Kathy Bates

A well-known French prostitute (Kathy Bates) sets up her son (Rupert Friend) with a fellow courtesan (Michelle Pfeiffer) to learn the ways of love, not expecting the two to continue their affair years down the road, when the chance for the man to marry into wealth threatens to destroy their romance. Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons) helms the 1920s period Pathe Pictures/Miramax co-production based on the Colette novella. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Ashton Kutcher stars as a broken man who sets off on a vengeance-filled search for his sister's murderer, only to fall into the arms of a gorgeous older woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) who may share the same torment in this romantic drama from Insight Studios. TV veteran David Hollander directs from his own script. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates star in writer/director Tyler Perry's family drama about an upper-crust family and their working-class counterparts, who discover that scandal knows no social boundaries. Charlotte Cartwright (Bates) and Alice Pratt (Woodard) may be from different sides of the tracks, yet over the years they've managed to nurture a strong and healthy friendship. That friendship is put to the ultimate test, however, when their adult children begin to act out in ways that neither parent ever saw coming. Alice's daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan) is married to a trusting husband named Chris (Rockmond Dunbar), but lately she's been betraying that trust by sleeping with her boss, William (Cole Hauser), who just so happens to be Charlotte's son. William is married to Jillian (KaDee Strickland), and in addition to being unfaithful, he's also scheming to take over the role of COO at his mother's lucrative construction firm. Meanwhile, Alice's other daughter, Pam (Taraji P. Henson), and her husband, Ben (Perry), a faithful family man and construction worker, have both recognized that their family has strayed from the course of righteousness, and become determined to help their loved ones back on the right path. When paternity secrets, shady double dealings, and a series of other scandals become too much for Charlotte and Alice to take, the two women set out on a cross-country trip in order to clear their heads and devise a plan for saving their families. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A grieving widow finds her husband's warmth radiating from the afterlife when she discovers that he left her a series of tasks to be revealed in ten monthly messages and designed to help her overcome her sorrow while gradually making the transition into a new life. Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) is a New York real estate broker whose good-humored husband, Irishman Gerry (Gerard Butler), always stood by her side. Suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, Gerry succumbs to a brain tumor and Holly is left to face an uncertain future. No one in the world knows Holly better than Gerry, not even her mother (Kathy Bates) or her best friends, Sharon (Gina Gershon) and Denise (Lisa Kudrow). But while Holly remains unsure if she can go on without the love of her life to help guide her, Gerry has planned ahead. On Holly's 30th birthday, she receives a cake and a special tape recording from Gerry that implores her to get out and celebrate instead of staying in and mourning. Later, as the months wear on, a series of additional messages arrive from Gerry -- always delivered in the most remarkable and surprising of ways. With each new message comes a new adventure, and each letter signs off in the same familiar way: "P.S. I love you." Despite the fact that Holly's mother and friends think these humorous, posthumous messages are keeping Holly bound to the past, the truth is that they are lovingly guiding her into the future while proving that sometimes death isn't just the end, but a new beginning as well. Director Richard LaGravenese teams with screenwriter Steve Rogers to adapt author Cecelia Ahern's best-selling novel. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Santa's black-sheep brother gets a much-needed shot at redemption in this holiday comedy reuniting actor Vince Vaughn and director David Dobkin (Clay Pigeons, Wedding Crashers). It's not easy being the brother of a benevolent and beloved saint, and no one knows that better than Fred Claus (Vaughn). After struggling for years to live up to the example set by his younger sibling Nicholas (Paul Giamatti), Fred has finally given up. These days Fred is working as a repo man taken to stealing the items he repossesses, and his shady tactics have just landed him in jail. While Mrs. Claus vehemently insists that Fred fend for himself, Nicholas refuses to sit idly by as his brother rots in jail and agrees to set bail if Fred will repay the debt by coming to the North Pole and help make toys for the upcoming Christmas season. But Fred isn't nearly as productive as your average elf, and he's got quite an attitude to boot. With Christmas fast approaching and Fred threatening to sideline Nicholas' entire finely tuned operation, the brother that always struggled to get out from under his sibling's substantial shadow finds out just how far the patience of a saint can be pushed before jolly old Santa reaches his breaking point. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A overgrown mama's boy who hasn't found the courage to take flight from the nest gets a little help from the girl of his dreams in the one comedy that proves it's never to late to strike out on your own. Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) may have hit 30, but that doesn't mean that he's ready to give up the many benefits of living at home with mom (Kathy Bates) and dad (Terry Bradshaw). His desperate parents have had enough, though, and after years of gentle nudging they soon realize that it's going to take a concerted effort to get Tripp out and enjoy their twilight years in peace. Realizing that their only hope for ridding themselves of their reluctant-to-leave offspring rides on the off-chance of his meeting the ideal female companion, mom and dad enlist the help of a beautiful and talented woman (Sarah Jessica Parker) in providing the romantic incentive needed to finally get their son out of the family home. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A successful psychologist with a picture-perfect family and a best-selling self-help book that's fast racking up sales hires a dogged detective to investigate his brother's claim that he was actually adopted, only to watch as his life falls to pieces in the aftermath in a dark comedy about success and family starring Danny DeVito, Kathy Bates, Ron Livingston, and Neve Campbell. Dr. Richard Clayton (Livingston) has everything a man could ever want in life: a loving fiancée (Campbell), two loving parents who are always there to support him (Edward Hermann and Christine Baranski), and a career that's on the fast track to success. When Richard's embittered brother (Bob Odenkirk) resentfully tells his sibling that he was adopted, however, the once-thriving specialist embarks on a tireless quest to locate his true birth parents. Though his dreams of finding his biological mother and father fade into a nightmare when a private investigator reveals to Richard that he was in fact conceived by crude carnies Frank and Agnes Manure (DeVito and Bates) -- who subsequently make it their mission in life to make Richard miserable -- the desperate doctor soon finds that even if he can't stand his real parents, he has learned a valuable life lesson from them. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Thornton Wilder's award-winning novel is given a lavish screen adaptation in this historical drama from writer and director Mary McGuckian. In Peru in 1714, a rickety bridge collapsed as five people were attempting to cross, forcing them to plunge to their deaths. Brother Fray Juniper (Gabriel Byrne) is a Franciscan monk who has been given the duty of looking into the tragedy by the archbishop of Lima (Robert De Niro), and to learn what he can about the victims. It is Juniper's belief that these particular people died for some reason, and that it is his duty to determine why God chose these five people to perish, while others in the vicinity survived. After five years, Juniper delivers his findings to the archbishop as well as the viceroy of Peru (F. Murray Abraham), as Juniper tells them of the lives of the troubled Dona Maria (Kathy Bates), the nun Pepita (Adriana Dominguez), warm-hearted Uncle Pio (Harvey Keitel), street kid-turned-actress La Perichola (Pilar Lopez de Ayala), and others involved in the tragedy. The Bridge of San Luis Rey also features Geraldine Chaplin, John Lynch, and brothers Mark Polish and Michael Polish. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the tradition of Dore Schary's Sunrise at Campobello, the made-for-cable biopic Warm Springs focuses on one of the least publicized aspects in the life of America's most-publicized (and longest-serving) president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, here played brilliantly by British actor Kenneth Branagh. Like Sunrise, Warm Springs uses as its starting point the year 1921, when the 39-year-old Roosevelt was permanently paralyzed from the waist down by an attack of polio. But whereas the earlier film concentrated on FDR's battle to return to public life despite his handicap, this film zeroes in on Roosevelt's efforts to cure himself of his affliction. Having heard of the therapeutic value of the waters of Warm Springs in rural Georgia, Roosevelt makes a pilgrimage to the area, which is little more than a swamp surrounded by dilapidated shacks. Though he never experiences the "miracle" cure that he so desperately seeks, Roosevelt is instrumental in the conversion of Warm Springs from a backwater hellhole to a streamlined, efficiently managed polio-treatment center, a virtual mecca for hundreds of thousands of others who had been crippled by the debilitating illness. And in the process, he also brings hope, optimism, and racial enlightenment to the poverty-stricken, multiethnic citizens of Warm Springs. Even more significantly, FDR removes the stigma of polio from the public consciousness, forever abolishing the misguided notions that the disease adversely affected the brain, that it could be spread merely by physical contact, or that it represented celestial "punishment" of the victim (it is noted, however, that Roosevelt was always careful never to reveal the true extent of his immobility nor his atrophied legs in public, feeling that it might diminish the nation's image of an "invulnerable" Commander in Chief). Also in the cast are Cynthia Nixon as Roosevelt's devoted wife, Eleanor; Jane Alexander (who'd previously played Eleanor Roosevelt in two TV miniseries) as his over-protective mother Sara; David Paymer as his crusty chief aide Louis Howe; Kathy Bates as his no-nonsense physical therapist Helena Mahoney; and Tim Blake Nelson as Tom Loyless, the man in charge of Warm Springs. Originally telecast by HBO on April 30, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Editing teaches the viewer how editors compile strips of film in order to create memorable moviegoing experiences. In addition to interviews with a variety of respected and award-winning editors, the movie offers clips form some of the most memorable films in the history of the artform. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Directed by Nick Hurran, Little Black Book follows Stacy (Brittany Murphy), an associate producer of a popular daytime talk show starring Kippie Kann (Kathy Bates), as she tries to figure out the root of her boyfriend's (Ron Livingston) commitment-phobic nature. Rather than continue to fruitlessly question Derek (Livingston) regarding his slew of failed relationships, Stacy sneaks into his Palm Pilot and begins interviewing his ex-girlfriends under the pretense of gathering information for a future show. Though she justifies the deception with her need to find out whether or not Derek can be trusted for a long-term relationship, complications arise when Stacy becomes good friends with one of Derek's former flames. Holly Hunter makes an appearance as Stacy's boss (the show's senior associate producer), while Josie Maran, Julianne Nicholson, Rashida Jones, Sharon Lawrence, and Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale are featured in supporting roles. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

An attractive, middle-aged woman (Donna Bullock) dies while waiting in line at a self-help seminar, the apparent victim of a massive blood clot from a long-ago nose job. But it's another corpse -- an awesomely large one that falls out of its casket in the middle of the night -- that presents a headache for Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) and his new intern, Arthur (Rainn Wilson). On watch at the funeral home while Nate (Peter Krause) and Lisa (Lili Taylor) go camping with another couple, the hapless undertakers must enlist the help of Claire (Lauren Ambrose) and Russell (Ben Foster) in returning the voluminous body to its oversized coffin. Russell is on hand because, despite her decision not to date him, Claire has somehow ended up taking his virginity instead. This turn of events pleases her until David (Michael C. Hall) insinuates that Russell is gay, after all -- a notion she dismisses out of hand. Ruth (Frances Conroy), too, finds herself falling for a man of indeterminate sexual proclivities: stuffy, virginal Arthur, whose old-fashioned manners and idiosyncrasies charm her despite their large age gap. As for Nate, he's none too charmed by the constraints that new fatherhood imposes on his camping trip with his wife. Unable to get gloriously stoned or go off on walkabout like he did as a bachelor, he instead finds himself clashing with Lisa, who's freaking out about the deficiencies in their love life since she gave birth to Maya. Eventually, she and Nate reconcile with some seriously twisted al fresco sex. But Nate is haunted by a daydream about Brenda (Rachel Griffiths) stalking him. Originally broadcast April 6, 2003, on HBO, "Making Love Work" marked season three, episode six of the made-for-cable drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide