All or Nothing (DVD)
Following 1999`s Oscar-nominated period piece TOPSY-TURVY, acclaimed filmmaker Mike Leigh returns to the familiar terrain of modern, working-class London with ALL OR NOTHING. Yet another bittersweet slice-of-life drama conceived in Leigh`s now legendary improvisational style, ALL OR NOTHING follows a group of dysfunctional families living in a London housing project who seem to have lost any glimmer of optimism and hope. Phil Bassett (Timothy Spall) works as a cab driver, while his wife Penny (Lesley Manville) holds a job as a clerk in a Safeway. Their two kids, Rachel (Alison Garland) and Rory (James Corden), are overweight and friendless. Nearby, Ron (Paul Jesson) and Carol (Marion Bailey) drink themselves into oblivion every night, while their sex-charged daughter Samantha (Sally Hawkins) attempts to conquer every boy on the block. Next door to them, Penny`s coworker Maureen (Ruth Sheen) watches over her daughter, Donna (Helen Coker), who has been impregnated by her bitter, abusive boyfriend. In typical Leigh fashion, each character trudges through the muck of everyday existence, until a minor revelation sparks an understanding that brings hope to their sour lives. Featuring impeccably realized performances by the ensemble cast--most notably Spall and Manville--Leigh`s film pays tribute to the exasperating institution of family.R"
Director: Mike Leigh
No Easy Way (DVD)
Matthew (Alan Boyce) is a concert pianist who must play in a hotel to make a living. He is also secretly living with AIDS and refuses help from his family. But when he loses his job, he meets Diana (Khandi Alexander), a streetwise mother of two. The two become fast friends and, eventually lovers, forming a bond that raises as many questions as answers for the both of them.NR"
Director: Jeffrey Fine
ACTORS: Alan Boyce, Khandi Alexander
Hold the Dream (DVD)
The continuing story of fabulously wealthy Emma Harte, now in her eighties, and her efforts to turn over her business empire to her favorite granddaughter. These sequel to Barbara Taylor Bradford`s A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE mini-series has great actress Deborah Kerr (AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER) reprising her role as Emma. Liam Neeson also stars.NR"
Director: Don Sharp
ACTORS: Deborah Kerr, Stephen Collins, James Brolin, Liam Neeson, Jenny Seagrove
After Dark, My Sweet (DVD)
The get-rich-quick-scheme of a sexy widow and a con man needs a perfect pawn to set it in motion. Their choice has a few skeletons in his closet, however, and he gets involved only to be close to the seductress. If he finds out she`s manipulating him, the stakes could turn deadly.R"
Director: James Foley
ACTORS: Jason Patric, Rachel Ward, Bruce Dern
Rob Roy (DVD)
A rousing film version of Sir Walter Scott`s sweeping romantic adventure based on the life of Scottish hero Robert Roy MacGregor who battled a despotic English secretary appointed by the king to watch over Scottish highlands.R"
Director: Michael Caton-Jones
ACTORS: Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz
