Glory Road

Just another sports movie? Not quite! Glory Road is the true story about a college basketball coach, who broke tradition and changed the colour of the game forever.

The time was 1966. American society was in flux as the war in Vietnam raged on; as civil rights became a major issue; and as young people were revolting against societal norms.

Along come Don Haskins, a small town coach, who was hired by a small division Western Texas College to rejuvenate their basketball program.

Haskins had no money to recruit first-rate players, so he went out into the streets to find the talent he needed to become competitive with the bigger schools. And on the asphalt courts of the big cities, Haskins recruited a number of African American youngsters. Together with the players he had inherited from the previous coach, Haskins drilled and trained his kids, eventually forging a team that wound up winning 27 out of 28 games and going on to the national championships.

When the NCAA championship game got underway, Haskins decided to make a point. He started an all-Black lineup against the all-White team from the University of Kentucky.

Although Western Texas was the heavy underdog, the team rose to the occasion and won the championship. The victory helped change the perception of African American athletes and helped speed up the desegregation of American sports.

Haskins became a legend. While his moves were groundbreaking, Haskins was interested only in putting a winning team on the court and was colour blind in his means of achieving this goal.

Glory Road doesnt feature a star-riddled cast. In fact, most of the actors are almost unknown. Josh Lucas, who plays Don Haskins, has appeared in only a few previous films and his biggest roles were in A Beautiful Mind and Sweet Alabama. But he does an excellent job in this film.

The other actors, except for Jon Voight, who plays the Kentucky coach, are still trying to make their mark in Hollywood and this film will go a long way in helping them do that.

This is an exciting and riveting film that crosses all lines and appeals to all film fans.

Starring: Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols, Jon Voight.

Imagine Me & You

Many people believe in love at first sight; many others do not believe it is possible.

Imagine Me & You revolves around the idea that love at first sight is possible and can be overwhelming.

The story centres on Rachel, a young, vivacious bride who, on her wedding day, falls head over heels in love with the florist who supplied the flowers for her special day.

The two women are immediately attracted to one another. At first, they try to deny it and Rachel, Luce (the florist) and new husband Heck, become friends and begin socializing. Eventually, Rachel and Luce surrender to their desires and go off to start a new life on their own.

Its a sweet, romantic British film that deals with a number of issues, but never stops being funny and is always entertaining.

Imagine Me & You is a light comedy, and one that will certainly please a lot of people.

Starring: Piper Perabo, Matthew Goode, Lena Headey, Darren Boyd.

Video & DVD: Week of February 14, 2006

Serenity

Science fiction action film about the renegade crew of the space ship Serenity. When the ship takes on a fugitive passenger, they find themselves in battle against the military might of a totalitarian government and bloodthirsty creatures from another part of the galaxy. The DVD contains over 20 minutes of deleted scenes and outtakes; an introduction by Joss Whedon (TVs Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel), a featurette about how the television series The Firefly became a major feature film; audio commentary by the director; and much more. A great film for sci-fi fans.

Starring: Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Transporter 2

Great action film that features Jason Statham as Frank Martin, the Transporter, a man who moves goods. In this case, Martin is acting as a driver for a wealthy Miami family whose main duties are to chauffeur the 6-year old son to and from school. When the boy is kidnapped, Martin sets out to bring him back to safety.

Starring: Jason Statham, Alessandro Gassman, Amber Valletta, Kate Nauth, Matthew Modine, Jason Flemyng, Keith David.

Red Eye

Upon boarding a plane, lovely Lisa, winds up seated next to one of the most charming men she has ever met, a man with whom she shared a drink in the airport lounge. As soon as the plane is airborne, the man reveals his real intentions--to use Lisa to assassinate a government official. Lisa is unable to get away and the tension mounts until a surprise ending.

Starring: Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy.

Lord of War

Action adventure film about international arms dealers. Film shows how one such arms dealer, Yuri Orlov, gets into the business and then struggles to stay one step ahead of his adversaries. Engrossing and entertaining film.

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Bridget Moynahan, Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke, Ian Holm.

Flightplan

Another great thriller featuring Jodie Foster as an aircraft designer who is returning home on the state of the art airliner she designed, when her 6-year old daughter disappears. None of the crew, or any of the passengers remembers her boarding the plane with her daughter and Foster is left to solve the mystery on her own.

Starring: Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Sean Bean.

The Aristocrats

Are you ready for a big laugh? This film features some 100 comedians analyzing and telling the same dirty joke. The results are hilarious, but this film is not for the faint of heart.

In Her Shoes

Two sisters who are complete opposites except for their shoe size. Maggie is a party girl who, barely got through high school. Rose is a lawyer with a top Philadelphia legal firm. The girls constantly argue but wind up reconciling after they discover that they have a grandmother they thought was dead. Funny and often outrageous.

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley MacLaine.