Rolfe Kent Movies

Following memorable roles in the military action-adventures Pearl Harbor (2001) and Black Hawk Down (2001), young actor Josh Hartnett is propelled to romantic leading man status with this semi-autobiographical comedy from screenwriter Rob Perez. Hartnett stars as Matt Sullivan, a young man smarting over the bitter breakup of his most recent relationship. With Lent approaching, Matt decides to observe the 40-day tradition by abstaining from all sexual contact, including self-gratification. Once his odyssey of discipline has begun, he meets the girl of his dreams, while his ex begins campaigning to get him back. Co-starring Shannyn Sossamon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Vinessa Shaw, 40 Days and 40 Nights inspired another round of controversy between distributor Miramax and the Catholic League, which accused the film of being a "vulgar parody" of Lent. The League previously protested the company's releases of Priest (1994) and Dogma (1999). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

A young man forms a unique connection to the afterlife after surviving the tragic car accident that claimed his younger brother in this supernatural drama starring Zac Efron, based on the best-selling book by author Ben Sherwood. Charlie St. Cloud (Efron) is an experienced sailor from the Pacific Northwest who has just earned a scholarship that will take him far from home. The light of his mother's life, Charlie and his little brother, Sam (Charlie Tahan), are driving late at night when they're involved in a deadly car accident that kills Sam and leaves Charlie forever changed. In the aftermath of the accident, Charlie is wracked with guilt, convinced that if he had just been more careful behind the wheel, Sam would still be alive today. When Charlie begins seeing visions of his younger brother that are just as real as if Sam is actually standing before him, his friends and neighbors all start to think he's losing his mind. Shortly thereafter, Charlie's former high-school classmate Tess (Amanda Crew) returns to town unannounced, and together the two old acquaintances forge the foundation of a meaningful romance. But before Charlie can move on with his life he'll have to first let go of his past, and bid his beloved brother Sam one final, heartfelt farewell. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The divisive issue of abortion is at the center of Citizen Ruth, a political satire that attempts to subject both pro-choice and pro-life forces to equal ridicule. Laura Dern portrays Ruth Stoops, an irresponsible, unemployed woman who's addicted to inhaling household chemicals and has becomes pregnant, for the fifth time. After she is arrested for substance abuse, the judge offers to lessen her sentence if Ruth chooses to abort her child. Ruth agrees, but that night she encounters a group of pro-life activists. They take her under their wing, promising to help her, while secretly planning to make her case public as a symbol for the pro-life movement . When Ruth discovers the deception, she takes refuge with a pro-choice group, sparking a media frenzy. Yet Ruth soon finds her new friends are also only interested in her value as a media icon. Realizing she has been used as a pawn in the abortion rights battle, the apolitical Ruth turns the tables, offering to join whoever will give her the best deal. What results is a frantic, comedic session of wheeling-dealing which argues that activists on both sides have become more concerned with waging political warfare than helping women. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

In this satirical comedy, a hotly contested high school election becomes a metaphor for the current state of American politics. Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) is a popular and well-respected instructor at George Washington Carver High School in Omaha, Nebraska, but lately he's been unhappy in both his personal and professional life, and his anxieties finally come to a head with the school's student elections. Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) is running for student body president, and she certainly seems like the sort of girl who would win a high school election -- she's pretty, popular and takes part in all the right extra-curricular activities. In fact, she seems so perfect she's running unopposed, which offends McAllister's sense of democracy (not to mention the fact he doesn't like her very much). So Jim intervenes and persuades Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) to run against Tracy. Paul is not terribly bright and is entirely unqualified to be student president, but as a star of the school's football team (before a leg injury sidelined him), he's popular enough to at least give Tracy a run for her money. Just as the race begins to heat up, a spanner is truly thrown into the works when Paul's sister, Tammy (Jessica Campbell) announces she's also running for office. Publicly, Tammy's platform is that the student elections are ultimately pointless and if she's elected, she'll eliminate them altogether. Privately, Tammy is out for revenge against her brother; it seems Tammy is experimenting with her sexuality, and a recent fling with a bisexual classmate named Lisa (Frankie Ingrassia) ended when Lisa dumped her to start going out with Paul. Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta, Election was directed by Alexander Payne, who won enthusiastic reviews for his debut feature, Citizen Ruth; Payne also co-wrote the screenplay with Jim Taylor. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Sex and death are the main themes running through this thriller. Matt Dickson is a former hockey player turned L.A. cop. Since his wife left him he has become a hard-drinking carouser. Dickson is on the trail of Welton, a psychotic boxer, using the names of famous fighters for his aliases has left a grisly trail of dead women found in cheap motels throughout the city. He is assisted by Catherine Briggs, a journalist, who helps him see the connection between these murders and similar ones in the past. But Catherine is not only there to help Dickson. She is also there because of a recent one-nighter Dickson had with her sister. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past -- the Mark S. Waters-directed fusion of A Christmas Carol with a traditional romantic comedy -- stars Matthew McConaughey as Connor Mead, a famous photographer and confirmed womanizer. He takes a break from his playboy lifestyle to attend his brother's wedding, where he becomes reacquainted with Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner), the only girl who ever captured his heart. After Connor delivers a drunken speech at the rehearsal dinner where he says that love isn't real, he's met in the bathroom by the ghost of his uncle Wayne (Michael Dogulas), a Hefner-esque horndog who taught Connor everything he knows about picking up chicks. Uncle Wayne informs Connor that, over the course of the evening, he'll be visited by three ghosts who will lead him through his romantic past, present, and future. Will Connor learn to get over himself and love the right woman, or will he remain an emotional Scrooge? ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A couple who live on different sides of the divide of life and death discover just how many boundaries love can cross in this romantic comic fantasy. Elizabeth (Reese Witherspoon) is a hardworking and dedicated medical resident who, after 20 hours on duty, is heading home when she falls asleep at the wheel of her car and is involved in a fatal auto accident. Several weeks later, a man named David (Mark Ruffalo) takes over the lease on Elizabeth's apartment, but he discovers that she hasn't quite vacated the building. Elizabeth's body may be dead, but her spirit is still quite lively, and her ghost is insisting that the apartment is still hers...and that she wants him to move out. David brings in Darryl (Jon Heder), an eccentric man who claims to have psychic powers, to help sweep Elizabeth's spirit out of the apartment, but she refuses to budge, certain that she can't be completely dead, despite all evidence to the contrary. As Elizabeth and David try to share the flat, they discover that their differences aren't as great as they once imagined, and they become attracted to one another. But will Elizabeth's spirit stay in the land of the living long enough for their romance to go somewhere? Just Like Heaven marked Jon Heder's first feature film role after his breakthrough appearance in the independent hit Napoleon Dynamite. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Three years after settling down with the woman of his dreams, a former government assassin discovers there's a price tag on his head, and that his number could be up at any minute. Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kucher) was the man the government called on when they needed someone taken out on the sly. Fast, clean, and efficient, he always got the job done, and enjoyed the many perks that came with traveling the globe in search of his targets. But somewhere amidst all of the fast cars and exotic women, Spencer fell in love with Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl), a carefree computer expert on the mend from a relationship gone sour. Flash forward three years, when Spencer and Jen are happily married and living the domestic dream. On the heels of Spencer's 30th birthday, he and his happy wife discover that their life of bliss could come to a violent end at any second -- someone has put a multi-million-dollar contract on Spencer's life, and the hired killers who have been tracking him could be anyone from the checkout girl to the neighborhood curmudgeon. Time is running out for Spencer, and as the race to uncover his assassin intensifies, so too does his paranoia. With his in-laws making life miserable and the threat of death lurking around every corner, Spencer struggles to maintain appearances while staying out of the crosshairs, and keeping Jen safe from harm. Catherine O'Hara, Tom Selleck, and Martin Mull co-star in an action-packed comedy thriller from director Rob Luketic (Legally Blonde, The Ugly Truth). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Taking home a paycheck that nearly rivals the budget of the first film, Reese Witherspoon reprises the role of Elle Woods in this sequel to 2001's surprise blockbuster Legally Blonde. When she's fired from her job at an upscale law firm for voicing her stance against the testing of cosmetics on animals, Elle heads to Capitol Hill to fight for her cause before Congress, leaving her boyfriend, Emmett (Luke Wilson, reprising his role from the film's predecessor), behind. Once there, she runs into plenty of adversity and red-tape and can't seem to find anyone who will listen to her proposals. While staying at the Watergate hotel though, she meets and befriends an elderly bellman (Bob Newhart in his first theatrical role since 1997's In & Out) who's been around politicians long enough to know the ins and outs of the political machine. With his help, Elle attempts to convince disillusioned U.S. Representative Rudd (Sally Field) to help her get her voice heard in front of the stodgy old coots of the legislative branch. Directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld hot off the success of his critically acclaimed indie comedy Kissing Jessica Stein, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde boasts a supporting cast led by Jennifer Coolidge (Best in Show, American Pie) and Regina King (Jerry Maguire, Daddy Day Care). ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

A rich but bigoted man is forced to confront his ugliest prejudices face to face in this thriller. Frank Kramer (John Rubinstein) is a successful but narrow-minded attorney who comes home one day to discover that his daughter Nicole (Rhea Silver-Smith) is missing. Kramer shortly receives a telephone call from someone who claims to be holding his daughter hostage and gives him instructions to visit a pay phone in one of the most crime-ridden ghettos in New York City. Furious, but too worried not to follow orders, Kramer does as he's told and takes a call at the public phone -- only to be told to go to another phone booth in another, equally dangerous part of town. As Kramer dashes from telephone to telephone while being confronted by muggers, drug dealers, prostitutes, and angry people who simply don't want him in their neighborhood, it becomes evident that the kidnappers aren't just interested in money -- they have a personal grudge against Kramer, and they want their revenge to be psychological as much as financial. In time, Kramer discovers that he does indeed know one of the kidnappers -- Ruby (Amber Kain), the daughter of Kramer's maid, who has pulled the job with the help of her boyfriend -- and he discovers that his ex-wife is no more sympathetic to him than Ruby and her partner. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Adventure-loving house painter Mr. Popper (Jim Carrey) contends with the problem of having too many penguins in director Mark S. Waters' adaptation of author Richard Atwater's beloved children's book. Shortly after penning a letter to a team of Arctic explorers, Mr. Popper is surprised to receive a penguin in the mail. Later, after making his mischievous new pal a cozy new home in the freezer, the hapless Mr. Popper comes into possession of a playful female penguin as well. Before long Mr. Popper finds himself surrounded by a growing family of the flightless birds, and begins training them to perform in a traveling show dubbed Popper's Performing Penguins. With each new town the show travels to, pandemonium is quick to follow. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A police detective is on the trail of a psychopath while dealing with demons of her own in the crime thriller Oxygen. Madeline Foster (Maura Tierney) is a plainclothes detective with the NYPD who isn't especially happy with her job. She drowns her sorrows in alcohol and masochistic sex, though even her husband (Terry Kinney) is unaware of the full extent of her erotic obsessions. Madeline finds herself assigned to investigate an unusual kidnapping; Frances (Laila Robins), the wife of a prosperous businessman (James Naughton), has been kidnapped and buried alive. The perpetrators demand the ransom be paid within 24 hours, or the air will run out and Frances will be dead. Madeline surmises that the kidnapper is a career criminal known to the NYPD as "Harry Houdini" (Adrien Brody) for his remarkable ability to escape capture. It soon becomes clear that "Harry" knows who Madeline is, and for him this isn't an ordinary kidnapping but an elaborate psychological game; he is convinced they are alike in more ways than they're different, which makes it all the more fascinating for him. Oxygen received screenings at several 1999 film festivals, including Taos, Gen-Art and Cannes (market); it was later purchased by premium cable network HBO, who showed the film before it went into a limited theatrical run. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi