Gael Garcia Bernal

CHICAGO – “The Loneliest Planet,” recently released on DVD, will try even the most patient and adoring of art movie lovers as its deliberate, plodding pace pushes out all possibilities of character involvement. To be blunt, by the time I felt like I was asked to care, it was too late. There’s some stunning cinematography and Gael Garcia Bernal is simply one of the most interesting actors of his generation but this effort is dull to the nth degree.

CHICAGO – The controversy swirling around Pablo Larraín’s Oscar-nominee “No” is typical of the outrage garnered by many a historical drama. Since the film focuses solely on one crucial segment of the activism that ousted Chilean dictator Pinochet during the 1988 plebiscite, some viewers will complain that not every hero in the tale is represented. Of course, that’s what encyclopedias are for.

CHICAGO – You have to admire the commitment to a goofy concept that allowed “Casa de mi Padre” to exist in the first place. The idea that Will Ferrell would star in a Spanish-language film about drug dealers and land control in Mexico and that the result would not only be subtitled but often remarkably straight-faced in its melodrama is conceptually hilarious. The actual product? Not quite as funny.

CHICAGO – Kate Hudson portrays a dying woman in “A Little Bit of Heaven,” and the film is so annoying that her extinguishment can’t come fast enough. The film insults both living and dying, and virtually everything in between, and brings along Lucy Punch, Kathy Bates, Gael Garciá Bernal, Peter Dinklage and Whoopi Goldberg for the funeral.

CHICAGO – Will Ferrell can never be accused of sitting on his comic laurels, nor repeating himself. “Casa de mi Padre” is a complete set-in-Mexico Spanish language film, including Ferrell’s dialogue. Although uneven, it delivers such a peculiar vibe that it can’t help but be admired, at least for the effort.

CHICAGO – Actress-turned-filmmaker Icíar Bollaín has an important story to tell in her fifth directorial feature, “Even the Rain.” The film is drenched in self-importance, nearly all of it justifiable. Historical events are eerily and poignantly re-enacted against a fascinating modern backdrop, drawing parallels between past and present corruption. It’s regrettable that this great idea was given such a workmanlike execution.

CHICAGO – Vanessa Redgrave’s role in “Letters to Juliet” could not have come at a more poignant time in her life. She plays a starry-eyed woman in her twilight years, desperate to reconnect with her childhood sweetheart. He’s played by Franco Nero, the man Redgrave fell for on the set of 1969’s “Camelot.” She was Guinevere and Nero was Lancelot. Yet they didn’t marry until 2006.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – I want to live in the alternate universe where Vanessa Redgrave’s Claire is the lead of “Letters to Juliet” and the two vapid dorks who trail her on a journey of lost love can learn a lesson or two but never take the spotlight. Sadly, such is not the case with this Amanda Seyfried and Christopher Egan vehicle, a romantic drama entirely stolen from its young stars by a timeless actress.

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Amanda Seyfried

CHICAGO – This 21-image slideshow contains the official press images for “Letters to Juliet” starring Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Egan, Vanessa Redgrave, Gael Garcia Bernal and Franco Nero from director Gary Winick. The film opens on May 14th, 2010.

CHICAGO – Christopher Egan is an Australian actor portraying a Londoner on holiday in Italy. That internationalism has helped him tackle his first major lead role opposite Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave in the new film “Letters to Juliet.”