Erin Brockovich

Julia Roberts may have won the Oscar for her work here in 2001, but the rest of the cast is outstanding. Albert Finney was nominated, and maybe should have won given the competition that year. Everyone else from Aaron Eckhart to Peter Coyote to Marg Helgenberger is wonderful. Real California High Desert residents.

Even the real Erin Brockovich has a small role - can you spot her? Interestingly, her character is named Julia. The real Ed Masry is in the same scene. Mr. Tracey Walter, a veteran of big and small screen that all of us know by sight if not by name, has a pivotal role.

Can anyone however explain why this movie is so yellow? Agfa film maybe??

This is a good movie for older girls and young women to watch. Yes, it has an R-rating for language but the less to be learned is important. If you have not seen this movie since it came out, it's worth a watch again to see the familiar faces. If you have not, it's good to learn who this SoCal heroine is about.

Watch this with a single parent who is struggling.

Amazing Grace (2006)

Sometimes a little music history goes a long way. When you look into the history of this very famous christian hymn you find it was written by a repentant slave trader in England in the late 1700s. You also find that this same poet was the personal preacher of one William Wilberforce. This Willberforce was the best friend of one William Pitt who was the Prime Minister of England from 1783 to 1801.

In part this movie is about that friendship. It is mostly about the career-spanning crusade of Wilberforce against the slave trade. See the connection? At one point Wilberforce, played superbly by Ioan Gruffudd, actually sings the hymn to his peers in Parliament.

Three cheers to the producers and director of this film for keeping it real. British history portrayed totally by Brit talent. What a novel concept. Hollywood should take notice and follow suit.

Albert Finney and Michael Gambon play the reformed slave trader and Lord Fox, both older spiritual and political advisers of Wilberforce. Both film veterans are still powerful in action.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Romala Garai round out Wilberforce's inner circle as Pitt and spouse. Many other very familiar faces from English screen and stage are present.

Bottom line, this movie tells a story of truly heroic politicians in an age of major change. As Pitt puts it early in the story, they were "too young to know what was impossible".

Watch this movie with someone who loves the song.

A Good Year

Can Russell Crowe do comedy? Watch this movie and let me know what you think. I think this 2006 story about wine and maturing, is very fun, and very funny. It is not an unfamiliar story, but is so well told you forget you've heard it before.

Albert Finney does the type of role he does best. He plays the grandfather of Crowe's character who has passed away and left a wine-producing property in Provence, France. Crowe sees this unexpected "gift" as a burden to be quickly liquidated.

As Crowe prepares the property for sale he remembers his childhood there and begins to discover the charm of the locals and the value of what he has inherited. Of particular interest is the realtionships Crowe develops with everyone around him. Character evolution is what this story is all about.

Watch this movie with someone who knows a thing or two about wine.