Caterina Murino
A couple who want to have a child get some good news and some bad news in this campy comedy from director Pappi Corsicato. Veronica (Caterina Murino) is a beautiful woman who works in a clothing store with her mother Luciana (Valeria Fabrizi) and is married to Mario (Alessandro Gassman), a salesman. Veronica has a hard time getting her husband to pay attention to her, unaware that he's been sharing his affections with a large number of other women while taking care of sales calls. Veronica and Mario have been trying to have a baby without much luck, but on the day that she learns that she's pregnant at last, he comes home with the sad news that he's been diagnosed as sterile. Veronica is at a loss to understand her current condition until she remembers being mugged several months before and was knocked out cold, waking up to find rent-a-cop Gabriele (Michele Venitucci) coming to her rescue. However, Veronica still has no answer to her biggest question -- what does she do now that she's expecting a baby that she knows her husband didn't father? Il Seme della Discordia (aka The Seed of Discord) was an official selection at the 2008 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Caterina Murino, Alessandro Gassman, (more)
Stephen Dorff, Val Kilmer, Jessica Gilsig, and Stephen McHattie star in this two-part mini-series inspired by the 1984 comic book series of the same name (which was later adapted into a popular video game by Ubisoft Entertainment). A young man with no recollection of the past is discovered in a forest, the only clue to his past being a tattoo that reads "XIII." Subsequently accused of assassinating the president, the man embarks on a desperate quest to discover his true identity and expose the conspirators attempting to use him as a scapegoat for a crime he didn't commit. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Dorff, Val Kilmer, (more)
A man is shot dead, but is the woman with the gun really the killer? That's the all-important question in this thriller from France. Henri Pages (Pierre Arditi) is a successful politician who with his wife Elaine (Miou-Miou) has invited an eclectic group of guests to their country home for a weekend get-together. Joining Henri and Elaine are Pierre Collier (Lambert Wilson), a prominent psychoanalyst; his unhappy wife Claire (Anne Consigny); Pierre's lover Esther (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi), an artist; Lea (Caterina Murino), an exhibitionistic actress who was once involved with Pierre; Philippe (Mathieu Demy), a straight-laced writer; and Marthe (Celine Sallette), a beautiful woman given to severe mood swings. Henri has a large collection of guns, and while Pierre is enjoying a swim, he's shot to death with one of the rare firearms. While Claire is holding the murder weapon when the body is found, police detective Lieutenant Grange (Maurice Benichou) isn't so certain he has an open and shut case on his hands, and begins looking into the many people who have a reason for wanting Pierre out of the picture. Grange's investigation becomes even more challenging when Lea makes it clear she's sexually attracted to him. Le Grand Alibi (aka The Great Alibi) was adapted from the novel The Hollow, a Hercule Poirot mystery by Agatha Christie. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miou-Miou, Lambert Wilson, (more)
The uniformed but rebellious students of a distinguished all-girls school get an unexpected chance to raise a little hell as directors Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson set out to revive the characters created by comic artist Ronald Searle and made popular in the British film series that began with 1954's The Belles of St. Trinian's. When their beloved school is threatened with closure should the powers that be fail to raise the proper funds, the girls scheme to steal a priceless painting and use the profits to pull St. Trinian's out of the black. Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, and Mischa Barton star in a mischievous comedy penned by Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorcroft. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, (more)
A moderately successful, thirtysomething rocker in dire need of a warm bed and a home-cooked meal returns to his family home in Rimini, only to be faced with a series of crises both large and small in this affectionate family comedy from director Gianni Zanasi. Stefano Nardini (Valerio Mastandrea) is a post-punk guitarist stuck in a strange career limbo; while he isn't exactly an unknown, he wouldn't be considered a household name by any means. When Stefano returns to his childhood home for a momentary reprieve from the rock & roll nightlife, his family welcomes him back with open arms. Unfortunately for Stefano, this retreat will be far from relaxing, since everyone under the roof seems locked into some sort of personal crisis. For starters, once-studious sister Michela (Anita Caprioli) has abandoned her education in favor of working with dolphins, and struggling mother Giuliana (Gisella Burinato) is taking self-help classes from a loopy guru who claims to hold the secrets to a happier life. On the more serious end of things, brother Alberto (Giuseppe Battiston) is locked into a bitter split with his ill-content wife -- a deeply personal woe that is only compounded by the fact that the family factory he runs has sunken deep into debt. When Alberto proves reluctant to divulge the sorry state of the family business to father Walter (Teco Celio), loyal siblings Stefano and Michela do their best to pitch in and set things right. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerio Mastandrea, Anita Caprioli, (more)
Six of France's greatest screen comedians reunite in this long-awaited sequel to the classic box-office hits Les Bronzes and Les Bronzes Font du Ski. Skirt-chasing Popeye (Thierry Lhermitte) has settled down and married beautiful Graziella (Ornella Muti), and together they run an upscale resort hotel in Sardinia. However, Popeye still has his eye on the ladies rather than the bottom line -- he's carrying on with a beautiful young cook -- and Graziella warns him that he has to stop giving free rooms to his old friends. Unfortunately, this edict comes down just as Popeye's pals arrive, expecting a stay on the house. Jerome (Christian Clavier) was making a fortune as a plastic surgeon until a malpractice suit ended his career; now he hopes to reconnect with his former wife Gigi (Marie-Anne Chazel). However, when Gigi shows up it's clear she's also been seeing a plastic surgeon, and has brought along her new beau, upscale wig salesman Jean-Claude (Michel Blanc). And wealthy and smug Bernard (Gerard Jugnot) and Nathalie (Josiane Balasko) arrive with their dog in tow, though their vacation goes through a rough patch when Bernard makes a potentially disturbing discovery about their son. Les Bronzes 3: Amis Pour La Vie (aka Les Bronzes 3: Friends Forever) was directed by Patrice Leconte, who was also behind the camera for the original two films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josiane Balasko, Michel Blanc, (more)
Actor Daniel Craig assumes the role formerly occupied by such screen greats as Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton to set out on the character's very first 007 mission. James Bond has earned his "00" status by masterfully executing a pair of death-defying professional assassinations. Now assigned the task of traveling to Madagascar to spy on notorious terrorist Mollaka (Sebastien Foucan) for his maiden voyage as a 007 agent, Bond boldly goes against MI6 policy to launch an independent investigation that finds him traversing the Bahamas in search of Mollaka's notoriously elusive terror cell. Subsequently led into the company of the mysterious Dimitrios (Simon Abkarian) and his exotic girlfriend, Solange (Caterina Murino), Bond soon realizes that he is closer than ever to locating well-guarded terrorist financier Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), the man who has personally bankrolled some of the most prevalent terrorist organizations on the planet. When Bond learns that Le Chiffre is planning to partake in an upcoming high-stakes poker game to be played at Montenegro's Le Casino Royale and use the winnings to establish his financial grip on the globe, M (Judi Dench) assigns beguiling agent Vesper (Eva Green) the task of watching over the fledgling agent as he plays against Le Chiffre in a covert attempt to destroy the nefarious gambler's well-established monetary stronghold in the underworld once and for all. Bond will need more than his legendary gambling skills in order to win this dangerous game, though, and after allying himself with local MI6 field agent Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) and CIA operative Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), the endlessly suave super-spy puts on his poker face for a high-stakes game of cards in which the stakes are not measured in dollars, but human lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Craig, Eva Green, (more)
Les Visiteurs co-stars Jean Reno and Christian Clavier re-team for this comic book adaptation that follows a hip Parisian private eye on his quest to locate a Corsican "citizen" due to receive a large inheritance. Jack Palmer (Clavier) is a Paris-based detective whose swollen ego could cast a shadow over the Eiffel Tower. Ange Leoni (Reno) is a native of Corsica whose location can't be pinned down by even the most dogged of detectives. Approached by an obscure, small-time attorney and charged with the seemingly simple task of locating the missing Leoni, gifted gumshoe Palmer accepts the job under the false assumption that it will be the easiest money of his professional career. Soon after arriving on the island of Corsica, however, this superstar sleuth finds of just how mistaken he truly is. Not only are the locals suspiciously tight-lipped about the mysterious Corsican's whereabouts, but it quickly begins to appear as if the underworld has taken an ominous interest in Palmer's "open and shut" case as well. Later, after being brutalized by policemen, kidnapped by thugs, and having his car bombed, Palmer begins to comprehend the true futility of his search upon learning that his target is both the godfather of the Corsican mafia and France's most wanted. As the identities of the hunter and the hunted gradually become harder to distinguish, the detective is led on a wild goose chase around the picturesque island while finding the charms of Leoni's lovely wife Lea (Caterina Murino) increasingly difficult to resist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Clavier, Jean Reno, (more)










