Like its title, Feast of Love is unabashedly frank about what the story is about: Love. Different kinds and shades of love, all through the eyes of a professor who knows a few things about love and loss.
Portland professor Harry Stevenson (Morgan Freeman) is a keen observer of human behaviors and relationships. He's good friends with Bradley Thomas (Greg Kinnear), the owner of a local coffee shop who also is a hopelessly romantic artist. Bradley is oblivious that his wife, Kathryn (Selma Blair), is falling in love with another woman; Harry sees that, but he only observes and not interferes. His thought is that people need to work out their own kinks.
After his divorce, Bradley falls in love again (quickly) with real estate agent Diana (Radha Mitchell), who is having a secret affair with married man David (Billy Burke). Dissatisfied with her affair, Diana agrees to marry Bradley even though she doesn't love him. Unable to see through Diana's veil, Bradley continues to be oblivious to everything that is going on around him.
Meanwhile, Bradley's employees Oscar (Toby Hemingway) and Chloe (Alexa Davalos) fall madly in love with each other. Young and idealistic, they dream of a future despite the fact that they are poor and Oscar is a recovering junkie. Chloe looks to Harry for advice; but instead of telling them what is right or wrong, Harry prefers to let them decide for themselves. Soon, Harry regrets his own action as he realizes his lack of strong opinions and proactive actions may have led to his own son's death a year earlier, leaving a gaping hole in his and his wife's (Jane Alexander) lives.
Morgan Freeman (Evan Almighty) is genuinely likable as Harry Steveson. The problem with the role is that it is rather passive, serving mostly as an observer instead of the protagonist. In fact, there's no clear protagonist in this ensemble drama. Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine) plays the average Joe to perfection, but I'm not sure if I'm convinced that a guy like him could be so blind as far as relationships are concerned.
Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill) is radiant as Diana, the deceitful adulterer who wins Bradley's heart. Unfortunately, the character is too morally damaged that it's not easy to find sympathy for her. Same with her onscreen lover, David, played effectively by Billy Burke (Fracture). The good thing about the pair is that they have an immense chemistry together, making it more relevant when David says, "We're the same kind of people."
Alexa Davalos (The Chronicles of Riddick) and Toby Hemingway (The Covenant) play the young, star-crossed lovers with heart and soul. Davalos, in particular, shows great emotional range and depth. Their romantic yearnings and devotion to each other earn our devoting in return. Selma Blair (Purple Violets) has a relatively small role as Bradley's lesbian wife, and plays the character who is just coming out of her shell with fine humanity and vulnerability (although a bit heartless and bitter as well). In contrast, Jane Alexander (Fur) is all warmth and sensible as Harry's grieving wife.
Written by Allison Burnett (Resurrecting the Champ) and based on Charles' Baxter's novel, the script has a tender, slice-of-life feel to it. Not overtly quirky or melodramatic, the story touches on many aspects of love: parental, romantic, friendly, even love for our pets. Through a series of intersecting relationships among the main characters, the story explores separate threads, with Harry Stevenson as the hinge. At times, the plot seems rather mundane and slow, without any real drama or high-stake conflicts. There is much philosophizing, and not enough action. Some of the characters are rather unlikable and it's not easy to relate to them.
However, there are many genuine moments that pack strong emotional punches. Under the skillful direction of Robert Benton (The Human Stain), the story slowly reveals information about these character, keeping us guessing. The relationships among these characters feel authentic and real (with the exception of Oscar's father, a caricature played by Fred Ward). The dialogue is insightful and witty. The love scenes are integral parts of the movie, nothing gratuitous.And like its narrator, the film doesn't want to pass any moral judgment -- there seems to have only one gratuitous villain (Fred Ward). The characters and their story threads serve as an intricate juxtaposition with one another -- here we have an older loving couple who are holding on to their love after a huge loss; a young, inexperienced couple who find their soulmates; a man who is so idealistic that he lets his romantic notions blind him; and finally, a deceitful couple whose only redemption is through revealing their flaws and accepting the consequences of their lies and eventually their true love for each other. Through these relationships, we get a glimpse of what the feast of love is all about.
Stars: Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke, Selma Blair, Alexa Davalos, Toby Hemingway, Jane Alexander, Fred Ward
Director: Robert Benton
Writers: Allison Burnett (based on Charles Baxter's novel)
Distributor: MGM
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexual content, nudity and language
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Ratings:
Script – 7
Performance – 7
Direction – 8
Cinematography – 7
Music/Sound– 6
Editing – 7
Production – 7
Total – 7.1 out of 10
Retired Sgt. Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) gets a distress call from his son Mike (Jonathan Tucker) before Mike goes AWOL at the army base. The army jerks him around, and the local authorities won't give him any attention either: they insist on Hank contacting the military police. Then a burned, dismembered body is found near the military base. Mike's identity is confirmed. Suppressing his grief and his wife's (Susan Saradon) blames, Hank is determined to find out what happened and who killed his son.
At first, since the murder appears to have happened within military grounds, the case is out of the police's jurisdiction. They believe it's a drug deal gone bad. A sharp observer, Hank convinces Detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) it's a cover-up. Sanders opens an active investigation against her colleagues' scrutiny. The circumstances lead Hank and Sanders to suspect a few of Mike's bunkmates, but there is not enough evidence to convince Sanders' superiors or the army to do anything. Frustration leads Mike to conduct his own investigations. What he finds shatters his own convictions.
Tommy Lee Jones (
Charlize Theron (
Written and directed by Paul Haggis (
However, Haggis tends to over-dramatize and manipulate. While not as blatant as 
Well made, taut and suspenseful, 
Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) is a radio talk show host in New York City. She seems to have it all together: a loving fiance (Naveen Andrews), a great job, a nice apartment, and a cool dog. But everything comes to a halt as Erica and David suffer a senseless attack in a park, leaving Erica severely injured and David dead.
The aftermath leaves Erica not only physical but also emotional scars. After the initial adjustment to post-traumatic syndromes, she tries to move on. Paranoid and fearing for her safety, she buys a gun for protection. A series of events enable Erica to see herself in a new light, and somehow she's changed. To her, she's become a different person. A detached, vengeful woman who prefers to take matters in her own hands.
Investigating a series of related homicides, Detective Mercer (Terrence Howard) quickly turns his attention on Erica. He's at once in awe with her intelligence, compassion and self-reliance. At the same time, something feels off, and Mercer begins to suspect that Erica might be hiding something--something more sinister than he ever imagined, even as a cop. His investigation leads him to become closer to Erica, before he discovers what really is going on.
Jodie Foster (
Terrence Howard (
Supporting cast includes Nicky Katt (
Written by a trio of mostly TV writers -- Roderick Taylor (American Outlaws), Bruce A. Taylor (
Director Neil Jordan (
The story does hit us rather heavy-handedly with its central themes -- is it ever okay to take justice in our own hands? What does it mean to be right or wrong, good or bad? There's a scene in the film that borders on preachiness as Erica answers calls from listeners. Thankfully, the story doesn't linger in that debate. Instead, it lets the action show us, then leave us to make up our own minds. We may not agree with what the characters do, but we understand them. And we do ask the same questions Erica Bain asks over and over again: What would you do if fear stares you in the face and rips your life away from you? What would you do? Is it worth the cost? It is an interesting, moral question: What does it mean to be the brave one?
Smith (Clive Owen) happens to be waiting at a bus stop when a pregnant woman runs past him. She's being chased by a gunman. Reluctantly, Smith interferes and during an extended shootout, he delivers the baby. Unfortunately, the mother gets killed in the gunfire, and Smith is left with the baby to protect from the bad guys, headed the an ex-FBI agent, Hertz (Paul Giamatti).
Smith pays a visit to prostitute Donna (Monica Bellucci) specializing in "lactation" to help feed the baby (Um, aren't there any baby formulas in town?). But Hertz and his men seem to be always only one step behind Smith and Donna. While on the run, Smith discovers that Hertz works for firearms tycoon Hammerson (Stephen McHattie), and their goal is to kill all the surrogate mothers and babies, who carry a possible bone marrow match for the sperm donor: Senator Rutledge (Daniel Pilon). It seems like the only way out of this jam is for Smith to find the Senator.
Clive Owen (
Monica Bellucci (
Written and directed by Michael Davis (
The characters are extremely cartoonish, from Mr. Bugs Bunny (Owen) to Elmer Fudd (Giamatti) to Jessica Rabbit (Bellucci), not to mention the faceless villains and army of men in black. There are really no twists, only graphic violence after violence until the very end in an orgasmic explosion of gunpowder and guts.
And yet, the film is oddly satisfying in an obscene way. I understand what Michael Davis tries to accomplish here -- and he admitted that he was trying to make a violent, live action version of the 
Absolutely no character development (unless you consider flimsy background information and character archetypes character development), subtlety or depth, it's exactly what Mr. Davis wants; and I suspect that's exactly what his target audiences expect as well. If that's your thing, come on over and shoot 'em up -- you'll have a good time.
Erik (Josh Hartnett) is a sports reporter at the 
It turns out Champ's really Bob Satterfield, a heavy-weight boxing champion in the 50s. Many people think Champ is dead, here he is, speaking to Erik in person. Champ's story fascinates Erik, as well as the paper's magazine editor Whitley (David Paymer), who promises to make Champ their title story. Driven by ambition and grudge, Erik goes behind Metz's back and interviews Champ. When the story comes out, it is a sensation and Erik becomes an instant star. Erik feels vindicated while Metz feels betrayed by Erik's dishonesty. Soon, however, Erik discovers the truth behind Champ's story, and the revelation forces him to reexamine his life, his relationships, especially with his wife and son Teddy (Dakota Goyo), and his truth.
As Champ, Samuel L. Jackson (
Kathryn Morris (
The screenplay by Michael Bortman (
Director Rod Lurie (
The result is what I'd call a guy's chick flick, much like