Alexia Landeau Movies
Ingenue Julie Delpy does triple duty as writer, director, and star of this romantic comedy. French photographer Marion (Delpy) and American interior designer Jack (Adam Goldberg) are returning from a vacation in Venice. Despite the fact that it was supposed to be the ultimate romantic getaway, disagreements and misunderstandings seemed to drive them farther apart rather than bringing them closer together. Before they return to the United States, Marion and Jack have a quick two-day stop in Paris to visit Marion's parents and pick up the cat that they had been pet-setting for their daughter. Unfortunately for Jack, Paris proves to be quite a culture shock. Not only are Marion's parents a pair of eccentric former "revolutionaries" who make no qualms about having knock-down-drag-out arguments regardless of who's present, but they also appear to have a particular distaste for Americans. Add to this the fact that Marion's friends hold nothing back when it comes to discussing their sexual lives, seem fixated on food rituals, and that Marion seems to run into former lovers on every street corner, and Jack quickly begins to suspect that he doesn't know his girlfriend half as well as he thought he did when they were living the simple life back in New York. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg, (more)
Writer and director Sofia Coppola puts a new spin on the life and times of one of Europe's most infamous monarchs in this lavish historical drama which fuses a contemporary sensibility with painstaking recreations of the look of the 18th century. Born to Austrian nobility, Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) is only 14 years old when she's pledged to marry Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman), the 15-year-old king of France, in an alliance that has everything to do with politics and nothing to do with love. Sent to France and literally stripped of her former life, Marie weds Louis, but to the consternation of the royal court, he seems either unwilling or unable to consummate the marriage while their advisors clamor for an heir to the throne. Young and more than a bit out of step with the new life that's been thrust upon her, Marie gives herself over to the pleasures of life in Versailles, knowing and caring little of the political intrigue that surrounds her. In time, Marie's trusted older brother, Joseph (Danny Huston), is brought in to coach Louis on the finer points of marital relations, and before long the couple is finally blessed with a child. However, as Marie tends to her children in the gilded cage of her palace and enjoys an affair with a Swedish nobleman, political power plays are throwing France into chaos, and the growing ranks of the poor rebel against the royals and their life of privilege. Also starring Rip Torn, Judy Davis, Steve Coogan, and Asia Argento, Marie Antoinette was given a controversial reception when it premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, (more)
Frequent television director Brad Silberling directs the romantic drama Moonlight Mile. Set in a Massachusetts town in the early '70s, Joe Nast (Jake Gyllenhaal) is distraught after the death of his fiancée. He moves in with her parents, Ben (Dustin Hoffman) and JoJo (Susan Sarandon), while trying to sort out all of the legal troubles and painful details of the wedding cancellations. While trying to locate the wedding invitations in the mail, Joe meets Bertie (Ellen Pompeo), whose boyfriend has been MIA in Vietnam. Despite his growing relationship with his late fiancée's parents, Joe begins to foster a romance with Bertie. Also starring Dabney Coleman and Holly Hunter. Moonlight Mile is based on Brad Silberling's real-life situation following the murder of his TV-star girlfriend Rebecca Schaeffer. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, (more)
The blurry line between a rumor and the truth is stretched to the breaking point in this drama. Three arrogant and self-centered college students, Jones (Lena Headey), Derek (James Marsden), and Travis (Norman Reedus), are brought together for a class project, in which they decide to start a rumor and keep track of how it spreads. Looking for possible gossip material, they see Naomi (Kate Hudson), a girl known for her high-minded views on saving sex for marriage, drunkenly making out with Bo (Joshua Jackson) at a party. The three students begin passing around the rumor that Naomi became a victim of date rape later that evening, embroidering the truth with allegations that Bo forcibly seduced Naomi after she was too inebriated to put up a fight. Before long, the rumor makes its way back to Naomi herself, who suffered a black-out on the night in question after too much alcohol. Naomi panics, and convinced that the rumor is true, contacts the police, who assign Detective Kelly (Sharon Lawrence) to investigate the charges of rape filed against Bo. Featuring a cast of young actors best known for their work on television, Gossip was an appropriate first feature film for director Davis Guggenheim, who previously distinguished himself on such TV series as ER, NYPD Blue, and Party of Five. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Bogosian, Marisa Coughlan, (more)
