Halle Berry and Bruce Willis in "Perfect Stranger"
courtesy of Sony Home Entertainment
"An Imperfect Movie"

Sometimes it looks like you have the ingredients for a perfect movie and then for some unknown reason it just doesn't come together. The new movie on DVD, "Perfect Stranger," is a perfect example. Halle Berry is one beautiful woman. Plus she can act. What she can't do is pick outstanding movie scripts. "Perfect Stranger" is a case in point. It has a good premise but it just can't hold it together. In the end there is just one twist too many. The movie leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth but a lovely image of Berry in your brain.

In the film Berry plays an investigative reporter named Rowena. She is good at exposing powerful men who have titillating sexual predilections. When her good friend Grace (Nicky Aycox) turns up dead Rowena is sure that Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis) was the killer. Hill is the powerful head of an advertising agency and he and Grace met on line.

Rowena goes undercover as an office temp to try to get the goods on Hill. She is assisted in her efforts by her computer savvy buddy Miles (Giovanni Ribisi). They have worked as a team in the past and their talents complement each other's.

The tension of the movie comes from Rowena's efforts to hack into Hill's computer and get evidence of his association with Grace. She also uses her beauty as a lure to get him into a relationship where he might confess something.

Berry is perfectly cast as the beautiful and brainy reporter. She looks better than ever and uses her dramatic talents to heighten the suspense of the film. To say she is better than the movie is a gross understatement.

Willis' role is almost a cameo. He doesn't appear in the movie at all until the first third of the film is over. Then when he does show up he just smirks his way through the script without giving a valid performance. The Willis charm is enough for some roles but not here. We need to see what Hill is really like and why - and those needs are never addressed by the script or by Willis.

Ribisi is in full quirky nerd mode. He makes Miles so strange and so bizarre acting that you wonder why a smart girl like Rowena would ever partner up with him. Ribisi appears to be acting in one movie and Berry in another. Their styles clash that much.

So there you have it - some good actors, some bad acting, a script with flaws. Add it up and get you get an imperfect movie. But seeing Halle Berry, how can that be wrong?

The political thriller "The Lives of Others" won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and deservedly so. This German movie is full of suspense and tension as it tells its story of Germany before the wall came down. In th9ose days spying was a national past time. 

The Secret Police monitored the lives of citizens and the information they gained could be used in very cruel ways. This film is about such spyng and why it was done in a particular instance. The ease with which it is done helps create the tension of the film.

"The Lives of Others" is a film not to be missed. Get the DVD as soon as possible and have a great time with a solidly entertaining movie.

Judd Nelson and Bill Paxton star in "The Dark Backwards" which is a comedy, but a strange one. It all concerns a stand up comic who isn't having much success until he grows a third arm. It comes out of his back. His good friend Gus sees this as a gimmick that can take Marty to the big time.

This is a movie unlike anything you have seen in a while. It is so dark and so different that it may turn you off. But then again you might accept the humor and have a ball with something this unique.

Tim Allen was at his comedic peak when he made the "Home Improvement" series. Now "Home Improvement: The Complete Seventh Season" is available on DVD and you and your family will want to watch all twenty-five episodes. This is situation comedy at its very best.

All of your favorite characters form the show are on board to make this a great entertainment treat. Patricia Richardson is in especially fine form as Tim's wife and comedic foil. So get to the DVD store and bring this one home.

Your pre-teens will go wild when they hear there is a new "Zack and Cody" DVD. This popular twosome is hot and the new DVD "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: Sweet Suite Victory" will have them begging for more. These Disney stars have never been more popular and this show has the good fortune of also having Ashley Tisdale ("High School; Musical 1 and 2" in the cast.

So mark this one down as a must have and delight your children. It is "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: Sweet Suite Victory." Ask for it by name!

Pre-school kids seem to love "Handy Manny." He is the handy man who uses talking tools to get a variety of jobs done. It isn't just the animation that makes him so appealing to kids, it is also his voice. The character of Mann is supplied by "That 70's Show" actor Wilmer Valderrama.

Introduce your pre-schoolers by getting them the DVD of "Handy Manny: Tooling Around" and watch their enthusiasm grow. They will come under his spell and watch the DVD over and over.
 

 

 

 

 

©2007 Jackie K. Cooper

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