Daniella Van Graas Movies
A hard-nosed star reporter learns who her real friends are -- and gets in way over her head -- investigating a murder in this twisty thriller. Perfect Stranger stars Halle Berry as Rowena, a prominent New York journalist who writes using a pseudonym to entrap some of the tri-state area's most corrupt individuals, using a network of informants, acquaintances, and digital gadgets. When her latest exposé is buried at the behest of her paper's corporate backers, she walks off the job and into a personal quagmire. Her childhood friend Grace (Nicki Aycox) is murdered when she threatens to reveal she's been sleeping with married advertising mogul Harrison Hill (Bruce Wills). With the help of her loyal techie friend Miles (Giovanni Ribisi), she goes undercover -- and online -- to find the smoking gun that will indict Hill. But Rowena soon finds herself caught in a web of manipulation, deceit, and false truths. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, (more)
In keeping with the light and slick tones of her earlier film What Women Want, Nancy Meyers writes and directs the romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give. Jack Nicholson plays Harry Langer, a swinging sixtysomething entertainment executive surrounded by plenty of young girlfriends. His latest romance is young petite sophisticate Marin (Amanda Peet), who takes him to her mother's beach house in the Hamptons for a weekend fling. However, Marin's successful Broadway playwright mother Erica Barry (Diane Keaton) is already vacationing at the house with her sister Zoe (Frances McDormand). Marin and Harry stay anyway, and Harry ends up having a heart attack. He goes to the hospital and is looked after by thirtysomething doctor Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves). Impressed by her writing, Dr. Mercer finds himself pursuing a romance with Erica. Because of his serious health condition, he orders Harry to stay near the hospital. While Marin returns to Manhattan, Erica agrees to stay on and look after Harry. Of course they are repulsed by each other at first, but they end up falling in love throughout the recovery process. Also starring Jon Favreau as Harry's assistant. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, (more)
Can a wealthy Republican politician find happiness with a chambermaid from the Bronx? One man is about to find out, though he hardly realizes it at first, in this romantic comedy from director Wayne Wang. Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez) is a single mother who is raising her gifted but under-confident son Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey) on her own, with some help from her mother Veronica (Priscilla Lopez), after divorcing her husband. Marisa works as a housekeeper at the exclusive Beresford Hotel in Manhattan, where her boss Paula Burns (Frances Conroy) and chief butler Lionel Bloch (Bob Hoskins) urge Marisa and her best friend and fellow maid Stephanie (Marissa Matrone) to be as efficient and inconspicuous as possible. One day, while cleaning the room of noted socialite Caroline Lane (Natasha Richardson), Stephanie spies a beautiful designer gown and dares Marisa to try it on; against her better judgment, she does, and while all dolled up, she bumps into Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), a wealthy and well-bred bachelor who is running for the Senate. Immediately charmed, Chris asks Marisa to join him for a walk in Central Park, assuming she's the blue-blooded Caroline. Marisa manages to join Chris for the afternoon, with Ty in tow, and Chris finds himself quite taken with Marisa's beauty and down-to-earth personality, as well as Ty's precocious interest in politics. Chris later calls Caroline's room to set up a lunch date, but soon discovers the stuffy Ms. Lane is not the woman he met before. Marisa is also attracted to Chris, but while her friends encourage her to pursue a romance, Veronica believes her daughter is asking for trouble by trying to win a man so far out of her social strata. The supporting cast also includes Stanley Tucci and Amy Sedaris. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Lopez, Frances Conroy, (more)
An man gets an unexpected lesson in love and life from a much younger woman in this romantic drama. Will Keane (Richard Gere) is a wealthy 50-year-old restaurant tycoon who has a knack for wooing beautiful women, but is unable to commit to a lasting relationship. On day Will meets a beautiful woman in her early-20s named Charlotte Fielding (Winona Ryder); he turns on the charm in an effort to impress her, and soon the two are having an affair. But what Will thought would be a brief, casual fling proves to have far deeper repercussions when he learns that Charlotte is suffering from a serious illness and does not have long to live. Autumn in New York was directed by actress-turned-filmmaker Joan Chen and co-stars Anthony LaPaglia, Elaine Stritch, and Jillian Hennessy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, (more)
