edited together but it does consist of mostly disjointed stories.

the best belongs to jennifer garner and ashton kutcher. i'm not a big fan of the mostly unphotogenic garner but i must say she has one really good scene with which she steals the whole candy box.

then there are the surprises that involve eric dane, bradley cooper and the always charming julia roberts. all are touching really. now get your mind out of the gutter as there is no 3way.

some talent is truly wasted like queen latifa, some have seen better days like shirley macclaine and some are just window dressing like patrick dempsey.

then there are the terrible. the awful jessica biel in a terrible role for instance.

but as in any movie she appears the absolutely worst yet again in this film is anne hathaway. anne should find another millionaire, hopefully not a criminal this time, and go off into the sunset with him. way off in the sunset. far from any and every movie set.

i say rent if you really have nothing else to do.

'The Ghost Writer' Rates **stars

i am a polanski fan. in fact, i believe he directed the best drama of the past decade: 'The Pianist'. his 'rosemary's baby' remains unmatched in the thriller edge of your seat drama. that said 'ghost writer' is a second class citizen in his repertoire. it is seemingly an indictment of cheyney and the u.s.'s influence on tony blair. if any director could have made this effective and a real indictment it could have been roman polanski. he fell short with the subject matter.

truth be told i might have given this a B but for some odd reason he cast kim catrell in an important role. kim is just out of her league here. she is downright awful. her so-called british accent is beyond laughable. ewam mcgregor and olivia williams are convincible while pierce brosnan is wasted in a dull supporting role.

catch it on dvd.

better luck next time roman.