“Freedom Writers”
*** A rookie teacher from the right side of the tracks takes on a classroom of urban toughs. Haven’t we been in this homeroom before? Well, yes – and no. Doubters in the truth and power of the classroom inspirational take a lesson from director Richard LaGravenese’s adaptation of the story of California high school teacher Erin Gruwell and her Freedom Writers. Hilary Swank stars as the hopeful, dorky, inventive woman who taught and learned from her class of predominantly minority students at Long Beach’s Wilson High School. Like its teacher, “Freedom Writers” struts its trust in empathy and knowledge. Like its bristling students, the film is willing to shove us a bit.|PG-13| 123 minutes|Will be released April 17|
–Lisa Kennedy
“The Good Shepherd”
*** 1/2 Robert De Niro as director and Eric Roth as screenwriter create a history of the CIA, where secrets and lies inexorably corrode both the ship of state and the vessel of family. Matt Damon stars as the fictitious Edward Wilson, recruited out of Yale to help found the CIA in the wake of World War II. Roth finds the perfect balance between well-intentioned patriotism and ruthless government policy. While a bit too long and offering three or four endings where one should do, this is a serious movie with a tremendous cast.|R| 165 minutes| Released April 3|
–Michael Booth
Charlotte’s Web”
** 1/2 You’re not likely to walk out of the live-action version of E.B. White’s classic marveling, “Some movie.” There are enough moments in director Gary Winick’s G-rated film to keep the kids smiling. Dakota Fanning plays Fern Arable, the farm girl who saves a runty piglet from the ax. Julia Roberts provides the voice of Charlotte, the computer-generated gray spider who continues the task. But it’s Dominic Scott Kay as the stuffy-nosed, impossibly dear voice of Wilbur that keeps you smiling.|G | 84 minutes|Released April 3|
–Lisa Kennedy
“Volver”
*** 1/2 Ripe with female characters and embroidered with flourishes that hint at Hollywood’s Golden Age, “Volver” is one of Pedro Almodóvar’s finest films. It is also one of his most emotionally delightful. In this wondrous film starring Penélope Cruz, daughters revisit childhood homes, ghosts appear, and haunting mysteries resurface. Almodóvar’s cast of vibrant women (who shared the best actor award at Cannes) give audiences one of this year’s exquisitely tender films. In Spanish with subtitles|R | 101 minutes |Released April 3
– Lisa Kennedy
TV ON DVD|
“Entourage: Season Three, Part 1”
A rising actor (Adrian Grenier) braces for superstardom as his action blockbuster prepares to open in the hit series that examines the pleasures and pressures of Hollywood. A three-disc set has 12 episodes, plus cast and crew commentary and a featurette. | $39.98|Released April 3|
David Germain, The Associated Press
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This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editing error, in contained an incorrect rating for “Volver” – the movie is rated R.
